Finding Balance between Weight Loss and Wellness

When it comes to exercise, movement, what that looks like, I actually believe food first, exercise second. So with the goal of weight loss is not that I don't love movement, but to lose weight. I see so many women that work out their little hearts out. They work out maybe six, seven days a week. I've had clients have trainers, they like add in like another hour of cardio every day, like crazy recommendations, like I gained 20 pounds my freshman year of college, working out every single day. So exercise for most women, sometimes like I scale back on it a little bit so we can get the food foundation right. And also that's important because say you are lifting weights, which is so important for female health, for bone mass and our muscle mass and getting that tone, strong physique, I love it. But if your diet isn't right, if say you're eating like 40 grams of protein a day and you need closer to a hundred, it's not that the exercise you won't get benefit from it, but if you got your diet right, you'd actually see what the exercise is supposed to be doing for your body. So I kind of approach it a little differently. I'm all for exercise and movement, but you need to get your diet right first and that has to happen or else you're going to potentially not get results in the first place.

Foreign well, this is going to be a fun conversation. This is a topic and a conversation that you know is super personal. And Lauren makes it personal. Lauren is the registered dietitian and weight loss expert behind the brand Sorority Nutritionist where she helps women learn how to eat for sustainable fat loss. In a world where fad diets and contradictory information on the Internet is always making us believe we need to be restrictive and miserable to lose weight. Tsn, the Sorority Nutritionist, is disrupting the weight loss space by teaching women how to eat and approach weight loss with a simple, flexible and enjoyable approach. Her practice offers supportive coaching and online memberships featuring hands on support from registered dietitians. You can find her at on the Sorority Nutritionist podcast, interviewing great guests, sharing her simple and effective weight loss tips for lasting results. And her approach is a little special, a little unique. And what I love most, like I said, is that it is personalized because any wellness journey we go on, whether yours is to build muscle or it is to burn the fat, or it's just to feel well, which is where mine started when I was on this iteration of my wellness journey that started about three years ago. It is so important that it's personalized and I'll go into all the details on that some day with you. On my journey, I shared some snippets of it here, but Lauren has a really unique, beautiful, personalized approach, and I can't wait to see what you think. And if you get some nuggets out of this, if you are busy, if you've got a lot shaken and you are looking to shift and step into your wellness journey, this is for you. I'm so glad you're here. You're right on time. Lauren, thank you so much for being here.

Thank you for having me. Can I just say, your background is such a vibe. I'm like, can you be my interior decorator? This is fantastic.

You are so sweet. You know, because we move every now and then, we have, like, a limited amount of things we try to bring with us. We don't have to move a lot every time we move. And this was the first space that I wanted to get set up, and I wanted to make sure I just packed enough for this little office space that I have. So thank you. I appreciate that.

It's a vibe.

I should turn it a little. Oh, now my curtains. I open and close my curtains when the sun's coming in to, like, filter. And then on this side, I've got, like, a covered chair. Oh, there are some things, but, like, right there, right behind me is still good.

The money shots there. You're good. You got the good stuff.

That's hilarious. If you are listening to the podcast and not watching the video, you can see what Lauren sees and what she's talking about in the video in this YouTube episode, because we're in both places, Lauren. So it's going live on podcast and video, and you're in Boston right now?

Yes, yes, I'm in Boston. And for anyone that loves sports, the Celtics play tonight, and I literally live across the street from them. I am wearing green. Um, and I'm very much, like, very much a Celtics fan. Like, we love them till we die, but, yes, I'm literally right in the thick of it.

That is pretty awesome. Oh, my gosh. And you run something called the Sorority Nutritionist?

I do.

Tell us about this. This is a unique name. Can you, like, what do you. What's going on over at the sorority?

