She Who Dares | Helping empower women to find balance

I’m Becca, a registered nutritional therapist and personal trainer living in the Cotswolds with my husband and two young children. I specialise in women’s health, whether through 1-2-1 consultations, public speaking or running retreats.

My passion for supporting women was borne out of a 14 year career as an officer in the British Army. There I saw first hand how many life events that women go through, from childbirth to menopause, can be misinterpreted and misconstrued in the workplace with little support available, often putting women at a disadvantage.

I am here to help empower women to find balance and take control of their busy lives through evidence based nutrition and lifestyle support.

The link between food and health

The first topic to get out in the open from the beginning is the unequivocal link between personal resilience, stress and mood with what we eat and how we nourish ourselves physically. I know we don’t want to hear it, as good as that bar of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk feels at the time…

This can be seen not only in the food choices we know we make when we feel under pressure and overwhelmed, but also through the very physiology of stress and how it manifests in the body. Did you know we use up more vitamins and minerals when the body is experiencing stress? Did you know taking omega 3 fatty acids can reduce physical and mental markers of burnout?

Have you ever thought about how much emphasis we place on planning for business resilience?

Yet for those of us who are self employed, the foundational pillar to business resilience is yourself. I promise it makes professional and personal sense to read on.

What about us self-employed business women?

Throughout my time in private practice, I have noted a trend amongst the type of women who dare to take a risk and set up a business. We often take on a lot. We have to. Many of us are also trying to fit growing a business around growing a family.

We get excited at the idea of new projects, are continually thinking about work opportunities and fill every spare moment with ‘just one more thing I need to do’.

I’m guilty of not taking lunch breaks, working late into the evening, rushing when I eat and caving in to booking meetings over the time I was desperately trying to keep free for myself.

Does this resonate with you?

To help us business women who dare to dream and take risks stay healthy and strong in both our professional and personal lives, I have created 10 practical tips that you can implement now to protect yourself and your well-being, and to help you find that elusive balance.

10 Top Tips to help you find balance:

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. Have a plan for food and life.

               a) Food plan. I know it doesn’t sound exciting, but the annoying thing is that it works. Have a Pinterest folder or Instagram folder with food that inspires you. Or if you prefer leafing through a book, invest in one or two cookery books by your favourite chefs. Now write a plan. This doesn’t have to be a work of art, it can be on paper or you can use an app like Paprika. Take 10 minutes of your day to think through food planning in order.
               First, what is already in your cupboards? Can you use any of this to incorporate into your food plan? Pick what you want to eat and write it down. Always make more and save it for another day. You will thank yourself. Take a photo of the cupboard and the fridge before you food shop. Don’t shop hungry or tired (is there ever a right time?!). It’s easy to get stuck in a rut. Try one or two new recipes a week and push yourself to try new flavours or foods.
               
               b) Family diary. If it works for your family unit, allocate appropriate tasks to the rest of the family so it doesn’t feel as chaotic or like it is all on you. It’s about trying to really reduce the mental load.

               c) Allocate your time. This could be doing some yoga, a run, a walk, coffee by yourself. Physically book it out in your diary and the family diary. And protect it with your life.

               

            2. Take a look at the way you eat.

               For a while just take notice of your food choices, why you might have made them that day. For example, for me if I don’t eat a big enough breakfast or my lunch is too late, my blood sugar goes too low and I get really bad chocolate cravings. I know I have to go big at breakfast and have a plan or something prepared for lunch.

            3. Think of a goal or a motivator.

               We all work better to goals or deadlines. It focuses the mind. Goals are often something based on physical appearance but it is so much better for a number of reasons if your goal is something about how you want to feel or be.

            4. Don’t think about being ‘on’ or ‘off’ a diet.

               What we eat isn’t analogue. It’s about developing a stronger and healthier relationship with food starting from now.

            5. No food is out of bounds and there aren’t any sins.

               No food was created inherently evil. Try to think more about how much or little a food is going to nourish you. Food has such an important place in our lives socially, culturally and emotionally. Cutting out food is only going to lead at best to bingeing later, or at worst, disordered eating such as orthorexia.

               

            6. Don’t hate fat.

               It is one of the building blocks of our sex hormones and cell regeneration. Think oily fish, extra virgin olive oil, nuts and seeds. Try to keep saturated fat from red and processed meat slightly lower. Now re-read point 5. I said nothing is out of bounds.

            7. Caffeine isn’t the devil, but it’s also not the solution.

               In moderation and at the right times, caffeine can be a great stimulant to focus the brain and improve physical performance. However, it can cause serious disruption to our sleep and stress hormones. Think about starting on the caffeine mid morning, not first thing, having 1-2 cups and nothing after 1pm.

            8. Make exercise accessible.

               It doesn’t have to be in an expensive gym, head to toe in Lulu Lemon. Although if that works for you that’s fine. Think about how you can increase your everyday movement and physical activity in a way that fits your lifestyle. Is it a 10 minute walk at lunch time? Is it doing some calls/meetings whilst walking? Is it a 10 minute YouTube yoga video in your bedroom before the children wake up?

               

            9. Know when to call your doctor.

               If you really don’t feel right and are suffering from chronically low mood, fatigue, weight gain or any sudden onset of new symptoms, go to a doctor and just get checked out. Sometimes we need some extra help and there is no shame at all in admitting that. Maybe also see if the doctor will check your thyroid function. Low thyroid function can cause a range of depressive symptoms and sometimes goes unchecked.

            10. Supplements.

                In high times of stress or if you know you’re not getting the best out of your food for whatever reason, consider a high quality women’s multivitamin. Unfortunately not all multivitamins were born equal and it is likely you’re not absorbing much from your supermarket option. Two brands I like are Nutri Advanced and Biocare. But it is really important you check with a nutritional therapist or doctor if you are on other medication to make sure there are no potentially harmful interactions.

                 

For us self-employed women out forging our own worlds, business resilience and personal health go hand in hand. Now is the time to prioritise you and find balance. What will you choose to do next?

Becca Meadows is a women’s health nutritional therapist and personal trainer available in the Cotswolds and online. She is passionate about supporting you to show up able to give your best whether at home or in the office. Ready to conceive? Happily pregnant? Wanting to own your energy levels? Looking to revitalise a workforce with a corporate wellness offering? Book a 30 minute discovery call to see how she can best support you.

Becca offers 1-2-1 programmes, online courses you can complete in your own time or corporate wellness programmes that make you feel understood, supported and capable of sustaining real change. No fad diets, just individualised, evidence-based nutrition and movement that nourishes you. Helping you to find balance. https://beccameadowsnutrition.co.uk/ 

Her next events are:

Menopause Masterclass 13 May 2023, Origin Health, Elkstone Studios, Cheltenham

Recharge Retreat 17 June 2023, Hilles House, Edge, Gloucestershire

This post is part of the She Who Dares guest blog series, a collection of interviews and conversations with Cotswold women forging their own paths, and sharing their experiences and what they’ve learnt. The hope is to help reduce the overwhelm of running a business and juggling busy lives. Together we can be stronger and braver, a rising tide lifts all boats.

You might like to read some of the previous guest blog posts, Getting Comfortable With Being Visible In Your Business with Self-belief Coach Sophie Carefull, and Your guide to make-up for your brand shoot with make-up artist Sasha Brown.

If you’re ready to book your own branding session, get in touch with me here!