Wheat-Free & Dairy-Free PCOS

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Journey2Myself
Journey2Myself Posts: 85
in Food and Nutrition
I have been battling PCOS for years but the RAPID weight gain didn't appear until 6 years ago. I've been told to just cut my calories and work out as the symptoms of my PCOS would reduce with weight loss.. EASIER SAID THAN DONE!!!!!!!! I ate 1000-1200 calories. I hired a personal trainer that I couldn't afford. I worked out two hours a day and tracked my calories. Blood tests would show that i was completely healthy inside but the outside showed differently.
Currently, I do bootcamp 2-3x a week, kickbox once a week and yoga once a week.
A nurse practitioner put me on metformin just over a month ago. I just saw a nutritionist who recommended a wheat-free, dairy-free lifestyle for PCOS. In one week I've lost 5lbs!? I feel like I'm eating a lot and I am eating a lot of quinoa lol. I only ate meat once that week (when I had sushi) and didn't even notice it.. I come from a meat and potatoes (and sandwich) family..
I'm hoping that this isn't just simple water weight.. I hope that this is my final answer. I've become very emotional (and my life is very stressful as it is), depressed, tired all of the time, and my self esteem has plummeted. I'm surprised that I'm not finding this very difficult to follow. I am a lot more aware of what I put in my body and why...
Has anyone else been wheat-free / dairy-free due to allergies, insulin issues etc? My stomach no longer feels bloated etc. I feel so much better.. 50lbs to go!
I hope this is my answer.

Replies

  • AlynnP1005
    AlynnP1005 Posts: 195
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    I have been almost 100% dairy free for a long time, and have been gluten gree for about a week. My reason was for somtach issues, and issues with losing weight.....and absorbing nutrients
  • kristina509
    kristina509 Posts: 43 Member
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    I have never heard of the Wheat free/Dairy free approach to help with PCOS. I have been battling it since I hit puberty and my weight has just yo-yo'd all these years.

    I really hope that this works for you! I know how frustrating it is to work so hard and not lose weight.
  • shar140
    shar140 Posts: 1,158 Member
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    I haven't given up dairy (I love my cheese too much!! but I have given up milk due to lactose intoelrance), and I've gone gluten-free as well as going lower-carb. I'm not sure which one it is from, but I've stopped taking the met and spiro and bc pills (and I have a normal cycle now!! that hasn't happened in over a decade!! lol), and I'm not nearly as bloaty as I used to be!! I also stopped taking prilosec, too. The wheat seems to cause the acid reflux and definitely tummy issues, which is enough to keep me away from it! I also had my eczema clear up, too.
  • jetsmaw
    jetsmaw Posts: 16 Member
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    I don't know about PCOS but have dont both dairy free and gluten free for allergies. Neither are particularly hard but you have to watch for hidden dairy in processed foods. e.g. cold ham for sandwiches. Gluten is a bit harder because all the nice things have gluten in them but it's quite easy to work around with GF options. It means a lot less processed food and may take an extra 15 mins preparing your own foods but it really is worth it. You will notice quite a lot of weight loss at first, up to around 14lbs, but then it slows down and levels out.

    You do tend to feel a lot less bloated and claggy, for me with dairy free as human bodies were never intended to process dairy products. I ended up back on gluten/wheat foods as I missed my bagels too much.
  • Treena_B
    Treena_B Posts: 1
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    Both my chiropractor and nutritionist suggest a wheat and dairy free diet + getting off caffeine and overly processed foods. I have been a carb addict most of my life and now that I'm approaching 50 have to work especially hard at getting the weight off. I have IBS and recently went thru a divorce. That stubborn belly fat just doesn’t’ seem to be going away no matter how much time I spend weight training and doing cardio. I'll be following this blog to see how you progress. I have not yet started my diet - and am concerned about what I'll be eating (especially for breakfast). I usually have yogurt with nuts and granola for breakfast every day. Plus 2 cups of coffee with half & half. Any tips would be appreciated!
  • Journey2Myself
    Journey2Myself Posts: 85
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    Has it helped any of you with weight loss? I'm already seeing the other benefits and it's only been a week!
  • Journey2Myself
    Journey2Myself Posts: 85
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    I won't be tracking cals on here as much.. she doesn't want me obsessing over them like I was.. she said my body will adjust.. I just use my hand to figure measurements out etc. but perhaps I will keep a blog. I am going to be using this to track weight still
  • amandamaryy
    amandamaryy Posts: 1
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    I was just recently diagnosed with PCOS at 21. I am active, eat healthy and am at an average weight for my height (140 lbs, at 5'6). Really happy to see this forum, as I am adopting the gluten and dairy free diet starting this week. Glad to see so many of you have had such great results-- wondering if anyone with PCOS could shed light on weight gain/when it starts, as it hasn't started for me yet. Maybe it won't - just wondering if anyone had insight.
  • jaimekbee1219
    jaimekbee1219 Posts: 96 Member
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    A nurse practitioner put me on metformin just over a month ago. I just saw a nutritionist who recommended a wheat-free, dairy-free lifestyle for PCOS. In one week I've lost 5lbs!? I feel like I'm eating a lot and I am eating a lot of quinoa lol. I only ate meat once that week (when I had sushi) and didn't even notice it.. I come from a meat and potatoes (and sandwich) family..
    I'm hoping that this isn't just simple water weight.. I hope that this is my final answer. I've become very emotional (and my life is very stressful as it is), depressed, tired all of the time, and my self esteem has plummeted. I'm surprised that I'm not finding this very difficult to follow. I am a lot more aware of what I put in my body and why...
    Has anyone else been wheat-free / dairy-free due to allergies, insulin issues etc? My stomach no longer feels bloated etc. I feel so much better.. 50lbs to go!
    I hope this is my answer.

    I have PCOS as well and I've seen gluten/wheat free diets recommended pretty frequently - mostly on pcosdiva.com. She's a health coach who really believes that is the way we should be eating. A lot of the women I've come across in the PCOS groups are on low carb-high fat/ paleo/ ketogenic diets. They're happy and seem to be successful. It's always really tough at first, though. Have you only been tired and depressed since giving up wheat?

    I've been considering cutting out wheat after reading how many women with PCOS have had success. My weightloss has been slow even though I typically stay within calories, exercise 3-5 days a week, and have a very active job. The worst is the belly fat! I'm not on meteformin and my blood sugar seems to be normal. The only thing I haven't tried yet is going wheat free...

    It's great that it seems to working for you!! :happy: Every success story I come across pushes me closer to giving it up!
  • cbens11
    cbens11 Posts: 2
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    Hey! Im new to this whole thing, but I thought I'd give it a try because I'm thinking about trying to go the whole gluten free way and would need some encouragement. Im 22 and have PCOS and Hashimotos (autoimmune disease of the thyroid). I had a lot of preventative type blood work done and have no insulin resistance or thyroid problems as of now, but I want to keep from getting them in the future. Apparently the biological structure of gluten is similar to that of the thyroid (?) and so my Dr recommended cutting gluten out because it would cause my body to make less antibodies against my thyroid. After getting on here and reading some of what you all are saying about gluten/dairy and pcos it makes even more sense for me to give it a try. Im really not trying to lose much weight (5lbs tops), more just trying to stay healthy for the future. I stay super active and just ran my first half marathon so I am a little nervous because I know cutting out gluten will cut out a ton of carbs which is good but they are also necessary to maintain a really active life and give that quick energy before workouts. We'll see how it goes though :) Excited to follow all your journeys with this! :)

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