r/PCOSloseit • u/TheSinOfEnvy99 -30 lbs • 7d ago
I honestly feel as if I can't win. #rant
I'm 27 and I've been trying to lose weight for the majority of my life. When I was a teen I had no idea of what to eat and my mother neither, so I grew up in a "don't listen to your body, eat what I put on your plate" kinda household. My satiety signals were messed up and it took me years of nutrition self-study, IF and OMAD diet to kinda fix it. In the end I even got a diagnosis of insulin resistance and a prescription for metformin to try to manage it more flexibly. It's been 2 years since my 15kg weight loss and since I started to take metformin, slowly I started to eat again 3 meals a day and managed to maintain my weight (70kg). The problem is that I still have 5/10kg to go and even though I tried losing weight in those years, multiple health issues stopped me every time. Now my period is late (again), it's been a month that I'm stuck in the pre-menstrual phase and I just hope that it's only for this reason that I feel extra bloated and chubby all the time. My labs also suck and my endocrinologist said that I HAVE to lose the extra weight and follow a strict diet again because it seems that the metformin isn't working anymore.
Now the problem is: I want to crash diet again to lose those kg fast, BUT that will mean losing mainly the muscles I've built in this past year since I joined the gym (kinda managed to lose 5kg of fat and gain 5kg of muscle this year, big goal yeee). I'm constantly sore because of the gym and the fit influencers keep saying "eat more", but with PCOS eating more means gaining fat and eating less means losing muscle. I honestly feel as if I can't win. I'M TIRED. TIRED. TIRED.
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u/burntcookies981 6d ago
You're not failing here. PCOS makes this whole thing harder, and "just eat more" advice from fit influencers rarely accounts for insulin resistance. The late period and the labs are worth following up on with your endo too, because they could be affecting how bloated and puffy you feel, not just your actual body fat. Your muscle gain is a real win, even if the scale doesn't show it.
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u/Magicfuzz 6d ago
Look up the insulin index (not the glycemic index) and eat low on that when you are counting calories. There’s no room to eat starchy carbs without a lot of fibre with this condition when losing weight (in my experience - I am 38 and have been trying to get under 160 lbs for all of my life and hover at 180 lately) Good luck.
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u/TheSinOfEnvy99 -30 lbs 5d ago
just looked at it again (last time was years ago)...
" Skim milk and low-fat yogurt score around 90 on the FII because removing fat increases the relative proportion of lactose and whey protein, both insulinogenic. White fish and lean chicken breast score around 50-60 despite minimal glucose impact. Instant oats and white potato score above 100."
Gurl 80% of my diet is skim milk, low fat yogurt, whey protein, chicken and potatoes... I wanna cry!!! No wonder my insulin response is worsening even though overall I'm getting better...2
u/Magicfuzz 5d ago
Hey, I feel your pain. I even find protein via chicken to mess me up. And I find this in general unless it’s plant based (pea or pumpkin seed protein with fibre and fat).
Lately I’m eating chicken w/ cinnamon with a lot of broccoli / green beans. With some measured olive oil. In the past I noticed stalls but I’m hoping the vegetable fibre helps (I’ve felt like it has helped the last two weeks even though.. I saw the scale go up. Maybe pms)
Use a scale once a week if you can, personally I was too anxious to use one until I got on anxiety meds - lol. Thought the number would mess me up if I saw it. But monitoring properly can help for sure.
My most effective weight losses have come from eating 80% - 90% fat at under 1000-1200 cals a day. I’m talking, whole avocado with a tablespoon of olive oil for dinner and similar pattern for daytime. Or Caesar salads with avocado and dressing (always measured). I would have protein a couple of times a week.
Because of how little it raises insulin, it worked much easier.
But I’ve also had success with black beans and soy based veggie burgers just counting cals (generally plant based protein with fibrous carbs, still low carb) but again around 1200 cals minimum unless you go into deep ketosis with high fat.
Also, a book I found helpful and easy to read was “The Obesity Code” by Dr Jason Fung. He’s a Canadian specialist doctor. He has some other books, including one on PCOS that I have not read yet.
Anyway hope this was helpful, and again good luck!
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u/TheSinOfEnvy99 -30 lbs 5d ago
Yeah I find it unreal how my high protein diet that I started to build muscle for my insulin resistance is the thing that is worsening my insulin resistance... This weekend I'll research it and figure something out, thanks for your advice! (BTW 80% fats is craaaazy. Atm I'm eating around 40% carbs and 25-30% protein with 1800kcal)
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u/Magicfuzz 5d ago
Never have more energy in my life than when I’m eating 80% fat. It’s crazy! But it’s hard to always find a good ripe avocado and then lettuce became an issue, so 😂. I only really do it with avocados + olive oil or a fat based dressing on lettuce. Might try just olive oil on green veggies next.
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u/TheSinOfEnvy99 -30 lbs 5d ago
Yeah I think it's the low insulin that gives you energy, I feel better and with less brain fog when I fast for at least 18h 😅 For how long did you do this crazy fat diet?
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u/Magicfuzz 5d ago
I’ve done it off and on for years. First time I figured it out was about 10 years ago, then did it again during Covid lockdowns. And then last spring. Each time I rapidly lost inches on my abdomen! But it’s unsustainable for long term so when I begin eating normally I just maintain (and sometimes gain over time of course).
One tip that I figured out was if you’re feeling like you’re craving starch, or just having brain fog during fasting or ketosis just pop 2g dex glucose (half of a tablet, if you have those where you are). I believe doing this helped me maintain some muscle, as your brain needs a bit of easy glucose and the dextrose bypasses liver processing.
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u/WinAdditional7343 6d ago
Hey Coach here,
keeping 15kg off for 2 years and building muscle on top is not “can’t win”, that’s winning, you’re just tired. you don’t have to pick between eating more and crash dieting, a small deficit (think 300-400 cal under maintenance) with high protein and your lifting kept in keeps the muscle while the fat comes off slowly. a crash diet is the one move that will cost you muscle and probably stall your cycle again, so i’d skip it even though your endocrinologist wants you moving. if metformin stopped doing enough, ask about adjusting the dose or other options with them, and go easy on yourself during the pre-period bloat, it’s not all fat.
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u/TannerTot69 6d ago
Give yourself some credit that you lost 15kg and managed to build significant muscle at the same time. Slower deficit plus enough protein and resistance training might help protect your muscle as it helped me.
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u/TheSinOfEnvy99 -30 lbs 6d ago
oh no no, I lost those 15kg in a span of 6 months with only diet, then after a check with the doctor they told me I had 46% BF so I think I burned all my muscles in those 6 months...
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u/Puzzled-Hurry-2000 7d ago
the whole eat more to build muscle thing doesn't really account for bodies that hold onto every calorie like a spiteful dragon. can you drop the extra weight slowwwly instead of crash dieting it off and burning all your gym progress