How To Stop PCOS Cravings & Control Hunger

Written by Martina S. in Health

If you have PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) you probably know exactly the struggle of food cravings (especially carbs) and the uncontrollable hunger. Trust me, I’ve been there too. This can become especially annoying if you’re trying to manage your weight but the feeling of satiety after a meal just doesn’t seem to ever come.

But what’s the reason behind those cravings in relation to PCOS and is there anything you can do to reduce your appetite and hunger naturally? That’s what you’ll find out in this article with some practical tips to implement in your life based on the latest science as well as my personal experience.

The reason behind PCOS cravings

While many people experience food cravings in their day-to-day lives (which can be due to an unbalanced diet or other underlying reasons) women with PCOS are even more likely to face this problem (up to 99% ).

Since hunger, appetite, and satiety are regulated by hormones and PCOS is a hormonal disorder, it makes a lot of sense why this issue is so common amongst women with the condition. If you want to control your cravings, you want to balance your hormones and the main hormone you need to focus on is insulin. 

What is insulin?

Insulin is a hormone that your pancreas makes in response to glucose in your blood (blood sugar). Every time you eat food (containing carbs), your blood sugar levels rise and insulin is released to bring them back down by letting the glucose in your blood into cells to be used as energy.

It’s a natural process essential for your body to function properly. BUT! As you can imagine, if one thing in this process goes wrong or doesn’t function efficiently, there is a whole cascade of consequences.

The link between insulin and PCOS

Unfortunately, PCOS is closely linked to insulin resistance which is a condition when your body doesn’t react to insulin effectively (similar to type 2 diabetes). In this case, you can easily end up with high levels of insulin in your blood.

If you want to know more about the link between PCOS and insulin resistance, you can read my article ‘PCOS Insulin Resistance Explained & How To Reverse It‘ where I go into more detail.

But why is it important? Well, insulin is actually an appetite stimulant and so the more is in your blood, the hungrier you may feel. It’s a vicious cycle and insulin resistance is also the reason why so many PCOS women experience problems with weight management and difficulty losing weight. 

So how do you actually manage your insulin levels, control your hunger and reduce PCOS cravings? Here are my top tips I hope you’ll find helpful.

How to reduce PCOS cravings naturally:

  • Focus on low GI/GL foods
  • Add more protein to your meals
  • Add healthy fats to your meals
  • Eat more fiber
  • Eliminate processed foods
  • Drink more water
  • Exercise
  • Get enough sleep
  • Keep yourself busy
  • Get enough energy
  • Consider intermittent fasting
  • Eat mindfully
  • Manage stress
  • Consider natural appetite suppressants

1. Focus on low GI/GL foods

As you may remember, your body releases insulin in response to your blood glucose levels, and your blood glucose levels are directly impacted by what you eat. Different food will cause different reactions and changes in blood glucose depending on the food’s content.

How do carbohydrates affect cravings?

Dietary protein and fat naturally won’t spike your blood sugars because of their different chemical content – protein is made of amino acids and fat is made of fatty acids. However, when it comes to carbohydrates that’s where you want to pay attention.

Carbs are made of sugar molecules that can be rapidly absorbed into your bloodstream and raise your blood sugar levels more easily. But the type of carbs you eat also matters! But how do you know which carbs may be a better option than others? That’s where the Glycemic Index (GI) comes to play. 

Glycemic Index

Glycemic Index is a tool that can help you evaluate the quality of carbohydrates in terms of their impact on blood sugar levels. GI basically measures how much and how quickly different carbohydrate sources raise your blood sugars within an hour.

In general, simple carbs (made of simple sugar molecules) tend to cause a rapid spike in your blood sugar levels followed by a rapid fall. More complex carbs (made of complex chains of sugar molecules) tend to raise your blood sugar levels slower and more steadily without extreme spikes and falls.

But what does it mean in practice? Well, imagine that you’re feeling hungry (this means your blood sugar levels are currently very low) and you’re about to eat something. If you grab a snack that’s very high in simple sugars (e.g. white bread) your blood sugars will go quickly up and quickly down in a short period of time.

That means that you may experience a quick release of energy but because your blood glucose will also drop very fast, you’re gonna feel hungry again after a short time of eating. Sounds familiar?

If, however, you choose a different type of snack consisting of more complex carbs (e.g. banana) your body will spend more time digesting and absorbing those sugars, and the release of glucose into your bloodstream will be more controlled and at a slower pace. In practice, this means that you’ll feel fuller for longer and won’t experience another hunger feeling straight after your snack.

