Embracing a Plant-Based Life: Nutrition, Budget, and the 'Choose You Now' Philosophy with Julianne Hever

I get a lot of questions from women about eating more vegetables and having a more "plant-based diet"

A while ago I had the pleasure of talking to  Julieanna Hever, MS RD CPT.  aka the plant based dietitian and she really is the go-to for me on this stuff so I am very happy to bring you our chat again.
I loved her soo much I bought her book straight after the interview, in the pre-sale, and it's been a go-to for me ever since.

She's the author of no fewer than 7 (!!!) books
She's also the host of the "Choose you now" podcast and it's very safe to say that she really knows what she's talking about.

We talk all things plant-based, starting with what we mean by a "plant-based diet" (because it's not the same as vegan)
What a healthy plate of food actually looks like.
Then we talk the benefits of a plant-based diet and how to transition to a more plant-based diet if you're not currently getting your fruits and veggies.
How easy it actually is to just eat a bit less meat and add more veg to your life whilst keeping it very tasty.
Why the "all or nothing" approach just doesn't work when dealing with a change in diet.
Why cooking your own meals is key when your goal is to be healthy.

And much much more.

You can find Julieanna on social media

Facebook
Youtube
Instagram
And Twitter

No "In the News This week" segment because the news is all wrapped up in Omicron but I did quickly want to talk about one of the most important things a post-partum/diastasis recti personal trainer should ask their clients and which they often don't. "What, exactly, don't you like about your stomach?"

As always; HPNB still only has 5 billing cycles.

So this means that you not only get 3 months FREE access, no obligation!

BUT, if you decide you want to do the rest of the program, after only 5 months of paying $10/£8 a month you now get FREE LIFE TIME ACCESS! That's $50 max spend, in case you were wondering.

Though I'm not terribly active on  Instagram and Facebook you can follow us there. I am however active on Threads so find me there!

And, of course, you can always find us on our YouTube channel if you like your podcast in video form :)

Visit healthypostnatalbody.com and get 3 months completely FREE access. No sales, no commitment, no BS.

Email peter@healthypostnatalbody.com if you have any questions, comments or want to suggest a guest/topic  

 Playing us out this week; "Imaginary friend" by Dresden, the Flamingo (my favourite classical style composers) 

Transcript

Peter: 0:00

Hey, welcome to the Healthy Postnatal Body Podcast with your postnatal expert, Peter Lap. That, as always, would be me. This is the podcast for the 5th of May 2024. And this week I am reliving an interview which I did with Julieanna Hever, who is a plant-based dietician. She's the author of six books, with number seven on the way. She's the host of the Choose you Now podcast and you know we spoke about a while ago. We spoke about all things plant-based, starting with what we mean by the plant-based diet and all that sort of stuff what a healthy plate of food actually looks like.

Peter: 0:34

I know a lot of you are into plant-based eating and Juliana is one of the best people in the world to talk to and therefore you know why not have her answer all your questions. That is pretty much what I thought by bringing this one back. You know the benefits of a plant-based diet, how easy it actually is to eat a bit less meat and all that sort of stuff. You know how to convince your partners to jump on board, all that sort of thing. You're going to love this interview. So, without further ado, here we go. So, like I said, we'll start with the big question, the most important one what do you mean by a plant-based diet?

Julieanna: 1:37

Well, yes, that's a good question, and what I mean by it is a diet based on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, mushrooms, nut seeds, herbs and spices and infinite tasty combinations.

Peter: 1:50

So is meat or anything a part of that, because you know, I'm Dutch and the way I was raised was slightly different from the way people in the UK and America seem to have been raised. As in, the vast majority of stuff on my plate will always be plant-based, as in at least half of it is vegetables, because that's how it should be, and then you have a little bit of potatoes or some sort of carby thing and then there's a little bit of protein on the side. You're probably talking about a more overall plant-based stuff, right?

Julieanna: 2:23

Well, I think what you said is exactly right, and I think, if you look at cultures around the world, traditional diets were mostly or exclusively almost plant-based, and it's only recently that we started incorporating meat as persistently as we do now. And it started here in the United States. We were just like the masters of just making the diet as bad as possible and meat became the center of the plate, and it's obviously. This has transcended the US and has now a global issue, and now we have global obesity and chronic disease like never before, and it's likely mostly well, it's definitely due to diet. Diet is the number one cause of early death and disability. It's the number one thing that we can control in terms of our health. And, yes, so I don't recommend animal products, I recommend eating plants.

Julieanna: 3:12

But a lot of people aren't ready for that message, so that's why I stay away from the word vegan. In fact, my first book was supposed to be the Complete, idiotic Guide to Vegan Nutrition. That's what I was hired to write, but I petitioned to change the title because a lot of people don't want to hear the word vegan. And I'm not an ethicist. I'm not here to tell you what to do morally or ethically. I'm here to talk about it from a health perspective as a dietitian, and so I just want people to eat more plants. So that's why I think a vegan diet that name that term is an exclusive definition. Diet that name that term is an exclusive definition. It means I do not eat animals, but a plant-based diet, or really I even love to say it more a whole food plant-based diet is an inclusive definition.

Peter: 3:52

It means I eat a diet based on these whole plant foods yeah, that is pretty much where I always come in as well, where I tell people listen, the whole going meat free for a day is not actually that big a thing if you have a normal diet right. Everybody likes vegetable chili as much as they like normal chili. It is. That is how simple it is. It is not. It is just making sure that indeed, like you said, meat or fish is not the be-all and end-all on the plate. It's not the first thing that goes on the plate and the only thing that matters on the plate. It's not the first thing that goes on the plate and the only thing that matters on the plate.

Julieanna: 4:25

Well, it has become that, but it shouldn't be that. We should go backwards a little bit and be more traditional because of all the I mean there's a lot of health implications directly just of the animal products but it is literally been the center of the plate. But you're right, like we've grown up, we've eaten things that are plant-based. We've eaten things that are plant-based. We just didn't think about it. Like oatmeal is plant-based, or a spaghetti, you know pasta primavera, or you know veggie sushi, or bean and rice burrito, or like there's so many things that chili, like you said, a vegetable soup, we've eaten that stuff.

Julieanna: 4:53

We just never really thought about it as being animal free. Like we just never thought about it. It was just a dish that we included in our repertoire and so just thinking about centering the plate a little differently, back to traditional ways of eating, you know, I love looking at all the different cuisines around the world. You know these curries and all sorts of. No matter where you are in the world, the staple diet is primarily, predominantly plants Asia's rice and you know, and Peru is potatoes, and they're just all these wonderful staple, wholesome dishes. And when you go back to those foods and you center your diet back on those foods, then you get all this wonderful health promoting benefits and, like you said, you're right Half your plate should come from fruits and vegetables. That's really really well established in the database.

