40 Top PCOS Questions Answered with Personal Insights and Professional Wisdom

This episode features a fusion of personal insight and professional wisdom as I dive headfirst into 40 rapid-fire questions about PCOS, blending the curiosity of my Instagram community with the unpredictable inquiries from AI. We'll unearth the complexities of PCOS symptoms, their varied impacts on fertility, and the deeply personal journey through IVF, all while equipping you with practical strategies for managing this multifaceted condition through diet, lifestyle, and emotional support.

Join me as we unpack the critical emotional aspects of PCOS management. It's not just about what you eat or how often you exercise; it's about the holistic journey through mental health challenges, the consideration of potential dietary triggers like gluten and dairy, and the mindful navigation of life's pleasures without compromising on PCOS-friendly choices. This conversation will also cast a light on the increased risks of diabetes and heart disease with PCOS and arm you with the tools needed to bolster both mental and hormonal health. From key supplements to the underrated power of consistent physical activity, find out how to create a balanced approach to living well with PCOS.

As we wrap up our discussion, I'll share heart-to-heart the personal victories and hurdles on the road to managing PCOS, emphasizing the value of self-compassion and a tailored diet. We'll explore long-term medication management, the pros and cons of intermittent fasting, and the delicate balance of protein—all through the lens of a PCOS journey.   

Mentioned in the episode: 

Mediterranean PCOS https://amberfischernutrition.com/the-mediterranean-diet-how-to-do-it-how-to-modify-it-things-to-be-careful-of-and-more-episode-59/

Shop PCOS favorites- RX bars, NAC, inositol, etc in my Wayward shop here: https://wayward.com/functionalpcos

Supplement info:  www.amberfischernutrition.com/supplements

Ideal day blog: https://amberfischernutrition.com/how-to-plan-your-pcos-diet-like-a-nutritionist/

Breakfast blog: https://amberfischernutrition.com/why-breakfast-matters-especially-for-pcos/

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:37

Good morning guys. Today's episode was actually originally recorded to be a YouTube video, but I thought it would make a really good podcast because it's just so much fun and I had a great time recording it and there's some really valuable information in here, so I decided to release it as a podcast as well. Now you will hear me say thanks for watching the video and blah, blah, blah, but I just wanted to let you guys know that there is a video version of this if you want to watch it. Okay, have fun. Hey guys, welcome back to Functional PCOS.

Speaker 1: 1:09

Today we're going to be doing something really fun. I'm going to be rapid fire answering 40 questions about PCOS. So this is going to be a mix of questions that were pulled from my Instagram audience, so hopefully you see your question if you asked one, and I also asked AI to generate some questions for us so that it would be kind of off the cuff and I wouldn't exactly know what was coming. Now, full disclosure. I did go through. I asked a hundred questions and then I asked it to be narrowed down and I threw away some of them that are a little bit. Just wouldn't be interesting for me to answer, but I think the list that's left looks pretty good. I haven't actually read through all of these questions, so there might be some that throw me off a little bit, but I kind of scanned them and they look good. So, anyway, I want it to be as off the cuff as possible, so I'm going to put a timer on my phone and give myself 30 seconds to answer each, which will be a challenge if you guys know how I like to answer things, and we'll just go through them and yeah, let's get to it All right.

Speaker 1: 2:11

First question what is PCOS and how does it affect women's health? So PCOS is a gynecological condition. It affects your ovaries, but it also is a lifelong condition. So even after you go through menopause, it affects you because it is a metabolic condition first and foremost. So that means that the deeper processes in our body are out of line. A lot of them have to do with our insulin and blood sugar and inflammation levels and adrenals, and those things then throw off our hormones and that's where we get the cystic ovaries, the irregular periods, et cetera. 28 seconds, okay, stop, I did it perfectly at 30 seconds. Okay, this is going to be hard, wow.

