Nikki Cheak (00:01.71)
Hey friend, welcome back to Real Food, Real Energy, Real Life. And this is part two of our Feel Good Summer series. And if you missed part one, go back and listen to that first because it's all about some simple habits that you can actually do to help survive May without losing your mind. So today we are going to build on something that most women feel super stuck on, and that's food.
And it's not this episode is not about cutting like cutting out certain things. It's honestly about what I would add if I wanted to slim down without starting another diet or tracking, you know, everything all day long. OK. And yes, I track my macros. Yes, I do all of these things. But if you're ready to just start somewhere, this episode is going to be for you, because here's what I want you to know. I know you want to lose fat, feel better in your body and stop obsessing over food.
and you don't want more rules. You want something that feels doable and works. And so that's what we're going to kind of get in today. So I just want to be really honest with you for a second. OK, most of us, when we want to lose weight, we immediately think, OK, what do I cut out? Maybe you skip breakfast. I can't have any more carbs and I'll just I'll I'll be good for a few days and I'll reset my body. OK, but you've done that before and it didn't work long term.
So today I wanna shift that question and I want you to shift it to from what should I be removing to what is my body missing? Okay, because most women, they're not broken, they're not eating enough, okay? And that's what I want you to hear is you're probably not eating enough and you're under fueling and that's why you're feeling all of these things. And that changes right now. So these are the three foods that I would add if I wanted to slim down and
there's no dieting required here. So food number one is protein. mean, you've heard me say it. I talked about it last week in the last episode, but honestly, protein is needed more than you think. Okay. It's the most underrated fat loss tool out there. And most women think that they're just eating enough protein. But if we look at the actual numbers, it's usually half of what's needed to see real change. And here's why protein matters. Okay. We've talked about this before, but
Nikki Cheak (02:24.214)
It keeps you full and reduces cravings. It's gonna help support lean muscle, which is going to increase your metabolism and make you fight fat faster. It's gonna help you balance hormones and it's gonna help you stabilize your blood sugar. And those are two really, really important things for women over 35. It's also gonna give you energy that's going to last past 12 o'clock. And look.
Studies, are plenty of studies out there that show that eating at least 25 to 30 grams of protein per meal improves satiety, late night snack, reduces that late night snacking and helps you preserve that lean muscle mass. But honestly, a lot of women need even more than just that 25 to 30 grams in each meal. But it's a great start if you're just now getting started, okay? And it looks, it's not that hard, okay? And it looks like...
a couple different ways. You could have eggs and turkey sausage at breakfast. You could have tuna and some edamame at lunch, okay? Or some grilled chicken. You could have salmon or turkey bowls at dinner in a protein smoothie, okay? There's all these different ways. And if you want 10 easy protein-rich meals for breakfast, 10 for lunch, 10 for dinner, and 10 snacks, then I want you to grab the Mom's Guide to Protein Packed Meals in the show notes.
and it's free and it's honestly it's made for real life to be able to get these things in. So look, for years I thought I was eating chicken, I'm good and honestly, that's another story for another day, but I ate so much chicken I became food sensitive to it for a while. But then when I really started tracking my protein, I really wasn't hitting that many grams of protein a day. And then once I started consistently hitting 100,
plus grams of protein a day. Right now I try to get in close to 125 to 130 grams. That's for my specific body. It might be different for you. And my energy held up. I stopped grabbing snacks. Like I stopped just like sneaky snacking all the time. And I finally saw some changes in my body that didn't feel like they came from punishment. Okay. You really just need to be consistent with this. And...
Nikki Cheak (04:37.414)
It's one of those things that you, it can be trial and error, but once you understand how much you're actually getting in the serving sizes that you need, you're going to start to feel so much better. Okay. The second thing that I would make sure that I am doing if I wanted to slim down is eating enough fiber. So getting those fiber rich carbs that are actually going to work with your body. And so we're going to clear something up right now. Carbs are not the enemy. Okay. Blood sugar crashes are the enemy.
But carbs give you energy only if you're pairing them with protein and fiber to keep things stable. Okay, if you're eating your carbs in the form of potato chips and you're getting a ton of sugar, right, those carbs, that's the stuff that's not good. That's the stuff that's going to make you crash. But if you're getting good clean carbs, you are going to help see the right energy.
And if you cut your carbs too low, which I've seen so many women try and do this, not only are you going to wreck your energy, you're going to also take your mood and you're going to mess with those hormones. And that's so important for moms that are, you know, 35 plus, right? Those hormones are starting to change and all that is happening. And so you want to make sure that you're not cutting out your carbs completely, but high fiber carbs, like you've got oats and lentils and sweet potatoes.