Peter: 5:39

Yes, we all kind of knew this and accepted this when I was growing up, so admittedly the best part of 40 years ago, but it is only now. I don't remember anyone. You can correct me if I'm wrong. Maybe your experience is different. I don't remember anyone when I was growing up who didn't like vegetables as in, because you didn't have a choice.

Julieanna: 6:05

Who didn't eat vegetables?

Julieanna: 6:08

Okay, well, that's refreshing, because, well it is, it is here now, but when I was a kid too, I remember like the. The problem is that if you say I don't like this and then your parent goes, oh well, I'm worried that you're not going to eat enough, so I'll make you whatever you want. That's where all the problems begin and that's become very pervasive and a big problem, because now I have adults that I work with. You know, I work with clients around the world, but these adults that are coming to me saying, well, I don't like this vegetable and I don't like this because it's too much Like adults, like they never grew out of that, you know.

Peter: 6:34

Yeah, I once saw a post on one of the forums that was sent to me that said how to hide vegetables in your meals. Yes, um but this was aimed at adults, this was aimed at children, and I thought you're not five years old anymore and all my listeners know that I feel this way. You're an adult, you know, you grow up a little bit and take some responsibility for your own health when it comes to this sort of stuff grow up a little, eat your vegetables yes, exactly, it's a stupid thing to even have to tell people.

Peter: 7:05

So you say, obviously there are a lot of health implications. I think in the West predominantly. The big problem that I find is meat is cheap relative to our level of income. I mean, I can buy a three pound chicken, as in a chicken for three pounds, which is about $4 or something like that. So I'm pretty sure that chicken hasn't been that well taken care of throughout its entire life, because everybody's still making a profit off that at the end of the day and therefore I always think that chicken cannot make me healthy, right it? Just that can't be a healthy chicken. And if we don't treat our food nicely, you know, you are what you eat, as the saying goes you are literally what you eat.

Julieanna: 7:49

But it's not even if you take the healthiest chicken, the chicken that was raised in the perfect way on the perfect farm, with the perfect feed and a happy life and died quickly and no stress. Even that chicken itself, the contents of that chicken itself, are not health promoting and have some health damaging implications. And then add in what you're saying all the antibiotics and the stress and the bad feed and all that other stuff. It just adds to the health detrimental effects of the chicken. The healthiest of animals still have things like saturated fat and cholesterol and heme, iron and new 5gc and all these compounds that we know uh absolutely cause inflammation and disease, the disease process from from occurring. We've got so much data on on all the different mechanisms by which that happens yes, exactly so.

Peter: 8:42

Okay, so we're cutting right down on meat. So that then means that we have to change our eating habits a little bit. And the one thing I come across the most with people I can change people's exercise habits. I can change people's work habits. I can change people's sleep habits. Changing their dietary habits to such an extent is the most difficult thing. So how do you go about it? What would you recommend to someone who says listen, I hear what you're saying. How can I change it in a way that is manageable for me?

Julieanna: 9:15

It's the question, peter. That is the question and that is what my TEDx talk was about. It's about how deeply embedded food is into our world. It represents our culture and our history and our relationships and our pleasure and everything about food. There's so much deeply, deeply embedded things. It's social, cultural, personal but it's so embedded in us that it's very hard to separate that from just nourishment and to look at it as nourishment and as in health.

Julieanna: 9:47

And I've been in this field for well. I've been in the health and fitness field for about 25 or plus years, but as a dietician for 17 years and it took me many years to finally say, to take a deep breath and say I cannot change anyone. And I stopped trying to convince anyone of what to do. And it's because the way I say it is, you could lead a human to healthy, but you can't make them eat. They have to want it. And I will not try to convince anyone, cause I was trying to convince people, no, you have to eat plants and don't eat them. And I was like, why am I not getting all these great results with my clients? I realized it's because they didn't want it. And the perfect example. It's like when you love someone, it's even worse.

Julieanna: 10:27

My father had a stroke in February and he almost died. And when he finally came to and he got stuck in Mexico. He was in Mexico. I got stuck here because I didn't have my passport so I couldn't get to him. So when I saw him on FaceTime and he finally came to and I said, said dad, what's going on? And he's like, well, you know I'm, you know, I was just was eating a little worse. When I got down here, because they normally live here in the us, I said, well, you know I could I help with people, with that. You know, it's what I do for a living. He's like I know, joel, but you have to want it. And he was like literally sitting there with his second chance at life and he's back to eating his other horrible diet and it's like, no matter what you do, they have to want it.

Peter: 11:07

Absolutely so, say people do want it. And people come to you and say okay, I'm ready to make a change. I just don't know how to do it Because, like you said, it's difficult and all of a sudden, it's very easy to be a bad plant-based eater as in an unhealthy plant-based eater. As in an unhealthy plant-based eater, I can basically cut meat out of the pasta right now and just have even if you're learning to cook or whatever and just make pasta pesto and that is all you eat, and I've seen people do it. I've come across a lot of very unhealthy vegans or vegetarians with remarkably unhealthy diets. Um, you know, they just shop at the free from section and they go gluten free, to go meat free and dairy free and all that sort of stuff, but they still eat predominantly sugar-based stuff and crappy food. So where do you start with someone who comes to you and says I want to do it, I'm just not sure how to do it. What's the first thing you tell them?

Julieanna: 12:07

So there's a lot to unpack with what you just said. First of all, when someone wants to, this is where the fun begins. This is fun, this is an adventure, it's a journey, and I'll tell you how I start that. But I also want to note what you said. When I went plant-based 17 years ago 16, whatever it was it was like I had to eat healthy. I had to cook. If I wanted a dessert, I had to bake it from scratch and it didn't have all the ingredients, so it had to be more healthy. Whatever I wanted to eat, it was rice and beans and vegetables and curries that I had to cook.

Julieanna: 12:41

Now, in the last 10 years, especially anything you could eat, I could eat vegan, and it's become shockingly different landscape. So now, for the first time, I have vegans coming to me with very similar health issues as the meat eaters or the omnivores, because burgers, cheeses, ice creams, candies, cookies everything is veganizable and it's not necessarily good. And then people see it as having this health halo and then they are basing their diets on that stuff and it's not healthy. There's very much so similar compounds in there, like the saturated fat, like the sugars, like you said, that you would get on an omnivorous diet. So everyone, no matter what you're excluding or including in your diet, needs to make an effort to make their diet more wholesome. But, like, everyone agrees, half your plate should be fruits and veggies, and everyone agrees that you don't want to. You don't want to add a lot of refined or added sugars or sweeteners, oils, all that stuff processed foods Like, if everyone agrees, no matter what your diet is, from vegan to everything in between, to meat eaters. But everyone could eat a healthier diet, and there is no such thing as perfect.

