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PCOS diet help

R

RobS1

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6
Hi all,

Just signed up to engage with PCOS people to seek support in helping my wife, & I, learn how to control/regulate diet and weight loss to enable us to progress with fertility treatment.

My wife was diagnosed with PCOS many years ago whilst in her teens. We have been to several consultations in relation to PCOS, weight loss (dietitian), and fertility over the years but never really had any detailed support and information about the condition and the effect it has on weight gain and infertility amongst other psychological issues. I'm now pushing 40 and the desire to have children of our own is really strong, yet this barrier of multiple issue's is preventing that from happening.

What I am hoping to gain from this (my wife does not know that I am doing this!) is an understanding into the nutritional side of aiding the weight loss for my wife to help her get to the next BMI stage where the medical system will support her further with fertility treatment. In a recent phone call with a fertility nurse a spanner was thrown in the works in relation to carbs and I think what I picked up from the information is that the sugar content (of natural ingredients) of the carbohydrates is the factor we need to consider e.g. sugar content in dry pasta is lower than that of rice but has a similar carbohydrate level per gram, therefore the carb percentage per gram is not necessarily the problem. Does that make sense to anyone or has anyone been told the same?

I am also hoping to find and structure a diet/meal plan if anyone has any suggestions on that please. My wife does not like cooking in the slightest so I do all the cooking but prefer to cook with raw ingredients over processed foods (labelled healthy or not). I usually go to BBC good food for recipe's etc as you can search for idea's with key words but when searching PCOS there is some generalised information item that mentions PCOS but is mainly about cravings during pregnancy - bit of a kick to the face! I've tried looking for PCOS diet plans etc with general web searches but as ever, everything is locked behind a subscription service or expensive one-off fee which I resent paying for as there are no guarantees.

Any help anyone can offer is greatly appreciated and thank you in advance!

Rob
 
Have a read of The Diabetes Code by Jason Fung. He mentions PCOS.
 

Rob, it sounds to me like the Low Carb Programme (LCP) would be right up your street.

It was originally developed for those with T2 diabetes, prediabetes, and obesity, however, it is now also being used to help those with PCOS.

It is a structured programme, and although it doesn't state the Week 1, Monday food is x, y or z, there are hundreds, if not thousands of recipes in there to choose from.

When registering, and ongoing, you can input your food preferences, any allergies or intolerances, and whether you are Veggie, and so on. There are also mentors, a peer forum, and lots if online classes for yoga, and so on. Basically, you pick and choose how you want to approach things.

In many way, your timing couldn't be better, as the LCP has a membership offer on at present. It is usually around £70 for an annual subscription, or £17 (I think) per month. Until the end of May, it's £20.99 for the year.

I appreciate that sounds like a great big sales pitch. In some ways it is, but only because it sounds you you and your wife would learn a lot and likely benefit enormously.

The LCP can be found here: https://www.lowcarbprogram.com/ There are also Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages, as well, if you want to have a poke around and see what gives.

Good luck with it all.
 
https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html <-- something to get you started while you go for a deeper study on Dr. Jason Fung's material, the mentioned Low Carb programme and Dietdoctor.com. As for carbs, for people like your wife and I, a carb is a carb is a carb. Sugars are carbs, but so are starches, and whatever color they come in (white, brown, wholemeal etc), they all turn to glucose once ingested.

I have no idea how my own little cyst is doing these days, as we have no desire to have children I'm not about to find out either, but... If your wife's weight and possibly, blood glucose levels are a hurdle for fertility treatment, going low carb should fix that. And pretty quick too.

Good luck!
Jo
 
I have suffered with PCOS since my teens but wasn’t diagnosed till years later.
When I started LCHF with out grains five years ago, It changed my life.
My diet was alway what would be considered healthy for the general public and I was pretty active. But as the years passed I gained weight,had extreme fatigue, hair loss and acne.
When I was finally diagnosed with type 2 and found this forum I was able to turn things around. I lost 60 pounds with out being hungry and now have a clear mind.
Maybe let you wife know about this forum and she can research for her self. While I think you are good intentioned ultimately she has to be willing to completely change the way she eats.
 
Thanks very much for replying! I think the main issue my wife has is the constant conflicting advice she's being told. The minute someone clocks that she's "dieting" they seem to have an opinion on what is right/wrong, this has been the case for many years and now with the added pressure of fertility I'd like to try and gain some clarity myself so to best support her with knowledge as apposed to opinions. She's doing really well as she is, but she's not loosing at a rate the average person would if they were to mirror her efforts. This is all very informative and I really appreciate the advice you've given!!
 

