Dear Robin: I wonder if all the weight gain after a normal pregnancy and cesarean in a PCOS patient could be reversed as in other non PCOS postpartum weight gain? If yes, how to go about it? I am personally facing this problem after my second child…please suggest some ways to combat this. Thank you! ~ Ramya
Dear Ramya: Congratulations of the birth of your second child. Yes, of course you can lose weight.
Take a look at how your body was functioning before pregnancy, i.e. were you heavier then or was your weight just right? And did you eat a healthy diet and practice a PCOS-friendly lifestyle during pregnancy? If your weight was just right pre-pregnancy, and you kept up a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy, then the weight gain is most likely a result of too much stress on your body from pregnancy, childbirth, nursing, crazy sleep hours and the trauma of surgery. Sadly, women who have C-sections are not shown how to recover in a healthy way from this invasive surgery, nor are they given ample time to heal. It’s a very big deal on the body.
With this scenario you’ll need to get back to what worked for you before PLUS get enough rest. Sleep is vitally important for healthy weight loss, and it’s hard to get when you have a young child – and in this case you may have two. So rest when your children rest and go to bed early. Your body needs so much rest, especially if you’re nursing.
Replace missing nutrients. When you grow a brand new human being and then you nurse, you need a lot of nutrients. And your baby does too. Lack of nutrients can cause obesity – in fact it’s a common cause. And lastly, get your thyroid checked by a functional practitioner (TSH, Free T3, Free T4, TPO & TAA) – along with a symptoms thyroid assessment. Women with PCOS often have “normal” thyroid numbers but their receptors aren’t working properly so they have symptoms of low thyroid function.
If you were heavy prior to pregnancy, especially with PCOS, you’ll need to get your metabolism to a place where it hasn’t been for awhile if ever. Take a look at the “hormone dealbreakers”: poor diet and timing of meals, life stressors (you’ve had plenty of those), nutrient deficiencies, anemias, external toxins from places like skin care, makeup, plastics, household cleaners, etc., chronic infections, lack of sleep, toxic relationships, low thyroid or adrenal function, the wrong kind of exercise, etc. Anything that is constantly stressing your body out.
No matter which scenario you are starting out with, take inventory of some of the things I’ve mentioned above and begin to change a few things around. Your body just needs a lot of self care and love right now. ~ Robin
PS (If you are nursing, the nutrients from the Pregnancy Plus System can better support you and your baby; if you are done nursing learn more about the PCOS 5-Element System to help get your weight back on track.)
Wondering if the symptoms you are suffering with could be PCOS?
If you’re not sure, click here to take the PCOS test
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