Essential Nutritional Tips for Moms at Every Stage with Karina Wenker

Welcome to the Real Life Momz podcast. It is time to take a break from all our to dos and carve out some time to focus on yourself. I'm Lisa Foster, your host, and today I'm here with fellow mom Karina Wenker. She is a functional nutritional therapy practitioner, and she is passionate about supporting women throughout the stages of motherhood.

From preconception to pregnancy, postpartum, and well into motherhood. So today we are here to talk about nutrition for moms. So thank you, Karina, for coming on the show. Hi, thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be here. Well, I am so excited. You're here as well, because even this morning, like the first thing I hear this morning is this like commercial for it's called quit Friday, which is happens to be the second Friday of January, which is in two days from our recording.

And it's where everyone abandons their New Year's resolutions. Apparently it's a thing. I've never heard of it before, [00:01:00] but it's a thing. And I was thinking, wow, how many people have some sort of nutrition goal or wellness goal? And I don't want anyone to abandon their New Year's resolutions like two weeks in.

So hopefully one thing we could do today is maybe inspire other moms to stay with their New Year. resolutions. Yes, I hope so too. Now you are a functional nutritional therapy practitioner. Do you mind explaining what that is a little bit? Because I know nutritionists and dieticians, but I haven't actually heard that terminology before.

Yes, yeah, for sure. I usually say functional nutritionist, it rolls a little bit easier off the tongue and, , kind of explains what I do. , so the difference is, um, I would say a functional nutritionist kind of takes the whole person into account. So not just , what you eat and like the micronutrients, um, but kind of what happens in your body as well.

So it takes into account, your digestion, gut [00:02:00] health, because for example, , whatever you eat, you might not be absorbing properly. So gut health and digestion is really important. It also is. different in every person. People react differently to the same foods. So for some people, say bread might really spike your blood sugar for other people.

It's fine. Or people might have sensitivities, or allergies. So it really takes into account your whole body. And, , yeah, so, and I would say like the basics are really digestion and blood sugar regulation. And then everything kind of comes from there. And, also. like just your nutrient status in general, so that you, you know, have all the nutrients that you need.

, and then, when I work with clients as a functional nutritionist, I take into account their health history, , any symptoms they might be having, , and then we go from there, and it's a really individual approach. And I love that. I love that you say individual approach, because just listening to you, you know, my husband's very sensitive, I think, to [00:03:00] gluten and wheat and stuff.

And I think I love that. I think my body loves gluten and wheat. I'm kind of gluten full, if that's a terminology. Like, I love it. And my body seems to do okay with it. But, um, You know, he's always coming up with stuff and showing it. And I'm always like, well, I don't think that's for me, but it's probably for you.

And I, and I know there's like these very different diets right out there. There's so many. And I like that you're saying it's like, you know, we really need to look at who you are because even though something might be good, um, for someone, it might not be good for you because it might, you might have allergies, it might be the way you're absorbing something, right?

So not good for everyone. What's your take on some of those? Things out there that seem to like one size fits all. Yeah. Yeah. So like, yeah, it's interesting that you're saying and comparing your husband to yourself as well, because I think especially [00:04:00] men and women are so different. And that's why I'm so passionate about like the women's health and nutrition for women, and especially throughout kind of their life cycle throughout.

preconception, prenatal, postpartum, and then going into perimenopause and menopause because like for ourselves it kind of changes along the way as well Um, but yeah, I I feel like there are those trends out there like for a really long time like keto and low carb And those things were very popular or um intermittent fasting and it's great for some people But especially I think I feel like women were It's, it's not always that great for them because of, , the impact it can be on, it can have on hormones.

So probably not your husband, but oftentimes I've seen like husbands or like men in women's lives kind of say, Oh, you just eat less, like fewer carbs or just intermittent fast and it'll be really easy to lose weight. Or you'll feel like. The clarity, mental clarity, and it doesn't really work for everyone, so that's why I really love the individual [00:05:00] approach, and also just, , what I've been really excited about recently is just that women are kind of, like, stepping into their power, and, like taking in more protein and going to the gym and just like honoring what they need more than they have before.

So yeah. Yeah. And so I heard you talk a little bit about the pre conception phase, postpartum, and then, motherhood, maybe even breastfeeding in there. Right. , so are there different nutritional needs for different phases? Uh, let's call it motherhood. Yeah, for sure. So I would say, , during preconception, prenatal, it's like, we just need more calories for one.

