Mindset Meets Muscle
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Mindset Meets Muscle
#25 PCOS does not mean you are broken - you CAN still lose weight, here is now
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Ever been told you cannot lose weight because you have PCOS - that its not possible for you? You need to avoid strength training or HIIT because of your PCOS?
We are here to tell you that this is all BS and the best way to manage your PCOS symptoms we have covered in this episode
If you are suffering from PCOS and you are struggling to lose weight - feel free to drop us a message we are happy to help!
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Welcome back to Mindset Meets Muscle, the podcast where we explore the connection between mental strength, physical health, and understanding our bodies on a deeper level. On this podcast, we talk honestly about health training, hormones, mindsets, and many factors that can influence how we feel day to day. And today we're discussing a topic that affects millions of women worldwide, but still hasn't always been clearly understood. And it's PCOS or polycystic ovary syndrome. And PCOS can influence many aspects of health, including menstrual cycles, hormones, metabolism, skin, and energy levels. Because the symptoms can vary so much from person to person, many women go for years without really fully understanding what is happening into their bodies. But before we begin, it is important to say that this episode is for educational purposes only and it isn't a substitute for medical advice. And if someone believes they might have PCOS or has experienced symptoms, speaking with a healthcare professional is always the best step. But in this episode, we're going to break down what is a PCOS and why it happens, the common symptoms, and how lifestyle factors such as exercise, nutrition, and mindset can support overall health.
SPEAKER_02Exactly. And PCOS can sometimes feel confusing because it is so different for everyone. It's experienced so differently by every single woman that has it. And some people might notice irregular periods, some people might have hormonal acne, others might have fatigue, changes in hair, hair loss where they want it, hair growth where they don't want it, difficulty maintaining weight, difficulty losing weight. And it's also important to remember that PCOS isn't something that someone causes or brings on themselves. It is a very complex hormonal condition and it's influenced by a combination of genetic, hormonal, and metabolic factors. And because of this, the experience for everyone is very, very different. But in saying that, I do believe that if you have PCOS, you have PCOS. It's something that you're going to have for life. But with lifestyle intervention and lifestyle factors, we can manage the symptoms as best we can. So you are not experiencing these symptoms to the worst degree all of the time. And they're not sort of overtaking and debilitating your life. We really need to make sure that we get these lifestyle interventions into place and we're not labeled by the fact that we have PCOS. And there's so much misinformation out there, and there's so many things that people are told, and everyone makes it very confusing. Obviously, we know everyone loves to sell something on social media. And people that do have PCOS are confused as to like maybe what they should be doing or what they shouldn't be doing. Like, you shouldn't eat carbs, you shouldn't do this, you shouldn't ever have stress, you shouldn't resistance train because it's not good for your PCOS, etc. So, what we're hoping to do today is to explain the science behind PCOS in a clear and supportive way. You want to break it down as simple as possible and also talk to you exactly how you can support your body and support your symptoms through balanced lifestyle habits and understanding what is happening inside the body so you can feel much more empowered and less frustrated when managing your PCOS.
SPEAKER_00Okay, so if we start with the simple basics of PCOS, obviously it stands for polycystic ovary syndrome and it is probably one of the most common hormonal conditions affecting women of the reproductive age. Despite the name PCOS, it's not a condition of the ovaries. It's not just the condition of the ovaries, actually involves a broader hormonal imbalance that can affect how several systems of the body kind of interact, including the reproductive system and metabolism. And during a typical menstrual cycle, hormones will work together to carefully regulate the pattern that leads to ovulation. It's like the release of the egg from the ovary. And in people with PCOS, that hormonal balance can be slightly disrupted. So many people with PCOS have higher levels of androgens. And when androgen is levels higher than usual, this can interfere with ovulation. And then simply as a result, menstrual cycles can become irregular, infrequent. And sometimes people with PCOS can have absent cycles altogether.
