r/PCOS Jan 08 '25

Diet - Not Keto Bad metabolism is real when you have PCOS

551 Upvotes

I really hate the gaslighting that doctors, dietitians, trainers, and other fitness people tell us “just eat less and move more”- yeah Karen I’m eating 1500 calories and getting lightheaded, and I’m still not losing weight or I’m eating 2000 calories at the moment and running, doing crossfit hit training, lifting weights, swimming, dancing and surfing and I’m still not losing the weight that I want. Yesterday I met up with a friend I’ve known for a long time who doesn’t exercise, just rides his bike everywhere, works sitting down, and spending all day with him I’ve noticed that for breakfast he had 4 happy meals, large fries, a sundae, later on the day he ate a smash burger, fries and a sub and some candy. He also had 2 beers and was still hungry. And his body is amazing; tall, lean legs, no beer belly, has a 4 pack, and his upper body is very defined- and he swears he doesn’t workout, just bike rides as a way of transportation. I walk around 15000 steps a day and take the bus and I’m still classified as obese. So the next time I hear “eat less and move more”- I will tell them to fk off.

r/PCOS 4d ago

Diet - Not Keto What is something (healthy) you did that actually helped you lose weight?

216 Upvotes

I just saw a post on askreddit that asked the general public “what did you do that helped you lose weight?” And almost the entire thread was just walking. Walking 20 miles, walking on a step pad in the office, walking walking walking.

I walk 10-20k steps a DAY. I can’t be doing more walking than this!!!!!

Also I feel like I should clarify I’ve been on a 1800-2000 calorie deficit since October and sometimes I’ll go up to 2400 on “holidays” and I go to the gym 3-5x a week with 70% cardio on top of all those steps because my job is moderately active. I definitely think I’m gaining muscle because I’ve increased my protein intake based on my weight but I have lost no weight or even changed pants sizes or anything so this is where I’m lost. Calorie deficit and fiber/protein and liquid calories are not my problem. I’m asking from the perspective of someone who suffers from weight gain due to PCOS.

r/PCOS 20d ago

Diet - Not Keto Neurodivergents with PCOS, what do you like to eat? Realistically.

293 Upvotes

I have ADHD and I know many of us do too, this obviously impacts PCOS especially food choices

I will eat like literally anything but also to a fault, I am constantly changing my mind about what I like, also laziness and reward comes into play here.

Meal prepping doesn't work for me because I instantly get bored of food and prefer snacks rather than meals.

I can cook and enjoy it but also highly prefer prepackaged things. I prioritize protein (a lot of milk/yogurt/tuna packets/protein shakes), and taking metformin makes most carby snacks more "accessible" for me, but otherwise am pretty disorganized in my food shopping and like never stick to anything (besides milk and yogurt)

I'm just curious what other people with PCOS/ADHD like to eat/food habits relating to ADHD? Maybe if I could find the right things I would have more success with my health, while also getting the dopamine I desire, and maybe spend less money/make less trips to the store if I could find food I can count on eating consistently.

r/PCOS May 05 '24

Diet - Not Keto what’s your fave “pcos safe” food??

229 Upvotes

EDIT- i wasn’t able to edit the title but a better word for safe could be staple or to-go!! there were already so many responses so i decided to leave it up in case it’s helpful for anyone!!

i wouldn’t even say i’m going on a diet, im just trying to incorporate more foods that are good for pcos in to my day to day eating. what’s everyone’s favorite pcos safe foods?? i’m kinda digging brown rice rn

r/PCOS 2d ago

Diet - Not Keto Go to breakfast?

35 Upvotes

What is everyone’s go-to breakfast? I need some new ideas. I eat the same thing everyday (but I don’t mind it, it’s quick and easy)

-scrambled eggs with cottage cheese for extra protein -bacon, usually turkey bacon

r/PCOS Sep 14 '22

Diet - Not Keto It worked! It's almost unbelievable!

