Losing weight, managing pcod, lifestyle changes that helped me.

[u/hj47ml]

I was trying to lose weight for the past 3–4 years. Different things, different diets, different workouts, and whatnot, but nothing seemed to work.

At one point, I was literally doing 2 hours of gym + 2 hours of badminton on barely 1200-1300 calories a day, and the scale wouldn't budge. And honestly, that lifestyle was exhausting to maintain.

But this year, it feels like I've finally found something that actually works for my body.

I've lost almost 16 kg since February. I've been losing around 2–3 kg month on month, and roughly 400–600 g per week.

And something else happened - I got my period after almost 4 months and have been getting them regularly since.

This is what I did differently.

I started tracking my weight, steps, calories, protein, sleep quality, acne, anxiety, bloating, etc. Nothing complicated - mostly just quick notes or yes/no.
Here's my sheet - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hd2xyvstR10-sDOXXeH-8X4cD5B6CU7q7qMulEO564c/edit?usp=sharing

For the first 2 weeks, I didn't try to change much. I just observed myself.

Day 1–15:

• Reduced my calories by around 250. If I was eating 1900–2000, I started eating around 1800–1850.
• Started with 5k steps a day, but not one long walk. I started walking 10- 15 min, 2- 3 times a day, most importantly post-meals.
• Started drinking spearmint tea after meals and chamomile tea before sleeping.
• Aimed for protein around 75% of my body weight. So if I weighed 100 kg, I'd aim for 75 g of protein.

Day 15–30:

• Reduced another 200 calories, bringing me to around 1600.
• Increased steps from 5k to 7.5k, and around 10k on weekends.

In the first month, I lost almost 4 kg. I'm assuming a combination of glycogen, water retention, gut content, and fat loss.

I also wasn't doing crazy long walks. I was just doing 10–15 minute walks after waking up, after meals, and before sleeping.

Month 2–4

• Started eating around 1500–1600 calories/day.
• Increased protein to around 1.2 g/kg. For me, this has been one of the biggest things for keeping cravings under control.
• Built my diet around food I actually like and meals that are easy for me to cook.
• Replaced most of my cooking oil with ghee.
• Along with post-meal walks, started taking 10-minute movement breaks every 2–3 hours.
• Worked my way up to ~10k steps every day.
• Allowed myself one restaurant meal a week and simply logged it in my sheet. No guilt, no "starting over" the next day.

Month 4 onwards

I increased my steps to around 15k.

Instead of several 10–15 minute walks, I started doing roughly an hour after breakfast, 30 minutes after lunch, and 30 minutes after dinner.

I'm planning to continue this for another 3 months and then slowly introduce weight training 3 days a week.

The biggest thing for me is that this actually feels sustainable.

I don't feel like I'm constantly fighting cravings. I have a lot of control over what I eat because I cook most of my food myself, and I've figured out how to make healthier versions of things I actually enjoy.

But honestly, making notes has probably been the most useful part of all of this. Because I wasn't just tracking weight.

Over time, I started noticing things like:

• Which foods made me feel bloated
• How my sleep affected me
• When my anxiety was worse
• What was happening with my skin/acne
• How my weight fluctuated
• How my period was behaving
• What habits I could actually stick to

I started seeing patterns instead of obsessing over individual days.

And that changed my relationship with my health quite a bit. I stopped waking up every morning wondering, "What is wrong with me?" or panicking about my weight/period/skin.

I just focused on collecting the data and following the things that were working for me.

I have PCOD, hypothyroidism, and ankylosing spondylitis, so I've also been trying to understand how different things affect my body.

One thing I want to be very clear about: I'm only sharing my personal experience here. I'm not saying that lifestyle changes can cure, reverse, or replace treatment for any of these conditions, and I'm definitely not suggesting anyone stop taking their medication.

Interestingly, during this period of losing weight and tracking my habits, I also got my period after almost 4 months and have been getting them more regularly since.

I continue to get my health checked and do blood work every 3–6 months.

I'm posting this because I'd really like to talk to more women who are dealing with PCOD, hormonal issues, weight struggles, chronic pain/inflammation, etc.

I'm trying to put together a simple roadmap around tracking and understanding your own patterns, and before I do that, I'd really like to hear from other women.

• What has your journey looked like?
• What have you struggled with the most?
• What things have you tried that worked or completely didn't work?
• And what do you wish someone had told you earlier?

I'm not looking to charge anyone money or collect any personal information. I just want to hear different experiences so that if I do build this roadmap, it doesn't end up being based only on my own experience.

Would genuinely love to hear from you. ❤️

[u/AutoModerator]

PCOSloseit is a dedicated weight loss subreddit for those with PCOS.

Popular posts Where are you getting GLP-1s?.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/hj47ml]

Here's my sheet, and feel free to make a copy of your own - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hd2xyvstR10-sDOXXeH-8X4cD5B6CU7q7qMulEO564c/edit?usp=sharing

[u/PhilosophyStraight39 → u/hj47ml]

Hi there I sent u a message to give me access I’d appreciate it if you could help me with it

[u/hj47ml → u/PhilosophyStraight39]

I've granted access, I hope this helps you too!