Switching to LE PCOS version

[hopper]

Bump

I'm fairly sure I've been messing it up entirely so I don't think I can count the last 3 weeks as being "on" diet. I've stayed mostly within the upper limits for protein and fat, always under 1800 cals but am eating foods that I'm concerned are not great on a PCO type diet.

I've a bit of a better understanding since last posting but would really appreciate a little feedback whenever you have time Atomic

I'm wondering about the following:
1. Should I stop having aspartame sweetener?
2. Can I have white rice and potatoes (not together of course) or are these too carb heavy?
3. Should I be opting for whole grain breads and crackers etc instead of the white versions?
4. Can I eat some form of meat type protein daily? Like seafood or chicken for dinner with either rice and veg or potato and veg?
5. Eggs, yay or nay? I had cut them entirely but have found they are really useful to keep meat intake down as they fill me up. Are egg whites better tolerated maybe? Should I ditch the yolks?
6. Low fat foods - avoid entirely? And if so what about soft drinks?
7. Alcohol - white wine is my go to but sometimes a beer is nice for a change. Is this totally counter productive for PCOS diets? And on the topic of alcohol, do most swayers drink nightly? My DH is less than impressed with how much wine is flowing through our house of late. I rarely drink and my mother is a recovering alcoholic so he is drawing (unwarranted) parallels.
8. Sugar....well, I have gained a massive sweet tooth since doing the standard LE in 2015 and am finding it hard not to follow up meals with something containing refined sugars. I don't want to constantly be berating myself for giving in and having something sweet but fruit doesn't seem to cut it like chocolate does! Any advice would be WONDERFUL!
9. I'm eating 3 meals, sticking mostly within limits 1800 cals, 60G fat, same on protein. I have lost just under 3lbs in the 3 weeks since starting so I am including some fruit with my nightly alcohol like a 4th mini meal. I'm thinking that closer to ttc should I drop back on fat and protein or calories or should I just stay the same? I don't want to lose weight too fast but at the moment I think I'm eating almost too healthily for LE!
10. I've been taking iron and a prenatal multivitamin. I don't know if its related but my cycles have shortened to 26-28 days, they were 34-35 days. Should I continue the vitamin for now? I'll be continuing the iron 3x weekly from here on in.
11. The pharmacy would only fill my rx for Clomid for one month. To get the remaining months I need to go back to my GP and I have a feeling my GP won't fill it for me as it was an old rx (it wasn't dated though) as they know we haven't been ttc and DS3 is only 11 months. Anyway I'm hoping one month is enough considering the effects carry over to the following month (don't they?) So on that note which method is best for us: e4d or once at +opk?

I'm really sorry for the bajillion questions and totally get that you are busy! Whenever you get a chance to reply is totally fine. I'm only online sporadically myself anyway so may not see your reply for several days.
Thanks!

Oh and PS your profile picture is BEYOND adorable!!
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[atomic sagebrush]

Thanks for your patience. This was one of those posts that felt really long in my head but now that I'm rereading it I was able to answer more quickly anyway, sorry for the delay

1)Yes, aspartame is fine with PCOS. Stevia may sway blue (not sure how much I buy this but it's the theory) and sugar isn't first choice for anyone trying to cut back on carbs.

2)I prefer you guys eat whole and real foods as much as you can. Low fat and diet foods are nearly always loaded with carbs and sugar to make up for the taste of the lack of fat. Fry light is fine, just use the serving size because the way those kind of products work is by limiting your serving size to a certain extent, and so if you use more than the serving you are NOT going to be getting the cal/fat amount as listed on the container.

3)Yes that's fine, just watch the protein, don't go overboard with it. The tracking is useful at the beginning but fine to drop over time.

That type of diet looks great to me. I prefer no skim dairy (including low fat cheese) as they are very carby and the diet dairy stuff is really terrible for blood sugar for reasons we do not understand.

4)Your sway is looking really good to me. Don't worry about the iron if you need to continue. I have not found iron to really seem to sway. I have loads of people who have had to take them and still got girls and I am fairly convinced that they don't do much if anything for pink sways.

[atomic sagebrush]

second post:

If you're in the limits and have not been eating gobs of white flour and sugar then you're fine.

1)aspartame is fine

2)For some reason potatoes and white rice are generally well tolerated and especially since you're on this diet more as a preventative they are fine for you.

3)Yes

4)Yes but monitor serving size so as not to completely go overboard

5)Eggs are allowed. Both whites and yolks. Most people keep it to 6 eggs a week max

6)Most "diet" foods have had fat removed and replaced with sugar for taste, so I'd not resort to those. Soft drinks - if they are sugared, skip or limit to very occasional use. If diet, they are ok

7)It is fine on PCOS diet to have 1-2 drinks a night. (I can give explanation as to why if anyone wants it) Beer is ok. Whatever you like. Why not hold off on alcohol for now and save it for around attempt?? We don't know how long you need to have it in advance anyway. Conflicts with DH aren't going to help your sway any.

8)Even if you've just cut back what you were eating in terms of sweets, it still helps. This is not an all or nothing thing, any change you make helps (both with swaying and the PCO angle of it.) Just do your best and if you need some choc to make it through, it is a huge difference if you have that on top of an otherwise good diet vs. a very very carby one.

9)Just stay there as long as the weight loss continues (or stops if you are in the cutoff zone under 21 BMI) I know it feels counterintuitive but we are finding a sweet spot that includes a lot of fruit and veg. The nutrients in them do not appear to sway in the way that we'd originally thought. And as for the 60 g fat and protein, we've had, if anything, better results with this type of diet than the standard. I have had more and more people use it and our results overall have improved at the same time (I would try having everyone switch but it's too $$, too hard to stick to, and would make some people waste away if I tried). So please carry on doing waht you're doing.

10)Did your cycles shorten at the same time as you started the diet??

I'd reduce both to 3x a week unless you really need the iron daily. I have not found iron to be a very strong swayer anyway.

11)Oh, bummer. yes, the pink effects seem to go at least for one more month. Start off with e4d starting after AF ends and going thru till when you're sure you have ovulated (even if this means going thru till next AF starts!!)

If it's 50 mg, we can try halving it to 25 with pill splitter if you wanted to.

[hopper]

Thanks Atomic! No hurry with replies, I completely get that you are busy and I'm being a total PITA with the nitty gritty questions lol!

Thanks for all the answers. That point you made about this not being an all or nothing thing and that any chance helps has really made me chill a lot more so thanks so much for pointing that out!
Just I'm response to your questions:
I think the cycles have changed since starting the diet. I think this month actually might be longer again. I'll know more as I should be due AF this weekend if this cycle is shorter than usual like the previous one.
I've reduced iron and the vitamins.
In regards to the Clomid - would it still sway if we split the pills to 25mg? I'm clueless but since I was only prescribed it before conceiving DS3 I know I "shouldn't" need it so it's purely as a sway tactic that I want to include it.

One last question from me: I'm regards to exercise, some weeks I'm not sure I can manage the 5x weekly. Is 4x a lot more blue friendly? I will try do it 5x weekly but there may be weeks where I can only manage 4x.


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[atomic sagebrush]

How many months was your cycle short?? Sorry if you mentioned that already, skimming over the posts and I did not see it.

We do think the 25 still sways, maybe not as hard, but then again for all we know, 2 months may be better than one. Just can't say for sure, I'm sorry.

Not enough data on the exercise but the results have been so good, even at 4x a week I still recommend doing it.