#133 – How celebrity health coach and holistic nutritionist Kelly LeVeque uses CGMs in her practice | Metabolic health with Kelly LeVeque & Dr. Lauren Kelley-Chew

Metabolic health is something that shifts and changes over time. Depending on your phase of life and lifestyle choices like food, sleep, exercise, and stress levels, all of these things impact your metabolic health. If you want to start making positive changes, you have to recalibrate your focus. In this episode, Levels Head of Clinical product Dr. Lauren Kelley-Chew chatted with Levels advisor Kelly LeVeque about letting go of toxic wellness advice, how to trade bad habits for good ones, and why weight isn’t the metric you should focus on.

10:42 – Why you don’t want blood sugar spikes

Occasional oscillations in blood sugar are normal. What you don’t want are massive spikes and crashes.

I think, with CGMs, people are excited, “I’m going to try and flatline my blood sugar.” Little oscillations in our blood sugar are absolutely normal. But what we don’t want are those really high spikes and hard crashes. Because that 90 minutes up and 90 minutes down and a blood sugar spike and crash can really deplete your energy, can really keep you from… I mean, if you have the idea that you were going to eat balanced meals, or that you’re going to opt for protein-based snacks, or you’re going to go for a run after work, if you are up and down on that blood sugar roller coaster in front of your computer every three hours, you’re up and down and up and down, by the time you get off work, you’re not going to want to do anything. You’re going to want to order pizza. You’re going to want to Netflix and chill. You’re going to really be depleted, energetically speaking, in your ability to see your friends and show up for your family, all of it.

11:33 – What is the fab four?

When you’re trying to plan out a meal, think of Kelly’s fab four: protein, fat, fiber, and leafy greens or vegetables deep in color.

I wanted to simplify it, and the way I did that was with the fab four. So, the fab four is protein, fat, fiber, and leafy greens or vegetables deep in color. Now, simplifying the science of blood sugar, which is what I do with the fab four. Protein breaks down to amino acids. It has little to no effect on blood sugar balance. Fat breaks down to fatty acids, or has zero effect on blood sugar. Fiber and leafy greens, these are plant-based foods that have wrapped up the sugar and starch so much in a fiber-based cell, that you have to not only chew through that food, but you have to digest through that food with enzymes and hydrochloric acid and your microbes ferment those foods. And then finally, those sugars and starches are released, pass through the epithelial lining, and create a little bit of a spike. But when we pair those with some protein and fat, we’ve actually slowed down the digestion, we have calmed our hunger hormones, and we’ve allowed for that elongation to happen.

18:08 – Start your day with good food

Kelly said the most important thing isn’t sticking 100 percent to a super strict diet. It’s feeding yourself a good, protein-rich breakfast and then making as many good decisions as you can.

I always tell my clients, “If I could free you from the shackles, I’d give you food freedom and free you and tell you it is okay. And in fact, it’s not just okay. I want to force you. I’m not permitting you, I’m asking you, I’m begging you, please feed yourself, and start your day and break your fast with a protein rich meal. I don’t care if you’re vegan, vegetarian, carnivore, paleo. Preferably, there’s some protein and vegetables on your plate. But, how can we get you to a place, where that first meal of the day is so satisfying and satiating that your blood sugar curve is elongated and you are not thinking about food for four to six hours, and how do we get there?”

20:37 – Blood sugar balance is the key to food freedom

You don’t necessarily have to fast or restrict food to be healthy. The important thing is focusing on your blood sugar.

I know, from a decade of working with clients, that blood sugar balance is the key to food freedom. And the CGMs that my clients are now using from Levels is just proving that to them, that they’re just being reminded over and over again, that, “Oh, I don’t have to fast. I don’t have to restrict. But when I focus on balance, when I focus on that first meal of the day, I naturally eat less. I naturally have less cravings.” Well, they don’t have the cravings because they don’t have the crash. And they just feel better. And it’s easier and you’re more energized. And they feel like going for that run with their friend after work. Or they feel like driving and seeing a family member or running to the park with their kids, because they’re not exhausted from the food choices that they’re making.

23:12 – Mindset matters

If you believe you can’t lose weight or exercise, it will be more difficult to prove yourself wrong. Your beliefs show up in your body.

I always come to my clients and say, “You’re mindset matters. If you believe that you can’t lose weight, if you believe that you’re unhealthy, if you believe that you are never going to be strong enough to get through a soul cycle class, or that you could never do five pushups or burpees, or if you believe you’re chronically broken, you have to know that your beliefs have weight, and that they have an impact on, not only your metabolic health, but your mental health, your cellular health. Your beliefs are showing up in your body whether you believe it or not. And science is showing us that.” So, that’s always really eye opening to my clients.

30:34 – Don’t focus on your weight

When you use a CGM, the first thing that changes isn’t your weight. You might see changes in measurements or fasting glucose rate long before the numbers on the scale start to drop.

I always try to be really forthright with my clients around the changes they may see, especially when someone wants to do everything all at once, which is why a CGM, or I use measuring tape with my clients, more than the scale. Because what we do see is changes in measurements. What we do see is changes in fasting glucose. And those two things will end up on the scale. The scale isn’t going to show it first, and so it’s the most discouraging metric out there, to get on a scale and to start lifting weights or to start working out and to see the scale go up, or to see it plateau for two to four weeks. And, the reality is, if you haven’t stuck to something for six to eight weeks, you have no idea what your potential is. And the CGM and measurements always help me keep clients accountable to those long term goals, because they do see their fasting numbers come down. They do see their waist circumference come down. They see their arms come down. They see their hips come down, and they’re going, “Why is this scale not showing it?”

32:15 – Change may not look like what you expect

Weight doesn’t always equate to size. If you gain muscle mass as you lose fat, you might not weigh less, but your jean size will probably go down.

A lot of times, we will hit measurements or jean sizes is what I ask clients for. We may not hit weight goals, ever. Their weight goals in their head may be what they think their ideal weight is, but they hit their jean size that they thought was associated with that weight, way before they hit that weight. And guess what? They’re way more metabolically healthier. They’re stronger. They’re more energetic. They have these amazing lean muscles that suck up glucose, protect their brain, protect their body and protect their whole cardiovascular system. And also, muscles are the most amazing thing for allowing you to live life. If you have a weekend where you have a little fun with your friends and there’s more processed carbohydrates, or if you aren’t in the sober curious camp and you’re imbibing a little bit, those muscles protect you. And so let’s put them on. Let’s allow them to suck up the glucose. Let’s allow them to be our metabolism and really be anti-aging in our body, versus focusing on the scale.

36:59 – Break down food rules

Don’t think of today as a good day or a bad day, think of it as a series of decisions you can make to show up for yourself.

On top of coaching my clients and supporting them to create momentum, I also need to break down these food rules. Who decided it was good or bad? Did you decide it was bad? What if you decided it was good, what decision would you make next? Would you have a smoothie? Would you go for that workout you were going to have? Would you pack up a lunch from your refrigerator? Because, how we feel about our decisions, again, it goes back to the psychology of it. Do we think we’re innately good or innately bad? And so the minute someone says, good day or bad day, I said, no such thing. No such thing. It’s a day, and it’s decisions we make. What if you could take that entire day and break it down by decision? And even just doing that allows people the freedom to say, “Okay, well, maybe that coffee creamer wasn’t ideal, but you know what? I’m still going to show up for myself at lunch. I’m still going to get that workout in. I’m not going to write it off.” And so, again, this goes back to diet culture, perfection culture, attainment, getting everything right.

