NUTRITION PLAN

[Nita // Weight Loss]

OVERVIEW

To lose weight, the most important thing is to be in a caloric deficit, meaning you eat fewer calories than your body uses. But if you specifically want to burn fat, your body first has to use up the glucose in your blood and the glycogen stored in your muscles and liver. Only then does it start pulling energy from your fat stores.

Eating in a deficit is the foundation, but for women with PCOS, it’s imperative to avoid frequent spikes in blood sugar. Foods that spike blood sugar cause high insulin levels, and when insulin is high, your body is in “fat storage mode.” In fat storage mode, fat burning is slowed down or paused until insulin drops back down. During this time, your body is more likely to store the calories you eat as fat rather than use stored fat for energy. This is why choosing foods that keep blood sugar stable is so important for consistent fat loss, especially with PCOS. Additionally, the crash from high-insulin levels can actually make cravings for sugar feel stronger, so managing those cravings is key as well.

Your Diet Fundamentals

  • Caloric Deficit: The #1 requirement for losing weight.

  • Limit High-Glycemic Foods: Prevents constant high insulin levels that lock you into a “fat storing mode”

  • Meal Timing (Fasting): Leaving enough time between meals gives your body a chance to use up the sugar and stored glycogen from your last meal, allowing it to switch over to burning fat for energy before you eat again.

CREATING A DEFICIT

You burn calories 24/7, even when you’re not moving. Just by staying alive — breathing, pumping blood, digesting food, and thinking — your body uses about 1,200 calories a day. This is called your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) — the number of calories your body needs to keep you alive at rest. Because of PCOS, your RMR may be 5–10% lower than average, which means you have to be a bit more intentional with your nutrition to see progress.

When we factor in your daily activities — walking, errands, and moderate exercise — you burn roughly 1,600 to 1,900 calories a day. This is called your maintenance calories — the amount you’d need to eat to maintain your current weight with your current lifestyle.

For the next 3 weeks, your daily target will be set at 1,600 calories. This is a starting point to help you get comfortable with tracking and give us a clear picture of your true maintenance calories based on your daily lifestyle.

Your Macros

  • Calories = 1,600kcal

  • Protein = 115g

  • Carbs = 170g

  • Fat = 50g

STRUCTURING A MEAL

Since you are starting out, it is best to make simple, separate meals rather than complex mixed dishes like curries or casseroles.

Why:

  1. Logging 4oz of grilled chicken + 1/2 cup of rice (uncooked) + 1 cup of broccoli + 1 tsp oil is easier and more accurate than a ladle of curry where each portion can have different macros due to the multiple ingredients.

  2. Eating similar, repeatable meals makes tracking mindless and fast.

  3. Constructing a plate that’s oriented towards protein + veggies first helps you feel satiated

Food Guide

Use this guide I’ve created for you as a simple rule of thumb for choosing foods when crafting your meals.

VIEW FOOD GUIDE PDF

HOW TO IMPLEMENT

Because you already cook most of your meals at home, focus on whole foods, and are mindful of portions, you have a strong foundation to build on. The next step is to track more closely by measuring not just what you eat, but how much you eat, to ensure you’re hitting your calorie and macro targets. Establishing consistent meal timing will also help reinforce healthy habits, keep your energy stable, and make it easier to stay on track.

1. How to Track Macros

You don’t know how much you’re consuming unless you look at the numbers.

Step 1: Use a Macro Tracking App

  • Choose one that is user-friendly and that allow you to log meals, save meals, scan barcodes, and see protein, carbs, fats, and total calories in real time

Step 2: Weigh & Measure Your Foods

  • Use a food scale to weigh your snacks and ingredients (MEASURE EVERYTHING AND WEIGH IT RAW/UNCOOKED)

Step 3: Focus on Consistency

  • Don’t stress on hitting all macronutrients. Your main focus is to eat at or less than your set calories of 1600 calories per day. Emphasize on hitting your protein goal of 115g first before trying to fulfill your carbs or fats.

Step 4: Meal Prepping

  • I recommend batch-prepping your meals so you only have to measure ingredients once, rather than weighing everything each time you cook. This saves time, reduces stress, and makes it much easier to stay consistent with your tracking.

  • Since you struggle with hunger cravings — pre-planning allows you to build high-protein, high-fiber meals that keep you fuller for longer and make it easier to stay on track.

Step 5: Watch for Hidden Calories

  • Be aware that coffee creamers, cooking oils, sauces, and snacks can be heavily dense in calories.

2. Time Your Meals

To Do: Skip or have a late breakfast. Have your first meal after 3 hours of waking up.

Keep in mind that for your body to really start burning fat as energy, your glucose and glycogen levels need to be depleted.

Because you burn calories and deplete your glucose and glycogen levels while you sleep, your body is primed to rely more on stored fat for energy during the first few hours after waking.

EXAMPLE OF A DIET AND ROUTINE

This is a sample day illustrating how I would time my meals and distribute the macros in each one.

VIEW EXAMPLE ROUTINE

YOUR PROGRAM

OVERVIEW
EXERCISE