The Best Carbohydrate Counter for Women With PCOS

by AmyPlano | Jul 23, 2016 | General information about PCOS, PCOS and carbohydrates, PCOS Breakfast Foods, PCOS snacks, Weight Loss

Hi Everyone –

This will likely be one of my longest posts – but I think one of the most resourceful blogs! One of the questions I get asked a lot is, “How do you determine how many carbohydrates are in specific foods?” We can always read the label. But what happens if our food (or beverage) doesn’t have a label? Like champagne! Champagne does not have a label right? [Side note – if you want to be in the know on the carbohydrate content of all alcohol click HERE to get the 411. I wrote a killer blog on this very topic!] Well, that is why exactly I created this fancy guide to counting carbs for women with PCOS.

The ultimate guide to counting carbs for women with PCOS

If you have ever been in a PCOS nutrition session with me, you know I’m like a carbohydrate calculator. Throw any food my way and I can tell you how many grams of carbohydrates are in that particular food. But no worries if you’re not a freak show like me 🙂 That is a-okay!

I’ve created what I consider to be a comprehensive guide to counting carbs for women.with PCOS. This list should be awesome for any woman who has PCOS and is counting their carbs (Hint: if you have PCOS you should always being counting your carbs!)

This list is by no means all-inclusive – but I think I cover the majority carbohydrate containing foods most people eat. If a food is not listed — a great resource which I use all the time is www.calorieking.com . This website is awesome! You can download the app and have the carb count of all foods at the tap of a button! And extra bonus – it is FREE!

You have probably heard me reference that I often recommend a total intake of carbohydrate for most women with PCOS to be between 90 – 140 grams per day. You can use this list below to see how close you are coming within those targets. To be fair – I never count the carbohydrates that are in non-starchy vegetables. The only ones I do count are the starchy vegetables, peas, corn, potatoes and the winter squashes. All other vegetables have about 5 grams of carbs in each 1/2 cup.

Here you go! Enjoy The PCOS Dietitian’s guide to counting carbs for women with PCOS

The BEST guide to counting carbs for women with PCOS

Carbohydrate Content of Foods

BREADS / CRACKERS / GRAINS/ STARCHY VEGETABLES

* carbohydrate content may vary from brand to brand, always read the food label if there is one!

Starches Amount Carb grams

Breads

Bread, white or wheat 1 slice (1 oz) 15 g

Light bread 1 slice (1 oz) 7-8 g

Low Carb bread 1 slice (1 oz) 9 g

Challah 1 oz 15 g

Lavash, plain 2 oz 30 g

Pita bread, all types 2 oz 30 g

Mini/Pocket 1 oz 15g

Turkish/Middle Eastern 1 oz 15 g

Hamburger or Hot dog bun 1 bun 20 g

Dinner rolls 1 small 15 g

Sandwich roll 1 medium (2 oz) 30 g

Bagel 1 (Deli style) 60-70g

Mini bagel 1 (1 oz) 15 g

Croissant, plain 1 mini (1 oz) 15 g

1 medium (1 ½ oz) 20 g

1 large (2 ½ oz) 35 g

Danish, fruit 1 regular 30 g

Doughnut 1 medium 25 g

Pancake or waffle, frozen 1 small 15 g

English muffin, plain 1 30 g

Muffin, blueberry 1 small (2 oz) 30 g

Dunkin Donuts 1 regular 75 g

Tortilla, corn, 6” 1.2 oz, each 10 g

Soft Taco 1 15 g

Flour Tortilla 1 (1.7 oz) 30 g

Burritos Tortilla 1 30 g

Wraps, plain

Regular size 1 75 g

Large size 1 120 g

CRACKERS

Saltine 1 cracker 2 g

Cheese 1 crackers 2 g

Graham 1 cracker 5 g

Wheat Thins 1 cracker 1 g

Soda 1 cracker 10 g

Peanut Butter 1 cracker 4 g

CEREALS

Oatmeal 1 cup (cooked) 30 g

Farina 1 cup (cooked) 25 g

Dry Cereal 1 cup 22 – 45 grams

GRAINS

Rice, white or brown 1 cup (cooked) 45 g

Spaghetti 1 cup (cooked) 40 g

Elbows/spirals 1 cup (cooked) 40 g

Small Shells 1 cup (cooked) 30 g

Mac & Cheese 1 cup (cooked) 30 g

Grits 1 cup (cooked) 30 g

STARCHY VEGETABLES

Corn ½ cup 15 g

Corn on the cob 1 medium 20 g

Popcorn 3 cups 15 g

Potatoes

Plain, baked small (3 oz) 15g

Wendy’s, baked large 60-70g

Mashed ½ cup 15g

Plantain 1 medium 30 g

Yam ½ cup (mashed) 15 g

Yucca ½ cup (mashed) 15 g

Hash brows ½ cup (mashed) 10 g

French Fries

McDonald’s small 25 g

medium 60 g

large 70 g

Restaurant style 15 fries 25 g

BEANS

Beans, dry:

