These ‘Healthy Habits’ Will Backfire — Nutritionist Layla Al-Naif Explains Why

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Balance Theory

Episode: These ‘Healthy Habits’ Will Backfire — Nutritionist Layla Al-Naif Explains Why
Host: Erika De Pellegrin
Guest: Layla Al-Naif
Date: June 15, 2025

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Overview

This episode delves into the pitfalls of popular “healthy habits” and diets, especially the unintended consequences that can jeopardize well-being. Holistic nutritionist Layla Al-Naif joins Erika to challenge the wisdom of fad diets, restrictive eating, and one-size-fits-all advice, emphasizing the importance of gut health, personal observation, cultural context, and sustainable routines. The conversation flows through fad diets, gut health, blood-type eating, cultural dietary implications, fasting, emotional impacts of food, and practical strategies for busy people — all with an honest and relatable approach.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Problem with Fad Diets (03:05–10:23)

• Fad diets share a common root: Most cut out carbs and are extreme in nature.

  “All of those diets…It's all just removing the carbs. That's not sustainable.” — Layla [03:18]

• Diet culture's legacy: Focused on weight loss, not health, with roots in ‘skinny model’ culture.
• Why people feel better at first: Success often stems from eliminating processed foods and refined sugars.
• Eventual consequences: Long-term gut and overall health can suffer due to lack of balance and extremity.

  “Eventually this extreme method will catch up with you and your gut health.” — Layla [05:23]

Gender Differences & Personalization (06:47–09:21)

• Men vs. women:

  “Men are on a 24 hour hormone cycle, women are on a 28 to 30 day...Our hormones are like this throughout the month.” — Layla [06:52]

• Men generally tolerate extreme diets (like Carnivore) better; women’s hormones make them more susceptible to negative effects.
• Don’t get stuck in labels: Use dietary approaches as temporary tools, and listen to your body for cues to change.

  “Use it until a certain point and then your body will talk to you...Listen to it.” — Layla [09:21]

• Labels are limiting:

  “You’re not one thing...everyone has different foods that will work for them.” — Layla [09:52]

Sustainability Over Cheat Meals & Perfectionism (11:05–13:38)

• The “weekday restriction, weekend cheat” mentality is toxic and unsustainable.
• True balance means finding pleasure and satisfaction in your food every day, not just on weekends.

  “Why aren’t you living your life all the time?...Food is a big part of life.” — Layla [12:00]

• Making “clean” versions of favorite foods is preferable to strict avoidance.

Gut Health as the Foundation (22:19–24:35)

• “Gut” is central: Bloating, reflux, heartburn, constipation are symptoms of deeper gut imbalance.
• Fix the gut and everything else — weight, skin, energy — will improve naturally.

  “If you fix the gut, everything else will balance out.” — Layla [22:42]

• Our ability to digest foods can change as we age or with changing enzyme levels; continual self-observation is necessary.

Individualization: Blood Type & Heritage (16:54–22:19)

• Blood Type Diet: Largely dismissed by Layla. Trust bodily feedback over trends.

  “I don’t believe in that…everyone’s digestion is very unique. And you have to honor your own digestion.” — Layla [17:19]

• Cultural Heritage: What you grow up eating helps “train” your gut — but you can introduce new foods over time.

  “It’s about your culture...Your gut is familiar.” — Layla [19:21]

• Eating practices and tolerances are influenced by family, tradition, and childhood — but adaptation is possible.

Intuitive & Emotional Eating (25:20–30:30)

• Intuitive Eating: Checking in, tracking just enough to build self-awareness, not obsession.

  “You build the skill once and then it’s always there...It’s intuitive eating.” — [25:33–25:39]

• Emotion’s Role: How you feel about food impacts your digestion and health.

  “I 100% believe that it’s about how you feel about the food...Emotions factor in, in general to food.” — Layla [27:28]

• Negative emotions around eating can have real physiological effects.

Fasting: Proceed with Caution, Especially for Women (30:44–36:59)

• Most fasting research is on men: Extrapolating results to women is risky due to hormonal cycles.

  “All the science on it…the studies were not done on women.” — Layla [32:36]

• For women: Fasting is only advisable in the first two weeks of the menstrual cycle, if at all.

  “Once you reach the ovulation window, stop. That’s it. No more.” — Layla [33:32]

• Temporary or religious fasting: Can be beneficial as “giving your gut a break,” but shouldn’t be daily or too prolonged.

Simplifying & Customizing Your Plate (39:30–47:01)

• You don’t need “13 vegetables in a bowl” for nutrition — too many ingredients can overwhelm digestion.

  “It doesn’t need to be…50 different things at once...Diversity is important. So every meal, change it.”— Layla [40:15–41:37]

• General plate guideline: Protein (more than you think), moderate vegetables, single type of starch, and some healthy fat.

  “Protein should be a good chunk of your plate...more than you would think.” — Layla [44:07]

• Plates should be built to your needs, habits, and digestion — not arbitrary Instagram rules.

Practical Approaches for Busy People (47:01–53:11)

• Batch cooking: Most effective for busy lifestyles; rotating a set of 10 simple recipes suffices.
• Know what’s in your food: Cooking at home ensures control over ingredients (e.g., seed oils, sugar, table salt prevalent in restaurants).

  “You don’t know what’s going in your food at all unless you’re preparing it yourself.” — Layla [49:39]

• Systems work: Break planning and cooking into steps to make it manageable; over time, it becomes routine.

  “It gets easier. And then you learn how to cook a dish...It’s not going to take you the same amount of time.” — Layla [50:42]

• Prevention over crisis: Don’t wait for a health problem to start prioritizing real, home-cooked food.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Fad Diets:

  “So yeah, avoid all fad diets. That's... the issue for me is this diet culture.” — Layla [03:18]

• On Labels:

  “I wasn't doing it for ethical things. I did it purely for the healing powers...It worked...until I didn't.” — Layla (re: Plant-based phase) [08:23]

• On The Toxicity of Cheat Meals:

  “I'm going to avoid everything I like during the week...and then get to the weekend and just live my life. Why aren't you living your life all the time?” — Layla [12:00]

• On Individualization:

  “There’s no such thing as ‘healthy’ or ‘unhealthy’ food because everyone digests differently.” — Layla [26:16]

• On Emotional Connection:

  “If you look in the mirror every day and are negative towards your body, your body’s not going to change.” — Layla [29:00]

• On Fasting:

  “You really can't gauge, as in, is it good for women? We don't know because it wasn't done on women.” — Layla [32:36]

• On Gut Health:

  “If you fix the gut, everything else will balance out.” — Layla [22:42]

• Practical Advice:

  “Don’t wait for something to happen because your health will...catch up with you. Eventually, something might come up. Why don’t you prevent it?” — Layla [52:11]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Fad Diets, Carbs & Diet Culture: 03:05–10:23
• Men vs. Women: Biological Differences in Diets: 06:47–09:21, 32:00–36:59
• Intuitive Eating & Tracking: 25:20–26:49
• Blood Type, Heritage & Cultural Impact: 16:54–22:19
• Gut Health Explained: 22:19–24:35
• Emotional Impact of Food: 27:28–30:30
• Fasting & Hormonal Health: 30:44–36:59
• Building a Balanced Plate: 39:30–47:01
• Meal Planning for Busy People: 47:01–53:11

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Tone & Takeaway

Layla and Erika keep the conversation realistic, supportive, and pragmatic — debunking myths while stressing the power of self-awareness and adaptability. Their encouragement: Listen to your body, favor sustainability over perfection, respect your culture and context, and make real, unprocessed food the center of health. Instead of quick fixes, they advocate for curiosity, flexibility, and gentleness, with a healthy dose of “do what works for you.”

