Fitness Regime for Women with PCOS

Polycystic Ovarian Disease (PCOD) or Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is a problem found in most women these days. In this syndrome, multiple (poly) cysts are developed inside the ovary. Cysts are essentially sacs filled with a fluid. Due to these multiple cysts inside the ovary, the size of the ovary grows larger than the normal. The severity of the problem depends upon the size and the number of the cysts.

The typical symptoms of PCOD include irregular menstrual cycle, acne, facial hair, and in severe cases, it may result in infertility.

The main reason for PCOD is hormonal imbalance. There are two hormones whose imbalance results in this condition:

  • Insulin
  • Androgen (male sex hormone)

The ovary produces female sex hormone and miniscule amount of male sex hormone. The problem of PCOD arises when the hormone production goes otherwise. Due to an increase in male hormone, the problems of acne, facial hair, and irregular periods arise.

Fitness Regime for Women with PCOS

We have listed down below the fixes with regards to your fitness lifestyle which will help you to overcome this syndrome:

1. Increasing Meal frequency

PCOD is accompanied by weight gain. To counter this, females generally start starving themselves. This further aggravates the problem. We normally eat three big meals in a day which causes irregular blood sugar levels throughout the day. Replace your three-meal diet with a five to six meal diet. Adding a meal in between breakfast and lunch and an evening snack will regulate your blood sugar level, and hence, balance the insulin levels.

2. Cutting high GI index food

High Glycaemic Index (GI) foods are the foods which are digested quickly in the body, thereby shooting up the blood sugar levels. Insulin hormone utilises the energy from sugar and also stores it for future use. High blood sugar levels spike the level of insulin and creates an imbalance. Insulin imbalance further alleviates the cysts in the ovary. Hence, you need to cut down high GI foods from you diet like white bread, refined floor, sugar, white rice, white potatoes, muffins, cakes, sugary drinks, sugary cereals alcohol, etc.

3. Adding low GI food

To restore the balance in the insulin hormone, you need to add foods which are low in glycaemic index. These foods take time in digestion, which means they are rich in fibre. Hence, do not spike the blood sugar level and insulin after digestion. Low GI foods are whole grains, oats, whole wheat bread, brown rice, beans, etc.

4. Adding healthy fats

The first thing we run away from while losing weight is fat. However, there are certain fats, called healthy fats, which play a vital role in balancing hormonal level in the body. Include omega-3 fatty acid rich foods like Salmon, flex seed, chia seed, nuts, avocado in your diet.

5. Workout

Exercise is a stress buster. It reduces the stress hormones in the body and increases the feel good hormones. But you don’t need to run hours and hours on treadmill. Add a substantial amount of weight training as well in your workout routine because muscle mass helps in increasing the metabolism and can handle carbs well.

PCOD is a condition which cannot be cured if you simply depend on medication. Medicines can temporarily cure the problem, but cannot uproot it. When you set your nutrition right and add workout to your lifestyle, medication becomes only an add-on.