SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hello, and welcome to 925 Wellness Podcast. So today we are going to talk about a topic that is super important, I believe, to women’s health. And that is nutritional needs for women as they shift through every phase of their menstrual cycle and every phase of life, from follicular and luteal phases to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause, and beyond. Hormones play a big role in hunger, energy, and cravings and recovery, which a lot of times we don’t place on hormones, but hormones do drive our recovery too. So today we’ll be breaking down the science of cycle sinking nutrition, bust some of the myths floating around social media, and share some practical and realistic strategies with you guys that you can actually use right away. Whether you’re optimizing performance, managing symptoms, or just trying to feel better during the day, this podcast interview is for you. And today I’m joined by a super awesome guest who is an expert in hormonal and anti-inflammatory nutrition and lifestyle. Our guest today is Christina. She is a nutritionist focusing on anti-inflammatory nutrition. Her personal story with endometriosis is what pushed her to look for answers. Almost a decade ago, her practice focuses on women’s health and all the transitions that women go through. She believes that health is a way of living and that we can turn it into our biggest competitive advantage if we have the knowledge to know what to do. Welcome to the podcast, Christina. Thank you. Happy to be here with you. I’m so glad you’re joining us. So as I just read your bio, I was thinking about your story. I, and I know all the other listeners and viewers of our podcast would love to know what got you started with this field of nutrition and why anti-inflammatory nutrition and lifestyle.

SPEAKER_00 2:25

Yes, thank you for the question. Um, as you said, it comes from my personal health journey with endometriosis. Um for me, it was uh a short journey, I would say. Let’s say I was from the lucky ones because I was diagnosed very early, because it runs in my family, and the doctors they really knew where to look at. So with time, I discovered more and more strategies that I can support my body in healing and recovering and just feeling better. And this led me also to looking further into chronic inflammation and anti-inflammatory nutrition and lifestyle. Because we know now that endometriosis is not only a hormonal condition, it is also an immune condition, and it is very much driven from chronic inflammation. And looking further, I discovered that also chronic inflammation is the cause of almost every non-communicable disease. So every disease that we cannot catch, like the serious diseases, and also with time we accumulate um inflammation, like low-grade inflammation in our bodies, all of us. And sometimes it’s a disease, like in my case, uh, but other times it’s just our lifestyle, the active, few active life, stressed lifestyle that we um have, uh, the highly processed food that we eat, uh, the lack of movement. There are a lot of uh things that can drive um this chronic inflammation in the body. And the good news is that we can really support our body, and uh, whether we talk about homogeneity or just uh treating a disease or just trying for all our phases as women or our transitions in life, we can really support ourselves through nutrition and through different lifestyle changes.

SPEAKER_01 4:17

Absolutely, we can all change small things like take small steps to change what’s going on within our bodies as we go through life, whether it’s stress from work or you know, just a stressful lifestyle with our family, and what do we want? We all have low-grade inflammation in our bodies, and how can we manage it so that it doesn’t impact us in the long term? So that’s a great way to start this. I want to shift our focus towards women’s menstrual cycle and the idea of cycle syncing our diet. Could you break down what it actually means to eat for your hormonal phases? What are the hormonal phases that we want to sync to? Yes.

SPEAKER_00 5:16

Cycle to so women’s bodies are fascinating. Most of us know how men’s bodies operate, and this is how actually the whole economy is built on. Like we all know by now that men operate on 24-hour cycles. It’s just one main hormone that goes up and down, like goes up in the morning, goes down in the evening. But for women, it goes very different, and um we don’t live as much in sync with our biology, I would say, still. It’s still to come, I think, also with the research getting more advanced in women’s health. And for women, we operate on roughly 28-day cycle, depending on our menstrual cycle. And uh, this is because our hormones fluctuate during these for these 28 days, and we’ve defined four phases, main phases that drive how we feel, how we function, they influence our metabolism, our gut health, even our mood as well. Like we all know all the transitions that we go through in one month. Uh, and the four phases are late or menstrual cycle, it’s the menstruation.

