In this Episode I talk with health scientist and nutritionist Anna Paulich. We talk about:
- Overweight and obesity
- How to lose weight
- Hormones
- Nutrition for kids
- And more…
Find Anna here:
- Her website: https://www.annapaulich.com/
- On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annapaulich/
- Fat Brain Fix on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fatbrainfix/
- Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/fatlosscoachanna/
Episode timing:
(00:00) Introduction
(01:04) Why is being overweight bad?
(04:18) Why is it difficult to eat the right things?
(10:01) How can you lose weight?
(17:42) Body signals and unconscious patterns
(21:03) Do calories matter?
(27:31) What about exercise?
(32:56) How do you know if your hormones are out of whack?
(39:34) Kids and nutrition
(47:26) Outro and Disclaimer
[00:00:09]
Unknown:
I, and welcome to another episode of the improving Berry podcast, where I very interview experts in health and wellness. And this week, I got to speak with Anna Polish, who is a health scientist registered holistic nutritionist and a coach in lots of areas. We spoke about, weight, why it is bad to be overweight what to do about it, including, managing your hormones and also about nutrition for kids. Now for the full show notes, go to improvingberry.com. And without further ado, here is Anna. And I was thinking today, maybe we can talk a little bit about weight loss and how to actually do that in a sustainable way without, you know, following fad diets that are unsustainable and that people can't stick to because it's very difficult.
I mean, maybe we can start with, something very silly, which is, you know, why is it actually bad to be overweight because nowadays, unfortunately, normal is what the average of people is and the average of people, at least in Western world, is overweight, or obese and or morbidly obese, luckily less people that are those. So, you know, that's that's the normal, but why is that actually a bad thing? Can you can you talk to that? Yeah. It's, you know,
[00:01:40] Unknown:
The thing is with stat cells is that they produce hormones. And so, when you're producing excess amounts of hormones. It's kind of starting off that hormonal cascade of of messing with all your other hormones, especially in females. So it's kind of like when when women lose weight, we actually release estrogen from her fat cells. So that kind of causes some erratic cycles and other things that go on with the female hormones. But mainly, you know, with the excess fat on our bodies. Many are, you know, majority of the population now is insulin resistant. So, you know, we're eating more food. We're eating more processed food. We're unable to process that food properly.
So with that insulin resistance, it eventually leads to type 2 diabetes. Right, which essentially over time puts more of a burden on the health care system. So it really all falls into that.
[00:02:50] Unknown:
Yeah. And then it underpins lots of other chronic diseases as well, right, as Right. That that will trigger more information in the body and then, you know, that can lead to things like cancer, heart disease as well. Yeah. Yeah. So it seems then that, overweight and and obesity is actually more of a, like, a side effect of, you know, being more unhealthy. Would you agree with that?
[00:03:17] Unknown:
Yeah. For sure. It you know, and it it's like that multi faceted kind of environment that we live in. There's so many things that are going on. You know, we're more sedentary. So we're not moving as much, even just light movement. Right? So even just walking, we've stopped. Right? When we were kids, we you know, my dad used to make us get up and at least change the channel for him. We didn't have remote controls even. So Yeah. We've just become over time, you know, Like, we just don't move as much. So it's interesting.
[00:03:57] Unknown:
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So, Being of weight, that's not good for our health. Right? Yeah. It it messes with our hormones, especially for women as you just alluded to. And one of the culprits that that gets us to be overweight is the way we eat and the things that we eat as you also talked about just now. Why is it so difficult, to to, like, eat the right things as we are, of course, being told by institutions and and corporations to eat things, like carbohydrates and sandwiches, things like that. That's all healthy. Why is that? Yeah.
[00:04:36] Unknown:
You know, I think, you know, first of all, the nutrition guidelines are severely outdated. And, you know, they're The nutrition guidelines are based on a healthy population. Right? People who are able to process carbohydrates. They have no insulin resistant. They're healthy. Everything's functioning properly. But then you have someone who's insulin resistant, you say, okay. You know, eat this much carbohydrate. So this this much greens in a day, and their body can't process it. So it's actually making them thicker. The other thing too, and I've had this conversation with so many people is the the carbo hydrates and the grains and, you know, those healthy things that we're supposed to be eating according to the food guidelines aren't made like they were back when my parents were growing up. Right? Yeah. They would bind fresh bread daily because there was no preservatives in it. It wasn't processed.
Now All of the stuff that we purchased in the grocery store is meant to sit on the shelf for who knows how long, right, before it actually grows any mold. So it's it's just a different time where foods are made more shelf stable, so they last longer. So you're spending less. But at the end of the day, you're spending more on on on your, you know, medical care.
[00:06:01] Unknown:
Yeah. Yeah. So do you you don't think that it is, because companies are trying to make us sick or or do you?
[00:06:13] Unknown:
Yeah. Like, I, you know, I I don't know. That's that that's a total debate, right, with a a lot of things, but I feel like, you know, they're the with companies and how they engineer their foods, they make them hyperpalatable so that you crave more of them. Right? Yeah. Yeah. So the more The more sugar you add, the more it hits those dopamine receptors, the more you're like, oh, I need more of that. Right? It's almost like a a drug and it becomes an addiction. Right? Like, I used to say, back, you know, when I was young, I loved potato chips and pizza pups. Do you do you know pizza box? No. I don't know, though. So They're like, a filled coach with pizza fillings.
And my mom wouldn't buy them. Like, she was always whole food, and I would, you know, go to my grandma's house, and she would always buy me the treats. Right? And I, like, I loved this stuff. I would eat it all the time. I would crave it. The weekend would come, and I would be like, please can I go to my grandma's house so I can eat these foods? Right? It it became that, like, addiction and I said it was funny. I hadn't seen, like, I haven't eaten pizza pups in a long time. I realized how bad they are for you. But I was in the grocery store, and they had this whole end case of pizza pots. Like, they were on sale. Right? And I swear to God, I walked to buy it, and I salivated Like, I was like, oh my god. That feeling that, like, it came back over me. Like, maybe I wanna buy those pizza pups. Right? It was like that almost that addiction. So, you know, back in the day, they removed the fat. They removed the fat from foods.
Instead, they replaced it with sugar. Sugar was more like it got everyone craving them. Right? So Yeah. Yeah. You said fat was bad, but sugar. Sugar's okay. We'll just pump it full of sugar. But it keeps you coming back for more. So Yeah. It creates a repeat customers, really. Yeah. Like, no one's, like, salivating over broccoli when they go buy it in the grocery store. Right? It's totally different. So
[00:08:28] Unknown:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's absolutely, an addiction. You know, when I used to eat bread, I'm from the Netherlands. You know, bread is the thing here. You you start your day with bread. In lunch, you do bread, and then you end your day with, I don't know, maybe pasta and potatoes and Yeah. Hopefully some meat. But I used to love, like, bread, and then a little bit of, margarine on it and then sprinkle some actual sugar on that. It's sugar on sugar on sugar.
[00:08:58] Unknown:
It's crazy. I know. Great. So delicious.
[00:09:01] Unknown:
It's crazy.
[00:09:02] Unknown:
I would love to eat that again, but, you know, I know how bad it is for me. I'm not doing it. Well, that's the thing. Like, kids kid like, my kids can eat essentially whatever they want. You'll see some stomach upset or just kinda the mild symptom, but over time, that compounds. Right? And then Yeah. We're like, well, what went wrong. So yeah.
[00:09:28] Unknown:
Yeah. Yeah. For kids, it's completely different game, and I wanna talk to you about that a bit later as well. Yeah. So so being fat, that's that's not good for us, and it's very difficult to, not become fed in our current environment where foods that will make us, overweight are so abundant. Like, we talked about, and they're all starchy things and things with sugar in it and and carbohydrates. Things that's what being recommended by government and companies, unfortunately, but that's just how it is. So when somebody, is overweight and they decide, well, alright, I'm I'm done with this. I wanna become more healthy.
What can they do? How can you start?
[00:10:14] Unknown:
Well, you know, I have I have 2 rules. First, stop ignoring your hunger. And really to and into that, the diet industry has taught us to ignore hunger, ignore body signals, ignore pain, right, We don't tune into any of that. And my my number 1, is increase your protein. So I actually wear my shirt today. Protein is the new salad. I say, you know, it is, that's what you should be eating first. You should be meeting your protein goal before you have all the other stuff. After you met your protein goal, try and eat the other stuff. Right? But when you nourish your body at that cellular level, then your body isn't looking for All of that other stuff, all the other junk.
[00:11:03] Unknown:
And and what, what is enough protein?
[00:11:07] Unknown:
You know, it depends. Like, a lot of women in my coaching program, I I try and get them up above a 100 gram, the protein. You know, Ideally, if you could go 1 gram per pound of body weight, which can be difficult to do if someone's you know, £300 and they have to eat 300 grams of protein, then they go for they were only eating 50 grams. Right? Yep. Yeah. Well, It's interesting, though, because, you know, many people I talk to, I'll say, you know, do you know how much protein you're eating? And they'll say, oh, I eat lots. Like, lots of protein and go, okay. Well, let's crunch it out, you know, over the next couple days, and they see they're only at, like, 60, 70 grams. Right? They can't figure out why they're snacking at night. So, yeah, I I start at a 100 grams plus, and then we reassess in increments to see where they're at.
