#202: Blood Sugar & Mood: How What You Eat Affects Energy, Hormones & Workouts

Ever feel tired, irritable, anxious, or flat for no obvious reason?
It might not be stress, motivation, or willpower — it could be your blood sugar.

In this episode, we unpack how the way you fuel your body impacts your workouts, your mood, your hormones, and your daily energy levels. We talk about why skipping meals, under-fueling, or relying on quick carbs can send your body into a stress response — and how this creates the familiar cycle of crashes, cravings, and mood swings.

You’ll learn:

• Why women often perform better with fuel before training
• How under-fueling increases stress hormones like cortisol
• The link between blood sugar spikes and mood changes
• Why cravings aren’t a discipline issue — they’re biological
• Simple ways to build meals that support steady energy and focus
• How to fuel around workouts without overthinking it

This episode is especially important if you’re navigating perimenopause or menopause, training early in the morning, or constantly feeling “wired but tired.”

The goal isn’t perfection — it’s awareness. When you understand what your body needs, everything becomes easier to manage.

If you're facing challenges on your midlife journey and need some guidance, I'm here to help. I'm currently opening slots for a few individuals to join my FREE 1:1 Coaching.

Apply now for personalised support from me.

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Transcript

#202: Blood Sugar & Mood: How What You Eat Affects Energy, Hormones & Workouts

Hello, hello and welcome back. So here we are going to talk about how you can fuel your body, uh, for your workouts and how we can also look at how our blood sugars affect our hormones and everything else. So firstly, we are going to get on fueling your workouts. I want to say I know lots of people, um, when we talk about fueling their workouts, they say, I just.

I can't eat. I can't eat anything. I feel sick and I just can't eat. And I understand that because I used to feel the same way. I had watched this documentary a few years ago and it talked about. They did research on, uh, the males and the females bodies on what was better for, for working out. And then in the end it was saying that women needed performed better with fuel in their, like, with food in their stomach.

So Ben actually performed better without food. So this was, uh, really surprising to me because I'd always, [00:01:00] you know, exercised on an empty stomach, but I deliberately had a smoothie before I ran and I ran. And I, I couldn't believe how I felt I ran the best at time I'd ever, and distance. I just felt like a go forever.

And KU was only little and he was in the pram. And the only reason I stopped was 'cause he was crying because he'd had enough of, uh, being in the pram. So that really changed my mind about, um, you know, looking to really fuel my body for my workout. And I just want you to think about, just look, if we've always done it faster, that's fine.

Um, but it's just slowly teach yourself to maybe put a little bit of fuel into your body and see how it feels. The other perspective of why I am really recommending this is especially in females, is that when we get up and say we exercise straight away. It is putting your body in a stressed state. So when we don't have any fuel in it, and we are then adding it is adding, it is in adding to our stress.

And it's not recognized. It's, it's not [00:02:00] recognizing that we are working out, it's just recognizing, gosh, what are they doing? I need to protect the body. So increases your cortisol, um, you know, which again is then going to store more fat. So I just want you to think, eat a little bit. And just see now it can be as little as, um, it can be as little as, you know, protein, coffee, or something else.

So just see, just see and try and see how it feels for your body. So, um, remember our goal is always about fueling our bodies and we wanna have enough energy to train well without feeling sluggish or too full. And I think, you know, sometimes that's what's happened with people before is they, you just feel, you feel so and yuck, a bit yucky.

And it has taken me a long time to work out. Um. It's taken me a long time to kind of work out the kind of balance of what works for my body and that's what I cannot [00:03:00] stress enough. This information is information. They've done research, and um, you know, it's giving you a guide on what the research says, but the thing is, you are an individual.

You are different to everyone else who I want you to think about what works for you. And, um, so trial and test it and see. So the timing kind of matters for your workout. So ideally they say to each one to two hours before training, but if you are, uh, training super early, don't stress. I can hear you is already saying I'm not getting up one to two hours.

Nope. I wouldn't either, but like I said, I really, um, rec recommend just even trying. Yes. Um, trying to have a small snack in the car. And like I said, even, um, you know, just a small sweat. It can be, you know, I used to have a lady, she had like three strawberries, I can't remember. It was like carf or banana, three strawberries and two tic tacs.