Julieanna: 13:52

I like people to just say, okay, here's what you do first. First, remember that we are all creatures of habit. We all circulate between maybe one and two different breakfasts, three to four different lunches, maybe five to six different dinners in a week. Really, that means all we need is to find a repertoire of about 10 recipes that you love. That's it. It's really that simple.

Julieanna: 14:14

So start a fun, delicious adventure of finding your favorite recipes and find the most wholesome of them, all that you know that are made from vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, mushrooms, nuts, herbs and spices in infinite tasty combinations. Like there's no limit to how you can prepare these ingredients and make them delicious, so you have to find foods you love and then that's it, then you then you just switch through them and whatever you're in the mood for like. It sounds so silly, but so many nowadays there are hundreds of thousands, if not more, recipes available that are whole food, plant-based, and you just find the ones that resonate for you and that you love, and and then you don't even have to make it up, it's already done for you. So it's really easier than ever, yeah that's absolutely I.

Peter: 15:01

I've always said this about anyone wanting to change their diet to eat healthier. It's always lunch and breakfast are easy, because everybody eats the same thing for breakfast most days, right? So breakfast swapping over breakfast for something else is straightforward because you don't need 20 different recipes to start with. But it's exactly like you said. My wife is a vegetarian who's also lactose intolerant, so she's borderline vegan, right, and not not not through any sort of like I said any sort of ethical issue. That is just, she's been vegan for the best part of. She's been eating like that for the best part of 40 years or something like that, now since she was 10 or something like that. But indeed we always, when we used to go out, when we've been married like 14, 15 years now so when we used to go out, it was always like we can't eat anything here. Oh, they have a nut burger on the menu. I guess we'll eat here, because that was, that was the vegan's life. There was nothing else. It was a mushroom burger or a shitty nut burger.

Julieanna: 16:04

Or a horrible salad? Yes, exactly.

Peter: 16:08

That's all you ended up stuck with, whereas now she can shop by herself, essentially, and, like you said, just buy loads of prepared foods. She can go into any restaurant, any fast food place. Mcdonald's does vegan stuff, as far as I know, so it's very easy to have a lot of processed foods that are vegan. It's like you said. I mean, she likes these.

Peter: 16:35

It's a brand in the UK called Wicked and they do, oh, yes, yes, and they do like jalapeno burgers, and when you look at the labeling of them, it's something that no one should ever eat. It is, I mean, they are just horrible. They also taste horrific, by the way, but she likes them, so I can't really yuck her. Yum, if you know what I mean. But it really is. They are atrociously bad. What I'm surprised by is also how expensive they are, considering what's in them. There's maybe 20 pence or 20 cents worth of ingredients in these things, but they sell for significantly more than real meat does. Right, because vegan is kind of the new, fashionable, so to speak. Fashionable, so to speak, fancy vegan, fancy vegan, uh, or fancy plant-based food uh, convenience food is the new expensive. So what you're saying is to get back to your point, because that's important start with cooking your own food.

Julieanna: 17:38

Right it has to be always healthier to cook, always healthier to cook. I mean, you cannot go to a restaurant. When I was in dietetic school, we had to do all these rotations in restaurants and like I was at the four seasons, I was at these really nice restaurants and and it's nothing is made without decadent amounts of salt and butter and cream and sugar and because they want to make it taste better, because they're selling food and understandably so, that stuff makes it taste better. It's hyper palatable, it hits lights up the dopamine receptors in your brain and it tastes delicious. And so you can't. Even when you go and I go to a restaurant, I'm like, okay, I just want steamed broccoli and a baked potato, nothing on it. You will always put butter or like I have to say eight different times, they still feel like, no, you won't like it like this. I'll have to add a little bit of oil or a little, so it's almost impossible. It's almost impossible to get healthy food out. So it's always better to make your staples cooking, like learning how to cook, just a few things. Like I work with bachelors that don't know how to cook. You know people that don't really want to cook but there's still. So now, even the convenience foods that you can get to the market. It makes it so easy Like you could buy frozen rice packets, microwave and a can of beans and you could buy bagged salads so you don't have to chop the vegetables and make a meal and salsa is addressing, like you have like a burrito bowl right there, like it's so easy to make five minute meals. I love that.

Julieanna: 18:55

You know, even though I've now publishing my seventh book and I never was taught how to cook, like I literally had a. In fact, that first book I wrote I had six weeks to write an entire book. I had two babies, two little babies, and six week deadline and I and they're all oh and 50 recipes and I'm like recipes. I just I'm a dietitian, like I know medicine and health, but recipe development I didn't even barely know how to cook, let alone like recipes. So now I'm like I've become.

Julieanna: 19:21

I had to embrace it just for my work and now I love it. It's become like my happy place. I'm relaxed in the kitchen, but I'm all about simplicity. It doesn't have to be fancy or difficult, doesn't have to be expensive. In fact, the healthy foods that I want people to eat are cheaper. You know we buy tons of rice for a little change and dried legumes and potatoes and the staple foods. Those are very inexpensive and so vegan as expensive is a myth because of what you're saying. All those convenience, fancy, gourmet, eating out types of foods and it's a trend and you're better off health-wise going back to the staple foods anyway yeah, and because then we kind of come back to the, to the vegetable chili example.

Peter: 20:03

Right, it is so incredibly cheap to make a vegetable chili. It is borderline insane. As in if you're looking to save, for me going going vegan. I'm not vegan. I basically eat meat regularly not every day, but regularly enough. But if you're looking to save money, going vegan is one of the easy ways to do it, because fresh fruit and vegetables are remarkably cheap. I have never come across anyone who seriously means it when they say eating healthy is more expensive.

Julieanna: 20:44

Everyone says that, everyone says, but they'll spend five dollars on a cup of coffee at the coffee shop, you know every day, and you can eat for less than five dollars a day on a plant-based diet easily. But people it is a big myth that people think it's expensive, or maybe it's an excuse, I don't know, but everyone seems to be concerned that it's going to be more expensive to eliminate animal products. And yes, animal products are subsidized in the United States. I don't know about there, sure, yeah. So, like you said, you can get it for super cheap. And look at fast food. You can't compete with a dollar menu. You just can't, you know. But look at what you're doing, your body, and in the long run that's a real expensive investment that you're making.

Peter: 21:25

Oh, absolutely making. Oh absolutely. I. I always tell people this listen, I'm a personal trainer, I charge x amount an hour. Yeah, you can eat like an animal, but I'm, I'm not, I'm not cheap. So at some stage you're going to call me in again and you're going to have to pay me a thousand pounds or fifteen hundred dollars or or whatever, or you could save yourself all that hassle now and eat a bit better. So, by the way, just because you mentioned six weeks to write a recipe book, was that the health plan solution?

