FIRST Q&A: Your Top Questions Answered | Hormones, Fat Loss, Workouts & More

Hello everyone and welcome to this first Q&A. This was supposed to be a live call but I decided I'm going to film a video first with some questions that I've received and then next time we'll jump on a live Q&A call. So this is just sort of a trial and error thing. I've never actually done a Q&A before so this will be the first one and I'm also going to be posting this on my YouTube so if you're watching this on my YouTube, hello and I'm so glad you're here. Now if you want to remind don't show my face, that is one of the questions that is going to come up so I'll be answering that later on. So let's just jump straight into this. So we've got question one, how many meals do I eat in a day? Now if you see me looking this way I've written some notes so that I don't miss anything as I want to give you the most information as possible so if I'm facing this way I'm just looking at my screen so that I can give you all the info without missing anything. Number one, how many meals do I eat in a day? There's no magic number for this, it just depends on your lifestyle, hunger and goals. I eat two to three big meals, that just works for me better. I like having bigger meals, that way my digestion works better and I actually have time to properly digest the food because if I'm constantly snacking, constantly crazing on things, that digestion won't really sit in and that's not really good for my body either. And if you're struggling with having meals that fill you up and keep you going for five plus hours, you're probably not anchoring your meals around protein and nutrient-dense foods and you might also not be eating enough because if you're only eating little amounts of food and they're not really nutrient-dense, they're not going to keep you full for long. Personally, yeah, I just start with two to three large meals, sometimes I'll have three meals and a snack, it just depends on what I'm doing, how much I'm moving in my activity levels because if I'm moving a lot throughout the day I am using more energy, hence why I'm going to have to eat more to get that energy back and sustain my body. Question 2. Protein powder recommendations. Yes, protein powder is good and yes, I highly recommend using protein powder but we need whole food first. So that is whole food protein. So you can think of meat, you can think of eggs, you can think of fish, you can think of dairy and these are better because they have, well they're not better but they're what your main diet should be and protein powder shouldn't be replacing anything, it should just be adding onto your diet so you should never swap it out for something else, you can add it into your diet, it's like an addition. But again, I recommend having those things first. Now, if you are looking for a protein powder and personally I do use protein powder, you can go for, just look for something that's clean ingredients, so no gums, no fillers, zeroes or artificial sweeteners. Best options personally, well these are my opinions, this is basically all just my opinions but I recommend getting something like a grass-fed whey isolate if you can tolerate dairy. Again, if you can't, it's not going to be for you. If you are looking for a dairy-free alternative, I recommend something like beef isolate. My favourite brands for beef isolate are Prime Nutrition and then Ape Nutrition, that's what it's called, Prime and Ape Nutrition. Ape Nutrition has heaps of flavours, they're really nice, I really really like Ape Nutrition. Prime is also really good. So those are my two favourites and they're both beef isolate, meaning there's no whey, no soy, not anything that you don't want to put in your body. And if you are lactose intolerant, those are great options for you. If you can't tolerate dairy like I do, I also have whey protein powder, also works great. Also you can do collagen, but collagen is not a, it's different because it supports, it doesn't have the complete amino acid profile, so it supports, but it's not complete. And I always recommend that if you do decide to focus more on protein, which I think we all should, try to get protein that is more bioavailable and has a really good amino acid profile. Because not all protein is created equally. If for example we take plant protein and we take different sorts of protein and compare it with animal-based protein, they're different, yes, they're both protein, they may have the same grams per se, but the amino acid profile is also going to determine how our body can actually use it. Question three. Can I still eat carbs when balancing my blood sugar? Yes, you can. Carbs aren't the enemy, balance is the key. So when you eat carbs, for example, don't eat them on their own, you can pair them with protein and healthy fats to blunt the spike. So for example, if you are going to have some sweet potato, have some steak. Or if you're going to have some fruit, have some eggs on the side. So don't have those carbs on their own, unless that is your goal, because you're trying to get your blood sugar up. For example, when you want to do exercise, you want to have that energy spike, then that's different. But if you're not going to do that, then I wouldn't recommend it. What I would recommend is always having, if you know you're going to have