November 6, 2024 • 36 mins
Imagine a world where the pressures of maintaining a certain body image in competitive sports could be transformed into a thriving career that empowers others. Dr. Theresa DeLorenzo, a former gymnast turned dietitian, shares her remarkable journey from navigating the challenges of restrictive eating to cultivating a fulfilling career in athletes' nutrition. Her story is a testament to resilience and transformation, as she uses her personal experiences to help others achieve optimal health through nutrition and yoga therapy. A powerful narrative of self-discovery and healing, Dr. DeLorenzo illustrates how past adversities can pave the way to impactful change.
Many active women struggle with the balance between dieting and exercise, often falling into the trap of thinking weight loss should be the end goal. Our conversation with Dr. DeLorenzo sheds light on these common misconceptions and emphasizes the importance of sustainable lifestyle changes instead of temporary diets. By focusing on proper nourishment and understanding the pitfalls of under-fueling, especially in the athletic realm, we explore how incorporating nutrient-dense foods can naturally reduce unhealthy cravings. This engaging dialogue serves as a reminder that a well-rounded fitness regime should prioritize health and nutrition, with weight loss as a beneficial byproduct rather than the central aim.
Takeaways
- Dr. DeLorenzo's journey as a gymnast shaped her career.
- Mindful eating can help individuals reconnect with their bodies.
- Sustainable nutrition is key to long-term health.
- Athletes need to fuel their bodies properly to perform.
- Menopause can significantly impact nutritional needs.
- Positive body image is crucial for overall well-being.
- Yoga therapy can aid in improving body image and nutrition.
- Restrictive diets often lead to unhealthy eating patterns.
- Listening to your body is essential for proper nutrition.
- Nutrition should be personalized and not one-size-fits-all.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Welcome to Ella Go.
My name is Lisa.
Join me on the journey inhaving real raw and
uncomfortable discussions aboutfitness, health and everything
in between, because, let's behonest, this journey would suck
if we don't get our shittogether.
Welcome back to the Elegoopodcast.
(00:38):
My name is Lisa, I am your hostand I'm super excited about
today's episode.
We have Dr Teresa DeLorenzo.
She is a registered dietitian.
She is the owner and founder ofNutrition for Optimal
Performance.
Dr DeLorenzo works withathletes to help them to make
sure they are eating the correctproportion of macro and
(00:59):
micronutrients to perform theirbest.
Come up with a race daynutrition hydration plan to feel
and race as good as possible,improve their gastrointestinal
health as well as improve theirbody image.
Dr DeLorenzo is a 200-hourtrained yoga teacher and holds a
(01:20):
certification yoga therapy withan emphasis on improving body
image.
She uses yoga therapy asadjunctive therapy for clients
with anxiety, body dysmorphiaand pain, and teaches aerial
yoga classes.
Oh, yeah, she's full of trickshere you have to come over.
Yeah, she's full of tricks hereI got, I'm gonna you have to
(01:43):
come over.
Okay, she does this in her homeyoga studio and she's currently
working on a somatic movementtherapy certification.
That's something we have incommon, Teresa, so welcome
Teresa.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Thank you.
Yes, we will have to get youhere for some aerial.
I love being upside down as aformer gymnast, so I've got lots
of aerial swings down there Ilove it.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
I love it.
So, so many good things thatyou're going to be bringing to
this conversation.
So for anyone who is listening,teresa, I think I've been
following.
I don't know how.
I was like how do I followthese people?
How did this happen?
And I wanted her on herebecause obviously she is
(02:32):
incorporating movement as wellas being a registered dietitian.
So those are like, really thosego hand in hand.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
They should go hand in hand.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
So I'm bringing her on here so she can drop some
nuggets, but obviously, talkingabout her bio, she's going to be
dropping more than what Ithought she was going to be
dropping.
So, Teresa, just give us areally quick introduction of
your background and you know howdid you get into becoming a
dietitian?
(03:02):
I know this is like a twofoldquestion because I also want you
to share your journey, becausewhen you and I talked you can't
tell by looks and when you and Iwere talking you blew my mind
and shared very you know thingsthat were.
You were very transparent onyour journey and you were put on
(03:27):
a whole another level in mymind Just what you had to go
through to be where you aretoday.
So share that with thelisteners.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
All right, I'm happy to.
So yeah, I was a gymnast.
I was a gymnast as a child.
I think I started when I wasabout six, and gymnastics back
in the day was you look acertain way, and if you don't
look that certain way it's goingto be harder.
So my sister and I were bothvery involved in gymnastics,
(03:58):
actually to the point where ourcoaches sort of thought that our
parents put a lot of pressureon us and it was more like we
were just really into it and itwas all us.
Like my dad had built us a bar,that it was in my bedroom and
we had a balance beam in theliving room and then outside we
had to have a bar and a beamoutside.
It was like my poor parents,their living room was a gym
(04:22):
Surely not what they envisioned.
So I spent my whole childhood,up into the age of 16, as a
gymnast.
Every night we were there forhours and hours.
And when I was probably inpuberty I think I was about 14,
when your body starts to change,my coach said to me one day we
(04:44):
were at I think it was in thesummer, it was all day in the
summer summer camp, all day,every day kind of thing.
And he just looked at me and hewas like I don't really think I
can spot you anymore becauseyou're too big.
And it was like this mindblowing, what are you kidding?
(05:07):
And of course, as a 14 year oldI'm not like I wish that I was,
but unfortunately I wasn't.
Just like, oh, screw you, thisstrong person that I feel like I
am now, but I wasn't.
I really took that to heart andallowed that to shape how I
(05:27):
viewed myself and I changed myeating habits dramatically
overnight and I really startedto count everything.
I wasn't in the era of weighingthings yet, but I would count
things, I think, as a person OCD.
So it just kind of made me verystructured and rigid and I did
(05:53):
lose weight.
They went on vacation.
He came back my coaches weremarried at the time and they
came back from vacation and thelook on his face when he
returned to the gym was like ohno, what have I done?
Cause it was such they weregone for two weeks and there was
a dramatic change in how Ilooked and you know.
So I continued with gymnasticsas long as I could, but being
(06:17):
that restrictive in how I ate,it was career ending.
I couldn't.
I landed from a dismount on thebars and my ankle just you know
, I didn't have the strength tosupport myself.
So I really really badlyinjured my ankle.
I was out for a long time withthat.
I came back still veryrestricted, probably even more
(06:39):
so because I wasn't doing asmuch gymnastics and then I also,
in bars, went to catch the bars, and because my bones had just
probably suffered so much fromthe lack of intake, you know,
the lack of nutrition, the lackof calories, I jammed my fingers
and broke all of my bones in myhand right before Regents and
(07:01):
it was just one injury afteranother, another, and it just I
couldn't.
I was done, so I had to stop.
And so that really, you know, atthe time I didn't realize that
I would choose a career thathelped me to help others.
So when I work with people nowand they explain what they're
feeling and going through and Iand I, I will respond with
(07:23):
something like I get it.
A light bulb goes off.
They're like oh, you didn'tjust read about this in a book,
you actually are in my headright now.
Kind of creepy, right.
But I've been there, I've livedit.
So I remember shadowing mydad's cousin and she was a
dietician and I was like, yes,this is the career for me.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
I can help people with what I've experienced and
help them to get better becauseof what I've gone through.
That's just incredible.
And so two things as you weretalking.
The first one is did that guyever come back and be like sorry
for saying?
Speaker 1 (08:05):
anything.
No, no, he kind of went off thedeep end.
A little bit Long story, butyeah, no, no, no, we did.