Julieanna: 21:52

No, this was my very first book, the Complete Idiot's Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition. Oh, plant-based nutrition.

Peter: 21:57

Oh yes, because, just for anybody listening, it takes me about three days to write a shitty blog post, so six weeks to write a shitty blog post. So six weeks to write. It's seriously, seriously impressive thank you, thank you.

Julieanna: 22:10

It was insane. I and I had the baby, so I was a full-time mom, so I was like 4 am on the computer and then when the kids were up I was mom and then back to. It was like so crazy.

Peter: 22:19

I'll never forget that, ever I feel like after I did that I could do anything.

Julieanna: 22:23

So thank you for saying that no because that is.

Peter: 22:27

That is really seriously impressive. So what mistake do you see most people making when they go plant-based? So they come to, and I'm not sure at what stage. People tend to come to you but say I'm guessing you get a lot of people who have decided to go plant-based at one stage and then found it didn't work for them and for whatever reason, and then they come back and they to you and they say actually I need a bit of help here. What mistakes do people most often make when they go plant-based?

Julieanna: 22:57

that was my client I just had right now, right before this, I have clients at every stage that have well-seasoned, plant-based, just just starting plant-curious I like to call it, but I see the pitfalls, not only in my clients but in my audiences that I've talked to over the years, and it's very, very similar to what we've already said. First of all, go gravitating towards these new products, that's, the vegans that are coming to me with the same diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure as their omnivore counterparts. That's the number one thing. So staying away from processed food is my number one piece of advice is just eat as whole as possible, as often as possible, and make those decadent things, save them for a day of deliciousness, like that should be a treat. You know we call things treats and desserts and all that, but they are so frequent that there's no such thing. They're not a treat anymore. You know, and that's number one I would say the other thing is trying to be perfect, perfect.

Julieanna: 23:55

I think perfection is always the enemy of good and progress, and so not worrying about perfection, uh, and just enjoying. You know, I want you to find foods that you love, because otherwise and that's the other thing is like it has to be. You know I eat only carrots and lettuce and you know brown rice and and I'm bored well, yeah, of course you're bored like let's come on broaden spectrum. It doesn't have to be exotic, but like, give yourself some variety. The other thing is I really worry about people that are completely plant-based of not taking their B12.

Julieanna: 24:24

That's an important, notable nutrient. Every diet needs some nutrition consideration. There's no perfect diet, but particular to a plant-based diet, we can't get B12 from plants very well. If we can get it at all, it's from a processed food, which, again, I'm telling people to eliminate. So we do need to be mindful of a few mindful, notable nutrients. Those are the biggest pitfalls. I think I see people overcomplicating things. I think, in general, a healthy diet is overcomplicated and they worry about their macros and stuff that they have no business worrying about.

Peter: 24:54

Complicated and they worry about their macros and stuff that they have no business worrying about. It's ridiculous. Yeah, that's again something I always say. Macros is such a first world problem that really doesn't matter. There isn't the same person in the world that cares about whether they are 40-30-30 with their carbs, protein, fats, or whether that is 35%, 35, 30, or whatever it is. Only bodybuilders care about that sort of stuff, or only bodybuilders should potentially care about that stuff. Let me put it that way it is insane for a normal non-athlete to care that much about their food that they start looking at micronutrients.

Julieanna: 25:38

I love that you said that and I'm going to totally use your line. Two of them now. So far, I love them. The yuck you're yum, and macros are a first world problem. The prop, my counterpoint to that, which is what makes me worried, is that the researchers themselves that are studying diet are so caught up in macronutrition, you know, like trying to find the ideal macronutrient. This is what I talk about macro confusion. It's caused a worldwide epidemic of mass confusion about food, and that's because, like I always love to refer to a journal article in the Lancet in 2018. A journal article in the Lancet in 2018.

Julieanna: 26:18

The conclusion was that both a low-carb diet and a high-carb diet increase mortality. What does that mean? I think the fact that researchers are using macros to determine the efficacy, the safety, the health of a certain way of eating is why everyone else is so confused. Ultimately, there is no perfect macro, is why everyone else is so confused and ultimately, there is no perfect macro. It's inconclusive because it's so meaningless and we're chasing this thing, this ideal that's never going to be found. We need to let go of that and start talking about food. We need to bring the conversation back to food itself.

Peter: 26:50

Yes, exactly, when I say macros don't matter, I always say micronutrients matter. So your vitamins and your minerals, that's what you should be caring about. Right, you should be getting, like you said, people who are full vegan need to supplement with a bit of B12 and need to make sure they get that from somewhere. People who I mean, I'm not a big fan of vitamin supplementation, right, if you're an omnivore, as in if you're eating everything or flexitarian, whatever you want to call it, pescatarian, whatever your diet is like, if it's not overly restricted, then you should almost be able to get almost everything in good quality from the products you are eating. On the one hand, like you said, the vegan, the only thing you need to supplement is B12. And that's cool, that's fine. People on the other end of, and when they say on the other end, it's not two sides of the same coin at all. But the carnivore diet, which you'll have come across and cried into your coffee, of course, because, because everybody who is sane does that. Unfortunately, you know, joe rogan has a bigger podcast than I do and he talks about it and therefore I get emails about it. Because, because people go, should I try the carnivore diet? Because Joe said it felt wonderful after he shat himself for two weeks. Um, and that's genuinely what he said, by the way, because I looked at the clip and he's basically I was on the toilet for two weeks, but I feel great now and I supplement with everything and you know. So I'm not saying the carnivore diet is is is the other side of the coin of veganism. Not at all, because I think being is is is the other side of the coin of veganism. Not at all, because I think being vegan is significantly healthier than just eating elk. Um, but most people need to worry about whether they're getting all the all the micronutrients, all the vitamins and minerals.

Peter: 28:53

So when you're talking about a vegan diet, a lot of people that I come across like a bland diet, as in. That is what they're used to, because I mainly work with people in the UK and the diets over here are absolutely horrific. So we're talking about the only seasoning they know is salt. That's kind of those are the people I'm talking about. So how do you get people to eat a wider variety of stuff? Because when you're talking curries, I mean, yeah, they can make a nice dal, you can make cauliflower curry and all that sort of stuff. It's much easier to get indian people. To be fair, I've never come across an indian who I need to teach how to cook but or to talk about food. But it's. How do you get people to widen their variety when it comes to food in a way that you can make sure they get all their vitamins and minerals?

