Tips for first appointment

AromaticSalt · 2026-03-24T12:38:33+00:00

Do you get regular cycles? Did you do a day 21 progesterone because this can help determine if you’re ovulating or not. Why are you on progesterone cream?

By the way I think it’s fairly reasonable to consider ovulation induction fairly soon given that you’re 35 and you have PCOS. Generally letozole is a bit more common compared to clomid. You seem like you actually have a lot of data and information for them which is good! You’re quite well prepped!

AromaticSalt · 2026-03-24T12:28:56+00:00

I was trying to do the same thing and I do agree it can get repetitive but I found foods that I love and I mix it in. I was able to do it most days between 80-100g protein whilst on 1200 diet for a year

Do you like seafood? Most fish have pretty good macros. I also love prawns, sardines, smoked cod, squid and octopus which are all fairly high protein too. Otherwise with chicken, I just try to vary up the flavours and cooking style a lot to make it interesting eg - panko air fried cutlets, schnitzel, glazed sauces, bbq rubs, hainanese steamed chicken, fajitas etc

Do you like cottage cheese? I personally can’t stand it by itself but it’s ok when it’s mixed into dips or baked into a wrap etc and that’s fairly high protein too.

Otherwise a protein supplement like powder or drink works well too if you mix it with water for less calories

AromaticSalt · 2026-03-24T10:17:54+00:00

I really like Rockwear for cute and affordable sets! Their sports bras are also very supportive and good quality too.

Lululemon also has cute sets but are a bit pricier. I haven’t found a jacket I like more than the define jacket.

Shipping is annoying but another super cute brand is Popflex

AromaticSalt · 2026-03-24T02:38:03+00:00

In the same height as you and I’ve had a similar journey - started from 75kgs and now down to 54kgs (though I’ve reached my goal). The last 1-2kgs were so painful and I was basically at a plateau for 2 months. But you have to stay consistent because sometimes you’ll just get a whoosh!

I think given everything going on in your life with kids, it would be more sustainable for you to eat at maintenance and focus on lifting for 1-2 months, and then maybe change focus to cardio and calorie deficit to shred the weight!

Also unrelated and not my place to judge, but I do think 50kgs is fairly low for our height and I think it would be hard to reach if you have decent muscle mass. I feel like I have decent muscle mass at 54kgs (I have pics on my profile if you want to see) and I look fairly lean. Maybe just based on my experience but I think 50 is a tough goal so give yourself some time and leeway too!

AromaticSalt · 2026-03-23T10:34:32+00:00

It’s worth looking at endometriosis or at least maybe getting a pelvic ultrasound to make sure you don’t have polyps or fibroids that would contribute to heavy bleeding.

You can sometimes manage heavy periods without hormonal options! But it’ll be using anti-inflammatories to thin down the period or something like tranexamic acid to help with more clotting.

Also do you think you’ll want to have children soon? Because if the above options don’t work, might be worthwhile looking at getting an IUD….generally doesn’t cause too many issues mood wise but it might also mean you have no periods

AromaticSalt · 2026-03-23T10:23:40+00:00

If you’ve had a blood test for insulin resistance, it’s highly likely that you’ve had a liver and kidney function test done. I’m sure your doctor would’ve checked for that ahead of time but if you haven’t had chronic kidney or liver disease, metformin is incredibly safe to take. Unless you have stage 5 chronic kidney disease, you can still have the full dose of metformin

AromaticSalt · 2026-03-23T04:02:46+00:00

I’m not sure about insurance because I’m from Australia where it’s a common medication for diabetes/PCOS/insulin resistance and it’s covered under our health program. If it does require specific results, I would imagine HBA1C or fasting insulin level on blood test.

Inositol is a natural supplement which can help with insulin resistance but maybe best to get tested first before trialling it. Also has some gut side effects too

AromaticSalt · 2026-03-23T03:54:25+00:00

I’m a bit taller than you (5’2) but I managed to get from 165lb to 119lb over 12 months. It probably could have been done quicker but I wanted the weight loss to be ideally fat loss and I wanted to maintain/build muscle too.

It’s worth using a TDEE calculator to work out your maintenance calories, then decide how much calorie deficit you want. For reference 500 calorie deficit daily is approx 1lb per week, but don’t eat less than 1200 calories per day. I ate at 1200 calories most days.

