5 Easy-to-follow Tips for Losing Weight with PCOS Condition

Weight loss in PCOS?

Well, losing weight any day is a tough task and it gets even tougher for women with PCOS, a metabolic condition that affects women in their childbearing years. It causes an imbalance of hormones in the body that results in irregular periods and infertility in the worst case.

Being a metabolic condition, it impacts the body’s ability to lose weight, and thus makes it a challenging thing to do.

The write-up mentions 5 easy-to-follow tips to help you shed those extra kilos and achieve an ideal BMI. Let us take a glance at them.

Our body converts extra glucose into fat. Since PCOS is a metabolic disorder, women with this condition have insulin levels, higher than normal. Insulin is a crucial hormone produced by the pancreas that converts glucose (obtained from the breakdown of carbs from food) into energy.

Therefore, you need to make lifestyle changes and achieve a healthy BMI. Otherwise, you may develop insulin resistance that shoots up the sugar level and eventually leads to type 2 diabetes. To start with, cut back on items containing refined carbs like bread, pasta, sodas, sweets, and pastries and include complex carbs like whole-wheat bread, brown rice, quinoa, corn, barley, sweet potatoes, and legumes among others.

For a woman to lose weight with PCOS, it is important to increase her fibre intake. Dietary fibres give a feeling of satiety and thus keep you fuller for longer. Feeling fuller helps you avoid unnecessary hunger pangs.

A study revealed that dietary fibres are effective in reducing insulin resistance and overall body fat. You can find dietary fibres in abundance in whole wheat breakfast, oats, barley, rye, peas, beans, pulses, nuts and seeds, berries, oranges, pears, and carrots among others.

Several studies have shown that eating healthy fats is highly effective in losing weight in general and even with PCOS conditions. Medium-chain fats suppress appetite and thus make you feel fuller. As a result, it helps you reduce your calories intake which helps you lose weight. However, you need to remember that not all fats offer these benefits. You need to consider only healthy fats and avoid trans fats. Some of the options that you can consider for healthy fats include roasted peanuts, almonds, walnuts, flaxseeds, chia seeds, avocados, whole eggs, Greek yoghurt, and several others.

A PCOS Diet plan to lose weight is incomplete without protein. This macronutrient is rightly said as the building blocks of the body. Be they muscles, bones, nails, skin, or organs, everything is made up of protein. In general, doctors recommend having 0.8 gram to 1 gram of protein per kg of your weight.

Protein stabilises blood sugar and gives the feeling of fullness. It helps manage hunger hormones and reduce cravings to accelerate weight loss. Besides, protein-rich foods increase boosts metabolism by inducing the thermic effect of food. To fulfil your protein requirements, you can add chicken, eggs, milk, yoghurt, cottage cheese, legumes, beans, and nuts and seeds.

In order to speed up the weight loss in PCOS, add some exercises to your daily routine. You can include light to medium intensity cardio training, yoga, or weight training. Besides these, you can even join a dancing class, engage in sports like cycling, badminton, swimming, and so on. Exercising daily helps you keep your weight in control, reduces the risk of heart diseases, improves your mental and physical health, builds strength, and strengthens your bones and muscles.

In addition to the aforementioned points, sleep is an important aspect of losing weight and lack of sleep can make all your efforts go to waste. Besides, avoid processed foods and inculcate the habit of mindful eating.

1. Cut Back on Refined Carbs and Sugar

2. Increase Fibre Intake

3. Include Healthy Fats

4. Increase Daily Protein Intake

5. Exercise Daily