PCOS and insulin resistance

Mimi's

Well-Known Member
Messages
49
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Don't worry about low carb being complicated. I mean, it CAN be. But it doesn't HAVE to be.
This link explains it much better than i ever could (and there is no counting carbs unless you want to). :)
http://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/60-seconds

I can't really comment on the b12 though. Do they know why it is so high?
Hi! Thanks again for your informative link! Reading and re reading!
Are you on this diet? How much weight have you lost and how is it benefitting you? Slightly wary of going on such high protein diet
 

Mimi's

Well-Known Member
Messages
49
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hello....yep...another one here!
I don't want to sound negative about our condition (I'm just having PCOC bad time right now..) ...just like you have already been told, you can improve all symptoms hugely by just dietary changes...it really is worth it! BUT..there comes times....just like I'm experiencing right now, that those **** fluctuating hormones will spoil it all and make everything **** difficult :banghead:
You have come right place...when you have these..:banghead: moments...by reading about what you can do to help yourself, will calm you mind and help to battle on. You do your best and all will settle down again and it makes you feel like human again..;)
I've had good few months recently..managed to get some weight down..improving my diabetes..GREAT!...but the insulin resistance, with me that eases off and comes back again...like a roller coaster:banghead:
Sorry...this morning I find realty hard to find any 'up beat' attitude in me with my reply..I suppose I'm good example about how these things go..
I've been diagnosed with both conditions for over 20 yrs. My PCOS in general is under control..'monhtly things' working and many other symptoms almost non-existing...insulin resistance is not giving up even after all these years, though getting better at times...weight loss is always been DIFFICULT but it is do-able, just frustratingly slow progress. (makes other people's easy weight loss sometimes painful to read/hear :rolleyes:) You get good times with you conditions and you get bad times...and if you are able to keep you diet suitable for you...those 'bad times' are less frequent.
My 'bad time' has been creeping in last few days..I could see it in my scales and with my blood sugar numbers...and this morning I've been hit with 'hormonal hammer'....I'm hungry, angry, teary.. feeling anything and everything:(:mad::arghh::bigtears::mask::borg::spitoutdummy::sour::sorry:. So my 'treatment' for it is fasting session..(great :rolleyes:...last thing I need)...but if I can get my natural insulin levels settled a bit, that will make me feel whole lot better;) It is nothing drastic, just drinking plenty of fluids for the day until tummy says 'that's enough'..then something light to eat and into bed. Tommorrow I'm planning just 'normal' LCHF day..and fasting day again after that...and so on. Once I manage to drop a 'number or two' on scales...even if it is just 1/2lb..I know I'm winning side of the battle again.
Do ask lots of questions what might come into your head. We all have our own PCOS related issues that might not apply to others, but just reading all the range possibilities might make you feel bit better "Oh I'm glad I don't have that!" ;) Maybe you recognize something that you didn't even realize was PCOS issue...and 'penny drops'...it makes some how easier to cope when you know it is not 'you' but your **** hormones :rolleyes:
Anyway...this was unusually gloomy way from 'not feeling so normal me' to welcome you to the forum :angelic:
Thanks for your detailed reply. I guess that's exactly how it must be....we just have to see the positive side! Love
 

Brunneria

Guru
Retired Moderator
Messages
21,889
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
There is absolutely no reason for a LCHF to be high in protein - so don't worry about it!

In fact if you keep it lower, you are more likely to lose weight.

The whole idea that LCHF is high protein is one of those internet myths that just won't seem to die! lol. And it gets passed around and around with no truth in it, and people use it to try and criticise low carb.

Basically, you eat as much protein as you need (and that can be low or high, depending on age, activity levels, whether you are a gym bunny, or a sedentary person, etc). Then you eat lots of fresh, healthy unprocessed veg, and a little fruit (avoid the really sweet ones, and choose berries for preference, since they are lower in fructose, and fructose is bad for laying down visceral fat and can encourage T2 diabetes). Then you eat enough fat that you don't get hungry.

- and it really is as simple as that.

Have a look at these threads, and you will see what people are eating.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/a-few-asking-for-low-carb-food-lists.96321/
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/what-have-you-eaten-today.75781/page-292

For me, today, I will be having 2 coffees with a hefty glug of cream in each, one for breakfast, the other for 11ses. Then at lunch I will have mozzarella with a huge green salad, and for supper it will be a home made chicken curry with onion, tomato, aubergine, green beans and a lot of garlic. I use the Pataks curry pastes, since they are low carbish, in the amounts I use.

