If you have PCOS and are trying to lose weight, then you are in the right place!
The research shows that if you are overweight, even a modest amount of weight loss, around 5%,
can improve your hormone profile and increase your chances of ovulating and falling pregnant.
So, what is the best way of doing that? Today
I am going to give you my top 4 tips for losing weight with PCOS. Stay tuned!
Hi, I'm Melanie McGrice and I'm a fertility and prenatal dietitian.
What we eat can have a huge impact not only on your fertility but once you conceive on
both the short and long term health of your baby. When embarking on a weight loss journey,
you don't want to compromise your nutritional status in the process. That's where I come in!
If you have been trying to fall pregnant with PCOS, you'll know that it's not that easy.
PCOS is the most common cause of anovulatory infertility but luckily research does show that
there are a few things that you can do to increase your chances of having a healthy pregnancy.
One of these things is modest weight loss if you are overweight. So, start with these four tips...
Tip number one: Don't eat late at night
One of the defining features of PCOS is insulin resistance.
Essentially the body is not responding to, or is less sensitive to the insulin that it is making.
When this happens the body produces more insulin and high insulin levels can make
PCOS symptoms worse. Research is starting to show that when you eat may be as important as
what you eat. In general, it seems that people who start eating earlier in the day and also,
end eating earlier have better insulin sensitivity than those eating late at
night. This has a lot to do with our circadian alignment, or our sleep-wake cycles. It seems
that aligning our food intake with daylight hours can benefit our metabolism and glucose response.
Tip number two: Eat foods that up your fullness factor
When you feel full, you are less likely to eat too much and reducing calories is the key to
losing weight. In general, a minimally processed, or whole food eating plan will make weight loss
easier because these foods are more filling. The three nutrients that help with this are fibre,
fat and protein. High fibre foods have a lower glycaemic response which means they spike your
blood sugar levels less which means more sustained energy. And, fat and protein help to keep you
feeling fuller for longer by delaying gastric emptying, meaning that the food stays in your
tummy for longer. By combining these nutrients in your meals and snacks, you'll have a winning
recipe that will definitely keep you feeling full and satisfied for hours without having to
eat all the time. This is a great way to reduce your calories and potentially lose some weight.
Tip number three: Watch your intake of ultra-processed foods
Almost all the food we eat has gone through some form of processing.
Processing in itself is not bad. The problem comes in when we eat too many ultra-processed foods.
Ultra-processed foods aren't foods you'll see in nature, they are foods that have been made
from substances extracted from foods (like fats, starches, added sugars and so on). Some examples
of ultra processed foods include softdrink or soda, salty snacks, and packaged cookies.
The problem with ultra processed foods is that they are usually energy dense but nutrient poor.
Many are also a very concentrated source of refined carbohydrates,
which will spike your blood sugar and insulin levels. To add to this, they are usually
designed to be particularly tasty, so we're tempted to eat more, even if we feel satisfied.
This is a recipe for weight gain and nutrient deficiencies.
Tip number four: Include adequate protein in your diet
Having worked with women with poly cystic ovarian syndrome for years,
I've met many women who are ticking all these boxes, and still struggle to lose weight. They
find that the only way to drop a dress size is to starve themselves. The problem is, that fad diets
often don't meet nutrition requirements, such as protein. Inadequate protein intake results
in the body breaking down muscle mass to get the protein it needs to make new hormones and enzymes,
and once muscle mass has been broken down, it's really hard to build it up again.
Your muscle mass has a really big impact on your metabolism, so the less muscle mass you have,
the harder it becomes to lose weight, and you'll soon find yourself in a vicious circle.
Muscle mass also impacts how effectively your insulin hormones work,
so is particularly important for women with PCOS. So, the take home message is to include some
protein, such as fish, poultry, nuts, legumes, eggs or dairy products, at every meal and snack,
and keep right away from rapid weight loss diets, unless you are being guided by a
healthcare professional with experience working with women with poly cystic ovarian syndrome.
Losing weight when you have PCOS is not always easy, but I hope that these four tips put you on
the right path to losing weight the healthy way. To help you even more, I have developed an amazing
PCOS friendly recipe e-book filled with delicious recipes specially developed to help manage PCOS
symptoms. Go to www.melaniemcgrice.com/shop to get your copy today! Alternatively,
you can always book a consultation with one of my team of amazing dietitians.
You'll find our details in the description box below. Thanks for tuning in, see you next time!