New to PCOS Need help?
Hessmomma89
Posts: 13 Member
Hi I'm Brittany and I was recently diagnosed with Pcos. My dr wants me to loose weight to help control that and my high insulin level. I am currently breastfeeding my toddler. She wants to wait until I'm not for metformin. What calorie/carb goals would be good for me (keep in mind the breastfeeding)
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I'd say right now, focus on what you're eating more than the how much. Now, obviously, you don't want to pig out on stuff, but you also don't need to worry about trying to actively lose weight right now. Now's a good time to work on the composition of your diet, so when you're done breastfeeding, you need only make some minor tweaks to start losing weight.
Demote grains to a side dish, or eliminate them completely. This will go a long way in reducing your overall carb intake, which will help lower your insulin. It will also make room for more nutrient dense foods, since most grain foods suck on the nutrient front. If you choose to keep grains, go for high quality ones -- homemade breads, ancestral grains, etc. Base your meals around meats and vegetables, then add the grains as a side if you want them.
Eat non-starchy vegetables to your heart's desire. They're packed with nutrients that both you and your little one benefit from. Choose things that grow above ground, and base your selection around the green vegetables, and add more colorful ones from there. The colorful vegetables tend to run a little higher in sugar content, while green ones are low in sugar and high in fiber. A salad with some romaine, spinach, and other greens, topped with peppers, olives, and other goodies is a great addition to a meal.
Eat starchy vegetables in moderation. Root vegetables will still raise your blood sugar (and by extension, your insulin), so it's a good idea to not have a lot of them, but if you're doing well and feel you can do it, the occasional potato, sweet potato, or other tuber isn't the end of the world. Just don't make it an every day staple, and be mindful of its effect on you.
Eat high quality meats. Ideally, get meat from pasture raised animals as much as possible. These have better nutrient profiles than their industrial counterparts. The same goes for diary and eggs, too.
Eat plenty of good fats. Avoid hydrogenated oils (trans fats) and industrial seed oils (canola, corn, "vegetable," soy, etc) like the plague, but other than that, fats are fair game and are vital to your child's growth and your health. Try to work in coconut oil as much as you can, as the lauric acid will be used in your breastmilk, and it's one of the most beneficial fats to humans (coconuts and human milk are two of the most abundant sources of lauric acid). Use olive, avocado, macadamia, or other cold-pressed nut oils on things like salads or as topping for the vegetables. Use butter, lard, tallow, or coconut oil to cook with (saturated fats are more heat stable and won't break down like some unsaturated fats will). No, saturated fats are not bad for you. In fact, they're required for proper cell and hormone function. Also, if you're not a fish eater, a good Omega-3 supplement would probably be a good idea. Omega-3 fats are huge for brain development.
Eat fruits in moderation. Favor low sugar fruits, like berries and stone fruit over the higher sugar things like bananas and oranges. Sugar is sugar, no matter the source, so while the fiber and nutrients usually outweigh the sugar hit, for those of us with insulin issues, this isn't necessarily the case. Don't feel bad if you're not a fruit person, though. You can get all the nutrients found in fruit from vegetables. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, peaches, etc. make for good desserts. Pair them with some cream or a no sugar added, full-fat yogurt, and you have a wonderful treat.
Do this, and you might lose weight as a byproduct, without having to do much else. As long as it doesn't affect your milk supply, that's okay. If you are maintaining weight, that's okay, too. It depends on how responsive your elevated insulin levels are (if you're lucky, you might not even need the Metformin).
To more directly answer your question about macros -- as far as breastfeeding goes, pretty much any macro spread is fine, since the milk composition will stay pretty stable. The big thing you need to be concerned with is supply and your own nutrient stores. Just make sure you're eating enough food to keep your supply up, and enough variety to keep your nutrient stores good, and you should be fine on that front.0 -
No my dr clearly said that I need to loose weight. I am already doing most of what you suggested. I've been going up and down with the same 10lbs for almost 2 years)0
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No my dr clearly said that I need to loose weight. I am already doing most of what you suggested. I've been going up and down with the same 10lbs for almost 2 years)
Losing weight while nursing has to be a careful endeavor, but doing in through increased fats so as not to deprive your little one of the brain developing fats he/she needs is likely a very good choice. There are a few breastfeeding moms on another group I'm (we, too are) a part of - LCD - Low Carber's Daily - who might be able to give you insight.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group
Check out the launchpad link first for lots of information. It is a more structured way to go about using the tips above and gain health for yourself and baby. Good luck!0 -
My dr mentioned south beach diet but my research shows that is not healthy for bfing moms0
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No my dr clearly said that I need to loose weight. I am already doing most of what you suggested. I've been going up and down with the same 10lbs for almost 2 years)
I'm not saying you don't need to lose weight, but rather I'm saying that baby's nutrition trumps the fight you're likely in for just to lose a couple of pounds if you're not fortunate enough to be able to lose weight just on low-GI, whole foods. Drastic changes in carbs, calories, or even your weight can affect your supply. Unfortunately, losing weight on PCOS often requires measures that most people consider "extreme," and which may not be suitable for converting to while you're breastfeeding.
If you're already doing what I outlined, then grab your calorie amount from MFP or one of the other calculators out there. Keep in mind that you burn about 200 extra calories from breastfeeding, so you can go with the half pound per week loss and should be good for a little more, provided hormones cooperate.
From there, start by dropping your carb intake by about 50g from what you already consume (unless you're under 100g already, in which case, drop it by a lesser amount or don't drop it at all).
Protein should be between .6 and 1g per pound of lean body mass, which usually works out to around 80-100g, depending on your height.
Fill the rest in with fat.
If you don't have supply issues, you can keep dropping your carbs and increasing your fats until you get to a point where you're losing at a good rate. Listen to your body, first and foremost, and back off if your supply starts dropping before you're ready to wean. Once you wean, you can start getting as aggressive as you want.0 -
I did weight watchers when she was 4 months no supply issues. She's almost 2. If I have to wean her because of my health that is more important.0
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I did weight watchers when she was 4 months no supply issues. She's almost 2. If I have to wean her because of my health that is more important.
I can't tell you what to do on that front, that's totally your call.
If you want to go for it, then I recommend dropping carbs to 100g and sugar to 20-30g to start with and increasing fats accordingly, then go from there. If you're still dealing hunger/cravings, or not losing weight, then decrease your carbs and increase fats until you find what works for you. Give each change no less than a week before determining whether it's working (preferably, give the initial one, which will probably be the largest, at least a month, and additional changes 3 or more weeks). Treat carbs as a max, protein as a range (aim for it, but if you're over or under a little, it's not a big deal), and fat to satiety (within reason; you don't want to be hundreds and hundreds over or under your goal).
There's also the keto option, which is going straight down to about 20g of carbs and increasing fats accordingly. This is a bit harder at first, but a lot of women have success with it. You have to give it an honest month, though, before determining whether it works for you, because the initial adjustment period is rough (and it's normal, it's the body converting from sugar as its primary fuel to fat as its primary fuel). You can then either stay there, if you like it there and it's working for you, or do the Atkins thing and start increasing your carbs by 5g per week to see where your tolerance limit is (the point at which you stop losing weight).0
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