Episode 230: Heal Your Gut, Balance Your Hormones & Sustainable Weight Loss with Ashleigh Jade

Strip it back, control the controllables

TL;DR

• If Ashleigh had to pick one place to start, it's sleep.
• Tracking food can be a great teacher, but don't let an app set your calories.
• Train based on how you feel. Use effort, not just the numbers on the plates.
• Hit enough protein across the day instead of stressing about a 30-minute window.
• Put the phone down. It might be the biggest stress you can remove.

Introduction

Ashleigh Jade started out as a personal trainer at 18, working in a corporate gym. A few years in, she saw the missing piece. Clients were moving, but they weren't sure what to eat, or why they weren't losing weight. So she studied nutrition and is now a functional health nutritionist, working with people face to face and online.

In this episode, Ashleigh answers your questions and reacts to a couple of reels you sent in. We cover sleep, tracking, training through your cycle, protein timing and building habits that stick. Her message comes back to the same thing every time. Strip it back and focus on the basics.

Please note: this blog is for general information only and isn't medical or dietary advice. Please speak with your GP, a dietitian or another qualified health professional before changing your diet, supplements or training, especially if you have any symptoms or health conditions.

Lesson 1: Sleep first, but get moving too

Insight: I asked Ashleigh where someone should start if they're new to health and fitness: sleep, nutrition or training. She picked sleep. It's where your body recovers. If you're not sleeping, everything else, from digestion to training, gets harder.

Her tips are simple. Get natural light at sunrise and sunset, and put your phone down so your body can switch off. Have a routine for going to bed.

I still lean towards training first, because it gives people instant feedback, and it's hard to convince someone that a good night's sleep feels good when they haven't had one in a while. Ashleigh agreed it can help. If you're not moving during the day, training can help set a routine for sleep.

Action: Pick a time to put your phone away tonight, and get outside for some morning light tomorrow.

Outcome: You give your body the best chance to recover, and everything else gets easier.

Lesson 2: Use tracking to learn, not to punish yourself

Insight: Ashleigh thinks nutrition is like learning a new language. With every diet being thrown at us, it's easy to forget the basics: knowing how to build your plate and what protein, carbs and fats actually are.

She likes tracking because it teaches you what a portion actually looks like. That works both ways, showing whether you're eating too much or too little. She uses MyFitnessPal, but doesn't let it set calorie targets. When people ask to lose two kilos a week, apps can suggest very low calorie targets that leave people feeling like they're doing everything wrong.

She also only tracks calories consumed. Adding calories burnt from a watch makes it confusing, and you're putting a lot of trust in an estimate. She's been there, with spreadsheets tracking every step and session, and said it ruined the enjoyment of health and fitness.

Action: Track what you eat for one week, purely to learn, without trying to change anything yet.

Outcome: You build an understanding of your food without the stress.

Lesson 3: Check in with yourself before your data

Insight: We've both worn a Whoop. Ashleigh's advice is to check how you feel when you wake up before you look at any data. If your app tells you you're tired, you'll probably feel tired, even if you didn't before.

She still finds the data useful for spotting when she's run down or getting sick. I wore mine for about two years and reached the point where it wasn't telling me anything new. I don't need technology to tell me I had a night out.

Ashleigh thinks wearables can be great for building routines in the first six to 12 months. Once the habits are part of your life, you might not need them as much.

Action: Tomorrow morning, rate how you feel out of 10 before checking any device.

Outcome: You trust your own body more, and use data as a tool instead of a verdict.

Lesson 4: Find your why, then habit stack

Insight: For Ashleigh, discipline is what you do day in, day out, regardless of how you feel. Motivation comes in waves. To find your why, think about what gets you up in the morning, and picture the person you want to become and their daily habits.

With clients, she uses the "five whys". I want to get fit. Why? Because I want to feel better. Why? Keep going until you reach the emotional reason behind the goal.

Then she breaks the goal into daily habits and ticks them off. Once one is automatic, she adds another. That's habit stacking. If you make a coffee every morning, put your supplements next to the coffee machine. If you forget breakfast for work, put it next to your keys.

Action: Pick one new habit, and attach it to something you already do every day.

Outcome: New habits stick because they ride on the ones you already have.

Lesson 5: Train on how you feel

Insight: A listener sent in a reel about a review of studies looking at whether the menstrual cycle affects strength. Ashleigh doesn't see a big link. She says it's very individual. She's had some of her best sessions on day one of her cycle, when the internet would tell her to rest or do light yoga.

I think research like this can put people off training. Whether you're male or female, young or old, you'll have good and bad days. Most of us aren't athletes, so week-to-week strength doesn't matter. Track your numbers over 12 months to make sure they're slowly going up.

Ashleigh suggests using effort, or RPE. If your goal is to lift something that feels like an eight out of 10, that might be a 10-kilo plate one week and a 20 the next. Match the effort, not the number.

The same goes for anyone having bad days through menopause. Moving will most likely help your mental health, and you can adjust your training to how you feel.

Action: For your next session, rate each set out of 10 for effort instead of chasing a number.

Outcome: You keep training consistently, even on the tough days.

Lesson 6: Don't overcomplicate protein timing

Insight: Another reel suggested women need specific amounts of protein and carbs within a tight window before and after training. A listener said that wasn't possible with their busy life.

Ashleigh's view is that most of us aren't athletes. As long as you're eating enough protein across the day, don't stress about the window. Your body sees what you do on average over the week and month, not minute by minute.

Her practical tips are to keep a protein shake or bar in the car for after training. If you train early and can't face breakfast, have half a banana or some dried fruit.

A lot of advice online is aimed at a small group of high performers, but everyone sees it. Strip it back, do the basics and control the controllables.

Action: Prepare one easy, high-protein snack to keep in your bag or car this week.

Outcome: You fuel your training without adding more stress.

Lesson 7: Put the phone down

Insight: I asked Ashleigh what one thing she'd make everyone in Australia do tomorrow. Her answer was to put the phone down. An hour before bed, while you eat, when you're with friends and on a walk.

She thinks it's the biggest constant stress we have, and stress affects your sleep, training and nutrition. She admits she's guilty of it too, often feeling like a walk without a podcast is wasted time. Her challenge is to put the phone away for one of your walks and see if it makes a difference.

Action: Eat one meal today without your phone or TV.

Outcome: You give your body a chance to rest and digest.

Quick wins

• Get some morning light.
• Track to learn, not to restrict.
• Check in with yourself before checking your watch.
• Attach one new habit to one you already have.
• Leave your phone behind on one walk.

Closing insight

Ashleigh's message runs through every answer. Nutrition, hormones, training and sleep can feel overwhelming because of all the information online. But most of us don't need perfect timing or a complicated plan. We need to sleep, eat balanced meals, move and reduce stress. When you strip it back, you give your body the best chance to feel good.

Connect with Ashleigh

You can find Ashleigh on Instagram, where she shares tips and how to work with her.

Listen to the full episode

The full conversation is on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube, or press play at the top of this page.

Related episodes: Listener Q&A: Supplements, Metabolic Age, Calories and Motivation and Mic'd Up With Jess: Yoga, Mindful Eating and Finding Balance