She had a little combo of what she knew felt good for her. Um, so when we are eating, you wanna think about easy, digestible carbs. So things like, [00:04:00] uh, a banana. Um, with a little bit of almonds, Greek K and berries, a little toast and peanut butter, a smoothie with fruit or protein powder. I probably wouldn't wanna have all of any of those things at 5:00 AM or 4:00 AM you know, whatever if first thing in the morning, um, I would, I personally just would, especially at that time, I would be better with our piece of fruit.

Um, I don't like banana. I like bananas, but I do not like how bananas making me feel, especially before I work out. Lots of people eat bananas, but it doesn't work for me. So this is why I'm saying you've got to look and make it work for you. So, um, just trial and test bananas in to sit in my stomach, but a apple or a pear.

Feels really good. So that's what I like, especially at the five, like, early, early. Um, you do wanna think about avoiding heavy high fat meals right before a workout because they take longer to digest and they might make you feel sluggish or nausea. So depending if you're working out in the afternoon. [00:05:00] You know, but it's also thinking if you are coming to an afternoon or an evening session and you haven't eaten since lunchtime, it's too long a time.

So you need to think about what am I gonna do to fuel myself for my workout? So it could still just be a small little piece of fruit, and we wanna think about it from the way that we are giving ourselves some fuel for our workout to let our body know that this is what we are doing. Like it just. Starts off all the right processes to know, right?

Oh, she's exercising, we're doing this, not keeping ourselves in that stress state. Um, so, you know, just, just really listen to how your body feels and test trial and test things. That's what I've done over the years to work out what works best for me. Okay. Post-workout. So we wanna talk about after we finish our workout, so this is where the magic happens.

So your body, after you've worked out, it is primed to absorb nutrients. So it wants to absorb nutrients to start repairing [00:06:00] and rebuilding. So whatever you eat in the, you know, two hours after you work out, that is what your body is going to use to repair. So if you don't eat. Um, if you don't need anything, it's not gonna be able to use that stuff to repair.

If you eat junk food, then it's only gonna have that very little sources of vitamins and minerals from the junk food to repair. So just think protein is the key, especially after you workout to support your muscle repair. And that's what I said. You can maximize your results. By making sure that you're doing that.

So pair it with some carbohydrates to replenish your energy stores. So some post-workout snacks could be eggs on toast, chicken and salad wrap. Uh, a protein smoothie with banana and oats, um, tuna, rice and crackers, uh, Greek yogurt and mosly. So again, you've gone anything. That you eat after is what's gonna help you repair.

So we [00:07:00] wanna eat within a 30 to 90 minute window after you finish training. Um, you don't have to rush, but don't leave it too long after be, especially if you've had a harder session, because that's what we want to help replenish yourselves. Um, the other thing is don't forget to hydrate. It's, you know, a little bit of dehydration makes a huge impact on your recovery.

So sip water throughout the day after your session. There's lots of protein waters that you can get that you can just put it in the water again, if you feel like you're struggling, just, you know, sip that and you can sip that maybe again, two things at once. So, you know, so like I said, it doesn't have to be crazy.

Keep it really simple. So we wanna, um. Eat carbs with protein before training for energy. Uh, eat protein and carbs after training to help you recover. Stay hydrated and listen to your body. It's smarter than you think. If something feels off, your body doesn't like it, it will tell you. Don't just force yourself because Renee said to do it.

Um, or your friend [00:08:00] said to do it, but, you know, really just think about how it feels. We wanna pair your, if you have a specific goals, we wanna pair your workouts, pair your, how you're fueling your body towards those goals. So, you know, uh, fat loss, muscle gain, all of those things, they can be tweaked along the way to suit what you are trying to achieve.

So just really, really think about those things. It, it's really important and it makes more, more of a difference in what you realize. Okay, so let's now look at blood sugar. So we wanna look at blood sugar and mood and how that can affect our day, how we are feeling, uh, and how we work out all of those things.

So we wanna explore how our food choices, uh, make an impact, not just on our bodies, but also on our brain and our emotions too. So when we start eating, your body breaks down the food. So it breaks down the food, uh, especially with carbohydrates. So carbohydrates, if they're not being [00:09:00] used, they turn into glucose.

So that is our immediate source of energy. So, like I keep saying Cooper, he always wants to, he's a very carb loving child, which there's nothing wrong with that, but he is like, just wants bread and those types of things. And I'm saying to him, um, I always say to him, dress your carbs up because, you know, just eating bread on its own, uh, that's just turning into sugar.

