Episode #142: A Day in the Life: Real PCOS Success Stories

Hi, and welcome back to the PCOS Repair Podcast!

Today, I’m really excited to share a story from one of my patients, Taylor. Her journey is a great example of the power of understanding your root cause when it comes to weight loss.

So many women struggle with weight—whether it’s difficulty losing weight, maintaining a healthy weight, or dealing with constant fluctuations. And when I say “concerned,” I don’t just mean they want to lose weight. It’s that ongoing thought of, Wouldn’t it be nice if I didn’t have to constantly think about my weight? If I didn’t have to worry about the scale creeping up, or about trying to get it back down again? If I could just have one size of clothes in my closet and focus on living my life—eating well, taking care of myself—without the constant stress over my weight?

That’s why I hope Taylor’s story inspires you. It shows what’s possible when we understand our PCOS root causes and give our bodies what they truly need.

Taylor’s Story: The Struggle with Weight Gain & PCOS

Taylor was always a fairly active child and a very tall young woman. When she hit her growth spurts around age 12, she shot up six inches in a single year! By the time she was 14, she was 5’9”, and that’s about where she stopped growing.

She also started her period around 12 and a half. At first, she noticed that pants that used to be too loose were now fitting better. But as her growth spurt slowed down, she began struggling with weight gain—something she had never experienced before.

Typically, girls carry a little extra weight before a growth spurt, then naturally lean out. This happened for Taylor too, but the issue was that she didn’t stay lean. It was as if her body had adapted to always being in a growth spurt, and when that phase ended, her metabolism couldn’t keep up. About six months after her period started, she began gaining significant weight, especially around her midsection.

Trying to Control Her Weight

As Taylor became more aware of these changes, she took action. By age 13, she was actively planning workouts and paying closer attention to her eating habits. She didn’t have a deep understanding of nutrition, but she followed the general advice of avoiding sweets, fast food, and processed snacks, while focusing on vegetables and “healthy” foods.

She enjoyed being active and valued having a fit physique, so throughout high school and college, she worked hard to maintain her weight. But by the time she was 23 and engaged to be married, she wanted to lose 25 pounds. The weight had crept up over the years, and while she wasn’t considered overweight, she wasn’t happy with how she felt. Her BMI was at the high end of the “normal” range, but she wanted to feel leaner, stronger, and more toned.

For six months, she tried everything—extreme calorie restriction, intense workouts, moderate calorie cuts with sustainable exercise—and nothing worked. No matter how hard she tried, she kept hitting the same plateau.

“I Keep Losing the Same 10 Pounds Over and Over”

When Taylor and I started working together, she explained her frustration:

“I keep losing the same 10 pounds, then gaining it back. No matter how much I exercise or how few calories I eat, I can’t break below 150 pounds. I’m young, I’m healthy, I eat well—why can’t I break this plateau?”

She had tracked her calories meticulously, worked out consistently, and done everything “right,” yet she couldn’t reach her goal.

Why the Last 10-30 Pounds Are the Hardest

First, I want to point out that Taylor was not significantly overweight. When someone has a large amount of weight to lose, the initial pounds usually come off more easily. But plateaus happen at every stage of weight loss, and for many women, the last 10-30 pounds are the hardest to lose.

There’s another factor: the more times you lose and regain the same weight, the harder your body fights to hold onto it. If you’ve been in this cycle for years, your metabolism becomes more resistant to change.

Step One: Identifying Her Root Causes

As always, the first step was a deep dive into her PCOS root causes—something I walk through in all of my programs. This involves looking at:
✔️ Daily symptoms (not just PCOS-related, but energy levels, cravings, appetite, mood, and more)
✔️ Lab work (if available)
✔️ Lifestyle factors (diet, sleep patterns, stress levels, exercise consistency)

Taylor’s labs looked normal—no signs of insulin resistance, diabetes, or hormonal imbalances. But when she wore a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) for two weeks, we discovered something important:

Root Cause #1: High Sensitivity to Carbohydrates

Even though Taylor wasn’t insulin resistant, she was extremely sensitive to carbohydrates. Every time she ate refined carbs, her blood sugar spiked dramatically.

This led to:
✔️ Energy crashes → triggering frequent snacking
✔️ Low energy → making it hard to sustain workouts
✔️ Reliance on processed snacks → making calorie restriction ineffective

Even though she was technically eating a low-calorie diet, the types of foods she relied on were keeping her trapped in a cycle of cravings, crashes, and stalled progress.

Root Cause #2: Chronic Undereating & Metabolic Adaptation

Despite feeling like she wasn’t stressed, Taylor’s body was in a constant state of stress due to her eating habits. Years of calorie restriction and small, frequent snacks had trained her metabolism to hold onto weight rather than burn it.

Her body had adapted to:
✔️ Storing fat instead of burning it
✔️ Lowering energy levels to conserve calories
✔️ Craving quick-energy foods to compensate

Essentially, her body didn’t trust that it would get enough fuel, so it refused to let go of stored fat.

How We Reset Her Metabolism

Since her wedding was coming up, we wanted to reset her metabolism without triggering weight gain—which can sometimes happen when repairing metabolic damage.

Here’s what we did:
✔️ Increased calorie intake strategically (focusing on nutrient-dense meals)
✔️ Reduced snacking (to stabilize blood sugar and insulin levels)
✔️ Prioritized high-quality protein & fats (to sustain energy and support muscle growth)
✔️ Focused on metabolic healing before aggressive weight loss

By making these gradual changes, we reassured her body that food was abundant—helping her metabolism recover and allowing her to break through her plateau.

The Results: Sustainable Weight Loss & Renewed Energy

Over six months, Taylor lost 15 pounds and finally broke through her 150-pound barrier. While she hadn’t yet reached her full goal, she now had the tools to continue her progress without extreme dieting or over-exercising.

The most important part? She finally understood how to work with her body rather than fighting against it.

After her honeymoon, she continued losing weight in a healthy, sustainable way, reaching her goal and maintaining it with ease.

Takeaways from Taylor’s Story

✔️ Weight loss isn’t about drastic changes—it’s about working with your body’s needs
✔️ Understanding your root causes is key to breaking through plateaus
✔️ Long-term success comes from metabolic health, not extreme dieting

If you’re struggling with weight loss despite “doing everything right,” it might be time to reevaluate your approach and dig deeper into your root causes.

If you want to learn more, you can take my PCOS Root Cause Quiz or check out the PCOS Root Cause Bootcamp, where I teach you how to heal your hormones and manage PCOS long-term.

If you enjoyed today’s episode, hit subscribe so you never miss a new episode! And I’d love to hear your takeaways—connect with me on Instagram @NourishToHealthy.

Until next time—bye for now! 😊