Well with Arielle Lorre - 355: Weight Loss Takes Work & Unsexy Nutrition Truths with Vanessa Rissetto, RD

Episode Date: October 28, 2024

Vanessa Rissetto is a registered dietitian and founder of Culina Health. She joins the show to discuss unsexy nutrition truths including the work that goes into losing weight, whether moderation is a real thing, why we have to pay attention to what we eat, why preparation is key, why alcohol is keeping you from losing weight and more. She also candidly shares about her breast cancer diagnosis, treatment and how it changed her perspective on life. Subscribe to Patreon for exclusive weekly content: patreon.com/ArielleLorreThis episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.Culina Health’s award-winning nutrition care is trusted by over 10,000patients and 900 healthcare providers nationwide. Our diverse, multilingual team of registereddietitians provides nutrition care for sustainable weight loss, diabetes and prediabetes,gastrointestinal health, eating disorders, general healthy eating, and more. We accept all major insurance plans, and we offer affordable out-of-pocket options. Sign up today atwww.culinahealth.com.Produced by Dear MediaSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Auto-hue with Sunny Cars feels as if the children Not me's Not-Vosvene. It is fair. Verdwine. Vacantity can chaotic But who zorgloose an auto-hurt

says, Uno dos no stress. No, no longer-verwachted costs, always full-ledged. So, would auto-hueurrsonderzorgue, go to your reisadviceur or Sunnycars.

The following podcast is a dear media production. In a world of ever-changing, wellness trends and information, what does it mean to truly be well? I'm Ariel Lorry and I'm going to explore this with you. I am bringing you candid conversations that will equip you with everything you need to live your best life and look good doing it. Think of well as your go-to resource for all of the latest in wellness and me as your internet bestie. Well, let's get into it. Hi, everybody, welcome to the show. I have, I believe, a four-time guest. I think the only guest that's been on four times. Maybe Harley Pasternak has been on. I think he's been on three times. Okay. I'm talking to Vanessa

Rosetta today. She is a fan favorite. One of my favorites. She is a registered dietitian and the founder and CEO of Kalina Health, which is a revolutionary clinical. nutrition care company created in 2020. I think the first time she was on the show was before she even had that company. So it's been amazing to watch her build that. Prior to Kalina, she served as the director of dietetic internships at New York University, where she led the clinical nutrition treatment for a diverse patient population and mentored early career dietitians, many of whom now work at Kalina Health. So that's very full circle. She is also a a sought-after speaker. She's a frequent guest on the Today Show. She's shared her expertise at

investor and industry summits. Her insights have garnered national press coverage in publications, including the New York Times, Bon Appetit, Vogue, Women's Health, Shape, Good Housekeeping, men's health, pop sugar, well and good, Refinery 29, Insider, and Allure. And recently, she was honored by Goldman Sachs as one of the most exceptional entrepreneurs in 2023. She's been recognized by essence as one of the black nutritionists who will change the way you think about food and so much more. So I love Vanessa because I love her approach to nutrition, which she says is pretty unsexy. In a world of fads and trends, she is really kind of a voice of reason when it comes to nutrition. And we talk a lot about that in this episode. And she's like, yeah,

losing weight is hard. There's a lot of work that goes into it. Moderation is not really a real thing because moderation is subjective. What's moderate to her is maybe different from what's moderate to me. And she talks about why we do have to pay attention to what we eat. And preparation is key when it comes to losing weight and making healthy choices. We talk about alcohol. She also recently went through a breast cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment. She is now in remission with no evidence of disease, but it really changed her perspective on life and also made her question some of her own choices. So it's a really, really candid conversation. We have great rapport, and I have so much fun talking to her. We do talk in the episode about Kalina Health. I think

it's so amazing what she's done because she says, you know, we go to therapy. we get our teeth cleaned regularly throughout the year, hopefully. We have these regular check-ins, and people should be able to check in with a dietitian about food, and they shouldn't have to pay for it. So everything is covered by insurance. It's free. So they have different pods. They'll have like an eating disorder pod.

