Low carb diet and PCOS

Women with PCOS are supposed to follow a low carb diet. I confess to cheating quite often, I am quite successful in limiting my carbohydrate intake to only one portion per day. It's not a perfect method, since I don't count carbs in fruits and vegetables, of which I have a minimum of four portions per day (my goal is five to nine). I do count bread, cereal, tortillas, pasta, corn, rice and potatoes. I don't drink sodas nor any sweet beverages, I don't sweeten my tea or coffee and I don't eat desserts. I do indulge in chocolate, but always a reasonable portion.

One of my friends cooked an ethnic dinner for us and asked me if we had any dietary restrictions. So I mentioned that we can eat everything, but that I usually limit my intake of carbohydrates. I also told her that I do cheat on special occassions and that she should not worry too  much about it.

Which makes me wonder if I set myself up. There were four dishes, three of which were carbohydrate rich: potatoes, rice with meat, and dumplings. The only non-carb dish was a salad, of which I had three servings. I did not even taste the bread. I had a little tiny slice of dessert (very sugary!), which seemed foolish, given that I had already had more than my carb allowance for two or three days.

Of course, I did not complain nor lecture her. After all, the food was delicious and you could tell that she had put a lot of effort into this dinner. But it reminded me of how hard it is to eat right. Even at the hospital, where nurses and doctors should know better, I was pumped up (literally) with carbs.

My heart goes out tho those afflicted by diabetes, a terrible disease. My ovarian cysts and the few symptoms I deal with are nothing compared to the risks they run if they do not control their carbs. It must be really difficult for them.