HYDERABAD: Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, also known as PCOS, is a problem caused by hormonal imbalances. Most women with PCOS grow many small cysts on their ovaries. The cysts are not harmful but lead to hormone imbalances. These cysts lead to high androgen levels leading to symptoms such as hair growth, acne, irregular periods and weight gain. Because the weight gain is triggered by male hormones, it is typically in the abdomen area.
Women with PCOS frequently have insulin resistance, which means their bodies do not respond appropriately to high amounts of glucose. Simply put, larger amounts of insulin are required to metabolise a given amount of sugar. Insulin is a growth hormone. Its role in the body is to promote fat storage or weight gain. This leads to a rapid weight gain, despite a healthy diet and exercise plan. The biggest complaint I hear from my clients with PCOS is that its too hard to lose weight. These clients always say that they are consistently following a systematic diet and workout regime, but still not losing weight.
A few years back, I was working with a young girl aged 24 years very closely, and we were just not getting any results. Finally one day, I created a system for her where I could track every morsel that she was eating and also tracked the intensity of her workouts. I was shocked to see the results. Input was way more than the output which obviously led to weight gain. I would like to make a point that although it is a concern that people with PCOS do put on weight, very often it becomes an excuse for them and that mindset blocks the weight loss from happening.
However, a good healthy diet and a workout plan will definitely help you in losing weight.Here are a some tips that you could follow and get the desired results.
1) Focus on nutrition
I strongly recommend that you do not follow any fad diets as most of them will interfere with your insulin functioning which is already so messed up due to PCOS. Restricting your calorie intake will also not work and is a strong predictor of weight gain. Following the PFC principle of nutrition will definitely help in regulating your sugar levels and contributing to fat loss. PFC principle is a combination of eating proteins, fats and carbohydrates every every hours. This will guarantee the results and help in fat los
2) Cut out the junk
Reducing foods in your diet that cause spikes in blood sugar is crucial to managing your PCOS. This means opting for whole grain sources of carbohydrates over anything high in Glycemic Index.
3) Gut function
Most of the ladies I have worked with have clogged guts. High fibre fruits and smoothies with such fruits not only helps clear your gut, but also regulates your sugar.
4) Exercise
Your exercise routine should include high-intensity cardio workouts six to seven days of the week. For example, brisk walking or running or high-intensity dance aerobics. Weight training three days a week will ensure more muscle mass contributing to fat reduction. Last but not the least, having the right mind codes will ensure you have the desired results.
(The author is a fitness expert)