I'm Hormonal | PCOS, periods, gut + hormone health insights

[Mini] 5 Ways to Elevate Nutrition While Traveling | Ep. 85

• Bridget Walton, Women's Hormone Coach • Episode 85

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This episode explores essential nutrition strategies to support hormonal balance, particularly for those with busy travel schedules. Key insights include the importance of whole foods, prioritizing protein at breakfast, and tips for healthy eating while on the move.

• Emphasizing the importance of a variety of whole foods 
• The role of protein in stabilizing blood sugar 
• Importance of relaxation during meals for better digestion 
• Suggestion to hit grocery stores after arriving at a destination 
• Focus on packing high-protein breakfasts like yogurt and granola 
• Suggested practice of drinking tea to maintain routine while traveling 
• Strategies for healthier airport food choices 
• Packing your own snacks to prevent poor food choices 
• Encouraging planning ahead for better food choices

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Speaker 1:

Hello, hello and welcome to this week's episode, this week's mini episode at that of I'm Hormonal. I'm your host, bridget Walton, women's Hormone Coach, and this week I am talking about nutrition, because nutrition is so foundational to what's going on with your hormones. If you listened to this week's earlier episode, I went ahead and talked through what are my three must-dos when it comes to nutrition. If you are somebody who wants to have more predictable periods, if you are trying to figure out how you can get over your PMS, if your energy levels are not where you want them to be, check out that longer form episode for an in-depth coverage of it all. But let me go ahead and recap for you what are these three focus areas that I want you to keep in mind in case you go back and listen after you finish up this mini episode. So the first thing I want you to focus on is prioritizing a variety of whole foods. Whole foods meaning well produce. How many ingredients are there in it? One, it's the quinoa, it is the cashew, it is the apple. You feel me? So whole foods, getting a variety of them. Your gut is going to love that. Two, I want you to focus on prioritizing protein, especially at breakfast. This is so important for blood sugar regulation. This will set you up for success when it comes to your energy levels throughout the day and also overall, your hormones and your menstrual cycle will be much, much happier Now. Third and finally, relaxing while you eat. I know we think like is that really nutrition? But yes, it is nutrition, because it's not just about what you eat, but how you eat. If you are able to relax, calm down, sit down, take a little breath before you start eating your food, your whole digestive process is going to work differently. It will work as designed and that will allow you to get, you know, as much benefit as you can get all of these good nutrients out of your foods. So keep those three in mind.

Speaker 1:

I know that so many of you listening are on the move for work a lot. You are traveling, you are flying, or it's just life is busy, right, you are go, go, go all the time. So these five tips that I'm gonna walk through here in this mini episode are really focused on you. If that resonates, you are in the right place. Hopefully, these tips can be actionable and keep them in mind, jot them down, come back to them for your next trip. So let's dive in.

Speaker 1:

The first thing I would love for you to consider is when you are traveling somewhere. Let's say it's for work, but could be for pleasure too. When you get somewhere, remember that even though you're just visiting, you can go to the grocery store. Rocket science. This is something that I did almost every single time when I would travel, when I worked in corporate sales. I would land, I would go right from the airport to whatever is the nearest Whole Foods, because, a every single major city that I went to, every city that I flew into, had a Whole Foods actually like pretty close to the airport, which was convenient. And B of course, there's more inspection to do in exactly what food you want to buy from Whole Foods, but they do have a good reputation for having high quality foods, having a good variety, and I really like a lot of their pre-made foods.

Speaker 1:

So let me talk, though, about what I love to focus on when it comes to breakfast. That's what I would focus on the most. I would say, if nothing else, let me get my breakfast for the next two days while I'm here for work, and I would go ahead and I would find one, a granola. I'm basically I'm running me through yogurt and granola. I would get a granola that was highest in protein if there was like a protein option and with the lowest or one of the lowest sugars added sugar I would find a yogurt. That same thing was relatively high in protein, low in sugar.

Speaker 1:

Personally, I'm not a dairy or a cow dairy gal that much so I would go with whatever is the plant-based option. I would grab a single what is it called? I guess a single serving almond butter packet so that I could put that in and mix it with my yogurt. And, all in all, let me think about how much protein that would be for just the yogurt and granola Gosh. I promise you. I did that math before and then it evaporated from my brain.

Speaker 1:

Regardless, and depending on if you have a high protein yogurt available to you, which is what I'm doing, this math on the granola, yogurt and almond butter comes out to about 20 grams, plus Whole Foods has hard-boiled eggs that you can buy. They come in like a pack of six, and so if you're eating two of those, that's another 15. So, math in public 20 plus 15, that's a 35 grams of protein, which, as far as I'm concerned, that's like a very legit start to the day. You were going to feel so good with more stable energy levels and also like I'm just not a fan of the continental breakfast. I don't want any of that stuff. I also don't want these powdered eggs. So at least do yourself a solid and get your breakfast foods so that you have them ready to go in your hotel room or in your Airbnb and you can start off the day strong.

Speaker 1:

You can check out if you want to see exactly the items that I like to pick up, go to the show notes or go to my Instagram. I posted a reel this week that shows like each brand um one by one. So I'm on Instagram at Bridget Walton, all right, so that was number one go to the grocery store and get your breakfast, at least. Number two I love to bring tea along with me. Right, I just pack, like I don't know, five or 10 or whatever of for me a green tea and also a sleepy time tea. Also, with this, bring a reusable like, bring your tumbler so that you've got that on hand.

