Amber Fischer, MS, CNS Nutritionist

09/08/2025

Snacks for PCOS and Insulin Resistance really don't need to be complicated or frustrating- I simply think of them as "mini-meals".

A meal is going to have a protein source, a starch source AND a fat source, along with some fiber if it's done right.

Typically, snacks are mostly starch and low in the other things- things like popcorn, cookies, chips, etc are going to be high in starch but low in other nutrients.

Last week I shared how you can add foods to your snacks to make them better balanced, in this illustration I want to show you go-tos for healthy, balanced snacks that are going to make you feel great.

If you're not having a particular craving you are trying to meet and modify, choosing from a protein source and pairing with a fiber and/or starch source is a great way to create a balanced snack.

Some favorites of mine-
apples with peanut butter
yogurt with berries and chia
pickles and turkey
protein shakes and fruit
peanut butter and chocolate

My self-paced course, PCOS Foundations, walks you through 4 weeks of exactly how to eat for PCOS to balance your insulin, inflammation, and improve your stress responses through a functional nutrition lens. It's always open to enroll through the link in my bio.

09/06/2025

Lifestyle changes for pcos! These are the diet and lifestyle changes that help make life more pcos friendly and will help improve your symptoms and balance your hormones!

Insulin friendly lifestyle for PCOS:

First step is balancing blood sugar because balanced blood sugar means fewer and smaller insulin spikes. This means less testosterone! Do this by eating a lower glycemic load diet with lots of plant foods and increasing activity and exercise, especially strength training

Anti-inflammatory diet for PCOS:

Many pcos symptoms (including some of the excess testosterone) is driven by chronic inflammation. Diet choices can make a big difference here and the keys are including more superfoods, more plant foods, and healthier fats and oils like extra virgin olive oil.

More balance for lower cortisol in PCOS:

Perfectionism is not helpful or necessary so remember to balance hard changes with fun and moderation. Try to add activity that is fun too! And self care, good sleep, and mindfulness go a long way in reducing stress hormones that spike pcos symptoms.

I cover all this and more in my PCOS Foundations course which comes with tons of info and a 4 week meal plan to help you! Link in the bio for more info :)

09/03/2025

PCOS INSULIN FRIENDLY BREAKFAST IDEAS (quick and easy edition)

Add your favorite insulin friendly breakfast below and help us get some ideas!!

Eating an insulin resistance friendly diet really isn't as complicated as people make it seem. The biggest key is protein early and often to keep blood sugar stable.

Always, always pair protein with your meals and snacks.

Breakfast is typically where people struggle most and where we have to change our thinking: choose savory over sweet or be sure to reduce the sweetness and pair with protein. All of these are things I do regularly to keep my insulin resistance in check.

Need easy and budget friendly ideas for how to eat for PCOS? Check out my PCOS Foundations course- you can see more about it in my story highlight!!

09/01/2025

When it comes to weight loss in PCOS, the most important thing is managing insulin resistance.

There are a lot of gradual steps to getting truly balanced blood sugar, but these are the first ones I implement with clients to help you start noticing the differences. Once you start this, you will feel so different, you'll definitely be able to notice when your blood sugar is "off" and that will help you develop your own intuition about what you tolerate!

I'll share more about the next steps to managing IR and weight loss in PCOS soon (you can also scroll back to my insulin series from last year)

Why do these work?

Protein and fiber are both very filling- by eating more of them and eating them first, you're helping your body experience it's satiety signal sooner and ensuring you fit your most nutritious food in.

This also helps reduce intense starch cravings while letting you eat the foods you love in better proportion.

Fiber is also hugely important for feeding beneficial gut bacteria and those bacteria play a role in how insulin resistant you are as well!

There's obviously more to managing insulin resistance than just this but if you aren't already trying it, it's one of my favorite easy ways to feel better fast!

And if you want to skip ahead to managing your PCOS the insulin friendly way (and an easy meal plan to cement the changes!) check out my PCOS Foundations course at the link in bio.

08/30/2025

08/30/2025

SPEARMINT TEA FOR PCOS: HEALTH BENEFITS!!

If you have polycystic o***y syndrome (PCOS), you’ve probably heard the advice to drink spearmint tea daily.

Many people don’t realize that regularly drinking spearmint tea is actually one of the most evidence-based, effective, and well-studied supplements to a PCOS diet! In fact, drinking spearmint tea daily supports a reduction in many of the major symptoms of PCOS like facial hair (incredible for that!), high testosterone and other androgens, and PCOS hair loss.

Spearmint tea is one of the key recommendations in my self-paced PCOS facial hair course called Facial Hair Freedom (you can comment FREEDOM and my lil robot will send you the link!)

