Train and eat like a girl because you are…’ b.x
When we focus on loving and looking after our biological female body we have a higher chance of finding a successful routine to overall wellness. This acceptance of our body will enforce a motivation to look after one self.
We women, must realise this for ourselves, for one another and for our little girls that it is ok to feel, change and be who we are in our own life journey. We are not meant to be like one another. We need to move confidently through the many body challenges and changes we endure from childhood, teens, young women, pregnancy, post pregnancy and into the fun stages of peri or menopause. Our bodies are never the same. Our body is every changing yet the acceptance of this seems our challenge. Our self loathe, our judgement and our comparison. We are taught and shown this however for us to be wholly confident and free our mental time wasting on personal body comparison is better spent loving and celebrating the body we are blessed to have and the gratefulness of being well.
The keys to exceptional Women’s health, fitness and food lifestyle is training like a girl should, eating like a girl should and maintaining body wellness like a girl should. We have a very different biological body make-up to men hence why our body responds differently to training and racing. We women are born endurance athletes able to withstand a higher pain threshold (this sometimes to our detriment) but also a powerful capability. Our bodies also have changed due to hormones and it responds differently due to hormones. Acceptance of this is key. Our pelvic floor creates many issues for women with leakage beginning in our teens and we adjust to this situation. The leakage situation whether it be blood loss or urine loss also creates a sense of concern and adjustment. Again this is normal and ok. We as women have many factors that must be considered for our motivation and activation in exercising. Again acceptance and acknowledgement is key. I personally have been struggling to run on certain times in the month due to my enlarged uterus which sits upon my bladder causing discomfort and leakage. This factor affects my training and an adjustment must occur. This has affected my muscle maintenance and an acceptance had to be sorted for my own mental state. I’ve noticed my legs showing more cellulite, my gluteus isn’t sparking as easily. All due to the fact my hill running had to become less due to leakage and an overactive muscle set in my pelvic floor. I had to reteach my pelvic floor muscles to relax. We are constant new learners about our every changing female body. The point is our female biological body will respond rapidly to ‘quality training techniques’ as long as we remain well by keeping our health and nutrition as our optimal importance while training or racing.
Side note**Our men, boyfriends and loves will try their best to help train you and guide you in food choices (and thank them) but they do not know women’s bodies, they don’t live in one, or understand them like a great female trainer and women’s health expert.
Another important ‘eat like a girl’ is the over 40 body may not be responding like it used to. I hear this daily. Women all over the world wonder why their body is not getting easier to maintain. The sheer fact is it is the sugars. The hidden sugars in foods and drinks. Even though we don’t eat spoons of sugar –
It’s the sugars.
It’s sugar.
The problem is sugar.
I said it three times because everyone says ‘but B, I don’t eat it.
As we age, also a sense of ‘this is me’ attitude comes and this is wonderful. Yet it also comes with a sense of ‘less consciousness of what we consume (maybe we forget?) I want you to be honest with yourself. For me personally I’ve noted the fact my body isn’t as sparky of late. The first thing I must take full ownership on is my sugar consumption. The most potent one is alcohol. Especially my love of champagne. I try to only drink one night a week being a Friday or Saturday. One glass at an event does count and does add up. If I drink more than that it dramatically affects my sleep, my mood, my body function, a little pot belly begins to appear and my lack of focus is evident and frustrating.
As we age our body responds different to how it used to and especially how it uses sugar. The older we get, the less muscle mass we maintain. Over time our BMR drops, meaning we burn less calories at rest. Sugar not only provides major highs and lows in mood and energy, it can also disrupt one of the most powerful hormones in the body: insulin. And insulin is closely connected to all of the other hormones in your body, including estrogen and testosterone. When insulin spikes, typically after a meal high in sugar or alcohol, it can lead to lower levels of an important protein known as sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG). SHBG binds excess estrogen and testosterone in the blood, but when it’s low, these hormone levels increase. Insulin also increases the production of testosterone, which is then converted into even more estrogen by fat tissue in the belly.
These effects mean the ratio of estrogen to progesterone (known for keeping us calm and happy) is way too high, leading to irritability, anxiety, insomnia and more. And as women reach menopause or peri menopause symptoms get more intense and can include 1/2am hot flashes and night sweats as well the liver detoxes.
Therefore our sugar intake must be limited meaning avoid 80% of it in all weekly consumption.
These are 6 x training tip for all women young, mature or a soon to be Mama:
1. Quality over quantity –
Focus for a solid 60 minutes on the body moving for purpose. In this time ‘Train hard’ – add speed and hills for walking or jogging. (This is for young and maturing) The best and free way to get leg strength is jog hills. Run the up and the down.
3. Weights circuits –
Weight training will enhance your health mobility. Add a 5-7 kg hand weights speed circuit sets to improve your overall muscle strength and mobility. In these circuit sets do not sit and rest between sets – complete a cardio movement, walk, run, skip (if you can) walking lunge but move.
4. Train with alignment in mind –
We must focus on how the muscles move in the body to create a faster result. Just like reading if we don’t focus we miss the story line and the same with training focus on your body moving and how it is moving. This is especially for hip and lower back wellness. The lower back and core during pregnancy or post and menopause are affected due to our core strength changes and weight gain due to baby growth, or hormones or insulin. Ensure yoga is added to counteract the lower back, core, hip and leg pressure. Maintaining flexibility will ensure alignment and less injury.
5. Focus on you –
The only race is against your body and health capabilities: avoid the competitive crazy mindset and focus on you and your time. Create a routine to share your training schedule with the family. Try to bring the family into as many sessions as possible.
6.Eat quality small meals often –
Creating high energy throughout the day. This will improve energy levels during your busy day and avoid the mind slum of post training. Eat good fats like avocado and eggs as it not only give us luscious ladies great skin and less wrinkles but improves ligament regeneration.
Health and Happiness,
b.x