I ain’t no doctor, I want to make that very clear from the jump. I am a strength and nutrition coach, everything that I am about to lay-out will strictly fall under that scope. Any medical questions you might have, please don’t ask me, it’d be foolish of me to even entertain that.
Having said that, reach out to your primary care doctor and have a that talk with them. The more I hear myself talk, the more it feels like an informational leading up to a sale of some kind.
Do you have PCOS?
Go to your PCP and hit up your local pharmacy for only $19.99 to make your problems go all away.
Anyway…
let’s dive in.
Lose Weight with PCOS: What the Heck is PCOS Any-Way?
Do I as I did and google the damn thing lol. Here is what google says, PCOS also known as poly-cystic ovary syndrome is a hormonal disorder that causes your ovaries to be enlarged because of a cyst.
A combination of genetic and environmental factors can contribute to PCOS, but it’s still one of those diseases that hasn’t been fully understood yet.
Some of the symptoms you might end up experiencing if you have it are:
- Irregular menstrual cycle
- Excessive body hair
- Difficulty getting pregnant
- Acne
- Excessive hair thinning/ male baldness pattern
You get the point.
How Do I Lose Weight with PCOS?
Great question.
I don’t know how to answer that.
Losing weight with PCOS is no different than losing weight without PCOS. Dietary modifications and exercise. Eat in a deficit and start lifting weights. There isn’t some magical formula for those with just PCOS.
There is this idea on the net, claiming that women with PCOS have a harder time losing weight than those without it. That’s a bit misleading.
Studies have shown when both groups were given the exact same dietary intervention, both groups lost the same amount of weight. PCOS isn’t your problem, not adhering to your diet is.
Before getting berated in the comments on me insinuating how easy I make it seem.
I want to make myself very clear. In no shape or form am I saying it’s easy. How can that be if a byproduct of having PCOS can be binge eating, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, increase appetite, etc.
Of course, it’s going to be difficult to adhere to your diet. You have a cluster of negatives stacked against you, having said that, you
can still lose weight.
In case you don’t believe me, hear me loud & clear when I say the following:
Losing just 5 to 10% of your body weight can drastically improve insulin sensitivity and lower androgen levels, which can reduce your PCOS symptoms.
About 40 to 50% of PCOS women have shown improvement in ovulation and 30 to 40% achieving spontaneous pregnancy.
Reduce body fat and a lot of your problems can go away. It’s not sexy, but it’s true. There are no secrets, no hacks, no magic formula. It’s the basics, like most things in our life we often ignore.
Let me be clear, this doesn’t inherently make your PCOS “curable.” Your genetics doesn’t magically go away, and so, if you were to completely fall of tracks it will come back. Having said that, if you just adhere to a balance nutritional and exercise lifestyle you’ll be just fine.
Lose Weight with PCOS: Should I Follow a Specific Diet if I have PCOS?
Am sure this question has crossed your mind at some point. The answer is NO, so long as your diet promotes fat loss. Having said that, a moderate protein, moderate carb, and moderate fat has worked quite well.
Think of it this way when you’re about to eat your meal. 30/40/30. 30% protein, 40% carbs and 30% fat. Let’s say your deficit is 1500 calories.
Protein would be > 113g
Carbs would be > 150g
Fat would be > 50g
Side Note:
This is for anyone who’s curious how I came up with those numbers.
Calories Per Gram
Protein: 4 calories per gram
Carbs: 4 calories per gram
Fat: 9 calories per gram
If you recall:
Calorie Deficit: 1500
Meal % Distribution: 30/40/30 > P: 30% / C: 40% / F: 30%
Equation: Calorie Deficit x Macro % / Calories Per Gram
Protein
1500 x 30% (.30) = 450 / 4 = 113g
Carbs
1500 x 40% (.40) = 600 / 4 = 150g
Fat
1500 x 30% (.30) = 450 / 9 = 50g
Setting up your diet this balance across the board makes a lot of sense to me because it’s much more practical in the real world.
Think about it, most of us eat far more carbs and fat then protein. Instead of getting too extreme, where it’s low protein, high carb, and high fat or high protein, low carb, and low fat. Moderating each macronutrient make’s nutrition much more adherable.
A few studies showed that women with PCOS when given sufficient protein responded very well. Here are what the two studies concluded with:
Study 1
One group was given about 30% protein and the other 15%. 112 grams per day (30%) vs 56 grams per day (15%). There was no difference in weight loss, but what’s interesting is, the higher protein group had a far greater decrease in waist circumference.
You know what that means right?
The higher protein group lost a lot more visceral fat compared to the low protein group and if you remember, reducing body fat > increases insulin sensitivity, which > lowers androgen levels, which ultimately can > get rid of your PCOS symptoms.
Study 2
Second group was given about 40% protein vs 15%. 145 grams per day (40%) vs 105 grams per day (15%).
In a span of six months, the high protein group (145g/per day) lost about 4.5 kilos of weight (10lbs) and 4.3 kilos of body fat (9.5lbs). This group basically lost 100% of total body fat, which is crazy.
The low protein group (105g/per day) lost about 3.2 kilos of weight (7lbs) and 2.1 kilos of body fat (5lbs).
By just increasing total protein caused a significant decrease in fat loss compared to the low protein group.
Ladies if this doesn’t make you want to eat more proteins, I don’t know what else to say. It’s really that important.
Lose Weight with PCOS: Supplements to Take to Help with PCOS
There is a supplement and a medication that has been extensively researched and found to have profound benefits in helping treat women with PCOS. Metformin and Myoinositol.
I just want to make one thing clear; supplements or medications alone will NOT help. A combination of that with dietary and exercise changes is where all the magic happens. Just keep that in mind.
Metformin and Myoinositol have helped:
- Lower androgen levels
- Lower testosterone levels
- Improve insulin sensitivity
- Regulate menstrual cycle
- Promote ovulation > increases your chances to get pregnant
Having said that, Myoinositol has far less side effects if any compared to Metformin. If you were to pick one, I would recommend Myoinositol, just saying.
Lose Weight with PCOS: Exercise to Do to Help with PCOS
Exercise plays a role in helping improve insulin sensitivity, but exercise alone will NOT cut it. There is no specific exercise to follow, a combination of strength training and cardio is better than either one alone.
If you can workout at least 3x days a week for about an hour, I recommend lifting weights for 45 mins and the remaining 15 minutes for cardio.
If for whatever reason that is not feasible for you, aim for at least 5-10k steps a day. General overall movement everyday can be very beneficial as well.
Lose Weight with PCOS: Ending
Losing weight with PCOS is no different than losing weight without it.
Eat in a calorie deficit
Eat sufficient protein
Exercise
I hope this article helped clarify a few things you had in mind.
Have the best year!!!