Last Summer I visited City Wellness Collective and met with Callie Exas, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. She specializes in women’s health, hormonal balance and stress management for weight loss, energy, and body confidence. I had a few sessions with Callie and couldn’t believe how much I learned from her about my body, emotions and impulsive behavior.
With so much misinformation about nutrition along with that fact hat women’s food relationships are tied to their worth, and body image, Callie understands the nuances of how nutrition plays a huge role in women’s sense of self and health. Callie decided to specialize in women’s health nutrition to help women heal their mind body connection through science based nutrition guidance that focuses on positive body image and balanced hormones for healthy weight, better energy, stamina and resilience. Diet is personal and there is no one size fits all approach. With her clients, Callie takes a holistic look at the biological, physiological and psychological components of her client’s nutrition and lifestyle factors in order to help them reject diet culture mentality and take an empowered approach to their health and wellness.
I posted about our sessions on my Instagram, and you guys throw a bunch of Dm’s with questions at me. I think the best way to answer them is to ask the pro. I sent some of them to Callie and this is what she says:
How to prep for your first appt with an Registered Dietitian Nutritionist?
Be as open and honest as possible. The more you’re willing to open up about your where you are and what your goals are helps us get to the root of what’s going on.
What’s the difference between a Nutritionist and Registered Dietitian Nutritionist?
Great question. Here’s a graphic I like. Dietitians are required to pass a certain degree of education, supervised hours of training, and an exam in order to be licensed and practice legally, while anyone can call themselves a nutritionist as there is no formal education required, but not everyone can say they are Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. This means some nutritionists may have a bachelor’s or advanced degree in nutrition sciences while others may only have a 3 month certificate.
How to balance your nutrition while doing extreme workouts multiple times a day?
This depends on your goals. The most important factor is to make sure you’re getting adequate nutrition. Exercise puts stress on muscles and breaks them down. It’s when they rebuild, that you gain more muscle mass and lose fat. If you are not adequately nourished, your body will not be able to recover and rebuild which will impact the results you’re going after.
What to eat before/after a HIIT workout vs Vinyasa yoga?
This depends on your goals and body type however, most people who aren’t athletes don’t need anything special prior to working out.
HIIT pelatihan is intense, so it’s important to be properly fueled with adequate carbs. You don’t want anything too heavy as it may sit in your stomach and not feel great while you’re going HAM on the burpees. 1-2 hours prior to exercise, I recommend a well balanced meal that includes a palm size portion of protein, a fist or two of vegetables, a cupped palm of grain and a thumb size portion of fat.
If the timing doesn’t workout 1-2 prior, going into a HIIT workout with a snack works too. I would do a carb (like a piece of fruit) paired with either a protein or fat (like peanut butter) for some quick energy that won’t weigh you down.
Since vinyasa yoga is relatively light – eating normal meals 1-2 hours prior to your workout is fine. If it’s hot yoga, make sure to be adequately hydrated.
How do IBS symptoms change with the menstrual cycle?
IBS symptoms can change throughout the menstrual cycle due to changing hormone levels. Estrogen and progesterone are involved in gut motility. As estrogen and progesterone levels fall prior to the onset of your period, IBS can be triggered causing diarrhea. If you struggle with period related motility changes, try ensuring you get adequate fiber intake and hydration, especially in the days leading up to your period. I also recommend magnesium glycinate supplements as well as omega 3 supplement to reduce inflammation. Lastly, managing stress through gentle movement and staying away from triggering foods can help with IBS during this time of the month.
Is it true that produce in the states lacks important nutrients compared to Europe?
It may be true for certain crops however, it really depends on where you’re getting your food from and how long it’s been traveling for. A lot of our produce in the US comes from industrial farms and places far away which can impact the taste of food. Many of the crops in the US are produced for yield and durability rather than taste, which is why it tastes so much differently from the produce in Europe. Industrial farmers in the US don’t get paid on how the food tastes. My recommendation here is to try to get to know your local farmers by visiting the farmers market and eat in season. That’s where and when you’ll find the good stuff. It really does taste delicious.
