Healthy Eating for Women

Cover 50% of your plate or 2-3 fist size portions of a wide variety of vegetables – the fresher the better.  Fresh veg means your body is getting lots of the hormone balancing phytonutrients in requires.  You can be especially generous with the green variety.

We advise eating a palm-sized portion of protein of some kind; lean meat, fish, eggs, pumpkin, hemp or chia seeds. If you are vegetarian or vegan we would suggest you include a moderate amount of fermented soy foods such as tempeh, no more than 50g per day. Please note while we agree certain soy foods eaten in moderation can be a healthy addition to your diet, women who eat soy at every meal or even every day may be putting their health at risk.  Soy has its good points but too many soy phytoestrogens do have an oestrogenic effect.

Complex carbohydrates, like whole grains and legumes, contain longer chains of sugar molecules; these usually take more time for the body to break down and use. This, in turn, provides you with a more even amount of energy.  Simple carbohydrates are composed of simple-to-digest, basic sugars with little real value for your body. They are higher in sugar and lower in fibre.

Fruits and vegetables are actually simple carbohydrates — still composed of basic sugars, but they are drastically different from other foods in the category, like biscuits and cakes. The fibre in fruits and vegetables changes the way that the body processes their sugars and slows down their digestion, making them a bit more like complex carbohydrates.

Complex carbohydrates such as bulgur, quinoa, millet, amaranth, buckwheat and brown rice will help with digestion and elimination.  Be mindful, a diet high in carbohydrates can be counterproductive and may well lead to weight gain.  For women no more than one cupped hand of complex carbs with each meal, two for men.  We would advise that during your fat loss phase, complex carbohydrates be consumed after your training only.  In time complex carbohydrates will be gradually phased back into your diet.

Along with health science’s low-fat diet reversal is its revision of which type of fat is the healthiest. You may remember the day when margarine, mainly hydrogenated polyunsaturated plant oil was going to save the world from heart disease?  Well…we found out over the last two decades that it was actually a big contributor to heart disease.

We now understand that dietary fat doesn’t necessarily make you fat.  In fact the huge amount of sugar and refined carbs such as pastries, cakes, bread, pasta and bagels have made a far more significant contribution to our ever expanding girths.  Eliminating fat from our diets in an attempt to lose weight made way, not for more vegetables and fruit but for packaged, processed low-fat/high carbohydrate, calorific products with little to no nutrient value.  A highly refined carbohydrate diet sets the body up for weight gain and an increased oestrogen burden far more than a diet with balanced amounts of healthy fats and wholefoods.

When choosing fats look for a cold pressed dark green extra virgin olive, it tastes so good you’ll only need a small amount.  Also consider saturated fats such as coconut oil, grass fed butter and nuts.  Saturated fats have gotten a bad rap but moderate amounts may be beneficial to your health.  Coconut oil and peanut oil are best for cooking at high temperatures.  Avocado oil is a good monounsaturated fat that’s rich in healthy essential fatty acids.  Omega 3 fats are found most abundantly in fish such as mackerel, herrings, sardines, wild caught salmon, tuna, trout and cod.  A balance of the right fats is important, they are required for joint health, brain function, mood stabilisation, and beautiful skin.  Again remember portion control; no more than a thumb-sized amount of good fats with each meal.

Sugar cravings are a common problem.  As hormone levels change and fluctuate enormous stress is placed on the nervous system.  In order to maintain homeostasis, the body uses up its reserves of magnesium.  Magnesium is an extremely important macro-mineral, meaning it is required in huge amounts by the body.  Magnesium plays a major role in mood, relaxation and sleep.  Low levels of magnesium will lead to sugar cravings.  In the ancient past, before the invention of refined sugar, fruits and berries high in magnesium would have been consumed.  Unfortunately, today we are much more likely to reach for sweets and processed foods.  A diet containing good amounts of vegetables, legumes, seeds and nuts, quality protein, healthy fats, and moderate amounts of fruit will help support your nervous system.  High sugar foods tend to cause unstable blood sugar levels, which inevitably lead to you craving more and more of the same…….eventually leading to weight gain.

An inseparable connection between body fat and oestrogen exists because fat cells are oestrogen factories.  Women become caught in a cycle where increased body fat raises oestrogen levels, and oestrogen in turn increases the tendency to accumulate body fat.

Your hand is proportionate to your body, its size never changes, and it is always with you and makes the perfect tool for measuring food.

There are many reasons why we pack on the pounds but one of the biggest culprits is not being aware of the number of calories we are actually consuming throughout the day.  One study by Cornell University showed that we tend to underestimate the number of calories we are consuming in large meals by around 30%.

The maintenance calorie guideline for men is 2500 calories and 2000 calories for women.  By logging your food on the Go-FitUK app and also being mindful of portion control, you will be able to easily track how many calories you are consuming.

There are many reasons why we pack on the pounds but one of the biggest culprits is not being aware of the number of calories we are actually consuming throughout the day.  One study by Cornell University showed that we tend to underestimate the number of calories we are consuming in large meals by around 30%.

The maintenance calorie guideline for men is 2500 calories and 2000 calories for women.  By logging your food on the Go-FitUK app and also being mindful of portion control, you will be able to easily track how many calories you are consuming.