Women's Health Archives -

cravings, temptations, + appetite challenges

Posted on June 22, 2023June 22, 2023 by Clarissa Thomas

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Cravings, temptation, and an appetite that just won’t seem to go away. These are some of the biggest struggles people have when going through premenstrual disorders.

Broadly speaking, people know which foods are fairly healthy, and which aren’t so healthy. And, when dieting, these people want to lose weight; that’s the reason they’re dieting, after all.

So, they know what they want to achieve, and roughly know which foods they should be eating. So why are long term success rates so low?

It’s because cravings, temptation, and your appetite eventually wear you down. Once the initial motivation you had begins to wane, it becomes harder to resist these. Your brain doesn’t want you to lose weight.

In an evolutionary sense, food was scarce. So, a drive to eat meant greater chances of survival and therefore passing on your genes. The difference now is that food is not scarce. In fact, it’s abundant. We are surrounded by high-calorie, high-reward food, but we still have a brain geared towards survival in a very different environment. This mismatch is a key reason why dieting is so hard.

Remove temptation from your environment

Clear out tempting foods, don’t keep them in the house. If it’s out of sight, it’s out of mind. If this isn’t feasible because you live with others and they won’t accept you throwing out the junk, then hide tempting foods instead. Keep them in separate cupboards, away from the ones you usually use. Keep them in opaque containers so you can’t see them. It’s amazing how small changes like this can have a big impact on our behavior.

You want to make it harder to eat unhealthy foods. Our brain wants to minimize effort, so increase the effort it takes to make poor choices. For example, having to go to the shops to buy a chocolate bar is a lot more effort than just picking it out of the snack drawer.

Willpower is like a muscle, you can only use it a certain amount of times before it’s weakened. So, don’t rely on willpower. Instead, alter your environment so you don’t need to use willpower every time you enter the kitchen.

Create an environment that supports your goals, not one that sabotages them.

2. Separate eating from other activities

Eat at the dinner table. Don’t eat while watching the TV, or while scrolling through your phone. You want to minimize distractions that take you away from the experience of eating.

Eat slowly. Separating eating from other activities will naturally allow you to slow down, focus on your food, and be more mindful when eating. You will feel more full and satisfied after eating in this way.

If you stop eating while watching the TV, for example, your brain stops associating food with these activities. If you’re used to watching TV in the evening with a few biscuits, you’ll find you start to think about biscuits when you sit down in front of the TV. Your brain has learned that evening TV = biscuit time and will urge you, through cravings, to continue this habit.

If you separate these activities, your brain stops associating them. If you have a rule that you don’t eat in front of the TV, the effort required to get a snack and sit at the table without your phone or TV means you’re unlikely to do it unless you’re truly hungry.

Again, it comes down to increasing the effort required to make poor dietary choices.

3. Stop snacking

Controversial, right? You don’t have to stop it completely, but I would recommend focusing on full meals first and foremost.

Snacking throughout the day, without having full meals, can lead to what I call the Not-Quite Cycle™. This is when you spend your whole day being not-quite hungry between meals, and not-quite satisfied after meals. This sucks.

Snack foods are typically easy to over eat and don’t fill you up. Think crisps, sweets, chocolate and other processed, packaged snack foods. You’d be better off saving these calories for a filling, nutritious meal.

If you do snack, choose things like fruit and plain yoghurt. These are minimally-processed, highly satiating, and therefore hard to overeat.

4. Limit hyper-palatable foods

Hyper-palatable just means tasty and easy to overeat. A combination of fat/salt/sugar is often what makes foods hyper-palatable. These types of food rarely occur naturally, and so are often highly-processed and calorie-dense.

Your brain get familiar with these tastes and that’s how cravings develop. Even protein bars, fiber one bars, and other ‘low calorie’ or ‘healthy’ snacks would still fall into this category. That’s not at all to say you can’t include them in your diet. But, if you’re someone who struggles with your appetite and cravings, it may be wise to forego them.

5. Prioritize high satiety, minimally-processed whole foods

These are foods like fruits, vegetables, lean meats, potatoes, fish, eggs, wholegrains, beans and legumes, oats, and plain yoghurt.

These foods are hard to overeat. They are often less-calorie dense, higher protein, and higher fiber, meaning they are highly satiating and therefore, you’re unlikely to over-consume them.

6. Don’t allow hunger to become extreme

Intermittent fasting is a useful tool but it’s not magic, and it’s not for everyone. You need to find what works for you. If you can happily skip breakfast and have lunch as your first meal, go for it. But, if trying to fast leads you to overeat later in the day, then don’t do it! I can’t believe I have to say this, but I do. Again, it’s not magic, it’s just one method. – if it doesn’t work for you, try a different method.

Spreading your meals evenly throughout the day can help to keep you hunger levels under control, and prevent you falling into the Not-Quite Cycle™, or restricting to the point where you end up overeating.