They'll have a GI issue pod. So if you are having issues or if you just want to check in with a dietitian, or if you're having GI issues, you're having binge eating issues. anything like that, go to start.culinahealth.com to book your first session with a registered dietitian today. Your insurance probably covers it and you might pay zero dollars out of pocket. That's start.culinahealth.com. Very amazing. So definitely check that out. And please enjoy Vanessa Rosetta. Welcome, Vanessa. Hey, thanks for having me. You're the only guest that I've had on four times. I think we always vibe so well. So we really do.

And this is our first time recording in real life. I know. It's nice to see you. Even better. Yeah. We have a lot of catching up to do. I feel like since we last recorded. A lot has happened in your life.

And we were talking a little bit before we started recording. But I would love for you to kind of catch the guests up because you had this real monumental thing happen with your health that you've been going through. Yeah. And it changed a lot for you. So yeah, totally. Crazy. So last time we caught up 22 and then like fall of 22, right? And then in May of 23, I found out I had stage 1A, her two, triple positive, breast cancer.

I had pervasive itching for one year. And I was going, I had like multiple mammograms. A lot of my friends were doctors. So I was like, hey, guys, like, there were like, no, there was nothing wrong with you. I would wake up in the middle of the night and be like, I definitely have cancer. And everyone thought I was crazy because I had no lumps, no bumps, and nothing was showing up. And then I went for my routine mammal. And they were like, oh, you got to come back.

There's some calcification. And then they're like, oh, there are calcifications here. Could be nothing. Could be cancer. But we won't, we can't do a biopsy for you. This is May until July 13th. That day sticks out in my mind because that was my first round of chemo. And I called my friends and I was like, hey, guys, you got to expedite this.

So I went like maybe two days later. And they were like, yeah, there's cancer here. And you need to get this taken care of. And it was. Wow. Yeah. Where was the itching? So the itching was actually at my nipple.

And that is where the cancer was. Wow. So I would be literally, this is like so TMI, but I would literally like sitting on the couch and like whipping out my breast and like itching it. And my husband at the time would be like, are you all right? And I'm like, I don't know. But like I'm itching and it's like not getting better. Right. So like, okay, everyone, like itching can be a sign of cancer. Just because you it doesn't mean you have cancer, but it's this pervasive itching that the it doesn't make it go away. And that was it. Like I just kept complaining, complaining, complaining. And honestly, had I missed my mammogram or whatever, I would be in a very very different place because it was 1A, but they talked about how the cells were starting to like break through. So while I had clean margins and it hadn't spread anywhere, I don't, it's slow moving, but very aggressive kind of cancer. So I could have been in trouble. That's crazy that it wasn't showing up on a mammogram or any other imaging. Did you do ultrasound? I imagine it wouldn't have shown up there either. Yeah, I did ultrasound. So what we

like decided or come to the conclusion of is those were the like early signs and they were so tiny and microscopic and it kept being like it kept persisting but since I had already had that mammogram it was kind of like okay well like you're in you're within the window thankfully but had I missed the window then I would have been in trouble and and a lot of times when you feel the lump it's like a little it's progressed more so it's just very crazy uh such a reminder to listen to your body one yeah and to get checked to. And I feel like, I mean, it's always happened with young people. But I feel like maybe we're just seeing it more now because we have social media. When I was growing up, my best friend's mom died at like 37 of breast cancer. And I remember when I was like 10 or 12. I mean, that seemed ancient now. I'm like, oh my God. But I know somebody else was just diagnosed with it who's around 40. Yeah. It's on the rise. Early stage breast cancer is on the rise. And so we're not quite sure why. Like I said to you earlier, right?

Like I don't drink alcohol exercise every day. I feel guilty if I don't eat a vegetable in the day because I usually eat them twice a day, sometimes three times. So I don't have any genes. I don't have any unknown variance. So what was it? And they're like, okay, well, it could be stress. It could be the food. Like there are so many different things that are unclear.

