PCOS and Compulsive eating

[Sharlee74]

I am new to the Whole 30 and have known for a long time that this is the right thing for me. I am having issues with fruit and nuts and nut butter. I have issues with compulsive eating and attend Overeaters Anonymous. With my PCOS I know I have blood sugar issues and I already know that I should be letting go of the fruit for now and should probably be letting go of the nuts since they are an issue. Anyone else have or have had any of these issues starting the Whole 30. I would be grateful for any experience, strength and hope!

[Guest]

Both can be a trigger for me. I find myself mindlessly eating handfulS (plural) between meals because I didn't eat a proper breakfast/lunch/dinner. Usually breakfast. I sit in my office at work and will shove handfuls of nuts in my mouth and then eat a banana, an apple, an orange. The key for me is to be prepared. Get up earlier to make sure breakfast is eaten. I found that even if I scramble my eggs & veggies in plenty of coconut oil or olive oil, etc, it's not enough fat for me but if I eat half an avocado with my breakfast, I will not be hungry until lunch many hours later. When I skip that avo, I will inhale nuts and fruits and I am not hungry but not really satiated. I find that I can have a true handful of nuts and be fine with it, if I eat enough avocado but I don't want them so I avoid them. Make sense??

Good luck. I have PCOS too..

[Sharlee74]

Thanks so much. I think I just like to eat. I may be full but still grab some fruit and nuts and just eat and eat and eat. It's an avoidance tactic (that is so unhealthy). I will try to be aware. Despite this issue I am feeling better.

[AmyS]

If it helps, this is a great eating plan for people who like to eat. I eat mountains of food every meal. Protein, fat, and veggies veggies veggies. I eat lots of fat. Lots of protein. Lots of food. Eat up. (Note: I understand this doesn't directly address a compulsive eating issue. But I do know that too many eating plans have very little actual food, in very small amounts, scattered throughout the day so you're constantly hungry and deprived, and this creates a belief that hungry = virtuous. On the Whole30 program, you get to eat lots, feel full, and get healthy. Win-win-win.)

[LadyM]

What helped me was to put boundaries around fruit and nuts which are food without brakes for me. I never eat them alone, as a snack, or as a treat at the end of the meal; however, I will allow myself fruit and nuts as part of a recipe (apple or pear in a nomnom marinade or green beans almandine, for example). Nut butters are out altogether, including coconut butter, because it's food without brakes for me.

Having focused on following the template for almost six weeks now means I'm satisfied, nourished, and no longer eat compulsively. Talk about freedom!

[Sharlee74]

Sounds like this is what I will have to do.

[NaughtyCavegirl]

It's been a year since I started my first successful Whole30, and the one thing I can say is that habits do change. I still have a sugar demon, but I can have a bowl of spiced nuts in my living room without it disappearing immediately. A small jar of almond butter now lasts a week.

The trick is just to not have trigger foods in bulk in the house until they are under control. My boyf and I have just started a sugar detox and just buy 7 green apples a week (i.e. half an apple each per day). If we binge, no more apples until the week after. I'll probably post some time in the next few weeks with how successful this plan is.

We both still have days where we sabotage with sweets, but it's a lifestyle not a diet, and these are now the exceptions not the rule.

[Sara_Lee]

Fruits and nuts are trigger foods for me as well, so I'm probably going to have to cut them out until I am able to overcome that compulsion. I'm interested in hearing any/all ideas for what has worked for other people. I'm also here to give/receive support!

Strength in numbers, sistas!

[blondyksa]

I am sorry for what you are going through, but, selfishly, I am happy to hear it from someone else.  As I have never been to overeaters anonymus, I have often given it thought.  I am most certainly a compulsive eater and do exactly what you are doing.  Dried fruit has to be off limits for me.  Nuts and Nut butter are very limited and I limit my fruits to one a day.  Two every once in a while if I am having a particularly difficult day.  I assume eating an extra fruit or 2 is better than diving straight into a box of crackers.....Either way, I made it through a very successful Whole 30 only to completely fall back into old binge habits for weeks at a time.  It is a tough road, but I am working through it, too.  Be strict with yourself and know your triggers.  Also know there are people out there who totally understand.  It isn't about being hungry for me. AT.ALL.  Take care, you can do this and the cravings and bad habits do pass.  Then they come back, then they pass again.  But you are stronger than they are!

[pjena]

I find that following the template, even post W30, keeps me from compulsive eating.  I try for 3 meals / no snacks and make sure to get enough protein and fat in each meal.  If I start eating between meals, I usually keep going back for more.  I can do that with compliant food just as easily as I did before the W30.  Focusing on the template rather than which particular foods I can or can't have also helps me avoid feeling deprived.  Good luck!

[Wendi]

I have PCOS as well.  My question is if anyone has completed W30 and seen improvements in cycle and/or symptoms of PCOS. My husband and I are trying to conceive and having an incredibly difficult time due to the PCOS.  

[cavemma]

I can relate. Especially when my hormones get wacky or I'm stressed, I notice that I snack... and snack... and snack. I ate paleo before doing my whole30 (on day 29) but decided to go off of fruit and nuts for the 30 days too. It was definitely the right thing to do for me because I was feeling very out of control. However, I still struggled with stress eating somedays, but better it be veggies i guess.. haha. I haven't formally been diagnosed with PCOS but I display most of the unpleasant symptoms. It is hard to follow the template, but I'm trying to make that become an everyday thing for me. Good luck.

[bookworm05]

I have PCOS and issues with binge eating. I've binged during each of my last two whole 30 attempts and I've definitely been known to overdo it on nut butters. 

 

It's actually going really well this time. I'm keeping nut butter in the house without going crazy (except for Monday night which turned out to be the day before my period). My periods are back on a 28 day cycle. Today was Day 1 of my period and I felt really dehydrated and thirsty. I was craving fruit like crazy and drinking water. I also felt really lightheaded. I'm hoping it's just something I can chalk up to being grain-free and sugar-free right now and the heatwave we've been having. We'll see what tomorrow brings!