What to know
- PMOS, formerly known as PCOS, is increasingly being linked to broader metabolic and hormonal health discussions, including insulin resistance – think lifestyle, not just meds.
- A protein-rich, low-sugar diet and gentle exercise can help manage symptoms and boost your energy.
- While there is currently no cure for PMOS, the right habits can help you improve quality of life and overall health this summer in Toronto.
Chronic illness can be a buzzkill, but these lifestyle tweaks will make PMOS symptoms easier to handle—so you can slay your hot girl summer in Toronto.
The Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) just got renamed: it’s now called Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS), part of an effort to better reflect the condition’s broader metabolic and hormonal impacts.
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The new name gives PMOS a more accurate spotlight, but let’s be real: there’s still no magic cure.
So, Now Toronto hit up Trim Healthy Mama to get tips on lifestyle approaches they believe may help people manage PMOS symptoms and improve overall well-being.
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Co-founders Pearl Barrett and Serene Allison’s health and wellness-focused lifestyle and eating plan spot was inspired by all the women who have gone undiagnosed under the previous PCOS name.
Still, receiving a diagnosis can seem just as devastating.
Pearl Barrett shared that her daughter was diagnosed at the age of 15. Barrett explained that her daughter never had elevated testosterone or cysts. But, she had super high insulin, acne, and skipped periods.
But after switching to a low-carb diet, while still including healthy carbs like beans, her blood work turned around, her periods normalized, her acne went away, and her insulin came down.
“So, I don’t know if you can call that a cure, but she hasn’t suffered,” Barrett told Now Toronto.
Understanding PMOS
Barrett explained that PMOS is primarily a metabolic condition, so insulin is a must in the conversation.
Essentially, your ability to burn fuel decreases as your blood sugar and insulin levels rise, she added.
She argues that while birth control pills are commonly used to manage PMOS symptoms, calling them a Band-Aid fix, insulin resistance should also be part of the conversation.
Allison added that it’s all about managing symptoms. Some get a special acne cream, others go on the pill, and others try a diet. But it all stems from insulin resistance.
Eat a protein-rich diet, with plant-and animal-centred foods
Eating a protein-rich diet promotes insulin sensitivity, Allison explained.
“We call them Earth foods, which are proteins… your yogurt, your cottage cheese, your eggs, your meats, and then fill your plates with lots of plants and get some good carbs like black beans,” Allison suggested.
“Black beans and legumes have shown to be insulin sensitivity power tools,” she said.
Barrett recommends 25 to 30 grams of protein, four times a day.
No, you don’t need to enter your protein final boss era by gulping four protein shakes a day and tracking every meal. She shared a sample day of meals that align with her recommendations:
- For breakfast: Eggs, chicken and sausage, or oatmeal with protein powder.
- For lunch: A salad with chicken on it.
- For an afternoon snack: Greek yogurt.
- For dinner: A piece of salmon, steak, ground beef or ground turkey.
“It satiates you, and it really slays the snacking monster,” Allison added.
Through protein, she explained that you will feel more satisfied and have more stable blood sugar.
Remove processed foods and sugar
Parents stop their children from having too much candy on Halloween for a reason — sugar.
Both sugar and processed foods are leading causes of insulin resistance, Barrett said. Think of it as your laundry pile that you let accumulate. It gets so high that you later need more energy to clean it up. It’s the same here: the more blood sugar, the more insulin gets released.
So, at Trim Healthy Mama, they recommend replacing processed sweeteners with natural alternatives like monk fruit or stevia.
“We still love indulging a sweet tooth, but we do it in healthy ways,” Barrett told Now Toronto.
Build clean, lean body mass
“Our muscles are sponges to blood sugar. They help us become more insulin sensitive,” Allison told Now Toronto.
Do gentle exercise
Life’s stressful enough, don’t add any more to your body, the duo suggests.
By hitting the gym for some long-steady-state cardio, Allisson explained that you’re releasing cortisol that causes inflammation.
“Any long HIIT sessions that’s over half an hour where you just want to lay down like a dying cockroach at the end of it, that’s not gentle,” Allison said.
But it doesn’t mean you can’t get your workout in, just know your limits.
Feel free to do strength training two to three times a week and balance it with walking and rest the other days, Barrett said.
Get enough sleep
Getting consistent, quality sleep is another factor the expert says can support overall hormonal and metabolic health.
“I think the hours that we get before midnight are the most beneficial to the body, because when we go to bed after midnight, we’ve usually had another cortisol surge,” Allison told Now Toronto.
But lying in bed unable to sleep is also a common issue.
So, she recommends starting by addressing your mind’s stressors so that the world goes silent when you sleep.
Do I go on the birth control pill?
According to Barrett, hormonal birth control is often used to help manage PMOS symptoms, though she believes it may primarily address symptoms rather than underlying metabolic concerns.
However, hormonal birth control works by altering hormone levels and suppressing ovulation, she explained.
“It may even cause exasperating symptoms down the road, and it doesn’t fix anything,” Barrett said.
Allison added that through symptom-masking through the pill, you could enter a synthetic chemical menopausal state, even in your late teens.
“And menopause is known for insulin resistance, and so they’re just really exacerbating their insulin resistance,” Allison added.
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Why is this all important?
Barrett said insulin resistance can contribute to broader health concerns if left unmanaged. While the PMOS name change is not a cure, the experts say it could help bring more awareness and understanding to the condition.
“You do not have to live under the diagnosis in a way that you are never going to get free. I believe there is freedom for women with PMOS,” Allison said.
“We do want women to know that there is hope. Maybe it is going to be, you know, a bit of a tougher journey and a bit of a longer journey, but there can be joy in the journey too,” Barrett added.
Check out more tips on Trim Healthy Mama’s new book.