Speaker 1: 2:52

Second question what are the most common symptoms of PCOS and how do they vary amongst individuals? That's a really good question. So the most common symptoms of PCOS are going to be irregular periods, high androgen levels so this is going to be things like facial hair, hair loss, like symptoms related to that, and then you're also going to see weight gain or difficulty losing weight in a large population of us, irregular blood sugar. But some of these other things like chronic inflammation or adrenal dysfunction or blood sugar stuff can vary amongst individuals and the weight thing can vary amongst individuals, and the weight thing can vary amongst individuals as well. Okay, I didn't answer that one as well as I wanted to, but the 30 seconds is up, so let's move on.

Speaker 1: 3:30

Third question Can PCOS affect fertility and, if so, what are the recommended treatment options? Yes, pcos can affect fertility, primarily because it alters how often we ovulate. So usually with PCOS, the irregular periods are because we're not ovulating regularly, which means that your chances of conception are much lower because you just don't have as many months to actually conceive. Now there's also an egg quality issue. That sometimes happens with PCOS because of the high levels of inflammation. So the biggest things are anti-inflammatory diet and regulating your blood sugar. That will help you with ovulating, which will help you get pregnant faster.

Speaker 1: 4:04

Fourth question how is PCOS diagnosed and what tests are typically involved? So most doctors are going to be using something called the Rotterdam criteria. You have to meet two of the three. The criteria are irregular periods, signs of hyperandrogenism, like facial hair, and polycystic ovaries on ultrasound. So typically they will run blood work to check your androgen levels, they will do a transvaginal ultrasound to check and see if there's cysts on the ovaries and then they'll ask for a health history so that they can tell if you have irregular periods usually and things like that.

Speaker 1: 4:31

Number five are there specific lifestyle changes that help manage PCOS symptoms? Yes, there are. There's food and diet-based changes. So following a more anti-inflammatory, higher protein diet seems to work really well. It's something that's kind of similar to the Mediterranean diet. I tend to modify it a bit and I have some content on that and then also stress reduction techniques. So mindfulness, yoga and exercise. So those three things are the biggest things for PCOS management.

Speaker 1: 4:59

Number six how has your personal journey with pcos influenced your approach to nutrition counseling for others with the condition? So it's influenced it a lot, because I'm coming from a place of having lived with pcos and actually having had some of the most severe complications of pcos, I'm like endometrial cancer survivor, so I know how difficult it is to manage pcos. I know how um, how it can affect your mood, how it can affect your mood, how it can affect your energy, and so my nutrition recommendations always come from a place of empathy and respect for how it actually is living with this condition. I don't expect you to do things that I don't think I could do myself.

Speaker 1: 5:35

Number seven do you find that certain lifestyle changes are more effective than others in managing your own PCOS symptoms? Yes, eating more protein is more important and more effective for me than eating fewer carbs for my blood sugar balance. And working on stress reduction particularly going to therapy and working on unresolved traumas and things like that has actually probably been more effective for me than a lot of things nutrition-wise. Pelvic floor therapy as well, because my central nervous system was so out of whack. I have a lot of adrenal stuff with my PCOS, so working on that has actually helped more than a lot of these little minute changes with diet. I took a little longer with that one, but I'll let it slide.

Speaker 1: 6:20

Number eight what are some quick and easy meal or snack ideas that you personally rely on to keep your PCOS symptoms in check. Lately I've been eating a lot of Chomps sticks with some fruit as a snack, and I really like the Be Well by Kelly protein powder. I'll link that. That's the one that I think tastes the best and I think it has the best texture and it helps me get protein in the one that I think tastes the best and I think it has the best texture and it helps me get protein in the morning when I'm just not interested in eating much. And I'm a big fan of RX bars. I think they're great, good source of protein, some good antioxidants with the fruit in there and that's good fiber.

