There’s a lot involved when it comes to managing PCOS. If you’ve read any of my other articles, you know that things like gut health, balancing hormones, and the way that you eat can all make a big difference in your health. 

Another big factor in supporting your body with PCOS is how often you eat or your pattern of eating. There is no one perfect pattern of eating for everyone, but WHEN you eat may significantly impact your body and PCOS symptoms by influencing things like your hormones, blood sugar, and metabolism. 

There are a lot of different approaches to meal timing and so much misinformation out there on this topic, so knowing what to do, and what is best for YOU, can be confusing.

So - let’s clear the air and dig into how often you should eat with PCOS, what to focus on, and how to get started. 

How often should you eat to support your PCOS?

Unfortunately, many of the eating approaches you may read or hear about can actually make PCOS worse. When it comes to how often you should eat to support your PCOS, here are 3 things to keep in mind:

Eat 3 meals/day. 

This is truly the most important step. Erratic eating (which includes skipping meals, going long periods of time without eating, or grazing all day long) disrupts your blood sugar and can contribute to issues with energy, mood, digestion, and hormones. Skipping meals can also lead to overeating. These things put additional stress on your body and can contribute to worsening PCOS symptoms by amplifying blood sugar and cortisol issues. In general, I recommend eating about every 3-5 hours throughout the day to support stable blood sugar and hormones.

Prioritize breakfast.

This is often the most common meal I see women skipping or neglecting. Breakfast is an important time to refuel your body after an overnight fast, to stimulate digestion, to support stable energy, and to jumpstart your metabolism which has an effect on the rest of your day. 

One study done on women with PCOS found that those who had breakfast as their largest meal of the day experienced a 54% decrease in insulin resistance and a 50% decrease in free testosterone levels compared to those who had a small breakfast and their largest meal at dinner. 

Both groups of women in this study ate the exact same diet, and the only difference was that one group had their biggest meal at breakfast and the other group had their biggest meal at dinner. This is huge! 

There truly are so many benefits of eating breakfast including better energy levels, improved cognitive function, improved metabolic markers, and more. Research has also found that skipping breakfast increases levels of the stress hormone cortisol in the body and can lead to heart and metabolic diseases in some people. 

Eating foods at breakfast that are high in protein and fiber can also help to balance your blood sugar, keep you full for longer, and improve insulin sensitivity. Many women are eager to cut carbs, but like protein, eating enough carbohydrates and focusing on the right type of carbs are essential to regulating your hormones. You can read more about this in my blog here. 

Examples of a healthy breakfast could be avocado toast with arugula and a side of scrambled eggs, organic greek yogurt topped with berries, ground flaxseed, and cinnamon, or homemade oatmeal mixed with collagen protein, and topped with nuts and fruit. 

Eat-in alignment with your circadian rhythm. 

Circadian rhythms are physical, mental, and behavioral changes that follow a 24-hour cycle. Your circadian rhythm works by helping to make sure that your body’s internal processes are optimized at various points during the day. Circadian rhythms are most well known for their impact on sleep, but they also influence hormones and bodily processes like hunger levels, digestion, weight, and stress management. 

Eating in alignment with your circadian rhythm involves loosely identifying your 12-hour daytime, and aiming to optimize food intake during those hours. This means eating within 1-2 hours of waking, eating consistently throughout the day after that (every 3-5 hours), and having your last meal or snack about 2-3 hours before bed. The goal with this approach is to avoid disruption to our bodies’ natural processes that can occur from skipping meals earlier in the day and eating late at night. 

Evidence has shown that many women with PCOS experience circadian rhythm dysfunction. So, aligning your pattern of eating with your circadian rhythm can help regulate hormones and improve PCOS symptoms.

What about intermittent fasting? 

Now, you may be wondering about intermittent fasting. It is true that there are some health benefits of intermittent fasting documented in research. However, much of this research has been done on men and mice, not women of reproductive age! Women’s body’s are very sensitive to stressors, and as mentioned earlier, going too long without eating causes your energy stores to be depleted, which puts stress on your body. So, strict intermittent fasting may actually be contraindicated or have negative implications for women of reproductive age and those with PCOS.

Instead of rigid fasts and forcefully skipping meals during your waking hours, eating consistently during the day with a gentle overnight fast of 12-14 hours can have major benefits on your metabolism, blood sugar, and digestion. This means that if you have dinner at 6 pm, you would be breaking your fast the next morning with breakfast sometime between 6-8 am. 

I discuss intermittent fasting in-depth in my PCOS Root Reversal Program.

Where to start with meal frequency

The first step in adjusting your meal timing depends on your current habits. Take a few days to assess what your current eating patterns are, including when and what you eat. Documenting this may be helpful.

If you are not currently eating 3 meals per day, gradually begin introducing the missing meal (or meals). Allow your body and your metabolism time to adjust to this new eating pattern and try not to rush or force it. In time, your metabolism will gradually adjust and begin sending you hunger signals. 

If you are already eating 3 meals per day, try to notice any areas of your day that you may be feeling low energy, experiencing negative changes in mood, getting overly hungry or having other symptoms of low blood sugar. These symptoms may indicate that you need to be eating a bit more frequently and/or adjusting the types of foods you are eating at meals. In general, eating around every 4 hours is a nice starting goal, but you should always follow your hunger cues and other symptoms too.

Remember that this will likely take some time, particularly if you’re currently skipping meals. Some trial and error will help you determine what works best for your body.

In summary

There is no perfect pattern or style of eating, but meal timing does matter when it comes to your PCOS and overall health. Keep in mind that none of these tips are meant to be rigid rules, but rather general guidelines to support your body more effectively. You should always tune in with your body while making adjustments to learn more about what works best for you. 

Discover the step-by-step process to address and heal the root causes of your PCOS in my PCOS Root Reversal Program.