PCOS diet?

zoey116
zoey116 Posts: 75
edited September 21 in Health and Weight Loss
Has anyone ever heard of a low carb diet that is supposed to help with PCOS?

Replies

  • July24Lioness
    July24Lioness Posts: 2,399 Member
    Yes, any of the Low Carb Plans will help with PCOS and its symptoms...........

    However, it is not a Diet, but a Lifestyle Change.
  • Mirlyn
    Mirlyn Posts: 256
    Low carb works with PCOS well because of the insulin resistance factor. I personally don't try to go low carb but I do try to eat good carbs when I can. So far I'm losing weight at a decent pace even with the PCOS. I did low carb while I was pregnant (dietician's orders due to gest. diabetes) and I know for myself that restricting carbs for the last few months of my pregnancy caused me to binge like crazy once I had the baby so low carb is not a great option for everyone.


    This may not help you, hope it does, it was probably more of me just rambling though. Sorry!
  • poisonapple
    poisonapple Posts: 30 Member
    I have PCOS and South Beach is the only thing that has ever worked for me! I work out like crazy and very well but the weight just won't budge more than a pound or two without South Beach. I am actually getting ready to start back on it Monday. If you wanna try it we could keep each other motivated and updated =) ...Good Luck and if you find something else that works well PLEASE let me know! =)
  • melodyg
    melodyg Posts: 1,423 Member
    I've heard that lowering carbs helps with the insulin resistance as well. I am not doing "low-carb" but I have increased my protein/decreased my carbs a bit from MFPs defaults. I try to make sure my carbs come from more natural sources too. Haven't been on here long enough to say it is helping anything long term, but I'm still losing! My food diary is public, so feel free to check it out if you are interested.
  • zoey116
    zoey116 Posts: 75
    I haven't been officially diagnosed with PCOS but the Dr didn't seem to have any doubt I have it. She mentioned about cutting/lowering certain carbs. I want to say Simple carbs but I'm not sure. Too many things going through my head at that point. I am clueless when it comes to different types of carbs or whatever. I am trying to do this in stages I guess. First watching how many calories I was eating and trying to not go over like I used to. I know I need to now also make better healthier choices but I am clueless as to WHAT is better. anyways Thanks for the info :flowerforyou:
  • zoey116
    zoey116 Posts: 75
    Also I'm sure that restricting carbs will not be easy for me either :( But I just figure I'll try "baby steps"
  • July24Lioness
    July24Lioness Posts: 2,399 Member
    I haven't been officially diagnosed with PCOS but the Dr didn't seem to have any doubt I have it. She mentioned about cutting/lowering certain carbs. I want to say Simple carbs but I'm not sure. Too many things going through my head at that point. I am clueless when it comes to different types of carbs or whatever. I am trying to do this in stages I guess. First watching how many calories I was eating and trying to not go over like I used to. I know I need to now also make better healthier choices but I am clueless as to WHAT is better. anyways Thanks for the info :flowerforyou:

    I have found from my own personal experience 7 years ago that a structured plan helps to get rid of the cravings and keep them away for good.

    I recently switched my plan and gave up grains and for me, it was the best move I have ever made.
  • MisdemeanorM
    MisdemeanorM Posts: 3,493 Member
    Yes, any of the Low Carb Plans will help with PCOS and its symptoms...........

    However, it is not a Diet, but a Lifestyle Change.

    I think in this instance of "referring to the type of food people eat" or "prescribed structured food regiment" the word diet vs lifestyle change is appropriately used.
  • MizFroggie
    MizFroggie Posts: 1
    I am also interested in sharing ideas for dealing with my PCOS. Let me know if you start a thread.

    Have you checked out the website for PCOS support? www.pcosupport.org/
  • heycarlz
    heycarlz Posts: 15
    Low GI. Whether or not you are insulin resistant, people with PCOS will benefit from eating foods with a GI rating of low and moderate. Limit high GI foods. Advice from my doctor. There are loads of Low GI diet books out there; I even got my hands on one specifically for PCOS sufferers.
  • July24Lioness
    July24Lioness Posts: 2,399 Member
    Yes, any of the Low Carb Plans will help with PCOS and its symptoms...........

    However, it is not a Diet, but a Lifestyle Change.

    I think in this instance of "referring to the type of food people eat" or "prescribed structured food regiment" the word diet vs lifestyle change is appropriately used.

    I only said this because I have seen so many people on one of the Atkins sites that I belong to that have gotten weight off and symptoms under control to go back to their old way of eating and everything comes back........symptoms and weight........
  • FireRox21
    FireRox21 Posts: 424 Member
    Low GI. Whether or not you are insulin resistant, people with PCOS will benefit from eating foods with a GI rating of low and moderate. Limit high GI foods. Advice from my doctor. There are loads of Low GI diet books out there; I even got my hands on one specifically for PCOS sufferers.

