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Tag Archives: health

BRISBANE NUTRITIONIST KATIE KING   →  health
Categories GENERAL HEALTH, WEIGHT LOSS

Why Am I Gaining Weight but Barely Eating?

Author Arlie Miguel Posted on Leave a comment
Firstly. Let’s just say that writing a blog that is so blatantly about ‘weight loss’ isn’t really our cup of tea. We prefer to focus on ‘health’ because weight release will naturally follow ‘health’ but this precise question is quite literally coming at us from many new clients of late.
The answer is probably going to vary from person to person, but here are a few things to consider in the journey to a healthy weight.
Firstly, weight loss is not easy. Please don’t be fooled by reality television shows that make us believe losing weight just ‘happens’ overnight because it doesn’t.
Second, you need to change your thinking. Stop. Re read the third line of this post again. Know that ‘health’ comes before ‘weight.’ You just can’t have a long list of symptoms and health concerns but only want to ‘lose weight.’ You have to tackle the whole package. A healthy body will find its natural, healthy weight. And maintain it. Is a ‘starving body’ a healthy body? Unlikely.
In addition to not eating much food, some or all of the following might be part of the problem.
1. You could be incredibly stressed. Which could mean very high levels of stress hormones and not a lot of sleep. Both of these are going to make releasing weight a lot more difficult.
2. You are possibly drinking a lot coffee… and / or not a lot of water. This is a recipe for dehydration. The metabolic process of ‘burning fat’  (lipolysis) is much harder for a dehydrated body. In addition, dehydration puts extra strain on the kidneys, which means its harder for the kidneys to do their job – essentially, too eliminate waste. And weight loss is essentially… the elimination of a lot of waste. So you really want your elimination pathways to be working really well.
3. Not eating enough food=probably not getting enough fibre from plant based sources like whole fruits and vegies. This, along with dehydration will probably block the pipes… not the water pipes, the other ones! Then you’ve got a situation where all that ‘solid’ waste hasn’t got anywhere to go either. Translation: healthy poos help with weight release.
4. Less ‘excretion’ of waste products as well as less fibre means those friendlies in your gut are going to suffer. We’ve linked just about everything to the health of our guts and guess what? That includes weight! Having a healthy gut is part of the picture when it comes to finding a healthy weight range. This does not mean you should go out and buy a probiotic and all of your problems will be fixed by the way… its just part of the picture and it can be altered without a pill.
5. Food is so much more than just macronutrients. The micronutrients i.e. vitamins and minerals that are found in healthy foods are critical for so many processes in our bodies. Like enzyme production for digestion, maintaining the thyroid health, neurotransmitter synthesis for happy, balanced moods and building our hormones… and lots more. So good food keeps… all of the parts of our bodies working really well. This leads to health which leads to a healthy weight.
6. When you are eating… the choices might not be great. Food is confusing right now. Far more confusing than it should be. And our addiction to ‘diets’ leads to some pretty crazy eating styles. Like only eating meat or fat but no vegetables… or going for something really processed like a ‘diet bar.’ Sorry. But we just don’t believe in that rubbish. Have you looked at the ingredients on those things? If you can’t pronounce it… your body ain’t going to know what to do with it, we guarantee!
7. Starving all day but then eating anything and everything by the afternoon. Because you are just. so. hungry. Wouldn’t it be easier to just eat well, giving your body

what it needs from the morning onwards… and watch as things fall into place over time?

We could go on… but this is a blog not a book. We just like to help people get healthy, reduce their requirements for medication, eat without stress, learn to love healthy nutritious foods, get comfortable preparing quick, wholefood meals…. and feel great as a result for a lifetime. That’s pretty much it in a nutshell.
Our favourite tool to use to achieve the former is personalised nutrition using the Metabolic Balance® program. It means we work with our client long term, they get to know the foods that will nourish not punish their bodies and we have the best chance of long term success.
Book online if you need us in your life. 🙂
Categories GENERAL HEALTH

Welcome Nicole

Author Arlie Miguel Posted on Leave a comment

Hello, I’m Nicole. I’m a Clinical Nutritionist, certified Metabolic Balance® Coach, and lover of avocado, coffee, chocolate and the beach and I started here at the Balanced Nutritionist in early July 2019.

