Workouts for women with PCOS?

[zayin7]

If you’re at all familiar with PCOS, you know that women with this condition tend to gain weight easily and it’s really hard to lose (I.e. insulin resistance by the body leads the pancreas to produce more insulin than needed and thus, the body holds onto fat + increased androgens also lead to weight gain). My question for you is do any of you women out there who struggle with PCOS have a workout regimen that has helped you lose the belly weight and keep it off? I (29F), 5’4”, 172lbs am so discouraged because I’ve gained so much due to this condition and I feel unmotivated to fix it because I don’t know how to fix it. I literally used to weigh 135

 

[jbrad01x]

@zayin7 Working out isn't going to do much for weight loss. You need to eat in a calorie deficit. The mechanisms are identical whether you have PCOS or not. What PCOS is going to do is likely lower your TDEE, but you still have a TDEE.

It will be harder for you than someone without PCOS but the approach is the same. You're going to have to calculate your TDEE and eat below that. If your weight doesn't budge after a few weeks, drop it by 100-200 calories, wait a few more weeks and see what happens.

You have to be consistent and you have to be consistent for a very long time.

What exercise CAN do for you is:

1) Resistance training can add some muscle mass, thus increasing your TDEE slightly

2) Cardio can burn some calories, but not a whole lot so don't rely on it. Just think of it as "extra". Cardio will also help to improve your sleep and energy levels, making exercising easier over time.

 

[zayin7]

@jbrad01x This may be a very dumb question, but can you tell me how to calculate my TDEE.. I’m not sure what that is. I’m definitely a newbie here

 

[jbrad01x]

@zayin7 Sure. Your TDEE is your Total Daily Expected Expenditure. It's basically your BMR (calories needed to simply exist) + some extra for activity because most of us aren't existing in a coma.

You can calculate it with lots of different calculators available online. However, because TDEE isn't an exact science, there are actually several different formulas for calculating it and some of them give different results.

Because of that, I really like using the Sail Rabbit TDEE calculator because it gives you the option to use all of the different formulas and then average them, so I feel like it's more accurate.

But even then it's an estimate, not a perfect science. So you'll have to use a bit of patience and trial and error. I always choose "sedentary" as my activity level even if I'm active because it's INCREDIBLY difficult to accurate estimate calories burned from activity. So it's better to just say you're sedentary and start there. In some cases, if you're incredibly active, it may be way off but if you feel like you're losing weight rapidly and starving you could always bump it up.

But because of your situation, sedentary is a really good starting point.

 

[zayin7]

@jbrad01x Ooh I see, that makes a lot of sense. I’ve always just calculated BMI and never know what to do with that since it doesn’t really tell you much other than if you’re obese. Thanks for helping me understand the TDEE! I’ll use that calculator you suggested.

 

[jbrad01x]

@zayin7 No problem. A couple of dieting tips that I always use that helps me is:

1) Cut yourself some slack. It's a long-term effort so don't beat yourself up if you aren't perfect all of the time

2) Take breaks if you need it. If you need a mental health break after a while, it's okay to eat at maintenance (at your TDEE instead of below it). You won't gain or lose any weight, you'll just stay the same. This will allow you to eat more for a little while and sometimes that can give you encouragement to keep going.

3) When you begin eating less, you're going to lose some water from your body. It's going to look like you're rapidly losing weight, but this will last only a week or two. Don't be discouraged when it suddenly slows down. This is normal. In reality you're probably only going to drop 0.5 - 1lbs of actual fat per week. Likewise, when you begin eating at maintenance, some of that water may come back.

If you see rapid weight shifts like 2-5lbs overnight, it's water and nothing to worry about. It's very normal.

4) And finally, roughly 3500 calories is 1lb of fat. So with 7 days in a week, if you ate 500 calories below your TDEE every day, that's 1lb per week. However, that can be a MASSIVE amount of your daily calories depending on your needs. So if 500 is too much, try 250 instead. You'll only lose 0.5 lb per week at that rate but it's much more manageable and you won't be nearly as hungry. Think long-term.

 

[zayin7]

@jbrad01x Thanks for this!! I am a complete novice when it comes to dieting to lose weight so I appreciate these pointers.I know it will be hard for me to focus on the long game so I really appreciate you pointing that out!

 

[jbrad01x]

@zayin7 Another thing that might help you with the mental aspect of it is the last point I made. Since you need to cut 3500 calories from your week just to lose one pound of fat, that means you also need to add 3500 calories to your diet in a week's time to add one pound of fat.

So that means if you have a birthday party to go to or a holiday coming up and you really want to enjoy yourself, you'd have to eat 3500 calories OVER your TDEE to even gain one pound back, which is probably 5000 calories or more for you. So when you put that into perspective it really helps you to realize that one day of fun is completely inconsequential to your long-term goals. At most, it might set you back a few days, but what's a few days out of a year? or a lifetime?

