PCOS diet. Working towards a BFP.

[2ducks]

I am starting the PCOS diet today and decided to start a new thread to give information on what I am doing as well as welcoming others who have done this diet or a variation of this diet to add ideas for the community. I am currently being tested for PCOS ( strongly looks like I have it) and there are so many women on BnB who have this syndrome that I thought it would be helpful for the community to put out some new ideas on managing it because managing PCOS will hopefully help us all get our BFPs.

As for me, long story short, I stopped BCP 10 months ago. Have had two light periods naturally with no ovulation and one withdrawal period from a progesterone challenge. My whole life I have been a serious sugar addict. I always have to have several sweets a day and have a hard time controlling myself around candy and sweets. I normally go to the gas station 3 times a week to purchase wild berry skittles. I can't have just one cookie or a small serving of ice cream. As it turns out many women with PCOS struggle with sugar addiction. Even if I don't have PCOS my hormones are obviously not working right so I hope this diet can help support hormonal regulation in my body which will ultimately help me get my BFP.

The backbone of the PCOS diet:
Dairy free
Low GI with a low glycemic load (don't really understand this yet)
Lots of protein with each meal
Free of refined foods and sugars
low in saturated fats

It sounds very complicated which is why I did a ton of research and planning and had a “quit date” after my vacation.

I am starting with Dr. Joel Fuhrman's 3 day sugar detox which is PCOS friendly. I am giving up sugar and refined carbs first and eventually will work on the dairy.

Here are a few links to PCOS diet info, why dairy can be harmful to women with PCOS and to the 3 day sugar detox.

https://www.pcosdietsupport.com/diet-tips/pcos-diet-dairy/
https://www.pcosdietsupport.com/diet-tips/start-your-pcos-diet-plan/
https://www.doctoroz.com/article/dr-fuhrmans-3-day-sugar-detox

I know this diet will not provide all of the answers and it certainly is not a miracle cure. My hope is that it helps my body regulate hormones, I am still going through with clomid next month.

Please contribute any ideas, success stories, resources or variations on the diet.

 

[MayesW]

thank you for this. i am also suffering from PCOS and I also have a diet for it. besides, I have also been put on Metformin for it and I am not sure whether it is helpful or no, that is why I wanted to ask you what do you think about it? Have you ever used Metformin? thanks

 

[2ducks]

I have not used Metformin, don't know if I am a candidate for it or not. I am using myo-inositol which is a more "natural" alternative for metformin.

It has been three days so far on the PCOS diet. I thought I would be sugar detoxing hard core with irritability and headaches but to my surprise I am doing fine. The only thing is that I constantly feel hungry at work. I am eating my slow vegetable and legume carbs and hoping the constant hunger feelings the it will go away in a few days. I wonder if the myo-inositol is helping with the sugar cravings. I am starting acupuncture again in two weeks. I had no success with it for the first 6 weeks, I hope that the dietary changes will helps support all of my treatments and efforts.

 

[MrS. MaBrEy]

I didn't have good luck with the "PCOS" diet described here, but I have really, really good results with The Whole30. "It Starts With Food" by Melissa and Dallas Hartwig outlines the whole program. It's basically the strictest form of Paleo eating. I love their "no nonsense" attitude about the whole thing. their book quote reads,

Quitting heroin is hard!
Beating Cancer is hard!

drinking your coffee black is. NOT. Hard.

good luck! I really think cutting the starchy veggies (the only one left in my diet is sweet potato, no more than 2Xs per week) and getting the legumes out of my diet (i'm super sensitive to them...5 pound scale difference in just one reasonable serving of them sensitive!!!) made a ton of difference.

 

[ms sunshine]

Wow great thread ive been reading about the pcos diet and including the veggies which are supposed to help. I have cut down to one coffee a day and i dont eat fries its always the main either fish chicken or whatever and some veg but this has certainly inspired me to have a read through and make more adjustments. I have a hornonal imbalance and im going to docs next week to ask him to check my progesterone levels too and im also doing yoga and taking red clover blossom herb too which is supposed to help balanace (it helped me conceive my son).

Know what you mean with sweets i used to be able to eat what i want and was a stick hit 30 and bang put weight on and i just love my chocolate its been that hardest thing to give up. Doesnt help when my hubby can eat 50 biscuits and crisps and not put weight and eating in front of me destroys my will power lol but im determined to make the changes to help balance me. Im also trying to loose a bit of weight not a lot im my pre pregnancy weight which is a uk size 12 but would like to loose another dress size

How long have you guys been doing this

 

[krissie328]

I'm doing a low carb diet at the moment to help control pcos. I've used it in the past and had success with losing weight and ovulating. Plus it helps me with my blood sugar. So I'm hoping to have similar success this time.