Speaker 1:

I love bringing teas because one I can have my green tea in place of well, in place of hotel coffee and depending on what your schedule's like or if you're traveling for a conference. Maybe that is going to be a really good option that will save you some time. Of course, green tea also just is loaded with antioxidants and other good things that your body as a whole and your hormones will certainly benefit from. So I don't know, shout out to green tea. The reason why I love to bring sleepy time tea is because it helps me to keep some sort of routine, like I don't know about you, but when I am traveling, when I'm on the go, I get a little bit stressed out, just like not being in my environment and just doing everything on a whim. I don't know, does that sound dramatic, but I just really, when I'm away from home, I try to keep as many things consistent as possible, and for me, sleepy time tea is one of those that just helps me to feel grounded and like okay, bridget, you have a couple of minutes, enjoy some tea before you go to bed. So I hope that's something that serves you too.

Speaker 1:

The third tip that I want you to focus on or keep in mind is with regards to food at the airport. So what do you normally eat at the airport? Because I'm going to venture to guess that it might be food from the gate nearest your, rather from the shop nearest your gate or the restaurant nearest your gate. It could be nothing. It could be going into whatever lounge you're a part of and grabbing some of the tasty, tasty treats that they have. Which why are their treats so good? But here's what I want you to focus on and just friendly reminder about what they have if you do have lounge access.

Speaker 1:

So most lounges, if you have a morning flight, you're there for breakfast time, they will always have eggs, like hard-boiled eggs, and they will almost always have some type of egg cup or a little egg frittata thing that you can get right. Focusing on these because those are generally the highest protein options available. If you are somebody who eats sausage, that's pretty common there too, not for me personally. But one other thing that at least the Delta Lounge, which I'm a Delta gal that the Delta Lounge has is normally a breakfast salad. So with every meal, how can I get some veggies in at the start? And so just keep it in mind, just make it your staple, just rinse and repeat the next meal if you're there for lunch or really for dinner, right, options are pretty much the same, but I find that most lounges have a soup, so cool way to get in some veggies there. They normally have a salad situation. There's always hummus, there's always some other vegetables don't have organic produce, so that is something that I'm like. I wish that this spinach in this salad was organic, but sometimes we can't have everything that we want, and so, for me, I'm happy to go with the vegetable options that they have there, even if they're not organic, the vegetable options that they have there, even if they're not organic. Okay, the last thing I want to say about airport lounges is just, yes, so tempting to get a tasty dessert or enjoy a free cocktail, whatever they have, if that's your jam, you know there's. I think that there is room for some balance and everything, but I would encourage you to keep the desserts for dessert, because eating them at the end of your meal will better serve your blood sugar levels, which your menstrual cycle will thank you for.

Speaker 1:

I've got two tips left for you, and then we will wrap it up for the day. The first thing is that you can just pack some snacks from home. Bring cashews with you, bring whatever nut mix with you. It'll last a long time you don't have to worry about it. Or if you're like, oh shoot, I have this produce that's going to die while I'm gone, pack it up, put it in a little cooler, put some ice packs in there, because if the ice packs are fully frozen, you can bring them through TSA. If they are a little bit melted and have some liquid inside, no worries, they just have to follow the 3-1-1 liquid rule, meaning that the container has to be 3.4 ounces or less. So you've got options. Don't let your produce die. Bring it along with you. That will be a good trick for you.

Speaker 1:

The last thing I want to mention is that, depending on where you are for whatever, you're at a restaurant for breakfast and you're ordering an omelet. Well, can you ask the waiter hey, can, instead of cooking my food in oil, can you cook it in butter instead? Now, some of you may have shuddered at that suggestion. Right, different views on this, but personally I'm pretty interested in avoiding canola oil and vegetable oils, those things that can drive up inflammation, and some people are more sensitive than others to it. But anyway, if you feel so inclined, just say hey, can you cook this in butter instead? And maybe that will better suit you and better suit your digestive system. All in all, I hope that this was helpful for you.

Speaker 1:

I do want to encourage you. You have to plan ahead. You have to take a couple of minutes. I know that you are meticulously planning out your meeting schedule or you are really careful about planning what are your fun events that are going on while you are on your trip. Planning out your food and what you're going to eat is going to be so important and I hope for you that you prioritize it. In the same way. Put your snacks on your list.

Speaker 1:

If you're somebody who, before you get out the door, you're like all right, I got my laptop, my laptop charger, I got my card, I've got my you know workout shoes, I've got my cash shoes, I've got my AG1, whatever it is that works for you. Just figure out how you can automate this. Make it as easy as possible for you. Just figure out how you can automate this. Make it as easy as possible for you, and I promise you that following some of these practices will help you to have more energy and just feel better while you're going throughout your day, and it's also, in the long run, going to help your hormones and help you to have better, more regular menstrual cycles. So thank you so much for listening to this episode of I'm Hormonal. Again, I'm Bridget Walton, women's hormone coach, and I can't wait to see you on the next long form episode. All right, thanks guys, we'll see you there.

Speaker 1:

If you loved today's episode and got something good out of it, make sure you subscribe so that these episodes show up automatically in your feed, no work needed on your side. Let's put it on autopilot. As always, I need to give you my reminder that the information I share with you here is for educational purposes only, and it should not be used as a replacement for medical advice or diagnosis. Now, if you are, on the other hand, in the market for some one-on-one support, then I would love for you to take me up on my offer for a free strategy call. You can find these links and more in the show notes.