So it's just turning into sugar. So we wanna think that the sugar, um, this glucose that will come from these carbohydrates, it, um, is going to turn into, it will turn into glucose or sugar, and that's gonna fuel your brain, your muscles, and your energy level. But the thing is that when these blood clo blood sugar levels spike too high, especially after sugary snacks or when you've gone too long without eating and then you overdo it, your body goes into this rollercoaster mode.

So, um, so we have these sugar highs and then we have these [00:10:00] crushes and I couldn't recommend more highly to watch. Um, that's sugar film. If you've seen it. It's on Netflix at the moment. I was just looking it up the other day. So, uh, this really explains this stuff really well. So, so when we kind of have these sugar crashes, it leads to things like feeling tired, moody, craving more sugar, uh, feeling anxious or low of foggy in the brain.

So it makes a huge difference. It's, it's around us, not even in obvious ways. So sugar is in everything and they hide it to make stuff more palatable. So you want more. Um, and that's what's, when, when we get the right balance with the protein, the fats, and the carbohydrates. You don't have these big crashes anymore.

The thing where it's more important, especially if you are in phases of perimenopause and menopause. So your hormones will start to shift. Uh, estrogen and progesterone levels start to fluctuate, and your body can be more sensitive to blood sugar [00:11:00] changes. So this means, um, skipping meals, eating only carbs with no protein or fats in it, or having high sugary snacks.

It can leave you feeling, um. You are like, you are on a moody rollercoaster. It could be up and down. So if you've noticed that you're maybe more irritable, um, we are more anxious and you just, you know, or you can't handle, handle feeling hungry in the way that you used to. It's not about, you know, we're not thinking that we have to have more willpower.

It's actually just our biology and because of what is going on with us hormonally that we just wanna make sure that we are aware of it and we are supporting our body in the best way. So lots of us have been taught to skip meals. We think that skipping, um, meals will help us lose weights possibly. So let's just think about what skipping meals can do if you start skipping meals, breakfast or lunch because you're busy.

A midday comes [00:12:00] around and you are starving and you just grab what is ever quick for you. And it is usually something that is really high in carbohydrates and low in protein. Uh, your blood sugar levels will spike and it will then crash down and you'll feel tired and cranky and craving more. So that is like a very common pattern in us.

The other thing is we, when we're on the go all the time, you are just looking for something to, to quickly. You know, fuel you. So it'll be, um, you know, sugary muffins or um, muesli bars or a piece of toast thinking that that will tie you over. But it only gives you a short lift. And again, you then come crashing down.

So, and then within an hour or two you're feeling hungry and, uh, you could be. Irritated and your brain just wants more sugar. And I hear people say, I'm just addicted to sugar. But the less that you eat of it, you will. Then when you start withdrawing from it, eating less of it, you'll [00:13:00] see that those cravings kind of stop.

Um, and this, this is a, this is a pattern that we cycle all the time. And it's, it's, you know, it's. Up, down, up, down. And you know it is, how can we stop it? We can try to be a bit more prepared, be a bit bit more afraid. Number one, start to become aware. Notice that when you're having these crashes, do you get to that three o'clock?

A point in the afternoon when you are totally, you know, you're starving and you'll eat anything. Or do you get to the point that you've not eaten all day and then you come home and then you're making dinner and you eat, eat whatever you can see while you're making dinner. Sometimes in those times you could consume, you know, 5, 6, 700 calories and then on top of, have your dinner.

So it's just really starting to be mindful of that and mindful of what you're eating and how that can, how, and you know, how those cravings can help. I always talk about eating. You know, like I said, Cooper, he'll want these carbohydrates before he goes to bed. And I'm saying to him, it's just [00:14:00] gonna turn to sugar.

It's just gonna turn to sugar, and you're gonna sleep. You're not using it. So, you know, it's being really, really mindful and, and when you start to notice how it makes you feel, you, you won't, you know, you won't want to, um, have that stuff. So I want you to reflect and think about a few things. Like do you notice when you have dip?

Um, mood dips in the day, or cravings? I used to have, especially when I worked in the office, it would get to the afternoon and I'd sit there and I'd feel like I'm falling asleep, you know, falling asleep at my desk. It was a boring part of the day also, but also I wasn't fueling my body correctly, so, um.

Start to pay attention to when you, the time of day, when you have that kind of low, you might have, you're feeling low on energy, um, when you tend to crave sugar or carbohydrates. And how long after you eat do you feel hungry Again, again, my kids think McDonald's is really exciting and I'll say to them, but you feel hungry within half an hour after you've eaten because it's not proper food, it's not fueling your body.

