The Menopause Show with Sue Moxley – Amanda Place, Fitness and Diet Expert for Menopausal Women

Hi, my name is Sue Moxley. This is Women's Radio Station. Please follow us on social media, Instagram, Women's Radio Station, STN abbreviated, and on Facebook and YouTube, Women's Radio Station. It really helps us and gets the word out there. This is my brand new show, The Menopause Show. So if you're suffering, you're not having a very good time, finding it really hard, we will have experts on here to help you navigate your way through it. My first guest is Amanda. Are you there, Amanda? Oh, hi. So I'm going to let you introduce yourself, um, and tell everyone exactly what it is that you do and then how, you know, how you help women with going through the menopause and your, your diet, um, books, etc., etc., and your, your workouts that you work out exactly for, uh, ladies going through the menopause. So, um, yeah, over to you. Yeah, thank you so much. So, um, as you mentioned, I'm Amanda Place and I'm a health coach for women that specializes in weight loss and body transformation, but included in that is helping them overcome menopause. So a lot of my clients that I do work I work with are either perimenopausal or menopausal or are now kind of post-menopause and getting back into a better health and fitness routine. I also do group fitness classes as I'm an instructor and a personal trainer. And so basically I help women optimize their health without the overwhelm as well as severe restrictions or any fad diet. So with my clients, I kind of do a range of services from one-to-one health coaching, um, as well as the personal training. And then I have an online fitness membership, uh, program that has live and on-demand classes. So you can kind of take them anytime, anywhere, no matter what your fitness abilities are. And then kind of with products that I have, I have recipe ebooks as well as supplements that are all created to support women on their journey to better health. Wow. Amazing. So did you, did you lose weight yourself? I saw at some point. Yes, I did. So about 3 years ago, it's been actually now. So believe it or not, during the pandemic, I lost 3.5 stone. So I went from 12 stone, just over 12 stone 5 to around like 9 stone, 9 stone 5. And I did it all without restricting my foods or going on a crazy workout diet. Previously, when I did, you know, try to lose weight, I was definitely a veteran yo-yo dieter. Before the age of 18, I was pretty much on any diet you can think of. For those of you who can't tell my accent, I'm from Canada, so we have some different diets out there. So rather than Slimming World, I was on things like Weight Watchers, SlimFast, Atkins, Isagenix. I even tried veganism for weight loss, which definitely don't recommend doing that. The weight loss pills, severe calorie restriction, even skipping meals, and basically kind of any product like those sculpting creams, stomach shrinking wraps, you name it, I kind of tried it. Done it all. Done it all. Veteran, especially at a young age as well. But, and I think it's really down to when I started doing competitive dance at a really young age, I definitely was kind of exposed to that toxic diet culture pretty early on. And really on this time around when the pandemic happened, there was definitely two bands that kind of people went to. It was because no matter what, no matter what you're doing or where you lived, your routine and what you're used to completely got put upside down. And I think for some of us, it either went into one way where we kind of lost that fitness routine, kind of put our healthy eating to the wayside or kind of our nutrition to the wayside. And kind of ourselves to the wayside because we had the kids at home, we had to work from home, we had all these other stressors, or we used those stressors and took that time to really change your lifestyle and use your nutrition and fitness as a healthier— and build a healthy relationship with it, which is exactly what I did. So, I was still stressed, still kind of living from home, didn't know what to do, but instead I channeled it into creating a better lifestyle for myself and Yeah, I've now 3 years later, still kept it off and I still, you know, go out to eat. I still enjoy that birthday cake when it's my birthday and my friends' birthdays. I do barbecues. Yeah, go into London, you know, have nights out and everything. But I've really mastered kind of that eating with moderation and that you can achieve that healthier lifestyle with yourself without kind of the negative connotations that go with it. Wow. So yeah, I've been a yo-yo dieter my whole life as well. And I think that the COVID when we was all at home because of the COVID it definitely affected me negatively because it's hard when you're not seeing anybody or you don't have to go out. It's hard because you think, well, you know what, no one's going to see me. It doesn't matter if I have another cake or you know, 5 ice creams out of the fridge or something. So the fact that you did it in that time is quite like, it's quite admirable, really, because lots of people got depressed and didn't have the energy, did they, or the mindset to go out and exercise and get fit. But well done to you. Thank you. And yeah, when it comes down to that, like you said, negatively, it definitely affected me, you know, negatively, maybe in different ways as well. I think the biggest key in what I realized when, you know, in my own journey and working with my clients and even going— them going through the menopause, when you go through that as well, is that kind of your habits change or kind of things change and your routines change. If you remember when the pandemic first happened, it was a complete shock to the system. Didn't know what to do. We had to adapt to the new normal, but it lasted for so long that the new normal was now our new routine, our new habits. And when everything started opening back up, Then again, it was a shock to the system. Again, like you said, Hannah, you did eat that cake and people wouldn't notice, and you did kind of wear your joggers at work on the desk, and once you were done eating dinner at home and stuff like that. And once we had to go back out again, still shock to the system thing. Whoa, okay, now I have to retrain both my kind of brain and body to it. And it's a lot harder, a lot harder than we, the kind of the society tells us to believe, really. Definitely don't feel alone in that. And as I said, clients have gone through it as well. But there is steps you can take where to kind of fix that and really focus on your lifestyle rather than the aesthetic bit as well. I think that was the difference when I did it this time and this final time is instead of focusing on the aesthetics of it or how I looked or what people perceived of me, it really— I wanted it for my health and to make myself happier and to actually be more mobile and have more energy. And it was all those things were the leading factors rather than just the weight loss. In the end, the weight loss just kind of became the extra, the added benefit. A bonus. The weight loss was a bonus. Yeah. Yeah. And I get that from clients all the time. They obviously come to you for weight loss in the beginning. And then once we're at the end, they almost always say, it's actually the weight loss was just the added bonus. Now I have all these other things