Actually, like I said, ourcoaches were married.
They went through a really badbreakup not too long ago and we
did get together with the wifebreakup not too long ago and we
(08:27):
did get together with the wifeand she sort of um, you know,
admitted that, yeah, there wassome things that they didn't
realize what they were doing wasimpact, how that was impacting
a lot of the gymnasts.
Um, so she sort of acknowledgedit.
Um, no, he wasn't the kind ofperson that was going to do that
.
No, he wasn't the kind ofperson that was going to do that
.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Wow, Okay, I was hoping that he was, but okay,
and then Not so much luck.
And then the other thing is youknow, teresa, it's so amazing
that when we pick theseprofessions, they almost we pick
them because not only we wantto help other people but we're
(09:07):
also like saving ourselves.
Like I think about when I whydid I become a therapist, like I
?
I want to become a therapistbecause I wanted to know why the
hell I was thinking the way Iwas thinking.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
And I wanted to work on my myself.
And then isn't that amazing?
Speaker 2 (09:20):
And then I wanted to work on myself oh yeah.
Right.
Isn't that amazing?
Yeah, like I wanted to studythat.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
I almost feel like at this point I'm so.
My business coach said theother day she's like you are you
breathe this stuff, like youjust embody this, and I almost
feel like nutrition chose me.
You know, it's like this thingthat I just there was no other
career that was going to be whatI did.
This is it.
And yeah, I totally went tocollege to learn more about it.
(09:50):
But, yeah, it definitely helpsform.
It keeps you honest, right.
It keeps you on track becauseyou have to be a good role model
.
So if ever I'm like, oh nope,these people are watching me,
they're listening to me.
You have to stay on track andthat it does.
It does help you to stay trueto what you're saying.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Yeah, I love that.
So with that you do not.
Just, you're so different fromother dietitians and I was just
saying this in my story, thatthat, because I just got done
interviewing another registereddietitian and I said this to her
.
I said you guys all have thatsimilar background.
Obviously you are in theresearch of how our bodies react
(10:40):
to food and the needs and thisis not just like a quick study,
this is an expertise that youhave and yet you all are
different, like there'ssomething, like you are taught.
You know I'm reading your bioand you implement the whole.
Now you're going to beimplementing somatic therapy and
(11:00):
you know that movement and howthat even incorporates with how
your mind and body.
I mean, I get that sense ofwellness from you and that's
somebody else who, althoughthey're you know, they're
educating women about the samething, but it's on a.
It's different.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Different level.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
I just love that, because I often say you know you
can't say well, dime a dozenregister, a dietitian no he was
(11:46):
like differentiate yourself, dosomething different.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
And at the time I fell in love with NICU and I did
, you know, neonatal nutrition,and and then it sort of evolved
into what I do now, my sportsnutrition practice, which is,
you know, I have my sportsnutrition clients, my body image
clients and a lot are both, youknow.
But yeah, so I do that.
You mentioned that mind bodypiece.
I use yoga therapy, so I don'tjust teach yoga, I also am a
yoga therapist.
(12:08):
Because when people fall downthese I guess I'm going to call
it a trap with this restrictiveeating of whatever it is there's
so many iterations ofrestrictive eating.
They disconnect their mind fromtheir body and they're like I
have to do this, I can't do this, I should do that.
And we get disconnected.
(12:28):
Our mind and body are no longercommunicating with each other.
So that yoga therapy componentof my practice is let's
reconnect.
What is your body actually?
You know.
When people ask me, well, howmuch should I eat?
I don't know.
Ask your body, when people askme, well, how much should I eat?
I don't know.
Ask your body, what should Ihave?
What is your body telling you?
(12:52):
I'm not in it.
You have to be able toreconnect your mind and body and
figure out what that is, thatit's asking you.
We all need different things,we're doing different activities
, we deplete certain things andyou have to be able to honor.
Well, first of all, know andthen honor right, oh, I might be
craving this, but I feel like Ishouldn't, or whatever and
being able to connect and knowwhat that is and then being able
(13:12):
to honor that.
So that's how I use yogatherapy, with that, to sort of
like let's get back to what yourbody's asking for, versus all
these rules that we get attachedto you know.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Yeah.
And so let me ask you thisbecause I'm curious what you
have to say about this so, eventhough we talk about this whole
listening to your body,mind-body connection because it
is a thing, people, it is athing and yet yet we still have
people talking about thisrestrictive way of dieting and
(13:48):
almost talking about it likeit's the law the opposite way.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
You know one of the things when.
I was in my restrictive days wasnope, nope, chips aren't
allowed.
Oh, let me tell you, I don't goa day now without eating chips.
But I had a client say to meone time but how do you stop?
(14:18):
And I said I can stop, becauseI don't think of it as a bad
food, I think of it as a foodthat I love and because I'm
allowed to have it, I can stop.
Right, when you say I'm notallowed to have this, I'm doing
something wrong, you just keepgoing.
I'm never going to do thisagain.
Yeah, right.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
You know, it's like this vicious cycle and yeah,
yeah, so I was, I know, and andI wonder, do you think?
So we're going to get a littledeep here, okay, so I wonder, do
you think, is it because, causeyou, you know, you hear a lot
of younger people doing it?
you know a lot of these youngerfolks who are not just even
losing weight, but even, likemen, who want to like, build
bulk muscles and like that isthe rule.
Do you think that?
Maybe it's because, I mean, itis working at their, at their
(15:12):
age at that time it works quote,unquote for a while, right.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
But then your body's needs and cravings kick it right
.
And then your body's like, okay, I'm done with you restricting
this, I'm done with you noteating that, I'm done with you
not eating enough.
So yeah, it works quote,unquote for a little while,
until it doesn't.
And then you've done so muchdamage to your metabolism
(15:41):
because you've restricted andyou've done so much damage to
your ability to eat moderatelybecause you've done so much
damage to your metabolismbecause you've restricted, and
you've done so much damage toyour ability your ability to eat
moderately, because you'verestricted yourself from things
that you love that then you swaythe other way.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Yeah, yeah, see I, I, I agree, totally agree.
Um, it just there's this thingon the side that says echo
cancellation.
Oh good, it's gone.
So I was like I don't want tohave to go through that editing.
That's a pain in the ass to dothat, okay.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
All right.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
All right, let's go back to what we were talking
about.
Yeah, I completely agree withyou, teresa.
So let's talk a little bit more.
You know we talked about that,but that kind of segues way into
the misconceptions of dieting,you know.
And let's talk a little bitmore about the athletes and not
(16:33):
just like and we say athletes, Imean if you're running, you're
working, you're an athlete, youknow.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Yeah, if you're moving your body.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
You're an athlete, you're an athlete.
So I'm going to help the womenwho are listening, who are
getting the self-doubts in thehead.
We're talking about you ladies,okay.
You ladies who are working outyoga, whatever, running whatever
Okay, that's who we're talkingabout.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
So let's talk about the misconceptions of those
women when it comes to dietingand eating and all of that when
it comes to dieting and eatingand all of that, if you can't do
it forever, like literally askyourself is this thing that I'm
about to embark on, whatever itis X, y, z plan feasible to do
(17:18):
for the rest of my life?
Truthfully, like beingcompletely honest with yourself,
if you, if the answer is no,this is, I'm going to do this
for a little while, don't bother, it will backfire.
It has to be sustainable.
It sounds so cliche, but it hasto be a lifestyle change, one
of the things that people are sosurprised by when they come to
(17:41):
work with me.
We do our Zoom visit and thenit'll be done and they're like
wait, what do you want me totake out of my diet?