In the health world, spearmint tea is a favorite supplemental food. In functional nutrition, we call these functional foods.

Functional foods are foods that have health properties that extend beyond just being generally good for you. These foods can also impact specific parts of the physiological issues in different health conditions. For example, spearmint tea is known to help lower androgens that contribute to facial hair.

Spearmint helps your body make less insulin and less testosterone- these are the two major drivers of PCOS symptoms like facial hair, but also acne and many others!

I wrote an article on my blog about this topic! If you click the link in my bio you can find my blog and just search spearmint- I also have all the advice for growing your own there too!!

Spearmint tea is helpful but obviously, it's a supplement and not a substitute for eating a PCOS friendly diet as well! Have you tried this??

08/27/2025

Template for an insulin friendly and PCOS friendly meal! Mix and match your starches, healthy fats, and non starchy veggies with ample protein and so many combinations can be pcos friendly.

Each person has unique needs so you may personally need less starch, more starch, less fat, more fat, more protein etc but this can be a good starting place for understanding the relationship between portions!

If you want more customized guidance, my PCOS Foundations course is the best way to synthesize all the PCOS nutrition recommendations in the simplest and least stressful way possible. Plus, it comes with meal plans to help! Link in bio for the info!
I cover all this and more in my PCOS Foundations course which comes with tons of info and a 4 week meal plan to help you! Link in the bio for more info :) 

Let me know if you have any PCOS topic you hope I'll cover soon! I'm on the lookout for new ideas!!

08/25/2025

Low Carb Dinners for PCOS- do they help insulin resistant pcos?

The short answer is yes! Your body follows a circadian rhythm that is connected to sunlight and when you eat while it's daytime you process carbohydrate more effectively.

You can game the insulin resistance system a little bit by keeping your dinners low carb and for many of my clients it's helped them sleep better and improves their energy.

Have you tried this? How did it go for you?

For more help with your PCOS Diet, I highly recommend PCOS Foundations, my course all about balancing all 3 of your PCOS root cause needs!

08/23/2025

Wonder why you're exhausted with pcos?

Some people have said they're being told exhaustion is not a pcos symptom and technically I suppose that's true. Exhaustion is a symptom of the same root cause issues that create pcos symptoms in the first place!

Insulin and cortisol aka your blood sugar and your stress hormones both create surges and dips in your energy throughout the day in pcos because we usually have both a heightened stress response AND insulin resistance.

Ps, you CAN have insulin resistance with normal labs and I will die on that hill!

If you want to hear me explain this, check out the reel I made this week (in the gray sweater) that is part of my new to pcos series.

And if you want to start finally taking control of this right now (and yes, steady energy with pcos is more than possible!) Check out my course PCOS Foundations that will walk you through it! The link is in the bio and more info in my story highlight.

I'll tell you what to do about this in the next vid! See you there!

08/22/2025

How to Help PCOS Insulin Resistance Pt 2

Sensitizing your body to insulin requires many of the same techniques that we use to help with inflammation. A huge one is increasing fiber. Fiber doesn't just slow down the release of insulin, it also builds good gut bacteria colonies that can literally help your genetics express better.

Ask me your questions and I'll answer!

Also, I have a great course that teaches you exactly how to do this with a meal plan and you can go at your own pace. Look for PCOS Foundations at the link in my bio!

08/20/2025

Carbs and PCOS Insulin Resistance

Carbohydrates are the main food group that spikes blood sugar and directly impacts insulin amounts in the body. But, carbohydrates are also the foods that contain the most nutrients, vitamins, fiber, and the foods that bring the most joy and satisfaction.

So what's an insulin resistant person to do?

Well, besides focusing more on the less starchy forms of carbohydrate and sticking to whole foods sources and higher fiber sources, we can also time our carb intake to optimize blood sugar.

If, for example, you love pastries but they make you feel bad or spike your insulin levels too much, try timing them around the workouts you already do or consume them at lunch instead of breakfast.

You are also much more insulin sensitive when you are relaxed than when you are stressed! I tested this out firsthand with a continuous glucose monitor and it was so illuminating!

I cover all this and more in my PCOS Foundations course which comes with tons of info and a 4 week meal plan to help you! Link in the bio for more info :) 

 

08/19/2025

PCOS friendly healthy iced matcha latte recipe!

i have a matcha latte everyday

I talk about the benefits of matcha regularly on here and it's because to me it's one of the simplest and most enjoyable things we can do that actually really helps our pcos symptoms!

Matcha reduces facial hair, is better for anxiety than caffeine, helps with hormone metabolism and estrogen levels, reduces testosterone, feeds the gut, helps with pcos acne etc etc, it's really great!

My favorite matcha is linked in my bio with a discount code too!