7. Consult your future self

This is a psychological technique called episodic future-thinking. It involves removing yourself from the present moment, and thinking about how this decision is going to affect you in the future.

Remember your goals, the reasons why you’re dieting, and the hard work you’ve put in so far. Ask yourself this question: “would my future self thank me for the decision I’m about to make?”

If you’re following the 6 previous strategies, then your cravings will be more like an occasional whisper, rather than a persistent chatter. Consulting your future self can allow you to look at the big picture, and make the right decision for you.

Here’s a quick recap of the eight strategies to manage your appetite:

Remove temptation from your environment

Separate eating from other activities

Stop snacking

Limit hyper-palatable foods

Priorities minimally-processed whole foods

Don’t allow hunger to become too extreme

Consult your future self

Manage your stress and sleep

Following this advice could be the difference between reaching your goals or not. Read it, understand it, implement it. Words mean nothing if you don’t put it into action. So, give yourself a checklist of action points to take away from this article, and it could change your life for the better.

Female Hormones

Posted on April 20, 2023April 27, 2023 by Clarissa Thomas

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Watch here or listen in your web browser with the player at the bottom.

In this episode, we’ll talk about what female hormones are, what they do, and how they affect our health. We’ll also discuss some of the things that can affect our hormone levels and what we can do to keep them in harmony – not balance.

So what are female hormones? Female hormones are a group of hormones that are responsible for the development and maintenance of female sex characteristics. They also play a role in a variety of other bodily functions, including reproduction, mood, and metabolism.

The three main female hormones are estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Estrogen is responsible for the development of female secondary sexual characteristics, such as breasts, hips, and hair growth. It also plays a role in the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and menopause. Progesterone is a hormone that prepares the body for pregnancy. It helps to thicken the lining of the uterus and to make the body more receptive to an embryo. Progesterone also plays a role in maintaining pregnancy. Testosterone is a hormone that is found in both men and women. In women, testosterone plays a role in sexual desire, muscle mass, and bone density.

Hormones are produced by glands in the body and travel through the bloodstream to reach their target tissues. Once they reach their target tissues, hormones bind to receptors on cells and trigger a response. The response can vary depending on the hormone and the tissue.

Hormones play a vital role in many aspects of health, including:

Growth and development
Sexual function
Metabolism
Mood
Sleep
Appetite

Hormone levels can be affected by a number of factors, including:

Age
Stress
Diet
Exercise
Medications
Medical conditions

If you are experiencing any problems with your hormones, talk to your doctor. They can help you to identify the cause of your problems and recommend treatment options.

In our next episode, we’ll talk about how to keep your female hormones in balance.

Intro to Menstrual cycles

Posted on April 6, 2023April 27, 2023 by Clarissa Thomas

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Listen to the audio version at the bottom of the page or watch here.

In this episode, we’ll talk about what the menstrual cycle is, what happens during each phase of the cycle, and how to track your cycle. We’ll also discuss some of the common myths and misconceptions about the menstrual cycle.

So what is the menstrual cycle? The menstrual cycle is a monthly process that prepares the body for pregnancy. It starts on the first day of your period and ends on the day before your next period starts. The average menstrual cycle is 28 days long, but it can vary from woman to woman.

49% of our population is female and 25% of the population bleeds but that 49% all have the same female biochemistry of hormones. Meaning higher estrogen and progesterone (along with some other minor hormones) than male counterparts.

Everyone has someone who has female biochemistry in their lives. It is important to understand that a female is always changing and not more constant in daily hormone levels as men.

The menstrual cycle is divided into four phases:

The follicular phase: This is the first phase of the menstrual cycle. It starts on the first day of your period and ends when you ovulate. During this phase, the body prepares for ovulation by producing estrogen and progesterone.
The ovulation phase: This is the middle phase of the menstrual cycle. It starts when you ovulate and ends when your period starts. During this phase, the egg is released from the ovary and travels down the fallopian tube.
The luteal phase: This is the third phase of the menstrual cycle. It starts after ovulation and ends when your period starts. During this phase, the body prepares for the possibility of pregnancy by producing progesterone.
The menstrual phase: This is the last phase of the menstrual cycle. It starts when your period starts and ends on the first day of your next period. During this phase, the body sheds the lining of the uterus.

There are many different ways to track your menstrual cycle. You can use a period tracker app, a calendar, or even a simple notebook. Tracking your cycle can help you to understand your body better and identify any patterns in your cycle.

There are many common myths and misconceptions about the menstrual cycle. Some people believe that women are “unclean” during their period. This is not true. Women are just as clean during their period as they are any other time of the month.

Other people believe that women can’t get pregnant during their period. This is also not true. While it is less likely to get pregnant during your period, it is still possible.

Finally, and one of the biggest I see is that people believe the menstrual cycle is just during the bleed of 7 days but it is ALL the TIME!!!

The menstrual cycle is a natural process that is a part of being a woman. There is nothing to be ashamed of about your period. If you have any questions or concerns about your menstrual cycle, talk to your doctor.