Confused vegan with PCOS!

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strawberrybear
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Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2014 2:54 pm
Location: UK

Confused vegan with PCOS!

Post by strawberrybear » Wed Sep 17, 2014 3:11 pm

Hello everyone,

I am in a state of dietary confusion. I have PCOS, I am vegan, and when I tried the No S diet back in 2012 along with an hour of exercise each day, I did lose weight, from a 31in to 27in waist. I am 5ft 7ins and do not weigh myself often, mainly because my concern is my abdominal fat rather than my absolute weight - I know that an apple shape is a big issue in PCOS so like to focus on that.

I now have a 31 in waist again after a drastic change in lifestyle/falling from the No S wagon. A couple of weeks ago I reread the No S book and decided to do it again. After all, it worked last time, right?

My worry is this - Since 2012 I have read as much info on the role of diet as possible from what I would think are reputable sources, like peer reviewed papers on Google Scholar. Some say that the kind of diet doesn't matter for PCOS, i.e. low carb has no advantage over high carb. But I have also read (e.g. in John Briffa's book) that grains are evil/cause insulin rise/will make me fat(ter)...I am confused because I ate bread almost every day last time around. Yet now I feel terrible for looking at a roll! Read other research saying that high protein is a good idea. I am now wondering, should I try a low carb or GI type diet? They are tiresome though, and reducing carbs is hard as a vegan. I am a vegan for ethical reasons and have been so for years, I do not want to eat animal products.

Suffering paralysis from analysis here...it doesn't help that I work in academia and poring over studies is natural to me, but I am no dietitian and am just getting a headache. Any support would be welcome especially from any women with PCOS here.


Should also add that I am 27, if that's helpful.

eschano
Posts: 2642
Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2012 2:20 pm

Post by eschano » Wed Sep 17, 2014 3:28 pm

Hello and welcome back!

Unfortunately, I don't know what PCOS is and I have no experience with a vegan diet, which seems to me impossible, let alone without grains. But I am sure there are people out there who do this successfully and I hope they'll respond!

P.S.: I barely find any scientific paper "sound". As every body responds differently to things I would suggest trial and error and figure it out yourself.
eschano - Vanilla rocks!

July 2012- January 2016
Started again January 2021

aspencer27
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Post by aspencer27 » Wed Sep 17, 2014 4:17 pm

I personally think that there is so much focus on what the perfect diet is, and that is what causes the paralysis (for me anyways). The thing that I like about NoS is that it provides moderation. I am trying to focus on the habits first, without worrying about a more ideal diet.

The basics of what I view as a good diet are more vegetables and less processed foods. Beyond that, I think the differences are pretty negligible.

When I was in my best shape, my husband was cooking for me every night - a 3 course meal with a wine pairing. He had 9 months off of work... He would make some heavy dishes - using heavy cream, homemade pasta, etc, but they would always have lots of fresh veggies in them. I dropped two dress sizes without even trying! But with homemade food I believe there is less salt used (although he is generous with salt) and the portion sizes are easier to control.

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la tortue
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Post by la tortue » Wed Sep 17, 2014 5:07 pm

Welcome, strawberrybear! I too have PCOS. I have an apple shape, but am also big overall. fwiw, I’m in my early 30s and was able to lose 50 pounds over about nine months using vanilla No S. In keeping with what aspencer has said about the basis of a good diet, I did seem to lose weight easier/feel better when I made an effort to cook my own meals and eat more vegetables. However, I wasn’t perfect with it. I ate my share of Hot Pockets and frozen egg rolls. Please don’t feel terrible for looking at a roll.

Being vegan and low carb does sound near impossible. I see no harm in experimenting with low GI, but if No S worked for you the first time around I wouldn’t worry too much about what you eat to begin with.

I’m personally thinking of treating dairy as an S at some point in the future. I’ve read many times (and this is where I get frustrated because I don’t know what sources to trust) that it raises testosterone and that I’ll see an improvement in my hirsutism if I cut it out. For now though, I’m just focusing on plain ol’ vanilla No S.

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Blithe Morning
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Post by Blithe Morning » Wed Sep 17, 2014 7:23 pm

Start with what you know works. Research talks about populations, not individuals.

strawberrybear
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Location: UK

Post by strawberrybear » Wed Sep 17, 2014 8:29 pm

Thank you so much for all your replies, I feel very welcomed.

@eschano: Very true that every body is different. PCOS = Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Thank you for welcoming me :)

@aspencer27: Moderation! I remember now just why I thought No S was sensible in the first place...

@airmail: Good job on the 50lbs! That is a very encouraging result. I was hoping to hear success stories from women with PCOS here, so thank you very much for posting that.

