Lose weight with PCOS this year...

Of all the nutrition and lifestyle issues that women with PCOS come to me with when they come along for a consultation, 'I want to lose weight' is by far the most common and probably the most frustrating for women with PCOS. I won't lie to you and say it is easy, because I have PCOS myself and know that isn't the truth. The benefits to your PCOS symptoms, health risks, self esteem and fertility are HUGE though, so keep at it!

 

You have probably heard the energy argument, that energy in from food has to be less than energy expended on physical activity to lose weight. To a certain extent that rings true for women with PCOS, but there's a whole lot of complicating factors which make losing weight anything but black and white. So why is it a little harder for women with PCOS to lose weight?

I think the biggest culprit is insulin. Even without the extra weight, women with PCOS are very likely to be insulin resistant, which means we have higher levels of insulin floating around in our blood (because the body is resistant to the effects of the insulin, we need more for the insulin to work if that makes sense?). Those higher levels of insulin have some unwanted effects such as increasing appetite, bringing on sugar cravings all of which effect how we eat. If we give into those sugar cravings (rather than eating something with a lower glycaemic index) the body is more likely to store the extra calories as fat as well. On top of that the blood sugar fluctuations often leave us feeling tired and lethargic so we don't exactly feel like springing off the couch and grabbing our runners now do we?

By this stage you are probably feeling so depressed that you want to sit down with a large carton of gourmet ice-cream! Don't despair though, as I do have some good news. It is possible to get feel better and it is possible to lose weight witrh PCOS by looking at ways to improve that insulin resistance. So let's do it! I need to lose some weight myself, so come along on the journey with me! Over the last few years while I have been at home with my youngest son, I've gained weight. That wasn't helped by a couple of traumatic things that happened in our family. My brother died suddenly in late 2006, and my nephew has a car accident late 2007 resulting in a spinal injury. My world sort of fell apart after those two horrible things happening so close together. Like many women I turned to food for comfort and to cope. As time has moved on I have learnt to cope with my feelings in other ways and I'm ready to shed the weight I have gained.

I'm not planning on setting any specific weight loss goals, because I know that the best resolutions are those which focus on changing some behaviours. Below I have written some behaviours that I think if you follow most of the time, will result in the changes you are after. Remember it's not all about the number on the scales. You need to look for the NSV too - that's the "Non Scale Victory". Have you changed some behaviours? Do you clothes fit better? Do you have more energy? In fact rather than the scales, one of the best ways to measure your progress is your waist circumference. Decreases in your waist circumference are a sure sign you are losing tummy fat and decreasing your risk of diabetes and other chronic diseases.

So what sort of behaviours could you look at changing? Here's some ideas. I don't recommend tackling them all at once, but focusing on 1 or 2 until they have become habit and then choosing a couple more.

• Eat smaller portion sizes, especially of carbohydrate foods. Our body can't cope with huge serves of carbohydrate all at once. It causes the insulin to peak higher and that's bad news for our weight. Use some smaller bowls and cut down the serves you have. Less food = less overall calories too!
• For the carbohydrates you do have, choose low glycemic index carbohydrates most of the time. These carbohydrates are much more slowly absorbed into the bloodstream, so you don't get the huge spikes in insulin. Switching from a high gycemic index food to a lower glycemic index version will be great for your PCOS and your weight. For example you could pick one or two of the following changes to make:
  • Instead of white bread, choose a wholegrain bread 
  • Use Basmati or Doongara rice and again watch your serve size
  • Choose a low GI breakfast cereal such as untoasted muesli or rolled oats
  • Add some legumes (dried peas, beans and lentils) to your eating.
  • Have low fat dairy foods like milk or soy drinks and yoghurt as snacks
• Move more. Not only will moving more help burn off calories, it actually helps the body use insulin more efficiently so you become less insulin resistant which makes it a little easier to lose weight. Double bonus!  We're getting a new puppy soon, so I'm hoping that will help me increase my activity levels a little. I'd like to get busy in the garden again too and also get a bike to go riding with my boys. What enjoyable activities can you add to your week?
• Cut down on the unhealthy fats and replace some with the good fats. Now it's new years day, we can say goodbye to all the rich Christmas fair. Foods with saturated fat (and trans fat which is even worse) not only add unwanted calories, but aren't good for our heart. The good news is you need to have SOME fat, and that's best to come from the good fats such as olive oil, avocado, oily fish, canola oil, nuts, olives, sunflower, safflower and soybean oil. So you CAN add a dressing to that salad - an olive oil vinagarette is perfect! Avocado also makes a great spread on toast or a sandwich instead of margarine or butter.

These are only a few of the changes you could look at making and there are lots more! If you would like to lose some weight and get some support from a dietitian with PCOS herself, I'd love to help you be the best you can be. I have appointments available at my new offices in Kew (Inner east Melbourne)  from the start of February (just click the button in the top left corner for more info) so you can get an individual diet plan and be on your way with my ongoing support. If you like to make the changes yourslef, make sure you check back here often so we can help each other along OK?

You  CAN do it. I believe in you :)

Claire

 

 

Comments

[Tanja]

Awesome info Claire :) Thank you

[Stephanie Humphries]

Hi Claire, I would really love to join you...I am at the stage where I am desperate for another baby...I'm 37 years old, have really put on a lot of weight in the last 8 months and I just have this gut feeling that I have really not taken any responsibility for managing my PCOS. I have a stressful job, a 4 year old boy keeping me on my toes, there always seems to be a million excuses.

Looking foward to working along side with you on our goals together

regards
Stephanie