April 28, 2025 • 37 mins
Ever feel like a bottomless pit the week before your period? Same. In this episode, host Phoebe Parsons chats to clinical nutritionist and founder of Status 80/20, Sally O’Neil, to unpack what’s actually going on with your hormones, metabolism, and cravings during your cycle.They dive into why your body legitimately needs more calories during certain phases of your period, how to fuel yourself without guilt, and the foods that actually help your hormones (yes, even chocolate).If you’ve ever felt “bad” for eating more during your cycle—this one's your permission slip.
For daily FIT(ish) updates follow Phoebe on Instagram here
To find out more about Sally O'Neil visit her instagram or website.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
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(00:32):
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(00:54):
the episode Welcome to Fit Fish. I'm Phoebe Parsons, and
this is the podcast that proves that you don't have
to choose between staying fit and having fun. What's your
appetite like around your period? Because about a week before
I get mine, I turn into a literal bottomless pits.
But it turns out the good news is your body
does actually need those extra calories during this time.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
If you need a little period pep talk.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Then my guest this week is a nutritionist who will
absolutely blow your mind with these super easy health tips you.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Can use to help you hack your cycle.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Your cycle will be different, everybody's cycles be different, and
if you avoid it all of the time, that's a
really great way of getting an iron deficiency situation. And
that's why people say I feel really heavy. As a nutritionist,
I still do this every single month.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Welcome to the podcast, Sally O'Neill.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
I'm super excited to be here. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Yay, I feel like we met like ten years ago,
back when I was working at Wuna Jane and I
stubled on your Instagram, and I've been so obsessed with
you ever since that. I'm pretty sure every job I've
had since then, I've still found a way to use
you in some capacity.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
I mean, I don't know if I like your word used. Sure, sure,
Now it's been amazing. It's been amazing. We've had a
long distance relationship for ten years.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
We have. We have, and we are proof that you
can make it work.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
I agree, Yeah, we can make it way.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
So today I wanted to chat to you about I
guess something I really love about you and your social
media is how funny, honest, and authentic you are about
so many different aspects of your life. And I think
one of those aspects is your period. And I love
that your holistic approach to having a period. And I
(02:36):
think that it's really important that as women, I feel
like we can do it all, but we put a
lot of pressure on ourselves sometimes to still do it
all even when we have our period, which is fine sometimes,
but I think it's also important to note that there
is a lot of stuff going on when we have
that period, internally, physically, mentally, emotionally.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Metaphorically, in every way possible.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
So I think it's a really timely reminder that it's
okay to slow down and there are actually ways that
we can work with our body rather than feel like
our body is working against us.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
One hundred percent. I also feel like, and correct me
if I'm wrong. As a nutritionist, I still do this
every single month when it comes around, but I still
feel like I forget that my period is coming, and
then I go through this phase of like being really
grumpy and eating everything in the house, and then I
kick myself and then I start bleeding, and I'm like, oh,
there it is. That's why every month I kind of surprised.
(03:31):
It's so good, so insane.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Why does it still shock us? Like every twenty eight days.
Since we were about fourteen, this has been happening to us,
and it's.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Like we hit like this trauma block. After it's over.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
Yeah, I think I just tried to wipe it from
my memory. And then every month I'm like, that's why
I've eaten four blocks of chocolate in two days.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
I mean, this could not be more timely because my
periods actually due tomorrow. So I've actually just had a
cheeky little choking now and it's nine oh nine am.
So I am very much in this phase now, So
what great time to talk about it.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
I wanted to firstly start by.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Asking you, why is it actually really important to listen
to your body, particularly around this time.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
Well, obviously, as you just mentioned, there's heaps of stuff
going on in terms of like biologically, in terms of
what's going on in your body. Right, So hormone fluctuations
are kicking off, and really your body is trying to
adapt and deal with the cascade of hormones that are
kind of out of whack. So if you try and
work against it and try and do all the training
(04:31):
and try and eat normally and all that stuff, your
body's going to literally send you signals to do the opposite.
So it's very important to kind of lean into it.
Listen to fatigue because imagine, for example, your super fatigued
pre period. Some people get really really tired a few
days before. And I will caveat this with everybody's period,
and everybody's symptoms are different, and I see this in
(04:53):
clinic all the time, where some girls will get really
hungry two days before, some girls will get hungry a
week before, some during bleed, some have unchanged appetite that
they might get so everybody, I would really really encourage
everyone to learn what their specific set of symptoms are
and track them and learn when they're coming so that
(05:15):
you can predict it. Right. So whether it's fatigue or
whether it's hunger, it's really important to like not get
too caught up in it and just know that it's
your body doing its thing and that's actually a really
beautiful thing because some ladies don't get the joy of periods,
And it's a really beautiful health report card that we
can look at as nutritionist and GPS and all that
kind of stuff to see how the body's functioning. But
(05:37):
say we've got loads of fatigue and then we try
and push through on like a heavy deadlift day at
the gym, for example, you're much more prone to injury.
So realistically, it doesn't make sense for us to just
be like, you know, toughen up because this happens every
month and you've just got to push through. Because I
know that's often the conversation and narrative that we have
(05:57):
with ourselves of just like I can keep doing this,
But realistically, your physicality isn't at that point where you
should be able to push through and do the same things.
So having these same expectations twenty eight days in the
month on your body and on your appetite is really
kind of a recipe for disaster.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Yeah, And I think that it's such a like, like
you said before, it is such a mental thing because
I know that I do this and I know that
so many of my girlfriends do it too. You get
to that kind of five days before your period comes
and you're like, you eat some chocolate you might have,
you know, a day or two off the gym, and
you're like, I feel like I was in such a
good spot with my nutrition and training, and I feel
like now I'm going backwards because of my period, And like,
(06:38):
you get so hard on yourself, but I think it's
so important to know that you're not actually going backwards.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
That's not how it works.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
It's actually honoring your body and especially that your body
is actually expending more energy when you men straight anyway.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
So it's which is brilliant, right because you get to
eat more. I feel bad about it. I'm like, yes, yes,
spurning an extra two hundred calories by bleeding this is great. Yeah, sadly,
and I think like I think again, women don't necessarily
know or feel like they can harness that. You know, like,
don't feel so bad if you are extra hungry, because
(07:16):
realistically you are burning more calories right during bleed. So
if you try to stick to the same diet and
not extra snack and you know, worry about your portions
and all that kind of thing during bleed or a
couple of days before, if you're if you imagine, you're
already expending more energy than normal, so you're in more
of a deficit than you would be ordinarily. Then if
(07:38):
you'd say, say you manage to hold the cravens for
four or five days, on day six, you're now almost
a thousand calories in a deficit, and then comes the binge. Right,
So if you can try to notice when the appetite
starts to pick up and add in an extra two
hundred calories of like really delicious, like fats or whatever
(07:58):
that looks like for you, then come day six, you're
much less likely to crave, crash and be john a
ton of food because you've given your body what it
needs in that moment. So, again, as you were saying,
listening to your body, listening to your hunger signals, and
just being easy on yourself, you know, like this whole
negative like, oh you've screwed up, this is dumb, like
(08:19):
you've done it again this month. That whole conversation is
so negative for body image and just for mental health.
And I think harnessing and knowing when it's coming can
really help you plan for it and kind of avoid
going into that headspace.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Yeah, I so agree, and I think that it is
so important, like you mentioned, to know when that is
for your body. So for me, for example, that happens
to me in the week before my period.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
I get really hungry.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
So I've noticed this week I have been having an
extra snack or two every single day, but I know
for my body that's what I need. Day one of
my bleed, I'm not hungry. I'm generally not very hungry
when I actually have my period. Mine for me is
the week before my period. So by knowing that, I
know that I need to stock up on some extra
food or make my meals a bit bigger during that
like PMS week, and if I want to go a
(09:08):
little bit easier at the gym, I might skip a cardio,
down might go for a walk, I might do pilates.
But I think it's so important to know your body
and how it works in each of the four different phases,
which I want to get into now, because I don't
think every woman knows that there's actually four phases to
the menstrual cycle. So I think a lot of people
(09:29):
just think it's PMS and period week, but that is
not the case. There is four different phases of the period.
