Latest / Midlife Glow Up: Simplifying Fitness, Nutrition and Healthy Habits for Women over 40 / 48. 5 Nutrition Lessons I've Learned After 30 Years of Coaching Women

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48. 5 Nutrition Lessons I've Learned After 30 Years of Coaching Women · Midlife Glow Up: Simplifying Fitness, Nutrition and Healthy Habits for Women over 40

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: I think we make nutrition way more complicated than it needs to be.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: After nearly 30 years of coaching women around fitness and nutrition and healthy habits, I have watched a lot of nutrition trends come and go.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: I have lived through the fat-free era where we thought eating fat would make us fat, and then carbs became the enemy next.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: We have counted calories and counted points, and we've tracked our macros, and we have tried keto and intermittent fasting and juice cleanses and detoxes.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: You name it, I have tried it all, and I have coached women who have sworn by each one of these.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: But the funny thing is that many of these approaches actually contradict each other.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: But here's the thing that I have realized the things that actually help us women eat well consistently are surprisingly simple, and none of them require you to follow a strict set of rules like eating only cabbage soup for weeks on end.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: That is actually a diet that I tried and had many clients swear by.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: Just like I recently shared the five biggest fitness lessons I've learned over the years, today I want to do the same thing, but with nutrition.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: So in this episode, I'm going to share five lessons that I have learned throughout my own experience and through decades of coaching women.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: And they're all things that I wish every woman in midlife understood about feeding her body well, especially as we move through this phase of life.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to the Midlife Glow Podcast, where we simplify fitness, nutrition, and healthy habits for women over 40.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Joan Nandino, your midlife health and wellness coach.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: And if you are ready to feel strong, consistent, and confident in this season of life, then you're in the right place, my friend.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: So we're gonna dive into it.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: I have five lessons that I want to share with you today.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: Lesson number one is restriction backfires, but fueling is what works.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: So this lesson is probably the one that has taken me the longest to fully believe, even though I feel like I've taught pieces of it for years.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: Restriction backfires, but fueling your body properly is what works.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: I have watched so many women, myself included, at different points in my life, try to eat less in an effort to lose weight.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: So we skip meals and we cut out food groups and we eat a tiny lunch because we're trying to be quote unquote good.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: Or we save calories because we know we're going out to eat.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: So we don't eat all day, and then we eat a giant meal for dinner.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: These things are not sustainable.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: And so when hunger and cravings hit, you want to eat everything in sight.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: And then you feel bad that you don't have enough discipline to stick with the plan.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: But time and time again, what I have learned is that the problem isn't you, it's not your lack of discipline, but you simply need more food.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: So when you start consistently fueling your body with enough protein, healthy carbohydrates, healthy fats, some fiber, and you feel satisfied in your nutrition, something shifts and your energy becomes steadier and more reliable, and you feel just more satisfied, your cravings often go away, and you're not spending the entire day thinking about food and what you can and cannot eat.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: One of my Jones Kitchen members, Kathy, recently said something that really captures this shift perfectly.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: She said, I'm no longer trying to eat less to lose weight.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, what she started doing without even really realizing it was prioritizing protein and building meals that actually satisfy her.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: And then she noticed that she had more energy and fewer cravings.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: And what I love most about hearing her have this mindset shift is that after years of thinking that the answer was eating less, she finally started properly fueling her body.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: And that now is what is actually making healthy eating easier.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: Because she gets to eat, she gets to enjoy, and she gets to realize the benefits of having more energy and fewer cravings.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I really wish every woman would learn this lesson for herself.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: We ask our bodies to do a lot.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: We are hopefully strength training and we are trying to preserve and bulg muscle, and we're supporting our bones, and we're navigating all the changes that come with this stage of life.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: And we need to eat in order to make all of that possible.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: So instead of constantly asking, how can I lose weight and looking at maybe you need to pull back here or eat less of this or restrict there or deprive yourself here, I would rather you start asking yourself, am I giving my body what it needs to feel strong and energized and satisfied and to create the life that I dream of?