a very carb-heavy meal, for example. So these are my three golden rules, I always tell these to all my women in my community. First, have apple cider vinegar diluted in a glass of water 30 minutes before your meal. Then start your meal with healthy fats and proteins, so that could be steak. And then after, you have your sweet potato or bread, for example. And then after your meal, you go for a digestive walk. That way your blood sugar stays more stable, and it's just adding these few things in, and changing the way, changing the order you eat your meal in, that makes a huge difference. I also want you to choose nutrient-dense carbs, so that could be fruit, root veggies, squash, rhoderi, and properly prepared grains, if you tolerate them. So again, timing matters. You can have your carbs post-workout, because your muscle will act like a sponge and soak it up. And evening carbs can also help for some people. Some people, like for me personally, they're not the best, because I tend to not sleep too well when I have carb-heavy dinners. But for some people, they can help with sleep, so you just have to see what works for your body. And again, the amount depends on activity, hormones, and personal response. So carbs aren't bad, they support thyroid, hormones, and recovery when used wisely. I know this is a lot, and you're like, but how do I know my thing? If you are trying to figure out what your carb tolerance is, or sort of where you're at, and where your standing point is, or you want to just know more about this, I do have a video called Blood Sugar 101. You can watch that video, that is also on my YouTube, if you want to see it for free. If you want to know even more, and you want to get all the resources, that is part of my Masterclass community, so there will be a link to this. If you're watching on the Masterclass, I mean, you're already in here. But if you're watching for the YouTube, there will be a link in the description that you can join if you want to. And again, on that community, we will have weekly Q&A calls. This is just like the first sort of draft situation of me recording myself answering your questions. Now, question number 4. Why don't you show your face? This is for personal reasons, first of all. I don't want to be an influencer, I don't want to have you associate me with the way I look, and sort of that type of aspect. And it's also personal reasons for just my safety. And I think it's not, it's just preference, and I want to focus on teaching you, and guiding you, and building your confidence. And the value here is in the knowledge and the coaching, not in what I look like, if that makes sense. It's really hard to describe why I do this, maybe in the future it will change, but at the moment, I will just keep it this way. For personal reasons, if you don't really like that, then I'm sorry, this is maybe not the channel or the community for you. If you're fine with it, great, I'd love to have you around, and I hope this doesn't bother you too much. What is your masterclass about? Well, my masterclass, if you're in the masterclass, you can just skip to the next question. But if you aren't part of your masterclass, it's a 5-module course, phases of metabolic repair to fat loss mastery. So, this covers hormones, gut health, personalized nutrition, sustainable fat loss, working out, traveling, toxic environments, just toxic things around you. There's so much we cover. It used to be a 5-week course, but since looking at all the resources I've made, and everything that I've done, and all the information, I've noticed that it's too much, and that will be overwhelming. So, it's just a 5-module course, you can go at your own pace. If you want to do it in 5 weeks, totally can. I wouldn't recommend it because you're changing your whole lifestyle. We're going from point A to point B, and we're not going to go like this, it's going to be a journey because we're changing your lifestyle. And I'm going to tell you right now, there is no end destination for this. The journey is the end destination, but I want to teach you how you can enjoy life. And when you go out, and you want to have results, and you want to feel good, there's a lot of different aspects, and that is what we cover. It's practical, it's science-backed, and it's designed for women who want the lasting results. This includes coaching, resources, and a community support, weekly Q&A calls, all these different things. Again, if you want to check it out, there will be a link in the description. If you don't want to check it out, that's fine. You can just subscribe to the channel. I have actually uploaded week 1 of the masterclass to this. This was the first half of week 1. I will be going back in and adapting all the videos as I go on, because there will be new things that I learn, there will be new resources that I make, and it will become better and better, and I will get feedback and sort of improve it. So what is uploaded right now, that is draft 1. And again, it will just improve over the time. Question 6. How often do you work out? Generally, I try to work out four to five times a week. I do upper body, and I do lower body. So two times upper body, two times lower body. That's how I do it. That is strength sessions, plus my daily walking and movement. I also go on hikes. I also like doing Pilates. I also