112: I’m told that eating in moderation will help my PCOS weight gain — but it makes it worse, what do I do?
The term ‘eat in moderation’ is thrown around SO much. I absolutely agree that enjoying a variety of foods in moderation is key to optimal health and feeling great but I think quite often, especially in the PCOS community, we’re told to do this and it makes our symptoms worse.I’ve talked a fair bit about being really 80/20 with your approach to lifestyle changes for your PCOS but it can be so so hard when you’re struggling with PCOS weight gain. I totally empathise when many of you say this isn’t working for you!That was exactly the position I was in when I was in the thick of struggling with my PCOS. I was told by doctors and those around me to just ‘eat in moderation’ but whenever I did this, I’d end up 2-5kg heavier after a month!It’s frustrating because you feel like there’s something wrong with your body, nothing works and this whole intuitive eating thing that’s preached will make your symptoms go haywire — but you don’t want to be overly restricted either.How do you find that balance without your weight absolutely skyrocketing and your other symptoms kicking off? It’s such a fine line to dance but I want to talk to you about this in a bit more detail so that you can understand why this whole 80/20 intuitive eating may be doing the opposite of what you’ve intended — but without swinging completely the other way and becoming super rigid and restrictive. So in this episode of the podcast, I’ll be unpacking why ‘eating in moderation’ might not be working for you and how to create balance without it causing your PCOS weight gain to wreak havoc!This episode is for you if:PCOS weight gain is one of the main symptoms you struggle withYou’re told by your doctors to eat less, move more and eat everything in moderation but it seems to make your symptoms worseYou want to improve your PCOS symptoms but still maintain balance in your lifestyle changesYou’re not losing any weight no matter how low calorie you goSome things we cover in this episode:The calorie equationInsulin vs calories — what’s the relationship in PCOS and how does this affect weight?Low calorie diets for PCOS weight loss — good or bad?Macros and tracking caloriesResources and References:My Book: Getting Pregnant with PCOSLinks to our programs:The PCOS ProtocolEggducated