How to use Glycemic Index

So now you know that the type of carbs you eat matters but how do you pick the more convenient ones for you? Look at their Glycemic Index. GI of different carbohydrate sources will be expressed in a number ranging from 1 to 100.

The higher the number of the food, the quicker and more rapid spike in your blood sugars (the simpler the carbs). The lower the number of the food, the slower and steadier release of glucose in your blood (the more complex the carbs).

NumberGlycemic Index
1-55low
56-69medium
70-100high

If you’re struggling with PCOS and consistent cravings you may benefit from choosing low (1-55) to medium (56-69) GI foods in your diet. There’s another reason for it.

Frequently eating very sugary foods (high GI) causing consistent spikes in blood glucose may lead to overwhelming your pancreas, which is responsible for creating insulin, and you can end up either with insulin overproduction or the insulin production may completely shut down (causing type 1 diabetes).

Your cells also may stop reacting to insulin because of its high levels in the blood leading to insulin resistance and later type 2 diabetes. And here we are again. 

Glycemic Index limitations

You can easily find any food and its glycemic index online. While GI can be a great tool for improving your diet, keep in mind that it also has its limitations. The way the Glycemic Index is measured is by assessing the body’s glucose response after eating a certain food consisting of 50g of carbs compared to 50g of glucose (pure sugar).

However, it doesn’t really consider the usual serving size you probably eat in real life. Some foods can hardly provide you with 50g of carbohydrates in one serving (minimally processed foods) and so the glucose response to it may be different.

This means that even when some food may have higher GI (e.g. watermelon = 76) the actual serving size will provide you only with 11g of carbohydrates and so the effect won’t be as drastic.

Glycemic Load

If you wish to get a more accurate estimation of glycemic response after certain food, you may want to rather look at its Glycemic Load (GL) which is another measure that takes into account the serving size. So even though the earlier mentioned watermelon has a high GI (76), 1 serving of watermelon has actually low GL (8) and so it can still be a great addition to your PCOS diet.

GL=GI x grams of carbohydrates/100

NumberGlycemic Load
1-10low
11-19medium
20-60high

You can use GI and GL as indicators for your carb choices but make sure that you don’t completely eliminate certain types of food only based on their GI number that could otherwise benefit you on so many different levels such as fruit and vegetable.

Also, keep in mind that those measures are only based on one type of food eaten on its own while in reality you probably eat meals containing a combination of different food sources. Different foods eaten together will also have an impact on your body’s glucose response and you can even use it to your advantage.

Read more: ‘The Best PCOS Diet (Ultimate Guide)‘

Pro tips:

  • you don’t have to remember GI or GL numbers of all existing foods, but just remember that in general, the more processed food is (refined, added sugars, high sugar content) the higher the GI and GL usually is
  • focus on eating more whole unprocessed food (high fiber, water, low sugar content), and don’t worry if certain types of fruit or vegetables don’t fit within the “low GI” category as it’s unlikely that one serving contains the measured 50g of carbs

2. Add more protein to your meals

Protein is an essential macronutrient which means that you need to ensure its sufficient intake from your diet otherwise your body won’t be able to function properly. You don’t necessarily need to be on a high-protein diet or consume excessive amounts but you want to aim for at least 0.8-1.0g/kg of protein intake per day.

Serving size & frequency

Timing and portions of your protein intake are also important. Based on the latest science, it seems that smaller portions of protein (20-30g) spread throughout the day is the most effective strategy for muscle protein synthesis (building muscles) but there are other reasons why you might benefit from this strategy if you have PCOS and experience cravings. 

How does protein affect cravings?

First of all, protein doesn’t spike your blood sugar levels the same way as carbohydrates. But if you do eat food high in carbs, by adding protein you may actually slow down the process of releasing glucose into your bloodstream and so the effect won’t be as rapid and extreme (even with higher GI foods).

Another reason why you want to add some protein to every meal you eat is the fact that protein digestion and absorption is a quite complicated process and so it takes longer for your body to deal with it. This means that you may feel fuller for longer after eating food high in protein.

Some studies found protein to be the most effective macronutrient when it comes to satiety which you want to consider when dealing with PCOS-induced cravings and hunger. So if you ever feel like a bottomless cup again even after consistent snacking, give some protein a try and see how it goes.

