Sheila Fitness

09/09/2023

08/30/2023

08/16/2023

Women perform best in a fueled state. That means eating carbohydrates. That should not be a radical concept. Carbs are the preferred fuel source for our brain; they're necessary to fuel high intensity efforts, and they improve exercise performance for any efforts lasting longer than 45 minutes.

Yet the fear and villainization of carbs will not stop.

I blame the low fat debacle when everyone decided it was fat that was making people gain weight and become metabolically unhealthy. So we were told to eat “fat free” and manufacturers just removed the fat and poured sugar into everything to make it taste okay without fat in it. The result: a public health disaster. People were eating rice cakes instead of avocados and sugary jelly instead of nut butter on their toast. The population gained more weight and metabolic health suffered.

So then the pendulum swung way too far in the other direction and everyone became carb-phobic, convinced that it’s the carbs that are causing all the problems, when it’s really this kind of extreme thinking that is problematic. Especially in active women, whose metabolism is more sensitive to dramatic restrictions because our hormones are designed for survival of the species.

That’s why intermittent fasting may help men get lean, but makes it harder for women to budge their body composition. Why? S*x differences in physiological responses to food availability. When we look at early cellular research on IF, it was found that the gene alterations to improve fertility was 5 times greater in males than females; and gene alterations to reduce fertility occurred in females. We see this in current studies of low energy availability and Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S); the threshold for the onset of endocrine dysfunction is ~30-35 calories per kg of fat-free mass (FFM) in women; but around 15-20 calories per kg FFM in men. This difference comes down to the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis, which is responsible for regulating key hormones that are involved in functions like appetite control and reproduction is incredibly sensitive to energy intake.

08/16/2023

Green grass and fresh air - the best therapy 🥰

08/02/2023

AGE STRONG Y’ALL!

07/19/2023

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cu2mIjyJ2R3/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

07/10/2023

07/09/2023

Are you sure you have no time in your day for training??!!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CuXnP5SPZGW/?igshid=MTIzZWMxMTBkOA==

07/01/2023

Quick and easy snacks that contain protein,fat and carbohydrates.

It’s easy to grab a protein bar from the grocery store but relying on them will not do you well nutritionally in the long run. It’s vital that we get a variety of whole foods in the form of vegetables and fruit for gut health, since that is another aspect of our physiology that can take a significant hit during the menopause transition and beyond.
When choosing a snack between meals it’s important to include all three macronutrients, protein, fat, and carbohydrates, in addition to fiber, to sustain you until your next full meal.
A few of the ideas take some preparation ahead of time, but they are still quite simple as a grab-and-go for work or travel.

👉🏻1 or 2 hard-boiled eggs with raw veggies or fruit
👉🏻2 T hummus with raw cucumbers, carrots, celery, peppers, etc.
👉🏻Whole grain cracker or rice cake topped with tuna and cucumber, and a bit of ranch, or favorite dressing
👉🏻Apple slices with a cupped handful of nuts
👉🏻Turkey slices wrapped in a whole grain tortilla with spinach and a 1/4 avocado
👉🏻Chia sprinkled berries on a single serve plain Greek yogurt
👉🏻Dip apple slices into a single-serve yogurt sprinkled with pumpkin seeds
👉🏻Prep a small container of Epic beef jerky, dried apricots, and a few almonds
👉🏻Tuna or turkey-stuffed pita with greens and tomatoes
👉🏻Low-fat cottage cheese with berries or vegetables
👉🏻Easy make-ahead chickpea salad including cherry tomatoes, chickpeas (any bean), peppers, artichokes, lemon juice and olive oil
👉🏻1 or 2 ounces of cheddar or string cheese with berries or apples

Drop me a message if you’ve found this helpful.