Good luck!

 

[dinafrancis]

@zayin7 So I don't have PCOS, but still.... The process is the same for you as it is for anyone. Just unfortunately, life dealt you a shitty hand. You need to watch your calories and eat less and get into a calorie deficit. This is literally the only way to lose weight.

No workout is going to target belly fat. You cannot spot reduce. I encourage everyone to do some resistance training (aka weight lifting), but ultimately, just building habits of being more active doing an activity you enjoy will do more for you in the long run. You can simply just go for walks more often! Doesn't have to be intense! But activity will help increase your calorie burn which will help you get into a calorie deficit.

Also I am not a doctor, but do some research into berberine. This is a natural supplement that can help with insulin resistance and has been shown to be more effective than the commonly prescribed metformin. Do your own reading and don't just blindly trust an Internet stranger.

Also, maybe for some inspiration, look up Michelle McDaniel on YouTube (channel name: My thoughts will probably offend you). She has BOTH PCOS and Endometriosis, and she managed to lose the weight, keep it off and even compete in bikini body building competitions. Besides her normal videos, she has videos specifically about her PCOS. I'm on mobile right now otherwise I'd go look some up for you

 

[zayin7]

@dinafrancis This is awesome advice. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. I am currently on metformin, but I will talk to my doctor about the supplement you suggested (I know metformin is not a good long term solution-it can lead to kidney problems down the road).

I have a hard time eating on a regular basis because I work full time while doing my PhD and often forget that it is meal time because I’m going from work to classes to the lab. So I eat at odd hours (if I eat at all), not your typical breakfast, lunch, dinner. Meal planning hasn’t worked well for me in the past... But do you have any suggestions as to what things I could eat on the go to take in enough to have energy while still trying to be in a calorie deficit?

And I will definitely look up that YouTube! Thanks for recommending.

 

[dinafrancis]

@zayin7 Do your research on it before hand! The doctor may not even know about it!! Kind of a side tangent on that, I'm trying to work through some gut issues. I go to a gastro, get tests, and they prescribe a couple of antibiotics. I look em up and holy fuck side effects. Sorry, but peeing blood and anus + mouth sores acceptable as possible side effects?? Fuckin no. So I talk with her about less insane options. Eventually she says I could try herbal antibiotics but she can't tell me what to take cus that's not her wheelhouse. I did some googling, found an actual study that compared herbal vs pharma.... HERBAL WAS MORE EFFECTIVE WITH 0 SIDE EFFECTS. Like bruh.

So moral of the story ALWAYS do your own research and ask all the questions. You gotta be your own doctor!!

Anyways!

So you don't need to eat 3 meals a day, you could start intermittent fasting and cut the meals down on purpose. But don't get caught up on the exact times for your eating window. So you can aim for like 12 to 6, but if you're getting very good focused at 11... Just fucking eat!

As for what to eat... Focus a lot on protein + fat. These are the most satiating and filling foods. And try and push sweet/starchier foods to the end of the day. So fruit or potatoes (or any ultra processed food you may have) as these can trigger hunger cravings. So eating them later in the day gives you less time to fight the cravings.

Have some easy foods ready to go. For me, a favorite is soft boiled eggs. I'll make 3-4 dozen at a time so they're always in my fridge. Takes minutes to peel and eat and 4 eggs can keep me full for hours! And it's perfectly safe to have more than 4 eggs in a day, cus that sometimes happens for me.

Otherwise, have meat ready to go. If necessary, precook a bunch and just reheat. Otherwise pan fry a steak or bake a chicken breast in a toaster oven. Steam a few veggies and meal is done. Most of my food takes about 25 mins or less to prep and make.

But you just need to find what works with your schedule and your tastes. But focus on whole foods - meat, eggs, plain dairy, veg, fruit, nuts, some grains, etc. limit or eliminate ultra processed foods - bread, pasta, cereal, chips, crackers, sweets, etc.

Another YouTuber to look up for lots of weight loss advice (or even coaching) is Alan Roberts. He does a lot of love videos that are great background noise imo haha

 

[zayin7]

@dinafrancis Holy shit!! Those side effects?! That will be a no thank you! I’m glad you found a substitute that works!! Yeah I am very thankful for this doctor because she’s the best one I’ve had (and specializes in PCOS and endometriosis and the like) but she did prescribe the metformin without really providing other options… so I’m going to do what you did and see what studies I can find out there too.

