New to forum and help with diet for PCOS
Hi I am new to this forum. I am a 32 years old and have been lucky enough to have had 2 children even though I suffer with PCOS and endometriosis. I wanted to join because I havefinally hit my breaking point with my weight(I'm 5'5" and weigh 222lbs) and need dome help to keep myself on track. I have been part of cc for a few months but have not been able to find a way to keep on target. It is not easy. I thought it would be, but how wrong I was. I don't know anyone else with PCOS and haven't found much on the subject. I find conflicting sites about the right diet. If there are any suggestions I am all for it. I would really like to know some tricks that will still keep my family happy with what I make and not force themto eat the same as me. Thankyou
Hi there jadea! I'm in about the same boat as you. I've had it with being overweight and really want to be able to play with my kids without getting exhausted. I was wondering if you have done the diet profile on here yet? Its up in the tools section at the top. I did it and it confirmed what I already suspected ... being an emotional eater. The nice thing is it gave me some suggestions for what to do to help with that. I have also found that if I get snacky having a "diet buddy" that I can call to get support really helps me to resist the temptation to nibble between meals. AS for family meals that is always tough. Right now I am working on just slowing down while i eat normal foods with them. Drinking water between bites, chewing slower, taking smaller bites and visiting with the family while we eat. I got these ideas froma book I read, and they seem to be working so far. I find myself eating a lot less because I am not so focused in on the food. For me its more about quantities of food because most of the homemade meals I make are moderately healthy. Anyhow, that my 2 cents, hope some of its useful to you. :)
There are actually a lot of books available on the subject. I think you could easily find one at your local bookstore or on Amazon.com. Finding books was the first thing I did when I was diagnosed.
As for the diet, from what I've gleaned, the type of diet matters very little unless you're already displaying symptoms of insulin resistance. In any case, a diet with a lower GI/GL is always helpful. A GI is the Glycemic Index and it measures how fast the calories in a food are broken down into sugars into the blood stream and thus cause the spike in blood-sugar and thus also in insulin. This aggravates insulin resistance. The GL is the Glycemic Load, this measures not only how fast the calories turn to sugar and get into the blood stream, but also how much sugar will result in a typical serving. For example, a carrot is a high-sugar vegetable with a fairly high GI as the sugars will get into your bloodstream quickly, but it has a low GL because the amount of sugar in a carrot is actually very low per serving and so it really won't cause that drastic of a spike in blood sugar.
Some helpful links:
On the note of the GI diet, a great resource I have used to control my own PCOS is Natasha Turner's 'The Hormone Diet'. She advocates a combined low GI (see above post) and Mediterranean diet (i.e. as much green leafy vegetables as you want, legumes, good oils, with a fair amount of fruit though not too much). What I most took out of her book is the emphasis that protein should be a central part of every meal for those with PCOS, in order to stabilize hunger and hormone levels. For example, a typical breakfast that she recommends, and that I have been following, is a protein shake with the following: a bit less than a whole banana, 1 cup soy milk, 1 tb almond butter, 1 ounce espresso, 1 serving whey protein, and some cinnamon. I am usually able to make it to lunch on this, without having to have any bread/ high-GI foods.
In addition, I started taking D-chiro-inositol - it is a form of B vitamin - which has been developed especially for PCOS. I wrote earlier in this post that I was having a very rough time with hair loss and weight gain due to PCOS. Having taken this pill for the past 3 weeks, I have lost about a pound a week and feel much, much less hungry (one of the only proven ways to counteract PCOS is to lose 5 - 10 percent of your weight), and overall that I am able to properly register and break down foods. The makers of DCI say that it takes about 6 weeks for DCI to take full effect; I am still losing hair, though am hopeful this will eventually be addressed. There is a lot of discussion of DCI on this site and on SoulCysters.com - I recommend reading other people' responses to it. It is not cheap (2 bottles go for $56, which will last about 2 months), and I don't think it is covered by most health insurers, but a lot of people say it is a great, non-harmful alternative to Metformin. Of course it depends on your personal makeup, but I would recommend DCI, as it is one of the few solutions I have heard of, and it is the only thing that has helped me to lose all of my PCOS-gained pounds. I should say that I use DCI in addition to going to a group weight lifting class 3 times a week, running at least twice a week, and limiting carbohydrates.
PS: DCI asks in their brochure that they send with the pills that if you do see positive results, to spread the word. I am following their instructions simply because I think their product might help others.
DCI site:http://www.chiralbalance.com/d-chiro-inositol -anim-b.htm?gclid=CJDcluvLrp4CFdA65Qod7C1Vpw
