Episode 98: Lauren Hubert

The Sorority Nutritionist Lauren Hubert On Why Failing Diets Are A Part Of Healthy Lifestyle Success

This week Samantha chats with dietitian and the sorority nutritionist Lauren Hubert. She's passionate about teaching people how to fuel their body for lasting and balanced weight loss. Her goal in the weight loss space is to not only inspire women to lose weight in a balanced and fun way, but to also make sure no woman feels guilty about wanting to be HOT, healthy, and successful.

The two discuss the secret to improving your relationship with food, common dieting mistakes, the truth to calorie counting and Lauren shares her tips on how you can stop self sabotaging and get results that truly stick!

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Podcast Script

Sam: [00:00:00] Monetize your passion for wellbeing like a job you love every single day. Find a happy life from a healthy lifestyle. What's up guys. This is Spin, Skin and Other Addictions, a podcast by me, Samantha E Cutler of The Fit Fatale. Each week I'm going to take you deeper into the world of wellness with entrepreneurs who are building brands designed to better your life.

[00:00:27] So you'll be hearing from fitness gurus, medical specialists, and influencers in the world of fitness, health, beauty, and nutrition. I hope you guys love it. Let's get down.

[00:00:00] Lauren: I think so often failure is different than failing. And I always point that out to clients like failure is a destination, meaning like that is the end result.There's nothing else you can do. The idea is gone. There's nothing you can do to lose weight. We're failing is an active, it's a verb. And I know that sounds so simple, but if you realize a failure, isn't an end destination. It really. You saying, Hey, this shit didn't work for me.

[00:01:03] Sam: Welcome back. You are listening to spin skin and other addictions episode number 98. So this week, ladies, I am joined by Lauren Hubert. It is such a good episode, short and sweet with so much value. Lauren Hubert is a neutral. Helps women around North America lose weight, hit their goals, and really find a balance and stick with it.

[00:01:27] Sam: But what I love most about Lauren's approach is one thing that she says is things like your calorie budget and kind of understanding that it's all. Balance and how we approach like fashion even, or saving for our homes. If we're looking at buying a designer bag, maybe we're shopping a little bit more at a lower end, trend place versus buying everything high end.

[00:01:49] Sam: Right. And so it's kind of finding that balance that works for you. I just love her approach in that manner. And we talk so much about how failing in finding what works for you is all about finding what works for you at the end. And so if that doesn't work for you, there's a reason for it, right? If something isn't figuring itself out, if it isn't feeling right, if it's not working because you're eating too few calories or you're working out too much, you're doing extremes.

[00:02:15] Sam: It makes sense that you're failing. It makes sense that it doesn't work. And so I just love Lauren's approach. Her story is that she was gaining weight as a sorority gal, trying to figure out how to eat and going to nutrition school and dietary school. And she had to figure it out for herself. And it's all about the process of educating on what works for you and Lauren's helping women figure that out through her process, through her company. Um, and it's so great to have her on here. She's just really fun, vibrant. It has like a really a fun approach to weight loss and finding your balance in your groove as a woman and loving your body and appreciating it for what it can do. So without further ado, here's Lauren, the sorority nutritionist.

[00:03:00] Sam: Hey everyone, and welcome to another episode. Today I am joined by Lauren Hubert, who is a dietician, but most importantly, her story resonated with me so much going through college, trying to figure out how to eat. You guys have probably heard me talk about my personal stories. And now she is the founder of The Sorority Nutritionist. She also has a podcast. And she has so much good stuff. I just love her approach to eating and more importantly, helping women through their process of weight loss. So I'm really excited to talk today, Lauren, and thank you for being here with me.

[00:03:34] Lauren: Yeah, girlfriend. Oh my goodness. Thank you so much for having me on I'm super pumped to chat with you.

[00:03:39] Sam: Why don't you give us a little bit of your background in your words, how you ended up being a dietician and just kind of how your story led you to where we are.

[00:03:48] Lauren: Yeah, so shamelessly, I wanted to become a dietician. I've always thought, like I loved being a teacher. I taught swimming growing up, but shamelessly, I did it for me at first. And that's because I was super struggling with my nutrition after gaining 20 pounds as a sorority girl at Florida state that doing like competitive sports that I did. And I felt like a hot mess express.

[00:04:08] Lauren: I realized there was like a lot. Deeper things that I needed to kind of work on and nutrition for me kind of became an outlet where I learned some things. And unfortunately, some of the things were not very accurate and based on science and very balanced. So I went down like the super restrictive dieting path.