I'm like you're not going totake anything out, you're going
to pull all of thesenutrient-dense things in, and
then you might crave a littlebit less of the other things
because you're filling innutrient gaps.
I think it's hilarious whenpeople are like you know, I just
(18:03):
I'm good all day, right,they're good all day, whatever
that means to them.
And then at night I just can'tstop eating the chips or the
candy and I'm like okay, butmaybe you're being too good,
right?
You're not eating.
Usually.
If that's the case, if that'sthe thing that they're eating
all night, you're probably noteating enough carbs.
So let's add bread to the,let's add some carbs to the
(18:27):
salad that you eat for lunch, orlet's have whatever.
Adding carbs usually is thething and they're like.
But then I'm adding calories.
I'm like, well, you're addingwhole grains and then you're
going to eat less chips later.
I'm not telling you to not eatthem, but you're probably not
going to need as many of them.
But it also requires you to notjust do that out of habit, but
(18:53):
to check in.
Do I really want them?
Am I craving them?
When am I done?
Kind of thing.
But yeah, I'm not taking thingsaway, because if I tell you you
can't eat pizza, you can't havechips, then I have to do that
too.
That's probably not going tohappen, let's be honest.
So, yeah, it's more aboutfinding something that's
(19:14):
sustainable, like what does yourbody really need?
Let's fill in those gaps andthen there's less of an
insatiable need for the cookiesand the candy and the chips
which there's space for.
But maybe you don't need to eatthe whole bag because you're
actually satisfied with what youate throughout the day.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Yeah, let me ask you this, because I often get a lot
of women who want to be part ofthis running, you know, want to
start running and they also wantto lose weight.
Let's, let's talk about that,teresa.
Okay, Well, cause this issomething I I I have shared
before, and I mean I DNF.
(19:53):
I failed a marathon because Iwas trying to lose weight.
While I was running, I didn'trealize if I'm going to work out
like a beast.
I got to eat like a beast, LikeI was exactly drinking, and
that's what got me to fail Right.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
They're competing goals Like do you want to do the
marathon or do you want to loseweight?
You can't do both.
You will either not get to thestarting line because of a
stress fracture, or you'll getto the starting line because of
a stress fracture, or you'll getto the starting line and then
you're so under fueled fromfatigue and under nourishment
that you're going to run, you'regoing to bonk, you're not going
(20:30):
to get to the finish line.
So, one way or another, you gotto make a choice.
And also, why are you choosingto start running?
Is it to lose weight, or is itbecause you want to do that?
You want to do that movement,or you want to?
You know, my daughter said to methe other day mom, if you
didn't run, who would you hangout with?
And I'm like I don't know, Iprobably wouldn't have many
(20:57):
friends.
But you know, when I gotdivorced, I was like, oh no,
what do I do now?
That was sort of this, I guessI'll start running.
And then it was like oh no,what do I do now?
That was sort of this, I guessI'll start running.
And then it was like oh no, nowthe kids are here and I have to
run, but it kind of takes over.
But it's like when someonebecomes a vegetarian.
I ask them well, why Are theyreasons that are sound, or are
(21:19):
they?
I'm trying to restrict and loseweight, and if you're starting
to run because you want to loseweight, let that just be an
aftermath versus somethingyou're trying to accomplish with
it, because that you will gethurt and then you won't be able
to do it.
Yeah, like my gymnastics right,like you can't do these intense
(21:44):
things under fueled, you're notmeeting the demands, and that
kind of reminds me of if peoplethink, oh well, I'm just not
menstruating because I'mexercising so much, that's a
symptom of under fueling, youknow.
Yeah, and that's when yourbones are going to get depleted,
that's, that's when you'regoing to get hurt.
(22:05):
That's not, oh, it's justbecause no, that's not you know.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
So I love that.
You said the aftermath.
That could be the aftermath,and you know the why and and
that's why I always say, whenyou, when someone tells me, well
, I want to run cause I want tolose weight, I said let's get a
little deeper than this.
Why do you want to lose weight?
Like what?
What's going on?
You know it's not.
There's something else going on.
Let that be the why.
You know, not the let's fix mylack of my void in my life, you
(22:35):
know what I mean.
So I love that you said that,because it is.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
It is an aftermath and it's amazing, when you don't
focus on the weight loss, howyou do lose weight when you're
focusing on you know joy, yeah,just the amazing things that
come from running, theadventures it takes you on, the
friends you make, the runner'shigh and all the things yes.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
So let's talk a little bit about menopause,
because you and I, when we firstmet, we got into that
discussion and it almost right Iknow feeling hot already it
almost plays into what I wasasking about.
You know you have these youngerfolks who you know it's
sustainable now, but you get.
(23:22):
I mean how many women like Iwas at a menopause talk and how
many women are like you knowthey're doing their workouts,
they're doing theirmacronutrients and they're
restricting and then all of asudden I turned 49 or I'm
thinking.
I'm like what the fuck happened.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
Or 41.
Like menopause, the onset ofsymptoms is.
The average age when it startsis 36 to 46.
So people are like, oh my gosh,I'm too young.
That can't be what's going on.
Yeah, it could be what's goingon, definitely.
And yeah, so there's a whole.
(24:01):
This could be a whole, notherconversation.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
I know, just give us a little.
You know a little clip.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
The bite-sized conversation is essentially
estradiol, which we've beenpoo-pooing our whole life and
we're like, oh, I have PMS,guess what?
Now PMS is all the time andestradiol is saying bye, and
estrone, which is like thisnasty estrogen, is upregulating
(24:31):
and taking over as estradiolfalls.
And estrone is inflammatory, itbreaks down our bones, it
breaks down our muscle mass, itmakes us fatigued and our GI
health is impaired, our energylevels are impaired, our ability
to do the things that we'reused to doing is impaired.
(24:54):
So estradiol is sort ofprotecting our bones, our
muscles, our inflammation, andnow that's dropping and estrone
is doing the opposite.
So it's this like completeshift.
And you know it's a lot of timespeople will go to their doctor
or whatever, and they'll go onhormone therapy, which, in my
opinion, everyone's entitled totheirs.
(25:16):
That's sort of a band-aid Likewe can help to mitigate those,
the estrone metabolic byproductswith food, and I have this
whole program that I do withwomen and we introduce all these
foods that help to up, get thatestradiol back in our system
and break down the negativeeffects of the estrone.
(25:37):
And it's amazing, it's like thehot flashes dissipate, the
muscle soreness, the achiness,all this stuff goes away and
we're able to sort of, you know,because running gets a little
bit harder, like it gets hardagain.
It's like when you firststarted running almost, and then
, if you can shift thosehormones back a little bit, it
(26:01):
feels so much better, so muchbetter.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
So, in a nutshell, everyone, the hormones are going
to impact your runs, it'simpacting your eating and you're
going to have to change the wayyou do.
Like she just said.
It gets back to being hardagain and you're like what
happened.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
What happened Right?
Speaker 2 (26:19):
Yeah, menopause happened, so anyways.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Menopause happened and, as much as you don't want
to hear it, guys, tofu is yourbest friend during menopause, I
know yes.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
Just eat it.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
I've got so many recipes, but yeah, there's ways
to it can be made in so manygreat ways you got to give it a
chance.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
people Okay.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
You really do yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
All right.
So, teresa, what do you seework for women that work with
you and I'm sure that's a loadedquestion.
I asked the same question tothe other dietitian what are
some of the things that you haveseen and maybe some of the
techniques that you share withthese women that they're like
you're telling me I can'trestrict and you're telling me I
(27:04):
can eat what I want.