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: That is a really different way of thinking about nutrition versus thinking always about dieting or restricting.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: So the first lesson is restriction always backfires.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's not sustainable, but fueling your body properly is what works.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: Lesson number two is protein needs to become a priority.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: So if there's one thing I find myself talking about over and over again with women in midlife, it is protein.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think that women are intentionally not getting enough, but I think that we just haven't necessarily been taught to build our meals around it.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: And so a lot of times when I'm working with clients and I ask them to describe their day, it's like breakfast might be a piece of toast or a bowl of oatmeal.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: And those are not unhealthy choices.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: But we need to be adding a protein.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: We need to be leading with protein, especially at breakfast.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: And then they say something like, lunch, I'm so good, I have a salad.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like, but what's on the salad?
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: What are you actually giving your muscles and your bones to use as fuel on that salad?
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: Because if we're just eating some lettuce and some dressing, that is not really doing much for our body at all.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: And then maybe there's a snack in the afternoon, but it's probably a handful of nuts or some crackers, or maybe if she's quote unquote being good, it's a protein bar.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: But again, we need to be focusing on leading with that protein, even at snack time.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: And then we get to dinner, and then that's where she's like, oh, I have a great amount of protein.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: And then she tells me about dinner.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: We have chicken or salmon or beef or some other source of protein, but dinner cannot be the only meal during your day that you're prioritizing protein if we're trying to get enough in order to build muscle and protect our bones.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to start thinking about protein throughout your day.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: So leading with the breakfast, prioritizing protein at that first meal, and then thinking about protein at lunch as well, and then thinking about a protein-rich snack in the afternoon, and then of course at dinner time.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: And this is why I created my four by four fist method.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: So if you've listened to any of my past episodes about nutrition or my most recent episode about Joan's Kitchen, I went deeper into this.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: But the basic idea is we're trying to aim for four fist-sized servings of protein by 4 p.m.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: That's the four by four.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: And it's a simple visual tool.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: You can hold up your fist and see like about the size of the protein that you want to be having.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: But the idea is to prioritize protein without having to weigh every ounce of food or spend your day tracking macros in an app or bringing a food scale and a calculator to the dinner table.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: I want nutrition to take up less mental space in your life over time.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I want you to learn to look at your meals and have a pretty good sense of whether you're giving your body what it needs or not.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: Protein is one of those things that once you start paying attention to it, can actually make a significant difference in how your meals come together and how satisfied you feel afterwards.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: And especially if you're strength training, which I hope you are, we want to make sure that you're giving your body the building blocks that it needs to support the work that you're doing in the gym.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: Lesson number three is planning and preparation are the keys to consistency.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: This is probably the most common issue that I see when women tell me that they're struggling with nutrition.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: It is that food is simply an afterthought.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: You come home from work, it's six o'clock, you're hungry, you're tired, you open the refrigerator, and you just hope that dinner will somehow present itself.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: But here's the thing: most women I work with know that they should be eating vegetables, that they should be prioritizing protein, that they should be drinking water, that they should be eating fiber.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: They know this, but knowing it and actually making it happen consistently in everyday life are two very different things.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: And that is where planning and preparation can make such a huge difference.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: Just by doing a little bit of work ahead of time, you're making things so much easier for your future self.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: And again, this doesn't have to require spending half your day on Sunday meal prepping and having every bite that you're going to eat for the next seven days mapped out.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: That is overwhelming.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: I would never do that.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: I would never last doing that.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: But what I can do is make sure that if I have a busy morning on Monday, that I have a breakfast ready for me to grab and go.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: If I have a really busy week, which most of my weeks tend to be, then I have at least thought about what is for dinner.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: I have at least pulled something out of the freezer, or I've chopped some veggies, or I've made a dressing, something that when it comes to pulling together a meal at mealtime, I'm not just starting from scratch.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: I generally prefer having two shorter prep sessions throughout the week because then food stays fresher and then I can adjust as I go.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: But the point is to simply put some intention into feeding your body before you're hungry and out of options.