LOW CARB - How much "low" is supposed to be ?

shans34 wrote: »

I am lower carb because I find "low" carb to be too low (under 30g) and I am eating less than 90g a day. I find it sustainable and allows for a few carbs here and there.

foiensoi wrote: »

Hey I have PCOS too and am down about 12kg since I was diagnosed.
You don't need to worry about carbs, you just need to keep your sugar in check. PCOS affects your body's ability regulate insulin, which can make losing weight hard but it's not impossible. Read up about Insulin Resistance if you like. The muscle:fat ratio in your body has an effect on this, so once you start losing weight, you already improve your ratio and tackle insulin resistance, and then it gets even easier! So once you start you will see big changes and it gets easier over time.

In general, to lose weight the principle is simple, you need to eat less calories than your body uses. MFP will have done this calculation for you, so you just have to eat within your calorie limits (you say 1400 cals). Eating lower carb and higher protein may help you to stay fuller for longer, but you don't need to eliminate carbohydrates altogether. Try getting enough protein and fats, and then fill the rest with carbohydrates but you do not need to eliminate them! Stay away from anything with too much sugar or processed (chocolate, sugary drinks, overly processed foods, white bread, white rice, flavoured yoghurts, jars of sauces, all these kind of things) and try and eat fresh and unprocessed foods as much as possible, this will help eliminate hidden sugars.

If you look at the nutritional information on a packet of food, you will see "Carbohydrates" and then "of which sugars". You might see that per 100g, chocolate has 50g of carbohydrates (45g of which sugars), and oats have 60g carbohydrates and just 1g of sugars. The chocolate will wreak havoc with your insulin, the oats will cause very little to happen. So don't be afraid of a bowl of oats, it's low calorie (150 cals for 40g made with water), low sugar, and I add some unsweetened almond milk and vanilla protein powder (after cooking, adds about 80 cals but my goal is higher and this keeps me fuller longer) and it's a delicious bowl with very little sugars. Carbs you can eat without too much fear are Oats, Wholewheat Pasta (try a portion of 60-70g and see how you get on), Brown Rice, Quinoa, Sweet Potato (ok this has a bit of sugar but I love it!). Rice Cakes and Wholegrain Melba Toast are also alright as carby snacks. Just don't go adding sugar, tons of fruits, jam etc. to your healthy foods. If you are using things like Peanut Butter, make sure it's 100% Peanut Butter and nothing else. It should be fairly fluid in the jar, not buttery.
Look at the sugar content of everything you buy!!! I cannot stress this enough, it is THE MOST important thing with PCOS, while staying within your calorie goals. You do not need to worry about carbohydrates themselves.

You could try something like 110g protein, 60g fat, and 110g carbohydrates to start with and see how you get on? (My own is about 35% protein, 30% fat 35% carbohydrate but changes every day. Everyone's goals are different and you need to find what works for you.. MFP default is about 50% carbs but I work out a lot so need more protein in my diet than you might, so adjust this for you! Send me a message if you want ideas of what I eat). Just find what works for you, that is quite a high protein goal and you could easily replace it with more carbs if you wanted, if you find you're still losing weight. If you are eating lean cuts of meat/poultry, fish, eggs, nuts etc., you'll find your meal is mostly protein and you hardly need the carbs anyway. Keep those carb portions small, weighing everything and keeping an eye on the totals for each meal so you can see where all your calories for the day came from. Healthy fats are found in plant fats like coconut oil, avocado, nuts and nut butters, also eggs etc. I love 0% fat greek yoghurt but you'll see it also has a few grams of carbs, I don't care because it's yummy and not sugary. Incorporate the foods you like and try and reach your protein and fat goals, make sure you are eating enough vegetables and getting plenty of nourishment, and then worry about that carb goal.

Be mindful also that MFP will count all your carbs from all your vegetables, and don't get caught up in this. If you use mushrooms, onions, tomatoes etc, it might count an awful lot of carbs from those but they're really not worth worrying about, so don't stress. Carbs from green vegetables are mainly from fibre so these have no effect on your insulin resistance and are like "free carbs". Eat as much veg as you want. I try to limit my fruit intake as I think fructose+PCOS isn't a great combo if you are trying to lose fat. I eat soooo many vegetables and salads every day, and have a piece of fruit about once a fortnight, if even. It really has a poor effect on my energy, I can feel the energy spike and dip and as I've eliminated sugar as much as I can, fruit now seems super sweet and is more like a treat for me. If you are serious about losing fat with PCOS, I would swap fruit for vegetables. This might be hard to do, I know fruit is delicious, low in calories and full of nutrients, but so are vegetables and they have much less sugar in general.

I know it says you are sedentary but if you could incorporate a little bit of exercise, this might help that muscle:fat ratio. If you could incorporate a little bit of strength training, strengthening your muscles will make your body cope even better with insulin resistance from PCOS. It's a wonderful circle that the more fat you lose and the more muscle you train, the better your body regulates insulin so your PCOS will start to sort itself out after a few months/years. I went from 6 months between cycles to about 4-5 weeks now, and it's just your body regulating its own hormones, it's fascinating! So you can help by keeping that insulin in check, eating well and exercising when possible.

Don't worry about carbohydrates, concentrate on having WAY less sugar. Eat within your 1400cals, try and get a good mix of vegetables, protein, fats and low-sugar carbs, weigh and track everything for at least a fortnight to see how it works for you, it's all a big experiment until you see what works. Take some walks or other form of exercise if possible, and down the line if you could join a gym or get some dumbells for at home, you'll surprise yourself again with the effect exercise has on your pcos. It's not a complicated condition and it is not an excuse for weight loss. You haven't said it but I see many people here saying "oohhh I have PCOS it's hard for me". It's really, really, really not. Just eat less, move more, cut out sugar and you can lose that fat! Good luck!