Black-eyed peas 1 cup (cooked) 30 g

Lentils or peas 1 cup (cooked) 40 g

Navy beans 1 cup (cooked) 45 g

Pinto or Black beans 1 cup (cooked) 45 g

Beans canned:

Backed in sweet sauce 1 cup 50 g

Black or Kidney beans 1 cup 40 g

Chili with beans 1 cup 30 g

Garbanzo beans 1 cup 50 g

Lima beans 1 cup 30 g

Refried beans 1 cup 40 g

FRUIT/ FRUIT JUICES

* Use a Food Scale to measure carbohydrate content of fruit per amount (oz.)

Food Amount Carb grams

FRESH FRUIT

Apple

Small 4 oz * 15 g

Medium 6 oz 25 g

Large 8 oz 35 g

Apricots 1 medium (2oz) 6 g

Applesauce ½ cup unsweetened 15g

Banana

1 medium 5 oz 20 g

1 large 7 oz 25 g

Berries 1 cup 20 g

Cantaloupe/Honeydew 1 oz 2 g

1 cup (cubes) 15 g

Cherries 10 pieces 10 g

Clementine 1 medium (3 oz) 15 g

Grapefruit ½ fruit 15 g

Grapes 15 pieces 15 g

Kiwifruit 1 medium (3 oz) 10 g

Mandarin 1 small (3 oz) 6 g

Oranges

Small 1 (5 oz with skin) 12 g

Medium 1 (7 oz) 18 g

Papaya ½ cup (cubed) 8 g

Medium 1 (with skin) 30 g

Peaches 1 medium (4 oz) 8 g

Plum 1 small (2 oz) 6 g

Pear 1 medium (6 oz) 22 g

Pineapple 1 thick slice (3 oz) 10 g

Strawberries 1 cup (sliced) 10g

3 large (2 oz) 3 g

Watermelon 1 cup cubes 12 g

CANNED FRUIT

(check the label!)

DRIED FRUIT

Apricots 8 halves (1 oz) 15 g

Prunes 3 medium 15 g

Raisins 2 Tbsp. 15 g

FRUIT JUICE

Apple juice 4 oz (1/2 cup) 15 g

Grape juice 4 oz (1/2 cup) 20 g

Orange juice 4 oz (1/2 cup) 12 g

Vegetable juice 4 oz (1/2 cup) 6 g

MILK / YOGURT

Food Amount Carb grams

MILK

Whole, low-fat or skim 8 oz (1 cup) 12 g

Chocolate milk 8 oz 26 g

Soymilk (plain) 8 oz 8-10 g

YOGURT

Plain yogurt 8 oz (1 cup) 12-14 g

Light yogurt 8 oz 16-20 g

Fruited yogurt 8 oz 32-40 g

Greek yogurt (plain/non-fat) 6 oz. 7-10 g

Greek yogurt (plain/ 2%) 6 oz 7-10 g

Greek yogurt (flavored/non-fat) 6 oz. 8-35 g

CONDIMENTS / SWEETENERS

Food Amount Carb grams

SUGARS

Table sugar 1 Tbsp 15 g

Honey 1 tsp 6 g

Jam or preserve 1 Tbsp 15 g

Syrup, Regular 1 Tbsp 15 g

Syrup, Light 1 Tbsp 7 g

BBQ sauce 1 Tbsp 6 g

Ketchup 1 Tbsp/ 1 pkt 5 g

Spaghetti sauce ½ cup 10 g

Cranberry sauce ¼ cup 25 g

FAST FOODS

* Ask for nutritional information where you buy/eat fast food

New York style pizza 1 slice 45 g

As I noted I am sure I missed a couple of foods. But I did my best to provide you with a comprehensive guide to counting carbs for women with PCOS . Let me know in the comments below if I missed any of your favorite carbohydrate containing foods. I would love to know. Bet your eyes are better than mine! ♥

Why Weight Watchers and PCOS Don’t Play Nice in the Sandbox

by AmyPlano | Jul 19, 2016 | PCOS and carbohydrates, PCOS and metabolism, PCOS and Weight Gain, Truth Bomb, Weight Loss

Could it be possible — that the very diet — that you follow to a T … is making you fat if you have PCOS ? Abso -friggin-lutely!

