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Employers are not good enough at supporting staff with migraines, say three UK charities.

We’re easy to spot. We’re the ones with plastic beakers in our bags, empty save for a pile of powder at the bottom. Our freezers are jammed full of pre-portioned chicken breasts.

And come mid-afternoon, we’re tucking in to our second hard-boiled egg of the day. It’s a diet once associated with bodybuilders and elite athletes. We’re neither. But we have earned ourselves a less comfortable moniker: “protorexics”.

The term refers to those who rely on lots of protein while avoiding carbs to control weight and fuel workouts.

My obsession with the much-loved macro

Two years ago, after joining the gym in the hope of losing my stomach paunch, I began chugging on protein shakes at the behest of my PT. At first, I found that a pre-workout shake upped my stamina and killed my hunger. So I started subbing one in for breakfast.

Soon, as I became more interested in how protein could fuel my training – and the inevitable flip side: how carbs could be hindering my results – every meal became based around it. Eggs for breakfast, lunches involving packets of cooked chicken slices and the strict rule that at least half of my dinner plate was protein. An inevitable part of the process was that carbs were all but banished from my diet, bar the odd oat biscuit or Sunday roast.

Read more: ‘I tried drinking plant-based protein shakes after every workout‘

I shrank from a size 14 to a 10 within six months and went from pull-up virgin to smashing six sets. No complaints. Except the good times don’t always last. Which is why, a couple of months ago, I ended up at the door of personal trainer and sports nutritionist David Arnot. I’d hit a fitness plateau and had gone, I suppose, looking for answers – armed with what I’d thought was my exemplary eating plan.

My eating plan 

06:45   Protein bar

09:30   Handful pistachio nuts

10:30   Boiled egg with smoked salmon and spinach

11:30   Half a protein bar

12:30   Tinned tuna, salad

14:00   Half a protein bar

15:30   Protein shake

16:30   Greek yoghurt with protein powder

18:15   Half a protein bar

19:30   Grilled salmon with stir-fried veg

22:15   Greek yoghurt with half a protein bar

Read more: 5 foods you won’t believe contain more protein than an egg

The nutritionist’s verdict? 

He’d never seen anyone with my sort of exercise regime eat as few carbs as I did. That was to blame for my lack of fitness gains. And he also pointed to a few other issues – my struggle to focus at work and generally being so knackered by the end of the day that I rarely have the energy or inclination to catch up with friends. When I revealed that each evening my husband cooks two different meals – a regular version for him, a carb-free version for me – Arnot began to shake his head.

He broke down the stats for me: by the time I flop into bed, I’ve consumed more than 150g of the magical macro, which means I’m getting through about 2.5g per kilogram of my body weight.

Read more: 3 signs you need to incorporate more carbs In Your Diet

According to Dr Duane Mellor of the British Dietetic Association, that’s far too much: “We advise adults to eat around 0.75g per kilogram of body weight daily to get the necessary benefits of protein, which includes building lean muscle mass, aiding digestion, regulating nutrient absorption and removal of waste.”

Arguably, I could get away with totting up a little more than this as I clock up between five and seven workouts a week, but I’m still way over the mark. Sports and exercise nutritionist James Collins recommends aiming for something between 1.2g and 1.6g per kilogram of body weight, but warns an intake of more than 2g can do more harm than good. (Think: hormonal imbalances, high cholesterol, exacerbation of existing kidney problems, chronic dehydration, weight gain…)

Read more: “I tried HIIT training for 3 months – this is what I learnt”

Arnot’s proposed eating plan

08:30   Porridge with low-fat milk

10:30   Apple, handful cashews

12:30   Chicken with ratatouille and 125g brown rice

14:00   Biltong or 1 protein bar

19:30   Red meat/fish with green veg and sweet potato

22:15   Handful granola, yoghurt, honey and berries

The last word…

“Nobody’s denying how important protein is,” Arnot says. “But the message has become misunderstood and carbs have become demonised in the process. So I see lots of carb-phobic women eating so much more protein than is necessary.

What they often don’t realise is that kilojoules from protein aren’t used as efficiently for energy as kilojoules from carbs because they can’t be oxidised quickly enough to meet the demands of high-intensity exercise. The fixation on pre- and post-training protein means many aren’t getting the most out of their workouts.”

Arnot agreed to devise a personalised 10-day eating plan for me to follow without leading me into a kilojoule surplus. Meaning? More carbs, less protein equals more energy, no weight gain. I’ll eat to that.

This article originally appeared on www.womenshealthsa.co.za.

Image credit: iStock

Susan Barrett

Hearing Expert

AuD degree obtained in 2013 at AT Still University Health Science Depart-ment, Arizona. Masters in Communication Pathology at the University of Pretoria, 2003. Remedial Teaching Diploma at Rand University, 1996. Degree in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology at the University of Pretoria, 1993. Owner of a private practice in Pretoria since 1999. Educating the community regarding early identification of hearing problems and screening of new-borns. Providing assistance and services at retirement homes. Part-time lecturer at the University of Pretoria and the University of Limpopo. External examiner at the University of Pretoria and the University of Limpopo. Presenter at conferences and seminars.

Will it be any easier third time round for the Duchess who was ill during her first two pregnancies?

Do you accumulate all kinds of “stuff” and have a hard time getting rid of things that you really don’t need?

Those are just two of the characteristics of the chronically disorganised, according to the nonprofit Institute for Challenging Disorganisation.

According to a Health24 article many people have the irksome idea that they’re just not as polished as they should be. One major issue that sets their teeth on edge is time management – and nothing damages time management like clutter.

1. If you want to be more organised, experts say the first step is to attack all that clutter in your home to create a better living environment.

2. Start by looking at all the items in each room that you’d classify as useful. As you consider each one, ask yourself whether you’ve used it in the past year. If the answer is no, get rid of it. Throw it out, donate, sell, recycle or give it to someone else who will use it.

3. Now look at the items you’d classify as purely decorative. The criterion for keeping each one of these is not whether you use it, but whether you love it. If the answer is no, then out it goes.

4. Another way to get better organised is by prioritising tasks, the Institute for Challenging Disorganization states. At the beginning of every week, make a list of all the things you want to get done. Focus on getting the most important ones done early in the week, so you can still finish them if you get interrupted mid-course.

5. On a daily basis, schedule the most challenging tasks for when you have the most energy, such as first thing in the morning. Then estimate how long you think each one will take and add at least 15 minutes to your estimate so you have the time to see it through.

Follow these tips and you can’t help but be better organised.

^{Image credit: iStock}