4 tips to lose weight PCOS
Weight loss with PCOS can be difficult to achieve. Your condition actively works to make you gain weight, and often psychological and even physical pressures can make motivation and exercise difficult. With this in mind, here are some PCOS weight loss tips that can help those with PCOS.
1. Eat low GI foods
This is good advice for anyone wanting to lose weight, but with PCOS it can become even more important due to insulin resistance. This condition is the main cause of PCOS and it basically means that the hormone insulin that takes glucose from the bloodstream and uses it to fuel the body does not work very well. A large amount of insulin is needed to convert blood sugar into bodily processes and this spike in insulin triggers a chain reaction of hormonal imbalances that lead to the symptoms of PCOS.
In any case, a low GI diet means that you won’t flood your bloodstream with sugars quickly because those low GI foods release glucose slowly into your blood vapor. This will limit insulin spikes and should mean that more blood sugar is delivered to the body’s processes and not stored as fat cells. It also has the benefit of stopping hormonal imbalance.
2. Don’t overdo exercise
A strict diet can be more powerful than a severe exercise regimen. While you need to move and exercise, the calorie loss from exercise is not as great as you might think. The health benefits are there and regular, scheduled exercise is essential, but thinking that wearing yourself out for a few weeks will miraculously burn fat and leave you leaner is the wrong thinking.
Trying too hard will deplete your motivation and may also run out of energy to fight the disease. A more consistent exercise rate is recommended. Stick with cardio with perhaps a light resistance training to strengthen your body.
3. Reduction of pain
Many people with PCOS have severe pain from their ovarian cysts. This can drain your motivation and make exercise difficult. Having methods that reduce cyst pain quickly will help you feel like you are on your way to overcoming this condition and then PCOS weight loss will follow.
Heat packs placed on the back often help with cystic pain, but there are also many natural remedies that will help reduce pain without resorting to medication.
4. Motivate!
Perhaps nothing is more important than having a constant motivation to lose weight. Maybe it’s your impulse to simply end PCOS, maybe you need to lose weight to get pregnant, maybe you want to feel beautiful again, or maybe you just know how bad carrying extra weight is for your health and you know your end goal it is better health.