38:41 – Find the silver lining

Always look to the positive side of things. Even if you make an “unhealthy” decision, there’s always a silver lining.

I always go, “Where’s the silver lining? Coffee with the creamer? Silver lining, you didn’t get the frappuccino at Starbucks. Okay, great. Next decision. It’s not going to be tomorrow. I’m talking next decision, next food decision. What is it going to be? And if you feel any form of guilt or shame, reframe it. ‘I am lucky enough to have a cup of coffee in my house. I used creamer. It tasted good. I feel awake. What’s next?’” Find the silver lining. Find the good things about it. And get rid of whatever the feelings are that make you feel like it’s toxic or bad for you. It’s a really interesting spot that I’m in, being a nutritionist today’s day and age, because the reality is, there are things that negatively impact our metabolic health. There just are. Processed sugars, liquid sugars, processed flours. And, I have to be able to talk about those things with my clients. And then also say, “That’s okay.” Because what I don’t want is someone to make those decisions for themselves, decide to have those things, and then write off the day. I need you to make a choice, not a cheat that into a “turns bad day.”

47:40 – Be the instigator of change

It can be hard to make healthy choices when your friends aren’t doing the same. But you can be the person who instigates a healthier way of life for everyone.

I will say, firsthand, in my early twenties, when everyone was going out or trying to meet their significant other, and just getting out of college and really in their careers, and so you have money to go on trips or go on vacations, and it becomes centered around social drinking or just being out and party to party, or thing to thing. And so many times, I empathized with the young women that I work with, that it’s such a hard time. It’s such a hard time because you want to be with your friends, but what feels right in your body may not be aligned. And ultimately, staying true to yourself and finding ways, like you said, to be the creator of these environmental experiences, maybe it’s a nature experience, maybe it’s a beach day picnic, maybe it’s as much as being like, “Hey, do you guys want to go to a wellness spa and have a weekend, or a yoga retreat?” It’s amazing to see the friendships that come out of these health explorations, and to help your friends along, because nobody wants to be in that place where they’re feeling like a degenerate or not feeling like they’re themselves, or they can stand up for themselves.

Kelly Leveque (00:06):

On top of coaching my clients and supporting them to create momentum, I also need to break down these food rules. Who decided it was good or bad? Did you decide it was bad? What if you decided it was good, what decision would you make next? Would you have a smoothie? Would you go for that workout you were going to have? Would you pack up a lunch from your refrigerator? Because, how we feel about our decisions goes back to the psychology of it. Do we think we’re innately good or innately bad? And so the minute someone says good day or bad day, I said, no such thing. No such thing. It’s a day, and it’s decisions we make. What if you could take that entire day and break it down by decision?

Ben Grynol (00:52):

I’m Ben Grynol, part of the early startup team here at Levels. We’re building tech that helps people to understand their metabolic health, and this is your front row seat to everything we do. This is A Whole New Level.

Ben Grynol (01:17):

Metabolic health is something that oscillates over time. And so depending on phase of life, depending on lifestyle choices, that being things like food, sleep, exercise, stress levels, all of these things impact our metabolic health. And for Kelly Leveque, a great friend of Levels and also one of our advisors, she’s very much had this lens on monitoring things like blood sugar through the use of a CGM. She uses CGMs with her clients in her holistic nutritionist practice. She’s also a celebrity health coach, author of two bestselling books, Body Love and Body Love Every Day, geez, even a mom of two, so she’s got this great perspective on meals for different phases of life.

Ben Grynol (02:00):

So Kelly sat down with Dr. Lauren Kelley-Chew, Head of Clinical Product at Levels, and the two of them chatted about everything, from Kelly’s backstory, all the way to how CGM can be used to help people around us. It’s a great conversation and no need to wait. Here’s where they kick things off.

Dr. Lauren Kelley-Chew (02:22):

Kelly, so excited to have you on today.

Kelly Leveque (02:25):

Thanks for having me. It’s great to be back.

Dr. Lauren Kelley-Chew (02:27):

You did such an amazing podcast on the last episode, focusing on a whole bunch of things, including children and their metabolic health needs. I was wondering if we could start this time by just hearing more about your personal journey into health, wellness and food, and all the work that you do.

Kelly Leveque (02:42):

Oh, yeah. I love telling this story. I feel like I haven’t told it in a long time, because I’ve been in the industry for a long time. So, now I’m talking a lot about what’s going on in my life, like being a mom and having two young little kids. But, way back in the beginning, I started my business as a side hustle actually. So I worked in cancer and genetics for about eight years, post-college. Thought I was too old to change careers, and that I was already too established in my corporate career and it was not the time for me to leave.

Kelly Leveque (03:12):

But, personally, I was so passionate about blood sugar, and I was so passionate about just understanding how each of us interacts and reacts to food, that I ultimately decided, made the call to go back to school, at nights, and went back to school and got a degree as a clinical nutritionist, and was able to parlay a career where I was looking at the latest research in cancer and genetics and the feeding pathways of tumors, to then working with clients, one on one. And, the side hustle actually lasted for three years.

Kelly Leveque (03:45):

So, I went back to school and started my business in 2012, and took it full-time in 2015. So, it was a long, I always joke that I jumped off a curb instead of a cliff. But ultimately, I built up my client roster. I was seeing clients one on one. Really, every single call was, going in, going into their home, meeting them on set, seeing them in their workplace, in a conference room, at a coffee shop, you name it, but really learning about their life.

Kelly Leveque (04:13):

So, I always started my sessions the same way, like, “I want to be you. Put me in your body. What does it look like to live your life, from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to bed? Do you set an alarm? Are you hungry? Are you tired? Are you energetic? Do you rely on caffeine? Are you pooping? Tell me everything.” And then it was really, I worked as a consultant, really, like looking at the low hanging fruit, where did I see issues?

Kelly Leveque (04:37):

And, if we rewind all the way back to when I was in college, when I was a senior in college, going to be a senior at USC, and I called my dad in tears and I said, “Dad, I made a huge mistake. I shouldn’t be business finance. I should be in the health field. I should be pre-med. I had just finished up this class, Nature of Human Health and Disease, where I wrote a thesis on blood sugar and Type 2 diabetes.” And I was like, “That’s the best grade I ever got in class. I didn’t even have to think about it. It was like, I absorbed the information.” And I thought it was so applicable to everyday life.

Kelly Leveque (05:10):

And so, the low hanging fruit, fast forward from when I graduated, I mean, at this point, it was almost 10 years later, I graduated in 2005 from undergrad. So, 10 years later, I fully took the business full-time, but I would sit down with these clients and there was all these opportunities to see like, “Well, yeah, of course you’re having these cravings,” or, “Of course, you’re not feeling your best because you’re crashing, and your blood sugar is not stable. And, you’re making these choices based on the calorie load or what was considered “healthy”, like low fat foods. But really, none of those things were making you vibrant. They weren’t keeping you energized.”

Kelly Leveque (05:50):

And so I’d look at someone’s life and say, “Okay, we’re not going to make huge big changes here, but how can we make a few changes to see some more balance in your life? How can we add to your plate, add to your day? Instead of being in this restrictive place, how can we really focus on what’s going to make you feel your best and help you hit your goals without trying so hard?”