And that's what's really scary because you're doing all the right things and you still get cancer. Yeah. And I think this is a different. conversation, but we're exposed to so many things in the environment now and self-care products. Yep. Yep. So I get really bad dietitians who are like, eat and drink whatever you want, whenever you want, and it's not going to matter. And like, okay, that's not true, actually. That is not true. Don't tell people that. The way that we manufacture food in this country is like not great. This is not something new. So people do need to care what they eat. That's very different than

shaming people because they don't have access to things, whatever. We can make things work, but you cannot subsist on, you know, Doritos and pizza alone. Like, sorry, guys, but unfortunately. Yeah, I do feel like a lot of dietitians, not to generalize, but they do have this kind of approach where it's like, no, everything is okay, everything in moderation. And I hear what you're saying. And you are kind of agnostic, I think, when it comes to that. Yeah. But you do have a little bit of a different approach, like you just said. And I feel like, We're somewhere in the middle, right, where it doesn't have to be so extreme, as extreme as it is, unless somebody wants to do that. And that's what makes them feel good and they can and they have access to your point.

That's one thing. But it's also not just like, oh, the dose makes the poison. Like, you can keep eating these processed foods and they're okay because the FDA and blah, blah, blah, like that's not right either. It's so mental to me all the time. I'm just like, wait, what are you telling people? Like, this is not okay. It's not okay to drink Diet Coke every single day. It's just not.

There's a lot of chemicals in there. It tastes delicious. I like it. We just got the hot tip on the best diet Coke, found Diet Coke, actually in Providence, Rhode Island. Neon, that neon gas station that has the great, great ice, everyone go get it. Honestly, like, you have to be paying attention to what you eat. And I actually don't know that moderation is a thing. That's a line that I never liked to cross.

Like, can you be moderate? Maybe moderation for you is different than moderation for me. And when you say it, it feels like this blanket thing that, like, okay, yeah, just, moderate yourself. If we could moderate ourselves, then 42.4% of Americans wouldn't be overweight and obese. So here we are. Interesting. I want to talk about that a little bit more because you're right. Moderation is subjective. So moderation for me might be having something once a month. Whereas for somebody else, it might be having it once a day. And I've talked about this before, but my dad is a cardiologist. And when I first started in this space, I was very into like the Mark Hyman thing of it all. And I was like,

you need to listen to this guy and you need to talk to your patient. about eating healthy. And my dad practices in Fall River, Massachusetts. I don't know if you're familiar. I know Fall River very well. Different patients. T.C.'s from Fall River. Oh. Yeah. And his demographic, you know, they're eating fast food three times a day. So he's like, I have to meet them where they are. And that's maybe having fast food twice a day instead of three times a day. Like a conversation about moderation to them is completely different than it is for you or I. That's right. Yeah. So exactly. Who's your audience? What can they afford? How do you get? get them to start with twice a day and then changing from eating cheeseburgers and fries to having

grilled chicken nuggets and the salad. And, you know, when people are like, oh, all these people have is a bodega and they can't have anything healthy at the bodega. And it's like, well, yeah, you can get yogurt and they can get fruit and there's nuts at a bodega and there's water at a bodega. Right. So really teaching people that you can make more healthy choices that will then eventually, like, direct you towards, right? Like if you're living in a housing project and all you have is a bodega, people will be like, don't tell them to eat yoplay. And I'm like, well, is it Yoplay or a Snickers, right? So getting them to eat yoplay, eventually we'll get them to eat, you know, like Sigis or, you know, like Coco June or whatever those those yogurts are,

but they have to have a taste for it first. And I think that's the thing that people don't realize. And I think dieticians, for the most part, the governing body doesn't protect our license. So we're all trying to get noticed. And how do you get noticed? What do people want to hear? They want to hear that they can do whatever they want and it's going to be okay and they're going to be well and they're going to be thin, whatever that means to them and it's not true. So I just am more of the lead with the truth, help people figure it out with what they have access to and what they have capacity for and then they will be more successful. Yeah. And I feel like those are the ends of the spectrum. Again, it's like tell people that everything is okay. And then on social media, what makes people successful speaking in absolutes and these dogmatic approaches to nutrition. And I've heard you. day before, you know, as far as trends go and everything, people ask you, like, should everyone be keto? Should everyone do intermittent fasting? Like, that's what people probably come to you with because they're getting that information online, right? Yeah, I'm not sexy or flashy. And like, my manager, even the other day was like, you need to do videos on your Instagram like this. I'm like, yeah,

