The Pulse Omi Blu Health and Diet

Omi and Stormy talk about our diet and why eating healthy is so important.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Well, hello everyone, and welcometo another edition of the Pulse. I
am Stormy with you. Thank youfor joining me today and those of you
that join me every week. Iappreciate you, I really really do.
I got a special guest on theshow. Every week I have a special
guest, and this week I haveanother special guests. Ladies and gentlemen,
Well, you know what, letme let her introduce herself. Tell everybody

(00:23):
who you are. A young lady. Absolutely, I am only Blue.
I've been in a Memphis community forover twenty years with health and wellness.
Current student at the University of Memphis. Yes, I believe Blue. Okay,
student of a dietetic student at theUniversity of Memphis. Okay, so
you're studying diet to be a dietician. Yes, okay, Okay, food

(00:45):
and nutrition. Okay, food andnutrition. I like that. I like
it because, you know, there'sone thing that I feel like we don't
talk about enough, especially in ourcommunity. You and I were having a
conversation about food and which made meinvite you to the show because I wanted
to talk about our diets and notnecessarily to tell anybody what to do,

(01:06):
because that's not what the show isabout, but just kind of enlightening people
on thinking about well you're eating,being more mindful of what you put in
your mouth and what in turn goesinto your stomach. So Ammy and I
were talking about that. So what'sbeen your journey with food? But personally

(01:26):
very strict, but dealing with people, just like we was talking about yesterday,
recognizing that our connection to food it'smemory, it's experience, and of
course it is habit, but experienceand memory has a lot to do with
it. Yeah, I don't thinkwe think about that. I know for
me, I have had to learnhow to not be an emotional eater.

(01:49):
Yes, because a lot of timesjust get emotional and it reminds you if
something takes you back to your childhoodand then you go back to comfort food,
Yes, and you start to comfortyourself with food. Never works though,
Yes, it never works because youjust keep going and going trying to
find the comfort that is not infood. Have you ever dealt with something

(02:14):
like that? You ever had thatever happened to you? Absolutely? Being
in the South, I tell peopleall the time on my Southern girl in
heart and I used to live inlike rew Garden. So being a little
girl. My grandmother on Friday usedto always go and buy a KFC.
So now I'm being a vegan twentysixty years, I'm now pestetarian. Whenever
I pass a KFC and I smellit, it takes me back to my

(02:36):
grandmama's house. You know, nota strong enough memory to make me go
get it, but it takes meback. Yeah, yes, yeah,
and being mindful of that too,because I think it took me a while.
I'd heard about, um, youknow, you know, comforting yourself
with food. And I always knewwhat comfort food was, but I had
heard about just thinking about it.You know. I'd done this pro gram

(03:00):
called Noon It's an app you puton your phone, and then that app
that talked a lot about being amindful eater and thinking about the times when
you eat certain foods. And Irealized that when I was emotional, I
would go to My go to wouldbe either potatoes or ice cream or cake

(03:23):
something like that. Yes, thosewere my go toos because those were the
I guess the foods that comfort comfortedme when I was a kid. Yes,
I love potatoes, I mean Ilove potatoes. Yes, I haven't
had potatoes in a while, butI love them, you know. And
who doesn't like ice cream? Absolutely? But who doesn't like cake? A
good cake, a good homemade baby, a good pound cake. Don't like

(03:46):
that? Yes? Absolutely? ButI do know that for me, when
I started eating like that, theolder I got because I started eating like
that, that's when my started totumble. That's when I started to put
on weight because I was comforting myselfa little too much, Yes, a

(04:08):
little bit too much. So whenyou talk to people that have that experience,
what do you say, want recognizingit first? Because a lot of
us don't make the connection. Wedon't make the connection that when we're filling
our place with a lot of complexcards or a lot of sugars or a
lot of saturated facts, that isdirectly connected to our emotional state. So

(04:29):
one being compassionate with individuals and helpingthem make the connection once they able to
make the connection, finding out whatthose triggers are, and then now we're
able to give them, Yeah,give them healthier options. But you have
to first recognize that it exists first. Yeah, And you can't talk bad
about somebody who's dealing with that becausewe all do. Absolutely, And I

(04:49):
think as professionals, it is ourduty to be compassionate with individuals, not
harsh, but to be compassionate.Yeah. And there are some people out
there I know that I have workedwith that have been compassionate and that understands.
Yes, And every now and then, you you know, allow yourself
to be human, absolutely, butremember your especially if you've got a goal

(05:13):
of weight loss, remember what yourgoal is. And your goal is too
for me to be healthier, toimprove my health. And then the second
is to lose weight. Yes,yeah, and even when we talk about
the lose weight, you know,being a dietitian or our self future dietitian,
although I'm in school and been doingit for over twenty some years.

