Understanding Nutrition (for women)
Can we talk nutrition for a second?
It seems a lot of women are confused on where to start when it comes to the nutritional aspect of almost any diet plan. I wanted to take a minute to discuss some things to help clarify some issues.
First off, although it is not my profession, I am certified as a nutritionist. Years ago, after my mother passed away from cancer, the doctors said was likely “diet-related cancer”. I didn’t understand that, so it sent me on a path where I became extremely obsessed with understanding the correlation between women’s biology and nutrition. I am no expert, nor do I pretend to be. However, I do have some knowledge under my belt that I think can be helpful towards lessening the confusion surrounding nutrition for women.
The Diet
First off, no diet plan is a one-size-fits-all. What works for the goose, does NOT work for the gander when it comes to nutritional intake. There are two parts to understanding YOUR personal nutritional intake. The first is backed by science, the second is a little less “sciencey” — simply listening to how you feel.
We all ask each other is this ok to eat? Is that ok to eat? The real answer is that it depends on your overall health, your particular daily activity levels, your age, your ethnicity, and your nutritional goals (among other things). Every single one of us is different. Your nutritional needs are as different as your DNA. Everyone needs to experiment with ourselves by creating a plan and working it for 2–4 weeks while tracking everything about it (what you eat, when you eat, how you feel, activity levels, weight loss (if any) etc.) You can track it either mentally or physically on paper, a computer, etc.
Let’s talk sugar
An example of this is “Are grapes ok to eat?” Let’s unpack this…
Grapes have 26g of net carbs in 1 single cup. We tend to believe that natural sugars are better for us, but your body cannot tell the different between Glucose (a.k.a. blood sugar), Fructose (a.k.a. fruit sugar), Sucrose (a.k.a. table sugar), and Lactose (a.k.a. dairy sugar). We need to understand that your body will use consumed sugars immediately, and anything that does not get used immediately, gets stored as fat.
Now, keeping this in mind, your body requires glucose to live. However, it only needs about 100 calories a day (36g for women). When your body does not get that amount from food intake, it takes it from the fat reserves in your body. If you want to lose weight, you can begin by minimizing your sugar intake to 50 calories a day from food. This way, your body is taking 50% of your daily needs from your FAT that is stored in your body. If you eat the full 100 cals of sugar a day (which is equivalent to 25g) you may find yourself struggling to lose weight.
Now let’s talk carbs.
Carbs are broken into two sections (depending on the food) Sugar and Fiber. NET CARBS are the sugar content. You want to keep your net carbs around 20–50 grams a day if you are struggling achieve weight loss. For example, sweet potatoes are delicious and healthy, but they are high in carbs. One medium sweet potato has a total carb count of approximately 26g — of this, approximately 4g is from fiber. So, the NET CARBS for a sweet potato is 22g.That’s 22g of sugar! That is too many carbs for one meal for most of us.
Calorie Tracking
Another thing to note is that you could track your caloric intake. You will also struggle to lose weight if you are not eating at a deficit. What does this mean? If you are burning 1700 calories a day, but consuming 1800 calories, then you are eating more than you are burning and you may struggle lose weight.
The best advice I can give someone who is struggling to lose weight is to start tracking your food and your activity. Educate yourself on what is high in carbs, and understand that unsaturated FAT is not your enemy. Unsaturated fats are your friend. If you have a diet low in sugars, your body will turn consumed fats into glucose. Unsaturated fats include foods such as animal proteins, butter, avocados, salmon, olives, and sunflower oil.
It is for this reason that people on the Carnivore Diet say they feel so amazing all the time. They eat zero sugar, zero carbs, and a high amount of animals fats (unsaturated fats) which provide the body with endless bursts of energy.
Note how you feel
Most importantly — take time to register how you feel. Keep a journal if you must. If you eat something and then crash within the hour, while it may be a healthy food — it is probably not good for YOU. Crashing is a sign of insulin spiking. This (in simpler terms) means too much glucose! Remember — glucose turns to fat! If you eat something else then find yourself with an abundance of energy, then you probably want to eat that daily provided it is not too high in carbs(sugars) or saturated fats (confused yet?)
So, what can you eat?
Well, that is entirely up to you — as you experiment with yourself, only you will know what is right for you to eat. This takes a lot of time and patience. Determine what your goals are (weight loss, strength training, etc) and understand your particular health conditions (if any). As previously mentioned, a 2–4-week experiment with a certain diet plan is a good place to start. Start by eating the same 3 meals every single day (the same breakfast, same lunch, same dinner). See how you feel, write everything down. If it’s not working, change it up. Keep in mind that NO diet will fit you for the rest of your life. As your body changes, as your hormones change, your nutritional requirements will change as well.
But for now, for the sake of weight loss, what I can tell you is this… (and this will not be suitable for all depending on health conditions and other various factors) but for the next two weeks eat only real, low carb foods (fruits, veggies, meats) and avoid any and all high carb foods, processed foods, dairy, and gluten. Try that for 2 weeks and see how you feel. Make sure you track everything, and make sure your activity out does your caloric intake. Slowly add things back (one at a time) and see how it affects your energy, your mental state, and your weigh.
Conclusion
I encourage you to become your own metabolic investigator. You need to educate yourself on your particular needs because unfortunately, there is no “easy” pill and there is no magical “one-size-fits-all” plan when it comes to your nutrition. Unfortunately, you have to do the leg work to discover what will and what will not work for you. So, get movin’!