[00:12:00] Unknown:
Right. So so don't ignore your body and and hunger. So each when you're when you're hungry, and, increase your protein, which I'm pretty sure probably you see that in your cuss clients as well. Most people don't get enough, by default. Right? What about fat? Do you also recommend that? Yeah. So I don't necessarily
[00:12:23] Unknown:
say, like, aim for this amount of fat, but I'm I'm not into low fat products. You know, as a, again, as a kid, we ate high sat sour cream. High sat cut its cheese. We ate all of the high sat stuff, and it It gave us the energy to go through a day. So I say use fat as a lever, but you don't need to be chugging all of oil at night. To try and meet, you know, a sat macro essentially. So it's like protein first. You can use fat as a lever for flavoring, make sure you are getting fat because our brain has made of fat or cell membranes are made of fat. But, you know, the carbohydrates, that kind of stuff can come after that. It's not that you have to eliminate it, but you're not leading with that.
[00:13:11] Unknown:
Right. And and you're assuming that, the fat comes with the protein if the protein comes from, animal products. Right? Exactly. Yeah. What if, do you have clients that say, well, that's all fine, but I wanna do that with a plant based diet? So, you know, that can also contain protein. Right?
[00:13:30] Unknown:
Yeah. I find that most plant based diets and k. I'm a meat eater. So I I always give, like, and upfront. Hey. You know what? I'm a meat eater. I teach meat eating. You know, if you're plant based, I can't say that I am going to be the specialist for you. I find it really hard, to get a lot of protein with minimizing the carbohydrate sources in a plant based diet. It's doable, but you have to be, like, very specialized in that arena to be able to do that. And, if someone's insulin resistant, it could act or be evaporated?
[00:14:12] Unknown:
Yeah. Yeah. Because, you know, plant based diets usually are mostly carbs. And, and then some plants that contain some potentially incomplete proteins. Right. What about plans for, you know, a diet that you would recommend? So a meat based or a more meat based diet. Does that still contain some plans?
[00:14:35] Unknown:
Yeah. Of course. So, you know, like, I do include, you know, vegetables, low low carb fruits, really, to start and then, you know, test from there. But It's not like just potatoes and rice and, you know, all of those those things. So really just kinda weaning off some of that stuff I'm getting in fiber, but but leading with protein, not solid. That's so
[00:15:06] Unknown:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Those things are extra, basically, just to Yes. Extra snack shift people would like them if if they like those things as snacks.
[00:15:14] Unknown:
Exactly. But not forcing, you know, steamed broccoli on people for every meal. So
[00:15:22] Unknown:
yeah. No. Okay. What about, if you're talking about, quality, when you're talking about plants and and as well as meat? Does that need to be organic, or do you not really care?
[00:15:35] Unknown:
You know, I like, it really personal preference for people. I just start off getting them eating a protein and, you know, quality protein sources. You know, like, it's, you know, probably better to get it from the butcher shop than pre packaged in a box, that kind of stuff, but, especially, like, things like, you know, if they're eating sausages or that kind of stuff, you know, try and purchase it from a butcher shop where they're actually making it from, you know, pork or whatever it is, not in a package that's been sitting on the grocery store shelf for, you know, 5 months or whatever it is. So, I start off with just trying to increase their protein over time, you know, you crave what you eat. So the more protein they eat, the more they crave of it, and then they start to kind of resign from there.
[00:16:29] Unknown:
Oh, okay. Yeah. So, yeah, you crave what you eat. That's interesting. So the more you eat for of something, then you want more of that, specific thing. Right? Yeah. So, like, the more you You know, we used to say cravings. They're like stray cats. So the more you feed them, the more they come back.
[00:16:47] Unknown:
So It's it's one of those things, but it even drinking water. Like, again, you know, drink water when you're thirsty. Right? You don't need to drink, like, 16 liters of water a day, but start tuning into those things. And a lot of people don't even drink water. They'll drink coffee. And then, like, they're like, oh, I don't like water. Or, k. Let's start with a cup. Like, a 250 milliliters 8 ounces, drink that every morning. Right? And then as they start to drink that, they realize that they're actually more thirsty, but they've been ignoring it for so long. Oh, some. Okay.
[00:17:28] Unknown:
Yeah. So, yeah, with with clients like that, I suppose that that's all extremely low hanging fruits once you get them to do these simple things, or at least, from the outside simple, then they improve, incredibly probably. Right?
[00:17:43] Unknown:
Yeah. Yeah. They start They start, like, listening to their body signals, then it's just I think that's the big thing is, you know, Everyone's scared to eat. Everyone's afraid of hunger because they're afraid they're gonna eat the wrong thing. So then they're they're snacking. All day long. Right? They're trying to just eat, oh, I'll just have a little bit, but then in 5 minutes, they're hungry again. Okay. I'll just have a little bit more. So they're they're trying to ignore that and feed that hunger with the right food, instead of just saying, I'm hungry.
I'm gonna sit down with my plates at the table and have a It doesn't matter what time of day it is. Right? Just Yeah. Just eat when you're hungry. Stop. When you've had enough Right? It seems simple, but it is it's tough when we've been trained to otherwise.
[00:18:31] Unknown:
Yeah. We've been trained to you know, 33, meals a day, at very specific times, especially here in the Netherlands. It's extremely strict. At 12 in the afternoon, everybody drops everything and they go eat, eat bread. Right? That's lunch. It's we're we're trained to do that. It's very difficult to, overwrite it and, listen to your body. Like, maybe you're not hungry.
[00:18:55] Unknown:
Yeah. And and it's it's the same with kids. If you think about it, like, at school, they have to eat at certain times. That's their lunch break, and I've heard of kids. Like, saying I'm not hungry. Like, I I I just I can't I don't wanna eat this whole lunch, and they've decided not to, but the teacher says, no. You have to. Right? So there's the reverse of it to where it's like, okay. But they've they've said they've had enough. Right? It's kind of like our parents saying you better eat everything on your plate. Right?
So then you're taught to overeat. Ignore those satiety signals. And just continue. Right? So it's more of a a people pleasing rather than a self pleasing.
[00:19:38] Unknown:
Yeah. Wow. If you think about that, then goodness me. We're all so broken because we're all we're all trained in that, and also to overeat, yeah, including, myself as well. You know, you need to, clean your plates and that has had had its reasons because, my parents, obviously, they were very happy to have their fruit as So that's a generation post World War 2. So grateful for the food. So let's eat all of it. We actually need all of the calories. But now we have a way too large portion with stuff that we don't need, and then we still repeat that behavior. Oh, that just sneaks in. Yeah.
[00:20:18] Unknown:
It's terrible. It's taught. I know my father-in-law was like that too because he said I knew what it was like to be hungry. Right? Like, Yep. You know, so I don't wanna I don't wanna have that, like, not even to be hungry, but to be starving. I don't wanna have that feeling again. Right? So it's and then it comes down from generations. Yeah. We don't know why we're doing what we're doing. Well, yeah. My parents told me to. They must know. Right?
[00:20:49] Unknown:
Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. Okay. So this is a a a great cue to start realizing that and break the the cycles if you have any kids. I'll try to do that with with my kids as well. Yeah. Okay. So, what about the whole calorie thing. So we we've talked about, quality and and the type of food that you recommend. What about calories? Do do people need to restrict those to lose weight?
[00:21:21] Unknown:
Oh, calories. Press favorite topic. You mean we all shouldn't be on a 1200 calorie a day diet to lose weight? No. You know, that that's That's part of the problem, and that scares women too because we've all been taught for some reason, 1200 calories was like the magic number. Just only 1200 calories. However, you calculate that. But then you eat 1200 calories, for, say, a couple weeks, you lose weight, and you're feeling good. Now you're still eating 1200 calories, but You can't you're the field's not moving. So what the heck's going on? And I thought this was, like, the magic calorie number. Right? So then Yep. You restrict again. You're like, okay. Maybe at the 1100. I need to go down to 1100. You go down to 1100. It moves a little bit. No. Okay. I'm gonna go down to a 1000. You keep Like, your metabolism's smart. It has that set point. It's gonna start, like, it's gonna start moving to where you're at, to meet you.
And So over time, you're just restricting and restricting. You have to restrict more. And eventually, that doesn't work. Right? Now nothing's working. You've, like, served your metabolism. Most women who come to me, I have them eating more food. Right? So that's that's scary for them. But In the end, it's almost like, you know, reversing that feeding. You have to feed your body. You have to feed your hormones. With calories, like I said, protein, if you're eating enough protein, If you're eating enough of the right foods, your body is going to tell you when you had it up. You don't need to micromanage All of those numbers. Right?
