Macrobiotics recommended
From: Patti (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Mon, 7 May 2001 11:53:42 -0500 (CDT)
This forum is amazing--just what I've been looking for. I was diagnosed
with PCOS about 8 years ago and was recently on versions of the Pill for
about 18 months, but felt miserable. Now I'm on a macrobiotic diet and
it really seems to be working. Macrobiotics is a system of proportions:
half of what you eat is whole grains, a quarter is seasonal local
vegetables, and the other quarter is a combo of beans, soups & sea
vegetables. Having whole grains as carbs is an important point--rather
than cutting out ALL carbs, you just cut out SIMPLE carbs, like white
sugar, white rice, white bread, anything that comes in a can or a box...
Some of the macrobiotic ingredients are a little unusual--like the sea
vegetables, pickled Japanese plums, various bulk whole grains, but the
health food store and the Internet have been very useful. I've lost
about 15 pounds and have even been getting monthly periods again. Just
thought I'd share the books that really helped me out:
Food & Healing by Annemarie Colbin--this explains the philosophy of the
logical fact that what you eat directly affects your body and your
health. Seems so simple-- I learned a lot from this book.
**The Self Healing Cookbook by Kristina Turner--this is my bible--it
explains so clearly and gently how and what to eat, and doesn't expect
you to change your whole lifestyle all at once. The recipes are really
easy and cheap. It's true that eating brown rice and beans every day
gets a little boring, this book has alternatives and hints in this book
that really do help. I'm beginning to realize that boring food is the
least of my problems...
Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom by Christiane Northrup--a huge book
that's a pretty slow read. Full of interesting facts and diagrams. The
section on ovarian cysts is v. interesting. This is more of a
reference--doesn't talk about diet per se, but really helps explain what
might be going on in the body & mind.
There are plenty more books out there, you can find plenty through the
Kushi institute at Macrobiotics online:
http://www.macrobiotics.org/default.html
Good luck!
--
Patti Ann
At Fri, 13 Oct 2000, Jessica wrote:
>
>hey there Kelly, I have found that cutting out breads and sweets has
>helped me to lose weight. I have lots about 40 lbs. in about five
>months. As a pharmacy student though, I really worry about cutting out
>a lot of fruits and veggies on the low carb diet. So, I usually try to
>incorporate them into my meals. I also have started taking Glucophage
>to control insulin and that has really helped me out with the weight
>loss too. And believe it or not, I have also started to get normal
>periods again. I don't know if that is in combination with the weight
>loss or not, but either way I am too happy to care. Good luck, Jess
>At Wed, 11 Oct 2000, Kim wrote:
>>
>>Hi Kelly. It seems that most of us with PCOS should be following a
>>low-carb diet. Unfortunately there are so many out there. Some are
>>really restrictive on how many carbs that you can eat while others have
>>a bit more flexibility. I have tried Atkin's but found that it was way
>>too restrictive for me. I then followed the Protein Power Plan for
>>about 5 months and lost about 40 lbs. I had trouble with it and went
>>off of it a year ago due to constipation. I have since gained most of
>>it back. I am trying to get up the will power to start again. I have
>>finally got the constipation under control. I need to find a balance
>>between eating some carbs and maintaining good fiber. I have just
>>started met to assist me and will be gearing up to go shortly. I am
>>going to try to include 3 servings of low-carb fruits and some whole
>>grains this time and see how it goes. Go to your local library to check
>>out some of the books on low carb. I believe that you can find one that
>>will work for you. If you need more help, there are many web sites
>>devoted to low-carb eating. E-mail me for more info.
>>
>>Best of luck to you!
>>
>>--
>>Kim Maynard
>>At Wed, 11 Oct 2000, Kelly wrote:
>>>
>>>Hi!
>>>
>>>My name is Kelly and I have been suffering pcos for six years now, I
>>>have only recently through my own research that I was following the
>>>wrong diet. Today once again I have been told to loose the weight the
>>>natural way.
>>>
>>>I found your e-mail interesting and would appreciate any help and advise
>>>you can give me.
>>>
>>>By the way I'm from Birmingham in the United Kingdom.
>>>
>>>Thanks Guy's
>>>
>>>At Wed, 4 Oct 2000, Joan wrote:
>>>>
>>>>Yes, i eat a fair amount of whole grains and fruits and things with
>>>>fructose in them. I am losing weight-not too quickly, but I rarely feel
>>>>deprived(like I could do this forever) and this combined with avandia
>>>>and exercise has brought my insulin down to near normal levels! I highly
>>>>recommend it. I don't think i could go with out grains the rest of my
>>>>life-but this is fine and I feel good. Keep us posted on your
>>>>experiences.
>>>>
>>>>At Wed, 4 Oct 2000, Lisa wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>I have had some sucess with adding low carb fruits and some whole grains
>>>>>to my low carb diet. I take 1000mg Met daily, I exercise 3-4 times a
>>>>>week, I have added lower carb fruits (berries,peaches, grapefruit), and
>>>>>some whole grains (whole grain bread, barley, low carb crackers, protien
>>>>>enriched pasta, soy flour) and some beans. I have lost 30lbs in 3
>>>>>months I ALWAYS eat a protien with any Carb(fruit, bread, beans) I have.
>>>>>I try to have 1 fruit daily and 1-2 lower carb grains daily.
>>>>>Lisa
>>
![[ PCOS Discussion Forums ]](../../images/pcos_at_obgyn.gif)