I will spend a total of about 15 mins in the kitchen. lol. and my protein will probably be on the low side of normal.

Edited: forgot to say :) when I first started LCHF I lost about 20 pounds, slowly and effortlessly. But you will see stories of people on here who lose more, faster, so it really is down to the individual's body and how they tailor their diet to suit themselves.
 
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Mimi's

Well-Known Member
Messages
49
Type of diabetes
Type 2
There is absolutely no reason for a LCHF to be high in protein - so don't worry about it!

In fact if you keep it lower, you are more likely to lose weight.

The whole idea that LCHF is high protein is one of those internet myths that just won't seem to die! lol. And it gets passed around and around with no truth in it, and people use it to try and criticise low carb.

Basically, you eat as much protein as you need (and that can be low or high, depending on age, activity levels, whether you are a gym bunny, or a sedentary person, etc). Then you eat lots of fresh, healthy unprocessed veg, and a little fruit (avoid the really sweet ones, and choose berries for preference, since they are lower in fructose, and fructose is bad for laying down visceral fat and can encourage T2 diabetes). Then you eat enough fat that you don't get hungry.

- and it really is as simple as that.

Have a look at these threads, and you will see what people are eating.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/a-few-asking-for-low-carb-food-lists.96321/
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/what-have-you-eaten-today.75781/page-292

For me, today, I will be having 2 coffees with a hefty glug of cream in each, one for breakfast, the other for 11ses. Then at lunch I will have mozzarella with a huge green salad, and for supper it will be a home made chicken curry with onion, tomato, aubergine, green beans and a lot of garlic. I use the Pataks curry pastes, since they are low carbish, in the amounts I use.

I will spend a total of about 15 mins in the kitchen. lol. and my protein will probably be on the low side of normal.

Edited: forgot to say :) when I first started LCHF I lost about 20 pounds, slowly and effortlessly. But you will see stories of people on here who lose more, faster, so it really is down to the individual's body and how they tailor their diet to suit themselves.
Hi! You are so prompt and encouraging! Just need a few more clarifications....the link you sent me said that milk is not LC yet cheese is generously used in most of the recipes. My doc has also said that dairy is not advisable for PCOS patients as it has growth hormones. Since cheese and yogurt etc are milk derivatives....won't that also be carbs? I love yoghurt and would like to include that and cottage cheese in my diet. Another set of proteins for vegetarians were legumes and lentils, that is also not allowed. But yes, I love veggies, so can bulk up the food with them. My activity levels differ on a daily basis. How long did it take you to lose the initial 20 pounds? I am ten kgs overweight from my ideal body weight! I would like to thank you for your continuous support.
 
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Brunneria

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Retired Moderator
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21,889
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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Hi! You are so prompt and encouraging! Just need a few more clarifications....the link you sent me said that milk is not LC yet cheese is generously used in most of the recipes. My doc has also said that dairy is not advisable for PCOS patients as it has growth hormones. Since cheese and yogurt etc are milk derivatives....won't that also be carbs? I love yoghurt and would like to include that and cottage cheese in my diet. Another set of proteins for vegetarians were legumes and lentils, that is also not allowed. But yes, I love veggies, so can bulk up the food with them. My activity levels differ on a daily basis. How long did it take you to lose the initial 20 pounds? I am ten kgs overweight from my ideal body weight! I would like to thank you for your continuous support.

No worries! :)

I was losing slowly, so it took about 10 months to lose 20 pounds - but I want to stress that we are all different, and I suspect that we PCOSers are likely to find it more difficult than non-PCOSers, because our own hormones fight to maintain the weight. I am still obese, but definitely less so than I used to be! I also have other health issues that affect weight loss (more hormone stuff) which means that I am not typical.

Regarding the dairy, you will find that all sorts of different dairy products have different amounts of carbs, depending on how they are made. Milk has a combination of carbs, fats and proteins, and when they make cheese, they usually drain the carbs and some protein out, so that lowers the carbs. Yet when they make cream and butter, they take both a lot of the carbs out, and all the protein... so each one is different. Cottage cheese has less fat in it, so what is left is higher carb.