SPEAKER_02And something important to clarify is the name polycystic ovaries can be a bit misleading. And I know that there are some medical professionals out there who are like lobbying to change the name of the syndrome because not everyone with PCOS has cysts on their ovaries. And in many cases, what doctors can see on the ultrasound are just small follicles that haven't matured properly, which is so normal of someone who has ovaries rather than true cysts. So the diagnosis of PCOS involves looking at a combination of factors rather than just one thing. Doctors use what is known as the Rotterdam criteria. And this considers three main features. Number one being irregular or absent ovulation. Number two is elevated androgen levels or symptoms that are linked to high androgen. And number three is polycystic ovaries visible on an ultrasound. And you need to have two out of these three features present to get a diagnosis for PCOS. And this can help explain why it looks very different from person to person because someone might meet, say, the criteria of absent ovulation, irregular cycles, and elevated androgen levels, but they might not have visible polycystic ovaries on an ultrasound. And these symptoms can present as different, like different things in different people entirely.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and because PCOS affects hormones, the symptoms obviously can appear in a number of different ways. And like Tus said at the beginning, and I've said about the menstrual cycle, it's really interesting that some people may just experience heavily long gaps between periods. But then some people might have these like unpredictable cycles or cycle where ovulation does not occur regularly. It's completely absent. And hormonal influences, obviously, and changes can influence our skin and our hair. Some women experience persistent acne, like increased oil production in the skin. And then some people can even get hair growth in areas, like Tash said, in areas that we might not want it, such as your face or your chest or your stomach. This is because of the higher androgen levels. And other people might notice experience of thinning hair on the scalp, which can also be linked to hormonal changes. So there's a hell of a lot going on that you could feel, I guess, be quite challenging to deal with outside of having just PCOS. It's the factors like the hair in other areas that can really, I guess, knock people's confidence a little bit.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and another factor that is highly associated with PCOS, and obviously a main area that most people struggle is difficulty regulating, maintaining body weight, difficulty losing weight. This is not everyone experiences insulin resistance with PCOS. There is a specific type of insulin-resistant PCOS. Insulin resistance is a very common symptom for people with PCOS, but not everyone with PCOS has insulin-resistant PCOS. So if you are someone that has insulin resistance with PCOS, it is slightly harder for you to lose weight, maintain a body weight that you want to maintain, but it doesn't mean that it's impossible. I think that's what's really important to know. Yeah. And we will in later in this podcast, we'll go into how you can manage that effectively. But I think a lot of it really, at the end of the day, it's really important to remember that even if you've got PCOS, it's still gonna come down to if you're struggling to lose weight, it's still gonna come down to the fact that you need to be in a calorie deficit. We need to make that very clear. Having insulin-resistant PCOS may make it harder for you because you're experiencing more regular blood sugar spikes and crashes. You're gonna have more cravings for higher sugary foods and you might see a bit of a like a skew of your hunger hormones. So you might have a larger appetite than actually what you need, and maybe your resting metabolic rate is slightly lower than someone who doesn't have PCY. So unfortunately, all the cards are kind of stacked against you in terms of that when you diet, you might need to diet on lower calories. When you're not dieting, or if you're not aware of how many calories that you're consuming, you're probably naturally just going to be eating more than you need. And that's why we might see the gain in weight. But it doesn't mean that the normal strategies that we will use, and we'll go obviously, as I said, into other strategies in a bit more detail later in the podcast. It doesn't mean that these don't work. Like the strategies for weight loss are still the same. And I think that's really empowering to know that just because you've got PCOS, it doesn't mean you need to do anything drastically different, because that's where we might think, oh my god, it's just never gonna happen for me. And I just don't want anyone to have that identity. If you've got PCOS, you're just as capable of losing weight and achieving your dream body as someone that doesn't have PCOS.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I've got quite a lot of clients with PCOS, and their kind of perception is if they have PCOS, they have issues with their insulin, they won't lose fat. You know, that is the first thing that comes into play, is like, I guess social media has also another play on this. Like they will bang on about insulin and blood sugar spikes and all of this jazz. Like, this is the reason why you can't lose weight. Guys, it does make it fucking harder, and no doubt about that. You know, it makes life more challenging. Again, it comes down to the mathematics of a deficit. And it might be that your deficit or might be that your maintenance calories just aren't as high in essence. If we talk about a little bit and touch base on the insulin side, because it can play a little bit of an important role with certain people with PCOS. Obviously, insulin is a hormone that is produced by the pancreas that helps regulate blood sugar by allowing glucose to enter the body's cells when it can be used for energy. But when someone has insulin resistance, their cells just don't respond to insulin as efficiently or as effectively. And as a result, the body reproduces more insulin in order to maintain that sort of stable blood sugar level. But obviously, with higher insulin levels, this can stimulate the ovaries to produce more androgens, which may worsen symptoms such as your irregular ovulation or acne. So your symptoms in general can feel a little bit more heightened.