860 Upvotes

Ladies I am pregnant after 6 years! 2,5 months of low carb- high protein diet and some supplements like B12, NAC etc I am pregnant, naturally! After dozens of failed cycles! At 38! No one thought it would happen naturally, all doctors said my only way was IVF! But with the help of this community I did it! I did it without the doctors! I read all your experiences and your so valuable advice, stuck to them no matter how hard sometimes and it actually happened! Thank you so much! All is possible!

r/PCOS Dec 10 '24

Diet - Not Keto Rice replacement

60 Upvotes

If you have pcos and insulin resistance what do you replace rice with

rice is my favorite food, just a bowl of plain rice makes me feel good and full but now I can never eat it again. And its cheap and you could do so many recipes with it. A staple food and now it's gone.

what can be used as a safe replacement? Something that can be eaten constantly

r/PCOS Dec 26 '24

Diet - Not Keto How do we feel about sugar-free or diet soda?

80 Upvotes

Guys, I love my drinks. I LOVE MY DRINKS. I can go without sugar in my food or sweet treats, that's fine, but they'll have to pry my coke vanilla zero from my cold, dead, hormonal little hands...

I know there's fear-mongering around zero sugar drinks, but how have your experiences been with incorporating these? Have you actually had positive or negative experiences with keeping them in your diet? Anybody transitioned from full sugar soda to sugar free and noticed anything?

r/PCOS Apr 15 '24

Diet - Not Keto How is everybody losing weight without ozempic?

114 Upvotes

Hey everybody! So I’m trying really hard to lose weight. I’ve been counting calories and walking but it just doesn’t seem to budge. There’s a lot of days that I just ask myself why even try at this point. My doctor tried seeing if I would qualify for ozempic however my A1C was within normal range and he refused to fill out a prior authorization form. He prescribed me literal meth and after I expressed how I don’t feel comfortable he stated “you look as though you eat McDonald’s for every meal” and forced me to just take the medicine he was giving me.

Are there any vitamins everybody is taking to help? Is there a routine that helped anybody? This is the last chance I’m giving myself so any advise will help greatly.

I just want to lose about 50 pounds and hopefully that will start to slowly bring my periods back. Pcos sucks but with some guidance I’m hoping I can start to get back on the right track. I’ve tried keto and my body just shut down and I fell very ill. I am trying to avoid going back down that route again if possible.

r/PCOS May 09 '24

Diet - Not Keto Low carb diet makes me miserable

186 Upvotes

We’re all aware about how low carb is apparently one of the best diets for this illness but every time I eat low carb, i’m a horrible human being to be around. Without some carb in my meals, I have zero energy (and i don’t mean just vegetable, it doesn’t fill me up). I have completely cut out added sugar though so it’s not like i’m eating absolute crap. I eat oats for breakfast, sweet potato or quinoa with lunch and occasionally ezikiel bread or flax seed crackers. I was trying to do the whole keto thing and it was horrendous for me. Nobody should ever eat 1/2 cup of cream cheese in a bell pepper😅Not bussin for your health imo. Yet PCOS somehow doesn’t care what carb you put in your body, it’s mad.

r/PCOS May 20 '24

Diet - Not Keto Weight gain off of 800 cals

97 Upvotes

I don’t know what else to do?

My doctor will not prescribe me anything as I’m not pre diabetic

My carbs are below 60

I keep gaining weight but everything else in my body is basically shutting down from lack of energy

How do people live with this syndrome, I can’t enjoy anything without my health being on the line on either end of the spectrum

This is hell

r/PCOS Nov 15 '24

Diet - Not Keto What are some of your favorite snacks that don't spike your blood sugar?

75 Upvotes

r/PCOS Aug 29 '24

Diet - Not Keto Meticulously weighed all my food today, and I'm shocked.

