PCOS Nutrition Without the All-or-Nothing Spiral (Book Review of "PCOS Is My Power" with Cory Ruth, MS, RD)

SHE'S BACK!!! Cory Ruth (aka The Women’s Dietitian) is here to talk about her brand new book, PCOS Is My Power, and why she’s determined to make PCOS feel less like a life sentence and more like a gift.

You’ll also hear a very real conversation about how restrictive PCOS advice (hello, “just do keto”) can backfire, especially if you already struggle with food noise, binge eating, or an all-or-nothing mindset.

Bottom line: PCOS can be managed, your body isn’t broken, and you don’t have to eliminate your favorite foods to start feeling better (yes, you can eat pasta with PCOS… and dessert… and cheese).

RESOURCES MENTIONED: 

• PCOS Is My Power - Order Now
• Follow Cory on Instagram - @thewomensdietitian
• Cory's website - thewomensdietitian.com
• Cory's 1st visit to the Nourished & Free® podcast - "Help, I have PCOS!"

TOPICS COVERED:

• What PCOS is (and what it isn’t) in plain English
• The 3 diagnostic criteria and how diagnosis actually works (need 2 out of 3)
• Common symptoms: irregular cycles, acne, hair changes, weight gain, and more
• Why “no carbs/no dairy/no gluten” advice can fuel food obsession + binge cycles
• The “your body is your barometer” reframe: symptoms as feedback, not failure
• How managing PCOS supports long-term health (blood sugar, heart health, diabetes risk)
• What Cory hopes readers gain from the book

JUMP TO:

00:00 PCOS can be managed (and might be your superpower)
01:38 Meet Cory Ruth + PCOS Is My Power
10:54 PCOS explained: symptoms, diagnosis, and what’s actually going on
16:14 Why restrictive PCOS diet advice backfires
23:51 Your body is your barometer (listening to symptoms)
29:24 What Cory hopes every reader takes away

Transcript

Cory Ruth (00:00)
the things that you can do to manage your PCOS are also going to help prevent

the onset of so many different preventable health conditions, Like heart disease, like type two diabetes. I feel like I'm in a completely different spot when it comes to my risk of type two diabetes now than I was before I understood I had PCOS and was truly struggling with weight and blood sugar and all of those things.

it's not so bleak, right? PCOS can be managed well and it can actually turn into your superpower, hence the title of the book, but because you can use that information about your body, your health, and really leverage that.

Michelle Yates (00:41)
Welcome back to Nourished and Free the Podcast where mental health meets physical health, food guilt gets ghosted and toxic wellness advice gets roasted. Be sure to hit subscribe so that you never miss an episode if any of those topics interest you. I'm your host Michelle Yates, registered dietitian with my master's in health psychology. And today I'm joined by my friend and colleague, Corey Ruth, aka the women's dietitian.

Cory is a registered dietitian nutritionist and health expert who specializes in PCOS and nutrition therapy for infertility and assisted reproductive technology. She is the founder and principal of the Women's Dietitian and author of her brand new book, PCOS is My Power. I just want to say congratulations because this is a huge accomplishment.

Cory Ruth (01:26)
Yeah, yeah, your years in the making I never realized what a long process it is my gosh I think this started in like 2022 and it'll come out in 2026 so

Michelle Yates (01:38)
Yeah, that's wild. That must feel like, I mean, you're you're past the hump. You're past the hardest parts, right? From here. It's just like the fun stuff. The promoting the selling. Yeah. What has been your favorite part of the book writing process so far?

Cory Ruth (01:40)
you

Yeah. Exactly. Yeah.

Yeah, my gosh. Obviously the recipes, it's fun to get in the kitchen and tweak recipes. I always have a good time with that. It's a lot of work, but that was really fun. then actually recording the audio book was really challenging, but also really interesting. And I learned a lot. That was a whole week of being in the studio every day, all day talking and then trying to preserve your voice when you get home, which if you have three kids and...