Yeah. You know, it's really funny when I think about this name. It's brought so much happiness and success and transformations to people, but it is actually really interest thinking about the creation of it, because my parents and my entire family was so against this name. They were like, you're too niche. No one wants to use the word sorority. What if you want to work with other women? And I love my family, but, like, I totally proved them wrong, because it has clicked and it has stuck, and that's what we're here with. But anyway, I went to college. I joined a sorority. That's kind of where the name comes from. And I went down a really horrible fad dieting journey. I gained weight all the ways most women do in college, But I lost the weight through being really restrictive, eating less than a thousand calories a day, running constantly. And it was through my own experience dieting that I actually decided to become a registered dietitian. I switched my major to dietetics in college. I ended up pursuing my master's degree, becoming an actual dietitian. And it kind of is wild when you think about it. Cause I was not planning to open on my own private practice. I wasn't planning as part of a grand scheme to ever use the word sorority in my life. But I really wanted to create a place where women felt safe and comfortable and confident losing weight. They did it in a healthy way. And we're kind of creating our own sorority of women, but at the same time, we're, you know, embodying being the best version of ourselves. Because I think there's a lot of stigma around women wanting to lose weight and shame around if you do want to lose weight or change your body. And, you know, I wanted to create a place where you could love yourself, but you also could pursue these fitness goals, just like I had wanted to in college. But making sure women are doing it in not the ways that I had lost weight in college.

So good. You know, it's funny when you were telling your college weight gains, right, though? Yeah, I definitely did. Mine wasn't the typical, like, when I was in College, the freshman 15 is what people called this.

People still call it that today.

Okay. Okay. I wasn't gonna claim to know or put anything like, maybe it's changed, but it was the freshman. But mine was like the freshman 60 because I had a baby my freshman year of college.

Oh, my goodness.

Yeah. So it was, like, a different experience than many people's college, you know, journey. But I also, after I had her, I was like, all right, I'm going to get back in shape. And it was a couple of years, probably, but my, like, sweet spot was just walk on the treadmill. I had a treadmill at our townhouse. And she would go to bed, and I would walk, walk, walk, walk. And I was eating really well. And so it's interesting, but it was probably my junior year. Like, okay, I'm starting to get back, and I'm feeling it. I'm feeling like myself again. And it's interesting. You talk about that stigma, like, about wanting. It's not that I didn't like. And actually, I recently been on a health and wellness journey as well. But I feel different. Like, I know what feels aligned for me, and it was. It was the COVID years when we were all at home, and I'm like, yeah, all the time. I could use some of that time to be. Well, yeah, a little more to think about what I'm eating. So I'm right there with you.

Yeah, I was going to say that Covid, when you mentioned Covid, the pandemic, I think, was a blessing in disguise for some people with their health journeys. But I do find for so many women who were in shape before, I mean, I'm literally talking about myself, like, I was in great shape. I got married at the beginning of the pandemic. My big wedding got canceled, but I still got married. I got eloped. It was great. However, the pandemic was really tough, I think, for a lot of people who were fit or pretty healthy before because your habits and lifestyle got flipped upside down, regardless of, you know, how in shape you were or how balanced or healthy you were before. And, you know, I think whether it's 10 years from now or, you know, something you've already gone through, you will get off track at some point. And so being able to know whether it's like, through a pregnancy or through a crazy entrepreneurial journey where you're starting your own business and you have to kind of put your self care to the side aside for a moment. Like, there are always times where you're going to get off track, but we don't really. I mean, I'm gonna go there. Like, I don't feel like in our culture, we teach people it's okay to get off track and give them the tools to how to get back on track, there's just so much shame around getting off track in the first place. You know what I mean?

Yeah. You know, and honestly, now that I'm on the right track and I have the habits established and it took me probably. I don't know what year it took me three years. I'm three years later of this, like, okay, maybe a little bit more. Three and a half years. I'm like, oh, I have a flow. And I have fully established new habits. And there was a lot of self coaching and mindset and external.

Right.

Work that went into this. And I'm a little worried. I'm thinking about this summer when I am going to absolutely not have my normal routines and schedules. Like, all right, I'm going to have probably 10 days where I'm not going to be able to do what I do now in my day to day routine. So how do we get back on track when we have those breaks and those pauses?

Yeah. To get back on track, we first have to understand what it means to be on track. Right. And you know, it really depends on the person. You know, for so many of my clients, they go through a journey, they understand their calories, they understand balanced meals and portions. So they have that foundation of what is on track for them. And on track is going to really differ on your environment. Right. When I'm traveling across the country, you know, I'm preparing for a cross country move. When I've traveled from Boston to la, for instance, you know, my on track looks different now. LA is a great place for healthy eating, but at the same time, when you don't have a kitchen, when you're not going to your normal gym and you have your normal routines and like my dog walking schedule, because I have dogs, like when you're off of your routine, whatever that is, you're being on track is going to change. And so I think it's really more about knowing like the core habits you're going to stick to. So things like it's so simple but like having a meal schedule. Schedule, like when are you eating? I mean, honestly, when you think about getting off track, it's truly like overeating snacks and grazing and like that effort mindset can kick in for people when it's like, you know, I've already had something bad, I might as well just eat the whole damn pizza to the face. When in reality it's like if you stuck to like the majority of what you can do regardless of where you are in the world, you would really feel good. So, you know, being off track is sometimes truthfully a mindset and sometimes even less about the environment and the specific food choices at times.

