Summary
In this podcast episode, the host interviews a guest who grew up in Tasmania, Australia and struggled with an eating disorder throughout high school and college. The guest chose to study nutrition in college due to her struggle with anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder. She discusses the prevalence of eating disorders in young women and the lack of support and resources available. The speaker emphasizes the importance of consistent therapy and self-reflection in breaking the cycle of an eating disorder.
The context also discusses the importance of training intensity and exercise specificity in bodybuilding and powerlifting. The speaker emphasizes the need to find an evidence-based trainer with experience in powerlifting and bodybuilding, especially for women, due to their unique body image issues and menstrual cycle. The speaker recommends starting with a low training volume and progressively overloading the training.
The speaker also discusses protein goals for women and how it is similar to that of men. The target protein range for women is between 1.8 to 3 grams of protein per kilogram of lean body mass. The speaker emphasizes the importance of consistency in protein intake and avoiding bouncing around in energy balance. They also discuss the process of building muscle and the importance of a calorie surplus.
The speaker discusses the importance of weighing food to learn about caloric intake and macronutrient constituents. They mention the use of photo exchange, macro tracking, and weight trends to monitor fat loss progress. The speaker notes the difficulty of keeping weight off after a diet due to hormonal changes and muscle loss. They suggest slowly reintroducing calories through a reverse diet and finding new maintenance calories.
Finally, the speaker discusses the differences between male and female training programs. Women tend to do better at utilizing fatty acids and are less reliant on glycolytic pathways or anaerobic processes, making them better at recovering from different types of training. Men tend to opt for more strength-specific training, while women tend to do better with moderate rep ranges or hypertrophy rep ranges. The menstrual cycle is also a factor to consider in female programming, with some studies showing that strength decreases during the second phase of the cycle. The speaker also discusses the challenges faced by menopausal women and women after having children, including low calorie intakes and extreme exercise output.
