I think everyone's different, and everyone obviously has different insulin, progesterone and testosterone levels. Those variables can't be accounted for when talking about this and that diet.

When I exercised strenuously ie 260# squats, 100# back presses, 160# leg lifts, I became polycystic. Diet was same.

Was not classified PCOS until I was 30, prior to that I was a normal weight my whole life.

The major changes that negatively impacted me was: increased & constant stress (raises cortisol & impact testosterone due to some things i can explain if anyone wishes to know about), increased obsessive exercise (doctor says the delta force wasn't training as much as me), and inferior/less expensive eating plan which was all i could afford and which of course includED carbs.

Typical day of food combining would be approx 5 meals but really whenever hungry:

Breakfast: large apple for breakfast, alone, or whole oats w/ splenda & a little apple.

stir fry home baked turkey pieces (NOT LUNCHEON MEAT) sliced off and sauteed/stir fried with peas, onions, tons of broccoli, carrot, green pepper, mushrooms. Eat til you are full, refrig the rest.

snack:
small amount of whole brown rice + same veggies from above + tons of garlic. Should be more veggies than rice.

dinner:
same as lunch

desert:
low carb or sugar free ice cream *or* berries (no sweetner needed) + whipped cream

you'll notice it is almost entirely WHOLE foods....

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If i were to eliminate fruit and grain, I'd surely never be able to use the toilet. Even metamucil is a grain. Whole milk organic yogurt w/ cream is good for you too. I'd eat that with fruit and splenda for a snack.

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and i have to agree with the other poster, who said if you are eliminating entire food groups out of necessity, then something else is going on, because we should all be able to process these foods in the correct quantity and correct combination. i don't have celiac disease so i don't have a problem with grains, i'd get checked for food allergies & celiac disease. also if you don't use quality grains, they often have allergenic mold spores that you can't see but may be sensitive to. i just know that my whole body goes into relief mode when i combine according to what i cited above and i digest very quickly instead of it sitting in my stomach and never being hungry and putting on weight.

hope this helps someone like me.
as far as what symptoms it relieved.... my hair grew in thicker, shinier, skin was glowing, energy, good sleep, lost weight and was called a 'blonde goddess'. got poor, couldn't eat that way, and put on a ton of edema and weight. now am trying to get it all back.

Newdawnfad...im GLAD to read ur diet...it is something i can LIVE WITH!!! I have a question though..a few...dont you have to balance your apple in the morning w a protein? I would rather not...but im just asking bc most lowcarb diet say to balance fruit w protein?? I know apple and berries r pretty low carb...so do you not have to balance these? Also you said something about raised cortisol? Does raised cortisol raise your testosterone levels???

Newdawnfad...im GLAD to read ur diet...it is something i can LIVE WITH!!! I have a question though..a few...dont you have to balance your apple in the morning w a protein? I would rather not...but im just asking bc most lowcarb diet say to balance fruit w protein?? I know apple and berries r pretty low carb...so do you not have to balance these? Also you said something about raised cortisol? Does raised cortisol raise your testosterone levels??? And how long for your symptoms to improve? I dont need to lose weight...im quite thin...i just have some excess hair...its not too obvious...but im afraid it could get worse...as it slowly has over the years!!!! Plus my hair is thinning slowly on top...it seems to not want to grow that much and is oily! plus problem skin...but my skin greatly improves when i dont eat dairy or too many meats..when im good...which doesnt usually last i eat mainly fish, beans, tons of veggies, fruit, and brown rice..

heya qwert. I'm no expert i just know what worked for me. My digestion seriously was like a peppy mercedes vs my usual junk yard jallopy. I go by whether I get hungry. If I get hungry a few hours after I 've eaten then I know my stomach has emptied and my metabolism has picked up and I need to feed it.

