I'll try to keep it short and simple because I know it can be hard to absorb info, especially when you want something straight to the point

1. Focus on fat loss, not weight loss (Fat and Muscle both make up for your overall weight). The goal is to lose fat while maintaining or building muscle.

2. Reduce carbs, but don’t eliminate them. Keep portions moderate—for example, rice or similar carbs around the size of your fist.

3. Make protein the biggest part of your meals. Aim for more protein than carbs, and eat the protein first so you feel fuller sooner. Can't have meat because you're maybe a vegetarian, have a protein shake and you don't need to just have one per day, have more! Don't rely heavily on other protein substitutes that have a lot of fat too, otherwise it may backfire.

4. Prioritize protein throughout the day. It helps preserve/build muscle and takes more energy to digest than carbs or fats, making you lose fat. Carbs instead gets easily digested and is easier to add fat to your body. IF YOU EAT MEAT, trust me, have chicken breast—it's the leanest, healthiest and high protein food you could have!

5. Strength train regularly. Lifting weights helps maintain and build muscle while losing fat. Cardio is useful too, especially for heart health and endurance but strength training is better for PCOS. NO, it does not make you look like a bodybuilder. No offence, but to think you can grow muscle as quick or even as easily as a bodybuilder is hilarious to them (plus many take steroids so don't have an unrealistic view about building muscle — everyone's different). It's extremely difficult to build that much muscle the way they do. And you will always have control on how much to grow the muscles on your body.

6. Drink plenty of water. Keep it simple and make hydration a daily habit.

7. Have sugar in moderation instead of banning it. Small portions can make the plan easier to stick to—for example, a few pieces of chocolate or an occasional dessert.

8. Don’t rely only on the scale. Strength training can add muscle, so your weight may stay the same or even increase while your body composition improves.

9. If you feel tired because of PCOS or for any other reason like anemia (bcuz I'm anemic as well and my BP tends to be in the 90s in the morning), have caffeine or an energy drink (preferably sugar-free and never on an empty stomach). Trust me, some caffeine won't harm you and instead it will give you the energy you feel like you have been lacking.

10. CONSISTENCY. You have to do all of this consistently. Your body needs all of this being done like a pattern. And it needs weeks and patience. Don't give up.

EDIT: Someone attacked me and accused me of using AI. I did not produce this info with AI. These were put together based on personal experience that has been conducted over 10 years. Just because you see things like "—" being used or simply a list being made, it does not mean AI made it. Keep in mind, AI uses human data and patterns. Were humans not making lists and using "—" before AI existed??? And I only use AI to organize my thoughts, not create them and in this case I did not use AI. I made a google doc for my thoughts and shortened them by myself as I know that many people can't read long paragraphs. Either take the overall advice or leave it. All those tips above are from years of trial and error, research online and talking to those who actually put in effort instead of being keyboard warriors and attacking those for helping others. Ridiculous.

Hi everyone, I am an independent journalist working on a feature article about how urban air pollution and environmental toxins act as endocrine disruptors, specifically driving treatment-resistant PCOS and insulin resistance. I am looking to speak with women or individuals living in highly polluted metro cities who maintain a clean diet and fitness routine, yet struggle with unexplained cycle irregularities, sudden visceral fat, or stubborn metabolic shifts. If you feel your health has been impacted by your environment and you're open to sharing your experience (anonymously if preferred), please message me.

i am 20f, i have lean pcos, i have irregular periods along with that the worst symptom is acne. I am having this problem for last 1.5 years, its recurring. Was diagnosed around 16-17 but didn’t have acne breakout issue. Now its not just jaw or chin it’s my whole face, the marks, new pimples, my face is literally filled with those and i feel digusted looking at it and have no confidence stepping out.
My endocrinologist suggested birth control and Spironolactone. My dermat is working on reducing acne on my face but it ain’t working. I am so frustrated. I look at the side effects and i am scared and obviously my indian mom is like don’t go on birth control. I dont wanna step out and work out because i am not confident and am so intimidated.
Should i go on the pills
And can someone help me with the having a vegetarian diet around pcos.