Julieanna: 29:46

well, I think those are two separate things actually, because it doesn't matter if it's bland. It's not like the seasonings themselves are giving more. I mean, they have phytonutrients and herbs and spices, but it's not that. That's what you need for your basic.

Julieanna: 29:59

So if someone is prefers a bland diet, I would say, keep eating a bland diet. But you know, just broaden what's what the bland is like, make sure you're getting you know. I prioritize foods based on their nutrition Cause I, even though I say my list of things, I want people to eat the whole plan of foods. I want people to prioritize these six things. I have something called the six daily threes. It's a mnemonic I use to help people prioritize foods for the nutrition category. So I want people to eat at least three servings of these six things a day on average. Nothing has to be perfect or exact and, of course, if you're a 300-pound athlete versus a 890-pound little Thai lady my friend I saw yesterday it's a big difference on how much you need to eat. But within those parameters, focus on these six food groups Leafy, green and cruciferous vegetables, because they are so unique Nutritionally.

Julieanna: 30:49

They have these phytonutrients that are off the charts, extraordinary for anti-inflammation, for everything, antimicrobial, immune, enhancing everything. The other category is the other colored vegetables. You want to get the reds and oranges and yellows because those have other properties like carotenoids and other things like that. The blues and purples you want to get all the different. Eat the rainbow every day. That's another general guideline that everyone agrees on in the science and everyone agrees with.

Julieanna: 31:15

The third one are fruits. The fourth category is legumes. So beans, lentils, peas, hummus should be a food group and soy foods. Those are all in that category. You want to have those every day because nutritionally unique as well. Nuts and seeds one to two ounces of nuts and seeds a day is abundantly shown in the literature to be very health promoting and for cardio, metabolic health and everything. So that's the fifth one, and I recently swapped in movement and exercise was my six daily three, six, six daily three. But I swapped it in for mushrooms because I finally was like, okay, yes, fungi are not vegetables, I can't lump them into vegetables and they're so uniquely nutritious. So trying to get different varieties of mushrooms in your diet is a really, really healthy thing to do. So, if you like, think about starting from focusing, like making those a priority in your diet and the rest is fluff or whatever else you want to add in, to substantiate it, to add more calorie, to add more um things for satiety.

Peter: 32:10

Then, um, it's a great place to start yeah, no, that sounds easy enough to do as well. So it's interesting because obviously you are a fully qualified person. So I always ask this does organic make a difference or not?

Julieanna: 32:26

Great question and again, I think this comes back to the perfection being the enemy of the good. And yes, organic is better. It's definitely better for the planet. You know, just so much better environmentally speaking, which, of course, we all need to be considering. You know as much as we can now, because diet really is the most impactful thing on our environment as well. And um, so that, and you know you're, less pesticides, that's a win.

Julieanna: 32:51

We don't need to have more chemicals in our body. We're exposed, exposed to so much, so many chemicals all the time, everywhere in our water, our food supply, our air, everything but um. That's another reason, however, um, and the organic farmers. I always want to support the organic farmers, the local farmers, because it's expensive and they are doing the things in a, in a sustainable way.

Julieanna: 33:12

The problem is that, a organic is more expensive almost always. B it's not always available, it's not always accessible. And C what you really look at is there was a great toxicology study that I use as a reference for this answer to this question that there's so much more benefit to including extra fruit in a serving of fruit and vegetable a day that, when compared to organic versus conventionally grown, it doesn't matter, because the dosing of however many pesticides you might get in those not conventionally grown produce is it doesn't compare. So there's this great study. It was like 20,000 cases of cancer could be avoided by just increasing one serving of fruit and vegetable a day, versus potentially 10 cases of cancer that you would avoid by having all the pesticide exposure.

Peter: 34:02

Oh wow, that's huge yeah.

Julieanna: 34:06

Organic is great if you can when you can, but it's not required. It's more important to eat more fruits and vegetables.

Peter: 34:12

Right, and that also always brings me to to the next point. I've noticed again from when I were a lad, uh, when I was younger, that the tomato doesn't taste like a tomato anymore. Right, because it doesn't, because they've grown differently. So I find if I buy the more expensive tomatoes, they still kind of sometimes taste like tomatoes. Uh, I'm not sure. You're based on the pacific coast, right?

Julieanna: 34:36

la, yeah, I'm in los angeles, yeah so.

Peter: 34:38

So you have loads of access to sunshine, whereas you know we don't. Therefore we have to. We have to fly in our tomatoes or they're, and that means they're picked early and they're not as ripe as it should be. So you have access to nice tomatoes is what I'm saying, whereas over here, if I go to it on holiday, I can have nice tomatoes every day, right, because that's what they sell, not just tomatoes, but all fruit and veg simply taste better when you're in a sunny country. So is there a difference? Now, as far as you're aware because I hear this a lot that the food quality, as in the level of nutrients in the food, is just not where it used to be, and therefore we need to eat significantly more fruit and veg to get the same benefits from it.

Julieanna: 35:23

I just published this in my podcast this week and it's a really good question. I just answered the same question, because people ask me this all the time and, yes, it's better to have you know. I mean, you know, just to say something about the grown produce is like. We also have options now, like even where you are, like there's these great hydroponic systems that you could do at your home if you don't even have access to sunshine throughout the year like we do here, but there's great ways to grow your own, and sometimes that's even better because you can get it freshly picked and you could get it the varieties you like and you could have minimal pesticides and all that. So that's one option for people to explore. I think there's a lot of new options now with the hydroponic systems that are out there. But you know, yeah, probably it's not. I know it's not bad. Our soil is definitely depleted and we do have a lot of environmental issues. I mean, look at all the toxins in our oceans and our soil just from from our factory farming and all of that, which is another reason to eat more plants. But, um, but what are we going to do about it? Like, right, are we going to, you know, export ourselves to Mars, maybe. Maybe Elon muscle figured this out for us, but for now we're stuck here, and so we do our best, and so do we need to eat more.

Julieanna: 36:31

Well, more food and chronic overconsumption is the reason for all the obesity and chronic disease in the world. So don't keep chasing nutrition. This is why I do advocate for taking a multivitamin just to cover your bases. I don't think that's going to extend your lifespan or anything, but it'll cover your bases Instead of. I don't want people to keep chasing food like more protein, more protein. I need more and more. We can't eat that much. We're just overeating. Most of us are overeating. It's three quarters of the US and one third of the world are overweight or obese at this point, and that's just a major problem, much more so than being micronutrient deficient.

Peter: 37:07

Oh, absolutely. I always say that again for people who are looking at protein consumption. I work with some athletes and I get a lot of emails from people who say but how do I hit my protein macro? Again, it's usually a word that comes up in that discussion. Unless you're genuinely poor, chances are.

