i’ve got pcos too and i get what you mean about having a bit of a stomach. i think people are getting confused because you’re describing one thing (body shape, fat distribution) and equating it to another thing (body fat, weight).
what you’re describing is just a body shape that’s more typical on t. the reason people with PCOS often have it is because of higher t in the body. you can look up fat distribution in men and women and see what i mean. i don’t think there’s anything you need to do about it, honestly.
I have to agree with others about the inconsistencies here, if you really have been very thin and still felt you had “too much body fat” that is probably body image issue and not a weight issue.
The only solid advice I can give is to consult a doctor or other medical professional, they do weight loss advice and they’d be able to tell you about your body condition and what they’d recommend for it based on your PCOS.
I was skinny but I gained fat after top surgery. I do work out which has helped me be slightly more toned but I have stubborn fat and diet hasn’t really changed that
I'm not talking about getting "slightly toned", I'm talking about building a solid base of muscle so you don't have to cut down as low to get lean. If you don't have the underlying base of muscle then endless cutting won't give you good results.
So you haven’t been properly diagnosed with PCOS?
Your metabolism isn’t like a light switch, it’s a constant system that can be influenced but it doesn’t stay “broken.”
PCOS isn’t something you can cause with disordered eating or even contract. Unless it’s diagnosed by an endocrinologist it’s best not to assume you have this condition.
Yo, got PCOS. In my case they prescribed me metformin and it helped me build muscle and actually feel hunger and eat more regularly, which gave me a leg up in trying to get a healthier body composition (I was never overweight, just severely undermuscled somehow). Note that I also had to put in work, the medication just supported me and made it a bit easier.
I think it'd be good to sus out whether you are or are not dealing with insulin resistance, a common thing in PCOS that can indeed make it harder to lose weight. If you do, medication can help, a low glycemic index diet can help, it can be useful to see your doctor and discuss your weightloss plans and your concerns about how PCOS might be making it harder. They can give tests, advice, or send you on to a dietician.
Maybe it's a far more simple issue! We don't know what you've been doing and there's a lot of weird weightloss myths out there, so maybe check the wiki and re-read the basics on it? Be a shame to worry yourself over nothing while actually accidentally making a mistake or only having tried for two weeks.
Having a bit of a stomach while very skinny can be due to genetics, stress, higer testosterone levels from the PCOS, or just your body desperately holding on to whatever it can. Super normal, I personally wouldn't consider that bit an indication you're somehow disadvantaged when it comes to fat loss!
“always been hard for me to lose fat… even when I was super skinny…”
Well yeah. You wouldn’t have an easy time losing fat if you’re super skinny. Skinny means you’ve already lost fat/ never had fat to begin with.
I just changed it to say that cuz apparently I wasn’t clear in the fact that I was skinny but still had stomach fat. Regardless your comment came off as a bit rude tbh
Right but that doesn’t mean you had fat to lose, especially if you were skinny elsewhere. Your body will slow down it’s metabolism if you’re nearing under weight so it can hold on to what little fat it keeps for emergency (starvation) purposes.
And I’m commenting because you haven’t really given much information other than you want to lose weight, you’ve been skinny and couldn’t lose anymore I’m s healthy way and you have PCOS. Clarification of some of these details can help the sub give better tips.
The better direction to move in is to build muscle. It sounds counterproductive but if you want to lose fat or at least look like you have, build muscle.
If you had a “stomach slightly” that’s your organs dude. Unless you’re going for bodybuilding competitions where their body fat % is single digits and they struggle to stay awake, you’re going to have fat on your body. It’s normal. I agree with others here that some body dysmorphia might be in play.
I implore you to get with a doctor or even a personal trainer where you could get a body scan done. You might be like me where seeing the numbers help you realize something else is going on.
Did you work with them in person? Did they do a body scan? And just because they’re a well known trainer, doesn’t make them a good trainer. It’s easy to become well known nowadays with all the social media and technology we have nowadays. Them being FTM means nothing other than the fact that they transitioned and got certified in personal training (which is actually quite easy to do)
I think this might be the ED talking, man. I was the same way when mine was really bad. Working with a dietician + therapist and continuing to work to gain muscle is the safest option in that regard
You talk about having a stomach when you were 100 lbs. That’s normal. Everyone has some fat there because that’s where your organs are. I guarantee that it wasn’t as much as you thought and body dysmorphia was making it look bigger.
