Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome dietary needs

December2012

I have recently been diagnosed with PCOS, so I have insulin resistance. I need to control what I eat but I am getting conflicting information. I need to lose 15 lbs. I will be exercising too, gently to start off with because I'm recovering from an injury.

Have any if you treated a person with PCOS and what do you recommend? (Apart from the obvious cut out sweets, etc)

marialouise

Hi December 2012,

I have PCOS and lost 35lbs since being diagnosed. Here's a few things I found helpful:

1. Cut out sugary foods and drinks. Try to eat unprocessed, whole foods that don't have any added sugar, and beware of sugars in drinks (sugar in your tea or the sugar in fruit juices etc). This is so important for PCOS.
2. To lose weight you need to eat fewer calories than your body uses in the day. Your body uses a certain amount every day and if you eat maybe 500cals less than this number, you will lose weight. 500 doesn't work for everyone so can calculate your needs here and just eat less than the number it gives:

http://www.iifym.com/tdee-calculator/
or

http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced
or

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/
This website also has an app, MyFitnessPal. You put in your height, weight, age, how active you are (don't overestimate this), how much you'd like to lose and how long you'd like to do it (try 1lb a week maybe). You weigh out your food and it tells you how many calories you ate, and how many grams of protein, carbs and fat you at, as well as if you got enough fibre, iron etc. It really helps to see that your portion control is right and that we're not eating too much food for our body's needs. The default goal is 50% carbs, 20% protein and 30% fat. I changed mine to 35% carbs, 35% protein and 30% fat but that's just for me, everyone is different. But for insulin resistance I would shift away from carbs in favour of protein for sure.
3. The muscle:fat ratio in our bodies plays a role in insulin resistance. If you increase or maintain your muscle while losing fat, you'll benefit a lot. Taking exercise will help you burn fat and keeping your protein high in your diet will help you maintain muscle and you don't get that sugar rush either.
4. Be patient with the weight loss. Don't obsess with the scale, and maybe take progress photos every fortnight or so.

Some people who are just on a weight loss mission can eat whatever they want within their calorie goal. This is important for weight loss, but for PCOS your nutritional needs are more important. I cut out sugar in my tea (and the accompanying biscuits), breakfast cereals, changed to dark chocolate. I have the occasional treat but eat nowhere near as much sugar as before. Look on the packet of carby foods to see how much sugar they have; if it's 50g carbs and 45g sugar it's rubbish, if it's 50g carbs and 5g sugar it's a complex carb which will release energy slowly (oats, quinoa, brown rice, wholegrain pasta etc). These are okay in moderation. I also now eat more vegetables than fruit as they generally contain less sugar. I still eat some fruit, just not as much and I have vegetables throughout the day. You don't need a low carb diet but since I eat less of them I have found I don't get this lethargy after lunch anymore that I used to always have! For breakfast I might have eggs, smoked salmon, avocado or vegetables and no bread or cereal. That's not for everyone though, but find what works for you. Avoid processed foods (sauces from a packet, pre-marinated meats, microwave dinners) and make things from scratch where you can. Enjoy whole foods such as meat, fish, eggs, nuts, whole grains, beans/pulses, vegetables, fruit and the odd treat, and enjoy watching your body respond!

Mind yourself recovering from an injury. I have had knee surgeries and have a bad back and no longer do running or anything, but have a weight programme from an instructor at my local gym. If your legs are injured there's loads of upper body exercises you can do and vice versa, and these just help keep my arms and legs strong and toned and you'd be surprised how much time I spend sitting in the gym, but pushing or pulling heavy things! Find what works for you and enjoy it most importantly.

Hope that's not overwhelming, just start with small changes like taking walks and reducing sugar and see how you get on. I used to go 6 months at a time with no period for years before being diagnosed, and with small changes it came back to almost-regular, and my bloods improved. Feel free PM me if you have any questions about diet, exercise or endocrinologists or anything.

livedadream

+1 thats really good advise there marialouise...

solid and helpful

bee06

Just been diagnosed with PCOS two weeks ago so have started changing my diet. No more sweets, chocolate, white bread or junk food. Moved to brown rice and pasta. Porridge for breakfast which I was always having but I put raisins instead of sugar to sweeten it. Gradually reducing the sugar in my tea. Down to half a spoon now and I drink less tea as well. Trying to move away from pre made sauces as well. Snacks are nuts and fruit. I stopped drinking a couple of months ago so I'll kee that up.

I've an appointment to see an nutritionist in a couple of weeks as well to see if she can give me any advice.

I do seem to have more energy but I don't know if that's the diet changes or the nice weather.