Do You Need To “Maxx”?
‘Fibre-Maxxing’, ‘Protein-Maxxing’, ‘Sleep-Maxxing’…. the trend for maximising/super-charging/optimising our health by doing things by extremes or doing them to the max. But how sustainable is this and what’s the real benefit?
Let’s look at each of the above trends in turn.
Fibre
Fibre is an essential component of a healthy diet. The recommendation is that we’re consuming 30g per day, and the reality is that for many of us, our diets fall way short due to increased consumption of processed foods and refined carbohydrates.
Fibre is not only needed to keep us regular, but it also supports satiety (keeping us feeling fuller for longer), and helping to support more steady glucose release from carbohydrates. Fibre is also a prebiotic - meaning that it fuels and feeds bacteria in the gut. This is an important function, as a diversity and abundance of bacteria supports well-regulated immune system function, neurotransmitter production, satiety signalling and gut-brain and gut-skin communication.
So does the importance of fibre for our systemic health mean we should maxx our intake? Not necessarily. Going from a low fibre diet to a high one quickly can cause digestive discomfort like bloating, gas and even constipation, that can actually make you averse to increasing fibre altogether. It’s important to stay well-hydrated when increasing fibre to support digestive function, and going slowly with increasing it in your diet will allow your body to adjust more gently. There’s also the consideration of how sustainable maxxing your fibre intake is - are you realistically going to be able to consistently consume a super-high fibre diet day in, day out over time?
I encourage focusing on food-first to gently increase your intake. A fibre supplement isn’t a necessity, although they can be helpful in some cases. With fruit and vegetable sources, the benefits of fibre are combined with naturally occurring polyphenols which also have prebiotic benefits in the gut. Some high fibre food sources include:
150g boiled lentils (green or brown) - 11g
100g tinned chickpeas - 7g
1 tbsp Chia seeds - 5.5g
1 medium baked sweet potato - 4.5g
125g boiled quinoa - 4.5g
1 medium Pear - 4g
5 dried prunes - 3g
10g Ground flaxseeds - 2g
1 Kiwi (without skin) - 2g
1 Medjool date - 1.5g
1 medium apple - 1g
Where fibre’s concerned, I strongly believe that slow and steady is the way to go. Incremental increases will be kinder on your system, and more sustainable long term.
If you currently struggle to reach 30g per day, start by including an additional serving of a fibre rich food every day. This approach will not only increase your fibre intake, but will help you to make more sustainably healthy choices across your lifestyle - by building new habits gradually.
Protein
Protein is a hot topic. The protein noise is particularly loud in perimenopausal health, in relation to metabolic health and muscle mass. And yes, protein is necessary to build and preserve muscle (alongside exercise) and to influence satiety and blood sugar regulation. However, protein is one macro-nutrient, and needs to be balanced in the diet with other foods.
Protein requirements are also individual - based on body mass, activity level and life stage. Your personal protein requirements should be tailored to your individual needs. However, building in more protein where it is lacking in a diet, as with fibre, needs to be done in a way that’s sustainable AND enjoyable. I often use the palm-sized portion with each meal principle as a good starting point. As an average for women in their 40s, the recommendation is roughly 1.0–1.2g of protein per kg of body weight to maintain muscle and support weight management.
Some useful additions can include:
1 medium chicken breast fillet - 38.5g
1 medium salmon fillet - 25.5g
2 medium eggs - 25g
50g red lentils (un-cooked) - 13g
100g Greek yoghurt - 10g
70g low fat cottage cheese - 8.5g
100g tofu - 8g
20g chia seeds - 4g
Protein powders can be useful to top up dietary intake, particularly at times when requirements are higher (eg. post-surgery to support healing). However, be mindful of ingredients, as many contain sweeteners and bulking agents that aren’t desirable. Food-first is always the preference, and there are so many sources of good-quality protein to choose from.
Sleep
This is an area of maxxing that can feel particularly stressful and triggering if it’s something that doesn’t come easily or is disturbed by things we can’t control (eg. young children, work patterns). Sleep maxxing, and the preoccupation with tracking sleep quality can actually create more anxiety around something which is supposed to occur in a state of relaxation.
No one can deny the importance of sleep for physical and mental health, recovery, repair and simple rest. But sleep requirements aren’t uniform for everyone, and neither are chronotypes (our biologically preferred sleep and waking times). Doing what we can to support better sleep shouldn’t feel punitive or rigid. Rather, aiming for general principles of sleep hygiene and physical preparedness for sleep are good places to start.
Some ideas:
Ensure physical energy is expended during the day. If you have a sedentary job or lifestyle, try to increase movement - this can include walking or stretching in the evenings if it’s been a low-activity day.
Exposure to daylight in the mornings, and low lighting in the evenings to reflect sunset/twilight. This supports cortisol and melatonin signalling for circadian rhythm regulation.
Supportive sleep environment - darkness (eye masks are useful if your room isn’t fully dark), ideal temperature (16-18 degrees celsius), breathable sleepwear and bedding.
Reducing stimulation 1.5 hours before bed - blue light from screens, high adrenaline TV/films (including the news!), loud noises - do what you can to keep things calm and quiet.
Reducing stimulants (if sensitive to caffeine, I recommend avoiding after 12pm or 2pm at the latest).
Calming bedtime ritual - whether this is the application of your skincare, your favourite calming herbal tea or a warm bath or shower - to signal relaxation and preparation for sleep
Insomnia or poor sleep is difficult enough to live with the effects of. What you don’t need is more guilt, shame or anxiety about not sleeping well or enough. I advocate for sleep support rather than the pressure to maxx.
If you’d like to make meaningful long term changes to support your health, I’m here to help.
