need help with diet - PCOS :( (and a bit of a rant for good measure)

[willdernessgirl]

Hello all,

Well ... I'm new here - been lurking for a while... been reading the forums and have found some threads regarding PCOS - nice to see that there are ppl on here who are going to understand what I'm going thru wrt food and weight etc.

I could really use some help with my diet.

I went to a dietitian last week who I will NOT be going back to. I specifically asked my doctor to set me up with someone who knew about PCOS so they could help me with my diet.

Well ... this woman was 95lbs soaking wet and clearly had not lifted a weight in her entire life ... she probably doesn't know what it's like to struggle with your weight ... and not that I judged her for being thin, but what came out of her mouth certainly backed up her physical appearance. *sigh*

First of all ... when I explained how certain foods made me feel, she told me that cravings were all in my head ... and that if I ate starchy carbs or junk food and felt groggy and MORE hungry, that it was all my imagination!!! She then proceeded to tell me NOT to lift weights because "you don't want to bulk up, you want to do cardio so you'll burn calories", and then gave me a meal plan chock full of minimum requirements of breads, pasta and cereals ... ALL of the foods that I KNOW my body does NOT react well too!!! I left there wondering why I wasted my time.

Now, I'll be the first to admit that I don't know a lot about nutrition ... but considering that I have spent the past 5 years really paying attention to what foods made me feel good vs those that made me feel GROSS ... I can at least say with some certainty, that pasta, cereal and bread are things that I need to drastically limit, if not eradicate from my diet altogether. ARRRGH!!!!

Anyway ... now that i've gotten that off my chest ...

I'm wondering if anyone can point me in the direction of a good meal plan to follow that works for someone trying to lose weight and dealing with PCOS. I'm sure if I had to, I could put something together myself, but at this point, I'm really wanting someone else to just give me a script that I can stick to. If I have to, I can stick to a diet of tuna and chicken salad ... but I would like a bit more variety in my diet ... the same food day to day is predictable as far as knowing I'll drop weight etc ... but it sure gets boring fast.

Any suggestions??

[freebirdmac]

Keto springs to mind. You might want to check out the keto forums. Other than that, a low carb (but not as low as keto), high fat, high protein diet should help. Maybe something like 40/30/30 or 40/20/40.

[Eileen]

I'll second that. In fact, I'd go further and say that if you have PCOS, you will not be able to lose weight on any sort of high carb diet. The very first thing you have to do is to control your insulin levels, and that means keeping all refined carbs as low as possible.

The basic keto diet is eggs, fish, meat, chicken, lots and lots and lots of green vegetables, some olive oil, cheese, nuts and seeds. No bread, rice, pasta, fruit except berries and avocado, oatmeal etc. Most bodybuilders who do keto incorporate a carb-up day, but you'll probably find that you need to be careful with this, and stick to carb-ups based on root veg, low gi fruits and a small amount of whole grains.

As for bulking up, if it were that easy, I'd be the female version of Conan by now.

As an example, my typical meal plan would be something like this.

Breakfast: mushroom omlette.
PWO: whey shake.
Lunch: fish (whatever's cheap) and veggies or salad.
Snack: brussel sprouts soup and a little cheese.
Dinner: steak and lots of veggies.
Supper: cottage cheese, occasionally 99% chocolate.

[Emma-Leigh]

check out Kitebean's journal in the journalling section - she has/ had PCOS and has controlled it VERY well with good training and diet... You might get some good ideas from there.

[solstice]

I have PCOS and I find that while keto works in the short term, for me the cravings get to be too strong and I end up binging. It's NOT a good long term plan for me. I find something like South Beach (even starting on phase two if the cravings are *too* bad) or Weight Watchers 'Core' plan works *great*- moderate complex carbs are what keep me both sane and losing. (Now I just need to stop letting stress and life events throw me for a loop and I'll be good ta go LOL)

[kitebean]

Check your PM

[MJJRules]

I have PCOS, I used to be 250lbs and thought PCOS would keep me fat forever, I had read so many posts from women with it who had been dieting forever and haven't been able to loose weight.

I used to eat a lot of fast food, so my doctor told me to try and give it up for 3 months, so I went home that day and changed my eating habits forever, I rarely eat junk food anymore, and if I do it's only a little bit, not a whole bag of chips, and I haven't stepped foot in a fast food joint. It was very hard at first to resist, I just went cold turkey, but the cravings eventually stopped. My biggest thing was portion control, I would have 3 bowls of pasta at one sitting, I cut that back to maybe 1/2 a bowl at most. I lost 110lbs in a year, 70 of that without exercise.

[shawnbobo]

Originally Posted by willdernessgirl

First of all ... when I explained how certain foods made me feel, she told me that cravings were all in my head ... and that if I ate starchy carbs or junk food and felt groggy and MORE hungry, that it was all my imagination!!! She then proceeded to tell me NOT to lift weights because "you don't want to bulk up, you want to do cardio so you'll burn calories", and then gave me a meal plan chock full of minimum requirements of breads, pasta and cereals ... ALL of the foods that I KNOW my body does NOT react well too!!! I left there wondering why I wasted my time.

Anyway ... now that i've gotten that off my chest ...

I'm wondering if anyone can point me in the direction of a good meal plan to follow that works for someone trying to lose weight and dealing with PCOS. I'm sure if I had to, I could put something together myself, but at this point, I'm really wanting someone else to just give me a script that I can stick to. If I have to, I can stick to a diet of tuna and chicken salad ... but I would like a bit more variety in my diet ... the same food day to day is predictable as far as knowing I'll drop weight etc ... but it sure gets boring fast.

Any suggestions??

Basically, I am in the same boat. I have not been diagnosed with PCOS but have some of the same symptoms that most women with this disorder have. Insulin resistances, irratiable mood swings, weight gain, hair loss or gain etc. The only thing that works for me is Low Carb.

It is a scientific fact that the carbohydrates produce insulin and insulin has been proven to stimulate adrogens. The pesky free testosterone that makes us so moody, overwiegh etc.

A link to the study that proves this....

http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/con...tract/62/5/904

Can life go on with out chicken and tuna...Heck yeah...I personally make steak, a very lean and filling red meat. Eat Lamb and Veal, one of my favorite dishes to make is grilled salmon. I eat everything that I ate before hold the potatoes. LOL...I also let go of the pasta.

Dont think about what you can not eat. Instead think about what you can and how you feel when you eat those food. I know i can eat yogurt, mushrooms, lowfat cheese. Spinach, salad, nuts and strawberries (in moderation).

Continue to eat in a healthy moderation of fats, proteins and carbs.

I try for my fats to come from nuts and oils, like walnuts almonds, etc.
Lean Proteins from meats, or soy and tofu.
Carbs from salads and green beans, with the rare sweet potato

Staple meals are good. If you are single make about 4 servings of everything and put the extras in the fridge, freezer etc. Always having food prepared helps when you are in a hurry and hungry. Pick a day in the week to mix it up and cook something that you have never cooked before.

Recipes that can help...

http://www.easysaladrecipes.com/index.html
http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/ma...ed-i-hope.html

Good Luck,

[kitebean]

Originally Posted by shawnbobo

The pesky free testosterone that makes us so moody, overwiegh etc.

ah but that 'pesky free testosterone' potentially can make us better athletes