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Here’s the hard truth: If you’re not fueling your body properly then your workouts may be doing more harm than good. We know that exercising is one of the best things we can do for our health and longevity, but it is also a “stress” on the body and can take a toll on your hormones if you’re not conscious of how you’re recovering and prepping. Lauren Papanos of @functional.fueling joined us on the podcast to take a deep dive into properly nourishing your body to make the best of your workouts.

Lauren shared her top 12 tips for hormone health while strength training:

  1. Eat 30-60 minutes before a workout and make sure it’s low in fat + fiiber so you don’t slow digestion and can use your fuel properly (eat your healthy fats after and especially at dinner!)
  2. Consume both carbohydrates and protein before a workout
  3. If you’re eating eggs before a workout go for egg whites, if you’re eating them as a post-workout snack include the yolks
  4. Avoid taking antioxidant supplements and omega-3s around workouts (they can prevent the inflammation required for muscle breakdown and thus building)
  5. Do full-body resistance training workouts instead of isolating muscle groups (2 exercises that train upper: one push movement like a dumbbell press, one pull like a lat pulldown + 2 exercises that train lower: same push and pull)
  6. Separate resistance training and cardio workouts by at least 6 hours OR simply do them on alternate days – this is because they’re competing mechanisms and use totally different energy systems (aerobic phosphorylation vs. glycolytic pathway) – thus we want to prevent doing them back to back
  7. Aim to consume 30 grams of protein every 3-5 hours; 4 feedings (3 meals 1 snack provides the most consistent delivery of protein for muscle protein synthesis and keeps you covered every time the body is about to go into a catabolic state)
  8. Eat more potassium-rich foods like avocados and sweet potatoes (RDA is 3,500-4,700mg and an avocado only has 345mg, so be sure to focus on this mineral as it’s required for thyroid health)
  9. Support liver health with foods like cruciferous vegetables and onions
  10. Improve gut health by eating different varieties of plants per week instead of always leaning on the same ones
  11. Prioritize telling your body it is safe + showing your body through your actions (rest, going slow, saying no) the week before ovulation in order to optimize progesterone – this is the opposite of what you’ll see in cycle syncing framework because that lens says to go hard while estrogen is rising, but this is where we want to actually create safety for ovulation and progesterone
  12. Use apple cider vinegar or GlucoBitters before meals on non-training days as you’re far less insulin sensitive on days when you’re not strength training

To learn more about how to eat for fitness and beyond, click here to listen to the full episode on the podcast.

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