It's just really hard. So that process was really cool though. I learned a lot. yeah, there's just been many different pieces, but probably recipe testing and then I love audiobooks. So recording the audiobook was really cool.

Michelle Yates (02:36)
Yeah, that's so fun.

How surreal too, for you to sit down in a studio and read your own book, knowing it's going to reach so many years. That's so exciting. I'm so pumped for you. Okay, so I read the book. And first of all, thank you for my advanced copy. I feel very special with this little advanced copy. I just have to say this is like,

Cory Ruth (02:44)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah.

Michelle Yates (02:58)
It was so much fun to read because it just is so you. It's like playful, user friendly, funny, also just like adorable in some way. It's just like, it's everything that I think of when I think of you in a book. And I'm sure there was a lot of intention behind that,

Cory Ruth (03:04)
Thank

Yes.

Michelle Yates (03:21)
What was one of your main mindsets going into this book as you were writing it and editing?

Cory Ruth (03:26)
I think it, you know, I think you hit the nail on the head. It's how to deliver information that is super sciencey in a way that feels very digestible and easy to understand, easy to follow along with. I think we've all been there with books, especially if they're like healthcare, you know, within the health space where we can get totally lost and then we don't really feel like picking that book up again, you know, the following week when we've had a long day or whatever. I really wanted to make it easy to understand.

Michelle Yates (03:36)
huh.

Cory Ruth (03:55)
And I think a lot of the principles inside are ones that we just should know as women. Even if we don't have PCOS, we should just know more about our cycle and normalizing some of the variations that are so natural and normal, you know, in all of us where so many of us are taught that this is wrong, this isn't, you know, you're outside the norm, you're abnormal. So I think it's kind of just talking to

Michelle Yates (04:01)
I mean.

Cory Ruth (04:24)
talking to the little girl in all of us that is saying, like, is this okay? Is this normal? What do I do next?

Michelle Yates (04:30)
Yeah, and that really is because I have PCOS two, as you know, and going through the book, I a lot of times was feeling like, man, I wish I had this when I was first diagnosed, I think it was about 1918 19. just would have been so helpful. I remember looking I was in school to be a dietician at the time. And I remember looking for resources that seemed like they would be evidence based and they weren't just like a random

Cory Ruth (04:43)
you

Michelle Yates (04:58)
somebody

writing a book because they saw an opportunity to make a quick buck, you know, and there just wasn't really anything and the advice was not great at the time. I don't know that it's getting much better except for people like you who are now making that information more widely available. But for medical professionals, it wasn't great. Things were a little bleak.

Cory Ruth (05:17)
Yes. ⁓

Michelle Yates (05:20)
Yeah, just thinking like, man, that would have been so nice to have somebody break it down for me like this. But I think what's also really well done in this book, Cory, is that even though there's so much, there's a lot of complication behind PCOS, there's a lot of dynamics at play in the body that are even different from case to case. But it always comes back to those basic anchors of like, let's try to move more. Let's try to.

Cory Ruth (05:25)
Right.

Yes.

Michelle Yates (05:48)
chill out a bit,

have some nourishing foods, like no matter how complicated it is, the prescription so to speak is still the same. And I think that's really powerful to be able to get all that communicated to the masses, which you're doing a really good job of. what do you wish somebody would have told you when you first got your PCOS diagnosis?

Cory Ruth (05:59)
Yes.

Yeah, and I love that you said that. so agree. I get asked almost every day, know, what will not write, not anymore because of all the promo I've been doing, but what, you know, what books for PCOS do you recommend? And it's always been a big question mark because it's, you know, they're mostly written by people who aren't qualified or they are, you know, maybe, maybe they're medical doctors, but they're pushing, you know, a specific diet narrative, which that's, you know, that's not necessarily their

Michelle Yates (06:35)
Mm-hmm.

Cory Ruth (06:39)
their realms.