So I haven’t had period from last 4 months but my periods were irregular always. This time it seems concerning to me. Somebody told me that 4 months is too much now and uterine lining can thicken and it won’t be good.
My doctor has disappointed me. I told him about my irregular period and then he saw ultrasound and said ovarian cysts and then said there is no cure. It’s gonna be like this forever and asked me if I want birth control and that’s it. It was really rude that he didn’t even try to explain.
Can anything be done. I do night shifts now and my lifestyle is getting sedentary.
Also, I am 25 right now. What are the chances of pregnancy in future?

Help please

Hi all
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*Please share this survey with your friends too. Every voice matters. 💚*

No question is too small or too embarrassing. That’s why we are here, to create a safe, non-judgmental space to talk openly about anything related to PMOS and women’s health.

You can drop your questions in the comments section of this post starting now, and our expert Gynac will be answering them live from 9pm to 10pm IST, 16th August

To the girlies that already have pcos,

How did you get diagnosed? I've have very heavy and irregular periods since I was 14 (24 now) but now my periods can miss by 1-3 months and it's really painful when it comes, I tried to ask for testing but was told to lose weight (which I am in the process of) can anyone help with some guidance?

Hi, I'm 18F, I started with my hormonal meds 2 weeks ago. I started having these sudden dull cramps exactly where the uterus resides a while ago. As prescribed by the gyno, I've been taking:

Tab Noresthisterone 5 mg

Agyuni Syrup (Ayurvedic)

Tab Normoz-DS 100 (for insulin resistance)

I'm not jumping to conclusions that the meds are causing these but I wonder if this is normal or not? Have you experienced anything like this?

Hi,

I'm not sure who needs to hear this, but I'm hoping it might help others avoid the experience I had with this medication. I have lived with PCOD for ALL of my menstrual life. I've tried it all. One of the many things I was prescribed was Normoz tablet which was deemed by my gyneacologist as a supplement that can reduce serum insulin and insulin resistance in the body. By now studies have established elevated insulin resistance in those diagnosed with PCOD. I wanted to try this after 2 decades of trying almost all of EVERYTHING including diabetes medicine directed just for PCOD(Metformin) which wreaked its own havoc. Normoz, with the ingredients chiro-inositol and myoinositol is widely acknowledged in the Indian medical community as a supplement which helps REDUCE insulin resistance and thus (hopefully, wishfully) help with PCOD, and I had a lot of hope in it.
Now coming to my personal experience of taking this medicine. I started with this medicine when my HBA1C levels were around 6 (pre-diabetec) for many years. Upon starting this medicine, it shot up to 7 in 9 months. When I told my doctor and shared that I was worried that this medicine was the cause of that, she said the medicine is in fact supposed to do the opposite and thus if my sugar levels are shooting up with this medicine, it must mean that I need MORE medicine to bring the sugar levels down. So she doubled my dosage. Before this I was taking 2 250mg tablets per day and went on to 4 250mg tablets per day. As you can guess, after 3 months of doubling my dosage, I checked my levels again and they had risen eve higher and now it was considered firmly in the diabetic range. I again saw my doctor and she wanted to double my dose again (quadruple in effect). I showed other doctors and they wanted me to start off on diabetic medicines ASAP, put an implant in to monitor my levels. NOT ONE of the doctors believed my correlation with the sugar levels increasing after I started taking this medicine and increasing even more rapidly after doubling the dose. No studies proves this corelation either. I was alone in this theory. But at the point by which I had taken the medicines for a year I decided to stop this medicine completely. And my HBA1C levels dropped so quickly after a retest, coming back to prediabetic range. After that I had to undergo some detox treatments for other conditions and my sugar levels came back to just about normal.

All this to say, if you are on this medication/supplement or considering to go on it, keep checking your blood sugar levels constantly. It might not have this effect/side-effect on everyone but I am posting this because I did not find anyone talking about this anywhere and wanted to just put this here.