My food philosophy is simple: eating nutritious, whole, real foods will provide your body with the nutrients it needs to be healthy and vibrant.

I also believe that healthy eating is not about deprivation. It’s important to give ourselves permission to indulge in the foods we love, without guilt, because good nutrition and good health is also about having a healthy relationship with food.

My Story

I’ve had tummy troubles for as long as I can remember. My gut has always been unpredictable and a bit ‘sluggish’. As a child, I remember going days without, you know, going and taking a book to the toilet (because I’d be sitting there for a while!). As I got older my symptoms got worse – bloating almost every day, abdominal pain (which sometimes felt like I was being stabbed in the stomach), and difficulty going to the toilet alternating with diarrhoea.

My digestive issues were compounded by overseas travel and several bouts of ‘Bali Belly’ (in Bali, as well as Africa, Turkey, Bosnia and Fiji), taking the OCP (oral contraceptive pill) for 10 years (which I now know can impact on your gut microbiome and increase your risk of gastrointestinal conditions, such as IBS and IBD), poor dietary choices and a stressful job.

In my mid-twenties, desperate to get to the bottom (excuse the pun) of my digestive issues, I visited numerous doctors and specialists, only to be told that I “probably” had IBS.

No one tested me for food intolerances, talked to me about how stress can affect our digestion, considered that the pill may be contributing to my digestive woes or recommended that I make dietary changes. That was until I went to see a Natural Health Practitioner for a different health concern. She suggested that I make some dietary changes and I felt better, almost immediately!

While that wasn’t the end of my journey (it took years of self-discovery to restore my digestive balance), it was the start of my journey to becoming a Nutritionist.

Fast forward to today, and my tummy is much happier – I seldom experience stomach aches or bloating (unless I choose to eat something that I know won’t agree with me) and I go to the toilet easily, every day. My overall health has also greatly improved – my weight has stabilised without me even trying (or worrying about how many calories I’m consuming), I now have more energy, consistently throughout the day and, most importantly, I feel really good both physically and emotionally. This lead me to want to help other people to feel better too!

Helping clients to optimise their health, sort out their digestive issues, improve their skin and release unwanted weight is a real passion of mine. And, thanks to my own health journey, I have a genuine appreciation of the struggles that many of you are living with day in, day out.

Before life as a Nutritionist, I worked in a demanding corporate job, so I know that it can be difficult to prioritise your health and eat ‘right’ when you lead a busy lifestyle, juggling work and family commitments. My goal is to provide you with individualised nutrition strategies that fit you, your lifestyle and your health goals.

A few more things about me

I live with my husband, Greg and fur-child, Billy the Westie.

I was born in Sydney, but my family moved to Brisbane when I was 2. I have two younger sisters and four beautiful nieces, a handsome nephew, and another niece or nephew on the way.

I am not ashamed to admit that I am slightly obsessed with my dog (Billy). He’s treated like a human in our house, my personal Instagram account is mostly photos of him and I usually greet him before my husband when I get home. I’ve always loved animals and once wanted to become a vet when I grew up.

I am a multi-tasker. I am usually doing multiple things at once and always have numerous tabs open on every device. 

I look forward to going to the farmer’s markets on a Sunday morning to pick up fresh produce for the week ahead.

I love pouring through home magazines and buying homewares.

My go-to outfit is jeans and a blue and white striped top (I have at least 10 in my wardrobe).

I am a self-confessed neat-freak and actual enjoy organising things, especially my pantry. 

I start every day with a cup of tea.

Categories Uncategorized, WEIGHT LOSS

Do You Eat Consciously? Or on Autopilot?