Pro tips:

  • adding protein to your meals doesn’t necessarily mean buying packs of protein powders and drinking protein shakes every day, but protein powder can actually be a great helpful source of protein, especially if you’re struggling to meet your requirements (i personally love it for baking)
  • have a list (or mind list) of foods that you like that are high in protein and every time you eat, try adding at least one of them into your meal
  • when building the main meal, you may want to start with choosing your protein source first (e.g. type of meat, fish, eggs, tofu, beans, lentils, soy), and then everything else will follow
  • when snacking, you may want to choose your snack (e.g. a piece of fruit – banana/apple) and then add your source of protein that fits (e.g. nut butter, yogurt, seeds, protein powder)

3. Add healthy fats to your meals

Don’t be afraid of fats, especially the high-quality ones. While fats are higher in calories 1g=9 kcal) in comparison to carbs and protein (1g=4 kcal), they are also essential for optimal health and you would be surprised how important they are for so many different functions.

There are two types of essential fatty acids (omega-3 and omega-6) that you just must obtain from your diet because your body is unable to make it itself. So don’t be scared to add fats to your diet, your body requires it! 

How does fat affect cravings?

Digestion of fats is also a much slower process than the digestion of carbs and by adding fat to your meals, you can slow down the rate of your stomach emptying. Similarly to protein, this can keep you feeling fuller for longer and reduce your cravings.

When combining fats with high-carb foods, you can also expect a more controlled impact on blood glucose levels. But be careful when choosing your dietary fats, there’s a lot of factors that you need to take into account (e.g. type of fatty acids, the way it’s processed, source, omega 3:6 ratio, heat tolerance).

Pro tips:

  • have a list (or mind list) of high-quality food sources of fats that you like and add at least one of them into your meal
  • keep in mind that different foods usually consist of a combination of macronutrients (protein, fats & carbs) and so sometimes you find that by adding one type of food into your meal you automatically add both protein & fat (e.g. by adding nut butter to your banana you’re adding both protein & fat)
  • when building a meal, always make sure that you have at least one source of fat (e.g. olive oil, avocado, nuts, seeds, tahini, olives, coconut oil) it is especially important so that fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) can be absorbed from other foods (especially veggies & fruit)
  • when snacking on veggies or fruit, try adding some fat (e.g. few drops of olive oil in your salad, avocado/hummus with your carrot sticks, sprinkle of seeds on your chopped veggies, or coconut yogurt with your fruit) so you can get the most of the colorful food you eat

4. Eat more fiber

Fiber is basically a mixture of different components (found in carbohydrates) that your body cannot digest and so it passes to your lower intestines. While you can’t really absorb fiber and use it as energy, there are so many other reasons why you want to include it in your diet.

How does fiber affect cravings?

One of the reasons that you might find important is the fact that fiber is able to soak up water in your gut and promote the feeling of fullness. Adding more fiber into your diet has also been proven to be an effective strategy for weight loss as it results in lower calorie intake.

However, even if you’re not trying to lose weight but still experience uncontrollable hunger due to PCOS, you will benefit from choosing foods that are rich in fiber.

Another benefit to high-fiber foods is that it also slows down the absorption of nutrients (including sugars) and so it helps you control your blood sugar levels which (as you now know) is key in PCOS women. You can find your fiber in almost all plant foods (fruit, veggies, nuts, seeds, grains, legumes, beans) BUT!

Watch out for processed and refined plant foods and try to minimize those sources if your goal is to increase your fiber intake. What happens in the stage of food processing is that the fiber (and so many other important nutrients) is removed and the end product has no longer the same properties (e.g. white flour, fruit juices). 

Pro tips:

  • you can find multiple lists of foods that are high in fiber online but if you just follow a simple rule of including more whole plant  foods that are in their original state (haven’t been processed in any way) then you’ll easily increase your overall fiber intake 
  • a great addition to your meals can also be different seeds (chia seeds, flaxseeds, hemp seeds) which are extremely high in fiber (and other nutrients) and that you easily add to almost everything

5. Eliminate processed foods

Removing fiber and other nutrients from foods in the processing is one negative, but there’s also another reason why you want to minimize those foods if you struggle with cravings. They are extremely addictive and it’s not a coincidence.

How does processed food affect cravings?

Keep in mind that those foods (e.g. sweets, chocolate bars, crisps, soda drinks) have been specifically designed and engineered with a goal to keep you eating and buying consistently. It’s a business strategy and you’ll just end up craving more and more.