And that's what I want to talk to you about
today in terms of what's the best way to eat
and the best way to train through each four phases.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
Cool, let's dive in. I'm excited because I again, girls,
take notes if you're sat here wondering what the hell
to do around your cycle, because hopefully this is some
really helpful, useful information. And I guarantee you're going to
get to the end of this podcast and be like, cool,
that was useful, and then you'll forget, and then next
month it'll all happen all over again. You're like, damn,
I wish I remember what that girl had said. So
(10:06):
take some notes on your phone, please, because I really
do think like it's useful even if you just try
it on for a month, right, and you follow kind
of the food recommendations and the training recommendations, but also
listen to your body. You know, when it's the right
time to dive into those kind of four phases. Yeah,
you might see that your PMS is reduced, that you're
(10:27):
less mad at yourself. And just to touch on that
point as well, febs about when you you know you
eat a lot in the run up, right, or you
get more hungry in the run up. But then often
when bleed day hits or whenever your appetite starts to subside,
often you get that rebound and everything levels out again
because you're hunger just kind of disappears for a little bit,
like two or three days. I don't know if you have
(10:48):
that as well. Yeah, so your appetite drops off quite
rapidly once you've had that bigger feed in the run up.
So again people kick the selves, but realistically, your body
tries to return to homeostasis, so back to normal, and
really like, it doesn't make sense then to be mad
at yourself because you know your body's just doing it
thing and it will reregulate itself, you know, like no
(11:08):
one puts my kilos on the period unless it's just water,
and so please be kind kind to self. But yeah,
let's start dive into phase as so obviously will vary
in length depending on the length of your cycle. And interestingly,
in clinic, I have an intake form that goes out
to my clients before I see them that will say,
(11:29):
you know, what's the length of your cycle, and the
amount of women that will reply with the length of
bleed is fascinating to me. So your length of cycle
is obviously from day one through to day twenty eight
or day thirty one or wherever your cycle sits. So
it's day one of bleed right through to day before
(11:49):
the next bleed. That's your full cycle. So days generally speaking, right,
So some people are, you know, twenty six days, some
people are at thirty one days for cycle and beyond.
And it can vary between cycles as well. So for example,
I can go from twenty six day cycle to thirty
one day cycle quite easily from one month to the next.
(12:11):
Generally speaking, a five day variation is quite normal over
and above that, Like if you get into day thirty
five thirty six, then it might be chatting that's abnormal
for you. Then that can be a chance to go
on chatter GP or a specialist like a nutritionist dietition exits.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
I had a girlfriend who on her right hand side
like her right overy, so every second period it was
like fifty days or something, and she obviously was trying
to conceive and that's how she was tracking it. But
she she fixed it with nutrition. So it's an insane
how it affects everything.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
Yeah, nutrition has a huge, It can have a huge effect.
But so menstrual phase days one to five, So remember
again these days are just guidance. Your cycle will be different.
Everybody's CYCLEI be different. So generally speaking, days one to
five this is a phase when it's time to focus
on light exercise. So this is day one, day one
of you cycle, day one of bleed. Yeah, so menstrual
(13:05):
phase like exercises to help reduce cramping and bloating, so yoga, stretching, walking,
as you just mentioned, FEBEs, and if you feel up
to it, low intensity workouts like cycling, swimming, etc. So
this is the time when you're probably feeling really off,
really lethargic, So this is the time to listen to
body right and to really lean into Okay, well I'm
(13:27):
low energy, I'm probably not going to get a good
workout in. So what can I do to work with body?
Like walking is beautiful for bloating and cramping and you know,
digestive issues. It's actually really helpful. So doing something low
intensity and just being kind to yourself in those first
want to like five days is a really beautiful time
(13:49):
to just chill basically on the training because you're not
going to be getting peebes. Let's be honest in terms
of food, foods that make sense, foods that are rich
in iron. Okay, so you're obviously men straight and you're
losing blood. This is the one and only time I
will eat red meat during the month because I personally
(14:09):
just so many people say this, but I personally just
don't love it, you know, like it's not something I
really enjoy. I don't know that.
Speaker 4 (14:15):
Yeah, But generally speaking, if you avoid it all of
the time, that's a really great way of getting an
iron deficiency situation because obviously you're losing blood and then
you're not replenishing it with hem iron through your diet.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
So the approach that I take.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Yeah, I recently had to get an infusion, did you
how was that?
Speaker 1 (14:38):
It was actually really good?
Speaker 2 (14:39):
But mine was because I after my endosurgery, I bled
for a year, So that kind of explains why that happened.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
So yeah, yeah, so that kind of.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Puts into perspective like if you do let that happen,
I guess, even just once a month, like how much
you do need to replenish what your body is actually
expelling as well?
Speaker 3 (14:56):
Yeah, even if it's like two serves during that week,
you know, like a lunch in a dinner. It doesn't
have to be like consistent red meat eating. And what
I will say is I think part of the reason,
or certainly part of the reason I've seen in clinic
that people avoid meat or red meat is because of
the hormonal status that they're concerned about. And also the
(15:18):
texture is like because you're getting hormones through commercially farmed
meat right like it they pump it into the animal,
it goes into the tissue and then we consume it
and then we end up getting byproducts of the hormones.
The one thing I would say is that we're lucky
enough to have in Australia is access to kangaroo meat,
which generally speaking is is not pumped with hormones because
(15:43):
there's so many kangaroos are actually trying to get rid
of them and control them, so they're wild, they're not
pumped with hormones. And in terms of digestibility getting the mints,
it's already really broken down. It's soft, and then when
people say, oh, you know, I don't like the flavor
of it, like cover it into martoes has also turn
it into a bolonase. Like it's a really simple fix.
(16:04):
So it tastes it's got the same texture as like
a normal like chicken mince, and then it's got the
same flavor when you just cover in some you know,
yummy like fresh chopped tomatoes or whatever you want to
put on there. So if you need to do that.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Yeah, that's really good to know because I'm the the
reason I don't eat red meat is because my digestion
it just does not bode well in my stomach.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
It'll take me days to get.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
To break it down. Yeah, and that actually is a
signed FEBEs of low hydrochloric acid in your stomach. So
you imagine like if I gave you a piece of
like moderately cooked meat. So so you have your steak
medium rare, right, and I gave you a piece of
that and said break that down in your fingers till
it's a digestible texture. You'd be there for a couple
of minutes, right, Like you'd really have to work hard
(16:50):
to get those fibers broken down. Generally, speaking with chicken,
if you think about chicken that most people can digest easier,
it's a lot of it. It's a different meat fiber texture,
it's a lot finer. So when you if you rub
to that between your fingers, right, it would break down
a lot faster if you poach chicken, yeah, or you
think about fish, same same. So your stomach obviously is
(17:13):
trying to do that internally, and if you don't have
a decent amount of hydrochloric acid in your tummy, it
can take a lot longer to break down meat. And
that's why people say I feel really heavy or I
can feel it sat there because it's taken that much
longer to digest. Yeah. So a simple fix for that
is random. A simple fix for that is to add
(17:35):
more acid to your diet when you're having those meats.
So say, for example, you go out and you have
a steak dinner, ask for some lemon, like either do
lemon water or you can do vinegar, or you can
like squeeze lemon over your meat, and then you're just
increasing the acid in your stomach to help move it
through your digestive tract.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Wow. What a game changer, right, But sorry, back to topic.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
Try if you want to try something that's a bit easier.
I know we're just giving you all the food advice,
but like if you want to try something a little
bit easier. Kangaroo me definitely softer on the digestive system.
And yeah, don't go for the steaks, go for either
like the burgers or the like, because they're actually really clean.
The ones that we can get in os or you
can do the mints and then just cover it in sauce.
(18:18):
You don't taste it. Other things that you can eat
during that phase, so menstrual phase days one to five,
leafy greens, beans tofu, and nuns. So if you're on
the more veggie be inside, or you just cannot stomach
the idea of red meat. You can get some iron
from those things. It's just not as absorbable, so you
end up having a lot more to try and compensate.
(18:40):
But those are things to focus on. Phases one day,
like day one to five.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
I feel like that makes sense because do you even
remember being in high school and you would I mean,
I know I did this a lot, and because I'm
very pale, it would work. I would say to my
pea teacher, I can't do pee today, I've got my period,
Like I'm just so sick, and they would say, well,
you know the best thing to help with cramps is
actually to move your body and start to exercise. So
come on, let's just do some slow running around the oval.
(19:07):
And I used to resent them so much for that,
but it turns out they were actually trying to help
and there is some truth to that.