Eating like this can be time consuming and expensive. I can't eat a lot of protein alone bcse it stops me up, so I can't do what my boyfriend does and eat cheese and kibasa (spelling?).
I find that apple digests really easily alone with other fruits. Sometimes I add fresh organic cream (ie no hormones) to the fruit, and that slows the digestion down a little so there's not such a low after it digests, for me anyway. Or you can heat up some plain whole rolled oats (cooked or raw, it's up to you) and top with the fruit and some splenda to balance it. The oats will slow down the insulin response bcse it is bulky/fiber. However you should be okay with apple since there's so much fiber in the skin, but if not try the oats with it.

If you still have a problem with this method, try taking 800mcg of Chromium / day for about 3 weeks and then try it again. Many people are defficient due to our poor diets (chromium we get from grains btw.. ironic that PCOSers are told to avoid grain). Chromium makes you more insulin sensitive, it is a necessary mineral needed for this. There are some other minerals but people usually aren't deficient in them.

I don' t have that great of a reaction to beans, it makes me tired and sluggish. For some reason garbonzo beans on salad seems to be okay for me, but kidney, etc just wear me out. Not sure why. If you made a stir fry you could add some garbonzo in for bulk and see how it goes for you. To me, cabbage almost feels like a carb though it's not. So when I eat cabbage I feel full in a good way.

Yeah cortisol raises testosterone levels. THe reason for this is:
Constant stress depletes your cortisol reserves needed for fight or flight. Your body still needs cortisol but if you're under a lot of mental, physical or emotional strain, your body can't tell the difference, it's still stress and you need more cortisol. So it sees your Progesterone, it converts it to Cortisol. Then you don't have enough to make regular periods or balance blood sugar, bcse incidentally, progesterone keeps you insulin sensitive. We all have testosterone anyway, so if you increase it by drinking caffeine (which stresses you also) & have depleted progesterone stores, you are now prime candidate for PCOS.... You have hightened testosterone, without progesterone to balance it. It's all about ratios, balance between hormones, not so much the lab values.

wow i didnt know stress could raise testosterone levels...geez that would explain the start of my pcos symptoms a little after i turned 18...my pimples...i was under stress every day and worrying about stupid things (im a natural worrier) AND eating a ton of junk which made things worse bc i would stress about that too...thank you so much for answering my questions...any more info you have or want to say please do...i enjoy reading ur posts..esp the one about what u eat...bc that i can live w...some people on here seem to have WAY TOO high prortein diets for me....

I aggree with the above post, it was my Doctor that suggested that I low carbed, he didn't suggest a plan, but told me to look at them and let him know what I picked, he also stated that if I did something like body for Life, (roughly the same carb/fat/protien ratio as the zone), that I would have to drop the carb more and increase the protien. My ovaries where not so much the problem and current research is showing that PCOS is much more than an ovary problem it is an entire endocrine problem effecting everything from adrenal glands, pituitary, thyroid, etc. You don't have to have positive results to have the syndrome. The INSULIN is the problem and you have to control that because it effects everythingelse, and you have to be careful with the adrenal's because most women with PCOS have stressed adrenal glands as well. Because of Doing TSP I have been able to conceive two more children when 10 years ago my infertility was horrible and the complications of PCOS compounded. I know different programs work for different people, but PCOS often is caused by Insulin Resistance, and in my Case, The PCOS probably caused my Insulin resistance.
Tanya

You can't totally eliminate food groups.... have you heard of Rickets Scurvy and Beriberi? Those are diseases of certain vitamin defficiencies primarily found in fruit....

2ndly I call it food combining but it's modified. You quote the SBP and I'm quoting my own diet that's always worked when I could afford to be on it. I do use *some* carbs with protein... the carbs are in the vegetable....

There's a new book out about eating like the French. Anyway I'm not suggesting eliminate food groups... Some you need less than others but still need and the way to avoid it's negative impact is to eat properly combined (imho).

On the food combining, you have to limit grains until you start noticing your weight coming off, or your skin clears up some. Right now I don't eat oatmeal every day but if I want to eat it once in a week I"m not going to freak out. And if I eat it I'll have whole rolled oats, organic, not precooked/chewed.

I agree with the person who said that there's something wrong if you have to eliminate foods.. I agree. One of the factors, i'm sure, are liver & gall stones. Check out http://curezone.com and look for Liver Flush.