Kelly Leveque (06:12):

And so, little by little, I’d get referrals. And then I finally had enough clients to say, “Take it full-time.” And when I did, it was scary. I went from a 401k, a company car, not needing to put anything on a credit card, to then all of a sudden going, “Okay, now I’m seeing clients. I’m being paid hourly. I’m living my passion, but it’s a little bit scary. Maybe there’s some financial… I’m not really well in the financial space at this point.” I had taken my job full-time, but there was a little financial insecurity there. And so, I thought, instead of working one to one, how can I work one to many?

Kelly Leveque (06:55):

And so, I ultimately decided that I would try to write a book. And so, I cold emailed a bunch of agents that didn’t know me from Adam, and I received a few emails back, jumped on an airplane, flew to New York, met a few people in person. And, I’d like to say the rest is history, but I just was so passionate about teaching people the science of blood sugar and making it easy and understandable. And, that was 2016, so a long time ago. But I’m so excited that, thanks to companies like Levels, blood sugar is something people are talking about finally.

Kelly Leveque (07:32):

Because when it’s everything, from energy to the way that we digest our food, to our hunger hormones, to our skin health, to our joint health, you name it, our sleep, everything is impacted with blood sugar. And, we can’t just simply say, calories in, calories out. We cannot simply say this lifestyle diet or that lifestyle diet, because what we know from your data and the data that comes out, when we look at CGMs, is that, it’s just balancing our blood sugar is the foundation of health, and preventing chronic lifestyle diseases, preventing diseases that people don’t even associate with blood sugar, like polycystic ovarian syndrome. Your fertility is affected by blood sugar, your energy. I mean, everything.

Kelly Leveque (08:20):

So, I’m obviously really stoked that it’s in full view right now and really center stage, because we’re now talking about real health span. We are now talking about being functional and being able to have energy and a brain that is fully functioning later in life. I’m so excited about it, but yeah, my journey was kind of before it became flashy. But, I’m still, yeah, been pounding my little drum over here for quite a long time, but I’m excited that it is where it is today. Because, if more people can access it, the better we’ll all be.

Dr. Lauren Kelley-Chew (09:01):

Thank you for being such a pioneer in this space and also such a contributor, and for sharing your story around making career changes like that, because I think, it’s really inspiring. And oftentimes, people, like you said, they shy away from it. And in fact, not only did it lead you to be in this amazing place that you are now and have been so successful, but also in some ways. I think your original path did reconnect with the path that you’re on now, which often happens, I think, and people don’t realize that that’s the case, and it’s kind of like every piece ends up having its place. So it’s really cool to hear about how everything is combined for you so far. Definitely excited to see all the places that you go in the next two years.

Dr. Lauren Kelley-Chew (09:37):

I’m curious, I know that you have really popularized your approach, the Fab Four, among other principles. Would you mind just sharing with folks a little bit more about that?

Kelly Leveque (09:48):

When I first started seeing clients and I had blood sugar on the brain, if you will, and I really wanted people to learn how to balance their blood sugar, when I started talking about glucose and what broke down the glucose and how insulin worked and that it was released from your pancreas to help your body uptake glucose from your bloodstream into your cells, their eyes would glaze over. And they were like, “What, Kelly? No, I just want to get ready for my wedding, and I want to feel my best. I don’t want to count. I don’t want points. I don’t want…” And that’s the hard part is, is I wanted to simplify the science of blood sugar balance, and I wanted to help people understand what they needed to put on their plate, and what do they need to check for, to know that their body would do the hard work of balancing blood sugar, and that if eating these four things, by eating these four things, they could in fact, slow down the digestion of their meal, elongate their blood sugar curve.

Kelly Leveque (10:42):

I think, with CGMs, people are excited, “I’m going to try and flatline my blood sugar.” Little oscillations in our blood sugar are absolutely normal. But what we don’t want are those really high spikes and hard crashes. Because that 90 minutes up and 90 minutes down and a blood sugar spike and crash can really deplete your energy, can really keep you from… I mean, if you have the idea that you were going to eat a balanced meals, or that you’re going to opt for protein-based snacks, or you’re going to go for a run after work, if you are up and down on that blood sugar roller coaster in front of your computer, every three hours, you’re up and down and up and down, by the time you get off work, you’re not going to want to do anything. You’re going to want to order pizza. You’re going to want to Netflix and chill. You’re going to really be depleted, energetically speaking, in your ability to see your friends and show up for your family, all of it. So, I wanted to simplify it, and the way I did that was with the fab four.

Kelly Leveque (11:35):

So, the fab four is protein, fat, fiber and leafy greens or vegetables deep in color. Now, simplifying the science of blood sugar, which is what I do with the fab four… Protein breaks down to amino acids. It has little to no effect on blood sugar balance. Fat breaks down to fatty acids, or has zero effect on blood sugar. Fiber and leafy greens, these are plant-based foods that have wrapped up the sugar and starch so much in a fiber-based cell, that you have to, not only chew through that food, but you have to digest through that food with enzymes and hydrochloric acid and your microbes ferment those foods. And then finally, those sugars and starches are released, passed through the epithelial lining and create a little bit of a spike.

Kelly Leveque (12:21):

But when we pair those with some protein and fat, we’ve actually slowed down the digestion. We have calmed our hunger hormones, and we’ve allowed for that elongation to happen. Now, the fiber and greens piece, that might be as simple as someone saying, “I’m going to add some chia seeds to a pancake mix,” or, “I am going to pair my toast with some avocado and egg.” The minute we talk about adding protein and fat to anything, it’s going to slow down that digestion, really regulate our hunger hormones. But the fiber and greens piece, I mean, that’s where we are feeding the microbes that live in our intestines. That’s our microbiome, if you will. They do this amazing job of fermenting down carbohydrates, of making all these byproducts like short-chain fatty acids, of synthesizing vitamins, of ensuring that we don’t have leaky gut and we have tight junctures in our gut lining. So, I mean, they’re all strategically placed in the fab four, of protein, fat being two things that don’t break down to blood sugar, fiber and greens being things that are slow to and low in breaking down to blood sugar.

Kelly Leveque (13:29):

And then, you can look at the other things on your plate, whether that’s someone deciding that they’re going to have a glass of wine, or they’re going to have a dessert, or they’re going to add a starch. Okay, great. But we’re not going to have those by themselves. And we’re going to work hard to ensure that they’re less processed, that they’re lower in sugar.

Kelly Leveque (13:46):

But, the key was, the minute I started telling my clients, “I don’t want you to think about the do not eat list. I don’t want you to think about fear mongering things, the things that are going to make you sick, kill you, give you disease. No, no, no. I want you to go in your kitchen, whether it’s breakfast, lunch or dinner, or a snack, and I want you to think, ‘Look at my plate. To have a little bit of protein, to have a little bit of something that’s healthy fat, avocado, nuts, seeds, olives, olive oil, coconut product, you name it. Do I have some fiber and greens? Have I just decided?’ Look, I know, maybe you get up from your office desk and you’re like, “I have some chicken and some…”

Kelly Leveque (14:23):

I will give you an example from yesterday. I had chicken in Primal Kitchen Queso, which is like a cashew queso thing in my fridge. I heated up the chicken. I was dipping in the queso and I was like, “Ugh.” And I don’t even want to open my fridge and pull out the veggies. But I was like, “Oh, I’m doing it. I just know in my head, I just want to add a little bit of weight. I want to add a little bit of produce. I want to add a little bit of water.” And I just grabbed the cucumber, chopped it up. And, I didn’t even feel like eating it, but I was like, “Okay.” I reminded myself of all the wonderful things it’s doing for me, providing enzymes, providing water, providing weight, stretching my stomach, slowing down the release of sugars into my bloodstream, making me feel really full, soluble and insoluble fibers.