And, , there's, I know there's a lot of debate about, , if we're Meat is healthy for us, or if it isn't, but, , I'm like one thing I'm very convinced is that during preconception, prenatal, we just animal, like any animal [00:06:00] protein, protein can be really beneficial for us because it's just so nutrient dense, it's, , really rich and, iron and all the B vitamins and, healthy fats and things like that.

That's something I would say is definitely different in like. That phase of life and then, there are other phases where maybe it's not as important to take in all that food but and then another thing is just , Yeah, taking care of your gut health and detoxification pathways as well because we because I mean we're I think I heard a stat that We're exposed to 200 chemicals a day in modern life, which is a little scary, but, and obviously it's not all, I mean, it's not all super toxic, but it does, like, even things that aren't very toxic can disrupt your hormone function.

So it's important that like, because we can't really avoid everything. Obviously we can make healthier choices. Um, you know, use less toxic cleaning agents and things like that. But, , we may need to make sure that our detoxification [00:07:00] pathways are really open. And that means like our. Our digestion works well because we do detoxify through, bowel movements and through, sweating and things like that.

So I think that's really important during that phase of life as well. It's always important, but especially important if you're growing a baby inside of you. And, yeah, and then just, , healthy fats, like from fish, like the omega 3s, really important as well, just for, when you're pregnant. when you are pregnant for, , your baby's brain development, but also before just for good egg quality.

So yeah, so all of that is really important during that phase. Yeah, I'm still stuck on the 200 chemicals that I have to detox a day. Don't quote me, but I think that's what I've read. It's still like frightening. Moms are just in it and we're just trying to get by like my actual nickname in my house right now is leftover Lisa because I eat everything in the house that is left over.

I'm like, Oh, we got to get rid of this. And I, I mean, I, we try [00:08:00] to buy healthy food, but I, I definitely, we're, it's, you know, quick and easy. It's sometimes we just need that. Are there some signs that I might, or someone might not be getting the nutrition they need? Like, is there like brain fog or fatigue?

Like what are the signs that I should say? Oh, wow. I need to check my gut health, things like that. Yeah. So definitely what you were saying, brain fog, , just feeling Very tired, especially When you feel like your sleep is actually pretty good Because I know when you have very little children like i'm in that stage right now You don't always get a full night's sleep.

So like if I wake up tired I know why but if you feel like you actually get your seven or eight hours of sleep and you still feel really tired for sure, there might be like a b vitamin deficiency or vitamin d or Third you know, some other imbalance in your body. So that's for sure something, to look out for.

And, , if you also, [00:09:00] if you feel, tired, after exercise, because it should be energizing us. , so that's, , It's like a sign there must, there might be something not quite right. And then, , and then cravings for certain foods. , it's quite interesting, like even things like if you like crave a lot of chocolate, that could actually, that could be a sign of blood sugar disbalance, like imbalance, but it could also be a sign of, a magnesium deficiency.

So , there are lots of kind of small things, , yeah, certain cravings can really point to, deficiencies and that your body just kind of is trying to get those nutrients from somewhere else. I'm listening to you and I'm like, well, aren't we always fatigued, right?

And so is there like a question that you can like ask yourself in the moment to know if like I need to do something different or am I just tired because I'm working, I have kids and you're juggling all the things. Is there like a question that you would know the difference between [00:10:00] I'm just tired?

And I did hear about the exercise. I thought that was a good one. And also if you've gotten sleep and you're still tired, but is there anything like, yeah, how do I check in and say, okay, maybe I need to go see somebody or do something differently? Yeah. Yeah. I think if you, Also, if you notice that afternoon slump, , that's, that could be a sign as well.

And it doesn't have to be that you need to go see someone like it must, but there's definitely something in your routine that you. could change, , like in terms of the, like, maybe, , composition of your meals, like that you take in more protein and fat and less, like, fewer carbs or kind of combine them differently, for example.

So that's, that could be something as well to look out for. Yeah. Now you talk a little bit about kind of the, I'm kind of getting a blood sugar balance feel from you. Can you tell us a little bit more about , what is blood sugar balance? How, why is it important? And I guess the end result, like how do we [00:11:00] even balance it?