SPEAKER_01 6:34

As you just broke down, the menstrual phase, followed by the follicular phase, followed by ovulation, and then followed by luteal phase. So those are the four phases that we are looking at. How does matching our food to our cycle shift our overall energy and well-being? And what do we mean by actually eating for our cycles?

SPEAKER_00 6:59

So eating and living in sync with our cycles can influence a lot our energy levels. Because also supporting the body uh it gives it space to heal and to feel like in sync. And we’re gonna talk about what this means. Of course, there are a lot of strategies out there. I think the topic is getting more and more trendy, and there are different advice out there from just don’t go out of the house when you’re menstruating to just do only strength training every day when you’re into on your ovulation phase. But let’s see how this uh really works and why not every advice is applicable also for the lifestyle that we have, also for busy professionals, especially. So there is an interesting link to the phases to the seasons that we have, and I find this very helpful also to understand what that the body needs at this period of time, and also to remember what maybe your body is needing in that phase. So if we look at our inner seasons also, the menstruation phase would be our inner winter. When we look at what we need in winter in general, it is also staying warm, staying cozy, a little more with ourselves, a little more retired, so to say, not that social. And when it comes to nutrition, it also has a lot to do with winter. Like when we are menstruating, you can imagine really the uterus shading. So it is a little bit of an inflammatory process, and our body craves normally warm foods, helping for the soul, also. This is the phase where our sex hormones, so the estrogen and the progesterone, are at their lowest. Uh, so it’s great also to support the hormones with healthy fats, such as olive oil, avocado, very nourishing foods, also a little bit heavier, let’s say, like also as in winter, different soups, uh, stews, uh, a lot of veggies and fiber to support our gut health. And of course, with the menstruation, the body needs iron support, because a lot of women, especially if you’re heavy dining, you need a little bit more extra iron. So this could be from meat, which is a great source, or liver is also a great source. But if you’re vegetarian, there are also different options uh to combine like different legumes, different pantane sources.

SPEAKER_01 9:39

Yeah, spinach is rich in iron.

SPEAKER_00 9:43

Yes, exactly, spinach as well, but spinach and dark leafy greens is also great for magnesium support. And a lot of people want the like to hear as well. This is the phase where dark chocolate can also support you because magnesium is very helping also with cramps and just really think the muscles and like everything. Magnesium supports like around 600% of it’s good for your covery and inflammation, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 10:13

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 10:14

So the next phase will be the follicular phase, and this is where estrogen starts rising and rises through the whole phase, actually, until its peak in the ovulation phase. So the follicular phase will be our inner spring. And in spring, we like to be outside, we are more social, and our body in general is more resilient, meaning that also we are more insulin sensitive, which is good. That means that we can um metabolize better uh carbohydrates, and uh this is also the period where the body can uh thrive on lighter food, such as in spring, like salads, a lot of salads, a lot of veggies. Um, also fermented foods are great, they’re in general great for everyday, but especially in this phase, like fermented foods such as kimchi, sauerkraut, kefir, if you like. Um fish, I would say uh also to the um lighter foods like fish or lean meat such as chicken. Uh, this can support um uh us throughout this phase. And also, this is a phase where we can push ourselves a little bit more in meaning of word, but also in meaning of um strength training or some other training that we’re doing. Uh, because so normally we can take a little bit more and feel better after that. So eating enough protein also for recovery and for supporting um the extra training, so to say, it’s also great. Absolutely. Just one more thing, uh, because we also said that our body is more resilient in this phase. This is also the phase, especially towards opulation, where also if you want to do intermittent fasting, it will like it it will be good for our body. This is the period where we can benefit from intermittent fasting. Uh, I wouldn’t say like the whole period, like two, three days. Uh, if you want to do the more extreme type of 16, 8, this is the period when it’s best for your body. That’s fascinating. I wasn’t aware of that. That’s really good to know. Yes, this is where really when estrogen is higher, um in in every aspect, we are more resilient. I think also mentally we feel more stable at this phase. And uh in the Lutel phase, for example, we’re gonna talk about it, but then it’s it could lead to exhaustion if you do the intermittent fasting. It is very individual for everyone, but a lot of women then when they do it a lot, especially in the late lutteal, they see that their energy drops and not the other way around.

