Key Takeaways
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) affects around 1 in 10 women of childbearing age. More than half of these women are overweight [1]. While a PCOS diagnosis can feel like a constant struggle, weight loss of 5-10% can make a big difference [2-5]. Achieving a healthy weight helps with irregular periods, ovarian function, and unwanted hair. Other cardiovascular health markers are also improved. This includes things like insulin levels, visceral fat, high blood pressure, and more.
In this article, I explain the root causes of PCOS weight gain. I then share 15 important steps that can help you take back control of your health
To put these good ideas into practice, sign up for my free 30-Day PCOS Diet Challenge. You can also download my free 3-Day PCOS Meal Plan here.
The Cause Of PCOS Weight Gain
Losing weight with polycystic ovarian syndrome is easier said than done. PCOS women gain weight easier than people without PCOS [6] . We also have more trouble losing weight [7].
PCOS weight gain is caused by hormonal imbalances. But these imbalances stem from insulin resistance and chronic inflammation. Insulin resistance causes higher rates of body fat accumulation and plays a key role in weight management [8-10]. Chronic inflammation also drives weight gain [11]. This has a significant genetic component, but environmental influences like diet and lifestyle can turn this dial up and down.
Addressing these mechanisms provides the pathway for almost every PCOS weight loss intervention. It’s the underlying reason why the following 15 steps work and why I see so many women lose weight during my free 30-Day PCOS Diet Challenge. Improving insulin regulation and reducing inflammation is key to losing weight with PCOS.
1. Reduce Your Sugar Intake
Reducing sugar intake is the single most effective dietary intervention for PCOS. It’s one of the most important foods to avoid with PCOS.
Most natural sources of sugar contain approximately 50% fructose and 50% glucose. Both of these compounds can make you gain weight.
Fructose is problematic because it’s metabolized by the liver like a toxicant. Because of its comparable long-term effects on metabolic health, some experts call fructose “alcohol without the buzz” [12]. People used to think that over-eating high-fat foods caused weight gain. But current evidence now shows that fructose may be the biggest risk factor for obesity [13, 14] .
This is especially true for PCOS women. Research shows that overweight women with PCOS have high fructose levels [15]. Other studies indicate that high sugar intake is associated with greater belly fat [16]. These findings draw a straight line between reducing sugar intake and losing weight.
The glucose half of the sugar molecule can also be a problem for weight management. While essential for life, an overabundance of dietary glucose can increase body fat. This is because insulin resistance can develop when exposed to chronic energy surplus [17].
Candy and soda are obvious targets for elimination, but many food items contain “hidden” sugars too. This PCOS foods to avoid list includes a list of common sugar-rich foods. These are some of the food items that women with PCOS should be particularly cautious of. Getting in the habit of checking nutrition labels is an important habit if you want to lose weight.
2. Eat Slow Carb & Low Carb, From Whole Food Sources
Besides reducing sugar consumption, lowering glycemic load is a powerful way to lose weight with PCOS. Glycemic load describes the total effect of a meal on your blood sugar levels. It’s a combination of the glycemic index (GI), which describes how quickly a food raises blood sugar levels, and how much you consume. It’s a proxy for how much insulin you’ll need to digest a meal. By reducing glycemic load, the body requires less insulin. This, in turn, reduces body fat accumulation [18, 19].
The simplest way to lower the glycemic load of your meal is to:
- Choose foods that are relatively low GI i.e. “slow carbs”.
- Eat a small amount of carbohydrate-rich foods i.e. “low-carb”.
- Get your carbs from whole food sources. Processed foods can game the system by making low-GI foods that are full of fructose (fructose is low-GI).
Black rice, sweet potato, and quinoa are examples of relatively low GI, carbohydrate-rich whole foods. A “good” serving size for these foods is around half a cup (cooked). This is “low-carb” by most standards, but is enough to avoid ketosis. Discover the pros and cons of a keto diet for PCOS here.
For a comprehensive list of low-GI whole foods, download this PCOS Diet Cheat Sheet.
3. Consume Healthy Fats
Despite dietary fat being incorrectly blamed for increases in obesity [20] , eating more fat can help with weight loss.