Kelly Leveque (15:08):

When we focus on the positive, we become motivated to fill our plate with the things that balance our blood sugar. And, that’s what I’ve been so excited about from the very beginning is like, how do I get people excited? Even when they don’t feel like something, to be like, “This is doing so much good in my body, and I deserve to be nourished.” How do I get people to feel that way?

Dr. Lauren Kelley-Chew (15:34):

It’s so amazing. And, you mentioned this a couple of minutes ago, but, when people are starting this, and I think for many people, being on a cycle of cravings and hunger is kind of just normal life, where it’s like, intense cravings, then you eat something, and maybe it’s, like you said, it’s okay for an hour, but then you’re back into the cycle again. When people start to make these changes, what is the impact on that cycling? ***

Kelly Leveque (15:58):

Well, like I said earlier, it’s that elongation of the blood sugar curve. So when we see… One of the biggest problems I see with most of the women that I work with specifically, is they either get really excited about not eating breakfast and trying to fast, or they’re grabbing for something fast because they’re a busy working mom or they are running to the office or they jump into email, and then all of a sudden they go, “Oh, I’m hungry, I’ll grab something.” And they’re grabbing for something fast. And it may be pre-packaged oatmeal or a bar, or maybe they just grab a piece of fruit, or they’re following some Instagrammer who only has an oat milk, plantain and a banana. When there’s misinformation, or when they’re just grabbing for something fast and sweet, it doesn’t matter if it’s just a piece of fruit, your body is breaking down that carbohydrate source into glucose.

Kelly Leveque (16:50):

It becomes this spike in blood sugar, where blood sugar goes up for 90 minutes. Your body’s releasing all this insulin to take care of it. Pick it up. Put it away in your cells. Store it in your liver. Store it in your muscles. Your blood sugar begins to crash at the 90-minute mark. By the three-hour mark, irritable. You have low blood sugar. You can’t focus, and you crave more sugar. So what do we do? We go back in the kitchen. We go, “Okay, what can I have?” And you reach for that bar. Or if you had the bar for breakfast, you reach for the apple. And you are maybe in a caloric deficit at that time in the day, or maybe you’re just trying to have small meals, but the problem is, it all backfires in the back end.

Kelly Leveque (17:31):

So, these small little meals, that up and down roller coaster, up and down rollercoaster, by the time lunch comes around, you’re even more hungry. You’re craving things even more, and you’re using all this willpower to say, “Okay. Well, I’m just going to have a salad with some salmon on top.” And then you have a few bites, but it’s not satisfying to you. And so either you pop in the fridge or the pantry and you look for the crackers or the chocolate, or you run yourself to your office and you go, “Okay. I’m going to try really hard not to think about food.” But then you’re in a place where you’re unable to focus, and you’re thinking about food all day long.

Kelly Leveque (18:07):

And I always tell my clients, “If I could free you from the shackles, I’d give you food freedom and free you and tell you it is okay. And in fact, it’s not just okay. I want to force you. I’m not permitting you, I’m asking you, I’m begging you, please feed yourself, and start your day and break your fast with a protein rich meal. I don’t care if you’re vegan, vegetarian, carnivore, paleo. Preferably, there’s some protein and vegetables on your plate. But, how can we get you to a place, where that first meal of the day is so satisfying and satiating, that your blood sugar curve is elongated and you are not thinking about food for four to six hours, and how do we get there?”

Kelly Leveque (18:48):

And so many times, there are excuses like, “Well, I didn’t meal prep,” or “I didn’t meal plan.” And like, “That’s really hard,” or “I’m worried I’m going to gain weight,” or “I’m in a bulk. I’m already not where I want to be.” And, the fab four smoothie has always been a fallback for me, because smoothies feel, interestingly enough, they just feel really healthy to people. So, using a fab four smoothie, where I have people fill their blender with a clean protein powder of their choice, a healthy fat like a handful of walnuts, a tablespoon of almond butter, a little avocado, pick a fat for you, some fiber and some greens, like some chia seeds or flax seeds, some spinach, some blueberries, add the color, add the produce, but to really know what it feels like to have 20 grams of protein, to break your fast with a significant amount of bioavailable protein. And then to literally not think about food until one or two o’clock in the afternoon, and to get there and go like, “Hmm, what do I feel like?”

Kelly Leveque (19:46):

And to have that meal, that lunch, when you actually eat it, satisfy you in a way that doesn’t make you feel like you just had Thanksgiving dinner, that you have a food coma, that you are still really thinking about food is the gift I want to give to everyone, because we live in this diet culture where it’s restrict. Or even like, I want to say, a toxic wellness culture and that you think, “Okay. If I haven’t had my fast and then my coffee with lions mane and then lightened my eyes. And then I wrote in my journal and then I had this perfect…” Perfect is like the antithesis of good. We aren’t going to get anywhere in that mindset, and so I simplify it for my clients. Start small. Start with the first meal of the day, and then just see how that impacts the rest of your day.

Kelly Leveque (20:35):

Because I know, from a decade of working with clients, that blood sugar balance is the keys to food freedom. And, the CGMs that my clients are now using from Levels is just proving that to them, that they’re just being reminded over and over again, that, “Oh, I don’t have to fast. I don’t have to restrict. But when I focus on balance, when I focus on that first meal of the day, I naturally eat less. I naturally have less cravings.” Well, they don’t have the cravings because they don’t have the crash. And they just feel better. And it’s easier and you’re more energized. And they feel like going for that run with their friend after work. Or they feel like driving and seeing a family member or running to the park with their kids, because they’re not exhausted from the food choices that they’re making.

Dr. Lauren Kelley-Chew (21:25):

Thank you so much for giving voice to both the importance of nourishing our bodies with food and eating healthy food, and also to how challenging diet culture is. And, I want to take something and just go into that a little bit more deeply. I think, like you said, diet culture is really pervasive and is normalized from a very young age, especially for women. And, I think for men as well, but I’m much more familiar with the experience of being in a woman’s body.

Dr. Lauren Kelley-Chew (21:52):

I’m curious, it sounds like you have some strategies to help people reframe this. But when a client starts with you, having been very entrenched in diet culture, which, like I said, I think is the default at this point, just to varying levels, what are some of the first things that you do, and you just mentioned some of them, but if there are others, to kind of change that mindset and recreate a new, I guess we could even call it a new neural pathway for them to think about how they’re approaching food in their body?