So blood sugar balance. So whenever you eat something, that has any carbohydrates in it, so that could be from starches or sugars, you, , take in, like, your body converts that into glucose. Like, sometimes it's straight glucose if it's straight sugar, but sometimes if it's a starch or even something like bread, it converts it into glucose and adds blood sugar.

And, and we need blood sugar for energy. So we need that. It's a good thing, first of all. But then, , our pancreas, , produces insulin, which is a hormone to keep the sugar, the glucose in our blood, , in balance. And that's really important for us to feel good. ride, like to feel balanced. Because if we, , if we have too little, we get really fatigued.

If we have too much, we're like really riled up, like we, or we get those like energy surges and then drops. So, and we want our blood sugar to be like balanced throughout the day, [00:12:00] and we don't want that like roller coaster. , so basically that's kind of like where we want to And the thing is like with like our modern life, like all those.

highly palatable foods, a lot of, quick carbohydrates, , and even stress. So, like, there is also a connection to stress, and caffeine even, and different people react differently to stress or caffeine, so it might not be an issue for some, it is for others, , but through that, our blood sugar and, hormonal balance gets really, like, sometimes really imbalanced, and we have, Like I was saying earlier, that rollercoaster sometimes where we feel like we have a search of energy, but then we feel like we need another snack, so we have that snack and we feel good again, but then it drops again, and we feel really hungry or tired, and yeah, and that can lead to exhaustion basically, and that can lead to , That you can actually not really like the end like we our body can't really produce the insulin we need or our body doesn't really react to the insulin we have [00:13:00] so that yeah our blood sugar gets more and more imbalanced and that has an effect on A whole body and , energy on, , even our hormonal balance and other, , organs like the thyroid.

, it just can, and then in worst case, it can go to like pre diabetes and diabetes and, , even heart disease. So, yeah. No good. Yeah. No, no good. I don't want to get there. No. No. No, but yeah, but even, yeah. But even if you notice. Those, energy slumps, , that's like a first sign that to look out for, and thinking about how you could have your blood sugar a little bit more balanced throughout the day.

Yeah, so are there simple, ways that you recommend balancing your blood sugar? Yeah, one of the first things I really recommend is, , taking a look at your breakfast. And usually it's better to go savory than sweet, because sweet usually means higher in sugar, obviously, and, you won't, might not be as [00:14:00] satisfied after, and then, , grab more snacks throughout the morning.

But, , you can still have something with fruit, but the important thing is , , that you add high protein foods. And fiber, because that will slow down, , how you, like, the way your body absorbs, , the glucose, and then you won't really have those blood sugar spikes, so I always recommend if someone really likes a sweeter breakfast, like maybe a smoothie.

Yeah. Like oatmeal with , some berries to add maybe some greek yogurt, which is really high in really high in protein and then Maybe add some additional seeds for fiber just so you don't really notice that blood sugar spike as much but yeah breakfast kind of like sets the foundation for the day and makes you like makes you feel more satisfied, have fewer cravings later in the day, and you're just more likely to make better choices, choices at later meals as well, if you have a good breakfast.

And then, the other thing is, if [00:15:00] you, , if you have a snack, I would always recommend not to just have something that It's just a carbohydrate, so just a piece of fruit or just some crackers or something like that. I would always recommend to pair it with a source of fiber or protein. So for example, if you have an apple, maybe put some nut butter on it, or if you have some raisins.

And some berries, maybe add some, , cottage cheese or have some cottage cheese topped with berries, for example, or have some crackers and hummus or things like that, instead of just having the carb, because then it'll be a lot more satisfying, a lot more stabilizing for blood sugar. Can you just have the, , protein piece or the fiber piece without, like, that's okay, it's just not having a carb by yourself.

Yeah, I think it's, yeah, it's just not having the carb. And I think some people, some people do really well. with lower carb and , just protein. Some people, depending on, [00:16:00] you know, what you do, how active you are, maybe if you're an athlete and like very active, like especially endurance athletes, they do need more carbs.

So I feel like they might not do as well with just the protein, but in general, yes, for sure. You can just have the protein. Yeah. Yeah. And I think you'll feel a lot better than if you just have them. Yeah. If you only have the carb. And then another thing is just after a bigger meal, maybe go for a walk or just incorporate some kind of movement.

