Abby Langer, RD

Calorie counting is not the best way to lose weight as we don't know how much calories we need in a day and also how our body processes those calories. It's better to eat more plants, decrease ultra-processed food and move your body to lose weight.
 
Transcript: "Hi there, thanks for your question. So it was calorie counting a good way to lose weight, in my opinion, as a dietitian. I don't really recommend counting or talking anything, especially calories, and that's because of a few things. First of all, we don't really know how many calories we need in a day, unless you've spent time in a metabolic chamber, you know, you don't really know what level of calories or what your budget calorie budget should be. And a lot of people don't know this. Don't even realize that your calorie requirements change day to day. You're not always going to need like 1,800 calories a day every day for the rest of your life, depending on your age, depending on your activity level. If you're sick, for example, you need more or less calories on a daily basis. So, you know, assigning yourself a calorie budget and then following it day-to-day. It's just, it's sort of seems wasteful to me in terms of energy As well. We don't really know how each one of us processes. Those calories. Yes. Calories count. 1000% and I do believe calories in versus calories. Out is still the gold standard in losing weight. We know that hormones. There's a lot of people talking about hormones and how they affect weight, gain and weight, loss, and insulin, and all of that. But that's all been debunked. And I feel like, you know, we need to get down back down to brass tacks. Talks, it's about calories, you eat. However, we each process calories differently. So I could eat the same meal as you, but I could maybe absorb a certain percentage more of those calories than you do. It's, we just, we know so little about it but it probably has to do with our gut bacteria. Anyways, we don't really know how we process those calories and It's important to understand that as well calorie counts on packaging, food. Packaging, it's so flawed, I would say just eat as many plants as possible, decrease ultra-processed food, and move your body. Best way to lose weight."

As a vegetarian, you should not have trouble getting enough protein. Try to include a high quality source of vegetarian protein at every meal and build your meal around that.
 
Transcript: "Hi live. Thanks for your question. So, the question is, how do I get enough protein as a vegetarian? And this is a common question, but a vegetarian, if you eat dairy products or eggs or fish, many vegetarians, don't eat fish, but many eat eggs and dairy products. You shouldn't have a problem getting enough protein. I generally recommend between 1.2 and 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. So for a Most people that ends up being sufficient. And if you're around 140, 150 pounds, it hovers around, 100 grams of protein, a day, plus, or minus. Just make sure that you include a high quality source of vegetarian protein at every meal. So, these include all of the legumes like lentils, chickpeas. Black beans, any of those tofu it includes eggs. It includes Greek, yogurt. Cottage cheese. Ricotta, you can also choose Tempe. Seitan there are plenty of vegetarian proteins and you shouldn't have to work that hard. Bird to get sufficient protein. So don't let that discourage you from becoming a vegetarian or staying vegetarian. What I recommend that you do is choose a protein source that you want to eat and then build your meal around that. So, choose your protein and say, you want tofu, so you have your tofu and then build the vegetables around that and then add a little bit of carb and you're set. I hope this answered your question."

Adrenal fatigue is not a real diagnosis and should not be trusted when someone is selling an adrenal supplement or diet. Be cautious about where you get your health information from.
 
Transcript: "Is it renal? Fatigue? Free all good question. It is not. I know I gave you my answer really quickly but I see this as a dietitian all the time. Our organs don't really get tired or adrenals Are Meant To Handle our stressful situations. And you know, while constant low level or high level stress isn't healthy for us, our adrenals and our body. In general is equipped to deal with it. That is to a certain point obviously but adrenal fatigue. No it's not real anytime you see someone who is selling an adrenal cocktail or adrenal diet or adrenal supplement? You know that they probably do not science. It's also important to note that no medical society in the developed World actually recognizes adrenal fatigue as a diagnosis. So, we have that too. And I like to think that modern medicine would have discovered it. Adrenal fatigue if it did exist. There are adrenal issues that include Cushing's Disease. But those are not adrenal fatigue. Just be careful where you get your health information from."

No, there are no negatives to drinking herbal or caffeine free tea like peppermint or chamomile. However, detox teas or weight loss teas should be avoided at all cost as they have been shown to be dangerous and unregulated.
 
Transcript: "So the question is, are there any negatives to drinking? A lot of herbal or caffeine free tea, like peppermint or chamomile? My answer is a registered. Dietitian is no, there are no negatives. I mean, the tea without caffeine is going to hydrate, you just like water, and if that's what you enjoy drinking, then I would say go for it. I think it's worth mentioning though that some types of tea like, Detox teas or weight loss? Teas should be avoided at all cost because they have been shown to be dangerous and they're largely unregulated but if you're just going to drink a lot of peppermint or chamomile tea, go right ahead."

You should aim to get 25 to 35 grams of fiber per day. Eating a lot of plants, such as fibrous vegetables and fruits, as well as whole grains and high-fiber cereals is one great way to get the recommended amount of fiber. Also, make sure to increase your fluid intake when increasing your fiber intake in order to avoid constipation.
 
Transcript: "Hi there. Thanks for your question. So, how much fiber should you have daily? Well, I recommend around 25 to 35 grams of fiber for both men and women about, that's about average. Now that may seem like a lot, but there are a couple of things that you can do to help you get to 25 to 35 grams per day. Eating a ton of plants, is one great way to get all of the fiber that you need. You know, instead of Relying on supplements, just filling your plate with fibrous vegetables and eating fibrous fruits as well. Like citrus fruit or stone fruits, for example, those are quite high in fiber fibrous vegetables. Like rough greens like kale and chard. Any cruciferous vegetables. Those are great sources of fiber. There's also a whole grains that are fantastic for fiber and high. High fiber cereals. I like all brand. I have it as a snack. It does have some sugar in it, but it does help me get the fiber that I need in a day. Also, I love is zekiel bread. It's frozen. You find it in the organic section of the supermarket. That's it's made with sprouted grains, it has a lot of fiber in it, you know, all these little things add up and you know, some days you might not get the recommended amount of fiber. Some days you will, but On average just try to be consistent and watch your fiber intake. Just another tip is if you're increasing your fiber intake, make sure you increase your fluid intake as well. So as not to get constipated with all of the new influx of fiber,"

Nutrition research is limited by the fact that it is impossible to keep people in a lab for years and feed them a controlled diet, which leaves outcomes open to interpretation. This is particularly true with the example of saturated fat, where correlation has been observed but causation has yet to be proven.
 
Transcript: "Hi there. So I think the most important limitation and the limitation that exists in pretty much every nutrition research study is that it's unethical and basically impossible to keep people in a lab for years on end and feed them a controlled diet. That's why it's hard to determine exact outcomes because we're really looking at epidemiological studies that look at a population as a whole. And what We get is more of an educated guess in terms of how certain foods and nutrients affect us. I think the best and arguably, the most controversial example of this is saturated fat. Do we think that saturated fat negatively affects our health yes? Has anyone ever teased out exactly what saturated fat does to us? And if it's the saturated fat in particular that, Does it know? This is a problem because it then leaves research open to interpretation. So you get people saying, well, saturated fat has never been proven to be bad for us. When, in fact, there's mountains of research that doesn't prove causation but proves correlation or shows correlation, but because we can't keep people in a lab and gives them. Give them a controlled diet. For years on end, we may never know the truth."