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Welcome to "No F**ks Given," where we redefine menopause as a superpower. Hosted by Holly Lamb, a women's health coach, who is navigating early menopause. This podcast offers empowering guidance on women's health and navigating perimenopause with confidence. From nutrition tips to fitness advice and mindfulness practices, we cover it all. But here's the twist: it's all about embracing your most authentic, unapologetic self. We're here to help you reclaim your power, say goodbye to societal norms, and live life on your own terms—no f**ks given. Welcome to the revolution!
Holly Lamb (00:00.824)
Hello and welcome to this week's episode of the NoFoxGiven podcast with me, your host Holly Lamb. This week's episode, I've decided to dive into all the things to do with nutrition. So nourish to flourish nutrition and what you need to know in perimenopause because this one can get really overwhelming. There's so much information out there. It can be really, really confusing.
So I wanna cut through all the bullshit and I just wanna make it as easy and as simple as possible for you to understand and for you to start implementing just basically straight away so you can start to see results and start to fuel your body for what it needs and also to age proof it as we head into later life. So let's dive straight in.
And what is it that you should be eating in order to thrive through perimenopause? So a great place to start and where I get my clients to start is looking at the Mediterranean diet. So the Mediterranean diet is super, super simple to follow. It's high in vegetables, nuts and seeds, beans, whole grains, fermented foods, seafood, unsaturated fats, especially extra virgin olive oil.
and it's really low in processed food. So that's a really, really good place to start. And there is a Mediterranean diet pyramid that you can go online and have a look at. And that will give you kind of an idea of what you should start to look into eating basically. But what the Mediterranean diet also does is it's part of being part of a community. So it's very much getting together to eat.
and enjoying each other's company whilst enjoying food, a glass of wine because you know, it's nice to have a glass of wine from time to time and also consuming a lot of water as well. So where in your life at the moment can you start to bring in more community into your meals basically? So.
Holly Lamb (02:18.572)
you know, obviously if you're at work, it's a little bit more difficult to do that, but where can you start to bring in more community in regards to maybe your evening meals? So rather than sitting in front of the telly, maybe sitting at a table, getting the family together, eating together. I know sometimes families eat at different times, but even if you can start to do that on the weekend so that you're all kind of getting together and eating together and talking about your day and just fostering
basically better relationships within your own family community or even with friends, getting friends together, having people over, doing a little bit of like a come down with me even, get people to bring starter, dessert, you cook the main, whatever it is and just get that community side involved. And that's a really, really big part of the Mediterranean diet. So yes, absolutely the food is crucial.
But it's also about bringing in these other things that can help to foster a really good relationship with food. Because I think as women, and especially as we head into perimenopause and beyond, we have got all these warped views of food from years and years of societal conditioning and things like in the 90s when...
everything was low fat and yeah, we need to kind of just get away from all of those and start to look at this from a whole food diet place. So looking at whole foods and starting to incorporate those into your diet. So in regards to what you should be eating, that was kind of like a brief overview, but let's kind of dive in now deeper into what the fundamentals look like.
So number one would be a high protein diet. 100 % high protein is what women need. We severely under eat protein in a big way and we need to incorporate more protein into each and every single meal. And I'm gonna go into how you can do that a little bit later. Another thing to look at is low GI carbs and fiber. So that's like your brown rice, pasta, pulses, bread.
Holly Lamb (04:36.846)
because then you're getting more fiber into your diet and also the low GI is going to help you feel fuller for longer rather than eating just the white processed bread and pasta and things like absolutely sometimes it's nice to have some white rice and a piece of white bread absolutely but if you can try and eat more of the brown and the fiber more regularly that's going to help also with bowel movements as well and then
Another thing to consider is healthy fats. So Omega -3s, lots of fruits and veg, prebiotic and probiotic foods, and then looking at calcium, iron levels and also vitamin D. So vitamin D is something that I would recommend everybody to take a supplement of because as we're in the UK, we do not get a lot of sunshine. We do not get enough to...
for us to absorb to get the right levels. So for perimenopause or women, a strength of 4 ,000 IU is one that I take and that is what I would recommend women to take that are going through perimenopause.
