How I lost 25+ pounds with PCOS
Last year, like thousands of other people I set a new year’s resolution of weight loss for myself. 6 months prior I had moved 10 hours from my family and was all by myself in a new city with just my boyfriend and dog and I knew that this was my chance to make some positive changes. The before pictures are from January 15th, when I decided it wasn’t going to just be a resolution but a life style change, and here’s the things I’ve made into life changing habits.
🏋🏽: Working out at least 4 times a week (2x daily)
• How It Helps Me: By setting a schedule I allow myself to be held accountable as well as create a routine that’s easy to follow. I do 4 weighted workouts and 4 walk workouts a week, often doing the walk early in the day or before weights.
🧘♀️: Switching to pilates and low impact workouts
• How It Helps Me: My personal goal is to get more lean and toned and I have found that pilates is an extremely effective way to do that. The low impact workouts help keep me balanced without spiking my cortisol and they tend to focus on muscle groups that I prefer to work out such as deep core and glutes.
👟: 10k steps a day
How it Helps Me: If you’re anything like me you’ve seen this recommended everywhere, and that’s because it works! At the start of my fitness journey I was losing weight slowly as I was only doing pilates once a day, when I started to take my dog for 4 mile walks or do 45 minutes on the treadmill I noticed a dramatic change in the rate at which I was losing weight!
🥗: A calorie deficit prioritizing protein and fiber
• How It Helps Me: Working out burns fat and builds muscle, but nothing will be as effective as changing your diet. When I switched to more whole foods and prioritized my fiber and protein intake I felt full fasted and longer, needing to eat much less. Not only did it help my deficit but my skin got clearer and I felt much more energized!
💊: Finding what supplements I needed
•How It Helps Me: Each day before I even eat breakfast I make sure to take my supplements. With a big glass of water I take B12 for energy, multivitamins, vitamin D for energy and mood, Magnesium Glycerinate for stress and sleep, and most importantly Inositol!!! When I saw a specialist about my PCOS Myo-Inositol or Inositol was recommended and it has been life changing! It helps with symptoms, can dramatically help with fertility, and can help with insulin resistance.
🍸: Decrease in social drinking
• How It Helps Me: Most of my weight was put on FAST due to “freshman fifteen” during my first semester of college. I was eating crappy but worse I was drinking, a lot. Your body is not capable of effectively burning fat when it was alcohol in it and that became very obvious. That weight unfortunately stuck and by reducing when and how (usually only once a month now) I drink I have noticed a reduction in stubborn plateauing.
📖: Starting to read again
• How It Helps Me: Whether it’s a book on mental health or just a silly romance novel, buying a kindle was the best thing I could’ve done for myself! I reduce my screen time on my devices and rather than doom scrolling social media I instead and giving my brain a break to either heal or enter a happy place. This is one of the biggest waste I’ve reduced daily stress.
🛌: Get up every day and make my bed!!
• How It Helps Me: I was the biggest hater of bed making, but once I started the habit I totally understood why people say you should. Starting the day on a good note and coming back to a made bed are incredibly rewarding and has been a great boost for my mental health.
Let me know if you’d like any more in depth information for any of these habits, I would love to break down my work outs or favorite recipes! #pcosweightlossjourney #pcosjourney #fightingpcos #pcosweightlosstips #healthylifestyle2024
Hey everyone! I know many of you, like me, navigate the ups and downs of PCOS. While my main focus in the original post was my 25+ pound weight loss transformation, I wanted to dive a bit deeper into another common PCOS symptom that often goes unaddressed: skin darkening, or what's known as Acanthosis Nigricans. It's something I’ve personally experienced, and it can be really frustrating and impact your confidence. I remember feeling so self-conscious about darker patches on my neck and underarms, even when my weight started to come down. So, what exactly is it? Acanthosis Nigricans is characterized by thickened, velvety, dark brown or grey patches of skin, often found in body folds like the neck, armpits, groin, and sometimes on elbows or knuckles. For many of us with PCOS, this skin darkening is a visible sign of insulin resistance. When your body struggles to use insulin effectively, it produces more insulin, which can then trigger skin cells to multiply abnormally and produce extra melanin, leading to those darker patches. In my journey to lose over 25 pounds and manage my PCOS, I discovered that tackling insulin resistance wasn't just crucial for weight loss, but also for improving my skin. When I talked about switching to a calorie deficit prioritizing protein and fiber – that wasn't just for shedding pounds! Eating whole foods and balancing my blood sugar levels played a huge role. I noticed my skin slowly started to clear up and lighten as my insulin sensitivity improved. It reinforced that diet is truly foundational, as I mentioned in my PCOS weight loss guide. Another game-changer for me, as I highlighted, was finding the right supplements. Specifically, Inositol! My specialist recommended Myo-Inositol, and it’s been life-changing for managing my PCOS symptoms, including insulin resistance. While it's not a direct 'skin lightener,' by helping my body respond better to insulin, it indirectly contributed to the overall improvement I saw in my skin, reducing the underlying cause of the darkening. Beyond diet and supplements, simple lifestyle changes can help. Maintaining a consistent workout routine, like my 4x weekly weighted and walk workouts, helps improve insulin sensitivity. Also, reducing stress, as I found with reading and making my bed, can help regulate hormones that influence insulin. Of course, gentle skincare is important too – keeping the affected areas clean and moisturized, and always using sunscreen, especially on exposed areas, can prevent further darkening. Some people find mild exfoliating acids or retinoids helpful, but those are best discussed with a dermatologist. Remember, seeing improvements in skin darkening often goes hand-in-hand with managing your insulin resistance and overall PCOS symptoms. It's a journey, not a sprint! I’m so glad I focused on these holistic habits, not just for weight loss, but for feeling better in my skin, literally. If you're struggling with similar issues, know you're not alone, and addressing the root causes can make a huge difference!
what's your workout routine???