If you’re stuck in chronic fight or flight, you have to start using food to balance your nervous system. This means, you have to start balancing your blood sugar. However, we don’t need to have a complete diet overhaul and you can still enjoy some of your favorite foods. The key word is “balance”. When you eat in a particular pattern, you can keep your blood sugar stable and fight or flight doesn’t become your default anymore. One of the best ways to do this is to create a nutrient rich balanced perfect protein shake. I also share three of my favorite easy protein smoothie recipes that are perfect for overwhelmed women.
So, how do you know if your blood sugar is keeping you in fight or flight?
- Needing to eat every 90 minutes
- Reliant on caffeine, sugar or carbs for energy
- Dizziness, energy crashes, poor stress tolerance
- Irritability, brain fog or difficulty concentrating, tired and lethargic
- Feeling like you need to sleep after your meals.
- Nausea or bad headaches- possible migraines.
- Sweating or heart palpitations
- Lots of intense cravings, (hangry)- this is not a personality trait.
More on this here: How to know if you’re a stressed out sugar burner
How can protein smoothies be the answer to your fight or flight?
Overwhelmed women need simple foods that are easy to put together and nutrient dense. We need efficient nutrition here. Protein shakes can be a perfect answer.
- They come together quickly
- They pack all basic nutrients into 1 easy meal
- They can be consumed on the go
Overwhelmed women also tend to have difficulty with their hunger hormones in the morning hours and struggle to get in a an adequate breakfast. Hormone communication suffers with those under chronic stress. This is common, but not normal. This also can be mended. One of the ways to get anger kicking back in would be to start eating breakfast every day within an hour of waking. More on that concept here.
Protein shakes can be a great breakfast choice as well since they’re easy to consume even if your hunger cues have taken a back seat as a result to stress.
Related: Is adrenal fatigue real: The underworld of the wired and tired
Let’s back up a second tho.
How do foods affect fight or flight?
First of all, amino acids found in complete proteins help to deliver serotonin to the brain and is also a precursor to dopamine. This alone can help tremendously for mental health, and stress tolerance.
More into on Amino Acids to aid in depression
Also, blood sugar (or glucose) is our main source of energy, and we feel our best when we keep our blood sugar levels balanced- not too high, and not too low. Long term damage can be created if we spend too much time on either side.
Glucose is an important source of energy, but over abundance can lead to headaches, weight gain, anxiety, diabetes, high blood pressure, or endocrine imbalances.
Your body thrives when it is fed protein, fat, and carbohydrates at each meal. This gives the most well-rounded supply for your body to create energy, build up our body, or store for later use.
- How food choices keep a nervous system balanced:
If our body is working as it should- after a balanced meal, the body breaks apart the nutrients and releases the sugar into the blood stream- blood sugar rises.
The brain senses this shift and tells the pancreas to create insulin to bring the blood sugar back down. Insulin takes this sugar and shuttles it around to different areas of need in the body. This is when we feel best- fed and happy. The whole process of shuttling, building, repairing, digesting, and fueling takes a few hours.
When the blood sugar starts to naturally fall -the brain recognizes this and tells the liver to start finding stored forms of sugar or fat to last until the next meal.
2. How food choices keep women locked in fight or flight:
When the body isn’t nourished completely, things go a little different.
If instead the meal is heavy in carbohydrates– the body will burn this very quickly. The carbs are very easy to digest and very rewarding. This meal would spike the blood sugar high. The brain reacts and sends out the need for insulin and lots of it. Insulin comes in like a train, slow to start- then has trouble stopping and pushes the blood sugar too far and too low. Because the blood sugar has dropped the body sees this as an emergency. It needs fuel.
This is where you could see that need for snacks, agitation, and headaches coming in. It wants food and it wants it now! Naturally we would reach for something sweet and carb loaded to bring blood sugar back up quickly, because feeling depleted is an awful state to exist in. However- there it goes- blood sugar back up, body reacts in panic and pushes it too low and this continues again and again. It is exhausting.
Over time this roller coaster of high and low blood sugar damages our body and can lead to some of the symptoms previously stated.
How to build a perfect protein smoothie:
Start with the “Fab 4”. These are the foundational building blocks to a perfect shake (or meal)
- Protein (yogurt, dairy, protein powders)
- Fat (nuts, nut butters, MCT oil etc)
- Fiber (oatmeal, chia seeds, berries, spinach)
- Something green (spinach, mint, kale etc),
More info on the Fab 4 by Kelly LeVeque
Why are protein smoothies great for overwhelmed women?
🍓Smoothies made from only fruit + juices give big energy- but deliver a big crash afterwards
🍓Added nutrients like fiber/fat/protein slow your digestion and leaves you fuller longer
🍓Berries in general have the lowest effect on blood sugar levels-keeping you more even keeled and at peace
Other great balanced breakfast recipes can be found here.
Three of my favorite perfect protein smoothie recipes:
My favorite protein powders can be found on my resource page.
Also, this single serve blender is all you need to simplify everything <3
Chocolate Covered Cherry Protein Smoothie
- 200ml milk of choice
- 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
- 1/2c frozen cherries
- 1 Tbs chia seeds
- 1 Tbs almond butter
- 2 Tbs cocoa nibs
- 1 handful spinach
(substitute frozen strawberries for cherries if desired)
Blueberry Muffin Protein Smoothie
- 200 ml milk of choice
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
- 1/2c frozen blueberries
- 1 handful spinach
- 1 Tbs peanut butter
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 2 Tbs oatmeal
(substitute half of a banana if desired)
Mint Chocolate Chip Protein Smoothie
- 200 ml milk of choice
- 1 scoop vanilla or chocolate protein powder
- 1 handfull spinach
- 3 Tbs cacao nibs (or 1/2 square of 80% dark chocolate)
- 1 tsp MCT oil (or coconut oil)
- 1/2 tsp mint extract (or 1 bunch of fresh mint leaves)
- 5 ice cubes
- 1 date
Give these a try and let me know what you think. If you’re looking for a printer friendly version, you can download it here.
More great balanced recipe can be found in Kelly LeVeque’s book: Body Love
Always, Leana
