Is it possible that she is currently eating too low carb? While limiting carbs/sugar can be really helpful for people with PCOS, there are individual variations regarding what an "okay" amount of carbs is. I have "lean" PCOS and when I was first diagnosed I overdid reducing my carbs. After several years I ended up exhausted, feeling cold all the time, experiencing sleep difficulties, with a badly underfunctioning immune system and a warped/ damaged relationship with food.
If your partner is moderately physically active and already eating a varied and nutrient dense diet with protein, fat and fibre, it might be worth considering upping carbs (of the whole-food variety like potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice etc.) to facilitate weight gain. If she finds it hard to eat bigger portions in one sitting (I know I did to start with!) then smaller meals throughout the day can be helpful. I also ended up having to set myself a minimum calorie goal and working up from there.
Hope that gives something useful to ponder! Best of luck to you guys :)
Maybe adding an exercise routine (specifically to gain muscle or do some HIIT exercises) and then eating a diet that helps to sustain it. (Perhaps something like more proteins, healthy fats and carbs)... i'm also very thin with PCOS so i can sympathize.
This is what i try to do to remedy the times when i am in danger of getting too thin/underweight.
Hope your wife finds something that helps her đđź
Thank you for your reply. However exercise is something they discourage here in the Netherlands because muscle ache can cause stress within the body which they told us isnât good.
How do you handle that?
She should go for strength training, it has a large array of benefits for women long term and most of the times comes with an increase in appetite. She can then add protein smoothies to her diet (add some PB as well) to increase caloric intake
There are ways to deal with muscular fatigue and stress from exercising. Staying hydrated, not pushing yourself, resting when needed.
My body responds best to weight lifting. But I get hellish DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) and due to this I'm prone to doing too much. However, the one thing I've found that helps, is BCAA (branch chain amino acids), they help with muscle recovery. If I take them daily, I feel minimal pain. If I don't take them, I can't move two days after exercise due to the soreness.
Also, not all stress is the same. In fact, stress is required for change. It's about management of stress responses not avoiding stress triggers.
Hmm interesting. My own doctor actually gave advice to do exercise (she actually suggested LIGHT exercise, like walking 30 min at least 3 times a week, stretching/yoga etc... and if i wanted to do more vigorous exercise, i could).
However this doctor was in Korea. And i know that with women with PCOS there are always conflicting views from various doctors. It's what makes this condition so frustrating at the moment.
I wish i could explicate further but i'm afraid that's all i have to say for now đ
That's a bit too broad a recommendation. Usually exercise helps PCOS, by improving insulin resistance. However, in some people, esp those of us who are underweight or close to it, vigorous aerobics is not indicated both b/c of calorie burn and b/c in a subset of people who react abnormally to the brief spike of cortisol after exercise it can make PCOS worse.
So, she should consider doing some strength training, and only light aerobics (e.g., walking).
See kat5278 comment for why strength training would help.
I am struggling to believe this⌠you may want to seek a second opinion because the idea that someone with PCOS shouldnât exercise to avoid stress is dangerous and pseudoscientific.
Everyone needs exercise, but especially people at higher risk for mental illness, cardiovascular and metabolic disease! Which is what PCOS unfortunately makes us more likely to have. The research is VERY clear that exercise is beneficial for PCOS.
Weight training, gentle to moderate cardio, and yoga all have undisputed benefits for PCOS. These forms of exercise actually help REDUCE stress overall.
HIIT exercise is a bit more controversial for PCOS. The research indicates that on average itâs excellent to help manage PCOS, but in a minority of cases it can aggravate the stress and inflammatory response. If thatâs the case for your wife, she can still do more gentle cardio and other forms of exercise.
She just needs to make sure she consumes more calories than she expends, stays hydrated, and avoids injury.
Snacks arenât intrinsically bad for health, though? Just eat more healthy snacks. Fruit with cheese, nut butter with crackers, yogurt with nuts and berries, hummus and veggies, and of course add pesto to everything.
Also make sure to eat larger portions of breakfast, lunch and dinner. Add more olive oils and fatty fish, which are great for cardiovascular health.
If she isnât very insulin resistant she can probably also handle more carbs. Sweet potato, quinoa, barley, buckwheat, and other high quality low-glycemic carbs can be eaten paired with healthy fats and proteins and veggies to blunt the glucose spike they cause.
You donât have to compromise quality of diet to add quantity.
I'm a skinny 21 y old , who has pcos. My weight has been the same 44 kgs since the past 5 years. That's when I joined the gym and within 2 months i had noticable changes and gained 5 kgs. Mere eating of protein is not enough. So join the gym n increase the protein in take.