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Connect with Layla Al-Naif:
Find her online for practical tips, recipes, meal plans, and further discussion.

For listeners:
If something resonated or further questions arise, Erika and Layla encourage reaching out for a potential Part 2.

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Transcript

[A]

Most people tick a lot of these boxes, even if they're just like, I bloat after every meal. Something so simple that most people suffer with. It's not weight loss, it's not your skin. Everything is gut. If you fix the gut, everything else will balance out.

[B]

Today's guest is a holistic nutritionist guiding and teaching us how to nourish, not restrict ourselves. We learn and unlearn together on the.

[A]

Show today about the gut nutrition and what being healthy really means with guest Leila Al Naif.

[B]

Of all the fad diets, which is the one that you feel people should absolutely avoid? What about and what are your thoughts on eating for your blood type? Does our heritage, cultural heritage, have a role to play in the types of diets that are best for us?

[A]

Ooh, this is a good question. All the success and all the benefits you're seeing and all the science on it, the studies were not done on women. You really can't gauge, as in, is it good for women? We don't know because it wasn't done on women. This is cheat meals and all these things. Like, I'm going to be really good during the week and then have a cheat meal on Friday. I don't like that because I just find that it's a very toxic mentality. It's like I'm going to avoid everything I like during the week and eat, you know, salad and steak and then get to the weekend and just live my life.

[B]

So speaking of simplifying, there are a lot of people who want to eat cleaner, eat healthier, like pay more attention to this, but they are really time poor. What advice do you have for those people?

[A]

Well, look, there is a few things you can do. Okay, one is.

[B]

All right, balancers. Today's guest is someone I have been very drawn to in terms of the content she puts out online. She talks about topic areas that I'm very, very passionate to learn about. Not something I'm particularly skilled or highly experienced in, but it forms such an integral part of my day to day life. My energy, the way I show up every day, and that is nutrition and diet. So we're going to unpack a lot of things that sit around and in between that, my guest today is Layla. Layla, warm welcome to the Balance Series.

[A]

Thank you so much for having me. It's a pleasure.

[B]

No, it's a pleasure to have you on. I'm really excited to have this chat. Like I said, like I was kind of just saying to you very briefly, it's an area I love Learning in, you know, now that I'm going through pregnancy as well, it's kind of taken a different interest area. But across the board, I always say, like, nutrition for me is. Is the one thing that impacts how I show up every single day, for sure. And so constantly learning about it and cutting through the noise, because there's so much noise online about it, is really important for me.

[A]

A lot of noise, for sure. Too much information.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

Can also be a very blessing and a curse, for sure.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, like, as a. As a someone who's not educated, let's say in. In nutrition, I haven't studied it per se. It can get very overwhelming. Yeah. So I really love just having these genuine conversations where I can learn and then just share that with the audience too. So. So where I want to start is fad diets.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

These have been just there always. There's always a new one coming and going. Of all the fat diets, which is the one that you feel people should.

[A]

Absolutely avoid, There isn't one. It's all avoid them all, full stop. A fat diet is a fat diet because look at the basis. They're all named different. Atkins and Keto and Paleo and Carnivore and all these fancy schmancy names. They sound great. Everybody's like, I, you know, healed myself on Carnivore diet. You're seeing all these success stories again online and people sharing their journeys. But at the end of the day, what's the common denominator in most fat diets? It's removing carbs. That's it. All of those diets exactly the same thing. It's all just removing the carbs. Obviously, Keto focuses on very high fat. Paleo does, you know, something else. Carnivore is no, you know, nothing like, not even vegetables. Like, it's just only things from animal. Like, obviously there's a little bit of a difference in them, but look at the actual, you know, base of it. It's just no carb. So that's it. It's just a fat diet. It's just removing carbs. That's not sustainable. So, yeah, avoid all fat diets. That's. That's the issue for me is this diet culture. It's goes back to when our, you know, our moms were dieting, you know, 30, 40 years ago or whatever it was. They've been around for decades, but now social media, it's. It's obviously gotten out of control. My issue with them is that the focus of fat diets is weight loss. Right. Not your health. So you're really messing with your health because it's so extreme. So it's not about. They don't work. I'm not saying that if you go keto, why people have success is that they probably had a very high diet in processed foods. Seed oils, processed sugar, white, refined carbohydrates, like white bread and white pasta. The things that don't really serve you okay. And they cause a lot of inflammation. And if you just removed those without going on keto or paleo, like, just remove that stuff, you'd feel great. But people do both at the same time. They're like, I'm going to go keto. And obviously by default doing that, you have to remove those things. Then they're like, oh, I feel amazing. I'm like, you probably feel amazing because you got out all the junk. So there's a bit of an overlap there where I'm like, why people who are carnivore drop 50 kg? And they're like, oh, I feel amazing. And they have, like, ripped abs all of a sudden because they literally just got rid of all the inflammation in their body. So it's not because they're not eating vegetables and fruit. That's. That's not what's happening. So it's a bit confusing.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You see all the success stories, you're like, but that's not the full picture. It's probably because they eat a bunch of really not so great ingredients for years and then got those out, and that's why they feel good. So eventually this extreme method will catch up with you and your gut health, because you're not focusing on your gut health on these extreme things. It's not the priority. The priority is lose a bunch of weight, maybe feel good, get your energy good, like, get your mental clarity feeling, you know, much better. All of that, fine. But at some point, your health is going to take a toll and your gut health is gonna be at risk.

[B]

Yeah. And it's interesting, like, to think about the narrative that sits behind it, because I agree. I think all this stuff sort of stemmed from the. The diet skinny model kind of culture and just drop a bunch of weight. But I do feel now a lot of these fad diets are framed for the. For the purpose of longevity and, like, rebalancing everything in your body. And you do hear people. I mean, like, even my husband's on Carnivore and he genuinely feels amazing.

[A]

I'm sure.

[B]

Right. And it's quite a simple diet to follow. So let's Talk about the point at which it's extreme. Like, do you think these fad diets are good for, let's say, a short stint of time where you can reduce inflammation, but we should, you know, bear caution to the wind and only use them for that, not as like a long term solution. Or do you think long term, they could work if you're feeling really good, and if not, why?

[A]

So with men specifically, we cannot compare men and women. This is where a lot of confusion happens because a lot of men are doing carnivore. A lot of women too, but mostly who I, at least who I'm seeing is mostly men. And you really cannot compare. Men are on a 24 hour hormone cycle, women are on a 28 to 30 day hormone cycle. Right. Our hormones are like this throughout the month. Men go to sleep, wake up, new day reset, new cycle reset. That's it. So they don't have to worry too much about their hormones. I'm not saying there's not other risks involved in something like carnivore. Of course there are, like your cholesterol levels. And of course you have to be mindful. If you're someone who's susceptible to high cholesterol, eating red meat, eggs and cheese every day, maybe gonna raise your levels a bit or a lot. So you really have to be mindful of your health because you have to monitor that. If you're good and your cholesterol is not going up, great. But that's an individual case, right. You can't just be like, oh, my cholesterol is fine. So that means carnivore is safe for the world. That's, that's crazy. Sure. Right. So firstly, let's make that distinction between men and women, because I know a lot of men who, who do carnivore. After a certain point in time, you do crave other food because you're human. Right. At some point, maybe your husband will go to a restaurant and see a bowl of pasta and be like, he's drooling, like salivating, like, I'm gonna have some pasta. It's normal, it's human nature to maybe crave not necessarily pasta, but something else.

