Welcome to my PCOS blog

Whenever people find out I'm a dietitian and a personal trainer, I get asked this question; how can I lose weight?  People commonly tell me they exercise enough but their weight remains the same.  What are they doing wrong?  After more than twenty years as a personal trainer and rehab trainer, I’ve found many of my clients (I only train females) have Poly-cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS).  Observed signs of PCOS can include: 

• overweight or obesity, especially with excess weight carried around the middle
•  acne
• excess facial hair and even male-pattern balding or thinning of hair
• skin tags, especially around the neck and shoulders

This is due to an excess of the male hormone testosterone and another hormone which promotes fat storage called insulin.  Levels of the appetite regulating hormones have been shown to be impaired in women with PCOS too, making it much harder to lose excess body weight. 

There is so much conflicting evidence available it's hard to know what the truth is and what the hype is.  The basic rule of thumb to lose body fat  comes down to about 20% planned exercise, 10% incidental exercise (such as walking to the bus stop, mopping the floors, mowing the lawn etc) and a whopping 70% of fat loss comes by eating properly.  By eating properly, I don't just mean getting your five serves of veg and two serves of fruit per day either.  Also, there are plenty of "quick fixes" out there but they are often hard to sustain or they require eating special meals or expensive drinks, and once you stop the quick fix, the weight piles back on again. If you have PCOS, you might find you have insulin resistance and have trouble metabolising carbohydrate-rich foods; this is the same issue people with Type II diabetes have.  The CSIRO, Australia’s largest research body, have recently completed a three year study on the effects of consuming a very low carbohydrate diet.  The majority of participants have had incredible successes, so much so, the CSIRO are now recommending people with insulin resistance follow a very low carbohydrate diet, and they are now developing a diet plan for this growing population.

I've been helping women achieve their fitness and weight loss goals for nearly two decades and I supply them with the tools to keep the weight off.  By educating my girls on how their body metabolises different food groups and how their bodies are different to a man's body, they can learn to eat in a way that not only nourishes them and provides energy for their busy days, but to lose excess body fat and keep it off; even when they no longer need me to guide them.  What is my ultimate goal and why have I decided to start blogging?  I want to pass on what I have learnt so that everyone can achieve their personal goals, no matter what barriers they face or where they are starting from.  I hope you will find my page can help you become healthier by providing evidence-based nutritional knowledge.

Annie