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: So over the years, I have realized how important this is, which is why I eventually turned the way I approach food prep into my prep method.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I taught that full method inside of the junk's kitchen episode that I did last week.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: But at its core, you're basically looking at the week you're actually having and preparing food that supports that week.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: The point is to simply put intention into feeding yourself before you hit the point where you are hungry, because inevitably you are going to make a poor choice, either skipping a meal or grabbing fast food or ordering takeout.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: When healthy food is available and ready, then following through with your good intentions to eat healthy becomes so much easier.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: Lesson four is healthy eating doesn't have to be complicated.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: We have access to more nutrition information than ever before, but somehow I think that has actually made us a lot more confused.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: Because for almost every piece of nutrition advice that you hear, you can find someone telling you to do the exact opposite.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_00: Eat breakfast because it's the most important meal of the day.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: But no, skip breakfast and fast until noon.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: And some people will say you should eat whole grains, and then others say no, you should cut out all carbs, and potatoes are a nutritious food, and no, potatoes are gonna spike your blood sugar.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: Some people are telling you to track your glucose and don't eat after 7 p.m.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: and never eat carbohydrates by themselves.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: And apparently we now need to worry about the order in which we eat everything on our plate.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: It is exhausting.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: And social media has made this even harder because so much of the nutrition information gets presented in these dramatic, absolute statements like never eat this and always do this, and this food is toxic, and this ingredient is destroying your hormones.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: And all of this conflicting information creates decision fatigue and sometimes food anxiety around something that we have to do multiple times every single day, which is eat.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: So suddenly you find yourself standing at the grocery store wondering whether this yogurt has too much sugar or this oatmeal is going to make your make you spike your blood glucose, and whether these berries have pesticides, and if this chicken isn't organic enough.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: And somewhere along the way, we've lost sight of how simple the foundation of healthy eating is.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: We need to get protein, we need to eat plants, and we need to include carbohydrates and healthy fats.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: And ideally, we're choosing mostly whole and nutrient-dense foods, and we eat enough to fuel our body.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: That is it.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: And from there, of course, there are going to be individual needs and preferences, and maybe certain foods don't agree with you, or maybe you have a medical reason to pay closer attention to something.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: But for most of us, we don't need to optimize every single bite in order to eat well.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: And we don't need to turn every meal into a science experiment.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: But we do need a solid foundation that we understand and that we enjoy and that we can actually live with long term.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: I think there is so much freedom in realizing that healthy eating can actually be simple and enjoyable.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: And finally, lesson number five: eat in a way that supports the life that you want to live.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: So this last lesson really brings everything together for me because my own relationship with food has changed a lot over the years.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: When I was in college, I remember going through the whole fat-free phase.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: So this was my first taste of a diet.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember that if the box had snack wells written on it and it was fat-free, then somehow it was totally fine to eat nothing but that, and it was healthy.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: And that is just so foreign to me and how I feel about food today in general.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: I remember doing the fat flush diet back in the early 2000s to get ready for my wedding.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: I did the Atkins and basically cut out all carbs.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: And then when I got into figure competitions, I learned just how powerful nutrition really is.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: And for the first time, I could see how manipulating my food and really changing my macros and restricting certain things could literally change the way my body looked pretty quickly.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: And there was something really empowering about that.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: I felt like I had figured out this special secret formula and I had this incredible amount of control over my body.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: But there's another side to that kind of control because it can easily start to border on obsessive.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: And during that time for me, food became something I was constantly thinking about.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I was starting to label food as good or bad, or I was either good because I was on plan or bad because I was off plan.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: And as part of that culture, we were allowed to have cheat days.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I realize now that that really just reinforces the idea that you've been quote unquote good all week.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: So you've earned the right to eat all the things you've been restricting.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: And again, like so foreign to the way I think about food today.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I can see now how much mental energy that required.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: But now, in my late 40s, I view food so differently.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: I still understand and respect the power that food and nutrition have in my life, but I think of it now so differently.