Kelly Leveque (22:21):

Yeah. Well, I mean, even some of the psychology research that’s coming out is really impactful for me as a health coach and a nutritionist with my clients, is that simple belief. There was a study where, especially poignant because it’s about shakes, it’s about protein shakes, where two groups were separated and one group was given a protein shake and told them that it was really nutrient dense and it was going to make them be healthy, and it was going to really promote vitality and health in their body and that it was going to help them hit their goals. And the other group was given a shake and told the caloric load. And, the amazing impact that it had on the different groups, based on their belief system. So, the people who thought that it was more nourishing had less weight gain than the people who thought it was a calorically dense glutinous shake.

Kelly Leveque (23:10):

And so, one, I always come to my clients and say, “You’re mindset matters. If you believe that you can’t lose weight, if you believe that you’re unhealthy, if you believe that you are never going to be strong enough to get through a soul cycle class, or that you could never do five pushups or burpees, or if you believe you’re chronically broken, you have to know that your beliefs have weight, and that they have an impact on, not only your metabolic health, but your mental health, your cellular health. Your beliefs are showing up in your body whether you believe it or not. And, science is showing us that.” So, that’s always really eye opening to my clients.

Kelly Leveque (23:47):

And the second thing is really taking it one bite at a time. Because unfortunately, they always say, prior proper planning… I’m trying to remember. It’s like, it’s not planning that can be a problem for people, but really, it truly is how you show up for yourself. When you look at your past, like prior behaviors, we think it’s a prediction of future behaviors. And everyone believes that. If they’ve gone on a diet and failed, gone on a diet and failed, gone on a diet and failed, they assume, whether they’re willing to admit it to me or not, that they’re going to start working with me and they’ll probably fail. And so, to break that behavior, they need to show up for themselves and show themselves that they can commit to something and follow through with something.

Kelly Leveque (24:32):

And, I think where diet culture gets it wrong, every diet that you look at expects you to be perfect, to follow this eat and do not eat list. There’s no room for error. There’s no room for flexibility. There’s no white structure. It is black or white, good or bad. And the problem with that is, not only is it black or white, good or bad, it’s not just one decision you’re making a day. This diet is expecting you to change every decision in your entire day, when it comes to food and activity.

Kelly Leveque (25:00):

And so, when I work with a client, I never do that. I’m not going to say, “We’re changing breakfast, lunch and dinner. We’re changing your sleep. By the way, you can’t have that chocolate you have late night, and you should really ditch your Ozark addiction. And, you probably shouldn’t see your friends on the weekends because you’re out too late and it’s messing with your sleep, which you should know that science tells us that your sleep is actually messed up for three days after a bad night’s sleep.” The internet is already telling them that. They already know that. We are going to take it one step at a time. We’re going to get really freaking good at following through on something. And then we’re going to prove to ourselves, “Wow. I actually did that.”

Kelly Leveque (25:39):

When you look at people who start training for marathons, half-marathons, triathletes, when they complete something like that, they have a confidence on a whole new level, because not only did they show up for themselves outside of… What we used to do in school, like take a class, study for the final, pass, “Woohoo. We completed something.” You put yourself out into the working world as an adult human unsupervised. It’s the wild, wild west. So how do you show up for yourself and follow through with something to build these confidence bricks in your life?

Kelly Leveque (26:13):

So when I work with a client, I just start with breakfast. It’s like, “When do you want to break the fast? I’m not telling you 7:00 AM or 11:00 AM. I’m asking you to tell me, in your life. Let’s look at the past week. Let’s look at the past few months. Let’s look at the past few years. When were you showing up for yourself the best? When were you the most energetic? Are you someone who needs to eat at 7:00 AM, or are you someone who needs to eat at 11:00 AM? And, how do we back into making sure that that meal is blood sugar balancing and supportive energetically of you for the rest of the day?” And then when we’ve gotten really good at that for two to three weeks, we evaluate, “Well, how did that show up in the rest of the decisions I made throughout the day? Was it hard? Was it easy? How did I feel about myself?”

Kelly Leveque (26:57):

And most of the time, they come back at me, really confident about the fact that I didn’t give them a laundry list of things to do, but I gave them one and they got really good at it. And they showed up for themselves in ways they hadn’t in a long time. And then we really highlight all the ways that, synergistically, it made them and supported them to make better decisions throughout the day. And I think that’s the key.

Kelly Leveque (27:20):

I really talk to my clients about not pushing up a hill, but how do we get the momentum to get to the tipping point, so we’re rolling? I want you rolling down that hill. I want you collecting other dirt along the way, or snow, if you’re an avalanche, and then I want you rolling huge and fast at the end of being like, “No one can stop me. Nothing can derail me, not even a night with my friends on the weekends, not even an ‘Oopsie, that was a fun brunch with my family.’ How do I keep that ball moving?” And, it doesn’t start by saying, “I’m going to start this super rigid diet, and I’m going to do everything right,” because that is a recipe for disaster. It’s, “How do I just get the little steps going, to get the momentum enough, to where these other little daily life activities don’t derail me?” ***

Dr. Lauren Kelley-Chew (28:05):

I love that approach, and it really feels like it honors, not only how important the psychology is of this, and also how powerful it is, but also that food choices, diet choice, exercise choices happen within a very complicated emotional, social, cultural context, right? It’s not as simple as, like you said, a diet saying, do this and this and this, and then it’s up to just your willpower. I think at this point that we all know that that doesn’t work, and yet that continues to be the primary methodology.

Dr. Lauren Kelley-Chew (28:36):

I’m curious for people who start, and let’s say they do have a very specific goal, for example, weight loss. And I picked that because I think often that is the fuel to diet culture. And, if someone has a very particular goal like that, and they’re starting on your program, and they’re doing all these great things, but let’s say that they aren’t seeing weight drop off right away. How do you coach someone through kind of redefining success in the way that you’re describing?

Kelly Leveque (29:00):

Well, I love a CGM for that, because I just use fasting glucose as a way to be like… Okay, here’s what is so beneficial about a CGM is that, I can sit down with a client. And we’re gamifying it, where maybe they start with a fasting glucose above 100. I’m like, “Hey, look, you’re in your thirties, and that number is pretty detrimental to help long term. But if we can get it back in the nineties, down to the eighties, over time, all of these body composition goals are on the end of that. And so, instead of focusing on your weight, how can we refocus on CGM, have the positive momentum to keep going, because you’re seeing that fasting glucose come down, and keep going, and then eventually see the weight loss?”

Kelly Leveque (29:51):

Because the reality is, a lot of people don’t stay on their “plan”, long enough to see body composition changes. They are frustrated and discouraged. They might get on a plan, lose two to four pounds of water weight, hit a plateau, feel frustrated, but they’ve changed their diet and they started working out more. So what are we going to have? We’re going to have muscle growth happening. We’re going to have a lot of body composition changes, but they’re not going to love them at first. There might be some, where you feel actually like you are swelling or your jeans are a little bit tighter, especially if you’re doing squats and lunges and you’re like, “My legs feel bigger. Why do they feel bigger?” This is all part of the process.

Kelly Leveque (30:33):

And, I always try to be really forthright with my clients around the changes they may see, especially when someone wants to do everything all at once, which is why a CGM or I use measuring tape with my clients more than the scale. Because what we do see is changes in measurements. What we do see is changes in fasting glucose. And those two things will end up on the scale. The scale isn’t going to show it first, and so it’s the most discouraging metric out there, to get on a scale and to start lifting weights or to start working out and to see the scale go up, or to see it plateau for two to four weeks. And, the reality is, if you haven’t stuck to something for six to eight weeks, you have no idea what your potential is. And the CGM and measurements always help me keep clients accountable to those long term goals, because they do see their fasting numbers come down. They do see their waist circumference come down. They see their arms come down. They see their hips come down, and they’re going, “Why is this scale not showing it?”