For a start, fat consumption has a positive effect on satiety and appears to regulate appetite [21]. Some of the fats, found in beef and lamb, can improve glucose tolerance, increase insulin sensitivity [22, 23], and reduce body fat [24, 25].
Coconut food products are also particularly useful for weight loss. These foods tend to be rich in medium-chain triglycerides which promote fat loss from the stomach and thigh areas [26, 27].
Oily fish, nuts, seeds, olive oil, and avocado are rightly promoted as “healthy” fats. But, saturated fats from whole foods sources are also good for PCOS.
Randomized controlled trials show that saturated fat doesn’t increase heart disease risks [28]. As a result, many experts now oppose the US Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendation to limit saturated fats. Nearly 20 papers published within the past 10 years, review the totality of data on saturated fat and cardiovascular outcomes. These papers show that the recommendation to limit saturated fats lacks scientific rigor [29].
A list of recommended fats and oils can be found here in my PCOS Diet Cheat Sheet.
4. Get Enough Protein
Dietary protein impacts weight loss in several ways. It influences satiety, heat production, energy efficiency, and body composition.
In an article published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Dr. Paddon-Jones, and colleagues [30] explain that:
- Protein increases satiety to a greater extent than carbohydrate or fat consumption.
- Higher protein diets are associated with increased heat production. This helps you burn calories faster.
- Higher protein diets favor the retention of muscle mass over fat.
Animal-derived protein from meat, eggs, and seafood is best. These are “complete” protein sources containing all essential amino acids in a bioavailable form. Unlike most plant-derived protein sources, animal protein is also much lower in carbohydrates and higher in fat.
My PCOS Diet Cheat Sheet includes a list of recommended protein-rich foods.
5. Eat High Fiber Foods
The nuances of a healthy diet are debatable. But almost all experts agree that eating more dietary fiber helps with weight loss [31].
Studies show that obesity in women with PCOS can’t be explained by overeating or inactivity. But, women with PCOS tend to consume less fiber [32]. Even small reductions in dietary fiber intake may increase abdominal fat in higher-risk individuals [33]. Because fiber consumption impacts insulin resistance [34], eating more fiber-rich foods is key to any PCOS weight loss diet.
Some of the best high-fiber foods include garlic, artichoke, avocado, crucifers, and starchy vegetables. Passionfruit, pomegranate, blackberries, and raspberries are also rich in dietary fiber.
6. Eat Non-Starchy Vegetables
Non-starchy vegetables are a key recommendation for PCOS weight loss. This is especially true for vegetables that are dark green and deep orange/yellow. These foods provide essential micronutrients for sustaining good health. They also improve insulin regulation, which helps with weight loss [35, 36].
7. Avoid Inflammatory Foods
Insulin resistance causes the accumulation of body fat. But for women with PCOS, chronic inflammation is another cause of weight gain [37]. Inflammation is one of the root causes of all PCOS symptoms and can be caused by a wide range of environmental factors.
Diet is a key environmental input. Reducing foods that drive inflammation can not only help with weight loss but may also improve the entire spectrum of PCOS symptoms.
Common ways that diet can induce inflammation include:
- The over-consumption of readily available carbohydrates, especially sugar.
- Consumption of pro-inflammatory foods, especially vegetable oils, and processed foods.
- Foods that induce an allergic response.
- Foods where a subclinical intolerance may be present.
Of this last category, gluten and dairy tend to be the most common among women with PCOS. These ingredients are often the primary drivers of weight gain. Elimination of gluten and dairy has played a key role in the success of thousands of women that have completed my 30-Day PCOS Diet Challenge.
8. Follow Your Hunger & Fullness Cues
Ironically, traditional dieting methods can be counterproductive to women with PCOS. Restriction diets that control calorie intake, often fail over the long run. Studies have shown that in the majority of cases, dieting causes weight gain rather than weight loss [38].
Add to this, the fact that PCOS is associated with high rates of disordered eating [39, 40], and you have a perfect recipe for disappointment.
Intuitive eating is a more realistic approach for long-term weight maintenance [41-43]. It’s particularly helpful for people that have struggled with binge eating in the past.
