Vicious circle with PCOS - yo-yoing without Metformin

[FitnessNeed]

Hello,

I was diagnosed with PCOS in 2012 and was put on Metformin which I took until this April.

I have always been a pretty clean eater who avoids fast food and sodas but I hadn't lost a pound until I basically started not eating anything other than vegetables and fruits and a little bit of meat. No pasta, potatoes or anything. My heaviest was 220 lbs (I'm only 5'3") and lost 30 lbs but the weight loss has stopped and my weight remained at 190 lbs for 2 years. I've ended up with a yo-yo effect between 185 and 200 lbs since I stopped Metformin a few months ago. The reason why I stopped taking it was that my labs were so good that my doctor said I no longer needed it. I'm currently in Germany where Metformin is only given to diabetics and I, as a pre-diabetic with good lab results, won't qualify for it and Metformin is not a weight loss supplement anyway. My American doc argued that Metformin does help weight loss with PCOS. In addition, it is not something your body can get used to and it's not like you would have to up the dosage with time. I don't know which one is true but anyway, I didn't want to take meds so I stopped taking Metformin. I gained 12 lbs in a week right after stopping taking Metformin and in spite of dieting, I've been struggling with a yo-yo effect ever since. I'd lose 10 lbs in 2 weeks and if I eat something other than what I normally eat (when I'm on a trip, for instance), I'll gain it back in a week and it's not like my eating is out of control. In order to gain 12 lbs a week, I would have to eat 12 x 7000kcal excess calories, which I know I don't. What is going on with my body? How can I get rid of yo-yoing?

I have seen multiple professionals including a dietitian but based on the portion-controlled, calorie-counting diet she prescribed, I cannot lose weight.

I've noticed 2 things:
- if I eat food that contains wheat, potatoes or anything of that sort, I gain weight even though I eat under 1,300 kcal a day and it kind of affects my mood.
- if I don't take my Metformin, it is impossible to shed any pounds, maintaining my weight is definitely more difficult.

What I noticed is that a paleoish diet works slowly but I don't like meat at all and I'd often eat meat substitutes like beans.

I've been contemplating whether starting on Metformin again would stop this yo-yoing but I'm only 28 years old and wouldn't like to take meds.

Any suggestions?

 

[MrNiceGuy1]

Hello FitnessNeed.

Although Metformin is routinely prescribed to those with diabetes, its prescription to those with PCOS largely centres upon the fact that studies show it may help to regulate hormones.

Since insulin is a hormone and insulin insensitivity occurs through such a condition (PCOS), I understand why certain doctors may choose to offer it to patients.

For women, its use can also assist with the regulation of hormones that determine the frequency of certain cycles, something that may also improve through continued weight loss.

However, it’s not a wonder drug.

Dietary intake aside, in order to further address the issue of insulin insensitivity (or syndrome X), you need to exercise regularly, since exercise helps to reduce your level of insensitivity to insulin. In short, the higher the intensity, the greater the effect upon your sensitivity to insulin, due to the host of chemical reactions that occur within the body whilst performing intense intervals.

Even if you can’t initially manage intense intervals of all-out effort, as long as you’re performing intervals that are close to your aerobic threshold you’ll should still witness a remarkable improvement in your ability to beginning shedding pounds.

Your harder intervals should only initially be performed for 30 seconds, followed by 60 seconds recovery. More importantly, the recovery intervals should be performed slowly and without any tension.

As you grow more accustomed to exercising at a higher intensity, to ensure progress, you can either increase the length of the hard intervals (up to 60 seconds) or increase the intensity, while contemplating reducing your recovery periods to 30 seconds.

For example, when I perform HIIT upon the StairMaster, I’ll use a 40/40 split when performing hard intervals at level 18 and recovering on level one. However, when performing harder intervals at level 16, for example, I’ll perform them for 60 seconds while still recovering on level one for 30 seconds.

Most importantly, though, regardless of the level that I perform my hard intervals, my HIIT sessions never exceed 25 minutes and they’re only performed 2-3 times per week.

If you’re not already a member of one, FitnessNeed, my advice would be to join a gym as means to accelerating your weight loss, performing intervals on equipment such as the recumbent bike, stairmaster and treadmill.