Mikki Williden, PhD, Auckland (2025)

02/12/2025

With a smoothie (ie one you buy from supermarket) it might have 30g protein but it does nothing for your appetite. You will feel less thirsty but as a meal replacement it lacks texture, chew, taste variation and volume in order to keep you satisfied for a few hours.

Like any liquid calories.

That’s why I like thickies

Made w ice, mango, cauliflower rice, unsweetened almond milk, protein powder, (I added 1/8 tsp xanthan gum) you can get a good base that you then add some toppings too and your brain 🧠 gets the message you’ve got food on board, appetite is better regulated, the time taken to eat it allows your brain to engage better in the process and it sends a completely different message.

Base: as above
Toppings: banana, raspberries, strawberries, PSMF bread, mixed seeds, almonds

01/12/2025

Some of my favourite one liners that I use and my clients use in the moment that allow them to stop, pause, breathe, and then make a decision.

So many of our actions are on auto-pilot. We do something before realising we’ve even done it. Then beat ourselves up for it.

Or our behaviour spirals from one decision we can’t change.

It can help to have some sentences at the ready: in your notes app, written in a journal, as a sticky note on your pantry door or computer monitor 🗒️ for you to remember in the moment to lean on.

30/11/2025

I mean….

Not sure I need to explain this further.

28/11/2025

If you’re not in an active fat loss phase, training throughout the day you will have fuel available, as you would have eaten a meal a few hours ago, or will be eating again a few hours after training.

Amino acids and glucose will be readily available for what you need it for, so you don’t need to immediately have something before or after training.

For those who are in a calorie deficit, adding in additional fuel can be advantageous. Your muscles are primed to take on board carbs post exercise, shuttling that fuel into the muscles and restoring muscle glycogen (carb stores). These stores are likely low given your low fuel (fat loss inducing) state.

This will help you recover for the next time you train, helping you protect your performance as much as you can. Of course it is likely you can’t perform at your absolute best when trying to lose fat. You can’t chase two rabbits 🐇 at once.

And if you’re training pre breakfast, if you can’t eat before, then even some amino acids (like an amino acid powder, or a protein powder ) or a bit of carb (banana, honey, apple puree) will help boost your performance. Especially if you’re hitting high intensity work.

Then get in some breakfast, including carbs for the reason stated above.

Fuel the machine like the athlete you are 💪🏼

27/11/2025

There’s a few reasons why people reach for margarine spread over butter.

Taste isn’t one of them 😅

If trying to make a diet swap for heart reasons, bringing in margarine isn’t going to help. Probably getting rid of bread or toast that you might be spreading it on is a better move. There’s a pretty established relationship between insulin resistance/elevated blood glucose and cardiovascular disease, and processed refined foods (carbs, fats) contribute to that relationship.

That goes for flora pro-active too - the margarine designed to lower cholesterol (which in itself isn’t a guaranteed move towards lower cardiovascular disease risk). For some those plant sterols that lower your cholesterol may increase plaque build up (this is limited in humans, shown in preclinical and warrants more research). Psyllium husk with water at meal times might be a better bet.

My recommendation around spreads is to use butter over margarine. And depending on your calorie needs, be mindful of the amount.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11883-021-00964-x

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10069006/

27/11/2025

I can’t believe that diet plans like this still exist in the world 🌍 given that there is clear, substantial evidence that the best way to protect muscle is strength training.

And dieting, as a catabolic state, is literally breaking down tissue - whatever it can get - for fuel in the absence of calories.

There are plans that drip feed protein (not enough to actually maximise muscle protein synthesis to enable you to protect muscle you have) and who encourage aerobic / walking but discourage strength training. Or don’t actively encourage it. 🤔

I love walking. It’s the best and low level is awesome for fat loss in the first instance. I’d hesitate to recommend someone who hasn’t done much exercise or who is very unfit to do HIIT of any type.

But to not to strengthen training in when on an aggressive diet plan is setting yourself up for failure.

Not that you won’t lose weight. You def will. But that’s not success.

Success is when you build a better, stronger, leaner body and you keep that weight off.

I mean, you might keep it off for a while, but fat gain rebound is high and muscle is slow to rebuild. Very slow, especially at an age where we are losing it anyway.

So, do whatever plan you wish, but do strength training too. I mean, you’re an adult after all and can do what you like.

26/11/2025

I love leftovers for lunch—but sometimes they fall short on protein, especially if you’re aiming for that 30g+ sweet spot.

There’s not a ton of research on protein at lunch (as it’s often studied either after an overnight fast (breakfast) or before heading into an extended fast (dinner) and the amino acids that are present in bloodstream from breakfast probably are still lingering around at lunch so may complicate what findings might be for that lunch meal. Nerdy, but true. So lunch for a lot of people comes down to appetite regulation across the afternoon, blood sugar stabilisation, making up the grams of protein you are trying to hit for the day…. Or just hunger lol.
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Today’s steak was more of a steak snack… so I added some ham to boost the protein and keep me feeling full and focused all afternoon.
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🔑 Protein helps with satiety, stable blood sugar, and fewer “snacky” moments later on.⁣
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So if you’re in that same boat—don’t be afraid to top up your plate. Add in some ham, eggs, cottage cheese, whatever works for you. Your body (and your mind for making good decisions and not being distracted by hunger) will thank you.