Speaker 1: 6:56

So, number nine can you share any insights into how stress management techniques have helped you personally manage your PCOS? Well, we already kind of covered this, but I think working on pelvic floor therapy, maybe I'll go into that this time. The pelvic floor is actually really highly connected to our nervous system and so I had a lot of issues in my pelvic floor from medical trauma over the years, from having to have a lot of DNCs and just you know, with PCOS we get kind of we have to go to the doctor a lot and be examined, so actually going to pelvic floor therapy and learning how to relax my nervous system in that way has made me calmer all of the time, which then has actually helped my hormones a lot, so I highly recommend it. As an aside, I do have content going more in depth about a lot of these different topics, so if there's anything that I know like I already did a podcast on it or I already have a video on it I'll try to link it below in the show notes. So look down there if you're interested.

Speaker 1: 7:52

Number 10, have you experienced any challenges in finding the right balance between dietary restrictions and enjoying food while managing your PCOS? Wow, that's a loaded question. Yes, absolutely. One of the things that consistently kind of gets me down is realizing that I do actually have to put effort into my food for the rest of my life. That's something that I think we all have to go through a grieving process on, and the reason for it is because the world that we live in is just really not set up for our personal health as women with PCOS. So there is a lot more effort that has to go into it, and sometimes you just kind of want to throw in the towel. So I have my ups and downs as well and, yeah, it's definitely hard to find the balance between those things, and I do try to strike a balance, though, and not restrict anything.

Speaker 1: 8:42

Okay, number 11, should individuals with PCOS consider going gluten and dairy-free, based on your personal experience and professional expertise? Well, based on my personal experience and professional expertise, the answer to that question is maybe. So I don't think as a blanket statement that it's effective and helpful for PCOS. However, a lot of women with PCOS are dealing with chronic inflammation, and a lot of chronic inflammation is connected to food sensitivities and gut health issues, and if you have food sensitivities, the most common foods to be sensitive to are things like dairy, gluten, eggs, soy, the common allergens. So if you know you've got digestive stuff going on or you've autoimmune conditions going on along with your PCOS, yeah, you might benefit from going gluten and dairy free, or at least trying it for a while. Let's see where am I? Um?

Speaker 1: 9:32

Number 12, how do you navigate social situations or dining out while adhering to your PCOS friendly diet? This is really where balance comes in. So, um, if it's a special occasion or I haven't gone out in a while I'm kind of eating what I want, like I'm not really worried about um avoiding certain things. Every time I go to restaurants I like to enjoy myself. I love the Cheesecake Factory. However, I am careful and cautious about portioning, just because I know that if I eat too much of certain things like especially if I eat too much pasta or eat too much bread I don't feel good and I feel really tired and I can't enjoy myself. So I tend to avoid alcohol for that reason. And then if I'm getting pasta, I'm just careful about how much I'm eating. I'm not necessarily eating the child-sized portion, but I'm also careful about how much I eat.

Speaker 1: 10:20

Number 13, can PCOS increase the risk of developing other health conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease? Yes, it can, particularly. Later in life we tend to struggle more with these things in the population at large, and that's largely due to the underlying metabolic stuff going on with PCOS, which is why you have to recognize that PCOS is not just about your hormones and it's not something that goes away once you go through menopause or have a hysterectomy. Trust me, I'm living proof of that. Number 14, what are the potential effects of PCOS on mental health and how can they be addressed? What are the potential effects of PCOS on mental health and how can they be addressed? Those with PCOS do tend to more often have depression, anxiety, even bipolar and ADHD are more common, and so, yeah, it definitely affects us. I talked recently about how I've dealt with depression for quite a while now and it has been a struggle, and the things that address mental health concerns in PCOS tend to be the things that also help our hormones, which is like lifestyle changes eating a healthy, nutritious diet, making sure that we're getting enough exercise that's been huge for me and stress reduction techniques. I know it's boring, but that's the truth.

Speaker 1: 11:26

Number 15, are there any natural supplements or alternative therapies that may help to manage PCOS symptoms? Yes, there are. My favorite supplement for PCOS is N-acetylcysteine, which is a precursor to a really powerful antioxidant, and it's the best way for us to actually absorb it if we're taking it as a supplement. So I love NAC. I'll link my favorite NAC below. There are a lot of others and I will link to a blog article I did on that so that you can look into that more. But yeah, there are a lot of supplements that help because they help bring up certain nutrients that we tend to be deficient in.

