Say What?
I’ve staked my career on a word no one knows how to pronounce.
Satiety.
(Pronounced suh TIE uh tee by the way—I didn’t know for the longest time. Say shu tee? That’s how I said it in my head for years and if you have been too, I totally get it.)
Many would advise that creating a business around a word no one can pronounce is not a great idea but…
…satiety is just SO damn powerful, and kind of everything you need to know when it comes to your health, that I’m stubbornly sticking with it.
(Plus I love alliteration and maybe there’s something there with my first name. I don’t know. I’m taking suggestions.)
I call myself a satiety coach as in, I teach people how to cook and create simple meals that make them full and satisfied, for the right number of calories, so they’re free from thinking about food for a solid 3-4 hours.
That’s my definition of satiety and the goal when I work with clients. We know we’re getting meals right when sugar cravings and evening munchies go away.
I am well aware that for many women, dealing with food can be as fun as a boob-smashing mammo. Planning, shopping, cooking, budgeting, health challenges, cravings, guilt, and picky family members can all steal joy from this thing that’s supposed to bring us pleasure and stress relief three times per day, otherwise known as eating.
The statement below would have seemed controversial two years ago although these days, given the effectiveness of GLP-1 medications which—surprise!—work by creating profound satiety, I think more people would agree:
Approaching food through the lens of satiety solves many of the problems listed above, because eating for satiety creates effective clarity. And isn’t that what we really want? To know exactly what to do and to know that it will work?
I talk to midlife women all day, every day and I hear deep frustration and confusion about what they’re supposed to be eating. One trainer says carbs are imperative, then a few years later carbs cause obesity and diabetes. Ditto meat, dairy, eggs, and lately even fruits and vegetables. They’re inflammatory! Just focus on protein. Except it’s carcinogenic. Thank goodness calories don’t matter! Oh wait, yes they do.
When we look through the lens of satiety, everything snaps into focus and we see the science of what works:
Choose foods with the highest satiety-per-calorie and eat them in combination to really get the effect. As Yoda would say, This is the way. As I would say, Kablam.
Bonus: eating these foods in combination also creates the nutrient density, better energy, gut health, disease prevention, muscle preservation, healthy skin and hair, deliciousness, and much easier weight management that we’re all looking for.
So OK, let’s just agree that satiety rocks. How can you use it your advantage as you go through your day, to get and stay full and turn off cravings and over-eating?
When you eat, create “grandma meals” aka a protein, a veggie and/or fruit, and a moderate serving of carbs/starch, all together. Don’t skip carbs. Don’t skip protein. Don’t skip vegetables and fruits. Tune out the influencer loonies.
To the best of your ability, let go of complicated recipes except when you’re entertaining. They slow you down. Grill some well-seasoned meat or fish. Roast some vegetables. Boil some rice or potatoes. Make it taste great with a condiment. Make extra when you cook so you have lunch for the next day.
Don’t abandon your favorite meals, just tweak and fix them. Keep it really simple.
That can look like:
👉🏻 Your morning big bowl of oatmeal being a smaller bowl of oatmeal boosted with Greek yogurt, berries, and nuts.
👉🏻 Your lunch sandwich recreated with just one slice of bread, more protein, with a side salad that includes legumes, apple for dessert.
👉🏻 Your pasta dinner recreated with a smaller serving of pasta loaded with veggies and shrimp, dark chocolate for dessert.
Those are fast, filling, nutrient-dense meals for the right number of calories for healthy weight (because yes, calories do matter).
Those are meals that help midlife women keep and build muscle and improve their metabolism and inflammation (muscle = metabolism).
Those are meals that can be created on the fly, without recipes, because there’s a satiety formula at work behind the scenes (protein + carbs/fiber + colorful plants + healthy fat).
You’ll know you’re getting it right if you don’t have afternoon cravings and you don’t need to eat after dinner.
I had a chance to talk about satiety and effective clarity on The Weekly Dish this week—catch my conversation with the (other!) Stephanies right here.
I love (and miss) those badass ladies (ICYMI, I recently moved from Minneapolis to Denver). They have Substacks too and in fact inspired me to start this one.
Read Smarch’s Pickle newsletter here.
And read Shansen’s Stephanie’s Dish newsletter here.
I’m new to Substack—thank you for the warm welcome!— so if you’re curious about how I work 1:1 with midlife women to create big satiety in order to lose weight, read more here.
If you’re a beginner, a satiety noob as it were, then for SURE join a whole crowd of us for my live class Eat Like a Midlife Badass! We start June 11 on Zoom (with replays if you can’t make it live).
We’ll meet twice per week for 3 weeks and cover all the basics! I’m offering it for half-price for one more week and I’d love to have you there.
Thank you for joining me here. I’m excited to share more ideas, recipes (see below!), science, lessons, assignments, and stories with you.
Assignment time! I include a mini-assignment with each newsletter and yours is…to play with satiety.
Begin with breakfast:
30 grams of protein from a combination of eggs, yogurt, chicken sausage, leftover, cottage cheese, protein powder, tofu
25-30 grams of carbs from toast, oats, legumes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, granola, tortillas, bananas
15-20 grams of healthy fat (might already be in the protein, or add a bit of olive oil, avocado, nuts, nut butter)
2 colors of non-starchy plants like berries, peppers, mushrooms, spinach
If you get breakfast right, you’ll completely change your day.
You’ll learn the power of satiety.
You’ll experience naturally better food decisions, fewer cravings, and better energy.
Report back how it goes!
It’s rhubarb season and one of my favorite ways to enjoy it is by making simple syrup for cocktails or especially for mocktails.
I am drinking alcohol pretty infrequently these days but I do love to sip something sparkling and bittersweet while I make dinner.
Sometimes I keep it as simple as diet tonic with fresh lime, or bubble water with bitters, but in the spring, I am all about this rhubarb simple!
I worked with my dear friend Kim Kalina of Minnesota Ice (and designer of Project Vibrancy Meals meal plans!) to create two rhubarb mocktails with their beautiful, crystal-clear ice: a Rhubarb Gin Rickey and a Spicy Rhubarb Margarita.
We had a total blast taste-testing and taking pics and we love both of these creations so much. You will too and you’ll feel exactly like you’re sipping a boozy cocktail, minus the calories and headache.
Grab the recipes for rhubarb simple recipe and both mocktails right here:
Back to protein for a sec.
It’s always a challenge to have enough quick proteins on hand (carbs and fats are easy), so when you grill or roast, make extra to set yourself up for your next meal.
These Chicken Souvlaki Skewers with Green Yogurt Sauce are a perfect recipe to double. Great for dinner, amazing for lunch the next day. Turn them into a Greek bowl with rice, olives, sautéed peppers. Or enjoy them with new potatoes and a big Greek salad. (See the satiety formula there?!)
Click below for the recipe, which is on my blog Fresh Tart.
I’ll leave you with this last thought:
It’s very normal to feel overwhelmed by your energy level, body, and weight changing as you hit perimenopause. It can make you feel like a stranger in your own body and like none of what used to work does any longer.
My advice is to start with the breakfast formula I outlined above. Breakfast is a game-changer and what I’ve shared here is shown to influence appetite all day.
Start there and create an early success.
Notice how it changes your day.
And if you want more, join me for 1:1 coaching or my upcoming class. You don’t have to change everything overnight, but if you want change you do have to start.
So start!
xoxo Stephanie
LOVE THIS NEW FORMAT just saying :)