I'm not doing that. She's like, no, but like, this is what people are into. I'm like, I actually don't give a shit. I'm not doing it. Whatever works for you, works for you. And I can teach you how to do all of those things, but the research actually doesn't support like any of this stuff. So if you eat a varied diet and you are more plant forward, you should have success. And so we could make that work for you. But it's going to be work. There's nothing easy. If it was easy, we would all do it. Right? When people come to me and they're like, can I take this pill? It's going to make me thin. I'm like, girl, if I could take that pill and it made me thin, I'd be on it too. So no, don't waste your money kind of thing, right? And so I think people are hopeful that, you know, I can tell them do it like this and it's

going to work, but that's not true. And I want you to understand food and your body. It makes you feel good and have autonomy. And that's a process. Yeah, to your point about what your manager said to you, I always stay on my show. I wish that I was that person that practiced a lot of rigidity and structure because when I get on here and people want to hear about my diet and fitness routine and I'm like, yeah, I don't really have one. I just kind of like do whatever feels good in the moment. And I'm like, I wish I was not that person because people want to hear those absolutes again. And people want to be told what to do. Yeah.

And that's what performs well, unfortunately. But you know what I think about you and maybe to some degree me is that you are like super honest about what you do and like what you have access to? And I think that's what people are looking for. Right. It's like, hey, Jay Lowe, who's Puerto Rican and doesn't eat rice. Like this is a sacrifice. Right. Like, and she's telling you that.

So like, that's it. you want to look like that, there's work that you're going to have to do. But if that's not what you have capacity for, then let's make it fit for you so you don't feel terrible about yourself and what you are able to do. I have a few questions. I want to start with how did your experience change your philosophy, if at all? Did it change your approach to nutrition? Or do you feel like you were already kind of practicing everything? And this happened as a result of other things. It's funny. I actually asked my oncologist. I was like, do you think my weekly burger is what gave me cancer. She's like, maybe, maybe not. I'm like, really unhelpful. She was like, I don't know. I don't know how

your body is reacting to like outside stimulus and then this burger. Because, you know, the burger I'm getting is not some like organic, like I've identified the cow. It's like, you know, what's up? White Star in Jersey City? You give us these cheese burgers that also have special sauce because that's what I like. My whole life, like, you know, my mom's from Haiti. So my whole life, I eat like a lot of rice and beans, like not a ton of meat because it's the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, right? So meat is there, but more like root vegetables, et cetera. And I never ate any meals out. Like I used to be like, can you be like my white friends and on pizza? And on Fridays have pizza. My mom would be like, no, I'm going to cook the food. So growing up,

I very much like ate this like plant forward kind of thing. In adulthood, it was like, oh, I can do whatever I want. So I was just eating whatever I wanted. And I never, I never really had a weight problem. Like in college, yes, but that was just because I was drinking and eating whatever was in sight afterwards. You know, I would like eat a salad and do those things. Here, after cancer, I definitely am eating more plants more frequently. Less meat, more fish. But again, like, I have kids and I have to like cook meals for them and like they're not eating salmon. So I have to like make it work. But yeah. But one of my very good friends is an oncology dietitian and his research at Sloan informs how they treat patients. And again, he's like,