Speaker 1: 12:02

Okay, number 16, how does PCOS impact menstrual cycles and what treatments are available for irregular periods? I mean, this is the difference between if we're talking conventional treatments or like functional nutrition treatments, which is what I do, but the conventional thing would be to put somebody on birth control, which really just masks the underlying problem. So, to get periods regular with PCOS, it all goes back in nutrition, to working on those fundamentals, to making sure that the blood sugar is balanced, that the inflammation is reduced and that the adrenals and stress responses are balanced out. Those things are what impact the hormone levels, and so once the hormone levels are more regular, you will start to have more regular periods.

Speaker 1: 12:46

Number 17, are there any specific exercises or physical activities recommended for women with PCOS? Yes, any exercise, anything that you can make yourself do. I'm about to do a podcast on this, but people tend to kind of get really lost in the weeds with exercise and they're like, oh, what's best? What should I do? What should I not do? By and large, those of us with PCOS struggle with two things either over-exercising if we've got adrenal stuff going on and you know if you're an over-exerciser or under-exercising we just don't move enough. Most of us are dealing with that. So if you can just get out and do something with consistency, it really doesn't matter what it is, it's going to be helpful. Once we get into this adrenal territory, there are some rules that I follow, but we won't get into that right now.

Speaker 1: 13:34

Number 18, is there a connection between PCOS and weight gain and, if so, what strategies can help with weight management? There's absolutely a connection. Typically it's the insulin resistance, since high insulin levels kind of make our body prefer to store fat. But it can also be high cortisol levels that cause a lot of belly fat. It can be inflammation causing weight loss resistance. Usually it's a combination of all three. What helps is working on those things. So blood sugar balance is like step number one if you're having issues with weight gain, because if we can get your insulin levels lower, then your body will probably respond better to all the hard work that you're doing with like managing calories and all that stuff.

Speaker 1: 14:13

Number 19, can PCOS cause hair loss or unwanted hair growth, and what treatment options are available? Yes, it can, and it's usually because of high levels of something called dihydrotestosterone or DHT. That is the hormone that triggers hair growth on the face and body and can also be part of the trigger for hair loss, although that gets a little bit more complicated. Treatment options that are available there are some foods and things that can help to lower DHT 5-alpha reductase inhibiting foods and a lot of people will undergo laser and things like that but there's not really a lot of great solutions for PCOS facial hair. So I'm going to go over my time here to tell you that I did put out a course on this last year, so it's called Facial Hair Freedom and I'm kind of like known in a couple of different social media platforms as like the facial hair girl. So I thought, well, why not capitalize on that and actually make a course and put all the knowledge together in one place? So I did that and it's available if you're interested in learning more. But it's like a deep dive on PCOS facial hair and the solutions and strategies, supplements, foods and ways of eating and things like that that can help to reduce the facial hair growth and to help you understand where it goes, I'll link that below Number 20,.

Speaker 1: 15:23

Can PCOS lead to complications during fertility treatments such as IVF? It can, although those with PCOS do tend to have better results with IVF than other reasons why people might seek out IVF. So you have a good chance of having a successful pregnancy. I actually had my son through IVF. However, with PCOS we're looking at, sometimes we will over-respond to the medications and create too many eggs, which can be painful or a little bit dangerous. Doctors tend to monitor that, of course. And then also with IVF we're looking at slightly lower egg quality and so we need to kind of support that Number 21,.

Speaker 1: 16:04

Can PCOS be effectively managed without medication, through lifestyle changes alone? I'm going to say yes most of the time. So I think about 80% of the time, like those with PCOS can get their periods regulated. They can get pregnant naturally if they want to, as long as they kind of know what to do and they have the right support and they're consistent. And those are three big things, but it is possible and I see it all the time, so I know that that's true. Now there is a subset of folks with PCOS myself being one of them who have more severe expressions of PCOS or who maybe have a lot of metabolic damage, sort of built up from years and years of not being able to take care of themselves. In those cases it's a little harder to kind of do everything without any support or help from conventional treatment. So there may need to be IUDs or birth control or cyclical progesterone or fertility treatments or things like that involved, and there's no shame in that, there's nothing wrong with that. You can still have a healthy expression of your genetics and your hormones in that way. You just may need a little bit more support.

