What I Actually Use
Everything on this page is something I already tell women to pick up when they are starting out, with the reason it earns a place. Start with the first five. Open the other categories whenever you are ready for them.
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What you need to get started
If you get nothing else on this page, get these. Three of the five cost nothing.
The Lumora macro calculator
Your calorie, protein, and fiber targets in about a minute, with no account and no cost. It gives you a starting point, and your results over the next few weeks tell you where to adjust.
Open the calculatorA tracking app
MyFitnessPal, MacroFactor, or Cronometer. Pick one and stay with it, because switching back and forth is what wastes your time. The free version of any of them does everything you need.
Digital kitchen scale
You want grams and a tare button, so you can set your bowl on the scale, zero it out, and weigh only the food. A cup of chopped chicken is a guess. Grams are a real number.
Shop on AmazonProtein powder
A scoop is 20 to 25 g of protein for very few calories, which closes the gap on a day your meals came up short. Plenty of women feel better without dairy, so try a plant or egg white powder first. Whey isolate is fine if dairy sits well with you.
Shop on AmazonA pair of shoes you already own
The walk after dinner is free, it does more for your blood sugar than anything else on this page, and you can start it tonight.
When you are ready for more
Tap a category to see what I recommend in it.
In the kitchen
Containers, pans, and a blender for cooking once and eating for days.3 picks
None of this is required to start. It is here because cooking once and eating from it for three days is what makes a busy week survivable.
Glass meal prep containers
If you cook a big batch on Sunday and eat from it through Wednesday, you want containers that go fridge to oven without warping and that let you see what is inside. Glass with a locking lid holds up for years.
Shop on AmazonTwo large sheet pans
A week of vegetables roasts on two pans at once while you do something else in the house. This is the cheapest thing on the page and the one that takes the most time off your cooking.
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The fastest way to close a protein gap on a day that got away from you. One that blends straight into the cup you drink from means fewer parts to wash, which is the difference between using it and not.
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Hitting protein and fiber
Chia seeds, canned fish, and a shaker bottle for the two numbers most women come up short on.3 picks
These are the two numbers most women miss. Protein is what you cover first at every meal, before you spend calories on anything else. Fiber has a floor of 25 g that is worth hitting even on the days you are eating less.
Chia seeds
About 10 g of fiber in a two tablespoon serving, which is close to half your daily floor from one spoonful. Stir it into oats or overnight jars and you stop having to think about fiber for the rest of the day.
Shop on AmazonCanned salmon or sardines
Real protein and omega 3 fats sitting in your pantry with no cooking required. This is what saves the night the plan falls apart and you need food on a plate in four minutes.
Shop on AmazonShaker bottle
Keeps a scoop of protein drinkable in the car or at your desk. Look for a lid that seals properly, because the cheap ones leak in a bag.
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Water and daily movement
A water bottle, a step tracker, and a walking pad for days you are stuck inside.3 picks
Walking after meals is one of the first things I ask for, and it costs nothing. What follows will not make you walk more. It makes it easier to see whether you actually did.
Water bottle with the ounces marked
Most women are drinking far less than they think. A large bottle with the measurements printed up the side turns a vague intention into something you can check at two in the afternoon.
Shop on AmazonStep tracker or fitness watch
You do not need a step count to go for a walk. You do need one to find out that the week you felt run off your feet was the week you sat for eleven hours a day.
Shop on AmazonWalking pad
The biggest purchase here, and only worth it if the reason you skip walks is weather, safety after dark, or a schedule that keeps you inside. It slides under a desk or sits in front of the TV.
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Strength training at home
Dumbbells, bands, and a mat for training at home.3 picks
You can train for weeks with nothing but your own bodyweight and a bit of floor. Dumbbells are the one purchase that opens up everything after that.
Adjustable dumbbells
One pair covers a weight you can press overhead and a heavier weight for squats and rows, and it keeps growing with you as you get stronger. Buying a rack of fixed pairs costs more and takes a corner of the room.
Shop on AmazonResistance bands
Cheap, and they travel. Useful for the glute and upper back work where a light band gives you something to push against without loading your spine.
Shop on AmazonExercise mat
Half of the bodyweight work happens on the floor. A mat with real thickness keeps your knees and lower back comfortable enough that you finish the set.