Author Arlie Miguel Posted on Leave a comment

We’ve all been there … you walk past the communal lolly jar at work and dip your hand in without thinking, automatically grab a few biscuits from the lunch room while making a cup of tea, or mindlessly eat from the cheese platter at a party.

It’s easy to consume less healthy food when we give in to impulsive eating, by pushing aside conscious decisions and automatically saying “yes” to food, without stopping to consider what we’re actually eating.

On the other hand, when we make deliberate and conscious decisions about food, we’re more likely to choose real, whole foods that nourish our body and make us feel great. This is conscious eating.

“Every time you eat is an opportunity to nourish your body.”

Conscious eating is the practice of thinking about what you put in your body, before you eat it.

Do you eat consciously or on autopilot?

Try this: Whenever you are presented with the option of a less healthy food, give yourself the space to stop and make a conscious decision about whether to eat the food or not.

Before you mindlessly shove it into your mouth, ask yourself these questions:

  • Do I really want to eat this food right now?
  • Is it especially delicious?
  • Will this food nourish me (my body or my soul)?
  • How will I feel after eating this food?

When we stop to make a conscious decision about food, often we realise that the food we’re about to eat isn’t particularly special or delicious, we’re not really hungry or we don’t really want it right now, and it won’t make us feel great.

That’s not to say that we shouldn’t choose to enjoy less healthy foods that we really love on occassion.

When you do choose to indulge, savour the food and enjoy it fully. Don’t eat too fast – really taste what you’re eating. And, be kind to yourself – don’t deprive yourself and don’t feel guilty for enjoying less healthy foods in moderation.

Because when you consciously chose to enjoy less healthy foods occasionally, and you really enjoy it, you are choosing to nourish your soul.

Written by Nicole Bence. You can book with Nicole here. 

Categories GENERAL HEALTH

I HATE THIS TIME OF YEAR

Author Arlie Miguel Posted on Leave a comment

I cringe as I write that as I always strive to keep things positive across all my platforms. Maybe hate’s the wrong word…. Maybe this time of year scares me? Frustrates me? It’s somewhere between those 2 emotions, neither seems exactly right.

I watch quietly and observe as people declare what they’re going to give up this year, or how they’re going to get fit or which trendy diet they might follow… as if doing these things will solve all of their problems. But in a couple of months, for most of them, ‘life’ will get in the way, their intentions will start to slip and they’ll accept the original status quo. It won’t be too big a deal for them, but I sit here and worry that it actually is a really big deal for all of us.

We seem to be a society simultaneously obsessed with eating trends, yet completely lacking respect for how important what we put in our mouths actually is. We like the superficial stuff; this actor follows xyz diet and looks this way…. This food will give you glowing skin…. Blah blah blah. But my gosh, it’s so much more than this. In the last year in particular, I’ve seen changes in people’s health through diet that even surprised me! I’ve seen psoriasis plaques all but disappear after a few months of eating the right food, debilitating asthma become a mere annoyance, the black clouds of depression clear, chronic pain and inflammation improve, even tachycardia (irregular and fast heart rhythms) become pretty much a thing of the past….

Because that’s the power of food. On the one hand, it’s all we seem to talk about these days, but on the other, people are still SHOCKED that what you put in your mouth a few times per day, which literally becomes a part of you, really, truly, influences you at every single level.

My wish for this year, is that we do actually start to take food seriously for the right reasons. I want us all to invest a little bit of time each day in the kitchen… preparing food. Actual food. Not something from a box that gets heated in a microwave. And then, I want us all to spend a little time eating it together. With people we call friends and family. Away from bright lights and around a table. I want us all to spend a little time each week buying food. Fresh, real, unprocessed food from local suppliers. If we don’t start supporting these local suppliers then they too will disappear. I want all of us to remember what ‘sometimes’ foods actually are. Because those sometimes foods are becoming everyday foods. For both kids and adults. And I know that if we do all of these things there will be less illness, less need for medication, more health and more happiness.

