Today, let’s talk about adequately feeding your bodies! At this point, almost all of us have heard of intermittent fasting or intermittent energy restriction. I.F. is any meal timing schedule that cycles between voluntary fasting and non-fasting over a given period. Methods of intermittent fasting include alternate-day fasting, periodic fasting, and daily time-restricted feeding. I and many others heard it was “THE weight loss regime,” but come to find out… maybe not for women….
If you are a menstruating female with working ovaries, your body and DNA are hardwired for childbearing. Whether you’re on birth control or some other form of contraceptives, we are subconsciously always preparing for the creation of life, and we are constantly holding on to nutrients and a bit of extra everything to prepare. If we withhold food from our bodies, it can be detrimental to our reproductive system and hormones. One expression of this results in our bodies holding onto too much, that “stubborn belly fat” or excess weight that we “can’t seem to get off.”
Now you know how much I love researching the why of things, our DNA history, or epigenetics. And I came to find that our body’s mechanisms of chaos kick in when we are in a state of high energy and low food/ nutrients. So, as women, when we are taught to restrict our carbs and food intake and increase our workouts or move to high intensity, we constantly keep our bodies in a fight or flight state, which shoots our cortisol through the roof and puts us in a deprived caloric state – but not in a good way! Over time, this can add to our issues of poor quality sleep, irritability, and mental fatigue. If you are like me and you feel like you’ve tried all the different ways to lose weight and fasting isn’t working either, let’s go back to the original epigenetic processing and properly fueling our machines.
How do we do this? The first step will be getting back into eating your nutrient-rich foods. Make sure you get your protein, healthy fats, and vegetables through your diet. The easiest way to do this is going to be meal prepping! Pick one day a week when you, your kids, your partner, or whoever can all pitch in and cut/ separate veggies, season and precook meat, and precook all your rice (if you don’t have an InstaPot, get one). The more people you have helping out, the more you can get done. As well as, you can begin to teach your children about the importance of clean meals, prepping, and cleaning up after the fact! An easy way to ensure you get all the needed vitamins and minerals is to “eat the rainbow”! Ensure you get in your greens, red meats, and healthy starches such as potatoes, yams, and rice.
Check back periodically as I post Dr. J-approved, easy and family-friendly recipes! We even created its own tab!
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