Sustainable Diet

To cut right to the chase, I've put on weight.  Quite a bit of weight in fact, over the last two months.  It's not really much of a surprise to me as I have been unemployed for the last couple of months which means I haven't been doing the hard physical work I have to do on a daily basis to keep the fat off and I've been eating crap.  My diet hasn't been terrible, it's still mostly healthy, but I have been eating more processed food and sugar then I normally do and really I should have known better.  I have PCOS after all and I know how quickly I can pile on the pounds compared to a 'normal' person.

However, when I was thinking about my unhealthy food habits it occurred to me that it also meant I wasn't exactly doing my part for the environment either.  Now there is a bit of a debate about whether highly processed food is actually good or bad for the environment and I can understand the arguments for the good (seen as a way to reduce food waste, less energy used as the food is cooked together in a massive vate instead of separately by each person), but there are a few things that I find difficult to be okay with.  The first is the amount of packaging that comes with processed food a large proportion of which we can't reuse in any way, the use of palm oil in so many of the products most of which isn't taken from a sustainable source (it wouldn't be possible to supply for the demand that way anyway), and the fact that many of the companies just want very specific ingredients which means that farmers are forced to move away from crops that are more suited to their local area to grow other crops that usually need a lot of work and support (usually in the form of chemicals) to grow.  So basically my diet is not very good for me and not particularly great for the environment.

Back to my old PCOS diet it is then.  I'm still doing a big part of it, such as eating lots of vegetables, having only lean proteins (basically all vegetarian and vegan proteins are classed as lean), eating healthy fats, and having Omega 3 in my diet (plant based).  However, where I've slipped is eating a fair bit of processed sugar in the form of chocolates and cakes even if it's not daily, having fizzy juice (I might as well just have been eating a sugar cube), and having processed food with all that sugar, salt, and bad fats.  Some products that I've had that are processed can be perfectly healthy for most people, like bread, but unfortunately that's not the case when you have PCOS.

That means I need to either completely remove or greatly reduce a number of these not great food items from my day to day diet and keep them as just a treat now and then (at most once a week).  I also need to go back to replacing a number of my carbohydrates with low GI forms, like oats and quinoa.   I do feel like I need to do some in depth research into diet and PCOS again though as I've noticed that some of the information seems to have changed a little or is still being debated, like should you have carbohydrates at all and should you be able to eat things like tofu.

And that's it.  It should be a little easier once I start working again as I'll be back to doing all day physical exercise (I might also add some more exercise to do when I get home if I feel like I haven't done enough during the day) and I'll only be able to eat what I bring with me.  Hopefully it won't take me ten years to loss this again now that I have a much better idea as to what I actually need to do.  It'll also be interesting to see if being in my 40s has any affect on this as hormones don't normally follow the usual route when you have PCOS.  Regardless, for myself and a little bit for the environment it's time for me to eat more healthily.

Beating PCOS: diet

Diet isn't particularly a good word anymore. It conjures up ideas of watercress soup, feeling hungry practically all the time, and then putting back in all the weight you lost and then some.

Before I discovered I had PCOS I had tried to have a healthy diet and to exercise regularly.  For anyone else it would have meant being slim and healthy, but for me it meant remaining plum and feeling disheartened that work I was doing was having no effect on my body.  For me it was, and still is, important to be healthy and I knew that the size I was meant a higher chance of getting Type II diabetes and having high cholesterol (obviously having PCOS increased this even further).  After I found out that I had PCOS I decided to research into what I could do to help deal and, in particular, if there were any changes I could make to my diet that would have a positive effect.  This is what I found out and what changes I made.

Firstly, as is the case with basically everyone, avoiding refined carbohydrates like white bread and cakes is hugely important.  These types of foods give you sugar highs, followed by sugar crashes making you want more.  This has leads to problems with your insulin level and weight, and is particularly bad for those of us which already have raised insulin levels.

Secondly, you want to combine complex unrefined carbohydrates (think vegetables, fruits, wholemeal bread, and oats) with proteins (like nuts, seeds, fish, lean meats, and eggs).  This will help regulate your blood sugar levels and prevents you from getting the insulin spikes that can be a problem.  If you can, eat little and often as this also helps keep your blood sugar level consistent.

The next piece of advise might seem a little odd, but it's the one that has had the most impact for me, and that is to avoid dairy.  The reason behind this is that milk contains an insulin-like growth factor (not surprisingly) which can interfere with the hormone balance.  These are easy enough to replace with plant based milks, but be sure to look for those which are fortified with calcium.

The last thing usually recommended for those suffering from PCOS are supplements.  These include chromium and B vitamins to help stabilise blood sugar levels and makes insulin more effective, zinc for reproductive hormones, magnesium the lack of which is linked to PCOS, as well the amino acids N-acetyl cysteine and L-arginine to help with insulin sensitivity.  I don't actually take any supplements as I am trying to get everything I need from my diet, but this may change in the future.

So, what does a day of food look like for me.  Breakfast is usually porridge with cinnamon, chai seeds, and some fruit (usually peach slices).  Morning break is a fruit of some form and a handful of mixed nuts.  Lunch used to contain quinoa as this is shown to be one of the healthiest options, but is now two wholemeal rolls (for ease) with spinach, peppers, and some type of vegan Quorn.  We don't normally get an afternoon snacks, but when I get home I try to have something healthy like half an avocado.  Dinner is a little more tricky as I don't have the cooking facilities I would like to be able to cook all the things I would like so it normally consists of a couple of different types of veggie burgers (not ideal) and then a whole load of steamed vegetables.  I try and change the vegetables I eat on a daily basis to help ensure I get all the nutrients I need.  It actually seems quite a lot when I make it, but as my job is quite active at the moment I need to make sure I eat enough for that without spiking my insulin levels.

Of course, it goes without saying that exercise is also hugely important for helping to keep you healthy and to help you loss and keep off the weight you will have had.  Now I do most of my exercising during work, but before I made sure I ran three times a week and walked practically everywhere.  It's worth pointing out that women with PCOS usually gain weight for metabolic reasons rather than the amount that they eat and that it can be harder to lose weight once you've gained it.  However, it is possible to do if you work on what you eat and on getting enough exercise.  I haven't managed to make my diet perfect and I do slip up regularly (in fact I'm drinking fizzy water at the moment as I try and get myself of fizzy sodas), but I have still managed to lose weight.  Four stone in total.  And it's all thanks to the changes I have managed to make to my diet.