HOw to eat organic on a budget?
There are a ton of small farmers out there that use all natural or even organic farming techniques but don’t have the label because it’s expensive to be certified. So, to start, if you can, hit up the farmers market because it’s often much more cheaply priced there than it is at the grocery store and you’re getting local, more sustainably produced food.
Second, focusing on frozen organic and eating in season can help keep costs down.
For me, I care most about organic with my meat. I try to focus on buy organic there. After that, I will buy all natural or organic if I’m eating the skin of the produce. Bananas, avocados, oranges, I don’t generally need to buy organic because I’m not eating the skin where pesticides are sprayed. That’s my general rule of thumb.
If you’re eating local, sustainable, and in season, you can definitely cut down on food costs that way.
For me, I care most about organic with my meat. I try to focus on buy organic there. After that, I will buy all natural or organic if I’m eating the skin of the produce. Bananas, avocados, oranges, I don’t generally need to buy organic because I’m not eating the skin where pesticides are sprayed. That’s my general rule of thumb.
If you’re eating local, sustainable, and in season, you can definitely cut down on food costs that way.
What is better local vs organic?
It depends. If we’re talking environmental – Local. If we’re talking hormonal balance, systemic balance, organic sometimes. Organic matters more for certain products (meat, and certain veggies fruits, more so than others). I choose not to drive myself crazy with this stuff so I pick and choose my battles. Fearing food or stressing about it so much that you decide to eliminate it all together is more inflammatory than just eating the conventional food – which still contains lots of nutrients.
Is paleo diet for everyone?
No. Diet is personal and individual and I believe that we don’t need to have labels on our nutrition. Also, paleo is kinda bullshit in my opinion. One – it’s not actually paleo, if it were, you’d be eating bugs not steak. Two, it eliminates perfectly nutritious foods that most people can benefit from.
Can anyone be a vegetarian? Do you have to use protein powder if you’re a vegetarian?
No. While I do think most people could benefit from eating more plants, going vegetarian or vegan isn’t for everyone. Again, I don’t believe in putting labels on a person’s nutrition. And some people need meat in order to feel good because genetically speaking they may not be able to absorb certain nutrients as effectively or efficiently from plants as they can from meat. This is especially true for women who have a history of hormonal imbalances or are at risk of autoimmune illnesses, such as thyroid imbalance, PCOS, estrogen imbalance, IBS, epilepsy, depression, or even insulin resistance. For these people, I do generally recommend eating animal foods because they are dense in vitamins and nutrients we need to function optimally, and we absorb these key nutrients more effectively from them. These nutrients include amino acids that help the liver’s detox process, b vitamins, omega 3 fats, vitamin d, zinc, selenium, iodine and more.
If you feel weak, constantly run down, low energy, burned out, have gut issues, hormonal imbalances, horrible period symptoms, I would recommend including some animal products into your diet to help ensure you’re getting adequate nutrition – even if it’s just eggs, yogurt, and/or fish.
You don’t HAVE to do anything but protein powder may help you meet protein requirements, however that doesn’t mean you’re absorbing and storing those nutrients as effectively as you would if you were to get them from whole food sources. Also, it’s important to look at the label and make sure you’re getting a powder that’s not full of chemicals and weird additives.
What’s the best way to incorporate collagen into your diet?
There’s not a lot of evidence that supports the use of collagen supplementation. The body doesn’t absorb collagen into it’s bloodstream in its whole form. In fact, when you consume collagen it’s first broken down into 19 different amino acids and then absorbed via the digestive tract. From there, those amino acids are sent to where ever the body deems it’s most needed to reform collagen. So supplementation doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to your nails, skin, and hair.
Instead I would just focus on food sources naturally high in collagen – like bone broth, meat, fish, and poultry – anything with boths is high in collagen. If you’re a vegetarian, I’d recommend eating a variety of foods that contain the main amino acids that form collagen in the body. And I’d eat foods that support collagen synthesis like those rich in vitamin c, copper, and zinc.