You might find this helpful
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1334192/

and here
https://www.ketogenicforums.com/search?q=pcos
 
The "usual" advice that's given for weight loss doesn't take the hormonal imbalance into consideration that comes with ovarian cysts. PCOS sufferers are usually insulin resistant and headed for T2 (I'm a PCOS/T2), meaning the carbs are the problem, and those put the weight on while we rush headlong toward a T2 diagnosis. Going with a plan like Weight Watchers of Slimming World, or even the NHS's EatWell plate for instance, doesn't take any of that into account, as they're going from the assumption that there's nothing hormonally/metabolically wrong with the body that the diet's going in to. This is very much a medical thing though... And the diet has to be adjusted accordingly. If someone's lactose intolerant, you cut out milk. We're basically carb intolerant. Same solution: no carbs, fewer issues.
 
It is VERY difficult to loose weight with PCOS.
 


Can I ask how many carbs per day is considered low carb? Im struggling to get an answer on that!
 

Hi Rob - Are these people with an opinion of your wife's dietary choices important people, or are they just "folks".

I know when I made changes to my way of eating, to help with my T2 diabetes, I never, ever stated I was on a diet. I actually didn't look at it in that way.

When people noticed I might be eating a bit differently, or I might have decline dessert, say, and asked about it, my response was usually something like "I had some blood tests done, and they showed up that some of the things I'd been eating weren't doing me any favours, so I'l leaving them be for now".

That was usually enough to satisfy their curiosity, and I simply never went back to eating quite as I was before.

I didn't lie to anyone, but to be frank, everyone has an opinion, but few are really interested. They just feel compelled somehow to make comment.
 


Thanks very much for responding. This is EXACTLY her frustration. She is being told constantly how she can't be trying hard enough or that she must be eating a packet of biscuits every day etc. I can vouch that she isn't and unfortunately its only me that sees the disappointment when she's been trying very hard and someone brings her down with their assumptions and recommendations, as if its not something that she had already tried. I've asked this of someone else but do you know of what the figure is for a low carb diet? 10g/50/100g a day etc.
 


This is brilliant advice! She often tells me how she doesn't want to disclose the fertility issues as like you say, its just gossip rather than concern. Its unfortunate that the scope of this extends to medical professionals. Many a time she's heard how one rule works for all (the NHS/Slimming world rule)
 
Since you guys are in a hurry to conceive, go for a ketogenic diet. That's 20 grams of carbs a day or less. She might experience carb-flu for a week or two, meaning she gets a little dehydrated while her body rearranges things, but bone broth, coconut milk and/or mineral and electrolyte supplements should help her get through it. ("It" truly feeling like the flu: aches and pains everywhere, headaches, fatigue. That goes away though!!!). It's the diet I follow, combined with intermittent fasting. Meaning I eat two meals a day, usually. Suggestions that work well are eggs with cheese and bacon, high meat content sausages, maybe a tomato or something. (That's basically no carbs except for a few in the tomato). Full fat greek yoghurt with a couple of berries or a hand full of nuts, maybe some coconut shavings for flavour. A salad with something fatty, like goat's cheese, bacon, salmon, tuna, that sort of thing, will fill and contain little to no carbs. (Dressing would be mayo, apple cider vinegar and/or olive oil. Yum!). Dinner could be meat, fish, poultry and above ground veggies. Just up those portions to compensate for the lack of spuds. With meals like that or similar solutions, keeping to 20 grams of less a day should be a breeze, and she shouldn't feel hungry all the time. For more elaborate meals, there's this site's Low Carb program, meal suggestions on Dietdoctor.com, and you can also google anything, from muffins to cakes and cookies, as long as you add "keto" in the search bar. There's loads of options out there.

I didn't know carbs were a problem for me, so I blindly followed the advice I was given to eat more carbs and cut the fats. I ballooned and rushed all that quicker into the T2 that was waiting for me. I was blamed for eating loads while I only had one meal a day at one point, and still kept getting fatter. So yeah... people assume you're bingeing when no-one's watching, or lying about your intake. I believe your wife. I've been her. It can get better than this. There's hope. Oodles of it.


Jo
 

Rob - I should have said earlier, but the Low Carb Programmes is approved by the NHS, and is available on prescription in certain areas (depends on funding at CCG level). As well as in iTunes and Google Play, the App is in the NHS App Library. There is also a Royal Society of General Practitioners educational module for medics.

The Programmes has input from a number of health care professsionals, including GPs, a psychologist and a registered Dietitian, who is fully in favour of Low Carb.

However, other people's curiosity? I'm not their entertainment of gossip fodder. It's astonishing how many "experts" there suddenly are out there.
 
RobS1 said:
Can I ask how many carbs per day is considered low carb? Im struggling to get an answer on that!
Click to expand...
It’s not just about how many carbs. I probably eat more then many on this forum but none of it includes grains, pulses or fruit other then berries. I eat above ground vegetables and meat
For some With PCOS dairy can be inflammatory as well.
It’s important not to be afraid of eating fat. There’s no need to be hungry and fat fills you up and does not hinder weight loss.
 