(05:36):
You know, when we focus onthe lifestyle change the way it's going to
naturally come off. You know,Memphis is one of the states that rank
high end diabetes. I think Ipulled the stacks here where it talks about
one and three adults in Shelby Countyhas diabetes. Sixty thousand new cases have

(05:57):
been reported over ten years. Thatthis is the seventh leading cause of depth
in Shelby County. So, withthat being said, happening individuals again to
make that connection with those food choicesis very important. Yeah, because sometimes
diabetes is a result of the foodsthat we eat. Absolutely, It's definitely
something that can be controlled by healthychoices, right right. I have a

(06:20):
sister who had diabetes and type two. I think she told me it was
type two at any rate. Shedid what she needed to do to lose
weight and eating the right way,and she got off her medication. Absolutely,
because they're they're pushing it now interms of just losing a weight and

(06:40):
one thing that the diet to thecommunity, especially us that are African Americans,
we know the importance of making alifestyle change. Yes, because a
lot of them. When you're sittingdown with your physicians and they're pushing to
lose weight, sometimes that can bescary. It can because that means now
I got to give up these foodsversus making a lifestyle change slowly. Yeah,
yeah, because sometimes it doesn't happenovernight. It really doesn't happen overnight.

(07:06):
You didn't gain the weight overnight,and you're not gonna lose It's a
process. Yes, it is puttingit on and taking it off. And
be kind to yourself too. Bekind to yourself. If you're one of
those people that's dealing with trying toget weight off, diabetic or not,

(07:27):
you're trying to get weight off,be kind to you because we are so
hard on ourselves, and sometimes beingso hard on you is what makes you
fall out of trying. Yes,especially when you drop on the scale and
you don't you know, you maybe losing engines, but you're jumping on
the scale. Yeah. Yeah,I'm one of those people that I wanted

(07:48):
to see the results on the scaleso much that I would get bothered if
I worked out and I didn't seethe results on that scale. But I
forgot that. Um. A lotof times, you lose inches first,
yes, and you know sometimes thewater weight first two. Yes, but
you'll lose inches too, and awin is a win. Yes, absolutely,

(08:11):
you're getting inches off, you're seeingyour clothes are loose, but the
scale is still saying. And maybefor some people, staying off the scale
is good too, Yes, youknow for a while, maybe maybe only
get on the scale once a week, yes, instead of every day,
absolutely for some people. Yes.Yeah. And rewarding yourself. You know,

(08:31):
we oftentimes don't reward ourselves, andI'm guilty of that. Okay.
So whenever we accomplish something, evenif it's small on this Healthy Lifestyle Journal,
reward yourself. And that reward couldbe anything. It doesn't necessarily have
to be food. It could bejust congratulating yourself for staying consistent. Yes,
that's good. Yes, I rewardmyself with shoes. Yes, honey,

(08:58):
a good prayer, pumps up dowhatever time. And then you see
yourself in those pumps, and yousee the clothes getting loose, you really
do start to feel better. Yes, I mean, you know what I'm
saying. You when you look good, oftentimes you feel Yes, you know
what I'm saying. So they alot of times they go hand in hand.
So uh, like I said,a win is a win. Try

(09:20):
to those small wins. And sometimes, you know, I've even heard that
maybe a weight loss goal could beinstead of fifty pounds, maybe five pounds.
Start small, yes, and thenyou won't feel overwhelmed, you know,
if you have this fifty pound goaland then you've only lost two.
Yeah, So in increments, smallincrements. Yes. Now, I have

(09:45):
cut back a lot of sugars inmy diet, okay, um, breads,
you know, carbs, a lotof things like that. Would you
say that's a good idea for somepeople starting out or should they start with
one at a time at a time. Absolutely, And then too, a
lot of people have demonized carbs.You know, not all carbs are bad.