Intuitive eating recognizes that people can naturally regulate their caloric intake. Charts, calculations, and apps simply aren’t needed. This innate ability comes from hunger and fullness signaling hormones, like ghrelin and leptin [44]. These hormones respond well to a diet that’s high in protein and vegetables [45-49]. This is another reason why a whole-food-based PCOS diet is best for weight loss. You feel less hungry and more satisfied.
The Intuitive Eating Module included in my Beat PCOS 10 Week Program is especially popular for women that want to lose weight. As many participants discover, losing weight is as much about fostering a healthy relationship with food as it is about nutrition. To break free from yo-yo dieting, it’s essential to overcome the negative psychological impact of previous diets. We need to follow our natural hunger and fullness cues instead.
9. Consider Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting is a viable tool for improving metabolic health and weight loss [50, 51]. Studies show that limiting the time in which food is consumed has potential benefits for PCOS. This includes better body composition, insulin sensitivity, menstruation, chronic inflammation, and androgen regulation [52].
Learn more about intermittent fasting for PCOS here.
10. Check Blood Glucose Levels
A low-carb diet drives weight loss by reducing blood glucose levels. This reduces the recruitment of insulin, which tends to store excess glucose as fat.
Blood glucose levels depend on many circumstances that change from day to day. The most important is the type and quantity of dietary carbohydrates. Total meal composition, sleep, stress, and exercise, also alter the glycemic response of any given meal.
By measuring and monitoring blood glucose levels, it’s possible to further optimize your diet for weight loss. What you want to see is a slow rise in blood sugars after you eat. A peak of less than 110 mg/dL (6.1 mmol/L) is good. This can be measured using a flash glucose monitor which samples a finger prick of blood. This type of monitor gives you a single snapshot in time. Continuous blood glucose monitors, by comparison, provide a more complete picture. These are the best devices for understanding how diet and lifestyle decisions impact weight loss.
Abbott and Dexcom are the leading suppliers of continuous glucose monitoring systems.
11. Supplement Your Diet
Many dietary supplements can help women with PCOS lose weight. While weight loss benefits tend to be small, Myo-inositol or Ovasitol are the most popular. This naturally occurring nutrient is safe and effective at improving insulin sensitivity. This, in turn, produces modest weight loss [53-55]. Studies have shown that Myo-inositol is as effective as metformin [78]. Read my article on inositol and PCOS for more about this supplement.
Many other nutritional supplements for weight loss that may be worth discussing with your doctor. Top of the list for women with PCOS are berberine [56] and magnesium [77]. It’s also worth considering zinc [57] , calcium + Vitamin D [58] , carnitine [59] , selenium [60], and chromium [61].
12. Exercise Frequently
Research shows how physical activity improves insulin sensitivity and body composition in women with PCOS [62, 63]. The best types of exercise for PCOS generally fall into one of two main categories. Aerobic exercise and resistance training. Aerobic exercise reduces inflammation [64]. Resistance training, by comparison, improves hormone regulation [65].
13. Reduce Your Stress Levels
Stress indirectly affects body weight through a variety of mechanisms [66]. It influences our eating behaviors and self-control. It makes us hungrier and causes carb cravings. Stress also makes us less active and reduces how much we sleep (see below).
Stress is a risk factor for even the healthiest individuals, but women with PCOS experience more stress than other people without PCOS [67]. This presents both a problem and an opportunity. On the one hand, women with PCOS need to be more mindful of managing their stress levels. On the other, any intervention that reduces stress is likely to aid in weight loss.
Some of the best stress-management tools include mindfulness meditation, relaxation exercises, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Physical activity is also a powerful way to reduce anxiety and depressive symptoms [68].
14. Improve Your Sleep
In case feeling great isn’t enough to motivate better sleep habits, improving sleep can also help with weight loss:
- Sleep reduces stress [69] (see above).
- Poor quality sleep is associated with systemic inflammation [70], a primary cause of PCOS weight gain.
- Sleep apnea impacts insulin resistance and glucose tolerance in women with PCOS [71, 72].
- Inadequate sleep quality influences eating habits [73].
- Getting more sleep reduces preferences for sugary foods [74].
