03May 2018 by Aidan Muir
Lyle McDonald Q&A on Nutrition and Training for Female Athletes

Lyle McDonald Q&A on Nutrition and Training for Female Athletes

Other, Sports
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? I got interested in this field and industry back in high school in the 80's. I had grown up a relatively inactive video gaming kind of kid but started cycling, swimming and doing martial arts and it sort of just grabbed me. That led me to UCLA to get a degree in physiology/kinesiology and it was there I became most interested in the science of training, diet, supplementation, etc. Essentially I was trying to get make myself a better athlete and was lucky to turn it into a career. I got on the Internet when it was basically starting in 1993 and have been around ever since. I've published 13 or 14 books on varying topics in that time. What are…
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24Mar 2018 by Aidan Muir
Are Low-Carb Diets Underutilised for Type 2 Diabetes?

Are Low-Carb Diets Underutilised for Type 2 Diabetes?

Health
As a dietitian I have held back on talking publicly about a lot of things I strongly believe in. Deep down, I think this is based on being concerned with how other dietitians view me. I know that I am not alone in this and a lot of dietitians feel this way as well. My recent article on why I’m not a non-diet dietitian made that point clear to me. The inflow of private messages I got from people sharing their stories and why they weren’t speaking up on the topic was incredible. This is exactly why I am writing about low-carb diets for Type 2 Diabetes (referred to as diabetes for the rest of the post). It’s another topic that I personally have avoided to speaking up about. Maybe…
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10Mar 2018 by Aidan Muir
Stefanie Valakas Q & A

Stefanie Valakas Q & A

Other
Can you please tell us a little bit about yourself and your career? I’m a Sydney-based new graduate dietitian. I finished from the University of Sydney at the end of last year and I’ve recently started in private practice in a multidisciplinary health clinic. Throughout my master’s, I started a student dietitian blog called Dietitian to Be, however I recently relaunched - for obvious reasons - as The Dietologist and I’m interested in private practice, media (you can follow me @the_dietologist) and consulting opportunities. You have an interest in paediatrics and feeding behaviours stemming back to that Masters. What caused that interest? I think it was very early on when I decided to go into dietetics, which was in late high school. For some reason, I always had my heart…
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08Mar 2018 by Aidan Muir
Why I’m Not a Non-Diet Dietitian

Why I’m Not a Non-Diet Dietitian

Other
A few weeks ago, I was interviewing Tyson Tripcony and asked him the question “what would you like your legacy to be when you finish your career as a dietitian?” It’s a big question. He is 10x (if not more) ambitious than me, so I thought it would get an interesting answer. At the end of the interview, he threw a curveball and asked me the same question. I had never really thought about it. I’m not ambitious enough to want to be the best practitioner in any field within dietetics, or even have a reputation for being near the peak. It took a while, but I realised that what I want to do is contribute to providing evidence that significant weight-loss is achievable (and maintainable) for a far greater…
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02Mar 2018 by Aidan Muir
Tyson Tripcony Q & A

Tyson Tripcony Q & A

Other
Can you please tell us a little bit about yourself and your career? I graduated in 2011, seven years ago now, and started working in a community health position. I moved across the country for that and then came back and worked 9 different casual dietitian jobs, then landed a more permanent position in private practice working for someone else. It wasn’t really working out and I felt like I could do something a little bit different—something possibly better. I started a small business called Correct Nutrition and after working for a bit, I had the opportunity to purchase some small clinics. I then bought another large practice a few years later, Sunshine Coast Dietetics. After that, I started up Fuel Your Life in October 2016 and it’s just gone…
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17Feb 2018 by Aidan Muir
Joyce Haddad Q & A

Joyce Haddad Q & A

Other
1) Can you please tell us a little bit about yourself and your career? I am an accredited practicing dietitian, accredited nutritionist and personal trainer. I am currently a PhD candidate with the CSIRO and Flinders uni looking into improving the diet quality of households (parents and children). I run my own business where I do private consulting, community and public health work and I teach fitness classes. 2) What are some of your favourite healthy snack ideas to recommend to clients? I am a sucker for peanut butter! Anything with that nutty goodness tastes delicious. So for those that enjoy peanut or nut butters, I usually recommend a date with ½ a teaspoon of peanut butter, or healthy seedy crackers with peanut butter and sliced banana. Otherwise, the good…
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19Jan 2018 by Aidan Muir
Is the Summer Barbeque Harming Your Health?

Is the Summer Barbeque Harming Your Health?

Health
Hot afternoons and long weekends with friends, drinks and a BBQ, the epitome of an Australian summer. The backyard BBQ is an iconic Aussie summer event, and for many Australian’s the BBQ is also a staple cooking method throughout the year. Barbequing tends to give meat and vegetables a smoky flavour that can’t be replicated elsewhere. It’s almost a must that Barbequed meat have a blackened charred look about it. My mum’s favourite saying when I complain about burnt bits ‘it’s not burnt, it’s Barbequed!’ But is it possible we are taking the char too far? Could the trusty summer BBQ could actually be harmful to your health? Burnt Meat and Cancer Two carcinogenic (cancer causing) compounds are formed when meat, poultry and fish are cooked at high temperatures, polycyclic…
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20Oct 2017 by Aidan Muir
It is difficult to overeat lean meat

It is difficult to overeat lean meat

Other
  A lot of people discourage having large quantities of meat (which also has some merit for different reasons) - but I have found increasing somebody’s intake of lean meats can be quite effective if they are looking to lose weight. Firstly, most of the people I see are averaging <1g protein per kg of body weight when I first see them. The evidence shows that ~1.75g/kg is optimal for maintaining as much muscle as possible during a general fat loss phase. Obviously, I have to factor in the leanness of the individual when estimating how much protein is needed e.g. somebody who has a high body fat percentage will need slightly less protein due to having less muscle, but it is still likely that >1g of protein is optimal.…
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19Oct 2017 by Aidan Muir
Ellie Bullen Q & A

Ellie Bullen Q & A

Other
1) Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? My name is Ellie, I am a 24-year-old nutritionist and dietitian from Australia. I run an Instagram and blog called Elsa’s Wholesome Life where I share my healthy lifestyle, recipes and travels. 2) I saw that your philosophy is “Eat More Plants” – can you elaborate on that and why it is your philosophy? Well, during university one of the key nutrition problems that was highlighted was that only 5% of Australians eat the recommended number of vegetable servings. My philosophy to ‘Eat More Plants’ is basically just encouraging people at the simplest level to eat more plant based foods. It is good for your health and the environment. 3) What are some of your top nutrition tips for somebody…
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12Oct 2017 by Aidan Muir
Rebecca Gawthorne Q & A

Rebecca Gawthorne Q & A

Other
  1) Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? My name is Bec. I live in Cronulla Beach in Sydney. I have the most amazing husband Laurent & I love being outdoors in the sunshine eating mangoes. I’m also a Dietitian & Nutritionist and own the Instagram @nourish_naturally.   2) What do you see as some of the opportunities and challenges for dietitians in the future? The online world, especially social media! Take Instagram for example. There are over 95 million photos uploaded to IG every day & over 40 billion posts made to date. That’s one engaged platform & a great deal of this engagement centres around food & health. Dietitians are the authority on food & nutrition and thus we need to have a presence on…
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