Melanie Cole, MS (Host): Did you know there's a () science-backed nutrition coaching program designed to support sustainable health and wellness goals at Henry Mayo Fitness and Health Club? Welcome to It's Your Health Radio with Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. I'm Melanie Cole and joining me today to discuss nutrition coaching is Hannah Lonsinger.

She's a Master Lifestyle specialist at Henry Mayo Fitness and Health. Hannah, it's such a pleasure to have you with us today. I am so glad to have you join us. Not everybody knows what nutrition coaching is. They hear about, oh, you're supposed to eat healthy. Not everybody even knows what that is. Tell us a little bit about nutrition coaching as a field in itself and about the program at Henry Mayo Fitness and Health.

Hannah Lonsinger: Yes. So thank you so much for having me. I'm very excited to be here. Nutrition coaching to begin with, is where we come alongside you and we help you better understand what food is and how we can help you as a whole and understand how to live a healthy lifestyle, but still not go from diet to diet to diet.

We don't want to have such a restrictive plan for you. So what we do here is we are all certified through Precision Nutrition. Again, we go through different habits and we want to make different behavioral changes, and we want to come alongside you and support you in understanding that food is your friend and it's supposed to fuel you for the ener for the day, and it's supposed to give you the energy.

And so we are not dieticians. I want to make sure I'm clear on that. We are not going to help you in a medically based stance, but we are gonna give you a lot of education on breaking down what food is, different macros and micronutrients are, and how we can really fuel your body.

Melanie Cole, MS (Host): Hannah, walk us through the three coaching options available and how they differ and how does somebody decide which one is right for them?

Hannah Lonsinger: So we do a lot of one-on-one coaching, and that starts with usually a one hour assessment, where again, we're going to dive deep into what you're eating. But not only that, we're going to talk about sleep. We're going to talk about how much energy you have. We're going to talk about how you handle stress, who is around you to support you, because we want to talk about the individual as a whole.

So our main one is one-on-one, and then after that hour assessment, we go into a 30 minute check-ins. And there are different packages that we offer, but it always stays within that structure. And depending on how long you want to see results, and that would be the different package that you would purchase.

Other options that we have is combining the one-on-one nutrition with one-on-one personal training. That one's probably, I'm going to be a little biased, but that one's probably the best just because you're really understanding the body as a whole and one doesn't work more than the other. Right? If you, are super active and your caloric expenditure is super great, but then your caloric intake is a lot more; then yes, you are still going to gain weight. If your caloric intake is a lot less than your caloric expenditure, that is when we start to see that weight loss happen. So obviously the personal training and the one-on-one nutrition, works hand in hand. And then the other option is that we have a lot of small group trainings here at Henry Mayo.

Not only do we have Pilates Reformers, we have an HM Fit class as well, where it's all group based. Then we have our Group X classes, and we just want to really integrate the support because the nutrition is such a mental aspect that if you don't have the right people around you supporting you, it's going to be really hard to reach your goals.

Host: I agree completely, and one thing that I've always found that I have to explain when I'm working with people is there's a difference between eating to lose weight and eating for health. While you're working with people, I mean, healthy eating is just important, whether we're trying to lose weight or maintain or even gain weight for people that are trying to gain weight for one reason or another.

I've never had that problem, but I know that some people do. So tell us a little bit about the difference as you see it when you're working with someone, Hannah, and you're trying to explain to them about healthy eating and the importance of healthy eating. What are some of the things you're telling them?

Hannah Lonsinger: So I think the main thing you'll hear a lot of different diets nowadays saying cut the carbs. Carbs are bad for you. What? No, they're not like, that's how you get your energy. Or they'll go totally on the opposite side and be like, no fats. And it's, all these foods are integrated to act as a whole in one.

So my purpose what I like to help out with my clients is creating whole foods. So anything that was grown, anything comes from an animal, anything that you can essentially build or make or get from some type of living being is what you want. We do not want any of the processed things.

I know right now the biggest craze is you have to eat a lot of protein. That is true, especially if you want to build muscle. However, there's a whole lot of other stuff in these processed protein drinks and these protein bars that I think we lost sight and mind of the main true thing is getting that protein and fiber, and we're getting a whole lot of seed oils and other sugars that essentially your body doesn't need.

