E96: From Steelers To Seniors: A Dietitian’s Playbook to Fuel Your Most Nutritious Life

What makes Leslie Bonci with Active Eating Advice by Leslie Bonci a good neighbor?  

Think eating well has to feel like punishment? Registered dietitian Leslie Bonci joins us to flip that script with an approach built on addition, not fear. From her Pittsburgh roots to decades with elite teams like the Steelers and the Chiefs, Leslie shares how Active Eating Advice helps real people create plates they can enjoy and sustain- without the fads, "dreadlines", or food policing.

We dig into the biggest myths that keep folks stuck: the idea of “bad” foods, the obsession with superfoods, and the misplaced hope that supplements can replace meals. Leslie’s take is refreshingly direct: food is the cake and supplements are the icing. She maps out how to build a better plate with simple, repeatable moves- spread protein across the day, time carbs to match activity, prioritize hydration and fiber for digestion, and make room for what you actually like to eat so it sticks.

Leslie also explains how collaboration with physicians and physical therapists can change outcomes for patients working on rehab, body composition, or chronic conditions. Her sports nutrition mindset translates to everyday life: fuel before you go, recover after, and choose habits you can maintain when travel, family, or work gets hectic. We get to know the person behind the plan too- daily movement, a love of jazz, and the joy of spoiling grandkids- because sustainable nutrition has to fit a full life, not the other way around.

If you want to trade restriction for results you can keep, this conversation is your playbook. Hit follow, share with a friend who’s tired of food fear, and leave a review with your top nutrition question- we’ll bring more answers your way.

To learn more about Active Eating Advice by Leslie Bonci go to: 

http://www.activeeatingadvice.com/

Active Eating Advice by Leslie Bonci 

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Lila Carter.

SPEAKER_02 (00:12):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Are you in need of a registereddietitian?
One might be closer than youthink.
Today I have the pleasure ofintroducing your good neighbor,
Leslie Bonsey, with activeeating advice by Leslie Bonsey.
Leslie, how's it going?

SPEAKER_01 (00:30):
Hey, it is great.
It is so nice to be here today.
And you know what?
Everybody needs a registereddietitian.
Just saying, you know, I wouldlike one for myself sometime
because it's just crazy outthere in the eating world.

SPEAKER_02 (00:44):
Absolutely.
So we're excited to learn allabout you and your business.
Please tell us more about yourcompany.

SPEAKER_01 (00:52):
Sure.
So I was, I am a Pittsburghnative.
I grew up in Squirrel Hill andthen Shady Side, and we live in
Point Bree.
So we've done a very littlecircle.
Worked for UPMC for a countlessnumber of years and then UPMC
Center for Sports Medicine, alsoAHN, and decided in 2015 to open
up my own business active eatingadvice.

(01:14):
And so, you know, I've seencountless Pittsburghers and
people really from all over theworld, whether it is, you know,
to help them to optimize bodycomposition, to help them manage
pre-existing diseases, to helpwith those that are dealing with
eating disorders, with alsodigestive diseases and sport
nutrition is my passion.
Spent 21 years with theSteelers, as well as some of the

(01:36):
other Pittsburgh teams, and morerecently the Kansas City Chiefs.
So pretty much really helpingpeople, you know, create the
great plate that they deserve todo with that focus on what to
eat rather than all thisnonsense about the you know the
scare tactics and the dreadlinesand all those things out there
that just mess with our head.

SPEAKER_02 (01:57):
Right.
Absolutely focused on thepositive and what we are
consuming rather than stay awayfrom XYZ.
Yeah, I love that.
And what an intimate business tobe in.
How did you get into this space,Leslie?

SPEAKER_01 (02:11):
So I when I went to undergrad, I went uh to school
in biopsychology and reallydidn't like where I went to
school.
So I graduated early and cameback to Pittsburgh and worked at
a health education center, agood friend of my mother's.
And then I started graduateschool in public health, first
class with a nutrition class.
It's like, huh, this is what Iwant to do.

(02:32):
So I pursued a graduate degreein public health and
undergraduate courses to be ableto do an internship as a
dietitian.
And you know, that all startedin 1982.
So I've been in this field avery long time.
I would say hashtag fossil fuel.
I am succinct, not extinct.
But you know, the reality iseverybody needs to eat, and we

(02:54):
hear all of the nonsense outthere that is more focused on
the the don't or the and so thatdoesn't help.
It doesn't make peoplehealthier, it doesn't help
people sustain over a period oftime.
So that really is my passion tokind of be the cheerleader at
the plate, so to speak.

SPEAKER_02 (03:12):
Very good.
Are there any myths or maybemisconceptions that you'd like
to address today in ourconversation?
Yes.

