Latest / Midlife Glow Up: Simplifying Fitness, Nutrition and Healthy Habits for Women over 40 / 31. You Want to Eat Healthy, But Life Keeps Getting in the Way

Transcript

31. You Want to Eat Healthy, But Life Keeps Getting in the Way · Midlife Glow Up: Simplifying Fitness, Nutrition and Healthy Habits for Women over 40

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, it's time to switch gears.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: We've been talking fitness for a few episodes now, and now it's time to talk about more nutrition.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: So last week I opened similarly, and I'm gonna kind of follow suit again this week.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: So I want to call out two different women.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna describe them and see if you hear yourself in either one of these.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so the first woman has been putting herself and specifically her nutrition on the back burner for years.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: So she is the one who is always making sure that there's something on the table for everyone else.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: She is the one who goes to the grocery store several times a week to make sure that the fridge is full of things that her family likes.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: She rotates out the snack bin and she remembers who wants what on their birthday.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: And she is the reason why everyone in her house and in her life eats well, but she herself has been surviving on coffee and crumbs, a handful of this and a bite of that, whatever's fast.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: And she's been doing it for so long that it stopped feeling like a problem and it starts just feeling like who she is, how things are.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: And she knows that there's room for improvement, but she's just not really sure even where to begin.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: And then there is the second woman.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: So she has been trying.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: She is definitely not ignoring her health.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, she's working at it.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: She has done lots of different diets and she downloads all these different meal plans from Instagram and she follows the influencers and she buys the cookbooks and she starts programs and she genuinely wants to eat well.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: She has really great intentions to fuel her body.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: But somewhere between the 47 ingredient recipe and the tracking app and the four-hour marathon food prep session that she was supposed to do, she just gets overwhelmed.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: It's too much, it's too complicated, it's too time consuming.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: And when it comes down to it, the food that she's making doesn't even usually taste that great anyway.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: So she tells herself every week, I'll start again Monday, and typically by Tuesday or Wednesday, the wheels have fallen off, and she's like frustrated and down at herself and discouraged.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe you are more like the first woman or more like the second, or maybe you are a little bit of both.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: Either way, what I'm about to share with you is the same information.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: And the bottom line is the problem is not you.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: The problem is the approach.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: There is a much simpler way.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm super excited to share it with you today.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to the Midlife Glow Up Podcast, where we simplify fitness, nutrition, and healthy habits for women over 40.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Joan Dandano, your midlife health and longest coach.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: And if you are ready to feel strong, consistent, and confident in this season of life, then you are in the right place, my friend.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: Here is what I want to talk about today.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: Why nutrition in midlife feels so hard and why it really doesn't have to.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: Because I hear the same stuff from my clients, from women all the time who say some version of the same thing.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I know what I should be eating.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: I just cannot seem to stay consistent.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: So I want you to sit with that for just a second because I think it is one of the most underrated struggles that there is.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's not that you don't know what to do.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: You know that you should be eating more vegetables and increasing your protein and drinking your water.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: You know that these things are important, and yet consistency keeps slipping through your fingers.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: And it's because you're busy.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: So here's what I see.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: I see that you start the week strong.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: Monday is usually great.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: You're on it.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: But by Wednesday, the plan has fallen to the wayside because life was lifing.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: And by Friday, you're just surviving until the weekend.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: So if that sounds familiar to you, it is not anything that's wrong with you.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: It is not a character flaw or a lack of discipline or lack of willpower.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's actually a system problem.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: Because when you are hungry and you don't have food ready to eat, then willpower has to do all the heavy lifting.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: And as I have said a bajillion times, willpower is a limited resource that runs out.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: It is not reliable.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: You are busy.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: You do not have hours to spend in the kitchen.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: You do not want cooking to become another part-time job on top of everything else that you were already managing.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: So when someone hands you a complicated meal plan with 12 different recipes and you got to spend all day, Sunday, shopping and cooking and chopping and prepping, you look at it and you're like, I want to give up before I've even started.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: Or you say, maybe I'll work on this later in life when I have more time.