I’m Nancy, and I joined the fabulous team at The Female Health Clinic in October 2022.
During a meeting, I met with our Nutritionist Kate who designed a 3-Day Nutrition Reset Plan specifically for perimenopause and menopausal women. I decided to road-test the eating plan – not only to understand it better but also because it resonated with me, and hoped it would address some of my menopausal problems.
Let me share a little bit of my personal background. I’m 55 and have been taking Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) for the last 15 months. My one wish is that I had started taking it earlier. I didn’t realise just how much it would improve my symptoms and how important it is for the ongoing protection of my body as I get older.
There are, though, two issues that have remained for me. Firstly, the difficulty of losing and maintaining weight – it feels like an everyday battle to simply stay at a weight and shape I’m not happy with. I lose a few pounds and then regain it after a night out or a few glasses of wine. And secondly, I also suffer terrible energy slumps during the mid-afternoon. I could literally fall asleep standing up.
So, here is my experience of the 3-day reset. I share how I felt throughout the three days and, most importantly, how much weight I lost (and I did lose weight) and how I’m now feeling in terms of energy.
What is the 3-day reset?
The 3-day nutrition plan primarily addresses the balance of blood sugar levels and reduces swings in blood sugar, allowing energy levels to become more balanced. As it reduces cravings, the body is more likely to lose weight and use fat stores as energy – rather than the food just eaten. You eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner – with no snacking in between.
I chose to start the 3 days on a Sunday. This gave me time to go food shopping and prepare the ingredients for the recipes. It really helps to prepare and be organised, so consider doing the reset when you don’t have social events or a busy calendar (OK, that’s hard, I know!)
Day One
I spent about two hours (but I’m slow in the kitchen!) prepping and chopping. My fridge looked amazing – a real festival of bright and healthy colours, all organised in an assortment of jars and containers.
After eating breakfast and lunch – I noticed I peed a lot during the afternoon. I really enjoyed the food, it was tasty and filling, although I felt quite hungry soon after eating my dinner which I ate at 6.30. By bedtime at 22.30, my stomach was rumbling, and I had a slight headache.
Day Two
This was a work day, so I took my breakfast and lunch with me. I ate breakfast at 10 am and was surprised that I hadn’t felt hungry until then, but after eating, I felt really hungry by 11.30! Again, only stomach rumbling – I didn’t feel light-headed at all (which I tend to be if I get hungry). I drank about 0.5 litres of water and peed 3 times before lunchtime at 1.30 pm – which seemed a lot for me.
Day two felt more challenging than day one as I felt tired at 15.30, and my belly was rumbling – if I wasn’t so determined, it’s likely I would have succumbed to a snack. By the time I came to eat my dinner at 6.30 pm, I was very hungry. Surprisingly, I felt full after eating half of the portion (but finished eating it as I had been dreaming about it for the previous 2 hours)!
Day Three
Again, I was working, so I took my breakfast and lunch with me. This was the most challenging day, and I honestly felt quite shattered, tired, and hungry by 4 pm, but I figured it was my last day, so I would shut up and put up!
To Summarise
So, to the big reveal! The morning of day four, I weighed myself and was delighted to see I had lost 4lbs. My thoughts of feeling a little tired and the rumbling stomach over the previous 3 days instantly faded. I was so happy with the weight loss.
My diet before the reset was pretty healthy so I was able to use what I had learned from Kate and the reset to tweak my eating habits. I removed some of the things I had been eating that I now know were the cause of my energy slumps (that I am no longer getting).
Thanks to the reset, I know that cows dairy is a real ‘no no’ for me. My stomach is flatter as there is no bloating (I recently had a latte and my stomach expanded and I felt pretty rubbish all day). I will be sticking to nut milk from now on!!
If you decide to do the 3-day reset and it feels like a big change to what and how you usually eat I would recommend a follow-up session with Kate. She will help formulate an ongoing eating plan, as it would be a shame to undo the work of the 3 days.
I found the food filling, full of flavour and easy to prepare.
I have continued with what I learned and lost a further 5 lbs since October (I’m writing this in mid-November). I tend to carry extra weight around my tummy, hips, and thighs, and I can definitely feel a lovely difference in how my clothes fit. My energy levels are also pretty constant.
I don’t think it is realistic to eat ‘perfect’ all the time, and I still enjoy a few glasses of wine and go out to dinner and eat whatever I want. The difference is I now know how I will feel after eating certain foods, and I can correct that by resuming healthy eating.
So far, I have lost 9lbs. I work full-time and used to feel too low on energy to think about exercising. I have just started back at the gym and plan to lose another 8 lbs by February 2023. I am 100% certain I will do this – and I promise to update this blog when I do!
Extra notes
My shopping bill for the reset was £35.34. I shopped at Waitrose and already had a few of the items such as balsamic vinegar and spices in my food cupboard.
Starting weight 11 stone 10lb (74.38kg)
End weight 11 Stone 6lb (72.57kg)
Total loss in 3 days 4lb (1.81kg)
For more information about the 3-day reset plan, contact The Female Health Clinic on 01252 915333 or email info@thefemalehealthclinic.co.uk
The clinic is running a day of perimenopause and menopause nutrition workshops on Saturday 14th January. Each session lasts 45 minutes and attendees can
opt to sign up for the 3 day reset plan.
To register https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/menopause-nutrition-workshop-tickets-469160039307