Speaker 1: 17:08

Number 22, can PCOS cause hair loss or hair thinning? Yes, it can. Usually it comes from too much dihydrotestosterone, like we talked about earlier, and it's something called androgenic hair loss. But there are other factors that can play a role in hair loss and PCOS, and some of them include nutrient deficiencies and high levels of inflammation, and there's also autoimmune-based stuff and then thyroid things. So a lot of those things will overlap with PCOS sometimes, and that can be part of what's going on with hair loss.

Speaker 1: 17:41

Number 23, can PCOS lead to uterine fibroids? Yes, so those with PCOS do tend to struggle more with something that I kind of colloquially call estrogen dominance, because we make our estrogens from our androgens. When we have high androgens, some of us like to kind of convert to estrogens a lot too rapidly, and so we end up having too much estrogen too and that can lead to some of those symptoms like clotting or really heavy periods, really painful periods, breast tenderness, but also eventually to things like fibroids, polyps and then, on the very far end of the spectrum, endometrial cancer. We have a higher risk of that as well. Number 24, can PCOS affect your thyroid function? It absolutely can. There's a lot of overlaps there and I actually just interviewed somebody who wrote a book on that, and so if that podcast is live by the time this goes up, I will link to it. Otherwise, go look at my podcast page and you will find that she's more of an expert on that than me. But yes, there's an overlap there. They tend to go hand in hand in a lot of people. So definitely look into your thyroid if you're struggling with PCOS.

Speaker 1: 18:44

Number 25, can PCOS affect insulin production? Yes, so it's kind of a chicken or an egg situation with that, but usually what's going on is that there's a genetic predisposition towards insulin resistance and high levels of insulin over time affect the hormones, thus kind of triggering this sort of PCOS cascade. So high levels of insulin. It's usually not the PCOS that's causing the high levels of insulin, it's the high levels of insulin kind of causing the PCOS symptoms. But it gets a little murky when we get into like genetics and how PCOS actually comes about in the first place. But for your symptoms sake, it's the insulin causing the PCOS symptoms. Number 26, can PCOS affect joint pain? Yes, those with PCOS are more at risk for autoimmune conditions, and one of those autoimmune conditions is rheumatoid arthritis. But other types of chronic pain fibromyalgia, joint pain, stiffness those are more common in PCOS as well, even if they're not connected necessarily to an actual diagnosis. This is usually due to the influence of chronic inflammation and so if you deal with that a lot, you may want to look at your gut health, you may want to look at potential food sensitivities and just reducing overall inflammation in your diet.

Speaker 1: 19:53

Number 27, what role does community or peer support play in managing your PCOS and staying motivated on your health journey? You know, honestly, being a PCOS nutritionist is a really helpful tool for me, because I feel like beholden to all of you who watch me and you guys care about what I'm doing, and so sometimes it feels like a lot of pressure. But it's also really good for accountability and I like to be a vessel for helping people learn more about themselves and guide them through that process. So I consider that peer support. But I also have friends who have PCOS and we talk about how it's a struggle. I talk with my clients about how it's a struggle. So we're all struggling through it together and it does help to have other people to go through it with Number 28,.

Speaker 1: 20:38

What challenges and triumphs have you experienced in managing your PCOS symptoms and your overall wellbeing? Wow, that could be a whole episode in and of itself. There's a lot of challenges. Obviously, I'm a cancer survivor. I've I had to go through IVF to conceive. Like there were survivor. I had to go through IVF to conceive. There was a lot of pain. That happened in my 20s and early 30s over PCOS. So there's definitely some stuff with that. But then there's also been a lot of triumphs, especially in the last several years, just overcoming nervous system dysfunctions and trauma and learning how to be more intuitive with what I eat and how to put less pressure on myself and having more compassion for myself and for others. So there's a lot of things. I don't think I can go into that in 30 seconds, but, yes, a lot of things.