[00:04:24] Lauren: Actually as I was studying dietetics at a collegiate level. And it was so wild because I was learning all this stuff in school, but in my personal life, like my diet and my relationship with the food was just like, so not where it is today. And so not where it needs to be to be healthy and balanced and also hot at the same time.

[00:04:40] Lauren: So, um, that's how I kinda got into nutrition, but truthfully I'm so glad it happened this way because it led me to assembling upon, um, truly stumbling upon the concept of the sorority nutritionist and the work I do now as a dietician, because I was so vocal and it felt very uncomfortable with sharing my own experience with my sorority sisters and realizing like, we all kind of struggle with the same nutrition and body confidence stuff, but no, one's really having a conversation about being hot and like loving the way that you look and pairing that with also balance and like doing this shit the right way.

[00:05:13] Lauren: So that's what kind of led me to place now. And it's so funny, looking back, like everything totally happened for a reason.

[00:05:20] Sam: And I think that there's such a shift, right? Like you're in the right place at the right time with like your approach to like hot girl eating. I love it. Um, and you know, like, versus the hot mess, if you guys check out Lauren's Instagram, she has tons of like funny comparison.

[00:05:35] Sam: I don't know if they're called memes, but just like lists, you know, it's like, this is what the hot mess would do. This is what the hot girl diet is, you know? And it's just sorta like the difference between like where you can find balance. You know, too much of one extreme or the other. And I think that right now, we're in a time where women are much more open to this idea of balance and understanding their bodies and understanding health.

[00:05:59] Sam: And I don't know exactly your age Lauren, but I think we're a similar ages. And I remember when I was in school that wasn't the norm, right. We were looking at unrealistic ideas and everything was here's what's the lowest like calories and sugar-free and like a bunch of crap in it and it wasn't creating a balance.

[00:06:15] Sam: It was either one extreme to, you know, not eating or the other extreme to binge eating. And there was no real like place to cultivate something in the middle. And I feel like you're really doing that for your clients. So tell us a little bit about what's your, I guess, rules or secrets to live by when it comes to finding balance and a relationship with food?

[00:06:35] Sam: Yeah, absolutely.

[00:06:36] Lauren: So I think first off it really depends on your goals. And I always start off every conversation about nutrition with that in mind, because there's kind of two major populations of women who are probably listening to this right. There's women who might want to change their body composition, see some weight loss and like see change in their body.

[00:06:52] Lauren: And then there's other women that like just want to be healthier and it's not about changing their body, but more about like improving their eating habits or even maintaining the weight that they've lost for instance. Regardless of what camp you fall in some of the most important things you can do to improve your relationship to food, regardless of where you're at on your journey is actually allowing the foods you want to have in the foods you crave into your diet.

[00:07:15] Lauren: And I know it sounds so simple and coming from a dietician who like literally coaches people to help with weight loss, you're probably thinking like, oh my God, like, what the hell is this woman saying? But you have to have more inclusion in your diet to be able to actually have disipline. And have this ability to choose worth it foods versus, you know, saying no to foods that aren't worth it for you.

[00:07:33] Lauren: And it all starts off with inclusion. And I think you're so on the money with this balance and kind of what you were saying before, when you don't understand what's in your food, your following arbitrary rules and food lists to get to your results. And it's very all or nothing. But when you understand what's in your food and you understand how to plan your diet, and it's sort of like a puzzle, you hold the power and you're able to make these educated and informed choices, but it all starts from that education piece.

[00:07:58] Sam: 100%. And I think that's why also when we're younger, it's a lot harder to kind of get that grasp on it because it comes down to education and it's a little bit of trial and error, right? Like what works for me? What doesn't? So you were talking about something on your Instagram and you know what, let's just dive right in, because I think this is such a hot topic.

[00:08:16] Sam: I have a startup. And so in the startup world, it's like fail fast, make sure you screw up your product. So you move on and you fix it, right? Like in the tech space. You are the first person I hear it taking that approach to diet. It's find what doesn't work. Right? Like if you're starting a diet, you're starting something that doesn't work for your body.

[00:08:35] Sam: Fail fast, like screw up, fuck it up, eat the wrong things, feel bad and then figure out what does, can you elaborate a little bit more on this? Because I absolutely love this approach.

[00:08:45] Lauren: Yeah. So shamelessly, you will find, and I'm like giving away my secrets ladies. So you will find so much of what I do with weight loss.

[00:08:52] Lauren: Like I've had my own weight loss journey. I've coached thousands of women. And I like, I understand the struggle, but sometimes I love taking concepts that I actually have implemented in my entrepreneurial journey with TSN and bridging that. Because so many of my clients are also women who have, you know, been in the entrepreneurial space, you know, started something on their own.