[B]

We're Italian to. Absolutely.

[A]

There you go. It is pasta for you. So mostly pasta is always a common one. So you might crave them and then you kind of go a bit out of control. And that's what I don't like about it. It's this forbidden fruit. And then you put it back and it's like, like you're shoving you're shoveling pasta. That's not great. I don't like the extremities of things. Just, that's just me. That's just how I practice nutrition and that's my take on it. So for. For both men and women. Yes. Means to an end. Use something as means to an end. I was plant based for a year because I was going through pcos. I'll use myself as an example. I knew that the vegan plant based diet was extremely healing. And it is. I stand by that for a certain time. I don't think that you should do that for the rest of your life. That's my opinion. I'm just putting that out there. I wasn't doing it because, you know, I wasn't doing it for ethical things. I did it purely for the healing powers of that diet and it worked. And I reversed my PCOS and I felt amazing until I didn't. Until I started getting acne and so my hair started falling out until my B12 was really low, my D was low, everything just dropped. And I was like, okay, time to change it up. And I learned, I'm like, quickly do a turnover. Like, don't get stuck in labels.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You don't need to kind of be like, I'm a carnivore. And that's it. You're not one thing. So use it until a certain point and then your body will talk to you. You know, you'll start to crave something, you'll start to miss something. Maybe you're. Something changes in your body. You start getting a new symptom. You're like, this is new, listen to it. And that's the point where you should change it up and start putting back in a little bit of fruit. Start putting back in a little bit of, you know, sweet potatoes. Doesn't need to be anything crazy. Just a little bit of things that you took out. Start gently put them back in.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then you'll find a system that works. I don't like labels in general. The carnivore, the names. I'm like, why? We don't need to put yourself in a box and just, that's it. You should make it your own. So if you love eating, you know, animal based products, go for it. But do you also like eating blueberries? Do you also like eating, you know, potato and sweet potato? That's fine. Make it work for yourself. And everyone has different foods that will work for them. Obviously it's not like a special list of food. Like, find what works and adapt the Diet, let's say, to your needs.

[B]

Yep, yep. No, I love that. And actually, funnily enough, you say that he's introduced fruits again.

[A]

Good job.

[B]

You know, on the weekends sometimes if we go out, he's not going to be like, hardcore. I just wonder because of the, I guess, positive impact it has on inflammation. Right. Especially for people who are really time poor and they often go to like, quick grabbing things. Do you think it's like a good thing to follow from like Monday to Friday and then on the weekend have like a bit more of a balanced diet? Do you think that's a better way to integrate some of these diets? Because I suppose, like, I've also experimented in the past, like many years ago, I, I did keto, I used to do calorie counting, which I know is not really a fad diet, but it also, you know, helped me understand portions of foods and whatnot.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Do you think there's a role to kind of like cycle these things in.

[A]

And amongst up or.

[B]

And I mean, again, this is going to be your opinion anyway, for sure. I feel like I have to caveat that because people get really angry.

[A]

I know people get really upset at me.

[B]

Or do you think there's like a much more sustainable way to just eat all the time? And if so, what does that look like?

[A]

So my take on things is always the sustainable way. The whole, this is cheat meals and all these things. Like, I'm going to be really good during the week and then have a cheat meal on Friday. I don't like that because I just find that it's, it's a very toxic mentality. It's like, I'm gonna avoid everything I like during the week, any, you know, salad and steak, and then get to the weekend and just live my life. And it's like, but why aren't you living your life all the time? I don't want that. I don't want you to be unhappy with your food during the week. And like, ugh, I have this for dinner today and I hear this all the time when I have dinner with my friends. They're like, yeah, I have this meal waiting for me at home and it's tomorrow for lunch or whatever it is. And it's, it's. They're making them unhappy. I'm like, but why? Why would you want to live like that? It's so depressing to me because food is a big part of life. It's a big part of my life. I really enjoy food. My husband really enjoys food. Like, we're foodies. So if you. If you don't care about food, that's one thing, but if you're a foodie, I just find that so depressing and it's not a way to live your life. You should understand how to eat things that make you happy in the correct way. That's all it is. So look at the ingredients. If you're gonna go to KFC and get a. A sandwich, that's another conversation. That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying if you want to have something delicious like a grilled chicken wrap that tastes like. Kind of like a KFC wrap or whatever it is, but you made it at home, it's so easy to do. I know people don't have time, so that's where the whole timing. And, you know, if you're at an office all day. This is what I work with my clients on, because it has to work, it has to make sense. If it's not sustainable, they're not going to do it for more than a week or a month or whatever it is. So I like to make things very easy and actually accessible. So let's batch cook. Let's. And this is why I provide recipes, because my recipes are easy. They're 20 minutes, they're 30 minutes max. You can make them in big batches, put it in the fridge. Delicious meal right there for you. Yes. Understand portions, for sure. Understand what grains work, what grains don't work, what bloats you, what doesn't bloat you like. Again, everyone's very unique in that sense. There's no magical way. There isn't. There's people who can digest salad and there are people who cannot. This applies to every food.

[B]

How do you work that out? Is there like a test you can do? Is it simply just you observing?

[A]

It's you observing you. There's intolerance tests, but they're not. I don't find them conclusive at all. I've done so many over the years. My clients do them all the time. It doesn't actually. Unless it tells you you're celiac or you're fully lactose intolerant.

[B]

Something concrete.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, I understand that. Which most people have a either minor to major gluten intolerance. That's very common. And then lactose. Most adults cannot digest lactose. So every single tolerance test I've seen in the last two years, they're on there, they're flagged. And I'm like, this is weird. This is not a coincidence. It's Just most people can't digest them very well, but that's it. Like, if you're looking at the vegetables and stuff. Mindset. I was allergic to asparagus, and I'm like, I feel fine when I have asparagus. So, like, trust your body. So I prefer to observe. I don't need these intolerance tests to kind of help me navigate that, you know.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Because I prefer to take out inflammatory foods in general.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Such as gluten, such as, you know, lactose, such as all these things.

[B]

So would this be because I also remember I did this while I was calorie counting, where I had, like, a quinoa salad for a week. And I noticed every time I had that quinoa salad across the eight weeks, on the third day, I couldn't stomach it. It was like I could have it two days in a row, but the third day would like me over.

[A]

Overdid it.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. Like, what. What is that? Is that like I have a certain tolerance? Yeah.

[A]

Like, I think. I don't think anything should be daily all the time the same. Because I think how your gut works is that your microbiome, which is your, you know, your flora, the way your gut thrives is by having kind of a good variety of microbiome and good bacteria and all that. So I don't like kind of restricting it, because the more you expose your gut to different foods, the more kind of diverse your microbiome is, Therefore, the better your digestion will be down the line. And as we get older, that goes down. Anyway, so with kids, this is what I do with my kids when they're young, is expose them to so many foods, like different grains that you might have never even tried and you wouldn't even cook. Give it to them because it's good for their gut to kind of understand and build that, you know, that. That microbiome up. So quinoa is a common one with bloating. It's very common that people get bloated by it. It's a seed. It's not even a grain. It's very good for you. But most people can't stomach it weirdly. So they get very bloated. So you could stomach it. Like, that little portion, you're like, okay, your body's fine. Next day, it's weird.