Speaker 3 (19:14):
Yeah, I mean there is a little bit of truth.
But no one wants to listen to the pe teachers.
God damn, Like no, no level phase at that stage,
Like I just want to curl up and cry on
my bed in this moment.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Literally, just give me a milow.
Speaker 3 (19:28):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
So phase two, this is where shit starts to get
really fun. Yeah, it does.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
So we're past bleed pretty much, right. So follicular phase
days six to fourteen so is characterized by rising estrogen levels,
which help improve your strength and endurance. So from a
training perspective, you can actually focus on building strength and
increasing intensity in this phase, so lifting weights, doing high
intensity interval training if you're into that kind of thing.
(19:55):
And you can also try like new exercises or set
new goals and you take advantage of that extra energy
that you've got basically, and it's like a little energy boost.
It's like you've been plugged into the charging system in
the main and you get to aim for trevs and stuff,
which is perfect because you've almost if you think about
the seasons, it's almost like you've gone from winter into
spring and you've got this new burst of life and
(20:15):
energy and you're ready to hit, like you know, ready
to see the bloom. So in this phase, this is
when you can start to like feel really productive in
the gym. And you'll notice, even if you haven't tracked it,
you'll find that some weeks you just feel like stronger
than others and you feel more energized and more motivated.
And chances are it's never in bleed week, right, It's
(20:36):
never days one to five. So when you start to
track when that might be, it's interesting to note that
generally speaking, you'll find it in the follicular phase or
the spring phase I like to call it.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
And it almost like it happens all of a sudden.
Speaker 2 (20:49):
You just wake up one day and you feel insane,
like you feel amazing.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
She's back, that kind of like she's back, she's back
to feeling herself again. So foods, foods rich in B
vitamins are a perfect way to kick things off this phase.
So that's whole grains, nuts, and seeds. Again, you might
want to include foods that are rich in vitamin C
as well, so standard citrus berries because it helps you
(21:17):
absorb the eyeing that you've consumed as well, which is great.
So it's just good to like really support and the
energy and you're in terms of your adrenals if you're
going hard at the gym, vitamin c's are really beautiful
support for your adrenals as well. So, and if you
start doing lots of hit, like I see so many
women do loads of hit, and I'm like, oh my god,
your cortisole, poor cortisol. Please give yourself lots of vitamin C. So,
(21:41):
whether it's a supplement or obviously more ideally through whole foods,
then you'll be onto a winner.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
I love that this is my favorite week of the month.
I would say hands down.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
I always get so much work done as well in
that week. It's like missus productive in work, and I
feel like I should start planning all my really horrible
work days in that just stay to clients. Sorry we
can't talk this week. It's bleed week. Next week I'm fine.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
Sorry, bladewiek is my admin week. I'm not actually going
out of the house.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
Yeah, I'm saying in bed ovulatory phase. So that's days
fifteen to eighteen, so we're moving into what I would
say is summer. Yeah, it's time for the best like
high intensity workouts, sprinting, heavy lifting, all the really hardcore stuff.
So you buy temperature and heart rate are typically a
little bit elevated, which means you can push yourself harder,
(22:29):
so great time for again planning your PBS and stuff.
It really is person dependent, so it might be that
you're better in forllicular phase. Some people are better in ovulatory,
so it really depends. Some people actually get quite a
lot of cramping and bloating and pms in ovulation for
around ovulation me is it interesting? So again you almost
(22:52):
might go back to menstrual phase days one to five
kind of approach where you're like, I actually need to
ease off. But generally speaking, most girls get away with
actually pushing themselves a little bit harder. In terms of food,
lots of protein. I mean, you should be in protein
all the time. I'm the queen of talking about protein,
but making sure that you do get plenty of protein
(23:15):
and healthy fat, so eggs, nuts, seeds, and like fatty
fish like salmon, herring, sardines. Everyone turns the homes up
at sardines. When I say it to a in clinic,
they're like, ooh, no, gay, the delicious sardines on toast.
Try it. And because all those foods are really beautiful
for hormone production and to maintain energy levels. So that's
(23:35):
the stuff that you want to be focusing on. Don't
be scared of carbs go.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
And from an awareness perspective, no, no, please don't. I
was just gonna say sorry quickly before we get into carbs,
because that's very important to cover. This is when you
also start to feel very sexy, so I think all
that extra energy is also able to be you know,
put to good use with your partner in the bedroom,
with yourself, with whoever.
Speaker 3 (23:59):
Yeah, like wear the tiny bar and the shorts and
just like take the swag to the gym. Yeah, just
really embrace that thing because yeah, exactly is when you're
obviously on the like you're the most fertile and you're
on the hunt for a mate, so all those hormones
kind of pop up at you feeling like more sexy,
you're probably more having a better relationship with your vibrator
(24:21):
or your partner, whatever you need or both.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
You just love you.
Speaker 3 (24:26):
Yeah, it's just it's just a great time. So yeah, exactly,
and just fill up on healthy fats, good protein, and
to just touch on that carbs thing when you're training. Please,
I would please just beg just for one day, because again,
the amount of girls that come into clinic who train
fasted and they go and lift heavyweights and I'm just like, god, lord,
(24:48):
I don't know how you are surviving something. Please have
like a modual date walking out of the door. If
that's all you have time for. You need to get
a little hit of glycogen in because this is the
best time when you're training. Your body utilizes carbs the best,
so that window pree is perfect to fuel you workout
(25:09):
and post is amazing to replenish glycogen stores. So if
you're like actually scared of carbs, if you can load
them around your training you basically it has very very
little glycemic impact because your body utilizes it the best
and it needs it the most when you're training and
lifting heavy yeah, or doing hit. So if you like, yeah,
(25:32):
do a bit of homework, please have like a rice
cake with some honey, or just a couple of dates
or a date, and just see how energy levels are
when you go and train rather than training faster. Do
it for one day for me and see how you feel.
Because the amount of people, even guys actually that have
tried it and gone, oh my god, I can't believe
I was training faster, Like you get a much better
(25:52):
workout and a more efficient workout.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
Yeah, yeah, And I can definitely vouch for that because
I used to be I've said multiple times in this podcast,
I've spoken about my journey. I used to be terrified
of carbs, and honestly, I cannot even express how much
everything in your life changes when you start eating cubs,
like everything.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
It's all I always.
Speaker 2 (26:17):
Literally I know, and I always have before I go
to it because I train in the mornings as well.
I'll always have a banana before I go because it
just it makes your training a You get more out
of it, be you enjoy it more, and see you
don't feel fatigued and like you're fighting to get through
to the end. And I think that they are all
things that are so important and they're the reason why
(26:37):
you train. You train to get stronger and better and
to feel good, not to punish your body for something
you ate last night or anyway. I digress because I'm
so passionate about it.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
No, no, no, I completely agree, And I'll just say as
well that like I think people think that fat loss
is better in a fact, like if you train in
a fasted state, or that you achieve more fat loss.
But the science has completely debunked that myth. So if
you're concern about, you know, eating before training, is that
like I'm going to slow fat. That is absolutely not
(27:06):
the case. And if you can push out a harder workout,
you're actually improving your rate of building muscle and burning fat.
So a lot of people will actually benefit more from
eating pre Again, everyone turns to me and says, sala,
I'm going to feel sick if I have a bowl
of oats or whatever before training. Don't do oats. Then,
don't like have something really small, even if it's like
(27:27):
twenty grams of carbs in a quick hit, Like you
can do a tablespoon of honey in your coffee as
you're walking out the door, like whatever it takes to
get it in, and the faster digesting the better, because
you actually want to spike your blood sugar. So the
only time you want to spike your blood sugar so
that you can benefit from it in training, So please
try that and then loot to your phase. So phase
(27:49):
four of the cycle, right, that's days nineteen to twenty
eight or thereabouts. So estrogen and progester own levels are
higher during this phase, so it can cause some fatigue
and like decrease energy levels. So this is like you
know those five days you're speaking about FEBEs pre blo
This is like that, Oh, PMS is kicking in and whatnot.
(28:10):
You can focus on lower intensity workouts if you want to. Again,
personal choice in terms of listening to your energy levels.
So for me, the first half of my loot eel,
I'm fine and I can still continue to train hard.
But then as you were saying that like last five days,
so like days twenty one and above, I'm starting to
(28:30):
get a bit like more fatigued, a bit more grumpy.