Peter: 37:33

Most people in the West massively overconsume protein compared to what they need to consume to live. A bodybuilder needs to get ridiculously big, uh, which is about two uh grams protein per kilogram of body weight. That's what a bodybuilder needs from and that's top of my head. So I'm gonna get emails about this from bodybuilders to say they two and a half and three and that's that. That's, that's all good, I believe you, but that's roughly what it is. Most people for maintaining muscle mass need a bit need about one or 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight of protein and you can get that. You could have that by breakfast, unless you're ridiculously big. I mean it is really. If you have overnight oats with almond milk or something like that, you can easily get your protein in on.

Peter: 38:40

A plant-based diet is kind of what I'm saying. Most people, like you said, are overweight or obese, and predominantly. Well, it's difficult to get obese from eating too many vegetables, let put it that way. Um, right, it's much easier done on on being protein heavy. So when you're talking about, uh, obviously the, the podcast you mentioned that you host is the, the choose you now podcast, right, I'm a link to that because people need to have that information. If you're, because you're answering interesting questions or these questions I find interesting Me too, peter. It's the sort of thing that I get asked a lot of these questions but I'm not an expert in the field and therefore I don't answer them, can I?

Julieanna: 39:29

add on to your protein. Yeah, I think that's great. I would love to add on to what you said about protein. Yeah, of course, to substantiate that even further, you would have to eat like a diet that's just sugar, oil and flour and even flour has protein and like really refined and really processed, or not eat enough calorie to sustain you anyway, to not get the minimum protein requirements. It would be a challenge to not get enough protein. So you're right, a hundred percent.

Peter: 39:56

Yeah, exactly you can. Protein requirements it would be a challenge to not get enough protein. So you're right, 100%. Yeah, exactly you can get it. It is so remarkably easy. It's the lettuce has protein. Yes, and it's. It's the. The documentary I might have hate, hated the most and I use the term documentary very, very loosely there is the game changers documentary that was on Netflix and you'll have seen it because everybody's seen it. It's a remarkably popular sloppy piece of work but it's really popular.

Julieanna: 40:21

I didn't really feel about it.

Peter: 40:24

Yeah, I mean, everybody listening to me kind of already knows this, but he did raise some valid points. I mean he made ridiculous comparisons between people saying I have a big T-bone steak before the match, therefore I feel tired all the time, versus I eat normal food before a match, of plant-based with cauliflower and I now have a lot more energy. Yeah, it's not just because you're plant-based, because you're eating like a jackass. Everybody who eats steak three times a day is going to be tired all the time, because that's what steak does. Everybody who's ever been out for a steak dinner knows this. Right. So practical. Yes, exactly, it's just. But he did raise a fair point. He said that if you have a peanut butter sandwich, there's a whole meal peanut butter sandwich. There is a tremendous amount of protein in that and that is how easy protein is to hit. It is not rocket science. So just quickly, because I know you're on a relatively tight schedule. You said you have six books that you offered already. You're working on number seven. So what's number seven about?

Julieanna: 41:31

So seven is coming out December 21st. I'm not working on it anymore, I'm done. Baby is done. Now I'm just talking about it because I'm so excited.

Julieanna: 41:41

This is the choose you now diet. It's the book I've wanted to write my whole life Like literally. It is so personal for me and it's it's. I tell my personal story in it and how I ended up in this field and why I love it so much. And it started with I'll just the quick summary of it is when I was 11 years old.

Julieanna: 41:59

I was a ballerina my mom says I danced before I walked and I was in ballet school and I grew up in front of the mirrors doing ballet and you know when I started going through the changes that 11 year old girl goes through, watching it in the mirror. And one day my teachers called out in front of all the other students Juliana, you need to cut out your snacks. And therein started my domino effect of my entire life trying to figure out how do you stay lean and healthy and what diet is healthiest and best, and also to get over me having body image concerns. I grew up in Los Angeles. I was also an actress and so I was always being told about my body, and so this message in this book is that you get to choose you now. You get to choose your weight, your health, your food, your diet. It's all the one thing in this world that we really have full control over. We don't have control over pretty much anything else but our food, what we take into our bodies. We are quite literally what we eat.

Julieanna: 42:57

This is a very passionate project of mine. I've always wanted to write this. I've worked with hundreds of clients one-on-one over the 17 years. I've talked to thousands and thousands of people. I've had my own TV shows and I've been guest on TV. All of the audiences and everyone I've talked to it's evolved into these conversations of how to choose you now and how, how to make those decisions and be empowered. And it's, it's just, it's it. This is something that means the world to me and I'm very, very excited to share it. And it's also it's mostly a cookbook. It's got 75 recipes in there too.

Peter: 43:33

But that's awesome. So cause, obviously? Because obviously, uh, you know new year's coming up and I don't know about what it's like in the states, but over here they plug uh veganuary, as in go vegan for a month. Now I always say to people listen, you're much better off just having meatless monday, because that's 52 days of the year versus 31 days. You're doing the planet more of a favor than you are trying the difficult thing, but it's as good a time as any to buy a good vegan recipe book that is produced by someone other than a fitness coach. I have rather strong opinions on that. I have rather strong opinions on that. I have rather strong opinions on many things.

Julieanna: 44:17

Yes, you do right.

Peter: 44:20

I'm a middle-aged white guy. We have strong opinions on loads of stuff we know nothing about. This is kind of what we do. This puts us at the top and we hold on for as long as we still can. But there are a lot of, let's say, middle-aged white guys writing books, fitness coaches, writing cookbooks every year that I always say you probably shouldn't buy. Because I always say you buy the books that an expert writes.

Peter: 44:50

You don't buy the books. I mean, why am I giving? If people want postnatal health advice, they come to me. Simple as that. I did a wonderful interview with someone last week who is an expert running coach. So if you want running advice, you don't come to me, you go to her. And if you want to buy a quality vegan recipe book, cookbook, whatever you want to call it, you're much better off spending your money on yours than you are on anything. Random body coach guy puts out uh, simply because he's just writing another book without really knowing what he's talking about. So I take it. When you put the 75 recipes together, did you spend time saying that, ah, you know, if you eat roughly like this, you'll be fine. You'll be healthier than you would be if you didn't follow these recipes.

Julieanna: 45:50

Yes, definitely I. Just my message is never you have to do it just like this. In fact, I refuse to do that. People try to pay me to write the meal plans. No, it's like the whole like either I can give you a fish or I could teach you how to fish, and in this book I teach them how to fish.