Yeah, gosh, so so many things. think that I think that

you can tackle this and your PCOS is actually in a weird twisted way is a gift because it allows you to pull back and see this needs to be worked on. This is not only important just for a, know, air quotes PCOS diagnosis, but this is, this is important for your overall health and wellbeing. And the things that you can do to manage your PCOS are also going to help prevent

Michelle Yates (06:52)
Mm.

Cory Ruth (07:13)
the onset of so many different preventable health conditions, Like heart disease, like type two diabetes. I feel like I'm in a completely different spot when it comes to my risk of type two diabetes now than I was before I understood I had PCOS and was truly struggling with weight and blood sugar and all of those things. So.

I would say, you know, it's not so bleak, right? PCOS can be managed well and it can actually turn into your superpower, hence the title of the book, but because you can use that information about your body, your health, and really leverage that. So I think it's to have a more positive outlook, which I try to have and try to instill in clients and followers and people reading the book, hopefully, put a positive spin on it. Not to put on your, you know, rose.

tinted glasses and say, it doesn't matter, everything's fine. But to also be sitting in that doctor's office being told, you know, when you're already struggling with your weight, you just need to lose a little weight with no other guidance on how, or you really don't like birth control, you absolutely hate the way it makes you feel being told that you should get back on birth control. That's not fun to hear. And ever want to be a mom in the future being told that your chances are slim to none.

Michelle Yates (08:18)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Cory Ruth (08:32)
I mean, those are devastating things to sit with if you're young or you're just getting your diagnosis. So my hope is to put some positivity back into the space. We really need it.

Michelle Yates (08:45)
And you do a really great job of that. mean, I was, when I first picked up, was like, I wonder where this title came from. PCOS is my power. It's not like the first thing I would have thought of. then going through it, I'm like, ⁓ my gosh, I get it. I feel like so uplifted and encouraged going through it. And I really, really love how I think a lot of us just want to be normal. We want to be like,

Cory Ruth (08:58)
Thank

guys.

Michelle Yates (09:13)
everybody else, especially when you're young and going through like the confusion of why don't I have my cycle at the same time as other girls? Why is everybody getting their period on time? And I'm like losing my mind every 90 days, whatever. It's just like that human desire to be normal and to be accepted too, I think. But anyway, so going through what you've written here, I just felt like

Cory Ruth (09:13)
to begin.

Michelle Yates (09:41)
she gets it first of all. And it's okay that I'm not normal because that's actually is pretty normal for a lot of women now. We know that now that a lot of women are struggling with this. And so we can have that bond together and it's a new normal and that's okay. And I can work with it. And it's just like, it's like acceptance therapy.

Cory Ruth (09:43)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Yes.

It's

so great to hear feedback because it's not out yet. So it's like very little people have read it. So I'm like, well, what do you think? So because I've read it so many times and of course my publishers the poor things. But it's great to hear, you know, I can't wait to hear people talking more about it. So yeah.

Michelle Yates (10:17)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah,

and I know that they'll agree with that, that it's very uplifting and dare I say motivating even to be excited about nutrition. You know, I think you do a good job of that too with all the recipes and especially your videos are, I mean, they always look delicious and I'm like, yes, I would like to eat that immediately,

Cory Ruth (10:30)
Yeah.

Michelle Yates (10:48)
But yes, so honestly, I can see so much of your heart in this and kudos to you. ⁓ Why don't we do a quick little for anybody who's like, you know, I've heard a lot about PCOS, not 100 % sure what it is, but low key wondering if I might have it. Why don't we do a quick little overview of what it is and what symptoms look like as well as diagnosis.

Cory Ruth (10:54)
Thank you.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, definitely. So PCOS stands for polycystic ovary syndrome. And researchers estimate about 10 to 15 % of women have PCOS. So while there isn't, ⁓ you know, air quotes cure, there are plenty of ways to manage the condition and really even.

put a lot of it into remission. And what I mean by remission is we're working towards improvements, but if we were to all of a sudden stop making any changes that benefit our hormones, our PCOS, symptoms might come back. That's what I mean by that. So we want to continuously work on managing it. ⁓ So in order to be diagnosed with PCOS, you have to meet two out of three diagnostic criteria.

