Diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

kbairdphillips
kbairdphillips Posts: 275 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome today and have spent the last couple of hours researching it, but I still have some questions regarding diet to help with the insulin resistance . Questions, I now wish I would have addressed with my doctor earlier.

So, 99% of the time I go over my sugar allowance. Today I consumed 88 grams of sugar putting me over by 43 grams, the mango I had at lunch accounted for a third of today's total sugar. :noway:

I have never even worried about sugar consumption since most of it comes from fruit and my daily greek yogurt, but I'm wandering now if I need to cut back. I am very concerned with diabetes. And, though my doctor did not say that I am diabetic or pre-diabetic, I hear the word insulin and immediately fear it. I know that I'm on the right track by losing weight and becoming more active, but I now worry if I am making the right food choices the majority of the time.

So some of the questions I have are:
Does anyone have any experience with this syndrome or insulin resistance and if so, how did you change your diet?
Do I need to go on a more diabetic type diet?
How does the glycemic index diet work and does that help?
And, now that I need to give up Diet drinks and artificial sweeteners, I have no idea what to drink except for water.

Replies

  • 3ofmine
    3ofmine Posts: 136 Member
    Hi

    Sorry about your diagnosis..there is a lot of stuff that goes along with PCOS. I don't follow the diabetic diet but there is a book called "The PCOS Diet" if you google it you should find it easy. Did they give you Metformin or any meds for insulin resistant or are you insulin resistant? If your not then as long as you are eating healthy and losing weight or maintaining you should be fine. The Diabetic Diet is a good one to follow if you looking for something specific. Good luck :)

    Angel
  • kazzsjourney
    kazzsjourney Posts: 674 Member
    I have lost over 180 pounds and do have PCOS. I still eat fruit and healthy grains but I try and avoid carbs and dinner time. Work out 4 days per week and a lot of the time will cycle my calories so I am eating different values on different days :)
  • kiwilass
    kiwilass Posts: 49 Member
    Hi there. I have PCOS too and its not the end of the world. Yes it can be hard to loose weight but not impossible. You do not need a special diet. I try to do the following - eat mainly complex carbs (no white bread . rice or white pasta) , I also try not to eat carbs most days at tea time and nothing after dinner, try and eat clean no processed stuff will help. I eat fruit but try to keep within my sugar allowance. Complex carbs will also give you longer sustained energy rather than a quick burst which you get from processed sugars and carbs. I hope that helps
  • jackieatx
    jackieatx Posts: 578 Member
    I have heard this often lately? I'm aware that it causes infertility and obviously has to do with cysts.. but what other symptoms are there?
  • AmandaP_23
    AmandaP_23 Posts: 31
    I've had PCOS since I was 14. :[
    Though it's never been serious.
    Good luck, hun! =]
  • EnchantedEvening
    EnchantedEvening Posts: 671 Member
    I have heard this often lately? I'm aware that it causes infertility and obviously has to do with cysts.. but what other symptoms are there?
    Hair growth due to lack of estrogen, weight gain from insulin resistance, pain in one or both ovaries (from the cysts), irregular or no periods, acne, and fatigue.

    Common treatments are high-estrogen birth control pills (which makes losing weight a struggle) and Metformin (prescribed for insulin resistance and can help a teeny tiny bit with weight loss).
  • LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo
    LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo Posts: 3,634 Member
    My answers in BOLD

    Does anyone have any experience with this syndrome or insulin resistance and if so, how did you change your diet? In my case YES but I was already prediabetic before & PCOS just made it worse so now I'm a certified full blown type 2 diabetic
    Do I need to go on a more diabetic type diet? That depends on your doctor's recommendations. Actually there's no special type of diet for us diabetics. Its easier not to over on sugar by simply cutting out refined carbs that includes white bread, pasta, cakes, ice cream
    How does the glycemic index diet work and does that help? Yes it do worked for me but like what I said, consult your doctor so he can recommend a dietician who will then assess you
    And, now that I need to give up Diet drinks and artificial sweeteners, I have no idea what to drink except for water.
    Water is good for you. I understand the struggle of switching from sugary drinks to plain, flavorless water but in the long run you'll get used to it. Plus our bodies are mostly made up of water so we need it.
  • EnchantedEvening
    EnchantedEvening Posts: 671 Member
    If you don't like plain water, you could put a slice of lemon and/or lime in it.

    Also, I like my water super icy cold - I swear it tastes better that way - so try adding lots of ice too.
  • zombiemomjo
    zombiemomjo Posts: 494 Member
    Sorry for the diagnosis. I have PCOS, too. Went through the infertility, inability to lose weight, etc. I tried low carb diets, extreme bodyshaping stuff with high protein diets, WeightWatchers. The only thing that has worked for me is counting calories and exercising every day. I'm no longer pre-diabetic, I've finally lost weight, and I'm having pretty regular cycles. I do try to be careful about my carbs. When I did manage to get finally get pregnant, I had gestational diabetes with both pregnancies, and I do NOT want to go through that for the rest of my life. It was manageable, but insulin shots are not fun. I did learn a lot about my body and what types of foods gave me that "sugar rush." Sadly, eating fruit was something that I learned I can't do very much of, and potatoes are the devil! 1 banana would send my blood sugar over the top, and my potato addiction has become a rare treat. So, I focus more on veggies and whole grains for my complex carbs. It's not easy with two young boys who love Hamburger Helper, but I do my best. I do some form of cardio every single day (with a few exceptions), and it has totally changed my life.

    Feel free to friend me if you need a Cyster to chat with. :) Good luck!
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    Dropping your carbs to 80-100g daily will help for starters. Eat 100g of protein per day and lots of lovely oils and fats to make up the rest. This will start to address the insulin resistance, by addressing the elevation of insulin from eating carbohydrates.

    Macros set to 25 / 25 / 50 C / P / F (for 1600 calories) or 33 / 33 / 34 for 1200 calories.

    Eat lots of green low carb low GI vegetables, maybe low carb berries, avoid bread / cake / cookies / candy / pasta / pizza etc etc whole grain or otherwise.
  • hajenkatt
    hajenkatt Posts: 331 Member
    Just wanted to say I am so grateful for this post and the helpful suggestions. I need to tweak my diet due to insulin resistance, and this thread is very helpful to me.

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