Uh, I can't restrict, andyou're telling me I can eat what
I want.
Uh, are you kidding me?
And then how many times theycome back to you and they're
like holy crap, how the hell didthis?
Speaker 1 (27:12):
Oh, my gosh, I can think of two really dramatic
examples of clients who came tome.
They came to me into my journeyinto positive body image
program Cause they were like Idon't like the way I look, I
overeat these things.
And we worked, we did myjourney into positive body image
program, which is like once aweek we do nutrition counseling,
(27:32):
once a week we do yoga therapy,to like, help them reconnect.
So we reconnect the mind, thebody.
And we worked on eatingmindfully.
And one of them her issue waslike Hershey's kisses at night.
Like she just opened the bagand it just they'd all go down.
I'm like we're gonna eatmindfully, she's like, but then
I'm gonna taste it and then I'mgonna eat more.
(27:53):
No, you're gonna taste it andyou're gonna know when you've
had enough.
And she's like oh, my god, Iused to eat like 20 of these and
now I have two and I'm she waslike what?
How did that?
I?
She was afraid to actuallytaste it.
But then when she tasted it,she's like oh, I tasted it and
(28:15):
now I'm good.
And I had another one sameprogram, journey into Positive
Body Image.
She was like ah, once I takethe cheese out at night, like,
and it's because they viewedthese foods as off limits and
bad.
But then they're like I justhave to have them because their
bodies were even.
They're craving magnesium orcalcium or whatever.
And she's like you are crazy,maybe, but you are really
(28:37):
telling me that if I eatmindfully and pay attention and
eat the things that my body'sasking for, I'm going to be able
to take out that block ofcheese, have a couple slices and
put away.
I'm like yes, yes.
She's like all right, you'renuts.
I'm like all right, all right,well, let's see what happens,
let's just give it a shot.
So, like you know, a couple ofweeks later, she's like I can't
believe this, like I literallycan take it out and I'm like
(29:00):
tasting it and being presentinstead of doing all the things
to distract myself from the factthat I'm eating the thing that
I love.
But I'm actually payingattention.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
And she's like I can like take it out, eat a normal
amount and put it away.
I can't.
She was mind blown, Mind blown.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
Yeah, obviously you have different applications here
, but what you are doing is youare giving people the permission
to ask the questions thatthey're afraid to ask.
Yeah, what do I want right now?
(29:37):
Right.
And people don't understandwhen you say to your brain or
yourself don't have this, youwant it.
Yes, right, don't have that,but why do I?
Speaker 1 (29:56):
now I'm fixing it, now I want it Right, and if I
say you can have that and that'sno longer a bad food, it's not.
There's so many reasons we eat.
We eat because it's good, weeat because it's something we
grew up with.
We eat because it's part of ourculture.
Like you shouldn't tellyourself I can't have these
things, why.
Who made that rule up?
Speaker 2 (30:12):
You know, yeah, exactly.
So one of the questions I wasgoing to ask you was what does
it look like to work with you?
And you kind of dropped alittle bit about the yoga.
So, you know, someone comes toyou and say, Teresa, and let's
have a runner, because I'm surethere's women here that are
runners listening.
Yeah, you got a runner.
They come to you and maybethey're in the beginning stages
(30:36):
and they want to start eatinghealthy as a running runner and
fueling their runs.
What does that look like towork with you?
Speaker 1 (30:45):
Yeah, so that program , my high performance program,
would be.
We would meet every other weekand we'd sort of go through okay
, here's all the things that I'meating.
First they would fill out thisform that says that gives me
like an indication if there'sany nutrient deficiencies that
they might have, for whateverreason, from running from not
eating certain things, fromwhatever, there's many reasons
(31:06):
that someone might come with anutrient deficiency.
We'll go over all the thingsthat they're eating.
I'll sort of say, okay, you'rereally not getting enough of
this, that or the other thing,and then we'll add in the things
that they need.
And then they can email me,text me in between visits.
We meet every two weeks givesthem enough time to sort of try
all the things, see what works,see what doesn't, and then we
(31:32):
meet every two weeks for as longas they, you know, feel like
they need to.
So a lot of times it's firstfilling in those nutrient gaps
and then we start working onokay, let's bring in some foods
now that are going to enhanceyour performance, then we'll
weave in foods you know.
All right, you've got a longrun on Saturdays.
Here's what Friday is going tolook like.
Okay, what are the foods you'regoing to eat the next day to
recover.
Or you know, maybe you have abig race coming up, whether it's
a half marathon or a marathonor whatever, and what does that
(31:54):
look like?
How do you get to that withoutbonking, without feeling like
garbage, and what does that sortof look like?
So that's a nutshell.
You know of the highperformance program it's.
You know you always have access, you can always reach out.
I can't tell you how many textsI get from the grocery store.
This one or that.
(32:14):
How does this look?
You know, is this what you said, which is great?
You know, yeah, so that's sortof how that looks.
And then people will be like,okay, I got through that event,
I'm going to pause, and thenthey'll be like, all right, wait
, I got another one, I want tomake sure all the things are in
place, or a bigger event orsomething has shifted in their
life, and they want to circleback, and so that's yeah, sort
(32:34):
of, and I'll give them recipesalong the way that sort of
coincide with the foods thatwe're working on, that kind of
thing.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
Okay, so let's talk about someone who you do
implement the yoga and the otherthings.
So what does that look like?
Speaker 1 (32:49):
therapy, and that can be done in person or Zoom,
depending on preference andlocation, and all of that.
And it starts with, instead oflet's slap a Band-Aid on and
(33:14):
just move forward like where didthis start, why did this start?
And let's uncover some of this.
And there's a lot of journalingand let's work through some of
the things that come up and it'sit's not a weight loss, it's
not like I'm going to come intothis and lose 30 or 40 pounds.
It's I'm going to love what Ilook like.
A lot of people lose weightbecause they're being more
(33:35):
mindful in what they eat and thebinging cessates and things
like that.
But yeah, so it's aboutlearning how to eat mindfully,
learning how to listen to yourcravings, honor them and be
present.
And, yeah, so, lots ofjournaling.
I'm going to launch a newcohort for that and there's
(33:57):
going to be this really amazingretreat at the end of it that
everyone will kind of cometogether and share their success
.
So, yeah, super excited forthat.
I've been wanting to do.
I do retreats every year.
I've done two a year for awhile.
This year I'm adding the third,the Fall Fitness Festival, and
next year I'm adding one inNarragansett, rhode Island
because that's where I lived incollege and it's this really
(34:20):
special place to me because welived on the beach.
But it was also like where Ilearned how to shift all of this
, and so that's where thisjourney I just got chills that's
where this journey intopositive body image retreat will
be, so that I can just share,share my story, share that and
like have everyone come togetherand share their successes as
well.
Speaker 2 (34:39):
Okay, that's awesome, and where could someone like,
if they're interested in this,like, where could they look?
Speaker 1 (34:45):
like if they're interested in this, like where
could they look?
Yeah, so my websitenutrition-for-opcom.
Okay, All of that good stuff isthere my yoga classes, the
retreats, all the programs.
And if someone's not sure, likemaybe they want to work with me
but not sure what program isbest for them, they can just
(35:06):
reach out and we can have a chatand figure it out, and you're
also on social media.
Speaker 2 (35:08):
What are your handles for?
Speaker 1 (35:10):
Yes, instagram is Teresa DiLorenzo Nutrition.
Speaker 2 (35:13):
Okay, okay, all right , teresa, I had so much fun
talking to you.
Speaker 1 (35:19):
And you know.
