2024 In's and Out's; Women's Health Edition

I'm sure you've seen everyone posting about their in's and out's for 2024.. and likely you may have seen our instagram post about it yesterday too. So I wanted to take the opportunity to expand on these for you all in hope to inspire some positive lifestyle and nutrition changes in 2024!

2024 IN'S

• eating to fuel your body efficiently and nourish yourself = we're eating to NOURISH our bodies and to provide our bodies with the fuel we need to go about our day and do the things we love; exercise, adventures, work, sleep well etc

• tracking your menstrual cycle manually and paying attention to your body = this is a BIG ONE. If you're relying on apps and trackers, they use a prediction method and sometimes we are focussing too much on these and not actually paying attention to what our bodies are telling us and timing intercourse for conception or to prevent pregnancy can be wrong! This also allows us to be more in-tune with our bodies and what is actually happening throughout our cycle

• Prioritising reproductive health even if we aren't trying to conceive = if you're optimising your reproductive health, your overall health is going to benefit, no doubt about it. Your reproductive health encompasses a combination of many different systems and if all of these are working in sync together, we're going to be feeling pretty good!

• Train hard but recover harder = pretty self explanatory; you've got to work hard and be consistent to achieve your training/performance goals, but recovering your body is just as important for your progress! You've got to slow down in order to then speed up again.

• Protein in every meal = whether your goal is to improve body composition, build muscle, lose weight, feel more in control with food, balance your blood sugar or assist hormone balance - protein is going to benefit every single one of these goals and eating enough protein will be important

2024 OUT'S

• Eating to punish yourself and/or restrictive dieting = THESE ARE OUT! You can still achieve your nutrition, health and wellness goals and eat chocolate or ice cream or have a couple of drinks here and there. The key here is balance and moderation. The more you restrict, the more you want what you're restricting and the harder it is to maintain. This can lead to binge eating, yoyo-dieting, periods of excessive weight loss and weight gain, nutrient deficiencies and a number of other issues.

• Over exercising and under eating = especially for women, this is a big NO. Exercise is a form of stress on our bodies and if we are exerting too much stress in combination with under-eating, we are adding even more stress on our bodies, increasing the risk of nutrient deficiencies, likely to experience hormonal imbalances and potentially lose our period which comes with a handful of other concerns

• Not prioritising rest, recovery & slowing down = Again, this is so important for allowing our bodies to recover and repair. It's also important for our mental health and central nervous systems. If we are always 'go go go' and are never 'slow', we can very quickly become overstimulated and burnt out, or even sick

• Hustle culture = similar to above, periods of hustle and hard work are vital for progress but not getting stuck in this hustle culture that we see all over social media is important because we also need the 'slow'

• Skipping meals = OUT. Let me just start by saying that you can STILL achieve any of your health, fitness, weight and wellness goals if you're eating 3-5 meals per day. Skipping meals doesn't do anything more than simply reduce your caloric intake which can still be achieved through regular meals. Skipping meals can also lead to fatigue, light headedness, poor training/exercise output, poor sleep and binge eating later in the day because we are so hungry

• Not getting help & support when you need it = this is probably one of the BIGGEST take away's - if you are unsure or need help; find someone who is qualified in the field and that you trust and ask for help. Getting help is an INVESTMENT in yourself and your growth, especially when we are talking health & wellness because your health = your wealth. Sometimes we can't do everything on our own, and that's okay! We are human and we all need help from time to time. So be okay with asking for and accepting help when you need it!

These are some of the things I am focussing on this year too! I'd love to hear if these are also some things you are focussing on or if you have any other 'In's and Out's' that you'd like to add, then feel free to leave them below 😍

Let's make 2024 the best year yet!