(10:07):
Not all carbs are bad, youknow, because they break down to
sugars, and sugars are really goodfor energy and fueling the bread brain.
Absolutely, so I think making ahealthy choice of what type of bread is
important. You know, we havespelled bread out on the market. We
have Ezekia bread on the market.Absolutely, so stand within those proportions.

(10:30):
Um. A lot of us whenwe're eating, we may pal more,
you know, protein versus carves.So making sure that your plate is balanced,
Yeah, it's what I would saywe're eating. And definitely don't you
think of more veggies are good too? Absolutely, because we don't eat veggies
like we used to. Definite.I don't tell you. I grew up
um on greens and um cabbage,yes, um, all the vegetables,

(10:56):
tomatoes, all that stuff. Wegrew up like that. My mom,
it was it was gonna be twothings on your plate. It was gonna
be some some greens, and itwas gonna be some meat. You're gonna
get some chicken probably, But that'show I grew up. But when I
got on my own, of course, and started to do my own thing,

(11:20):
I started eating crazy. And thenI started, I hate to say
this, but I started cooking mealsfor my family, and I would do
potatoes, rice, and chicken.Got you, yeah, leaving out the
veggies, not even thinking about it. Because I think that that is a

(11:41):
you know, one of those disconnectsin our community too. We don't think
how think about vegetables, And theonly way to me to think about it,
I think about it all the time. Now we're getting ready to have
a family get together for the Fourthof July, and I told them,
have plenty of veggies. There wasa lot of meat on the on the
menu. I said, I'm onlyneed some veggies, some raw ones and

(12:03):
cooked ones and some salad. Absolutelyokay. And somebody else said yes because
diabetes is prevalent in our families.And I was like, okay, so
so that's that's a good thing.But I think too, when we teach
our kids that, because I don'tthink I saw my mother put stuff like

(12:24):
that on my plate. But wenever had a conversation about food, you
know what I'm saying, Yes,absolutely, and even the exposure of different
types of fruits and veggies, speciallyliving in the South, you know,
and then not only that, learninghow not to overcook them. So there
are dynamics because I mean again,I'm a Southern girl from hearts, okay,

(12:48):
but you know, being in theSouth, we know that we are
overcooked, you know, those colorgreens and the old crap, you know,
So being you cos I ain't tryingeat no hard color a cabbage.
I might eat a little hard youknow, tomatoes, but collar, but

(13:11):
yes, not being I do understandwhat you're saying, you know, not
being afraid of eating them a littlebit raw than we normally do. I
try not. I do try notto cook overcook my food. But I
ain't gonna lie right now, andthen I'll leave. I'll leave the kitchen
and come back and they're a littleovercooked, but I try not to.
I try to keep them a littlebit of you know, not too much
crunch, right, but I dotry to, Yeah, have a little

(13:33):
that's my personal thing, absolutely,But I don't mind either way. Absolutely,
And here's I don't want it overover overcook right, Yeah, And
if you're just if you're just startingto incorporate more veggies in and if overcooking
works for you, overcook them becauseit's better than excluding them out of your
diet until you work yourself up toblanching or steaming them. Okay. And

(13:56):
for me too, I don't putpersonally, I don't put meat in my
vegetables, Okay. I don't cookwith fat back hog mass. Nothing wrong
with it for folks that eat it. I know people love it. I
don't cook with it, And Idon't cook with turkey or anything like that.
I always cook my vegetables without allof that. And I have found

(14:18):
ways of season my food to makeit taste like it might be some meat
in the absolutely. And then two, there are alternatives out there. You
can liquid smoke yea with smoke makeyou feel like you have smoke turkey necks
inside. You can use fresh gingerand garlet, coconut oil, olive oil.