Like it doesn't even, I mean, we're, we're in Colorado in winter, it can get cold and snowy, so we might not be able to go out for a walk. But do something like to just use up that glucose in your muscles. So maybe do some squats or do a plank or something like that. It just can help stabilize that blood sugar a little bit more as well.

Yeah. And, and motion helps with digestion as well, right? Like, so taking a walk actually helps the digestive track. Yes, it does. Yeah. . Now I'm going to turn a little bit because I know you have something going on and I [00:17:00] think it's starting soon. It's that breakfast balance or balance your breakfast, something you're doing, right?

Can you tell us a little bit about that? Because people might want to jump on board to that. Yeah, that actually fits really well because, um, we were just talking about breakfast and balancing your meals. It's actually already going on. It's right now. It's, , just for the whole month of January.

So it's, it's the balanced breakfast channel, challenge. And, , the goal is for everyone who participates to have at least 25 grams of protein. Which, , for all the reasons we talked about before, just because it's the foundation for the day, it'll help with blood sugar regulation, protein in general.

I feel like women often consume not enough. Just because of the way we were conditioned, and , I think it's, it's great that we're starting to prioritize it a little bit more because it has so many benefits for us. And , yeah, so that's the goal, just , have a breakfast with 25 grams of protein and if you sign up, you get some [00:18:00] emails, , and like with some guidance, how you can track that, and recipes, some grocery lists.

So for example, , like if you have usually have a lower protein food, like what could be a good alternative to that? And, yeah, and I'm just kind of trying to like. inspire people to, have more balanced breakfasts and kind of go away from that cereal, , or like, I don't know, bagel or something like that, which is all delicious.

But, yeah, just have something a little bit more balanced and obviously even better if you add some fiber to that or even some vegetables or something like that. That's awesome. So where can they find that challenge? So, yeah, so you can either find it, , on my website on the homepage, there's a link to the challenge.

, and then you can sign up , and then also my Instagram. So I'm also posting my own breakfasts every day and my Instagram stories. And, , if you go to the link in my bio, you can, , just sign up. And yeah, and if it's not January anymore, I don't know when people listen to this. I'm [00:19:00] planning on making it something that people can participate later on.

It won't be live anymore, so they won't be seeing me, sharing my own breakfast. But, , there will be a highlight in my Instagram. And, , there will be ways where they can find it. Great. And I'll have your website so that people can just click on the link in the show notes and get right to that challenge if they're listening to this in real time so that they can start it.

I'm going to start it tomorrow. Yeah. I'm going to do this. I'm a oats girl. I'm a oatmeal girl. I'm a cereal girl and my yoga girl. So that's a lot of sugar and, and carb, right? So I am definitely needing to do this. So that's great. Now, how can we make this as simple as possible for moms? Like if we're going to start doing something today, what are some simple things that moms can do today to really boost their nutrition [00:20:00] easily?

Yeah, so I think like one really simple thing we haven't really talked about yet is hydration. So drinking water, which sounds so easy, but I feel like isn't always easy, especially if you're a mom, because sometimes you forget. And especially if you like us live in Colorado where it's dry and we're at altitude, it's even more important that we drink water.

And there are lots of strategies obviously, but maybe just Just having a big water bottle and filling it up, at certain intervals, maybe setting a timer, and just remembering to drink water is really important. And you might even want to add some electrolytes to that water as well because that, helps us absorb water.

the water better. Like our cells need some minerals and those are those electrolyte minerals to absorb the water. So that will really make a difference and that will also help with energy because sometimes it's as simple as like [00:21:00] you're dehydrated like even with headaches or low energy. It's not always like that.

something really serious. Sometimes it's just needing to be hydrated. That's one thing. . And I actually heard once that someone said that sometimes hunger, like you feel hungry, but you're actually thirsty. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. So that's interesting. All right. I want to turn the page on electrolytes because I get this word all the time.

You need electrolytes. I don't understand that. Like, tell me a little bit more about the electrolytes, why I need them. And like, I feel like I get a lot of this little, like someone gives me a little supplement packet of electrolytes, but it seems very like sugary and, and , maybe very salty.

So what are also good electrolytes and are there some more natural choices than just like a little packet that you put in your water? Yeah. So electrolytes are minerals that have an electrical charge and, , yeah, and we need them for fluid balance. [00:22:00] So, they're really important for our bodies.