Thanks for those recommendations on the food side of things. It’s so hard for me to eat healthy because I never know if I’m eating the “right” things. I don’t know why I never thought to boil a lot of eggs at a time? Like that is so easy I’m legit going to go do that when I get home from work tonight

And you’re killin it with the YouTube recs! Thanks random stranger on the internet

 

[dinafrancis]

@zayin7 She may be a fantastic doc and either just doesnt' know about it or could even be paid by the pharma companies to prescribe medications. Our healthcare system isn't really that great when it's a for-profit industry :/

It’s so hard for me to eat healthy because I never know if I’m eating the “right” things.

Basically the tl;dr version of it is real foods over food products. And then of course watch your portion sizes and calorie intake. A million small portions still add up! Makes me think of a comic strip I saw in the news paper years ago that basically said "If you cut the slice of cake in half... you can have twice as much!"

Another food suggestion is to portion out a serving of nuts. Roughly 150-200 calories worth. And take these with you when you're going to classes or whatever. It's not going to be much in volume (it should fit in roughly one of the small plastic sauce containers you might get at a take out... the ones with the little clear lid) but if you eat them slowly, they can help with that hand to mouth motion of wanting to eat, slow makes you feel like you've eaten more, and then because they're fatty, they're quite satiating for you as well (and healthy!) But obviously, because they are fatty, that means high calorie and so don't just start reaching for them willy nilly.

I don’t know why I never thought to boil a lot of eggs at a time? Like that is so easy I’m legit going to go do that when I get home from work tonight

Hah, it's the best! Get the water to a rolling boil and it takes about 6 minutes to get a SOFT boiled egg (liquid yolk), so longer if you want firmer. I can fit about 14 eggs flat on the bottom of my pot (but I typically just leave it at 12). I wouldn't double layer them. Once they're done cooking, straight into ice water to stop the cooking. The next round goes straight in the pot afterwards!

 

[zayin7]

@dinafrancis I would double upvote this if I could because I super appreciate your suggestions and boiled egg tips and tricks! Also LOL at the comic you mentioned

 

[dinafrancis]

@zayin7 Happy to help

Feel free to reach out about anything else! You got this !

 

[raaven]

@zayin7 Both exercise and diet are important

Diet is more important for weight loss

 

[buddyt]

@zayin7 I may be wrong but I understood it to be the other way around, it is my insulin resistance and weight gain that caused PCOS not the opposite. Either way though, you will need to move more and eat less.

Things that worked for me and I’m still working on:

Cut way back on carbs and fill up on protein and veggies before the carbs. Healthy fats are good too in moderation.

Cutting out all the late night snacking. I had a hard time doing this before but I’ve made huge progress in the past several months and now am doing intermittent fasting most days and if not make sure there’s at least 12 hours at night where I’m not eating to make sure my insulin levels go down.

Bought a glucose meter to see what was actually happening and that if I’m hungry it doesn’t necessarily mean I need to eat it might be out of habit. But there are some times I need to eat more like if I go on a long hike I can get too low.

Started building muscle at the gym. I try to do some cardio as well, mostly walking in between the gym days. Less to burn calories and more to get healthy. I’m feeling a bit better now with this added.

Getting good sleep because it makes all hormones so much worse.

 

[zayin7]

@buddyt I think it could be either. I’m not really sure if anyone knows for sure if insulin resistance or PCOS comes first (maybe a chicken or the egg came first scenario?). I’m not sure. But either way, insulin resistance goes hand in hand with PCOS… unfortunately for us

Thank you for sharing what you’ve done!! I definitely need to eat more protein. And try my very best to cut back on carbs. It’s so hard to know what to cook that is low carb because I have a fiance who refuses to eat veggies..

That’s a great idea to get a glucose monitor. I would’ve never thought to do that.

What exercises do you do at the gym??

Thank you for sharing!

 

[buddyt]

@zayin7 I’ve only been at the gym one month but I do a lot of different stuff, try lots of different machines. Every time I go I learn something new. Also squats with barbells and overhead press with dumbbells. I don’t do every exercise each time and some people here will tell me I’m doing it wrong because I’m not following a routine. But I generally do 3 sets of 10 reps with each and if it becomes easy I add more weight next time. I’ve made huge progress already. Haven’t lost a ton of weight because I’ve added muscle but my pants are looser now.

The change in diet has done more to help weight loss. I sometimes have to cook a few different things, my husband and son are kind of picky too. Or I’ll make a meat, carb, and a few veggies and just eat way less of the carb than I ate before. I’ve started meal planning so it helps too with what to shop for and what meals all 3 of us like. Early in the day I’m pretty low carb until dinner.

 

[zayin7]

@buddyt Awesome. That sounds like a good way to get started in the gym. I want to do the same thing with cooking a meat,carb, and veggie rather than just a meat+carb and skipping the veggie (which I often do because I’m the only one who will eat it). Maybe I should do just meat+ veggie for me and make the carb on the side for him so he can still eat what he likes. Thanks for the inspiration and keep up your hard work!