Holly Lamb (05:56.206)
So I'm gonna dive into those in a little bit more detail. But first I just wanna touch on gut health because gut health is such a big factor when we start heading into perimenopause because of our estrogen levels, it can disrupt the microbiome. So due to those fluctuating estrogen levels, it can disrupt.
the gut microbiome and especially if you already suffer from IBS then that's something that you're really going to want to start to look into to make sure that your gut is working the best that it can basically. So the disruption is linked to common menopausal symptoms as well so bloating, hot flushes, weight gain, anxiety, brain fog, low energy, mood swings, loss of libido,
UTI infections and poor sleep. So there really is a correlation between menopausal symptoms and the gut. And also we're learning more about the gut brain access as well. So it's all connected. And the thing that I live by is what you put in, you get out. So if you're putting good, healthy, nourishing food into your body, it's going to help you feel better, not just physically, but it's going to improve symptoms and it's also going to help you.
mentally as well. So the certain bacteria in our gut that aid in producing short chain fatty acids and that's crucial for the fiber digestion. So a microbiome lacking in these bacteria can make digesting vegetables, lentils, pulses really, really challenging. And that's why when some women start eating more fiber, they can get like really bloated and gassy.
These are the things that you can do to help alleviate that and to also start incorporating the good, healthy gut microbiome foods back into your diet without having loads of like, win, which is definitely not what we want. So supporting your gut health, nurturing good gut health is a daily commitment and it's influenced not only by our diet, but also
Holly Lamb (08:11.618)
things in our environment and it also can be to do with our emotions as well. So first and foremost is fibre. So consuming an adequate amount of fibre is super, super crucial as it can help to bulk up stools, especially if you're suffering from IBS. It's really gonna help to alleviate any kind of diarrhea, which is really uncomfortable. And it can help to eliminate toxins and prevent
constipation as well. So you want to aim for around 30 grams of fiber daily. The average person gets between 15 and 20 grams. So we want to try and increase the fiber intake, but we want to do it slowly. If we start just adding shit loads of fiber in there, then it's going to affect our shit basically. And it's going to affect our gut. And this is when we can start to get gassy and bloated. So
Increasing the fiber intake gradually is what's going to help with that. So fiber rich foods include ground flax seeds, onions, garlic, grains, beans, leeks, bananas and raspberries. All those things are going to help to increase your fiber intake along with switching to, you know, your brown rice, pasta, bread. That's going to help with fiber intake as well.
Holly Lamb (09:40.91)
And then we need to look at healthy fats. So adding healthy fats into your daily diet to enhance energy levels, hormone production, it's gonna help your mood, your skin, your joints, your hair, and it can help to reduce inflammation as well. And it also helps with brain function. So if brain fog is something that you're really struggling with, incorporating healthy fats into, more healthy fats into your diet is really gonna help boost cognitive function as well.
So including fats, healthy fats, should say, into your meal promotes satisfaction and will help you feel fuller for longer along with the protein. And it will hopefully stop with as much snacking because it's the energy balance and the calorie intake, calories out that does tip the balance. So opting for sources rich in Omega oils like salmon,
tuna, avocados, almonds, walnuts, pistachios and pumpkin seeds are all top of the list. And tinned mackerel is another really good one to incorporate into your diet. think if you eat two of those little tins of mackerel that you can just buy in the supermarket, that's your dose of omega -3 for the week. So that's amazing. If you can eat two of those, I can usually eat two of those in one salad for lunch. So if you really do like
fish and you want to get that in there, that's a really good tip that I've found. If not olive oil, can use that on salads and incorporating salmon is a really, really good one to get in there to increase healthy fat intake. And then next would be probiotics. So incorporate probiotic and fermented foods into your daily meals and that's going to enhance gut health, liver health, and it can help to lead to improved hormone balance.
mood, sleep, digestion, and absorption of the nutrients that your body needs as well. So supporting your gut microbiome will also positively affect the beneficial bacteria levels in your vagina as well and your urinary tract. So if you're suffering from UTIs and any kind of vaginal issues, then incorporating fermented food can help with that as well.
