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The best PCOS Meal Plan is one that will truly nourish your body, establish hormone balance back and fix your metabolism to attain a healthy weight.

If you have been diagnosed with PCOS, then you may have plenty of questions around the foods that you can eat or the ones that you should avoid.

You may be wondering whether you need to change your diet altogether, eat more proteins, carbs or take a look at the expensive supplements? Or perhaps, how you can lose weight with PCOS?

So, here it is for you!

The best diet for PCOS is one that helps you to treat your specific PCOS Symptoms and the one that fits in your lifestyle. An effective PCOS meal plan is the one that you can follow consistently to achieve your specific health goals.

And this is what we are going to discuss in this post.

You will get to know the wholesome natural foods that support hormone balance, ovulation and insulin sensitivity in your body. And how you can make PCOS diet plan a success for your PCOS treatment.

Also, you will find here a 7 days vegetarian PCOS meal plan to begin weight loss and recovery from PCOS.

This is your ultimate guide to reverse PCOS with your diet and foods. Let’s go!!

Why You Should Start Today with your PCOS Meal Plan!

Here’s an important thing that you need to know!

A modest amount of weight loss (5-10% of your existing body weight) can significantly improve PCOS symptoms and restore ovulation in women with PCOS.

It has been proven by many women, who have adopted diet and lifestyle changes to finally treat their PCOS Symptoms to lead a normal life. And it has been thoroughly researched in multiple studies on women with PCOS

Not only it is highly promising but also number one reason of why you need to start today with PCOS healing diet and lifestyle.

It is the only proven solution to treat PCOS symptoms that actually works. And best of all, there are no side effects (unlike Metformin, Clomiphene and many other hormone altering options). And that it is in your hands, meaning you are the incharge of your PCOS treatment.

What Causes Weight Gain in PCOS?

More than 70% the women with PCOS experience excessive weight gain or obesity. What’s causing it?

When we take a deeper look into the problem, we find that the sole reason for stubborn weight in PCOS is:

Metabolic Dysfunction as a result of Insulin Resistance

Now, let’s see what’s that!

Insulin is the primary hormone that guides our metabolism and blood sugar levels. It converts and stores excess sugar in the blood in the form of fat, so that it can be used as a fuel later on.

If insulin hormone is working fine, then when we eat insulin will be secreted in our body as appropriate for the composition of the diet.

But, when we indulge in faulty lifestyle and diet for too long, then we get prone to improper functioning of insulin, known as insulin resistance.

It disturbs our body’s metabolism and causes classical symptoms of PCOS as weight gain, constant fatigue and high cholesterol levels.

Here, you can find more information on insulin function and weight loss with PCOS.

Hormone Imbalance, Irregular Periods and PCOS Symptoms

Insulin also affects a woman’s reproductive system hormones as Estrogen and Progesterone. Thus, insulin resistance has a detrimental effect on a woman’s reproductive function, menstrual cycle and fertility.

Other hormones that are affected by insulin resistance are the Androgens, the so called “male hormones”, like Testosterone for example.

High Insulin levels in the body which result from Insulin resistance lead to high Androgens, which give classical PCOS symptoms of:

Anovulation (inability to produce eggs)
Irregular Periods
Infertility
Weight gain (obesity)
Cysts on the ovary;
Terrible acne on the face, chest, back, etc.
Hair loss and male pattern hair growth
Long terms complications like heart problems, Metabolic Dysfunction, and Type II Diabetes.

The higher the androgen levels are, the worse the symptoms of PCOS.

Why Your Diet is the Best Way to Reverse PCOS Symptoms?

When it comes to natural treatment options for PCOS, then your diet should be your first handle. This is because, PCOS is not a disease.

It is a cluster of symptoms, which arise due to metabolic and hormonal imbalance in the body.

And you know what?

To address anything related to metabolism and hormones, diet and lifestyle are the most helpful options, which also give long term success!

In the case of PCOS, we need to break the cycle of insulin resistance, which leads to poor metabolism, hormone imbalance, and hyperandrogenism (high Androgens).

Now, since the levels of Insulin highly depend on what we eat, we can regulate our diet to keep high Insulin levels in check.

When balanced insulin response is achieved, then your other hormones and androgens also start falling in place. Thus, the vicious cycle of PCOS is broken.

Now that you have understood the root cause of PCOS symptoms, let’s move on to our goal here – PCOS Meal Plan and Foods to balance hormones in PCOS.

PCOS Diet Chart and Guidelines

Stubborn PCOS Weight can be reduced by maintaining an energy deficit. This means, you take in lesser calories (without starving yourself) than you burn during the day.

