Shift It with Glennis Winnett

In this podcast, I had the pleasure of speaking with two highly respected women, each with over 10 years of experience working in the bariatric space. Margaret Hayes is a bariatric dietitian with over 30 years of experience in dietetics, and Georgie Beames is a psychologist specialising in bariatrics. Together, we delved into a discussion about the challenges faced by bariatric surgery patients and the significance of adopting a holistic approach to weight loss.

Margaret emphasises the positive impact of bariatric surgery on patients' lives, viewing it as an opportunity to give people a second chance at improving their health and overall well-being.  On the other hand, Georgie shed light on the psychological aspects of weight loss and the tools she utilises to support patients throughout their weight loss journey. She explained her use of evidence-based rewiring techniques to help patients break free from detrimental eating patterns and cultivate new, healthier pathways in the brain.

We also discuss food cravings. Georgie explained that these cravings often stem from the pleasurable feelings associated with particular foods or habits, which in turn reinforce the brain's existing pathways.

Excitingly, Margaret and Georgie shared their plans for an upcoming online workshop designed for both pre and post-operative patients. The workshop aims to empower participants by equipping them with the necessary tools to overcome obstacles, strengthen their commitment to weight loss, and ultimately thrive in their lives.

Promotional Links:

Workshop:

Dr/Prof Antigone Kouris, an Adjunct Associate Professor at La Trobe University with a PhD in the Mediterranean diet joins us this week on Shift It. Dr Kouris has co-authored several nutrition textbooks and her research played a key role in putting the Mediterranean diet on the map in the 1990s.

You’ll receive insights on a career in research, being an author and a professor, as well as what makes the Mediterranean diet stand out. We also talk about the unique nutrition profile of lupins, and why they’re so beneficial for our diet.

We also discuss:

• The truth behind low GI foods like protein bars
• Processed foods
• Healthy product alternatives and product recommendations
• Impact of stress and chronic pain on the body
• Dr Kouris’ own endeavour to create a healthy and wholesome snack alternative

Listen to find out why Dr Kouris’ thinks we should all be making the move towards a part-time vegetarian diet for weight loss.

Learn more about Antigone’s experience in publishing & research through the links to her papers below:

For episode 9 of Shift It, I am joined by Savina Rego A.K.A the Savvy Dietitian. Savina is an accredited practicing dietitian as well as a diabetes educator, who has built a following of more than 130K people on her educational Instagram account where she shares nutritional comparisons between perceived healthy food and ‘junk’ food and debunks diet myths.

We chat Type I and II Diabetes, as well as the common misconceptions that surround the conditions. Savina breaks down the difference and delves into the complications that can arise as a result. We talk about what being pre-diabetic means and why it is important to make changes when you’re diagnosed as such.

What does Savina think are the most important factors for weight loss and the management or prevention of diabetes? Consistency. Consistency with health goals and eating well. Listen to hear more.

I'm joined by Sally-Anne Livock, an APD with over 30 years experience as a clinical dietitian and 15 years experience working in bariatrics.

We discuss why it is that some people struggle to lose weight more than others, and how bariatric surgery can lead to lifestyle changes that improve overall health and wellbeing.

Sally-Anne tells us that a combination of lack of movement and exercise, our busy schedules and genetics are the three key factors that affect weight loss. We also discuss the role that diet plays in obesity and weight gain - with the surprising statistic that processed foods now make up 30% of the average Australian's food intake.

Also in this episode:

• putting in the time before and after bariatric surgery
• importance of maintaining a balanced diet
• keeping up your vitamins, especially after bariatric surgery
• meal planning
• keeping your fluids up

Listen to hear more.

Useful Links

For episode 7 I am joined by Dr John Jorgensen, Director of Bariatric Surgical Services at Australia’s highest volume bariatric hospital, St George Private. We delve into all things bariatrics – reasons to have it, varying results, and trends in weight loss surgery. After practicing bariatric surgery for over 20 years, Dr Jorgensen has seen many changes to the way the surgery is performed and has developed a strong understanding of the key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and effectively, and sustainably, losing weight.

Dr Jorgensen believes that there are both physical and psychological causes for excessive weight gain, and therefore to lose weight it requires a shift in mindset and lifestyle. We also discuss the metabolic and physical repercussions of obesity which can lead to many serious health conditions, in particular insulin resistance, which many are unaware can be reversed through surgery and weight loss.

Dr Jorgensen’s approach to managing obesity and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is to eat healthy foods and avoid over-eating processed ones. He believes that even the smallest of lifestyle changes inevitably add up, like taking a short daily walk, or reducing your carb intake. Dr Jorgensen’s advice goes for all people wanting to better manage their weight to improve the quality and quantity of their life.

In this episode of Shift It, I am joined by Dr Stephen Keenan. Stephen is an expert in sports dietetics, a lecturer at Swinburne University and a recent PhD graduate.

We discuss the evolution of his career, from working in business and marketing to following his passion for health by becoming a dietitian. Stephen's personal interest in his own nutrition and how it influenced his performance on the football field was what led him to turning this interest into a full-time job.

