Reversing Health Problems -- Take THAT PCOS! page 2

[Lindsay Grok]

As long as you keep getting up -- that's all that matters! I think for many of us women facing these significant hormonal issues it can be more challenging to stick with it sometimes. I just remind myself junk food won't make me feel better. Food doesn't taste as good as healthy feels ^.^

[sbhikes]

Congratulation on your amazing recovery.

I didn't know what PCOS was until I came here so I looked it up. A few years ago I worked for a lady who I think probably had it. I know she had diabetes because she talked about it all the time. She really struggled, but she ate low fat chips and low fat crackers all day long. I'm pretty sure she had been getting the typical bad CW advice from her doctor. It was really hard to work for her because the diabetes made her moody and she was a pretty moody lady already. I doubt I could have changed her mind about her diet since she thought I was an idiot.

Everybody who cures their PCOS and diabetes and everything with this diet should just keep spreading the gospel. It makes me angry that we all have to live sickly so that corporations can profit from their snacks and their meds.

[Lindsay Grok]

Everybody who cures their PCOS and diabetes and everything with this diet should just keep spreading the gospel. It makes me angry that we all have to live sickly so that corporations can profit from their snacks and their meds.

Indeed. PCOS is a huge problem among women because it is often goes undiscovered and there's so much conflicting information on what causes it. My own amateur theory is it is an inclination that is triggered by poor diet and nutritional deficiencies, which because of my drug use and serious soda problem is likely the cause of mine. Fortunately, I also believe it can definitely be reversed. Diabetes and PCOS are very closely related as well as cancer and heart disease down the line. I'm looking forward to being able to share my experiences with other women with PCOS.

[Sol y Sombra]

Good job, Lindsay, very impressive! You're certainly on the right track I have PCOS too, so I can relate to your story. I had been overweight/obese since my early childhood (I have seen a picture of me and my sister on the beach, in bikini, I can't have been more than 3-4 years old at the time, I don't remember when that picture was taken, but it is very obvious in the picture that we are both fat ). I always knew I had to lose weight and I knew I was going to do it - eventually, when forced to, because I really didn't want to give up on the good stuff in life - and that has always been carbs for me. Bread, pasta, cookies, rice, potatoes, chocolate - you name it, I loved it and lived off it for the biggest part of my life... I was indifferent to meat, I could have done without it. I disliked vegetables (but I love fruit) and avoided them...

Anyway, I had had PCOS since my teenage years, but I just accepted it as oanother one of all the things that I had to put up with (the weight issue meant low self esteem, low physical endurance, knee pain). I just didn't want to think about it, I was too busy studying and working. I had tried to stick to a diet a couple of times, but I felt miserable, I resisted it, I didn't feel motivated to diet so I felt like I was being punished... Until my periods worsened even more at the end of the summer of 2009 (I won't go into details) and I felt I had to do something about my health. That same year my uncle (my mom's brother) had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. My grandpa (my dad's father) had died of diabetes a couple of years earlier and my mom's grandmother had been a diabetic too, my own parents had also started getting alarmingly high blood glucose values and were on the verge of diabetes. So I realized things were quite serious. So this time I was really motivated to start a diet and stick to it. But it had to be something I knew worked... Luckily that same year a couple of acquaintances had lost a lot of weight on the Dukan diet. I didn't like that one, it seemed too restrictive and simply contrary to common sense. But I had read a bit about low-carb diets without fat restriction (like you have with Dukan) and was encouraged by the results people were getting, so I was willing to give low-carb eating a chance. I decided I would stick to this new eating plan and give it all the time it took. I was really motivated to do improve my health. I started losing weight quite slowly, but my periods began improving just a few months later. Now I have lose 55 pounds in 2.5 years with low-carb eating (I've only been primal since October 2011) and my cycles are certainly a lot closer to normal. I guess there's more work to be done in that respect (I realize I haven't been getting enough protein or enough fat for a very long time plus I kept eating grains, even in smaller amounts). But there's hope for PCOS on a low-carb eating plan. And I hope the primal lifestyle helps even more.

I wish you good luck with your primal journey!

[Luvanurse443]

Sol...I can so relate to your story! Congrats on the 55 pounds though. That helps tremendously. I can only have a cycle if I am strict low carb. I tried Dukan too...lost 13 pounds in one week-the only week I was able to stand low fat low carb. YIKES.

Best wishes to you too

[Lindsay Grok]

Wow, Sol -- that's awesome! Not just the weight loss but that you're finding success with being able to stick to primal. That's what I love about primal. I don't feel deprived and starving. The most I've lost was 25 lbs but managed to gain that back just recently. But that's okay! Because I'm getting back on track and I know things will turn around again like they did before ^.^

And low fat, low carb? EW.

[Sol y Sombra]

Thank you, ladies, and best of luck to you!

Actually I think Dukan is on the right track in that, by restricting fat and carbs at the same time, he makes the body start burning body fat from the very first day - this is ketosis, I guess, or zero-carb. This is why his regimen is so effective. But it's very difficult to follow (too monotonous and unappetizing) - that's one of the drawbacks. And the worst part is, after you've lost the weight you wanted to lose, you go back to following your "normal" diet where you have no restrictions, provided you have one protein-only day every week. That way, having put you in ketosis and a fat-burning mode first, he then tells you to go back to carb-burning mode. And that cannot be good for the body. Indeed, many people who manage to lose a lot of pouns with Dukan, regain at least part of that weight afterwards, unless they are wise enough to eat low-carb.

[Luvanurse443]

I was in seriously deep ketosis when I did Dukan. I lost a lot of weight, but was extremely buzzed...all the time. Never thought I could have that much energy. It was almost annoying. I am in a much better place now. I think you are totally right about the reboud weight gain on that one. The faster you lose, the faster it comes back if you are not careful.