If PCOS has been keeping you from losing weight, this article will show you how to lose weight with PCOS.
Losing weight is not easy for anybody, but for women with PCOS, it is especially hard.
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is characterized by an imbalance in sex hormones, hunger hormones, and insulin resistance.
These overriding conditions, coupled with the resulting inflammation dooms women with PCOS to a vicious cycle of weight gain. When they lose weight, they end up regaining it quickly, making it hard for them to lose weight with PCOS.
Worse still, PCOS is a leading cause of infertility, especially when coupled with a high BMI.
Here are 12 simple tips on how to lose weight with PCOS.
How to Lose Weight with PCOS
1. Ditch Fad Diets
Stay away from diets that demand that you eat like a bad. Insulin resistance, hormonal imbalance and inflammation are a lethal combination for a low-calorie intake.
The stress that comes with the long-term withdrawal from certain foods will trigger the release of cortisol.
Cortisol in the presence of insulin resistance makes for a perfect cause of visceral fat, which many women with PCOS struggle with.
2. Avoid Stress
You have to make a conscious decision to avoid stress and all its triggers in order to lose weight with PCOS.
Cortisol is used to regulate blood pressure, conventionally. When you are stressed, you produce an excess of cortisol, thus it has been dubbed the stress hormone.
High levels of cortisol have been attributed to belly fat by this Yale study. It also induces cravings for unhealthy foods.
Given that people with PCOS experience stress as a symptom of the condition, you may want to remove yourself from situations that cause even more stress.
3. Check Your Carbohydrates Intake
This is not to suggest that you completely cut out carbs out of your diet in order to lose weight with PCOS.
Just watch the type of carbs and the amount you eat. Simple carbohydrates usually spike your blood sugar levels, mainly because they get broken down too easily.
When this happens, you get hungrier much faster and reach for more food.
Instead, take complex carbohydrates, like sweet potatoes and oatmeal. They will prevent your blood sugar from rising and keep you satisfied for even longer.
4. Get Enough Sleep
As you sleep, your body gets rejuvenated and your hunger hormones are kept in check.
Quality sleep keeps ghrelin, the hormone that causes you to get hungry, in check. Lack of sleep, on the other hand, increases it. That is one of the reasons why lack of sleep is closely associated with weight gain.
Also, try to go to bed much earlier because staying up doubles your chances of taking a late-night snack.
And if you have to take a late-night snack, try these approved evening snacks for weight loss.
5. Eat Enough Protein
If you wish to lose weight with PCOS, never underestimate the sensational powers of a protein-filled diet. Protein will keep you satisfied for longer, so you do not have to eat multiple meals to curb hunger pangs.
Additionally, protein helps build muscles, which in turn boosts your metabolism. If you do not like animal proteins, there are plenty of plant protein sources like soy, beans, and lentils.
6. Regulate Your Hormones
Because hormonal imbalance is one of the primary causes of PCOS weight gain, you must keep your hormones balanced.
The imbalance might have thrown off the satiety hormone (leptin), making it harder for you to feel full even after you’ve eaten enough.
You can improve this by practicing intuitive eating. When you are eating, focus fully in the food you are eating so you may correctly perceive when you are full. You may eat way more than you need if you are distracted while eating.
You should also use these proven techniques for fixing leptin resistance.
7. Stay Active
Complement your dietary efforts with a good workout regimen to lose and maintain weight.
Do not shy away from strength training that will help you build leaner, stronger muscles. And this doesn’t necessarily mean lifting weights. You can build lean muscle using these short bodyweight workouts.
If you’re a beginner, do not strain yourself too much in your quest for a leaner body. Ease into fitness by keeping your workouts easy and short.
8. Kick Your Sugar Habit
You just have to give sugar the boot in order to effectively lose weight with PCOS, and here’s why. Insulin sensitivity is greatly diminished when you have PCOS. The more sugar you take, the more your body will be required to produce insulin to deal with the rising levels of blood sugar.
Given your cells cannot respond to blood sugar as they should, the calories in your body end up being stored as fat – the kind that gets deposited around the belly.
All these can be avoided by reducing your sugar intake to a bare minimum.
9. Eat Healthy Fats
Not all fats and oils are as bad as you have heard. In fact, this study has shown that some oils contribute greatly to the loss of belly fat.
Not just that, eating carbs alongside healthy fats inhibits their (carbs) ability to cause blood sugar spikes. This way, less insulin is produced.
Avocado is a source of healthy fat that goes well in spreads, as a smoothie, and in salads. You can switch to coconut oil for cooking and reap from its medium-chain triglycerides to help shed the belly fat.
Alternatively, take MCTs supplements.
10. Pack on the Fiber
In the battle against the weight gain caused by PCOS, fiber is on the frontline. For one, this study shows that fiber can help get rid of belly fat, which most people with PCOS struggle with.
Remember ghrelin, the hormone that makes you hungry? This study says that a fiber-heavy diet keeps the ghrelin levels in check. Thus, fiber is an all-natural appetite suppressant.
It also slows down the speed with which food is released from your stomach, making you feel satisfied for longer. You can get your fiber from whole grains, fruits, and veggies.
11. Cook Most of Your Meals
You never know the kind of danger that lurks in take-outs and processed foods. Nobody will pay attention to the dietary changes you need to make in order to lose weight with PCOS. You are also more likely to make unhealthier food choices when eating out than in the house.
12. Turn Up the Heat
Use more spices in your cooking to keep the weight down. On top of the rich, sensory experience they give foods, spices aid in weight loss in many ways.
Ginger is effective in reducing belly fat according to a 2018 review. Black pepper contains piperine which this animal study has shown to induce up to 5% weight loss.
Cinnamon will come in handy in reducing the blood sugar levels as was found in a 2009 study that examined its effect on people with Diabetes.
The Bottom Line
Weight loss with PCOS revolves around three important factors, that is, keeping stress low, eating right and staying active.
If you don’t have a workout routine to keep you active, start doing these 28 fat-burning home workouts.
[related_posts_by_tax posts_per_page="4"]