(14:41):
So there are alternatives out there.Yeah, And I think sometimes two
people just don't know, yes,because it's just not something we grew up
talking about. There two things inmy household we did not talk about.
Unfortunately, that was money and food. We were gonna we were gonna eat,
but we never really talked about it, you know what I'm saying,

(15:05):
Um, and everything was gonna alwaysbe paid for and taken care of.
We never really talked about how tomanage money. Yes, you know as
a young adult, so you know, yeah we yeah. Man, they're
trying to put that in schools tohelp kids out because they definitely need them
at those kind of tools. Sowhat would you say for a person with

(15:26):
what you your knowledge of, Iguess the diet and how we should eat,
because um, would you like quarteroff the plate like the three three,
three and three? So this isonly blue talking, Okay, not
as a datitian, This is onlyblue with experience talking. I would make

(15:48):
sure, definitely I have a leanprotein right on the plate for those And
by lean, right, do youmean lean meaning? Um, I know
what you mean, but I wantyou to and not unsaturated right, So
lean would be like if you're gonnado chicken, do the breast, okay,
turkey fish, so those foods thatare not as high in fat.

(16:11):
Okay, those those meat proteins that'snot as high in fat. If you're
gonna addhere to a plant based diet, having lentils. Lentil are is very
high in protein, okay, Somaking sure you definitely have a portion of
protein on your plate, lean orbean or lagoon veggies, and a healthy

(16:32):
starch on the plate. I'm gonnatelling you something I used to do all
the time, and I thought Iwas really doing something. I would do
beans and chicken, you know,back in the day, thinking oh,
this is a vegetable, it's gonnabe good. But I do know,
and nothing's wrong with beans. Vsare great, but they're high in protein
too, yes, so you're reallyeating protein and protein absolutely, And depending

(16:55):
on what type of beings, somebeans are lower in protein and high in
horm you know. So although youmay be thinking that I'm consuming this being
here for a protein, but thecarbon hydrate countin may be higher than the
protein. Okay, which being wouldthat be? Um, Like your northern
beings, they're higher, the deliciousthey are, your lima beans, they're

(17:15):
delicious yea. So again there's nothingwrong, but portion control is very important.
And so when you have this platewith your protein, your carbon,
your veggie. If you want more, get more veggie, get more veggie.
A fresh salad on the side,get some healthy fats. Avocado,
you know, on the side.I love avocado, yes, you know.

(17:37):
And every time I think about avocados, for some reason, I think
about the late Bobby oj because wetalked, me and him and his wife
Sharon, when she was alive.We talked about avocados and she would say,
Stormy, I could just eat aavocado with salt and pepper. Yes,
it tastes just like an egg,and I would be. I tried
it and I liked it. Butavocado sandwich, it's deliciously. I know.

(18:00):
I know y'all out there saying,ooh, eat your sandwich the way
you want to. But just remember, incorporate more veggies in your diet.
That's that's basically what Army's saying.So just be mindful that a lot of
beans are really protein. So whenif you're eating beans and chicken, or

(18:22):
beans and hamburgers or beans and whatever, you're eating protein and proteins. And
to bat you know, there wasa study that was done only you probably
you probably may have heard about thestudy. There was a study that was
done about eating vegetables and a proteinokay together without the bread and all that

(18:45):
a vegetable and a protein, andthey found that eating like that actually helps
your diet. You can lose moreweight eating a vegetable and a protein than
adding everything else, because you know, in a mirrale, baby, we
gotta add some We got still havea dessert, absolutely, and I love

(19:06):
dessert, and often if I'm goingto eat it, I do try to
eat it after I've eaten my proteinand my veggie. But sometimes, uh,
just eating sugar. A lot ofthe people that are suffering from diabetes,
you might be spiking your insulin,and especially if you're eating it in
the morning. Yes, yes,absolutely, because a lot of people thinking,

(19:30):
oh I can do juice in themorning, just a fruit juice.
Sometimes that one doesn't work either.Absolutely, but talk to your doc,
your doctor, because your doctor willtell you absolutely to cut back on certain
things. Absolutely. For those ofyou that are, you know, dealing
with diabetes. Absolutely, tell mesome good tips that we could follow for
diabetics. I think I think adiabetic diet is good for anybody, It

(19:55):
really is, that's my opinion.Yeah. Yeah, Definitely making sure that
you stay within the low glycemic indexof any of your fruits. Right,
So, some fruits that would behealthy for you would be your berries,
strawberries, blueberries, Granny Smith apples, uh cauntlope, depetting on where you