Mm. I want to go exactly back to what you said. Like before you know how to get back on track. You have to know what is on track.

What is on track.

You do phenomenal work with your clients. I recently saw something you shared about a client who dropped 20 pounds after, like really working on this for a while in 12 weeks. Is that right?

Yeah. Yes. It was part of one of my programs, 90 day fitbay body. She lost 20 pounds in 12 weeks. And literally the story's really crazy because when I, I was actually going back and forth with her on voice note, and I just remember her being like, you know, she had so many questions. She's like, is this gonna work? You know, I'm so off track. But I think what's really cool about her story too is like, failure wasn't an option. Like, she could only succeed. So when you pair that, like, intense motivation with the proper plan, like, you will lose weight. And I think so many people talk about or think about, like, what if it doesn't work? Or what if this doesn't work? But you know, you have to create a resilient mindset and when you get the right plan, you get the. And you understand what you need to be doing. Like, you will be successful if you don't give up.

Yeah. Don't quit. I mean, how many areas of life does that apply to? Right?

Like, oh, my God, literally.

Yeah. I believe for so many clients, like, your success is inevitable. You just got. Stay in it. Stay in it. Actually, the trainer I'm working with here, this comes to mind too, in case this is a helpful thing for anyone anytime. I do a lot of push ups and a lot of burpees these days, and he always like, you can do just one more. You can always do one more.

I don't know if he took it, but I'm a big fan of Ed Mylett and I love his podcast. But he has the book about, like, doing one more. And it's so funny. Like, even after all these years and before being a sorority girl, I played competitive soccer and competitive sports and all the things, but I had never, like, really embodied doing the one more. And I feel like with entrepreneurship, like, I've definitely embodied that. But sometimes with fitness, as I've gotten older, sometimes you get lazy and like, you know, sometimes that happens. But yeah, I love the idea of doing one more because, like, you do have it in you and it kind of almost pushes the boundaries on, like, the mental capacity of where you think you can go, but, like, you can push a little more. And just imagine how much more progress you see when you push just a little bit more.

Just a little bit. And that's actually one of my approaches. Recently I have chronic migraines and I didn't want to push myself into migraine land. So I'm like, just inching up, just inching up the ceiling each time. And if something feels off, I'M going to. I want to dial it back. So my approach is really, really slow and right on time. Always right on time. But what are your approaches? Like, how do you get those kind of results with your clients in a short amount of time? Like, you know, and there's so many different ways of eating and so many different philosophies around taking care of ourselves. Where do you sort of fall in this?

You know, that's a really freaking good question. I don't know if I've been over at Lee asked that before. You know, I think the magic of what we do is first, the method and framework I teach, which is not fad diet. It's not a meal plan. It's truly just understanding how to eat for weight loss. And so when we think about weight loss, there's so many opinions, but there really are non negotiables that have to happen. You have to eat less than what you burn. You need to make sure you're eating sufficient protein. And of course there's other things, but, like, those are the biggest things. So, you know, I talked a little bit about my fad dieting journey, but when I first became a dietitian, I had no idea this is what I was going to do. I had no idea I was going to create a framework, a method, you know, anything like that, a pod, and like, nothing. But when I started working with clients, male and female, I realized the gaps in the weight loss industry, which are, we don't understand what real progress looks like. We see these magazines, we want fast progress, right? I'm actually a big believer. Slow and sexy. Weight loss is half a pound to two pounds a week. Like, we want to take it slow. And I needed a way to show, not tell that to clients on the nutrition level for consistency. For instance, we all know we have to be consistent, but what does consistency mean? I decided, okay, well, if my clients are tracking their calories and they're looking at their weekly averages, they would be able to see they're not being consistent because the weekend they're hitting 3,000 calories and then the week they're trying to, like, under eat. That's one example out of many. But basically the magic I think that I know happens in our programs is because of the way we're able to fill the gaps of what I think the dieting industry has really failed on for so many people. More science rooted. But more than that, we allow failure. Like, I, I don't know, a weight loss plan that encourages you to not lose weight every week. And Part of seeing success, you have to be okay with failure. I think that would, I mean, there's probably other reasons, but I think that's part of what really makes what we do so effective. Plus, like I have amazing dietitians on my staff that help me who are fabulous. Specializing in, you know, sports nutrition to mindful eating and intuitive eating, like eating disorder mindset stuff. Like, you know, we're really well encompassing. But yeah, like when you have a rockstar mindset and a plan that's actually fit for your body, like you will see success. If I always say this. If you're willing to put in the work.

