PCOS/ Insulin resistance

In case you missed it on your other post....

I also have PCOS. It definitely makes it hard to lose weight and makes it very easy to put on the weight. However there is no magic numbers or tricks. I used PCOS as an excuse for so long. I used to say, it's not my fault it's because my insulin just won't cooperate. Don't get me wrong, it's definitely helpful to stick to low Glycemic Index foods. Less sugar will help you regulate your hormones better. "The PCOS Diet book" is a good one as is "The GI Diet book".

However, I'd recommend not going on a diet. You truly need to make a lifestyle change. I've been journaling my food and trying to keep under 1200 calories. I've been eating healthier, making good choices and non of them require me sticking to a certain diet or cutting out carbs. You have to eat like this for the rest of your life so don't diet. Try different foods and see how they make you feel. If you feel tired a few hours later you might want to try some foods that have more complex carbohydrates in them.

Exercise is also very important.

So... ultimately.. eat healthy and exercise, no special plan. However, if you want to add me as a friend I'd be happy to provide any advice and support I can. I've been dealing with PCOS for a number of years now so I know it's great to have people to talk to about it.

Hope that helps!

Your diary's closed which inhibits answers.

PCOS people do well on low carb diets and low carbing would also allow you to reduce the medication working with your doctor.

There are three major food groups or macronutrients - protein, fats and carbs. Protein as its name suggests is the most important - its for muscle repair etc and the heart is a muscle, so you don't want to go low on protein. There are fats our body cannot make and has to get by eating, like Omega 3 and other "essential fats", and then there are carbs. There are no carbohydrates that you have to eat to be healthy.

So a low carb diet / lifestyle means eating 70 - 100g of protein, less than 40g of carbohydrates and the rest will be oils and fats - about 60 - 100g depending on your total calories.

In terms of foods you're looking at egg & bacon for breakfast, 4 oz salmon salad for lunch, 4 oz burger made from 20% fat beef mince with 4 ozs of steamed broccoli, 3 ozs of green beans fried in coconut oil and some spinach leaves for dinner. Snacks are hard cheese 1 oz max or 10-15 almonds or similar.

Hope that gives you an idea or two. Don't be frightened of fat, get your protein in and fill up on low carb green veg.


http://www.atkins.com/Program/Overview.aspx is worth reading - Phase 1 is 2 weeks then you move on. The products are not necessary, possibly not even desirable, but it should help you with the whole "low carb" thing.

I'm type1 diabetic. Over the last few years the amount of insulin had gone up and up, and then I was also put on Metformin

Since I started using Mfp I've got rid of the Metformin and halved my insulin.

I try and keep the carbs low, I've still got to have some to keep my blood sugar stable, but don't stress out over them. I've just cut out bread, and pasta, and make healthier snacks using wholemeal flour instead of white

This.. but I want to say again.. don't diet. You won't stick to a diet. Ultimately you need to learn how to eat better for the rest of your life. That's baby steps. Quiting carbs completely will just make you crave them. It's much better to choose complex carbs instead of cutting out all the carbs.

Not all starches are created equal. Some starches are digested very quickly, and cause a rapid and large rise in blood sugar. Others are digested more slowly, causing blood glucose to rise less and over a longer period of time. some starch, called resistant starch, is not digested in the small intestine at all, and so causes little or no blood sugar rise.

Legumes (beans, peas, etc.) contain a large proportion of resistant starch. Some grains, when whole and intact (e.g. not processed or ground into flour), contain moderate amounds of resistant starch - when the grain is ground into flour, almost all of the starch is broken down into sugars and absorbed into the blood. This is why the glycemic index of products made with flour (even whole grain flour) is so much higher than that of the grain they came from.

I will substitute Spaghetti Squash for Spaghetti which has the same texture and is a vegetable instead. I also try to choose breads with atleast 4g of fiber in them. The less it's processed the better!

Everything has carbs so just eat a balanced diet and choose the right kind of foods. Cut out the refined sugars and try to stick to natural sugars. Your body will learn to adjust.

My real question I guess was what an appropriate number is. I've only ever counted calories, & don't really know what a healthy number would be.

I would say under 100g (400 calories). Below 60g you are more likely to get into a ketogenic diet which isn't a problem but probably isn't necessary either, so I would say control the carbs at 80 - 100g per day.