Rob, just wanted to chime in as you’ve had some great advice re Keto and I can’t it recommend more highly...

I was diagnosed PCOS 8years ago. I was always overweight since day dot.

7 years ago (at 32) I went low carb /Keto and lost 4st in a year (though was still overweight)

6 years ago I met the man of my dreams


5 years ago our beautiful baby boy was born!

3 years ago Mr number 2 arrived! I had gestational diabetes during this pregnancy as had gained weight between 1 and 2.

Just wanted to offer some hope and lots of love. If you can both enjoy eating fats (so filling and kill hunger and cravings) and just enjoy each other as much as possible
then fingers crossed for you guys. Soon you’ll be as sleep deprived as can be and loving every minute of it! Xxx
 
Hi Rob

I too have PCOS and now have just been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
We had our son via fertility treatment then IVF.
Fertility Nurse mentioned Metformin to me and GP Prescribed it. This assisted my weight loss & was helpful in relieving some of my PCOS symptoms but more importantly was instrumental in us conceiving our Son (now 16) at first IVF attempt (after 13 failed rounds of IUI).
Years later, I had Private Consultation with a Professor of Endocrinology who prescribed a very Low Carb diet. (No more than 30g per day). This lead to my most rapid and successful weight loss ever.
I hope this info is helpful and suggest you and your wife have conversations with your Fertility Clinic Team & your GP in regards to both the Metformin & Low Carb Diet.
Good luck with it all and I truly hope you are as lucky as we were & go on to conceive and have your much wanted family.
Please feel free to ask any other questions you may have in relation to the PCOS & Fertility Treatment - I have no issue discussing/sharing my experiences. xx
 

Hi rob,

Like others I, too, have PCOS and diagnosed properly when I was 20 after my husband and I spend a year trying to conceive. I also, like your wife, was told to lose weight which I found difficult, in spite of being highly physically active and eating a very ‘healthy diet” whole grains, fruit and veg, low fat etc. I truly tried my best and was continually frustrated, that in-spite of my efforts, I was getting nowhere fast. This coupled with the monthly sadness of not being able to conceive made me feel inadequate as a woman,. The doctors, like your wife, not really believing me, that I wasn’t eating rubbish. But I wasn’t T2 at the time. After 4 years of trying they eventually put me on metformin to help and hoping it would, stimulated more ovulation as I they assumed I wasn’t ovulating well and that any weight loss may help regulate my periods. But that too only lasted a few weeks as the side effects were not compatible with my life and the side effects horrendous. Eventually, we were sent for IVF treatment. However, yet again, they said I need to lose more weight before they could treat me. Which I did. I managed, due to feeling desperate, to do it in a very unhealthy way. Alcohol, cigarettes and starvation/fasting. I’m not proud but technically it was low carb.lol Anyway, I lost 2.5 stone over a few months. And without help, I became pregnant for the first time. Sadly, we lost the baby after a few weeks, but saw the positives as we had never been pregnant before.

Now here is the part my husband enjoyed. Since, I realised it could happened, I thought we should strike while the iron was hot. So, bless him, I didn’t leave my husband alone for the next month.lol And the following month, I was pregnant again with our first child. Funnily enough, the IVF clinic called me for an appt. 6 weeks later, to which I was pleased to say we didn't need any more help, it came naturally. After 8 long years of anger, frustration , disappointment, feeling left in the dark it happened. And indeed, my first child helped and to a degree and ‘fixed’ my fertility issues. As we were able to plan for our second and it happened within 2 months of trying. And have 2 amazing kids. So it can happened.

I will say though, that I did put on weight with my kids and it has been difficult to get it back off. Which, no doubt, has impacted on my recent dx for T2 last week. I wished I had known years ago how the insulin resistance with PCOS was effecting me. I’ve since read many many full studies that show women With PCOS benefit from being on metformin as it helps fertility for them but it hasn’t been tested as a pcos drug for treatment specifically, but does seem to help with their insulin resistance.

I’m now on low carb high fat. It has only been 6 days, my BG has dropped dramatically this week. I’ve lost over 2 kilos and feel fine. I’ve not had a carb flu, but then most of my previous carbs were from veg or rice which i’ve cut to none.

Also as a side note, I had over 10 cysts on the one ovary they were able to see. Which from what I’ve read is a lot.

My husband does our cooking too. He makes the meats I make the sides. It is a nice way to bond and it helps me encourage him to eat more veg.

Good luck both of you. I know the journey is tough, but you know, it was when, in my mind, that we actually gave up on the idea and just relaxed, that we actually got pregnant in the first place.
 
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