that I actually prioritize more and I want to keep those. And the weight is great and I know I'll keep it off or, or, you know, eliminate my symptoms like the hot flashes and, and, you know, all that kind of stuff. But yeah, it's definitely a switch that is worth taking. Why do you think that fitness is so good for your mental health? What does it actually do to your brain that helps you and makes you feel better? Yeah, so kind of if we get into the, I guess, scientific aspect of it, When you do exercise, it does release what we call happy hormones. So think of your endorphins, you know, dopamine that, so that stimulates anytime you do, so when you do eat that sugar or when you get into things like, you know, even addictive behaviors like drinks and drugs and that kind of stuff, it releases dopamine, that feel-good hormone which makes us want to do it again. When you exercise, it releases those exact same things. So that's why, especially when you're kind of going through maybe any negative experiences or kind of health challenges, Keeping that from the mental health perspective really does make a difference. And you're going to experience, you know, all those same things, euphoria, you're going to feel a lot better. And also too, from an identity perspective, it's showing to yourself that you actually are doing something for yourself. You're taking charge of your health, taking charge of your health and, and seeing the positive benefits from it, which likely helps you continue to do it. Yeah, definitely. So, so what you said earlier, which I found quite interesting, you don't recommend a vegan diet. Why is that? Is it because you, you know, you have to eat a lot of carbs when it— when you're doing a vegan diet, maybe? When I say, yeah, for the vegan, just for the using— I have lots of vegan friends. I said I did it for a bit. Well, the reason why I did it was just for the weight loss perspective, because when you do— not to say that veganism is not good, you know, for the environment, definitely a good approach to eat more plant-based foods. I definitely I definitely do as well. Even to this day, I usually only typically when I do eat meat, it's usually just fish now and maybe chicken, turkey here and there, but I don't really do red meat anymore. Um, and so when it comes to veganism for those, for those ethical reasons, religious reasons, any of that, totally, you know, valid. And, um, and definitely with the sustainability of the world, it's definitely beneficial thing to include more vegan meals in your diet. But from the weight loss perspective, don't recommend because it's actually just another form of restrictive eating. So whatever diet you do, whether it's veganism, whether it's keto, whether it's paleo, the common theme is always you're taking something out of the diet. And when it comes to veganism, you're eliminating all, you know, animal products, even when it comes to cheese and eggs and all that. And when I first did it, so when I was in my teenage years, that's been over 10 years ago now, it's— there wasn't as many, you know, plant-based options out there in the supermarkets. There wasn't as many, you know, all these alternatives that we have today. So it really, really restricted you. Basically, when you went to a, you know, a restaurant, you could just have salad, like no dressings, no cheese, all that kind of stuff. So in a way, subconsciously looking back at it, that was another way for me to cut out foods. And when you restrict foods, if you need to for health reasons, that's one thing. But if you're doing it just for the sake of restricting is where it gets a bit problematic and a bit tricky, because anytime you restrict anything, whether it's your diet, actually even in life, but to put it in the diet perspective, let's say you tell yourself, "I'm not gonna, like, do not eat cake. I'm restricting all cake. I'm never eating it again." From a psychological perspective, your brain doesn't actually register the "do not" part. It only registers the verb. So if you can ever go back to a time where you told yourself you weren't gonna have something, so going back to that cake example, If you tell yourself that, I guarantee you the next time whether a cake shows up on a menu somewhere or it's a birthday or even just right away, your brain's gonna be thinking, "Oh, I really want that cake." The more you restrict yourself from something, the more you're gonna crave it. And then you're just using very valid mental or valuable mental capacity spending this time just obsessing over this piece of cake and then eventually, you'll probably give into it. And then you're going to eat it, probably overindulge because it's something that you told yourself you can't have and now you've allowed yourself. You're going to think, "OK, I can't have it after this, so let's make the most of it and eat it." And then you feel guilty and then you— then that vicious cycle continues where you're saying, "OK, I need to restrict." Then you do, then you crave, you eat, overindulge, feel guilty, and we just keep going around and around and around. And that's where it gets a bit difficult. And again, with the mental health perspective, for the nutrition side of things, really can affect us and also kind of diminishes our relationship with food. Because when it comes to food, you know, it's not like with, you know, drink or even shopping or something like that where we can just stop doing it, right? We don't need to drink alcohol to survive, but we do need food to survive, and it's going to be in, you know, in our faces and we need to have it. But really kind of relearning that food is not the enemy. It's what the kind of emotions you put towards it and the labels you put yourself on it. So when you're restricting, you're kind of saying, OK, this is good, that is bad. When actually, if we just keep the food neutral because it's not doing anything to us, it's not being angry at us, you know, it's not, it's not hurting us or anything like that. It's the way we feel towards it and the labels we put on it is what's making us have a bad relationship with it. Okay. I mean, I'll be, I'll be absolutely honest with you. I do have a kind of slight— well, not a slight— I do have an eating disorder I think was, was brought on by the menopause. Well, I know it was brought on by the menopause because up until the age of 50, I could eat anything I wanted, to be honest with you. Most, you know, I was very, very slim and I didn't really have to worry about it. Um, you know, I couldn't eat, you know, forever and ever, but I could basically eat what I wanted. I think I must have had a good metabolism. I was very busy as well, so that kept off calories, I'm sure. But yes, I think I started to put on weight from the menopause, which is something that never really had happened to me, um, in my whole life. You know, I had lots of friends that that had had to restrict. My best friend, she had CELAs her whole life. She was so strict. I don't know how, like you've just said, but I think she trained herself to do that for so long. Yeah. She's just used to it. But so what happened? I'd started to restrict, like you've just said, and I wasn't used to it and never had to do it. And then suddenly I would just start bingeing and I couldn't stop. And it was always sweet things, never anything else. You know, cakes, ice cream, whatever, whatever. But it became