Kelly Leveque (31:39):

We’re doing this amazing job of changing your body composition completely, to changing your brain health completely, your cellular health, your mitochondrial health. And so, to have those conversations, and then to use the visual of, “If you’ve ever purchased a pound of ground beef, you know what a pound of muscle looks like. Now, take a Nerf football. That is the size of a pound of fat.” So when I do measurements on a client, and maybe they’re converting fat to muscle and we’re seeing some change over there, we’re going to see the circumference go down and that can stay. That can really be a motivating tool and factor for clients, especially weight loss driven clients.

Kelly Leveque (32:14):

Because a lot of times, we will hit measurements or jean sizes is what I ask clients for. We may not hit weight goals, ever. Their weight goals in their head may be what they think their ideal weight is, but they hit their jean size that they thought was associated with that weight, way before they hit that weight. And guess what? They’re way more metabolically healthier. They’re stronger. They’re more energetic. They have these amazing lean muscles that suck up glucose, protect their brain, protect their body and protect their whole cardiovascular system. And also, muscles are the most amazing thing for allowing you to live life. If you have a weekend where you have a little fun with your friends and there’s more processed carbohydrates, or if you aren’t in the sober curious camp and you’re imbibing a little bit, those muscles protect you. And so let’s put them on. Let’s allow them to suck up the glucose. Let’s allow them to be our metabolism and really be anti-aging in our body, versus focusing on the scale.

Kelly Leveque (33:19):

And so, that is crucial for me. And many of the times when I’m working with clients in the first month or two, they don’t get to look at the scale. They face backwards. I have the number. It’s in their file. And then, every couple of weeks I might say, “You’re down two pounds,” if I see the weight change. But I’m always aggregating measurements loss, because it’s the psychology of being, “I’m doing something positive, and I’m seeing results.” We all have to see results, and we want to see results. CGMs are so immediate. Measurements are a little bit slower. The scale is always last.

Dr. Lauren Kelley-Chew (33:54):

It’s such an amazing framework that you’re following here. And I’m so inspired to hear that you’re doing this, because it is extremely refreshing and it makes sense. And, even this idea of what you’re describing that, I think almost all people have some number in their head, what they think their weight should be when they have achieved, even I think they would frame it as when they’ve achieved optimal health, even for people who are using weight as a metric for health. And you’re highlighting that, oftentimes, that number isn’t really right. And I would think, in general, it’s almost never based on data, right? It’s some number that was created throughout the lifespan for some reason for that person. And maybe it is data-driven, but certainly, I agree, reframing to other metrics and to being powerful and strong in your own body and protected in your own body is so inspiring.

Dr. Lauren Kelley-Chew (34:39):

In addition to helping people reset expectations around weight, are there other assumptions that your clients often start with, or expectations that they start with, that are not really aligned with health goals?

Kelly Leveque (34:53):

Yeah. I would say that we all have this… There’s an attainment culture here, where we just want to attain perfection. And, a lot of times, when I sit down with clients, I’ll ask them about their day, because I want to be put in their body. I want to know what it’s like to live in their body. And, I can’t tell you, I think nine times out of 10, it’s like, “Well, do you want a good day or a bad day?” I’m like, “What?” That is diet culture wrapped up in their brain of what is good and what is bad, what is evil and what is angelic.

Kelly Leveque (35:26):

The problem there is that you’re labeling. And, at what point in the day have you decided it’s bad enough that it’s a bad day? And that, unfortunately, causes such binge behaviors and shame and guilt. And, what I was explaining, that clients need to have this confidence to get momentum, to feel unbreakable, to feel strong, to feel like they can attain whatever it is they want, something is going right in their life to where they feel like they have enough momentum and synergies to keep going.

Kelly Leveque (35:59):

But unfortunately, when it comes to food and health and lifestyle goals, someone might get up, literally pour themselves a cup of coffee and splash a creamer in, that they don’t think is ideal, but it was in their fridge and they really wanted it, and it’s like a non-dairy vanilla creamer. But someone told them that that was toxic and horrible for them, and they might decide right there, at seven in the morning, that it’s a bad day and they already screwed up and they can’t wait for tomorrow.

Kelly Leveque (36:27):

That type of mental shame game, that is breaking them down from the minute they wake up and totally affecting every other choice the rest of the day, they’ve either decided they’re write in the day off, “I’ll start tomorrow. Might as well just drive through Starbucks on my way to work and get X, Y and Z, processed muffin good. Because you know what? I already had the creamer. Forget my coffee. Forget the workout. I’m already planning to order pizza in for my family.” I mean, this is the reality is this black and white.

Kelly Leveque (36:58):

And so, on top of coaching my clients and supporting them to create momentum, I also need to break down these food rules. Who decided it was good or bad? Did you decide it was bad? What if you decided it was good, what decision would you make next? Would you have a smoothie? Would you go for that workout you were going to have? Would you pack up a lunch from your refrigerator? Because, how we feel about our decisions, again, it goes back to the psychology of it. Do we think we’re innately good or innately bad? And so the minute someone says, good day or bad day, I said, no such thing. No such thing. It’s a day, and it’s decisions we make. What if you could take that entire day and break it down by decision?

Kelly Leveque (37:40):

And, even just doing that allows people the freedom to say, “Okay, well, maybe that coffee creamer wasn’t ideal, but you know what? I’m still going to show up for myself at lunch. I’m still going to get that workout in. I’m not going to write it off.” And so, again, this goes back to diet culture, perfection culture, attainment, getting everything right. And, I think… It’s beautiful that the internet exists. It’s amazing that Instagram’s like, “Hey, guys, here’s a healthy recipe.” But it has become pretty all over the… I mean, it’s omnipresent, the reels of like, “You have this wrong with you, and that wrong with you, and this wrong with you and that wrong with you. And, this is bad because all these ingredients,” or whatever the thing may be. It’s like, we’re inundated with reasons to feel shameful and guilty about the decisions that we’re making. And that is not promoting health. That is promoting guilt. It is promoting shame.

Kelly Leveque (38:40):

And so, I always go, “Where’s the silver lining? Coffee with the creamer? Silver lining, you didn’t get the frappuccino at Starbucks. Okay, great. Next decision. It’s not going to be tomorrow. I’m talking next decision, next food decision. What is it going to be? And if you feel any form of guilt or shame, reframe it. ‘I am lucky enough to have a cup of coffee in my house. I used creamer. It tasted good. I feel awake. What’s next?’” Find the silver lining. Find the good things about it. And get rid of whatever the feelings are that make you feel like it’s toxic or bad for you. It’s a really interesting spot that I’m in, being a nutritionist today’s day and age, because the reality is, there are things that negatively impact are metabolic health. There just are. Processed sugars, liquid sugars, processed flours.