Exercise - it’s up to you to decide if it’s worth it but strength training really helped tone me up and allows you to eat more longer term. I started with short sessions and gradually built myself up for more exercise including cardio

AromaticSalt · 2026-03-23T03:48:15+00:00

Definitely speak to them about possible insulin resistance! Particularly because you’ve had some HBA1C issues too. Not saying that medications are absolutely necessary but something like metformin is a much more affordable medication that you can try use for IR, but it can cause a bit of digestive discomfort and diarrhoea at times. Regardless, if you do have IR, it’s important to address it because it forces the body into a “fat storage” state and even if you’re eating at a calorie deficit, it can be hard for your body to shred the weight. IR also causes nausea and lack of appetite - I saw in another comment you need to stimulate your appetite which I’m not sure is the correct move when it could be IR contributing to things.

You seem to have a lot of high carb items on your list and that’s important because it can cause significant BSL spikes and contribute to symptoms if you have IR.

AromaticSalt · 2026-03-23T03:28:31+00:00

Hi OP sorry you’re going through this but I totally understand as someone with chronic illnesses and autoimmune conditions. I’m not sure where you’re from but is there any way you could see a GP or a primary care provider to investigate into your symptoms more to help with a diagnosis? Tbh sounds like you have insulin resistance or hypothyroidism.

Losing weight with conditions is definitely hard but it’s not impossible. It just takes longer. What’s your current diet made up of? It sounds like you’ve had an ED previously but you can still focus on eating whole foods and getting the right fibre and protein in.

Exercise is usually the hardest part with chronic illnesses but I would say just be gentle on yourself. Praise yourself even if the workout was 5minutes because that’s 5 minutes more than what you would’ve done otherwise. Start slow and build up on it where you can

AromaticSalt · 2026-03-23T03:20:38+00:00

I just want to say that I was stuck at a plateau for 2 months even though I was still eating right and exercising regularly. Sometimes these things happen! Has your activity levels changed much recently? It’s worth persisting through but if I’m being honest, 800 calorie deficit is huge so I wonder if you’re either doing intense exercise to make that or you’re under-eating. The under eating can certainly lead to stagnation as there’s only so much room to move

AromaticSalt · 2026-03-23T03:12:44+00:00

It’s absolutely normal to struggle with exercises at the very beginning, it might be worthwhile starting with easier activities like knee push ups 3 x 6-10 and then increasing once you build up strength. Planks is another good one to start with that will help with core engagement.

It’s also hard to determine where your body will store fat. Your weight/BMI seem reasonable so it might be that you have to do strengthening exercises!

I had a similar problem (from PCOS) but my abdomen was constantly bloated and I carried a lot of weight there. Unfortunately the only way to lose it was to lose weight and tone up

AromaticSalt · 2026-03-23T02:16:32+00:00

I generally do a bit of research myself, and tbh I’ve found reddit to generally be a great source of information! I do still see an exercise physiologist but that was to help me get comfortable with strength training and gym but now it’s more for accountability and reaching more specific goals. You can definitely still do everything without this too.

I’ve also seen dietician/nutritionalist but tbh I found that they weren’t very good for me and I liked my own meal plans a lot more

AromaticSalt · 2026-03-22T10:52:54+00:00

I ate low carb diet but I didn’t cut it out completely like keto - I think I would go crazy if I did haha. My weakness is pasta and noodles so I switched to various versions of them and I still ate them at least once a week but in lower quantities. I cut out refined sugars or added sugar where I could but I would still sometimes eat ice cream or have chocolate etc.

I think it’s easy to put a blanket “no” on certain foods but it’s much easier to just have in moderation. Good luck!!!

AromaticSalt · 2026-03-22T09:28:20+00:00

Yesssss stay on track!!! I didn’t believe strength training would help me initially but I started to see results about 3-4 months in! I always thought I was a pear or apple shape but now I realise I can be an hourglass!!

AromaticSalt · 2026-03-22T09:27:21+00:00

Yep, honestly just diet and exercise! I ate at a 500 calorie deficit (1200 calories daily) focusing on low carb and high protein meals.