SPEAKER_01 13:11

Got it. So then we are left with ovulation and luteal phases. How should we sync our nutrition and diet in and in those phases?

SPEAKER_00 13:24

In the ovulation phase, this is our summer, we try. Um, estrogen is at its peak, and uh we want to socialize normally, we’re also very outgoing, also resilient, but uh the moment of ovulation is it’s also linked to a bit of inflammation in the body. You can imagine when the follicle bursts around egg, this is when a little bit of inflammation is created in the body. That’s why some women feel a little bit of lower energy or even fatigue around the ovulation just before and right after. So anti-inflammatory foods are great here. Uh, a lot of uh cruciferous vegetables, such as kale, broccoli, cauliflower, this supports also the estrogen clearance, the metabolism of estrogen. So it’s great in this space, and it’s still such as in the follicular phase, a little bit lighter meals will do you good, like the salads with fish, uh maybe with tofu. And regarding gut health, a lot of fiber. So you can incorporate chia seeds and flax seeds in your diet as well.

SPEAKER_01 14:42

Wonderful.

SPEAKER_00 14:43

And then we come to the last phase, and this is the luteo phase. This is our inner optimum as it’s defined, and this is the phase so estrogen drops and progesterone starts to rise. And uh this could make us a little bit more anxious, a little bit more like cocooning at home, and a little bit more we want to spend maybe focused time, like not that social, because you can also imagine that your body is preparing for pregnancy, and it also needs the nutrients if this happens. So naturally uh we don’t have to feel guilty also for having cravings. We all know, like especially in the late water, when we crave some food, this is the period where warm foods are really really great. So soaps and stews again. Um a lot of um bone broth as well is great, also for your gut health. And nutrients such as zinc, also different vitamin B, like vitamin B6, for example, supporting the molds. This can be found in especially in high high malt in meat, but also in other foods. Um, and regarding metabolism, this is also the phase when we are a little bit uh more insulin resistant. So we don’t have to overdo it with uh carbs, so better have some uh complex carbs such as uh sweet potatoes, uh squash or pumpkin, um quinoa, for example. But yeah, I mentioned that it’s it’s very normal to crave exactly these carbs uh and uh like also more simple carbs, and the one reason for that is that the body needs more nutrients, that means it signals more hanger, like the hunger signal, because we theoretically eat because the body needs nutrients, and uh we need a little bit more calories in this period, and it’s not like crazy, it’s around between 100 to 500 calories more, but like from biological uh view, the body preparing for the pregnancy and it just needs the storage, so to say.

SPEAKER_01 17:17

Yeah, no, thanks for explaining that. I am actually learning a lot about gluteal phase and how to match nutrition to the that phase from you. I know for sure that um I myself and then a lot of the patients I work with, they crave sugar and uh simple carbohydrates during this phase. But what I really like how you mentioned that eat some complex carbohydrates like sweet potatoes, pumpkin, uh, and maybe quinoa, to honor those cravings, but do so with functional foods and also even fruit, right? Like berries are great, they’re sweet, they would like satisfy your sweet tooth, but they’re also very high in antioxidants, too. So those are good for you. So now my question to you would be that I’ve heard from a lot of busy professionals, women who are busy professionals, where they feel tired in their luteal phase, right? Like they don’t have as much energy. They’re not as they don’t have as high of energy as they would during their um follicular and ovulatory phases, right? So, and they’re like we feel exhausted at work. Um, so I love how you just explained matching nutrition and your diet to these phases and um of your menstrual cycle. How can we also transition our work lifestyle or work style so that we’re not feeling overwhelmed during the luteal phase?

