carbs for pcos
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jmzz1
Posts: 670 Member
i am suffering from pcos and my weight loss has stalled .I know that i am supposed to have low carb diet inorder to reduce the insulin sensitivity.
Its really tough for me to have low carb diet so i mix my carb with protein and fibres to reduce insulin sensitivity. i have about 180-200gms of carb
60-70gms of protein
50-60gms of fat with 1300calories in a day on an average
i do about 1hour of exercise including weights .
Is the plan which i am showing good for weight loss (SINCE I AM HAVING CONFUSION AS TO MY CARBOHYDRATE INTAKE)
Its really tough for me to have low carb diet so i mix my carb with protein and fibres to reduce insulin sensitivity. i have about 180-200gms of carb
60-70gms of protein
50-60gms of fat with 1300calories in a day on an average
i do about 1hour of exercise including weights .
Is the plan which i am showing good for weight loss (SINCE I AM HAVING CONFUSION AS TO MY CARBOHYDRATE INTAKE)
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Replies
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bump for advice0
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Help please0
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That's a lot of carbs, but I still eat a fair amount of them, too
#1, try to eat carbs that have a lot of fiber, or eat them with something that has a lot of fiber.
Then, if you are eating something high GI, you can/should also eat something quite low GI at the same time. The average GI in your belly is what matters, lol. Veggies can help a lot there! Check out the GI Index lists for more ideas.
Finally, if you eat something that will cause a spike pretty much no matter what, like my morning OJ, then exercise for a little bit. A brisk, short walk is perfect for me according to my BG monitor. Or mat work like Pilates, etc. Weight lifting is not so good, because it needs to be more aerobic and less anaerobic to increase the insulin sensitivity (anaerobic can apparently raise BG from what I've read).
I watch all this for BG issues that come from my PCOS, but presumably it's the insulin issues that make losing weight hard in PCOS. I never thought I had a tough time losing weight, although it's always slow. I up the exercise enough that it's probably always helped my insulin sensitivity by doing that, so I could always lose.
Good luck!0 -
I know it's hard, but I think you should try to increase protein and decrease your carb intake. I have pcos too and I find this helps. from your diary it looks like you are vegetarian but you eat eggs and dairy? Perhaps try adding some protein powder to your day? I have recently started this for my workout days and I think it is helping. (I'm using precision whey isolate).I have also replaced much of the wheat flour and rice flour or rice in my recipes with things like oat bran. You should also check to make sure that you are eating at a deficit for weight loss (if you haven't already done so). It does look like you are good with logging your food though. I know it's easier for meat eaters like me to increase protein, but good luck.
ETA - sorry I just looked at your diary again and I see that you do eat chicken. so yes I would increase protein to at least 100g if you can and decrease the carbs.
what is your 100 quick add calories in the morning?0 -
i am suffering from pcos and my weight loss has stalled .I know that i am supposed to have low carb diet inorder to reduce the insulin sensitivity.
Its really tough for me to have low carb diet so i mix my carb with protein and fibres to reduce insulin sensitivity. i have about 180-200gms of carb
60-70gms of protein
50-60gms of fat with 1300calories in a day on an average
i do about 1hour of exercise including weights .
Is the plan which i am showing good for weight loss (SINCE I AM HAVING CONFUSION AS TO MY CARBOHYDRATE INTAKE)
Drop the oats, noodles and biscuits, then replace with protein. Most women with PCOS and insulin resistance find success under 100 grams a day. I don't see where you are eating 1300 calories, but if that is the case and that is the appropriate intake for you then you may need to aim for less. Play around with at least a 20% reduction of where you are today (.8 X 180 = 144g) and see if it makes a difference. Try and additional 20% reduction in a couple of weeks.
Weight loss doesn't come from gym activity, it comes from calorie reduction and in your case probably a bit of carb restriction.0 -
Due to financial constraints i am not able to effort lots of protein due to which I have shifted to carbs like grains , legumes etc combined with fibrous vegetables like cucumber, spinach, carrot etc . And some other vegetables gravy.
Will this sort of diet plan help in insulin reduction?0 -
the only way to know if it works for you is to try it, keep to the deficit you want by logging and weighing everything you eat. You should also check your blood glucose levels throughout the day - that is the only way to know the effect different foods have on you.0
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I got pcos also. The only way for me to lose weight is if I completely cut carbs out. Trust me I have been at my normal weight of 50kg and when I get my uncontrollable urges to eat and demolish anything sweet I ballooned up to 86. The more carbs you eat the more your body craves it, at least that's how it's for me.
