PCOS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNYlIcXynwE <----I really like this explanation of things and highly recommend this 3 minute clip. If you like it, you can watch most of the movie on youtube for free.

This has to do with insulin resistance and the way the body stores fat. 'Carbs' are considered the bad guy in this video. Are you saying fruits and vegetables are carbs, and therefore not good for losing weight? I'm having trouble understanding why you think this video is so relevant to this subject?

Most people do not eat a strict diet of fruits and vegetables. --And there are even fat vegetarians. The reason that I posted this was because some people have a hard time understanding how a sugar from something as healthy and wholesome as a banana or rice or potatoes or whatever super carby source you choose could cause you to be fat. Monitoring calories alone isn't enough for most people to successfully lose weight or maintain weight loss. At some point, most people have to monitor their carbs as well. Something as minor as eating a very ripe large banana can cause a sugar spike which triggers a flood of insulin. Continuing that pattern (flooding system with sugar than insulin) over the entire day for months will lead to insulin resistance which puts you on the path to diabetes.

I eat a TON of green veggies and a moderate amount of fruit and starchy veggies. Fruit is more of a dessert item in my day to day life, because it's sugar. It's a better sugar for me than a candy bar with the same amount of calories...but it's still sugar. I think that increasing veggies is a great way to lose weight. I also think that it's irresponsible to say 'eat as much fruit as you want' to someone who doesn't know what that will do to their blood sugar and their body's reaction to blood sugar over time. Insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes don't happen overnight. They happen over time and with a lot of floods and crashes.

I think that the video is a great explanation of how sugar affects a body and how it turns into fat.

You might wonder at what I eat. I try to eat meat (fatty and lean...I eat meat), fish, eggs, nuts (watching almonds due to carbs), lots of green veggies, some starchy veg (like sweet potatoes), some fruit here and there, small amounts of unrefined coconut sugar OR honey, extra virgin coconut oil, and extra virgin olive oil. I screw up on some days---because I'm human and this is life and potato chips love me...hahaa---but for the most part, I keep my carbs between 40g and 80g a day. This sugar/carb monitoring has successfully helped me lose weight AND corrected my PCOS that caused me no end of trouble for a decade or so of my life. I eat a lot of good healthy fats and a lot of protein. When I say that I eat a ton of green veggies, I mean that my salad might have 4 or 5 tightly packed cups of organic baby greens or spinach. I eat a lot of green beans and zucchini.

I think that switching from a lot of processed foods to a whole food way of being is the best first step, but in my personal pursuit of vibrant health---that wasn't enough. I had to start watching my carbs, too. Even though they all came from fruits and veggies---I simply had too much sugar in my diet. I continued to have PCOS problems and some lingering excess weight as long as I DID NOT monitor my carb intake. I didn't understand fully until I accepted that sugar is sugar is sugar.

If the ultimate goal is to lose weight, then eat whatever you want and stay under calorie goals for the day...you will meet your goal weight with persistence.

If your ultimate goal is to be HEALTHY, then you should know about what you are eating and what it does inside of your body. Not everyone is going to thrive on my ideal fat-protein-carb ratio (loosely: 50 to 55% fat, 30% protein, 15 to 20% carbs), but I have finally gotten to my healthiest happiest weight (107 this morning at 5 feet tall)---have energy like you wouldn't believe---have functional muscles (190 lb leg press and working my way up)---and am living with a health that I never imagined I would. Most of my health puzzle was eliminating food allergens, but some of my problems were also caused/made worse by carbs.