PCOS Diet

I also have PCOS and I've struggled with the weight gain associated with it for the last 5 years or so. I understand the overwhelming part. I'll help as much as I can! Also, a great place to get some info from women with PCOS is from the message boards on soulcyster.net.
Personally, I'm trying a low-carb type of diet. No plan in particular. I don't eat bread or pasta often but when I do it is only small portions and it must be 100% whole wheat. I often substitute lettuce for bread for sandwiches which helps.

I recently read an article which explained emotional causes for PCOS.

PCOS is a disorder related to the endocrine system, which helps regulate your body's hormones. Emotional states do not cause PCOS, they are a symptom of it.

You could have a look at the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet.

Ask your doc for a referral to a registered dietitian:) Thats what mine did, haven't gone to see the RD yet though...

I have a couple friends with PCOS. They have lost quite a bit of weight. If you are interested in support and motivation and eating healthy feel free to add me and we can chat about it. They have tried certain products and now they don't need their medications.

I have PCOS too. I was diagnosed with it AFTER having 5 children and gaining a lot of weight over the years due to the pregnancies and emotional eating. In the last few years I have lost all the excess weight. I exercise a minimum of 5 days a week most weeks, both cardio and lifting weights, and eat a healthy and balanced diet loaded with fresh fruits and veggies, some grains and lean meats, and treats too.

My diary is open to the public if you would like to get a general idea of what I eat, which has worked for me. I also suffer from diverticulosis, which is a weakening of the last part of the intestines, so must eat to avoid constipation, which helps me avoid having infections of the weak parts in my intestines. (diverticulitis) Dieting and constipation can go hand in hand if one isn't careful. So, I eat with a goal of achieving 50 grams of fiber per day, all from my food and not from supplements. I also strive for a minimum of 8 12oz glasses of water a day.

I take Metformin to help manage the symptoms from PCOS, and have been able to cut my dosage in half since becoming much more active and dropping the excess weight, although my acne is not going away. (argh!) I have been able to stop taking cholesterol medication, as well, which makes me happy.

I do have one recommendation, and that is to change one thing at a time, or it becomes too overwhelming when it comes to changing your diet. You can make these changes every few days or each week, when you go grocery shopping, but don't try to change everything all at once. It can set you up for failure, and none of us wants to fail, or we wouldn't be here. As an example, if you are eating no breakfast, or are a cold cereal eater, like I used to be, change your breakfasts to include something high in fiber and low in added sugar. I used to eat cold cereal for breakfast every morning and a few years ago I switched to oatmeal, to which I add a palm full of Craisins (10 grams by weight--yes, I use a kitchen scale and weigh and measure everything, logging it here!) and some chopped fruit. My breakfast this morning was oatmeal with Craisins, a chopped apple, a few blueberries and cinnamon. I had that with a cup of pumpkin spice coffee that had a teaspoon of cocoa powder in it and a packet of Splenda to sweeten it.

Best of luck with your efforts, OP!

I was diagnosed with PCOS last year. First it really scared me and the more i read up on it the more it scared me. The beginning of January I began working out 5 days a week for at least an hour. I do about 30 mins of cardio, recently ive switched to 20 mins of HIIT. And then I lift weights for about 30 mins.
I've gone into Flexible Dieting, or watching your Macros more than your calories. I used multiple calculators online for my BMR, TDEE and the percentages of Carbs, Protein, and Fat. I took a median percentage and adjusted it to myself. I've been doing that for a week and already I can see a change.
from the beginning of January I've lost 6lbs (I havent weighed in Feb because I dont want to all month) and So far I've lost 8 inches all over.
I;m going to keep with it until I stall for at least 10 days, then I'd evaluate.

I know some people who say Ketogenic diets, but those don't seem very good to me unless a Dr. told me to.

i was diagnosed with pcos 14 years ago and underactive thyroid 2 years ago

im under the care of an endocrinologist, another consultant and a dietitian. ive lost 165lb with a balanced diet and exercise

recently lost a baby too. the pregnancy was a complete suprise as doctors were 99% sure i couldnt concieve

sandysunrise003 wrote: »

I have PCOS too, and I have struggled with my weight all my life. I recently read an article which explained emotional causes for PCOS. It helps to de-stress and get help. Women develop PCOS because they feel chronically stressed or hopeless. All these emotions have been proven to cause PCOS . Since many PCOS diets are available all over the internet it is also importantt to view it as a state of chronic emotional disturbance and treat that aspect of it too.
Its difficult but we can overcome it with hope and support

I'm going to go ahead and call BS. While stress can lead to the production of high cortisol levels by the adrenal glands, it should not be touted as the sole reason why women develop PCOS. So if you could just go ahead and either supply a link to the article or stop spreading misinformation, that would be great.

I think sometimes people place too much trust on doctors. Doctors learn very little about nutrition. For most people that make the switch to low carb, they start feeling amazing, full of energy, my advice is try it for 30 days, no harm will be done and you might be pleasantly surprised with your results.

Have you ever been tested for hypothyroid, under active thyroid problems, this is something which often goes undetected sometimes with consequences particularly in our theoretically more affluent countries? Pregnancy can cause a temporary imbalance of the thyroid though it can be permanent in some. I have read low for you thyroid problems can also be present in many other health problems because it regulates most if not all systems, particularly the replication of simple cells, our reproductive cycles and sugar absorption, in the body with a couple of other related "glands". There are so many ways our bodies can under perform. Web site, Stop the thyroid madness, is full of good information on this subject.

Living on a calorie restriction makes it more difficult to achieve proper nutrition. The general weight loss advice, to avoid fat, milk eggs and other things expose you to not having enough of the building blocks we need to build our hormones. If you listen to the controversy, the fear that it is possible to have too much of any one vitamin or mineral from supplements people who have a problem with vitamin and or mineral absorption from sluggish digestion, from may be hypothyroidism really flounder. Nutritional requirements are complex and individual. Even nutritionist and dietitians are not infallible.

Working out what is right for yourself is very hard.

whitespider360 wrote: »

Has any of you passed PCO down to your daughters?

I have been under the care of an endocrinologist for 20 years. I recently asked him this exact question and he stated they do not know if it is hereditary.

I got it from my mother, and I'm almost positive that my daughter has it, she has all the signs of having it. I can't find a dr around this little hick town to test for needs to be tested. And you have to have a dr referral to get to see a endocrinologist. They're just telling me that the hair growth is from being over weight, but it's every where on her.

I just got some bloodwork back today and found this post in my searches. Thanks for the links! I'm curious and researching how to keep my vegetarian diet (I do eat some fish... so for those picky people...pescatarian) and also eat properly to support my insulin resistance. Any advice is appreciated!