Meal ideas for staying healthy with PCOS while trying to conceive

POLYCYSTIC ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a condition that affects a woman’s hormone levels, causing her to not ovulate, have high levels of the male hormone androgen, and have many small cysts on her ovaries. PCOS can cause missed or irregular periods, excess hair growth, acne, infertility, and weight gain.

Staying healthy with PCOS is key for women who are trying to conceive, says nutritionist Keisha Black. The condition can cause excessive weight gain with the development of insulin resistance resulting in diabetes mellitus in some women. Women with PCOS may take longer to get pregnant, because their irregular periods mean they don’t ovulate every month. Being overweight also reduces fertility.

“A key part of living with PCOS is that you should lose weight, and get to the ideal weight for your height,” Black said. “To do this you have to reduce your calorie intake and reduce your intake of refined sugar and fatty foods. Being healthy will improve your chances of pregnancy, and birthing a healthy baby.”

She added: “You have to also replace some foods with others; example, eliminate white carbs and sugars, and increase the protein, as this will both fill you up and stabilise your blood sugar levels.”

She said this may be difficult with the typical Jamaican diet, and as such, you may need a meal plan going forward.

Here is a plan for breakfast, lunch and dinner:

Breakfast

“Foods containing whole wheat, eggs, citrus and the like are good for boosting immunity, increasing folate levels, and keeping your insulin levels steady,” Black said.

So have any of these:

•Whole wheat cereal with almond or oat milk

•Fruit salad with oranges, grapefruit

•Boiled egg with wheat toast

•Whole wheat toast with avocado pear

•Green smoothie

•Oatmeal

•Yoghurt parfait

Lunch

•Sweet potatoes and baked chicken

•Tuna salad

•Lentil stew

•Fruit smoothie

•Fish with vegetables

•Veggie stew peas

•Generous portion of vegetables.

Dinner

This can be similar to lunch. Other options are:

•Salmon with vegetables

•Chicken wrap using whole wheat or spinach tortilla

•Curried chickpeas and rice

•Chicken with baked sweet potato.

“Along with a diet plan, weight loss can be achieved by becoming involved in a regular exercise routine,” Black said. “Both of these will help you get to your ideal weight for height, reduce your risk of diabetes mellitus, and improve your fertility.”