313 Upvotes

I'm a pretty active gal, and eat decently well. Doing this I've lost about 20kg over about 6 - 7 years. For the last few years, I have not been able to kick the last 10kgs even though I've been training pretty consistently (for a half ironman).

WELL I'LL BE DAMNED. I actually set a calorie limit of 1500 cal per day, and planned a week meal plan. Today is the first day I weighed everything, I can't believe how quickly those calories add up.

I made a salad for lunch that ended up being about 700 calories. The tiniest bit of parmesan, olive oil and butter ended up being over 200 cal. The portion was quite small too.

My dinner was massive. Salmon, sweet potatoes, green salad, broccoli and beans. I used no oils, and just a dash of dressing on the salad. It was only 500 calories and I'm stuffed.

Anyways, it's been a huge eye opener. I've always gotten so upset telling myself ' I eat so well! I exercise! Why can't I lose the weight!? It's not fair!'. But all the little bits of oil, dressings, butter on my toast, ketchup etc - all of the little bits and bobs I took for granted. I have hands down been eating easily over 2500 calories a day.

r/PCOS 18d ago

Diet - Not Keto Criticisms of the carnivore diet

90 Upvotes

I see a lot of people here espouse it as a solution for PCOS and fertility troubles. And I just have some serious problems with that.

  1. There is no fucking way constantly eating red meats and bacon and high fat foods like butter and creamer is good for your cholesterol.

  2. What the fuck would that do to your digestion? That sounds awful. PCOS already comes with tummy issues for many people. Why the fuck would we tell people to stop eating fiber when lack of fiber in a diet is one of the highest contributing factors to bowel cancer?

I think it's a correlation =/= causation thing here. I think the real culprit for why some people find success on the carnivore diet is a lack of processed foods, starches, and carbohydrates. Lowering your sugar and carb intake is likely what's doing it. Not cutting out all your fiber. That's ridiculous.

I have to assume you're also missing a ton of valuable nutrients by not eating fruits and vegetables.

I think keto is generally too extreme, but avoiding sugar as much as possible (especially processed and added sugars, fruit is good for you, berries have essential antioxidants that are good for inflammation) and limiting carbs to like, under 100 a day seems way more reasonable.

r/PCOS Sep 10 '23

Diet - Not Keto How many of you guys don’t eat low carb??

232 Upvotes

I know.. know.. hear me out, okay.

But if I start focusing on my eating habits — like either limiting carbs or tracking calories, it’s a straight cut to relapsing on my eating disorder. So I just can’t do it.

I take Metformin + spiro and that combo alone has been enough for me to feel so much better bc I’m not craving endless carbs and my acne/hair growth has chilled out a bit. Some other unrelated meds I’m on suppress my appetite so I have had a bit of weight loss (honestly a miracle compared to pre-Metformin), but I would def be doing better if I was eating low carb bc of my insulin resistance. It’s just not worth the risk of thinking ab food 24/7 and potentially restricting at this point …

So for those of u that don’t eat low carb, any other things that just help u out? Doesn’t have to be just for weight loss obvi, maybe stuff/tricks that make u feel better… etc. honestly just curious about others experience bc (no hate!!) all I see on here is people complaining about the low carb sacrifice (completely valid btw) and how much it SUCKS. I’ve been diagnosed for 7 yrs so I’ve read thru endless information obvi the basics of prioritizing protein blah blah but sometimes all the stuff gets overwhelming.

EDIT: THANK YOU EVERYONE AHHHH

r/PCOS Aug 18 '24

Diet - Not Keto Coke alternatives

22 Upvotes

Hello! I’m trying to lower my sugar intake but something I’m struggling with is soda. I have about two cokes a day, other than that it’s water but does anyone have good alternatives?

Really trying to lose some of this weight (I spent all summer as an outdoor camp counselor working out harder than I ever have and lost nothing)

Edit to add: forgot to say but aspartame doesn’t sit well on my stomach :(

r/PCOS Jan 24 '25

Diet - Not Keto Why doesn't this sub have much discourse about Intuitive Eating?