Those are actually gonna improve insulin sensitivity and support digestion. And that's honestly gonna directly affect your hormone balance and your metabolism. So here's what this looked like in real life, like on your plate, okay? You could, for breakfast, you could have overnight oats with chia seeds and berries. I make this often. My favorite is cookie dough overnight oats. are actually, our whole family loves them. So I make them pretty regularly in our house.
lunch, sweet potatoes with some black beans and greens and maybe some chicken, okay, or protein, right? Dinner, quinoa bowls. Quinoa is a great option because it's a complete protein and you're getting carbs and you're getting fiber, so it's amazing. Some chickpeas, you know, or wild rice. And then some snacks like fruit and almond butter or tuna and maybe some rice, clean option rice cakes.
Nikki Cheak (06:55.382)
I'm always checking your ingredients, right? So I want you to think about something for a second. Are you afraid of carbs because of what somebody told you? Or are you choosing, you know, carbs that actually support your goals or just grabbing something because you're hungry? Okay. And if you're thinking, okay, Nikki, I get it. I hear you. I want to equalize this, but I honestly don't want to spend hours figuring all of this out. Then.
I want you to go into the show notes and grab my mom's guide to protein packed meals. It's got those 10 plus real food recipes for each different meal. Okay. And they're going to help keep you full and fueled and out of the snack jar. Okay. Also, if you want more structure and coaching support, the six week reset is going to be your next step. And I start a new group every two weeks. And I will walk you through all of this and I will make it doable so that you're not feeling overwhelmed.
All right, let's talk about food number three. These are healthy fats that are going to help you lose fat. Okay, I know that sounds silly, but so many women are still living in this low-fat, low-calorie era stuck from the 90s, okay, because back then that was the craze. And even, you you're drawn to some of these packaged foods that say low-fat because you think that they're healthier. But honestly,
Healthy fats like olive oil and coconut oil and nuts, right? Nut butters. These are going to avocados, right? These are gonna help keep you full. They're gonna help reduce your cravings. They are gonna support your brain health and your mood and your energy. And honestly, they're essential for your hormones and your metabolism, okay? So your body cannot produce the key sex hormones like estrogen.
without dietary fat, okay? Plus you need vitamins like A, D, E, K, and these are all fat soluble, and so you need fat to absorb them, okay? So yes, fat does help you lose fat if you're giving your body what it actually needs to function well, okay? And so daily, what I'm typically doing is I'm having avocado oil or olive oil on my salads and my wraps.
Nikki Cheak (09:13.004)
I almost always incorporate chia seeds into some sort of my meal during the day. Usually it's within my breakfast. Sometimes it's sprinkled on a salad, right? But there's always ways that I'm incorporating it. Also nut butters with fruit. Like one of my favorite things, one of my favorite snacks is to have a banana or an apple with some nut butter, maybe a couple of chocolate chips, a couple, like a few flakes of coconut, right? Like coconut's a great source of fat.
Healthy fat, nut butter's a great source of healthy fat, plus I'm getting really good, you know, fiber-rich carbs, and so it's a win-win. And then obviously, fat Greek yogurt is another option. Don't, I would much prefer you get the full fat Greek yogurt versus the, you know, the low fat, okay? So this is something that you want to make sure that you're really incorporating into every single day. So,
Listen, if I wanted to slim down right now without starting a whole new diet, I would focus on adding protein in every meal, smart, fiber rich carbs, not potato chips, not, you know, all of those things that are just more snacky things. And then healthy fats that are going to balance your hormones and fuel your day. Okay. And look, you don't need to restrict. You don't need to cut out food to feel good. You just need to give your body what it's been missing.
And this is how you stop starting over all of the time and how you start feeling really good again. So I want you to make sure that you go into the show notes and grab your protein guide, your mom's guide to protein packed meals. It's free and it's honestly super helpful and will give you tons of ideas. Look, join the next six week reset if you're ready for a sustainable plan and real support and moving the needle forward and how to get all of these three things.
into your diet every single day without feeling overwhelmed. I would love it you would share this episode with a friend who's also tired of starting over who wants to know like how to slim down. And if this, if this episode helped you, please leave a review and share it. It honestly helps more than you know. Also hit follow, hit subscribe because next week in part three, we're going to be talking about feeling puffy and bloated and nothing working and what's actually going on under the surface. So
Nikki Cheak (11:34.348)
I want you to just stop surviving in your body, okay? And let's get you actually feeling good, for real this time. So until next time, have a great day, and I look forward to talking to you soon.
