[MUSIC PLAYING]
SPEAKER 1: Thank
you all for coming.
I'm thrilled to be welcoming
Kelly LeVeque to Google
today to talk about her wellness
approach and her new book "Body
Love."
So Kelly, if you don't
know, is a wellness expert,
nutritionist.
You have from many
certifications--
KELLY LEVEQUE: Too many.
SPEAKER 1: --under
your belt. But I really
connected when I
learned about Kelly
with her scientific approach
to health and wellness
and nutrition, and just
found it really fascinating.
And kind of for me--
cut through a lot
of the clutter that's out
there and just confusion
around what advice to
listen to-- so super excited
to have her here.
And just to kick off, Kelly, you
have a really unique approach.
And you love using
scientific studies,
evidence-based nutrition.
So can you tell us a bit about
how you developed that strategy
and what led you to your
overall nutrition philosophy?
KELLY LEVEQUE: Sure, so I'd
have to take you guys all back
to the beginning of my career.
I had an eight year career
in cancer and genetics
where my job everyday was to
read studies and determine
if they were biased or
unbiased, if they had
significant p-values like
how many people were involved
in this study.
Who was funding it?
What was the goal?
And was it correlation
versus causation?
Which you find a lot
in nutrition studies,
because if you
think about it, it's
really hard to determine if
an apple a day is good for you
if one person's
eating cheeseburger,
another person's eating
fries, and another person's
having a Fab Four
smoothie instead.
But what it was for me was
always a passion, always
something that I've loved.
So I've loved
health and nutrition
since I was probably
13 or 14 years old.
I was that girl who read diet
books in high school when--
I mean we joked about
this when I got here--
when I was not allowed to watch
"The Simpsons" or "90210."
But I was allowed
to read those books.
And it was something that
obviously was a hobby
and then became more.
Because what I was
able to do once
I learned how to read
those studies and go into--
you guys have Google
Scholar, which I love.
It's a great place
to find studies.
I can look up what I'm--
something that I'm searching
for whether it's the benefits
of curcumin, which is the
active ingredient in turmeric.
Or what's better, two
meals a day or six?
There's a lot you can
get from the research.
And understanding how
to read the research
allowed me to just mine that
nutrition knowledge and figure
out what I thought was
the most important.
And what I kept
finding was that there
were a lot of things
that overlapped.
Whether you're eating
a Mediterranean
diet, or an Atkins diet, or
a paleo diet, or a Keto diet,
or your blood sugar balance,
or you were Weight Watchers,
I kind of just didn't want
the eat and do not eat list.
I just wanted to
understand the science
and say, how am I
going to feel my best.
How am I going to stay fueled?
How am I going to
stop snacking on junk
when I wanted to
reach for Goldfish?
I grew up on Goldfish.
Those are great.
But for me it was really
trying to decipher what was
the most important thing here.
And that came down
to what do your--
what do your cells
need to proliferate?
Because your body is
constantly breaking itself
down and rebuilding itself.
You rebuild your body about
nine times over your life.
So I wanted to know
what did my cells need.
And then what's going
to make me feel my best
and perform and
function my best?
And so that's kind of what
led me to my philosophy, which
is a light structure around
eating that isn't an eat
and do not eat list.
Because I think for a
lot of people who decide,
oh, I'm never going to
eat rice again, well, what
happens when you go on
a trip with your husband
to Japan, like I just went.
Am I not going to have sushi?
Of course I'm going
to have sushi.
But it's understanding
well, what
do these macronutrients do?
How do they break
down in my body?
How do they make me feel?
And making choices around
food based on that knowledge--
so that's also kind of
how it all happened.
SPEAKER 1: So coming out of
learning all that research,
what are some of the biggest
biological takeaways that you
want to communicate
to men and women?
KELLY LEVEQUE: Sure,
well a lot of you guys
got a copy of my book.
And I talk about something
called the Fab Four,
which are, I think, the
four categories that I think
are important for
you to be aware of,
the first being protein,
the second being fat,
the third being fiber, and
the fourth being greens.
And by greens I mean vegetables
like leafy greens, things
deep in color.
And the reason for
that is that you
have essential amino acids,
which are from protein,
that your body needs.
You have protein
stores in your body
that are used to rebuild these
cells that we break down.
The programmed cell
death is apoptosis.
So if your body says, oh, this
cell is not functioning right,
you'll kill it off.
You'll rebuild it.
And that's what I was
talking about when
I said your body breaks itself
down and rebuilds itself.
So you need protein to do that.
I don't by any means think
that you need 200 grams a day.
If you're on a
bodybuilding website,
that might be the
recommendation,
but something around 20
to 30 grams at each meal.
And there are going to be
meals where there are less.
And there are going to be
meals where there are more--
but just to keep
those stores up.
Fat-- I think fat
is really important.
And I think there was a
big period of time where
people ditched fat, because it's
higher in calories per gram.
And if you're a
calorie counter, that's
a really easy way to
cut calories, right.
But when it comes to satiety
and feeling full and calm,
which is so much
about my philosophy--
I'm just all about eating
food that turn off--
turns off hunger hormones so you
don't have to think about food.
Fat is really good
at doing that.
When you eat fat,
your body releases
a hormone called
cholecystokinin,
which is a really
strong satiety hormone.
I mean think about it.