Speaker 2 (35:21):
I think the work you're doing for women and
loving their bodies and it, youknow.
When you were talking, Ithought to myself if we just did
a little bit more of this, like, yes, you know, and it's
amazing, the more you do this,the more things let go you know
Um, and I think you are teachingwomen how to feed into
(35:46):
themselves, not only literally.
Literally, figuratively all ofit, but feed into that soul so
that they can be happy and findjoy in their lives, find that
peace with themselves.
Yes, absolutely so.
I love what you're doing.
Thank you so much for being apart of the show.
Speaker 1 (36:07):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (36:09):
I loved it and, like I said, the listeners.
If you want to get a hold ofTeresa, you can go on her
website and go on her socialmedia handles.
I'll be putting this all in thenotes so that you can just
click and get to her reallyquickly.
And again, teresa, thank you.
Thank you, all right, untilnext time.
Bye.
Welcome to Ella Go.
My name is Lisa.
Join me on the journey inhaving real raw and
uncomfortable discussions aboutfitness, health and everything
in between, because, let's behonest, this journey would suck
if we don't get our shittogether.
Welcome back to the Elegoopodcast.
(00:38):
My name is Lisa, I am your hostand I'm super excited about
today's episode.
We have Dr Teresa DeLorenzo.
She is a registered dietitian.
She is the owner and founder ofNutrition for Optimal
Performance.
Dr DeLorenzo works withathletes to help them to make
sure they are eating the correctproportion of macro and
(00:59):
micronutrients to perform theirbest.
Come up with a race daynutrition hydration plan to feel
and race as good as possible,improve their gastrointestinal
health as well as improve theirbody image.
Dr DeLorenzo is a 200-hourtrained yoga teacher and holds a
(01:20):
certification yoga therapy withan emphasis on improving body
image.
She uses yoga therapy asadjunctive therapy for clients
with anxiety, body dysmorphiaand pain, and teaches aerial
yoga classes.
Oh, yeah, she's full of trickshere you have to come over.
Yeah, she's full of tricks hereI got, I'm gonna you have to
(01:43):
come over.
Okay, she does this in her homeyoga studio and she's currently
working on a somatic movementtherapy certification.
That's something we have incommon, Teresa, so welcome
Teresa.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Thank you.
Yes, we will have to get youhere for some aerial.
I love being upside down as aformer gymnast, so I've got lots
of aerial swings down there Ilove it.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
I love it.
So, so many good things thatyou're going to be bringing to
this conversation.
So for anyone who is listening,teresa, I think I've been
following.
I don't know how.
I was like how do I followthese people?
How did this happen?
And I wanted her on herebecause obviously she is
(02:32):
incorporating movement as wellas being a registered dietitian.
So those are like, really thosego hand in hand.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
They should go hand in hand.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
So I'm bringing her on here so she can drop some
nuggets, but obviously, talkingabout her bio, she's going to be
dropping more than what Ithought she was going to be
dropping.
So, Teresa, just give us areally quick introduction of
your background and you know howdid you get into becoming a
dietitian?
(03:02):
I know this is like a twofoldquestion because I also want you
to share your journey, becausewhen you and I talked you can't
tell by looks and when you and Iwere talking you blew my mind
and shared very you know thingsthat were.
You were very transparent onyour journey and you were put on
(03:27):
a whole another level in mymind Just what you had to go
through to be where you aretoday.
So share that with thelisteners.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
All right, I'm happy to.
So yeah, I was a gymnast.
I was a gymnast as a child.
I think I started when I wasabout six, and gymnastics back
in the day was you look acertain way, and if you don't
look that certain way it's goingto be harder.
So my sister and I were bothvery involved in gymnastics,
(03:58):
actually to the point where ourcoaches sort of thought that our
parents put a lot of pressureon us and it was more like we
were just really into it and itwas all us.
Like my dad had built us a bar,that it was in my bedroom and
we had a balance beam in theliving room and then outside we
had to have a bar and a beamoutside.
It was like my poor parents,their living room was a gym
(04:22):
Surely not what they envisioned.
So I spent my whole childhood,up into the age of 16, as a
gymnast.
Every night we were there forhours and hours.
And when I was probably inpuberty I think I was about 14,
when your body starts to change,my coach said to me one day we
(04:44):
were at I think it was in thesummer, it was all day in the
summer summer camp, all day,every day kind of thing.
And he just looked at me and hewas like I don't really think I
can spot you anymore becauseyou're too big.
And it was like this mindblowing, what are you kidding?
(05:07):
And of course, as a 14 year oldI'm not like I wish that I was,
but unfortunately I wasn't.
Just like, oh, screw you, thisstrong person that I feel like I
am now, but I wasn't.
I really took that to heart andallowed that to shape how I
(05:27):
viewed myself and I changed myeating habits dramatically
overnight and I really startedto count everything.
I wasn't in the era of weighingthings yet, but I would count
things, I think, as a person OCD.
So it just kind of made me verystructured and rigid and I did
(05:53):
lose weight.
They went on vacation.
He came back my coaches weremarried at the time and they
came back from vacation and thelook on his face when he
returned to the gym was like ohno, what have I done?
Cause it was such they weregone for two weeks and there was
a dramatic change in how Ilooked and you know.
So I continued with gymnasticsas long as I could, but being
(06:17):
that restrictive in how I ate,it was career ending.
I couldn't.
I landed from a dismount on thebars and my ankle just you know
, I didn't have the strength tosupport myself.
So I really really badlyinjured my ankle.
I was out for a long time withthat.
I came back still veryrestricted, probably even more
(06:39):
so because I wasn't doing asmuch gymnastics and then I also,
in bars, went to catch the bars, and because my bones had just
probably suffered so much fromthe lack of intake, you know,
the lack of nutrition, the lackof calories, I jammed my fingers
and broke all of my bones in myhand right before Regents and
(07:01):
it was just one injury afteranother, another, and it just I
couldn't.
I was done, so I had to stop.
And so that really, you know, atthe time I didn't realize that
I would choose a career thathelped me to help others.
So when I work with people nowand they explain what they're
feeling and going through and Iand I, I will respond with
(07:23):
something like I get it.
A light bulb goes off.
They're like oh, you didn'tjust read about this in a book,
you actually are in my headright now.
Kind of creepy, right.
But I've been there, I've livedit.
So I remember shadowing mydad's cousin and she was a
dietician and I was like, yes,this is the career for me.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
I can help people with what I've experienced and
help them to get better becauseof what I've gone through.
That's just incredible.
And so two things as you weretalking.
The first one is did that guyever come back and be like sorry
for saying?
Speaker 1 (08:05):
anything.
No, no, he kind of went off thedeep end.
A little bit Long story, butyeah, no, no, no, we did.
Actually, like I said, ourcoaches were married.
They went through a really badbreakup not too long ago and we
did get together with the wifebreakup not too long ago and we
(08:27):
did get together with the wifeand she sort of um, you know,
admitted that, yeah, there wassome things that they didn't
realize what they were doing wasimpact, how that was impacting
a lot of the gymnasts.
Um, so she sort of acknowledgedit.
Um, no, he wasn't the kind ofperson that was going to do that
.
No, he wasn't the kind ofperson that was going to do that
.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Wow, Okay, I was hoping that he was, but okay,
and then Not so much luck.
And then the other thing is youknow, teresa, it's so amazing
that when we pick theseprofessions, they almost we pick
them because not only we wantto help other people but we're
(09:07):
also like saving ourselves.
Like I think about when I whydid I become a therapist, like I
?
