r/PCOS • u/Late-Permit-9412 • 5h ago

Weight Not losing weight

Frustrated. I’m on zepbound and paying out of pocket. I have only lost 7lbs in 7 months. I’m so frustrated.

I started tracking my calories about 2 weeks ago but didn’t change food habits. I’m between 1600-1800 per day, sometimes under 1500. I have a lightly active job where I walk 5k-12k steps per day. I am always so exhausted so I try to weight train a few days a week when I have energy. My TDEE is 2800 for my height, weight, and activity level, and 1800 for 2lbs/wk of weight loss. I’m clearly under that.

I have to be upright for 3 hours after meals bc of acid reflux so I can’t really snack at night to get any more healthy calories in and I just can’t bring myself to eat during the day. I don’t know what else to do! :/

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u/voluntarysphincter 3h ago

This is actually something I’m actively studying right now. I have two different apps that track TDEE through two different ways, one estimates BMR and adds activity on top. The other takes total caloric intake and rate of fat loss and estimates TDEE. There’s a huge gap. I’m also not losing weight as fast as I’m “supposed to.” So the second app is grossly underestimating my TDEE So where are those calories going?

My hypothesis is carbs. My body doesn’t process them well. I was eating around 150g of carbs a day and also losing about 1 pound a month. I’d also splurge maybe once or twice a week. So recently I’m lowering those carbs and not splurging (spiking my blood sugar) I am seeing my rate of fat loss accelerate a little. I could never go 0 carb, for context. But basically I eat protein, fat, carbs for breakfast and lunch, protein for snack, and meat and veggies for dinner.

There’s a series of studies I’m using to base my strategy on. I’m mostly eating carbs around when I exercise, before and after. Because the glycogen uptake in the muscles bypasses insulin (my weak spot). If I eat carbs and then sit down, that energy just knocks around in my blood until it’s stored as visceral fat. And if you haven’t, you should research visceral fat. That shit has got to GO.

So you’re not alone. We’re in this together and for the long haul. We can do it! We just gotta work with our bodies. ❤️❤️

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u/Secure-Bluejay-2414 8m left

Your TDEE math might be way off if you're that exhausted all the time, PCOS plus undereating can tank your metabolism faster than the calculators account for.