(20:15):
are on the charts. Um,and always ask your doctor. Definitely always
asks those at the top for allmy lists. Your berries, blueberries,
strawberries, raspberries, Granny Smith apples, Okay, definitely because they're low in
glascemic index, not just not agala because those are my favorites. The

(20:36):
Gala apples, Yeah, yeah,they are, but the sugar index is
a little higher than a Granny smell. Okay, green apples Okay, yeah,
I know they are a look hard. And again, any of your
veggies, so you want to definitelystay away from a lot of your root
vegetables. So there would be potatoes, carrots, my favorite, Lord,

(21:00):
those are all my favorite. Yeah. So if you're stay away from beats,
you want to be mindful of thebeats. Okay, you're a diabetic
again, you need to pair withyour practitioner so that that is customized to
your needs. But beets carries theirhigh and fruit toast, you know.
So okay, okay, well thankyou for that. They are kind of

(21:22):
sweet. They are. Now Idon't know about the beats though they I
don't know, don't da ain't sweet? Not too me? But I love
beats. I do love beats.I love pickle beets too. Yes,
absolutely, yeah, I know alot of I like to eat every now
and then for my gut. Itry to do some sour kraut or some

(21:44):
apple side of vinegar. Yes,you know things that are that are can't
I think kim chee is a goodone. It's the fermented foods for my
gut. As. Sometimes you wonderwhy your stomach is hurting, or I
have wondered why my stomach was hurting. Then I realize I haven't done anything
to kind of help my gut out. Yes, I haven't given my gut
the things that it needs because sometimesI'm eating for me for the taste.

(22:08):
Yes, and sometimes I have toremember that eating for taste is not healthy.
Always healthy, Yes, yes,definitely. If you haven't incorporated some
form of fermentation daily, it wouldbe great if you don't have access to
the sour crowd or the probiotics.Now, if you're in the store now,
they have the the beverages. Haveyou seen the beverages the kabuchas,

(22:32):
They are great beverages. They areprobiotic. It helps to balance the gutlining.
Like you mentioned, if not geta daily probiotic, they haven't meant
you know, sprouts, hopefuls everywhereget one. Definitely you want. I've
gotten to the age where I knowif if I'm not taking something probiotic,
my body will let me know.I'll have a stomach ache or something.

(22:56):
I'm like, what in though,And my body will say, are you
have you taken your probiotic tests?You know what I'm saying. Yes?
And prebiotics too, Yes, yes, it feeds, It feeds the bacteria.
So there's a difference between pre andpro. So the prebiotic actually feeds
the gut, so it feeds thebacteria that's already there, and the probiotic
replenishes come home for life. Comeon now. So we're talking food today

(23:25):
and basically because you know, alot of us need to talk about our
diets and we because a lot oftimes we wonder why we may be gaining
weight. Yes, sometimes you gotto pay attention to what you're putting on
the plate, Yes, because thatwill be a good indicator of why.
And the American diet can be atough one because even when we go to

(23:47):
restaurants they put a lot of foodon our plate, doesn't mean we're supposed
to eat it all those Sundays.On Sundays we will go after church to
somebody's house or at my mama's houseand cook and we would get the itis.
Yes, absolutely, I'll know whatthe itis If you don't know,

(24:08):
is that when you eat and youget so full, you get sleepy.
Yes, and you know we thoughtthat was good, yes, but it's
not always necessarily a good thing.So yeah, and then you know this
past summer. Last summer, Ihad the privilege of joining the University of
Memphis dietetic department over influence Italy.So I had the opportunity of studying authentic

(24:30):
Italian food. But one thing,the food laws are totally different over in
YEurope. So that goes back toyou talking about the different things in the
food. So over in YEurope,you know, I was able to eat
things that if I ate it here, my stomach will be bloated. Wow.
But again that speaks to how thefood laws are totally different. Yeah,

(24:51):
So us just being mindful of whatwe're consuming. Yeah, it's important,
but you're getting ready to do somethingthat I think is really pretty amazing.
So because you're a vegan chef andyou have been for her long twenty
six years. Okay, so butyou're getting ready to do something spectacular.
Tells tell it because I want totell you. But I'm gonna absolutely.