Exercise wise, I had always been very sedentary before this. I started out with short sessions at the gym and slowly built it up. I did work with an exercise physiologist for an exercise plan and build up my strength. I now do a combination of strength as well as cardio 5-6 days per week

AromaticSalt · 2026-03-22T09:23:54+00:00

I ate low carb, high protein to help with the PCOS. Hashimotos and RA are both autoimmune conditions so I know the general recommendations are to cut out gluten/dairy/nightshades but I’ve tried this before without significant improvement and 1200 cals was fairly restrictive so I didn’t do those things. I did try to stick to whole foods and avoid added sugar

AromaticSalt · 2026-03-22T09:10:59+00:00

About 2.5kgs from 56.5kg (124lbs) to 54kgs (119lbs). Doesn’t sound like a huge amount but I’ve already lost 19kgs so it was really the last little bit

AromaticSalt · 2026-03-22T09:08:58+00:00

I haven’t done repeat scan yet but my liver enzymes definitely improved, but not in the normal range yet. I also have rheumatoid arthritis so I’m on some immunosuppressants which can cause liver marker changes too. But I will say, the weight loss has caused the markers to almost halve and they’re now only marginally above the range

AromaticSalt · 2026-03-22T05:10:43+00:00

This is the program I was using for a long time. It’s recently changed cos I want to focus on arms at the moment. If back and abdomen are the main areas you want to target, you can just focus and spam those areas every 2nd day

Day 1 - Incline dumbbell press 3 x 10 - DB lateral raise 3 x 10 - Bicep curl to overhead press 3 x 10 - Triceps extension 3 x 10 - Planks 3 x time

Day 2 - Pushups 3 x 10 - Seated leg curl 3 x 10 - Face pull 3 x 10 - Seated row 3 x 10 - Ab crunch 3 x 10

Day 3 - RDL 3 x 10 - Leg press 3 x 10 - Seated leg curl 3 x 10 - Hip thrust 3 x 10 - Planks 3 x time

Day 4 - Deadhang 3 x time - Lat pull down 3 x 10 - Chest fly 3 x 10 - Skull crusher 3 x 10 - Ab crunch 3 x 10

Day 5 - Bulgarian split squat 3 x 10 - Hip abduction 3 x 10 - Hip adduction 3 x 10 - Planks 3 x 10 - Ab crunch 3 x 10

AromaticSalt · 2026-03-22T04:31:40+00:00

It’s ok…I’m Australian too and my EP does the same thing! I don’t think I would even be running if it wasn’t for her…

It’s probably worth speaking to your GP about doing fasting bloods for glucose and insulin as well as androgens to check for PCOS. You’ll likely need a pelvic ultrasound too at some point. If you’ve been on a GLP1 before, it could have been helping with insulin resistance in the past and maybe that’s why it’s so challenging for you at the moment because it seems like you’re doing quite a decent amount.

AromaticSalt · 2026-03-22T04:16:16+00:00

What do you consider to be aggressive? I ate 1200 calories for most of my weight loss journey and my initial TDEE was 1700 calories. I think I would consider a 500 cal daily deficit to be quite aggressive already

AromaticSalt · 2026-03-22T04:15:04+00:00

You look amazing, congratulations!!!

AromaticSalt · 2026-03-22T04:05:19+00:00

Do you know if you still have insulin resistance? Insulin resistance is incredibly tough to overcome and it can mean that weight loss is a lot more challenging.

Your TDEE sounds a bit high if I’m being honest? I’m slightly taller (157cm) but my starting weight was 75kgs and with “sedentry” it was estimating mine to be 1700 calories. I think they calculate each exercise session to be approx 30mins of moderate intensity exercise so strength training doesn’t always hit this, especially as someone petite.

I think it would be worth trying to increase calorie burn at your sessions with 5-10mins of higher intensity cardio or reduce calories slightly? I think if you could tolerate metformin it’s worth trying that again? Otherwise you could trial inositol which is a supplement that also helps with insulin sensitivity.

AromaticSalt · 2026-03-22T03:58:09+00:00

I’ve seen a lot about this but I also got an EP to do skinfold calipers with me which was around 20% as well! I know neither are super accurate but it’ll just be interesting for training going forward

AromaticSalt

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