Hey girlfriend real talk for a minute. Are you struggling with PCOS? Have you seen your doctor only to be told to lose weight but never told how. It really annoys me that, that is the answer to so many women struggling with this horrible syndrome. Like no shit doc, I know I need to lose weight and if I knew how I would have already do that. It is so frustrating!
I had a client tell me one time she walked into a new doctor who was an endocrinologist and was recommended to her by her obgyn and the first thing the doctor said to her before he even ran any tests or anything was, “you are a great candidate for weight loss surgery”. Like what, um you haven’t even run any tests on me. How do you know what I am a candidate for?
Or another potential client I saw said her doctor without even running any tests said, “you have diabetes, don’t you”? She was just a larger woman and that was ok but she did not have diabetes and her doctor would have known that if he would have taken the time to ask some questions and get to know her and then ran some tests.
I hear this over and over again in my practice.
I am not not knocking doctors. I just think sometimes they can tell you, do this or do that but they never tell you how so you leave their office with a diagnosis that is HUGE and means so much for you and your potential family.
Like they drop this bomb on you and walk away.
I am here to tell you that you can lose weight despite PCOS, you can get pregnant and you can feel and look amazing.
So how do you lose weight despite PCOS….
In my protocol, the hormone puzzle method I talk about all the steps you need to take to make sure you are eating balanced nutrition and the lifestyle. You can learn more about this method here The Hormone Puzzle Method Blog or you can buy my book, The Hormone Puzzle Method- Solving Infertility. Available next month.
For today’s lesson here are a few of my best tips for losing weight despite PCOS.
- Eat low Glycemic Index (GI) carbohydrates such as vegetables and whole grains. It is very important for women with PCOS to completely avoid refined carbohydrates including sugar, white flour, whole wheat flour and products made from them (example: pasta, bread, desserts, soda, and candy)
- Keep your blood sugar stable with a daily schedule of meals and snacks every three to five hours that includes some protein and good fats (for example some nuts/nut butter, seeds/seed butter, hard-boiled egg, hummus dip). Protein foods take up to 5 hours to digest while carbohydrate foods digest within 30 minutes.
- Eat at least five servings a day of vegetables including two of leafy greens
- Have a daily serving of legumes like black beans or lentils.
- Enjoy grass or pasture-fed meat up to three times a week
- Eat at least three daily servings of fruits like berries, which have a lower glycemic impact. Each serving of fruit should be enjoyed as part of a meal or with a protein.
- Limit or eliminate milk and dairy as these can aggravate internal dampness. If you do have dairy have only non-homogenized full-fat milk.
- Pay careful attention to portion sizes in order to moderate glucose load and minimize insulin resistance.
- Add one or two Tbsp of cinnamon on cereal each morning to help decrease insulin resistance.
- Include prebiotic and probiotic foods which promote the growth of beneficial bacteria in the intestinal tract. Prebiotics are found in whole grains, onions, bananas, garlic, honey, leeks, artichokes and some fortified foods. Probiotic foods are found in fermented foods (sauerkraut, live culture yogurt, kim chi, miso).
- In addition, get your heart rate up with at least 30 minutes of vigorous exercise every day. Studies have shown that exercise can reverse diabetes and improve insulin sensitivity as well as help with weight control.
Just losing five to ten percent of your body weight if you are overweight, can restore your menstrual periods and reduce distressing symptoms like facial hair and acne.
However, it is important not to exercise too hard. Over exercise depletes your yin and can raise your testosterone levels. This is not the time to start your marathon training. Balance is the key especially if you are struggling with PCOS.
Following these simple steps will help you to lose weight despite having PCOS and you will start to look better but you will feel SO much better. No bloating after meals. No exhaustion when you have just started your day. No crazy cravings. Just you, feeling like you. Comfortable in your body and able to get pregnant naturally.
If all of these tips leave you feeling overwhelmed and stuck and like you just can’t move forward without support from a coach, I encourage you to book a call with me. I help women all day long who are just like you. Struggling with PCOS and getting no answers from doctors except lose weight but never how. Let me show you how.
You can book a call here- www.calendly.com/kelahealthcoach.
Till we meet again.
Love and Health,
Coach Kela