Holly Lamb (12:07.808)
With anything fermented like the fiber, you want to start to introduce that gradually because then you won't get the excess wind or the bloating and it's giving your gut microbiome time to adapt to what's happening. things like natural yogurt, kefir, kombucha, miso and kimchi, sauerkraut, all those kinds of things are really good sources of probiotics to introduce slowly into your diet.
I found Greek yogurt is the best thing for my gut and it's really, really helped my IBS symptoms. So you can have that in the morning as a breakfast with some nuts, some seeds, some fruit, bit of honey, some dates on there is nice as a really good breakfast because there's nine grams of protein per hundred grams in the one from Aldi, I believe off the top of my head. And it's a really good source of protein and you're getting the probiotic in there. So it's like a win -win.
So yeah, increase gradually, add those in and that's just gonna help you feel better as well. And then another thing that isn't kind of related to food is moving your body every day.
you
Holly Lamb (13:27.726)
So engaging in daily physical activity is gonna help to enhance your gut mobility. So exercise stimulates the muscles of the bowel wall, promoting regularity and it can help to reduce constipation as well. So a morning workout is gonna kickstart your body and your gut, but even just a walk, like a 20 minute walk.
is just going to make such a difference. So if you can get that walk in in the morning, that's going to be really, really beneficial. Or if you'd like to do your workouts in the morning, that's going to be even better. If not, just try and get 20 to 30 minute walks into your daily life. And it might be raining, it might be crap, but the more you start doing this and it becomes a habit, the easier it's going to be as we head into the winter months. And it's also really good for mental health. And there's just so much, there's so many benefits to
moving your body every day and especially if you suffer from joint pain and stiffness, moving is going to help you feel better because I know when you're sat there and your joints hurt and you're tired and you don't want to move, the number one thing you should do is move because you will feel better after it. And then another thing to think about is stress. So we need to address stressors in our life.
because stress can impact the gut brain connection and it can slow down digestion when our body is in fight or flight mode. So to alleviate these kind of IBS symptoms, bringing in stress management practices is really going to help. things like deep breathing. So deep breathing before meals can calm your nervous system and it can help to enhance your digestion.
which if you suffer from IBS like symptoms, or you've been diagnosed with IBS, that's really gonna help you digest your food properly and hopefully alleviate some of those symptoms that come with it. And then incorporating things like yoga, meditation, mindfulness, just slowing down and incorporating these techniques into your daily life is gonna help.
Holly Lamb (15:48.072)
regulate your nervous system. And when your nervous system is more regulated, you are able to deal with things that are happening in your daily life a lot easier. So for the past few months, I every morning without fail, I do my breath work, my meditation, I do my affirmations, and then I dance around my bedroom for five minutes. And that has become my little morning ritual. And it feels weird if I don't do it now.
And that doesn't take long, probably takes 30 minutes to do all that. So that's really helped me regulate my nervous system in order for me to deal with all the things that happen in my daily life. So if stress is something that you are really struggling with, nervous system regulation is number one, and that is where your focus should be above all. Because when we are...
regulated, we're going to start to want to move our body more. We're going to start to want to eat a healthier diet and it all has a knock on effect. So yes, you can start to implement these, but I would say if you're stressed, you're in fight or flight, you just feel like you're all over the shop, then nervous system regulation would be absolute key. So we've talked about what we need to be eating and
what's required in perimenopause. And to be honest with most people, this is what they should be eating for a healthy lifestyle. how, like portion sizes, how do we do it? Do we weigh food out? No, nobody's got time to weigh food out. Nobody has got time for this crap. So this is what I use with my clients if they are struggling with portion control. And it's a really good tool to have and just to know about. So it's the...
Hand portion control guide, or you can use a plate. So for women, it would be a palm size piece of protein with every meal. So that is around 30 grams. If you eat more, but if you use that as a guide, that's a really good tool to help you to start to understand what kind of portion sizes you should be eating. So on a plate, that would be around a quarter of your plate.
