Leanne Ward Nutrition

You know I tell it like it is... well let me be super clear about this: It is ok for women to lift weights and gain muscle. Muscle is metabolically active tissue. The more you have, the higher your resting metabolic rate (that is, the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn just sitting on the couch). If your goal is fat loss (notice I didn't say weight loss) you're going to have a much harder time if you aren't trying to build some muscle. But beyond that, strong is sexy! If you're brand new to the gym, or even if you've been training for a while, you may not have seen the strength and muscle gains you were hoping for. Don't worry, you're about to find out why.  Today, I talk to my own trainer, accredited exercise physiologist Zenia Wood. Zenia is extremely passionate about helping people move swiftly and pain free through education, rehabilitation and empowerment. Zenia specialises in musculoskeletal rehabilitation and in particular excels when working with people who experience pain or are struggling to see performance improvements in their movement and exercise both in and out of the gym. Zenia's clientele ranges from world champion bodybuilders and those with lower back pain when lifting, right through to mums trying to improve their fitness and daily strength. Make sure you head on over to Zenia's instagram @swiftmovementacademy and give her a follow! This podcast is the first of a 2 part series with Zenia in which she shares her expert advice on building lean muscle and why so many people struggle to see the gains they want. Next week, I'll have Zenia back to talk about weight training for beginners, her top tips to get started with resistance training, common mistakes she sees and how to fix your lifting technique. If you enjoyed this podcast, please tag me and share it in your Insta stories and leave me a positive rating or review in the purple Apple Podcast app (in the rating & reviews section underneath the episode lists). This really helps my podcast get prioritised by Apple and helps me disseminate evidence based information to the people that need it the most! Don't forget to subscribe to my podcast so you never miss an episode!

Today, I have Angie Clark (my business partner and co-founder of our Love Living Lean group program) back on the podcast to talk about the most common mistakes we make that derail our efforts to lose weight or keep the weight off. If you've listened to my previous podcasts (episodes 6 and 7) you'll know that Angie is a Brisbane based accredited sports dietitian who is the go to guru for bikini, physique and body building competition prep. Like me, Angie's practice is strictly evidence based and she supports her clients to reach their goals using the latest research in fat loss science. Without giving too much away, in today's podcast Angie and I look at the 5 most common mistakes people make that prevent them from losing weight or hinder their progress. Some of these issues are quick fixes, others are subconscious habits that you may not even know you are doing. We teach you to recognise the issues and get your health journey back on track. These 5 actionable tips are easy to implement into your life RIGHT NOW! FYI: The person we referred to, "Nick" who was the motivational speaker at our event is found at: @nicksantonastasso on Instagram. To sign up to our brand new 8 week NOURISH program, please see here: www.lovelivinglean.com.au (sign ups are now open and close on October 19th 2019 and we will only take 250 ladies worldwide so get in quick!).  If you enjoyed this podcast, please tag me and share it in your Insta stories and leave me a positive rating or review in the purple Apple Podcast app (in the rating & reviews section underneath the episode lists). This really helps my podcast get prioritised by Apple and helps me disseminate evidence based information to the people that need it the most! Don't forget to subscribe to my podcast so you never miss an episode!

Who doesn't love a restaurant dinner, or some cheese and a wine, on a Friday night? What about a delicious café brunch on Sunday morning? I know I do! It's certainly not something I'm prepared to give up, and we shouldn't feel like we have to. A healthy lifestyle doesn't mean 100% clean, calorie controlled eating. In fact, my philosophy is that, to achieve overall health and wellbeing, you need foods that nourish your soul (what I call "soul foods") in moderation. But, at the end of the day, food is energy for your body and when you're in these social situations it is very easy to ingest much more energy than your body actually needs at the time, and undo a lot of the 'healthy eating' you achieved throughout the week.  So how do we stay on track without sacrificing our soul foods? Well, in today's podcast I give you all my tried and tested tips and tricks that I have developed over the 9 years I have been practicing as a nutritionist and dietitian. These are some of the strategies I implement with my clients in my premium 1:1 coaching program, but I'll teach them to you for FREE today as I love you guys so much! To apply for my premium 1:1 coaching program (exclusively for women with emotional eating, gut issues and who want to lose weight sustainably!) see www.leangutmindmethod.com Bear in mind I only accept 2 ladies each month so please only apply if you are 100% ready and willing to change your life! If you enjoyed this podcast, please tag me and share it in your Insta stories and leave me a positive rating or review in the purple Apple Podcast app (in the rating & reviews section underneath the episode lists). This really helps my podcast get prioritised by Apple and helps me disseminate evidence based information to the people that need it the most! Don't forget to subscribe to my podcast so you never miss an episode!