If you're going to have
chicken and steamed
broccoli versus chicken,
broccoli, and a pesto sauce,
I mean obviously you're going to
feel a lot more satisfied when
you're adding fat to that.
And that's also going to slow
the digestion of that meal
and elongate your
blood sugar curve,
so we aren't
reaching for snacks,
which is another thing
that I like people to do--
is add to their plate instead
of depriving themselves.
And things to make something
last longer in your body.
And fat does a really good
job of helping you absorb all
of your fat soluble vitamins.
There was a study that
came out on avocados.
And by adding
avocados to a salad,
you're actually increasing
phytochemical absorption
by over 300%.
So when you think
about those nutrients
that you're trying to
get, those anti-oxidants
that are fighting the oxidative
stress of day-to-day life,
you're not going to get
there without the fat.
So I love fat.
And then fiber and greens
comes down to your microbiome.
It comes down to detoxification.
It comes down to feeling full.
So the physical stretching of
your stomach does something.
It helps your body with
the hormone called ghrelin.
And ghrelin I like to think
of the gorilla hormone.
If you don't have that physical
stretch of your stomach,
you're going to be starving.
You just want to eat all day
long just grabbing for another
leaf, but-- or
hopefully a leaf--
sometimes not-- but the real
stretching of your stomach.
So when we grab a green juice--
I know juicing became
really popular.
Grabbing a green juice,
you're not really turning off
that hunger hormone.
So you're going to
be hungry later.
And then the greens,
specifically leafy greens,
great source of fiber, great
source of phytochemicals.
But also the source of a sugar,
a sulfur-based sugar that
feeds your probiotic bacteria.
So when you think
about all of the gut
bacteria in your body,
10 cells of bacteria
to every human
cell on your body,
you want to make sure
that that's proliferating
and that you're just really
a walking around ecosystem
of bacteria that's giving
off gases, free fatty
acids, and things that
tell your genes what to do.
So for longevity purposes,
detoxification purposes,
whenever you can say, I'll
just add a cup of spinach
to that smoothie, or I'll get
a side salad to start my meal,
I mean it's a great
way to stay full.
It's a great way to get
really good nutrients, too.
So those four things,
I think, is my way
of helping people turn
off hunger hormones
and elongate their
blood sugar curve
and eat an
anti-inflammatory diet.
So instead of just saying,
oh, I can't have this anymore.
And I can't have that anymore.
And I'm not having gluten,
or I'm not having dairy,
or I'm not--
it's a lot of "I'm not," which
creates a lot of food drama.
I like to say, OK,
look at my plate.
Do I have a good
source of healthy fat?
Can I add olive oil
or avocado to this?
Can I add slivered
nuts to this so
that it will make me
feel a little more full.
So that 3 o'clock doesn't roll
around and I don't go, oh,
is it time for a brownie?
Because we're all going to get
that depressed feeling around 3
or 4 o'clock where
a coffee, a brownie,
a cookie sounds awesome,
and that's a hormonal thing
that's happening inside of you.
It's also due to the fact that
whatever you had at lunch,
your blood sugar can go up
and come down on average
about three hours.
So depending on when you eat
lunch between 12:00 and 1:00,
that crash is going to happen.
And if we can
elongate that window,
you don't have that crash.
And we can be aware of the
way that we're hormonally
going to react at that time.
We can have strategies to
deal with it, move through it,
and hopefully
continue to eat clean.
SPEAKER 1: Yeah, so what
are your top tips then
for elongating that
blood sugar curve.
You touched on your
Fab Four items.
But how does that actually
play out in our bodies?
KELLY LEVEQUE: Right, so if any
one of you guys have heard--
for example, if you had
a sweet potato, or you
had a sweet potato with
coconut oil, or almond butter,
or grass-fed butter on it.
The actual adding
of fat slows down
the digestion and
breakdown of your food.
And when you add greens and
fiber, the breaking-- your body
has to physically
digest those things.
And your digestion happens
with two chemical byproducts,
hydrochloric acid.
Which if you have acid reflux,
that's that feeling, right.
That's the acid.
You want that acid.
It's really, really good.
Actually, a lot of time when
people have acid reflux,
we're finding that they
actually have not enough acid
to bring their stomach
acid down low enough
to shut the sphincter
between your esophagus
and your stomach.
So would be
interesting, if you do
have that issue, to talk
to a functional medicine MD
and see if you can add a little
hydrochloric acid to your diet.
And the other thing is enzymes.
So think about
everything that you eat.
It needs to be digested
like a brick wall.
And enzymes and hydrochloric
acid dissolve the mortar.
And you absorb brick by brick
or nutrient by nutrient.
So the more that you
can add fiber and fat
to your meal, the slower
that digestion happens,
and the longer you feel
fueled and satisfied.
SPEAKER 1: That's great.
So here at Google we're
presented with a really unique
food challenge.
Food is basically everywhere.
We're never more than
a hundred feet away.
Most Googlers eat about
two meals a day here.
Plus we have kitchens
with snacks all the time.
So what do you think is a good,
smart approach to buffet style
eating, constant presence
of food situations?
KELLY LEVEQUE: Yeah, I mean
you guys are definitely--
we call it-- well, you
can call it a perk.
Or we can call it a challenge.
I think if I was here, I
would be like, it's a perk.
