Looking for vegetarians/vegans who have PCOS

kristafb
kristafb Posts: 770 Member
edited February 5 in Food and Nutrition
Hi there, about 2 months ago I changed my eating to a plant based diet after watching the documentary Forks over Knives. We have alot of diabetes & heart disease in my family and I am a huge animal lover and have never really felt great eating meat so the switch came pretty easy. Ethically I feel great but physically, not so much. I have PCOS and am borderline insulin resistant as well so I've been told by many that low carb is the best diet for me and I do seem to feel better eating very low carb but its impossible to eat a low carb vegan diet. I'm eating a lot of legumes, beans and other things to keep my protein levels up a bit but my carbs are easily double what they used to be. Physically I feel sluggish, bloated & tired but I will say that since the diet change my head is clear and i feel like a bit of a fog is lifted. Not to mention issues with my sinuses have pretty much cleared up. Unfortunately I've struggled with my weight since going vegan because of the lack of energy and no desire to work out.

I guess bottom line here is this, is there any woman on here with PCOS who has been successful at weightloss while eating a vegetarian diet?

Replies

  • redraidergirl2009
    redraidergirl2009 Posts: 2,560 Member
    You can opt to supplement your diet with protein shakes or eat lean sources like tofu or soy beans. Measure out your servings of beans, ect. I don't have pcos, but I had to lower my carb and sugar intake in order to lose weight as a vegetarian. I used to drink homemade fruit smoothies, those were a huge mistake. I didn't lose any weight when I drank them. Sometimes you just have to find what works for you. I stick with beans, sandwiches, tofu, and salads. I like to pair my meals with a small salad.
  • Carnivor0us
    Carnivor0us Posts: 1,752 Member
    I too have PCOS and am insulin resistant. While I am not a vegan or vegetarian, I do know that in addition to focusing on protein, you also need to focus on fat. There are many healthy sources of vegetarian fat that can help such as coconut oil and palm oil. If you eat dairy, cream and butter are low carb, high fat, and perfect for someone with insulin resistance.

    I strongly suggest you use coconut oil in your diet - it can help with that tired feeling.
  • YellowNightingale
    YellowNightingale Posts: 440 Member
    I have PCOS though I am not vegetarian, I do eat a lot of vegetarian meals. I also find it hard to find a substitute for beans. I love them. I love them more than meat in most dishes that I make and without meat and without beans there isn't much. You can replace the beans with chopped veggies, bulk up dishes with broccoli and cauliflower and breen beans and such. That's as far as I've gotten with it. Curious to see more responses.
  • kristafb
    kristafb Posts: 770 Member
    Thank you all for your responses.

    redraidergirl : Although I like soy/tofu I try not to eat a whole lot of it, I had been advised to stay away from soy because of the PCOS, we have too much estrogen as it is & soy mimics it (at least I think thats the jest of it). I have been eating a lot of salads & sandwiches which is great but gets boring really fast. I literally ate a toasted tomato sandwich for 2 of my 3 meals the other day, simply because I couldn't figure out what to have. I too tried smoothies for breakfast, fruit with spinach & kale, also some plant based protein powder (yuck!) and although it was filling I didn't lose much either.


    Carnivor0us: I do eat coconut oil daily, as well as other healthy fats, including avocado & nuts but I don't do dairy. I haven't been eating any animal products at all, strictly plant based but I am leaning towards perhaps doing the pescotarian thing, eating a bit of fish and the occasional egg or two.

    YellowNightin: I love beans too!! unfortunately I love them baked with tons of molasses or the can ones in Maple syrup lol. as if the carbs weren't high enough. Add in the slice of brown bread with butter that MUST go with them, theres my carbs for the day. You are right when you say take away the meat & the beans and you're not left with much.

    Mentally I want to stick with this plant based diet but physically I'm not sure its the right choice for my PCOS. I'm going to have to do some serious research and perhaps ask to see a nutrtionist that specialized in PCOS.
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
    Not me, as you might guess, but a friend of mine matches your 'spec' and did ok.
    It was noticable that when doing weights workouts she always mentioned feeling drained and for the day after. But it may be more lack of regularity or quite possibly lack of protein. Doing a similar workout at my max 5 rep weights I feel fine.

    My friend's diet mostly wasn't that varied.

    Incidentally, I'd suggest you read this if you're making choices based on 'forks over knives', which to my mind is like choosing who to vote for purely by watching an election video from one side (ok, sadly this is how it works for a lot of people!)
    http://rawfoodsos.com/2011/09/22/forks-over-knives-is-the-science-legit-a-review-and-critique/
  • livelaughlove384
    livelaughlove384 Posts: 100
    I am a vegetarian but I do not know what PCO is. What is it and what are your dietary restrictions? What foods are you trying to avoid? Believe me there are tons out there for food for us veggies! Let me know and I will try to put you in the right direction!
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