Yeah. But I see, like, that whole calorie thing has, like, really messed with people's brains. And, like, I could eat, you know, 500 calories of broccoli, pork broccoli. I know I keep going back to it, but 500 calories abruptly, or I could eat 500 calories of a big mac. Are you gonna tell me those do the same things to my body? Yeah. Right? So it's it's food quality. Like, you have to eat real food. And then your body, if you're listening, will start telling you I've had enough. I don't need those potato chips. I don't need you know, that chocolate bar or whatever because I'm full.
Yeah.
[00:23:56] Unknown:
So so there's a couple of things there. I think, what you, rightly said, we underestimate how clever our bodies are So your body adjusts. It thinks, oh, okay. We're we're starving here. Well, let's, adjust so that we don't actually die if this continues to to go on. So let's let's let's down ramp, metabolism. And that will stay that way, right, until you eat more things for quite a while.
[00:24:25] Unknown:
Exactly. You have to teach it. It's almost like Yeah. It's gonna go into feminine mode. Right? I'm gonna hold on to all the body fat just in case she's not gonna feed me again. I'm gonna have to munch on this. So I'm not gonna let it go because then I'll have nothing to eat. Right? So Yeah. Like, the fat on your body is actually food for your body. You know? People people are scared not to snack in between meals because they're scared they might die. Like, I would tell my kids don't worry. You're not gonna die. Trust me. If you don't have, you know, those fruit snacks, you're not gonna die. I know. But as humans, we think, you know, we have to have those 6 small meals a day or we have to snack in between breakfast, snack, lunch, snack.
Trust me, we're not gonna die. We have plenty of storage on our bodies, and that is food. The fat on our bodies is also food. So We have to start learning how to use that.
[00:25:23] Unknown:
Yeah. And we don't need to that much of it, actually, to to survive for quite a while. It's very powerful stuff. And there's a lot of calories in in fat. Yes. So our bodies, are clever. So don't, eat too little because then that will mess you completely up not only do you not lose weight, but also your hormones will be disrupted even more, right, because your body's going to prioritize what it needs to survive, for instance, no more sex hormones because we don't need those to survive, things like that. Exactly. Yeah. Okay. So the calories thing, yeah, that that's you keep seeing that coming back on the internet as well. It's kinda like the the hard diet hypothesis with saturated fats. We have these camps on on the internet where people keep, coming out. Well, no. This is actually, actually what we need to do. We need to keep counting calories, but we So we really, shouldn't. Right?
And we should just look at the quality of our foods and the type of foods. Right?
[00:26:34] Unknown:
Yeah. One one of my rules is or one of my not even necessarily a rule, but a challenge for people is When you're grocery shopping, like, start reading the labels and see how many of those items in your cart either have no label or less than 5 ingredients on the label. And people are really surprised when they start counting ingredients on the label because the more ingredients, the more processed. Right? So try and stick to real foods, which ideally is food without a label. That's tough. Yeah.
[00:27:09] Unknown:
That is tough. Yes. Especially for right now. In the supermarket, especially that it's really tough. Even, animal based things like meat, usually contains some things. Right? Yeah. Yeah.
[00:27:22] Unknown:
Yeah. Okay.
[00:27:24] Unknown:
So what can people do more, besides the things we already talked about to, lose weight and become more healthy? What about exercise, for instance?
[00:27:34] Unknown:
Yeah. You know, like, exercise, definitely, I I I believe in, not K. Exercise isn't the priority. I always say people are like, I'm not losing weight because I'm not exercising. I'm like, I can venture a guess that that's probably not the reason. The main reason. Right? So I like to say you wanna get in some healthy movement. So exercise. Sometimes people think I have to run on the treadmill for an hour. You know, I Like, it just I have to go on the elliptical whenever it is, but just getting and walking. Like, you know, track your steps. See if you're 10,000 steps a day. Guarantee, most people are not doing 10,000 steps a day. Like, I I remember I entered this step challenge where We had to get 10,000 steps a day. And at night, I was walking laps around my coach. Just and and I walk quite, like, I walk quite a bit. I thought for sure that's Mhmm. That's gonna be easy.
But so just starting with something simple as that, you know, go for a walk around your neighborhood. If it's nice outside, Walking, strength training is a big one too, because our lean muscle mass decreases as we age. So and in women, it it seems to decrease faster and be harder to, build because of the lack of testosterone in our bodies. But so train training you as a woman, you won't turn into the hulk. It's almost impossible. But very important, because muscle essentially burns fat as well. So you wanna keep some lean muscle on your body, help to kind of rev up the metabolism and burn more fat.
[00:29:23] Unknown:
Right? And don't exercise to lose weight. Right?
[00:29:27] Unknown:
Yeah. Like, don't exercise so you can eat a chocolate bar. That's what I used to do. Only reason. I know people do that. But Yeah. And and this is one of the things, and I've heard many, like, I have been to work out classes. I've heard many personal trainers talk like, oh, you know, it's, Thanksgiving coming. So Did you know we need to do 5 of my workouts in order to burn off that turkey dinner? It's like, well k. I'm not gonna do 5 of your workouts, but That's the wool calories in calories out thing, and then it messes with people's minds. Right? And then they're like, well, crap. I only did what? And now I'm screwed, so I might as well throw in the towel and just eat it all and sit on the coach. So Yeah. Yeah.
[00:30:11] Unknown:
Yeah. That doesn't work. And I think, exercises all so, a point of information that you feed your body. So if you do chronic cardio, you're running, an hour a day, every day, or even more, Yeah. We're telling your body, hey. This is what we do. So we're probably telling the body that there's something stressful going on because otherwise, why would you run? Especially for so long. And that will also then disrupt your metabolism and your hormones as well. So you really need to be careful what you tell what you tell your body, which food, and with exercise, and all the other things that you're doing.
[00:30:46] Unknown:
Yeah. And it's interesting. Like, I I actually also work in the field of diabetes, and I Once in a while, we'll wear a blood glucose sensor, and I'll share the findings with, my followers just on how different things affect your blood glucose that you wouldn't think of stress, obviously. Right? But, like, Kate, first of all, like, running is not my favorite thing to do. So I find that stress but in general, when if you were, like, running from a tiger and, you know, the desert or wherever the jungle, They, your body would actually be able to make glucose to fuel your sprint away from that tiger. Right?
And when you wear a blood glucose sensor and you go run on the treadmill, you actually get a spike in your blood glucose. So now for me who was insulin resistant, my trainer had told me I should eat a banana and, you know, them peanut butter and toast before I go for a run. So now imagine that, like so you wake up your body make glucose to get you going for the day. So immediately when you wake up, you see a spike in your blood glucose. Then you eat your banana and you eat your toast with peanut butter, which causes a spike in glucose, and then you go for a run on the treadmill, which causes a spike in glucose, and then you go for a run on the treadmill, which causes a spike in glucose. Now if you're insulin resistant, you have all the glucose floating around, but your body doesn't know how to use it. Because you're insulin resistant.
So that contributes to the problem. So then all these people are doing these things. They're running. They're Hey. I'm running, like, five miles a day. I can't lose weight. Yeah. Well, there's more going on. Right? There's more going on in a hormonal level. That you need to heal before you start running on the treadmill. So that's always I I find that's the interesting part is A lot of times, we don't know what our body is doing in the background, so it's interesting to bring light to that.
[00:32:57] Unknown:
Yeah. Absolutely. And as you said, you need to then first, tackle your hormones.
[00:33:04] Unknown:
But how do you know if your hormones are out of whack? How do you test for that? Well, there's usually, like, you know, the resistant fat, like, So you're resistant to weight loss. No matter what you do, you kinda, like, feel puffy. You're you're hungry all the time. Right? So you're getting That's the classic sign of, like, the blood glucose spikes and crashes, where you're, like, eating and then you're hungry before even the next meal. Like, you can't go several hours without eating. There's some telltale signs. They get worse. As, you know, say the hormones get worse or the insulin resistance gets worse, then you get intake, their dark patches, you know, under your arm.
So it's a there's but there's a lot of telltale signs. And most most people that come to me are the I'm doing everything right, but I can't lose weight. So usually, that's, like, the classic sign.
[00:34:05] Unknown:
Right. Yeah. And then, you know, that you need to, do something there? Do you then also do additional tests, like blood test as well?
[00:34:15] Unknown:
I usually recommend some blood tests that they take to their doctor. You know, fasting insulin is a big one. A lot of times people get, fasting insulin and fasting glucose mixed up, but they're 2 different things. So fasting insulin essentially could be high for several years before your blood glucose rises because many people come to me and say, no. It's good. And and they're talking about their blood glucose, that their blood glucose is that they don't get the spikes. But fasting insulin, is it more of a specialized test? And oftentimes, you know, it's it's high several years before they get high blood glucose or before they're diagnosed with Metabolic syndrome or type 2 diabetes.
[00:35:01] Unknown:
Yeah. Yeah. Because your pancreas is already working very hard to to keep that glucose at the exact same level there. So if you only measure that, you you wouldn't notice that.
[00:35:11] Unknown:
Exactly.
[00:35:12] Unknown:
Okay. So we've covered a lot of ground already. So when people are losing weight, have you ever, Experience somebody that lost weight very rapidly rapidly, like a lot of weight very rapidly. Is that problematic?
