Think it’s impossible to want to lose fat and maintain a healthy relationship with food? Learn the secrets in this week’s episode with my dietitian friend Leanne Ward!
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Listen Now: Lose Fat AND Maintain a Healthy Relationship with Food
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Leanne Ward’s Story:
“I grew up around healthy eating a home cooked meals and have always been interested in health and nutrition from a young age. I knew that I wanted to help people and used to want to be a doctor or physiotherapist before I settled on nutrition. I grew up always thinking I was a “big kid” because I was so tall–6’1. Even though I was skinny I was always called big because of my height and it did affect me. Once I got to university and started studying for my BS in Nutrition I started to become influenced by those around me who were constantly trying different diets. I started drinking a lot of coffee and ate mostly salads throughout the day. I also started drinking a lot of food like a lot of other college students. I thought I was healthy because I was skinny and ate a lot of salad but in reality I was doing a lot of damage to my body. Going gluten free, dairy free, and only only sticking to “safe foods”– chicken, potatoes, and lettuce–lead to gastrointestinal distress which only led to more restriction. I was going to naturopaths, medical doctors, and nutritionists but it was not helping with my IBS. I was underfueling and overexercising. Salad and alcohol were my main source of calories. I knew I wanted to help people but I also knew that I needed to help myself and so I started a MS in Dietetics to learn more about the clinical issues. This degree gave me a better understanding of how to fuel myself and avoid so much restriction–it took a process of over 3 years to get back my health. “
About a year ago I switched to my own online business and started developing podcasts. I was afraid to leave my successful job but I did not feel like I was really helping people the way I wanted to and was becoming frustrated. Helping clients meant that I needed more time with them and that was only possible with my own business. A lot of my clients have gastrointestinal issues but I also have a great interest in sports nutrition and I believe that everyone should learn to fuel themselves like an athlete.
How did you learn to honor your body through nutrition and be able to work towards physical goals (ex: increase energy, lose fat, feel your best) and get away from a restrictive mindset?
Leanne: I never restricted so as to lose weight and I have always known how to nourish my body. It was really only during University I felt pressure to become a “good example” and thought that healthy eating meant becoming restrictive. I was a guinea pig and tried a lot of different diets like gluten free, elimination diet, FODMAP diet, and so on. I become stressed around eating and was afraid of food as I did not know how it would make me feel. I did not realize that FODMAP is not a long term diet. Short term it may help for initial elimination, but long term it will negatively affect gut health and your microbiome. It really took me three to four years of gradual reintroduction to better my gut health. Natural prebiotics, including onion and garlic were really important. Many people don’t realize that occasional GI upset is normal–everyone becomes bloated or has diarrhea occasionally. It is only when it affects your quality of life that it becomes an issue. It just took time for me to discover this.
What are some of your starting parts of advice in finding balance between supporting gut health but also staying healthy mentally?
Leanne: Stop all rules and restrictions around foods. Unless you are allergic to it you can have it. There is no black and white area to food, all foods can fit in moderation. There is something I like to call soul foods. They may not necessarily be good for your body but they are good for your soul. In order to create balance you need to allow yourself permission to eat soul foods and to overeat. Once you say that you cannot have it you want it more so to avoid restriction and create that balance you need to allow yourself to have some amount of soul foods.
Another thing that I always like to say to my clients is that a little tastes as good as a lot. Your satisfaction level may be different but no matter how much you eat it will still taste the same. This is why it is important to really be mindful when you are eating and enjoy it from the first bite. If you are not hungry and you are eating simply because you want to eat you will never be satisfied. Being mindful means that you are able to eat small amounts and still enjoy it. No guilt is attached because you are not restricting and then eating out out of control. You are maintaining balance and moderation. So slow down and eat mindfully. Understand that all foods fit and that you can eat all foods in moderation. This is really a journey mentally and takes a long time to understand but it is key to creating balance.
Many people have the mindset that weight loss and body goals can only occur when we are really strict with our diet and that food freedom can only come when we ditch any desire for physical transformations. Can you have both? Can you lose fat and maintain mental health?
Leanne: Yes. It is attainable to have both but it is about balance! We can create a grey area in which we have food freedom AND a body that we are happy and confident with. We can want to look a certain way and still love our body. It is not wrong to want to make it fitter, stronger, or better mentally—and it is all possible without restriction when we understand balance. For instance if we want the goals of a body builder we will have to put a lot of time and commitment into it and most of the time that is not attainable without sacrificing a good relationship with food. You need to understand what your goals are and how much you are willing to sacrifice for it. You do not need to become a body builder to feel better in your body so it is important to put everything into perspective. I also say that it is important to have the right mindset before trying to lose fat or weight. Weight loss itself is easy it is maintaining it that is difficult. Oftentimes I take 6 to 8 weeks to work with clients about their mindset before losing weight so that they can avoid yo-yo diets. It is a process and it takes time we cannot always have things instantly
Because of my past history with an eating disorder I am always very careful of staying mindful and having food freedom. It isn’t bad to want to lose weight and it isn’t wrong to want to feel or look your best but mental freedom should come first. How do you first start when working with your clients?
