PCOD diet for weight loss- Vegan and non-vegan with recipes

PCOD today is a big problem in women. One in five Indian women suffers from PCOS. [1]

Now the thing is that PCOD is a lifestyle disorder and it can be reversed if we are able to correct our lifestyle. 

One of the most important factors is our diet. It is said that we are what we eat.

So in this article, I will be sharing two types of PCOD diets for weight loss both Vegan and non-vegan.

Let us begin!

[Suggested Reading- Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS): 6 steps to cure]

Full day non-vegan PCOD diet for weight loss

This is a full day diet plant to root out polycystic ovarian disease from its very cause.

Considering our modern lifestyles I’ll share with you, your diet plan that checks all the boxes if you follow this plan religiously, I can assure you that you can push PCOD out of your life forever.

I will share with you 

• The preparation of each meal 
• When and how to consume them 

So that you can get maximum benefit

I have broken down this diet plan into two parts, first is a 15-day strict detox plan which will cleanse out the toxins from your body and prepare it for quick recovery post that it’s a fairly relaxed diet to ensure that pcod is rooted from its very cause

How to start your day? 

First thing upon waking up you need to drink water but wait it’s no normal water.

Its Moon charged water 

A woman’s body has a very strong connection with the moon. [2]

The 28-day cycle of the moon and the 28-day menstrual cycle of women is not merely a coincidence. So keep a glass bottle full of drinking water overnight in the moonlight (you can keep it in your balcony) and drink it first thing in the morning, drink it slowly sip by sip.

After moon charged water this is the second most important step for the proper detox and to bring about an ideal hormonal balance you need to drink ghee.

Yes, you heard that right its Ghee!

Suffering from pcod a woman’s body gets dry internally this is where ghee provides the much-needed lubrication. Make sure you are using A2 cow ghee only and nothing else. 

You need to drink 3 to 4 tablespoons of A2 cow ghee and don’t worry it won’t make you gain weight on the contrary it will help you shed some extra weight releasing out the much-needed overload from your ovaries.

You might feel a little uncomfortable in the beginning but slowly you will get used to it. 

Breakfast- Vegetable soup (Option-1)

Preparation

• Simply put a pan on low flame.
• Add one glass of water to it. 
• Put rock salt to taste some freshly crushed black pepper, grated ginger, chopped green chilly, bay leaf and cumin seeds.
• Mix the spices and now add fresh seasonal vegetables like carrots, radish green peas beans.
• Cover the pan and let them boil for about 10 minutes.
• That’s all put off the gas pour it in a bowl garnish it with fresh coriander leaves sprinkle some lemon juice and serve with fresh seasonal vegetables.

We have consciously not added onions and tomatoes to maximize the benefits. Needless to say, suffering from PCOD don’t even think to replace this soup with any packaged soup, actually, make sure to stay away from all packaged foods for at least this 15 day detox period.

Breakfast- Tulsi smoothie bowl (Option-2) 

Preparation

• To make this smoothie into the blender add banana, Tulsi leaves which is also known as holy basil, flaxseed, homemade curd and water.
• Blend on high speed until everything is nicely mixed and combined.
• Smoothie bowls need some topping and the toppings and ingredients we will use in this smoothie bowl work well in the healing process of PCOS.
• Pour the blended smoothie into a bowl and top it with sliced almonds you can also use cashew nuts instead, then sprinkle in chia seeds, sprinkles finely grinded cinnamon powder and lastly garnish it with a tulsi leaf. 

This smoothie bowl is packed with antioxidants omega-3 protein fibre and essential fats and it will keep you fuller for a longer time. 

Stress is another big factor related to PCOS. Tulsi or holy basil is an adaptogen and is an excellent stress reliever. It can also help reduce symptoms of PCOS due to its anti-androgenic properties. It will manage infinitely and aids in weight loss it also has antioxidants and anti-inflammatory benefits.

Mid-morning snacks–  If you feel hungry between lunch and dinner feel free to hop on any seasonal fruit like apple, banana, oranges etc.