Stephen goes into detail about his recent PhD study which explored the changes in weight loss for men and women when practicing either intermittent fasting, or a continuous energy restriction. He unpacks the process of finding participants, personalising their meal plans and exercise regimes and the trials that come a long with that. We get to hear about the results of his study, which had some surprising conclusions. 

Dr Keenan's advice for a healthier life?

"Move more and include more healthy, plant based foods in your diet. Weight loss isn't the be all and end all, and people don't need to lose weight to be healthier. We can make small changes regardless that will have very meaningful impacts on health. Weight can be important but it doesn't always have to be the focus."

Hear from me, Glennis Winnett, Formulite’s CEO and advocate of healthy and sustainable weight loss in the fourth episode of my first podcast. SHIFT IT focuses on getting the real facts and latest knowledge about weight loss through interviewing doctors & dietitians whilst also uncovering success stories of how people have successfully lost weight in a healthy, long term way.

Tune in and find the motivation to start now! I am looking forward to helping you on your journey.

In this week’s episode, we are joined by Rod Tayler, who is an Australian anaesthetist with an interest in low carb nutrition. He is the founder of Low Carb Down Under website which hosts a range of resources to assist people to optimise their health and weight. This includes a library of over 300 Youtube videos on predominantly medical and scientific topics. Low Carb Down Under has held many conferences since 2012.

A low carb diet is normally composed of 50 grams of carbohydrates per day, as opposed to the average 200-300 grams consumed by most Australians. People achieve this by replacing some breads, pastas, potatoes with meats, fish, eggs etc. Rod essentially focuses on what protein he is sourcing first when deciding his meals.

Hear from me, Glennis Winnett, Formulite’s CEO and advocate of healthy and sustainable weight loss in the third episode of my first podcast. SHIFT IT focuses on getting the real facts and latest knowledge about weight loss through interviewing doctors & dietitians whilst also uncovering success stories of how people have successfully lost weight in a healthy, long term way.

Tune in and find the motivation to start now! I am looking forward to helping you on your journey.

In this week’s episode, we are joined by David Fienberg, managing director at the Lupin Co. We will be discussing all things Lupins, as they are the core ingredient (and superfood!) which can be found in Formulite’s lupin soups.

David’s business Lupin Co is based entirely around Australian’s Sweet Lupins which were introduced in Australia in the 1960s. The demand for plant based protein now, in comparison to 100 years ago is exponential which has led to significant increase in popularity for the legume.

David’s love for lupin’s has facilitated the Lupin Co to grow the legumes on over 100,000 acres of land in Western Australia. His career began early in his life, as his grandfather grew lupins which aided female sheep with their fertility and also helped balance the nutrients in soil on which they grew other crops. They now export to 15-20 countries internationally. In the future, The Lupin Co hope to expand their product range with Lupin based snack products.

Hi it’s Glennis Winnett, CEO of Formulite here! In the second episode of my new podcast, I speak with Glenn Macintosh, a psychologist focusing on weight management, about body image and weight stigma. A large part of the work Glenn does with clients is related to body image, and building a relationship with your body. Like any relationship, what we say, feel and do depends on our perception of ourselves. Do we see ourselves as healthy or unhealthy?

Together, we discuss normative discontent - meaning that it is very normal and very common to have body image issues, regardless of your weight. Particularly with the oversaturation of insecurity-driven advertising campaigns, where we are sold products to make us feel better about perceived flaws orchestrated by the media.

Glenn explains that there’s a strong relationship between body image and eating habits, and that healthy eating will not necessarily improve our self-perception. He also discusses a struggle felt by many of his clients that after losing weight, their body image has still not improved to their desired level. Glenn suggests that there will always be an element of dissatisfaction, but this is why it’s important to set achievable health goals. We also delve into weight stigma and weight bias, and the subtle ways we see this in everyday life, including how we can actively prevent these biases in our own behaviour.

Listen as Glenn shares his three top tips for improving your body image: decluttering social media, not letting body image be a handbrake on having fun, and sharing your body image stories with others!

Hear from me, Glennis Winnett, Formulite’s CEO and advocate of healthy and sustainable weight loss in the introductory episode of my first podcast. SHIFT IT focuses on getting the real facts and latest knowledge about weight loss through interviewing doctors & dietitians whilst also uncovering success stories of how people have successfully lost weight in a healthy, long term way.

Tune in and find the motivation to start now! I am looking forward to helping you on your journey.

Firstly - a little bit about me. I landed myself into the weightloss field with no intention of doing so. If you had told me 10 years ago I wasn’t going to be a radiographer my whole career, I would’ve thought you were crazy.

I met my husband whilst performing radiography at the Alfred Hospital which followed another 10 years as a MRI Tech, then upon deciding to have kids, my job just didn’t fit the needs of a mother who is raising three young children so I decided to shift my focus on my husband’s business instead of returning to my demanding job.

My husband is a bariatric surgeon so my mission was to increase the amount of support provided to patients. We found that we could provide most pieces of the puzzle to our patients eg. surgical practice and referrals to dietitians and psychologists. However, where was the nutritionally complete VLED meal that we could directly provide patients with?

This is where Formulite was born.