It seems obvious when I say it, but you SHOULD NOT take the health advice you see on social media at face value. If you are going to act on advice that could affect your health or wellbeing, that advice should be backed by robust and well designed research that demonstrates its effectiveness. In short, whether it's on Instagram or otherwise, you should only take health advice from evidence based health professionals. Luckily, when it comes to gut health, I've got you covered.  Today I'm chatting with Dr Megan Rossi PHD (@theguthealthdoctor on Instagram), a registered dietitian and gut health researcher at King’s College London who is investigating nutrition-based therapies in gastrointestinal health, including, for example, prebiotics, probiotics, dietary fibres, the low FODMAP diet and food additives.  Today, Megan and I take you through the latest research related to topical gut health issues. We talk about the effects of food additives on IBS and the gut microbiome more generally. We discuss the current efficacy of the emerging concept of personalised nutrition. Megan takes us through the latest research relating to the effects of probiotics and in what circumstances they may be helpful. We talk about the emerging understanding of the link between gut health and mental health through the gut-brain axis. We debunk the myths relating to "leaky gut" and explain exactly what it is and how it relates to coeliac disease. We chat about the latest research coming out about the connection between gut health, weight management and women's health. We talk truths about the effects of alcohol and dairy on gut health. Megan also gives you her tips on how to include beans, legumes and chickpeas into your diet if you suffer from wind and bloating. Finally, Megan and I talk IBS, misconceptions about the low FODMAP diet and the emerging evidence relating to non-dietary, holistic ways of managing IBS.  If you enjoyed this podcast, please tag us and share it in your Insta stories and leave me a positive rating or review in the purple Apple Podcast app (in the rating & reviews section underneath the episode lists). This really helps my podcast get prioritised by Apple and helps me disseminate evidence based information to the people that need it the most! Don't forget to subscribe to my podcast so you never miss an episode!      

Today I chat with Nikki from Just Get Fit. Nikki is a certified nutrition coach and personal trainer who works exclusively with women. Her mission is to help women develop a healthy relationship with food and fitness and does so by providing practical and entertaining nutrition and training advice to her 200,000+ followers as @justget.fit on Instagram. As someone who struggled with dieting since her mid-teens, Nikki helps her client make sustainable lifestyle changes which they can adhere to long term. She is also a meal prep guru with four years of experience in creating delicious and healthy meals.  In todays podcast Nikki and I discuss mental health and its impact on our health. We talk dieting struggles and finding balance between health and wellbeing. We talk motivation, finding your "why", perfectionism and playing the long game.  We then chat about meal prep. Nikki gives us her realistic meal prep hacks, we discuss types of meal prep and she shares her tricks to make meal prep last longer. We move on to discuss fitness. We talk about turning failures into “failing forward”, when to work out and when to rest (especially related to sickness) and we discuss home workouts vs gym workouts.  Finally, we chat about how to find a reputable trainer online and why buying from a transformation photo online can be risky.  If you enjoyed this podcast, please tag us and share it in your Insta stories and leave me a positive rating or review in the purple Apple Podcast app (in the rating & reviews section underneath the episode lists). This really helps my podcast get prioritised by Apple and helps me disseminate evidence based information to the people that need it the most! Don't forget to subscribe to my podcast so you never miss an episode!

This week was Women's Health Week, and what better way to celebrate it than to chat to special guest Dr Libby Quinn.  Dr Libby is a Clinical Psychologist and founder of The Women’s Psychology Clinic, a boutique therapy space for women in Northern NSW. Dr Libby draws on her 8 years of university training (including a bachelor of psychological science, with honours, and a doctorate in clinical psychology). Dr Libby has been privileged to work for 10 years solely in private practice to assist women of all ages to live a more vibrant life.  Today Dr Libby and I talk about the various external pressures women face in 2019. We discuss societal pressure for women to succeed. We take a look at how women self-visualise and how that shape's their ego, beliefs and stories. We chat about how it is important for women to know their worth and how to build true confidence rather than superficial confidence. We discuss anxiety, self sabotage and strategies to deal with negative thoughts and emotions. Dr Libby breaks down the components of our brain and the way we think and how this neuroplasticity creates, and can be used to break, habits.  Finally, Dr Libby answers listener questions about shame, guilt, forgiveness and body confidence. If you enjoyed this podcast, please tag us and share it in your Insta stories and leave me a positive rating or review in the purple Apple Podcast app (in the rating & reviews section underneath the episode lists). This really helps my podcast get prioritised by Apple and helps me disseminate evidence based information to the people that need it the most! Don't forget to subscribe to my podcast so you never miss an episode!