Lunch- 1-2 Multigrain roti along with paneer bhurji  (Option-1)

Preparation- Paneer bhurji

• Take 1 tablespoon of cow ghee.
• Add cumin seeds, chopped green chilli, grated ginger and chopped capsicum to it.
• Saute them for a while then add rock salt to taste a pinch of black pepper and turmeric powder.
• Mix well then add about 100 grams of fresh paneer.
• Mix well so that all the spices get seeped into paneer.
• Cook for another 2 minutes and turn off the gas.
• Finally, top it up with freshly cut coriander leaves serve hot. 

Start with salad and then have this curry with 1 multigrain chapati.

Paneer and other fermented foods being rich in vitamin B12 are priceless for the ovaries.

Although in lunch if you want you can replace paneer with any other seasonal curry and whenever possible end your meal with buttermilk. Now here’s the thing if your periods are delayed have the salty version of buttermilk and if heavy bleeding is your problem choose sweet buttermilk.

Lunch- Ragi Porridge (Option-2)

Ragi is gluten-free and one of the best non-dairy sources of calcium compared to any other grains. It is high in dietary fibre and its low glycemic index lessen food cravings. Ragi keeps you feeling fuller and prevent unwanted cravings and does help in weight loss. Ragi lowers blood sugar levels in the body by activating insulin and it is a great breakfast or lunch option.

Preparation

• To make this ragi porridge heat a pan lightly and add in ragi flour. Lightly roast for about a minute or two.
• Then add in water and stir well so that no lumps are formed.
• Add in grated coconut, salt according to your taste and mix well, add in a pinch of cumin seeds (jeera) and again mix well.
• Allow it to thicken on medium to low flame.
• Add in turmeric powder mix well and add in pepper powder and again mix well allow it to cook for about a minute and then switch off the flame.
• Now for the tadka heat a pan or a kadhai with 1 TSP coconut oil.
• Add jeera and methi seeds and once they start to flutter add in the sliced coconut pieces and allow it to roast a little. This will give a nice crunch to the porridge then add the green chilli, whole red chillies (optional) and curry leaves.
• Mix it well and pour this over the cooked porridge mix well and serve it warm.

Evening snacks– You can have a small handful of cashew, almonds nuts or roasted peanuts or foxnuts.

Dinner- Dal khichdi

Not only it’s among the best dinner options for PCOD but is also light, filling and hardly requires any effort. Just ensure that you have rice and lentil soaked in the morning.

Preparation

• Take a mixture of ¼ cup of brown or white rice and ¼ cup of green dal or any dal of your choice with 4 times the water in a pressure cooker
• Add salt according to taste ¼ teaspoon of turmeric powder,  ¼ teaspoon of crushed black pepper, 1 bay leaf, roasted cumin seeds, grated ginger, green chilli and mix well 
• Cover the pressure cooker and let it cook on a low flame for about 20 to 25 minutes That’s all your dinner is ready, top it off with fresh coriander leaves and 1 teaspoon of cow ghee.

I highly recommend that you have your dinner by 7:00 p.m. So that it gets digested well before you sleep.

After dinner makes sure that you walk out and spend at least 15 minutes under the moonlight the more moonlight you will absorb the better your hormones will function.

If you feel hungry simply have a glass of warm milk before sleeping.

Make sure to keep the water bottle out in the moonlight so that you can consume it the next morning. 

Follow this diet religiously for 15 days. Consider this as your healing period and if you successfully do so, you can assure yourself of a faster recovery.

After 15 days you can get a bit more relaxed with your diet but follow the healthy plate method.

Healthy plate method– Fill half of your plate with salad (fresh and raw), one-fourth plate with protein-rich food like dal or paneer, and the remaining one-fourth plate with complex carbohydrates like rice or chapati. First, eat the salad and then the cooked food. 

Full day Vegan PCOD diet for weight loss

This is a purely vegan diet plan because now we have enough medical evidence talking about the benefits of a plant-based diet over an animal-based diet especially in cases of PCOD and metabolic syndrome. [3]

However not everyone can go on a complete vegan diet but if you can there’s nothing like it.

This diet does not contain any dairy products and of course no refined packaged and processed food.

This diet contains an ample amount of complex carbohydrates to ensure optimum blood sugar levels to reduce insulin spikes and also a good amount of plant-based proteins and very minimal external fats.