SPEAKER_01 (03:20):
So first of all, people will say, Oh, you're the
food police.
Um, no, don't wear a badge,don't do any of that kind of
stuff.
So not the food enabler, maybe,but not necessarily the food
police.
Secondly, I think the assumptionthat there are inherently foods
that are bad, sure.
If you have an allergy to afood, it could kill you.
Don't eat it.
Or if you have an intolerance toa food or the food is spoiled,

(03:43):
but that's it in terms of thebad that is out there.
Or that we should just reallyfocus on the elimination.
What we're not going to do,that's a big myth.
You know, as well as there aresuperfoods, there aren't,
because there's not one foodthat's going to do it all for
everybody, or that the food isrobbed of the nutrients in the
soil.
Get over it.

(04:04):
It's not true.
And we can't do supplements inplace of food.
That's not the way the bodyworks.
The food is the cake, thesupplements are the icing.
So you can't just do the icing,you gotta do that cake
underneath.

SPEAKER_02 (04:18):
Gotcha, gotcha.
And so, as we're thinking ofmarketing as the heart of any
business, uh, who are yourtarget clients and how are you
currently attracting them toyour business?

SPEAKER_01 (04:30):
Yeah, so uh it it is I have a lot of private clients
that I work with, and oftentimesthat's coming from physicians in
the area.
You know, I've been a fixturehere for a long time, so I know
a lot of the physicians and theyrefer and I prefer back.
Um, even physical therapists.
What's interesting is a lot ofpatients that go to CPTs, they

(04:50):
really need the help of aregistered dietitian in order to
optimize the rehabilitation thatthey're going through.
Uh, I do still a lot of workwith sports teams.
We'll talk in high schools andeven at universities, talking at
Carnegie Mellon on Wednesdaynight.
So there's not a that audienceas well, you know, as well as
people that are recreationalathletes or even more than that,

(05:13):
a professional athletes that aretrying to take it to the next
level.
And then I do some work withindustry as well.
So it really is very, very broadbased in terms of what I do by
choice.
I I really love having all thefingers and all the fives all
the time.

SPEAKER_02 (05:28):
Yeah, and I know it is it is so personal, but it's
also something that so manypeople can benefit from learning
about.
Have you ever thought aboutmaybe doing your own podcasts to
share that information?

SPEAKER_01 (05:41):
Yeah, you know what?
I have, and I because I travelso much, like it, it's like it,
it I haven't gotten that tofruition yet.
But I also thought about as a asa my TikTok channel ticked off
with all the things that make meangry in the nutrition space.
The problem is you don't want tobe bitter.
You really want to emphasizethat in a positive way, but it's

(06:04):
still there at the back of mymind, and maybe someday it'll be
out there as a podcast with somecreative name that has yet to be
decided.
Lunch with Leslie, or you know,something like that.
I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 (06:17):
I love that.
Yeah.
So outside of work, what do youdo for fun, Leslie?

SPEAKER_01 (06:21):
You know what?
I I uh I do walk the walk.
So I am out there exercisingdaily.
If it is walk-run, I row and Ilift weights.
Those are my big three things todo.
We are big jazz aficionados, sowe belong to MTG Jazz.
What a jewel in this city.
Um, and we have little ones inour lives that not none of them

(06:43):
live here in Pittsburgh,unfortunately.
But you know, we try and visitthem as often as we can, spoil
them because this is whatgrandparents do, right?
My my own children were neverspoiled.
Hello, but all bets are off whenit comes to the little ones.
We love it.

SPEAKER_02 (06:59):
Well, it's very sweet.
Yeah, I love jazz as well.
And um, maybe we can shout outCon Alma on this episode as well
because they have lots ofamazing healthy choices there,
also in their selection offoods, um, and just such a
lively jazz scene here inPittsburgh to appreciate as

(07:20):
well.
So, Leslie, please tell ourlisteners one thing that they
should remember about activeeating advice.

SPEAKER_01 (07:30):
Is the the focus is on the what you can do, what you
will do, what you can continueto do.
So it is all about what you canattain, maintain, sustain.
Give me a call.
More than happy to work withyou.

SPEAKER_02 (07:45):
Excellent.
And how can our listeners reachyou?

SPEAKER_01 (07:49):
Yes.
So um my website is activeeatingadvice.com and also via
email, which is bonclj1 atgmail.com.
Best ways to get in touch withme, or just send an SOS and I'll
find it in a smoke signalsomewhere.

SPEAKER_02 (08:06):
Leslie, we need you.

SPEAKER_01 (08:10):
Help, help, come and take this out of my mouth.
I won't do that.
I absolutely do not do that.

SPEAKER_02 (08:17):
You'll be like, here, have this instead.
That's right.

SPEAKER_01 (08:21):
Excellent.

SPEAKER_02 (08:22):
Well, Leslie, it was a pleasure having you on the
show.
I really appreciate your timetoday and having you on here
with your business.
Thank you so much, and we wishyou and your business the best
moving forward.

SPEAKER_01 (08:36):
Oh, thank you so much for having me.
It was a true delight.

SPEAKER_00 (08:40):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on the
show, go to gnppittsburgh.com.
That's gnppittsburgh.com or call412 561 9956.