[00:35:33] Unknown:
Well, you know, anyone can lose weight really rapidly. I can make anyone lose weight.
[00:35:39] Unknown:
Yeah. Rapidly.
[00:35:42] Unknown:
But sustainability, I think, is really key, because rapid weight loss, a, you know, when someone starts a diet, whether it's calorie restriction, keto, Whatever it is, you have a lot of water weight. Your fat cells hold on to water. Right? So people get really excited. It's very motivating. I lost £9 with weight. But then after that, you it you really have to dial in the nutrition and and figure it out for the long term. And not only that, like, 1st 30 days, you can you can lose weight, but then after that, it comes down to I call it the neuro nutrition, like the brain. Right? So your your brain likes to feel safe. It likes to go back to where it feels safe. Which is where you used to be. Right? So changing those, like, those thoughts and patterns and beliefs that we learned from our parents and we traveled down to, you know, progress forward. So working on, like, not only root cause nutrition, hormones, but the mindset is huge.
So, yes, people can lose a lot of weight in 30 days. Most people gain it back. When they do those extremely restrictive things. But, you know, just continuing on and really then diving into a lot of the mines at work is really key.
[00:37:08] Unknown:
Right. And and how do you do that? Like, how do you get people to to stick with a new way of eating. Let's not call it a diet. Let's call it a way of eating.
[00:37:19] Unknown:
Yeah. It's, you know, accountability is really key while you're going through the process to have someone there to, you know, not only talk about this is what I ate today, and this is you know, what should I eat tomorrow, but really, providing, like, tools and feedback and helping them navigate different situations because, you know, majority of people on diets don't go anywhere because they're scared to go to their friend's house. They're scared to go to a family barbecue. They're scared to go to a wedding. Because they don't know how to navigate that. I don't provide meal plans. I don't believe in meal plans. I can make a meal plan. No problem.
But are you gonna carry that around with you and ask, like, the cook at the wedding to make it for you? Right? So it's not It's not realistic, and you need to be able to learn how to live life, enjoy life, and not also be stressed out because someone invited you over for, you know, a barbecue. And you're like, oh my gosh. I don't know what I'm gonna do. Okay. Instead, I'll just starve. And then when I get home, I'll just binge eat. So it's really that fine balance between getting a handle on your thoughts and situations.
Which I feel like I'm an expert at navigating because I I was there. I, you know, I I was there too. I get it. I'm not just a nutritionist who alerts the stuff in school. I I totally understand. So just working a lot with that with clients is is really key.
[00:38:51] Unknown:
Right. So you really need somebody, in in your camp, somebody like you. Yeah.
[00:38:56] Unknown:
Yeah. Like, yeah. Someone, you know, like, and that's like a friend. Right? Like, not a not a dictator that just says, well, you know, my textbook says that you should do this. But just like someone to understand and and to help navigate.
[00:39:15] Unknown:
Like an accountability
[00:39:16] Unknown:
buddy. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly.
[00:39:20] Unknown:
Okay. So so far, we've been talking about adults. I just saw a little, a little person there behind you in the video.
[00:39:31] Unknown:
Oh, that's okay.
[00:39:35] Unknown:
So let's talk a little bit about about kids, and and nutrition because that can be more difficult, at least I find as, you know, you can't just, tell kids, well, this is what you need to eat. Because sometimes at least my kids, just don't feel like eating something like, meat, for instance, It's feel like eating, I don't know, pasta or whatever. And like you said, they're very flexible. They can basically eat anything without much trouble now because, of course, their their body is able to heal so well and the body is extremely flexible. So it doesn't really matter what you put in there, it seems.
How do you navigate that? You know, because you can't force your children to eat the healthiest things. They they just won't do it all the time, of course.
[00:40:24] Unknown:
Yeah. And, you know, it's funny. Like, well, 1st with children, it it's about kinda giving them a choice. So Instead of one thing I do is instead of putting it on their plate, I let them put it on their plate. So I always say I want you to try it. You don't have to eat, like, a big helping of it, but I want you to try it because it comes back to the you crave what you eat. Right? A lot of times, it's our minds that gets in the way. They're like, oh, that looks disgusting. Or, you know, what is that? But just Promise me. You'll take a bite of it all, and I won't force you to eat it. So I make that deal, but really letting them have that their own, Like, to be in charge of it. It feels empowering to them. Right? Here, it's on the table.
You make your plates. Right? But for them to be educated on the importance of balanced eating, right, not just eating goldfish crackers and toast
[00:41:25] Unknown:
Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. But but also, not to traumatize them. That's that's a way too big of a word, but, you know, for for instance, I'm I'm gluten intolerant, so I don't eat any bread things or pasta. And and then lactose intolerant as well. And so my daughter's like, alright, I won't drink milk because, daddy also doesn't drink milk. But for hers, it's good for her now, and she can definitely tackle it. Yeah. And, you know, I'm careful with things that are sprayed with glyphosate, because, you know, that's basically poisonous, but I don't wanna tell them that. I don't wanna tell them, hey. These things might be sprayed with poison. Because I don't wanna, like, give them a a complex about eating. I just want them to be able to eat whatever they want and also to participate in society as a normal person, as far as that's possible. So You know, how do you do that whilst educating them about what is healthy and what is not healthy?
[00:42:28] Unknown:
Yeah. I and, you know, I I stick to very basic things about, like, you know, well, protein. We talk a lot about protein here. And, even, like, that will I get in trouble for this sometimes, but we're talking about if you're not hungry, don't eat. Right? So just because the clock says You know, our mother told us, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. My son is not a breakfast eater.
[00:42:56] Unknown:
Yeah. He
[00:42:57] Unknown:
He's going to lunch. Yeah. And but he so he they won't eat breakfast all the time. Sometimes he does. Sometimes he doesn't, but I don't say you have to eat for waffles before you go to school. So, The key is when we have a doctor's appointment in the morning. And then we go to the doctor, and the doctor always says, So what do you have for breakfast today? And I'm like, uh-oh. Right? Now I'm gonna get a scalding because it's the most important meal of the day. Then it was funny one time because he didn't eat, and he said, I had toast. And I was like, I wonder if I feel like he's doing that.
I wonder if he sees my face or he senses the right. And so I asked him, and he said, is that what I should have said? But The funny thing is she seemed happy with it. Right? But that's not a great breakfast.
[00:43:49] Unknown:
It's terrible. Yeah. That's horrible. I know.
[00:43:53] Unknown:
But what do doctors know? You know? I am a funny thought. I was just like, oh my goodness. I and this has happened several times, or I'm just like, uh-oh. Like, is he gonna make something up? Is he gonna say nothing? Like but if he's not hungry, like, what if that appointment was at 10 AM and then, you know, we were going for a branch after. Yeah. Right? So That'd be fine. Yeah. I know. It's it's really bizarre, but that's Again, those old beliefs. Right?
[00:44:23] Unknown:
Yeah. So so at the very least, we should teach him about, who can you trust
[00:44:29] Unknown:
in the medical community as well? Yeah. And make sure you tell the doctor you ate breakfast. Doesn't matter what it was. Fruit loops, whenever, just tell them something.
[00:44:40] Unknown:
Yeah. And I also see a big difference, between my kids in, the types of cravings that they have. For instance, my son, skips breakfast a lot, but then also, gravitates more towards protein and fat. Whilst my daughter, gravitates more to carb things Yeah. And does often eat breakfast as well. So that that's a that's a big difference. I think we should just be mindful of that and, you know, respect it in the most healthy way. I don't know. Yeah. Yeah. It's It's interesting once you start watching.
[00:45:17] Unknown:
And then, like I said, if you put the food on the table and you watch what they take, and they're very different. Right? But it gives them that option where you're not putting every single thing on their plates, and then you can encourage you know, just try this. I just want you to take a bite. Encouraging them, you know, or or, like, assuring them that I'm not gonna make you eat. Yeah. All of it, but just try it. Because, like, my daughter likes red Pampers. My son, like, won't even look at them. Right? So It's it's funny to see the differences, but once they try it, then they might find some other healthy things that they do so.
[00:45:56] Unknown:
Yeah. Okay. Well, that's very useful. So we've covered a lot of ground, from, how to lose weight, we'd also improve your health to, to some bits about kids as well. Maybe we can, close on, where people can find you to to get that advice and get that help with their journey where can people go?
[00:46:24] Unknown:
Yeah. So I, you know, the majority of my content is on Instagram. I obviously I I have an account and a polish, but my, signature like, mind body transformation program is called Sat Brain fix. So on Instagram, Sat Brain fix or Anna Polish, I also am on Facebook. I have a free Facebook group for women who are looking for some free support, just to kinda get going on their journey and learn more about, what's going on in my world. So they can find me there and request access to that group.
[00:47:08] Unknown:
Excellent. Okay. Those are excellent resources. I will link to those in the show notes so you can find them, under this, episode wherever you consume it. Well, thank you very much for taking the time to to talk with me today.
[00:47:21] Unknown:
Yes. It was great. Great to meet you, and thank you.