SPEAKER_00 19:14

The best would be, of course, to slow down if this possible, uh, but uh don’t think of something major, like of course, we can work, we can do everything. It is just uh a little bit more support that the body needs. And also the small things, like not eating lunch, for example, in front of your computer. This is already like slowing down for the body. Not that you should do it at all, but you know, especially in this space, just take small breaks where you can. Um and I would say also if you have a busy day ahead, for example, eating out, uh business lunches, dinners, and so on, it is great to focus on what you can control, like the meal, the one meal in the day that you can control, and it’s your breakfast. This is also very important for your energy throughout the whole day. So just focusing on um protein rich and lower in carbs breakfast will give you the fuel for the day of healthy fats and protein mainly. Could be eggs. I love eggs, but I also know now that not that many uh people laugh uh in the morning, but there are different forms like from boiled to scrambled and so on, um, that you can have also with avocado. Um is Greek yogurt. Yeah, that’s also a great option. The Greek yogurt with nuts and um berries. This is also very nourishing. You can put some cheer seeds, flaxseed uh in there just for more fiber. Uh, this is uh this is a great breakfast as well. Uh and also having the breakfast before your coffee because uh coffee on an anti tone can spike your cortisol levels, and cortisol is uh normally higher in the morning, so it could be like it could trigger a low roller coaster coast roller coaster uh throughout the day.

SPEAKER_01 21:25

Um, that’s a good one. I wasn’t aware of that. I actually go for coffee first thing, just because I think it’s a habit, but now I won’t. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:36

You can try it out, just have breakfast first, and then the coffee just delay a little bit the coffee. And uh for a lot of women, it has a great impact on their energy levels, especially because it influences cortisol influences also the insulin response. Um, so you will normally have a stable blood sugar throughout. Day and that means like stable energy as well. Yeah, stabilizing blood sugar helps a lot. Yes, this is very linked to our energy levels. And we also spoke about in the luth phase that we tend to be a little bit more insulin resistant, so really focusing on meals like balanced meals that support uh the blood sugar balance is already very helpful. And also when you speak of blood sugar balance, um when you have a BD day ahead, making sure that you have some healthy snacks with you to support. Like maybe when you feel a little bit more tired. And with healthy snacks, I mean, for example, you can have a boiled egg, you can have some nuts and seeds with you, um, you can have even dark chocolate if you have these cravings. This is also a great um way to satisfy, I think, the lack crap’s cravings in the wood cafe.

SPEAKER_01 23:05

Having snacks on hand helps a lot. So I really like the idea of packing your snacks. Let’s talk about meals too. How can people integrate these ingredients into like a hectic weekly meal prep routine?

SPEAKER_02 23:26

Um yeah, you can do it um easily.

SPEAKER_00 23:31

Like I know for me, especially in the beginning, like when I heard the when I hear the the word meal prep, like I imagine like the whole Sunday, hours and hours of cooking and uh prepping and so on. Uh and there are different um ways to prepare for the week, but um prepare the snacks is one thing because this is I think the the way the the meal, like semi-meal that we skip most often, just because we feel uh the energy dropping and we want just to have something. Um, but also um, for example, in the morning, if you don’t have time to prepare breakfast, just boil some eggs in the evening before is a great way to just grab and go, so to say, just to have like uh your breakfast prepared. Have it uh preferably like sitting down and uh taking the time as much as you can, uh, then adding some veggies to that. So this is also just washing, you don’t really need it to meal prep that. Um, adding some veggies, some healthy fat, like olive oil, for example, or just avocado. Uh, and for the breakfast, or you can make for breakfast also chia pudding. This is uh, for example, sometimes when I crave also sweet things, this is what I uh have for breakfast. And this is you can really meal prep it in the night the night before, and it’s just a couple of minutes. Soaking chia seeds uh into some water or into a nut milk, um, adding some it could be Greek yogurt, it could be coconut yogurt, uh wherever you like. Also, you can add um cocoa powder, which is great as well, and this is very satisfying for the cravings. And then uh in the morning, just um wash some berries and top it with snacks, whatever you fancy. So this is for the breakfast. Uh for lunch. Um I think the my grab and goal is always um a salad. When like we talked about the phases, depending whether you um sink with your face, depending on which phase in your cycle you are, but like salad and then adding protein, don’t forget the protein. Like when you think of a balanced meal thing, first uh the main thing would be the protein, and then add the fiber, the veggies, everything around. And for for lunch, uh my advice is always to focus on some kind of protein and um veggies. And then for dinner, like if we talk meal prep, forget the question. Uh for example, for protein, you can add to your salad sardines if you like. Sardines are great, rich in omega trees. Um, you just don’t really have to prep them, so you just open the can and you can have them with your salad. Um, and uh then for dinner, my tip would always be to focus on protein, um veggies, and complex carbs. Because also complex carbs are they could help you sleep better, they don’t only help your mood, but then there is an indirect link between um carbs in general and uh um melatonin. So I wanted uh maybe I won’t uh uh explain it in great detail. It is an indirect thing, but normally because the carbs they uh animate a little bit our insulin level, um, and it’s they in the process, like also we treat to find thermatonin, melatonin, the link, um it helps us sleep better normally.