SPEAKER_02And the connection between insulin and hormones is one of the reasons why the lifestyle habits that Emily and I bark on about on every single podcast, like regular exercise and balanced nutrition, can play a really positive, supportive role in managing PCOS symptoms because improving insulin sensitivity will help your body regulate blood sugar more effectively. And this over time has a knock-on effect which will help support the hormonal balance over time. And the only thing that I would say here is it's really important to just make sure that you're doing this in a sustainable way. So, I mean, we never, we never suggest this anyway, but any, we never promote this anyway, but no forms of extreme dieting or over exercise or anything that's just gonna bring like beat your body into the ground and bring so much unnecessary stress on your overall lifestyle, it's it's not gonna impact you positively. So we really just need to make sure that we are taking a well-balanced approach when it comes to wanting to achieve our body goals and managing our PCOS symptoms. Something that I think we should touch on before we go into how best to sort of manage the symptoms is the fact that it's really fucking hard to get a PCOS diagnosis.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I've sucked babe. Ridiculous. Actually ridiculous.
SPEAKER_02It's really it annoys me because there's so many people that will probably have gone like years and years and years, and probably some people now, like I I personally believe that I have a form of PCOS, and I've just never been diagnosed because I have always had irregular periods. I had the worst hormonal acne that like ever a few years ago, like to the point where I was just like, I was like in tears because my skin was so bad. I have in the past struggled to lose weight and maintain a like a body fat percentage that I would like to sit at. And I definitely know that my body is very sensitive to high stress situations. But because I've not ever at one time like had all the symptoms at the same time, had two out of three, I've never been diagnosed. But I just know in my soul that I'm sure I have some form of PCOS. I can maybe manage it quite well because of the way that I live my life now. But it's really, really hard to get a diagnosis. And you feel very dismissed when you go into doctor's offices, doctors' surgeries, and they'll tell you, just go on the pill, like that's all you need to do, uh, and come back to us when you want to have kids. And I just think that that is such demotivating advice to get because basically it's just like you either want to go on the pill, you're on your own, and you've got no support. So I that that just really, really annoys me. And I think this is where even if you've not got a diagnosis or you feel like maybe there's something not quite right with your cycle, what we're about to suggest in terms of managing your symptoms and how to structure your lifestyle to have sort of the best possible outcome of if you do have PCOS. Even if you don't, like take this advice and live this way because if it's only going to benefit your health. And if you're someone that does have PCOS, like 100% take this advice because unfortunately, your body's probably just a little bit more sensitive and you need to take better care of it. Like, that's kind of the end and result.
