tarynvandiest wrote: »

ALekaeHay wrote: »

Hello! I'm new to this group and am jumping back on the MFP wagon.

I was diagnosed with PCOS last month (Jan. 21st) but have suspected it for a little over a year. I have all the "classic" and lovely symptoms: excess hair growth, mild acne, verrrry irregular periods/longer cycles (average 45-50 days, but I'm right now on about 120 day period strike. Yah.), larger midsection. Yeah, I'm a mess lol

Anywho, my doctor has put me on Metformin (extended release, currently taking 750 mg twice a day) and encouraged a low carb diet. However, over summer I completed a round of Whole30. It was truly amazing. I lost 15 pounds and had a lot more energy & less headaches. Obviously this way of eating helped me to lose weight, but it's not exactly low carb. I had at least 1/2 of a sweet potato probably 5 times a week and had fruit every day - both of those are what I would consider "good for you" carbs and are natural. But still, they don't line up with a technically low carb diet.

Has anyone with PCOS found this way of eating to be helpful? I know that the "real foods" are going to have so many benefits, and I honestly feel better about eating them. I just don't want to dig myself deeper with the carbs.

Any thoughts or suggestions out there?

-Ashley

I was diagnosed with PCOS back in 2010, had my daughter in 2013. I have lost all my 41 lbs of baby weight and 17 lbs more with doing crossfit and eating a whole 30 and Paleo type diet. I don't have a good PC OS doctor for support so I was unaware of the low-carb necessity as far as diet goes until now. So I was not monitoring my carb intake while doing whole30. Yes they were good carbs however I would still probably eating too many and still had success. I now have hit a wall and M about 10 pounds away from my goal weight I'm hoping with lowering my carb counting it will help me get their butt hole 30 has definitely been successful for me. I have chosen this (diet/exercise treament) instead of the medication route since I had my daughter so I've been pleased with the results it has given me.

While not necessarily "low carb," Paleo is generally quite a bit lower carb than the standard American diet. Most Paleo diets work out to no more than about 150g, unless you're intentionally seeking out sweet potatoes and tropical fruit.

Additionally, not all women with PCOS need to cut their carbs to the ketogenic levels that some of us utilize. Many see great results in the 100g range or so, and many others see results in the 50-100g range. If you're one that has good results without cutting the carbs way down, then don't feel like you "need" to do so. It's certainly something you can try, to see how it works out for you. It may provide additional effects you didn't anticipate, or it may not work out so well for you. It's all part of finding what works best for you.

Results are what matters, though.

ALekaeHay wrote: »

Thank you for your response!

She (my ob/gyn) just said to steer clear of "white" carbs like potatoes, pasta, bread, etc. But when I talked to her about the Whole30 plan that I'd done, she said that those types of carbs are better but that I should still eat them in moderation.

I'm a little confused about it. I lost weight easily and - like you - was not nearly as bloated as usual. I can't really say if it helped with my PCOS symptoms though because I honestly only did it for the 30 days.

I go back to the dr. May 15th and am hoping to be able to start TTC this summer. So I'm really trying to get the most bang for my buck so to speak over the next few months.

Part of PCOS is often issues processing starches and sugars of all types. Generally speaking, it's a good idea to avoid or minimize intake of both. However, like all PCOS symptoms, some women don't suffer either at all or as much from this issue.

That said, if the plain Whole 30 worked for you, it's worth to keep doing. You hit on something that works, there's not much sense in doing something drastically different. Tweak as needed, certainly, but otherwise, don't fix what isn't broken.

I recommend looking into Inositol supplementation, though, since you're looking to TTC. Inositol provides many benefits for all women with PCOS (not just those with insulin resistance issues), including improved egg quality (lowering the risk of complications). It also has no real side effects or interactions, so there's not really much in the way of risk. It's pretty cheap, too (and a hell of a lot cheaper than fertility treatments, which you'll likely get recommended if you have issues conceiving).