If you eat fewer calories than you burn up, your body will not store fat. Therefore, it is advisable to keep a meal diet chart and count the calories for few initial days to get a sense of what you are currently consuming.

Eventually, it becomes a higher level of awareness about your diet and nutrition.

Do keep in mind, less calories do not mean that you should go on dieting. It simply means that you should eat mindfully with smaller proportions and avoid grazing all the time. This will naturally help to turn your body to a LEAN form.

Here is your diet chart on meal proportion and distribution:

% of Meal	Type of Food
35%	Fruits, vegetables, and fiber-rich foods.
25%	Complex Carbs as Whole grains, cereals, and starch-based food products
30%	Lean proteins such as lentils, beans, fermented soy products
10%	Healthy Fats

PCOS Diet Chart

We will start by looking into the macro nutrients that should form the major portion of your meals in a PCOS Meal Plan.

1. Complex Carbohydrates to support your Metabolism and Gut Health

The glycemic index (GI) is a measure of how rapidly blood sugar levels rise after taking a meal.

If you take food with high GI as simple carbohydrates present in white bread, sugar and heavily processed fast foods, then the blood sugar levels rise rapidly.

Consequently, there is a corresponding increase in the levels of insulin in the blood. High levels of insulin in the blood sets up a chain of reactions that aggravate the polycystic ovarian syndrome.

On the other hand, low GI foods such as complex carbohydrates slowly release glucose in the blood. This keeps your blood sugar levels balanced, thus avoiding insulin spikes and dips along with.

Thus, complex carbs help to improve insulin sensitivity, your metabolism and consequently weight loss. They will keep you full, provide B Vitamins and essential minerals.

There’s also a bonus! With complex carbohydrates, you’ll have some moderate amount of sugar in your body system for longer. This helps to reduce sugar cravings.

The Complex Carbs to fit into your PCOS meal plan

Whole grains such as Bulgur, Rye, Quinoa, Brown Rice, Whole Oats, and Millets
Legumes such as Beans and Lentils for proteins
Vegetables with variety of colors to give you fibre, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants
Fruits
Nuts
Seeds

Simple Carbohydrates that you should avoid in PCOS Diet Plan

Avoid carbohydrate foods with a low glycemic index. They can cause your blood sugar levels to spike in a very short time. Also, avoid simple carbohydrates. These carbs to avoid include:

Potatoes
Sugar in all forms
French-fries
Polished and processed white Rice
Pasta
Bread
Candy and other sweets
Soda

2. Fruits and Vegetables should form major portion of PCOS Meal Plan

Plant based foods are rich in antioxidants that have anti-inflammatory properties. They help to mitigate symptoms like fatigue, which present in cases of PCOS. Here are some ways in which fruits and vegetables support weight loss and recovery from PCOS.

Fruits and vegetables usually contain a lot of fibre, which is not digested quickly. As a result, they remain in the stomach for much longer. This helps to keep you satiated and reduces your food cravings.
They contain high amounts of nutrients as vitamins, minerals and antioxidants without loading you up with calories. So, you get more nutrition and satiation from less food. This tames food cravings and reduces insulin levels.
Fruits and veggies that are not so sweet and non starchy are low GI. Thus, they help to promote insulin sensitivity in your body and reduce insulin resistance.
Essentially, high-fibre foods help to reduce the risk of being overweight or obese, or to manage it if you already are.

Foods that promote Ovulation and help balance the Hormones

Broccoli, Cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, Cabbage
Leafy greens, including red leaf lettuce and arugula
Green and red peppers, Carrots, Mushrooms, Beets
Beans and lentils
Plums, apples, grapefruit, oranges, Pears, peaches
Almonds
Sweet potatoes
Winter squash, Pumpkin, Gourds
Drumstick leaves, Curry Leaves

These vegetables are also high in fibre, Vitamins, and Minerals that women with PCOS lack in their diet.

Fruits and vegetables to avoid

These would be fruits that are excessively sweet and starchy vegetables. Watch out for those and limit your intake of them. Some examples are:

Processed fruits in the form of canned, cut and juiced fruits with additives
Excessive consumption of very sweet fruits as banana, mango, coconut, durian and jackfruit
Excess of tubers and starchy vegetables as potato, sweet potato, butternut squash

3. Healthy Fats are vital to Balance your Hormones, Mood, and Weight

But I’m trying to lose weight, why should I take more fats?

Well, first you should understand that fats are not as bad as many people take them to be. What you just have to ensure is that you take the right kind of fats.

Embrace healthy fats. Omega-3 fatty acids, for example, are a good kind of fats.

