PCOS/Insulin Resistance SupportSupport for us with any of the following: Insulin Resistance, Syndrome X, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or other endocrine disorders.
So I have a question, I am going to start cutting carbs...I am not taking them out completely and I know to look for unrefined carbs etc..but where do oyu draw the line? how much do you allow yourself? Like everything here is carborific. I spend alot of time with a friend and she LOVES carbs. its always quesacdillas, garlic bread, cake, fried chicken ,etc etc. I resisted temptaiton of most things today except I had a quesadilla. Exactly how much is ok when cutting carbs? I was diagnosed with pcos in 2007 and I have noticed carbs making me feel like I do after I eat tons of sugar which made me decide to cut them down.
Check out the South Beach forum for some guidelines. I know I push that a lot on this board , but it is great. Low glycemic index is a nice way to look at carbs. Obviously vegetables are good for you, and yet they have carbs -- so it's not carbs necessarily that are the bad guys.
Defo, its more the refined carbs I am worried about. Like white bread etc as it pertains to pcos and insulin resistance. I don't think I could do the south beach diet. I wil lcheck out the boards tho.
Thankis for the responses all. I am trying to switch all carbs over to wheat which typically are less refined but its hard ya know? Specially when friends don't eat this way and not a lot of restaurants do either.
I keep my carbs less than 100 per day. I have also cut out bread, pasta, corn, potatoes, and rice. These are high carb and definitely trigger foods for me. Since I have cut out bread if I eat it now it makes me sick. 100 grams or less a day works bests for me but I do still watch my calories every day. Good luck to you.
Thankis for the responses all. I am trying to switch all carbs over to wheat which typically are less refined but its hard ya know? Specially when friends don't eat this way and not a lot of restaurants do either.
Now that you mention it... I'm trying to drop wheat out -- even whole wheat. I think it causes my stuffy nose.
I'm shooting for 40% carb for now, with as much of it as possible coming from produce rather than grains. For grain, I'm going with brown rice -- I know rice is hypoallergenic.
But I don't have specific fav menu ideas yet. I'm experimenting and we'll see what we see.
I agree with astrophe, I think wheat is one of the most 'abused' carbs in our society as most forms of processed carbs include wheat in some form. I eat a high carb diet but I rarely eat any wheat products. If you are looking into bread, I'd look at sprouted grain breads.
I took out all white bread, pasta, white rice, candy, baked goods, pizza, white tortillas, white flour wraps, breakfast items, you name it!!!
Gone.
That stuff was replaced with vegetables and fruits and more vegetables. I will still eat potatoes (with skin, not fried) and corn (once in a while).
When I do go out, I don't get quesadillas or eat the bread on the table, I will order a salad (there are now some yummy salads on menus) or I will get a protein (steak or chicken) with vegetables/side salad.
It is a big change, but I found out that the carbs were 1) stopping my weight loss and 2) not making me feel good.
But I will eat them once in a while. For example, last night, I had friends over for a little dinner party and we had a lasagna that I made (it was meat heavy, granted!) and I'll eat some of the leftovers and it'll be my one treat this week.
Remember, carbs aren't bad, it's really the refined carbs that are. Eat lots and lots of vegetables, preferably the green leafy ones. If you never, ever, eat bread again, your body will not die. We don't need THOSE carbs to live.
Oh and if you do manage to get them out of your system, you'll go through a period of withdrawal but if you get past the hump, you'll stop craving them... and then it's amazing bliss to not be a slave to a cookie or a piece of cake or a slice of bread.
I agree. It's not impossible to eat low carb or go as far as only eating 20g of carbs a day. This is my 4th week on Atkins Induction phase and I am only eating 20g of carbs from veggies a day. I eat absolutely no carbs from bread, past, rice, fruit etc. and I don't miss them one bit. It is hard the first 2-3 days but well worth it. I am down almost 20lbs. South Beach is a great lifestyle to follow as well and has a bit more freedom than Atkins. I chose Atkins because I have IR and my body is stubborn. Also, these lifestyles, whether it be South Beach or Atkins, are for life. You will hear people say that they gained all the weight back but those people probably went back to their old eating habits when they hit goal.
My advice is to do your research into PCOS and IR and what types of food are best for you. You have to look at what your risks are in the long run (heart disease, diabetes etc) if you don't eat properly. You may be relatively healthy now, but 10 or 20yrs from now, you won't be if you don't get PCOS under control. I agree that it's not an easy task, I've been battling it for over 10yrs, but it's not impossible.
I follow the Insulin Resistant Diet plan as a framework -- no more than 30 grams carbs/meal, always linked with protein. I aim to keep my carbs below 100/day, and below 30/meal. Most days I'm closer to 50/day overall, depending on how many veggies I eat, or whether I had a meal with beans or high-fiber bread/pancakes (very occasionally).
I find that when the carbs begin creeping up, in whatever form, I can tell because I begin thinking about bread and crackers and chips (my former binge foods) and imagining how they'd taste and feel in my mouth. When I get cravings, I know my carbs are too high. So I go very low carb for a few days, and the cravings go away.
In the end I just decided to drop all most everything that has carbs (except veggies and fruit) If it doesnt grow on a palnt/in the ground (though I exclude potatos and corn too) and doesnt have 2g dietary fiber per every 15 carbs I don't eat it....except those VERY rare occasions like today when there LITERALLY was nothing else to eat at the school cafeteria when my sister and I went to have lunch there.
I found an article that explained everything pretty well...I'll look for it and post it again if I find it.
But it said if you were "overweight" and not cycling normal you should get no more 40% of carbs. On a 1200 cal diet that's 120 carbs a day. I try to make sure to limit myself to a couple of fruit and a couple servings of whole wheat grains at max each day. And if you were cycling on a normal basis and your weight was under control you could have up to 50% of carbs.
My typical menu is lean meats and tons of veggies, very little fruit and very little bread/pasta/etc.
This is my dinner for tonight:
6 oz grilled chicken
1.5 cups grilled squash or zucchini
(both grilled with a little bit of olive oil and some spices- I use spray olive oil so it's not much)
1.5 cups lettuce mix
1 cup sprouts
2 tbsp of balsamic vinaigrette
pcos and cutting carbs
, but it is great. Low glycemic index is a nice way to look at carbs. Obviously vegetables are good for you, and yet they have carbs -- so it's not carbs necessarily that are the bad guys.
100 grams or less a day works bests for me but I do still watch my calories every day. Good luck to you. 
