This weeks will be different from the one in a month though, and then in another month there might be a new one.
We see people brag about the success, we see people act like it is the win all to our weightloss problems.
But what about long term? Is it healthy? Do you ever see yourself asking – Will I screw myself up if we try it out?
What if I try it and it doesn’t work, what is wrong with me then?
An endless spiral of this diet to that diet, never adhearing to a lifestyle of success with any of them…. Yet some people may claim they have.
This is my all time least favorite for women (I will go into detail more in a bit). Essentially Keto is where you are focusing on getting majority of your calories from fat. Meaning you are putting your body into ketosis where you are essentially tapping into your bodies fat stores for energy. You are not eating much carbs so in a sense your body bypasses what it would typically burn for fuel and goes to fat. So simple – you burn fat then you are going to get leaner right? However, most people do not even adhere to the actual “keto” macro breakdown. You should be eating 75% fat, 20% protein and only 5% carbs! (I am sorry but that is no for me).
This is another big new trend. I do not hate this one for the right people. Pretty much anyone can do the 12/12 IF (meaning you do not eat from 7pm to 7am or 6pm to 6am etc). However there are also benefits shown to some by going on a 16/8 route meaning you only have an 8 hour window to eat. Some even go further than that. There are some studies and claims showing that it can help regulate blood sugar and burn fat and reduce risk of disease, however once again most women need to be careful with this ESPECIALLY those with hormonal imbalances.
Please do not attack me for this one. I 100% understand why some people eat this way and support their choices just like any other. However, it can be risky for some based on some research. Please also note I have RAW not just Vegan listed. Essentially vegan diets are when you do not eat any sort of animal product, be it meat, chicken, fish, eggs, dairy. RAW vegan diets are when you do not cook vegetables past a certain heat.
As women we function off a 28 day cycle. (or so) once we are of child bearing age. When hormones are regular they will increase during the first part to prep our body for concieving, then in the second half if we do not conceive they will start to drop.
Along with our cycle our metabolism also increases and decreases throughout the month. During our first half, we have a slower metabolism as our hormones are on the rise, we have less of an appetite from this as well. In the second half our metabolism speeds up and we have/want to eat more complex carbs, etc to support this. We are also more at risk for blood sugar dysregulation during this time.
You can see just from those facts that sticking to one way of restrictive eating could potentially harm you at certain times of the month. If you have imbalanced hormones and already have been diagnosed with something like estrogen dominance, pcos, or diabetes, then restriction and causing any other sort of additional stress on our body will only make things worse.
For example:
Of course just eating a well rounded diet including healthy proteins, complex carbs, veggies, and healthy fats is the best recipe. We just have to remember overall to keep changing it up!
Personally I have struggled with this my entire life, I can eat the same thing day in a day out for a while and not get bored. I probably went two years where I ate sweet potatoes every day. Now I try to cycle them in and out because I do realize how restriction of other foods has now made it hard for me to process them. I have been working on cycle syncing for a few months now and its honestly really cool how I can tell what stage my body is in based on mood, cravings, sleep, focus etc. Doing a little everyday makes a difference.
I hope this gave you some good insight on to why you may have not seen success in the past and WHY you need to just focus on YOU and YOUR health!
If you are interested in learning more about cycle syncing and want to try out my program I have two options for ya!
PSA ( I am not a doctor but you can do some research yourself to verify what I am getting into today if you have doubts. )
When it comes to hormones, ladies we work off a cycle that goes about 28(ish) days in length. Our hormones rise and fall to help prepare our body for a baby (during reproductive years).
On the flip side, men have a hormonal cycle that goes about 24 hours. Their hormones rise and fall all in relation to this and they recharge at night during sleep.
Women we do not function at the same capacity we are not supposed to during this time because of hormonal fluctuations (even when they are balanced).
Men can function basically the same way day to day.
We can BOTH get imbalanced through stress and other factors in daily life -for today we are focusing on us ladies though.
Most likely you would say the 24 hour clock. We tend to wake up and get stuff done and go go go until night time when we crash.
Is that a wrong way to live? Sometimes. Why sometimes? Because sometimes our hormones can support that.
During our first half of our cycle we are good to go, during the second half we need to take more time to let our body rest and reset. Not do all the intense workouts, or work late hours or stress ourselves out because our sex hormones which play into stress hormones are at their lowest.
However – Men can live this way as they recharge every night in a sense. When we are in our reproductive years our recharge and reset time is actually at the end of the month (aka our period). (and ps. This should be a red flag if you do not have one due to meds or any other reason- I am someone who knows first hand about this too).
When we live in a way that does not support this then we are asking for imbalance over time. Our stress hormones will rise, our metabolism will get thrown off and we will suffer other consequences that could range from sleep deprivation to infertility.
We have to take steps to support our body and hormones in order to get the most out of our day to day. We are NOT the same day to day and we need to honor that. ( I mean somedays I am excited like the picture to the right… others I am the COMPLETE opposite )
The best place to start is by simply figuring out where you are in your cycle. Meaning when did you have your period last, and if you do not track it then start by paying attention to it next time. Then today start paying attention to how you feel. Chances are if you are feeling good, having lots of energy and focus you may be in the first half. Once you figure out where you are you can start applying things to support your cycle based on that.