So the first one is having irregular periods. And there's kind of a loosey-goosey definition of what does that even mean? Like, are my periods irregular? A regular period is typically defined as coming every roughly 21 to 35 days. So that's kind of a normal, predictable schedule. If you pretty much know your period's going to come within a week or two, and that's pretty predictable, then that's

very good indication that you have a regular period. I want to clarify too, if you haven't had a period for months or years, that would be classified as an irregular period. If you are spotting all the time constantly in between bleeds or just instead of bleeds, like real flows, that could be classified as an irregular period. And if you also just have no idea when your period is coming next, it's like a very erratic, like,

Maybe it comes after 18 days after your last, and then the next time, at 87, there's no clear pattern. That's also in a regular period. So just because your period's not missing, per se, for years doesn't mean you couldn't fit that PCOS diagnosis for that criteria. So the second diagnostic criteria is having polycystic ovaries. And you would really only know that if you had a pelvic ultrasound done. And what they're looking for are

Basically a buildup of immature follicles, these are different than cysts like ⁓ a dermoid cyst or a true ovarian cyst that can rupture and cause a lot of pain. You can have those at the same time, but those tiny little follicles are what make up PCOS. And that's basically an indication that we're not ovulating regularly and releasing that mature egg on time. So they build up and they look like a string of pearls on that ultrasound.

And then the third one is having elevated androgens or having signs and symptoms of those. So androgens, the most famous one is testosterone. Androgens are our male sex hormones and women have them. We make testosterone, but we just typically make that testosterone in smaller amounts. ⁓ So when that testosterone, there's other androgens too, but when those are elevated, we can see that via lab work, right? If we get our blood work done and we see really high testosterone.

or high DHEAS, or if you're testing things like DHT, that can all point to that third criteria. Or if we're experiencing the symptoms of elevated androgens, which look like facial hair, body hair growth on women, acne, hair loss on the head, ⁓ that can also fit under that third diagnostic criteria. So that's why we can all look so different when it comes to our diagnosis, right? Because...

I have really irregular periods, but somebody next to me could have ⁓ really elevated testosterone and have a totally irregular period and have never had a period issue and still have PCOS. So there's a lot going on within that. And if you are wondering if you might have PCOS, of classic symptoms are those irregular periods, acne, facial hair or body hair growth.

Michelle Yates (14:59)
Hmm.

Cory Ruth (15:10)
hair loss on the head and also weight gain. Weight gain is a huge component when it comes to the insulin resistance piece. So those could all be signs that you could have PCOS potentially.

Michelle Yates (15:22)
remember you had a story on Instagram, I think it was the week of your wedding, maybe the day before, you were like tweezing chin hair.

Cory Ruth (15:30)
it's a banger. It's like right in the natural I'm like, this is perfect. Once a week at least I use that mirror. It's a good one.

Michelle Yates (15:40)
And

I just, love how it's like normal, like normalized, you know?

Cory Ruth (15:43)
Yeah.

Yes, I'm right there too. Also the Car mirror another favorite. I don't know what it is. Car mirror It's good one.

Michelle Yates (15:51)
Always. Always.

Anytime I look in the mirror in the car, I'm like, wow, I am the most beautiful creature I've ever seen. And then I walk in the house and I'm I am disheveled. What is that? don't get that. Same girl, same. ⁓ man. So.

Cory Ruth (16:02)
You are the most beautiful creature in

I'm

Michelle Yates (16:14)
Along with with PCOS, there's so much ambiguity. I feel like so many women are like, maybe I have this maybe I don't, ⁓ which also can send them towards dark paths of ⁓ trying to fix it with or without the diagnosis. And, you know, working primarily with disordered eating, I especially binge eating see PCOS all the time. And the women that I work with, it's wild. And I wish that I actually had like,

Cory Ruth (16:41)
Yeah.