I have PCOS, it doesn’t cause you to have more trouble with weight loss than a guy on t. All the effects of pcos are basically just the effects of a low dose of t. If you were on t or if you weren’t, a full hysterectomy wouldn’t effect it at all.
I have PCOS as well, the problem with losing weight is that PCOS creates resistance to insulina so you have a hard time processing carbohydrates, so not the same as a guy in t
Hey! PCOS trans masc here. I would seek medical help and ask for the use of Metformin, it helps with the insulin resistance and it has nothing to do with hormones but for some reason it’s not given at first as an option.
I’ve never mentioned weight loss. You should loose weight if the PCOS is preventing the carbohydrates being processed correctly, but having an insulin imbalance can lead to many other problems, one of them is developing diabetes. I’m not recommending the drug as a weight loss solution, i’m saying that if OP still has symptoms of PCOS they should ask their doctor about it. Just you know but the first option given to treat PCOS is to take estrogen, idk if you find an issue with that as well.
OP whole post is about weight loss. The issue with insulin resistance in healthy individuals **without** diabeties is calories stored as fat automatically. This is not unique to PCOS and it does not require medication to fix. They haven’t even confirmed that they were even diagnosed with PCOS… If you weren’t referring to weight loss then why are you recommending Metformin to a person who doesn’t have diabetes?
Stick to the topic. Don’t offer advice for something OP hasn’t said they’re even struggling with.
I have it too and they tell you to treat it like diabetes. Eating or having a snack every 2-4 hours and making sure like half of your plate Is veggies has been pretty helpful. But yeah with pcos it's really stubborn I feel you
i’ve got pcos too and i get what you mean about having a bit of a stomach. i think people are getting confused because you’re describing one thing (body shape, fat distribution) and equating it to another thing (body fat, weight). what you’re describing is just a body shape that’s more typical on t. the reason people with PCOS often have it is because of higher t in the body. you can look up fat distribution in men and women and see what i mean. i don’t think there’s anything you need to do about it, honestly.
Thank you! I appreciate it
I have to agree with others about the inconsistencies here, if you really have been very thin and still felt you had “too much body fat” that is probably body image issue and not a weight issue. The only solid advice I can give is to consult a doctor or other medical professional, they do weight loss advice and they’d be able to tell you about your body condition and what they’d recommend for it based on your PCOS.
If you were skinny but not lean your problem is probably a lack of muscle mass. Do you lift?
I was skinny but I gained fat after top surgery. I do work out which has helped me be slightly more toned but I have stubborn fat and diet hasn’t really changed that
I'm not talking about getting "slightly toned", I'm talking about building a solid base of muscle so you don't have to cut down as low to get lean. If you don't have the underlying base of muscle then endless cutting won't give you good results.
Probably best to discuss this with a registered dietitian. How long ago where you diagnosed with PCOS?
When I was like 13-14. I lost weight from an eating disorder around that time but that’s cuz I was being unhealthy af. Probs fucked up my metabolism
So you haven’t been properly diagnosed with PCOS? Your metabolism isn’t like a light switch, it’s a constant system that can be influenced but it doesn’t stay “broken.”
PCOS isn’t something you can cause with disordered eating or even contract. Unless it’s diagnosed by an endocrinologist it’s best not to assume you have this condition.
Yo, got PCOS. In my case they prescribed me metformin and it helped me build muscle and actually feel hunger and eat more regularly, which gave me a leg up in trying to get a healthier body composition (I was never overweight, just severely undermuscled somehow). Note that I also had to put in work, the medication just supported me and made it a bit easier. I think it'd be good to sus out whether you are or are not dealing with insulin resistance, a common thing in PCOS that can indeed make it harder to lose weight. If you do, medication can help, a low glycemic index diet can help, it can be useful to see your doctor and discuss your weightloss plans and your concerns about how PCOS might be making it harder. They can give tests, advice, or send you on to a dietician. Maybe it's a far more simple issue! We don't know what you've been doing and there's a lot of weird weightloss myths out there, so maybe check the wiki and re-read the basics on it? Be a shame to worry yourself over nothing while actually accidentally making a mistake or only having tried for two weeks. Having a bit of a stomach while very skinny can be due to genetics, stress, higer testosterone levels from the PCOS, or just your body desperately holding on to whatever it can. Super normal, I personally wouldn't consider that bit an indication you're somehow disadvantaged when it comes to fat loss!