SPEAKER_00I have had in the past clients, and in fact, I've got a couple at the moment that have been dismissed from doctor's surgeries. They've literally been told to come pill straight away. Oh, there you go, that's you. And it's like, I'm not being funny, keep going back. Keep going back. Don't take one opinion as the final opinion. You have to be pushy. I'm sure doctors have it very hard, and I'm not gonna state that doctors don't do their job well, but at the end of the day, if they're just passing you off to another medication, they're not solving what's going on underneath. Okay? So if there's something that's amiss, I don't care. Go for a second opinion. Keep going back until you get some more answers. Don't be just dismissed to go on the pill and that be the answer, because it's it's not it's not fair, if I'm honest. Obviously, as obviously Tash mentioned, there are amazing tools that we can be doing. And I probably guessed that you might know what they are so far, but you might not be implementing them. But exercise without a doubt can be literally one of the most powerful tools for supporting overall health and people with overall health with PCOS. Strength training in particular has been shown to help insulin sensitivity. Okay. So building muscle allows the body to use glucose more effective efficiently, which in turn can absolutely help regulate blood sugar levels. So it's a no-fucking brainer to be strength training regularly. And it can obviously then help support metabolism and bone health and overall physical strength and then in turn aesthetics as well, which is obviously what we're looking for in most people's goals, they start training, is aesthetics. And that's all good. That's fine. But if you have PCOS and you want to help manage symptoms, you need to be picking up some sort of weight.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and actually cardiovascular exercise is also extremely beneficial. And interestingly, like a lot of the exercise advice that we see on social media for PCOS is completely backwards. You can say, oh my gosh, you shouldn't, you shouldn't lift heavy because it's bad for your cortisol, and you shouldn't do HIIT if you've got PCOS because you already are in like a highly stressed state. But actually, the evidence shows that for someone that has PCOS, doing a HIT style workout can be really beneficial. So don't fear exercise. Don't fear these specific types of training just because someone online is telling you that like you shouldn't be doing it. Because actually, strength training and regular cardiovascular exercise is some of the best things that you can do. And when we're exposing our body to controlled stresses, it's a way for our body to become more efficient at dealing with and managing stress. So for many people, a really, really effective balanced training approach would look like maybe two to four sessions of strength a week, one to two to maximum three forms of moderate cardiovascular activity a week. And then giving yourself at least one to two days of rest. Recovery is also important because obviously we need to make sure that we are recharging those batteries and without a lack of rest, we might see chronic stress, chronic inflammation, sort of just we're not allowing ourselves that recovery time. So we do need to allow that recovery time so we can have a very balanced, very happy, very healthy body.
SPEAKER_00If you look at this, it's almost pretty much the same things we would subscribe to someone without PCOS. People make it complicated because, again, they are trying to sell you something. But if you look at health and overall health, we should all be doing some form of cardio and we should all be strength training. And with that, you need to be also looking at your nutrition because obviously, as we know, with PCOS or no PCOS, it plays a massive health benefit with what you're consuming. Many people, obviously, with PCOS can benefit from eating specific meals that maybe maintain blood sugar levels. But that being said, it's the same for anyone. You want to be having balanced meals. So foods and meals that are full of protein, fibre-rich foods, healthy fats, complex carbohydrates. It's not abnormal. It's not like it's this new, you know, craze or this new pill that's gonna miraculously solve something. It's basically the same advice you would have for someone without PCOS to someone with PCOS. It's just being more aware and it's just implementing it. Because I think actually a lot of people just simply don't implement it. We don't get enough fiber in our foods, we don't make sure, you know, we we try and maybe have a little bit too much processed foods. And obviously, balanced meals can ultimately help prevent those kind of if you are having spikes and crushes in your blood sugar, which in turn will help support energy levels, regardless of PCOS or not.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, this is why I say, like, it's so like you want, we want to be living this way, yeah, no matter what. And if you are someone who does think that maybe you do have PCOS, whilst you are like, whilst you're waiting for your diagnosis, you've got to take your, you've got to take responsibility for your own health. You've got to take your health into your own hands, and you've got to be your own health advocate. Like you can start doing all of these things right now, even if you're not getting the support that you need from the NHS or from your healthcare provider. Okay. So we can start doing all these things right now, and I highly recommend doing all these things now because these are what we prescribe anyway. With nutrition, something that I believe is very important for specifically people with PCOS, but even if you don't have PCOS, again, you should probably be doing this anyway. I try and make a rule of thumb to not ever just consume carbohydrates on their own unless it's just before you are training or unless it's just before you're doing some form of movement, because that is a surefire way to very quickly spike your blood sugar and then not use that fuel. And that's just gonna sit in your body. So it's really, really important if you're gonna consume carbohydrates, consume it with protein, consume it with a healthy fat, slow down that digestion, ensure that you don't have these like energy spikes and crashes throughout the day. And most importantly, this is because this is for the reason. It's gonna help you be more consistent with the amount of calories that you're consuming. It's gonna help you be more consistent with your overall diet. You're not gonna have that crash in the afternoon and reach for that freaking tin of biscuits or donuts in the office or the birthday cake that someone's bought in every other fucking day. Like, you're not going to be so tempted for all of these things because you are giving yourself proper fuel, proper diet, and you're actually eating real food and you're not restricting yourself and thinking, I can't eat that because I've eaten too much, and then you end up binging on all of the wrong things. Like, let's prioritize our main meals. Let's prioritize having a protein, carbohydrate, a healthy fat at every single meal and snack. Okay, because it just makes it so much easier. And I think having that guideline makes it so much more achievable in terms of being able to stick to your diet. I don't know what you think about that.