Leanne: There is no one way for every person and no method or style works for everyone. This is why I only take on certain clients. My main approach is to be consistent with your behavior and your results will come OVERTIME–but you need to take it slowly and not be too hard on yourself. I tell my clients that to truly lose fat or weight, it typically takes 4-6 weeks to show and you need to give yourself twelve months to truly see results. I don’t do single consults with my clients because they don’t work. It takes time to get rid of self-sabotage, guilt, and shame. I avoid rules with my clients my give them tips to help them. One such things is to half a plate of vegetables with all of their meals. 95% of Australian and Americans do not get enough vegetables so starting with that is great. You don’t need the fad diets, labels, or fancy supplements–start out slowly with vegetables. Give up perfection and start focusing on your everyday behaviors. I tell my clients that they can have any food that they want but they need to build it into a balanced plate. We can achieve our goals and still have a the foods we like and enjoy–it just takes balance. I like to provide structure to my clients as a lot of humans thrive on structure. If you do it properly structure will not lead to restrictive eating.
Listening to your body and eating intuitively do not always work especially when first starting out for sure. So nutritional structure is definitely important. – Sarah Grace
Leanne: Many people do not realize that even as a dietitian we still have unhealthy cravings. However I know that if I give in to my cravings I will feel like crap. This is why mindful eating is important–so I can eat what I like but eat in moderation. You need to nourish your body first and nourish your soul second.
There is a difference between listening to your body and in the moment cravings. You need to give your body nourishment and not necessarily cravings. A good question is “If I allow myself to eat this food will a little be enough?” If not, take 10 minutes to work on your emotions to dampen your cravings. Do not eat in response to your cravings and it will help you to eat less.
Right… when you eat nourishing foods first you will eat less of the unhealthy foods after as you will be satisfied and full.
Leanne: It is important to eat healthy foods that you actually enjoy. If you don’t like kale then don’t eat it, there are enough other healthy foods to eat. I tell my clients to write down the healthy foods that you actually do like so that in the moment of cravings you know what to choose. Eat the healthy food that you like that will actually make you feel good physically. Also I tell my clients that overeating healthy foods is not good either. Eating in response to emotion is not good–you should only eat when you are hungry. Overeating any food, even vegetables, will only get you farther away from your goals. Ask yourself what you need right now. Eat your soul foods in moderation so that way you will not make you feel sick–eating a small amount will still taste just as good as a large amount.
What are some tangible steps people can take to work towards physical goals like weight loss or to lose fat, meanwhile maintaining a healthy mindset?
Leanne: Learn true satisfaction and differentiate between head hunger and mouth hunger. Head hunger nourishes your emotions and mouth hunger is eating in small amounts just for satisfaction. This step is all about mindful eating.
Learn how to build nourishing meals. All foods can fit, you just need to focus on creating your balanced plate. The foundations of health, such as sleep, are also just as important as what you eat. Without them you will have a harder time losing weight and staying healthy.
Being accountable is also important. To avoid self sabotage you need to take responsibility for your actions. Never say that you can’t because you can always find a way to do it. Focus on your behavior over numbers as you can always change your behavior. Remember that excuses will always be there and you just need to find a way to keep improving all the time. Progress not perfection.
Any quote or phrase that really stands out to you?
Leanne: “No amount of food will ever satisfy you if you were never truly hungry to begin with.”
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About Leanne:
Leanne Ward is a renowned Australian media dietitian, nutritionist, sports dietitian and online social media influencer known as The Fitness Dietitian. With a Bachelor of Health Sciences Majoring in Nutrition, a Masters in Dietetics Studies and her Sports Dietitian Qualifications, she has a passion for living a balanced, healthy and active life. Leanne specialises in coaching career driven women to conquer emotional eating, heal their gut and stay LEAN for life with her 1:1 premium coaching program, LEAN Gut Mind Method. With nearly 10 years of experience in the nutrition industry and over 300,000 followers worldwide, she has dedicated her career to helping women find peace, happiness and sustainability with their body, their health and their lifestyle. For evidenced-based advice around nutrition, gut health and emotional eating, check out her top-rated podcast: Leanne Ward Nutrition.
Website: www.leanneward.com.au
Podcast: Leanne Ward Nutrition https://link.chtbl.com/NjxR0AqP
Instagram: @the_fitness_dietitian
Tik Tok: @leanne_ward_nutrition