This diet plan will be roughly about 1200 to 1400 kilocalories.

So let’s get started

How to start your day?

You can start your morning with a powerful antioxidant drink.

You can have

•  Methi water- Methi seeds are also known as fenugreek seeds they are powerful antioxidants they are known to reduce blood sugar levels and they are known to improve insulin sensitivity.
• Curry leaves water- Curry leaves have been used in Indian kitchens for a very long time they are also known to work at insulin sensitivity a lot.
• Moringa water- It is known as an Indian superfood and moringa leaves are known to reduce the absorption of sugar at the cellular level.
• Cinnamon water-  You can simply start your day with simple cinnamon ginger and a lemon drink.

Breakfast- Oats pancake

Preparation

• Soak about half a cup of oats in half a cup of warm water for about 15 minutes.
• Grind it to a fine paste.
• Add ginger garlic paste, carrom seeds, chopped onions (optional), finely chopped capsicum, carrots, tomatoes and coriander leaves.
• Add 1 tablespoon of red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, salt to taste and give it a good stir.
• Add a little teaspoon of oil/ ghee to the pan and then we are going to spread the batter onto the pan.
• Once it is cooked from one side flip it over and let it cook from both the sides.

Mid-morning snack– You can choose any kind of tea (without milk) such as green tea, turmeric tea, or you can have seasonal fruits.

Lunch- 1-2 roti with soya chunks curry

Preparation

• Take about 100 grams of soya granules.
• Boil it in water for about 2 minutes strain it and then roast them dry on a nonstick pan and keep about 50 grams separately and only use 50 grams for lunch.
• Marinate these soya chunks with vegan curd add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt to taste and lots of coriander powder along with ginger garlic paste. Give it a good stir and keep it aside for about half an hour.
• It’s time to cook our vegetable.
• Add about 1 tsp of oil/ ghee to the pan.
• Add 2 cardamom pods, 1 bay leaf, a few cinnamon stick, 1 TSP of cumin seeds, few peppercorns and onion paste.
• Cook it well together until the onion turns brown.
• Add the marinated soya granules and cook it for about 10 minutes.
• Garnish with a few green chillies sprinkle some garam masala on top and give it a good stir.

Evening snack– You can have a small handful of cashew, almonds nuts or roasted peanuts or foxnuts.

Dinner- Veg soya kebabs

Preparation

• Use the 50 grams left over soya chunks, grind it to a paste without adding any water.
• Add some slit green chilies, chopped onions and lots of chopped coriander and 1 TSP of ginger garlic paste.
• Turn for the spices, add turmeric powder, red chili powde,r garam masala, salt to taste, coriander powder, cumin powder, chat masala, 1 tablespoon full of chickpea flour which is also commonly known as besan and  give it a good mix.
• Shape it into kebabs, leave it in the fridge for about 15 minutes 
• Add 1 TSP of oil/ ghee onto the pan, let it heat and then add the kebabs and cook it from both sides. 
• Serve with green chutney.

Some things to keep in mind

1. Along with diet add some exercise and pranayam to your morning routine. It greatly helps in curing PCOD. Make sure you are exercising atleast 5 days a week. Any exercise which is a good mix of cardio, strength training exercises, and mobility is good for PCOS. Hold butterfly pose as it is one of the best exercises when treating PCOS. Also, just 5 minutes of rapid exhalation (kapalbhati) can give you amazing results in no time.[4]
2. Try to avoid plastics as much as you can. This is because when plastic comes in contact with the food, it leaches chemicals like xenoestrogen into it which are similar to the hormone estrogen produced by the human body and it completely messes up the hormonal balance. [5] When you take your lunch to your workplace ensure that you avoid plastic containers and use only stainless steel or glass.
3. Avoid oily, junk and any kind of packaged food while following the diet. 
4.  Make sure to sleep at the same time every day and wake up at the same time every day if you are keen on staying hormonally vibrant. Poor sleep quality is associated with an increased risk of obesity and insulin resistance which plays a key role in PCOS. [6]

Takeaway

Remember PCOS is a lifestyle disorder and if correctly treated, it can be reversed provided our lifestyle is corrected.

Watch out on your stress levels, your food, your sleeping pattern, your exercise regime and you are done.