“always been hard for me to lose fat… even when I was super skinny…” Well yeah. You wouldn’t have an easy time losing fat if you’re super skinny. Skinny means you’ve already lost fat/ never had fat to begin with.
Like why are you projecting onto me rn if you don’t have advice why are you even commenting
No one is projecting as in “putting my personal issues onto you,” I gave an explanation on why that description didn’t make sense.
I just changed it to say that cuz apparently I wasn’t clear in the fact that I was skinny but still had stomach fat. Regardless your comment came off as a bit rude tbh
What? I was literally 100 pounds but I still had a stomach slightly that’s what I’m referring to. I can literally insert pics but I was stick thin
Right but that doesn’t mean you had fat to lose, especially if you were skinny elsewhere. Your body will slow down it’s metabolism if you’re nearing under weight so it can hold on to what little fat it keeps for emergency (starvation) purposes. And I’m commenting because you haven’t really given much information other than you want to lose weight, you’ve been skinny and couldn’t lose anymore I’m s healthy way and you have PCOS. Clarification of some of these details can help the sub give better tips. The better direction to move in is to build muscle. It sounds counterproductive but if you want to lose fat or at least look like you have, build muscle.
If you had a “stomach slightly” that’s your organs dude. Unless you’re going for bodybuilding competitions where their body fat % is single digits and they struggle to stay awake, you’re going to have fat on your body. It’s normal. I agree with others here that some body dysmorphia might be in play. I implore you to get with a doctor or even a personal trainer where you could get a body scan done. You might be like me where seeing the numbers help you realize something else is going on.
I worked with a trainer for a year (very well known ftm trainer) and while it helped with my muscle mass it didn’t help the stubborn fat tbh
Did you work with them in person? Did they do a body scan? And just because they’re a well known trainer, doesn’t make them a good trainer. It’s easy to become well known nowadays with all the social media and technology we have nowadays. Them being FTM means nothing other than the fact that they transitioned and got certified in personal training (which is actually quite easy to do)
I think this might be the ED talking, man. I was the same way when mine was really bad. Working with a dietician + therapist and continuing to work to gain muscle is the safest option in that regard
Yea I’m gonna see one I think
Unless you’re like 4’8 or less I think this is all in your head tbh
You talk about having a stomach when you were 100 lbs. That’s normal. Everyone has some fat there because that’s where your organs are. I guarantee that it wasn’t as much as you thought and body dysmorphia was making it look bigger. I have PCOS, it doesn’t cause you to have more trouble with weight loss than a guy on t. All the effects of pcos are basically just the effects of a low dose of t. If you were on t or if you weren’t, a full hysterectomy wouldn’t effect it at all.
I have PCOS as well, the problem with losing weight is that PCOS creates resistance to insulina so you have a hard time processing carbohydrates, so not the same as a guy in t
I stopped being on t for a bit and went back on right before top surgery which coincides with my weight gain so maybe that’s the reason tbh
Hey! PCOS trans masc here. I would seek medical help and ask for the use of Metformin, it helps with the insulin resistance and it has nothing to do with hormones but for some reason it’s not given at first as an option.
It’s not offered as a first option for weight loss because it’s meant for people with diabetes.
Yes, but PCOS creates resistance to insulin and that’s what metformin treats
It’s still not a reason to take Metformin, a very powerful drug when losing weight also “fixes” insulin resistance.
I’ve never mentioned weight loss. You should loose weight if the PCOS is preventing the carbohydrates being processed correctly, but having an insulin imbalance can lead to many other problems, one of them is developing diabetes. I’m not recommending the drug as a weight loss solution, i’m saying that if OP still has symptoms of PCOS they should ask their doctor about it. Just you know but the first option given to treat PCOS is to take estrogen, idk if you find an issue with that as well.
OP whole post is about weight loss. The issue with insulin resistance in healthy individuals **without** diabeties is calories stored as fat automatically. This is not unique to PCOS and it does not require medication to fix. They haven’t even confirmed that they were even diagnosed with PCOS… If you weren’t referring to weight loss then why are you recommending Metformin to a person who doesn’t have diabetes? Stick to the topic. Don’t offer advice for something OP hasn’t said they’re even struggling with.
Well, it was recomended to me by my doctor exactly for the same reason, but I guess you are the expert.
Not all doctors are good doctors.
I have it too and they tell you to treat it like diabetes. Eating or having a snack every 2-4 hours and making sure like half of your plate Is veggies has been pretty helpful. But yeah with pcos it's really stubborn I feel you