like doing yoga. I do daily stretching as well, and mobility work, just so that I can keep my joints nice and healthy. Now this, I do like strength sessions, and I really like it. But because I am a female, and I have different hormones, I do have to go with my cycle alignment. So when I'm on my follicular phase, that is after your period, that is ovulation, I have higher energy, and my recovery is better. Hence is why I can do heavier workouts and more intense workouts. When I'm on my ovulation phase, this is peak strength. Like this is when I'm at my strongest. This is time for PRs, heavy lifts, and if you want to do HIIT, you can do HIIT. I'm personally not a huge fan of it. It just stresses my body out too much. Not really that good for me. I may do some sprints at this time. This is some great time to do some sprints. Sprints can be very beneficial. Just got to know when to do them with your hormones. And then after you have your luteal phase, this is after your ovulation and before your period. This is where your energy dips and recovery slows. You've got low intensity, more moderate lifting, and you focus on form. So that is when you sort of slow down, you can start incorporating more Pilates and lighter workouts, and more walking and hiking. And in menstrual phase, this is my optional deload. So just walking, mobility, and lighter training if I feel like doing it. If I just feel like going on walks, stretching, and doing that, that's totally fine because I know my hormones are different, and I know my body's going to act different, and I don't want to stress it out. And this is a reminder that psychosyncing isn't about doing less. It's just about working with your psychology to maximize results and avoid burnout. Rest is part of training. So progress comes from recovery and consistency. A lot of people always think that rest is... they feel bad about it because we're in the society where we have to be go go go. It's not. We need to rest our body as well as our mind, and I just want to remind you rest is part of it all. And then question seven. So this is actually the last question. And this one is, how do I lose fat fast? I hate this question because it doesn't work. As someone who's had an ED, if you want to know my whole story and my whole journey, there is also a video on that. I'm not going to cover it in this. But as someone who has had an... yep, who has struggled with this, who has had to gain weight back because I was... I don't like this question because I was in the exact same boat. I thought, how do I lose fat the fastest? How do I become the smallest version? But it's not a fast journey and it's not sustainable. If it happens fast, it's not sustainable. So what I want you to do... and also the smallest version of you, I need to remember this. Okay, you need to remember this. The smallest version of you may not be the healthiest version of you. The same went for me. Health and being small are not the same thing. Someone can be small but still be metabolically unhealthy. So there's a difference. So what I want you to do is focus on metabolic repair, biological balance, protein intake and strength training. If you do these things, you will see a shift. If you are overweight, you will see a shift in starting to lose fat and starting to lose weight and also feeling better. Yes, there is the way we look and what we weigh but I don't really count weight because body composition, if you have more muscle, less fat, you're going to weigh more. So I want you to focus on your energy, on the way you're close to it, on how you feel. Those are all non-progress trackers that we can look at. And when you look at quick fixes, they lead to that yo-yo cycle. So you restrict. Yes, you lose weight. But guess what? You also gain back the weight later on because you start to binge and restrict. We don't want to get into that cycle. So we want to build habits and we want to change our lifestyle so that we do lose weight and if that is our goal, I have no problem with that. Or if we just want to be healthy, whatever your goal is and you want to get there, focusing on basic things to change your lifestyle will get you because small things add up and that is going to be the big change rather than doing a big change for a small period of time, if that makes sense. So true, fast doesn't work. You need to heal your metabolism so that actually sticks. If you, again, want to have a more in-depth look into this, you can check my masterclass. But you can also just check out my YouTube channel because I will be posting more videos. And if you have any questions on anything I've talked about in this video, I know it's pretty short and I didn't want to go too into depth on everything because I didn't want to overload you. So it'll probably be like a 10-minute video, I'd say. It's not going to be too long, it's not going to be too short. I just wanted to sort of come in here, say a few things and I hope that that has answered some of your questions. If you have any more questions or you want to know anything, you can always just drop them in the comments, you can DM me on Instagram, you can put them if you're watching this in a community, put them in there, ask a coach, Q&A thing. And yeah, I hope that all made sense. I'll see you all in my next video and yeah, I hope you have a lovely day!