PCOS and dieting

I have PCOS, too, and diets for diabetics or 'Low Glycemic Index' diets really work for me, apparently because of the insulin issues. I'm also a sweets fiend, so I generally don't do them, lol. I find that exercise works nicely enough to control my insulin issue if I eat my carbs to fuel workouts, etc.

I think the glycemic index is better than some diabetic literature about carbs, personally. But in general, try eating more like you have blood sugar metabolism issues, because you probably do if you have PCOS and find that a calorie does not seem to be a calorie.

Insulin can do wonky things to weight loss for some folks, yep Eat things that don't spike its quick release, basically. That's what the glycemic index tells you about a food (at a certain amount of it).

That's great that the weight came off easily for you! That probably means your hormones are not that imbalanced (comparative to other women with PCOS). I'm 27 now and was diagnosed when I was 16, so I have seen times in my life where no amount of dieting or working out defeated the hormones keeping it on, and other times when the hormones were more balanced (now, actually) and the pound seem to melt off with the slightest effort.

As far as composition of diet, you don't have to go crazy with it. It'd benefit you to know if your insulin levels are way off or not, because if you're very close to being diabetic you probably should be stricter and possibly even eat a diabetic friendly diet for a while until your levels are better, but if your insulin is testing normal you don't have to be so extreme. Mine did the last time; it hasn't every time, so my endocrinologist says basically insulin resistance isn't about how much insulin but how your body reacts to it, so he recommends all PCOS women take it into account even if they test normal. Personally though, I've just tried to stick to whole grains instead of simple and upping my protein and not gotten crazy about it and I think I'm doing fine...

I have "The PCOS Diet Book" though (I think that's the title) and she recommends that you only lower your carb intake by 5% of normal. She's a nutritionist who specializes in PCOS and she says that she's seen too many people go crazy with lowering their carb intake down to like Atkins level. But basically she recommends you eat 5% less carbs than recommended levels, try to cut out simple carbs all together, eat more protein especially from beans and lentils (for some reason lentils have shown to help people with insulin resistance in studies) and she recommends B-12 and Magnesium supplements as apparently most women with PCOS are resistant.

Obviously it's a large book and that's just a paragraph, but that's the highlights.

OH...and...make sure you get plenty of lean protein, lots of green veggies, a moderate amount of fruit, healthy fats (nuts, avacado, olive oil) and fiber. All of those things will help control the insulin resistance and since PCOS is rooted in insulin resistance, it should help your symptoms. I also think that eating as much organic, local, hormone & chemical free food is good for you. It's been a gradual change for my household b/c it's a lot different than what most of us are used to eating. But, when you think about PCOS being a disease where your body chemicals are confused, you certainly don't want to add more to the mix to confuse it even more. ( I don't eat much dairy anymore, either, for that reason.) Unsweetened almond milk is a GREAT sub for regular milk for things like drinking it and cereal and smoothies. If you want to cook with milk, go for the unsweetened coconut milk.