[00:09:11] Lauren: And I think the most successful women in life, the most successful businesses, right. Are the ones that realize their mistakes. Right. And that's where this whole kind of concept came from me. I'm not pulling this out of thin air. It's from exactly what, what you know it from as well. But I think it really applies to weight loss because women get very hung up on when they fail.

[00:09:29] Lauren: And kind of being almost like married to a certain diet pattern or way of eating and it makes it really hard and really painful to fail. And I think so often failure is different than failing. And I always point that out to clients like failure is a destination, meaning like that is the end result.

[00:09:44] Lauren: There's nothing else you can do. The idea is gone. There's nothing you can do to lose weight. We're failing is an active, it's a verb. And I know that sounds so simple, but if you realize a failure, isn't an end destination. It really. You saying, Hey, this shit didn't work for me. Fuck it. Let's move on. Let's do.

[00:10:00] Lauren: What's going to work. That's what we call a growth mindset. That's focusing on what you can change the most successful women and entrepreneurs and women who also keep weight off. And, you know, whatever goal you're working towards in life are the women that realize failure is not the end result. Failure is just a stepping stone to understand what you need to work on now.

[00:10:17] Sam: And what, what do you think failing looks like in a diet? Because chances are everyone listening to this has failed at some point in their life, but they may have a hard time wrapping their head around understanding, like what does failing mean when it comes to my body? What I'm eating, weight loss, all that stuff.

[00:10:34] Lauren: Yeah. Well, it's funny, you mentioned that too, because failing a diet means that you failed something that you've intended to do, but oftentimes, and I think I, and this is probably what you're referring to, that you saw my page. I was actually talking about it on my Instagram story yesterday. How, when you're following really bad diet advice, like you were gonna fail girlfriend, like that shit was destined to happen.

[00:10:55] Lauren: When you are following a super low carb diet that cuts out all of your favourite foods and you're eating way too low calorie. You're not having the proper portions of nutrients at meals, and you're literally starving yourself. I mean like no shit girlfriends, it doesn't take a rocket science scientist to know that you were always going to fail that.

[00:11:12] Lauren: And that's why your plan has to be considered when we're talking about failure, because I don't view failure as almost like one size fits all. Because if you failed yourself, because you haven't followed through on a promise and sustainable changes, right. And you have to understand, what's going to get you to make those changes and commit to those healthy habits that we want you to have in your diet and your exercise routine.

[00:11:34] Lauren: But if you're failing a program or a diet, which is also a little bit of a red flag, right. When we're, when we're failing something so constantly, um, and it's attached to like a camp or an identity that usually means like, that thing was never gonna work for you. And it often was like the strategy itself that was destined for you not to be able to continue it for a long period of time, if that makes sense.

[00:11:56] Sam: Absolutely. And you talk a lot also about like self-sabotage and I think like it ties into that as well. I would imagine that we would assume we're self sabotaging us, but in reality, the diet's not even possible. Like you said, like it's not possible to follow. It's not good. It doesn't fit for us.

[00:12:13] Sam: It's not sustainable long-term but then. Place that back on ourselves. Like I can speak for myself when I was much younger and kind of going through like a yo-yo approach, you know, 20, 21 that, that kind of figuring it out and. It was all about like, oh, well it's my fault. Right? Like, I'm ruining this for me.

[00:12:30] Sam: I can't eat a thousand calories a day. What's wrong with me? Like, you can't do that. No one can. Right.

[00:12:37] Lauren: Yeah. Yeah. And that it's all about the approach. And that's why, I mean, like, it sounds corny. It sounds like, you know, so basic, but education. Seriously has to happen and it's not happening in the nutrition space.

[00:12:49] Lauren: Even today. We're always told as women follow this, do this, this worked for Susie. This worked for my friend. My mom did this lost 20 pounds. Like we're always told things that work, but they're surface level shit, to be quite honest, it's not getting to the root of, okay. What are the things in a fat loss oriented diet that we have to do?

[00:13:08] Lauren: Okay. We have to be in a calorie deficit. Well, how much of a calorie deficit? How many calories should we be cutting out? What types of foods should we be eating? Um, why are those foods important? We need to connect all the pieces together. And that's the only way you're going to sustainably feel hot, healthy, confident, sexy, and most importantly, keep this weight off and be able to maintain all the hard work you're putting in.

[00:13:30] Lauren: But it totally, I agree with you starts off with this education piece because sometimes diets we're totally meant to fail.

