How to Lose Weight with PCOS

Women with PCOS find weight loss to be a constant battle. If you have tried everything to lose weight with PCOS and feel fed up with jumping from one diet to the next, without results, this article is for you.

Before we can understand how to lose weight with PCOS, we first need to understand what it is about PCOS that makes weight loss so difficult in the first place.

PCOS is the most common female hormonal disorder.

Symptoms may include:

– Irregular periods
– Absent periods
– Irregular ovulation (this may still result in a regular bleed but we cannot technically call this bleed a period if ovulation did not occur)
– Infertility
– Hair loss (male pattern baldness)
– Excessive facial or body hair growth
– Painful periods
– Painful ovulation
– Acne
– Stubborn weight gain

There are 4 different types of PCOS

– Insulin resistant PCOS
– Post pill PCOS
– Inflammatory PCOS
– Adrenal PCOS

All 4 types experience elevated androgens and unique symptoms depending on the cause of the PCOS. A comprehensive blood test is required to uncover what type of PCOS you may be struggling with. A naturopath can help you to interpret these results in a holistic way.

Common causes of PCOS include:

– Chronic stress
– Use of the oral contraceptive pill
– Chronic inflammation
– Mineral imbalance
– Gut health issues (leaky gut, dysbiosis)

In addition to specific diet and lifestyle changes, is important to uncover and resolve the root cause of PCOS to resolve symptoms and achieve a healthy weight.

These underlying causes can lead to:

– Estrogen dominance
– Insulin resistance
– High androgens, high testosterone
– Low progesterone
– High cortisol, low cortisol

These hormonal imbalances are the basis of PCOS and the reason why it is so difficult to lose weight. Some women experience all of these imbalances, while others may only experience a few.

Regardless of what type of PCOS you have or what hormonal imbalances you may be experiencing, there are 3 things you can do that will help you to lose weight with PCOS.

Eat Enough

I rarely see women with PCOS eating enough. They often skip meals, try to fast, constantly choose lower calorie options and cut carbs where they can. This restrictive behaviour often alternates with binge eating or cravings for processed, high carb foods which only makes underlying issues like chronic stress, inflammation, deficiencies, hormone imbalance and gut issues worse.

I understand it can feel scary to stop restricting when you are already struggling with stubborn weight but eating enough of the right foods will have a major positive impact on your symptoms and weight.

It is important to know, eating enough of the right foods for you does still include those foods that you love. The goal is to support you to nourish your body in a way that supports metabolic function. This allows you to eat more and “burn” more.

The suggestion to “eat enough” may sound rather vague and to get the best results possible it is important to work with a practitioner that can asses your current diet and help you to identify what needs to change.

During an initial consultation, I help women to identify what aspects of their diet are supporting their ability to achieve their health goals, and what aspects need to change. Together, we create a plan that is effective, sustainable and most importantly, enjoyable.

Every woman I work with is different and the best advice in this situation would be personalised.

Manage Stress

Seeking effective strategies to help you manage stress is one of the core foundations if you want to lose weight with PCOS.

Stress is often the root cause of the hormonal imbalances that led to the diagnosis and symptoms in the first place.

Stress can be mental, emotional and physical. During an initial consultation, I help women to uncover their primary sources of stress. We work together to manage and reduce the stress that is within our control, and I will help you to build resilience to better manage the stressors that are out of our control.

Examples of stressors that are within our control are:

Eating enough: low calorie diets, low protein diets and prolonged carb restriction is incredibly stressful for the body. A stressed, undernourished body will struggle to heal.

Sleep: poor sleep, late nights and broken sleep creates unnecessary stress. Poor sleep is also a common sign on high stress. Through working together we can use nutrients, herbs and lifestyle strategies to support you in achieving a good nights sleep.

Exercise: Intense exercise and fasted workouts put our bodies under a huge amount of stress. While this may be considered to be a “good” type of stress, for an already stressed and depleted woman, this type of exercise can prevent weight loss and make hormonal challenges worse. On the flip side, a sedentary lifestyle can also cause stress. It is important to find a type of low intensity exercise that you enjoy and engage in this regularly. This could be walking, pilates, yoga or something else that you enjoy. Many of the women I work with often fear exercising less intensely because they are worried it will lead to more weight gain. All are pleasantly surprised that it does not.

Nutrient deficiencies: We burn through nutrients, especially minerals when we are stressed, what you may not know is nutrient deficiencies can also cause stress. It is important to address and resolve all nutrient deficiencies. Many deficiencies do not show up on standard blood tests. Functional testing and careful questioning in regards to your symptoms can help us to uncover what is out of balance.

Prioritise Hormone Health

Hormonal imbalances like insulin resistance and estrogen dominance can prevent weight loss. Eating enough and managing stress are the first 2 steps when it comes to healing hormonal imbalance.

In addition to these two strategies you may need to focus on:

Optimising gut health and microbiome diversity: optimal gut health is essential for hormone health and weight loss.

Support detoxification: sluggish detox pathways can lead to hormonal imbalance, especially estrogen dominance. When estrogen levels are elevated beyond the normal range symptoms like lower body weight gain, mood changes, acne and fluid retention can occur.

Consider supplementation: there are a number of supplements that are incredibly effective at improving insulin sensitivity, supporting progesterone production, clearing excess androgens and assisting the balance of the other hormones that can become dysregulated with PCOS. It is important to work with a practitioner before self prescribing random online supplements. Dosage, quality and suitability is what makes supplements most effective. This is something your practitioner can support you with. Learn more about the best supplements for PCOS weight loss.

Summary

While it’s common to feel overwhelmed, defeated and fed up, when the right strategies are employed, it is possible to lose weight with PCOS. Personalised guidance is key. Working with a naturopath will help you to uncover your unique underlying cause so you can begin a tailor made plan to support symptom resolution and weight loss.

If you’re ready gain freedom from PCOS, here are 3 ways I can help:

1. Work with me! Book a consultation in person (Evandale, SA) or AUS + NZ wide online via Zoom

2. Listen to the Holistic Weight Loss Podcast

3. Connect with me on Instagram | Pinterest | YouTube | LinkedIn | Facebook