Carb Intake & PCOS Help

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Caper88
Caper88 Posts: 418 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have PCOS. I have been told that people with PCOS should have a low carb diet in order to lose weight. The problem is what is considered to be a low carb diet? I was wondering what people have their carb % set too.

Replies

  • melissatacker
    melissatacker Posts: 91 Member
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    I would like to know any info with this topic too since my 16 yr old daughter has PCOS and weight problems.
  • pattyg02
    pattyg02 Posts: 11 Member
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    Hi Caper88,

    I have been on a low carb diet since last May and lost 42 lbs on it. I went on Atkins.com and was able to learn a ton of what to eat and how many carbs to start off with. The website is free and it gives you a list of the good carbs to eat during each phase of your diet. My original carb count was 20 carbs a day and now I eat about 30-35 a day. Good Luck with the low carb diet. It's tough but it really really works.
  • Caper88
    Caper88 Posts: 418 Member
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    Do you mean 20grams or your carbs on here is set to 20%? Thanks for the replay
  • bespatter
    bespatter Posts: 73 Member
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    I have PCOS, and the main reason women with PCOS should watch their carb intake is because their chances of getting diabetes is much higher than the average person's.

    What you should do is not focus so much on your carb intake, but what carbs you're eating. Switch out white bread for whole grain wheat (make sure the ingredients actually say "whole grain wheat flour), white rice for brown, and try new grains such as quinoa, bulgur, etc. Unrefined grains have less of an impact on your blood sugar and the fiber helps fill you up. Blood sugar balance is important.

    Other than that, I would just make sure you eat a wide variety of lean proteins, vegetables, and fruits, with a new occasional healthy fats.

    This is how I manage my weight. I have never counted carbs, just watched calories and ate a healthy, balanced diet. It has helped me lose weight (over 50 lbs.), lower my risk of heart disease and diabetes, and helped tame some of the side effects of PCOS. Diet and a low-dose birth control has really helped me deal with this.
  • luv2ash
    luv2ash Posts: 1,903 Member
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    I keep my carbs at under 100, anywhere between 80-100. Protien is at 120. Sugar is at 30. It works for me :)
  • jenn_18
    jenn_18 Posts: 32
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    I have PCOS and I have kinda been wondering the same thing...I just started primarily eating veggies and meat. I have not given up carbs (by carbs i mean breads, pastas, rice, etc., not carbs that are present in veggies) or dairy entirely but I am planning on severely limiting them. I just havent known what is actually considered "low carb" either.
  • fitterpam
    fitterpam Posts: 3,086 Member
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    Low carb meaning low refined carbs. You should be getting carbs, but make sure to pair them with proteins (half the grams of carbs in proteins is a good guideline). Stay away from sugars, white bread, white rice, white potatoes, etc. Stay to low GI alternatives like spelt bread, brown rice and sweet potatoes. Protein will help lower the effect the carbs have on your blood stream. One of the most interesting articles I read about PCOS can be found here:http://www.incyst.com/2011/03/what-does-it-mean-to-have-inflammatory.html It really helped me understand the condition.

    I also really like pcosdiva.com as a blog. I've added it to my FB so I get daily blog posts on something new like some grapefruit juice added to water helps with the blood sugars to.

    Since I've been following it, I find that I'm way more energetic and feel healthier
  • SyKena
    SyKena Posts: 15 Member
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    I have PCOS as well. I've only loss about two pounds being on this site for a little over two months and working out 5 days a week for atleast an hour.... my doctor recently told me about a low glycemic index diet that I'm starting tomorrow. Here's a little more info:


    "Not all carbohydrate foods are created equal, in fact they behave quite differently in our bodies. The glycemic index or GI describes this difference by ranking carbohydrates according to their effect on our blood glucose levels. Choosing low GI carbs - the ones that produce only small fluctuations in our blood glucose and insulin levels - is the secret to long-term health reducing your risk of heart disease and diabetes and is the key to sustainable weight loss."

    Check out http://www.glycemicindex.com/ for more info.
  • Levedi
    Levedi Posts: 290 Member
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    Bespatter and SyKena have the right info. It's the glycemic load that makes it really hard for those of us with PCOS to lose weight. You should have your doctor test you for two things. 1. Your blood sugar levels/diabetes risk. You might need to go on Metformin if you're already diabetic or pre-diabetic. 2. Test for androgen hormones. Elevated masculine hormones are another feature of PCOS and they also make it hard to lose weight.

    The good news is that both symptoms are quite treatable, and diet and exercise will lower your diabetes risk. :)
  • ifiwasurvampire
    ifiwasurvampire Posts: 181 Member
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    I also have pcos diagnosed dec 08. But have never heard this. Usually I have an extremely hard time losing weight but recently I'm able to drop the pounds. Low calorie diet is working for me also limiting fats. Good luck!
  • Amy95670
    Amy95670 Posts: 7 Member
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    Hi everybody!!! My story: I am a 29 year old wife and mother of one. I was diagnosed with PCOS after having a miscarriage prior to having my son. I had lots of pain after the miscarriage, and knew something was wrong so went to OB. OB said have PCOS due to the size and frequency of cysts (I actually had to be screened for ovarian cancer due to how big they were). Such a scary thing to go through, and I had never heard of it!! Thankfully, she was very educated on the disorder, and recommended a book called PCOS: A patient's guide to understanding. I highly recommend to anyone dealing with this to get that book!!!! It thourougly explains the entire process that kicks off PCOS. It CAN be reversed, but takes a lot of time and hard work. Basically, carbs are turned to sugar by the body. The more sugar your body intakes, the more insulin has to be put out. Insulin also has a hormone effect, which is what begins the cysts on the ovaries. So....if you reduce the amount of blood sugar, you reduce the amount of insulin, thus reducing effects of PCOS. YOU DO NOT NEED TO ELIMINATE CARBS. Just choose whole grain & wheat vs white, white vs brown rice, no soda, and very little unrefined or super starchy carbs. If you google low glycemic index foods, those are what you should be eating - and pair them with proteins to slow carb effect in your blood stream. I do not have settings changed at all, simply make smarter choices about what FORM of carbs I intake. Hope this helps :)
  • Caper88
    Caper88 Posts: 418 Member
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    I tried low GI but that didn't seem to make a difference. UGH THIS SUCKS. I feel like I do twice the work to lose half as much.
  • Grokette
    Grokette Posts: 3,330 Member
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    I have PCOS, and the main reason women with PCOS should watch their carb intake is because their chances of getting diabetes is much higher than the average person's.

