Weight Loss with PCOS: How to Get Results

If you live with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), you’re no stranger to struggles. This condition can lead to hormone imbalances, irregular menstruation, occasional cysts on ovaries, and elevated insulin resistance. As a result, those with PCOS often also struggle to maintain a healthy, moderate weight. Fortunately, making changes to diet, activity, and lifestyle can help with weight loss!

Make Smart Choices in Your Diet

With PCOS, you must be extra careful about what you put into your body if you want to lose weight. Here are some of the dietary decisions that can help you on your journey:

• Limited carbs: Carbs make insulin control much harder, and restricting them can help your body feel better and shed excess weight.
• Less processed and sugary foods: Studies have found that inflammation contributes to obesity, and more processed and sugar-filled foods lead to higher markers for inflammation.
• Plenty of fiber: When you have enough fiber in your diet, you tend to feel full and help fight insulin resistance, helping you eat less overall.
• Enough protein: Protein has a dual effect on the body. It can help you feel fuller after meals, and it can help the body with blood sugar levels.
• Healthy-gut foods: Probiotics can be especially helpful for those with PCOS because they can help with digestion and metabolism.
• Mindful eating: If you aren’t aware and mindful about your eating habits, you can quickly sabotage your progress with binging or emotional eating.

Get Supplements from a Medical Team

In some cases, patients with PCOS can benefit from supplements from a medical team. These are not diet suppressants, which can be dangerous for your health in the long run. Instead, these activate the body’s natural fat-burning processes, which can make your efforts that much more effective.

Prioritize Sleep and Stress Management

When you are stressed or haven’t had enough quality sleep, your body produces more cortisol, a hormone that makes you feel hungry, increases insulin resistance, and slows down metabolism. If you can get between 6 and 8 hours of sleep every night, you can increase your ability to burn belly fat.

Along similar lines, managing stress limits cortisol and can help those with PCOS see better results. Some methods of relieving stress include spending time outside in nature, meditation, and yoga.

Be Active

Regardless of your condition, being active helps your body stay healthy as well as use energy and burn fat. If you have PCOS, you may want to focus your efforts on weight training, which some research suggests is more effective, for slightly better progress.

Dealing with PCOS doesn’t have to keep you from your weight-loss goals. When you work with a medical team familiar with your health, together you can create a plan for your success.

About the Practice

Richardson Pain & Wellness is focused on overall health and offers many methods for treatment. In addition to weight loss, we can also help with surgery-free pain management, anti-aging treatment, and hormone replacement therapy. Interested in learning more about our services or team? Contact us by calling 972-907-1125 or visiting our Contact Us page here.