Omega 3 – Healthy fats that Balance your Hormones and Promote Ovulation

Salmon
Tuna
Sardines
Mackerel
Nuts
Seeds
Avocados
Pure oils such as Extra virgin Olive Oil, Ghee, Coconut Oil, Sesame Oil, and Mustard Oil

Avoid saturated trans fats. These are detrimental to someone on a PCOS meal plan to lose weight. Here are some examples:

Overly processed meat
Red meat
Donuts
Frozen pizzas
French fries
Fast foods like hamburgers, etc.
Margarine
Refined Oils

4. Proteins in PCOS Meal Plan

Proteins in your diet promote satiety levels. You feel less hungry and less often. This supports weight loss, reduces food cravings, prevents binge eating, and of course the after guilt factor!

Proteins not only help to build body tissues, they are also the building blocks for several hormones and your bones. Hence, having sufficient proteins in your diet is important to increase the strength and elevate your energy levels.

Where can you find proteins? You can readily find them in dairy, fish, meat, and eggs. Again, you want to avoid the overly processed ones.

Protein foods to eat

Lean proteins sources are recommended.

Beans
Lentils
Whole Grains as Quinoa, Brown Rice, Amaranth and Millets
Vegetables as cauliflower, broccoli, green beans and green peas
Sprouts
Eggs
Turkey
Chicken
Dairy
Tofu
Fish
Nuts and Seeds

5. Support your Gut-Health and Mood with Probiotic Foods

You have been taught that micro-organisms cause diseases. That’s true, but not all of them!

There are some microbes in the body system that are essential to keeping us healthy. The mouth has its flora, the gut also has its flora, as well as other places in the body. These communities of microbes carry out activities that help the body of the human in which they are hosted.

However, poor dietary choices can hamper their functioning.

If they are disturbed or destroyed, they can no longer support us as they are supposed to.

Truly, science proves that women with PCOS have less diversity in the community of micro-organisms that are living in their gut.

Have we talked enough about sugar yet? Here’s one more. Sugar messes with this balance of microorganisms in the gut.

If you are to help these tiny little creatures to help you, then you have to eat what suits them.

Help those microorganisms with fermented foods that suit a PCOS diet plan

Coconut yogurt
Pickles
Kombucha
Sauerkraut
Kimchi
Miso
Tempeh

These all help the natural community of microbes in the gut to thrive.

Some other foods would be Prebiotics that act as the food for your gut flora.

6. PCOS Diet starts with Awareness | Mind what you put inside your mouth

Of course, isn’t that what we’ve been saying all along? Ever heard the statement, “you are what you eat?”

Well, the tip is this: when you purchase food items, read the labels where available. Take note of what is in it and the percentage/weight present. This helps you keep track of how much of what you are about to take.

Stimulants? Alcohols? You shouldn’t be thinking too much about that. Caffeine shouldn’t be anywhere near the top of your list. That’s if it’s even there at all.

Sugar, sugar, sugar. Sugar everywhere. Be wary of sugar. Avoid it.

7. Stay regular with your Meals – Do not Linger to Binge Later On!

Eat timely meals. In fact fix your meal times and stick to it as you would for any other important task. This helps your body system a lot!

Eating at set times gives your body a clock to work with – your hunger levels will be balanced and your satiation level will improve.

Don’t go for too many hours without eating! This helps to reduce the urge to snack or to indulge in binge eating. This also helps to keep blood sugar levels stable.

This is specially true for the window in between your lunch and dinner. If you know that you are running a little late at work on any specific day, then grab a healthy snack such as a fruit or some nuts.

This will help you to carry on till you reach home and provide with enough energy to be able to prepare a meal rather than binging on whatever comes in your way!

8. Design a PCOS Meal Plan that works best for you and stick to it

The nature of your work doesn’t allow much time to keep track of what you eat? Well, remember this is for the best. Health comes first. But that said, work out a way to ensure you still eat healthily.

Contact a specialist dietitian for a PCOS diet chart if you have to.

You might have financial restrictions, that’s all right. You can still eat healthy without going way over budget. Work with recipes available for you. Buy straight from local farms. That’s even best because that’s the surest way to get natural unprocessed food.

Note which nutrients give you adverse reactions, and which ones relieve your PCOS symptoms.

In the end, each person is unique.

9. Community and support

Like breaking an addiction, stopping old habits to be faithful to your PCOS meal plan can be difficult.

It can be made easier when you have people who are sharing the same struggles to relate with.

Find PCOS diet support groups in your local area. Together, you can work towards overcoming this Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.