PMS is kicking in. Everything hurts, you know, and the
bloating kicks in for me. So then I don't really
I feel really uncomfortable at the gym, and I'm like,
I feel gross, I don't want to lift heavy, So
it's not a cotton dry phase. It changes throughout, but
generally speaking lower energy. So you can do things like
(28:52):
yoga and polates, which are really beautiful supportive things to
focus on, particularly if you're feeling like uncomfortable digestions are
you're getting all the bloating and it obviously helps reduce
stress and improve your mood. And you can focus on
exercises that alleviate the symptoms. So even doing like beautiful
forward folds and things like that in yoga, or like
(29:13):
just hanging with you, like doing a forward fold just
stood up and hanging your body over your legs, really
lovely thing to help with bloating and stuff like that,
or legs up the wall, that's something I love to do.
Super simple in terms of food stuff that support hormone
balance and reduce inflammation, because you know you're heading into
(29:34):
that lovely phase. Yeah, so leafy greens, whole grainslation stations,
cruciferous vege, broccoli and coliflower if you can tolerate them
without getting too bloated. Don't do heaps and heaps because
you're obviously more prone to bloating. And then foods that
are rich in magnesium, which women talk about all the time.
It's like that's why we crave chocolate, but it is
(29:55):
so dark. Chocolate, nuts, seeds, all that stuff helps reduce
cramping and other menstrual symptoms. If you want to supplement magnesium,
if you're not doing it all the time and you
just want to do it luteal phases the face to
do it in.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
Also, it's so nice to have some magnesium before you
go to bed. I swear by this magnesium hot chocolate
stuff that I think it's called Moon Milk. I've been
drinking it for months now and I love it. It's
like a little sweet treat, but it's got only good
stuff in it that helps you sleep and like resets
your body and then I don't need to have chocolate
after dinner because it's like my little nightly sweet treet that.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
So all over that. I've tried that one and I
ended up landing on Switch Nutrition that have one called
Adrenal Switch and they've got a chocolate one and it's
got heard that it's got a downer in it as well,
which I'm like a massive fan of for stress, but
also like a chocolate magnesium powder and I stick that
in a bit of like frosted up alm and milk
(30:49):
before bed or I do it have to do this
sometimes because I'm like, it's either this or a bar
of dairy milk and I need something, so pick for
the lesser of two evils. But it's actually like I
think it's got like twenty calories in or whatever, not
that it matters, but it's simple, better option, and it
kills the craving.
Speaker 1 (31:07):
Yes, exactly exactly.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
I've actually also recently heard a lot of like Olympic
athletes and professional athletes do cycle their training and diet
specifically around their period. So I think it's something also
to note that this isn't just wo woo shit, this
is like actually scientifically back so.
Speaker 1 (31:24):
Legit there's evidence.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:26):
Yeah, there's a really good book. I'm just trying to
think who it's by. I think it's doctor Satie sim. Yeah,
it is doctor Statie Sims, who's a really famous female,
like she deals with athletes, but she's a doctor, and
she's brought out a book it's been out for pages
called Raw and it's how toaar how to match your
(31:48):
fitness with your female physiology. So if you're really interested
in diving into it more and you actually care about,
like reading scientific stuff. She makes it really really to understand,
and it's basically like dealing with your female physiology for
optimum performance and like to get a lean body in this,
that and the other. But she's yeah, she's got a PhD.
She's an intelligent, super hyper intelligent woman, and she's of
(32:11):
the mindset and of the message that women are not
small men. So like guys can pretty much train consistently
throughout the month, and they might, you know, they might
do periodization within the training, but they don't need to
deal with the fluctuating hormones that we do. So if
you're getting advice from a male PT, it's like, oh,
just push through, like you don't know what's going on
with my cycle there, bro sorry, So I would be
(32:34):
very inclined if you're interested to read raw and just
get a really good understanding or a deeper understanding. Basically,
I have to touch the surface of kind of how to
work with your cycle from a training and food perspective.
And it's designed for active women. So if you do
train or you do plarties or whatever, really really good
a lot of information from an exercise physiologist.
Speaker 2 (32:56):
I love that a lot and I think what you
said before is so important to note that you should
not compare yourself to a man. And I know that
we're living in this, like we are all feminists and
we love it. God power, yes that do not compare
yourself to a man in terms of your energy levels,
what you're going through physiologically, you know, as we've just
said before, because it's not fair and it's not realistic,
(33:16):
and it will put you in an even more negative headspace.
Speaker 3 (33:19):
Absolutely, And like what we've got to remember as well
is during bleed week or even a couple of days before.
I don't know if you get this as well, Thiebes,
but the insomnia is wild for me. And if I
try and go into the gym and I've had like
four hours sleep and I expect to lift the same
that I've done before the day before, It's like, how
can your body physically do that when it's not repaired
(33:39):
from yesterday? Like, it doesn't make any human sense. So
there's no point in expecting your body to do the
same thing when you're low on sleep. You've got to
hit the absolute baseline of like, you know, look after
yourself with good food, fuel, properly sleep, hydrate, and then
when all that stuff's taken care of, then you can
put expectations on your body in accordance with the phase
(34:01):
that you're in. Right, But if you lacking in sleep
and you're not look after nutrition and your hydration, you're
not even hitting baseline. So that's when you can't be
mean to yourself. You know, like, don't expect lots of
your body if you're not getting all the essentials.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
Yes, and I think as well, I know that you
and I obviously love to train, love to eat well,
et cetera, et cetera. But at the end of the day,
we're not athletes. Our job is not to train, So
go easy on yourself. And if you miss a day
or two at the gym because you're tired, bloated, you're
experiencing pain, it's not the end of the world.
Speaker 1 (34:35):
It's not a setback. It's reality and it's life.
Speaker 3 (34:38):
I think it's a great time to actually have a break,
because I again, people who love training, generally speaking, will overtrain.
So like it's a lot for any woman to be
training five six days a week, four days of lifting
and like two days of active recovery and one rest
day is pretty optimal for most, but generally speaking, the
(35:00):
girls again that I speak to, oh, I'm doing five
six days of the forty five every day, like, oh
god lord, so please, like if you need that window
to relax and go, you know what is bleed week.
I'm going to have three consecutive days off. Your body
will be so stoked. So please don't be mad at yourself.
It's actually just a reframe of like, this is my
(35:22):
downtime because your body actually grows when you let it rest.
It's not growing in the gym, that's when the damage
is done. It's growing when you sleep and when you
prioritize relaxation and calm. So that's a really beautiful window
to allow yourself that every month of just like, you
know what, I'm going to kick back and not go
to training because I feel rubbish. I don't want to
(35:44):
push through. I'm probably going to injure myself and this
is going to help me grow muscle and reduce my stress.
Speaker 2 (35:50):
So why not exactly, and can serve that energy for
when you're feeling better and you can go back and
you will absolutely slay your workout.
Speaker 3 (35:58):
Yeah, absolutely absolutely, I'm all for that.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
So I always finish every episode the exact same way,
and that is to ask my lovely guest, what is
one piece of advice that would give to everybody listening
to this episode?
Speaker 3 (36:09):
And I would say to listen like it's so stock
standard for a nutritionist, isn't it, But just honestly try
and listen to your body, and if you do nothing else,
track your symptoms and know when to expect them. Because
your body works in a cyclical way that's very individual
(36:31):
to you. And so if you can track it in
like an app like Ova or on you fit bit
or wherever you want to track your periods. I've actually
just put a period tracker in my online training app
for women because exactly for exactly this reason, so people
can actually see when they open up the training app.
Oh actually I'm in week one right, so I should
not be hitting pbs. Just watch out for dates and
(36:55):
times and all that kind of stuff for when to
expect things, so that you can pre plan your training
and your food around that cycle and around that face is.
Trying to ignore it and push through is only going
to do you a disc justice and you're not going
to get the results that you want.
Speaker 2 (37:14):
Thank you so much for listening guys, I really hope
you enjoyed the episode and don't forget to help a
sister out by following the podcast on Apple or on
Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Rate it,
write me a review, and if you want more Finish,
we do have a private Facebook group. There is going
to be exclusive Q and A is happening with my
guests in that group. That's going to be events, going
(37:35):
life first, so much fun stuff happening.