[B]

It's like the third day, and the.

[A]

Third day, it's like, this is too much. Stop it. Like, give me something else. So your body just needs that variety. So this is why I don't advise rice. Every day, quinoa every day, salad every day. Nothing. Like, maybe protein is the one that you can get away with. Like chicken daily or once a day or fish once a day. Usually protein is okay for most people, but grains and vegetables and fruit, get a variety, change it up.

[B]

We always think self care needs to be this big plan thing, but honestly, sometimes it's just five minutes doing something you love, something that makes you feel present. For me, that's with a spoon in a tub of Londonderry ice cream. One quiet scoop and suddenly the chaos just feels a little more manageable. You don't need an hour to reset. You just need a moment that's yours. So if no one's told you today, take that moment because you're allowed to.

[A]

What about.

[B]

And what are your thoughts on eating for your blood type?

[A]

Oh, this is a good question. So I did it. I did it years ago. I'm a positive. I want to say, and I think it was a. I can't even remember. It wasn't the carnivore one. I think I was more vegetarian, like vegetable based. And at the time I was plant based. I was like, oh, I'm doing it sense amazing. So I followed that. I look like I. I don't think it's. I don't, I don't believe in that.

[B]

Where did it come from?

[A]

Like, it became. It was a huge trend. I think it was a book that had come out. It had a name like eat your blood type or blood type diet or something like that. Again, it was one of these diets that kind of was trending at the time. I think this was like over 10 years ago now. I'm sure. Look, I'm not a scientist. I can't tell you if it's accurate. Right. I mean, I'm not. I haven't looked into it deep enough to kind of tell you, yes, it works. Nothing is that black.

[B]

Why?

[A]

I don't think. But I think that you trust your body. So if you don't feel like my mom, for example, if she eats red meat, she doesn't digest that meat for days. So she can't eat red meat. And that's fine. She's been like that since I can remember, which was years ago, more decades ago. And she's still like that now. So she's not someone who can digest it. Cool. So don't eat it. You know, you just have to see what works with you. And I don't think it's a special blood type diet. I think it's just everyone's digestion is very unique. And you have to honor your own digestion, not read about your friends or your moms or your sisters. Like, I can digest meat fine. So. And we're the same blood type, so it doesn't, you know, it doesn't actually make sense to me.

[B]

Yeah. And. And really, if you zoom out and think about how different all our lives are, the external factors that play a role, the different stresses we have, like, trying to put yourself into one category of I'm going to be this, and this is a diet that's going to work. Like, it is going to be a temporary thing because, like, now I'm pregnant. That looks really different.

[A]

Oh, absolutely.

[B]

Like, when I'm breastfeeding or, you know, I've moved countries, there's different things available. So for sure, it just, it's a shifting concept. One thing, though, I always think about, and I would love to hear your take on, does our heritage, cultural heritage, have a role to play in the types of foods that we. That are healthiest for us or the types of diets that are best for us? For example, my background is Italian. So is a Mediterranean diet best serving for me just by virtue of my DNA? I mean, I'm not a scientist, but, like, you know, how does that play into what I'm naturally, maybe primed or wired to want to eat?

[A]

I think it's a huge factor. Not really. I don't know about the DNA part. That part I'm not sure. But as in, for me, it's about your culture. So how did you grow up? Did you grow up in that way where you would eat the Italian sort of staples, let's say, because for me, it's about how you were raised. Go back to when you were a child all the way until today, how your gut was exposed to. What was your gut exposed to? That's what we were just saying. So if you're someone who grew up eating pasta every day or, you know, different cheeses or whatever sort of the staples would be in your culture.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And your house on your table every day for breakfast, we had option one, option two, option three, lunch was this, dinner was this. Your gut is familiar. So if you grew up eating, you know, loads of fermented foods. So, for example, like sometimes in certain cultures, it's like kimchi or sauerkraut or these fermented foods, having that is one of the best things for your gut. But if you didn't grow up eating that at all, and you eat that now, some people can find that it bloats them a lot or it doesn't digest well because they're not familiar. So again, there's no perfect. There's no perfect diet. It's what you have been exposed to. So a lot of times when you try, when you go to a different culture, as in you go to a different country and enjoy their culture, that you're like, oh, this isn't working for me. So, for example, in Japan, you know, they believe in having smaller meals throughout the day. Mediterranean diet is more big meal of the day, which is more like us in the Arab world. It's the same. So we have like one big lunch, breakfast is smaller, dinner is smaller, and then we have a massive lunch. Like, at least in my house we did that. So that I'm still doing that now. And for me that works. But for some of my clients that are not from the region and, you know, let's say they're Americans or, you know, from somewhere else, that doesn't have anything to do with it, they can't stomach that. It's like, oh, I feel really sleepy and I can't eat this much during the day. I'm like, fair enough. They're not used to that. They're used to having very big breakfasts and very big dinners. That's their culture. So you really have to adapt to the culture because I work with a lot of different people from all over the world and I do have to adapt to their household. It's not like a one size fits all. So, yes, your cultural, what you eat, the timing that you eat and then the size of your meals, what time are you eating, the bigger meal, smaller meal. It's a factor. And you'll notice now when you have kids, it's going to be how you're going to serve, you know, the meals, is going to be how probably maybe how your mom served your meals. You know, it follows you kind of.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then you build up your own, you know, know also your own routine. Let's say, like you and your husband will come up with your own little traditions. But it does, I think it shapes you from childhood.

[B]

Yeah, that's actually quite interesting to think about. So then if you were raised right, eating a certain way, whether it be timing meal sizes, types of foods you, you ate, are you kind of then stuck with that being the blueprint of your, of your gut and what it can stomach for the rest of your life, or is that something you can change?

[A]

I think you can change it. I don't know how, how much you can Change it. But I think you can. I think you can definitely expose yourself to different foods. It depends on the state of your gut. So most people I work with, the first thing we. I notice is that most people have gut issues because as we get older, our enzymes, our stomach acid, everything kind of drops.

[B]

So when you say gut issues. Sorry, can you just clarify what that looks like?

[A]

Your gut health is. Is everything. It's. It's the base, it's your. It's your brain of kind of your entire body, at least in my opinion. So I focus a lot on the gut. And if you have any gut health issues, such as heartburn, reflux, bloating, gassiness, constipation, then you have major issues like ibs, sibo, candida, overgrowth, like yeast overgrowth. Most people tick a lot of these boxes, even if they're just like, I bloat after every meal. Something so simple that most people suffer with it. It's obviously stems back to your gut. So my first priority when I work with someone is gut. It's not weight loss. It's not. It's not your skin. Everything is gut. If you fix the gut, everything else will balance out. But you have to go back to that. That's kind of my main goal.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So with your gut health, I think that as we, as I said, as we get older. So when you're younger, when you're a teenager, right, you used to eat probably everything. I used to eat everything. You can eat whatever you want. And one day you're good to go. You're like, oh, I can just go to sleep and I'm good to go. I wake up like, nothing happens. But then as you get older, of course it changes. And it changes at a different age for everybody. But because your, you know, your enzymes what digest the food goes down, your stomach acid, same problem that breaks down, the food goes down. So you need to constantly be checking in with yourself, being like, am I okay? Is. Is this food okay? Because even if you ate a food 10 years ago and that was fine, doesn't mean that it's fine now. And it could be something you ate when you were. You were young. Like, I have clients that say, you know, I've been eating bread all my life, but now I can't digest bread. So, yes, it can happen that you ate something all your life, but doesn't mean it's still fine now. So you have to also be checking in with each and every food. And I know it's tiring because you're like, like Everything, you know, so it is tough to do. But if you're not checking in with yourself, how are you going to know there's no. Again, there's no magical formula to follow for gut health. It looks different for everyone and I.

