5 Easy Steps to a Stress-Free PCOS-Friendly Diet

It’s something I say often: Having PCOS is stressful enough; eating a PCOS-friendly diet doesn’t have to be.

Below, I share with you 5 easy steps that will make adopting a PCOS-friendly diet easier and less stressful for you.

1. Plan Your Meals and Go Shopping for Healthy, PCOS-Friendly Food

If you don’t know what to cook, check out the recipes on my blog for some inspiration! You’ll find soups, salads, breakfasts, and more.

After you’ve figured out what meals you’re going to make, prepare a shopping list of foods you need to buy to make all your PCOS-friendly meals and snacks. That way there’s no guessing about what you need to buy to restock your fridge and pantry.

It doesn’t matter if you’ll be buying your groceries online at Thrive Market or Amazon Fresh or the good old-fashioned grocery story; you need a list to stay organized and on track while you’re shopping.

For optimum health, I advocate eating organic. If going 100% organic isn’t an option for you right away, start by buying organic, hormone-free meat and poultry and wild-caught seafood. Then, slowly make your way to buying organic produce.

2. Prepare Food in Advance

If the idea of preparing your meals in advance seems stressful, don’t worry. It’s not as hard or as time consuming as it seems.

You don’t have to plan all your meals for the next week in one go. If you’re new to meal planning or it suits your schedule and lifestyle, you may choose to plan and prep your meals for only two days at a time, which still reduces your planning, prep time, and stress about what to eat by a lot!

Personally, I like meal prepping on Sundays because that’s when I do my shopping. For me, it’s convenient to come home and start cooking right away instead of putting my groceries in the fridge and forgetting about them like I might on a busy Thursday evening

3. Organize Your Fridge

Keeping your fridge organized saves time and money because you can easily find what’s in there and prevents food being shoved to the back and becoming spoiled. Spend some time reorganizing your fridge to section off different foods just like you see in the grocery store. Make a place for fruits, vegetables, dairy, and proteins so everything is easy to access.

It’s also a good idea to organize all the PCOS-friendly meals you’ve prepped. If you separated your eggs into individual breakfast baggies to take with you in the morning, keep all the eggs in the same place in your fridge. Make a place for your lunch, snacks, and dinner items as well, so you can always see what is on hand.

4. Change the Way You Eat

I’m not just talking about changing what you eat…We’ve already got that covered with your PCOS-friendly meals. I’m talking about changing how you eat.

Chewing. Food. While. Sitting. Down.

This is one of the hardest aspects of healthy eating for my clients who feel stressed out by their never-ending to-do lists, constant work deadlines, and the kids’ non-stop activities. I’m sure you can relate. Who has time to sit down and eat? I hear it all the time.

But, I’m begging you to try: turn off the TV, put down the phone, and savor the wonderful tastes and flavors of good-quality food.

Stress contributes to 80% of chronic conditions, and for women with PCOS, causes damage to their adrenal glands. This can lead to adrenal fatigue, interrupted sleep, and a difficulty to lose weight even while exercising.

So, this means if you’re a stressed-out woman with PCOS—and who isn’t?—your ability to get a good night’s sleep or lose unwanted pounds becomes more difficult and that’s going to stress you out even more!

Eating a PCOS-friendly diet isn’t just about what we eat, it’s how we choose to honor the food that’s healing us and helping us live a life free of PCOS.

5. Affirm Your Commitment to a PCOS-Friendly Diet and Seek Support from Others

We are creatures of habit, and change can be hard. Stay motivated by putting positive quotes on your fridge to remember why you’re making a PCOS-friendly diet part of your lifestyle. For added support, like PCOS Diet Plans on Facebook where you can regularly connect with women just like you, ask questions, receive advice, and get more PCOS-friendly recipes!

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I hope this post has inspired you to start seeking freedom from your PCOS symptoms and learn that eating a PCOS-friendly diet doesn’t have to be hard.

If you’d like would like more PCOS-friendly recipes and tips, sign up below.

And, if you know someone with PCOS who could benefit from learning more about PCOS-friendly diets, please share this recipe with them.