 

[ms sunshine]

https://natural-fertility-info.com/pcos-fertility-diet

i dont know if you guys have read this but after you get passed them telling you all about pcos it gives you some recommendations on foods and grains. its what ive based my meals on. I cook a lot from scratch as I need to cook for huuby and my 3 yr old so dont have time for seperate meals so when im healthy healthy we all are lol. i just have to leave out some seeds and stuff for my son in case its a choking hazard.

i have already read that if you have pcos taking vit d supplement helps but im going to check with my doc and show them my prenatal vits and see if i should be taking extra or if its enough. Im in the north uk so we dont get as much sun as the south so it might be i need extra (was the advice yrs ago but it keeps changing)

 

[GoldenRatio]

Ah finally a thread about Pcos and diet!

I was diagnosed with PCOS 7 weeks ago to be exact and right after i left doctors office, i started searching. Nothing made sense for me because i was confirming ovulation with opks and bbt. I had regular 28days cycle all my life. So when my doctor said my ultrasound didnt show anything, i wanted him to repeat my blood test. That took about a month and last week he confirmed that i do have PCOS. My LH:FSH ratio is 5:1 and he gave me metformin.

I started my PCOS diet 6 weeks ago right after doctor told me about pcos. I was already trying to find a diet that would work because i was constantly gaining weight no matter what and lots of acne! At age of 27, i shouldnt have teenager acne right?!!

Anyways long story short, i have been doing pcos diet and i lost 3kg in 6 weeks. Yes! its super slow but better than gaining weight. I took inositol for 4 weeks and stopped because i started metformin. I may take both next month.

I cut refined sugar and carb, no dairy and limit coffee. I eat complex carbs and lots of protein. Cocunut plam sugar in my coffee. As carb, i eat fruits and veggies, yam, brown rice, chickpeas, edamame beans, brown bread...etc. You can check what are complex carbs and have it. I do one cheat meal a day so i dont feel like giving up.

Since i started metformin, i cant eat much. I prep my meal and just feel like puking it as soon as smell hits my nose which makes me feel bad because i need to eat enuf protein to lose weight.

 

[2ducks]

Mr Sunshine, thanks for the article it has a good explanation of the glycemic index which always confused me.

GoldenRatio- congrats on the weight loss, slow but steady! I thought I would be a raging B***H to my partner after coming off sugar and carbs but I am doing well. I think the inositol was key for this. Interestingly too, I suffer from chronic headaches and have not had a headache in 5 days which is very rare for me. I next step is limiting my coffee and cutting down on dairy. I think I need to have a "cheat day" once a week so things don't totally suck! I bought my first loaf of Ezekiel Bread and love it! it is kept in the freezer because there are no preservatives it molds quickly. I had a slice with some eggs for breakfast this morning. I have also been enjoying Bob's Red Mill dried apple bits in quick cook steel cut oats. Some advice: when purchasing steel cut oats get the quick oats, regular steel cut take like 45 minutes to cook!

The other think I learned is that if you eat fruit, eat a few nuts with it. Fruit will cause an insulin spike, eating a few nuts will help balance that out.

 

[2ducks]

Ms Sunshine- to answer your question I have only been doing this for 5 days!

 

[krissie328]

I have used inositol and have liked it. I'm currently on metformin so not taking it. Can they be taken together?

I definitely have to have some nuts if I eat any fruit. Which I really limit to apples because they don't tend to spike my sugars.

I am working on cheating in moderation. Like today I had a tiny helping of mashed potatos. But so far I'm on day 3 and feeling really good with it. I'm also not having any real mood swings with the sugar withdrawal. I'm not even really craving sugar like I normally am at this point.

 

[GoldenRatio]

I have used inositol and have liked it. I'm currently on metformin so not taking it. Can they be taken together?

I definitely have to have some nuts if I eat any fruit. Which I really limit to apples because they don't tend to spike my sugars.

I am working on cheating in moderation. Like today I had a tiny helping of mashed potatos. But so far I'm on day 3 and feeling really good with it. I'm also not having any real mood swings with the sugar withdrawal. I'm not even really craving sugar like I normally am at this point.

Yes u can take metformin and inositol together.

 

[ms sunshine]

What is everyone snacking on? This is what i struggle with i dont want just eat nuts as a snack as i will cave to me its not a snack. Ok chocolate tome is a snack butninwant something yummy that is a good subsitute i dont mind making something from.scratch bit nothing is jumping out at me when i seach snacks for low gi diet. Or am.i just being weak lol

 

[MrS. MaBrEy]

I don't snack. that's one of the principles of the Whole30 program and it works for me. If I eat enough fat and protein in my meals then there's no need to snack.

