Muscle Expert: Hormone Manipulation & Food as Therapy

Muscle Expert Podcast with Ben Pakulski #58

USING food as a therapeutic tool and hormone manipulation in sports

Can’t thank Ben Pakulski enough for having me on The Muscle Expert. I'll admit, I was nervous as all when I found out that I was the first female guest - but I think he managed to keep the entire conversation organic and flowing by not telling me we were even recording! Seriously, though - this was such a good podcast, and it was great to catch up, talk shop and educate on some really critical topics. Thanks again Ben!

Key Highlights:

• How to balance fat ratios.
• The menstrual cycle myth and why women should be wary of missing their menstrual cycle.
• Glucose disposal agents, sex hormones, sleep deprivation, post-diet binge eating mitigation strategies.  

"Just don't eat like an asshole" 

EPISODE LINK:

http://www.benpakulski.com/podcasts/victoria/

 

ITUNES: 

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/ben-pakulski-podcast-muscle/id725296816

STITCHER: 

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/ben-pakulski-podcast-muscle-expert-interviews-how-to-build/ben-pakulski-podcast-muscle-expert-interviews

Learn more about Ben Pakulski & The Muscle Expert podcast:
http://www.benpakulski.com
FB: @IFBBbenpakFANPage
IG: @ifbbbenpak
Youtube: MI40 Muscle Intelligence

Time Stamps:

4:00 Victoria's dissertation topic, exploring the world of female hormonal manipulation in elite sport.

10:47 Hyperandrogenism in females. 

11: 40 Metformin for women post competition.

13:40 Strategies for women recovering from androgen use. 

16:12 Progestron, chronic inflammation and more.

17:35 Reducing dietary triggers, changing your breakfast and eliminating the major allergenic foods.

20:06 Testing for gut health, food mapping protocols, and biofeedback.

21:50 Using food as a therapeutic tool. 

23:38 Balancing fat ratios. 

25:29 The modern American diet,

25:1 omega 6:3 ratio? 

28:50 Women, the first line of defense to overcome the psychology the binge and purge mindset. 

33:43 Glucose disposal agents, hormones, sleep deprivation. 

38:05 Less is more when it comes to training and more is more when it comes to food.

39:00 The menstrual cycle myth.

42:10 Victoria's book, nonhormonal ways to fix hormonal imbalances. 

45:50 The critical biopsychosocial physical ecological model of dynamic relations. 

52:00 Finding gratitude and acceptance.

56:42 Managing variables. 

1:00:20 Morning routines and avoiding emails.  

Cinnamon Coconut Covered Almonds.

One of my simple, favourite sweet treats for a high fat day.

1oz raw almonds (around 23)
1 tsp. virgin coconut oil melted
A dash of cinnamon, pinch of sea salt and sprinkle of powdered Stevia (use a cup-for-cup brand such as Stevia in the Raw)

Melt coconut oil in a small dish. Add in almonds and mix. Add powered ingredients ensuring almonds are coated. Throw in freezer for 15mins or until coconut oil has hardened. Break up the almonds with a spoon & enjoy! 

(223.5cal; F19.5g, C6g, P6g)

A VF Kitchen Secret: Cube Life

Nut butter, portion control & ice cube trays.

Did you know that 1 tablespoon is equal to 1 cube in a basic ice cube tray?

This discovery helped me with my day-to-day eating on the go and also has been a brilliant solution for nut or seed butter portion control 101 ... we all know how easy 1 tbsp can turn into 1/2 cup when eyeballed and measured with our stomachs. 

Here's what I do. Add a bit of melted coconut oil to my softened nut butter (for me it's sunflower seed).

Why?

Coconut oil is solid at room temp and condenses quickly at lower temperature, which allows for the cubes to be stored in the fridge as solid squares and not gooey messes. I like to add in some cinnamon and maple extract, then portion and stick in the the freezer for a bit to harden. Pop out the cubes and store in the fridge.

There you have it - an easy grab and go fat serving without the mess, fuss and no chance to deviate! 

Post-Prep Health Influencers

Pro cards don't grow on trees.

We all don't have what it takes to make it to the Olympia.

Some people will never have abs no matter how "clean" they eat.

The higher you climb - or the more you "grind" during a prep - often results in a harder post-comp crash.

These may not seem like complicated ideas, but time and time again I find these are some of the biggest culprits in why health takes a nose-dive post show.

While sipping my coffee this morning, I decided to hop back on the VF video train and recap some introductory points that I spoke to at the Van Pro Show.

From the mentality people have about competing, to the numerous internal and external variables that are manipulated to get to the stage - the ways that we look, think and talk about competing have an absolutely enormous but often understated effect on the health of an athlete.

Protein YamOatie Waffles

Wet Ingredients:
20oz yams, cooked & mashed
3 tbsp Organic Virgin Coconut Oil
2.5 tbsp All-Natural Egg Replacer pre-mixed with 5 tbsp cold water
2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract (alcohol-free)
2 tsp Pure Maple Extract

Dry Ingredients:
14 scoops @truenutrition Vanilla Birthday Cake Cold-Filtration Whey Isolate or a Dairy Free protein option
1.75 cup Gluten Free Oat Bran (blended into flour - I use a coffee grinder) 
1 tsp baking powder + 1 tsp baking soda
Dash of sea salt
1.5 tbsp cinnamon
3 packages of Pure Via Stevia

Using a food processor or mixer pre-blend the yams to make sure they are lump-free. Add in rest of "wet" ingredients and blend. Add in "dry" ingredients and blend until just mixed (to reduce making bubbles!). Should be a lava-like consistency. 

Once waffle iron is pre-heated (I use setting 3 on mine - not too hot) spray with coconut oil or olive oil cooking spray. Pour 1/2 cup of batter into iron and cook until done.

Makes x11 classic-sized waffles.

Each full waffle = 39g PRO / 32g CHO / 7g FAT (347 calories)

Elite Muscle Radio: PCOS

Elite Muscle Radio with Phil Graham #67

GETTING IN SHAPE WITH PCOS

Super excited to share with you the latest podcast that I had the honor of being apart of! Thanks to Phil Graham for letting me chat about Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) on Elite Muscle Radio.

As someone who has PCOS, a consultant working within the industry with countless women who have hormonal imbalances of all types, and as a researcher working to better understand androgens and the female body, this is a topic near and dear to my heart.

Going into this podcast, I really wanted to host a honest conversation about PCOS. Simply put, this syndrome is dynamic, it's complex, and even within the 21st century it is still virtually 'unknown.' As a result, PCOS has become a blanket term - one without medical consensus, or a clear definition, symptoms and treatment protocols. With that being said, by talking about it openly through a multi-disciplinary perspective, my goal is to better understand the elements that make up PCOS - and more importantly, reduce the stigma and misconceptions that surround them.

Itunes:

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/67-getting-in-shape-with-pcos-with-victoria-felkar/id771021324?i=1000383283644&mt=2

Soundcloud:

https://soundcloud.com/elitemuscleradio/67-getting-in-shape-with-pcos

Learn more about Phil Graham:
www.phil-graham.com
www.diabeticmuscleandfitness.com
IG: @philgraham01
FB: @philgrahamfitness