a habit. And the habit has gone on for like on and on, really, for quite a long time, you know, 8 to 10 years. I go through stages where I feel, I feel like I'm, you know, I'm okay and I'm back in. I shouldn't say control because it's not a good word, is it? But, but what happens to me, though, Amanda, is, you know, you said about having the piece of cake and allowing yourself to have that. It opens a bit of a floodgate with me. Like, if I have the one piece of cake, I find it really hard to just have that one piece. I mean, what's your advice on that? Yeah, so a couple of things. I guess kind of the question is, so when you do allow yourself to have the cake, for say, before that, are you still telling yourself kind of secretly, I shouldn't be having it, or I'm not allowed to have it? Or are you telling yourself fully that actually it's part of my, you know, I'm allowed to have it at any point? Maybe I'm probably still thinking I shouldn't be eating this. Yeah, yeah. So as soon as we put any type, again, labeling it of the good and the bad, you could act— if you, if you had your calories, you know, right, you could eat, let's say, 1,200 calories in cake a day and you'd actually lose weight. But obviously from the health perspective— send me the recipe. So yeah, you could, because if you're in your calorie intake for the day, then, or like less than that. So let's say your calorie intake for the day is 1,500 calories. If you eat 1,200 calories or even 1,000 calories of cake in a day, then you'll actually lose about like, you know, probably half a kg a week, which is okay, woohoo, that's great, but you're gonna have serious energy crashes. You're gonna have a super kind of sugar high, then you're gonna slump and feel groggy the rest of the day. Your body composition probably won't look that great. Your muscle mass will decrease. You might get— yes, you might, you know, lose some inches, but it's gonna go more towards like more fat all around. You're just not going to feel that comfortable. You might even be more irritable because again, that sugar, those energy levels are constantly fluctuating. So that's just to show you again that it's not the food that's the cause. It's kind of, you know, what you're eating and then how it's making you feel. But then your attitude towards the food is kind of the culprit. So when kind of going forward, rather than say, okay, this is good, that is bad, just know that you're going to have it at some point in your life. And a really good ratio that I like to I practice myself still to this day, and I tell always my clients, is an 80/20 ratio. So doing 80% of the time of healthy eating to 20% of the time to non-healthy eating. You can also apply this to anything, you know, in your life, even with fitness, right? Example, like 80% of the time you're having step counts, right? Hit that 10,000 step count a day. And the other 20% is a bit more flexible. So if we look at that into a week, If you're doing, you know, kind of that 5 days of doing kind of healthy eating and you're really kind of practicing in moderation, and then that 20% can go towards if you have a nice meal out, you know, with your family or with some girlfriends, a birthday party, even, you know, or just, yeah, having a bit, just not eating, you know, completely perfect. That's when you have that one piece of cake, right? But then, you know, because in the, in the long scheme of things, what I practice is It's what you do the majority of the time that counts, and consistency is really the key. Because also as well, if you cut that cake as well for, you know, let's say years and years and years, and then you do have that once, 5 years later, then you do have that piece of cake, your body's going to go again into shell shock and be like, "What the heck is going on?" And if you're restricting on top of that as well, then you're already, if your body's already in a starvation mode, it's going to do whatever it can to keep, like, to kind of store those calories in because your body's always trying to keep you alive. It's not working against you. It's actually always working for you. So when you are restricting, and if it's severely, when you do go back to your normal calories or you have something that you're not used to or that's kind of really unhealthy, it's going to go, whoa, it's going to kind of bring the lights, get the hormones into action, get those enzymes and kind of keep what it can too, because it's not sure when you're going to get this again. And then you keep it. And then again, the cycle continues. So going forward, really just think, and anyone listening out there, that 80/20 rule, it's kind of a perfect thing. So yeah, the majority of the time, keep it, you know, kind of practice the moderation, enjoy the healthy eating. But if you know in your mind and going forward that you have that bit devoted to, yeah, if I have a meal out, if I have that bit, if I have that one dessert out of the week, it's not going to completely derail my progress. And maybe sometimes it will be 70/30, and then on good weeks it will be 90/10, right? The key thing is, it's that the majority of the time is on a kind of healthier, healthier track. So your advice really is that the best thing to do is to have like a good relationship with the food, not a bad relationship. Say to yourself, Nothing is off limits. And, you know, I can have it. Unlike me, who says I shouldn't be having it. And therefore, yeah, it's the wrong way. So need to have a better relationship with food. Yeah. And kind of giving yourself that freedom. If you notice anything in your life, when you ever restrict yourself or ever kind of, yeah, don't give you freedom to do something, you just want to do it do it more. Where, and then when you're allowed to have it, then what you brought, you brought up a point about control and not having a good word. But as humans, we do, we do like to have control. So when you have that freedom, again, you have, you have that control. When you're putting all these restrictions and stuff, anytime when things don't go your way, we feel out of control. And then usually we try to get that control back, which is then when, you know, eating the cake or kind of binge eating occurs. The more freedom you give yourself, the more actual control you have. And then when you do actually choose to enjoy something that you don't always have, like that piece of cake, you're actually going to enjoy it rather than bingeing on it and feeling really, really poorly after. And then, you know, and then not wanting it again. It becomes kind of tasteless when you, when you, you know, you eat one piece of cake and it's amazing and, you know, your senses are kind of heightened, but then you carry on and you carry on. And in the end, it's like what? It doesn't even taste the same now. Do you know what I mean? It's like, um, why am I doing this? Uh, why do I carry on? But yeah, you've explained why, so that's really good. And hopefully, um, our listeners will, will take note of that as well. Um, so tell me, I know that you do help women that are going through the menopause or they're perimenopausal, um, and that you have clients and you, you walk them through it and help them through it. Tell me what it is you would do. Um, say, yeah, say, say it was me, you know, it was at the beginning of my menopause and I'd started to put on weight and I'd noticed