These are the changes that I think will genuinely make a difference long term, on a large scale.

People will say to me, ‘this must be a great time for your business. You must love the New Year. You should run a challenge. Blah blah blah.’ That’s not really what I do…. Or what I stand for… or what will make a difference. In truth, the clients I have worked with successfully have really changed the way they think about themselves, their bodies, their family values…  they’ve had to grow on more than a physical level. It’s not been trendy or easy but I’m sure it’s been worth it.

Just don’t get sucked in by the magazine headlines for the new month. Or what the half-naked ‘influencers’ are saying on their social media feeds. Don’t make a resolution. Make a habit… make a real change.

Welcome to 2019. May this be the only ‘negative’ post I write for the year.

Categories GENERAL HEALTH

WHY WAIT?

Author Arlie Miguel Posted on Leave a comment

It’s December. That means 2 things are inevitable. Firstly, people are getting positively pogged on Christmas food and drinks (pogged is currently my favourite word, I find it hilarious). Secondly, the inevitable ‘new year’s resolution’ discussions are going to flow shortly – amongst friends, families and of course the media.

Both of these particular things have something interesting in common. That is, they produce an instant feeling of euphoria which is inevitably followed up by intense disappointment. Take the former. Overindulging at a Christmas party on rich food and alcohol might be fun at the time… but it doesn’t feel so grand the next day. If it happens a couple of times this month and of course on Christmas day than I definitely think that’s fair enough. (I’m all about balance

Balancing coffee in 1 hand and champagne in the other at a Christmas breakfast on the weekend….

and reality as we know – proof to the right!). BUT it’s just an awful feeling when your healthy diet and lifestyle goes completely out the window for the ENTIRE Christmas season. Waking up sluggish, feeling inflamed, sore in the joints, bloated, low in energy, ‘fluidy’ and generally crap is not a good way to enjoy the holidays.

The New Year’s Resolution game generally follows a similar pattern. I found a number of articles written by psychologists on the very subject of ‘why new year’s resolutions don’t work’ available here and here. One reason given was that the act of stating a new year’s resolution requires basically no effort… so there’s no preparation that goes in to work out how to actually achieve it. Secondly, most new year’s resolutions tend to be quite grand and don’t take into account the importance of taking small steps towards a goal and changing habits sustainably.

Since both of these particular issues are related to health (well, most NY’s resolutions are at least) I definitely feel that I can offer a solution here. Firstly, I want you to consider what aspects of your health haven’t been optimal this year. Maybe you are constantly exhausted and sluggish, perhaps you have chronic IBS, maybe you have a skin condition or maybe you really need to lose weight in order to avoid some serious chronic diseases taking hold. Think about what it would mean to you, how you would feel and what kind of life you could lead if these things were better managed. Now, you have really tied some value to a goal and visualized what you want to achieve. Secondly, I want you to consider getting started on this new vision NOW. That’s right, NOW. In December. Scary thought isn’t it? But guess what? This takes care of the first conundrum of drinking and eating your way through the month feeling ‘pogged’ but not actually being present to the really important things this Christmas. Because it’s likely with me by your side you are less likely to ‘let it all go’ and simply enjoy the odd treat here and there without completely writing yourself off. In addition, you won’t really be setting yourself up for a failed new year’s resolution. You will have put far more time and effort into formulating a really important goal for your future and you will be working alongside someone to help you towards it one sustainable habit at a time.

And finally, a big congratulations for those new clients who have come in to see me in the last week and are still booking up for the next few weeks. And the ones that are ready and waiting to begin Metabolic Balance – the hormone balancing / health restoring / weight release program I am now offering. Again, a program that works over time – 3 to 4 months to be exact – requiring consistent commitment, attention to the individual and hard work. These are the types of clients I really like to work with. Thanks for making my December not so lonely :).

Here’s to a FUN, but BALANCED December and the healthiest 2018.

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