10. Back up the Oomph of PCOS Meal Plan with Exercise!

Eating the right foods and diet without any form of exercise will only take you that far! Physical activity is another handle that you should include in your daily routine. It will further promote weight loss, tone up, and strengthen your body.

It has been proven time and again that changing lifestyle habits can go a long way in managing PCOS.

No! You don’t have to become an Olympic weight lifter.

Rather, you just need to exercise regularly and be consistent with it. Even a modest exercise such as thirty minutes of morning walk daily can do wonders.

Here’s an exercise plan and details on best exercises for weight loss in PCOS.

11. Ayurvedic Diet Tips to treat PCOS

In Ayurveda, PCOS is considered a case of Kapha Dosha Imbalance. An increased Kapha Dosha leads to various symptoms and complications of PCOS such as excessive weight, vaginal discharge, mucus, lethargy, and depression.

Therefore, to manage PCOS, the efforts are concentrated on dietary and lifestyle tips to pacify the Kapha dosha. Some tips are as follows:

Drink a glass of warm water on an empty stomach in the morning, mixed with lemon juice or honey.
Breakfast should be light, with generous amounts of vegetables and fresh fruits. Take breakfast before 8am.
The heaviest meal of the day should be lunch, and even that should not be too heavy. Take this before 2pm. Don’t eat lunch late. The agni (digestive fire) peaks out at midday and begins to drop. Consequently, the lunch will not be digested well if taken late. This leads to a build up of ama, and it will further complicate issues.
Dinner should be the lightest. Your dinner should be freshly cooked and taken before 7 pm.

12. Foods to Remove in your PCOS Meal Plan

Having considered what to eat to mitigate PCOS, let us now consider what to not eat in case of PCOS. Again, the diet is focused on keeping insulin levels low, and weight management.

Reduce your consumption of processed carbohydrates like pastries, white bread, etc.
Take less carbohydrates. Generally, women who take less carbohydrates have a better chance at ovulation.
Avoid consuming too much of red meat as in steaks, pork, hamburger, etc.
Do not take food containing too much sugar. Check the label for labels like high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, dextrose. These are sugars, and you should be wary of them.
Pasta noodles that have semolina or durum are high in sugar, and should be avoided.
Avoid solid fats. They are add to break down. Solid fats can be found in margarine, lard, etc. On a whole, mind the fat you take. With fats, the two Q’s are important, I.e. quality and quantity both.

These lists are far from exhaustive, but it should give you a good idea of what to embrace and what to shun.

7 Days PCOS Meal Plan (Vegetarian)

Having learned the best and worst foods for PCOS, you might wonder how to do it. How do you combine these food items? How do you ensure you’re getting enough nutrients without getting on the wrong tracks?

Here is a sample 7 days PCOS Meal plan for you:

Day	Meal Option
1	Breakfast: Beetroot Stir-fry + millets porridge + 1 cup herbal tea Morning Snack: Butter milk + 5 Blanched Almonds Lunch: 1 Bowl brown rice + Cowpeas soup + Cucumber Salad + Green Tea Evening Snack: Fresh Fruit + Handful of sunflower seeds Dinner: Thai Green Curry + 1 Bowl brown rice
2	Breakfast: Apple Cinnamon Oats Porridge + 1 cup herbal tea Morning Snack: Butter milk + 5 Blanched Almonds Lunch: 1 Bowl brown rice + sprouted Mung Dal + green salad + Green Tea Evening Snack: Fresh Fruit + Handful of sunflower seeds Dinner: 1 Bowl millets porridge + Mixed vegetables stir-fry + Herbal Tea
3	Breakfast: Cauliflower Stir-fry + millets porridge + 1 cup herbal tea Morning Snack: 5 Blanched Almonds + 10 Soaked Raisins Lunch: 1 Bowl brown rice + Spinach Daal + ½ bowl curd Evening Snack: Fresh Fruit + Handful of sunflower seeds Dinner: Vegetable Khichadi or Porridge + Herbal Tea
4	Breakfast: Okra stir-fry + 1 Bowl millets porridge + 1 cup herbal tea Morning Snack: 5 Blanched Almonds + 10 Soaked Raisins Lunch: 1 Bowl brown rice + Basil Tofu Scramble + green salad + 1 cup green tea Evening Snack: Fresh Fruit + Handful of sunflower seeds Dinner: 1 Bowl barley porridge + Mixed Vegetables + Herbal Tea
5	Breakfast: Apple Cinnamon Oats Porridge + 1 cup herbal tea Morning Snack: Roasted Black Gram + Lemon Ginger Tea Lunch: 1 Bowl brown rice + Sprouted Beans curry + cucumber salad + 1 cup green tea Evening Snack: Fresh Fruit + Handful of pumpkin seeds Dinner: 1 Bowl millets Porridge + Green beans stir-fry + Herbal Tea
6	Breakfast: Mung Dal Dosa (Pancake) with Mint Chutney + 1 cup herbal tea Morning Snack: Roasted Black Gram + Lemon Ginger Tea Lunch: Bowl brown rice + Spinach Daal + ½ bowl curd Evening Snack: Fresh Fruit + Handful of pumpkin seeds Dinner: 1 Bowl brown rice with Veg Miso Soup
7	Breakfast: Apple Cinnamon Oats Porridge + 1 cup herbal tea Morning Snack: Roasted Black Gram + Lemon Ginger Tea Lunch: Vegetable Quinoa + green salad (stir-fry) + 1 cup green tea Evening Snack: Fresh Fruit + Handful of sunflower seeds Dinner: Vegetable Khichadi or Porridge + Herbal Tea