SPEAKER_01 27:28

Yeah, I absolutely agree that uh complex carbohydrates are super helpful uh at dinner time because, as you just said, that it’s an indirect relationship, but they do help with the melatonin production, which is the hormone uh that helps you sleep. So uh that’s great. And thanks for breaking down the meal prep and different meals. Uh, I love how you suggested that start building your meal around protein source. So that could be grilled chicken, uh, that could be chickpeas or lentils or legumes or beans if you’re a vegetarian, or just yogurt, eggs, like you know, you can combine a few of those with vegetarian sources too. That’s a great way to accomplish your protein goals, and then start adding complex carbohydrates, start adding some healthy fats to it. And some sources like Greek yogurt is really high in healthy fats already. So, you know, you could like skip on the fat um if uh you have if you already have Greek yogurt incorporated into your meal. So I want to shift focus towards women who are going through the transitory period where their hormones have started shifting. Many women come to me that after they start noticing changes in body composition and they’re like, I’m eating the same things, but I feel like I’m storing a lot more fat on my body. I don’t know what to do, like to begin with. Like, I don’t eat too much, but now I’m not really liking how I’m looking in the mirror. So, what specific adjustments should they make to their diet and or macronutrient intake to manage these metabolic shifts effectively?

SPEAKER_00 29:37

Yeah, so when we’re talking about perimenopause and menopause, um, especially this is when these shifts, like these things happen, like normally women gain weight, especially around the waist in this period, and it is very much linked to hormonal changes. Because in perimenopause, uh estrogen starts diminishing, and also estrogen is our anti-inflammatory hormone. Uh, so also in that period, we have more with time, more low-grade inflammation in the body. And uh, this is also leaked to a little bit um higher insulin resistance for a lot of women. Um and um gaining weight exactly has a lot more weak hormones to do than with uh calories. Like a lot of women they say, like, I I don’t eat that much, or I eat even less than before, but uh like my weight keeps uh rising and keeps changing. And it is when we really need to honor the hormonal shifts. The cortisol, like cortisol gets higher, which is the main hormone, it influences every other uh hormone. Insulin is higher in the body, and uh with estrogen diminishing, not only estrogen and progesterone, but like the estrogen is this changes. And um yes, uh porting I will I would concentrate on two main things. The first one is blood sugar balance, because also if you notice uh that you gain weight around your waist, this is um a lot of times linked to having blood sugar in the body. So, really balancing meals, this would help a lot also with the energy as we discussed. Balancing meals, like really my best would be just as I mentioned, to focus on protein and veggies for lunch, for example, and then protein, veggies, and carbs in the evening. And this is also the period where uh the body, because of the insulin um being higher, can tolerate lower amounts of carbohydrates. So if we in our 20s, early 30s we could eat like meals that are merely uh carbs and don’t notice anything, this is the period where this won’t be the case anymore. Also, um if we sit the whole day, this won’t help, like the whole process. So really get up and moving as much as we can. And um having don’t fear the fat, don’t fear the healthy fats, don’t fear the protein, this is what will nourish your body. And sometimes when we eat less, this backfires more because our metabolism slows down with time. This is why all the diets that rely only on uh fewer calories that don’t work, especially in this time, at this period of our um phase of our life. So the first thing would be blood sugar stability, and the second thing would be our gut health because also with hormones changing, our gut microbiome changes. So, really incorporating foods that support our gut health, really fermented foods daily, it shouldn’t be like a big amount, just a smaller amount with a meal or two a day. Um, and bone broth, bone broth is also great. Bone broth is actually also a great tip when you have cravings. In your luthious faith, you can just have like a cup of bone broth, and it is very satisfying.