SPEAKER_00What are your what are your thoughts? 100%. I think people underestimate the aspect of actually having a balanced meal. Yeah. You know, and they're like, oh, I'll just nitpick. What are you doing? Sit down, eat your meal. It's like again, coming back to you remember when we spoke about pausing. You know, if you're in if you have this area of emotional eating or you overeat or over-consume, are you actually paying attention to what you're eating? Like, chances are people just rush and they're on the go. And they're like looking at a piece of toast or a cereal bar and they're just consuming that. Now, I have no issues with people having a piece of toast or cereal uh before they're going on a heavy training session or a run or getting some pre pre-carb fuel. Solutely, go crazy. But I would suggest that if you are looking at trying to adhere to any diet, and actually not just adhere to any diet, just live a healthy lifestyle. You've got to be looking at your whole meal as a balanced portion. And that actually goes back to maybe like the good plate things. Remember the NHS did the good plates and they segregated the plate. Like, guys, get back to the basics. Go back to when you were like at year six and we did the separation of plates. That is what we need to be implementing. But people don't do it. And they look at their plate and it's beige. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And do you know what I'm actually I'm actually anti-snacking? I'm not, I'm not a snack girl. I think sit down, have three main meals, four main meals, make it a ritual, make it an event. And if you feel like you really need to do loads of snacking, then you're probably not giving yourself enough at your main meals. And yeah, I think it's important to think we don't actually want our food when we when we have to wait until our next meal. When we sort of like having breakfast and then we're sitting down in the office for like four or five hours, we don't want to be digesting our food really quickly. So why not do everything we can to slow that down by adding in lots of fiber, adding in high protein? The only time we want to digest our food very quickly is pre-training. And things that digest fast are quick carbohydrates, right? Your more refined carbohydrates, your high sugar foods. These things, if you eat them, you will digest them fast. For training, that's great because it gives you a pump, gives you that extra bit of energy. But if it's just a meal, like you're gonna be hungry five seconds later, and that's not an efficient meal.
SPEAKER_00No, it's absolutely not.
SPEAKER_01Agreed.
SPEAKER_02Agreed. All right, moving on. And other lifestyle factors that are just as important if you are someone with PCOS, or as we said, even without, is your sleep quality, stress management, and regular physical activity. And when I say regular physical activity, I don't mean training that we've just covered. I mean getting outside, going for a walk, actually moving in the day throughout the day. Please do not underestimate the power of going for a walk. And especially the power of going for a walk after a meal if you have PCS. It's so effective for managing your blood sugar and just helping you digest everything. I don't know if that's right. Cut that bell. It is so it's so effective for managing your blood sugar, managing your digestive system, digesting your food well. It's good for your gut health. You get everything moving. And honestly, it's like such an incredible life hack just to get a bit of movement in after a meal.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. On the topic of sleep as well, there was um, there was a study that was done. I can't remember. I'm trying to find it. I've written it down. 55, not getting enough sleep leads to 55% less fat loss. So it states that significant increase, um, sorry, it states that not getting enough sleep can reduce fat loss by around 55% and significantly increase the proportion of weight loss from lean tissue. That's comparing 8.5 hours of sleep versus 5.5 hours of sleep shows that when sleep is restricted, a much greater percentage of weight loss comes from fat-free mass, including muscle. That doesn't shock me. No, interesting though, isn't it?
SPEAKER_02I mean 55% less fat loss, that does shock me because that is huge. But the fact that a lot of the weight loss is coming from muscle, that doesn't shock me if you're not sleeping enough.