Oh my gosh, it's a challenge,
because it's almost like you
guys are on a cruise
ship 24/7 or back
in college with the meal card.
I think you really have
to focus on your hormones.
You really have to focus on
shutting down those hunger
hormones early.
And I will say,
I do have clients
that were in LA
that work at Google,
that work at Netflix,
that work at Facebook.
And they're challenged with
these same type of perks.
And the thing that
I would say is
it's probably really
important that you fuel up
with a good breakfast.
And I talk a lot about the
Fab Four smoothie in my book.
And what I talk about is that
it does a really good job
of keeping people full,
sometimes until 1:00 or 2:00
in the afternoon where they're
not thinking about food.
Which is interesting, because
a lot of times when people
have the opportunity to
come in and have a buffet,
they decide--
they opt out of breakfast.
And they decide, oh, I'll just--
we get free food at work.
So I'll just wait until
we're eating at work.
And then if you are
getting to a place
where you're so hungry
by the time lunch
rolls around, that
hunger can really
derail those healthy choices.
Because when have you
ever when you're starving,
and you're trying to
make a healthy decision,
you order a salad.
And it comes with
a French baguette.
And you're that hungry.
Odds are you're probably
going to go for it.
So my advice would
be know who you are.
Know how hunger affects you.
And if you can, if you're
the person who ends up
over eating because
they've waited too long,
and they're in a crash,
craving, hungry state,
then do something about
that in the morning.
Make that healthy choice.
And know that the
perk is always here.
Right, you always have food
all around you all the time.
Eating to satiety and making
those meal choices over snacks
is going to serve
you in the long run.
Back in the '60s, people
didn't snack. '50s and '60s,
snacking wasn't a thing.
You had three meals a day.
We had way less disease states
in regards to type 2 diabetes.
There wasn't insulin resistance.
We didn't have
metabolic syndrome.
We weren't being
faced with this.
And this is all based on
the fact that there's food
around us all the time, right,
and especially the food that
gives off dopamine.
Right, if you were to have
a brownie or my Flaming Hot
Cheetos, or--
think about probably what
you're being offered here.
Not only is that a source
of fast blood sugar
that's going to hit your brain.
But it also releases
dopamine like a drug,
sometimes as much
as eight times as--
eight times as
strong as cocaine.
So to feel like you're not
addicted to those type of foods
and that you can just make
non-emotional food decisions
around them is a little silly.
You're going to feel
those connections.
And food is laced in with
memories, and emotions,
and relationships.
So I would say
especially here at work,
don't make the indulgences,
the little mini kitchen,
crappy snacks.
Right, it's not-- it's not
the healthiest decision.
So try to make sure that
you're fueled up at meal time
so that you're not feeling
the urge to do that as often.
SPEAKER 1: So we live in a
really strong fad diet culture.
There's advice coming from a
million different directions.
So how do you
approach distilling
the right information and
finding actual facts that you
believe in and want to promote?
KELLY LEVEQUE: Well, there's a
lot of really amazing nutrition
research.
But we're in a state--
we're in a day and age where
we have Google,
and Google Scholar,
and bloggers, and people like
Tim Ferriss, or Dave Asprey,
or you name it, people who are
sharing a lot of information
based on studies.
And I like to look
at these as tools.
I don't over analyze them.
I think, I say, oh,
intermittent fasting, that's
pretty interesting.
Tell me about that OK, well
what is intermittent fasting?
It's a limited time of eating.
And how can that
benefit someone?
It can increase
insulin sensitivity.
It can lower hepatic
or liver fat.
It can lower belly fat.
It can lower cravings.
It is really good and healthy,
so how can I implement it?
I look at it as a tool.
And I say, OK, what
kind of person am I?
Am I the kind of person that
can get up in the morning,
just have coffee and tea,
and not eat until 2:00 PM?
I'm not that kind of person.
I wouldn't probably
be fun to be around.
But I also see, OK,
that's really interesting.
How can I implement
that in my life?
I'm definitely
the kind of person
that I'll get up have
breakfast, have a lunch,
maybe have a light snack at
3 or 4 o'clock and then say,
I'm going to skip
dinner tonight.
But I'm going to eat to
feel full and satisfied.
So making the choice to not--
to have a-- have a bone broth
dinner or to skip dinner
is a lot easier than
white knuckling it for me
until 2:00 PM where I can't
concentrate and can't focus.
So all of these
things are tools.
And if you understand them
on a biological level,
like the bullet proof
coffee is a great example.
Why is that popular?
Well, fat like we talked
about really is a great--
does a great job at releasing
a satiety hormone in your body.
It also has the less--
the least and lowest
response of insulin.
So say you had to a
donut for breakfast.
That donut immediately
turns to blood sugar.
I like to joke
around about emojis.
I think about the donut emoji
floating in my bloodstream.
And that's my blood sugar
ratcheting up, right.
Insulin's the hormone
that picks up that sugar
and starts to put it
away in your body.
It will store it in your
liver, in your muscles.
And if there's no space
left, it's storing as fat.
And the process of converting
it to triglycerides
is a little bit inflammatory.
And insulin is one of those
hormones, a chemical messenger
to store fat.
So what's so great about
bullet proof coffee?
Well, it's going to turn
off some hunger hormones.
Or it's going to release a
satiety hormone in your body.
And it's not going to release
a ton of insulin that's
going to make you store fat.