SPEAKER_01 33:33

Yeah, bone broth is my favorite, my go-to for sure.

SPEAKER_00 33:40

I love it too. You can also cook different um like a rice, for example, or quinoa, you can cook it in in ball broth and it absorbs the bone broth, and it is it is great for your health. I I will tell you also pasta, but maybe some Italian viewers can have bone broth, but it actually tastes very good.

SPEAKER_01 34:01

I’ve done it. Yeah, it it makes it delicious. So I want to highlight something you just mentioned that as you are going through perimenopause and you’re starting to see those shifts happening, um, because our cells are getting a little bit insulin resistant because of the estrogen levels dropping, which is kind of like what happens in luteal phase, but in a very short span of time. Uh, now, since it’s happening uh on a longer span of time during the longer span, you will start seeing that impact of insulin resistance very like um on your body, which is like packing uh pounds around your waist region. Uh people also say that they start noticing changes in skin tone, skin tone as not just on the face, but also uh throughout their body. And what’s really happening is they start losing muscle mass, right? Because estrogen is uh muscle protecting and it’s also bone-protecting um hormone. Um, so the idea is to shift the focus from having more carbohydrates to more protein in your diet, so that you have you’re still supporting the muscle mass that you have, so you’re preserving it andor building it through strength training as well. So that’s this is the phase where women actually should be shifting to strength training if they’re not, if they haven’t been already doing it. Although I think women at every age should do it. But if you were like, okay, more uh if you liked doing cardio more in your 20s and 30s, and now you’re like, oh my gosh, whatever I eat, it just goes to my waist. That’s a sign that you need to start introducing some strength training into your routine too. Because with strength training, especially progressive strength training or progressive overload, uh, you will be able to preserve muscle mass and or build more muscle mass. So build lean muscle mass, which is gonna be metabolically active tissue. So that would counteract that insulin resistance that is occurring like naturally during this phase of your life because of declining estrogen levels. So that’s something I wanted to highlight and add here. Um, I want to talk a little bit about also like because uh estrogen levels are declining, they also accelerate bone density loss. Do you have any recommendations as far as diet goes for women whose bone density is decreasing during this time?

SPEAKER_00 37:01

Well, first of all, I agree with everything you said. And also to the question, the most important thing for bone mass and health is strength training. And it shouldn’t be like really the masculine thing in the gym and so on. It could be also with um with one kilo dumbbells or one and a half, it shouldn’t be like something extreme because also extreme training triggers inflammatory response in the body as well. Like in general, everything we do extremely uh it’s just the reaction in the body is also extreme. So nothing can be in the strength training when we talk about uh bone health. Um and with food, what we can do is uh really have a balanced diet. Like there is not one thing I can say that can help you specifically for bone uh health, but really nurturing our body and also making sure that we don’t have deficiencies, also blood tests like that we should do ideally every year, at least once a year, uh and just check our nutrient levels because we are very depleted nowadays, and this has an impact on our overall health at some point. Also, with age, we get more depleted. Um, first of all, because our gut health changes, like our microbiome with the hormones changing, uh, but also then also when the gut changes, we don’t absorb that well the nutrients from the food. So, this is um something I want to highlight as well here.

SPEAKER_01 38:45

Absolutely, absolutely. So, to wrap it up, if someone who’s listening to this podcast has been struggling with perimenopause or menopausal symptoms, what would be immediate changes that they can make? Like give them two tips, give our listeners like two tips they can immediately implement in their life.

SPEAKER_00 39:11

The first one I would say is eat your breakfast, don’t skip breakfast, and also as we talked before the coffee, so break the fast, so to say, with something nourishing for your body, and then uh have the coffee and um build balanced meals which will support your blood sugar balance. Just don’t uh eat just a salad because then you’ll be hungry in an hour, or don’t overdo it with protein, just uh because like everything you can stream as we talk, protein is great for us, but like overdoing it will also we won’t benefit from it. Just building that balance plate and eating as much whole foods as we can in our diet. Oh, I love it. I would be lots of related to nutrition, but as we talk, like start strength training, strike start small but consistent and stay consistent because also the word for a perimet boss and also from transitional periods in general, I would say is consistency because in our 20s and early 30s, what we do inconsistently and it works for us, we should do it really consistently when hormonal changes begin to happen.