[00:13:36] Sam: And you mentioned a lot on calorie counting. What's your approach and what do you feel like is, is your truth when it comes to calorie counting?

[00:13:43] Sam: Wait, I

[00:13:44] Lauren: love this question. What is my truth? When it comes to calorie counting, because there is so much misinformation about calorie counting.

[00:13:50] Lauren: I mean, that word in 2021 is like a trigger word on the internet saying calorie counting because we have a perception as women of what calorie counting is because we've been told to do it, or we've downloaded my fitness pal or lose it. But to me as a dietician, I use calorie counting as a tool. And I think that's one of the most important things us women have to realize if we decide to use it as a tool, as it's a way for us to understand our nutrition, but it can only be a value and only be helpful for you. If you understand these non-negotiables of whatever goal that you're working towards and how you're using that information. Because calorie counting can becomes something bad and becomes something not helpful, if we don't have the knowledge on how to understand these numbers and use them.

[00:14:31] Lauren: Um, and it's just like budgeting to save money for a house and your dream home, or a dream car, dream purse. Like there's so many different ways for us to get to this end goal, but using calorie, counting alongside other tools as well are really, really important. And you know, some of those could be looking at your plate and understanding what types of foods you on there and the color, and like eating the rainbow.

[00:14:51] Lauren: Other things could be like a consistency calendar, you know, other tools in addition to calorie counting, but it has to be used as part of like an overall game plan.

[00:15:00] Sam: It's interesting. You said like other, other metrics that you're looking at in a consistency calendar. I always find that so interesting because we think of calories as the only piece when it comes to weight loss, right? Like, okay, I need to work out. I need to eat less, but there's so many different aspects that affect how our body metabolizes food like stress and, um, you know, our work and our habits and our sleep routine and all these different components. And as you said, like an accountability chart or whatever that is for you is so important to look at, like, am I hitting all these other things as well?

[00:15:33] Sam: Do you have something that you live by or that you suggest to clients when it comes to really incorporating, I guess the other pieces of the puzzle with weight loss?

[00:15:42] Lauren: Oh, yeah. So the first tool that I really love using with clients, actually it have this fun little Excel sheet that you guys could totally use at home as well.

[00:15:50] Lauren: Um, but basically with calorie tracking, actually I incorporate this consistency piece with tracking because I firmly do believe, and I see it in women all the time. There are right ways and there are wrong ways to use calorie tracking. And in fact, we can think we're doing all the right things and you know, some of you ladies might resonate with this.

[00:16:07] Lauren: I'm hitting my calories. I'm doing it. All right. But then if you're still not seeing results, like girlfriend, you're not doing it all right. Like you haven't failed, but like there's some tweaking we got to do. Right. So with the consistency calendar idea, I actually kind of merged those together with calorie counting.

[00:16:21] Lauren: And essentially what I'm trying to say is with a progress tracker, being able to track how many calories you're hitting daily and looking at your weekly average, and also doing that with other key nutrients, like protein, like fiber. Steps like other habits in your lifestyle. I actually really do that with clients a lot, because it one, it teaches you that one day is not end all be all.

[00:16:42] Lauren: One day is not why you're not losing weight, but also it can show you some of your habits and areas of your plan that maybe are not even thinking about at the time. Um, and focusing on that weekly average for all of these things are able to, for you to kind of assess, okay, this is where I need to be.

[00:16:56] Lauren: This is what actually happened and help you kind of identify those weak points in your diet and exercise habits that you can start to tweak.

[00:17:04] Sam: Yeah. It's like the full picture, not just one piece or one meal or one thing that throws you off. And I love that approach to it. We also talked a little bit earlier about how like, calories is this bad word, right? Like calorie counting is this really bad word? It's all over the internet. It's used in so many different ways, but at the end of the day, calories are what keep us alive. Right? They are so important for our day-to-day function of our body and I want to hear your approach on, or your thoughts on that, not all calories are made the same. And how do you kind of help people balance their different macronutrient?

[00:17:38] Lauren: Yeah, absolutely. So I have a framework I use with my clients. It's a simple three step kind of guiding light is what I use. And the first step is all focused on calories. And you even mentioned it before, like calories are that foundation.

[00:17:51] Lauren: Calories is basically a synonym for energy and just like your car, it needs gasoline to be able to go on the road, or maybe you have a Tesla where you're using, you know, better fuel sources, right? Um, you, your body needs energy and no matter who you are, calories are that energy source. So. How we're so fearful of calories, we always think lower calorie is better.