Yeah. Do your recommendations and plans. Like what's your take on how to incorporate. I say movement. I don't like to call it exercise. That really drains me. I say I'm just gonna go get some movement, get all.

I love that. The vibe. If you bring into it though, like when you're like all negative Nancy on a weight loss journ, like you want to fall in love with healthy eating. Like this shit should be fun. Like if it's not fun, we got to go back to the drawing board because you got to do this every day, multiple times a day. Yeah, my job. But yeah, when it comes to exercise, movement, what that looks like, I actually believe food first, exercise second. So with the goal of weight loss is not that I don't love movement. Heck, I just planned my workout with my hubby later today. We're going to the gym together. Like, I love a good movement moment, but to lose weight. I see so many women that work out their little hearts out. They work out maybe six, seven days a week. I've had clients do two a days. I've had clients have trainers say like add in like another hour of cardio every day, like crazy recommendations. But you can do like I gained 20 pounds my freshman year of college, working out every single day. So exercise for most women, sometimes like I scale back on it a little bit so we can get the food foundation right. And also that's important because say you are lifting weights, which is so important for female health, for bone mass and our muscle mass and getting that tone, strong physique, I love it. But if your diet isn't right, if you're not eating, say you're eating like 40 grams of protein a day and you need closer to 100. It's not that the exercise you won't get benefit from it, but if you got your diet right, you'd actually see what the exercise is supposed to be doing for Your body. So I kind of approach it a little differently. I'm all for exercise and movement, but you need to get your diet right first, and that has to happen or else you're gonna potentially not get results in the first place.

So stinking good. I had. So my journey the last few years was I was in a car. We were on a long road trip, so I had lots of time to think. We went from Chicago, stopped at a bunch of places, out to California, and then went south down to Arizona, and then stopped at a bunch of places on our way back. And a lot of time not moving. This is when I know my back leg hurts.

I'm about to. So we just got a new dog. I might drive to California from Boston. So you're actually giving me good vibes for that. If you can go there and back, I can go there.

It was awesome, actually. I will make a couple of recommendations for you on the side about places we stopped. Actually, let me just make them. Now. I remember one. The Cow Creek Park. Cow Creek something in South Dakota was really beautiful. And then we went down through Idaho, and we went to City of Rocks, which was a little scary, but also really cool for bouldering. So we, like, did stuff. You know, we stopped and we camped on the way out, we had a roof nest. But on the way back, I was like, this was a lot of time sitting. All right, you've been trying to get this movement in. You've been working on this, and you're not really consistent, and you're not really seeing progress. Let's get consistent with movement. So I found this thing called Slow Running. If anybody looks up this podcast episode, you're like, is this really what she's talking about? So corny and so cheesy. It's like, I don't even know what it's from. It might be early 80s, late 70s, I don't know. But the coach that's guiding you through this podcast, Slow Running, is like, if you can't breathe right now, you're going too fast. Like, you are my guy.

Oh, that's really cool. So it's conditioning, but that's also really cool, especially if you've. If you've either never been fit or you're doing a new exercise that is completely outside of your normal wheelhouse. Because it is hard to know, like, how much you should push or not to, you know, I loved it.

And my husband would laugh. His legs are a lot longer than mine. So my, like, walking it. Like, he was like, I'm just gonna walk Next to you. I'm like, well, con, just run ahead of me, then. Don't walk next to me. This is embarrassing. But that was how I started. Like, okay, I'm consistently slow running, and then they start you with two minutes. Run, run. If we call it that. Walk for a minute, two minutes, one minute. But then I started working with a nutritionist, and that's when I saw the shifts. And the number one thing that she taught me was, well, it was inches, not scale. That was like, big for me.