SPEAKER_00I mean, I have to double check that statistic.
SPEAKER_01But anyway, it is obviously we know. No one's gonna check. We don't have enough listeners that they're gonna come from. Dr. Andrew Lloyd, no, no. Um But yeah, it's a very wide.
SPEAKER_00I will double check. I will find out and I will put it out there. But yeah, obviously, as we know, like sleep, irregular sleep and not enough sleep will affect anyone's weight loss.
SPEAKER_02And something important to note, if you were someone that's in bed for six hours or seven hours, remember that you're probably getting an hour less sleep than that from just accounting the amount of time it takes you to fall asleep, waking up throughout the night. We're not all we're not fully asleep throughout the whole night. So if you're in bed for seven hours, you're probably getting six hours of sleep and you probably need more.
SPEAKER_00As we know, we are mindset meets muscle. So not only are we muscle orientated and health orientated, we're also mindset orientated. And I guess one of the most important aspects we need to touch base on with managing PCOS is that mindset. Hormonal conditions can absolutely make people feel frustrated or discouraged, and especially if you're being pushed away from a diagnosis or you're feeling a little bit self-conscious when your body doesn't respond maybe the way that you'd expect. But because PCOS is not caused by the lack of effort or discipline, you've got to remind yourself that it is a complex condition and it's influenced by biology and genetics. And understanding this can sometimes help people, I guess, shift their focus from frustration towards supporting their bodies and loving their bodies and giving it the self-respect that it deserves to promote long-term health.
SPEAKER_02Exactly. And I think instead of comparing your body to someone else's or comparing your situation to someone else's and thinking, oh, like this is not fair. Like, why are they fine? And like, why am I suffering from this? Just like you can't actually do anything about it. You can't control the situation you're in, but you can control how you respond to the situation you're in. And you can make the most of what you have. Focus on your own individual health and well-being, and focus on what you can do to make sure that you are thriving in the best way you can and you're supporting your body in the best way you can. And as we've mentioned, of the lifestyle interventions that you can do literally starting right now and with the right support, so many people with PCOS are able to manage their symptoms so well, build strength, maintain a healthy, active lifestyle. And actually, if you are someone that has slightly higher testosterone levels because of PCOS, you're gonna gain more muscle. It's gonna be easier for you to have muscle. So you're a lucky bitch. Take advantage of that.
SPEAKER_00Maybe um, yeah. Maybe we have PCOS, babe, but just rip hulk.
SPEAKER_02I I genuinely do think that maybe I have like some form of PCOS, just maybe not unlike it's PCOS is also like on a spectrum. So I think some people experience symptoms far greater than others. Um and I think that's important to remember as well. And as I said, like even if you even if you don't living your lifestyle focusing on your health and putting your health first and training and prioritizing your nutrition, eating your whole meals, like it's only going to bring you the world of good and help you live forever and ever and be at the barber when you're 70 years old with Emily and myself. Um I think something that I really just want to uh reiterate as well is that you don't need to do anything different because you have PCOS. You can eat your carbohydrates, you can have the cooking on the weekend, you can do everything that you want to do and everything that everyone else is doing. You might just need to be a little bit more compliant and have that dial turned up a little bit more. Unfortunately, you might have to diet a little bit harder. You might have to put in a little bit more work, be a little bit more consistent, you might have to live at 85 15 as opposed to, I don't know, 80-20. 80-20. But the principles remain the same. And just because you have PCOS, it doesn't mean you need to do anything different or you should be on a completely different plan or feel overwhelmed that there's nothing you can do because you can do it all. You just need to learn how to work with your body, not against it.
SPEAKER_00We hope that you guys enjoyed this episode and explained a little bit more about PCOS. And if you did find this conversation really helpful, please, please consider sharing it with someone who might benefit benefit from it because we appreciate it beyond belief.
SPEAKER_02And remember, understanding your body is one of the most powerful steps that you can take towards your overall health. Be your own health advocate. Take control of your body, and we'll leave you with that. Thank you so much, guys, for listening to Mindset Meets Muscle, and we'll see you in the next episode.