How to Lose Weight With PCOS: 10 Helpful Tips

The symptoms and complications associated with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) can be overwhelming for most women. Weight gain is one of the most common complications affecting women with PCOS. Women with PCOS also commonly have trouble losing weight.

Hormonal imbalances, inability to control their appetite, mental stress, and a lack of sleep are possible causes of weight gain and obesity in women with PCOS. However, it is possible to lose weight with PCOS by making appropriate changes in your diet and lifestyle.

Continue reading to learn helpful tips that will allow you to lose weight with PCOS and improve your PCOS symptoms by restoring a normal hormonal balance.

What is PCOS?

PCOS is a condition that occurs in women due to imbalances in the levels of female as well as male reproductive hormone levels in the body. It is one of the most common hormonal conditions affecting women of childbearing age.

The three main features of PCOS include:

Formation of cysts in the ovaries
Increased levels of male hormones like androgens
Irregular menstrual cycles or missed periods

How does PCOS occur?

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) occurs due to the development and growth of several small, fluid-filled sacs in the ovaries. These sacs are only follicles, with each one having an immature egg.

These eggs are not healthy or mature enough to trigger the process of ovulation, resulting in the absence of periods or anovulatory menses (menstrual flow even when there has been no ovulation).

The lack of ovulation causes changes in levels of other hormones, including estrogens, progesterone, LH, FSH, and even androgens. The levels of estrogen and progesterone become lower than normal, while the androgen levels become higher than normal.

The increased levels of male hormones cause disruptions in the menstrual cycle, which is why women with PCOS suffer from menstrual problems like amenorrhea (complete absence of periods) and oligomenorrhea (reduced menstrual flow) and also experience an inability to lose weight.

Over a period of time, the imbalance in these hormones creates a cascading effect on the secretion of other hormones in the body, including hunger and appetite hormones. This can contribute to a higher risk of poor metabolic health, resulting in trouble losing weight, PCOS weight gain, heart disease, and high blood glucose levels.

What are the risk factors for PCOS?

The exact causes and risk factors of PCOS are not known.

This condition is believed to occur due to disruptions in the production of female hormones in the ovaries due to the increased secretion of the male hormones called androgens or testosterone.

Factors such as family history, inflammation, obesity, low insulin sensitivity, and insulin resistance have been linked to increased testosterone production, leading to a higher risk of PCOS and an inability to lose weight.

What are the signs and symptoms of PCOS?

Some common symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome, other than weight gain and obesity, include absence of menses, hirsutism or abnormal hair growth on the lips, abnormal or irregular periods, belly fat, and difficulty conceiving a child.

How to lose weight with PCOS: Helpful Tips

Consume nutrient-dense foods

Women with PCOS should ensure their body receives an adequate supply of all essential nutrients to support healthy metabolic activities, restore hormonal balance, reduce belly fat, and accelerate weight loss.

For example, it is important to consume a healthy diet high in vitamins, minerals, and protein when you are trying for PCOS weight loss.

Proteins can keep your stomach full and satisfied, thus reducing your food intake. It can also increase the body’s metabolic rate, improve insulin sensitivity, and minimize muscle loss to support weight loss.

Avoid processed foods. Eating fiber-rich fruits and vegetables that are low in refined carbohydrates, such as green leafy vegetables, cauliflower, lettuce, celery, cabbage, broccoli, and spinach, can also be beneficial for promoting weight loss in women with PCOS.

Women with PCOS should also eat herbs like holy basil and garlic. These herbs have fewer calories, help burn fat, and accelerate weight loss.

It is also a good idea to choose organic vegetables to protect yourself against harmful pesticides and chemical fertilizers used during cultivation.

Reduce your carbohydrate intake

Reducing your carbohydrate intake can lower the secretion of the hormone insulin, which plays a role in fat storage. The low levels of insulin in the body of women with PCOS can reduce the availability of sugar to be used as a source of energy. This can stimulate the fat-burning rate, making it easier for women to manage PCOS and lose weight.

A low-carb diet or eating carbs in moderation can also help to regulate your appetite, thus accelerating the weight loss further.

Include high-protein foods in your diet

Increasing your protein intake will elevate the rate of metabolism, improve insulin sensitivity, lower body weight, and promote weight loss.

Some of the best sources of protein for women with PCOS include meat, fish, seafood, and eggs.

Having more protein also lowers binge eating habits or eating during abnormal hours of the day. An increased intake of protein can create a feeling of fullness in the stomach that persists for longer than if you eat processed foods, thus preventing you from having more food out of impulse.

Eat more healthy fats

Foods rich in medium-chain triglycerides, such as coconut oil, can boost your metabolism, stimulate the fat-burning rate, reduce insulin resistance, and help you lose weight.

Foods rich in unsaturated fats, like olive oil, can also help accelerate weight loss and relieve the symptoms of PCOS by tackling insulin resistance.

Increase your fiber intake

Choosing a high-fiber diet can be an effective option for women with PCOS trying to lose weight simply because dietary fiber can reduce calorie intake by providing a sense of satiety and lowering insulin resistance.