[00:18:12] Lauren: And honestly, calories, even a triggering word at this point, because honestly, calorie is this amazing word. It is something we need and we need to fuel ourselves. Even if we're losing weight, we need to fuel ourselves period. Um, so calories, once we understand that that really sets the framework for your goals and the foundation of your diet.

[00:18:30] Lauren: After we focus on calories though, our work doesn't end there. Exactly. You're totally right. The, what you eat is so important and although calories are a unit of energy and they're kind of the same across the board, how you get your different calories and the other nutrients and things within your food are not created equal.

[00:18:47] Lauren: So I usually just say that calories are not created equal. That's kind of my approach and kind of how I explain it to clients because different food sources do provide different amounts of nutrients and different benefits and cons and your diet plan. But it's all about finding that balance.

[00:19:02] Lauren: But actually when you understand. All foods have calories. It does make spending what I call your calorie budget a little bit more flexible and fun because you can, don't have to just eat the perfect, clean, healthy high fiber high protein foods, 24 7. You can also fit in some of those higher calorie fun foods as part of your routine as well.

[00:19:20] Lauren: Knowing that calories are this overall thing we need in your diet.

[00:19:25] Sam: And I love how you call it, your calorie budget. The second you say that a light bulb goes off in my head and it's just like fashion. It's the same thing, ladies, you heard it here, right? It's just, what is your budget?

[00:19:36] Sam: If you're working with a limited budget, like save that and buy a nice bag and wear, you know, clothes from like H and M or whatever, and balance it.

[00:19:44] Sam: And that high, low approach that we take to fashion to be able to hit styles and trends, but also have nice things. Basically how we need to look at our food. Right? If I'm understanding correctly Lauren.

[00:19:55] Lauren: Literally like right on the money and like so funny, I'm saying money because that's like, so on point with what we're talking about, but literally like, that is what I'm trying to bring into the nutrition space.

[00:20:04] Lauren: And, you know, we think of calorie tracking and working towards an aesthetic goal is so restrictive, but yeah. You do have some give and take. There is some give and take that has to happen, but it doesn't have to be this miserable process for every single food choice makes you want to literally die, makes you want to feel so upset with your diet.

[00:20:21] Lauren: And it's not exciting to eat. Like we need to infuse fun even as we're trying to lose weight. Um, and exactly right like these little give and take moments, a lot of you to go towards that greater volume have whether it's getting a handbag, um, or achieving a certain body composition.

[00:20:36] Sam: I love it like that approach and just be used in so many different assets and, okay, so let's dive into it because this is one of my favorite fun foods is the pumpkin spice latte.

[00:20:47] Sam: I know so many women are obsessed with it. And Lauren, you have so many great swaps. I know you have an article actually that has like five different pumpkin spice latte options that are better for you, lower calories, et cetera. Can you talk a little bit about this? Because everyone here knows if they know me, I'm obsessed with pumpkin spice lattes.

[00:21:07] Sam: I'm obsessed with fall. Let's go for it.

[00:21:09] Lauren: Wait, we literally just become best friends because I love all things pumpkin. And actually I do need to be honest. So the OG pumpkin spice latte was never usually like my favorite favorite thing. It wasn't until a little bit older, maybe a little bit more mature and maybe more nostalgic where I like became more obsessed with it.

[00:21:27] Lauren: But let me tell you the pumpkin cream cold brew from Starbucks totally changed my relationship to pumpkin because real talk like it is the best thing to ever happen to Starbucks. Um, it's my favorite drink? Truly, I wait all year for this to come around, but you know, I'm a big believer in this actually happened when I first started my career and like right when I was out of college, I love Starbucks.

[00:21:48] Lauren: I've always loved it, especially with my husband and healthcare and how much I was working to become a dietician. Yeah. There were some late nights study times. Um, so I quickly developed a little bit of a bad, but also amazing caffeine addiction. Cause I do love a good coffee in the morning. Um, but you know, I did become very aware of how many calories were in some of these Starbucks drinks, especially the seasonal ones.

[00:22:10] Lauren: And when the holidays would come around, my clients would have them and I like need a way to make it not restrictive, but also like make it fit their routine, but also have a little bit of this give and take and, you know, while you can totally have the OG version, I'm all about incorporating fun. And once again, when you have a calorie budget and understanding, even if you're working towards a weight loss goal, you can fit it in, right.

[00:22:31] Lauren: The weekly average matters most heck if you want to start your day off, um, with the pumpkin spice latte a few days a week, like we could make it work great. There has to just be some give and take, but I know personally for myself, like some of these drinks in the morning, I don't know about you girls, I just like will not feel good.