[00:47:25] Unknown:
Alright. Thank you. Thank you for spending time with me to learn about health and wellness. For the full transcript and more content, visit improving varied.com. That is improving b adoublery.com. And here is a disclaimer. The information in this podcast for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, or other professional health care, sir, including the giving of medical advice and no doctor patient relationship is formed. The use of information in this podcast is at the user's own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.
I, and welcome to another episode of the improving Berry podcast, where I very interview experts in health and wellness. And this week, I got to speak with Anna Polish, who is a health scientist registered holistic nutritionist and a coach in lots of areas. We spoke about, weight, why it is bad to be overweight what to do about it, including, managing your hormones and also about nutrition for kids. Now for the full show notes, go to improvingberry.com. And without further ado, here is Anna. And I was thinking today, maybe we can talk a little bit about weight loss and how to actually do that in a sustainable way without, you know, following fad diets that are unsustainable and that people can't stick to because it's very difficult.
I mean, maybe we can start with, something very silly, which is, you know, why is it actually bad to be overweight because nowadays, unfortunately, normal is what the average of people is and the average of people, at least in Western world, is overweight, or obese and or morbidly obese, luckily less people that are those. So, you know, that's that's the normal, but why is that actually a bad thing? Can you can you talk to that? Yeah. It's, you know,
[00:01:40] Unknown:
The thing is with stat cells is that they produce hormones. And so, when you're producing excess amounts of hormones. It's kind of starting off that hormonal cascade of of messing with all your other hormones, especially in females. So it's kind of like when when women lose weight, we actually release estrogen from her fat cells. So that kind of causes some erratic cycles and other things that go on with the female hormones. But mainly, you know, with the excess fat on our bodies. Many are, you know, majority of the population now is insulin resistant. So, you know, we're eating more food. We're eating more processed food. We're unable to process that food properly.
So with that insulin resistance, it eventually leads to type 2 diabetes. Right, which essentially over time puts more of a burden on the health care system. So it really all falls into that.
[00:02:50] Unknown:
Yeah. And then it underpins lots of other chronic diseases as well, right, as Right. That that will trigger more information in the body and then, you know, that can lead to things like cancer, heart disease as well. Yeah. Yeah. So it seems then that, overweight and and obesity is actually more of a, like, a side effect of, you know, being more unhealthy. Would you agree with that?
[00:03:17] Unknown:
Yeah. For sure. It you know, and it it's like that multi faceted kind of environment that we live in. There's so many things that are going on. You know, we're more sedentary. So we're not moving as much, even just light movement. Right? So even just walking, we've stopped. Right? When we were kids, we you know, my dad used to make us get up and at least change the channel for him. We didn't have remote controls even. So Yeah. We've just become over time, you know, Like, we just don't move as much. So it's interesting.
[00:03:57] Unknown:
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So, Being of weight, that's not good for our health. Right? Yeah. It it messes with our hormones, especially for women as you just alluded to. And one of the culprits that that gets us to be overweight is the way we eat and the things that we eat as you also talked about just now. Why is it so difficult, to to, like, eat the right things as we are, of course, being told by institutions and and corporations to eat things, like carbohydrates and sandwiches, things like that. That's all healthy. Why is that? Yeah.
[00:04:36] Unknown:
You know, I think, you know, first of all, the nutrition guidelines are severely outdated. And, you know, they're The nutrition guidelines are based on a healthy population. Right? People who are able to process carbohydrates. They have no insulin resistant. They're healthy. Everything's functioning properly. But then you have someone who's insulin resistant, you say, okay. You know, eat this much carbohydrate. So this this much greens in a day, and their body can't process it. So it's actually making them thicker. The other thing too, and I've had this conversation with so many people is the the carbo hydrates and the grains and, you know, those healthy things that we're supposed to be eating according to the food guidelines aren't made like they were back when my parents were growing up. Right? Yeah. They would bind fresh bread daily because there was no preservatives in it. It wasn't processed.
Now All of the stuff that we purchased in the grocery store is meant to sit on the shelf for who knows how long, right, before it actually grows any mold. So it's it's just a different time where foods are made more shelf stable, so they last longer. So you're spending less. But at the end of the day, you're spending more on on on your, you know, medical care.
[00:06:01] Unknown:
Yeah. Yeah. So do you you don't think that it is, because companies are trying to make us sick or or do you?
[00:06:13] Unknown:
Yeah. Like, I, you know, I I don't know. That's that that's a total debate, right, with a a lot of things, but I feel like, you know, they're the with companies and how they engineer their foods, they make them hyperpalatable so that you crave more of them. Right? Yeah. Yeah. So the more The more sugar you add, the more it hits those dopamine receptors, the more you're like, oh, I need more of that. Right? It's almost like a a drug and it becomes an addiction. Right? Like, I used to say, back, you know, when I was young, I loved potato chips and pizza pups. Do you do you know pizza box? No. I don't know, though. So They're like, a filled coach with pizza fillings.
And my mom wouldn't buy them. Like, she was always whole food, and I would, you know, go to my grandma's house, and she would always buy me the treats. Right? And I, like, I loved this stuff. I would eat it all the time. I would crave it. The weekend would come, and I would be like, please can I go to my grandma's house so I can eat these foods? Right? It it became that, like, addiction and I said it was funny. I hadn't seen, like, I haven't eaten pizza pups in a long time. I realized how bad they are for you. But I was in the grocery store, and they had this whole end case of pizza pots. Like, they were on sale. Right? And I swear to God, I walked to buy it, and I salivated Like, I was like, oh my god. That feeling that, like, it came back over me. Like, maybe I wanna buy those pizza pups. Right? It was like that almost that addiction. So, you know, back in the day, they removed the fat. They removed the fat from foods.
Instead, they replaced it with sugar. Sugar was more like it got everyone craving them. Right? So Yeah. Yeah. You said fat was bad, but sugar. Sugar's okay. We'll just pump it full of sugar. But it keeps you coming back for more. So Yeah. It creates a repeat customers, really. Yeah. Like, no one's, like, salivating over broccoli when they go buy it in the grocery store. Right? It's totally different. So
[00:08:28] Unknown:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's absolutely, an addiction. You know, when I used to eat bread, I'm from the Netherlands. You know, bread is the thing here. You you start your day with bread. In lunch, you do bread, and then you end your day with, I don't know, maybe pasta and potatoes and Yeah. Hopefully some meat. But I used to love, like, bread, and then a little bit of, margarine on it and then sprinkle some actual sugar on that. It's sugar on sugar on sugar.
[00:08:58] Unknown:
It's crazy. I know. Great. So delicious.
[00:09:01] Unknown:
It's crazy.
[00:09:02] Unknown:
I would love to eat that again, but, you know, I know how bad it is for me. I'm not doing it. Well, that's the thing. Like, kids kid like, my kids can eat essentially whatever they want. You'll see some stomach upset or just kinda the mild symptom, but over time, that compounds. Right? And then Yeah. We're like, well, what went wrong. So yeah.
[00:09:28] Unknown:
Yeah. Yeah. For kids, it's completely different game, and I wanna talk to you about that a bit later as well. Yeah. So so being fat, that's that's not good for us, and it's very difficult to, not become fed in our current environment where foods that will make us, overweight are so abundant. Like, we talked about, and they're all starchy things and things with sugar in it and and carbohydrates. Things that's what being recommended by government and companies, unfortunately, but that's just how it is. So when somebody, is overweight and they decide, well, alright, I'm I'm done with this. I wanna become more healthy.
What can they do? How can you start?
[00:10:14] Unknown:
Well, you know, I have I have 2 rules. First, stop ignoring your hunger. And really to and into that, the diet industry has taught us to ignore hunger, ignore body signals, ignore pain, right, We don't tune into any of that. And my my number 1, is increase your protein. So I actually wear my shirt today. Protein is the new salad. I say, you know, it is, that's what you should be eating first. You should be meeting your protein goal before you have all the other stuff. After you met your protein goal, try and eat the other stuff. Right? But when you nourish your body at that cellular level, then your body isn't looking for All of that other stuff, all the other junk.
[00:11:03] Unknown:
And and what, what is enough protein?
[00:11:07] Unknown:
You know, it depends. Like, a lot of women in my coaching program, I I try and get them up above a 100 gram, the protein. You know, Ideally, if you could go 1 gram per pound of body weight, which can be difficult to do if someone's you know, £300 and they have to eat 300 grams of protein, then they go for they were only eating 50 grams. Right? Yep. Yeah. Well, It's interesting, though, because, you know, many people I talk to, I'll say, you know, do you know how much protein you're eating? And they'll say, oh, I eat lots. Like, lots of protein and go, okay. Well, let's crunch it out, you know, over the next couple days, and they see they're only at, like, 60, 70 grams. Right? They can't figure out why they're snacking at night. So, yeah, I I start at a 100 grams plus, and then we reassess in increments to see where they're at.
