7-Day PCOS Diet Plan — Personalised for Your Hormones

If you have been told you have PCOS and sent home with a metformin prescription and a vague instruction to "eat healthy and lose weight" — you are not alone. Most women with PCOS in India get exactly that. What they rarely get is someone sitting down with them and explaining why their body is storing fat differently, why the hunger never stops, and why standard diet advice does not work for them.

PCOS is fundamentally a hormonal and metabolic condition. Elevated androgens (like testosterone) cause the symptoms you can see — acne, facial hair, irregular periods. But underneath all of that is usually insulin resistance: your cells are not responding properly to insulin, so your pancreas keeps pumping out more, and all that excess insulin drives fat storage, inflammation, and further hormonal disruption. A diet that does not specifically address insulin resistance will not get you results, no matter how clean it looks on paper.

This 7-day PCOS diet plan is built around exactly that — low-glycaemic Indian foods, adequate protein to manage hunger and support lean muscle, anti-androgenic spices like methi and spearmint that have clinical evidence behind them, and meal timing that works with your cortisol patterns. It is not a starvation plan. At around 1,600 calories it is enough to fuel your day, reduce cravings, and start nudging your hormones in the right direction — often within the first week itself.

Most diet plans handed out for PCOS are just generic low-calorie plans with a PCOS label slapped on. This one is different in a few specific ways. First, every meal is designed around glycaemic load — not just glycaemic index. Brown rice has a lower GI than white, yes, but if you eat 2 large katoris of it, the glycaemic load is still high. This plan controls portions of even "healthy" carbs so your insulin stays stable across the day. Legumes like rajma, chana, and moong dal are featured heavily because they are slow-digesting, high in protein, and have a prebiotic effect that supports the gut microbiome changes associated with PCOS.

Second, the plan includes a specific spice protocol — methi seeds soaked overnight and consumed on an empty stomach in the morning, spearmint tea at mid-morning — both of which have randomised controlled trial evidence supporting their role in reducing free testosterone in women with PCOS. Flaxseeds are included in at least 2 meals per day for their lignan content, which helps the liver clear excess oestrogen. Third, the plan front-loads calories — a substantial breakfast and lunch, a lighter dinner — because eating more in the morning has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity in women with PCOS compared to evening-heavy eating. None of this is guesswork. It is grounded in how PCOS actually works at a metabolic level.

This plan is specifically designed for women dealing with PCOS-related weight gain, irregular or missed periods, persistent acne around the jawline and chin, unwanted facial or body hair, and the kind of relentless sugar cravings that make sticking to any diet nearly impossible. If you have been working out and eating less but the scale refuses to move — or worse, keeps going up — insulin resistance is almost certainly the reason, and this plan addresses that directly.

It is also suitable for women with PCOS who have been recently diagnosed and are trying to manage their condition through diet before or alongside medication, and for women who have been on metformin for a while but want to understand what food changes can support their treatment. If you also have hypothyroidism alongside PCOS (a common combination), this plan is compatible — though we recommend mentioning it when you fill out your personalisation form so we can adjust iodine-rich foods accordingly.