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Seeing your progress honestly
A scale and a tape measure, so a normal swing does not talk you out of a plan that works.2 picks
Bodies swing a few pounds in a day on water, salt, and where you are in your cycle. You need more than one kind of measurement so a normal swing does not talk you out of something that is working.
Bathroom scale
Any scale that gives you the same number twice in a row is good enough. What matters is stepping on it at the same time most mornings and reading the weekly average, because the daily number tells you almost nothing on its own.
Shop on AmazonSoft tape measure
There are stretches where the scale sits still for three weeks while your waist keeps shrinking. Those are the weeks women quit, and a tape measure is what shows them they should not.
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Sleep and stress
A darker, quieter room, and a phone that charges somewhere else.3 picks
Short sleep raises your hunger the next day and makes eating a little less feel much harder than it is. Anything that gets you a darker, quieter, cooler room pays you back in the morning.
Blackout curtains or a sleep mask
Light leaking in is one of the easiest reasons for broken sleep to fix. Start with the mask if you share the room and curtains are an argument you do not want to have.
Shop on AmazonWhite noise machine
Useful if you are woken by a partner, a street, or kids moving around at six in the morning. Steady sound covers the sudden noises that pull you out of deep sleep.
Shop on AmazonA plain alarm clock
Buy one and the phone can charge in another room. That single change does more for most women than any sleep supplement they have tried.
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Supplements, after blood work
My picks for when your blood work shows a need, plus the timing chart.8 picks
Get your blood work done before you buy any of these. Your labs tell you what your body is actually short on, and guessing means paying for things you do not need or taking too much of something that builds up. I am a coach and not a doctor, so go over your results with your own physician, especially if you take medication. When the labs do show a need, these are the ones I use.
Omega 3 fish oil
Chia and flax give you ALA, which your body converts into EPA and DHA very poorly. If fatty fish is not on your plate a couple of times a week, this is the gap most worth closing. I use Carlson Elite Gems. They are tested by an outside lab for purity and freshness, and the lemon keeps the fishy aftertaste away. If you do not eat fish at all, algae oil is the plant source of DHA.
Shop on AmazonMagnesium glycinate
Many women run low, and stress and heavy periods burn through it faster. Glycinate is the gentle kind that will not send you running to the bathroom, and a lot of women find it helps them wind down, so the evening is a good time for it. Pick this one if your digestion is normal or runs loose.
Shop on AmazonMagnesium citrate
The same mineral in a form that pulls water into your gut, so it also helps you go. Pick this one if you tend to be constipated. If things get too loose, take less or switch to glycinate.
Shop on AmazonVitamin D3
Low vitamin D is one of the most common things that shows up on blood work, especially if you are inside most of the day. Take it with your biggest meal, because it needs some fat to soak in. Ask for a 25 hydroxy vitamin D test so you know your number before you pick a dose.
Shop on AmazonSelenium
Your thyroid uses selenium to turn its hormone into the kind your body can use. The amount studied for thyroid support is 200 mcg a day, and it is worth staying there, because selenium builds up and too much causes its own problems. If you already eat Brazil nuts most days, you may not need a pill at all.
Shop on AmazonEssential amino acids
This is the one I take. A scoop of Thorne Amino Complex gives you all nine essential amino acids, about 4 g in total, with 1.25 g of leucine, the one that tells your muscles to start rebuilding. I drink it around a workout. It is small, so it does not replace the protein on your plate. Your meals still do that job. The label reads 0 calories because of how supplements are labeled, but count each scoop as about 4 g of protein if you track.
Shop on AmazonIron bisglycinate
Low iron is common in women with heavy periods, and it looks a lot like plain tiredness. Only take it if your ferritin comes back low, because extra iron you do not need builds up and causes its own problems. Bisglycinate is much easier on your stomach than the iron in most multivitamins. Take it every other day with some vitamin C, and keep it away from coffee, tea, and calcium for a couple of hours.
Shop on AmazonThe supplement timing chart
Free. Which ones to take together, which to keep apart, and which rules you can safely ignore. Vitamin D does very little for you if your magnesium is low, and iron absorbs better every other day than it does daily. Every claim on it is tied to the study behind it, and there is a printable version for the inside of a cabinet door.
Open the chart
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