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: But the reality is becoming clearer and clearer to me that I think our busy just changes, but I think we're going to always feel like we have multiple things vying for our attention at all times.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: And our nutrition is so important.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: It deserves time and energy, but we're just not really sure how to actually put it into practice in our real lives.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: So that's what we're going to be covering today.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: So I want to paint some real life pictures of how this actually plays out in the lives of my clients and my friends.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: And these are stories that I hear day in and day out.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: So you open the fridge and you stare into it.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: And somehow, despite the fact that you went grocery shopping, maybe even twice this week, there's nothing to eat.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like nothing feels easy, nothing feels like a real meal.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: And so you just grab whatever requires the least amount of thought when you're hungry.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: But that usually means that you're grabbing something that has the least amount of nutrition as well.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: Or, this is another example that I see playing out a lot.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like, Joan, look how well I did.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't overeat.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: I was so strong.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: I'm saving the calories later in the day.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're going out to eat.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: But what's actually happening here, when you're not fueling your body throughout the day, you are actually running on fumes.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: You have good intentions, but we're still stuck in that diet mentality where we're saying, oh, if I just don't eat, I'll lose weight.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't work, I promise.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: And by afternoon, your blood sugar has crashed and you're exhausted, and suddenly everything in the kitchen is calling your name and you can't help but just gorge.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: You eat things that you wouldn't even plan to.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: You feel out of control.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: And then on top of that, you feel guilty.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: And you wonder, like, what is wrong with me?
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: And you wonder, why can't I just get it together?
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's not a weakness, it's actually biology.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like when your body is underfueled, it will find fuel one way or the other.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: And through all of this, through the diets and the plans and the tracking apps and the different programs, what a lot of women in midlife are really asking for is simplicity.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: Something that does not require you to become a chef or become rearrange your entire life.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: You want to eat healthier without it becoming an obsession, without tracking every nutrient, without cooking elaborate meals every single night.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: You want food to be nourishing for your body, and you also want it to actually taste good.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: You want to feel better, you want to feel energized and in control, you want to feel strong, but you're just not really sure how to get from where you are to those outcomes.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: You know that food is a part of it, but you're just not actually sure how to put this into practice in your real messy, busy life.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: So what you need is the right system.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm gonna share that system with you.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: I want to start by saying something that almost sounds too simple, but I truly believe it.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: The single biggest reason healthy eating falls apart is this when you are hungry, it is already too late for you to make a great decision.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: Every complicated plan, every nutrition tracking app, every food prep, meal prep, marathon, they are all trying to solve a problem that starts the moment you open the fridge when you're starving and there's nothing ready to eat.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: Because the solution is not more discipline in that moment.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's not more willpower in that moment.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: The solution is making sure that moment never happens.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: And that, my friends, is what food prep is.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: Food prep is not what most people think.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: I think people have a lot of different like misconceptions or just confusion about what is food prep.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: I am very intentional when I say food prep and not meal prep.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: So to me, meal prep feels heavy.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: It sounds complicated, it sounds fancy and elaborate, and that it might require 12 rare ingredients that I have to like go to different stores to find.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: Food prep is simply thinking about food before you are hungry.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: That's the whole idea.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: It can be as simple or as involved as your life allows.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: So if you go to the grocery store and you grab some pre-portioned snacks and you grab some pre-washed salad mix and a rotisserie chicken, my friends, that is food prep.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: If you make a batch of chicken on the weekend and you roast some veggies and you have a couple things ready to go for the next few days, that is food prep.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: If you cook chili for dinner tonight and you have leftovers, then putting those in grab and go containers that are pre-portioned out, ready to go, that is food prep.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: If you spend 10 minutes on a Sunday thinking through what you're gonna eat the next couple of days and make sure that those ingredients are actually in your house, even better, prepped in a container in your fridge so it's easy to grab them and go, that is food prep.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: None of that requires a culinary degree.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: None of it requires hours in the kitchen, and none of it requires you to eat bland, boring, healthy food that you don't enjoy.