Julieanna: 46:06

But it's also it this is kind of oriented around weight loss, because I've done so much. That's where I've kind of ended up doing a lot of weight loss journeys, because my my work with my clients is about transforming the relationship with food and transforming their relationship with their bodies because of what I said, my story, and I've and I've walked so many people through it and I get really, really vested in my clients going through this process. So you don't have to have the perfect diet. You just if you eat more plants and here's some delicious ways to eat some plants you will be healthier for it. It doesn't have to be perfect, you know. I'm all about like just just do what works for you that's going to be sustainable, so that you can optimize your health in a way that is long term yeah, and that, I think, is the message really of any sort of.

Peter: 46:52

You know, the health at every size movement is very popular at the moment. It's a big trend, the fat acceptance and all that sort of stuff. Health at every size, I think, is more interesting simply from a, not the way it's necessarily gone, but more of a. If an overweight person walks into the doctor, into the doctor's office, the first thing should probably not be it's because you're a little bit overweight, right? Um, the first thing should always be let's run some tests, see what's going on. I think the movement has really gone in the direction of. There is no science behind that.

Julieanna: 47:29

Obese is bad for being, obese is bad for you, which I think is false and that's so false and I think it's so dangerous and I can't tell you how many of my dietitian counterparts are touting that and shaming anyone like shaming me for talking about weight loss and absolutely, the research is clear that excessive weight and obesity is directly linked to pretty much every chronic health condition. So I think it's a dangerous message and I think it's especially dangerous, especially dangerous, for physicians and dietitians to be so afraid to bring up a topic that is impacting their patients' health that I think it's actually harming the world, this whole movement. I think it's absolutely dangerous and false.

Peter: 48:11

I think so. Like I said, I think you know being a little bit overweight is fine. When you're obese, there's a health risk attached to. That is what I always say.

Julieanna: 48:22

Yeah, and also and the other part of that is, forget the guilt and shame about it If we just think of it as data, objective data, a number on the scale. And I always tell my clients you are not that number on the scale, I will love you at whatever weight you are. You are so lovable for who you are, not that number on the scale, I will love you at whatever weight you are. Like you are so lovable for who you are is not about a number on the scale. But there are objective parameters for a reason. But again, I would never tell someone what weight they have to be or that they're gonna, but it is. It is an objective, objectionable fact, like there are facts around this.

Peter: 48:50

That's scientifically substantiated, and this is part of eating healthy, right, you eat healthy for your weight and that means that if you're obese, you need to eat a bit less, you need to move a bit more and when you're on the way you need to eat a bit more, and you know all that sort of stuff. I think there was a point I was going to make, and I do this sometimes. The reason, like you said, said some of the healthcare professionals. I'm not sure that they're scared to say it. I know that for some of them and I know one or two personally um, healthcare professionals, uh, that went to medical school, so that should know better. Um, that's about this stuff. I know there's more money in it for them when they say that, don't worry about it, eat all the cupcakes you want, because your body will tell you when you've had enough, that sort of thing, because there's more money in that than there is in just being you know, being a run-of-the-mill sort of uh, sort of person.

Peter: 49:53

I find the other problem sorry, finish your thought. No, no, sorry. I find that as soon as sorry, finish your thought. No, no, sorry. I find that as soon as people start eating healthy, as soon as people start being aware of what they're eating as soon as people change their habits. So start becoming plant-based or eat a bit healthier. The obesity problem that they have the weight issue that they have almost fixes itself, as in if you start eating healthier, that means you will start losing weight for a lot of people.

Julieanna: 50:23

True, true. And just real quick. Back on the healthcare professionals. My ex-husband is a doctor, so we were married and while we were going through he was going through med school, so I sat in on his nutrition classes and it's so bleak what they teach doctors about nutrition. It's basically like goiter iodine deficiency, rickets D deficiency. Okay, let's get back to anatomy, physiology, medicine, drugs and surgery. Medicine, drugs and surgery and um, and yet I went around with my. I knew my. We were together 27, 27 years. Everyone would ask, and I'm. I've studied seven years nutrition, right, and I've had TV shows and written seven books and everyone would ask him the nutrition question and he would look at them and go why are you asking me that? You know everyone does. My dad, when he had a stroke in Mexico, the doctor said to him don't worry about the diet, just don't have coffee and alcohol, your diet doesn't matter. I'm like, are you kidding me? So a lot of healthcare professionals don't even know.

Peter: 51:14

I did a whole episode of my podcast and I got a lot of emails going. For some reason, I have some GPs listening to this thing and quite a few healthcare professionals listen to this thing. And I did a whole episode on why your GP is the last person to ask about postnatal health, as in, they just don't know. And it's the same with diet. I mean, I love them. I love training GPs. I think they're wonderful people. They know more about more stuff than I'll know. They're incredibly intelligent people, but they're not specialists in that field, they just are. They're jack of all trades and means that, you know, I go to my gp if I'm not feeling well and I go in and google tells me I'm having a heart attack and the gp and my gp says no, p, you have indigestion and, and I trust my gp over google, but that's not the person I go to when I want dietary advice. Right, I listen to, to a dietician um, such as you, such as yourself, um, so we got a little bit sorry, so we got a little bit sidetracked and it's just.

Peter: 52:21

It's something I always like to get people's opinion on, because I like to reiterate to my listeners that set weight theory and obesity not having any health implications, that that is nonsense. I think it's important every now and again at the podcast to throw that out a little grenade out and I'll get emails from people who disagree with me. But I've had people on that have described food addiction and all that sort of stuff did a wonderful podcast with someone who described food addiction for an hour and a half and the health and exercise movement is not helping with that and it's important every now and again to say, yeah, being a couple of pounds overweight is not a biggie. We're not telling everybody oh you, fatty, put that. Fatty, put down the donut. That is not acceptable eithergie. We're not telling everybody oh you, fatty, put down the donut. That is not acceptable either. But it doesn't mean that there are no health implications, like you said, objective health implications to BLB. So your book is coming out the 28th of December, right? Did I get that?

Julieanna: 53:22

right 21st, right before Christmas, right before Christmas, just in time for Christmas.

Peter: 53:28

Is it available it? Is kindle and some people can pre-order it now for christmas yes, it's available for pre-order. Yes, is it going to be hard copy as in uh? Are you shipping them out? Are you shipping them worldwide?

Julieanna: 53:44

this is coming out on amazon it's coming out on amazon, everywhere you can buy books and um it is yeah, it's a hard copy and kindle and everywhere that books are sold.

Peter: 53:54

So so awesome so people can get the ebook in definitely before christmas. Uh, in the states you can probably definitely get the heart back in time. You know, as all we say, I mean you can probably get it to the uk. It'll be a tight fit before christmas, so you'll probably get it by January 1st, which is just when the January is.

Julieanna: 54:13

If you pre-order, I think that it should arrive on the date, like usually.

Peter: 54:17

Well, that's cool, isn't it?