What has really helped me in not craving carbs or sugar is metformin hydrochloride. You should go to your endocrinologist. I know that the pills are not an answer but not having your period for 6 months is not normal also. Now I am at 72kg, losing about 2kg a week following 5:2. I am also insulin resistant.
Hope this helps0 -
Due to financial constraints i am not able to effort lots of protein due to which I have shifted to carbs like grains , legumes etc combined with fibrous vegetables like cucumber, spinach, carrot etc . And some other vegetables gravy.
Will this sort of diet plan help in insulin reduction?
Instead of shifting to grains and legumes, shift toward cheaper alternatives for protein like eggs. Also, find out when your store puts meats on manger's special. I can get even steak for less than a dollar a pound at my store on those days. You just either use it or freeze it that day and it will last the week. Going to a bit of an extra effort to up protein and lower carbs will make all the difference in the world for the PCOS. Also, don't eat anything "low fat" as far as dairy products go. The lower the fat content, the higher the sugar content in these product. Fat is good for PCOS and keeps your fuller longer. Getting exercise whether it is walking, running, DVD's, body weight, or really anything you can think of will help also.
But carbs in your system will continue the cycle of insulin resistance which will in turn continue the cycle of hormones. I posted this a while ago but it is a good explanation of why this happens in PCOS.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1067728-pcos-vs-normal
You might have to join the group to read it but this is a great group to join for PCOS. All the women are so nice and supportive! 0 -
I have PCOS as well. I ate way less carbs than that when I lost weight doing low carb- no more than 30-40 per day. I gained double what I lost doing low carb back. Just get in the mindset that it's a lifestyle change... Not a diet!0
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Weight loss doesn't come from gym activity, it comes from calorie reduction and in your case probably a bit of carb restriction.
I disagree with this. Weight loss comes from a calorie deficit, part of which is due to 'gym activity' and part of which is due to what you eat.0 -
Have you considered protein supplements to increase your protein intake? And I know that some people are suggesting you further drop your calories but I would definitely advise against that because you need roughly 1200 daily calories for essential bodily functions (heart, kidneys, lungs, brain, stomach), and you say you exercise so to go any lower would put your body into starvation mode. You didn't state what your body weight was so I can't really suggest an approximate range on your carb intake but it doesn't seem too bad as it is now. Maybe consider the carb sources (oats, brown rice, quinoa, sweet potato), and as some others have suggested fibre and was well as fat will curb carbohydrate absorption.
I realize that I cannot relate to the hormonal changes or specific symptoms of your condition, I'd say just be patient and experiment a little0 -
As someone who also suffers from PCOS and battle the weight issue my whole life I can tell you that the weight will be easier to handle if the carbs come down. Between a nutritionist, dietitian, primary care doc and the endocrinologist I've heard all the same thing. Your carbs should come from vegetables.
However if you must have other types of carbs there are things you can do to better your body issues. Anything white like sugar, white rice, white bread and white pasta is going to cause the insulin to spike and the weight to stick around. There is nothing nutritional about these products. If you can't cut these products out than you need to switch to the darker counterparts. Instead of sugar use a substitute like honey or stevia. Dark rye bread is cheaper then Ezekiel or sprouted bread but those are the higher recommend ones. Brown rice and whole grain pasta. Keep your portions in check though because even too much of these can cause your insulin resistance to spiral out of control.
You also want to stay away from as many processed foods as possible. Many of those chemicals upset the hormone balance.
Add good fats. These are fairly inexpensive and will keep you full longer right beside the protein.
People who do not have PCOS should not even speak on this topic unless you are an endocrinologist because its not a matter of calories in and calories out in this case. PCOS is not a disease. There is no cure. But it can be manged.
Jillian Michaels suffers from PCOS, her book Master Your Metabolism is all about getting your metabolic issues in order and it includes PCOS. Whether you love her or hate her, the book is useful. It helped me a great deal. My docs also recommended the South Beach diet. I followed Atkins and cut the carbs way down. I was able to get off all the meds the stuck me on and now I am able to cycle on my own. The older books are a dime a dozen and whether you want to follow the program or not I always suggest those with PCOS read the original book because there is a lot of useful information in there that works wonders on PCOS.
I'm on a monthly grocery budget of $200 for 3 of us. I make it work. I don't know what your budget it, but I know you can get away from the crap that is not working for you and find things that will.
If you need help, PM me.0 -
I also have PCOS and have lost 69 pounds by sticking to a very low carb diet, I eat between 30 to 40 grams of healthy carbs per day and no processed carbs.
I know first hand how costly it is to live a low carb life style, I have been doing so for the past 14 months.