PS If you are SUPER DUPER Sensitive to sugar, I would have a dose of plain / unsweetened psyllium husk (ie not metamucil, i use Konysyl) with unsweetened cranberry juice -1/4 cup of the juice (knudsen brand 'just cranberry' - has no sugar at all) before the apple. Follow by cup of water andwait 15 minutesand eat apple. DO NOT eat the apple without skin.... that stabilizes blood sugar too.

I personally can't handle really high protein shakes bcse after repetitive use, I get increased muscle cramping/spasms (ie charlie horses) all over my body and more muscle twitching (despite drinking tons of water daily). Even though I've been to the doctor for it over and over and still have no answers, you know how the medical community is, if you're not frothing and twitching in front of them, it didn't happen. And if they do the standard 2 or 3 tests, and don't find anything from their minimal repitoire, they've done it all & they'll attribute their lack of education & ability to do research (this is a science, isn't it) by saying you have anxiety or sit around eating bonbons & self indulging yourself. The other day I tried to show the doctor a rash on my arms... he loooked at it from across the room & dismissed it. WOW good eye doc! What I want to know is... do other countries have the same rate of PCOS that we do??

I am part of a few groups of women with PCOS support groups, and the most prevelant countries that the women range from in my experience is America, Australia, and the UK.

A ton of research about PCOS has come from Australia....

I am glad that you found what works for you. But people who need to be on a low-carb plan can do just fine without fruit. The overabundance of sugar in fruit can provoke symptoms, not to mention weight gain, in many women.

Rickets is a deficiency of vitamin D. Luckily fish, liver, eggs, and cheese are good sources of vitamin D.

Scurvy is a deficiency of vitamin C. Low-carbers can eat tomatoes, leafy green vegetables (plus many other vegetables including onions), shellfish, and liver to get plenty of vitamin C.

Beriberi is a deficiency of vitamin B1. People can eat beans, meat, and most vegetables to get this.

So fruit is a convenient way to get a few vitamins, but by no means is it necessary or even superior. For people who are very IR, the huge amount of sugar in most fruit cancels out any benefits of the vitamins, especially considering that the vitamins can be obtained from many other foods. I prefer a good-sized helping of broccoli to an orange, which has more vitamin C than the orange, and more additional nutrients besides.

Check Fitday. One large stalk of broccoli has 348% of the RDA for vitamin C. One cup of raw orange has 160%.

An orange has only 5% RDA of vitamin B-6, while broccoli has 20%. Also, an orange only has 1.69 grams of protein, while broccoli has 8.34 grams. I might also add that these values are based on boiled broccoli, which actually has less nutrients than broccoli eaten raw.

Unfortunately it's not that simple (in response to message below). There are a myriad of PHYTOnutrients -some of which we have not even discovered yet that we need in our diets. Many of these work in conjunction with other nutrients found in the same foods - they work in tandem.

There are fruits you can safely get by with eating... berries ie blueberries, blackberries that are high in fiber. apples are excellent for PCOSers bcse it helps clear the gallbladder and liver.

We used to eat meat (poultry, cow, deer, pig) that fed on GRASS. They now predominantly feed on GRAIN... thus making them fatter and .. here's the crux, stay with me... they have no traces of the nutrients they are supposed to have in them that they used to when they ate grass. Now these nutrients are ones that help in blood sugar stabilisation.

Is there any coincidence that Diabetes is a very LUCRATIVE business to both drug companies and the medical establishment? hahahahahah
Whole grain has tons of chromium... as does non-depleted soil. Most PCOSers are chromium defficient.

Also, I agree that strenuous exercise for some women raises testosterone. Ballet, pilates, low impact arobics, walking at a clip but not pushing yourself too much, are all great for you. Don't push yourself to the limit.

But remember that we can't boil the contents of food down into a formula.
We don't know everything that's in there or what it does. you need to be in touch with your body's reaction and increase fiber which slows down absorption of whatever you eat.

GOod luck everyone!