Holly Lamb (18:09.4)
So a quarter of your plate should be protein. Then the next would be half of your plate with vegetables or salad. So if you think a quarter of my plate is protein, half of my plate is gonna be vegetables or salad. Because realistically, in our Western society, most of our plate is filled up with carbs. If you think about it, there's pasta, chips, potatoes, whatever it is.
It's half filled with that. Whereas that shouldn't be the case. Half of it should be filled with vegetables, maybe two or three different ones, just so you're starting to eat all the micronutrients and get those into your diet. So eating the rainbow is something that you should look at doing. there's a lot of companies now that do like veg and salad boxes where they'll send you like what's in season. And that's really nice because then that can start to
get ideas going about what you can start cooking, what you can start eating, and you can try different foods and you can start to incorporate all the different colors into your diet, which is going to make you feel better. It's going to give you an energy boost. Also eating that much vegetables and salad can help with immune function. It can help to control inflammation and it can help with a healthy digestive system. It's just going to make you feel better overall.
And then the other quarter of your plate is going to be carbs. So that is around a cupped hand. So if you cup your hand, if you put rice or pasta in there, that's how much you should be eating, which isn't that much. need carbs. Carbs are not bad. It's just, we need to implement portion control because we need carbs for energy. They are our energy source. So they're not the demon and they definitely are required.
We have to get our heads around what the plate, a healthy plate should look like. So a quarter protein, a quarter of carbs, and the rest is going to be filled with salad or veg. Now, realistically, how many of you listening to this now are going, yeah, my plate doesn't look like that most of the time. And that's okay because we're not educated on these things. You know, there's a lot of processed foods out there, which are just not good for us. And.
Holly Lamb (20:34.062)
This is the way that we've grown up eating. So there's no wonder we're really confused about everything and what should be going on. But I always come back to a whole food diet. So does it come from the ground? How many processes have gone into it and cooking from scratch? If you stick to those 80 % of the time, you will start to feel better. You will start to see results. You will start to lose weight because if you're eating a whole food diet, it's very difficult to be overweight.
It's the processed foods and it's the over consumption is what has led to people putting on weight. And yes, it becomes more difficult in perimenopause to lose weight. Absolutely. But it's definitely not impossible. And the clients that I work with have all seen weight loss results, even if a weight loss goal is not at the forefront of their goals. But for most women, a little bit of weight loss is a bonus.
And then we wanna have a look at healthy fats. So that would be about a thumb size with the meal. Now, there's gonna be times where you're not gonna be able to incorporate healthy fat into your meal, but you can always maybe have some nuts afterwards to get that sauce in. Or if you're cooking with olive oil, you'll get in that in there as well. But the plate method is something that I find really helps people to visualize. So half of your plate, salad or veg,
Quarter protein and a quarter carbs is a really good place to start.
Holly Lamb (22:13.07)
And then something else I just want to touch on is intermittent fasting. Now this is probably an episode I could really, really dive into. And if that's something you'd like to learn more of, then let me know. But intermittent fasting has been a massive game changer for me in weight loss, in feeling better, just general overall health. So did you know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day?
was a marketing slogan used by Kellogg's in the 1970s to sell cornflakes. Now, not many people know that. So we've been led to believe that breakfast is the most important meal of the day when actually it was only used by Kellogg's to sell cornflakes. And most of the processed food that you're eating now, the companies that have produced them are cigarette companies. So this processed food,
This world that we live in at the moment is not built for health and for us to be healthy. So intermittent fasting is a really good tool you can bring in to start to heal your body without actually doing anything. So the key to weight loss is the hormone insulin, and you can control your insulin levels every day when you eat and when you fast. So you just need to understand when to eat. And it's not that difficult. I'm going to break it down.