Michelle Yates (16:44)
heart data on that because it's got to be like one in five people probably that I work with. And think, lot of these binge eating behaviors and disorder eating behaviors are, ⁓ I see an all or nothing mentality kind of underneath all of that, where it's like, I've got to be, especially with PCOS, like I've got to be having the no dairy, the no gluten, like, I know you love that prescription.

Cory Ruth (17:09)
⁓

That is so bad.

Michelle Yates (17:13)
And and no sugar no carbs like they're how many doctors are like again, no hate to doctors. We love them. But how many of them are like you need to follow a keto diet for PCOS. It's wild. So many and so then these poor women are like I can never have pasta again, and I'm Italian. What the heck do I do with that?

Cory Ruth (17:16)
sounds.

Yeah.

So many.

Michelle Yates (17:40)
And so then it just, it like creates this perfect little soil for all or nothing mentality where it's like if I'm not eating a keto diet or being super clean, then I'm not taking care of my PCOS. So I might as well just screw it because I've already, I just had pasta with my family on Sunday. And it's just insane how this poor diet advice really does shoot people in the foot, you know?

Cory Ruth (18:09)
Yes, totally.

Michelle Yates (18:10)
⁓ yeah, so

I think one thing I really appreciate about your messaging in the book and then also just everything else you put out is that it's not all or nothing. It's like there's a great emphasis, I think, on balance and not being really hard on yourself. ⁓ how, where do you feel like that comes from, that passion in you to make sure that there's encouragement for balance?

Cory Ruth (18:19)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Yes.

Yes.

Mm.

I think because I've done all of those diets, I've done all of those diets. I have so many tried different things. I mean, I've done gluten-free, dairy-free, I've done full vegan, ⁓ know, no carb, low carb, low sugar, blah, blah. I've done all.

And it always comes down to feeling totally deprived, totally in a state of restriction, and really feeling like this head does not have longevity. And that's what we need. We need something that feels doable in the long run. And I just also think, everyone has a different view on this, but it's my view that we have really one life on this precious earth. ⁓

Michelle Yates (19:09)
Mm

Mm-hmm.

Cory Ruth (19:29)
And I don't want to spend the majority of my life feeling like everything's off the table, feeling guilty and shameful about it, and not just living my best life when it comes to food, because I love food. I love to eat. So yeah, I think it's just enjoyment, joy, happiness. Food has always been a source of joy. Cooking has been a way to bond with my family. I want to pass that on to my own kids. so yeah, restriction never works long term.

And ⁓ I really hope to show women that. And ⁓ I think a lot of them have felt that already when they've tried these really restrictive diets. But I also think a big driver, too, is the fact that they're not science-based. They're not evidence-based. are literally perpetuated by people that maybe it worked well for them.

But the reason why it worked well is because all of a sudden, 75 % of their normal foods were off the table. So all of a sudden, they're being conscious. They're looking at ingredient lists. How often do we do that for every single thing that we eat? Often, they're being little food investigators. That's always going to be helpful when it comes to eating well and eating healthy, right? If we are looking at our food and we're wondering how that's going to impact our health, our blood sugar,

Michelle Yates (20:34)
Mm-hmm.

Cory Ruth (20:48)
That's a good thing. it's really the, it's the way that people are going about it that actually brings the results. And it's the fact that they're all of a sudden completely redefining what and how they're eating. And that's helpful, but it's not the, you know, the slice of cheese itself. It's the behaviors that are going into that. So I want to teach women to look at ingredient lists, look at the nutrition label.

You know, look at your overall macro intake and see, you know, see, see what's going on there and how we can optimize. Those are the things that are going to be most helpful rather than like demonizing one specific food and saying, swearing it off forever and ever. It's just not, it's not a fun process. I've been through it and I obviously never stuck with it. And we know that the vast majority of women don't. yeah. Can I ask you a question? Can I interview the podcast?

Michelle Yates (21:21)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, yeah. of course,

always.

Cory Ruth (21:42)
With your clients who are in treatment with you for binge eating ⁓ and you said they have PCOS, are you thinking or are you hearing that one of the big contributors to that is because they've been kind of trying to take out this food, that food, been super restrictive, been told to take out those foods? So curious.