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Today show had a think on how the french eat. Unfortunately they didn't talk about food combining, which I think is a huge key to how they eat, but only focused on portion size.
As to eliminating foods, some people absolutely have to, have you heard of, gluten allergies? As for the problem with scurvey that can be taken care of by eating vegetables, peppers are high in vitamin C, so are tomatoes and many raw veggetables. Most dietary problems do not need fruit but a general well balanced diet. TSP does not restrict food to elimination, no true lc diet does, what is does is help you control insulin levels the true problem and fruit can increase BS too fast for good insulin control in people that are obese. I'm not diabetic, as I said I do get gestational diabetes usually so I have to be careful. PCOS is a problem with Insulin and that really needs to be paid attention to. I don't think food combining is good for someone that is even remotely close to having diabetes, fruit alone because they can't handle the sharp rise in diabetes.
Tanya

Newdawnfad, please tell me how u season ur veggies when u stir fry...also how much brown rice do you have w ur veggies for ur snack..for example golf ball size? tennis ball size? Also can u give me another example of a main meal? Your diet is one that I would like to follow. I am tring at the moment...the main thing i lack is self control!!! But I did mangage to give up the cigs again...its been like 10 days...and giving up cigs is pretty hard...considering ive been smoking for 3 years...used to be a pack a day!! Then in the last year...been TRYING to quit..so cut down a lot...and now im cig free for 10 days...not its the refined sugar im giving up...two days i have been good...BUT ITS HARD I AM SO CRANKY AND HEADACHES!!!!!!

I usually use fresh olive oil or butter and some low sodium organic soy sauce.
Brown rice, not much, but you are different since you are losing, maybe 1/2 cup, rest veggies, but i wouldn't really do carrots + brown rice, just non carb-ey veggies + brown rice or veggies + carrot. So you don't get too much, just a little. That'd be a main meal.
Yay you gave up cigs! Sugar is hard but I try to reward myself with something so that I have something to look forward to. Like a bowl of diced apple, berries, etc (no grapes, too sweet for me) and some cream. But i eat the fruit away from other food. I also use splenda though i know it's synthetic.
I'd avoid diet soda since the sweetener affect insulin levels, as does caffeine, as does stress, as does lack of sleep.
Hmm another main meal, really any meat like turkey, chicken, steak and add tons of veggies, I tend to do more veggie than meat bcse i get super acidic and get reflux every time I eat that way, and the tiny amount of carbs help balance it out for me, not a lot, mind you, just some.
BTW cigarrettes are full of sugar!! No wonder folks are addicted.
Magnesium is good for headache. Or try juicing dark leavy greens.
Take care.
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Learn about food and open your mind to understanding that PCOS is a modern illness brought about by FAKE FOOD, hurried, stressed lives and the pyramid scheme diet.


I just had to come here after talking with Tanya on the phone.
My goodness!!
Do you have ANY idea of the woman you are talking to?? This is my sister. I know her VERY well and was the first to probably pick up that this could be an issue for her.
She studies and she has learned.
Did you have ANY idea that she suffered from not being able to become pregnant on her own for even her first two babies?? Do you know that she suffered from strange periods and again infertility for YEARS after that??
Do you know there were all sorts of "brilliant" people that would tell her she just needed to get on a diet like the zone or some other higher than should be for PCOS, carbohydrate plan?
I don't think its Tanya that needs a class in food, understanding or sensivitify.
I think perhaps you should have a clue who your talking to before you spout off.
Her advice was good. TOO many carbs for PCOS is not good.. You can dance around it , you can play with it, but there it is.
And perhaps the person she was responding to is as bad as Tanya's case, because frankly unless YOU have walked in her shoes you have no idea of the pain and suffering SHE did and she still DOES go through, but because of her strength, williness to learn that you just put down, she has a lovely little baby girl and one on the way.
I don't know anyone with better grasp of these food plans OR PCOS and what you need to do to minimize symptoms.
So my suggestion. open your mind..get humble. .and ask a TRUE master of the issue.

OMG I forgot about that fact...about sugar being in the cigs....geez...well at least i got off of those...and no wonder u crave sugar even more once off the cigs...bc there is sugar in the cigs!!!! Thanks for your help Newdawnfad