[B]

Think, like, if, if people like genuinely just have a look at what they're eating, you probably find you're leaning towards similar things, like what you prepare for yourself, where you go out and what you order generally. I mean, like, I'm quite experimental. I like to try things, but still, like across, when I have control and I'm preparing, it's pretty stock standard. So, like when I did the calorie counting, whilst it wasn't sustainable, and I acknowledged that very early on, I did it for like eight weeks. I'm really happy that I did that because it gave me such a good blueprint in terms of portion sizes and it forced me to like, keep a log of what I was eating. And just doing that for a short period in time, you kind of build that stuff. Skill of checking in with yourself. Okay. I've just, you know, I've had quinoa now through it. That's when I picked that up because.

[A]

I was paying attention.

[B]

Yeah, right. I wasn't like, oh, I feel a bit bloated today. So if this is something you've been struggling with, it might feel like it's going to be a lot of work, but it's. I feel like it's a. You build the skill once and then it's, it's always there.

[A]

That's what I always say.

[B]

Not that you have to do it once, it's just that that awareness kind of kicks in just like anything.

[A]

It's intuitive eating. Yes, that's it. Yeah, it really is. And you can go and do keto and you can go and do all these things, but at the end of the day, you're gonna, it's gonna end, you know, either you're gonna plateau, gain all the weight back. These, they don't, they're not easy to sustain. So that's what I say, like, do it if you want. You know, you, everyone do whatever you want. But at the end of the day, most people come to me at the end of their rope of like, I did keto, I did this, I tried this, I tried that. I just wanna learn how to eat properly. So that's what I teach them how to do. I'm not just giving you a plan, I'm giving you the knowledge of when we're done, you're going to be 100% sure what works for you and what doesn't. So when you're in a restaurant, you know exactly what to order. Not like, oh, I'm so overwhelmed, and what's healthy and what's not healthy. There's no such thing. There's no such thing as a healthy or unhealthy food because everyone digests differently. So you can't just say, I won't give two people the same meal plan. It's going to look completely different.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So this is where a lot of the intuitive eating comes in and you have to check in and make sure it's working for you. You can't just do what your friend's doing. Doesn't work.

[B]

You know what I've been thinking about, and this might be a bit of a left question. Yeah. And if it's not within, you know, your ex, just give me your opinion on it. If it's something you've observed, you know, you mentioned that you, you've had clients or friends say, like, oh, I've got this meal tonight and, like, I'm really not looking forward to it. Do you think there is a role in emotions and, like, the perspective you have on the food you're eating in terms of how it's digested? So if I'm eating something and I'm like, miserable, dragging my feet, I'm upset, I don't want to eat it. I'm just like, this is just like, for the sake of eating versus, like, I'm so excited for the food, like, I can't wait to eat it. Like, does that play a role in digestion at all? Absolutely, yeah.

[A]

Oh, my gosh. So I'll speak from experience. I have someone I know who travels a lot and when they travel, they always say, like, oh, my digestion is amazing. I'm going to the bathroom more. And I'm, you know, because. Because they're happy, because they're on holiday and then they come back. Yeah, they're relaxed, they're not at work, they're not stressed, they're not angry, they're not aggravated by the people with them. So, so many, you know, factors when you're where you live, right. I mean, you have, you have a job, you have a partner, kids, whatever it is. So it's only when they travel that they say that their digestion is amazing. And I'm like, look, yeah, it could be where you are because obviously the quality of the food and I understand. And the walking and you move more. I get it. But I also do think it's emotional because I'm like, that's, that's not just, you know, the quality of the food. That's obviously your state of mind. So I do 100% believe that it's about how you feel about the food. I don't think it's just the food. Of course, what you're eating for sure helps. But yeah, I think that emotions factor in, in general to food. Like, it's a big part of what I do because I, I help a lot of women kind of heal their relationship with food. So the calorie counting thing, going back to that, like, you could handle it, which is great. Most people can't. They get really obsessed and they get, it's.

[B]

I can, I can definitely say that.

[A]

It goes, it can go really like, oh, this is nice to really bad really quick. And it becomes so obsessive. They start weighing themselves every five seconds and, you know, logging every single thing that goes into their mouth. I mean, it can, again, if you can handle it, it's fine. Because again, it gives you that education. You're like, oh, this is really interesting. But maybe because you could, you were strong enough mentally to kind of handle the, the technicalities of calorie counting. Because it's quite intense when you do. I've done it. It's quite intense. Yeah. And if you, you become too obsessive about it, it can really damage your relationship with food. You get very scared of food. You're terrified to eat something because it's high calorie, which is terrible because a lot of foods are high calorie that are very good for you, like fats and avocados and olive oil and these things. Oh, a tablespoon of olive oil, that's 120 calories or whatever. I'm like, don't worry. Like, olive oil is one of the most healing foods for you. Not saying half, you know, a whole bottle of it, but a little bit is fine. Like, you, you need to have high calorie foods. So it's a fine line. So I do work a lot on the emotional side of eating generally. And I always say that it's how you talk to yourself. Affirmations. Like, you, you have to be kind to yourself. If you look in the mirror every day and are negative towards your body, your body's not going to change. There's all these experiments with this stuff. I mean, you see it, there's, there's real proof of this, how the way you speak, you know, to your body, to your child, to your partner, whatever, whoever it is, but of course yourself is, is very important. And then you say I can lose weight. I, you know, I'm this, I'm that. Words of affirmation are everything I think in this aspect and you really start to see a change. So I do think it's a big one for sure.

[B]

Yeah, Yeah, I agree. One thing when we were talking about cultures, I forgot to bring up, I've noticed that actually both in fad kind of trends and in cultures, something that comes up is fasting.

[A]

Oh yeah.

[B]

And I would love to know your thoughts on it. Is there a role for it? Is it beneficial from time to time before we dive in, I, A couple months ago, husband and I did a water fast. We wanted to try it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

First day I felt amazing. And I used, I used to do intermittent fasting when I trained at lunchtime. Right. Because I exercise every day. It doesn't work for me now because I train first thing in the morning. I have to eat after I train. I'm starving.

[A]

No way.

[B]

So it doesn't work for me now. But when I used to train at lunch, I used to fast until 1 o', clock, have my first meal then and then eat within an eight hour window. And I used to feel really good. Like I used to have a lot of high energy. Anyway, that's a bit of an aside. We did this two day water fast and the first day I felt amazing. The second day I felt horrible. I had headaches, I was really tired and I realized like I probably shouldn't have been like working that day. I should have maybe been taking it easier and actually doing it over a weekend where I could have like just chilled out a bit more.

[A]

It's, it's very intense. You need to definitely take it easy on those things. Yeah, for sure.

[B]

But it's, you know, it's got me thinking because there's so many cultures and traditions that we fasting in. There's so many people that talk about it. Is there a role for it? Like is it a good thing to do every so often to just cleanse the body? Like what are your thoughts on it?

