I recently spoke with AEDIT about weight loss and the importance of focusing on nutrition for sustainable changes…

 

Do you ever work with clients who are preparing for elective cosmetic procedures or medically necessary surgeries and need to lose weight or improve their health? If so, do you have a general approach to developing plans for these cases?

I do, and I treat these clients just like any of my clients who wish to achieve healthy weight loss and improve their metabolic health. My approach is not about rapid fat loss or fad diets, as these can lower the metabolism and a client’s ability to lose weight. I help my clients to improve all aspects of their health, including insulin resistance and inflammation, which in turn leads to healthy weight loss. It is important for me to help my clients achieve optimum health, and in the case of my clients who are preparing for surgery this is especially important as they will need to be able to recover quickly and easily post-surgery. 

It’s important to note that weight loss surgery patients who achieve some weight loss before surgery actually get better results than those that leave it to surgery alone, and this includes aesthetic procedures such as CoolSculpting and CoolTone. Additionally, weight loss surgery does not help the client with the negative effects of overweight or obesity, nor does it help to educate them on which foods nourish the body or build great eating habits. 

 

When a client is looking to lose weight but has struggled with ‘dieting’ in the past, how do you help reframe the mindset?

There is a big difference between ‘diet culture’ and eating foods that create a state of optimum health in the body. The decades from the 70s through to even 5 years ago were all about calorie counting, low fat and deprivation, but new nutrition science actually shows us that these methods to not contribute to healthy weight loss and can actually be harmful to metabolic health. Updated nutrition science shows us that eating foods as close to their natural state as possible and minimizing processed foods are the key to achieving a healthy weight. It can be hard to switch from that calorie counting mindset that so many people grew up with (including myself), but I love to educate my clients on how to eat foods that nourish their body, help them feel full and satiated and help them achieve a healthy weight. 

 

 I know every person will be different, but are there any general rules of thumb for how much weight would be considered safe, healthy, and realistic to lose in a 3-month, 6-month, or 12-month period? In these cases, how does nutrition complement exercise?

It absolutely depends on the client, and on how much weight they need to lose to achieve metabolic health. It’s also important to clarify that when we are talking about ‘weight’ what we actually mean is body fat, as we do not want to lose any lean muscle mass as that will actually lower the metabolism. 

Typically, if my clients have a significant amount of weight to lose (maybe 30+lbs) then I like to see around a 20lbs loss in 3 months. For me this means that the client is losing body fat, not water or muscle mass and will actually keep that weight off in the future. 40lbs-50lbs weight loss can be achieved in 6 months, with up to 100lbs in a year. 

Correct nutrition is the key to weight loss and would say about 80-90% of weight loss is down to nutrition alone. However, combining exercise with a strategic weight loss diet is the best way to get results fast, and results that last. 

 

 If weight loss is your goal, what food groups are most important to add to your diet (e.g. protein, veggies)? What should be avoided (e.g. sugar, processed food)?

Blood sugar balance and insulin sensitivity is the key to helping your body burn fat for fuel and boosting your metabolism. When we eat foods that are high in added sugar and refined carbohydrates they spike your blood sugar, which tells your pancreas to release the hormone insulin. When insulin is present in the body we store our food as fat, rather than burning it for fuel. 

Eating a diet that is high in veggies, protein and healthy fats keeps your blood sugar and insulin levels low, allowing your body to tap into its stored body fat for fuel. This is the basis of my Lean & Clean 8 Week Online Program that I often have my clients follow before any fat loss surgery.