The high-fiber foods also take longer to digest than processed foods, thus boosting the body’s calorie utilization.

Fiber-rich foods you can add to your diet for weight management include:

Whole grains like brown rice
Oatmeal
Flaxseed
Apples
Whole-wheat tortillas
Prunes
High-fiber cereals
Pears

Exercise regularly

Weight loss through dietary efforts might induce a drop in the rate of metabolism. It is important to prevent this from happening to avoid weight gain and maintain a healthy body weight.

You can boost your body’s metabolic rate by practicing simple workouts such as jogging, swimming, walking, and weight training. Try to prioritize adding workouts to your daily routine.

For example, you can take steps instead of an elevator, walk for a glass of water at work rather than having a bottle at the table, have a walk with friends after meals, and practice simple stretches in your seat.

Weight training is also an effective way of improving your metabolic health and practicing weight maintenance. Aim to incorporate light weights into your routine to build muscle and burn fat.

Women with PCOS should preferably exercise in the morning on an empty stomach to lower insulin resistance and promote fat breakdown.

Sleep well

Getting at least 8 hours of sound sleep every night is the biggest secret to losing weight, especially when you are struggling with PCOS-induced obesity.

The metabolic rate of the body tends to rise when we are sleeping. Sleeping well can rave up your fat-burning engines.

On the contrary, lack of sleep due to chronic stress or sleep apnea can wreak havoc on your metabolic hormones, including ghrelin and leptin, which regulate hunger and appetite, respectively, making your weight loss journey more difficult.

Depriving yourself of sleep can lead to reduced leptin levels and increased ghrelin levels. This can leave you not feeling full even after a meal and give you increased food cravings.

This means the unfavorable balance of ghrelin and leptin can increase your appetite and induce emotional eating. This can make it difficult for you to follow mindful eating practices and prevent you from losing PCOS weight.

Drink green tea

Green tea contains antioxidants and epigallocatechin gallate that can help women with PCOS burn fats, particularly when combined with regular exercise.

Antioxidants in green tea can also help minimize damage to the ovaries and other glands. This can prevent a hormonal imbalance that is responsible for making your weight loss journey difficult.

Green tea can also reduce fasting insulin levels and lower the level of free testosterone in the circulation, thus inhibiting hormonal imbalances and weight gain.

Practice mindful eating

Being conscious of what you eat, when you eat, and how much you eat can be a great strategy women can adopt to fight obesity caused by PCOS.

You can maintain a diary in which you can make a note of your food intake.

Keeping a diary will make you more aware of how many calories you consume and the sources of those calories, like proteins, healthy fats, and carbs. This can help prevent you from falling into the trap of unhealthy dietary habits that can lead to belly fat, weight gain, and a high body mass index (BMI).

Avoid stress

Stress and anxiety are also common symptoms in women with PCOS, especially those who are experiencing difficulty losing weight or an inability to maintain a healthy weight.

This stress lowers your chances of losing weight easily as it can slow down the fat-burning rate and worsen the imbalances in hormonal levels.

Relaxation methods like yoga, deep breathing exercises, and meditation can be some effective stress-relieving activities. With less stress, you can more easily focus on mindful eating, improving your hormonal balance, and easing your PCOS weight loss journey.

Regular yoga will also help regularize your menstrual cycles, while stress reduction will restore healthy levels of estrogen, thereby providing relief from several PCOS symptoms, including weight gain.

Other stress management techniques that women with PCOS can try to help in lose weight include aromatherapy, essence therapy, guided visualization, and flower therapy.

Minimize your caffeine intake, as too much can increase feelings of stress and anxiety.

Prevent the rebound reaction

A lot of women with PCOS who have managed to lose weight end up regaining most of the lost weight over time. This rebound reaction is common with most popular weight loss plans that support starvation to encourage a sudden and drastic reduction in weight.

An extremely low-calorie diet and subsequent sudden weight loss can trigger the body’s starvation alert, initiating hormonal changes. Starvation mode is not a healthy or long-term diet. Therefore, these hormonal changes will eventually force you to eat more, causing you to gain more weight, especially abdominal fat.

The best way to prevent this reaction is to avoid fast-track diet plans.

You should, instead, make gradual changes to your diet so that your metabolism has enough time to adjust. Once your body is used to the new diet, you have a lower risk of gaining weight back.

PCOS Weight Loss: Frequently Asked Questions

Why is losing weight with PCOS so hard?

Hormonal imbalances, inability to control appetite, mental stress, and lack of sleep associated with PCOS are possible factors that can make weight loss very hard for women with this condition.

Can PCOS be helped with weight loss?

Yes, losing fat through a healthy lifestyle can relieve PCOS symptoms, as weight loss can reduce inflammation in the ovaries and other glands that produce hormones.

How to lose 100 pounds with PCOS?

Steady and sustained weight loss can be achieved by following healthy dietary and lifestyle habits such as eating nutrient-dense foods, consuming healthy fats, stress reduction, regular exercise, avoiding smoking, and reducing alcohol intake.

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