Eat ALL the food.

OK guys, Crystal here. I talked in a blog post about Insulite Labs and what they recommend as far as nutrition goes to alleviate PCOS symptoms. They recommend a high quality protein, good fats, lots of green veggies, low GI fruits, and lots of water kind of diet. I highly recommend learning about insulin resistance and why it is important to eat this way if you have this problem. A basic rundown is that if you are eating lots of sugars and carbs, and you are insulin resistant, your body is not properly utilizing glucose and therefore it is getting stored as fat causing you to gain weight. This is why it is important to back away (very slowly!) from the treat counter and grab a boiled egg instead. ;)

So I thought I'd list out the foods they suggested.

High quality Proteins: free range poultry (grass fed), free reange beef (reccommended only 2x per week), Fresh seafood (such as wild caught salmon, catfish, seabass, shrimp, crab, haddock, tilapia, trout), Omega-3 Eggs,  Game, veggie burgers (watch the ingredients though), lean pork (2x per week), nuts, and a good quality protein powder. It is also okay to have greek yogurt, cottage cheese, milk, and other cheeses but use in moderation.

Carbs (they reccommend trying to get down to only having 1-2 a day until your body is able to stabilize): 100% whole wheat breads and high fiber crackers. The fewer ingredients it has, the better.

Good fats: Avocado/oil, nuts, olives/oil, nut butters

Fruits (try to limit 2 a day): apples, berries, citrus fruits, kiwi, pears, apricots, cantaloupe, nectarines, peaches

Veggies (as much as you like!): asparagus, bell peppers (any color), brussel sprouts, celery, cilantro, greens (chard, kale, etc), mushrooms, onions, peas, artichoke, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber, lettuce, parsley, spinach, zucchini
*you can have potatoes, carrots, yams, corn, and squash but try for only once or twice a week

Can you feel your body screaming at you to eat ALL that food? Mine sure is.

Something they suggested that I really appreciate is to NOT COUNT CALORIES. Yep. Thats right! Wahoo for me! I find it annoying. It is a good idea to write down what foods you are eating and how much, just to keep a journal to look back on if you start having issues, but counting calories doesn't matter quite as much as the quality of good food you are eating combined with consistent workouts.

Once again I will emphasize these changes should happen slowly! Mostly I need to remind that to myself. I don't have to be eating like that by tomorrow. I'll just try to be more conscious and switch some of my carbs out for veggies. Yes, good plan.

I promise I will try to post some of my food recipes on here. But it may be in spurts similar to times like this where I decide to write 3 blog posts in one night.