PCOS diet? and a few other questions.

[frsttimemama]

For those of you with PCOS, did your doctor tell you that a certain diet was helpful? I ask because my doctor told me that I may have PCOS last August. I was able to lose 20 pounds and we found out that I was pregnant in mid October. Pregnancy was perfect except with no problems, but he was stillborn at 39 weeks a due to a cord insertion issue. It was a surprise to everyone. This was a few weeks ago, but we want to start trying again as soon as we can. Anyway, with the PCOS, I am really anxious about it. They said we may have a hard time conceiving to begin with so we were ecstatic about our son. I didnt have regular cycles before getting pregnant. I don't have any idea how yhis works. I am anxious to talk to my OB/GYN next week about all of this. I don't know what my options are or if there is anything i can or should be doing.

 

[heres_hoping]

Firstly, I am so sorry about the loss of you son. I lost my first son too, he was premature. I also have PCOS and understand your urgency to try again as it may take a while.

The best diet to follow is a low GI diet, the idea being to avoid spikes in blood sugar, as insulin resistance is thought to be a cause of PCOS. So basically, avoid white carbs and refined sugar.

You may be started on metformin, and they may ask you to try with just that for six months before going any further,p. it is different in each hospital. That is what happened with me, and I am now on my second clomid cycle as met alone did not regulate my cycles.

I found acupuncture with Chinese herbs helped a lot whilst waiting to start clomid, with that my cycles regulated to 35 ish days, but that took a few months of weekly visits to achieve. I liked that it was something I could do other than just wait. I am still going to acu to support the clomid.

Wish you every success on your rainbow journey x

 

[frsttimemama]

Thanks! I have been trying to eat a low carb diet, keeping carbs around 100-120 grams per day because that's what worked for me last time. I'm going to have to Google low glycemic index type foods, but it SEEMS to me that it would be a similar type diet to a low carb diet. What about dairy foods?

It's nice to have an idea of what to possibly expect. I appreciate it. There is no place around here to do acupuncture, so that's not an option, but if it is working for you, great!

 

[Twin34mom]

"The Insulin Resistance Diet" is the book that my endocrinologist recommended. You can find it on Amazon. It is pretty helpful, and it gives you food guidelines, recipes, and suggestions. In addition to PCOS, I have insulin resistance and hypothyroidism. IR and PCOS often go hand in hand. My endo put me on metformin which between that and a low GI/low carb diet I was able to lose weight and conceive naturally ( we have ten month old twin girls). My ob/gyn referred me to my endo because it is considered a metabolic disease. The endo was the most helpful dr IMO in getting the PCOS under control. I now get regular periods, too.

 

[frsttimemama]

Thank you. I'm actually trying to follow a fairly low carb diet. How many grams of carbs do you eat daily? I aim for about 100. Should I be shooting for less? I certainly hope that losing weight will help me, too!

 

[Twin34mom]

I don't really count my carbs. The book I read said that you just need to make sure you balance your carbs with your protein intake. I think it is 14 grams of carbs to seven grams of protein to keep your blood sugar from spiking. When I eat carbs, I try to make sure they are they are whole grain or whole wheat.

 

[frsttimemama]

Oh. Okay. Counting the carbs has worked for me so far as far as losing weight. I TRY not to eat them in general as like bread, cookies, candy, soda, cake, etc. If I do, they are generally IN something like fruit or veggies or dairy products, or in combination like a ham sandwich or peanut butter or something like that.

 

[zilla]

Hi,

this might be a daft question ...

my BMI is 21 so right in the middle of the "normal" range - but I've just been diagnosed with PCOS.

Would it still be advisable to try the low carb diets etc - do these help with PCOS itself or just with the weight loss associated with PCOS?

 

[heres_hoping]

This is a good question. Personally, I am like you, normal BMI, tried the PCOS low gi diet for nine months and it made no difference at all, neither did metformin. I do think it is worth a go though. I think rather than weight loss, the point of it it to help improve insulin resistance, which is the precursor to PCOS in a lot of women. I don't know if I am insulin resistant or not as was never tested for it when diagnosed PCOS. You may find the low gi works better for you. It's a healthy way to eat anyway so isn't gong to harm anything!

 

[frsttimemama]

I'm sorry it didn't work for you! Frustrating! Because it's hard work!! I was not tested for anything either besides thyroid problems, which was negative. I did research and found that a low carb diet seems to be what is recommended for ladies with PCOS. They just told me to lose weight because I am too heavy.

Can you tell me a little bit about low GI foods? I'm not informed on those at all.