Speaker 1 (37:37):
Just look up fit ish in brackets
Speaker 2 (37:39):
On Facebook and you can be part of the Finish
online community
Apodjay production.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
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point my blood type is pre workout, and more specifically,
it's Naked Harvest sour Worm's pre workout, which is honestly
one of the reasons why I bound out of bed
in the morning at four point thirty am, genuinely excited
to start my day knowing I get to have a
sip of the good stuff. You guys know by now
that I only share things with you guys that I
(00:32):
genuinely use and honestly believe in, and Naked Harvest is
one hundred percent one of those brands. And consequently, they
have ever so kindly given my finish listeners a fifteen
percent discount off full priced products using the code Phoebe
Parsons at the checkout. I've popped the link in the
show notes and you can slide into my DMS to
find out what all of my favorite products are. Enjoy
(00:54):
the episode Welcome to Fit Fish. I'm Phoebe Parsons, and
this is the podcast that proves that you don't have
to choose between staying fit and having fun. What's your
appetite like around your period? Because about a week before
I get mine, I turn into a literal bottomless pits.
But it turns out the good news is your body
does actually need those extra calories during this time.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
If you need a little period pep talk.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Then my guest this week is a nutritionist who will
absolutely blow your mind with these super easy health tips you.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Can use to help you hack your cycle.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Your cycle will be different, everybody's cycles be different, and
if you avoid it all of the time, that's a
really great way of getting an iron deficiency situation. And
that's why people say I feel really heavy. As a nutritionist,
I still do this every single month.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Welcome to the podcast, Sally O'Neill.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
I'm super excited to be here. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Yay, I feel like we met like ten years ago,
back when I was working at Wuna Jane and I
stubled on your Instagram, and I've been so obsessed with
you ever since that. I'm pretty sure every job I've
had since then, I've still found a way to use
you in some capacity.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
I mean, I don't know if I like your word used. Sure, sure,
Now it's been amazing. It's been amazing. We've had a
long distance relationship for ten years.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
We have. We have, and we are proof that you
can make it work.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
I agree, Yeah, we can make it way.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
So today I wanted to chat to you about I
guess something I really love about you and your social
media is how funny, honest, and authentic you are about
so many different aspects of your life. And I think
one of those aspects is your period. And I love
that your holistic approach to having a period. And I
(02:36):
think that it's really important that as women, I feel
like we can do it all, but we put a
lot of pressure on ourselves sometimes to still do it
all even when we have our period, which is fine sometimes,
but I think it's also important to note that there
is a lot of stuff going on when we have
that period, internally, physically, mentally, emotionally.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Metaphorically, in every way possible.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
So I think it's a really timely reminder that it's
okay to slow down and there are actually ways that
we can work with our body rather than feel like
our body is working against us.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
One hundred percent. I also feel like, and correct me
if I'm wrong. As a nutritionist, I still do this
every single month when it comes around, but I still
feel like I forget that my period is coming, and
then I go through this phase of like being really
grumpy and eating everything in the house, and then I
kick myself and then I start bleeding, and I'm like, oh,
there it is. That's why every month I kind of surprised.
(03:31):
It's so good, so insane.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Why does it still shock us? Like every twenty eight days.
Since we were about fourteen, this has been happening to us,
and it's.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Like we hit like this trauma block. After it's over.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
Yeah, I think I just tried to wipe it from
my memory. And then every month I'm like, that's why
I've eaten four blocks of chocolate in two days.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
I mean, this could not be more timely because my
periods actually due tomorrow. So I've actually just had a
cheeky little choking now and it's nine oh nine am.
So I am very much in this phase now, So
what great time to talk about it.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
I wanted to firstly start by.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Asking you, why is it actually really important to listen
to your body, particularly around this time.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
Well, obviously, as you just mentioned, there's heaps of stuff
going on in terms of like biologically, in terms of
what's going on in your body. Right, So hormone fluctuations
are kicking off, and really your body is trying to
adapt and deal with the cascade of hormones that are
kind of out of whack. So if you try and
work against it and try and do all the training
(04:31):
and try and eat normally and all that stuff, your
body's going to literally send you signals to do the opposite.
So it's very important to kind of lean into it.
Listen to fatigue because imagine, for example, your super fatigued
pre period. Some people get really really tired a few
days before. And I will caveat this with everybody's period,
and everybody's symptoms are different, and I see this in
(04:53):
clinic all the time, where some girls will get really
hungry two days before, some girls will get hungry a
week before, some during bleed, some have unchanged appetite that
they might get so everybody, I would really really encourage
everyone to learn what their specific set of symptoms are
and track them and learn when they're coming so that
(05:15):
you can predict it. Right. So whether it's fatigue or
whether it's hunger, it's really important to like not get
too caught up in it and just know that it's
your body doing its thing and that's actually a really
beautiful thing because some ladies don't get the joy of periods,
And it's a really beautiful health report card that we
can look at as nutritionist and GPS and all that
kind of stuff to see how the body's functioning. But
(05:37):
say we've got loads of fatigue and then we try
and push through on like a heavy deadlift day at
the gym, for example, you're much more prone to injury.
So realistically, it doesn't make sense for us to just
be like, you know, toughen up because this happens every
month and you've just got to push through. Because I
know that's often the conversation and narrative that we have
(05:57):
with ourselves of just like I can keep doing this,
But realistically, your physicality isn't at that point where you
should be able to push through and do the same things.
So having these same expectations twenty eight days in the
month on your body and on your appetite is really
kind of a recipe for disaster.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Yeah, And I think that it's such a like, like
you said before, it is such a mental thing because
I know that I do this and I know that
so many of my girlfriends do it too. You get
to that kind of five days before your period comes
and you're like, you eat some chocolate you might have,
you know, a day or two off the gym, and
you're like, I feel like I was in such a
good spot with my nutrition and training, and I feel
like now I'm going backwards because of my period, And like,
(06:38):
you get so hard on yourself, but I think it's
so important to know that you're not actually going backwards.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
That's not how it works.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
It's actually honoring your body and especially that your body
is actually expending more energy when you men straight anyway.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
So it's which is brilliant, right because you get to
eat more. I feel bad about it. I'm like, yes, yes,
spurning an extra two hundred calories by bleeding this is great. Yeah, sadly,
and I think like I think again, women don't necessarily
know or feel like they can harness that. You know, like,
don't feel so bad if you are extra hungry, because
(07:16):
realistically you are burning more calories right during bleed. So
if you try to stick to the same diet and
not extra snack and you know, worry about your portions
and all that kind of thing during bleed or a
couple of days before, if you're if you imagine, you're
already expending more energy than normal, so you're in more
of a deficit than you would be ordinarily. Then if
(07:38):
you'd say, say you manage to hold the cravens for
four or five days, on day six, you're now almost
a thousand calories in a deficit, and then comes the binge. Right,
So if you can try to notice when the appetite
starts to pick up and add in an extra two
hundred calories of like really delicious, like fats or whatever
(07:58):
that looks like for you, then come day six, you're
much less likely to crave, crash and be john a
ton of food because you've given your body what it
needs in that moment. So, again, as you were saying,
listening to your body, listening to your hunger signals, and
just being easy on yourself, you know, like this whole
negative like, oh you've screwed up, this is dumb, like
(08:19):
you've done it again this month. That whole conversation is
so negative for body image and just for mental health.
And I think harnessing and knowing when it's coming can
really help you plan for it and kind of avoid
going into that headspace.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Yeah, I so agree, and I think that it is
so important, like you mentioned, to know when that is
for your body. So for me, for example, that happens
to me in the week before my period.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
I get really hungry.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
So I've noticed this week I have been having an
extra snack or two every single day, but I know
for my body that's what I need. Day one of
my bleed, I'm not hungry. I'm generally not very hungry
when I actually have my period. Mine for me is
the week before my period. So by knowing that, I
know that I need to stock up on some extra
food or make my meals a bit bigger during that
like PMS week, and if I want to go a
(09:08):
little bit easier at the gym, I might skip a cardio,
down might go for a walk, I might do pilates.
But I think it's so important to know your body
and how it works in each of the four different phases,
which I want to get into now, because I don't
think every woman knows that there's actually four phases to
the menstrual cycle. So I think a lot of people
(09:29):
just think it's PMS and period week, but that is
not the case. There is four different phases of the period.