Without them, nothing will work, , we need them for our cells to function. And, I do really, like, especially where we are here in Colorado, I recommend them, just because we get a lot, dehydrated a lot easier. I also really recommend, electrolytes for pregnant women. Because with pregnancy you just have more fluids in your body, so otherwise your fluid balance will be off, and then with, , athletes as well, because if you sweat a lot more, you need to replenish more, and that's where electrolytes get lost as well, with the fluids, , and yeah, I, I agree, there are , Lots of brands out there that are very sugary.

So that's the first thing I would look out for. Look for brands that, , don't have sugar. There are some with more natural sweeteners like Stevia or, , Longfruit. So there are some, some of those and, but some of them still have a really sweet taste. And there's some natural as well. I know Element does a raw [00:23:00] version, which is unflavored, which just tastes salty.

But that's one of the brands that is also quite salty. So if you. If you're not an athlete or, it might be a little bit too high in sodium. It really, it really depends, but, , but what you can do like just at home is actually mix your own electrolyte powder. So you can, or just mix your own electrolyte drink.

, you can, , put in , Some natural salt, like something like a kosher salt or sea salt. And then, , , a source of potassium so that could bere, uh, cream of tartar that has potassium or some, coconut water. . , and then some magnesium. So magnesium, , you can get in powdered form.

I really like magnesium gly in it. , it's a really great form and you can get it powdered and add some of that. So you kind of have your own homemade electrolyte. Oh, I like that. And are there certain amounts to put in? Like, do you have that anywhere on your website or anything? I do. I actually, I do actually have a blog post on my website, which, has a recipe for, , your homemade electrolyte [00:24:00] drink.

Okay. Well, I'm going to check that out. I think we should all check that out. That's awesome. All right. Well, tell us where the listeners can find you and what you actually offer. Yeah, so my website is realfoodroots. com And you can also find me on Instagram at realfoodroots , and then I work with clients one on one So, I have , two programs, one on one nutritional therapy programs One is , I call it Fertile Fertility Foundations and it is, for anyone who's trying to conceive, maybe having some struggles with fertility or, , early on in their pregnancy and just wanting that support, that nutritional support.

And we just work on the nutrient stores, on the foundations, detoxification and, , just laying the foundations for a. Healthy pregnancy and natural conception and then the other program I have is , I call it the nourished mother And that's for anyone like it could be early [00:25:00] postpartum It could be much further along in motherhood and it's just like first of all like repeating those nutrient stores And then balancing your blood sugar working on your gut health And yeah and your natural cycles like hormonal balance as well.

So That's, yeah, for anyone else. And I, yeah, work with clients one on one, so you have that one on one support, really. We dive really, deep into your health history, into your symptoms, into your food journal. , so, like we said in the very beginning, it's very individual. , yeah, but just, yeah, just want to be really supportive and, uh, work.

Kind of meet you where you are and what you can do right now. And you're also virtual, so people can work with you anywhere in the world, which is so great. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you so much for coming on the show. This was so much fun. I learned so much about. Everything, honestly, and I'm going to start your challenge tomorrow on quick Friday.

I'm going to make a New Year's [00:26:00] resolution and actually start a resolution instead of quitting. That's amazing. Yeah, I love that. Yeah, yeah, that's awesome. On that actually, I just, , I think yesterday I read that, When you start a new year's resolution, you would always, you should always look at what you can add into your life instead of what you want to cut out and that you're much more likely to, to succeed with that resolution.

So if you add balanced breakfasts and protein into your life, I'm sure you'll succeed. Oh, I love that. I love that. And this year, my new year's, resolution board, my vision board. I decided to put it on a whiteboard for the first time and it's monthly. So I actually write my New Year's resolutions every month so that this way I can keep on track.

I don't forget about them and then I can be like just a work in progress. Oh, I love that. That's awesome. Well, thanks again for coming. It's been so lovely to have you on the show. Thank you for having me. It's been great.

Thank you for listening [00:27:00] to this episode. If you'd like to learn more about Karina, just click on the link in the show notes

and make sure you take advantage of that balanced breakfast challenge that's going on this January to join, , just click on the link in the show notes

and until next week, keep carving out time for yourself. Make sure your body is getting the nutrition that you need.

And remember the most important thing on your to do list is yourself.