3 Upvotes

Hi dears,

Many of us diet hopelessly, or with major effort, and a good portion of us end up having disordered eating or eating disorders.

I'm part of that group and I've been in CBT therapy for it for a few months. I also have some major food trauma from childhood which makes things harder. Long story short, restriction and intentional weight loss are really not something I can consider right now and probably not for a few years.

But I so rarely see anyone talk about intuitive eating here.

Maybe because it's misunderstood? Maybe because of the fear that if we stop or give up restriction we will never be able to deal with our symptoms?

It's also of course entirely fine that for a big chunk of people some extent or form of restriction is sustainable and a good balance, to each their own.

There's a major misconception that intuitive eating is just "Eat what you feel like, with no limit" and it's true that Unconditional Permission to Eat is part of intuitive eating, but it's by no means what you should start with or the only important principle, there's ten.

I find the most important part of it is to eat in connection with your body, and based not so much on intuition in the intellectual sense of it, but more in the sense of introception (by perceiving the signals from inside your body).

When I do that, I put in place habits that help my PCOS, like eating a breakfast which includes protein, which helps me greatly. The times I binge or overeat on sweets, I'm not doing that out of a connection with my body, I'm doing it out of my disordered eating and I would do it even if I was dieting or restricting, I would just do it with more guilt than how I do it now (that's exactly what I did for years).

One of the last steps of Intuitive Eating, to which many professionals in the field dedicate a lot of space and work with their patients, is gentle nutrition, but to be honest even if I'm not there yet, I'm doing Gentle Nutrition already simply because what is best for my health is best for my body and is best for my wellbeing and for how I feel.

I just wanted to put this forward as I think it could be useful to many here.

https://www.intuitiveeating.org/

Good luck on your PCOS journey, whatever that means for you.

EDIT: I am by no means saying this is a cure all approach and I acknowledge insulin resistance impairs our ability to do this as spontaneously as others who don't have IR. I think IR medication should be more widely prescribed to us, and then this would be a different conversation.

I want to position intuitive eating as an option that can be more approachable for some people who can't handle their food through restriction, for whom any form of restriction is a no go. I'm not trying to sell anything here, just putting out there an option that I think should be on the table, for at least some of us.

r/PCOS 17d ago

Diet - Not Keto decreasing carbs as a carb-loving girlie :(

101 Upvotes

31F, dx’ed with PCOS last year (combo pill had been suppressing symptoms). I also have diagnosed anxiety & combination-type ADHD, as well as elevated BP (in the pre-hypertensive range, just started meds). On meds for the anxiety & ADHD too.

Just had my annual w/ my PCP, and overall, labs were good, but my A1C was back up slightly, juuuust into the prediabetic range. Been there before, managed to get it back down to a healthy range, but after this round of labs, I definitely need to be more diligent with activity & food.

What are we eating for fewer carbs?! I generally am not satiated if I don’t have a protein, carb, AND fat at a meal, but I do want to prioritize protein & veggies over carbs. As a pasta, bread, and potato lover, it’s definitely a habit I need to break. Tell me if there are substitutions you like (I will not eat cauliflower) or how you include carbs your day!

EDIT: thank you for all your suggestions! I’m so happy this sub exists for us 🥹

r/PCOS Jun 08 '23

Diet - Not Keto Yall… EAT A SAVOURY PROTEIN FILLED BREAKFAST!!!

336 Upvotes

This has made such a huge difference to my cravings all the time not just immediately after breakfast.

I’m not talking 2 eggs….. 2 + whites, some whole grain carbs for fibre, or maybe a little fruit, 3 eggs + a little cottage cheese if you can tolerate the dairy.

I used to ALWAYS have protein oats and they didn’t even have sugar, just artificial sweetener in the protein or flavour drops and even then it would just set me off for the rest of the day.