Michelle Yates (21:47)
⁓

It is a part of it. It's, mean, I would say contributing factor. There's this sense of like, okay, well, I've been condemned with this diagnosis. So I'm not supposed to be eating X, Y, Z, usually the sugar carbs, whatever. And, and yet, I can't keep myself away from them. So it's like, it creates this forbidden fruit thing where they're

Cory Ruth (22:19)
Mm-hmm.

on it.

Michelle Yates (22:31)
told they can't have that because of this diagnosis. And now because we're like toddlers, like my toddler does, he automatically wants what I tell him he can't have or can't do. Mischievous little guy and adorable. It gets me in trouble all the time. But anyway, we're still kind of like, I mean, we want autonomy, right? That's just human nature. We want autonomy. We want to be in control.

Cory Ruth (22:46)
totally. Nice.

Yeah.

Michelle Yates (23:01)
And we want to be in charge of our choices. And so when somebody puts a blockade around what you can have and what you can eat, especially it's something you enjoy and you're like, wait, I like that. And you're telling me I can't have it. And it makes them want it more. And then there's the shame that comes along with that, which can then fuel turning to food. The body don't even get me started on the body image. I mean, that's huge contributing factor as well.

Cory Ruth (23:12)
Yeah. Right.

Yeah.

Michelle Yates (23:27)
I can't

remember exactly how you phrased it, it was the idea of when we have PCOS, we're ultra sensitive and like the kind of like alarm bells are going off a lot quicker. can you speak to that more in terms of

When we have PCOS, sometimes we notice things a lot sooner and we feel crummy sooner, which can be annoying, but actually it's kind of a good thing.

Cory Ruth (23:51)
Yeah, definitely. I always say your body is your barometer. It's gonna let you know something's off. And that's how symptoms start to manifest, right?

we are having a semi regular period and then all of a sudden we realize, oh my gosh, when was my last period? should I take a pregnancy test? Nope, that's negative. What's happening? Or all of a sudden you're like, wow, I am using my favorite chin plucking mirror way more often than normal. What's going on? Symptoms can really wax and wane, but each time that the volume knob is turned up, it really is an indication.

we have work to do. And sometimes it takes real honest come to Jesus talks with ourselves. And I have to have many of them. If I feel like something is really, like my period's way out of whack, and I'm like, what is happening? I have to take an honest look. What is going on in my life? I know for me, and this comes with understanding your PCOS better, understanding what your triggers are is so important.

I know for me, stress is a huge one, a huge one. So, you know, as my book was starting to come together and I was wedding planning and, you know, we had three kids under six, like, wow, there's a lot happening. And I, you know, if my period's completely out of whack, I can point to the trigger and say, that's what's causing it. Okay, I've got to take a step back, reevaluate and figure out how to get myself back in balance. So being in tune with our bodies is...

always going to serve us. If something's off, if something happens, if something's going wacky or wrong, we need to listen. And I think that that is something that I really work with clients to help them understand this is not just happening randomly. This is a sign that we have some work to do, girlfriend. We got work. So it's not a bad thing. Again, all the work that we're doing to take care of these like,

Seemingly like random symptoms is benefiting our whole body health in the long run and I mean I think much more now at 36 and I did at 26 about You know getting into higher risk categories of all of these things that we with PCOS are at a higher risk for Did I pay as much attention? You know ten years ago? No, so now that I'm really you know moving closer towards that

It's on my radar more, and that's a good thing. We want these things to be on our radar. If a client comes to me and they've got both liver enzymes are elevated, they've got LDL is elevated and HDL is too

Then we have work to do. If A1c is elevated, if we've got all these lab markers and they don't know what they mean, the doctor doesn't describe to them what these mean and the gravity of that. It's a good thing that we're starting our work together, right? Because we're going to work towards that preventative side of healthcare, which we need more of.