And actually just this morning, Cooper said. [00:15:00] We got a hot chocolate before work, but um, before school and he was saying, mom, sometimes the home stuff is a lot better than the shop stuff. I was like, when, so be your own detective about your body and start to find, you know, find out what works for you and, um, your body is always giving you clue.

So it's always giving you clues as to, um, what, what it needs. And you'll notice when you know if you have started to increase your. Protein in the last few days. You might notice that you don't have those types of crashes now. I had someone telling me the other week how they were having like energy drinks.

They weren't eating and having energy drinks in the middle of the day, and they've just started increasing the protein that they've noticed that they don't need them anymore and they don't have the crashes. So, so, so good. Um, so how can you kind of build that balanced plate? So we want, we wanna build meal build meals that are going to release sugar slowly into your bloodstream.

[00:16:00] So it's gonna keep you in a fueled steady state. So we don't wanna have these ups and downs. So we talked about the rollercoaster, especially when we are not, um. Eating the balanced meal or way of skipping meals or going for a long time before eating. Now I'm just gonna clarify 'cause I know what people were probably thinking is, Renee, you've talked about fasting before.

So yes, I do talk about fasting. I think there's lots of benefits to fasting, but I think it's something we need to be aware of. What is the reason that we're fasting for? So I get lots of people that. Fast because they want to lose weight and then that's fine, but then they get, they, they fast for too.

They fast for too long or then they get to this point where they become ravenous and then they eat everything they see and, you know, I don't think that that's right. So, so fasting is really good. I enjoy it. I enjoy fasting, but I, when I am doing fasting, I'm really aware of how I'm fueling my body. So, um, please, I would love to talk to you more about it.

Um, fasting is. [00:17:00] Um, there's lots of benefits for fasting, especially in the perimenopause, menopause phase, post menopause phases. Um, so please come and talk to me about it and we can individually work it out for you. Um, so it gets, that's why information gets really confusing because one thing they're saying fuel your body.

The next thing they're saying fast. It's just, it is very confusing, but we have to tailor it to that. What works for you? So when we talk about, um, making, making a meal that is going to release sugar slowly, it is getting, um, having a balanced meal of proteins, your high fiber, rich carbohydrates, and healthy fats.

We want stuff that's gonna slow down. Digestion, keep you fuller for longer and keep your brain calm and focused. So balanced meals could be eggs on whole grain toast with avocado. Um, Greek yogurt and berries with seasoned oats. Um, a smoothie [00:18:00] with banana, spinach and nut butter. So your lunch, it could be chicken, uh, in quinoa bowl with veggies and olive oil dressing.

So your olive oil is your fats. Uh, a tuna and lentil salad. Uh, leftover roast veggies, uh, with beans and tahini. So dinner can be stir fry with tofu and brown rice, uh, salmon and sweet potato and greens, pasta with lentils or mince and veggies. So. Um, it doesn't have to be perfect. It's just thinking of that balance and it is just noticing how, you know, getting those fiber rich foods.

So it is recommended, I think the wor, the health organization recommends, I think it's all the Australian government recommended about 25 grams of fiber per day. But lots of things I've been listening to lately actually recommend up to 50. So just see, the other thing to talk about when we're talking about balancing our hormones is think about the [00:19:00] order that we eat in.

Okay, so we wanna think about how stuff digests. So your carbohydrates are gonna be your most immediate source of energy. So they are going to digest quick and your body is going to use them up and then, um, they're gonna use 'em up really quickly and then look for more. So that's, we wanna think if we have, are we eat our fiber fur.

So that would be your greens. Those type of things. So we eat that, that that's gonna take longer to digest. Then we add your protein, and then you have your carbohydrate last. So there's a whole theory. There's lots of research. If you'll see recently, you'll probably the last couple of years you'll see lots of people wearing those glucose monitors.

Um, but that's what it's all for. So we are talking about balancing the meal in that way so that you, we don't have those sugar spikes. So just start to notice this week how stuff is making you feel. So how it's making you feel. And how, um, how we can, uh, look to fuel our body. And it can be even, it can be as simple as um, just the [00:20:00] order that you eat your food.

Yeah, the order. So you could look at, make sure you've got the fiber first, then the, uh, then your protein. And then, because that's gonna take, so it's gonna take a longer time to digest, um, by the time we get to those carbohydrates at the end. 'cause it'll all sit on top of each other. So, uh, let me know if you have any questions, uh, what you observed this week.

Please let me know. I'd love to hear, and I really look forward to hearing from you.