the studies don't support it. So like this whole thing about like sugar and then he's like, you know, yeah, no, you shouldn't be eating sleeves of cookies and, you know, downing domino sugar. But it's okay for you to have sweets and ice cream and those things. And I think about everything that I eat. And that is a very big burden, actually. I feel like we're so quick to jump to blaming ourselves, though. Yeah. And I hope the question didn't come off that way. That wasn't how I meant it. No, no, not at all. But it's kind of interesting that whenever something happens, whether it's something on a smaller scale or it's something like cancer, we go straight to self-blame. Yeah. And do you think it's upbringing? Maybe. Yeah. I don't know. But it's also like, I think it's also the time that we're in with social media. And I talk about this a lot in like therapy. Yeah. Because whenever I wake up and I have a weird thing happening in my body or mentally I'm anxious. I go straight to, oh, well, maybe it was the thing that I ate and it caused me to have this reaction. I think it's wellness culture, to be totally honest and being immersed in it for so long. Yeah, I agree with that too.

I am the same. Like, I'll be like, oh, I ate that burger. And I'm like laying in my bed. And I'm like, is my heart racing? Did I do something? Like, this is why I don't drink or do drugs. Because when I used to drink and then I would wake up with panic and then I'd be like, it's the alcohol. And now I would just go down this crazy rabbit hole.

now that's not in my life, I don't have that feeling anymore. But yeah, you are always going towards yourself. I think it's this. That's like the trauma. And like, I don't know, I was like raised by parents that nothing was ever good enough for them. So you are, you're always internalizing yourself and what you're not doing. Whereas I see my kids who I speak to my kids in a really frank way and like I am really firm but loving but they're they are not in the business of making anyone comfortable which I like like like I'm always like only respect adults who are respecting you but like please also be respectful but they they have a boundary and I don't think this new generation looks at themselves too much I think they're like I don't know what's happening in the outside that's

affecting me in this negative way which I love for them actually yeah that's so interesting yeah it's so funny to think back to when I was drinking too I mean talk about opposite ends of the spectrum. I used to drink, stay up for days, put anything in my nose, take anything, not even knowing what it was, snort things off. Sorry, I'm getting really. No, I like. Tam I hear it snort things off the toilet, you know, in dirty bars. And now I'm like, that green juice has apple in it. I don't know. Yeah, I can have the sugar. Yeah, I think about that too. Like, I'm like, oh, I would drink till 4 o'clock in the morning. And then it didn't matter where I was. Like, I had to be at the gym at 6 a.m. And, like, I would work out and I would do whatever. And it's like, okay. And someone's like, here's some Adderall.

And you're like, yes, no problem. I'm going to take this. Like, cool. And now like, I'm like, I don't know. I can't. This Tylenol makes me scared. Yeah. That's gross. But maybe to the extreme. Yeah, totally. I'm like, is this Tamoxifen safe? They're like, it's going to minimize recurrence. I'm like, I know. But like, it could give me all these other things. And they're like, what? It's funny. I would imagine that it's a difficult path to navigate because you're now in remission, right? there's no evidence of disease. That's right. But you probably have it in the back of your mind always.

Always. And I would imagine if you get any kind of itch or anything like that or any kind of weird symptom. How do you navigate life now with that experience? Yeah. Thanks for asking that, actually. It's like very forward thinking because most people are like, you should feel so grateful that you're alive.

And you're like, yeah, asshole, I am so grateful I'm alive. Thank you. And they're like, you shouldn't be thinking about it all the time. And I'm like, well, I wake up every day at some moment in the day and remember that I had cancer. I don't know that it's ever going to go away. One of my investors, I have really dope investors, and this one investor is fucking awesome. She also had this same kind of cancer. She found out five days after she closed her first fund, solo GP, black woman.

And she was like, if it's stage two or below, I will continue and go out and like deploy capital. And if it's not, I'm going to return all the money. So it was stage 2A. She's like been in remission for four years. The other day I texted her. And I was like, hey, Monique, when am I going to stop thinking about cancer? Asking for a friend. Friend is me.

She was like, yeah, no. It's like low level anxiety forever. Yeah. And you're just like, whoa, like this is so crazy. And so I guess the thing is that I go to the doctor every six months. I don't have any evidence of disease. I've had many, I've had clear scans. I also had a bad mammogram in May that had calcifications in a surgical bed and I had to wait 14 days for them to tell me that it was just post-radiation fat necrosis.