Especially if you're exercising. Especially, yeah.

And then the food. I mean, inside and out. Every day, every time we met, she would quiz me, what did you do? Not enough protein. It was usually. That was the problem. Not enough protein.

It sounds like you had a good nutritionist, by the way. I love that she's a she or he is a protein pusher. That's great.

Yeah, she was a protein pusher. And it was so hard. It was the hardest thing ever for me to get in all of the protein. And I don't think I remembered realized I feel like I knew this at one point in my life after I was getting back in shape after Lily, but I lost track of how important these things are. And breakfast, Skip it all the time. I could go to. I think you talked about this. Like, I could go all day without eating and like, this is not good.

Until it hits you. And then like 5pm or if you can make it to 5pm I know I couldn't. But like, a little afternoon or like 3pm hits, and that's when, like, you know, I actually. This is funny. I recently had someone comment, which always happens, right? Not a troll, but, like, not understanding the context of social media. She's like, well, you know, in India, people fast all the time. I'm like, you're missing the point of this post that for women who struggle with overeating and you're going all day without eating, you're binging because you're not eating breakfast. Like, just because fasting can work for some people and good, healthy health benefits. Like, if it doesn't work for you, like, that's what matters, right? Ultimately. But yeah, no, I. I'm. I'm like you. Sometimes you can, like, power through. I think it's also like, people in, like, business, entrepreneurship, like, we get so, like, micro. Like, I get so focused on something, and that's, like, the only thing I care about. So if you guys are like that, I totally relate. But yeah, it can get to the point where, like, it catches up to you eventually, if you know what I mean.

Oh, I know. I cannot have cupcakes in the house. I. This is a danger zone. Yeah. Because you walk out at the end of the day and, yeah, like, I'll have one or the kids are in school. So how do you feel about restrictions like that? Like, okay, just keep some of the things that are not great for you and that are. That's my person. Like, it's a weakness.

Yeah. You know, I think it's really interesting because there's kind of two camps, right. It's don't have anything bad or, you know, not good in your home or, you know, just the intuitive eating how it's portrayed on social media piece. And I think once again, part of what makes makes the work I do a little bit more unique in the diet culture world that we live in is I just really like to meet people with where they're at because I firsthand dam will know, like, when I have a ton of sweet treats nearby, I'm way more likely to eat them. But on the converse, I can't blame the sweet treats. I also have to understand balance and what that looks like. So a concept I actually teach my clients a lot is defining what are worth it foods for you. And worth it foods are not just like, for the rest of your life, but particularly depending on what phase of your journey that you're in. Right. If you are losing weight or trying to lose weight, shed body fat, build muscle, like, you have less calorie money. Right. To spend. So if you view your diet as a budget, you have to be a little bit pickier and choosier with what you're including in it. And you can go over your calories one day and your weekly average still be fine. You can, you know, include a fun treat and maybe a meal is lower in protein or, you know, whatever. But, like, in general, your habits over the course of a week can still be in a fairly good place, and you still could be making progress. But the tough part is, like, the gray area of, like, how much of it can we include? And I get asked that question today. I had a client that was like, well, Lauren, I'm just a little bit. I know it's not a black and white answer, but, like, how much wine can I actually have? Or how much chocolate or ice creams can I actually have? And I'm like, your progress is going to dictate that. I've had clients lose weight eating sweet treats and wine every single day. I've had clients where, because of what the foundation of their diet is, like, we have to tweak and modify it so, you know, you have to improve your relationship to the food. But ultimately, your environment and what you surround yourself with is going to have massive impact on how you eat. So instead of trying to get rid of things, I'm just such a believer, like, we gotta focus more on, like, what you should be eating. And then for 90% of people, those things won't get in your way unless they're a problem, then we can address them. But I just see for so many women like it naturally, your urges to overeat certain things, especially when you're so focused on a goal, naturally goes away when you get more of the right things on your plate.

Oh, good. You mentioned wine. I also can't do that. I love that it's personalized, though, that you're personalizing this process. So when someone's initially getting started on the getting on track journey, do you recommend an audit? Do you recommend, like, all right, what are, like, do you set goals? How do you start down this path to be well? Like, whatever the goals are. For me, it was be well, and then other things came after that.