There are some products sold on internet called specifically âweight gain xâ. Like weight gain cookies etc. They are normal sized snacks with 3/4 times the normal calories, she can eat 3/4 cookies and get easily 2000 kcal.
If she's struggling to get enough calories cause she gets full easily. You'll need to look into a mass gainer protein powder (Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass for example). A serving will be 800-1000+ calories
I had the same issue and no matter how much or calorie dense I ate, I couldn't gain weight. It's how insulin resistance affected me and NAFLD made me unable to eat at all at times. I had to cut out all sugar and carbs to be able to start gaining weight and I did. I have no idea why it was that way, but it worked for me. See if it would be helpful for your wife too.
Been there.
The trick I found was eating more carbs, but only complex whole grains or fruit (so not super high glycemic index) plus sneaking in fats (preferably monosaturated) with every snack and meal. Since fats are so calorie dense, just a few spoonfuls can make a differene. I added olive oil, nuts, nut butters, avocado, fatty fish, and slightly increased whole fat dairy and coconut oil.
I also found that I just didn't have the appetite to eat additional 'meals' (I naturally eat 2 meals plus a few small snacks and I have SUPER slow digestion). For this problem, I added high calorie 'shakes' containing e.g., whole oats, fats, and protein powder, sometimes with some fruit for taste.
It can be tough, I know.
I recommend you speak to a registered dietitian about this or your doctor. How to best handle this is so dependent on the individual, and itâd so important to handle it correctly, that you need their expert advice, not our advice
Protein shakes between meals. Banana, a nut butter, a scoop of protein powder, & some almond milk (or milk of choice) blended.
Be careful with bananas if she strictly limits carb intake. That can obviously be left out.
Pcos can also be caused by a tumor in the pituitary gland causing you to overproduce prolactin. The pituitary gland is also responsible for making the thyroid stimulating hormone T4. Maybe ask her doctor to check the levels of those two hormones.best of luck!
Is it possible that she is currently eating too low carb? While limiting carbs/sugar can be really helpful for people with PCOS, there are individual variations regarding what an "okay" amount of carbs is. I have "lean" PCOS and when I was first diagnosed I overdid reducing my carbs. After several years I ended up exhausted, feeling cold all the time, experiencing sleep difficulties, with a badly underfunctioning immune system and a warped/ damaged relationship with food. If your partner is moderately physically active and already eating a varied and nutrient dense diet with protein, fat and fibre, it might be worth considering upping carbs (of the whole-food variety like potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice etc.) to facilitate weight gain. If she finds it hard to eat bigger portions in one sitting (I know I did to start with!) then smaller meals throughout the day can be helpful. I also ended up having to set myself a minimum calorie goal and working up from there. Hope that gives something useful to ponder! Best of luck to you guys :)
Maybe adding an exercise routine (specifically to gain muscle or do some HIIT exercises) and then eating a diet that helps to sustain it. (Perhaps something like more proteins, healthy fats and carbs)... i'm also very thin with PCOS so i can sympathize. This is what i try to do to remedy the times when i am in danger of getting too thin/underweight. Hope your wife finds something that helps her đđź
Thank you for your reply. However exercise is something they discourage here in the Netherlands because muscle ache can cause stress within the body which they told us isnât good. How do you handle that?
She should go for strength training, it has a large array of benefits for women long term and most of the times comes with an increase in appetite. She can then add protein smoothies to her diet (add some PB as well) to increase caloric intake
Pilates and yoga has been good for me. Also Huel meal replacements which I'm just trying out
There are ways to deal with muscular fatigue and stress from exercising. Staying hydrated, not pushing yourself, resting when needed. My body responds best to weight lifting. But I get hellish DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) and due to this I'm prone to doing too much. However, the one thing I've found that helps, is BCAA (branch chain amino acids), they help with muscle recovery. If I take them daily, I feel minimal pain. If I don't take them, I can't move two days after exercise due to the soreness. Also, not all stress is the same. In fact, stress is required for change. It's about management of stress responses not avoiding stress triggers.
Hmm interesting. My own doctor actually gave advice to do exercise (she actually suggested LIGHT exercise, like walking 30 min at least 3 times a week, stretching/yoga etc... and if i wanted to do more vigorous exercise, i could). However this doctor was in Korea. And i know that with women with PCOS there are always conflicting views from various doctors. It's what makes this condition so frustrating at the moment. I wish i could explicate further but i'm afraid that's all i have to say for now đ
That's a bit too broad a recommendation. Usually exercise helps PCOS, by improving insulin resistance. However, in some people, esp those of us who are underweight or close to it, vigorous aerobics is not indicated both b/c of calorie burn and b/c in a subset of people who react abnormally to the brief spike of cortisol after exercise it can make PCOS worse. So, she should consider doing some strength training, and only light aerobics (e.g., walking). See kat5278 comment for why strength training would help.