Given the fact I have been successfully helping women with PCOS lose weight for the last decade, it is fair to say I have seen my fair share of diets. However, one thing I can tell is certain Weight Watchers and PCOS don’t mix!

Typically by the time most women find me, they have been struggling for quite some time with their weight. They have tried every diet out there with minimal success. I don’t think there has been one woman who has exited their initial visit with me not having an “ah-ha!” moment. When women leave my office, it’s often with a sigh of relief — like a load has been lifted off their shoulders. What they have been doing for so long has been so wrong — but they have been brainwashed to think that it is SO right. That folks is the true definition of frustration! No bueno!

PCOS and Weight Watchers: Why Weight Watchers is making you fat!

You see, most women with PCOS are SO confused when it comes to diet. And rightfully so! There is so much information out there — low fat, high fat, no gluten, no dairy, no salt, no carbohydrates. I’ve seen every diet out there. But if I were to say there is any one diet I see many PCOSers follow (or followed at some point in their weight loss journey!) is Weight Watchers. If there is anyone diet platform that is just so damn wrong for women with PCOS it is Weight Watchers. Yes, you heard me correcty! If you have PCOS, Weight Watchers is making you fat! Stop the presses — if you are following a Weight Watchers style diet – get the heck off of it now. Weight Watchers and PCOS do not play in the sand box nicely!

Let me tell you why.

Why Weight Watchers doesn’t work for women with PCOS

You see, Weight Watchers is a very high carbohydrate, moderate protein, low fat diet. Most of the programs created by Weight Watchers provide at least 60 % of the total daily calories from carbohydrates. For Pete’s sake — I don’t even feed my professional athletes that many carbohydrates! Most women with PCOS effectively lose weight when their diet is just around 30 – 40 % total calories coming from carbohydrates. For someone following a 1300 calorie diet, 40 % of your calories coming from carbohydrates would be < 140 grams per day. If you were following the same level calories (I know you don’t count calories on Weight Watchers – you count points – but bare with me sister’!) on a Weight Watchers plan would you would be taking in about 200 grams per day. As small as it sounds — these 60 grams of extra carbohydrates ARE NOT working for your waist line – not to mention how it is impacting your fertility and overall health.

Every time we consume carbohydrates of any kind (it doesn’t matter if it is fruit, oatmeal or a sweet potato!) our bodies break down the carbohydrates into glucose. In response to glucose your angry body dumps out the hormone insulin. Insulin is what we consider a storage hormone. This means when insulin is circulating in our blood system – our bodies do not break down body fat for fuel – but instead it goes into fat storage mode.

As many as 70 % of women with PCOS are insulin resistant. This means their bodies’ are resistant to the effects of insulin. Insulin resistance makes it very difficult for their bodies to process carbohydrates. That is why many women with PCOS take the medication Metformin. This miracle drug for women with PCOS makes their cells more sensitive to the effects of insulin. Therefore, Metformin allows them to break down carbohydrates more effectively. I say more effectively because even on a therapeutic dose of Metformin, say around 1500 mg/day, women with PCOS still tend to not thrive on a diet higher than 40 % total calories coming from carbohydrates. I think of PCOS like having a carbohydrate handicap – that even when medicated on Metformin — this handicap does not go away 🙁

Stop the carbohydrate madness – just say heck ‘no’ to Weight Watchers and PCOS

Weight Watchers is the wrong weight loss program for women with PCOS

So back to Weight Watchers and why it could be responsible for making you fat if you have PCOS. On a typical Weight Watchers program you are eating carbohydrates all day. Breakfast — Special K Cereal (Carb) with Skim Milk (Carb) and fruit (Carb) Lunch – Turkey Sandwich (Carb) with pretzels (Carbs) and a yogurt (Carb) Dinner — Chicken, Sweet Potato (Carb) and broccoli. Snacks – Flavored Greek Yogurt (Carb), Apple (Carb), Skinny Cow (Carb). As you can see there is no shortage of carbohydrates. You mine as well be fueling for a marathon!

