PCOS - Any diet tips

Hi, same here with the pcos. I do a low carb diet. I cut out most proccessed foods and count my calories. I do not take met. I exercise everyday. I wish you luck!

Same boat here

I have altered my eating habits to eat more fat and protein. I have amended my target figures to 40% carb, 30% fat, 30% protein.

I have found that the slightly higher protein, and lower carbs lowers my cravings.

I love my food I use high protein bars in my bag for meals on the go ( Atkins or other makes), and have concocted my own breakfast shake, for speedy breakfasts. ( 2 scoops protein powder for the protein, 1 scoop Slimfast for the texture, 1 tbsp ground oatmeal for the cholesterol benefits)

Try to plan your meals around veg and protein, with dense carbs as a added extra if required.

This is just what suits me, above all be flexible. Life is really variable

Try not to get bogged down by any prescribed diet, find out what works for you.

I found that eating gluten was my culprit and I have reduced the amount of processed carbs I eat. Not eating gluten has been the biggest thing for me, I feel tons better and my cyst pain isnt constant anymore and I'm nowhere near as bloated or retaining near as much water... Eating less processed carbs was just a side effect of cutting out gluten and now when I eat too many I feel really gross and yuck, as I hate gf bread its not so hard to stick to

I also agree with a higher fat and protein intake

Same boat here
"
I have altered my eating habits to eat more fat and protein. I have amended my target figures to 40% carb, 30% fat, 30% protein."

I do the same! For the first 5 weeks though, I went NO SUGARS and less than 50 total carbs per day but ate as many calories as I wanted. That pretty much loosened up my addiction to carbs. I totally quit craving them and I lost a quick 20 pounds! I then lowered my calories to MFP suggested range for safe weightloss and upped my carbs to about 40% (worked out to about 100 roral carbs) AND I implemented a walking plan. I did this for about 7 weeks and lost about 25 more pounds in that time. In the last 2 weeks I have added couch to 5k training (yes I am still in the 240's range) and I still do some walking at least 2 or 3 days a week as well. Now, since then I have not lost any weight... but EVERYONE has finally noticed my weight loss and I attribute it to building muscle and losing fat! I am IR and there is no way I can ever eat carbs like everone else and still lose weight. It just gets stored to my liver and other body parts as fat!!!!!!!

Also as others mentioned, I have cut out more and more processed anything! It is just better for me.

Low carb-- I've been able to stop my metformin. Taking meds regularly though is really important! I keep mine in the bathroom where I remember to take them in the AM, with my toothbrush.

Low carb here, too.

Don't eat fruit as breakfast in the morning especially by itself - it will spike your blood sugar and make you hungry faster.

Make sure whenever you have a carb (including veggies) you pair it with a protein. The protein makes it digest slower, which prevents blood sugar spikes, and keeps you feeling fuller longer.

Have your doc check your vitamin D levels. About 80% of us PCOS-ers are D deficient, and it is a vitamin that has been shown to help metabolism, immunity, heart and joint health, and a whole host of other things.

Also, look into Alpha Lipoic Acid. This can be purchased at your local vitamin or health food shop pretty cheaply. Studies have shown that it helps not only detoxify the body (the original purpose), but greatly increases insulin sensitivity.

Please don't confuse PCOS and gluten issues - they are two very different things! I have PCOS, and about a year ago went on a very low-carb diet (South Beach). It made my body react in pretty horrible ways - I got dizzy anytime I tried to exercise, and had SERIOUS problems with my period (I'm on the pill, and started bleeding randomly mid-month for like 2 weeks - sorry if that's TMI). Since then, I've talked to my regular doctor and an endocrinologist about this, and they both confirmed that unless you have separate issues with gluten, don't cut carbs for the sake of PCOS. With this disease, your hormones are out of whack already, and any type of drastic reduction in anything will unbalance them even more. If you're absolutely sure you want to cut carbs, do it very very gradually. The same advice goes for everything else: take baby steps towards cutting out foods you don't want in your diet anymore. If you try to make drastic changes all at once, your body will rebel - I think that's good advice for anyone, but especially for those of us who have various imbalance issues!

I would also like to point out the following:

1) Keep in mind, Low carb does not mean NO carb. Fruits and vegetables do indeed contain carbs. And they are necessary to health.

