Stepping in to an older person's body, with a younger soul. Looking to learn from anyone going through woman changes and the foods that supported it.
Im looking for motivators, friends, and people who have clean eating ideas!
Cheers ~Nat
Hello and welcome!
If you mean menopause when you say "woman changes", I did that around 25 years ago, when chemotherapy for advanced breast cancer put me there nearly instantly. (I guess breast cancer might be a "woman change", too, since around 1 in 8 women experience it, even though men can get it, too.)
For many women, hormone replacement therapy can be a good option. (I can't do that because of a history of cancer that was estrogen-fed.) If that's not something you'd consider (in consultation with your doctor), then some women find regularly consuming certain soy foods (the ones that contain soy isoflavones) to reduce menopausal symptoms like night sweats and hot flashes. That's because soy isoflavones are phytoestrogens - in some ways, they mimic estrogen in the body. (I can eat soy because its phytoestrogens don't mimic the body's estrogens in all ways, and one way they differ is in the impact on breast cancer growth.) I would assume you would consider eating whole soy foods to be compatible with "clean eating"? Flax seeds and some veggies/fruits also contain similar phytoestrogens. (If you use flax seeds, use ground seeds - they're more easily digested/metabolized.)
As context, I'm old in a lot of ways: my body is old (70) and I think my soul pretty well matched to that. I'm old on MFP, too, having been here for 11 years (10 of it weight maintenance after about a year to lose from class 1 obese to a healthy weight when I was already menopausal plus severely hypothyroid (medicated). However, I'm healthy and strong enough to keep up athletically with much younger folks in my favorite activity, on-water rowing.
I don't really know what "clean eating" means. I'm not being snarky, I promise: Lots of people here have given their definitions, and they vary widely.
I think most people will get the best health and energy benefits from getting overall good nutrition from food: Ample protein, sufficient healthy fats, adequate micronutrients, diverse types of fiber. The last two of those, IMO, are easiest to get eating truly lots of veggies and fruits, plus some whole grains. IMO, eating some probiotic foods is also helpful - things like live-culture yogurt/kefir, tempeh, miso, raw sauerkraut and kim chi, etc. I think nutrients from supplements, powders, and that sort of thing are not as beneficial as nutrients from whole foods. (There are multiple reasons, but simplistically, whole foods are natural selection tested.)
I think most people will feel more full more of the time eating mostly things like meat, fish, veggies, fruits, dairy (for those who are lactose tolerant), and whole grains.
I also think that striving hard for all clean foods all the time - using any definition of "clean" - can be one foot on a slippery slope toward orthorexia, i.e. carry some mental health risks.
Me, I've been vegetarian (ovo-lacto) for 52 years, preferring whole grain foods, eating lots of fruits and veggies, etc. I ate that way as I got overweight then obese, before and after I got breast cancer, before and during getting athletically active in my late 40s, during and since losing weight. I don't know if that's clean eating, but if it is, I don't think it has special powers.
If you're looking for motivators and friends here, the best way to find them is to join in some of the support, motivation, accountability or challenge threads here in the MFP Community. There are lots of those in the Motivation and Support or Challenges sections, but a few spread around elsewhere. Because they're numerous, there are different vibes and rules. Maybe take a look around, see if there's something that would suit you?
In your particular case, looking for folks who like clean eating, one I can think of off the top of my head is this one:
. . . but like I said, there are lots of options.
Best wishes for success, whatever your goals here!
Ha, thanks @AnnPT77 I don't call what I do as clean eating. For me, the main reason is to get more variation into the kitchen and onto my plate as I have a tendency to eat the same every single day. Eating a high number of plant based foods regularly is supposed to be good for the gut biome though. I can't help with hormones as I'm still on synthetic estrogen. Mild neuromuscular condition that got worse with menopause, and hrt never fixed it. Thus I'm still on the contraceptive with support of a specialist doctor.