Julieanna: 54:18

Yes, it is, it is here. I don't know exactly if it works in the UK like that, but Amazon, if you pre-order, it gets there the day of pub, which is kind of cool, awesome, of course I pre-ordered my own copy just to test that out, I'm always the first customer of my own books, just to support myself.

Peter: 54:37

Sign it for yourself as well. So get that in. Get that in right before Christmas, right before Veganuary starts. As I said on one of my last podcasts, you know, the reason your change isn't sticking is because you're not planning it properly. So get the book book in, pick out 10 is what we said of the 75 recipes and just go. These are the ones that I'm going to crack over the christmas holidays so that by the time january starts, you can, we can really make a proper go of it. Um, on that happy note, was there anything else you'd like to touch on?

Julieanna: 55:09

I feel like I could talk to you all day. This is so much fun.

Peter: 55:12

I'm happy that you could. You're always welcome to come back. Thank you, I will press stop record here, which is exactly what I did. Thanks again to Juliana for coming on. It's much appreciated. As I say, every time I have someone of expert caliber coming on. For them to come on and donate an hour of their time is much, much, much appreciated, especially to my dinky little show, right? Obviously, I will link to everything you can find Juliana on all social media. She's very active as well, which is awesome. Um, her podcast I will link to as well. It's called the choose you now podcast. And um, I will also link to the new book, cause you know it's like she said, that's on presale now and that means you'll have it before Christmas, which means you can pick your recipes over the Christmas period and plan your veganuary or your slightly more plant-based diet in January out. I think it's an excellent idea.

Peter: 56:24

If you're going to buy one cookbook and I know a lot of you are buying diet books and that sort of stuff don't. Don't buy the diet books anymore. I don't buy the how to lose weight books. Buy a nice cookbook that is full of healthy recipes and as soon as you go plant-based, you're likely to also, uh, drop calories a bit when you start cooking your own food and always cook your own food and all that sort of stuff. Sure, you can go over the top and add loads of coconut oil and coconut cream to everything, but most people don't and you will automatically lose weight. If you're looking to lose weight, if you're looking to diet in the new year, there's nothing wrong with that right, it's completely your choice. Don't let anybody else tell you different, that it's wrong to diet and all that sort of stuff. If you want to go on a diet, just learn how to cook properly, and that is a much healthier way to do it. Anyways, anyways, anyways, anyways.

Peter: 57:19

No in the news this week, but I did quickly want to talk about something that I experienced this week. It's a question most postpartum PTs don't really ask their clients and most of the clients do bring something like this up and a couple of meetings with potential new clients this week and you know, and they both asked, they both said something along the line of I hate the way my stomach looks, something along those lines I don't like the way my stomach looks. Now, most PTs kind of ignore the obvious. How obvious that question is because almost everybody postpartum, mentions this, but the tendency is to skate over that. But it's quite an important statement and it's quite important that the PT follows it up with well, what exactly don't you like about your stomach?

Peter: 58:14

So I got two different answers. One of them said I don't like how round it is, I don't like how my muscles don't work and all that sort of stuff. She actually said something along the lines of I don't like how round it is and how flabby it feels, right, and how round it is and how flabby it feels, right. And then we went a bit deeper and said okay, we're flabby. Do you mean the fat? No, it just all feels blech, right. That's what she was saying. The second one you said well, I don't like how fat it feels, how the weight sits there, and I don't like the pouch. And there are two completely different.

Peter: 58:52

There are two completely different things to deal with. The first one is the client that I am working with, the client I decided to work with because that is caused by muscular problems and diastasis recti. The second one is not caused by anything other than she's not happy with the c-section pouch and like I explained to her that first of all, this lady was really recently postpartum we're talking like four weeks I said, listen, it'll come, it'll settle down. You can do some scar tissue massage and then, when you stop breastfeeding the baby, I said, listen, it'll come, it'll settle down. You can do some scar tissue massage and then when you stop breastfeeding the baby, you know the prolactin and all that sort of stuff, the breastfeeding hormone will be less prevalent in your body and you will start to lose a bit of weight with a nice bit of diet and all that sort of stuff.

Peter: 59:48

What she didn't need help with was diastasis recti or muscle-related stuff. Right, and therefore we decided not to work together. Because I said well, I can do X, y, z for you. I can make your muscles feel stronger, I can make your belly a bit flatter and all that sort of stuff. But that's not what she was looking to come to me for. But the first lady was like, yeah, that's what I need. I want my stomach to be flatter, I want my diastasis recti to be fixed, I want everything working the way it should. I want to feel strong and confident again and be able to go about my business, go back to the gym and do whatever the hell I want to do again so that I can help with the second one a personal trainer won't be able to help you with. And the reason that this is important is because you know I always have my clients fill in a goals form.

Peter: 1:00:37

If I can't help you achieve your goal, then there is no point in working with me, and for that what we need is clarity of your goal. It's very important that your personal trainer understands exactly what you are trying to achieve. Think of it weight loss-wise. I have one weight loss client left. He's a big guy. He came to me when he was like 380 pounds, so we're talking really big guy. His goal was very clear 40 pounds per Christmas. We wanted to lose 40 pounds per Christmas. So that is what we're working towards, right. And of course, you know he hit the 40 pounds a month early. So then we're changing the goal again. But you have to be clear If you came to me for just to improve cardiovascular fitness and and didn't care about weight loss and all that sort of stuff, it'd be a completely different exercise and diet regime, right if his goal.

Peter: 1:01:44

If I don't know what your goal is, I I can't help you get there. That's what I'm saying, and in some cases a personal trainer might not be the best person to speak to. If you're not happy with your C-section pouch, then there isn't a single PT in the world that can help with that. What you need is a bit of time and some C-section scar tissue massage and all that sort of stuff which you can do yourself some C-section scar tissue massage and all that sort of stuff which you can do yourself. But there's no point paying someone a lot of money to help you with that. Anyways, I just thought I'd bring that up. Like I said, there's no in the news this week. It's all Omicron and all that sort of stuff. So there's no point.

Peter: 1:02:27

If you liked this Juliana interview, by the way, obviously I've done interviews with dieticians before. A couple of weeks ago, libby came on. That was a phenomenal interview and we spoke about many, many things. It was a big postpartum diet Q&A, so definitely check that one out. And next week we're talking microbiome with Dr Hugh Kfarma and I have a treat coming up in the next few weeks as well with Dr Glenn Livingston coming on to the podcast and we're talking weight loss and he has his rather controversial, controversial approach that I absolutely. I think it's hilarious, so that'll be good. Right, it's a new bit of music by my friend from from Dresden, the Flamingo, who I've used before. I love these guys just funky, weird. No-transcript.