It's going to keep your body
in that fat burning state.
So all of these things are
just tools for you guys.
And generally if
you can just think,
I want to generally eat healthy.
What do my cells
in my body need?
Cool.
If you want to be paleo, or
Keto, or vegan, or vegetarian,
that's fine.
But you still need to
understand blood sugar.
I was telling a
friend the other day,
I don't care if you're a Keto
as long as your fat sources are
healthy, like clean
sources of fat.
I don't care if you're
vegan or vegetarian
as long as you understand
your blood sugar
and you understand
what's releasing--
what's turning into blood
sugar and how much insulin
you're releasing.
And I don't care
if you're paleo,
but let's pick healthy
sources of protein.
Can you get in touch with
a company like Butcher Box
to deliver grass-fed
protein to your door?
Or can you go to
a farmer's market
and make those healthy choices?
Because just because
you're bucketing yourself
in a lifestyle diet doesn't
mean that you're eating clean.
So it's more about
understanding the biology
and then being able to
say, oh, I'm Keto today.
Or I'm paleo tomorrow, or
I'm vegetarians on a Friday.
But understanding
your blood sugar
and understanding the science
of that kind of sets you free.
And that's honestly
what the book was about
was teaching people
blood sugar so they
understood, when
I eat something,
what's happening in my body.
I have that donut.
My blood sugar goes up.
My blood sugar is going to
start crashing at 90 minutes.
And all of a sudden I'm going
to want a morning snack.
I'm going to feel the crash.
I'm going to want a bar.
I'm going to want an apple.
I'm going to want to use
caffeine to push myself
through to lunch.
And I'm going to release
a ton of insulin.
And it's going to tell my body
to start storing fat instead
of burning it.
And that insulin is going to
last for six to eight hours.
So from a donut you start
the time clock of insulin.
And you turn it off six
to eight hours later.
So I like science,
because I don't feel bad
when I make a decision to say,
yeah, it's my anniversary.
And bring me the creme
brulee and the glass of wine.
But I also know--
SPEAKER 1: And that way
you're not cheating.
KELLY LEVEQUE: Yeah.
SPEAKER 1: Or
you're being aware.
KELLY LEVEQUE: There's no
such thing as cheating.
It's a choice and
knowing, OK, so maybe I'm
going to release
a lot of insulin.
And my blood sugar
is going to go up,
and it's going to crash down.
And tomorrow morning, yeah, I'm
probably going to want a bagel.
But how do I turn off my hunger
hormones and push through that?
Maybe I make a chocolate
almond butter smoothie.
And I feel calm and full
and make it to lunch.
And then start the
healthy train again.
SPEAKER 1: So what are two of
the biggest mistakes that you
see people make eating
a lot of the time
now in regards to their
nutrition or fitness.
And what are your tips for
avoiding or redirecting
from there?
KELLY LEVEQUE: Yeah, well
I mean, I think everyone--
to each their own, right.
And we all have a
different experience.
And there's a lot
of bioindividuality.
But I will say that the
idea that big bowls of acai
or big smoothies that are all
fruit are healthy is a mistake.
There's no way that
you would sit down
to a banana, an
apple, and a pear,
and a whole head
of Romaine and--
and eat all of that
in one sitting.
And when you talk about the
amount of fructose that is
and where it's metabolizing.
Fructose metabolizes in--
100% in your liver.
And it's hard on your body.
It gives off free radicals.
Which is kind of
interesting, because fruits
are high in anti-oxidants.
So I think that that's so
amazing the way nature works
that we metabolize fruit.
We give off free radicals.
They have anti-oxidants
to neutralize it.
I just think that
that's super cool.
You just would never
sit down to that many.
And I see people do it day
after day after day after day.
And then they're having
glasses of wine at night.
It's metabolizing
in that same liver.
We don't need three to five
servings of fruit a day.
A serving a day I
think is great--
a great way to
get anti-oxidants.
But to start your day on that
blood sugar roller coaster
where half of the fruit is
being metabolized to blood sugar
where you go up and down.
And half the fruit is being
100% metabolized in your liver
and giving off free radicals, I
would say a serving is probably
a good place to start.
And then second
would be the idea
that we need to be working out--
or eating before we work out.
There's a really
big idea that we
should be having a small protein
and fat-based snack before we
work out or a bar.
And people get
worked up about it.
I have had clients who
have always done it.
And so it's really
scary to think,
I'm not going to
have a bar before I
go to this HIIT training class.
And I'm going to feel
nauseous, and I'm not
going to feel great.
But this is your opportunity
for your body to kick in.
Not only will your liver
release some blood sugar
so that you can actually
get a great workout in.
But this is the time
where your body will
release a hormone
called glucagon
to bring blood sugar back up.
And what glucagon does is
it lowers bad cholesterol.
It decreases belly fat.
It's anti-inflammatory.
I mean we just never use
it, because we're always
eating and then having a
snack and eating again.
And our blood sugar
never gets low.
And our body doesn't
bring it up naturally.
So there's also a really big
benefit to working out fasted,
especially in the morning.
You get a huge surge of human
growth hormone and testosterone
that does a great job
of burning away fat
and holding on to lean
muscle mass, which
is just great for the body.
SPEAKER 1: Awesome.
So you just published
your first book this year,
"Body Love," which is awesome.
KELLY LEVEQUE: Thank you.