I want to become a therapistbecause I wanted to know why the
hell I was thinking the way Iwas thinking.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
And I wanted to work on my myself.
And then isn't that amazing?
Speaker 2 (09:20):
And then I wanted to work on myself oh yeah.
Right.
Isn't that amazing?
Yeah, like I wanted to studythat.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
I almost feel like at this point I'm so.
My business coach said theother day she's like you are you
breathe this stuff, like youjust embody this, and I almost
feel like nutrition chose me.
You know, it's like this thingthat I just there was no other
career that was going to be whatI did.
This is it.
And yeah, I totally went tocollege to learn more about it.
(09:50):
But, yeah, it definitely helpsform.
It keeps you honest, right.
It keeps you on track becauseyou have to be a good role model
.
So if ever I'm like, oh nope,these people are watching me,
they're listening to me.
You have to stay on track andthat it does.
It does help you to stay trueto what you're saying.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Yeah, I love that.
So with that you do not.
Just, you're so different fromother dietitians and I was just
saying this in my story, thatthat, because I just got done
interviewing another registereddietitian and I said this to her
.
I said you guys all have thatsimilar background.
Obviously you are in theresearch of how our bodies react
(10:40):
to food and the needs and thisis not just like a quick study,
this is an expertise that youhave and yet you all are
different, like there'ssomething, like you are taught.
You know I'm reading your bioand you implement the whole.
Now you're going to beimplementing somatic therapy and
(11:00):
you know that movement and howthat even incorporates with how
your mind and body.
I mean, I get that sense ofwellness from you and that's
somebody else who, althoughthey're you know, they're
educating women about the samething, but it's on a.
It's different.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Different level.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
I just love that, because I often say you know you
can't say well, dime a dozenregister, a dietitian no he was
(11:46):
like differentiate yourself, dosomething different.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
And at the time I fell in love with NICU and I did
, you know, neonatal nutrition,and and then it sort of evolved
into what I do now, my sportsnutrition practice, which is,
you know, I have my sportsnutrition clients, my body image
clients and a lot are both, youknow.
But yeah, so I do that.
You mentioned that mind bodypiece.
I use yoga therapy, so I don'tjust teach yoga, I also am a
yoga therapist.
(12:08):
Because when people fall downthese I guess I'm going to call
it a trap with this restrictiveeating of whatever it is there's
so many iterations ofrestrictive eating.
They disconnect their mind fromtheir body and they're like I
have to do this, I can't do this, I should do that.
And we get disconnected.
(12:28):
Our mind and body are no longercommunicating with each other.
So that yoga therapy componentof my practice is let's
reconnect.
What is your body actually?
You know.
When people ask me, well, howmuch should I eat?
I don't know.
Ask your body, when people askme, well, how much should I eat?
I don't know.
Ask your body, what should Ihave?
What is your body telling you?
(12:52):
I'm not in it.
You have to be able toreconnect your mind and body and
figure out what that is, thatit's asking you.
We all need different things,we're doing different activities
, we deplete certain things andyou have to be able to honor.
Well, first of all, know andthen honor right, oh, I might be
craving this, but I feel like Ishouldn't, or whatever and
being able to connect and knowwhat that is and then being able
(13:12):
to honor that.
So that's how I use yogatherapy, with that, to sort of
like let's get back to what yourbody's asking for, versus all
these rules that we get attachedto you know.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Yeah.
And so let me ask you thisbecause I'm curious what you
have to say about this so, eventhough we talk about this whole
listening to your body,mind-body connection because it
is a thing, people, it is athing and yet yet we still have
people talking about thisrestrictive way of dieting and
(13:48):
almost talking about it likeit's the law the opposite way.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
You know one of the things when.
I was in my restrictive days wasnope, nope, chips aren't
allowed.
Oh, let me tell you, I don't goa day now without eating chips.
But I had a client say to meone time but how do you stop?
(14:18):
And I said I can stop, becauseI don't think of it as a bad
food, I think of it as a foodthat I love and because I'm
allowed to have it, I can stop.
Right, when you say I'm notallowed to have this, I'm doing
something wrong, you just keepgoing.
I'm never going to do thisagain.
Yeah, right.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
You know, it's like this vicious cycle and yeah,
yeah, so I was, I know, and andI wonder, do you think?
So we're going to get a littledeep here, okay, so I wonder, do
you think, is it because, causeyou, you know, you hear a lot
of younger people doing it?
you know a lot of these youngerfolks who are not just even
losing weight, but even, likemen, who want to like, build
bulk muscles and like that isthe rule.
Do you think that?
Maybe it's because, I mean, itis working at their, at their
(15:12):
age at that time it works quote,unquote for a while, right.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
But then your body's needs and cravings kick it right
.
And then your body's like, okay, I'm done with you restricting
this, I'm done with you noteating that, I'm done with you
not eating enough.
So yeah, it works quote,unquote for a little while,
until it doesn't.
And then you've done so muchdamage to your metabolism
(15:41):
because you've restricted andyou've done so much damage to
your ability to eat moderatelybecause you've done so much
damage to your metabolismbecause you've restricted, and
you've done so much damage toyour ability your ability to eat
moderately, because you'verestricted yourself from things
that you love that then you swaythe other way.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Yeah, yeah, see I, I, I agree, totally agree.
Um, it just there's this thingon the side that says echo
cancellation.
Oh good, it's gone.
So I was like I don't want tohave to go through that editing.
That's a pain in the ass to dothat, okay.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
All right.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
All right, let's go back to what we were talking
about.
Yeah, I completely agree withyou, teresa.
So let's talk a little bit more.
You know we talked about that,but that kind of segues way into
the misconceptions of dieting,you know.
And let's talk a little bitmore about the athletes and not
(16:33):
just like and we say athletes, Imean if you're running, you're
working, you're an athlete, youknow.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Yeah, if you're moving your body.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
You're an athlete, you're an athlete.
So I'm going to help the womenwho are listening, who are
getting the self-doubts in thehead.
We're talking about you ladies,okay.
You ladies who are working outyoga, whatever, running whatever
Okay, that's who we're talkingabout.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
So let's talk about the misconceptions of those
women when it comes to dietingand eating and all of that when
it comes to dieting and eatingand all of that, if you can't do
it forever, like literally askyourself is this thing that I'm
about to embark on, whatever itis X, y, z plan feasible to do
(17:18):
for the rest of my life?
Truthfully, like beingcompletely honest with yourself,
if you, if the answer is no,this is, I'm going to do this
for a little while, don't bother, it will backfire.
It has to be sustainable.
It sounds so cliche, but it hasto be a lifestyle change, one
of the things that people are sosurprised by when they come to
(17:41):
work with me.
We do our Zoom visit and thenit'll be done and they're like
wait, what do you want me totake out of my diet?
I'm like you're not going totake anything out, you're going
to pull all of thesenutrient-dense things in, and
then you might crave a littlebit less of the other things
because you're filling innutrient gaps.
I think it's hilarious whenpeople are like you know, I just
(18:03):
I'm good all day, right,they're good all day, whatever
that means to them.
And then at night I just can'tstop eating the chips or the
candy and I'm like okay, butmaybe you're being too good,
right?
You're not eating.
Usually.
If that's the case, if that'sthe thing that they're eating
all night, you're probably noteating enough carbs.
So let's add bread to the,let's add some carbs to the
(18:27):
salad that you eat for lunch, orlet's have whatever.
Adding carbs usually is thething and they're like.
But then I'm adding calories.
I'm like, well, you're addingwhole grains and then you're
going to eat less chips later.
I'm not telling you to not eatthem, but you're probably not
going to need as many of them.
