Why it's so hard to lose weight with PCOS - and what to do about it!
Listen as an audio post:
Why It’s So Hard To Lose Weight With PCOS
Are you struggling to maintain a healthy weight because of your PCOS? Let me reassure you – it’s not because you’re lazy or unmotivated.
There are actually several aspects of PCOS that can make it difficult to lose weight or even maintain your current weight.
Insulin resistance
Insulin resistance is probably the best-known factor in weight loss and PCOS. When your blood sugar levels rise, it is insulin’s job to take it to the muscles and body tissues to be used up. But when you’re dealing with insulin resistance, your cells become ‘resistant’ to insulin and won’t accept the sugar. As a result, the body stores these sugars as fat instead for easy-access energy to be used.
Around 70% of women with PCOS have insulin resistance. This tends to become a vicious cycle, as high insulin levels not only increase your fat storage – it also stimulates more production of testosterone. High testosterone feeds into insulin resistance, as well as other factors that make weight loss difficult.
Even if you don’t have insulin resistance, you may have more insulin than you need. Women with PCOS have overly sensitive Beta cells, which are responsible for producing insulin. This means you produce more insulin than is actually needed, and more of those sugars are stored away as fat.
Sluggish metabolism
Feel like you can’t eat as much as your friends can without gaining weight? Unfortunately, this could be true.
Women with PCOS tend to have a lower basal metabolic rate (BMR), meaning you burn through less energy on an average day. In one study, the women without PCOS had a BMR of 1868 calories, whereas women with PCOS had an average BMR of 1445 calories. For the women who had insulin resistance on top of PCOS, BMR dropped down to 1116 calories.
Please note you shouldn’t be eating this low. It’s far too little for adult woman. What a BMR is is a Basal Metabolic Rate. It’s the amount calories your body needs to lie still, do nothing, and keep you alive.
When you’re trying to figure out how much you need to eat there are other factors at play, such as how active your day is.. any exercise on top of that, and even how much energy your body uses to digest the food you eat.
One reason for this could be the imbalance between your sex hormones. Women with PCOS have higher testosterone levels and lower progesterone levels. The lower progesterone levels contribute towards an imbalance known as oestrogen dominance. High oestrogen and testosterone combined with low progesterone can impair the thyroid and reduce your metabolism.
Appetite issues
So you have a sluggish metabolism – why do you still feel hungry all the time? Another unfortunate side effect of PCOS is poor appetite regulation.
There are several hormones that work together to regulate your appetite, including cholecystokinin (CCK), leptin and ghrelin. CCK and leptin help to reduce appetite and send the message that you are satiated. But in women with PCOS, both CCK and leptin are lower, so you will feel less satisfied after a meal.
This means that even if you are eating the nutrients and calories that your body needs, you may continue to feel hungry. You’re also more likely to crave sweet foods if you have insulin resistance.
Other symptoms & side effects of PCOS
Some of the common symptoms of PCOS can also influence your ability to lose weight. The two most important ones are poor sleep and low stress tolerance.
Sleep issues are more common in those with PCOS, including sleep apnoea, insomnia and difficulty falling or staying asleep. If you’re not getting enough sleep, you could be setting yourself up for weight gain.
People who don’t get enough sleep eat around 385 calories more per day than those who get sufficient sleep. Think about it, if you’re not getting sleep - your body wants to get that energy from somewhere.
Even one night of partial sleep deprivation can induce insulin resistance in people without PCOS, so you can imagine what it can do if you already have PCOS or insulin resistance! Poor sleep can also make it harder to lose weight when you are in a calorie deficit.
If you feel unable to cope with stress, PCOS may be playing a role. Research has found that women with PCOS have higher levels of stress hormones. High stress can contribute to weight gain in PCOS, particularly visceral fat around the tummy.
If you have PCOS, it might feel like the whole world (or at least your body) is against you when it comes to losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight. But there are ways that you can reboot your metabolism, improve your insulin sensitivity and lose weight without starving yourself or over-exercising.
My PCOS Protocol course is now open for enrolment!
✔ Learn how to make informed decisions about your nutrition and exercise
✔ Stabilise your mood
✔ Dramatically increase your energy levels
✔ Regulate your cycle
✔ Understand what your body is trying to communicate to you with your symptoms
✔ Discover what kind of PCOS you have and how this impacts what approach you should use treat your symptoms.
✔ Stop feeling out of control with your body and learn how to manage your PCOS, for good!
Together we are going to identify the habits
that are causing you to contribute to your PCOS, identify your unique PCOS experience and then make an action plan that’s rooted in
mindfulness, nutrition, and fitness.
Hey there, I’m Rachel!
NUTRITIONIST, PERSONAL TRAINER, WELLNESS COACH
Here I share healthy recipe ideas, training plans, and nutrition & wellness advice you need to know.
Check out my free guide to healthy eating to design your own version of a healthy lifestyle so that you can feel energised and vibrant, or hire me to work my magic on your health through mindset, nutrition, and movement.
While we make every effort to make sure the information in this website is accurate and informative, the information does not take the place of professional or medical advice.