7 Days PCOS Vegetarian Meal Plan for Weight Loss

PCOS Diet Recipes

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Vegetarian Thai Green Curry with home made curry paste

This thai green curry is simple, delicious, highly nutritious, and utterly satisfying. Kids and adults, all seem to like this recipe without any fuss. It is packed with antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Thai

Diet: Diabetic, Gluten Free, Hindu, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword: thai green curry

Servings: people

Author: Nidhi Bansal

Cost: $10

Equipment

Heavy Bottom Pan
Food Processor or Grinder

Ingredients

For the curry paste

50 g Thai Sweet Basil Or 1 cup Fresh Basil Leaves
20 g Kafir Lime Leaves About 15 leaves
2½ inch Fresh Galangal Root You can replace with ginger if galangal is not available.
2 Shallots
2 stalks Lemon Grass
50 g Fresh Coriander Leaves optional
3 Garlic Cloves
1 Red Chili optional or black pepper sprinkled on the top per picture
1 inch Fresh turmeric root optional
2 Small lime

For the curry

200 ml Fresh Coconut Cream or Milk Coconut cream gives thicker curry and milk gives thin curry. So you can increase milk quantity to 300 ml.
2 tsp Rock Salt to taste
1 tbsp Jaggery or Brown Sugar optional
1 Medium Carrot
200 g Firm Tofu or Silken Tofu
200 g Hairy Gourd or White Gourd
100 g Eggplant
1 Medium Tomato
5 Long Beans
1 tbsp Pure Cooking Oil Olive oil, mustard oil, ghee, or coconut oil

Instructions

Making the curry paste

Cut the lime and seperate out the seeds. We will add the peel of the lime to the paste as well, so no need to squeeze it out.
Corasely cut the lemon grass, shallots, ginger, and turmeric.
Wash the basil leaves stalks and seperate the leaves from the stem. Discard the stems as they are sturdy.
Wash the coriander leaves. You can use the stems for coriander as it is pretty soft and crunchy.
Coarsely chop the leaves.
Add all the ingredients to a grinder with 2 tbsp water.
Run the grinder till you get a smooth paste.

Preparing the veggies and tofu

Wash all the vegetables well.
Cut the carrots into small pieces. Cut the beans into about 1 inch long pieces.
Wash the firm tofu, squeeze out excess water and cut it into small pieces. If using silken tofu then no need to squeeze out water.
Peel the white gourd and cut it into small pieces, about 1 inch cube.
Cut eggplant and tomato into small pieces for the curry, about 1 inch cube.

Making the curry

Heat oil in a pan. Add the cut veggies and salt. Do not add tofu yet.
Cover and let them cook on low heat for about 5-7 mins.
Now add the curry paste, tofu, salt, and coconut milk. Mix well, cover, and let it cook on low heat for another 5-7 mins.
Keep stirring and checking in the middle that the mix is not boiling out of the pan.
Close the heat when veggies turn soft. Add the jaggery powder. Mix well.
Sprinkle black pepper on the top if you didn't add chili to the curry paste.
Serve hot with steamed rice. Enjoy!

Notes

You can also set aside half of the basil leaves and kafir lime leaves rather than adding all of them to the curry paste. Finely chop these leaves and add them to the curry for more flavour. If you follow this step, then add the chopped leaves in the second round with tofu and coconut milk.

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Stir-fried Okra – Bhindi Fry with Chapati – Indian Flatbread

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Indian

Diet: Diabetic, Hindu, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword: okra

Servings: people

Author: Nidhi Bansal

Cost: $10