25/11/2025

I’d love to tell you that 80/20 is the sweet spot for reaching your nutrition goals, and perhaps it is: it’s balance. 80% whole, nutrient-dense foods 🍳🥦🍓, 20% of the fun stuff 🥂🍫🍕.

But you can’t start there.

You don’t need to set that target of 80/20 because life will do that for you. Most people who think they are doing 80/20 are more likely doing 70/30… or 60/40.. and then the wheels can really fall off.

That’s why, if you’re trying to change your body composition, improve energy, support hormones or reduce inflammation, START with 95/5 or 90/10.
 That planned 10% flexibility often turns into 30%. And that’s okay — if you’ve given yourself the buffer.

✅ Start with a higher standard to build habits. ✅ Give yourself grace without losing traction. ✅ Land in a realistic and results-driven 80/20 over time.

Especially if this is all new for you. Setting those habits up to be consistent takes time, and you’re not expected to be perfect.

25/11/2025

Very real, deep (but fun!) chat with Erin Power on mid life metabolism this week on Mikkipedia podcast 🎧.

This will get you thinking about the big rocks of behaviour change and habits that drive weight gain in peri menopause and beyond.

Link here https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/mikkipedia/id1538311674?i=1000738355685

Highly recommend!

25/11/2025

Can’t fix your stress or sleep right now? You can still make progress.

You already know stress and lack of sleep affect weight loss. But when you’re in a high-stress season or working long hours, what’s actually in your control?
🧠 Support your central nervous system.
🔋 Balance your blood sugar.
🌙 Include carbohydrates in your evening meal.

Why this matters:

When you’re constantly in “fight or flight” mode (esp this time of year), your body pumps out cortisol. This keeps blood sugar elevated, running the risk of fluctuations in blood sugar that can impact your food behaviour and your metabolism in an unfavourable way.

So even if you’re eating less or training more, your body won’t shift into “rest and digest” mode — the parasympathetic state where fat loss actually happens.

Instead of pushing harder, focus on:
✅ Eating protein + healthy fat + fibre at each meal (so you can stabilise blood sugar)
✅ Stress management techniques to help unwind at the end of the day: meditation, breathing, yoga, journalling…do what resonates with you. And do it on the daily.
✅ Avoiding long gaps without food (especially early in the day)
✅ include a carbs in your dinner (e.g. kumara, rice, potatoes, quinoa). Carbs at night help calm your nervous system, support serotonin and melatonin (for sleep!), and tell your body: “You’re safe.”

A lot of people avoid the carbs at night, but in the right context, they help your body relax and that’s what it needs to make progress.

It’s not a magic bullet, but offloading stress where you can is a good strategy. Control the controllable.

24/11/2025

Most people think the only way to make fat loss progress is to reduce calories every single day.

A strategic approach like a PSMF—where you reduce calories significantly for just a couple of days a week, while prioritising protein—can be just as effective as daily calorie restriction. ✅

🧠 It works with your physiology - it’s a calorie deficit 🍗 It protects lean muscle mass 📉 It’s difficult to ‘eat back’ the calories you reduce on the other days -  🕒 And it’s time-efficient—perfect for the festive season where you’ve got festive occasions, end of year parties etc that makes you feel like you ‘may as well’ wait till 2026 to get your goals sorted.

Instead of feeling like you’ve fallen off the wagon every time a mince pie appears, you can build in high-protein, lower-calorie days to offset indulgence without guilt.

This flexible approach allows you to enjoy events, eat with freedom, and still see progress (or at the very least, maintain)—which is a WIN this time of year.

This is an example of a PSMF that I use in Mondays Matter - it includes a serve of carbs for training, we have next to no vegetables, and lean heavily on the lean sources of protein that are low calorie but give you protein bang for buck.

Every practitioner who uses it does it a little differently, and this approach is what has seen 1000s of people lose weight and keep it off.

(We cut the fat off the meat, FYI, but you can see it is pretty lean regardless)

If you are wanting to try something that allows you to feel in control this festive season, I’ve got ONE MORE opportunity to give this a go - absolutely low stakes and no need to give up basically anything you want to be doing.

Waitlist for this plan is here - it’s the ONLY way to get the best deal and we kick off in a couple of weeks.

https://www.mikkiwilliden.com/mondays-matter-accelerated-christmas-2025

Mikki Williden, PhD

02/12/2025

01/12/2025

30/11/2025

28/11/2025

27/11/2025

27/11/2025

26/11/2025

25/11/2025

25/11/2025

25/11/2025

24/11/2025

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