[A]

So fasting is a big topic. Of course, as you probably know, everybody's has a very strong stance on it. Some people do it religiously and you know, they intermittent fast and love it and they are thriving. Mostly men, I think I, at least from my knowledge, men tend to thrive on that. And again, men's hormones, 24 hour cycle, women's hormones, very different. And a lot of the studies that were done on intermittent Fasting were done on men, not on women. So all the success and all the benefits you're seeing and all the science on it, the studies were not done on women. And that's what people need to just understand. Like most things. Yeah, like most things. So you really can't gauge, as in, is it good for women? We don't know because it wasn't done on women. So.

[B]

And if they did test it on women, they would need to have a controlled month. Yeah. Like is it around your cycle, which probably is not going to be good versus ovulation versus.

[A]

That's what I was about to say. So for women, men can get away with it. So for men, I don't. It depends on the. It depends. It depends on the state of the man's health. I don't think it's. Just do it. It's amazing. Of course it depends on the state, if you can handle it and it's something that makes you feel amazing. Continue doing what you're doing. If you are doing it for a specific goal of I want to lose this amount of weight and then you do, and then you go back, fine, you know, means to an end. As we said, for women, it's a bit more complicated because of the cycle, because of the hormones. If you want to do intermittent fasting, it's between finishing your period, all the way until you ovulate.

[B]

First two weeks.

[A]

First two weeks, that is when you intermittent fast. That is if you want to. Not as in, you have to, you can do it. Hit workouts, the more intense workouts, anything that's a little bit more intense, that's when you want to do it. Once you reach the ovulation window, stop. That's it. No more. And then from the ovulation window to getting your period, that is when progesterone goes up, our female hormone goes up in order to get our next period. The way that progesterone raises, which is what we want, is that we need to have more glucose. So starch, rice, bread, carbs, okay.

[B]

That's why there's craving.

[A]

That's what. That's what is craving. That's why you want chocolate and cake and brownies and all that. So it's okay. It's okay to have more starch during that phase. So intermittent fasting in that phase, I don't advise because again, it not necessarily affect your period, but it might. Maybe not in month one, even in month two, but down the line it can affect your period. We don't want that.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Why, why? Why Would we want to affect your hormones? You don't want to mess around with your hormones. It's a very hard thing to go through and then reverse if you mess up something, it's not fun. So I, I don't advise, like, I really don't advise touching your hormones if you can avoid it. But again, this doesn't apply to everyone, of course, I'm speaking very generally here. So some women do it and thrive, you know, it's fine. I mean, obviously there's an exception to what I'm saying, but for the most part, if you have any kind of sensitivity with your hormones, just let's not. That's not fast. Now when it comes to the religious side of things, like in Ramadan, people fast here I fast in Ramadan. Here, you know, it's part of my religion. That's a different conversation, obviously, because it's a very temporary thing. It's a month. I'm sure other cultures do a similar situation. So it's, it's temporary. So I actually stop. Even if I don't have my cycle, which is when you're supposed to stop, I'd still stop beforehand because I feel, because firstly, I'm always delayed in Ramadan, probably because I'm fasting. And then I want to have those few days just to kind of nourish myself, get my, you know, good carbs in, lots of fruit, lots of grains, etc, and then I get my cycle. And I obviously don't fast then either. So personally, that's a decision that I took to, to kind of make sure that my hormones were taken care of during my fasting period. That's me. So obviously it's a very, it's a very healing thing to do because you're giving your gut a break from constantly digesting food. Because all we do is eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, snack, snack, snack.

[B]

When I did the water fast, I'm like, I spend so much time, whether it be prepping, eating exactly, you know, sharing a meal and then cleaning up. I had so much time, I was like, what do I do?

[A]

What do I do with myself? You know, all we do is think of food and then the next meal and dinners and lunches and it's crazy. So you're, you're never getting a break. So I'm not against fasting. If you want to do it temporarily, there, there, a hundred percent is a healing factor there for sure. But it's temporary, it's a quick thing. Maybe you do it once a week, maybe you do it two day, you know, Fast, Which I could never do personally because I just find that really tough.

[B]

It was hard.

[A]

Yeah, it's really tough.

[B]

I just wanted to try it.

[A]

But I would do something. I don't mind cleansing if it includes a little bit of food.

[B]

Yeah. Like, like a bone broth.

[A]

A bone broth, a smoothie, anything but liquids, like a liquid fast. I don't mind that because it's doable. You're getting nutrients, you're getting vegetables, you're getting fruit maybe no protein and rice and. Yeah, fine, take a break from those things for a couple days. That's okay. I haven't done one in a while, but I think there's merit in it for sure. Just I don't think it should be a daily thing all the time.

[B]

Yeah. Especially for women.

[A]

Like, especially for women.

[B]

I do. I have really loved like, not just going through the pregnancy, but before. I've always been really drawn to understanding the cycle a lot deeper, both from an exercise point, point of view and nutrition. But really like when you understand those first two weeks, day one being the first day of your bleed. The first two weeks being this kind of build up to ovulation, which is like the main event of are you going to get pregnant or not? It's like your energy is building up. You're building up to be like in your prime. You look the best, you feel the best, like your energy. So it makes sense for that first two weeks to be involving these sort of things that are a little bit more intense on the body. Right. Both.

[A]

You can handle it.

[B]

Yeah, Right. And then the two weeks after that, you're either preparing to bleed or, or fall pregnant. So that is a time to be more gentle on the body, to rest more. Like when I understood that kind of flow. Flow, yeah. It just helped me have a lot more empathy. Because even if we just zoom out, like I, I come from corporate. Right. Clock in, expect to do the same output every single day. It's a very masculine way of working. And once I understood that and then I tried to like layer on this, that's why I love having these conversations. Because whilst you may not be able to change, okay, I'm expected to do XYZ today. It gives you that grace with yourself and you can make small, very, very small tweaks to just empower your daily decisions.

[A]

It's not going to be the same every day for a woman. And that's okay. It's not something you have to punish yourself. And I have to do my, you know, Barry's boot camp every Day of the week, it's like, no, no, you shouldn't do that every day of the week because there's a time where that's going to feel horrible and you're gonna leave feeling ill. Worse, Literally worse than when you came in. Like, you shouldn't be working out the same day the same way. Sorry. Every day. It's not. It's not. It's not necessary to do that. It's actually the opposite of what you should be doing. So once women start to notice that, they're like, oh, so I don't have to, you know, train like a mad woman every day. It's like, no, you definitely don't. There's days where you shouldn't do that. It's too much.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And that's okay.

[B]

Yeah. I wish this was stuff we, like, taught in school.

[A]

Right. Yeah. It's coming up now, so I'm hoping for our, you know, my daughters at least, you know, by the time they're old enough, I think hopefully there'll be more information about it because at the time, there was nothing. I didn't have any of these tools.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Sadly, I kind of figured it out on my own through a lot of hardship and hormone issues, and I had to kind of go through the motions. So I'm hoping I can pass down the information to my daughters at least to kind of get. Not have to go through the tough stuff.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. No, but I'm grateful to kind of be learning about it now and being able to share that for sure. In one of your reels, you mentioned that a meal can have one protein and one vegetable, because that's generally, I think we can agree, healthy. Does that mean it's nutritious? And which one should we go for?

