How To be Mindful With Your Sweets When You Have PCOS

October 31, 2018
/ Blog nutrition

I’m going to come right out and tell you, it’s my belief/observation/experience that when we attempt to permanently eliminate things that bring us joy, we often fail, become miserable, or become rebellious.

Sweets – and sugar in general – definitely can incite that type of reaction!

Sweets are an important part of most celebrations, holidays, and cultures. Sweets add variety, texture, and taste to our cuisine.

I hear so many women with PCOS saying that the only way to achieve control of their bodies and brains is by eliminating all sweets, and I just don’t agree. I’m more of a believer in a moderate approach, although I totally get that for some people, abstinence is the only way to go. It’s just too hard to have the option, or it gets out of control quickly.

So let’s talk about the moderation approach – having a little, mindfully, so you can derive maximum pleasure with minimal health impact. Because the truth is, a little sugar every now and then is not going to hurt if it’s done in context of an overall healthy eating program.

But I could eat sugar like it’s my job; what makes the sugar cravings so strong?

When you have insulin resistance, as most of us with PCOS do, your cells aren’t processing sugars properly. When you eat, as food gets digested, the nutrients are released into your blood stream. They’re supposed to fuel you. But when that doesn’t happen correctly (insulin resistance), you can eat and end up with that starving feeling a little while later.

You might even get that “hangry” feeling, and then you’re scrounging for everything carby, fatty, salty, crunchy, sweet – maybe all together – because it gives you a sugar boost, which is calming and soothing. You get a dopamine boost too – that’s the hit of “AHHHHHH….YES…JOY!” that your brain issues when you get carbs, or other pleasure hits the brain hard (think drugs, gambling, sex addiction, etc.).

What are some better food choices?

First, make sure you’re eating enough protein. We tend to crave sugar when we’re not getting enough protein. How much is enough? That’s a huge debate. You’ve got to experiment and see. Make sure you get protein with every meal and snack.

Then, make sure you’re eating enough vegetables. I’m talking four or five half-cup servings at each of lunch and dinner, plus a couple of fruits. Vary what you’re eating from day to day, and meal to meal. You’ll get all sorts of micronutrients that your body and brain are craving, and may find you’re not that interested in sweets after all.

But what about the sweets, Dr. Gretchen?! You said we get to eat sweets!

Yes, you do!

Now, pick the thing you really love. Not just like. LOVE. And program it into your food choices, so you’re managing the carb count, calorie count, or whatever you’re tracking, if you care to track. In other words, give up a slice of bread for a piece of chocolate. Skip a glass of wine to eat a scoop of ice cream.

Get into the proper mindset. Feel entitled to this food, whatever it is. Because you ARE entitled. We’re all entitled to savor and anticipate our food. We deserve to enjoy our food thoroughly. Plan to enjoy it.

Now enjoy the heck out of it! Really savor. Don’t hide out and stuff it in your face as fast as possible. Buy the best you can get your hands on – super-premium ice cream, European chocolate, pastry from the really good bakery. Take your time. Twice as long as you would ordinarily take. Notice all the flavors, textures, colors, and beauty of what it is you’re eating.

Thank yourself for giving yourself this wonderful, amazing, mindful pleasure. This is some serious mental nutrition!

Final Tip

Struggling with allowing yourself a little treat now and then? Click here to get your copy of my free publication, Savor Your Sweets.” It’s full of recipes, tips, and tricks for having more of what you want.

Leave a Comment:

LL says

This is honesty the most healthy, reasonable, and work-a-ble thing I’ve ever read online for us PCOS(Cycsters). I tried elimination and it only brought binging, obsession and misery. I swear by dark chocolate, frozen yogurt and having a sweet coffee (sometimes, I add my own sweet to it). Like for real. Going overboard even when you can crave it also makes you feel awful, so like, black or white thinking for pcos is so, so, so not a good idea.

Thank you for sharing this – it gives me hope to let myself (and hopefully other women !!!) enjoy once in a while (if not small moderate things ever day, ie. small block o’ dark chocolate or a honey stick).

I’ve had pcos issues quite literally always (even before the age of menstruation, which I got at age 8 anyway……) and exercise (walk + weights + hike) and do the best with diet (protein, veggies, some fruit, slow-carb/whole grain) and my god the weight fluctuations and emotional trauma is e x h a u s t i n g – saying ‘no never’ to anything is so toxic (unless, like, you have allergies to said food/thing and so on so forth).
Metformin is also super helpful, and cinnamon + spearmint, though Insolitol is like a natural godsend I wish all doctors who treat us knew about :< !!!!!
There should be like a 'sugar scale' for us, something like 85% nope and 15% fruits and some special sweet we enjoy !
I would probably bite someone's head off w/o chocolate lol let me tell you :'D

TLDR' thank you for this article – it seems to be the first healthy view and not anxiety provoking thing for us pcos sufferers !

Uma Bhandarkar says

Good stuff.

Gretchen Kubacky says

Thank you for your comments; I really appreciate the feedback – and yes, that is always my goal – to inspire hope, be reasonable, and help you develop a personalized way of healthy living, whatever that is for you.

Gosia Pasternak-McMurry says

Sadly the link to Savor your sweets doesn’t work

Gretchen Kubacky says

My apologies! The link has now been fixed, please click here to access Savor Your Sweets.

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