[00:12:00] Unknown:
Right. So so don't ignore your body and and hunger. So each when you're when you're hungry, and, increase your protein, which I'm pretty sure probably you see that in your cuss clients as well. Most people don't get enough, by default. Right? What about fat? Do you also recommend that? Yeah. So I don't necessarily
[00:12:23] Unknown:
say, like, aim for this amount of fat, but I'm I'm not into low fat products. You know, as a, again, as a kid, we ate high sat sour cream. High sat cut its cheese. We ate all of the high sat stuff, and it It gave us the energy to go through a day. So I say use fat as a lever, but you don't need to be chugging all of oil at night. To try and meet, you know, a sat macro essentially. So it's like protein first. You can use fat as a lever for flavoring, make sure you are getting fat because our brain has made of fat or cell membranes are made of fat. But, you know, the carbohydrates, that kind of stuff can come after that. It's not that you have to eliminate it, but you're not leading with that.
[00:13:11] Unknown:
Right. And and you're assuming that, the fat comes with the protein if the protein comes from, animal products. Right? Exactly. Yeah. What if, do you have clients that say, well, that's all fine, but I wanna do that with a plant based diet? So, you know, that can also contain protein. Right?
[00:13:30] Unknown:
Yeah. I find that most plant based diets and k. I'm a meat eater. So I I always give, like, and upfront. Hey. You know what? I'm a meat eater. I teach meat eating. You know, if you're plant based, I can't say that I am going to be the specialist for you. I find it really hard, to get a lot of protein with minimizing the carbohydrate sources in a plant based diet. It's doable, but you have to be, like, very specialized in that arena to be able to do that. And, if someone's insulin resistant, it could act or be evaporated?
[00:14:12] Unknown:
Yeah. Yeah. Because, you know, plant based diets usually are mostly carbs. And, and then some plants that contain some potentially incomplete proteins. Right. What about plans for, you know, a diet that you would recommend? So a meat based or a more meat based diet. Does that still contain some plans?
[00:14:35] Unknown:
Yeah. Of course. So, you know, like, I do include, you know, vegetables, low low carb fruits, really, to start and then, you know, test from there. But It's not like just potatoes and rice and, you know, all of those those things. So really just kinda weaning off some of that stuff I'm getting in fiber, but but leading with protein, not solid. That's so
[00:15:06] Unknown:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Those things are extra, basically, just to Yes. Extra snack shift people would like them if if they like those things as snacks.
[00:15:14] Unknown:
Exactly. But not forcing, you know, steamed broccoli on people for every meal. So
[00:15:22] Unknown:
yeah. No. Okay. What about, if you're talking about, quality, when you're talking about plants and and as well as meat? Does that need to be organic, or do you not really care?
[00:15:35] Unknown:
You know, I like, it really personal preference for people. I just start off getting them eating a protein and, you know, quality protein sources. You know, like, it's, you know, probably better to get it from the butcher shop than pre packaged in a box, that kind of stuff, but, especially, like, things like, you know, if they're eating sausages or that kind of stuff, you know, try and purchase it from a butcher shop where they're actually making it from, you know, pork or whatever it is, not in a package that's been sitting on the grocery store shelf for, you know, 5 months or whatever it is. So, I start off with just trying to increase their protein over time, you know, you crave what you eat. So the more protein they eat, the more they crave of it, and then they start to kind of resign from there.
[00:16:29] Unknown:
Oh, okay. Yeah. So, yeah, you crave what you eat. That's interesting. So the more you eat for of something, then you want more of that, specific thing. Right? Yeah. So, like, the more you You know, we used to say cravings. They're like stray cats. So the more you feed them, the more they come back.
[00:16:47] Unknown:
So It's it's one of those things, but it even drinking water. Like, again, you know, drink water when you're thirsty. Right? You don't need to drink, like, 16 liters of water a day, but start tuning into those things. And a lot of people don't even drink water. They'll drink coffee. And then, like, they're like, oh, I don't like water. Or, k. Let's start with a cup. Like, a 250 milliliters 8 ounces, drink that every morning. Right? And then as they start to drink that, they realize that they're actually more thirsty, but they've been ignoring it for so long. Oh, some. Okay.
[00:17:28] Unknown:
Yeah. So, yeah, with with clients like that, I suppose that that's all extremely low hanging fruits once you get them to do these simple things, or at least, from the outside simple, then they improve, incredibly probably. Right?
[00:17:43] Unknown:
Yeah. Yeah. They start They start, like, listening to their body signals, then it's just I think that's the big thing is, you know, Everyone's scared to eat. Everyone's afraid of hunger because they're afraid they're gonna eat the wrong thing. So then they're they're snacking. All day long. Right? They're trying to just eat, oh, I'll just have a little bit, but then in 5 minutes, they're hungry again. Okay. I'll just have a little bit more. So they're they're trying to ignore that and feed that hunger with the right food, instead of just saying, I'm hungry.
I'm gonna sit down with my plates at the table and have a It doesn't matter what time of day it is. Right? Just Yeah. Just eat when you're hungry. Stop. When you've had enough Right? It seems simple, but it is it's tough when we've been trained to otherwise.
[00:18:31] Unknown:
Yeah. We've been trained to you know, 33, meals a day, at very specific times, especially here in the Netherlands. It's extremely strict. At 12 in the afternoon, everybody drops everything and they go eat, eat bread. Right? That's lunch. It's we're we're trained to do that. It's very difficult to, overwrite it and, listen to your body. Like, maybe you're not hungry.
[00:18:55] Unknown:
Yeah. And and it's it's the same with kids. If you think about it, like, at school, they have to eat at certain times. That's their lunch break, and I've heard of kids. Like, saying I'm not hungry. Like, I I I just I can't I don't wanna eat this whole lunch, and they've decided not to, but the teacher says, no. You have to. Right? So there's the reverse of it to where it's like, okay. But they've they've said they've had enough. Right? It's kind of like our parents saying you better eat everything on your plate. Right?
So then you're taught to overeat. Ignore those satiety signals. And just continue. Right? So it's more of a a people pleasing rather than a self pleasing.
[00:19:38] Unknown:
Yeah. Wow. If you think about that, then goodness me. We're all so broken because we're all we're all trained in that, and also to overeat, yeah, including, myself as well. You know, you need to, clean your plates and that has had had its reasons because, my parents, obviously, they were very happy to have their fruit as So that's a generation post World War 2. So grateful for the food. So let's eat all of it. We actually need all of the calories. But now we have a way too large portion with stuff that we don't need, and then we still repeat that behavior. Oh, that just sneaks in. Yeah.
[00:20:18] Unknown:
It's terrible. It's taught. I know my father-in-law was like that too because he said I knew what it was like to be hungry. Right? Like, Yep. You know, so I don't wanna I don't wanna have that, like, not even to be hungry, but to be starving. I don't wanna have that feeling again. Right? So it's and then it comes down from generations. Yeah. We don't know why we're doing what we're doing. Well, yeah. My parents told me to. They must know. Right?
[00:20:49] Unknown:
Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. Okay. So this is a a a great cue to start realizing that and break the the cycles if you have any kids. I'll try to do that with with my kids as well. Yeah. Okay. So, what about the whole calorie thing. So we we've talked about, quality and and the type of food that you recommend. What about calories? Do do people need to restrict those to lose weight?
[00:21:21] Unknown:
Oh, calories. Press favorite topic. You mean we all shouldn't be on a 1200 calorie a day diet to lose weight? No. You know, that that's That's part of the problem, and that scares women too because we've all been taught for some reason, 1200 calories was like the magic number. Just only 1200 calories. However, you calculate that. But then you eat 1200 calories, for, say, a couple weeks, you lose weight, and you're feeling good. Now you're still eating 1200 calories, but You can't you're the field's not moving. So what the heck's going on? And I thought this was, like, the magic calorie number. Right? So then Yep. You restrict again. You're like, okay. Maybe at the 1100. I need to go down to 1100. You go down to 1100. It moves a little bit. No. Okay. I'm gonna go down to a 1000. You keep Like, your metabolism's smart. It has that set point. It's gonna start, like, it's gonna start moving to where you're at, to meet you.
And So over time, you're just restricting and restricting. You have to restrict more. And eventually, that doesn't work. Right? Now nothing's working. You've, like, served your metabolism. Most women who come to me, I have them eating more food. Right? So that's that's scary for them. But In the end, it's almost like, you know, reversing that feeding. You have to feed your body. You have to feed your hormones. With calories, like I said, protein, if you're eating enough protein, If you're eating enough of the right foods, your body is going to tell you when you had it up. You don't need to micromanage All of those numbers. Right?
Yeah. But I see, like, that whole calorie thing has, like, really messed with people's brains. And, like, I could eat, you know, 500 calories of broccoli, pork broccoli. I know I keep going back to it, but 500 calories abruptly, or I could eat 500 calories of a big mac. Are you gonna tell me those do the same things to my body? Yeah. Right? So it's it's food quality. Like, you have to eat real food. And then your body, if you're listening, will start telling you I've had enough. I don't need those potato chips. I don't need you know, that chocolate bar or whatever because I'm full.
Yeah.
[00:23:56] Unknown:
So so there's a couple of things there. I think, what you, rightly said, we underestimate how clever our bodies are So your body adjusts. It thinks, oh, okay. We're we're starving here. Well, let's, adjust so that we don't actually die if this continues to to go on. So let's let's let's down ramp, metabolism. And that will stay that way, right, until you eat more things for quite a while.