    What you should do is not focus so much on your carb intake, but what carbs you're eating. Switch out white bread for whole grain wheat (make sure the ingredients actually say "whole grain wheat flour), white rice for brown, and try new grains such as quinoa, bulgur, etc. Unrefined grains have less of an impact on your blood sugar and the fiber helps fill you up. Blood sugar balance is important.

    Other than that, I would just make sure you eat a wide variety of lean proteins, vegetables, and fruits, with a new occasional healthy fats.

    This is how I manage my weight. I have never counted carbs, just watched calories and ate a healthy, balanced diet. It has helped me lose weight (over 50 lbs.), lower my risk of heart disease and diabetes, and helped tame some of the side effects of PCOS. Diet and a low-dose birth control has really helped me deal with this.

    This is not true. Most of us with PCOS do have to watch the grams of carbs that we with PCOS need to consume. There are many, many women with PCOS that need to give up grains, dairy, beans and legumes entirely because the insulin response is too high.

    Your PCOS must be milder than most women, which is a good thing for you.

    The whole point of watching your carbs is to control insulin levels. That is why plans like Atkins exist. To find out how many grams of carbs and which type of carbs your body can handle.

    Me, I am very sensitive. My body does not like anything except for farm raised meats, small bits of RAW dairy, free range chicken and eggs, raw nuts, veggies and small amounts of fruit. Eating in this manner is the only way I have been able to get insulin levels under control and off all medications.

    I have started now exploring food energetics and eating more super foods to finish healing my body. There is no way I was going to take a low dose birth control pill filled with synthetic hormones.
  • mammachula
    mammachula Posts: 2
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    :flowerforyou: Hi everyone,

    I've (unknowingly) had PCOS for years, and it really is a fine tuning of diet/supplements to your body and figuring out what PCOS is doing to you. Like some people don't have periods, some have excess acne, facial/body hair.. I have a very low metabolic rate, and a high level of androgens. It is very complex, but don't fret! - there are so many resources online, and when it comes to weight loss YOU CAN DO IT! you can lose weight.

    From what i've read "good" carbs or complex carbs (that burn slowly) are good for you in moderation, like Quinoa, Ezekial bread, barley, brown rice, also it's good to have some protein with every carb you intake i.e. Ezekial bread with healthy peanut butter

    "Carbohydrate Considerations

    When it comes to carbohydrates, you want to limit ones that produce large spikes in blood sugar because this will prompt a large spike in insulin. McKittrick says no blanket suggestion exists on the amount of calories that should come from carbohydrates and different women appear to have different needs. She says PCOS expert Dr. Walter Futterweit recommends normal-weight women limit consumption to about 50 percent while overweight PCOS sufferers keep it to 40 percent. Choose whole grains over refined grains -- the former has more fiber, which leads to a steadier rise in blood sugar. Strictly limit sugar-rich foods and beverages like soda and energy drinks. You also can blunt the impact of carbohydrates on blood sugar and insulin levels by eating them at the same time as protein-rich foods and spacing them out throughout the day rather than eating large amounts of carbohydrate-rich foods at once.

    Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/425434-diet-for-pcos-symptoms/#ixzz1tjXQNR6Y "

    I subscribe to a really great newsletter it's very informative and has taught me so much about PCOS -
    http://www.ovarian-cysts-pcos.com/pcos.html

    It's a very complex syndrome, it would be good to get a referral to a doctor/ naturopath who specializes in PCOS, wether you're trying to conceive or need to lose weight or are having skin problems, or your sad and low energy. I have a couple E-books i'm happy to share if you want to read up on it :) and I'll be adding some recipes for PCOS and Diabetes in the future, it's important to eat regualrily breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner to keep our bodies from going into "starvation" mode, add things like cinnamon, tumeric, berries are a low glycemic fruit that help us with PCOS.. also drink lots of water! I learn new things everyday about PCOS

    I have an appt ithis month to see a PCOS specialist in Toronto at Women's College Hospital, I'll be sure to share anything I learn and let you know what was suggested of me ( I will also ask him to adjust my daily intakes on MyFitnessPal) and I'll let you know what he recommended.

    Sorry for the ramble, much love :heart:
    Chris

    P.S. I've also written to MyFitnessPal with the suggestion to have a check box for PCOS and Diabetes that will automatically adjust the daily %'s according to doctors :) they say it's something they're looking into! for now i've lowered the "normal" carb and sugar intake to some of the suggestions i've read online and on here. :)

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