(25:14):
So I was chosen. If youknow chef Carlo Hall on the Food Network,
she now has her own show.They had a competition out maybe a
couple a month or so agoing.So I applied and I was accepted to
be in the competition and it's calledFavorite Chef with Chef Carla Hall. And
so starting she's gorgeous, I knowher. Yeah, So starting junor twelfth

(25:37):
through the twenty second Memphis, Ineed your vote to be one of the
finalists for the first tier of thecompetition. So if we are chosen,
if I'm chosen, you get achance to win twenty five thousand dollars.
You'll be featured in the Food magazineas well as you have a one on
one with Chef Carla Hall. Right, that's us that so we gotta vote

(26:00):
for you, so you can win, absolutely, And you can vote for
me by visiting www dot fave fa v Chef c h ef dot com
slash twenty twenty three slash on me. That's O M, I dash blue
B l U. And what's thename of the show? Um, It's

(26:22):
called Favorite Chef with Chef Carla Hall. Okay, so, y'all we gotta
looked at up Favorite Chef with ChefCarla Hall. This is uh, let
me see if you guys can hearthis. This is Chef Hall right here.
She's in the kitchen on the FoodNetwork dogs you know, yes,

(26:45):
sticking out on Okay to see herface and this but that is uh Carla
Hall when she went to boot camp, you guys. So this is pretty
amazing. So you could be onthe Food Network next absolutely, So we're
gonna try to help you win this. Okay, tell me the name of

(27:06):
the show again. I'm Favorite Chefwith Chef Carla Hall. Favorite Chef Yes
with Carla Hall? Yes, okay, And I see the competition right now,
Carla Hall presents Favorite Chef. HOkay, we got all we gotta
get in it. And if youwant to know what my goal is to

(27:29):
do with that twenty five thousand dollars, well again, I spoke about the
one in three adults in Shelby Countyhaving diabetes right, and so my goal
is to open up a food andnutrition center where me and my staff is
able to help individuals with diabetes,high cholesterol, and high blood pressure learn
how to cook. Wow, theycan reverse these common elements. Yes,

(27:52):
because they can be reversed with propereating. I love that. That is
so awesome, Ami Blue. Ladiesand gentlemen, next breakout for the food
Network. I could see it comingteaching us. Come on now, and
we need it. We definitely needit. We need that education in our
community, and we need people likeyou in our community. There's always when

(28:14):
your heart's in something, there's alwaysa place for it. And you found
your place absolutely, and you allcan stay connected with me as well.
If you're on Facebook, I'm ONMIBlue, if you're on ig only Blue
Visions as well, and that's om iblu. Come on now, we've
got to follow Omi and we've gotto make sure that she wins this favorite
Chef competition. Ladies and gentlemen.Yes, and if you want to know

(28:37):
how to vote for her, definitelyyou can google a Favorite Chef presented by
Carla Hall and so we can getthose votes in for Ami. Yeah,
congratulations to you on that, andthank you for coming by the show today.
Thank you for inviting me Stormy.Yeah, I think this has been
great. I think it's it's agreat time to talk to people as a

(28:59):
lot of people getting out and theywant to lose weight because they want to
be summertime. Fine flag what yousaid, or they want to have either
a hot girl summer, a hootyour daddy summer, or a hot mama.
I'm having a hot mama because hotmama is different from hot girls.
That's when you hot, flashing andand you want to look good. So

(29:25):
to all my hot mama's out there, let's go, like Lorilla says,
let's go Ami Blue, ladies andgentlemen, I've really enjoyed you. Thank
you for stopping by. I loveit when we get to talk about things
like this that help our community.Thank yeah. Any parting words before you
go again, If you were wanderingonly Blue, definitely bleed blue again.

(29:47):
I'm a student at the University ofMemphis. I have to shout it out
because I love all the dietetic communitythere. And again, if you want
to stay connected, definitely stay connectedOnly Blue Facebook and Instagram only blue and
remember be gentle with yourself and noone's path is the same. Yeah almy
O M I B l U.Yeah, there you go. Thanks for

(30:10):
stopping by. I'm stormy everybody.It's the pulse, keeping our fingertips on
the pulse of our community. We'llsee you next week, same time,
same station. God bless you havea great week.