[A]

So I think that whole reel was about. I was trying to kind of explain that you. You know, these, at least here in Dubai. I don't know if this is everywhere, but in Dubai, for ages we have these massive, you know, salad bowls. Everybody orders these massive salad bowls with 13 vegetables and chicken and then seeds and nuts and cheese and just so many ingredients in one salad bowl.

[B]

And I think colors, textures, which pack it all in.

[A]

You think, oh, the more. The merrier. Right. The more food ingredients, the more nutrients. And it's not that it's not wrong. Obviously, you're getting a lot of different nutrients in this bowl, but how do you expect your stomach to handle that? It can only handle so much at once. So if you're trying to eat 50 different things at once, you're probably Going to struggle to digest that. Not everybody, but some people will struggle. A lot of my clients struggle with that. And I even. I struggle with that. I could never eat one of those bowls. I'd die. I'd be like a basketball. My swallowed a basketball. So that's what I was explaining. I was like, it doesn't need to be. In order to be classified as healthy. Doesn't need to be 50 ingredients. That's. That's not true. You don't need that every meal. I think diversity is important. So every meal, change it. One day, have a chicken breast and, you know, a sweet potato. The next day, have salmon and broccoli. The next day, have. And obviously taste. Make it taste good, because that sounded really boring. But as in a tasty piece of salmon and, you know, something sauteed with broccoli. The next day, choose a different protein, different vegetable. So I'm not saying the same protein in the same vegetable. I'm saying choose one, one, and then maybe a grain. So it depends on, you know, the person eating it. Get a couple of things on your plate that, you know, you can digest, and that's it. It doesn't need to be so many things in one bowl because I just don't think that's easy to digest for people at all.

[B]

Yeah, that's like. I guess I've had a lot of conversations with people, like, make it as colorful as possible, put in different textures because you want different diversity. Totally the gut.

[A]

So.

[B]

But. But I also think that it's too much, though.

[A]

Not everybody can stomach it.

[B]

But also like to. To prepare something.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

Every day, it's like a lot.

[A]

Oh, gosh. I was talking more about ordering these things because they're on, you know, on all the apps. People tend to or like it to the office. They'll order one of these bowls, at least. A lot of my clients do that. And I'm like, yeah, but how do you feel? They're like, I'm bloated. I'm like, well, there you go. I mean, it's not digesting.

[B]

It's cutting through that much. It's healthy, but is it right for you?

[A]

It's healthy, but, like, you can say anything is healthy and anything for someone is unhealthy because there's no such thing as a good food, bad food, unhealthy food, healthy food, healthy meal. Unhealthy doesn't exist.

[B]

It's just relative to you.

[A]

It's all relative to you. It's so. It's so basic. But everybody tries to say your plate has to look like this and this and this and that's healthy. And it's just not true. I have clients who can eat chicken, which is so funny. They're like, nope, can't eat it. I'm nauseous. I'm like, oh, there you go. You can't eat chicken. So if they go to any other dietitian and whoever nutritionist, let's say they. They're like, well, I went to this dietitian and I went to this nutritionist. They gave me chicken because I need to eat chicken. I'm like, but you feel sick. They're like, yeah, but they didn't tell me to stop eating it. I'm like, but that's crazy. You have to listen to the client. It's not just about chicken is healthy. Chicken's not healthy for everyone. Eggs are not healthy for everyone. Some people can't eat meat. Some people can't eat certain vegetables. I have a client who can't eat any vegetables. She can't digest them. She's like, nothing's digesting. And that's okay. You can train the body to digest again. By the way, this isn't a long term, forever thing. I mean, you might need to take an enzyme supplement. You might need to take some, you know, some stomach acid supplement to help you learn. It's like training wheels, right? So let's learn how to break down the food, and then eventually you'll be fine. But right now, colorful plates will. Will kill her tummy. That's not nice. You know, that's not. It's easy to say. All these things are really easy to just sit here and say, you know, 1, 2, 3. This is what you should do. It's really easy to do that. But it's not that simple, is there?

[B]

Like, if you're looking at your plate. Yeah, right. And if we exclude specifics of what's on it in terms of macros or a general split of, you know, you hear people say protein should be the size of your hand, and then veggies, half the plate, whatever. Is there any sort of blueprint that then people can build their own bowl out of? Is there anything like that that you.

[A]

For sure. I think that if you really want to look at sort of a general buildup, it's. Protein is important because most women tend to undereat protein because they don't really know how much they're supposed to eat.

[B]

And when you track it, it's actually like, you're like, oh, my God, I'm really not getting enough.

[A]

I'm really not eating protein. And it depends of how much you're training. So if you're training a lot and working out a lot, that also is a factor. So if you're not working out and you're sitting at home all day. No, you don't need to eat that much protein. Protein, that's ridiculous. For what? For sitting around all day. I mean, yeah, maybe you need to eat a bit more, don't get me wrong. But if you're not working out at all, I don't think you need to be getting the 120 grams of protein a day. That's a bit ridiculous to me. Unless you're training, then that's a different conversation. So it really depends on the activity of the client. But regardless, protein is important. So that protein should be a good chunk of your plate. More than you would think. Bigger than you're probably doing.

[B]

Not just two eggs in the morning.

[A]

No. And you definitely more than that. And then for lunch, it's not like a tiny little chicken breast, it's like a, it's a proper chicken portion. And then the vegetables, look, I personally find vegetables to be. Not all vegetables, but a lot of vegetables upset my stomach personally. So I don't do a lot of vegetables because I don't, I can't do a big portion. I can do a little portion and I'm fine. If I do too much, I don't stomach that well, that's me. So for me, my vegetable isn't massive, like oh, half the plate. No, I can't do that. So mine is like a decent size of vegetables on there. And then usually it's a starchy food, whether that be potato, sweet potato, pumpkin, quinoa, rice, any type of grain that you like that should be on your plate too. And the portion generally for grains is about 100 grams cooked, which is about, you know, three quarter cup. Ish. I would say like a, like a good fist size of grains is around that potato. It's about one potato depending on the size. Medium sized potato.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

So get a little bit of everything. And then fat I think is. If you're eating more starch, I wouldn't do high starch. High fat.

[B]

High starch being like potatoes, rice.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So I would choose as in one meal. Yeah, in one meal. Not in general. I mean, just in that plate. I wouldn't do like rice and then a whole avocado and then loads of protein and then vegetables like that would be a bit too much to pick one yeah, yeah.

[B]

To be like.

[A]

So if you want to do avocado, for example, I would probably throw it in your breakfast with your eggs rather than with your lunch with all the other stuff. Because again, like, it's. I just find it a bit too complicated. Simplify. We can simplify things. It doesn't need to be a million different ingredients for it to be a good meal. But if you want to put avocado on there, obviously go for it. But I just mean it doesn't need to be a lot of everything. You can kind of pick and choose.

[B]

Yep. So speaking of simplifying, there are a lot of people who want to eat cleaner, eat healthier, like pay more attention to this, but they are really time poor.

[A]

Right.

[B]

They might be those people that have jobs and end up just ordering and they do want to make a shift into being able to meal prep, but there's just like not a lot of motivation or maybe even knowledge. Right. On how to do that. What advice do you have for those people?