SPEAKER_01 40:28

Absolutely, absolutely, yeah. Big fan of consistency, back, big fan of strength training. And just consistently work out, pick, pick the frequency. Maybe that looks like three days a week at minimum, or maybe you’re like, okay, I’m more flexible, I can do four to five days a week, but go for it. Like, you know, keep that schedule going. And also I want to highlight, yes, start eating breakfast. I think so many women skip breakfast and they don’t realize what it’s doing to their bodies and what it’s doing to their hormonal profile throughout the day, where, uh, or hormonal levels throughout the day, because when you wake up, you have high cortisol, and women just have naturally high cortisol uh floating in their bodies. Um, and if you don’t break fast within an hour of waking up, that cortisol level stays high and that kind of trickles down into the rest of your day. So make sure you eat something with protein and a little bit of complex carbs, good fats, uh early in the day as you wake up. And Christina gave such good examples, like chia seed pudding, that’s my go-to as well. Um, and just top them with berries, that it’s just so delicious. I’m actually now my mouth is watering. Um, Greek yogurt with berries and or nuts are good, or seeds are good is good too. And then boiled egg, simple. You can actually take it. It’s very portable, so that’s always a good um source of nutrition in the morning, too. I also want to leave women who are in a reproductive age with a few immediate changes that they can make to feel like they have energy throughout the month. So, what would be a couple of you know tips for them?

SPEAKER_00 42:35

Well, that follow breakfast uh would be in general for everyone. Um, having breakfast and uh in general, nourishing your body. Think of food as information, as a source of nutrients, and don’t fear food. Like healthy fats are good for you, you won’t get fat from them. You just they will nourish your hormones because they are building blocks of our hormones. Um, so really nourish your body and think of it more as a fuel than as anything else.

SPEAKER_01 43:11

Love that, yes. Right on. Exactly. If I was to give one advice, it would be that too. That look at food as fuel. Try not to starve yourself, because at the end of the day, if you are feeding your body with whole foods, it’s not gonna have a negative impact on your body. Of course, as long as you have that balance, just like you mentioned, Christina, that you don’t want to overdo any of the things. Like you don’t want to overdo protein, you don’t want to overdo complex carbs, you don’t want to overdo fats, as long as everything is in balance, but you’re also satisfying your hunger, your body’s demands. So there’s no need to starve yourself just to look thin. Actually, if you feed your body or fuel your body properly, you will see that natural glow. Everybody would start complimenting you, and and you won’t gain weight. You look so beautiful, like your hair looks great, your skin looks great. Well, that’s because you’re fueling your body.

SPEAKER_00 44:20

Exactly. That’s because you have your nutrients, the nutrients that your body needs to your food. Absolutely, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 44:29

So, Christina, thank you so much for sharing all of this information with our viewers and listeners. Where can they find you and learn more about your work?

SPEAKER_00 44:41

You can find me mainly on LinkedIn, and also I have a free uh cycle of thinking nutrition guide. So, what you can download also, or you can find on my page on my profile on LinkedIn. And just drop me at DM. I’d like to hear from you also if you have any questions. And thank you so much for you, Aisha, for having me.

SPEAKER_01 45:06

Absolutely. It was a pleasure having you over here, and thanks for sharing all this good info with all of that us. So, um, that being said, I want to tell um everyone in our audience that I downloaded Christina’s um uh booklet or digital book on uh cycle syncing, your nutrition. It’s amazing. So make sure you follow her on LinkedIn and go on her um link over there. It’s super easy. You just enter your email and it’s sent to your inbox. So check it out. It’s pretty good. So thank you again, Christina, for joining us for the podcast today. And thank you, everyone, for taking the time to listen to us and watch us live. Have a great rest of your day, guys. Bye.