Quick Nutrition Fixes for Women Part 2

In today’s log I am giving you Quick Nutrition Fixes for Women Part 2 and will spell out a few strategies for health and weight management. If you missed last week’s log, I suggest you read it to get up to speed.

Last week I went over basic nutrition and the misinformation we have been force fed regarding what to eat and what is good for us.

Here is a tip:

If a billionaire is telling you to eat Plant based foods for health and he is shoving cheeseburgers down his hole all the time like Randy Bo Bandy maybe you want to consider your source. Funny, he might own the factory that makes those foods. 

Perhaps there is misinformation or a conflict of interest going on.

Anyway, here are a few strategies to help you be healthier and manage your weight.

First off, forget about the scale. For best health we need to pay attention to body composition.

The majority of the population is just too fat and they worry about the scale. They need to be concerned with lowering body fat to an acceptable level.

And I’ll tell you, I’ve done COUNTLESS body composition tests over the past 3 decades and I’ve had many people who do not look fat in clothes but are “skinny fat”.

This means they have a somewhat normal weight but a very high level of body fat. While this is not as bad as being overweight with high body fat, it is still unhealthy.

Lowering body fat and increasing, or maintain skeletal muscle mass are the two things that need to be a huge part of big picture. And getting your body fat tested is easy and convenient now. In the old days you had to use skinfold calipers which are uncomfortable and can be embarrassing.

Now we have computerized machines, like the Inbody that I have that are almost 100% accurate.  The tests take about 3 minutes and are done fully clothed with no pinching, prodding or embarrassment. You have no reason not to do this.

Why check your body comp and not the scale?

I wrote a whole article on this. I am not parroting it here. Read it! 

With that out of the way, here is another Quick Nutrition Fixes for Women strategy.

To lose weight, eat a little less calories than you burn.

To gain skeletal muscle mass while strength training, eat a little more calories than you burn a few days a week.

This is assuming that you are getting 1 gram of protein minimum per pound of body weight.

How many calories do we reduce or add?

Most people go too high or low here. To lose weight and preserve skeletal muscle mass, or to gain muscle you only need to  subtract/eat a few hundred calories.

If you weigh 250 pounds, maybe 200-300 calories subtracted to lose or the same amount added to gain is enough.

If you weigh 125 pounds,  maybe 100-150 is enough.

Next strategy in our Quick Nutrition Fixes for Women Part 2

Track calories if you want, or don’t.

If you are going to track calories you need to figure out your BMR and account for activity to find your caloric needs.

I wrote an article on that too.

Read it here.

Read this one too.

When tracking calories and macros, I suggest that you make sure you eat 1 gram of protein per pound and then make the rest of your calories up as you see fit. I don’t think specific ratios of carbs to fat is ultra-necessary. I do think your meal plan should be palatable and sustainable to you. So, if you like more fat, eat it, if you prefer more carbs, eat those.

Just don’t go over on calories for the day.

If you don’t want to track calories or macros it will take longer to see success but it is possible.

You must track protein. Eat all of your protein for the day and then add in high quality carbs and fat as listed above. 

Eat slowly and stop eating BEFORE you feel full. This is a simple way to manage caloric intake.

Here is the next up on the list of Quick Nutrition Fixes for Women:

Break the Cycle

• If you are not hungry.
• Don’t eat.
• If you are hungry.
• Eat.
• If you are feeling sad, depressed, lonely, stressed or whatever, DON’T EAT (or drink booze).

I have discussed this with many female nutrition clients and they all agree with what I am going to tell you.

When people get sad, lonely and all of the above emotions flooding them, many run to food. And not good food.

Is this you?

I feel sad. I’ll eat this pint of ice cream and then have some CHOCOLATE and it will make me feel better.

As soon as you eat it you feel better, for a few moments, then you feel guilty.

I’ve undone all of my progress by eating emotionally.

You get back in the saddle for a few days, then the emotions hit again.

Boom.

More ice cream and chocolate.

Followed by more guilt.

And the more you do this, the worse it gets.

Identify the cycle and break it.  

Next strategy-wine!

How many of you ladies (and dudes) love the wine (or your adult beverage of choice)?

Remember we talked about calories?

Wine and all alcohol have calories. And it is easy to drink a lot more calories than you need.  

AND!

When we drink, our judgement is impaired so many of us EAT!

One thing people don’t talk about much is the effect alcohol has on your belly.

Wine belly is a thing if you look it up on the interwebs. Without getting too deep into it, heavy alcohol consumption can and frequently does lead to an increase in belly size and shape in females. Do a Googlin'.

I am not anti-booze. I love my whiskey. But I realize that alcohols has it’s drawbacks, hormonally, appearance wise, and many others. Be aware of the consequences.

Next Strategy

Strength train.

That is all on that.

My last Quick Nutrition Fixes for Women strategy is this:

Be consistent with your meal, plan 90% of the time or more.

But, give yourself a break.

I am not giving you a license to cheat.

I am using common sense.

Listen, we need to find an exercise and meal plan that suits our lifestyles for success right?

Strict adherence to anything without ever taking a break causes stress. And it isn’t fun.

Our lives should be fun, productive and happy.

If we look at the most successful people on the planet at anything, the vast majority of them take a break from their discipline from time to time, or they go mad.     

Follow a solid meal plan 90%+ of the time and give yourself a break every now and then, but earn it.

Maybe one cheat meal every week or two.

The extra calories won’t hurt, they’ll actually be a benefit if you are on a weight loss diet.

But you have to earn it.

I can give you many more strategies on Quick Nutrition Fixes for Women, but this is a great starting point.

They only work if you put them to use.   

Did you miss last week’s log?

Read it here.

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Vincere vel mori

C.J. Murphy

October 20, 2022