@Blithe Morning: That is true. I should know that, as I read/write about populations often. For some reason, I forget it whilst in pursuit of Ultimate Dietary Truth...which probably doesn't even exist.

You're all great!

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Jibaholic
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Re: Confused vegan with PCOS!

Post by Jibaholic » Wed Sep 17, 2014 8:45 pm

strawberrybear wrote:Hello everyone,
I am now wondering, should I try a low carb or GI type diet? They are tiresome though, and reducing carbs is hard as a vegan. I am a vegan for ethical reasons and have been so for years, I do not want to eat animal products.

...

@Blithe Morning: That is true. I should know that, as I read/write about populations often. For some reason, I forget it whilst in pursuit of Ultimate Dietary Truth...which probably doesn't even exist.
One of the nice things about No S is that it isn't one of the "diet wars" kind of diets. It works with everything. You can be a vegan No S'er or a low-carb No S'er or a SAD No S'er (what? You can't be sad when you're eating no S!)

You might be interested in this blog post. It's by an obesity researcher who used to be Paleo/Low Carb but is now focused on how the brain's reward center reacts to food. He eats meat but is very non-dogmatic. He was a guest speaker at a vegan conference and had an enjoyable time.
I spent the better part of three days eating a diet prepared according to Dr. McDougall's specifications. I was looking forward to the opportunity to try a new diet style. Meals contained zero added fat, zero animal food, and focused on starchy whole grains, beans, and root vegetables with some colorful vegetables as well. Potatoes are a central part of his diet and they appeared at every meal. No alcohol was served, and the only caffeine was tea.

The food was low in calorie density and bland, although not unpleasant. It's definitely a reduced-reward diet. I had no problem eating it for three days. I ate to fullness, but I'm sure I ate fewer calories than usual and lost a bit of weight. I felt good and had no trouble with hunger or fatigue; in fact, my appetite seemed to be suppressed somewhat.
http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2 ... study.html

oolala53
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Post by oolala53 » Thu Sep 18, 2014 11:53 am

Just out of curiosity, what does your doctor say? Did he/she say you were eligible to see a dietician? Were you obese when you had a 31" waist? Does your doctor say that weight loss is indicated? I've read that obesity can be associated with PCOS and that losing even a small percentage of weight can make the difference. the difference being having periods, but it doesn't sound like you were obese. Your weight or waist size may have nothing to do with it, and you could be subjecting yourself to more restriction than you need. What symptoms are you trying to reverse? I mean, how will you know you've been successful?

Which doesn't discount that regular, moderate eating is a nice way to live, health issues or not. I support you in using NO S and whatever dietary path you choose, but it may not be the answer for PCOS.
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

strawberrybear
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Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2014 2:54 pm
Location: UK

Post by strawberrybear » Thu Sep 18, 2014 6:02 pm

Jibaholic - I will check it out.

oolala53- good questions. My doctor has said nothing about diet or weight. My BMI is about 24. The thing is though, it has slowly been creeping up for a few years. Once I was diagnosed through scans and blood tests, they weren't bothered. Just said that if I wanted to, I could take birth control pills to induce a cycle. I said, 'isn't there anything else to consider? Like blood sugar, for instance, and insulin resistance?'

They said no, no problem, you don't want children and you are not very heavy, and it's birth control pills or. . . nothing else. No mention of dietitians etc. Thinking about it, it makes me mad. I should see another doctor...this would be number 5. GPs do not seem to care. Never mind that I have about one menstrual cycle per year at best. I tried taking the pills and they interacted with other meds I have for other conditions and made me very depressed. I tried another kind of pill too, also made me feel bad.

strawberrybear
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Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2014 2:54 pm
Location: UK

Post by strawberrybear » Thu Sep 18, 2014 6:04 pm

Just want to add, I have had a total of 5 natural periods since I was 16 at a variety of weights. I have never been overweight in that time. So I guess that losing weight is not going to sort it out!

eschano
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Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2012 2:20 pm

Post by eschano » Fri Sep 19, 2014 8:20 am

Hi Strawberrybear, seems like you're right and issue is neither over- nor underweight. (Both of which I know can cause PCOS - now that I looked it up I realised that I actually know 4 friends who have this. 3 of them have battled with anorexia in one way or another before/still and 1 is very obese - not sure where on the spectrum - so that's a bit different).

However, my not-at-all-based-on-science/medicine advice would be that the regularity of NoS might help your body find regularity elsewhere. For me all kinds of weird side-effects started to happen like better sleep, more hair (not kidding, my hair finally looks strong and I don't lose hair as much anymore), and a love for healthier food. Might not work but there's no harm in trying!
eschano - Vanilla rocks!

July 2012- January 2016
Started again January 2021

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