And that's what I want to talk to you about
today in terms of what's the best way to eat
and the best way to train through each four phases.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
Cool, let's dive in. I'm excited because I again, girls,
take notes if you're sat here wondering what the hell
to do around your cycle, because hopefully this is some
really helpful, useful information. And I guarantee you're going to
get to the end of this podcast and be like, cool,
that was useful, and then you'll forget, and then next
month it'll all happen all over again. You're like, damn,
I wish I remember what that girl had said. So
(10:06):
take some notes on your phone, please, because I really
do think like it's useful even if you just try
it on for a month, right, and you follow kind
of the food recommendations and the training recommendations, but also
listen to your body. You know, when it's the right
time to dive into those kind of four phases. Yeah,
you might see that your PMS is reduced, that you're
(10:27):
less mad at yourself. And just to touch on that
point as well, febs about when you you know you
eat a lot in the run up, right, or you
get more hungry in the run up. But then often
when bleed day hits or whenever your appetite starts to subside,
often you get that rebound and everything levels out again
because you're hunger just kind of disappears for a little bit,
like two or three days. I don't know if you have
(10:48):
that as well. Yeah, so your appetite drops off quite
rapidly once you've had that bigger feed in the run up.
So again people kick the selves, but realistically, your body
tries to return to homeostasis, so back to normal, and
really like, it doesn't make sense then to be mad
at yourself because you know your body's just doing it
thing and it will reregulate itself, you know, like no
(11:08):
one puts my kilos on the period unless it's just water,
and so please be kind kind to self. But yeah,
let's start dive into phase as so obviously will vary
in length depending on the length of your cycle. And interestingly,
in clinic, I have an intake form that goes out
to my clients before I see them that will say,
(11:29):
you know, what's the length of your cycle, and the
amount of women that will reply with the length of
bleed is fascinating to me. So your length of cycle
is obviously from day one through to day twenty eight
or day thirty one or wherever your cycle sits. So
it's day one of bleed right through to day before
(11:49):
the next bleed. That's your full cycle. So days generally speaking, right,
So some people are, you know, twenty six days, some
people are at thirty one days for cycle and beyond.
And it can vary between cycles as well. So for example,
I can go from twenty six day cycle to thirty
one day cycle quite easily from one month to the next.
(12:11):
Generally speaking, a five day variation is quite normal over
and above that, Like if you get into day thirty
five thirty six, then it might be chatting that's abnormal
for you. Then that can be a chance to go
on chatter GP or a specialist like a nutritionist dietition exits.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
I had a girlfriend who on her right hand side
like her right overy, so every second period it was
like fifty days or something, and she obviously was trying
to conceive and that's how she was tracking it. But
she she fixed it with nutrition. So it's an insane
how it affects everything.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
Yeah, nutrition has a huge, It can have a huge effect.
But so menstrual phase days one to five, So remember
again these days are just guidance. Your cycle will be different.
Everybody's CYCLEI be different. So generally speaking, days one to
five this is a phase when it's time to focus
on light exercise. So this is day one, day one
of you cycle, day one of bleed. Yeah, so menstrual
(13:05):
phase like exercises to help reduce cramping and bloating, so yoga, stretching, walking,
as you just mentioned, FEBEs, and if you feel up
to it, low intensity workouts like cycling, swimming, etc. So
this is the time when you're probably feeling really off,
really lethargic, So this is the time to listen to
body right and to really lean into Okay, well I'm
(13:27):
low energy, I'm probably not going to get a good
workout in. So what can I do to work with body?
Like walking is beautiful for bloating and cramping and you know,
digestive issues. It's actually really helpful. So doing something low
intensity and just being kind to yourself in those first
want to like five days is a really beautiful time
(13:49):
to just chill basically on the training because you're not
going to be getting peebes. Let's be honest in terms
of food, foods that make sense, foods that are rich
in iron. Okay, so you're obviously men straight and you're
losing blood. This is the one and only time I
will eat red meat during the month because I personally
(14:09):
just so many people say this, but I personally just
don't love it, you know, like it's not something I
really enjoy. I don't know that.
Speaker 4 (14:15):
Yeah, But generally speaking, if you avoid it all of
the time, that's a really great way of getting an
iron deficiency situation because obviously you're losing blood and then
you're not replenishing it with hem iron through your diet.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
So the approach that I take.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Yeah, I recently had to get an infusion, did you
how was that?
Speaker 1 (14:38):
It was actually really good?
Speaker 2 (14:39):
But mine was because I after my endosurgery, I bled
for a year, So that kind of explains why that happened.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
So yeah, yeah, so that kind of.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Puts into perspective like if you do let that happen,
I guess, even just once a month, like how much
you do need to replenish what your body is actually
expelling as well?
Speaker 3 (14:56):
Yeah, even if it's like two serves during that week,
you know, like a lunch in a dinner. It doesn't
have to be like consistent red meat eating. And what
I will say is I think part of the reason,
or certainly part of the reason I've seen in clinic
that people avoid meat or red meat is because of
the hormonal status that they're concerned about. And also the
(15:18):
texture is like because you're getting hormones through commercially farmed
meat right like it they pump it into the animal,
it goes into the tissue and then we consume it
and then we end up getting byproducts of the hormones.
The one thing I would say is that we're lucky
enough to have in Australia is access to kangaroo meat,
which generally speaking is is not pumped with hormones because
(15:43):
there's so many kangaroos are actually trying to get rid
of them and control them, so they're wild, they're not
pumped with hormones. And in terms of digestibility getting the mints,
it's already really broken down. It's soft, and then when
people say, oh, you know, I don't like the flavor
of it, like cover it into martoes has also turn
it into a bolonase. Like it's a really simple fix.
(16:04):
So it tastes it's got the same texture as like
a normal like chicken mince, and then it's got the
same flavor when you just cover in some you know,
yummy like fresh chopped tomatoes or whatever you want to
put on there. So if you need to do that.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Yeah, that's really good to know because I'm the the
reason I don't eat red meat is because my digestion
it just does not bode well in my stomach.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
It'll take me days to get.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
To break it down. Yeah, and that actually is a
signed FEBEs of low hydrochloric acid in your stomach. So
you imagine like if I gave you a piece of
like moderately cooked meat. So so you have your steak
medium rare, right, and I gave you a piece of
that and said break that down in your fingers till
it's a digestible texture. You'd be there for a couple
of minutes, right, Like you'd really have to work hard
(16:50):
to get those fibers broken down. Generally, speaking with chicken,
if you think about chicken that most people can digest easier,
it's a lot of it. It's a different meat fiber texture,
it's a lot finer. So when you if you rub
to that between your fingers, right, it would break down
a lot faster if you poach chicken, yeah, or you
think about fish, same same. So your stomach obviously is
(17:13):
trying to do that internally, and if you don't have
a decent amount of hydrochloric acid in your tummy, it
can take a lot longer to break down meat. And
that's why people say I feel really heavy or I
can feel it sat there because it's taken that much
longer to digest. Yeah. So a simple fix for that
is random. A simple fix for that is to add
(17:35):
more acid to your diet when you're having those meats.
So say, for example, you go out and you have
a steak dinner, ask for some lemon, like either do
lemon water or you can do vinegar, or you can
like squeeze lemon over your meat, and then you're just
increasing the acid in your stomach to help move it
through your digestive tract.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Wow. What a game changer, right, But sorry, back to topic.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
Try if you want to try something that's a bit easier.
I know we're just giving you all the food advice,
but like if you want to try something a little
bit easier. Kangaroo me definitely softer on the digestive system.
And yeah, don't go for the steaks, go for either
like the burgers or the like, because they're actually really clean.
The ones that we can get in os or you
can do the mints and then just cover it in sauce.
(18:18):
You don't taste it. Other things that you can eat
during that phase, so menstrual phase days one to five,
leafy greens, beans tofu, and nuns. So if you're on
the more veggie be inside, or you just cannot stomach
the idea of red meat. You can get some iron
from those things. It's just not as absorbable, so you
end up having a lot more to try and compensate.
(18:40):
But those are things to focus on. Phases one day,
like day one to five.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
I feel like that makes sense because do you even
remember being in high school and you would I mean,
I know I did this a lot, and because I'm
very pale, it would work. I would say to my
pea teacher, I can't do pee today, I've got my period,
Like I'm just so sick, and they would say, well,
you know the best thing to help with cramps is
actually to move your body and start to exercise. So
come on, let's just do some slow running around the oval.
(19:07):
And I used to resent them so much for that,
but it turns out they were actually trying to help
and there is some truth to that.