Those foods are also usually very high in added sugar and extremely sweet and rich in flavor. But sugar is one of the worst additives in the world even when compared to highly addictive drugs like cocaine. So it’s not your fault that you feel like you just can’t stop eating them but there are a few things that you can do to end this cycle. 

How to eliminate processed food

Don’t have junk food at home (especially if you spend a lot of time at home). It’s so much harder to resist those cravings when you know what’s waiting for you in your pantry. If you don’t buy this food at all, it’ll be easier to pick a bit healthier snack which won’t trigger those sugar cravings straight after eating.

If you don’t spend much time at home and you’re always on the go, make sure that you are prepared for the day with some easy homemade snacks so you don’t have to buy junk when you’re out. 

Restoring taste buds

Try to reduce your sugar tolerance. If you’re used to the taste of processed packaged foods there’s a big chance that your taste buds have a high sugar tolerance level. This means that if you eat something naturally sweet (like fruit) you won’t even taste the sweetness as your buds are just used to something else.

This process is not easy and definitely not immediate. Your taste buds actually renew every 2 weeks so you can change your tolerance levels but you must be patient. You can start small by slowly decreasing your sugar intake and replacing it with other sweet sources.

Read more: ‘The Best & Worst Sweeteners For PCOS (Complete List)‘

Once your sugar tolerance is back to normal, everything will taste different (trust me) and you’ll see that a piece of fruit will taste like dessert and highly processed foods will be just “too much” for you. So in the end, you won’t even like it and crave it anymore.

Pro tips:

  • don’t restrict yourself too much and too quickly, you can still enjoy sweet and ‘naughty’ food and baked goods but try to think about the ingredients in it and consider making it yourself
  • be careful with artificial sweeteners, while they don’t contain as many calories as sugar, they can still interfere with your blood sugar levels and trigger insulin which can still result in more cravings.

6. Drink more water

Are you really hungry or are you just thirsty? Sometimes you might feel like starving but when in fact your body’s just craving some water. Most people don’t drink enough water during the day and dehydration can be oftentimes misinterpreted as hunger.

So make sure you drink a sufficient amount of water throughout the day to avoid unwanted cravings. If you do experience those feelings, you might want to drink a cup of water first and see if goes away before going for another snack. Water also helps to bulk up the fiber you’ve eaten and (as you now know) will promote the feeling of fullness.

Pro tips:

  • stick to plain water or herbal teas for sufficient hydration status, if you drink sweeten drinks (including fruit juices) you’ll probably end up with more sugar cravings again
  • it’s better to drink water consistently during the day rather than big amounts in a few sittings, try always carrying a water bottle with you everywhere and set yourself some reminders to drink frequently (e.g. every hour) 

7. Exercise

Exercise is one of the best methods to reduce your PCOS cravings and hunger for a number of reasons. Firstly, if you include more exercise in your lifestyle, you’re more likely to lose weight (if being overweight is one of your symptoms).

How does exercise affect cravings?

If you’re overweight or obese, you’re more likely to have high insulin levels and become insulin resistant due to the excessive fat mass. So exercise is a great strategy for long-term insulin sensitivity improvement but it has also some immediate effects on your insulin levels.

When you exercise your body needs to use glucose for your active muscles and so it decreases insulin leading to reduced appetite. But exercise also decreases another important hormone that plays a massive role in your appetite regulation – ghrelin (also known as the ‘hunger hormone’). 

Besides those direct effects on your appetite, exercise also helps you reduce stress and improve mood. If you’re less stressed and feeling happy there’s a much smaller chance that you experience uncontrollable cravings and overeating. Another bonus is that exercise will keep you busy and focused so you’ll have less time to think about food.

Pro tips:

  • try to include any type of exercise or physical activity every day, exercising doesn’t have to mean ‘going to the gym’ but for example, walking is such an underrated activity with so many benefits

    (if you want to know more about the effects of different types of exercise on PCOS, you can read my article ‘What Is The Best Exercise For PCOS & Why?‘
  • you can set yourself little reminders to move your body during the day (or use a smartwatch) so you keep your hormones in check all day and avoid those cravings

8. Get enough sleep

Make sleep (at least 7-8hr/night) your priority and don’t compensate for this precious time. This is such an important factor that so many people don’t even consider.

Sleep is the time that your body recharges itself, repairs any damages and put everything back in balance (including your hormones). So it’s no wonder that if you want your body to function efficiently you need to give it time to put everything in order. And this can only be done when you’re asleep. 