As you can see from the episode title, in today's podcast I am exploring two very emotional and sensitive issues, but I'm doing so with clinically qualified, and personally experienced, Nina Gelbke (@naturally_nina_).  Nina is a qualified clinical Nutritionist and health & wellness blogger, with a passion for all things nutrition, health and wellbeing. Through her instagram account and website she shares informative, evidence-based and relatable nutrition information and plenty of delicious recipes!  Nina developed her passion for nutrition after being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and being a competitive athlete, but this passion took a downward spiral and led to a long battle with a severe eating disorder. Nina has since overcome this disorder and, as a result, now specialises in eating disorders and sports nutrition in her clinical practice.  In today's episode, Nina and I discuss advice and strategies for listeners living with chronic diseases like diabetes, coeliac disease and inflammatory bowel disease and how to not let these conditions define you.  We also discuss Nina's experience with, and recovery from, her eating disorder. In particular, we talk about what got her through and what the 'red flags' are which may indicate a person is suffering from an eating disorder. Nina also shares her advice for people who suspect they, or a loved one or friend, may have an undiagnosed eating disorder. We also talk about how to recognise excessive anxiety when it comes to food and exercise, what the effects of overexercising are, when to seek the help of a professional, how to support someone in recovery and how to define success and progress without the scale.   Finally, we share out tips to improve health and wellbeing without restrictive dieting and how to find credible health experts on social media.  If you enjoyed this podcast, please tag us and share it in your Insta stories and leave me a positive rating or review in the purple Apple Podcast app (in the rating & reviews section underneath the episode lists). This really helps my podcast get prioritised by Apple and helps me disseminate evidence based information to the people that need it the most! Don't forget to subscribe to my podcast so you never miss an episode!

Today I chat to Dr. Rachel Paul, PHD. Rachel is a nationally recognised registered dietitian based in California who helps college students and young professionals look and feel amazing by eating healthy, cooking on their own, and making good food choices in social situations. Rachel is known for her practical advice and easy-to-follow guidance, particularly with her 300,000+ strong Instagram following. In our easy to listen to chat, Rachel and I discuss some of the mistakes students and new grads make when it comes to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. We discuss the importance of planning and accountability particularly in high stress/pressure situations. We discuss tips and tricks to recognise and avoid boredom eating. We give you hacks for eating healthy when time and money are tight. We explain how to read nutrition labels and make healthy choices in the supermarket. We discuss strategies to make healthy choices when on holidays, on the weekends and at social events (including with alcohol!). We talk about the best way to track progress and alternatives to the scale. Finally we give you our No. 1 tip for maintaining a health lifestyle that anyone of any age or budget can do right now!  If you enjoyed this podcast, please tag us and share it in your Insta stories and leave me a positive rating or review in the purple Apple Podcast app (in the rating & reviews section underneath the episode lists). This really helps my podcast get prioritised by Apple and helps me disseminate evidence based information to the people that need it the most! Don't forget to subscribe to my podcast so you never miss an episode!

Today’s episode is short and sweet. In it, I give you my tips for setting achievable goals to help you live a healthy life long term. Remember, true, sustainable health isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. It's not about how you'll look in 6 weeks, it's about how you'll feel in 60 years. So have a listen to this episode and think about what small changes you can make in your lifestyle. It's the small changes that tend to be the most profound. They add up over time and eventually you've changed your life without even realising it. If you enjoyed this podcast, please tag us and share it in your Insta stories and leave me a positive rating or review in the purple Apple Podcast app (in the rating & reviews section underneath the episode lists). This really helps my podcast get prioritised by Apple and helps me disseminate evidence based information to the people that need it the most!

Today I chat with Michelle Theodosi, @thelifestyledietitian_au on instagram. Michelle is an Accredited Practising Dietitian and Sports Dietitian with a specialty in eating behaviours. Buckle up, because Michelle and I are taking a deep dive into the huge role psychology, thoughts and behavioural change plays in our practice as dietitians. In addition to her dietetics qualifications, Michelle has an undergraduate degree in psychology, so don’t worry… #wegotthequals. Advertising, social media, magazines, etc. place so much importance on what we eat (Is it sugar free?… Is it fat free?… How many calories?…). But at the end of the day, when it comes to achieving health and weight loss goals, an equally important question is ‘Why am I eating what I’m eating?’. To this end, Michelle and I discuss how important behaviour recognition and change is for sustaining long lasting health. We discuss the common behaviours and habits that hold our clients back from maintaining a healthy weight and how we work with our clients to recognise and change those habits and behaviours. Spoiler alert, the biggest tip we have is EAT MORE VEGGIES, so we discuss smart ways to work more of them into your diet... #guthealth. We give you strategies to combat those pesky night time sugar cravings. We give you the goods when it comes to combating workplace cultures or social events that put pressure on you to eat and drink. And finally, we discuss the big one, emotional eating, with tips and strategies to recognise it and overcome it.  If you enjoyed this podcast, please tag us and share it in your Insta stories and leave me a positive rating or review in the purple Apple Podcast app (in the rating & reviews section underneath the episode lists). This really helps my podcast get prioritised by Apple and helps me disseminate evidence based information to the people that need it the most!