SPEAKER 1: What was your
approach to writing the book?
And what did you most
want it to teach readers?
KELLY LEVEQUE: Well, I do feel
like there was a lot of-- there
are a lot of people out
there that didn't really
understand blood sugar.
They might have read
Atkins or Mediterranean--
the Mediterranean diet.
Or they might read about
balancing their blood
sugar in "Health" or "Shape"
or whatever magazine.
But I don't think
that there were--
I didn't feel like there was
a real understanding of how
it worked.
And I didn't see anything out
there that simplified it enough
to say, no, this is exactly what
happens when you're only having
a piece of toast for breakfast.
Your blood sugar goes up.
90 minutes-- we're
starting to crash.
You feel hungry automatically
an hour and a half later.
At three hours, you're hitting
that low blood sugar state.
You're feeling like,
yeah, I absolutely
have to have a snack now, right.
And I just think
knowledge is power.
And so I tried to
simplify it and then give
people a really light
structure, easy plan to say,
I can do this.
It isn't about deprivation.
It isn't about
cutting things out.
It's really about enriching
my life, adding to my plate,
and learning how to elongate
those windows between meals.
Because a lot of the
science is pointing
towards less meals
being healthier for us
in the long run and elongated
windows between meals being
really good at increasing
fat burning and even
brain functioning,
which is super cool.
SPEAKER 1: I've heard you talk
a bit about your husband's
less healthy eating habits.
KELLY LEVEQUE:
Yeah, that's real.
SPEAKER 1: And I think in this
community, too, it surrounds--
I mean eating is a big
thing here at Google.
We go to lunch with people.
We grabbed snacks or
froyo with our teammates.
So how do you like to approach
eating with people that you
love and making that a communal
experience while still staying
true to what makes
you feel your best?
KELLY LEVEQUE: Sure, so
my husband's Instagram
is bebadbychris.
I'm bewellbykelly.
He is trolling me
on the internet.
He posts pictures of pizza, and
ribs, and burgers, and fries.
And he pops champagne bottles.
We keep it light, because
that's real life, right.
So in no way do I
eat 100% perfectly.
And no way am I, when
I'm stressed out, feeling
like I don't want a brownie.
That's a real thing, right.
I want dopamine, and I
know where to get it.
But the thing for me
is in the celebration.
How often is it happening?
How often are you getting
froyo with your team?
Is it every week?
Do we need to be celebrating
a team meeting with froyo
every week?
And so what I tell people
is start with the Fab Four.
If you go to a party,
search out your protein,
fat, fiber, veggies.
I mean there's got to
be a crudite somewhere
and some chicken somewhere.
And then think about
the celebration.
And ask yourself who
are we celebrating?
I mean is it your birthday
or your coworkers?
Do you know the coworker
who's birthday party it is?
Ask yourself who
you're celebrating.
And save your
celebrations for you.
Celebrate your anniversary.
Celebrate your birthday.
Celebrate on vacation.
I think we're always looking
for reasons to celebrate.
And now we have all
these horrible days
like National Brownie
Day, National Donut Day.
It's Champagne Day.
And it's like an
insta phenomenon.
But what I would say is
just try to ask yourself,
am I celebrating myself or the
people that I truly care about.
And if you are, then you
need to celebrate, not
feel bad about it, and not take
guilt forward into the future.
And then the second
thing would be--
would be not only
who am I celebrating,
but why am I-- why
am I celebrating?
Or why am I drinking?
I think that's a really
important thing to think about.
Are we drinking to feel
comfortable in a networking
social situation?
Are we drinking with
our best friends
and opening a bottle of wine
to laugh like old times?
Because I think it's really
different if you're just
feeling uncomfortable going
into a networking event
and grabbing a glass of
wine, because you're like,
oh, I don't know anyone.
Hurry, quick, feel comfortable.
And so I always
challenge my clients
to never drink to
feel comfortable.
Drink to celebrate.
SPEAKER 1: Totally, so we have
some time now for the audience
to ask a few questions.
So you can think about
questions you have for Kelly.
We can start that off.
AUDIENCE: Hi, thank you so much.
So my husband also
doesn't eat super healthy.
And I try to cook healthy
for us at night and whatnot.
But what do you--
I mean you love your
husband, and you
want him to be around for as
long as you're around, right.
Do you guys have
conversations around how
the food that he's eating
is impacting his health
and his cholesterol maybe?
KELLY LEVEQUE: Yeah.
AUDIENCE: My husband
has bad acid reflux.
And so he's taking
Prilosec every day.
So what can I do to help him?
And then I'm going to
pile on a little bit.
I chew gum a lot.
I wanted to know what
you think about that.
What is that-- why am I
doing that kind of thing
from a science perspective?
And then I also
usually want a piece
of chocolate after my lunch.
And why am I doing that?
[LAUGHTER]
KELLY LEVEQUE: So we're going
to attack this in three parts.
First, your husband.
Yes, I think it's
always really important
to give positive reinforcement.
So for Chris, when we
first got together,
he had chicken and rice.
That was his healthy meal.
And he had cereal
for breakfast, but he
would have the whole box.
And then it really
was up for grabs.
I mean we were young when
we met in our early 20s.
And I mean he came
from a frat house
to living with a bunch of guys.
And he was just eating out.