[00:22:46] Lauren: Like it literally feels like dessert. I don't want dessert at fricking 7:00 AM in the morning. I want a little bit more coffee. Um, not as much sweetness. So that's where these kinds of swaps came in and specifically for the pumpkin cream cold brew. You know what I usually use with a lot of my swaps and how like I help out with the calories and, you know, saving on sugar is either altering the types of sweeteners they're putting in there.

[00:23:05] Lauren: So, you know, say it's four pumps of pumpkin sauce. Like what would it look like if it had two? And also if you do want it a little bit sweeter, what if you added like a sugar-free vanilla or sugar-free toffee nut? Um, that is zero calories in there to try to balance out some of like the real sugar and then adding some, a little bit of the artificial sweetness as well.

[00:23:22] Lauren: Um, and there's so many fun things you can do, but it can really, really help you make your drink a little bit healthier.

[00:23:28] Sam: I love it and we have to link it here, your recipe. Cause I know you have like your go-to TSN pumpkin cold brew, and we're going to have to share that with everyone so they can go and order it as well.

[00:23:38] Sam: Um, it's such a, it's just such like you said nostalgic cozy feeling that you can't deny in fall. You're like, all right, fall is a short season. We only have, you know, a few months until we're like right into holiday, holiday drinks, holiday food, all that stuff. So pretty much like September, till November, you don't want to pass up.

[00:23:55] Sam: And I think that's what makes the pumpkin spice latte and all these pumpkin things. So appealing is, is realistically like that you give yourself only a short period of time that you can have them, but we also have to be realistic. So it doesn't, as you said, Completely throw you off, but there are ways to bring it in. So I love the way you have your recipe and I need to go and try this mix.

[00:24:16] Lauren: Yeah, I will say it's my favorite. Absolutely.

[00:24:21] Sam: I love it. What milk do you get?

[00:24:22] Lauren: Um, so it kind of depends. So I was going dairy-free for a hot minute. Not because I'm like anti dairy, but because I just have like a little bit of issue with it.

[00:24:30] Lauren: Um, so now I get it the OG way and I just kind of be mindful about how much dairy I'm having in the rest of my day. Just cause I personally can't have too much, um, especially like cream kind of stuff. Um, but if you do have any issues with dairy, I've actually had a few clients try it with the almond milk and soy milk as well from Starbucks.

[00:24:46] Lauren: Um, this soy milk is a little bit higher in calories. Actually vanilla flavored, um, the almond milk one doesn't foam as much just FYI for you guys, if you do try it. Um, but it still is a really good swap, especially cause some people do have like food allergies of course. Um, but obviously the best is going to be like with the dairy and like the cream just cause the frost like absolutely amazing.

[00:25:06] Sam: Totally. And we're the same sort of, we're not dairy free. Totally. So I'll like opt for oat. I find oat froths pretty well.

[00:25:13] Lauren: Oh My God, wait I actually just had someone DM me about doing my swap with oat milk. And actually I was going to say like that one probably is going to froth off the best I keep forgetting starbucks has oat milk. It's so good there. Um, it's going to be probably a little high in fat, but oat milk because of the high fat content is going to froth like so fricking amazing.

[00:25:29] Sam: Yeah, it's so true. And also it's like, sweet naturally they don't have, it's not flavored or anything, but it just like oats naturally are a little bit sweeter.

[00:25:36] Sam: So I feel like it kind of ties everything together really well.

[00:25:39] Lauren: Oh yeah and I feel like,oat and pumpkin, because I've made like baking stuff with it. I mean, oat and pumpkin, and like oat milk is going to taste so good. I'm obsessed with oat milk, like you do not have to pull my leg to get me to have it.

[00:25:51] Lauren: So on that

[00:25:52] Sam: note, as we're heading into, which is kind of crazy to say, because we're recording this it's early September and we're heading into September fall holiday season.

[00:26:01] Sam: Do you have any, you know, insight you can share with our listeners as they head into? What's probably one of the hardest times to stick to a balance, stick to regular eating quote unquote for them. Right. Everyone's regular is different, but what are some of your tips as we go into these crazy food loving months?

[00:26:20] Lauren: Oh yeah. That's the best way to put it. It's so funny. I actually just recorded. I started my podcast called Fit Girl Fall. And it was inspired by this because we always talk about hot girl summer and everyone wants to lose weight, look their best, where wear the most amazing clothing, like be a Hot Girl in the summer, but it's like, what about fall?