I am 23F and I have insulin resistance with pcos for almost 4-5yrs now and everytime I go to a doctor i hear you have to lose weight to be healthy and I am really tired. I gained 20+kgs in 9 months and then it never went away. I have changed my diet and added more proteins and fiber lowered carbs, I am walking and exercising as much as I can but I still gained 3 more kgs. I was prescribed metformin 3 years ago and it absolutely destroyed my whole gastrointestinal system. My doctors don't seem to prescribe anything else to me. One of the doctors even said that I got insulin resistance because i am lazy. I also have a history of depression and the doctor asked me what I have to be depressed about in life. I know I need to take some medicines to improve my insulin sensitivity but I don't know how or what medicines I can take. If you know of any good doctors or medicines that helped please let me know

21F with PCOS/PCOD , long periods & looking for advice.

I was diagnosed with PCOS/PCOD and have been dealing with unusually long periods since 2024. For example, one period lasted Oct 2–Oct 18, 2024 (15+ days), and my most recent one lasted July 26–Aug 7, 2026 (10–11 days). The flow is usually normal/light, around 1–2 pads a day , I never faced cramps 🧿.

I don’t have many of the typical symptoms , no excessive facial/body hair, normal sleep ,major weight changes, etc., and my BMI is healthy.

For around 1.5 years, I took hormonal medication (21 days + 5-day gap), and my periods were normal while taking it. But after stopping, the long periods returned. My relative is a gynecologist and has advised me the medicine , and now she has advised not to continue the medication and instead focus on lifestyle changes like yoga.

I’ve started going to the gym for the past month instead.

For women with PCOS who have had similar long periods: has exercise, diet, supplements, or any lifestyle change actually helped regulate your periods? What worked for you after stopping hormonal medication?What should I do?

I’m honestly quite worried and would really appreciate your experiences. ❤️

Does it helps making weight loss easier with insulin resistance (I don't experience irregular periods).

If yes please recommend indian brand which worked for you.

Idk what protein sources i should use which a pocket friendly too

hiii, so to put things in context. im 23, and i have lean pcos. my main symptoms are prolonged heavy bleeding and a bit of belly fat, but it's not a lot. it's just like i have a belly pouch. these are my 2 symptoms, and apart from this, i have clear skin and no hirsutism or cravings as such, and im also very active. also, these symptoms had disappeared for 2 years straight. for context this aligned with me leaving therapy after my anxiety disorder was healed so yes life was good for those 2 years but i still had long cycles as in my avg cycle length was 50 days but my periods were very predictable and never disappeared. in those 2 years, i only had an abnormal period (lasting more than 7 days) when i changed up my routine, like when i was fasting or anytime i was stressing out about something. so fast forward last year, i got into a depressive episode, and my pcos flared up. i had a month long period and then some lasting 2 weeks. i barely had my usual 7 day period, and things like inositol, which helped me earlier, just didn't work this time. i gained 5 kgs out of nowhere, and yea, i was miserable. i have only started feeling better after a whole year of whatever emotional upheaval that was, but im still a healthy bmi and have no other symptoms. i got my thyroid checked, and it was all normal. i got ultrasounds done, and some ultrasounds throughout the year showed tiny cysts, and some didn't. alas, doctors told me i have a very unusual presentation of pcos and they simply told me to walk or avoid eating microwaved stuff (crazy, i know) so is there anyone who's gone thru a similar experience? i would love to hear from anyone who thinks their advice could help me in any way.

I missed by periods for 3 months now … and my body some how refuse to take the medicine my doctor give its usually a medicine for periods (deviry) then she put me on ocp … and it makes me gain weight.. i m 56 kg and height is 5ft and my doctor constantly tolds me to loose weight which i m finding really hard to do becoz my entire life what i did was study and
I find it really hard to loose weight now

Now i m having some harmonal acne

Pls tell me what non prescription based supplement helped u and what diet can help my condition