So our bodies are designed to heal and haven't really changed since our primitive ancestors. However, our lifestyles have. So our bodies are programmed to thrive without food and without breakfast, blood sugar begins to drop, insulin levels begin to drop, and an alternative fuel source kicks in called ketones. So the ketones produce head to the brain to make...
you more alert and to give you more energy. And especially if you're struggling with brain fog, it's a really good tool to use, especially in the morning. I fast usually around till around 11 or 12. And then I get so much more work done in the morning. I'm more focused. I'm more alert because your body is designed for the feast famine cycle and going against this has made us release insulin.
Holly Lamb (24:34.574)
all day and this is another reason why women find it difficult to lose weight because they might be insulin resistant. So you can fix this and it's not that difficult. So all you have to do is change how often you eat and it is as simple as this. So in a 24 hour period you should have an eating window and a fasting window. So up to now you've probably only fasted for around eight hours when you go to sleep.
which isn't long enough to bring insulin levels down or reverse insulin resistance. So this is where intermittent fasting comes in. And intermittent fasting is anything between 13 and 15 hours without food.
Holly Lamb (25:26.702)
So how do you intermittent fast? So to start with, if you're brand new, this is what I would suggest. I would move breakfast back by an hour. So just do that for a week, do that for a couple of weeks and see how you feel. And then keep moving breakfast back until you're comfortable going 15 hours. And that's when you're starting to intermittently fast.
So making intermittent fasting as part of your daily routine is super, super simple just by pushing breakfast back an hour, pushing breakfast back an hour. And it's not about eating less in the eating window. It's about just condensing when you eat. So I still eat all three meals, but it's in a eight to nine hour window, depending on how long I'm fasting.
The only time I wouldn't recommend intermittent fasting is the week before your period because progesterone levels are beginning to rise and we don't want to put any more unnecessary stress onto our bodies. and usually you're really, really hungry at that time as well. And I definitely find I want to eat more. So I honor what my body wants and I don't intermittent fast. I may occasionally...
But generally that week leading up to my period, I will not fast and I feel better for it. But again, every woman is different. It's about listening to your body or working with a coach who can guide you through this. So the benefits of intermittent fasting are it improves memory. It can slow down the aging process. It helps to reverse insulin resistance, helps you lose weight, can reduce arthritis, can protect against Alzheimer's and dementia and increases your lifespan.
There's a lot of studies now going into intermittent fasting and the benefits, and that's just a handful. And especially women in perimenopause, seems to be something that they really thrive on. Now, like I said, this is a caveat. Every woman is different. It's not going to suit every woman. It's not going to suit everybody's lifestyles, but it's something that I would recommend trying to see if it suits you.
Holly Lamb (27:38.43)
It suits me, it suits a lot of my clients, but not everyone. And also the thing that I would, before you even get to intermittent fasting is getting your diet under control and eating the right foods. Because yes, you can intermittent fast and lose weight still by eating the other foods that you're eating, but you're not going to feel good. You need to be able to be fueling your body with the right food in order to feel at your best. And especially going into perimenopause, know, high protein.
healthy fats, eating lots of different fruits, vegetables, salad, and protecting your body and just nourishing it with everything that it really, really needs. And it's...
Holly Lamb (28:36.856)
So this would be where I would start. Start at the Mediterranean diet, start there and kind of work your way out from there. And if it's still really overwhelming, really confusing, then work with someone who knows what they're doing. You know, I do this on a daily basis with my clients. We work out what they need to be eating to fuel their bodies while they're exercising, while they're resting, intermittent fasting, whatever it is, this is what I help my clients do.
If you need extra support and guidance, then reach out to me. We can talk about working one -to -one together. and also if you're not quite ready for the coaching, then I would highly recommend you join my free, membership, which is women's soul circle. meet every Wednesday and we discuss different topics around perimenopause, exercise, nutrition, sleep, everything to do with lifestyle. And basically.
becoming the best version of you in this time of life. So all the information for everything is in the show notes and I hope this episode has been informative and you've got something from it. As always, I love feedback, so please drop me a message and let me know what your biggest takeaway was and feel free to share the episode if it's been of benefit to you. And thank you so much for joining this week and I will see you all next week.