PCOS and dieting

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singingbamagal
singingbamagal Posts: 3
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi guys... I just wanted to meet women on here who are experiencing the same thing I am. I have been diagnosed with PCOS, and it is a struggle to loose weight. I am now switching to a pcos diet, or a GI diet, and am wondering if it has worked for any of you that have tried it. I am at a loss at how to get this weight off, and what I should and should not be eating. I would join the program at my doctors office with a woman who specializes in diet and weight loss, but my insurance will not cover it, and I cannot afford it. So, I am left to do this by myself, and I am at a total loss as to where to begin. I started last week just by eating better and making better choices, but I have no idea what to eat and not to eat with a GI or PCOS diet. If any of you have any experience with this let me know. I don't know much about food and its ingredients, so I keep reading no carbs, or simple carbs, or complex carbs, and I am like,.... HUH? I know I need to educate myself better, but I am not sure where to start. There needs to be a PCOS dieting book for dummies. lol... Any help or advice is much appreciated.

Brittany

Replies

  • lucy2808
    lucy2808 Posts: 26 Member
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    I too have pcos. You need to avoid the bad carbs like white pasta and bread. Choose wholegrain versions but in moderation. Rice is not good for low gi. Sweet potatoes are a better substitute for potatoes and new potatoes are better than old kinds. The sooner they're picked the less carbs. A lot of fruit and veg are also carb heavy. Sweetcorn for example is fairly high on gi scale compared to say carrots.
  • singingbamagal
    singingbamagal Posts: 3
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    Thanks, Lucy! I have been doing a crazy ton of research, so maybe I can figure out exactly what foods I can eat, and what to avoid. Feel free to add me, and if you have any other suggestions to help loose weight with pcos, I would extremely appreciate it.
  • chipaddict
    chipaddict Posts: 53
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    Hi! yeah I'm in the same boat but can't really help because nobody told me I should be dieting differently :S
  • TLCEsq
    TLCEsq Posts: 413 Member
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    I don't have PCOS but I have high insulin so the same type of diet was recommended for me. I tend to follow a Primal/Paleo diet with NO GRAINS (including rice, whole grains, etc.). I also read the Primal Blueprint and Protein Power. The Primal Blueprint made sense to me. I have lupus too, and a low carb diet is supposed to help with systemic inflammation. I just basically eat a grain-free diet with no potatoes and no added sugar. I limit fruit to berries, eat lots of vegetables, meat and poultry (mostly fish), tofu, soy and almond milk, nuts, seeds, butter, olive oil, coconut oil, etc. No peanuts or corn (which is actually a grain). My latest challenge is limiting my dark chocolate. I gained 20 pounds in two months last summer during a really stressful period in my life. I wasn't eating more but I was eating a lot of sugar, and that coupled with the weight gain led me to the problem I have now. I can't even eat dark chocolate without going for the whole bar, and my insulin is all out of whack.
  • princessputz
    princessputz Posts: 283 Member
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    Bumping, I'll reply when I get home in a few hours =)
  • gorden05
    gorden05 Posts: 20
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    Acutally I think there is a "PCOS Diet book for Dummies" or something close to it. I would try looking it up. I have thought I had PCOS and did my research, but have never been diagnosed. Good luck to you!
  • erica82177
    erica82177 Posts: 6
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    i have PCOS and my doctor told me i could either do a low calorie diet or a low carb diet. i did the low carb diet before and when i stopped it due to other medical issues i gained all my weight back and then some, so this time around i am trying the low calorie diet. i cut out all sodas, changed from white to wheat, dont eat potatoes, rice, pasta, or salt. and just doing that in 2 weeks i have lost 7 lbs, i know its not alot but when you have PCOS its alot. I do the bob harper power walk daily. i drink half my body weight in water. but i also read a blog from Courtney Crozier from the biggest loser on how she lost 109lbs at home in 9 months before the show. and even she suggests lots of fruit, green vegetables and protein meats. i have her blog saved if you would like it please let me know and i can email it to you! I also take 2,000 mg of metformin daily. I was told when you have PCOS you don't want to eat no more then 25 carbs per mail meals, but you should eat at least 2 snacks a day!!
  • LMT90
    LMT90 Posts: 24
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    I'm in the same boat too and it's so frustrating :cry: x
  • clarebear1982
    clarebear1982 Posts: 8
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    Agree! I tried low carb last summer and lost 7 lb in 2 weeks, then put 3 back on as my body got used to it. Trying to stick to 1200 cals now and exercise 5-6 days per week. I'm unsure if someone with PCOS should be eating back exercise calories... I sometimes do/don't. Since start of Jan I've lost between 0-2 lbs per week - not as much as i'd like :(
  • shine_
    shine_ Posts: 150 Member
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    I eat low carb and though it can seem a bit weird at first to even consider high GI food such as bananas and pineapple "unhealthy" you get used to it and learn quite fast what works/don't work with PCOS. I have lost 47lbs in the last 5 months. With PCOS I'd definitely say it's quality over quantity when it comes to calories, at least that's what works with me. I don't stress too much when it comes to eating back exercise calories because I'd literally have to eat when I'm not hungry then and I don't like that.
  • emiliewright
    emiliewright Posts: 148 Member
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    I have PCOS as well..The first 25 pounds were hard, and it took a year. But once those pounds were gone, so were my symptoms and I am feeling so much better. I am not cured of this horrible disease but I am tolerating it and getting through it. My biggest tip for you is try to make almost everything you eat come from natural packaging ie banana, avocado, meats, cheeses, fruits, veggies. Stay away from processed and overly packaged foods, or foods that wont go bad if left to sit for a few days. It really helps and when you work out, keep going, exhaust your body during your workouts, make them count. Oh and unless absolutely necessary DONT MEDICATE. that crap is synthetic junk!
    Best of luck :)
  • stacyann1001
    stacyann1001 Posts: 41 Member
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    I've been battling PCOS since my teens and have always struggled with carrying most of my weight in my tummy making me feeling fatter and depressed. Since joining MFP the first week of January I have successfully lost a healthy 10 pounds and I can say some of it has actually been from my tummy! Yaaaay!

    If you want to add me you can look at my diary to see what I have been doing if you like!

    I have been cutting back on my carbs, getting the salads instead of fries, drinking all water and no soda, avoiding salt and sugar whenever possible, adding extra vegetables wherever I can, eating 1200 calories a day with 1 cheat day a week where I allow myself to eat around 1500 calories or a little more if I feel I deserve it :) I've been working out 6 days a week, this has been the hardest part for me since I work full time and go to graduate school but I have been making it happen... and some days, I have been working out twice a day! It takes lot of push from inside yourself but you can do it. If you are unable to join a gym and workout there I highly recommend some of Jillian Michael's DVDs - I use her DVD's on alternate days from going to the gym. I do her 30 Day shred and 6 pack in 6 weeks. It really has made a difference in my body that I can feel more then I can see.

    DO NOT LET PCOS HOLD YOU BACK!!!!!!

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