If you are someone who has struggled with weight loss, with hormonal imbalance of any kind, of fatigue, of stress, of anxiety, of depression…. The list goes on. I urge you to start paying attention to where you are day to day., Journal how you feel, track the highs and lows, the cravings, etc. These are ALL insights to our wonderful bodies.
Ladies we have to love ourselves first, this goes hand in hand with that. Taking care of what we are given to get into “sync” and thrive at life.
I have a freebie that can help you get your workouts in sync in you are interested. Just head to the link below and get it today.
With “social distancing” and trying to really stay healthy we are going to not be in gyms and more than likely aiming to get creative at home. Going virtual possibly or working with trainers or friends remotely. This is exactly why I created this program. For those of us who may not have much equipment at home or maybe no fancy bike…. This program is for you if you are at a loss of what to do, are at ANY fitness level (there is a beginner, intermediate, advanced program). You need minimal equipment and if you do not have something you can omit it, OR if you DO have something you can add it. It is simple but will help us stay on track.
So again no matter the fitness level, one of these can work for you! And for only $30 this is a STEAL…… a month of workouts for less than you would pay for most gyms (and no plan mind you). You can totally lose weight with this- but if you want a little extra help I am also offering a consult via skype or Google hangouts to help you with that and if you are interested in cycle syncing as well. If you are interested in adding that on you can do so when purchasing or simply reach out to me and let me know and we can set it up! Again I hope this gives you a little hope and can help you stay focused. We will ALL get through this! Stay healthy guys! C
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Essentially you are working to support your cycle. Your cycle meaning the 28 day or so period we are supposed to rotate through. (here’s your biology talk) It is made up of four phases; Follicular, Ovulatory, Luteal and Menstrual. Each phase consists of a few days where our sex hormones should fall and rise (hormones meaning estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone mainly among others). The first half is composed of the follicular and ovulatory cycles which are aimed more at increasing estrogen and testosterone to help prepare for ovulation when they are at their peak and to make us ladies fertile. The second half consists of the luteal and menstrual phases where progesterone starts to rise and the other two start to drop before menstruation where the lining sheds if no egg is fertilized. With our hormones fluctuating our bodies are going to need different nutrients and things to support them at different times. We should also have highs and lows of energy at different times depending on this. For example it is better to rest during the last part of your cycle (Menstrual) vs. the beginning when you have more energy (Follicular phase).
But what if you are irregular, have been diagnosed with any sort of disease like PCOS, amenorrhea or endometriosis to name a few. That is even more of a reason to try this method. By supporting your cycle when these hormones should rise and fall with foods, the right workouts and movement and self care we can optimize getting these things regulated. We want to get regular, we want to reduce PMS symptoms, by doing so we will increase our ability to optimize our metabolism function among other things.
When our hormones are regulated and working efficiently we are able to absorb the right nutrients, burn more fat, and feel better with less stress on our bodies. We know that less stress leads to less inflammation like I have talked about many times before. If we can get our workouts to aide us in this by timing them correctly within our cycle (or when we should be at x part of our cycle) then we should be able to recover better and get more out of them when timing is right. Here is the low down on that- each phase should rotate between different focuses/energy output for the most part to help alleviate excess stress on us at the wrong times or when we are lacking certain nutrients to recover. Follicular Phase : During this beginning part of your cycle estrogen and testosterone should be on the rise so should you have more energy, meaning you can do more HIIT and intense heavy lifting. This is a time to work harder and push yourself more because you will be able to recover better. Ovulatory Phase : This is when everything is at its peak so you can really work harder here. Luteal Phase: The first half of this cycle (it is longer almost 10 days) can be harder workouts but when hormones start to drop towards the end that is when you want to start doing more yoga, active recovery like long walks, stretching, non intense cardio to preserve your energy. Menstrual Phase – There is a reason sometimes you are fatigued during this part of your cycle.. You have lower levels of everything as your lining may shed (bleed) and if you push yourself too hard then in turn you will feel even worse during this time. Really try to use this time to lay lower doing low intensity stuff and really resting your body. When you preserve your body during this time it will allow you to have even more energy next phase (follicular) where you can go harder again. Try things like stretching, infrared sauna, gentle yoga, easy walks, massage etc. So how can you start implementing this? Easy if you are regular, just pay attention to where you are in it and start adding in these types of workouts accordingly. But what if you don’t know?? If you are like me and are irregular or have been or on birth control and have recently stopped and have no cycle then go with the moon…. yup I said moon… no this is not crazy stuff there is research behind it oddly enough. You can sync with the moon phases (follicular – first quarter , ovulation – full moon, luteal- third quarter , menstrual – new moon) and do week to week and follow those guidelines. I am working with this as a guide, and I am going to be sharing my experiences so stay tuned! Next up will be how foods affect your cycle and what can help 🙂 So if you are going to try this lets aim to have patience, start slow and work on adding in things versus restricting. Keep stress low!
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