How to Improve Metabolism and Support Weight Loss with PCOS

How to Improve Metabolism and Support Weight Loss with PCOS

Weight gain with PCOS can feel confusing and unfair. You may be eating well, moving regularly, even skipping meals, yet the scales stay stuck. If that sounds familiar, it’s not your fault. PCOS impacts how your body processes food, stores fat, and uses energy. In other words, it affects your metabolism.

But metabolism isn’t just about calories. It’s influenced by hormones like insulin, cortisol, thyroid, and oestrogen, all of which can be disrupted in PCOS.

In this blog, I’ll take you through 6 practical steps to support your metabolism so you can manage PCOS-related weight changes more effectively - without crash diets, overtraining, or all-or-nothing thinking.

1. Balance Blood Sugar to Reduce Insulin Resistance

PCOS is often driven by insulin resistance, even in women who are not overweight. When your body struggles to respond to insulin, it stores more fat (especially around the middle) and ramps up androgen production, which can worsen weight gain, cravings, and fatigue.

What helps:

• Eat protein with every meal to slow glucose release. Read this post for protein meal ideas.

• Choose low-GI carbohydrates like oats, quinoa, sweet potatoes and lentils

• Avoid skipping meals, this can worsen blood sugar crashes and cortisol spikes

• Include healthy fats (olive oil, avocado, seeds) to support satiety. More on why healthy fat is important for PCOS here.

Tip: Try tracking how you feel after meals, steady energy, no crashes or cravings is a good sign your blood sugar is balanced.

2. Reduce Inflammation to Support Fat Burning

PCOS is often linked with low-grade inflammation, which can interfere with metabolic function, contribute to insulin resistance and make weight loss more difficult. Find out more about what triggers inflammation in PCOS here.

What helps:

• Limit ultra-processed foods, refined oils and added sugars

• Prioritise anti-inflammatory foods like berries, oily fish, olive oil and leafy greens

• Include colourful veg daily to boost antioxidants and polyphenols

• Consider omega-3s (through food or supplement) if your intake is low

Tip: If you’re often bloated, tired or experiencing joint pain, inflammation may be playing a role, addressing gut health and food reactivity can help too.

3. Eat Enough to Support Metabolic Flexibility

It’s tempting to eat less to lose weight, but under-eating can slow your metabolism, increase stress hormones, and worsen PCOS symptoms. Many women with PCOS are unintentionally undereating due to busy schedules or restrictive diets pushed by social media or health trends.

What helps:

• Avoid very low-calorie plans, these increase cortisol and disrupt thyroid hormones

• Focus on regular, balanced meals with enough protein and complex carbs

• Eat enough to fuel daily activity and avoid over-reliance on stimulants

• Be wary of intermittent fasting if it leads to energy crashes or bingeing later

Tip: Restoring your metabolic rate often starts with eating the right food more consistently, not necessarily eating less.

4. Move in a Way That Supports Your Hormones

Exercise is important, but more isn’t always better when it comes to PCOS. Overtraining, especially with high-intensity workouts, can raise cortisol, disrupt ovulation and worsen fatigue. Read more about how to tell if you are ovulating here.

What helps:

• Prioritise resistance training 2–3x per week to build lean muscle (which increases metabolic rate)

• Include daily low-intensity movement like walking or yoga to reduce stress load

• Avoid chronic cardio or long fasted workouts if you feel wired or exhausted

• Rest is also part of the plan, especially during high-stress weeks or luteal phase

Tip: The best type of movement is the one you can do consistently without burnout.

5. Support Your Thyroid and Mitochondrial Health

Your thyroid and mitochondria (the energy centres in your cells) play a big role in metabolism. Thyroid hormone imbalances like Hypothyroidism or Hashimotos are more common in women with PCOS, particularly if there’s an autoimmune or inflammatory component. The NHS has more information about hypothyroidism here.

What helps:

• Ensure you’re getting key nutrients: iodine, selenium, iron, zinc, B12, tyrosine

• Don’t overdo raw cruciferous veg if you have low thyroid function

• Include iron-rich foods if you’re plant-based or have heavy periods

• Balance stress and blood sugar to protect thyroid hormone conversion

Tip: If your energy is low despite sleeping well, or if you’ve struggled to lose weight for years, it may be worth testing thyroid and nutrient levels. Read more about thyroid health and PCOS here.

6. Prioritise Rest, Recovery and Stress Regulation

Chronic stress raises cortisol, which can increase belly fat, worsen cravings, disrupt sleep and down-regulate your metabolism. Many women with PCOS are high achievers juggling busy lives, and their stress is physiological, not just emotional. Find out more about the stress, hormones and PCOS link here.

What helps:

• Build in daily downtime, even 5–10 minutes of breathing, walking, or doing nothing

• Create a consistent sleep routine, ideally 7–9 hours of restorative sleep

• Limit stimulants like caffeine if you feel wired-but-tired

• Use tools like journaling, therapy, nature walks, or guided breathwork

Tip: Progress happens during recovery. If you never rest, your body stays in survival mode, not fat-burning mode. This post explains more about why poor sleep disrupts hormones and what to do about it.

It’s Not Just About Weight Loss

Improving your metabolism with PCOS isn’t just about the scales, it’s about more energy, fewer symptoms, and a body that works with you, not against you. These six steps aren’t a quick fix, but they’re sustainable, supportive and grounded in what actually works.

If you’ve been told to “just lose weight” without any real guidance on how to support your hormones and metabolism, you’re not on your own, and you don’t have to figure it out alone either. If you feel like you've tried everything and you're not seeing results, read this post for tips on what you can do next.

Inside my 12-week Hormone Shift Method, we focus on practical, food-first strategies to support metabolic health, reduce symptoms, and shift stubborn weight—without restriction or guesswork.

Struggling with symptoms like fatigue, cravings, bloating, or stubborn weight gain? I work online with women across Manchester and the UK through my 12-week PCOS Hormone Shift Method, which combines targeted nutrition, gut support and hormone balancing steps for weight loss and preparing your body for pregnancy, in a clear weekly format. Not ready to start a full programme? Try my mini programmes, The PCOS Capsule Kitchen and The Post Pill PCOS Reset here.

You’ll get science-backed strategies, optional functional testing, and regular support—without extreme diets or quick fixes.

Book a free 30-minute discovery call or download your Free Hormone Health Snapshot to find out where to start.

Book Your Free Call or download the free Off The Pill Hormones Snapshot

Updated in June 2025 to reflect new PCOS research and nutrition strategies. 

Disclaimer

This blog is for general information and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnose health conditions, or replace personalised care from a qualified healthcare professional.

As a BANT-registered nutritionist, I offer nutrition and lifestyle support to help manage and improve health outcomes, but I do not diagnose or treat medical conditions. Always consult your GP or healthcare provider before making changes to your diet, lifestyle, or supplements, especially if you have a medical condition, take prescription medication, or are pregnant or breastfeeding.

 Individual needs can vary, and what works for one person may not be appropriate for another. All information is evidence-based to the best of my ability at the time of writing, but research and guidance can evolve. If you're looking for tailored support, please get in touch to book a 1:1 consultation.