So when it might not seem obvious at first, enough high-quality sleep can actually help you control your PCOS cravings and appetite by regulating hormones that are directly linked to hunger and satiety.

Pro tips:

  • I highly recommend reading the book ‘Why We Sleep’ by Matthew Walker which will give you even more reasons to get your 8 hours/night
  • there are so many things you can do to improve your sleep quality, but always make sure that you give yourself enough time for sleep on daily basis rather than catching up on sleep at weekends

9. Keep yourself busy

Are you really hungry or just are you just bored? Sometimes it’s not so easy to distinguish these two. You probably know that when you do something really exciting and fun, you can go for hours without even thinking about food and sometimes you may even forget to eat completely.

But it’s not the case when you’re stuck at home, work, or studying.  Especially if you spend a lot of time in one place (e.g. sitting behind a computer) doing either some routine, boring activity and so eating becomes the highlight of your day or a chance to escape this routine.

How to stop thinking about food

We’ve all been there and the struggle is real. But is there anything you can do? Well, yes. Try keeping yourself busy even during those times. If you notice you started thinking about food again, try switching your activity at least for a few minutes. You may want to go for a short walk, do some stretches or even talk to someone.

Any kind of physical activity (e.g. walk, exercise) is especially effective as it actually suppresses ghrelin (the hunger hormone) which stimulates appetite. So in simple words: just move.

What also may help is scheduling your meals and snacks at the same time of the day every day. This can help your body to create a routine so it knows exactly what time to expect to be fed.

As it adjusts over time, you won’t have to think about food anymore as your body will naturally crave food at the time of your usual feeding (it’s similar to waking up and going to bed at the same time). With this method, you can even boost your productivity and focus as there will be one less worry on your mind. 

Pro tips:

  • try scheduling your day into smaller blocks and individual tasks so you know exactly what you’re doing and when (including eating) and this way you’ll create some structure and decrease the chances of ‘bored eating’
  • if you’re not a big fan of planning your whole day, try at least always planning your next hour (or another time block) so you help your mind to focus on the next step

10. Get enough energy

While consistent cravings are not a sign of optimal health, in some cases it can just simply be your body’s way of telling you that it doesn’t get enough energy. This is often the case if you’re on a weight loss diet and you have restricted your calories too much and too quickly.

Choosing the right weight loss method

If you do want to lose weight (and keep it) you want to do it in a slow and sustainable way. Based on the current recommendations for weight loss with maximal muscle preservation (which is important), you want to aim for a weight loss of a maximum of 0.5-0.7% of your body weight per week.

While it is possible to lose weight faster, it is strongly discouraged as it will cause uncontrollable hunger resulting in overeating and gaining even more weight. 

If you want to lose weight in a healthy and sustainable way, please work with a professional (nutritionist, PT, dietitian) as they can create an effective strategy based on your individual needs and you can avoid extreme caloric deficits followed by constant cravings.

If you suffer from PCOS it’s an especially important step as your body needs enough energy and nutrients to stabilize your hormone levels and create balance.

Pro tips:

  • even if you’re not on a weight loss diet you may still want to check from time to  time your daily calorie intake to ensure you’re actually getting enough energy, especially if you have implemented any new changes to your lifestyle (e.g. exercise, diet) 
  • use one of the available apps (myfitnesspal, cronometer) and track your food intake for a few days every month or so, it will give you a good estimate of your calorie intake and you may make some changes or reach for help based on the results

11. Consider Intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting has been gaining more and more attention in recent years for its potential multiple health benefits. In simple terms, it means having breaks from eating (fasting) during the day followed by an “eating window’.

There are many different approaches to use this strategy that comes with different benefits. One of the most common ones is the 16/8 approach (fasting for 16 hours/eating for 8 hours).

How does intermittent fasting affect cravings?

The reason for why it may help you with your PCOS cravings is the fact that longer periods of fasting won’t cause consistent spikes in blood glucose levels (compared to when you snack all day) followed by elevated insulin levels. If you implement this strategy into your lifestyle, over time you’ll be able to go longer periods of time without feeling hungry.

However, more studies need to be done on intermittent fasting and its benefits, especially in relation to PCOS. There’s also an argument that intermittent fasting should not be recommended to women due to their different hormonal profile and increased sensitivity to the fasted state (always consult with your doctor or work with a professional).