changes. Um, what's, what's your advice? What would you say is the best way forward? Yeah. And so in your case, and anyone that I work with, it is all personalized because even with menopause not every woman experiences the same type of symptoms. So some kind of breeze through it. I haven't met many like that though, but some, you know, there's that very kind of few that breeze through it. The majority don't. And then even when it comes to the range of symptoms, everyone is completely different. So sometimes, you know, some get, you know, not too bad hot flashes and some people can't even, you know, some women can't even sleep on it because their hot flashes are so bad. They're, you know, the hormone change or their hormone fluctuations are all over. Their moods are just, they can't predict anything. Their joints are starting to hurt, the fatigue are at record highs. It's all type of different. So usually when the clients, you know, contacts me and if you contacted me and wanted to work with me to really kind of sort this out, I would kind of onboard you and actually find out, you know, what those symptoms are, what you're going through, and also what your kind of your nutrition knowledge is and what you've experienced. So, and maybe find out, yeah, what's your relationship with food in the past. So Have you been on any diets? Have you— what has your kind of food journey been up to this point? Has it changed on the menopause? Have you had any disordered eating or your— and what kind of foods you like or don't like, as well as any conditions you might have or dietary restrictions that require you to, you know, have certain food items out of your diet. I'd also find out as well what you're doing with your fitness routine. So did you— what have you done in the past? Are you still exercising regularly? Even not even exercise. Sometimes people get kind of Triggered by that word, but just movement, right? So even if you're doing any type of movement, or are you just, you know, sitting at the desk all day long and you're mentally exhausted? So when you're done and eat your dinner, you plop on that couch and you're watching the telly till 11 o'clock at night and then barely sleep because of the hot flashes. Then you're back up at 7 AM. I'd find out kind of what point you're starting at and what you've done in the past. Then I can make you a personalized program of how we go moving forward. Now in the broad kind of, I think in the majority of cases, the women that come to me and they're on menopause, they get really discouraged because they actually did have a, it's not that they've had a good routine in the past or they've kind of, you know, yo-yoed, it kind of ebbs and flows based on their experiences that happened in their life, whether there was kids, you know, kind of big moves, different change in jobs, etc. And then they come to me because whether they're experienced, they're getting going, starting to go through in the perimenopause, or they've hit the menopause and they felt like they're hit by a ton of bricks and everything's just gone to the wayside. And they usually come to me like really frustrated as well as almost kind of like their last chance. They just don't know what to do. The doctors are kind of failing them. They're not being heard. That's the biggest thing as well. They're just not heard. And I think it's actually amazing the kind of— I think Davina McCall had a really good kind of movement on this, actually, at least in the UK, with kind of showing of, hey, like, menopause is a thing. Half of the population go through it. We need to be seen. We need to be heard. We want to understand what's going on. And I think in the last few years, that's been a really good job of doing this. And that's great that, you know, on this radio that you have a section, a time just for menopause, because women do want to hear it. And they always come to me, clients, saying, yeah, just no one understands me. Especially if they're in relationships. A lot of the time their husbands or boyfriends or common law just think that they're going crazy and that something wrong with them. And it's not. It's just their body is changing and we need to come out with a sympathetic and even some compassion towards it and just know that there is another side to it. And so once I find all this out and what you've done and also what you're ready to do as well. So I have clients come to me, they say, I can't commit to 5 workouts a week and meal prepping every single meal of the day. That's absolutely fine. I would start you off with just, you know, one, whether it's a workout or even just like a 30-minute walk a week, right? It's starting simple. It's starting easy. And same with the meals. If you don't have time, we'll make it 5 ingredients or less. Make it as simple as possible. Or if you're out working in the city and you only have, you know, certain shops nearby you, I'd kind of look into those shops and see what are the best options. And figure out kind of the best plan from there. And coming out on the other side, the biggest change is, like I've mentioned, is as long as I keep it simple as well as keep it enjoyable and adapt it to their lifestyle, then it's a game changer. Because any time I make— or not even myself, but I find when in the culture and kind of if you look at all, you know, the recipe books and even the workout plans and stuff and the apps and everything, it can be especially on the the larger scale companies, it's very cookie cutter, you know, and it's, and it's not personalized to them. So I could give you, you know, 5 workouts a week of high intensity interval training and maybe some spin and maybe some strength training. But if you've one, never done it and also actually don't enjoy doing it, you're not gonna, it's not gonna stick, right? It's just, it's not, our time is so valuable, especially now. We're just getting busier and busier and busier. I don't know one person, whether you're a stay-at-home mom or you're a corporate lawyer or you're an entrepreneur or even if you're a grandmother, anything like that, doesn't matter where you are, you are busy and your time is the most valuable thing. And if you're doing something that you don't view as a valuable use of your time, you're just not going to do it. So when I do Make Your Plan, it's always to start as simple. I want my clients to say, This is so easy. I could definitely do it. And I've had that sometimes. They kind of look at me like two heads, like, it's that easy? Like, are you sure you can't give me more? I say, perfect. That's the point. Because I know for a fact that you're going to do it and you'll likely do more, which then kind of ticks that box of that achievement of thinking, yep, I can do this. I'm improving my identity. I'm taking control of my health and my menopause, and I'm actually going to overcome it. And live a healthier lifestyle coming out of it. Amazing. So tell me, do you— is there a particular food that you do think is bad for the menopause, or— and is there a particular food that is good? Just interested what— yeah, you know, what foods you would recommend, um, menopausal women to eat or— and not to eat. Yeah, so I think, yes, when it comes to eating and kind of restricting, and not that we're banning any foods, but obviously if it's affecting you, then definitely limit it or enjoy it in moderation. So actually foods to have, and I actually, when