My advice would be to experiment, and see if you can lose while eating the dairy you like. If you can't, then start cutting back. Same with legumes.

:)
 

AndBreathe

Master
Retired Moderator
Messages
11,320
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Thanks for your detailed reply. I guess that's exactly how it must be....we just have to see the positive side! Love

I remember reading a post either here on onTwitter by @Southport GP , where he was discussing protein in a reduced carb diet.

He commented (and forgive me if I recall innaccurately) that he now asks patients in his LC programme to photograph their meals as if they're not losing weight, as desired, the chances are it is due to too much protein, rather than anything else. A photo helps him identify portion size accurately, on the basis that one man's enough is another's way too much.

Don't go too mad on protein, but do concentrate on moderated carbs.
 
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Georgino

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2
Hi all. firstly I've got to say that I am not a woman and I am not by far any expert regarding PCOS, however I do know something about it as my sister has it and she said that Metformin is doing wonders to her. that's pretty much all I know, but I could ask her more if there's somebody who's interested.
 
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Mimi's

Well-Known Member
Messages
49
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hi all. firstly I've got to say that I am not a woman and I am not by far any expert regarding PCOS, however I do know something about it as my sister has it and she said that Metformin is doing wonders to her. that's pretty much all I know, but I could ask her more if there's somebody who's interested.
Thank you for your reply. I have heard positive feed back about metformin too!
 

ickihun

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Brunneria

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Messages
21,889
Type of diabetes
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Sorry, the
Hi @Brunneria I cannot get this link to make a connection. Do I have to be a member to access this article? Other links on their fb page work but all their personal links refuse me connection.
Is it a long article?
link works perfectly for me.

You can try cutting a pasting it into your address bar, or just go to Jason Fung's website and do a search for PCOS. It will probably pop up immediately.
 

Mimi's

Well-Known Member
Messages
49
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Sorry, the

link works perfectly for me.

You can try cutting a pasting it into your address bar, or just go to Jason Fung's website and do a search for PCOS. It will probably pop up immediately.
Thanks! Read the article. She sure has lot of determination and is praiseworthy. Not sure can do this fasting bit. I am wondering if fasting drastically brings the blood sugar down or not? It's always encouraging to read these stories. Thanks once again.
 
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Mimi's

Well-Known Member
Messages
49
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Sorry, the

link works perfectly for me.

You can try cutting a pasting it into your address bar, or just go to Jason Fung's website and do a search for PCOS. It will probably pop up immediately.
Me too could read the article very easily! May be you should try once again Ickihun?
 

ickihun

Master
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Its strange but I cannot connect to any intensive dietery management web pages even via dr fung.
I've allowed unsecure apps just incase blocking but I'm just told unable to find website due to not being able to connect.
I'll investigate further on my mobile phone as this tablet might be blocking it.
 

ickihun

Master
Messages
13,698
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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Stupid tablet.
Thanks @Brunneria . It's an interesting case. Especially drug free.
I know a few nigerian women who once they put their mind to something. They make it happen. God inspires them into achieving a lot.
Culturally they don't get as stressed with family life as I do. Their support comes from more closer to home.
This can make a difference and they also believe kola nut aids weight loss (caffeine). There is other remedies and suppliments which are readily available at their chemist, back home. Their chemist can sell you any drug without a prescription. At a cost.
Unfortunately because of that I'm a little sceptical.
I wish it were that easy.
 
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Mimi's

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Messages
49
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Just to let you all know...since 20th May on low carb diet has made me feel much better and lighter than before. Metformin is also working well. Thanks for your support.
 
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Mimi's

Well-Known Member
Messages
49
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Almost a month since I have been a member of the forum! Lost three kgs with metformin, gymming and low carb. Need motivation again. So bored of planning and eating all the time!
 

ickihun

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If I read the success stories it gives me inspiration.
How about you?
Well done in your 3kg loss. :)
 

lacerta

Member
Messages
19
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
I'm also newbie suffering from PCOS. It's two month from initial diagnosis, I have managed to put down 5kgs, but it's really difficult. I still have 50 kg to loose. I'm really happy that I have managed to get out of severe sugar cravings with LCHF diet.
How do you know about insuline resistance, how often do you check it?