But it also requires you to notjust do that out of habit, but
(18:53):
to check in.
Do I really want them?
Am I craving them?
When am I done?
Kind of thing.
But yeah, I'm not taking thingsaway, because if I tell you you
can't eat pizza, you can't havechips, then I have to do that
too.
That's probably not going tohappen, let's be honest.
So, yeah, it's more aboutfinding something that's
(19:14):
sustainable, like what does yourbody really need?
Let's fill in those gaps andthen there's less of an
insatiable need for the cookiesand the candy and the chips
which there's space for.
But maybe you don't need to eatthe whole bag because you're
actually satisfied with what youate throughout the day.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Yeah, let me ask you this, because I often get a lot
of women who want to be part ofthis running, you know, want to
start running and they also wantto lose weight.
Let's, let's talk about that,teresa.
Okay, Well, cause this issomething I I I have shared
before, and I mean I DNF.
(19:53):
I failed a marathon because Iwas trying to lose weight.
While I was running, I didn'trealize if I'm going to work out
like a beast.
I got to eat like a beast, LikeI was exactly drinking, and
that's what got me to fail Right.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
They're competing goals Like do you want to do the
marathon or do you want to loseweight?
You can't do both.
You will either not get to thestarting line because of a
stress fracture, or you'll getto the starting line because of
a stress fracture, or you'll getto the starting line and then
you're so under fueled fromfatigue and under nourishment
that you're going to run, you'regoing to bonk, you're not going
(20:30):
to get to the finish line.
So, one way or another, you gotto make a choice.
And also, why are you choosingto start running?
Is it to lose weight, or is itbecause you want to do that?
You want to do that movement,or you want to?
You know, my daughter said to methe other day mom, if you
didn't run, who would you hangout with?
And I'm like I don't know, Iprobably wouldn't have many
(20:57):
friends.
But you know, when I gotdivorced, I was like, oh no,
what do I do now?
That was sort of this, I guessI'll start running.
And then it was like oh no,what do I do now?
That was sort of this, I guessI'll start running.
And then it was like oh no, nowthe kids are here and I have to
run, but it kind of takes over.
But it's like when someonebecomes a vegetarian.
I ask them well, why Are theyreasons that are sound, or are
(21:19):
they?
I'm trying to restrict and loseweight, and if you're starting
to run because you want to loseweight, let that just be an
aftermath versus somethingyou're trying to accomplish with
it, because that you will gethurt and then you won't be able
to do it.
Yeah, like my gymnastics right,like you can't do these intense
(21:44):
things under fueled, you're notmeeting the demands, and that
kind of reminds me of if peoplethink, oh well, I'm just not
menstruating because I'mexercising so much, that's a
symptom of under fueling, youknow.
Yeah, and that's when yourbones are going to get depleted,
that's, that's when you'regoing to get hurt.
(22:05):
That's not, oh, it's justbecause no, that's not you know.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
So I love that.
You said the aftermath.
That could be the aftermath,and you know the why and and
that's why I always say, whenyou, when someone tells me, well
, I want to run cause I want tolose weight, I said let's get a
little deeper than this.
Why do you want to lose weight?
Like what?
What's going on?
You know it's not.
There's something else going on.
Let that be the why.
You know, not the let's fix mylack of my void in my life, you
(22:35):
know what I mean.
So I love that you said that,because it is.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
It is an aftermath and it's amazing, when you don't
focus on the weight loss, howyou do lose weight when you're
focusing on you know joy, yeah,just the amazing things that
come from running, theadventures it takes you on, the
friends you make, the runner'shigh and all the things yes.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
So let's talk a little bit about menopause,
because you and I, when we firstmet, we got into that
discussion and it almost right Iknow feeling hot already it
almost plays into what I wasasking about.
You know you have these youngerfolks who you know it's
sustainable now, but you get.
(23:22):
I mean how many women like Iwas at a menopause talk and how
many women are like you knowthey're doing their workouts,
they're doing theirmacronutrients and they're
restricting and then all of asudden I turned 49 or I'm
thinking.
I'm like what the fuck happened.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
Or 41.
Like menopause, the onset ofsymptoms is.
The average age when it startsis 36 to 46.
So people are like, oh my gosh,I'm too young.
That can't be what's going on.
Yeah, it could be what's goingon, definitely.
And yeah, so there's a whole.
(24:01):
This could be a whole, notherconversation.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
I know, just give us a little.
You know a little clip.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
The bite-sized conversation is essentially
estradiol, which we've beenpoo-pooing our whole life and
we're like, oh, I have PMS,guess what?
Now PMS is all the time andestradiol is saying bye, and
estrone, which is like thisnasty estrogen, is upregulating
(24:31):
and taking over as estradiolfalls.
And estrone is inflammatory, itbreaks down our bones, it
breaks down our muscle mass, itmakes us fatigued and our GI
health is impaired, our energylevels are impaired, our ability
to do the things that we'reused to doing is impaired.
(24:54):
So estradiol is sort ofprotecting our bones, our
muscles, our inflammation, andnow that's dropping and estrone
is doing the opposite.
So it's this like completeshift.
And you know it's a lot of timespeople will go to their doctor
or whatever, and they'll go onhormone therapy, which, in my
opinion, everyone's entitled totheirs.
(25:16):
That's sort of a band-aid Likewe can help to mitigate those,
the estrone metabolic byproductswith food, and I have this
whole program that I do withwomen and we introduce all these
foods that help to up, get thatestradiol back in our system
and break down the negativeeffects of the estrone.
(25:37):
And it's amazing, it's like thehot flashes dissipate, the
muscle soreness, the achiness,all this stuff goes away and
we're able to sort of, you know,because running gets a little
bit harder, like it gets hardagain.
It's like when you firststarted running almost, and then
, if you can shift thosehormones back a little bit, it
(26:01):
feels so much better, so muchbetter.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
So, in a nutshell, everyone, the hormones are going
to impact your runs, it'simpacting your eating and you're
going to have to change the wayyou do.
Like she just said.
It gets back to being hardagain and you're like what
happened.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
What happened Right?
Speaker 2 (26:19):
Yeah, menopause happened, so anyways.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Menopause happened and, as much as you don't want
to hear it, guys, tofu is yourbest friend during menopause, I
know yes.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
Just eat it.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
I've got so many recipes, but yeah, there's ways
to it can be made in so manygreat ways you got to give it a
chance.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
people Okay.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
You really do yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
All right.
So, teresa, what do you seework for women that work with
you and I'm sure that's a loadedquestion.
I asked the same question tothe other dietitian what are
some of the things that you haveseen and maybe some of the
techniques that you share withthese women that they're like
you're telling me I can'trestrict and you're telling me I
(27:04):
can eat what I want.
Uh, I can't restrict, andyou're telling me I can eat what
I want.
Uh, are you kidding me?
And then how many times theycome back to you and they're
like holy crap, how the hell didthis?
Speaker 1 (27:12):
Oh, my gosh, I can think of two really dramatic
examples of clients who came tome.
They came to me into my journeyinto positive body image
program Cause they were like Idon't like the way I look, I
overeat these things.
And we worked, we did myjourney into positive body image
program, which is like once aweek we do nutrition counseling,
(27:32):
once a week we do yoga therapy,to like, help them reconnect.
So we reconnect the mind, thebody.
And we worked on eatingmindfully.
And one of them her issue waslike Hershey's kisses at night.
Like she just opened the bagand it just they'd all go down.
I'm like we're gonna eatmindfully, she's like, but then
I'm gonna taste it and then I'mgonna eat more.