Speaker 3 (19:14):
Yeah, I mean there is a little bit of truth.
But no one wants to listen to the pe teachers.
God damn, Like no, no level phase at that stage,
Like I just want to curl up and cry on
my bed in this moment.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Literally, just give me a milow.
Speaker 3 (19:28):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
So phase two, this is where shit starts to get
really fun. Yeah, it does.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
So we're past bleed pretty much, right. So follicular phase
days six to fourteen so is characterized by rising estrogen levels,
which help improve your strength and endurance. So from a
training perspective, you can actually focus on building strength and
increasing intensity in this phase, so lifting weights, doing high
intensity interval training if you're into that kind of thing.
(19:55):
And you can also try like new exercises or set
new goals and you take advantage of that extra energy
that you've got basically, and it's like a little energy boost.
It's like you've been plugged into the charging system in
the main and you get to aim for trevs and stuff,
which is perfect because you've almost if you think about
the seasons, it's almost like you've gone from winter into
spring and you've got this new burst of life and
(20:15):
energy and you're ready to hit, like you know, ready
to see the bloom. So in this phase, this is
when you can start to like feel really productive in
the gym. And you'll notice, even if you haven't tracked it,
you'll find that some weeks you just feel like stronger
than others and you feel more energized and more motivated.
And chances are it's never in bleed week, right, It's
(20:36):
never days one to five. So when you start to
track when that might be, it's interesting to note that
generally speaking, you'll find it in the follicular phase or
the spring phase I like to call it.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
And it almost like it happens all of a sudden.
Speaker 2 (20:49):
You just wake up one day and you feel insane,
like you feel amazing.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
She's back, that kind of like she's back, she's back
to feeling herself again. So foods, foods rich in B
vitamins are a perfect way to kick things off this phase.
So that's whole grains, nuts, and seeds. Again, you might
want to include foods that are rich in vitamin C
as well, so standard citrus berries because it helps you
(21:17):
absorb the eyeing that you've consumed as well, which is great.
So it's just good to like really support and the
energy and you're in terms of your adrenals if you're
going hard at the gym, vitamin c's are really beautiful
support for your adrenals as well. So, and if you
start doing lots of hit, like I see so many
women do loads of hit, and I'm like, oh my god,
your cortisole, poor cortisol. Please give yourself lots of vitamin C. So,
(21:41):
whether it's a supplement or obviously more ideally through whole foods,
then you'll be onto a winner.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
I love that this is my favorite week of the month.
I would say hands down.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
I always get so much work done as well in
that week. It's like missus productive in work, and I
feel like I should start planning all my really horrible
work days in that just stay to clients. Sorry we
can't talk this week. It's bleed week. Next week I'm fine.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
Sorry, bladewiek is my admin week. I'm not actually going
out of the house.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
Yeah, I'm saying in bed ovulatory phase. So that's days
fifteen to eighteen, so we're moving into what I would
say is summer. Yeah, it's time for the best like
high intensity workouts, sprinting, heavy lifting, all the really hardcore stuff.
So you buy temperature and heart rate are typically a
little bit elevated, which means you can push yourself harder,
(22:29):
so great time for again planning your PBS and stuff.
It really is person dependent, so it might be that
you're better in forllicular phase. Some people are better in ovulatory,
so it really depends. Some people actually get quite a
lot of cramping and bloating and pms in ovulation for
around ovulation me is it interesting? So again you almost
(22:52):
might go back to menstrual phase days one to five
kind of approach where you're like, I actually need to
ease off. But generally speaking, most girls get away with
actually pushing themselves a little bit harder. In terms of food,
lots of protein. I mean, you should be in protein
all the time. I'm the queen of talking about protein,
but making sure that you do get plenty of protein
(23:15):
and healthy fat, so eggs, nuts, seeds, and like fatty
fish like salmon, herring, sardines. Everyone turns the homes up
at sardines. When I say it to a in clinic,
they're like, ooh, no, gay, the delicious sardines on toast.
Try it. And because all those foods are really beautiful
for hormone production and to maintain energy levels. So that's
(23:35):
the stuff that you want to be focusing on. Don't
be scared of carbs go.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
And from an awareness perspective, no, no, please don't. I
was just gonna say sorry quickly before we get into carbs,
because that's very important to cover. This is when you
also start to feel very sexy, so I think all
that extra energy is also able to be you know,
put to good use with your partner in the bedroom,
with yourself, with whoever.
Speaker 3 (23:59):
Yeah, like wear the tiny bar and the shorts and
just like take the swag to the gym. Yeah, just
really embrace that thing because yeah, exactly is when you're
obviously on the like you're the most fertile and you're
on the hunt for a mate, so all those hormones
kind of pop up at you feeling like more sexy,
you're probably more having a better relationship with your vibrator
(24:21):
or your partner, whatever you need or both.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
You just love you.
Speaker 3 (24:26):
Yeah, it's just it's just a great time. So yeah, exactly,
and just fill up on healthy fats, good protein, and
to just touch on that carbs thing when you're training. Please,
I would please just beg just for one day, because again,
the amount of girls that come into clinic who train
fasted and they go and lift heavyweights and I'm just like, god, lord,
(24:48):
I don't know how you are surviving something. Please have
like a modual date walking out of the door. If
that's all you have time for. You need to get
a little hit of glycogen in because this is the
best time when you're training. Your body utilizes carbs the best,
so that window pree is perfect to fuel you workout
(25:09):
and post is amazing to replenish glycogen stores. So if
you're like actually scared of carbs, if you can load
them around your training you basically it has very very
little glycemic impact because your body utilizes it the best
and it needs it the most when you're training and
lifting heavy yeah, or doing hit. So if you like, yeah,
(25:32):
do a bit of homework, please have like a rice
cake with some honey, or just a couple of dates
or a date, and just see how energy levels are
when you go and train rather than training faster. Do
it for one day for me and see how you feel.
Because the amount of people, even guys actually that have
tried it and gone, oh my god, I can't believe
I was training faster, Like you get a much better
(25:52):
workout and a more efficient workout.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
Yeah, yeah, And I can definitely vouch for that because
I used to be I've said multiple times in this podcast,
I've spoken about my journey. I used to be terrified
of carbs, and honestly, I cannot even express how much
everything in your life changes when you start eating cubs,
like everything.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
It's all I always.
Speaker 2 (26:17):
Literally I know, and I always have before I go
to it because I train in the mornings as well.
I'll always have a banana before I go because it
just it makes your training a You get more out
of it, be you enjoy it more, and see you
don't feel fatigued and like you're fighting to get through
to the end. And I think that they are all
things that are so important and they're the reason why
(26:37):
you train. You train to get stronger and better and
to feel good, not to punish your body for something
you ate last night or anyway. I digress because I'm
so passionate about it.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
No, no, no, I completely agree, And I'll just say as
well that like I think people think that fat loss
is better in a fact, like if you train in
a fasted state, or that you achieve more fat loss.
But the science has completely debunked that myth. So if
you're concern about, you know, eating before training, is that
like I'm going to slow fat. That is absolutely not
(27:06):
the case. And if you can push out a harder workout,
you're actually improving your rate of building muscle and burning fat.
So a lot of people will actually benefit more from
eating pre Again, everyone turns to me and says, sala,
I'm going to feel sick if I have a bowl
of oats or whatever before training. Don't do oats. Then,
don't like have something really small, even if it's like
(27:27):
twenty grams of carbs in a quick hit, Like you
can do a tablespoon of honey in your coffee as
you're walking out the door, like whatever it takes to
get it in, and the faster digesting the better, because
you actually want to spike your blood sugar. So the
only time you want to spike your blood sugar so
that you can benefit from it in training, So please
try that and then loot to your phase. So phase
(27:49):
four of the cycle, right, that's days nineteen to twenty
eight or thereabouts. So estrogen and progester own levels are
higher during this phase, so it can cause some fatigue
and like decrease energy levels. So this is like you
know those five days you're speaking about FEBEs pre blo
This is like that, Oh, PMS is kicking in and whatnot.
(28:10):
You can focus on lower intensity workouts if you want to. Again,
personal choice in terms of listening to your energy levels.
So for me, the first half of my loot eel,
I'm fine and I can still continue to train hard.
But then as you were saying that like last five days,
so like days twenty one and above, I'm starting to
(28:30):
get a bit like more fatigued, a bit more grumpy.