But I was like, ah! And my surgeon was like, it's okay, it's okay. You know, there's a lot happening here. I was like, this is very bad. I'm just like always thinking like, it just makes me think like life is so short. I can get like really emotional about it. Life is really short. You live, you know,

lot of discomfort to make other people feel good and you sacrifice yourself and you can't do that because you don't want to be laying on a bed like your family around you being like shit i had one shot at this and i didn't do it in the real way i didn't i wasn't living in truth i i lied to everyone around me people don't actually know who i am or how i feel or or what i want to to contribute to the world. And that just felt, that feels more frightening than anything else, right? Like, you know, like, we're all going to die. So we'll got to, like, deal with that. It's what did I, what did I live for? And so I think, I think those are the things. And I think also, like, I said this the other day, I'm actually, like, fucking pissed off. I'm pissed off.

And, like, every time I have an itch, I'm like, God damn it, is this okay or not okay? Like, I go to the doctor and I'm like, let me tell you, I'm turned up. These are all the things. They're like, we got you. It's okay. But I'm just annoyed. Like, everybody else, like, I look at you and I'm like, wow, Ariel is free. She wakes up in the morning. I know you have your own shit. Like, I get it. But like, because you've not had an illness like this, yes, of course, that's in the back of your mind every once in a while. You're like, oh, shit, I better go get my mammogram. I better go do my colonoscopy at the right time or all those things because I wouldn't want to be sick. But like, I think about that every day. And it's, and maybe sometimes multiple times in a day. And that was like something stolen for me Where I just want to like you know Live my life be with my kids like watch them grow up And then you know they get married or not But they're adults and then maybe I'm 75

And I'm like okay whatever that was a good ride Whatever the fuck happens now who cares like that's where I wanted to be And very far away from that It's like you're part of a club that you never wanted to be in That's right And I'm surprised that people even say that to you About like having gratitude Yeah first of all like

I mean that's so presumption and just kind of like entitled, especially if they haven't been through it. But also like I would just imagine everything that you're saying, I can't personally imagine it, but I would think that it would have been a trauma. And so you have this new wiring in your brain. And how could that possibly ever go away? It's so hard. And like even even at work, like I'm running this company and I have an amazing leadership team around me, but I'm very distracted in recent time, and it's been really hard for me because I am so traumatized by everything, and my mind goes to, like, one thought, and then I can't function, because I'm just like, oh, shit. I have a new chief of staff, and she, I'm like, shit,

should have had her 18 months ago. I just say words, and she's like, like, yes, thank you. You earn all your dollars. You're amazing. Like, so good. But yeah, it's just been like tough and trying to present that to the world. And like, you know, people, I'm on TV or I'm sitting here talking to you or I'm doing this. But like, there's so much effort in all of those things for me where before that wasn't the case. And I, it's not like, oh, poor me. Like I'm sure like many people have the same experience. Just like, that's just a reality. Like, I make my kids food. I do homework with them. Then I have to go do something for work. And then it's like, you know, six o'clock. And I'm like, I think I need a nap. It's like really a lot. Whereas before I was.

like that. It's just a new way to be. And like a loss of self, the life and a loss of part of yourself. Yeah. I'm sorry. Okay. What kind of switching gears here? What do you see people dealing with who come to you? To Kalina? Yeah. Because we've talked about this in 2020, 2020, 2021, 2022. I'm curious how things have shifted, if at all, in the last few years and kind of what we were talking about before. People are living in this social media new reality. I was talking to my boyfriend yesterday and I was like when I landed here in New York and I'm on the plane waiting to get off and I can see everyone's, every single person was on Instagram. I mean, it's like we're, we live there now. And it's so saturated with wellness and food and nutrition information. So I'm curious what people are coming to you. Babe, it hasn't changed. 50% coming in for weight loss. That's it. Like they're coming in. Now we have JLP ones. Yep. And like the thing about.

the GLP one is this. It's like, well, first of all, I'm really interested in what it will be like in 10 years, right? Because we're like, oh, we think it's going to help with Alzheimer's. We think it helps with addiction, not just food addiction, but all itictions. Like, oh, this is like very curious. There's like a lot, right? But there are no longitudinal studies or, right, we don't have 20 years worth of data. So what does it mean for people?