My experience with intermittent fasting

In my personal experience, I’ve been including 16/8 intermittent fasting since 2017 and it helped me on so many different levels including appetite regulation and reduced cravings. BUT! I understand that this approach might not be suitable for everyone as everybody is different and unique and will thrive on different strategies.

I suggest you try different strategies until you find what works best for you and what you’ll be able to stick to. You can find more information about intermittent fasting and how to do it here: ‘Is Intermittent Fasting Good Or Bad For PCOS & Why?‘

Pro tips:

  • if you’re gonna try to implement intermittent fasting in your lifestyle, make sure that you give your body enough time to adjust as it might take some time before feeling any benefits
  • as your eating period will be much shorter during the day with intermittent fasting, pay special attention to your meals and ensure that you get enough energy as well as a combination of all important nutrients

12. Eat mindfully

If you experience frequent cravings it doesn’t always have to mean that you’re actually hungry but sometimes your body just doesn’t remember it has already eaten. This can happen very easily if you eat while doing some other activities (e.g.watching tv, scrolling on your phone, reading).

So when you eat, try to focus just on eating so your brain is not as confused. Remember that you eat with all of your senses including sight, smell, taste, and touch. If you focus all of your senses just on eating, you’ll feel much more satisfied when you finish which will help you to feel fuller for longer. 

Pro tip:

  • when choosing meals, try to include more solids over liquids, even though some smoothies can be a delicious and complete healthy meal, it won’t send the same signals to your brain as eating and chewing solid food
  • take your time when eating your meal, try not to rush (even though it’s not always possible), and allow yourself to actually sit down and enjoy your meal (you can schedule your eating times forehand)

13. Manage stress

Stress is another massive factor that can really mess with your hormones. When you’re stressed you have high levels of cortisol (the ‘stress hormone’) in your body which have a direct impact on your appetite.

How does stress affect cravings?

Not only that high levels of cortisol can stimulate cravings for sweet, salty, and fatty foods, but it can also worsen your insulin resistance. Chronic stress can also elevate your ghrelin levels (the ‘hunger hormone’) which will lead to an even bigger appetite and increased cravings. 

Managing stress, however, is a very difficult task to do and there is definitely not a “one size fits all’ recipe. Different people will benefit from different strategies to reduce their stress levels and you will need to find the thing that works for you.

How to reduce stress

You can start by trying different methods when feeling stressed and see what has the biggest effects on you. For someone, it may be walking, reading, listening to music, talking to a friend, exercising, yoga, meditation, or breathing exercises but for you, it may be something completely different.

It’s important to know your ‘stress reliever‘ and remember to use it when you recognize you are stressed (which might be in form of cravings).

Pro tips:

  • you can have more ‘stress reliever’ strategies for different situations as you not always be able to just take a walk but you almost always will have the opportunity to do a few breathing exercises
  • breathing techniques are an excellent method to use to reduce stress as it has an immediate effect on your body (brain, heart rate, blood pressure, immune system & digestion) proven by science, so give it a go and find a technique that works for you as there are so many out there

14. Consider natural appetite suppressants

There are certain foods and nutrients that have the ability to naturally reduce your cravings by either decreasing your appetite, increasing satiety, slowing stomach emptying, or influencing your hormones. You can include some of them as a part of your healthy diet or reach out for them when necessary. 

Natural appetite suppressants:

Pro tips:

  • keep some of those ingredients that you like always at home or pack it with you as a snack so you’re prepared, I personally love vegan dark chocolate the most (at least 90% cacao for me) and it works wonders as an appetite suppressant but also as a delicious dessert that is hard to overeat on

    I love:
    Taza Dark Organic Chocolate 95% (best quality/taste)
    Green & Black’s Organic Dark Chocolate 85% (best budget-friendly)
  • if you like the taste of licorice (it’s very strong) try to include it in your diet not only because of its appetite-reducing properties but also because it’s been shown to reduce PCOS symptoms due to its anti-androgenic properties (male hormones regulation)

    I love:
    Zagarese 100% Organic Hard Licorice (best hard candy substitute)

Resources:

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  • Barnosky, A. R., Hoddy, K. K., Unterman, T. G., & Varady, K. A. (2014). Intermittent fasting vs daily calorie restriction for type 2 diabetes prevention: a review of human findings. Translational research : the journal of laboratory and clinical medicine, 164(4), 302–311. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trsl.2014.05.013
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