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I think of it now as a way to nourish this one body that I have and support the life that I want to live right now, but also for decades to come.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: I want to eat protein because I want to preserve and build my muscle.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to give my body the nutrients that it needs to support my bones.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I want carbohydrates because I want energy to lift weights and go walking and hiking and traveling and doing all the things that I love to do.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: I want to eat fruits and vegetables and fiber and healthy fats because I'm thinking about my long-term health.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_00: I'm thinking about how I want to feel at 50 and 60 and 70 and 80 and hopefully beyond that.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: And that doesn't mean that I have to eat perfectly.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: I still enjoy a treat and a cocktail here and there.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: And when I go out to dinner, I enjoy, I travel, I celebrate holidays and birthdays.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes I eat something simply because it tastes good and I enjoy it.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_00: Those things have a place in my life.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: But the majority of the time I'm making choices that support how I want to feel and the life that I want to live.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: And those choices over time have become my lifestyle.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: And there's plenty of wiggle room within that lifestyle for enjoyment and indulgence.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't need a designated cheat day to give myself permission to enjoy certain foods.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that that's what I want women to understand most about sustainable nutrition.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: You can care deeply about your health and still enjoy food.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_00: And you can have a great nutrition routine and still go on vacation and enjoy something totally different.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: And you can eat a nourishing breakfast and have a dessert after dinner.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: You can make choices that support your health most of the time without feeling guilty about the times when you choose something simply because you want it.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: Food is fuel and nourishment, but it's also connection and celebration and culture and pleasure and enjoyment.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: And for me, now the goal is to have all of those things coexist.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: I want the way that I eat to give me energy to live my life today and support the body that I hope will carry me through many more decades.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: And when you start to think about food through that lens, healthy eating starts to feel a lot less like something that you're constantly trying to control and much more like one of the ways that you get to take care of yourself.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_00: And that is what I want for every woman listening.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: So those are five of the biggest nutrition lessons that I've learned after 30 years of coaching women.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: Number one, restriction backfires, but fueling works.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: Number two, protein needs to become a priority.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_00: Number three, planning and preparation are the key to consistency.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: Number four, healthy eating does not have to be complicated.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: And number five, eat in a way that supports the life that you want to live.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe the biggest takeaway from all five of these lessons that I hope that you hear is that eating well doesn't require finding the perfect diet.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_00: But instead, it's about building simple habits and skills that help you nourish your body consistently and that are able to grow and change with you through different seasons of your life.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_00: We have to feed ourselves for the rest of our lives.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I want that process to feel easier for you.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_00: I want when you open your refrigerator to feel like you have options.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to feel empowered to put together a satisfying meal without having to calculate macronutrients.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I want you to eat enough food so that you feel fueled and energized.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I want you to have some simple meals that you love that you can make without having to think too hard about it.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: And when life gets busy and you go on vacation or you have family over for the holidays, I want you to have the confidence to enjoy those seasons and those meals and then get right back to the habits that make you feel like yourself.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: These lessons are the foundation of why I created my membership, Joan's Kitchen.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: If you haven't heard me talk about it before, Jones Kitchen is my monthly food prep membership, specifically built for busy midlife women who are ready to build a simple, sustainable rhythm around eating well.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: Inside, I help you take these ideas and actually put them into practice with simple protein-forward recipes, organized grocery lists, practical food prep strategies, and live food prep sessions with a community of women alongside you.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: Because knowing what to do is one thing, but having the systems and the support to actually do it consistently is where so many women need help.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_00: If you want all the details and exactly how Joan's Kitchen works, go back and listen to my previous episode, all about Joan's Kitchen and how it works and why I created it.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_00: And if you are ready to join us, the doors to Joan's Kitchen are open now through August 31st.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: Check out the show notes where I'll put the link so you can learn more and join us inside of Joan's Kitchen if you're interested.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening, my friend.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, progress over perfection and consistency over intensity.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, keep growing, keep flowing, and bye for now.