it comes to cycle syncing, there's actually different exercises and foods as well that you incorporate based on your cycle. Now going on to the menopause bit, obviously your hormones, even though you're eventually gonna stop menstruating and there's still hormone changes. So you're kind of basically for a long time in that menstrual phase and then it just kind of stays there. So with those types of foods, um, you want to help kind of balance that decrease in your estrogen and progesterone. So really kind of anti-inflammatory foods are great as well as anything rich in kind of antioxidants. Um, so example of those, so omega-3 foods are, um, exemplary anti-inflammatory foods. Now, if you don't know what omega-3s is, basically that's the scientific term for anti-inflammatory, which, um, again, decreases the inflammation in your body. And, um, when it comes to hormone changes, it also kind of regulates, um, that as well and make sure everything's functioning properly. The opposite of that is inflammatory foods, which is called omega-6s. Now, when we do still need inflammatory foods and we actually do need inflammation in small doses. Because if you want to think of example, when we get injured, so let's say you get a paper cut, right, right away when you get that paper cut, yes, you'll start to bleed. But then a couple of days later, you'll notice it starts to scab over. That's the inflammatory response working its magic. So it's repairing your body. So we still need, do need those types of foods to help us with that., but we don't want it in large amounts. And with our Western diet, it's actually— we're about at a ratio of 16:1 of inflammatory foods to anti-inflammatory foods. Now to keep you at good hormone levels, you actually want a 3:1 ratio of anti-inflammatory foods to inflammatory. So see how we're completely kind of out of kilter there. Now example of those anti-inflammatory foods to include more in your diet. Think of like fatty fish. So a good kind of acronym I like to use is SMASH. So that's salmon, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, and herring. So any of those kind of fish, really good. Avocado oil, olive oil, avocados, kind of nuts and seeds. Those are all really, really good. You can also get that cod liver oil. I remember back when I was a teenager, that was the thing of take your, you know, your fish oils. Obviously you're vegan, you won't do that, but they do have vegan ones now, which is through algae. So like, so kind of aloe and algae, they have those options. But think of those types of foods as well as whole foods as well. So when you're having those whole fruits, whole vegetables, whole grains as well. So think of your kind of quinoa, your couscous, sweet potato as well is really good. And so basically if it's not packaged, then, and it's kind of, it comes in the store, you know, those outer aisles of the store where it actually comes with the whole food. Those are kind of the typical good foods to go for. And so when we want to limit those inflammatory foods, think of things with trans fats, so those deep fried things, those kind of high fat, so those really kind of hot, those all butter biscuits, that really kind of hot, those really buttery cakes, those creamy cakes, as well as even red meat and pork, but in really high volumes. So you can still eat your pork and red meats, But just maybe minimize it just a little bit because those, um, pork and red meat do have higher amounts of saturated fats, which means higher omega-6s. So you can still have it because we do need that response, but just in lesser volumes because if you're eating a lot of that, then it just builds up. So if you do choose to eat those types of foods, um, do it kind of once or twice a week. So again, it fits right in that 80 to 20 ratio. Yeah. And surely sugar, sugar is that, and that must be inflammatory. Yeah, yeah, so those, so the refined sugars, there's kind of a difference. So yeah, so in those biscuits, yeah, those refined sugars. So obviously in fruits, there, I know that we kind of, sugar gets a bad rap, right? Especially when they brought that article out of it's addicting as, you know, cocaine and all that stuff where, but really sugar, there is sugar in, you know, fruits and even in some of our vegetables as well. It is, and in carbohydrates too. And that's okay. Our body is used to processing that. It can handle that. It's when the comp— the kind of the food companies have obviously kind of engineered, they purposely engineered to make these new kind of refined, you know, biscuits and crisps and all that really, really palatable because how they make money is that you eat more of it. So again, back to those packaged things. So yeah, like you said, those sugary kind of cakes cakes, biscuits, treats, all that stuff also has omega-6s in it. And so yeah, just limit it. But again, don't ban it. It's just really just being more aware of your, aware of your food choices. And even from, aside from the weight loss standpoint of, and even without the, for the hormone changes, just from the mental health aspect as well, and those energy levels, the fatigue, even the joint and muscle pains you may experiencing. Eating more of those wholesome foods is actually going to positively affect those. You're probably gonna, you know, have less joint pain, have less muscle pain. Um, your body composition will improve as well. Um, you'll be able to keep that muscle mass also. So with protein, protein's a big one too. So really increasing that protein because as you go through the menopause, your estrogen levels are plummeting and estrogen is the key hormone in, um, helping vitamin D in bone kind of maintenance and absorption for those bone cells. So if you're not supplementing that with your food, then your muscle mass is decreasing, your bone density is decreasing. And obviously when you get to, you know, your 60s and 70s is when you really get into the risk of osteo, you know, arthritis, osteoporosis, etc. So in addition to, you know, those healthy, those healthy fats, and those anti-inflammatory foods, think of the protein as well. So your chicken, your turkey, fish, fish is the best because it's really, it gets your highest protein source for the lowest calorie amount. So that's really, really good and fills you up for longer as well. And again, you can still have, you know, your red meats like your lamb and your beef and kind of your pork as well, but just minimize it just a little bit. If you're going to prioritize, stick to those lean, lean white meats and those fish. Okay, okay, excellent. Put me, put me right on this one as well. So my favorite fruit is mango, and then the other day I read that mango, I know it's a natural sugar, but it's the highest in the natural sugars. So is that going to make a difference if I am trying to lose weight? You know, I know berries, they say to eat berries because they are are, you know, the lower in the fruit sugars. What do you think of mango, by the way? Yeah, so when it comes to mango, or even fruits in general, because obviously they're the biggest sugar source, and what that actually comes down to when they're saying there's a high sugar content, in kind of scientific terms, it means that it has a high glycemic index. Now, if you don't know what a glycemic index is, basically scientists put together the kind of food food nutritionists and dietitians put together an