So going back to the basics and really stripping your food away is what I like to talk to my clients about and going into breaking down those macronutrients, the carbs, fats, and proteins, and understanding that they are your friends. All of them work together as a whole and you do not need to cut anything out.

And same thing with all the desserts and sweets that you have. Those are not bad things for you to have, but making sure that you're doing it in moderation and sustain lifestyle.

Host: Rock on. You're giving really good advice. You're spot on with that and certainly you make so much sense when people are like, oh, carbs and, but that's what fuels your brain and spinal cord. I mean, we have to have those things. And I like to tell people to shop on the perimeter of the store and the aisles, sure we can get our pastas and things, but all those things, like you say, are in that moderation.

And those whole foods you're talking about generally tend to be in that circle on the outside of the store. But you know, that's really so important with you giving this kind of great advice, Hannah, what results are you seeing? What are your participants saying about it?

Hannah Lonsinger: So it depends on what the client really wants, and I see results depending on that. Some people are coming in for weight loss, which a lot of people are, when they hear nutrition, they're like, I gotta lose weight. But especially with our clientele, it also goes into improving energy, how to lower your A1C or how to eat for a pre-diabetic, and stuff like that.

So our progress is not always linear and I think a lot of people understand that in anything that they start and do. But in my experience, I have worked with, whether you're working with weight loss, we have seen clients lose 50 pounds and more, which is amazing. But not only is the scale isn't the most important thing for us, especially working through our certification through Precision Nutrition.

It's all about habit based and behavioral changes. So getting into the root of the problem within inconsistent eating or emotional eating and finding that the best progress that I've seen with people is just how they change their mindset with food and understanding I don't need to skip any meals to lose weight.

I want to make sure I'm choosing the right things for that.

Host: That's so true, and it is about the mindset, so that's great that you mention that because it's all in how we look at the food. If only a cheeseburger is what you want, maybe you can learn to sort of salivate from a salmon burger or only half of that cheeseburger. It's all about that moderation or about how you tell yourself that these foods are going to taste to you and feel to you and answer to that craving that we all get. Now, tell us, do you have to be a member of Henry Mayo Fitness and Health Club to participate in nutrition coaching?

Hannah Lonsinger: Yes, you do. We did create this program just specifically for our members, because we want to understand that it is a whole lifestyle as a whole. We want to look at your body and understand that nutrition is a part of it, but also having the exercise and understanding that moving your body is going to be what's helpful, not only for your physical wellbeing, but for your mental state as well. And so we want to give you the access to the community with our Group X classes and the community within all of the coaching staff and come alongside you. Because we understand that this is a hard journey and it's not just a quick fix and then we say goodbye.

We want to be here throughout the time that you are growing. And then yes, hopefully you won't need us, but we are going to be here for you no matter what obstacle comes your way.

Host: One piece of advice, Hannah, for somebody starting, looking at nutrition coaching, whether they want to lose weight or whatever their reasons are, what is one piece of advice that you give somebody who is hesitant but really doesn't know where to start.

Hannah Lonsinger: I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I'm going to give you the key to everything. It is to be consistent, and that is my biggest thing. No matter what program you do, whether you find something great on the internet or you come to us and we help you find the right program for you; be consistent.

Because if you are not, then that program's not right for you. If you are not able to sustain it in a day-to-day lifestyle, then you won't be able to continue it. And I've seen so many people go from diet to diet to diet, and the next new great thing, and then they fall off and they gain the weight back or their numbers spike up again. Be consistent in whatever you're doing, and I promise that'll be the best thing for you.

Host: Really great advice and thank you so much for all the great work that you're doing, and I can hear the passion and compassion because that's really important when you're working with people, especially people that are struggling with body image or their weight. So thank you so much. You were lovely to have on.

And for more information, you can visit our website at henrymayo.com/nutrition. You can also visit the Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital free online health library@library.henrymayo.com. Thank you so much for joining us on this episode of It's Your Health Radio with Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. I'm Melanie Cole.