Oh the pesky sugar cravings that comes with PCOS! Sadly I know them only too well. And I know that lots of you struggle with cravings for sugary or carby foods too, so today I want to share a few tips and tricks on how to bust those cravings once and for all!
But before I do that, let's take a quick look at what causes food cravings in the first place.
If you've looked into PCOS in any detail, you'll have no doubt encountered words such as insulin resistance. Insulin resistance, in a nutshell, means that our body isn't particularly efficient in dealing with the glucose, or sugar, in our blood which results in elevated blood sugar levels. And that's what ultimately drives cravings.
I explain all of this in a little bit more detail here if you're interested.
So to bust those pesky cravings once and for all, the key is to keep our blood sugar levels steady. And here are my 3 favourite secret weapons to support your body in doing that:
1. Increase your protein intake
Protein is not only great for providing slow release energy (say goodbye to hormonal fatigue!), but it also helps our body to absorb the glucose from a meal in a much, much slower way. And that results in steadier blood sugar levels (imagine a dripping tap rather than an out of control hose, if that makes sense).
As a rule of thumb, aim for 25-30g of protein with every meal. If you'd like my protein content cheat sheet, drop me a message and I'll send it across to help you get started.
2. Embrace healthy fats
If you've grown up in the toxic diet culture of the 80s and 90s like me, you may be incredulously staring at the screen right now! I get it.
But healthy fats are incredibly important for our health, particularly our hormone health. In fact, they are essential for the production of many hormones that are critical for our fertility. Plus, they're great for lowering inflammation which is a key factor in PCOS.
So aim to include the equivalent of around 1tbsp of healthy fats with every meal - think nuts, seeds, avocado, olive oil, eggs or oily fish. If you're struggling to incorporate any of these, I find a sprinkle of seeds or a drizzle of olive oil goes with everything!
3. Avoid refined carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are our body's main source of energy so they play a crucial part for our health and wellbeing, including our fertility.
But it's important to stick to the right types of carbohydrates. So try to avoid refined carbs (I'm talking white bread, white pasta, pastries, biscuits etc which cause havoc with our blood sugar levels) as much as possible, whilst focusing on complex carbs such as brown rice, quinoa, sweet potato, brown bread, brown pasta, and legumes amongst others.
What we're really doing here is balancing our meals, so that we not only nourish our body with the right raw ingredients it needs to function, but also provide our body with slow release energy that keeps us going through the day without having to reach for the sugary snacks.
Once you get into the mindset of how to put together a meal (and snack too for that matter!), I promise that you'll struggle to go back to the way that you might be eating now.
Let me know how you get on! :)
PS. Have you checked out my FREE training 'From PCOS to Pregnancy in 3 Simple Steps' yet? Check it out here x
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