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: So here's the bottom line.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: When healthy food is ready, healthy eating is easier.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: You don't make dramatically better decisions because you have more willpower.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: You make better decisions because the better decision is the path of least resistance.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I'd like to say if you have healthy food ready, then healthy food becomes fast food.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: If you have washed and chopped some veggies and put them into individual containers, and you threw in a hummus packet and you had some eggs that you hard boiled, and maybe you roasted a couple of sweet potatoes, and your lunch is packed for the next day.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: And when you open the fridge and there's something to eat, this is empowering.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: This is the shift.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: I promise you, you don't have to love cooking.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: Fun fact: I don't love cooking.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: It is not something that I get enjoyment out of.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: It is something that I see as a necessity because I get hungry, I want to have food ready, I'm not gonna eat out all the time, I'm not going to do microwave meals.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: So it's just a non-negotiable for me.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: You do not have to have a perfect schedule or a clean kitchen or unlimited time.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: You just need a different approach and a simple habit of thinking about food before hunger automatically makes that decision for you.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: That is food prep.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: I just get so excited sharing this with you guys.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so I am so excited to officially announce that I have created a two-day food prep workshop to help you actually learn and execute this new mindset shift and this new habit in your life.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: This totally free two-day workshop is called Nail Your Nutrition in Midlife.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: And inside, you're gonna learn my simple food prep system to help you stay consistent with your nutrition without having to rely on willpower.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: My system works even if you don't like to cook.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: This workshop is for you if you start the week strong but fall off by midweek, or if you tend to rely on willpower all day but then feel out of control at nighttime, if you want to eat healthier without having to track your macronutrients and obsess over portions, or if you feel like you're just frustrated by all the overcomplication.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: If you have dinner handled, typically, because it's for everybody else, but the rest of your day is a mess, this is for you.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: And if you are in midlife over 40, and you want to feel more energized, in control, stronger, and you want to get rid of that late afternoon energy crash and the nighttime cravings.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: I know it sounds too good to be true, but we are going to take care of all of this in a quick two-day free workshop.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: I have been teaching this topic for a really long time, and I have seen it work magic in my clients' lives.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: And personally, in my own life, I cannot imagine a world in which I don't have food ready to go because I consider myself a pretty nice person, generally, but when I'm hungry, you better watch out.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: So here is how the two days break down.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: Day one is all about education.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to talk about why food prep is the answer, the solution to the midlife nutrition problems.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: We are going to break down the real difference between food prep and meal prep.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: I will teach you or reiterate my four by four fist method, how to hit four servings of protein by 4 p.m.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: without stressing about it.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I will show you how to stop relying on motivation or willpower or discipline and start relying on a system and an intentional plan instead.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: Day number two is hands-on.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'm super excited about this.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: You are going to get to step into my kitchen with me as I show you step by step how I prep a few simple things that will make our lives so much easier.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: You can choose to prep alongside me if you want, or just watch.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: Either way, you're going to walk away with the strategy, the system, and the experience of actually seeing me in action and having the opportunity to ask me questions at the end of the workshop as well.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_00: By the end of these two days, you will have a clear plan for what to prep, a simple system for building protein forward meals.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_00: You will have three ready-to-use meals for breakfast, lunch, and snacks.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: You will have a strategy to hit your protein goals without having to track.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_00: And you will have a realistic approach you can actually stick with long term.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: The link to register for this free workshop is in the show notes.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: I urge you to sign up.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_00: It'll take about a minute.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: And did I mention it is completely free?
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: So as soon as you finish listening to this episode, go sign up.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: It is a no-brainer.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: I promise you'll walk away with tangible tools and tactics that you can apply right away.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: And then after that, I want you to text the link to a friend who might need this too.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: If you have been nodding your head along this whole episode, I cannot wait to welcome you into my Zoom room and on day two into my kitchen.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: Let's make healthy eating easier by having food ready to eat the moment you feel that hunger set in.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening, my friend.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: Remember progress over perfection and consistency over intensity.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, keep growing, keep glowing, and bye for now.