Why are certain foods addictive because of PCOS and why does changing those bad habits help?
Food is a healing mechanism for our bodies when they are stressed, or anxious, sad, nervous. What we fuel ourselves with is what helps control those emotions from taking over. PCOS has a way of making our bodies crave carbohydrates due to insulin resistance in the body and because of that we tend to reach for whatever we are in the mood for. We dont go oh i am sad let me snack on a salad! am i right? My favorite adivce to give those who have such emotions tied into their hormone disrder is give yourself grace. Feed yourself your speical comfort foods but also try some new foods that can be just as comforting or delicous as those you have constiantly grabbed for in the past. These feeds will not only satisfiy your craving but will also help with PCOS inflamtion, balance your glucose, give you good energy, help with that hormone brain fog and leave you feeling good about what you eat. I came up with some alternative twists to recipes I found or have always loved to make them more friendly for my body.
Where people may have it wrong is that they have to restrict there foods they love. When really its about balancing our body in harmony. Pasta is okay, chips are okay, ice cream is okay, burgers are okay in moderation. When we fully restrict the foods we love that tend to not be the healthiest for us we will binge those foods and this will cycle into weight gain or other health conditons to spiral then we feel bad so we restrict again and it is a vicous cycle that is hard to break. Food does not have to look like a rice cake with peanut butter on it, or endless salads with no dressing, pasta without the noodles, or even recipes that call for no cream. Its okay to make good food, satisfying food! and still reach your health goals. What is important is we learn balance, and healthy alternatives, starchy vegetables, high fat foods, heavy loaded sodium foods. We learn what is in our fruites and vegetables that help nourish our bodies, portion sizes, how to figure out when you are full and when you are just trying to satisfy your mind. This is why picking foods that you find tasty will help you in your health journey. My comfort foods are soups with grilled cheese, sandwhiches, I absolutly love starch foods!. It has always been a must for me so I learned how to incoroparate those foods into my diet without over doing it or restricting myself. The end goal should never be points on food, or counting calories every day, or restricing foods and swapping them for nutritional bland and empty caloric foods. The goal is to live and eat and enjoy life in a healthy balance.
Foods High in Protein and Low in Carbs 1/25/2024
These are some of my staple foods when I am in a hurry or have a craving for something sweet. Not only are they lower carb which helps stabalize our glucose instead of give it that spike afterwards but they are high protein to give our body the feeling of fullness and satisfaction it was needing to curb any biniging we might be prone to or even grabbing for a snack or meal that is not nutritionally dense. I know for me when I havent prepared snacks or meals that i can just reach for in a hurry I will one hundred percent of the time grab for somthing that is not going to benefit me nutritionally and lead me to a food bender of bad choices which then triggers my PCOS symptoms.
Salmon Salad or Tuna salad even chicken salad whichever your is your choice they make a great lunch or snack that is full of nutrients and high protein needs and low carb. Carbs are so essential for our bodies so completly ridding them like fad diets do is dangerous and will lead to massive weightloss but all the weight comes back the minute you start eating carbs again. So here is my suggestion make these low carb high protein snacks, dinner or lunches because lower carb intake helps regulate our glucose and in turn also helps us lose weight with PCOS. This is a huge key to PCOS glucose control. We fuel our bodies with good carbs but in a slightly lower intake then we would normally see but we keep it balanced. These reciepes keep you full and satisfied without over indulging or causing glucose spikes as I mentioned and they help your body regualte for its needs. I always balance my day out such as I had some pasta for dinner I know for lunch I had a higb protein low carb meal or vice versa. Depleating our bodies of fun and good food does more harm then good but learning to train your body and mind is key to helping manage PCOS.
I will Post the Recipes below so you can give them a try Please leave a comment with any questions or any tips for others following this page. Lets encourage our community to commit to a healthy mindset with PCOS.
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