Michelle Yates (26:55)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, I we've talked about this actually on the last episode which that we did together which was just the Perfectionism and like the type-a personalities that can get wrapped up in PCOS and I think When we get those symptoms, it can be so annoying because we're like I got stuff to do I don't want to deal with this I need to be like I feel like I'm on my a game and yet This is happening and so

Cory Ruth (27:21)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Michelle Yates (27:23)
those little symptoms can feel like ⁓ it's happening to you, but I think a helpful reframe that I've learned from you is it's actually happening for you. It's giving you early signs and like little, hey, you might need to slow down a bit here, know, perfectionism, always running on fumes and all that. so it's like so helpful to see, okay, actually I have these little

Cory Ruth (27:34)
No. Love that.

Yes.

That's so true.

Michelle Yates (27:52)
How many times are we like, wish somebody would just tell me if I'm doing it right. Our body is like basically doing that for us all the time. We're just not listening.

Cory Ruth (27:55)
Okay.

Right. I know

memes that are like god. I don't know why I'm so tired and then it's like, you know woke up in the middle of the night and you know couldn't go back to sleep You know drank four cups of coffee Why don't I have a pounding headache, you know, it's Again like it takes us come to Jesus talks that we have to have with ourselves sometimes and we got to get real with ourselves Yeah, and I've been there

Michelle Yates (28:13)
Yeah

Yeah, what's going on?

Yeah,

yeah, absolutely. And also to finding enjoyment in like a regular period is something I never thought that I would care about. Because it's so convenient to just be like, this is never coming around. But but as somebody who generally, I would say cares about health, it's nice to actually have that barometer be like, okay, how am I doing my cycle tells me how I'm doing. It's fun.

Cory Ruth (28:37)
you

Yes.

Michelle Yates (28:54)
Which just comes back to this whole concept of like, okay, PCOS is like actually my power, girl. Okay, I feel like I'm in charge now. ⁓

Cory Ruth (28:59)
I love that.

Yes, that empowerment piece is important, especially when we can feel so like we have just so little power sitting in our doctor's office. Yeah.

Michelle Yates (29:07)
It is.

Yes, yes, absolutely. Well,

obviously, I love this book. I'd love for you to tell me what you are really hoping readers will gain from this book.

Cory Ruth (29:24)
Yeah, think ⁓ baseline knowledge first and foremost about your body, your hormones, everything that you should have been taught in school about your cycle, your hormones, your fertility, all of that, that baseline knowledge that you should have learned and you never did. that's first and foremost. And then understanding, you know, what are the main pillars behind PCOS, why it happens and how to take care of it.

Michelle Yates (29:52)
Mm-hmm.

Cory Ruth (29:53)
you know, simple, actionable things that you can do and start doing as early as today or tomorrow to take better care of your health and improve your PCOS. ⁓ And then I would say also, you know, the mindset shifts like we've talked about already on this episode, but you are more in control than you think. You have more power around, you know, your cycle, your weight, your symptoms, your fertility than you're ever taught or led to believe, or you may think

think.

So that's a huge one. That empowerment piece is huge. And then I think lastly, just equipping you with, again, like actionable strategies for, okay, so like you said, am I doing this right? That's what the recipes are there for. There's plans, there's even grocery lists done for you. So you can go through and say, yeah, I have six weeks worth of really good breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and it's all laid out for me.

Michelle Yates (30:36)
Hmm.

Cory Ruth (30:49)
This is a great starting point to really get a good idea of how you can eat for your PCOS. And guess what? It's not, you're not going to have to eliminate or restrict anything. There's pasta in there. There's cheese. There's ⁓ desserts. And guess what? You can eat all of those things and make every bit as good of traction as somebody else who was going balls to the wall, restricting everything.

Michelle Yates (31:04)
How dare you. ⁓ my goodness.

Mm.