2) Also, what the above poster wrote is valid, but gluten is not the only reason to go low carb. Many PCOS-ers are successful going low carb simply because (sometimes unintentionally) this has the nice side benefit of removing processed, chemical and preservative-laden foods from our diets. These chemicals and preservatives are major contributors to knocking our hormones out of whack in the first place.

There is nothing wrong with experimenting with your diet and finding what is healthy for you. When you do this though, please remember to keep to your calorie goals. It will not do any good for your body if you end up consistently below goal. It may very well seem like you are eating A LOT more food when you remove the junk, but that is a good thing. You will actually feel less deprived, because your portions of healthy foods will be much larger than the same caloric content of junk foods would be.

Whatever you decide to do, good luck with your journey! :happy:

I have found, for me, that I eat lean meats, lots of fresh fruits and veggies, and carbs that are high in fiber eaten during 5 smaller meals a day in stead of 3 helps me with my weight loss. I have had PCOS for about 15 years now, and my doc just out me on 150mg a day of metformin to help my body use the glucose in my body more efficiently. I am not diabetic, but my PCOS has led to hypothyroidism. I also work out vigorously 5 days a week to increase my cardio health and endurance. Since I've been on metformin, I have had more energy and don't feel the need for naps like I did before I started taking it. I am by no means a pro at this, but my best advise is to have a strong support system set up with your friends and family to help you. It's easy to have the best intentions, but it's the follow though that matters! Good luck to all of you ladies!

hi!
i was diagnosed with PCOS about a year ago. and since then, i lost 28 lbs. i know it's slow, but i needed to really drill some habits into my brain. a lot of people say low-carb diet works best, but if you're a mom, you need quite a bit of energy to get through the day. and since energy comes from carbs, you don't want to go overboard with this no-carb diet. i recommend you find a mix between a low carb and low glycemic index diet. this way, your net carbs don't go TOO low and you won't get too tired throughout the day. basically, try to avoid anything WHITE. white potatoes, white bread, white rice, white pasta, white sugar etc etc.

low glycemic index means you're eating carbs, but they are made of more complicated sugars that break down slowly in the blood. it helps you maintain a more constant blood sugar level and prevents the dreaded insulin spike. so replace a lot of your simple carbs with things like brown rice, wheat bread, wheat pasta and yams. THEN, worry about your portion control. just because these are better for you it doesn't mean that you should eat a LOT of them.

now, i'm not saying FOREVER give up your favourite cookies or fries. life like that would be insufferable. there are a few tricks however. if you really need some of those carb-y treats, have them AFTER a vigorous workout. you'll digest carbohydrates more easily at those times. another trick is to pair those carb treats with fibre or some good fats. they also help the digestion of carbohydrates. so if you need your cookie, have a spoonful of natural organic peanut butter. or some flax seeds. or half of an avocado.

there is also some recent research that states that fasting actually helps IMPROVE your insulin resistance. i might get slaughtered for this on MFP, but fasting for about 20 hours once a week has helped pre-diabetics and diabetics become more sensitive to insulin. <-- this is not something i have tried yet, so do your research and talk to your doctor first.

other than that, as soon as you get your healthy lifestyle in place, you will feel the benefits right away. trust me.

all the best!

I have PCOS and these are some rules that I have come up for myself:

I have a general rule that I like to follow with all labeled fruits (non-frutis and vegetables)

Protein + Fiber >> Sugar

I have recently cut out as much added sugar as I can and I do not eat any bleached flour products.

Also exercise! Even a few small walks throughout the day or a nice long walk after dinner add up and help curb insulin spikes. If you have had a lot of sugar or refined carbohydrates one day, consider adding in a bit of extra exercise to help burn it off and get it out of your blood stream.

Best of luck!

Edit: I haven't read any yet, but I heard a lot of Dr. Hyman's books are good for women with PCOS, diabetes or insulin resistance.

I use cinnamon everyday as well!

I have PCOS and am insulin resistant as well... I try to follow the Belly Fat Cure and I take both chromium and cinnamon. It's not really hard to follow and knocks out just about all cravings. When I am actually "following the rules" my body regulates itself, I feel a whole lot better and I lose weight...

Metphormin made me sick to my stomach all day every day. I couldn't take it anymore and my Endocrinologist suggested cinnamon instead.