I want to make it clear – I have nothing against any of these foods. But for women with PCOS this style of eating creates an insulin disaster! All day long your body is getting flooded with carbohydrates that drives your insulin through the roof. Therefore, on a program like Weight Watchers you become a fat-storing machine – completely the opposite of what you want!

I think Weight Watchers is fantastic for many things – one being accountability. Also for many people it clearly works – and I cannot deny that! But I lie to you not – Weight Watchers is NOT the appropriate program for someone with PCOS trying to lose weight. I work with MANY women who actually gain weight while on a Weight Watchers program. If this is you — do not blame yourself. I bet you are spot-on with your points — it is just not the right program for you.

The right weight loss diet for women with PCOS

Women with PCOS need to follow a modest, lower carbohydrate diet to promote and sustain weight loss. That isn’t the same thing as a no-carbohydrate diet or a low-carbohydrate diet (< 20 grams per day). No need to be so drastic. So please don’t get these terms confused. Most women do well when their carbohydrates are between 90 – 140 grams per day.

In future blog posts, I’ll discuss what a typical day looks like at these carbohydrate levels. But in the meantime if you are hanging with the ladies at Weight Watchers and you have PCOS, please promise me you will cut your ties?

I’m only saying this for your own good – I promise.

Got questions on why Weight Watchers could be making you fat if you struggle with PCOS? Please post them in the comments below. I would love to hear your thoughts.

PCOS friendly recipes : Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

by AmyPlano | Jul 19, 2016 | PCOS and carbohydrates, PCOS friendly recipes

I can hardly believe it is the middle of July! Can you? Why does the summer seem to always go by so fast? Even as a professor, despite getting out school mid-May, 3 months never seems enough. I know, I know cry me a river, right? Nonetheless, I hope you are taking time to do something fun this summer. For me – my happy place is the kitchen and I wanted to provide you with one of my favorite PCOS friendly recipes – Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins!

PCOS Friendly Recipes

For anyone who knows my husband – he is a man who likes to eat! However, as a personal trainer and rehab specialist, he tends to be a bit vain about his appearance and overall health. Believe it or not, of the both us, he tends to be the one more anal with his food. So needless to say, I am constantly looking for something healthy, that has fairly high quality ingredients to feed the “beast.” These Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins are not only fit for the Beast – they top off as one of my favorite PCOS friendly recipes.

Last week before a quick road trip to Maine, I was looking to clean out the fridge and any food that might spoil while we were away. I walked downstairs and there they were – staring me right straight in the eyes — a half dozen banana s– full of brown speckles and all. What was a girl to do? I could just do the ho-hum and make a banana bread. But that sounded too boring. Plus my husband would be complaining that I should not have made it after he hammered the whole damn thing 🙂

Pinterest Saves the Day!

So, I headed over to my favorite place — Pinterest (of course!) — and put into the search engine “healthy banana recipes” — and the recipe below was born. I have to say I am not a huge fan of taking something that is meant to be unhealthy and turning it into something else. I always find it often leaves something to be desired. But these muffins – these muffins – turned out pretty awesome. They were super-duper-moist! Want more PCOS friendly recipes check out my Pinterest page for lots of amazing stuff!

The only thing that makes me a little sad about them is that they have no fat. I feel that fat is something we need ample amounts of in our diet – especially folks with PCOS — who need healthy fats to support their hormones. So the easiest remedy for that is to slather a tablespoon of some natural peanut butter or even better – Kerrygold Butter!

Get Creative!

I played with some different ingredients. I tried the recipe with regular brown sugar as well as Truvia brown sugar. I also played with different types of yogurts. I did not notice any substantial differences but I provided the nutritional information just in case you were curious. These are killer. Search no more for PCOS friendly recipes – these are the best!

High Protein Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Makes: 12 muffins

Ingredients :

1 cup (225 g) plain Greek yogurt (I used 2 % as that is what I typically buy!)
2 medium ripe bananas (200 g or 1 cup mashed)
2 large eggs
2 cups (160 g) rolled oats (old fashioned or quick)
1/4 cup (50 g) brown sugar unpacked (I used Truvia Brown Sugar – Baking and only needed 1/8 cup)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup (85 g) chocolate chips, mini or regular

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400F (204C) and prepare a muffin pan by spraying the cavities with cooking spray or lining them with paper liners**. Set aside.
Add all the ingredients except for the chocolate chips to a blender or food processor and process on high until the oats are broken down and batter is smooth and creamy. Stir in chocolate chips by hand.
Pour batter into prepared muffin pan, filling each cavity until it is about 3/4 full. Optional: sprinkle a few chocolate chips over the top of each muffin.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the tops of your muffins are set and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool in pan for ~10 minutes before removing. Store in an air-tight container for up to a week.