Kelly Leveque (39:34):

And, I have to be able to talk about those things with my clients. And then also say, “That’s okay.” Because what I don’t want is someone to make those decisions for themselves, decide to have those things, and then write off the day. I need you to make a choice, not a cheat that turns into a “bad day”. And we need to be able to have these adult conversations, that these are things that are having a real impact on our metabolic health. But also, you are not a horrible person if there’s a spot for them in your life. And how do you not let that spot become your whole life, the whole day, the whole week, the whole month? Because ultimately, your health is my goal.***

Dr. Lauren Kelley-Chew (40:18):

This topic of blame and shame and all of these things that kind of get wrapped up into linking food choices with one’s sense of self-worth and identity, how do you coach clients who are coping with that, by basically trying to counter a “bad” decision with a good decision? So for example, “Well, I ate this, but now I’m going to go run 10 miles,” or like, some right this, but now I’m going to be strict. Yeah. How do you approach that?

Kelly Leveque (40:44):

I think there’s a lot of atonement. There’s a lot of atonement for her [inaudible 00:40:47] like, “Okay, I had this fun weekend brunch, and now I feel like a horrible person, so I’m going to the gym for two hours because I had pancakes.” I think if it’s not a reaction and we’re coming from a joyful place is really what I’m trying to work on with clients. So, if I have a client, and this is really a one-on-one basis a lot of times, there’s some real individuality in coaching that comes from this, but let’s say that I have a client who feels that way. They just keep finding themselves in these positions where they are making choices that they ultimately decide were not good or they feel bad about them. They feel guilty about them, and then they want to make up for them.

Kelly Leveque (41:28):

A lot of times, we’re going back to, “Why are you making this decision? Who are you making this decision with? Are you making this decision in a clear mind, with your goals at the center of this decision?” Because a lot of times what we find, a lot of guilt and shame is wrapped up in the social setting of like, “Hey, all my friends still go to brunch, and they get bottomless mimosas. And then they order the sticky buns for the entire table. And I already feel bad that I’ve had the mimosa, so now I’m having the sticky bun, and now I feel like I need to go to the gym, but I’m a little bit buzzed.” And I’m like, “Okay. Would we ever hang out with these friends outside of the boozy brunch situation?”

Kelly Leveque (42:08):

Because ultimately, if we are our own person making decisions for ourselves, and I decide as a 38 year old mom of two kids that I want to go with my high school girlfriends and have a mimosa, I don’t want to feel bad about that. And, I want to be in a place where I’ve made that decision for myself. And, I know that I might be a little bit buzzy after one glass of champagne because I don’t drink that much and I have little kids, that’s a decision I need to make for myself. And there’s no guilt on the back end of consciously going into a decision like that and playing it all the way through.

Kelly Leveque (42:47):

So, a lot of times, it’s breaking down, why is there so much guilt and shame wrapped around that? Is it because you never really wanted to do it in the first place? Or, is it because you are feeling like you don’t like where you’re at in life, and you feel like you’re derailing your goals? Because, we just need to be clear with the people that love you and that you love that, “Hey, I really am focused on my health right now. I’d love to hang out guys,” and if you’re strong-willed enough and competent enough to go to a brunch, not have the mimosa, hang with your girlfriends, eat what you want and leave, let’s make that the decision.

Kelly Leveque (43:26):

If you feel like you haven’t flexed that muscle enough and you don’t have a strong enough voice to get there and not have the champagne or not have the sticky bun when you don’t want to, I’m not suggesting that you hermit the rest of your life, but I’m suggesting you have a really candid conversation with your friends. “Hey, guys, you know that when we get together like old times, I want to have the champagne. I want to have the sticky bun. But I don’t feel great. I just spent two years in the pandemic, Zoom schooling my kids, putting on five pounds. My blood tests don’t look great. And, I need your help looking out for me. How about instead of boozy, brunch this Saturday, we all go for a hike on Sunday?”

Kelly Leveque (44:04):

And I’m going to bet you, knowing that I’ve worked with females for as long as I have, that when they all get together and everybody hikes instead, everyone feels way better about the day. They feel way better about the activity. They have more meaningful conversations. And, everyone gets a mental health benefit from it. So, it’s hard to be the instigator, but I am always, as the coach, coaching my clients to be the coach, coaching them to be the instigator in their community. And then, when there are toxic food relationships where there’s guilt to drink, guilt to eat, bullying around food, and it seems like it’s not going away, we have to put some boundaries up.

Kelly Leveque (44:50):

Because you’re not here for them, and they’re not here for you. It is a relationship where both parties should benefit, feel supported, feel loved, laugh together, hike together, play together, cry together. That’s what it’s about. And so if it is… We grow up. Sometimes we grow out of relationships. I’m not suggesting that we all break up with our best friends. I think that there’s a lot that can be done when we have conversations. But even more, just be that positive influence. Be the instigator. Get people excited to move their body. Get people excited to go have a blood sugar balancing smoothie. Have a brunch that’s healthy.

Kelly Leveque (45:29):

I can tell you, I have some really amazing high school friends. They all have lots of kids. And, not even a month ago, I had them all over and I had fab four smoothies and I had eggs. And I had some almond flour, keto toast options for avocado. I tried to show up for everyone in a super blood sugar balancing way. Everyone came over, and they’re like athleisure wear with their kids. And we kicked balls in the backyard and had that breakfast.

Kelly Leveque (45:57):

Now, those same girls would’ve probably said yes if someone said, “Hey, get babysitters. Let’s all go to a brunch.” But, being the instigator of the opposite and being the instigator of health… We all had those conversations. It was really easy with our kids. We all got to show up as moms, show up for ourselves and show up for each other. And that makes me really happy. And that’s possible. So how do we infuse that into our friendships, so that we don’t have to be really, I guess, anxious about our daily social life, or anxious about the relationships we have and what someone might be pressuring us to do or not do.

Dr. Lauren Kelley-Chew (46:39):

I love that. And, in addition to it, in some ways, I think if you become that person, you deepen your friendships into a whole new place. But also, it takes out that other dynamic, which I think sometimes comes up, which is, let’s say you are at that brunch, and then you have made that decision that you’re not going to do the boozy brunch and the pancakes. You’re going to order something that might even be off the menu, right? You’re like, “Can I have two eggs? And can I have…” And then there’s this piece of, it’s kind of like, all of a sudden, you’re that person in your group of friends who’s judging everybody, or seen as judging everybody or somehow the monitor of everyone’s food intake. And it creates this very uncomfortable dynamic on every side.

Dr. Lauren Kelley-Chew (47:13):

And I think what you’re describing of really saying, “I want to bring you into what I’m really excited about and what’s working for my body, and I’ll provide it, and I’ll create something around that. And, I want to invite you to be part of that with me,” that’s such a great way to reframe it, right? It just changed the entire setting, the entire context. And, who knows? Maybe the next person who hosts in your group of friends will create an event just like you did, or something similar, a hike or something like that.

Kelly Leveque (47:39):

Well, I will say, firsthand, in my early twenties, when everyone was going out or trying to meet their significant other, and just getting out of college and really in their careers, and so you have money to go on trips or go on vacations, and it becomes centered around social drinking or just being out and party to party, or thing to thing. And, so many times, I empathized with the young women that I worked with, that it’s such a hard time. It’s such a hard time because you want to be with your friends, but what feels right in your body may not be aligned. And ultimately, staying true to yourself and finding ways, like you said, to be the creator of these environmental experiences, maybe it’s a nature experience, maybe it’s a beach day picnic, maybe it’s as much as being like, “Hey, do you guys want to go to a wellness spa and have a weekend, or a yoga retreat?”