index of the kind of, yeah, amounts of sugars and the glycemic index in foods. And the higher the number, basically the quicker the glucose from those foods gets absorbed into your bloodstream. So think of, so with the mango, if it's a bit higher, which makes sense because it has a higher sugar content, basically when you eat that mango, The quicker it goes into your bloodstream, the quicker it gets digested. But then that also means kind of the— how do I put it— your hunger levels, you might get hungry a little bit quicker. But it's not just with fruits per se. So that's also with those— that cake and the biscuits, as well as like refined white bread and kind of those like the white potatoes, white rice, white pasta. Bagels are a huge culprit. Even ice cream. That type thing. So if you do ever— so it's really beneficial. We put this in any of the show notes as well, kind of what a glycemic index looks like. And you'll take a look when it comes to that white bagel, you know, and watermelon's actually the highest, more than mango, but on the glycemic index. And so they're pretty high in there. Wouldn't you? You think it would just be like water. Yeah, it is. So it's basically watermelon is water. And it's sugar. That's basically all it is. So, and which is why it's high because that water, yeah, it just goes straight through your system, but it's loaded with vitamin— yeah, but it's loaded with vitamin C, with, you know, antioxidants. Mango is a really good antioxidant as well. It's loaded with really, really good vitamins and nutrients. So, um, so from that, yeah, so it's a bit higher, which just means that it's going to get digested quicker. So from a weight loss perspective, if you want to kind of keep those hunger levels and kind of energy levels a bit stable, then you want to go for items on the lower glycemic index scale. So for example, um, you know, your proteins are kind of right in the middle, like between 20 to 40. So sorry, I forgot to mention on this glycemic index scale, it's from 1 to 100. So example, a white bagel, it's actually at 100. I think ice cream, it's even like over 100. It's even been shown to be like at 103. It's really, really high where, you know, your proteins like your chicken and your turkey and your fish are like a 20 to a 40. So really, really good at keeping kind of fuller for longer. Your vegetables, think of, you know, your celery, your carrots, peas, stuff like that. It's usually about 30 to all the way down to, you know, like to 5 to 6. It's really, really low. So really prioritizing those vegetables and vegetables also have vitamin C. It also has all those nutrients. So definitely stick to those. And when you get into the whole grain, you know, pastas and rice and, you know, grains and even sweet potato, you're about at about like in the 70, 70 zone. So even though it's not, you know, super low, it's at least a 70 is better than a 100. So it's a little bit slower. Yeah, exactly. So it's still taking a bit more time to be digested, a bit more time for that glucose to be absorbed. And your hunger levels won't be as sporadic, and also your energy and kind of your mood will be a bit more stable as well. Yeah, so you've explained that obviously inflammatory foods are not good for the menopause because of joints and things like that, but also it's, it's inflammation in the body that can cause cancers and all sorts, isn't it? Yeah, exactly. So it has been shown now that the more inflammatory foods you have, and the more inflammation in the body, it does lead to a higher occurrence of chronic inflammatory diseases. So arthritis, even MS is a big one, and any of those inflammatory-related chronic diseases as well has been linked to— there's a higher prevalence in the population of countries that are in above the kind of the equator, right? So the more higher up we go, the more prevalence of anti-inflammatory diseases in the population. So UK, unfortunately, it is a big— since we don't get that sunlight, unfortunately, we are very, very prone and have a high prevalence, as well as even Canada, my home country, same thing. It's snowing basically 10 months out of the year. So, but it doesn't even just snow, even just here, even though it's raining, even with the sun out, it's typically cloudy. We're not getting that vitamin D. And vitamin D is really important in our bone density and also keeping our inflammation at bay. So if you're not getting it through the food, your foods on top of it, if you're whamming that lack of vitamin D, we really get into problems. So yeah, the— so osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, even heart conditions, you know, heart disease. Alzheimer's is a big thing now as well that's been popping up. That's also linked to an inflammatory response. And multiple sclerosis. So if you can, um, get your vitamin D— Do you recommend a supplement then if you're not getting it in your food? Do you recommend like a vitamin D supplement, you know? Yes, 100%. Yeah, so actually, finally, the NHS, if you go on their website, has actually now recommended all the UK population, um, from October to April to supplement with vitamin D just because we're not getting it enough in our diet. And we do get vitamin D through foods, but not a lot. The only one is like mushrooms, again, like cod liver oil as well, and kind of red meats. But obviously, if you're a vegan, then that— you really get affected by that because you're not having— basically all vitamin D comes from animal products. And then in the supplement form, there is vegan vitamin D. It's called vitamin D3, and you can get that if you're a vegan or don't eat animal products. So they do recommend that. And actually, I do offer vitamin D supplements on my website. So basically, I pretty much recommend all my clients, if they're not taking a vitamin D supplement already, they take it in addition to eating those vitamin D foods and anti-inflammatory foods. And as well, in addition to the vitamin D, um, still also strength training as well is a big one, just to keep that bone density. And as well, for supplements to get the anti-inflammatory, you can actually get omega-3 fatty acids in supplement form as well. And I also have that on my online store as well. So if you are looking for some supplements— Amanda, I'm sorry, I'll ask you again at the end, but let's talk about it now so that everyone knows. Yeah, of course. Yeah, so if you do want some want to see my website and see kind of the supplements that I have, it's at www.sculptrition.com. So you just go on there and I have a shop and I have my list of supplements. So like I said, I have the vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids, and then I also do have probiotics, which is basically to help with healthy digestion and again also helps with your hormones and keeping everything at bay, keeping the inflammation response down. I have those on there. And then I also have some digestive enzymes called Sculpturezyme. So when you're in the menopause with those hormonal changes, your digestive enzymes might not always be working at its finest and breaking down those carbs, proteins, and fats the way they should be. So when you take digestive enzymes, then that gives a little extra boost to take those and make sure everything's getting broken down, digested, and going to the right places. And you can't get digestive enzymes through food. So if you take