And so my whole thing
is we have something
called "fat Chris
Friday" where he gets
to order whatever he wants.
And if that means he--
and he's an adult. He can
make all his own decisions.
I don't-- I care, because I
want him to be here for the long
run, right.
And I want him to be healthy.
And I want him to
feel good in his body.
And so yeah, I mean, that
means he'll sometimes
order a pizza, burger, and
fries on a Friday night.
That's the truth.
But the thing is
when he knows he
has that, he'll make healthier
decisions throughout the week.
And I just support him.
I make clean dinners.
And if he needs to have--
and he does this.
He'll have a rice cake
with peanut butter
after if he doesn't
feel satisfied by that.
Or he'll do-- and note that's a
pretty healthy decision, right.
But he's on the
green smoothie train.
So what I started
doing when we first
moved in together six years ago
was I'd make a green smoothie.
And I'd put peanut butter in
it instead of almond butter,
because he likes that better.
And then I'd give him his.
And he got used to it and
really liked the way he felt.
And it became something
where I'd always
compliment him and say,
oh my gosh, so much
vitamin K, so many
phytochemicals.
You're just-- this is the most--
just lots of positive
reinforcement and always
supporting the process.
And then I mean if
it's a Reuben, fries,
and for IPAs when
I'm not around,
or even when I am around,
it's his life, right.
So I would say
definitely support him.
Along with the
acid reflux stuff,
I definitely would search
out a functional medicine MD.
There's a company that's
here in San Francisco
called Parsley Health.
It's a membership-based,
VIP type of medicine company
where they're going
to do gut bacteria.
They'll take cortisol test
to see if there's stress.
They'll do an acid reflux test.
He might have a food allergy
that's causing this acid.
He might also have
a low acid, which
is causing an inability for
his sphincter to close tightly
without having acid reflux.
You can also check to see
if he has any type of hernia
there inside.
Second-- the gum thing.
So artificial sweeteners--
we taste sweet.
And some people's liver--
livers will-- or pancreas will
overreact and release insulin
at just the taste of sweet.
So that's kind of interesting,
because it's almost like you're
giving yourself a taste.
But you're never going all
the way there with real sugar.
Right, my biggest recommendation
for people who have a gum issue
is to get-- and I have one here.
It's an herb pharm.
It's an organic herbal spray.
And they do peppermint,
spearmint, cinnamon.
It's a real essential oil.
And it's like old school
Binaca, but it works great.
And you can give
it a spray and--
to kind of clear
your breath and also
stop the chewing, because
you just don't want
to perpetuate sugar cravings.
Also fake sugars
feed bad bacteria
like candida and yeast
in your gut, which also,
when they overgrow, make
you crave more sugar.
And we all have a
certain amount of yeast--
candida and yeast growing
in our body at all times.
You just never want
that to overgrow.
Fake sugars like Splenda,
aspartame, that all feeds that.
And then what was
your third question?
AUDIENCE: The
chocolate after lunch.
KELLY LEVEQUE: Oh, yeah, and
so I have a fix for that.
It's called freezer fudge.
It's in the book.
It's a sugar free coconut
oil, almond butter,
and unsweetened cocoa powder.
You blend it.
You melt it, blend it together,
and put it in ice cube trays.
And you pop it.
And it's healthy fat,
but it tastes like fudge.
And it can kill the craving.
You can use a little bit among
fruit or a little bit of stevia
if you really need the sweet.
But also a dark piece of
chocolate works great.
And I would just say,
have it right after.
Don't wait.
Right, because if you wait, and
then you just have the sugar,
then it becomes a
blood sugar thing.
But if we have it
together, we can actually
keep the fat and the protein.
And the mixed
macronutrients of our meal
will help that elongated curve.
And that's a habit thing.
SPEAKER 1: The same
thing with stevia.
Can stevia also make your--
KELLY LEVEQUE:
Unfortunately, yeah.
It's the newest-- the newest
studies are showing that
we're getting--
we're not having the
blood sugar response.
But we're getting
the insulin response,
which is a bit of a bummer.
Because we can't have our
cake and eat it too anymore.
Yeah, yes.
AUDIENCE: And since I'm
the mic [? gal, ?] I'm
going to piggyback.
What percentage of-- or
if it's dark chocolate,
do you have a
percentage of cacao?
KELLY LEVEQUE: I
just go 70 up, yeah.
AUDIENCE: Hi, so
you actually just
touched on what I
wanted to ask about,
about having the dark
chocolate or chocolate with--
close to the meal.
So I understand what sugar in
the form of whatever it takes
does to your insulin.
I understand that fat helps
turn off the hunger hormones
and provides a lot of satiety.
But I'm less sure about--
I hear a lot of if you're going
to have a piece of white bread,
have it with fat
and with protein.
And the overall insulin spike
in your blood is not as high.
Is that true if I really
can't give up a carb, which
I can't right now, in a meal?
Does having more of
the good healthy fat,
like if I have toast
with avocado on it,
does that actually really help
my insulin spike, and how much?
KELLY LEVEQUE: Yeah,
well, I'd have to--
we'd have to prick you and test
you to find out how it really
works in your body, because
everyone's a little bit
different.
And people's blood
sugar response
also has a lot to do
with their gut bacteria.
Because if you
think about it, you
have this tube that runs
through your human body.
And you have this
layer of bacteria.