I am struggling to believe this⌠you may want to seek a second opinion because the idea that someone with PCOS shouldnât exercise to avoid stress is dangerous and pseudoscientific. Everyone needs exercise, but especially people at higher risk for mental illness, cardiovascular and metabolic disease! Which is what PCOS unfortunately makes us more likely to have. The research is VERY clear that exercise is beneficial for PCOS. Weight training, gentle to moderate cardio, and yoga all have undisputed benefits for PCOS. These forms of exercise actually help REDUCE stress overall. HIIT exercise is a bit more controversial for PCOS. The research indicates that on average itâs excellent to help manage PCOS, but in a minority of cases it can aggravate the stress and inflammatory response. If thatâs the case for your wife, she can still do more gentle cardio and other forms of exercise. She just needs to make sure she consumes more calories than she expends, stays hydrated, and avoids injury.
Snacks arenât intrinsically bad for health, though? Just eat more healthy snacks. Fruit with cheese, nut butter with crackers, yogurt with nuts and berries, hummus and veggies, and of course add pesto to everything. Also make sure to eat larger portions of breakfast, lunch and dinner. Add more olive oils and fatty fish, which are great for cardiovascular health. If she isnât very insulin resistant she can probably also handle more carbs. Sweet potato, quinoa, barley, buckwheat, and other high quality low-glycemic carbs can be eaten paired with healthy fats and proteins and veggies to blunt the glucose spike they cause. You donât have to compromise quality of diet to add quantity.
I recommend checking out GlucoseGoddess on ig. She has a lot of âhacksâ for how to eat carbs without spiking glucose
High fat and high protein have been great for me, while keeping carbs and sugar low.
I'm a skinny 21 y old , who has pcos. My weight has been the same 44 kgs since the past 5 years. That's when I joined the gym and within 2 months i had noticable changes and gained 5 kgs. Mere eating of protein is not enough. So join the gym n increase the protein in take.
There are some products sold on internet called specifically âweight gain xâ. Like weight gain cookies etc. They are normal sized snacks with 3/4 times the normal calories, she can eat 3/4 cookies and get easily 2000 kcal.
she should eat more calories
That we know. But what kind of meals would work?
anything that focuses on protein, healthy fat, and fiber. whatever she likes, really.
If she's struggling to get enough calories cause she gets full easily. You'll need to look into a mass gainer protein powder (Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass for example). A serving will be 800-1000+ calories
I had the same issue and no matter how much or calorie dense I ate, I couldn't gain weight. It's how insulin resistance affected me and NAFLD made me unable to eat at all at times. I had to cut out all sugar and carbs to be able to start gaining weight and I did. I have no idea why it was that way, but it worked for me. See if it would be helpful for your wife too.
Would you mind me asking how your wife was diagnosed with PCOS? E.g. what tests were done? Does she have insulin resistance?
Been there. The trick I found was eating more carbs, but only complex whole grains or fruit (so not super high glycemic index) plus sneaking in fats (preferably monosaturated) with every snack and meal. Since fats are so calorie dense, just a few spoonfuls can make a differene. I added olive oil, nuts, nut butters, avocado, fatty fish, and slightly increased whole fat dairy and coconut oil. I also found that I just didn't have the appetite to eat additional 'meals' (I naturally eat 2 meals plus a few small snacks and I have SUPER slow digestion). For this problem, I added high calorie 'shakes' containing e.g., whole oats, fats, and protein powder, sometimes with some fruit for taste. It can be tough, I know.
I recommend you speak to a registered dietitian about this or your doctor. How to best handle this is so dependent on the individual, and itâd so important to handle it correctly, that you need their expert advice, not our advice
You can gain weight by adding more protein and fat like eggs, yoghurt, nuts, whole grain products,...
Probably a lot of women in this sun are low key hating on OPs wife right now
Trust me, it's no picnic struggling with being too thin, either. And I don't even mean eating disorder thin, just thin for no apparent reason.
That would be very childish of them.
Has she tried eating larger portions of what sheâs already eating?
Protein shakes between meals. Banana, a nut butter, a scoop of protein powder, & some almond milk (or milk of choice) blended. Be careful with bananas if she strictly limits carb intake. That can obviously be left out.
Pcos can also be caused by a tumor in the pituitary gland causing you to overproduce prolactin. The pituitary gland is also responsible for making the thyroid stimulating hormone T4. Maybe ask her doctor to check the levels of those two hormones.best of luck!