Overcoming insomnia can be a significant challenge for many people. But there are many ways to improve sleep quality. Things like prioritizing an early bedtime, and reducing blue light exposure in the evenings. Relaxation exercises and sleep meditations can also make a positive impact on weight loss.
15. Get Your Thyroid Checked (Properly)
Thyroid dysfunction affects women with PCOS at roughly three times the rate found in non-PCOS populations. A large percentage of these cases are undiagnosed [75]. When left untreated, subclinical hypothyroidism presents a significant barrier to weight loss.
Thyroid dysfunction can be particularly difficult to diagnose in many women with PCOS. For example, the elevated androgen levels seen in PCOS can decrease thyroxine-binding globulin (TBG) [76]. Thyroid dysfunction will be missed if only TSH and free T4 are assessed. These biomarkers can show up as normal, despite there being an underlying issue. A proper diagnosis is only possible with a full thyroid panel. This should include TBG, T3, reverse T3, and thyroid antibodies (TPOAb and TGAb).
Anyone wanting to lose weight with PCOS should get a full thyroid panel test. This is especially important if the benefits of diet and lifestyle interventions appear to be limited.
The Bottom Line
For many women, having PCOS means it’s easy to gain weight and hard to lose it. But despite the added barriers to weight loss, it’s certainly possible with the right information and support.
Hundreds of thousands of PCOS women have started losing weight using the free resources available on this website. If you’re ready to take back control of your health then join me for my free 30-Day PCOS Diet Challenge.
During this event, you’ll put into practice many of the weight loss ideas described in this blog. The Challenge includes free weekly meal plans and helpful video lessons. It’s hosted within a vibrant community of like-minded women and has been the starting point for many PCOS weight loss success stories.
If you aren’t ready to try the full 30 days, you can get started with this free 3-Day Meal Plan.
Author
As a Nutritionist, I’m continuing my mission to help women like you, beat PCOS. Evidence-based diet and lifestyle interventions helped me overcome five years of infertility. I fell pregnant naturally after multiple failed IVF cycles. Along the way, my other PCOS symptoms went away too. This experience taught me how to combine the latest science with a pragmatic approach to habit change. I’ve now helped thousands of other women achieve life-changing results, and I love for you to be the next PCOS success story. Learn more about me and what I do here.
Co-Authors
This blog post has been critically reviewed to ensure accurate interpretation and presentation of the scientific literature by Dr. Jessica A McCoy, Ph.D. Dr McCoy has a master’s degree in cellular and molecular biology, and a doctorate in reproductive biology and environmental health. She currently serves as a University professor at the College of Charleston, South Carolina.
This blog post has also been medically reviewed and approved by Dr. Sarah Lee, M.D. Dr. Lee is a board-certified Physician practicing with Intermountain Healthcare in Utah. She obtained a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Texas at Austin before earning her Doctor of Medicine from UT Health San Antonio.
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As a Nutritionist, I’m continuing my mission to help women like you, beat PCOS. Evidence-based diet and lifestyle interventions helped me overcome five years of infertility. I fell pregnant naturally after multiple failed IVF cycles. Along the way, my other PCOS symptoms went away too. This experience taught me how to combine the latest science with a pragmatic approach to habit change. I’ve now helped thousands of other women achieve life-changing results, and I love for you to be the next PCOS success story. Learn more about me and what I do here.
Co-Authors
This blog post has been critically reviewed to ensure accurate interpretation and presentation of the scientific literature by Dr. Jessica A McCoy, Ph.D. Dr McCoy has a master’s degree in cellular and molecular biology, and a doctorate in reproductive biology and environmental health. She currently serves as a University professor at the College of Charleston, South Carolina.
This blog post has also been medically reviewed and approved by Dr. Sarah Lee, M.D. Dr. Lee is a board-certified Physician practicing with Intermountain Healthcare in Utah. She obtained a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Texas at Austin before earning her Doctor of Medicine from UT Health San Antonio.
Are there any suggested amounts or guidelines for supplements? Thanks!
Hi Katie! Great question. 🙂 You can find all of my blogs on supplements here. Each blog on individual supplements will include dosage information. I also have a blog on the 15 best supplements for PCOS! I hope that helps.