And if you don't
have antibiotics,
take medications, and you have--
you eat fairly clean.
And that fiber and greens
keeps that ecosystem growing.
Then they ferment a lot of
the carbohydrates that we eat
and sugar, which can lower
your blood sugar response.
So what I would say
is yes, absolutely.
Try to choose whole grains,
or maybe a sweet potato,
or a squash, or
something like that.
And yeah, I would absolutely
have it with the meal.
Keep it in a serving size.
A great rule of thumb is net
30 grams of carbohydrates.
So a lot of times if you look
at the total carbohydrates
and the fiber, subtract the
fiber from the total and that
will give you net.
So that would be, for example,
a half a cup of quinoa.
A lot of times when I
sit down with people,
they go to these places.
And I think you
guys have one here
in San Francisco where you can
literally not talk to a human.
And a quinoa bowl pops out
of a microwave type of a box.
But that's two cups of--
two full cups of
quinoa, which is
close to 100 grams
of carbohydrates.
And there's only so
much space in your body
to store that as fuel.
And when we store
it as fuel, it's
like a little goes in our liver.
The rest goes in our muscles.
If there's no space
left, your body
still has to bring
that blood sugar down.
It's not just going to hang
out high for very long.
So I would say yes to a starch.
I would try to maybe look at
each meal of the day and say,
is there one meal where I
cannot have a carbohydrate.
AUDIENCE: I was just about to
ask, sorry, as a follow up,
if there were-- is
it really better
to not have it with
dinner versus lunch?
I mean I understand you're
less active after dinner.
But I can run after
dinner if it means I could
have a starch with dinner.
KELLY LEVEQUE: Yeah.
AUDIENCE: Because I
want it more with dinner
than I want with breakfast
or lunch, but like--
KELLY LEVEQUE: I
like bookending it.
So yeah, I would like
for someone to either--
which is why I created the
fruit free smoothie in my book.
It has protein.
It has fat.
It has fiber like chia flax.
It has a handful of greens.
It can be flavored like matcha.
It could be flavored like
chocolate almond butter.
It doesn't have to--
it could be savory,
sweet, filling, thick,
not like a thin juice.
Right, so you can skip that
fruit spike in the morning.
And then I just
tell my clients when
I meet with them
one on one, can you
pick between lunch and dinner?
If you're more
emotional at dinner,
and you can get away with making
a big salad at your cafeteria
here, loading it up with
veggies, adding avocado,
getting a good healthy fat
on there, and you're like,
I can make it to
dinner, great, you
should do that and
not worry about
if one way or another
is a little bit better.
What I would say if you're
a big starch night person,
I would say, let's try
to move dinner back.
Don't be the European
11:00 PM dinner person.
Can we pull dinner back?
Can we can we have dinner
at 6 or 7 o'clock at night.
And if that's not
feasible, maybe two nights
a week, you commit to having
dinner at 5:00 or 6:00.
Then all of a sudden you're
getting the benefits of what
would be an intermittent fast.
And you're letting
your body deal
with the sugar
consequence, no problem.
We work around.
AUDIENCE: OK, I like have
kind of two questions.
So fasting, I was always under
the impression it can slow down
your metabolism.
So I wanted to hear your
thoughts about that.
And then also, I
always wake up hungry.
Someone could feed me in bed.
That's how hungry I
am when I wake up.
And so I'm wondering
if that's a problem
or if it has anything to
do with metabolism, too.
KELLY LEVEQUE: No, OK, so
first things first on fasting.
So there's a guy
named Brad Pilon.
And he tried to
do his thesis on--
his book is called
"Eat, Stop, Eat."
He tried to do his thesis
proving that fasting
killed your metabolism.
And he proved the opposite.
It actually increases
your metabolism.
At 24 hours worth of
fasting, your body
releases human growth hormone
and testosterone, which
holds on to lean muscle mass.
And lean muscle mass
is your metabolism.
You start to oxidize
fat in your mitochondria
instead, which is
super awesome, right.
But what happens when we
are lowering our metabolism
is when people become
at a calorie deficit.
If you decide that you--
your metabolic burn is, let's
say, 1,800 or 1,500 calories
a day, and you go, oh, I
want to lose all this weight.
I'm going to try and eat
900 or 1,000 calories a day,
which is crazy.
You should never do that.
Your body will eventually catch
up and lower your metabolism.
Some things can happen
like the lowering
of like your heart rate.
Your organ
functioning goes down.
Your brain
functioning goes down.
And that's your body going,
oh, this is all we're getting.
So we're going to respond.
And the cool part
about fasting is
you can eat the same
amount of calories
and fuel yourself the same
way in a smaller feeding
window, which is why
intermittent fasting is
becoming so popular.
And then your second question
was about eating in the morning
and being starving.
AUDIENCE: I always wake up
hungry [INAUDIBLE] breakfast
immediately.
KELLY LEVEQUE: Cool, I
think it probably has
to do with a number of things.
If you were a kid whose mom
got you up and was like,
time for breakfast, and
that's been a habit for you
for a long time, it's
probably the case.
And honestly, if you
have growling or you
feel sour stomach,
and you're like,
yes, I want to eat something
right away, the studies, I mean
granted they're a
little bit older,
but they all show that breakfast
eaters weigh less overall,
have less food anxiety,
and have less scale change
than non-breakfast eaters.