Speaker 1: 21:22

Number 29, can you share any personal anecdotes or success stories from your own PCOS management journey that might resonate with others facing a similar challenge. The first thing that pops into my head honestly is my journey with PCOS facial hair. I struggled with it a lot growing up. It was really really debilitating for me. Obviously, as you can tell, I'm very pale and I have very dark hair, so it was like super obvious and, yeah, it was a big struggle. But over the years I learned a lot about it and so balancing my blood sugar and getting my kind of like underlying hormones in balance and then also incorporating like matcha and five alpha reductase inhibiting foods and supplements like zinc helped me a lot so that I was able to actually go get laser and it was actually effective for me. So I think that journey is was really interesting and I'm glad I was able to kind of put all the pieces together with that.

Speaker 1: 22:14

That was more than a minute, that was more than 30 seconds, but so, forgive me, number 30, what are the potential risks and challenges of managing PCOS during pregnancy? With PCOS, we actually tend to more commonly have preterm babies. So I would recommend, if you are pregnant with PCOS, just to be watching out. Don't just assume things are Braxton Hicks Contractions. I actually went into labor early. I had son at 30 weeks and I like called and they were like, oh, it's Braxton Hicks, no, it was preterm labor. So trust your body. Gestational diabetes we're more at risk for that Preeclampsia. So make sure you know, especially as you get towards the end of your pregnancy, that you're taking care of yourself and that you're still sticking to a good quality diet most of the time, getting your protein, et cetera. Getting your protein, et cetera.

Speaker 1: 23:09

Number 31, can PCOS lead to complications during fertility treatments such as IVF? So I think we talked about this earlier, but there is something called I'm blanking on the name of it, but it's ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. Yeah, I think OHSS Anyway. So this is something that happens more frequently with PCOS, because we already kind of have this tendency to have a lot of follicles and so when they start stimulating our bodies to make more eggs, like we can do too much. So with PCOS they tend to like us to do IVF slowly, like one embryo at a time. They kind of take it slow with pumping us with the hormones for the egg retrievals and things like that, just to kind of keep us safe, and I had a little touch of that OHSS when I was going through IVF. It was not fun, so definitely it's better to take it slow with that kind of thing.

Speaker 1: 23:57

Number 32, are there any potential long-term effects of PCOS medication, and what should patients be aware of? So the one that springs to my mind first is that metformin over time can affect your ability to absorb vitamin B12. So if you've been on metformin for like several years and you're starting to struggle with like your energy levels and things like that starting to be to struggle with like your energy levels and things like that you might want to look into getting your B12 levels tested and also taking a B vitamin complex. If you with methylated B vitamins, if you are on metformin, I think is is always wise because it can help to offset some of those effects. Number 33, can PCOS be effectively managed through intermittent fasting or other dietary restrictions? Yes and no. So I prefer to think more about things that we add to our PCOS lifestyle rather than things that we're constantly taking away. That's just semantics, but it does help with the mindset of this. Intermittent fasting, if you have a lot of insulin resistance could potentially be helpful, but I tend to not recommend it if you're still in your premenopausal years, because I think it's hard on your adrenals. However, a 12-hour fast overnight is great for everybody and everyone should try to do that.

Speaker 1: 25:10

Number 34, can certain cooking oils or fats worsen inflammation associated with PCOS? So there's a lot of fear-mongering about oils and fats right now and I don't want to contribute to that too much. However, the omega-6 kind of fatty acids that we would get from your typical vegetable oil, soy oil, corn oil, even canola oil and sunflower oil, are not the best. At least in the American diet. We tend to have a really warped, a really imbalanced ratio between our omega-3 fatty acids and our omega-6 fatty acids. So it serves us a lot more to cook with more anti-inflammatory fats. So olive oil, extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil and then eating a lot of fish for the omega-3 fatty acids will help assist us in balancing that out. We also want to be careful to not do too many saturated fats, even though grass-fed butter can be a healthy part of your lifestyle, and coconut oil as well. I you know I tend to kind of like limit those somewhat and not over-rely on them.