[00:24:25] Unknown:
Exactly. You have to teach it. It's almost like Yeah. It's gonna go into feminine mode. Right? I'm gonna hold on to all the body fat just in case she's not gonna feed me again. I'm gonna have to munch on this. So I'm not gonna let it go because then I'll have nothing to eat. Right? So Yeah. Like, the fat on your body is actually food for your body. You know? People people are scared not to snack in between meals because they're scared they might die. Like, I would tell my kids don't worry. You're not gonna die. Trust me. If you don't have, you know, those fruit snacks, you're not gonna die. I know. But as humans, we think, you know, we have to have those 6 small meals a day or we have to snack in between breakfast, snack, lunch, snack.
Trust me, we're not gonna die. We have plenty of storage on our bodies, and that is food. The fat on our bodies is also food. So We have to start learning how to use that.
[00:25:23] Unknown:
Yeah. And we don't need to that much of it, actually, to to survive for quite a while. It's very powerful stuff. And there's a lot of calories in in fat. Yes. So our bodies, are clever. So don't, eat too little because then that will mess you completely up not only do you not lose weight, but also your hormones will be disrupted even more, right, because your body's going to prioritize what it needs to survive, for instance, no more sex hormones because we don't need those to survive, things like that. Exactly. Yeah. Okay. So the calories thing, yeah, that that's you keep seeing that coming back on the internet as well. It's kinda like the the hard diet hypothesis with saturated fats. We have these camps on on the internet where people keep, coming out. Well, no. This is actually, actually what we need to do. We need to keep counting calories, but we So we really, shouldn't. Right?
And we should just look at the quality of our foods and the type of foods. Right?
[00:26:34] Unknown:
Yeah. One one of my rules is or one of my not even necessarily a rule, but a challenge for people is When you're grocery shopping, like, start reading the labels and see how many of those items in your cart either have no label or less than 5 ingredients on the label. And people are really surprised when they start counting ingredients on the label because the more ingredients, the more processed. Right? So try and stick to real foods, which ideally is food without a label. That's tough. Yeah.
[00:27:09] Unknown:
That is tough. Yes. Especially for right now. In the supermarket, especially that it's really tough. Even, animal based things like meat, usually contains some things. Right? Yeah. Yeah.
[00:27:22] Unknown:
Yeah. Okay.
[00:27:24] Unknown:
So what can people do more, besides the things we already talked about to, lose weight and become more healthy? What about exercise, for instance?
[00:27:34] Unknown:
Yeah. You know, like, exercise, definitely, I I I believe in, not K. Exercise isn't the priority. I always say people are like, I'm not losing weight because I'm not exercising. I'm like, I can venture a guess that that's probably not the reason. The main reason. Right? So I like to say you wanna get in some healthy movement. So exercise. Sometimes people think I have to run on the treadmill for an hour. You know, I Like, it just I have to go on the elliptical whenever it is, but just getting and walking. Like, you know, track your steps. See if you're 10,000 steps a day. Guarantee, most people are not doing 10,000 steps a day. Like, I I remember I entered this step challenge where We had to get 10,000 steps a day. And at night, I was walking laps around my coach. Just and and I walk quite, like, I walk quite a bit. I thought for sure that's Mhmm. That's gonna be easy.
But so just starting with something simple as that, you know, go for a walk around your neighborhood. If it's nice outside, Walking, strength training is a big one too, because our lean muscle mass decreases as we age. So and in women, it it seems to decrease faster and be harder to, build because of the lack of testosterone in our bodies. But so train training you as a woman, you won't turn into the hulk. It's almost impossible. But very important, because muscle essentially burns fat as well. So you wanna keep some lean muscle on your body, help to kind of rev up the metabolism and burn more fat.
[00:29:23] Unknown:
Right? And don't exercise to lose weight. Right?
[00:29:27] Unknown:
Yeah. Like, don't exercise so you can eat a chocolate bar. That's what I used to do. Only reason. I know people do that. But Yeah. And and this is one of the things, and I've heard many, like, I have been to work out classes. I've heard many personal trainers talk like, oh, you know, it's, Thanksgiving coming. So Did you know we need to do 5 of my workouts in order to burn off that turkey dinner? It's like, well k. I'm not gonna do 5 of your workouts, but That's the wool calories in calories out thing, and then it messes with people's minds. Right? And then they're like, well, crap. I only did what? And now I'm screwed, so I might as well throw in the towel and just eat it all and sit on the coach. So Yeah. Yeah.
[00:30:11] Unknown:
Yeah. That doesn't work. And I think, exercises all so, a point of information that you feed your body. So if you do chronic cardio, you're running, an hour a day, every day, or even more, Yeah. We're telling your body, hey. This is what we do. So we're probably telling the body that there's something stressful going on because otherwise, why would you run? Especially for so long. And that will also then disrupt your metabolism and your hormones as well. So you really need to be careful what you tell what you tell your body, which food, and with exercise, and all the other things that you're doing.
[00:30:46] Unknown:
Yeah. And it's interesting. Like, I I actually also work in the field of diabetes, and I Once in a while, we'll wear a blood glucose sensor, and I'll share the findings with, my followers just on how different things affect your blood glucose that you wouldn't think of stress, obviously. Right? But, like, Kate, first of all, like, running is not my favorite thing to do. So I find that stress but in general, when if you were, like, running from a tiger and, you know, the desert or wherever the jungle, They, your body would actually be able to make glucose to fuel your sprint away from that tiger. Right?
And when you wear a blood glucose sensor and you go run on the treadmill, you actually get a spike in your blood glucose. So now for me who was insulin resistant, my trainer had told me I should eat a banana and, you know, them peanut butter and toast before I go for a run. So now imagine that, like so you wake up your body make glucose to get you going for the day. So immediately when you wake up, you see a spike in your blood glucose. Then you eat your banana and you eat your toast with peanut butter, which causes a spike in glucose, and then you go for a run on the treadmill, which causes a spike in glucose, and then you go for a run on the treadmill, which causes a spike in glucose. Now if you're insulin resistant, you have all the glucose floating around, but your body doesn't know how to use it. Because you're insulin resistant.
So that contributes to the problem. So then all these people are doing these things. They're running. They're Hey. I'm running, like, five miles a day. I can't lose weight. Yeah. Well, there's more going on. Right? There's more going on in a hormonal level. That you need to heal before you start running on the treadmill. So that's always I I find that's the interesting part is A lot of times, we don't know what our body is doing in the background, so it's interesting to bring light to that.
[00:32:57] Unknown:
Yeah. Absolutely. And as you said, you need to then first, tackle your hormones.
[00:33:04] Unknown:
But how do you know if your hormones are out of whack? How do you test for that? Well, there's usually, like, you know, the resistant fat, like, So you're resistant to weight loss. No matter what you do, you kinda, like, feel puffy. You're you're hungry all the time. Right? So you're getting That's the classic sign of, like, the blood glucose spikes and crashes, where you're, like, eating and then you're hungry before even the next meal. Like, you can't go several hours without eating. There's some telltale signs. They get worse. As, you know, say the hormones get worse or the insulin resistance gets worse, then you get intake, their dark patches, you know, under your arm.
So it's a there's but there's a lot of telltale signs. And most most people that come to me are the I'm doing everything right, but I can't lose weight. So usually, that's, like, the classic sign.
[00:34:05] Unknown:
Right. Yeah. And then, you know, that you need to, do something there? Do you then also do additional tests, like blood test as well?
[00:34:15] Unknown:
I usually recommend some blood tests that they take to their doctor. You know, fasting insulin is a big one. A lot of times people get, fasting insulin and fasting glucose mixed up, but they're 2 different things. So fasting insulin essentially could be high for several years before your blood glucose rises because many people come to me and say, no. It's good. And and they're talking about their blood glucose, that their blood glucose is that they don't get the spikes. But fasting insulin, is it more of a specialized test? And oftentimes, you know, it's it's high several years before they get high blood glucose or before they're diagnosed with Metabolic syndrome or type 2 diabetes.
[00:35:01] Unknown:
Yeah. Yeah. Because your pancreas is already working very hard to to keep that glucose at the exact same level there. So if you only measure that, you you wouldn't notice that.
[00:35:11] Unknown:
Exactly.
[00:35:12] Unknown:
Okay. So we've covered a lot of ground already. So when people are losing weight, have you ever, Experience somebody that lost weight very rapidly rapidly, like a lot of weight very rapidly. Is that problematic?
[00:35:33] Unknown:
Well, you know, anyone can lose weight really rapidly. I can make anyone lose weight.
[00:35:39] Unknown:
Yeah. Rapidly.