Cory Ruth (31:17)
And that including weight management, if that's on your do list. So, can have limits and you can eat well. So, ⁓ yeah, I think all of those things together, it's just, it's so nice to have everything in one place. You know, we spend so much time, Google or, you know, AI, whatever, you know, trying to like collect little bits of information and piece them together. And it looks like a patchwork quilt at the end. And it doesn't make much sense, especially if it's coming from like random

Michelle Yates (31:20)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Cory Ruth (31:45)
mismatch uncredentialed sources. So this is really, you know, everything that you would want to know and need when it comes to PCOS in one little compact place. So I love it for that.

Michelle Yates (31:56)
Mm-hmm.

Cosine. I cosign on that. Yep, it really is. I think I love that you did include recipes in here. That's obviously a really big part of, I would say, your brand is just how creative you are in the kitchen and sharing that and how easy they are. And ⁓ it reminds me of my husband and I watched one of the documentaries on Netflix about veganism and did a podcast episode about it.

And one thing that we were talking about was they made food look so good, like vegetables and fruit and all that. Like the food that we typically as a society are like, ew, no thanks. And then they romanticized it. And I think you do a really good job of that too with your recipes and with your videos is just romanticizing food that is like at the end of the day, gonna make you feel super good.

taste super good, probably easier on the budget than going out to eat all the time. And anyway, I just think that's so huge is actually enjoying your food. Otherwise, we're not going to be motivated to keep doing it. You know, there has to be a reward to our food. Otherwise, so boring. I don't want to eat boiled chicken and broccoli all the time. It's disgusting. So thank you for the recipes that include things that we actually love to eat.

Cory Ruth (33:01)
It's so true.

Yeah, definitely. Yeah, thank you. I so agree. think, you know, cooking is a powerful tool that has been sort of lost on us. And I hope to inspire some, you know, some more of that because it really is a great strategy to just improve your health in like a very simple way.

Michelle Yates (33:32)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, absolutely. Any

final thoughts or things that you want to leave with the listeners today about your new book?

Cory Ruth (33:40)
gosh I think

think we've talked about a good amount. think, yeah, there's an audiobook version. Like we mentioned, if you're, I really can't read books anymore. I have to do audio books when I'm in the car or getting ready. Like those are my two times. So if you're like, I'm too busy to read a whole book, audiobook, baby, like go for it there. And I recorded it, right? So it's my own voice, not some like random lady. know, they were like, you wanna hire someone to do it for you? We know you're busy. And I'm like,

No, because what if I don't like the way they like speak or they're not me like we don't want anyone who's boring. So I was like, I want to do it. yeah, so yeah, the audiobook is fun. It's it's fun. So I guess buy the book because more pre orders and the more orders for this book, it really shows

Michelle Yates (34:15)
Yeah.

Cory Ruth (34:31)
the world that this is needed and that PCOS education and treatment research, more of that is needed. And, you know, whatever the consumers want, you know, drives whatever, you know, what's going to happen in what media we're going to write, like focus and highlight what research is going to focus on. So the more we can talk about PCOS support efforts like this, when it comes to PCOS, the more we can put PCOS on the map and that.

has always been my goal since I started my business eight years ago. just by buying the book, you're doing much more than just buying like a book, not to say like buying a chapter fiction book is, it's just different. We're supporting a sector of health, is so needed.

Michelle Yates (35:16)
Yeah, absolutely. I love that. And I'll put all the links to pre-order, order, all that fun stuff, website, Instagram, all that stuff in the show notes for anybody that wants to check it out. Highly recommend. Also, just please follow Corey if you're not already because ⁓ first of all, super relatable content about tin hairs in the mirror. Very entertaining. Second of all.

Cory Ruth (35:19)
Mm-hmm.

you

Yeah.

Michelle Yates (35:42)
Beautiful food recipes that I'm sure you work very hard on and we only see these little 15 second clips But they come together so well, so well done on that and Yeah, just overall a great follow and evidence-based Resource for you guys. So and we love evidence based here Thank you for your time today Cory congratulations and I'm so excited for people to get this this book in their hands

Cory Ruth (36:08)
Thanks so much. Thank you for having me.