If I MUST snack...
Dang coconut chips
apples with cashew or almond butter
larabars (compliant ones-with no sugar or peanuts)
a scotch egg (egg wrapped in ground pork and baked)
a few sweet potato chips (i take the bag apart into servings as soon as it comes in the house!) with guacamole.

 

[sarah2211]

Hi 2Ducks,

If you're keeping track of it, are you able to post what you eat for each meal?

Like all the things you'd eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks? And maybe things that are a big no-no?

Thanks.

 

[2ducks]

Ms Sunshine. I LOVE snacking too. I have been having dried soy beans from Feng Shui or chestnuts by the same company. I also keep individually packaged 100 calorie almonds in my car so if I get hungry on the road I have a snack. One time I really wanted a carby thing so I had a slice of Ezekiel bread with a little butter.

Sarah2211- I will definitely write down some recipe and food ideas when I have some more time, I need to be getting ready for work!

The oddest thing this morning....yesterday morning I felt really nauseous and had a migraine so I didn't have any coffee. This morning I feel a lot better but I am not craving any coffee at all. I normally drink 2-3 cups in the morning to get going. That is really odd for me, I ALWAYS want coffee. I wonder if it has something to do with the no sugar diet. I did have some caffeinated green tea because I really don't want a caffeine withdrawal migraine!

 

[GoldenRatio]

What is everyone snacking on? This is what i struggle with i dont want just eat nuts as a snack as i will cave to me its not a snack. Ok chocolate tome is a snack butninwant something yummy that is a good subsitute i dont mind making something from.scratch bit nothing is jumping out at me when i seach snacks for low gi diet. Or am.i just being weak lol

I dont like snacking on nuts that much so I usually leave my fruits for snack time. I will have 2 fruits a day. But key is to pair every carb with protein so lets i hav apple and protein shake with it. Also roasted chickpeas is great at keeping me full and got lots of protein in.

I also make banana oatmeal cookies, so simple to make and yummy! Just mix some oats to banana until it gets hard enuf to shape then bake them. You can also add some nuts for extra crunch.

Also if u are in US or Canada, Boost Diabetic is a great shake to have.

 

[GoldenRatio]

Hello ladies! I lost 2 pounds this week and here is what i hav been following.

dont mind me, im too lazy to make meal plans so i eat similar everyday during week days

Option 1
Breakfast: Protein bread, Olive oil Becel and no sugar added organic jam
Snack: Fruit and nuts
Lunch: Chicken breast, yam and pickled veggies
Snack: Fruit and protein shake
Dinner: Chicken/fish with salad or edamame beans

Option 2 for breakfast
Breakfast: 2 boiled eggs, parsley, green onion and light mayo, protein bread

I usually end up having 150gr of protein and 60gr of carb daily, but that changes day to day. Im trying to keep my carbs to be 30%.

I bought an Tfal Actifry, i usually put my chicken and yam in there and dry them as if i fried them.

 

[krissie328]

I make keto friendly snacks since I am doing keto low carb. Lately I have been having chocolate mousse that I froze into 1 tablespoon portions. Its got a good amount of fat and only 4 carbs for 2. So far 2 keeps me satisfied when a sugar craving hits. I also snack on nuts. But I like nuts. I mix it up and have macadamia, pecan, walnut, almonds and cashews to choose from. I also have some pistachios but they tend to make my mouth sore. I also like sf jello or a veggie like some cucumber, sweet pepper slices or radishes. I am finding that I am not really hungry for snacks and about the time I want something it is about time for a meal.

 

[2ducks]

What is everyone snacking on? This is what i struggle with i dont want just eat nuts as a snack as i will cave to me its not a snack. Ok chocolate tome is a snack butninwant something yummy that is a good subsitute i dont mind making something from.scratch bit nothing is jumping out at me when i seach snacks for low gi diet. Or am.i just being weak lol

I dont like snacking on nuts that much so I usually leave my fruits for snack time. I will have 2 fruits a day. But key is to pair every carb with protein so lets i hav apple and protein shake with it. Also roasted chickpeas is great at keeping me full and got lots of protein in.

I also make banana oatmeal cookies, so simple to make and yummy! Just mix some oats to banana until it gets hard enuf to shape then bake them. You can also add some nuts for extra crunch.

Also if u are in US or Canada, Boost Diabetic is a great shake to have.

Where do you get Boost Diabetic shakes? Are they pre-made?