Q&A + Practical Guidance

I saw that there were some questions in the chat function, so I’m going to go to those. I’m going to stop the share here. So, let’s see. “If I have a substantial breakfast, I cannot manage a substantial lunch. I’m just too full. What advice can you give for this?” Okay, I will. I think it’s just a matter of practice and getting your body used to it. I am one of those people that used to never have breakfast. My mom would chase me down the street with an orange juice because I was never hungry in the mornings. But that’s a sign of running on stress hormones, right? So when intermittent fasting came along, I was like, “Sweet. Now I’ve got something to name it.” But when I realized that I was running on stress hormones and wanted to make a change, I had to work my way up to eating a large breakfast. You can start with something small within an hour of waking up, and then have something else about an hour later. Your appetite will return, and appetite should not be feared. I know as women we kind of fear being hungry, but actually it’s a sign of good metabolic health. Especially if you’re busy and doing things, you should be fueling yourself. So I would say start small and then work your way up to a larger lunch. You’ll see that it will happen in time. “Give us the recipe of this magic salad!” Oh, it’s not magic. It’s very simple. You just grate some carrots — usually about 100 grams is a good amount — and then dress it with some olive oil or coconut oil if you want further antimicrobial effects, a good amount of salt, sea salt, and some vinegar. Then you have that before a meal, about 15 minutes before, or as a snack in between, like mid-morning. Very easy to do. “What would you recommend for vegetarian options of protein? I have lentils and pulses.” Yes. So eggs and dairy are also really good sources. I don’t think you need to eat meat if you don’t want to. I think that if you are consuming eggs and dairy on a regular basis, then those are great sources of protein. You don’t have to have meat. Fish and shellfish are good as well, but not everybody likes those. Clara says, “I’m a front loader when it comes to eating. But I tend to avoid gluten, wheat especially at breakfast and lunch, which I’m understanding from you is a bad idea, but ideas on replacements would be appreciated.” No, I don’t think you need to avoid gluten unless you can't tolerate it. If you can’t tolerate gluten, then that’s fair enough. You would look at other sources of carbohydrates for breakfast. Fruit is a great source. So if you can’t have gluten or wheat, you don’t have to have toast. A lot of people struggle to digest toast or bread in general. Having something like a larger portion of fruit would be great. Let me see… Someone’s chatting. Oh yes. So I would say just add more fruit to your meals. Depending on your breakfast, you could also have potatoes or rice in your breakfast as well. If you have a more savory breakfast, that’s fine — like a hash brown or a hash. Oats — yes, oats, rice cakes, sprouts — those are all great as well. Clara’s saying, “What is your stance on HRT?” I think it can be helpful. That is a big topic. I think it can be helpful, especially when the symptoms someone is experiencing are impacting their day-to-day life. If you’re not sleeping through the night, or you feel like you just can’t cope… A lot of women are struggling to cope with work and all these things because their symptoms are so severe. HRT can help temporarily get you out of a hole, but it’s not the solution. It can help give you the oomph to do the things that you need to be doing. I think HRT on its own, without all of the other shifts — nutritional changes, lifestyle changes — often doesn’t provide the impactful change women expect. Sometimes women go to the doctor, the doctor gives HRT, and they expect everything to resolve. But if you’re not set up doing the foundational stuff, it can help a bit, but it won’t bring the resolution many women expect. It needs to be done in the right way, and everything else also needs to be in place. For many women, they won’t experience the benefits if they’re not doing the other things as well. I talk about it at length in the program; I have a whole module on HRT. So if you’re interested in how it fits into a holistic approach, I cover that in the program. “What about hormones in commercial animal farming? Does this transfer to the consumer since cows, chickens, etc. are kept artificially pregnant?” That’s a direct impact on women’s hormone intake. When you’re pregnant, one of the main hormones produced is progesterone. Progesterone is protective, pro-thyroid, pro-metabolic. So I personally don’t worry about hormones in conventional animal products. But I recommend getting the best quality you can. Ideally, if your budget allows, get grass-fed organic dairy or grass-fed organic meats. Standards are higher, animal welfare is higher. If you’re choosing between organic fruits/vegetables versus organic animal products, I would choose animal products first. I’ve also seen hormonal dysregulation in women who decide not to consume any animal products and adopt a wholly plant-based vegetarian or vegan diet. For various reasons we don’t need to go into now, but animal products are actually really important for hormonal health. So I would say try and get the best quality your budget allows. Someone asked about vegetarian protein options — yes, so dairy and eggs. Tofu — we want to be careful. Consuming too many nuts, nut butters, nut milks — we want to be careful because tofu is a potent phytoestrogen and can tip the estrogen-progesterone ratio, which is delicate in perimenopause. Because if we’re not ovulating, we’re not making progesterone, so we’re more estrogen-dominant in perimenopause and menopause. If we consume too much tofu, soy, or even too many nuts and seeds, which are more phytoestrogenic, it can tip that balance. So I wouldn’t consume those daily, though tofu here and there is fine. “Any other tips on foods or drinks that help reduce cortisol or stress?” The main thing is keeping blood sugar balanced. Eating regularly helps lower cortisol. So eating regular meals throughout the day and snacks depending on your needs. You don’t have to snack all day — that affects digestion — but having structured meals and eating regularly keeps blood sugar balanced. No specific food reduces cortisol, although dairy can be anti-stress because of calcium. Salt is also anti-stress. Using a good quality sea salt is very helpful. Gelatin-rich foods like bone broth, jellies, marshmallows — those can also reduce stress. “How do we measure blood sugar balance? Trackers don’t capture that, do they?” Symptoms tell you a lot. If you’re waking up in the night, I can pretty much guarantee your blood sugar’s not right. Especially waking up between 1 and 3 am — even just to go to the toilet. Sugar cravings in between meals are also a sign. The body tries to increase blood sugar quickly, and it usually craves biscuits, cakes, chocolate. Lillian’s saying, “I wake up regularly between one and three.” Yes — that’s a clear sign of blood sugar dropping. Look at what you are doing throughout the day that’s impacting your blood sugar. Maybe have something to eat before bed. Warm milk and honey is very easy to digest. If you can’t drink milk, try coconut milk with collagen and honey — carbs and proteins together. Something salty like bone broth with salt and fruit can help as well. Or cheese and fruit — something that helps carry you through the night. It doesn’t have to be a massive meal — just something that will carry you through the night. And once you work on the rest of your day and eat enough overall, that’s important too. Sometimes you might be eating regular meals but not enough, so you don’t have enough glycogen in your liver to carry you through the night. So that’s one of the first things I look at — working on that rhythm throughout the day and nourishing yourself during that time. All right. Bye Clare, thank you so much for joining. If there are no more questions, I’ll let you go for the day. We’ve got the recording, so you’ll be sent the recording via email. If you have any questions about the Midlife Reset, if you want to join, I would love to have you on there. If not, I hope this introduction to nutrition has brought some insights on how to support your hormones during this time in your life. I wish you all a lovely rest of your day. Speak to you soon. Thanks so much. That was great. Bye.