Women Perform Best in a FED state

feed yourself before being active!

This is likely a hard one for most females. But it’s true. But first, let’s talk about what does “perform” mean?

Specifically, it means to act on purpose. In athletes it means to carry out their physical task which may be a triathlon, it might be cycling, running, or volleyball or whatever sport/activity a person chooses.

It’s true, women perform best in a fed state. This means eating before the event so that the event is performed in a fed state.

Now, what about those women I know who are performing but not performing in an organized event? Do they count in this conversation? YOU BET!

Who am I talking about though?

I’m talking about your average female who stays active on purpose whether it be at the gym, outside, in her home during an online fitness class, that female who shows up regularly for fitness classes at the local YMCA.

I’m also talking about those women who are constantly busy running kids around, cooking, cleaning and managing a well managed household!

YES! That counts as being active and performing as well!

Because what happens when you don’t eat or rest and you just keep going and going all day? You BURN OUT!

If women learn to fuel for their day better, we’d have a lot stronger, more leaner, and clear thinking women!

As it stands now, I see so many unhappy with their bodies, complaining about their mid sections, feeling run down, starving themselves because it MUST be that they’re eating too much!

It’s so hard for me to watch after 17 years. I guess I thought I’d have helped everyone change by now! LOL

The truth is, it’s getting harder for females because not only are they not fully informed how the body actually works, they are being fed commercials galore on medications and starvation diets.

This IS HARD for me to watch! We were not meant to DIET! We were not meant to be on medication! We were not meant to be so confused.

I love that I help women start at step one, what is the overall big picture you want for yourself!

We start there and then I help them learn to fuel for their acitivity! Once they start feeling so strong and energetic, they see a whole new world available to them.

HERE IS THE SCARIEST part of what I do… most women do not even know just how miserable they feel because it’s become so commonplace for themselves and so many other women. It takes kind of tricking them into this space about their bodies and once they feel it, they almost always are hooked on wanting to chase being strong and clear!

I’m going to venture that men also perform better in a fed state but this article is specific to women and let me tell you why I like to point out specifics about women.

Because all the studies that we’ve been hearing about for years regarding fitness and health were done on men! I’m so thankful for Dr. Stacy Sims who has spent her life researching and studying women and their menstrual cycles as well as menopause. She’s been able to share this information and all the differences that a females body has compared to a males body.

For example, after vigorous exercise, womens bodies do not cool down in the same way as mens. If you’d like to read more about the difference between men and womens bodies regarding heat and exercise CLICK HERE to go to her blog!

With all that said, I wish for all women to think about fueling for their activities of the day as opposed to starving themselves during the day just because they find it easier to not eat while staying busy. Use the evening when you’re winding down to avoid eating! You’ll feel so much more clear the next morning!

To LOG calories or NOT LOG calories…

Reputable trainers and coaches will tell you that you can have success NOT logging calories and that it’s just not necessary.  

Reputable trainers and coaches will also tell you that you SHOULD log calories for this and that reason.

I agree.  

I know plenty of people who manage their weight withOUT logging calories and I know plenty of people who HAVE to manage their weight by logging their calories.

The majority of my clients log their calories.  It’s easy for me to spot a client that will need to log their calories.  

This client will struggle with managing their training recovery.  They’ll wonder why small tweaks and twinges haunt them even though they’re doing all the right things such as strength, stretch, water and eating.

What they don’t realize is that they “think” they’re getting enough calories because they feel full or don’t feel hungry is the usual excuse.  But once I ask them to log for several days it’s easy to see it’s not enough calories and/or not enough at a certain time of day.

Many times they think that because they’re overweight they should eat a lot less. 

Truth is…the bigger you are, the more you’ll need to make sure you’re fueling your activity properly.

In the end, it comes down to your personality type, your habits and your knowledge of your own body and how it works.

Here is why I have the majority of my clients log.

Most of them have never known what really goes in their body.  They also have little to no knowledge of what a calorie is or where it comes from.  Next, they rarely know just how much their body needs these calories and why.

I also have many clients who deal with behavioral issues and eating.  Which means that logging calories allows them to manage the calories in a way that they don’t always have to give up certain foods, making weight management much easier.

Becoming knowledgeable about caloric needs for the human body is a must if a healthy and strong body is desired.

What about you?  Are you someone who can manage your weight “appropriately” without logging or do you log your calories?