[00:26:35] Lauren: Like, well, what about feeling your best and fall? And also going into the holiday season. And I think if you are in the place where you already have really awesome habits. When fall comes around and especially this kind of kicks off, not only fall, but winter and like this entire holiday shebang going on, we really have to hone in on our habits.

[00:26:52] Lauren: And honestly, for me personally, like I know I have to flex my discipline muscle and I think one of the most helpful things that we can do. There's actually two things we can do. The first thing is setting non-negotiables of things in your weekly routine that are going to make you feel your best. And I know for me, the first thing that always goes is exercise and sometimes veggies on my plate as well. So becoming really hyper-focused on areas of your diet that, you know, you tend to like kind of push to the side during chaotic times, but there are things that make you feel your best. That's the thing that we really need to focus on. And so I know for me getting in my consistent workouts and also making sure I'm having one really veggie centric meal a day is very, very helpful for me.

[00:27:29] Lauren: I choose to have it as a salad, but you guys could do whatever, you know, fits your fits your routine. Of course. Um, but I also think another important thing is just having a game plan and really taking one meal at a time. So, so often we're like hoping to follow a diet or like a specific plan and like, that's, what's gonna keep us on track during the holiday season.

[00:27:47] Lauren: But honestly, like, I truly believe that's a recipe for disaster because you don't know sometimes what are the situations and foods and events coming your way. So being able to take one day and one meal at a time, and just trying to make the most out of the decisions you have in front of you and try to infuse some healthy, just healthy choices into your routine.

[00:28:07] Lauren: That's one of the easiest ways we can really approach balance, not just during the holidays, but I think throughout the entire year.

[00:28:13] Lauren: I love that

[00:28:13] Sam: like one meal at a time. If you think about it that way, it seems so much less intimidating than, okay. I'm going into like holiday season. Right. And it just seems so overwhelming to think about all the different parties and things that you'll have to go to.

[00:28:27] Sam: But when you think about one meal at a time, it seems so much less intimidating. It's so simple. Like it's these really little simple things that you're saying that just, you know, hit and resonate and make sense.

[00:28:38] Lauren: Absolutely. And I do think when it comes to the holidays, I know for myself, like I actually posted something yesterday, very spur of the moment about like going out to dinner with my husband and like how I kind of balance that in.

[00:28:48] Lauren: But like, if you know, you have some fun coming up for me, like that's the ultimate motivation to make sure I'm on my shit right now. So for me, that's like hella motivation to get in a workout when I can, when I do have the time when I do have the availability, that's hella motivation for me to be like, Hey, I'm not ordering out tonight, I'm going to make freaking food at home. I'm gonna use my air fryer. I'm gonna make a healthy hot girl meal and then guess what I'm going to have that fun infused. And, and I think it really helps sticking to those routines and using fun is actually motivation to really make sure that other parts of your routine are in check.

[00:29:19] Sam: I love that.

[00:29:20] Sam: And that's the epitome of balance and I'm a right in the thick of that right now. I have my birthday this weekend, my best friend's wedding. It's going to be crazy. So all week I've been like getting in my spin classes, eating super well, eating at home, making all my meals and just like, that's exactly how I think as well.

[00:29:38] Sam: Like I know that I'm not holding back this weekend and it's going to be so much fun. Right. And so it's like, where's that balance of, you know, play hard right now so that I can. You know, have fun later.

[00:29:49] Lauren: Exactly. And I do think, you know, something to point out is some women like myself. I used to take that to the next level where like I put so much pressure on myself before a fun event.

[00:29:59] Lauren: That's definitely not what we're saying here, but it's about using it as like really positive motivation. And it's the intention to like why you're doing it and oh my God, you're going to have such a fun weekend. And also you're going to feel so amazing going into this event, putting on that dress, being with your friend on her special day, because you cared for yourself and you had that respect for yourself.

[00:30:17] Sam: Totally. And I also think, and I love you for clarifying that because it's so important. It's like right now is when I can feel my best and really focus on it. But I also don't like, I, it's not about extremes on one side of the other and what I actually find when you spend time before, um, you know, like, you know, a big meal that night or that weekend or whatever that is when you spend time focusing on, okay, I'm going to do all the things that make me feel really good.

[00:30:42] Sam: Like the workouts, like the eating well, et cetera. Then I find at the end of it, when you get to that big weekend or that big meal, you want to make better choices. And I'm sure you talk about this to your clients all the time. It's like, well, I've been eating so well all week. I know if I have something that just throws me off or puts me on a sugar spike, or I feel like stomach cramps.