Speaker 1: 26:09

Number 37, can excessive protein intake lead to adverse effects in women with PCOS. I mean excessive, excessive protein intake can lead to issues with anyone, right, but especially if you have like family history or underlying history of like kidney issues or disorders, yeah, you want to be careful. However, I think by and large, most people don't eat enough protein, especially to support their insulin balancing and weight loss goals. We tend to need to eat more than we kind of think that we do. You can always do the math on this. There are different calculators online. Um, you know, one gram per kilo of body weight is like usually the one that we go with, but it just depends on the person and their goals. Yes, there are some risks if you have underlying health conditions, but by and large, I think you'll be fine bumping up your protein intake.

Speaker 1: 26:58

Number 38, are there any potential risks associated with a long-term adherence to a low-fat diet for PCOS management? You know I'm not really a fan of low-fat diets. That doesn't mean that we need to go high-fat, but I think low-fat diets we can struggle more with nutrient deficiencies because a lot of our vegetables actually have fat-soluble vitamins, so there's a lot of vitamins that need fat to actually be able to be properly absorbed. So we want to have a balance. Like I said, good fats like extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, the omega-3 fatty acids from fish those kinds of things should be pretty liberal in our diets and then we should limit other types of fats. But going overall totally low fat usually doesn't work very well for PCOS because it's just not great for hormone health.

Speaker 1: 27:44

Number 39, can you provide tips for maintaining a positive mindset and embracing self-love while navigating the challenges of living with PCOS? I think the biggest thing here is to have some respect and some grace for yourself. Just the fact that you watch this video all the way to the end, you probably care about your health, and that's more than we can say for a lot of people. So just the fact that you care and that you're putting effort into it, that's a win right there. So give yourself some props for that and try to focus more on the things that you're doing well for yourself. I exercised today. That was great. Gratitude for the work that you are doing is going to subtly give you that praise. That's going to make you want to keep doing it.

Speaker 1: 28:32

Whenever we come at changes from a place of love rather than a place of hate or disgust or fear, we tend to be more successful. So whenever you can notice your brain kind of going back on like, um, you know I'm everything's terrible, I can't get my PCOS under control, I'm not doing it right, et cetera, et cetera. Try to make a list of all the things that you have done. Um, really well that you, the choices that you made, that were different than what you would have made if you hadn't known better, and have gratitude for that, and I think that's helpful. Sorry for that one minute and 30. Second thing, I hope it was helpful.

Speaker 1: 29:10

Number 40, what dietary advice do you commonly give to individuals with PCOS and how do you tailor it to meet their individual needs? Well, this is a nice one. To end on the dietary advice that I tend to give eat more protein. Eat a little less starch. Make sure you're having protein with your starch. Eat a moderate amount of healthy fats. Try to follow a Mediterranean style diet overall More fish, more veggies, more antioxidants, all that kind of stuff. Take a supplement that's helpful for PCOS, so NAC, inositols, whatever it is that is associated most with your unique root causes. I would take a supplement to support that and get more exercise.

Speaker 1: 29:58

Go find something that you like, something that you can stick with. I like to dance, do something like that and make sure that you're moving a lot, because it's really helpful for your mood and your motivation, and there's more, but it's been 55 seconds and I'm going to stop, so thank you, guys, so much for watching this video. I hope this was interesting and fun. Obviously, there are a lot more questions I could have answered. I told this thing to give me a hundred questions at the beginning. So if you liked this, if you have your own questions, things that you think I should have covered, things that you would like me to add, and if you'd like me to do another video like this, please comment below, let me know, and if I get enough questions and enough people are interested, then I will do another one like this. So thank you for being here. Thank you for watching this video. I hope this was interesting and helpful for you. Have a.