Weight plays an important role in dealing with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Many a time, when we hear weight management, we often confuse this for people who are overweight and need to lose weight, but this may not always be the case as it may also be for folks who are underweight as well. However, with the subject of PCOS in view, you may more often than not hear of weight loss to achieve ovulation, This is because any woman with a BMI of 30 or higher would likely have issues conceiving.

I won’t be discussing any fad diet here as I’m not a fan of fad diets because I believe that healthy eating and a measure of exercise should get you to your weight goal rather than depriving yourself of certain foods. Also, you want to get to reach a weight goal that will ‘last’ and not one that though you lose a stone in a week, you pick up 2 stones in the next week or a diet that as soon as you stop, you are back at square one or even worse.

Trust me, I have heard of so many that in my personal opinion, I haven’t seen any that beats eating a healthy balanced diet, in sensible portions and exercising regularly topped with good sleep and definitely getting rid of any bad life habits.

I would be discussing each of these points in turn but remember that even though it may not be easy at the beginning, you have to know what is at stake {for me, it was having children with my wonderful husband and having the family we have long dreamt and talked about}, as this would empower you to achieve the set goal(s).

“When you know what is at stake, it empowers you to achieve the set goal.”

#1. EAT A HEALTHY BALANCED DIET

This might be hard work at first for people that are used to eating a certain way but eating a healthy balanced diet is very important. Make sure you eat small portions at regular intervals in the course of the day and avoid sugary foods that can get your blood sugar spiked up and mess up with your metabolism. Ditch fruit juices and carbonated drinks for water {I favour lemon water most times} and when you need to snack, eat high protein snacks rather than high carb snacks as this would help in balancing your insulin levels and thereby achieve sustained weight loss.

#2. EXERCISE MODERATELY

Don’t overdo it is the rule of the thumb here as vigorous exercises have the potential to reduce or stop a woman from ovulating. Also, make sure the kind of exercises you undertake are ones that you enjoy doing and one you can easily motivate yourself to do. For me, I love dancing so I found Zumba to be an easy go-to exercise when I get back from my 9 to 5 job. I didn’t have that much time to attend a gym so I had to make use of the little time I had when I got back from work. Another thing I did was to get off a station before the station close to my workplace and walk for a total of 40 minutes to work and back when going home every day.

#3. GET RID OF STRESS

Not conceiving on time is stressful on its own, not to talk of work-related stress and for many people, travel-related stress. So, you see, there are many things in life that can stress anyone but you have to make up your mind to stay stress-free as stress can inhibit hormonal balance which is what you’re trying to achieve to conceive. Find out what makes you relax in spite of the stress around you. For me, I find praying, listening to music and studying God’s Word make me peaceful at all times.

#4. SLEEP WELL

Getting at least 7-8 hours of regular sleep every day is very important. Notice I wrote ‘regular sleep’ which means it has to be something you are consistent with. When you sleep, your body has the job of regulating hormones and blood sugar levels. So, it is quite essential that you sleep very well. For me, I find that having a bath before going to bed helps me sleep better.

#5. GET RID OF BAD LIFE HABITS

I’m not going to go into this in details, all I’ve got to say is that you know those bad habits that could hinder or tempt you into going back to where you are coming from. For me, I had to stop sleeping very late and not getting enough rest that my body deserves.

All the above worked for me in losing and maintaining my weight leading up to the conception of my adorable daughter.

WATCH OUT FOR THE NEXT POST ON THIS SERIES, ‘DEALING WITH PCOS: GO ORGANIC’