9 Effective Ways to Lose Weight with PCOS: Tips for a Healthier You!

You can also get yourself stuck in a vicious cycle between weight and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Here are some simple ways to lose weight with PCOS.

1. Load up on protein

Protein is an essential nutrient that aids in helping digestion, metabolism, and keeping your hormones balanced (including estrogen, testosterone, and insulin). Eating protein-rich foods can help to stabilize blood sugar and keep you fuller for longer. A protein study in the Journal of Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome discovered that eating protein will lessen cravings, burn more calories, and control hunger hormones. Added eggs, almonds, chicken, cottage cheese, yogurt, milk, quinoa, and pumpkin seeds to your diet. 

2. Eat more fiber-rich foods

If you want to lose weight, you need to eat fiber, and it’s also good for those with PCOS. Soluble fiber can aid gut health and aid overall fat loss and at the same time suppress hunger pangs. When you eat right to lose weight and eat in moderation, you’ll eat for longer and feel more. This is also a great nutrient that helps to decrease the effect of sugar and slow digestion by lowering your resistance to insulin. Pears, strawberries, avocados, apples, raspberries, bananas, carrots, beets, and others can all be added.

3. Avoid processed and sugary foods

People with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) can have problems eating processed and sugary foods. It interferes with a hormone called insulin, which helps manage blood sugar levels. Foods to aim for should include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, lean meat, chicken, legumes and beans, nuts, healthy oils such as olive oil, canola oil, and sesame oil, and herbal and black teas.

4. Eat more fermented foods

It’s good for your gut health and can help with PCOS if you eat more of them. Properties in fermented foods such as yogurt, probiotic yogurt, miso, tempeh, sauerkraut, and kimchi are all good for a healthy gut. Keeping PCOS symptoms in check includes a balanced gut that all helps improve digestion, reduce systematic inflammation, and improve insulin sensitivity. 

5. Cut back on carbs

Too many carbs can also throw off the level of insulin and blood sugars. PCOS is heavily dependent on insulin resistance; that is, cells in the body are not responding to insulin as well as they should. If you eat too many carbs, your blood sugar goes way up.

A diet high in refined carbs can make it worse by causing your blood sugar to rise quickly and your body to produce more insulin, which is used to temporarily clear out all the sugar in your blood and then begins to make you resistant to it.

Eat fewer carbohydrates, especially refined carbohydrates such as white breads and sugar snacks, because both can cause unnecessary spikes in blood sugar and/or its lowering (as measured with the response of a blood sugar test taken 12 hours after a meal). However, this dietary change may potentially reduce your risk for developing type 2 diabetes and help reduce PCOS symptoms such as weight gain and irregular menstrual periods.

6. Eat more healthy fats

Women with PCOS can benefit from eating healthy fat. Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish and flaxseed help balance hormones, which is very important for those with PCOS, and containing it is really important. For instance, healthy fats are also believed to help with insulin sensitivity, a problem that often affects PCOS patients. Fat also promotes satiety, in a way that may be helpful in weight management, an important aspect of helping PCOS symptoms. Foods that are rich in healthy fats include avocados, cheese, dark chocolate, whole eggs, fatty fish, nuts, chia seeds, and extra virgin olive oil, to name some.

7. Exercise more

It is very important that you do physical activity to manage PCOS symptoms like making insulin sensitive, regulating your blood sugar levels, and losing weight. If symptoms remain, improved insulin sensitivity may help to alleviate some symptoms of poor balance of hormones. Weight management tied to exercise helps in this case, as even modest weight loss is enough to improve menstrual regularity and lessen the stringency of PCOS symptoms.

8. Manage stress

Weight gain is linked to stress and ranked as a major risk factor. It can raise cortisol, a hormone made by your adrenal glands that is associated with weight gain and insulin resistance. It means you have to control your stress levels to control your weight. PCOS combined with stress can also cause belly fat, which can create inflammation that can make you feel even more stressed and in a cycle of never-ending stress. One of these is yoga, and going out in nature, practicing exercises you love, you know what I meant, practicing meditation.

9. Sleep more

People with PCOS experience a high incidence of sleep disturbances such as sleep apnea, insomnia, and excessive daytime sleepiness. In addition to other symptoms of PCOS, when you do not get enough sleep, your hunger hormones make you want to eat more each day, which can cause you to gain weight and makes other symptoms of PCOS worse. A study in Obesity Research and Clinical Practice has found that not enough sleep is linked with being overweight or obese.

Conclusion

PCOS can often make it difficult to lose weight, but that doesn’t mean it’s an impossible goal… To control the effects of PCOS on your weight and your symptoms, pay attention to what you eat, focusing on a balanced diet with high protein, fiber, and healthy fats; ditch processed carbs; and add fermented foods.

Other important ways to improve insulin sensitivity and hormone balance are by practicing regular physical activities, managing your stress, and getting adequate sleep. Staying consistent with these strategies will help you on your way to a healthier, more balanced life. Just remember too: small changes can make a big difference!