[00:35:42] Unknown:
But sustainability, I think, is really key, because rapid weight loss, a, you know, when someone starts a diet, whether it's calorie restriction, keto, Whatever it is, you have a lot of water weight. Your fat cells hold on to water. Right? So people get really excited. It's very motivating. I lost £9 with weight. But then after that, you it you really have to dial in the nutrition and and figure it out for the long term. And not only that, like, 1st 30 days, you can you can lose weight, but then after that, it comes down to I call it the neuro nutrition, like the brain. Right? So your your brain likes to feel safe. It likes to go back to where it feels safe. Which is where you used to be. Right? So changing those, like, those thoughts and patterns and beliefs that we learned from our parents and we traveled down to, you know, progress forward. So working on, like, not only root cause nutrition, hormones, but the mindset is huge.
So, yes, people can lose a lot of weight in 30 days. Most people gain it back. When they do those extremely restrictive things. But, you know, just continuing on and really then diving into a lot of the mines at work is really key.
[00:37:08] Unknown:
Right. And and how do you do that? Like, how do you get people to to stick with a new way of eating. Let's not call it a diet. Let's call it a way of eating.
[00:37:19] Unknown:
Yeah. It's, you know, accountability is really key while you're going through the process to have someone there to, you know, not only talk about this is what I ate today, and this is you know, what should I eat tomorrow, but really, providing, like, tools and feedback and helping them navigate different situations because, you know, majority of people on diets don't go anywhere because they're scared to go to their friend's house. They're scared to go to a family barbecue. They're scared to go to a wedding. Because they don't know how to navigate that. I don't provide meal plans. I don't believe in meal plans. I can make a meal plan. No problem.
But are you gonna carry that around with you and ask, like, the cook at the wedding to make it for you? Right? So it's not It's not realistic, and you need to be able to learn how to live life, enjoy life, and not also be stressed out because someone invited you over for, you know, a barbecue. And you're like, oh my gosh. I don't know what I'm gonna do. Okay. Instead, I'll just starve. And then when I get home, I'll just binge eat. So it's really that fine balance between getting a handle on your thoughts and situations.
Which I feel like I'm an expert at navigating because I I was there. I, you know, I I was there too. I get it. I'm not just a nutritionist who alerts the stuff in school. I I totally understand. So just working a lot with that with clients is is really key.
[00:38:51] Unknown:
Right. So you really need somebody, in in your camp, somebody like you. Yeah.
[00:38:56] Unknown:
Yeah. Like, yeah. Someone, you know, like, and that's like a friend. Right? Like, not a not a dictator that just says, well, you know, my textbook says that you should do this. But just like someone to understand and and to help navigate.
[00:39:15] Unknown:
Like an accountability
[00:39:16] Unknown:
buddy. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly.
[00:39:20] Unknown:
Okay. So so far, we've been talking about adults. I just saw a little, a little person there behind you in the video.
[00:39:31] Unknown:
Oh, that's okay.
[00:39:35] Unknown:
So let's talk a little bit about about kids, and and nutrition because that can be more difficult, at least I find as, you know, you can't just, tell kids, well, this is what you need to eat. Because sometimes at least my kids, just don't feel like eating something like, meat, for instance, It's feel like eating, I don't know, pasta or whatever. And like you said, they're very flexible. They can basically eat anything without much trouble now because, of course, their their body is able to heal so well and the body is extremely flexible. So it doesn't really matter what you put in there, it seems.
How do you navigate that? You know, because you can't force your children to eat the healthiest things. They they just won't do it all the time, of course.
[00:40:24] Unknown:
Yeah. And, you know, it's funny. Like, well, 1st with children, it it's about kinda giving them a choice. So Instead of one thing I do is instead of putting it on their plate, I let them put it on their plate. So I always say I want you to try it. You don't have to eat, like, a big helping of it, but I want you to try it because it comes back to the you crave what you eat. Right? A lot of times, it's our minds that gets in the way. They're like, oh, that looks disgusting. Or, you know, what is that? But just Promise me. You'll take a bite of it all, and I won't force you to eat it. So I make that deal, but really letting them have that their own, Like, to be in charge of it. It feels empowering to them. Right? Here, it's on the table.
You make your plates. Right? But for them to be educated on the importance of balanced eating, right, not just eating goldfish crackers and toast
[00:41:25] Unknown:
Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. But but also, not to traumatize them. That's that's a way too big of a word, but, you know, for for instance, I'm I'm gluten intolerant, so I don't eat any bread things or pasta. And and then lactose intolerant as well. And so my daughter's like, alright, I won't drink milk because, daddy also doesn't drink milk. But for hers, it's good for her now, and she can definitely tackle it. Yeah. And, you know, I'm careful with things that are sprayed with glyphosate, because, you know, that's basically poisonous, but I don't wanna tell them that. I don't wanna tell them, hey. These things might be sprayed with poison. Because I don't wanna, like, give them a a complex about eating. I just want them to be able to eat whatever they want and also to participate in society as a normal person, as far as that's possible. So You know, how do you do that whilst educating them about what is healthy and what is not healthy?
[00:42:28] Unknown:
Yeah. I and, you know, I I stick to very basic things about, like, you know, well, protein. We talk a lot about protein here. And, even, like, that will I get in trouble for this sometimes, but we're talking about if you're not hungry, don't eat. Right? So just because the clock says You know, our mother told us, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. My son is not a breakfast eater.
[00:42:56] Unknown:
Yeah. He
[00:42:57] Unknown:
He's going to lunch. Yeah. And but he so he they won't eat breakfast all the time. Sometimes he does. Sometimes he doesn't, but I don't say you have to eat for waffles before you go to school. So, The key is when we have a doctor's appointment in the morning. And then we go to the doctor, and the doctor always says, So what do you have for breakfast today? And I'm like, uh-oh. Right? Now I'm gonna get a scalding because it's the most important meal of the day. Then it was funny one time because he didn't eat, and he said, I had toast. And I was like, I wonder if I feel like he's doing that.
I wonder if he sees my face or he senses the right. And so I asked him, and he said, is that what I should have said? But The funny thing is she seemed happy with it. Right? But that's not a great breakfast.
[00:43:49] Unknown:
It's terrible. Yeah. That's horrible. I know.
[00:43:53] Unknown:
But what do doctors know? You know? I am a funny thought. I was just like, oh my goodness. I and this has happened several times, or I'm just like, uh-oh. Like, is he gonna make something up? Is he gonna say nothing? Like but if he's not hungry, like, what if that appointment was at 10 AM and then, you know, we were going for a branch after. Yeah. Right? So That'd be fine. Yeah. I know. It's it's really bizarre, but that's Again, those old beliefs. Right?
[00:44:23] Unknown:
Yeah. So so at the very least, we should teach him about, who can you trust
[00:44:29] Unknown:
in the medical community as well? Yeah. And make sure you tell the doctor you ate breakfast. Doesn't matter what it was. Fruit loops, whenever, just tell them something.
[00:44:40] Unknown:
Yeah. And I also see a big difference, between my kids in, the types of cravings that they have. For instance, my son, skips breakfast a lot, but then also, gravitates more towards protein and fat. Whilst my daughter, gravitates more to carb things Yeah. And does often eat breakfast as well. So that that's a that's a big difference. I think we should just be mindful of that and, you know, respect it in the most healthy way. I don't know. Yeah. Yeah. It's It's interesting once you start watching.
[00:45:17] Unknown:
And then, like I said, if you put the food on the table and you watch what they take, and they're very different. Right? But it gives them that option where you're not putting every single thing on their plates, and then you can encourage you know, just try this. I just want you to take a bite. Encouraging them, you know, or or, like, assuring them that I'm not gonna make you eat. Yeah. All of it, but just try it. Because, like, my daughter likes red Pampers. My son, like, won't even look at them. Right? So It's it's funny to see the differences, but once they try it, then they might find some other healthy things that they do so.
[00:45:56] Unknown:
Yeah. Okay. Well, that's very useful. So we've covered a lot of ground, from, how to lose weight, we'd also improve your health to, to some bits about kids as well. Maybe we can, close on, where people can find you to to get that advice and get that help with their journey where can people go?
[00:46:24] Unknown:
Yeah. So I, you know, the majority of my content is on Instagram. I obviously I I have an account and a polish, but my, signature like, mind body transformation program is called Sat Brain fix. So on Instagram, Sat Brain fix or Anna Polish, I also am on Facebook. I have a free Facebook group for women who are looking for some free support, just to kinda get going on their journey and learn more about, what's going on in my world. So they can find me there and request access to that group.
[00:47:08] Unknown:
Excellent. Okay. Those are excellent resources. I will link to those in the show notes so you can find them, under this, episode wherever you consume it. Well, thank you very much for taking the time to to talk with me today.
[00:47:21] Unknown:
Yes. It was great. Great to meet you, and thank you.
[00:47:25] Unknown:
Alright. Thank you. Thank you for spending time with me to learn about health and wellness. For the full transcript and more content, visit improving varied.com. That is improving b adoublery.com. And here is a disclaimer. The information in this podcast for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, or other professional health care, sir, including the giving of medical advice and no doctor patient relationship is formed. The use of information in this podcast is at the user's own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.
Introduction
Why is being overweight bad
Why is it difficult to eat the right things
How can you lose weight
Body signals and unconscious patterns
Do calories matter
What about exercise
How do you know if your hormones are out of whack
Kids and nutrition
Outro and Disclaimer