[00:31:02] Sam: Cause I ate like, you know, five pieces of cake or whatever.

[00:31:06] Lauren: Oh my God.

[00:31:07] Sam: I know that's just the complete opposite of what I've been doing for myself. And because I feel so good. I want to stick to it.

[00:31:12] Lauren: Abso-freaking-lutely and like that is the secret sauce. Like what dieticians want every woman to achieve when they work with them.

[00:31:19] Lauren: Like, it's about getting you secretly to the place where like, we're not starting day one saying, oh, avoid this, like do this. Like, we're all about creating these habits with you. And then you get to the point where you're making those choices because you feel amazing eating healthy. That is the absolute end goal of a healthy lifestyle journey.

[00:31:37] Lauren: Once again, like it's not an end end of the journey, right? Like it's something that you do forever. But the goal of this process is to get to that place where you're organically making these choices and, you know, eating healthy because you feel good. That's such motivation to continue those habits and truthfully no diet, no matter how amazing.

[00:31:57] Lauren: Epic the weight loss feels at first. Like it's just not enough to keep it off. Like that's why we have to focus in on how we feel with it or else you're going to gain the weight back in my experience..

[00:32:07] Lauren: It's so

[00:32:08] Sam: true. Lauren, what's one thing you would tell everyone today that they can walk away from. If they only heard one thing from this episode, what do you think is like your, your north star at this time?

[00:32:19] Lauren: Yeah, I totally think, and this is hard because I love, I love my little quotes that I always share in Instagram, but truthfully, like, and I think if some, one woman out there really needs to hear this, like there are times where you are going to really have self doubt and you're going to feel like, oh, can I do this?

[00:32:35] Lauren: Like, am I ever going to feel confident in my body? Am I going to feel amazing? And, and you know, we're not even talking about how much weight you're going to lose, but something that I use as such a guiding light in my personal life. And I know it has helped other women too, is having an understanding that nothing is permanent.

[00:32:48] Lauren: And I know that sounds actually kind of scary because it's like, oh my God, like I'm achieving a result. And like, it's not permanent. It's not guaranteed. It actually is very promising because there is nothing that will ever hold you back from success when you realize that every day and every choice is an opportunity for you to get closer to your goal.

[00:33:05] Lauren: And even if you're not happy with where you're at. There is nothing that's holding you back besides yourself to get you there. Right? It does take work. It does take balance. It takes understanding what you need to do and being strategic, but nothing is ever permanent. And it's so promising because you have the power to change your life.

[00:33:20] Lauren: You have the power to change any circumstance you're not happy with, but you just have to make sure that you truly believe that. And you have to start infusing this into your life.

[00:33:29] Sam: Amazing. Thank you so much, Lauren, for your time today. So much good like tidbits and so much, um, you know, knowledge that you brought to this conversation.

[00:33:39] Sam: I'm so happy that we got to chat and we are long, lost best friends we need to get together. Have a pumpkin spice with all of our swaps and just enjoy it to its fullest. You're based in Boston?

[00:33:50] Lauren: I am good old Boston. We moved back here. Me and my husband last June, right, June. Um, so it's been a little over a year, but acclimating well. I grew up here actually. So.

[00:34:00] Sam: Incredible.

[00:34:00] Lauren: Interesting being back in the cold.

[00:34:03] Sam: In the cold. Where were you? Were you in, in Florida or the south?

[00:34:06] Lauren: I was in Florida. Yes. You got that right? It was like culture shock. And also just like the winter was so depressing up here, which is why these non-negotiables are important.

[00:34:17] Sam: But that is true, but we have the fall and there's nothing that can beat that in the Northeast.

[00:34:22] Sam: Like this doesn't happen like that. My, my boyfriend's actually from, um, from Massachusetts as well. So we, when we get back. I just love it. Like it's the best in the fall.

[00:34:32] Lauren: Yeah. Oh my goodness. There's nothing like apple picking in the Boston area.

[00:34:37] Sam: Well, thank you so much for being here. I'm so excited and I'm going to be on your podcast in a few weeks as well, which I'm so excited for.

[00:34:44] Sam: We'll share all the links and vice versa, but last but not least, can you share with everyone where they can find you? Of course, I'll link everything for all of the shares in the show notes, but if Lauren, you just want to give a little shout out to your handles and all that good stuff.

[00:34:57] Lauren: Yeah on Instagram, you guys can find me at @sorority.nutritionist ,um, and if you want to head to my website, it's thesororitynutritionist.com.

[00:35:06] Sam: Amazing. Well, thank you for your time today. And I can't wait till we get to chat next time.