[A]

Well, look, there is a few things you can do. Okay. One is batch cooking on a weekend. So you choose a Sunday, Saturday night, morning, whatever it is, you, you need the recipes. So that's why I provide a recipe book. Because it's really tough to kind of find good tasting food that is clean because a lot of things are. They look, they taste good, but then they're filled with like loads of heavy cream and milk and butter and like things that are going to make you feel really heavy. So it is about the recipes. And that's kind of the why I do it. The way I do it is because I want to provide the essentials you need and the grocery list and just really make it easy for you. So the recipes kind of are everything. And if you have, you can obviously do your own research and find recipes that suit you, which I know, I know it's time consuming, but you just need a rotation of, let's say, 10 recipes and that's it. And that's all we have. We rotate the same recipes over and over. Even I'm bored of my own recipes at this point. But I do rotate them throughout the week. So I'll batch cook. Well, not now, but if I was really busy, let's say I would batch cook something or two meals, doesn't take long. And then you put them in the fridge and you eat those for a few days. So that ideally is what people should be doing. And that's what my clients who work crazy jobs and crazy hours do. Because if you're ordering from outside, you have to remember they're using table salt and seed oils. That's it. Nowhere, nowhere will use even like a good ghee is fine. But nobody wants to do that. It's too expensive. So you're not going to get good quality unless you guarantee that the restaurant you're ordering from uses olive oil or ghee or grass fed butter, which, believe me, no one does. Fine. But it's very hard to find. So you're stuck getting these inflammatory ingredients that are going to make you feel like crap. Table salt is going to make you feel so bloated and puffy and water retention and then inflammation and then seed oil, same thing. Most. There's a restaurant here that's really famous. I won't say the name, but I know that I found out because someone worked there for a bit and found out that every single dish has sugar. And like main food. Obviously not desserts. I'm talking main food salads, like pastas. Every single dish, salad, sugar in the dressing. And I'm like, what? Like, I love this restaurant. I'm like, oh, no. I mean, obviously it's fine. I'll still go. But it's not now it's not going to be on my list because I don't want to. I don't want to. I don't eat white sugar. I really avoid it. It makes me feel terrible. So there you go. So everyone uses these things. Even it's a high end restaurant. This is not a. This is not a.

[B]

You're gonna have to drop me the name after.

[A]

I will. So this is the thing. Like you don't know what's going in your food at all unless you're preparing. Unless you're preparing it yourself. So if you really want to make a change, you have to kind of suck it up and give yourself an hour on the weekend, you know, and just kind of give yourself that. Let me test this out. And I know it's hard in the beginning and it's not fun in the beginning. You're like, oh my God, this is so annoying. But your body's going to thank you for it.

[B]

Yeah. I find like, just for anyone listening who. This is like a pain point for them. One thing that really helps helped me because I have a very busy week.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I do love cooking. Right. And I have so many friends that don't like cooking and have a busy week. So I'm just like, that would be. Feel like even more of a chore for them. For me, I find I'll separate Like the planning from the doing. So Saturday, I spend planning what I'm gonna eat and ordering.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Then I just forget about it. Sunday, everything arrives and then I actually wash everything and prep everything because I feel like doing it all in one goes. Overwhelmed for sure. It's so overwhelming. So I found that, like, practical thing helps me.

[A]

And it's practice. I mean, when you do it for the first time, you're like, whoa, this is a lot. But then it becomes a regular practice for you. You're like, oh, it's part of my week.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It just becomes part of what I.

[B]

Do on the weekends.

[A]

What do you do on the weekend? And it's part of your routine. And I know it sounds annoying and you're like, oh, that's so time consuming. But it, it's, it gets easier. And then you learn how to cook a dish, which you love, and that's it. You know how to cook it. It's not going to take you the same amount of time. The following time it will be much faster. So I think you just have to get into the, the love of it kind of. I mean, it's a big part of my week, especially for my kids. I batch cook all my kids food because I can't be cooking their food every day. I freeze it in like little batches. Like I have a system from. Even for my kids.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Because I want them to have home cooked meals, you know. So I think as a. You just have to be really organized, which is not easy for people. Especially when you're so organized at work you don't want to do it on the weekends. And I get that. But when you really. Sadly, people only get into this when they, when they're desperate. I got into nutrition because I was desperate. It was pcos. I gained a bunch of weight. I was really not okay. Then I took my health seriously. People don't want to take it seriously if they don't have a problem. And then they do have a problem. And then they're like, oh, crap, let me, let me backtrack. Like now I want to take it seriously. So it's just about, don't wait for something to happen because your health will, you know, catch up with you. Something might go off, even if it's a small thing, but eventually something might come up. And it's like, why don't you prevent it? Yeah, let's focus on prevention rather than waiting for something to happen and then being like, oops, let me now go back and, you know, prepare my own food and all that. So I think just, you know, try to find that routine that works for you.

[B]

Yeah. And it's like that saying, choose your heart. Right. It's hard to spend time and money now on your health. Health. But it's also hard to spend time and money on fixing your health later. So you're going to have to choose one.

[A]

Very expensive.

[B]

Yeah. You have to choose one anyway. And, and I'm a very big systems person. So if you're someone who's already primed to have systems in, work with your goals, with all that, this is just another system you can implement and might be difficult in the implementation phase, but it makes your life easier. Trust me. I now when I don't do that on the weekend, I'm like lost during the week, I'm sure. And I fall into those tendencies of ordering out and just making the quick thing with like prepackaged, like, you know, I do that too. Of course, when I don't stick to my system.

[A]

80, 20 rule.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, of course. It's not, I'm not hating on myself.

[A]

No, absolutely.

[B]

I just, I just mean like I see the big impact of when I, when I.

[A]

You feel the difference. You definitely feel the difference. At least I do.

[B]

No, no. 100. Like when I. Very quickly, before we wrap this up, like in my whole framework of balance, I have non negotiables and in my health, a non negotiable. For me, my top one of my four is home cooked meals. Because of the impact it has on the way I show up. Does that mean I do it every single day? No, I'm not perfect, of course, but I have identified that that is something that is invaluable for me to have the energy and, and just be the best version of myself. So I can do everything else.

[A]

I know. You're fueling yourself correctly.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

You know exactly what you're eating. It's homemade, it's clean, you feel great and that's it. And then, you know, you've set yourself up, you've done, you've done your part.

[B]

Yeah, okay.

[A]

I'm good.

[B]

And being like ethnic, like having that wiring, I feel that responsibility like for my husband as well and no doubt for my kids.

[A]

Especially when you want to have kids, you know, and you're obviously about to have a baby, like it's, it's crazy. It really changes your whole mindset on nutrition because you just wanna, you'll see when you get to the feeding stage, it's the most exciting thing because you're like, like watching this little baby try these different foods and new foods. It's amazing. It's the best experience. And obviously you want to be, you know, you want to represent something to your child. Like I wanna, I want my kids to see that's what we do. It's a household thing. It's not a, you eat this and I'll eat this. It's all together and you will definitely be like evolving as a family together with your, with your baby eventually. So, yeah, it's huge.

[B]

Yeah, I'm looking forward to it for sure. Layla, thank you so much for coming on the show today and, and speaking more about many of the things that piqued my interest and that you love talking about. I'm going to put links to where people can find you online so they can learn from you and check out your courses and, and connect with you further there. But I just want to thank you so much for coming on.

[A]

Thank you so much for having me. That was so fun. Yeah, we could have kept talking.

[B]

I know. Maybe we'll have to do part two. So. Part two, if anyone's got questions or things I felt weren't answered or other topics that have come to mind, drop a comment. So happy to come back and we can do a part two anytime.

[A]

Thank you so much. If this back to school season talking to your teenager sounds like this.

[B]

With.

[A]

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