I get a moderate amount of exercise but not enough to make a difference on my weigh loss.
You CAN lose weight without creating a calorie deficit in the early stages of a low carb diet, you don't have to exercise to lose weight but you should exercise to maintain your health and there are ways to eat low carb on a budget.
Don't give up, we have all been taught that restricting calories is the only way to lose weight but for some individuals and specially those of us with PCOS and insulin issues a low carb diet can be very successful.
Eggs, canned tuna and buying your meat in bulk can all help you stay on a budget.
You can also take a look at post from other members to get an idea of how they been able to do it.
Best of luck 0 -
In order to meet my calorie goal I take whole grains , oats , legumes and vegetables as my major carb content. Due to this my carbs reach approx 200 gms.
So is it that bad to reach so much of carb content while taking whole grains etc?0 -
In order to meet my calorie goal I take whole grains , oats , legumes and vegetables as my major carb content. Due to this my carbs reach approx 200 gms.
So is it that bad to reach so much of carb content while taking whole grains etc?
If it isn't working then yes it seems so. Almost everyone on the thread said that it does seem high for a PCOS women. There were also tips on how to reduce them. I think trying these things would be a good place to start. Just reducing them even to 150 g per day might help. You have to find what works for you and obviously this isn't working.0 -
But don't you think the entire story is about reducing insulin sensitivity so low gi food can also do that . So won't it be right if I have low gi food which makes my carb go upto 200 gms approx and reduce my insulin sensitivity?In order to meet my calorie goal I take whole grains , oats , legumes and vegetables as my major carb content. Due to this my carbs reach approx 200 gms.
So is it that bad to reach so much of carb content while taking whole grains etc?
If it isn't working then yes it seems so. Almost everyone on the thread said that it does seem high for a PCOS women. There were also tips on how to reduce them. I think trying these things would be a good place to start. Just reducing them even to 150 g per day might help. You have to find what works for you and obviously this isn't working.
Or am I wrong in asking the above question?0 -
But don't you think the entire story is about reducing insulin sensitivity so low gi food can also do that . So won't it be right if I have low gi food which makes my carb go upto 200 gms approx and reduce my insulin sensitivity?In order to meet my calorie goal I take whole grains , oats , legumes and vegetables as my major carb content. Due to this my carbs reach approx 200 gms.
So is it that bad to reach so much of carb content while taking whole grains etc?
If it isn't working then yes it seems so. Almost everyone on the thread said that it does seem high for a PCOS women. There were also tips on how to reduce them. I think trying these things would be a good place to start. Just reducing them even to 150 g per day might help. You have to find what works for you and obviously this isn't working.
Or am I wrong in asking the above question?
You aren't wrong to ask. Questions means you want to learn
and quite frankly all of this crap is so complicated! It has taken me 6 years of research to find out what I have.
Low GI foods can only help keep your insulin levels from spiking. But eating too many of those will cause the same effect as eating high gi foods. Low gi is so complicated because of this. Think of it this way:
With low gi foods, you will still get an insulin response though it might be a bit lower than a higher gi food. i.e. and apple will cause a lower spike than a slice of water melon. But it isn't just about these singular instances of insulin spikes. The overall picture is that 200 grams of carbs per day, even if they are all low gi, will still cause a significant amount of insulin in your system. The total amount would be lower with low gi foods than high gi foods but that doesn't mean that it is a low level. I don't know if this makes sense.
It is essentially something like 200 grams per day is lower than 300 grams per day but that doesn't mean that 200 is a low number.
This is a quote from the link that I posted above that is relevant to why insulin in the system is bad for us PCOSers:
"The problem is that making too much testosterone, in turn, makes you insulin resistant. Being insulin resistant makes your body produce too much insulin to try to overcome your body's resistance to insulin (ignoring it, if you will.) When you have high insulin in your bloodstream, since insulin is an anabolic hormone, this makes you produce even more testosterone! Make sense? So the damn testosterone makes your insulin increase which makes you produce more testosterone which.....well you get the picture.
Ironically, fat tissue produces an enzyme which converts androgenizing hormones to two different kinds of estrogen. So you have too much estrogen (estrogen dominance) all the time as well as too much androgenizing hormones. Double whammy.
Progesterone is made by mature follicles (eggs.) With PCOS, your follicles aren't maturing, thus no progesterone for you, thus no menstrating to speak of (or at least irregularly) for you.