a supplement form, it just gives you that little extra boost. So you can get all that on sculptrition.com. Wow. I must say, Amanda, you know so much about food. What, what, how, you know, have you got an ology in it or something? No. So actually, kind of a background, I guess I did, well, all the way to my childhood, my family, I come from an Italian family, so I love food. And even when it comes down to, I just, I love food. So When it was for me to lose weight, it was really hard because I just love it, you know, pasta, pizza, you know, like even the good stuff, the healthy, the healthy stuff, all of it. And I grew up with that. And then when I did go to university, I got a degree in kinesiology. So that's basically sports medicine. So more on the kind of fitness side of things and the biomechanics. But also I did nutrition within that. And then when I came to the UK, I did also get a health and nutrition diploma as well. So I do have education in it, but honestly, I just do love food and going through this journey as well. Like I mentioned, I've had, you know, I've been on the diets, but I've also, you know, struggled with disordered eating. I've had, it kind of, it started with anorexia, but then also when you're restricting for too long, that doesn't go very well. Then it went to bulimia and then it went to binge eating. So I've kind of, I've done that as well. And I really, really struggled to have a healthy relationship with food. And but just taking the time to learn about it and actually love it and see it as a good thing rather than something that we need to either one, punish ourselves with or to not have. It's just so freeing. And when I even do have my meals, I look forward to it. It's kind of, it's like a ritual almost. I have it kind of distracted free. I'm always trying new recipes and yeah, and it's just, it's quite freeing. And yeah, it's, it's, you can obviously get it, you can learn it yourself, or if you want to ever take a course, you can. But I think once you get to that place of, yeah, learning to love food, it's exciting. And then you just learn new things all the time. Even to this day, even though I do have lots of information and kind of helpful tips and tricks, I'm always learning all the time. I mean, that's, that's, that's just amazing. Just something that you said, kinesiology. I didn't know what kinesiology was, um, and then I, I went to do a course called Belief Coding, and they use, um, the Human Compass. Yeah, to ask questions and answers. And I'd never ever heard of it. I still— do you know about that part of kinesiology, or was it not Yes, yeah, yes, I do. Because when you— with kinesiology, you learn— it's basically, yeah, just about the body. So the anatomy and the physiology, but also the biomechanics of it. Yeah, definitely. So kind of your compass and, yeah, the way you move. And even also, I've really gotten into as well, I think with your kind of that course that you did, might have even gone and been to like trauma responses and how that actually then comes onto the body and how that affects you know, kind of how you are on the day-to-day. And so yeah, that's definitely what I'm referring to. I mean, and all sorts. Yeah, yeah, it's super fascinating. And it's just, yeah, the body is an amazing thing. And like I mentioned earlier, our body is always there to keep us alive and keep us safe. It's always there in its best interest, right? It's not there to— so when you are going through things like the menopause or even any sort of, you know, health condition or injury, it's doing whatever it can to repair you and to keep you safe and alive. It's not there to punish you. It's not there to make your life miserable. And typically when your body is kind of showing symptoms and reacting that way, it's usually telling you a sign. It's basically, it's telling you, hey, something needs to change. Or yeah, basically something needs to change or we need to fix something here in order to keep you alive and to keep you well. And since you aren't listening, without any signs, let's give you some. So that's how I like to view the body. And kinesiology is a great way of kind of teaching, teaching that. So it was kind of a— I know it's still relatively new in the UK. It's definitely more known in North America, but it's definitely making a resurgence here. So that's great that you know about it. And yeah, for anyone listening, definitely take a look at kinesiology. And even if you don't want to take a course in it, just knowing about what it does and finding out more about your body and how it works can be really beneficial. Yeah, I mean, to be honest with you, it still, it still baffles me a bit. I've tried to get my head around the Human Compass thing. Could you just like maybe explain to our listeners what it is the Human Compass does? And we can ask it questions, and it's to do with the water in our body, is that correct? Um, yeah, so with the water, so basically our We're about, most humans are about 70% water, right? And so our body's always trying to keep that. And a lot of the times we are, and with our body as well, it's really in tune with nature and with the world. And the more that we develop, you know, in our society, we're actually quite, we're diverging away from that. We're not spending time outdoors. We're not drinking enough water. And then from that, we're kind of not giving the fuel and the water and the energy it needs to flourish and to be the amazing humans that we are. And so kind of basically when you do this kind of human compass evaluation, it can kind of tell you maybe what things you are missing in your, in your body, whether your nutrients and your water intake, etc. And that compass, then we can then determine what we need, what's lacking, what we need more of, and take you to the direction. That's like the compass that you need to go to to replenish. I know, it's mad, isn't it? Totally amazing, really. Yeah, yeah, it's blown my mind. But, um, but yeah, it's, it's incredible. So it's, it's, uh, it's, um, strange that, that you, you know, you studied that. Um, so just tell me just a little bit about you before you know, we wrap up. What— how did you end up in the UK? Yeah, so I actually— my, uh, fell— came over here for love. So my— I know, so my husband is British. Oh yeah, yeah. So my husband is British. And, um, yeah, so we actually met, believe it or not, um, on a holiday. And we were just kind of, you know, friends, nothing, didn't think anything of it. And kind of, again, how the universe works, how that compass works, I was in a relationship with someone else and at that same holiday destination, ended up kind of, you know, breaking my heart. Didn't work out very well. But then because of that, my now husband, we had each other on social media and he saw that I was there and actually literally 2 hours later messaged me and said, hey, do you want to go back to that holiday destination? Like I'm going there for, you know, this event. And I just couldn't believe it. I was like, no way, not going to happen. But long story short, ended up going, just became friends. And then turned to relationship and then had me come over here in 2019. And yeah, and then started my business Sculptrition shortly after that. Once I did that health and nutrition diploma and also, and obviously went through my own kind of body transformation, I wanted to continue the work