Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
My name is Bec. I live in Cronulla Beach in Sydney. I have the most amazing husband Laurent & I love being outdoors in the sunshine eating mangoes. I’m also a Dietitian & Nutritionist and own the Instagram @nourish_naturally.
What do you see as some of the opportunities and challenges for dietitians in the future?
The online world, especially social media! Take Instagram for example. There are over 95 million photos uploaded to IG every day & over 40 billion posts made to date. That’s one engaged platform & a great deal of this engagement centres around food & health. Dietitians are the authority on food & nutrition and thus we need to have a presence on social media.
What are some of your top nutrition tips for somebody looking to lose weight?
Focus on health, not weight. Base your eating around whole, healthy foods like vegetables, fruits, lean proteins and healthy grains. Eat fewer process foods and more from nature. Avoid fad diets and learn to form healthy habits with your eating.
People generally have some idea of how to make positive changes to their diet, what is your advice to help people put these steps into practice?
Make it a habit. People can often dive straight into a healthy diet and while their intentions might be good, it can be too much to take on at one time & they slowly revert back. Permanent health changes require you to form habits. So take it one step at a time. Choose one small thing to work on, such as eating more fruit. Focus on that until it becomes natural. Then move onto your next habit.
What does your current diet look like?
Delicious 🙂 And also very healthy! I love eating healthy because it makes me feel awesome! I eat a lot of vegetables, fruit, fish, wholegrains, legumes, beans, nuts, seeds, tofu. My diet basically consists of wholefoods from nature. I drink lots of water too. I also love my daily coffee.
What are some easy breakfast options that you would recommend for people who are looking to try something new?
Smoothies are always a great easy option you can make at home and drink on your way to school/uni/work. Smoked salmon or baked beans on wholegrain toast is another quick and easy brekkie option.
Is there any nutrition advice that you give which surprises people?
Eat fruit and lots of it! Fruit does not have too much sugar!! Fruit often mistakenly gets tarnished with the “sugar” brush because fruit contains natural sugar.
The key with fruit is that the sugar is naturally occurring, not added, and is not linked to the negative impacts that added sugar has. In fact, research proves that fruit consumption aids weight loss, reduces your risk of chronic diseases and improves overall health and well being.
The natural sugars that are in fruit fuel our brain and muscles with energy.
Fruit also contains vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fibre and phytochemicals that nourish us and will keep us healthy.
Sugars that are naturally occurring in whole foods like fruits as well as starchy vegetables, legumes, beans, are healthier than refined sugars that are added to foods, due to the way your body processes them.
When sugar comes in its natural form in fruits, it is accompanied by other nutrients like fibre, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytochemicals & other beneficial nutrients. These change the way the body breaks down and absorbs these sugars.
The harmful effects of fructose, for example, don’t apply to the natural sugars found in fruits. It’s only when sugars are added to processed foods that these negative effects occur.
It’s important to remember that without naturally occurring sugar in healthy foods like vegetables & fruits, we can not function because sugar is the fuel for our brain and muscles. Sugar naturally present in whole foods = good, sugar added to food = not good.
Do you get more satisfaction from the change you make through Instagram, or through working with people individually?
Both! I get such positive responses and feedback from both my personal clients and my followers on Instagram.
To find out more about Bec, check out her Instagram @nourish_naturally.
