PCOS

If you have been diagnosed with PCOS you have likely had a bit (or a lot) of a struggle with food, eating and weight but please be assured there is a lot we can do to help support hormonal balance without having to follow extremely restrictive diets.

What is PCOS?

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is a collection of symptoms that occur when androgens (such as testosterone and other hormones) are in excess. Symptoms can include irregular periods, facial and body hair, appetite changes, weight gain and mood changes. Some symptoms are due to the hormones themselves and some are due to insulin resistance that often accompanies PCOS.

Unfortunately, people are often not diagnosed with PCOS but just put on ‘the pill’ (the oral contraceptive pill) to ‘fix your period’. However, this does not address the underlying issues and certainly does not treat insulin resistance.

Weight loss and PCOS

Often people with PCOS are advised to lose weight with a traditional ‘eat less move more’ or ‘cut your calories’ approach. This can be harmful because dieting is unsustainable and can lead to dysregulation of appetite cues and loss of lean muscle mass. It often leads to a restrict-binge cycle with excessive weight regain and increases the risk of developing an eating disorder.

PCOS and binge eating

I have had numerous people referred to me struggling with binge eating who actually have undiagnosed or poorly treated PCOS and insulin resistance. Once adequate treated is established and we stop focusing on weight loss and start eating regularly binge eating can settle quickly.