All the while, this loop is making you fatter and making it even harder to lose weight. This is why for many people, metformin (the diabetes drug) is very helpful in losing PCOS weight and reducing other symptoms. Because it breaks the cycle. Incidentally, losing weight, PERIOD will lessen the PCOS and as far as I know can render it nearly asymptomatic if you really achieve significant fat loss. And you CAN lose weight without metformin, it just takes discipline and more than likely a low GI diet (but use whatever works- low calorie might also be effective.)"
Does this answer the question better?0 -
But don't you think the entire story is about reducing insulin sensitivity so low gi food can also do that . So won't it be right if I have low gi food which makes my carb go upto 200 gms approx and reduce my insulin sensitivity?In order to meet my calorie goal I take whole grains , oats , legumes and vegetables as my major carb content. Due to this my carbs reach approx 200 gms.
So is it that bad to reach so much of carb content while taking whole grains etc?
If it isn't working then yes it seems so. Almost everyone on the thread said that it does seem high for a PCOS women. There were also tips on how to reduce them. I think trying these things would be a good place to start. Just reducing them even to 150 g per day might help. You have to find what works for you and obviously this isn't working.
Or am I wrong in asking the above question?
You sound extremely unwilling to give up your carbs. I do about 90-100g carbs/day and find it quite easy as long as I am eating significant amounts of protein. I don't have PCOS (though my doctor suspected it at one point and it might still be a possibility)
If you aren't willing to eat less that 200g of carbs a day then i would do what was suggested in the other posts. You could also consider uping your fats so you feel full and don't need the extra carbs.
In the end its all up to you, if you want to make the change bad enough and lose weight then you will try something new and (possibly) sacrifice your high GI carbs and high general carb intake. if you like them too much you'll stay with what your eating currently. Consider how important this is to you in relevance to how much you are willing to change.0 -
Thanks for the reply. This really helped me to understand better
But don't you think the entire story is about reducing insulin sensitivity so low gi food can also do that . So won't it be right if I have low gi food which makes my carb go upto 200 gms approx and reduce my insulin sensitivity?In order to meet my calorie goal I take whole grains , oats , legumes and vegetables as my major carb content. Due to this my carbs reach approx 200 gms.
So is it that bad to reach so much of carb content while taking whole grains etc?
If it isn't working then yes it seems so. Almost everyone on the thread said that it does seem high for a PCOS women. There were also tips on how to reduce them. I think trying these things would be a good place to start. Just reducing them even to 150 g per day might help. You have to find what works for you and obviously this isn't working.
Or am I wrong in asking the above question?
You aren't wrong to ask. Questions means you want to learn and quite frankly all of this crap is so complicated! It has taken me 6 years of research to find out what I have.
Low GI foods can only help keep your insulin levels from spiking. But eating too many of those will cause the same effect as eating high gi foods. Low gi is so complicated because of this. Think of it this way:
With low gi foods, you will still get an insulin response though it might be a bit lower than a higher gi food. i.e. and apple will cause a lower spike than a slice of water melon. But it isn't just about these singular instances of insulin spikes. The overall picture is that 200 grams of carbs per day, even if they are all low gi, will still cause a significant amount of insulin in your system. The total amount would be lower with low gi foods than high gi foods but that doesn't mean that it is a low level. I don't know if this makes sense.
It is essentially something like 200 grams per day is lower than 300 grams per day but that doesn't mean that 200 is a low number.
This is a quote from the link that I posted above that is relevant to why insulin in the system is bad for us PCOSers:
"The problem is that making too much testosterone, in turn, makes you insulin resistant. Being insulin resistant makes your body produce too much insulin to try to overcome your body's resistance to insulin (ignoring it, if you will.) When you have high insulin in your bloodstream, since insulin is an anabolic hormone, this makes you produce even more testosterone! Make sense? So the damn testosterone makes your insulin increase which makes you produce more testosterone which.....well you get the picture.
Ironically, fat tissue produces an enzyme which converts androgenizing hormones to two different kinds of estrogen. So you have too much estrogen (estrogen dominance) all the time as well as too much androgenizing hormones. Double whammy.
Progesterone is made by mature follicles (eggs.) With PCOS, your follicles aren't maturing, thus no progesterone for you, thus no menstrating to speak of (or at least irregularly) for you.
All the while, this loop is making you fatter and making it even harder to lose weight. This is why for many people, metformin (the diabetes drug) is very helpful in losing PCOS weight and reducing other symptoms. Because it breaks the cycle. Incidentally, losing weight, PERIOD will lessen the PCOS and as far as I know can render it nearly asymptomatic if you really achieve significant fat loss. And you CAN lose weight without metformin, it just takes discipline and more than likely a low GI diet (but use whatever works- low calorie might also be effective.)"
Does this answer the question better?0
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