(27:53):
No, you're gonna taste it andyou're gonna know when you've
had enough.
And she's like oh, my god, Iused to eat like 20 of these and
now I have two and I'm she waslike what?
How did that?
I?
She was afraid to actuallytaste it.
But then when she tasted it,she's like oh, I tasted it and
(28:15):
now I'm good.
And I had another one sameprogram, journey into Positive
Body Image.
She was like ah, once I takethe cheese out at night, like,
and it's because they viewedthese foods as off limits and
bad.
But then they're like I justhave to have them because their
bodies were even.
They're craving magnesium orcalcium or whatever.
And she's like you are crazy,maybe, but you are really
(28:37):
telling me that if I eatmindfully and pay attention and
eat the things that my body'sasking for, I'm going to be able
to take out that block ofcheese, have a couple slices and
put away.
I'm like yes, yes.
She's like all right, you'renuts.
I'm like all right, all right,well, let's see what happens,
let's just give it a shot.
So, like you know, a couple ofweeks later, she's like I can't
believe this, like I literallycan take it out and I'm like
(29:00):
tasting it and being presentinstead of doing all the things
to distract myself from the factthat I'm eating the thing that
I love.
But I'm actually payingattention.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
And she's like I can like take it out, eat a normal
amount and put it away.
I can't.
She was mind blown, Mind blown.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
Yeah, obviously you have different applications here
, but what you are doing is youare giving people the permission
to ask the questions thatthey're afraid to ask.
Yeah, what do I want right now?
(29:37):
Right.
And people don't understandwhen you say to your brain or
yourself don't have this, youwant it.
Yes, right, don't have that,but why do I?
Speaker 1 (29:56):
now I'm fixing it, now I want it Right, and if I
say you can have that and that'sno longer a bad food, it's not.
There's so many reasons we eat.
We eat because it's good, weeat because it's something we
grew up with.
We eat because it's part of ourculture.
Like you shouldn't tellyourself I can't have these
things, why.
Who made that rule up?
Speaker 2 (30:12):
You know, yeah, exactly.
So one of the questions I wasgoing to ask you was what does
it look like to work with you?
And you kind of dropped alittle bit about the yoga.
So, you know, someone comes toyou and say, Teresa, and let's
have a runner, because I'm surethere's women here that are
runners listening.
Yeah, you got a runner.
They come to you and maybethey're in the beginning stages
(30:36):
and they want to start eatinghealthy as a running runner and
fueling their runs.
What does that look like towork with you?
Speaker 1 (30:45):
Yeah, so that program , my high performance program,
would be.
We would meet every other weekand we'd sort of go through okay
, here's all the things that I'meating.
First they would fill out thisform that says that gives me
like an indication if there'sany nutrient deficiencies that
they might have, for whateverreason, from running from not
eating certain things, fromwhatever, there's many reasons
(31:06):
that someone might come with anutrient deficiency.
We'll go over all the thingsthat they're eating.
I'll sort of say, okay, you'rereally not getting enough of
this, that or the other thing,and then we'll add in the things
that they need.
And then they can email me,text me in between visits.
We meet every two weeks givesthem enough time to sort of try
all the things, see what works,see what doesn't, and then we
(31:32):
meet every two weeks for as longas they, you know, feel like
they need to.
So a lot of times it's firstfilling in those nutrient gaps
and then we start working onokay, let's bring in some foods
now that are going to enhanceyour performance, then we'll
weave in foods you know.
All right, you've got a longrun on Saturdays.
Here's what Friday is going tolook like.
Okay, what are the foods you'regoing to eat the next day to
recover.
Or you know, maybe you have abig race coming up, whether it's
a half marathon or a marathonor whatever, and what does that
(31:54):
look like?
How do you get to that withoutbonking, without feeling like
garbage, and what does that sortof look like?
So that's a nutshell.
You know of the highperformance program it's.
You know you always have access, you can always reach out.
I can't tell you how many textsI get from the grocery store.
This one or that.
(32:14):
How does this look?
You know, is this what you said, which is great?
You know, yeah, so that's sortof how that looks.
And then people will be like,okay, I got through that event,
I'm going to pause, and thenthey'll be like, all right, wait
, I got another one, I want tomake sure all the things are in
place, or a bigger event orsomething has shifted in their
life, and they want to circleback, and so that's yeah, sort
(32:34):
of, and I'll give them recipesalong the way that sort of
coincide with the foods thatwe're working on, that kind of
thing.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
Okay, so let's talk about someone who you do
implement the yoga and the otherthings.
So what does that look like?
Speaker 1 (32:49):
therapy, and that can be done in person or Zoom,
depending on preference andlocation, and all of that.
And it starts with, instead oflet's slap a Band-Aid on and
(33:14):
just move forward like where didthis start, why did this start?
And let's uncover some of this.
And there's a lot of journalingand let's work through some of
the things that come up and it'sit's not a weight loss, it's
not like I'm going to come intothis and lose 30 or 40 pounds.
It's I'm going to love what Ilook like.
A lot of people lose weightbecause they're being more
(33:35):
mindful in what they eat and thebinging cessates and things
like that.
But yeah, so it's aboutlearning how to eat mindfully,
learning how to listen to yourcravings, honor them and be
present.
And, yeah, so, lots ofjournaling.
I'm going to launch a newcohort for that and there's
(33:57):
going to be this really amazingretreat at the end of it that
everyone will kind of cometogether and share their success
.
So, yeah, super excited forthat.
I've been wanting to do.
I do retreats every year.
I've done two a year for awhile.
This year I'm adding the third,the Fall Fitness Festival, and
next year I'm adding one inNarragansett, rhode Island
because that's where I lived incollege and it's this really
(34:20):
special place to me because welived on the beach.
But it was also like where Ilearned how to shift all of this
, and so that's where thisjourney I just got chills that's
where this journey intopositive body image retreat will
be, so that I can just share,share my story, share that and
like have everyone come togetherand share their successes as
well.
Speaker 2 (34:39):
Okay, that's awesome, and where could someone like,
if they're interested in this,like, where could they look?
Speaker 1 (34:45):
like if they're interested in this, like where
could they look?
Yeah, so my websitenutrition-for-opcom.
Okay, All of that good stuff isthere my yoga classes, the
retreats, all the programs.
And if someone's not sure, likemaybe they want to work with me
but not sure what program isbest for them, they can just
(35:06):
reach out and we can have a chatand figure it out, and you're
also on social media.
Speaker 2 (35:08):
What are your handles for?
Speaker 1 (35:10):
Yes, instagram is Teresa DiLorenzo Nutrition.
Speaker 2 (35:13):
Okay, okay, all right , teresa, I had so much fun
talking to you.
Speaker 1 (35:19):
And you know.
Speaker 2 (35:21):
I think the work you're doing for women and
loving their bodies and it, youknow.
When you were talking, Ithought to myself if we just did
a little bit more of this, like, yes, you know, and it's
amazing, the more you do this,the more things let go you know
Um, and I think you are teachingwomen how to feed into
(35:46):
themselves, not only literally.
Literally, figuratively all ofit, but feed into that soul so
that they can be happy and findjoy in their lives, find that
peace with themselves.
Yes, absolutely so.
I love what you're doing.
Thank you so much for being apart of the show.
Speaker 1 (36:07):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (36:09):
I loved it and, like I said, the listeners.
If you want to get a hold ofTeresa, you can go on her
website and go on her socialmedia handles.
I'll be putting this all in thenotes so that you can just
click and get to her reallyquickly.
And again, teresa, thank you.
Thank you, all right, untilnext time.
Bye.
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