Are you struggling to lose weight? Do you have PCOS?
You’re not alone.
Did you know that almost 70% of women with PCOS struggle to lose weight? This is because weight loss is the hardest symptom to manage for women with PCOS, as the hormonal disorder makes your body resistant to traditional weight loss methods.
But does it mean that you cannot lose weight if you have PCOS?
The answer is no! With the right strategy and lifestyle changes, it is not only possible to lose weight but also maintain PCOS symptoms effectively. Here are some effective weight loss strategies for women with PCOS that help them lose weight and also maintain it effectively.
The role of insulin resistance
Most women with PCOS have insulin resistance. Insulin Resistance happens when your body has difficulties utilizing the insulin produced to effectively convert glucose into energy. This ineffectiveness often leads to weight gain, especially around the abdomen. To counter this, the simplest way can be to follow a healthy diet, one that stabilizes blood sugar levels.
Choose low Glycemic Index (GI) Foods: The Glycemic Index or GI is a number between 0 to 100 that ranks food according to how quickly it raises blood sugar levels. Foods with low glycemic index are better digested and lead to a gradual rise in blood sugar levels, hence helping stabilize blood sugar levels.
Eat Fiber-rich food: Foods that are high in fiber help control blood sugar levels and improve digestion. Include enough green vegetables, fruits, and whole grains in your diet to regulate your sugar levels.
Strength Training
While exercise is crucial to lose weight or keep your sugar levels balanced, some forms of exercise tend to benefit women with PCOS more than others. Strength training helps in building lean muscle mass and aids fat loss. Strength training increases muscle mass, helps boost metabolism, and also improves insulin sensitivity. Compared to cardio or high-intensity workouts, strength training is a better exercise format for women with PCOS.
Mindful Eating
Mindful eating is about staying in the present moment and completely relishing the food that you are eating. Instead of eating your food while watching Netflix or talking on the phone, take time to completely dedicate your attention to food, sit in a comfortable position, and eat with complete awareness. This includes touching the food with your hands, taking in the aroma and warmth of food, eating your food slowly, chewing your food right, and eating at a slow pace to savour each bite. Mindful eating enhances digestive health, and nutrient absorption and establishes a healthy relationship with food. It also helps prevent overeating and build an understanding of hunger and fullness cues.
Stay Active
Staying active is of utmost importance to keep your body working optimally and build a healthy lifestyle. While you may exercise 30-45 minutes daily, it is important to include small walks, physical movements, and activities throughout the day to stay active. Make sure you take a 5-10-minute break every hour during your work timings to stretch or move around. Indulge into some household chores to keep your body moving. Go for post-prandial walks for better digestion. Play a game in the evening to not be sedentary watching TV. Small changes can bring big progress to your weight loss routine.
Healthy Sleep Cycle
Sleep plays a significant role in hormonal balance, mental health, and physical health. Restful sleep of at least 8-10 hours daily is as important as it is to exercise and stay active. And so, ensure that your sleep cycle is healthy. This includes waking up early, eating food at least 2-3 hours before going to bed, winding down to sleep on time, and taking 8-10 hours of restful sleep every day.
Managing Stress
Stress can worsen PCOS symptoms and make your weight loss journey even more challenging. Stress leads to a rise in cortisol levels in the body which leads to fat storage (particularly around the abdomen), and can disrupt your mental health too. Practicing even simple techniques like walking in the park, meditating, yoga, and deep breathing can help manage stress and its symptoms. Prioritize sleep to manage stress and hunger-induced stress.
RightLife App: Aids weight loss for women with PCOS
Losing weight with PCOS requires a holistic approach. This means one shouldn’t just be focused on diet alone, the kind of workout, insulin resistance, active lifestyle, hormonal balance, wellness practice, etc play a big role for women living with PCOS. Hence, RightLife App takes a comprehensive approach to helping women take their weight loss journey forward even with PCOS. The App helps design a lifestyle that is easy to follow and supports weight loss with PCOS through simple practices that women can follow in their daily lives with ease and ace in their weight loss journey.
The MoveRight feature has workouts and exercises suited for women with PCOS and recommends individual workouts as per their fitness levels, lifestyle, and needs.
The EatRight feature highlights dietary changes that one can follow to deal with insulin resistance and aid in balanced sugar levels.
The ThinkRight feature recommends simple but effective yoga practices, meditation, position affirmations, etc that can help deal with stress, hormonal balance, and active lifestyle.
The SleepRight feature promotes an understanding of healthy practices that help build a better sleep routine.
The RightLife App is a holistic way for women to design their lifestyle around the effective management of PCOS symptoms and lose weight holistically and sustainably.
Every woman’s body is different so its important to find out what works for you and stay committed to your goals. With a dedicated tool to help you in your weight loss journey, you can make the most of your efforts towards weight loss and start seeing results in just a few days.
