As you may know, if you were reading my previous blog, I lost about 13 kg between August and December 2010. After that, I continuously wanted to lose weight but I steadily gained instead. I wanted to lose weight but I didn’t eat well enough, I didn’t exercise, and I snacked way too much, both at work and at home. Couple that with the PCOS and insulin resistance – and I gained about 17kg between December 2010 and August 2011. I gained back all the weight I had lost and then some.

I just couldn’t get myself to be disciplined enough to lose weight. I am not sure how to explain this – it’s not that I didn’t know or didn’t care. I continued to weigh myself every week so I knew exactly where I was going. I did manage a few weeks here and there of tracking points (on Weight Watchers) and losing some weight, but then gained again the week after.

In July, I found out I had insulin resistance, and my doctor recommended that I go on Metformin to lower my insulin levels and therefore help me with the weight loss. She said it was optional but I decided to take it. Metformin can have some pretty nasty side effects but I decided that the risk would be worth it, as the really bad ones are very, very rare.

I also decided that if I was going to take a drug every day for an infinite time, there was no way I was not going to do something to improve my condition. To me, Metformin is a temporary remedy to help me be successful in my lifestyle change.

I am 28 years old, no, make that 28 years young, and I am not going to be on diabetes medication for the rest of my life. I want to reverse my insulin resistance. I know I can do this if I lose the excess weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Metformin is going to help me achieve this, but it is not the solution to my condition, and I want to go off it as soon as my insulin levels are back to normal.

Next week, I have my first follow-up appointment with my endocrinologist. Since she last saw me, I have lost over 10 kg, I eat healthily, and I exercise regularly. In fact I even think there is a chance that my insulin levels are already back to normal, as they were only slightly elevated in the first place.

To me, at least to some extent, Metformin was a tool to get myself to commit to losing weight again. I was not going to take a medication but continue an unhealthy lifestyle; just treating the symptoms but not the cause. If I did that, I might as well not bother in the first place. So here I am – nearly three months later. As of last week I am no longer obese, and I am feeling better than I have in a long time.