At my highest weight I was over 400 pounds. I have type 2 diabetes, not PCOS, but at the time I was on meds that helped gain weight rather than help lose. But I did manage to lose over 200 pounds using the glycemic index. It is recommended for diabetics because it keeps your blood sugars stable instead of spikes and dips. However, it s good for anyone because fluctuations in blood sugar will increase your appetite, making it hard to stick to your calorie count. At a higher weight you need a few more calories than someone trying to lose their last 10 pounds but you would do well at 1800-2000 calories a day then reduce that amount when you get down to less than 100 pounds from your goal weight - 1200-1500 per day. (I did fewer calories, that seemed to work for me with my medications - 1500-1800 calories a day to start, which was less than I was supposed to have.)Some simple rules for following a GI diet: - never have a carb by itself. ALWAYS have it with protein. So if you have an apple, have some turkey with it. - avoid white carbs: white bread, white rice, white tortillas, white pasta, white potatoes, sugar. - no juice,that s not a fruit, it s the sugar from fruit concentrated. No soda. - complex carbs only - whole wheat, multi grain, brown rice, etc. - eat smaller meals more frequently. 3 meals plus 2 snacks per day. Don t go more than a few hours without eating. As always with dieting, make veggies a huge part of your day. Of course that means non-starchy veggies - no corn or potatoes unless you are counting them as your carb. Also drink a lot of water - your body needs water to metabolize (burn) fat!Good luck and you can do this even with a medical condition, don t let anyone else tell you that you can t. You have to adjust to what works for you. Try cutting calories if the scale doesn t budge. Don t go by what the books say should work, everyone is different. By the way, exercise is great but diet is 99 percent of weight loss. Exercise makes you healthier in general, but for weight loss diet is king. As you lose weight you will want to become more active, so don t put too much pressure on yourself to start exercising because that can lead to discouragement.
It is very important that you do not continue weight watchers. Nutritional education is the only way. There s nothing nutritionally educational about counting points.You must exercise and eat balanced meals to lose weight and improve your health. Have you learned about the GI (glycemic index)?It measures the effect on blood glucose of carbs in foods. Some cause it to rise rapidly and others help to maintain. Your blood sugar levels must be regulated. Foods with soluable fiber, cooked rice, fat , and the form of sugar in foods (fructose causes less of an increase than sucrose or glucose) are a very important aid. Vegetables,whole fruit and whole grains are good carbs for you. Meal combination works well when protein, fat and carbs are used together. They work better than a meal or snack that consists mainly of carbs to control blood glucose levels and show less insulin release. Email me for more help.