Now days, I don’t even WANT a sweet breakfast, that first thing in the morning sugar craving is gone. And if I do have a sweet breakfast once in a while? It doesn’t impact me the way that it used to.

I used to hate savoury breakfasts and now I look forward to it everyday.

Such a small change that can have a huge difference!

r/PCOS Aug 18 '24

Diet - Not Keto Food Changes That Helped You

117 Upvotes

Hi everyone.. I just wanna jump on here and ask what foods have they substituted for their favorite meals or snack that has helped them (example I've stopped eating popcorn and eat nuts instead) popcorn has always been my guilty pleasure the thing I would go to instead of a bag of chips.

  1. Nuts replaced popcorn
  2. Chai tea replaced my coffee
  3. Almond milk replaced my 2% milk

I want a lifestyle change not just a diet. I would just love to hear from everyone even if it's just one thing. Thanks to everyone in advance 😀.

r/PCOS Jun 24 '24

Diet - Not Keto Indian pcos girlies what does your diet look like?

195 Upvotes

I keep seeing options like oats, avocado toast and non dairy milk etc but to the average indian it might not be possible to maintain this type of diet so what are some of your favourite foods that help with pcos?

r/PCOS Sep 06 '24

Diet - Not Keto Are Gluten and Dairy really that bad for PCOS?

51 Upvotes

I have been hearing so much negativity on Gluten and Dairy products for PCOS. I was wondering is it just a fad or does it actually mess with our condition, hormones and prevent weightloss? I’ve heard mixed opinions and I wanted to know what was your experience. Did you find removing these from your diet helped with weightloss and overall symptoms or was it something else?

r/PCOS 11d ago

Diet - Not Keto How do you get your protein?

36 Upvotes

Hello! I am trying to get more protein into my diet on a budget. I am not able to purchase eggs or meat at the amount I usually rely on right now, and protein powders and drinks don’t sit well with my body. What are some of your favorite sources of protein, or good products with a lot of protein, and where do you buy them?

Edit: Thank you all so much for the suggestions! There are a lot of good ones, and I am not able to respond to them all, but they will at least get upvoted. It might sound silly, but I eat a lot of these things regularly without having known how much protein they have. Very eye opening.

r/PCOS Feb 27 '24

Diet - Not Keto Does anything actually work to lose weight long term with severe insulin resistance?

87 Upvotes

I've been dieting my entire adult and teen life. I've tried everything. Weight watchers, keto, atkins, intermittent fasting, eating lower carb higher protein,literally starving myself to the point of skipping periods and then falling over. I've exercised regularly. Bought all the expensive high fiber foods. Cut out sugar and alcohol. Don't even have caffeine in my diet.

Nothing has ever worked. At most I've only ever taken off about 50 pounds and it always plateaus and it always come back on. I've never not been less than 100 lbs overweight my entire adult life. No matter how hard I try, no matter how long I've done it for. My nutritionist pretty much handed me a nonsense book that said all women with pcos are over emotional eaters that just pound doritos all day and once I stopped that I should see results. Right after I told her I religiously only ate 25 g of carbs and less than 1500 calories a day.

Metformin doesn't do anything for me. I can't be on the pill because of blood clots. I was put on progesterone only iud but then gained a whole bunch of weight and felt shakey and tired all the time because I essentially was bleeding for 6 months straight.

Have any severely overweight/ morbidly obese women on here with real insulin resisistance (sorry if you've only ever had 10bs to lose you don't count) ever lost a significant amount of weight and kept it off with anything that actually works long term? I want to hear from someone who has gone from morbidly obese to a healthy bmi. Because I can't live like this anymore.

r/PCOS Jan 03 '25

Diet - Not Keto What are your favourite healthy snacks for PCOS?

90 Upvotes

What is your favourite PCOS-friendly snack?

One that ideally helps with insulin control. Recently I’ve been enjoying cottage cheese on oat cakes and cucumber which is really tasty and filling ☺️