That's where it started.

And movement. Yeah, but how do you start?

Yeah, I. I'm a big believer. You have to understand, like, what we're working with first. So I actually, I have a free qu. Why is your weight loss a hot mess? And I know it sounds just, like, so candid and marketed, but truly, like, this landed on my lap and, like, this was literally created off of an idea with me and one of the women who works with me. And I was like, all of my clients, like, are like, these are their struggles. And then I'm like, oh, my God, like, I need to figure out a quiz for this so my clients can take it so I understand what their struggles are. So one of them is like, the Gossip Girl. You're getting in your head, like, especially if you fad dieted a lot, that if you don't see progress, you give up. Because it's like, well, I haven't lost weight. It's not working. We have the basic batch who needs to get back to basics because you're over complicating it. We have the businesswoman, which not just because I'm an entrepreneur, but, like, I am the businesswoman. So the businesswoman is so smart, so motivated, but she just does not have a plan and does not know what to do. So, you know, for her, that's the direction we need to go in. And I said the businesswoman, the basic bitch, the gossip girl, and the party girl. The party girl are my clients who are so good during the week and bad on the weekend. So, anyway, describe all these, because depending on kind of where you're at, and there's overlap between all of them, right? But you have to identify your biggest struggle before you embark on any nutrition change. If your goal is fat loss. Because ultimately, if you're a gossip Girl, but then you're trying to, you know, approach it in a way, maybe a businesswoman would, you're not addressing the root problem. And so I really believe as a dietitian, if you're not understanding what got you to the place that you're at, sort of like with therapy, right? If you understand what got you here, a therapist can't help you. Like a dietitian can't help you. So unpacking, that's really helpful. And then we can embark on the nutrition change, right? You know, non negotiables have to happen. You have to eat the proper amount of calories, the right amount of protein, you know, meal planning, how to spend your calorie money, and, like, the basics take you so far, even if you're not a basic bitch, as I like to say. But yeah, you have to understand what got you here so you can increase your likelihood of actually being successful.

So, dang good. Can we be a couple of things? Because I think I would fall into business and getting back to basics.

Yeah, I think everyone gets little getting back to basics, honestly, because I'm a big believer. Like, people love to ask me about, like, supplements and, you know, intermittent fasting and meal timings, and it's great. Like, let's have a combo. Let's talk about, like, the specific nutrient and blueberries that gets everyone excited on the Internet. I'm not sure. But regardless, the basics have to come before any of the fluff, right? Any of the knobs. When you build a house, you have to have the foundation, calories, protein, balanced meals. That's the foundation. The beautiful granite countertops you want. That's the supplements, to be quite honest.

Okay, so speaking of, we are here in Cote d', Ivoire, and I honestly do not eat as many vegetables as I should. And a month or so, I'm like, oh, my stomach. Like, I can just feel something's missing.

So I started.

Well, well, I do have protein shakes that are. I do vegan protein shakes.

Wait, me too. Even though I eat meat, I only vibe with vegan protein shakes because, like, whey just upsets My stomach so much. Yeah, same.

We brought a little whey back. My husband had ordered whey. I'm like, I don't think I can do this. I gotta reorder and no way for me, no way. Do you have a preferred vegan shake?

Okay. So I. It's funny, whenever people ask me this, I like feel not embarrassed sharing it, but it usually just wouldn't be something I would recommend for people. But I'm an open book. I share what I actually do. I love the brand Ghost. I believe that's like Christian Guzman who owns like Alpha Land and like he's like a bodybuilder. He has a supplement company I think he's a co owner of called Ghost. And they have a. I believe it's a pancake batter flavor. But I bring it up because I've tried so many different, different protein powders. This is the only one that does not upset my stomach. Now my drawback on it though is it's not third party tested, meaning it's not verified for banned substances because they're not, you know, looked at by the fda because it's a supplement. However, I do feel really good having it. It's not like I'm over consuming it. I sometimes have it like a few times a week. Right. But typically I wouldn't recommend to like the general public like to have a supplement that isn't third party tested. Just because I want you guys to all have like the highest quality foods. Of course. But ye exposing myself, that's what I have.