So even though intermittent
fasting and Bulletproof coffees
and all of these things are
really popular right now,
I would say you got to stick
with what works for you.
And if you're
looking to tighten up
in any way, which you have a
totally adorable frame, so you
don't need to do that,
or push yourself,
I wouldn't start with
breakfast for you.
I would say, can I do a fasted
workout in the afternoon?
Or can I put a workout
in the morning?
Or can I eat dinner earlier?
Or hey, let me switch out my
rice for cauliflower rice.
Little things like that can make
a bigger difference for someone
like you than trying
to jump on a fad,
if it's not working for
you personally, yeah.
Yeah.
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]
AUDIENCE: I just wanted to get
your thoughts on multi-vitamins
or collagen powder and
whether that's something
that you recommend.
And if so, which ones?
KELLY LEVEQUE: Yeah, I do really
like collagen. Primal Kitchen
Collagen Fuel is great.
Vital Proteins is great.
Collagen was not
popular for a long time,
because it's only a few
amino acids versus something
like grass-fed whey
or pea protein,
or even now the beef powder
proteins like the paleo
proteins.
Because what we
used to think is,
oh well, I need all
the amino acids.
If collagen is only four or--
so-- and these other
ones have 12 or 13.
They must be better.
Well, if you're eating
protein at lunch and dinner
or have other sources
of protein in your life,
collagen is a great
source of protein.
Because not only are you getting
the amino acids that your body
needs to synthesize protein, but
there was an animal study that
showed that actually we don't--
what we used to think is that
you would digest and dissolve
all of that collagen into its
individual amino acids.
But now we know that a certain
percentage of those collagen
strands are being absorbed
in their whole form, at least
in animal studies.
So it doesn't correlate
to human studies.
But it is pretty
cool that as we age,
we synthesize less collagen.
So giving your body the inputs
to make it is great.
And then when it comes
to multi-vitamins,
I would just be particular about
the type of multi-vitamins.
All of the percentages on
the side of those that say
recommended daily value are
based on really old research.
So there's a company called
Ritual which just came out
with a women's multi-vitamin.
And they took the studies
and brought them up to date
and increased the dosages for
current deficiencies in women.
But there are certain brands
like Thorne and orthomolecular
products and certain
multi-vitamins
that I think are good.
I think if you
really wanted to know
if you needed to
take a multivitamin,
you could do a vitamin testing
with a type of functional MD.
But I always say my base is to
get someone a multi-vitamin.
I think it's a good-- because
I've had clients with a B12
deficiency or B6 deficiency.
And they're not hitting goals,
and they don't know why.
And they're trying so hard.
And then we find out, oh, you
have a vitamin D deficiency.
Or you're an inflammatory--
you have a high omega 6
content and low omega
3 serum content.
So the Ritual has
the omega 3, the Ds--
the D, the Bs.
And I think it's another
fun tech company that's
like $30 a month.
And they tell you everywhere
they source their product.
The problem becomes
when we walk into CVS
and just grab one off the shelf.
And it's not the
bioavailable form.
Or It's kind of a me too
product, too, with supplements.
People-- I could go out and
make a supplement tomorrow.
I could call a
company and say, I
want you to slap my name
on the side of this bottle.
But for me it's like, I'm
going to let the people who
are professional at doing
this like a Ritual or a Thorne
or one of those do it, because
they've proven themselves.
So I would say yes to
collagen, yes to multi-vitamin.
My favorite things
in multi-vitamins
would be B vitamins,
omega 3, vitamin D.
And then on top of that if you
have a sleep issue or digestion
issue, magnesium at
night and a probiotic.
Those would probably be my--
I'm pretty minimal.
And if I can get it in one
form, I'm like, that's perfect.
I could take two
pills in the morning.
SPEAKER 1: OK, I think we
could do one more question.
AUDIENCE: Thank you.
I just wanted to ask you
about the connection between
[INAUDIBLE] and quality of sleep
and those false cravings that
we have--
food craving.
And it seems like if you
don't have enough sleep--
have more craving
and vise versa.
So what's your
thoughts about that?
KELLY LEVEQUE: Yeah,
you're absolutely right.
That feeling of wanting
more food and specifically
carbohydrates is very real.
You have an increase in hunger
hormones with lack of sleep.
I mean if you've ever had
a really great night's
sleep, like eight hours,
and it may be as a Friday,
and you wake up Saturday,
and you don't feel as hungry
and can easily get away
with smaller meals,
That's a real thing.
So there's an increase--
a decrease in the sensitivity
of leptin with poor sleep, which
is a hormone that comes
from fat cells that tells
your body that you're full.
And insulin sensitivity
is decreased.
So we have a little bit of an
issue putting blood sugar away,
which also makes us more hungry.
So yeah, I mean that's--
sleep is one of those things
if I have goals for a client,
whether it be a movie role
or red carpet, a wedding,
you name it.
If I have a timeline
person, sleep
is one of the number
one things we work on.
Because again-- really derail
our progress, absolutely.
SPEAKER 1: Well,
thank you so much.
KELLY LEVEQUE:
Yeah, my pleasure.
SPEAKER 1: Yeah, Kelly will
be here for a few minutes
if anyone wants to pop up,
get a book signed, say hi.
But thank you so much.
Loved hearing from you, I
hope everyone else did, too.
[APPLAUSE]