Kelly Leveque (48:40):

It’s amazing to see the friendships that come out of these health explorations, and to help your friends along, because nobody wants to be in that place where they’re feeling like it’s a generator or not feeling like they’re themselves, or they can stand up for themselves. And so, it is pretty amazing nowadays, because all my friends are in the same place. And they all have health on their mind, and they have health for themselves, longevity for them and their partner, for their children. They’re worried about… They’re empowered, I wouldn’t say they’re worried, they’re empowered by their knowledge of blood sugar balance and how they can show up for their kids in a really nutrient dense way and their families, but also not sweat the small stuff.

Kelly Leveque (49:22):

So, I will say, if someone’s in that stage where it’s a little tumultuous, or they’re having those social anxieties, that it will pass. But also, don’t be afraid to infuse yourself into a community that has health on the pulse. How can you join a softball league or an intermural soccer team? Or how can you get entrenched in your yoga studio or your CrossFit studio or your OTF or barre studio, wherever your community is? Now that the world is opening back up, go be in person with people. Hug these people. Move with these people. Be in nature with these people. These are priceless moments that we cannot take for granted.***

Dr. Lauren Kelley-Chew (50:06):

You’re such a behavior change pro, which I think is amazing and so needed as part of the entire change, hopefully, that collective we will go through, in terms of rethinking about health and rethinking about our food choices.

Dr. Lauren Kelley-Chew (50:18):

I’m curious, and I know this could be a podcast in and of itself, so maybe you’ll have to come back, but I’m just curious, touching the surface on, have you noticed, as you’ve worked with clients, a gender difference, in terms of some of the challenges or kind of mental roadblocks or type of things that happen for men versus women?

Kelly Leveque (50:37):

Yeah. I would say that… Realistically, men have higher testosterone and their ability to fast naturally is a lot easier. So now that fasting has come into focus and it’s been popularized in the last few years, and more and more women are trying to do it more often, in my experience and working with clients, it seems to be like, it’s definitely a lot harder for women to fast than it is for men. Men can easily have a cup of coffee and wait until dinner and be OMAD, one meal a day, no problem. They definitely need more quantity and are more sensitive to a lower protein diet.

Kelly Leveque (51:19):

Now, I think women can get away with a lower protein diet, but are more sensitive to fasting. And they’re more sensitive to fasting… Think for two-pronged approach, generally speaking, we are entrenched in diet culture, and so fasting feels restrictive. It feels like anorexic type behaviors. And we are more emotional when it comes to food. So, when we’re fasting, there is more chance for a backend binge and making up for that. And I also think, when we look at females versus males, in what we’re put here on this Earth to do, which is procreate, for us to have a menstrual cycle, we need to retain a certain amount of fat. So our hunger hormones are raging for us to eat. We’re sensitive to those.

Kelly Leveque (52:11):

So, I am always working with people to understand how to regulate hunger hormones, how to calm hunger hormones, to feel truly satisfied on a biological level, so that they feel that freedom of not needing to think about food all the time. And so, if someone is looking to fast, I really, especially if they’re female, I look at daylight hours. If you’d like to push breakfast back a few hours, 9:00 or 10:00 AM, okay. Let’s see how that impacts the rest of the day. But, more often than not, I’m having them have an earlier dinner. And what ends up happening when they have an earlier dinner and cut off feeding the rest of the evening is that they naturally come down and they have an increase in melatonin. They feel sleepier earlier. They get a better night’s sleep.

Kelly Leveque (53:00):

And, on the other hand, if someone were to say, for example, fast till 2:00 PM, but then allow themselves to eat until eight or nine o’clock at night, those meals at the end of the night, or the dessert or the dark chocolate, can be actually more energizing and bring them up, really impacting their circadian rhythm. And when we have a lack of sleep, we have less sensitive hunger hormones. We have less sensitive signaling. So, we can have, where grillin is screaming at us, and we wake up and it’s… A poor night’s sleep is like having metabolic syndrome. They wake up. They’re starving. They want all the carbohydrates. They’ve had a poor night’s sleep. They’re insulin resistant. They’re not getting the signals, the left end signaling that they need to feel full and satisfied. And then, all of a sudden, it’s backfiring.

Kelly Leveque (53:46):

So, splitting males and females, I really am particular about the type of fasting. And when with female clients, I’d much rather have someone get really good at balancing their blood sugar, because then you have the freedom and flexibility to eat in a bigger feeding window, without worrying about metabolic impact. Basically, what fasting is, it’s a shortcut to decreasing fasting glucose, to decreasing elevated insulin, and to having a little bit better mitochondrial health. And so, how can we do that while eating? We do that in a balanced blood sugar state. And so, it’s a lot of conversation. But, I do have male clients who can easily fast until late in the afternoon, have a couple of big meals and call it a day.

Dr. Lauren Kelley-Chew (54:33):

Wow, it’s so interesting. And, last question for you. Are there simple things that people can start doing, even if they don’t have a CGM? And let’s even say that they don’t necessarily have access to super boutique farmer’s markets, or maybe even not a Whole Foods in their neighborhood. What are things that people can start doing right away?

Kelly Leveque (54:52):

So let’s remove all the labels, organic, non-GMO, pesticide free. I want you to just simply focus on what protein options, fat options and fiber options you have access to. Fiber, meaning fiber and greens, plants, nuts and seeds. And I would say, start with breakfast. Just like we talked about in this podcast, how can you start with breakfast to have the fab four? Some source of protein, some source of fat and some vegetables or fiber rich foods, right? Because what that’s going to do is going to unlock the rest of your day, and you’re going to be able to feel satisfied.

Kelly Leveque (55:32):

And then when it comes to that evening time, way to bring blood sugar down, fast on the back end. Fast in the evening. Finish dinner at five or six o’clock at night. Digest that meal, and get to bed, nine or 10 o’clock at night. What that’s going to do is allow you to have really deep night’s sleep, that’s going to be cleansing, not only of your lymphatic system and your brain, but really, your body’s going to do all the amazing work of making sure that glucose is put away, that you’re waking up with a lower fasting glucose number.

Kelly Leveque (56:01):

And when you do that, when you wake up and you’re not full of blood sugar and full of insulin, it is way easier to make those balanced decisions at breakfast, and decide, “Am I hungry? Maybe I’m going to wait an hour today, or maybe I’m going to have breakfast.” Really allows you to tune in in a clear way, to how you’re feeling and what you need.

Dr. Lauren Kelley-Chew (56:20):

Thank you so much for all of this information. I really hope that we get to chat again, because there are so many topics that I think we could create an entire episode around.

Kelly Leveque (56:29):

Definitely.

Dr. Lauren Kelley-Chew (56:29):

Where do people find you?

Kelly Leveque (56:31):

So I’m on Instagram at @bewellbykelly. My website is kellyleveque.com. And I have a multitude of courses that teach people how to balance their blood sugar, whether they have a CGM or not. I have a course on balancing your blood sugar during pregnancy, balancing your kids’ blood sugar, so The Fab Four Under Four, Fab Four Pregnancy, Fab Four Under Four. Fab Four Fundamentals is the basics of blood sugar, and then I have a mini course on how to make a fab four smoothie, which is my key to helping my clients fast track blood sugar balance.