PMS is kicking in. Everything hurts, you know, and the
bloating kicks in for me. So then I don't really
I feel really uncomfortable at the gym, and I'm like,
I feel gross, I don't want to lift heavy, So
it's not a cotton dry phase. It changes throughout, but
generally speaking lower energy. So you can do things like
(28:52):
yoga and polates, which are really beautiful supportive things to
focus on, particularly if you're feeling like uncomfortable digestions are
you're getting all the bloating and it obviously helps reduce
stress and improve your mood. And you can focus on
exercises that alleviate the symptoms. So even doing like beautiful
forward folds and things like that in yoga, or like
(29:13):
just hanging with you, like doing a forward fold just
stood up and hanging your body over your legs, really
lovely thing to help with bloating and stuff like that,
or legs up the wall, that's something I love to do.
Super simple in terms of food stuff that support hormone
balance and reduce inflammation, because you know you're heading into
(29:34):
that lovely phase. Yeah, so leafy greens, whole grainslation stations,
cruciferous vege, broccoli and coliflower if you can tolerate them
without getting too bloated. Don't do heaps and heaps because
you're obviously more prone to bloating. And then foods that
are rich in magnesium, which women talk about all the time.
It's like that's why we crave chocolate, but it is
(29:55):
so dark. Chocolate, nuts, seeds, all that stuff helps reduce
cramping and other menstrual symptoms. If you want to supplement magnesium,
if you're not doing it all the time and you
just want to do it luteal phases the face to
do it in.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
Also, it's so nice to have some magnesium before you
go to bed. I swear by this magnesium hot chocolate
stuff that I think it's called Moon Milk. I've been
drinking it for months now and I love it. It's
like a little sweet treat, but it's got only good
stuff in it that helps you sleep and like resets
your body and then I don't need to have chocolate
after dinner because it's like my little nightly sweet treet that.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
So all over that. I've tried that one and I
ended up landing on Switch Nutrition that have one called
Adrenal Switch and they've got a chocolate one and it's
got heard that it's got a downer in it as well,
which I'm like a massive fan of for stress, but
also like a chocolate magnesium powder and I stick that
in a bit of like frosted up alm and milk
(30:49):
before bed or I do it have to do this
sometimes because I'm like, it's either this or a bar
of dairy milk and I need something, so pick for
the lesser of two evils. But it's actually like I
think it's got like twenty calories in or whatever, not
that it matters, but it's simple, better option, and it
kills the craving.
Speaker 1 (31:07):
Yes, exactly exactly.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
I've actually also recently heard a lot of like Olympic
athletes and professional athletes do cycle their training and diet
specifically around their period. So I think it's something also
to note that this isn't just wo woo shit, this
is like actually scientifically back so.
Speaker 1 (31:24):
Legit there's evidence.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:26):
Yeah, there's a really good book. I'm just trying to
think who it's by. I think it's doctor Satie sim. Yeah,
it is doctor Statie Sims, who's a really famous female,
like she deals with athletes, but she's a doctor, and
she's brought out a book it's been out for pages
called Raw and it's how toaar how to match your
(31:48):
fitness with your female physiology. So if you're really interested
in diving into it more and you actually care about,
like reading scientific stuff. She makes it really really to understand,
and it's basically like dealing with your female physiology for
optimum performance and like to get a lean body in this,
that and the other. But she's yeah, she's got a PhD.
She's an intelligent, super hyper intelligent woman, and she's of
(32:11):
the mindset and of the message that women are not
small men. So like guys can pretty much train consistently
throughout the month, and they might, you know, they might
do periodization within the training, but they don't need to
deal with the fluctuating hormones that we do. So if
you're getting advice from a male PT, it's like, oh,
just push through, like you don't know what's going on
with my cycle there, bro sorry, So I would be
(32:34):
very inclined if you're interested to read raw and just
get a really good understanding or a deeper understanding. Basically,
I have to touch the surface of kind of how to
work with your cycle from a training and food perspective.
And it's designed for active women. So if you do
train or you do plarties or whatever, really really good
a lot of information from an exercise physiologist.
Speaker 2 (32:56):
I love that a lot and I think what you
said before is so important to note that you should
not compare yourself to a man. And I know that
we're living in this, like we are all feminists and
we love it. God power, yes that do not compare
yourself to a man in terms of your energy levels,
what you're going through physiologically, you know, as we've just
said before, because it's not fair and it's not realistic,
(33:16):
and it will put you in an even more negative headspace.
Speaker 3 (33:19):
Absolutely, And like what we've got to remember as well
is during bleed week or even a couple of days before.
I don't know if you get this as well, Thiebes,
but the insomnia is wild for me. And if I
try and go into the gym and I've had like
four hours sleep and I expect to lift the same
that I've done before the day before, It's like, how
can your body physically do that when it's not repaired
(33:39):
from yesterday? Like, it doesn't make any human sense. So
there's no point in expecting your body to do the
same thing when you're low on sleep. You've got to
hit the absolute baseline of like, you know, look after
yourself with good food, fuel, properly sleep, hydrate, and then
when all that stuff's taken care of, then you can
put expectations on your body in accordance with the phase
(34:01):
that you're in. Right, But if you lacking in sleep
and you're not look after nutrition and your hydration, you're
not even hitting baseline. So that's when you can't be
mean to yourself. You know, like, don't expect lots of
your body if you're not getting all the essentials.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
Yes, and I think as well, I know that you
and I obviously love to train, love to eat well,
et cetera, et cetera. But at the end of the day,
we're not athletes. Our job is not to train, So
go easy on yourself. And if you miss a day
or two at the gym because you're tired, bloated, you're
experiencing pain, it's not the end of the world.
Speaker 1 (34:35):
It's not a setback. It's reality and it's life.
Speaker 3 (34:38):
I think it's a great time to actually have a break,
because I again, people who love training, generally speaking, will overtrain.
So like it's a lot for any woman to be
training five six days a week, four days of lifting
and like two days of active recovery and one rest
day is pretty optimal for most, but generally speaking, the
(35:00):
girls again that I speak to, oh, I'm doing five
six days of the forty five every day, like, oh
god lord, so please, like if you need that window
to relax and go, you know what is bleed week.
I'm going to have three consecutive days off. Your body
will be so stoked. So please don't be mad at yourself.
It's actually just a reframe of like, this is my
(35:22):
downtime because your body actually grows when you let it rest.
It's not growing in the gym, that's when the damage
is done. It's growing when you sleep and when you
prioritize relaxation and calm. So that's a really beautiful window
to allow yourself that every month of just like, you
know what, I'm going to kick back and not go
to training because I feel rubbish. I don't want to
(35:44):
push through. I'm probably going to injure myself and this
is going to help me grow muscle and reduce my stress.
Speaker 2 (35:50):
So why not exactly, and can serve that energy for
when you're feeling better and you can go back and
you will absolutely slay your workout.
Speaker 3 (35:58):
Yeah, absolutely absolutely, I'm all for that.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
So I always finish every episode the exact same way,
and that is to ask my lovely guest, what is
one piece of advice that would give to everybody listening
to this episode?
Speaker 3 (36:09):
And I would say to listen like it's so stock
standard for a nutritionist, isn't it, But just honestly try
and listen to your body, and if you do nothing else,
track your symptoms and know when to expect them. Because
your body works in a cyclical way that's very individual
(36:31):
to you. And so if you can track it in
like an app like Ova or on you fit bit
or wherever you want to track your periods. I've actually
just put a period tracker in my online training app
for women because exactly for exactly this reason, so people
can actually see when they open up the training app.
Oh actually I'm in week one right, so I should
not be hitting pbs. Just watch out for dates and
(36:55):
times and all that kind of stuff for when to
expect things, so that you can pre plan your training
and your food around that cycle and around that face is.
Trying to ignore it and push through is only going
to do you a disc justice and you're not going
to get the results that you want.
Speaker 2 (37:14):
Thank you so much for listening guys, I really hope
you enjoyed the episode and don't forget to help a
sister out by following the podcast on Apple or on
Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Rate it,
write me a review, and if you want more Finish,
we do have a private Facebook group. There is going
to be exclusive Q and A is happening with my
guests in that group. That's going to be events, going
(37:35):
life first, so much fun stuff happening.
Speaker 1 (37:37):
Just look up fit ish in brackets
Speaker 2 (37:39):
On Facebook and you can be part of the Finish
online community
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