** if you decide to use paper liners just give them a quick spray with Pam or Cooking Spray just so you get the muffins out easier without sticking.

As noted above: Nutrition Info: 178 calories carbohydrates: 30 grams protein: 7 grams fat: 4 grams

With Truvia Brown Sugar & 2 % Greek Yogurt: Nutrition Info: 189 calories carbohydrates: 29 grams protein: 8 grams fat: 5 grams

Add 1 tablespoon butter = + 120 calories, 0 grams of carbohydrates, 12 grams of fat

Add 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter = + 90 calories, 4 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fat

PCOS: Powerful Chicks with Outrageous Strength

by AmyPlano | Jul 14, 2016 | Uncategorized

PCOS and Pregnancy: Preventing Gestational Diabetes

by AmyPlano | Feb 13, 2015 | PCOS and Gestational Diabetes

PCOS and pregnancy

Pregnancy is an exciting time, especially because so many women with PCOS have been trying to conceive for years. Having PCOS and being pregnant, however, poses additional risks for women with the syndrome, especially for developing gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), a condition of high glucose levels during pregnancy.

Women with PCOS have an increased risk of developing GDM, regardless if they are overweight or not. Insulin levels significantly increase in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy as a normal part of pregnancy; the majority of women with PCOS already have high insulin levels.

PCOS and the risk of gestational diabetes

You are at high risk for gestational diabetes if you:

Have PCOS
Are obese
Have previously given birth to a large baby (nine pounds or greater)
Have had gestational diabetes with a past pregnancy
Have glycosuria (sugar in your urine) before or during pregnancy
Have a strong family history of diabetes
Are of older maternal age
Experience excessive weight gain during pregnancy

If not well-managed, gestational diabetes can cause significant problems during pregnancy and labor for both mom and baby.

How women with PCOS can prevent gestational diabetes

The good news is that diet and exercise modifications can help to prevent gestational diabetes. If you have PCOS, here are some of the most effective ways to reduce your chances of developing gestational diabetes during your pregnancy.

Screen early in pregnancy

If you have PCOS and become pregnant, glucose testing should be done as soon as possible to screen for gestational diabetes. If the results are normal, testing should be repeated by the standard screening time for all pregnant women, between 24 and 28 weeks gestation. While early testing won’t prevent GDM, interventions to maintain proper blood glucose levels that are started early on, will help to optimize pregnancy outcomes.

Limit sweets and refined carbs

Since high sugar and refined carbs dramatically increase glucose and insulin levels, they are best to be limited during pregnancy. This includes juice, regular soda, white bread, sugary cereals, pastries and baked goods.

Increase fiber

Be sure to include fiber in your meals. This can be from fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, and whole-grain breads. One large study looked at the diets of women before they got pregnant. Every 10 gram daily increase in fiber reduced their risk of GDM by 26%.

Seek nutrition counseling

Because dieting is never recommended during pregnancy, women with gestational diabetes should receive nutritional counseling from a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN), such as those at the PCOS Nutrition Center. An RDN can tell you which foods to eat and which to avoid, as well as educate you about ideal portions and meal timing. All of this will help optimize glucose levels and support a healthy pregnancy.

Exercise regularly

Exercise is extremely important for women with PCOS, especially when it comes to preventing gestational diabetes during pregnancy.

Consistent, moderate-intensity physical activity may improve insulin resistance by lowering blood sugar levels, and aid in weight management in pregnancy. In one study, researchers found that women who were physically active before and during their pregnancy reduced their risk of GDM by about 70% or even more. The women got about 4 hours a week of physical activity. Walking and swimming are great, low impact exercises to do during pregnancy.

Take myo-inositol

It has been shown that myo-inositol (MYO) can reduce the risk of GDM in pregnancy in women with PCOS. One study showed the prevalence of GDM in the MYO group was 17.4% compared with 54% in the control group. More studies are needed to show the benefits and risks of taking MYO in pregnancy. MYO could cause low blood sugar and should only be used in pregnancy under the care of a physician.