Why It May Be Time to Re-Think Your Food & Sleep
This may sound like a radically simple statement, but it’s true and all women need to hear it:
No matter who you are and no matter what health struggles you have or goals you’re after, eating enough food and getting enough sleep are absolutely essential.
In fact, if you’re on a journey to improve your health and/or heal your body in any way, you won’t get very far if you’re not prioritizing these two things and ideally, before you even worry about anything else. Think of them as the foundation that everything else builds upon.
Why? Because food provides the fuel and nutrients your body needs to create energy and run your entire system. And sleep provides the deep rest you need to restore, rebalance, and heal.
So, take this opportunity to assess and possibly re-think your food and sleep- especially making sure you’re getting enough. Because if not, it’s going to be a lot tougher to reach your goals, balance your hormones, improve your energy, and ultimately, feel your best.
Without sufficient nourishment and rest, everything else becomes much more difficult for your body to achieve. Stress load increases while your ability to handle stress decreases. Your body adapts over time, downregulating your metabolism and with that, all your internal processes and functions. (Check out this post to learn more).
Ultimately, humans- especially women- are not designed to thrive on caloric restriction, nutrient depletion, and sleep deprivation. Even if we feel like we can push through, it will eventually catch up.
So what’s considered “enough” when it comes to food and sleep?
Food:
At a minimum: 2,000 calories a day. This may come as a surprise to many women- especially if you’ve been told you should eat 1,200 or 1,500 calories a day (which is a common misconception). Women are also often surprised to learn that eating enough is key even if you have weight loss goals.
Now, calorie needs are not one-size-fits-all and depend on a lot of factors- your metabolic health, your hormones, your goals, your exercise/activity, and more. And if you’re pregnant, postpartum, and especially breastfeeding, or going through a stressful time, you’ll actually need more food- especially nutrients.
Also, keep in mind that food isn’t only providing calories- nutrients matter for total nourishment. Those calories also ideally should provide a balance of the three macronutrients (protein, fat, carbohydrates) tailored to your needs plus an abundance of vitamins and minerals from high-quality, bioavailable sources.
So you likely actually need much more than 2,000 calories- most women I work with do. So feel free to experiment with more- even with different foods and macronutrient amounts- and always check in with your body. And if you’ve been historically under-eating, you may need to work your way up slowly so your body can adjust.
If you have no idea how much you’re currently eating now, it may be difficult to know where to go. A few helpful resources:
Calculate your estimated daily calorie needs here. Always aim for maintenance calories before going for any fat loss goals.
Try tracking your food intake for a few days if it’s not a triggering habit. This can help you gather information about your current nutrient intake as well as make adjustments (I love Cronometer for this).
And lastly, working with a practitioner to find your caloric and nutrient needs and how to meet them with nourishing foods can be such a game changer, allowing you to build a strong foundation. There are so many nuances that can be simplified by having someone on your side.
Sleep:
The simple answer: Eight hours of quality (deep, unbroken) sleep a night is ideal- especially including the 10 pm-2 am hours.
The reality: This can be tough to do as it often requires being honest with ourselves and setting boundaries. Forcing ourselves to stop what we’re doing, wind down, and actually get in bed at a reasonable hour can be tough- especially when the nighttime is the only alone time you’re getting.
Secondly, many women want to get to bed by 10 or even 11 but struggle to fall and stay asleep. This is where sufficient, balanced, consistent food intake, balancing your blood sugar, and also things like stress management and light exposure come into play. Each of these impacts your sleep, and your sleep ultimately impacts each one as well. Better sleep is possible with some slight adjustments and even a few little “hacks.”
And lastly, getting eight hours of quality sleep may not be possible- especially for moms. But you can maximize the impact of any sleep you are getting. And you can also simplify and prioritize accordingly- match your energy output to your energy baseline. For example, The mess can wait. The workout can be skipped (it won’t be as productive if you’re exhausted).
If only more women realized how paramount sleep is and how many symptoms could be reduced and even resolved just by getting enough, it would be easier to make it a top priority- making a supportive routine and sleep hygiene more possible.
Overall, if you’re experiencing symptoms and especially if you just know you can feel much, much better, looking to your food and sleep to ensure they’re sufficient to support your body is a good first step.
If you’re needing more guidance and support on how to get enough nourishment and sleep plus want to learn other impactful ways to build a strong foundation, then my online program, Nourished Roots, is perfect for you!