Book Review: ROAR – How to Match Your Food and Fitness to Your Female Physiology for Optimum Performance, Great Health and a Strong, Lean Body for Life
When my coach told me about the book, ROAR – How to Match Your Food and Fitness to Your Female Physiology for Optimum Performance, Great Health and a Strong, Lean Body for Life by Stacy T. Sims, PhD, I had to go and buy it! I’ve been struggling so much with nutrition and hydration and getting the mixture right. I know if you have it right you can do almost anything!
So, I bought the book on Amazon and started reading it. To be honest, it wasn’t a book to read in a sitting, like many of the other books I’ve read. It’s more of a read a couple of pages, absorb the information and go back to it. It also serves as a reference guide.
I guess the biggest takeaway from the book was that men and women can’t train the same. We’re made differently and we need different hydration and nutrition to keep us going. We also can’t train like we did when we were 20 years old. As we get older, our bodies change and we need to change our routines according to our bodies.
Other takeaways include:
- All women, no matter what age, must strength train at least two to three times a week no matter what!
- Carbohydrates are not bad and should NOT be avoided.
- Read labels more closely and look out for those labels that have high fructose in them. That should be avoided. Natural sugar is much better.
- Protein should be taken with every meal and especially taken right after you finish a workout. Thirty minutes following a workout is key!
- Take tums instead of inflammation pills before you exercise. They will not hurt your GI.
- Eat several smaller meals a day. The author recommends at least six meals.
- Don’t just drink water, it’s not enough. A product with electrolytes and salt will be perfect for working out hard.
- Drink tart cherry juice before you go to bed for a sounder sleep and less inflammation.
- Try Black cohosh for hot flashes and valerian root for a sleeping aid.
- Don’t eat fruit after working out.
- When you travel, try to acclimate before you go by going to the steam room or sauna every day prior to.
I filled my shopping list with a slew of new ingredients and will try to make a conscience effort to start watching what I eat in order to perform better… I’ll let you know how it goes!