I love it. Well, I'll disclose also I use vega protein. Have you tried before?

Yes. So they're third party tested, but that destroys my stomach like no other.

That one's fine with my stomach. That's so weird. I love how you're like, nope, let's customize it. That's my jam. And then the other thing I want to ask you about, I also started greens, like a green powder and I got a first one and it had stevia and I didn't realize that it was too sweet. Like I don't want my greens to be that. That's sweet. I just need a squeeze of lemon juice in my green juice if I do that. So how do you feel about greens?

Yeah, you know, I do get asked about greens a lot. And you know, full transparency. I don't take greens. They sound like a cool thing to take. I much rather you add wholesome real fruits and veggies to your diet. If I'm being completely honest, there's just something about Synergistically eating real wholesome foods that, that you're never going to replicate in a pill or supplement. Now, greens powders aren't bad. Like, it's just like taking like a vitamin. It's not that it's bad. Obviously there is risk for toxicity with certain things. I think the risk with something like a green supplement is not going to be as high versus like taking a specific vitamin or mineral without understanding how much your body needs, depending on your age and your gender and like, where you're at in life. But typically I don't recommend greens powders, but not because it's bad, just because it's what I'm working with clients. Like, I'm all about giving a recommendation that's going to actually give you the biggest chance at seeing results. So I'd much rather start with like calories versus like a greens powder.

I love it. So that's like the extra that you're talking about. Like get the basics, then let's talk about things like this. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, Lauren, I've got to say, I mean, you're branding from end to end. And the sorority nutritionist, when I open, I'm like, wait, this. So like, let me really dig in here and like, what's the vibe? And then of course, we started chatting on this episode and it is so fun. It's like, I feel like working with you is stepping into this warm. Like, we've got you. No judgment, like, we are your family. Are these values that come up for you?

You know, that's something. I don't know where it comes from. I think, you know, I'm very blunt and direct being from Boston, and I am that way because I want people to see success. Yes. However, I think throughout my own personal life journey, I've, for whatever reason, I just have this ability to connect with people like empathy wise. And I really try to put myself in people's shoes. I do get that feedback from clients. I mean, you can see as even I'm processing this, speaking out loud. Like, I am not sure where it comes from. I think it's just something that's within me. But I've always kind of of just been that way. Like, I've never had children, but the majority of my clients have kids and for whatever reason, I'm able to relate to them. I don't know where this comes from. But yeah, I think there's just, you know, with especially my education, like learning so much about counseling and being able to be supportive. Like, I'm blending that with obviously Being a sorority girl. And I was in one of those sorority houses where There literally were 200 plus people. There were 17 chapters on my campus. I lived in like a sorority mansion. I'd be at the door, like having to have conversations with. With literally, like people you don't know. So constantly, it really just allowed me to, I think, be able to communicate with people. But yeah, there's just so much power in whatever you do, whether it's being a dietitian, being, you know, a manager, a leader, a boss. Like it when you listen to people and have a conversation. Like, it's so much. Just so much power can come from it and so much help. But yeah, I don't know where it comes from.

I love it. So I would highly recommend anyone go check out your feel your way over on your website@the sororitynutritionist.com and you mentioned the quiz. Tell us where if we want to, like, do an assessment to get back on track. The quiz, what else? How. How do we get to know you?

Where do we start? Yes. So the quiz, if you go to the sororitynutritionist.com quiz, you can find the quiz there. And it's super easy to take. You can find me on Instagram, on TikTok, on YouTube, all the places. If you start sorority nutritionist anywhere, I'm the person that pops up. And yeah, you can enter our world. I have a podcast as well where I really talk about weight loss, healthy eating. It's called Hot healthy, never Hungry. And so if you're looking for a little boost of motivation, I share a lot of client stories on there. I'm really, really blessed. A lot of my clients actually, like, get inspired to, like, their goal is to be able to get on the show, which is really cool. And I say that because they want the transformation and being able to help people. And it's cool because, like, they listen to the show before they become a client and then they, like, hear all these people's success and it's just like this cool ecosystem we've created of positivity around weight loss. But yeah, any of those ways you.

Can enter my world, I love it. Thank you so much. We'll link all of that up below. Guys, wherever you are on your journey, this felt so good. No judgment, anything at all. Just do what's right for you. Thank you, Lauren.

Thank you.