and kind of be on a mission because I just see all this kind of bombardment with what the health and fitness industry tells us, like what's right, what to do, what not to do. And a lot of the time it's really conflicting and it definitely doesn't work. At least in my case, it didn't work and I had to go through, you know, disordered eating for over a decade of my life. And I don't regret it at all. It brought me to the place that I am now. And so from there, I now want a mission to show women that you can optimize your health no matter No matter what stage you are, even if you're at kind of at your lowest point, there is a way out. And it's really about focusing on that kind of mindset shift. So yes, the nutrition and exercise is one thing, but really focusing on what your goals are, what you want to achieve, and which comes down to really health. So yes, you can lose weight, but really it's about optimizing your health and being that best version of yourself so you can not only show up for yourself and live your best life and unlock your true potential, but be there for everyone else and give and be the best coworker, be the best mom, be the best wife, be the best sister, be the best friend. And I'm really on a mission to show that you can achieve your weight loss and health and fitness goals without that overwhelm, without the strict diets, without the crazy exercise schedules, that it is possible. And so I said I do that through my coaching one-on-one with clients so I can give them that real high kind of level personalized approach. But then I do also have a fitness membership which actually really started for my clients in menopause because they found no matter what exercise plan they tried, it just didn't work for them and it didn't accommodate, you know, what they were feeling. So, you know, they weren't as mobile as they used to be. Their fatigue levels were all over the place. Their hot flashes, they couldn't do a crazy, really, really hard-hitting workout because after 5 minutes they'd be on the floor and want to give up. 'cause the hot flashes were so crazy. So that's kind of how my fitness membership came about. And yeah, so I have that online fitness program or fitness membership now where I do live and on-demand classes. So, and it's a range from yoga to Pilates to strength training to just flexibility training to Tabata and combat. And there's live classes in the morning, afternoon, and evening, or you can also do them on demand. So I have over 150 Classes on demand ranging from 5 minutes to 45 minutes, so you can take them anytime, anywhere. And then from there too, I have an awesome community group with women kind of going all through the exact same thing, and which is actually mainly just all— they're all menopausal women as well, or perimenopausal, and they kind of— they can ask me questions, they can support each other, we celebrate the wins, we kind of have like giveaways and kind of workout challenges and stuff like that. So it's a So it's a really cool group. So if you want that community bit as well, that's the place to go. Where is that group? Is it on Facebook or something, or is it actually on— yeah, so it's actually on my website. Um, yeah, so I'm on Facebook as Sculptrician, but on my membership it's all on sculptrition.com. And if you go on to sculptrition.com/sculpt, so S-C-U-L-P-T, that's what the membership name is called, and you'll get all the info on there. Um, and you can see kind of what's listed, kind of even some, um member, member reviews as well and kind of their experiences, what they've gone through, and my private community group is all on there as well. So if you join, you'll be direct— you'll be directly added on to it and you'll get 24/7 support on there as well for that. And if you do choose to do the membership, there is a 2-week free trial. So you can sign up for 2 weeks completely free so you can try all the classes all the on-demands, and you can cancel at any time, um, no problem at all. And then for the listeners here, if they do want to try a free class, then you can use a discount code SCULPT5 when you check out for that live class, and you'll get it completely free. So the first one's free, and then after that, if you want to try more, you can do that free, um, trial for 14 days, and then you can subscribe after that. Amazing. So Amanda, I just want to ask you just a few last questions. Um, I know this is the Menopause Show, but, you know, eating disorders are a huge, huge problem for lots of people. Do you think that anyone can recover from an eating disorder, no matter how bad it is? I think definitely, rather than the word recover, I want to— you definitely can recover, but I think it's also like manage, manage it as well. Like, because as I said, With food, it's not something like alcohol where we can't, you know, we can live without it. We have to live with food. And especially if you have been through an eating disorder like both you and I have experienced, and that thousands, millions of women, I must say, go through it. Even most of my clients, I want to say 9 out of 10 that come to me, have had an either diagnosed disorder or a disordered eating pattern of some kind. And it also ranges more. It's more than just binge eating and anorexia and bulimia. There's orthorexia as well. So people who are women who are kind of obsessed with the healthy, healthy food. So all that healthy foods I mentioned, that's great. But you can also go into an extreme of obsessing over that. And then what usually gets you is just another form of restrictive eating, really, as well as there's a new one. Oh, I can't remember the word of it. But basically there's more that's coming out. It's not just the typical, you know, anorexia or bulimia. There's a whole range. There's a whole spectrum. And I think rather than saying recover, just because we can't give up food, so we can't, we can't say like we do for, you know, alcohol of, "I've been sober for 12 months." You can't say, "I haven't eaten for 12 months. I'm so proud of myself." We can't do that, right? So rather than saying recover, it's more of, yeah, managing it. Okay. So it's been amazing to have you on the show, Amanda. You are a wealth of information. I feel like I've learned a lot. In fact, I might be ringing you tomorrow. Definitely, I'm here when you need me. So just tell us once more where we can get in touch with you. Yeah, so you can, um, find me on my website at www.sculptrition.com. I'm also on all the social media platforms, so on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Pinterest at Sculptrition. So S-C-U-L-P-T-R-I-T-I-O-N. C-U-L-P-T-R-I-T-I-O-N. I'm mainly on Instagram though, so you can, I'm on there kind of on the daily on stories and everything like that. So you can DM me if you are on there. And on LinkedIn, I am also on as Amanda Place. And yeah, if you want to take a look at my programs, it's all on the website. And if you want to access my membership directly, my Sculpt membership, see what all that is about, then you can go to sculptrition.com/sculpts, and I hope to see you there. That's amazing. So, um, thank you for listening, everybody. Um, I'm Sue Moxley. This is The Menopause Show, and we are on Women's Radio Station. And look us up on the socials— Instagram, Women's Radio Station, but that's STN, uh, Facebook, Women's Radio Station, and YouTube. And See you all in, uh, 2 weeks. Bye!