    I was just diagnosed with PCOS, so any info would be helpful. My mom was telling me that she read somewhere that PCOS sufferers should avoid milk and milk products, and if you have to have milk, rice milk is a better alternative. Has anyone heard of this? I would think rice milk is loaded with sugar!! Ugh, there is so much to learn.

    Also, do you have the name of the book that was mentioned? I would love to read it.
  • Topaz85
    Topaz85 Posts: 1
    I have read a bit about low GI diet where you look for the GI (Glycemic Index) value of each food. White bread, processed foods, some vegetables and some fruit are high in GI so should be avoided.
  • zoey116
    zoey116 Posts: 75
    Yeah I only meant diet as in the diet we eat, I know this is a lifestyle change or else "it wont stick"

    I have not yet gotten to check out www.pcosupport.org/ but I will deffinatly take a look at it as soon as I have some free time.

    I also am interested in checking out books about a lower GI diet but that will have to wait till after the summer, school is already taking up to much time :( Is there any book that is better than another?
  • July24Lioness
    July24Lioness Posts: 2,399 Member
    Low GI. Whether or not you are insulin resistant, people with PCOS will benefit from eating foods with a GI rating of low and moderate. Limit high GI foods. Advice from my doctor. There are loads of Low GI diet books out there; I even got my hands on one specifically for PCOS sufferers.

    I was just diagnosed with PCOS, so any info would be helpful. My mom was telling me that she read somewhere that PCOS sufferers should avoid milk and milk products, and if you have to have milk, rice milk is a better alternative. Has anyone heard of this? I would think rice milk is loaded with sugar!! Ugh, there is so much to learn.

    Also, do you have the name of the book that was mentioned? I would love to read it.


    I don't do any grains, so rice milk would be way out of the question for me...........

    I do have butter, Greek Yogurt and Raw milk and heavy cream. I don't see where Dairy comes into play with PCOS.

    Carbs in the form of grains, high glycemic fruits and veggies and any processed foods are what I stay away from.
  • cmschapp
    cmschapp Posts: 8
    From everything I have read about PCOS the reason to limit dairy is because of effect it has on the blood insulin levels. I checked out a book from the library called The New Glucose Revolution Guide to Living Well with PCOS. It says that 2 servings of dairy is okay. This could be like a glass of milk and a yogurt. This book suggests you attempt to eat healthier versions of the carbs you are already consuming. For example replace carbs like white bread and potatoes with things like whole grain bread and sweet potatoes. This will reduce the insulin response in the blood because they take longer to digest. You want to avoid processed foods and sugars that will cause spikes in your blood glucose levels. It also suggest cardiovascular exercise paired with resistance training. I hope this helps!
  • TickledPurple
    TickledPurple Posts: 33 Member
    I found the PCOS diet book by Colette Harris really intersting.

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/PCOS-Diet-Book-nutritional-polycystic/dp/0007131844/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277133773&sr=8-1

    Hope that helps
  • July24Lioness
    July24Lioness Posts: 2,399 Member
    From everything I have read about PCOS the reason to limit dairy is because of effect it has on the blood insulin levels. I checked out a book from the library called The New Glucose Revolution Guide to Living Well with PCOS. It says that 2 servings of dairy is okay. This could be like a glass of milk and a yogurt. This book suggests you attempt to eat healthier versions of the carbs you are already consuming. For example replace carbs like white bread and potatoes with things like whole grain bread and sweet potatoes. This will reduce the insulin response in the blood because they take longer to digest. You want to avoid processed foods and sugars that will cause spikes in your blood glucose levels. It also suggest cardiovascular exercise paired with resistance training. I hope this helps!

    That book is biting off the ideas of the Atkins diet, the whole replacing white products (aka white sugar, white bread) for brown or colorful (sweet potatos, whole grains)............

    I have found that with Dairy, if you eat the full fat variety, there is no insulin response because there is no added sugar to it and the fat helps to stabilize blood sugar and slow down the digestion process. I guess in the big scheme of things I really don't consume that much dairy.
  • circusmom
    circusmom Posts: 662 Member
    bump
  • cmschapp
    cmschapp Posts: 8
    A note about The new Glucose Revolution: Guide to living well with PCOS
    It’s actually based on the Glycemic Index, not sure what Atkins is based on.
    It’s not about necessarily eating fewer carbs. It’s about eating the right ones that take longer to digest to slow down the insulin response.
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