We don't know. What I do know is it works. I see people all the time where I'm like, oh, girl, you on the end of that big? I'm happy for you. You look good. You look great. No, I don't get the judgment. Yeah. Like, if this works for you, do it. I don't like it for you. It's not a problem. First of all, we do know it's going to get harder to get these drugs because insurance companies, we just closed our series A led by one of the payers, right? So they're like, no, you're going to have to talk to a dietitian

and you're going to talk to a psychologist before you get these drugs because they're too expensive. So we can't be doing that. But some people really need them. And if you're 500 pounds and it's surgery where in America when we do gastric bypass, right, we have to do a sleeve, then we have to do a ruin white because we can't get as much weight loss in just one surgery. It's multiple surgeries and then a skin removal. We're here, you're just going to do these injections. We get good results and then I'm going to do a skin removal for you. So it's like less risk doing these gLP ones. That being said, the way you get longevity on them, the way you get the outcome. that you want is working with a dietitian. Because, for example, I had a patient who came to me, like, it's my really good friend since I was to her younger sister. And she was like, I have a messed up thyroid. I need, I want to lose weight. I need help. I drink too much. I was like, great. Fine. You're going to stop drinking. She was like, great. She's like, wow, you're so right. My life is so much better now that I don't drink. I'm like, I know one person at a time. So then I changed all

of her habits. She was doing awesome. Didn't lose a pound. I was like, you need to go get a GLP1. She lost 25 pounds in seven weeks. She's off of the drug. She never had one bad side effect because she had already changed the way that she was eating. That's the thing. If you're still going to be taking these drugs, eating high fat foods, you're going to have those adverse reactions. And so it's a tool that we use. But ultimately, you're going to do lifestyle and behavior modification. Otherwise, nothing is going to work. There's no magic bullet. There never has been and there won't be one, I don't think, in our, in our lifetime anyway. What about like a relapse of weight gain after? Because I feel like I see so many people who are

against GLP-1s who come on podcasts and say, it doesn't do anything and it's temporary and the weight loss is just muscle atrophy and then you go off the medication and you gain it all back. And I'm like, I know people who have done it. And to your point, they also changed their lifestyle and it was a tool. But they've kept the weight off for over a year. That's right. That's more. Yeah. Yeah. So like, it's not exactly true that it's muscle atrophy, right? It's like, you know, everybody just reads like the little snippet of the study and then they start talking and you're like, please stop saying that because that's not actually true. And yes, you have to work with someone. If you don't work with anyone and you don't change your habits, you are going to gain weight. It's not this thing, right? Like you're suppressing your appetite. Then when the appetite comes back and you don't know how to work in this structure, you're just going to. You're just going to. You're just going to. You're just going to. You're just going to. overeat. So it doesn't work. You have to do all of the things. And that's the part that's really hard. People just want to be in the shadows, like on their app, taking pictures of their food and injecting themselves and being like, nobody talked to me. It's like, sorry, you got to do more

than that. Right? So like your dad will tell you, right? Like these people come to me and it's like, okay, well, just give me the statin. And then I'm just going to keep eating all the stuff. And it's like, yeah, yeah, but eventually it's going to catch you. So you can't just be on the drug and think this absolves you of doing any work. And I think because of social media, we see all these people that it all seems like very effortless, right? I think like that's the thing about you that I've always liked is like, no, it's not effort. It's not effortless. It's effort. I work. I work at this. I have to make the meals, do the things, move my body. And sometimes I like to do it and sometimes I don't like to do it. More of people who have a platform telling the truth will help the regular people be like,

oh, yeah, it's not so easy. And this person actually might have like more means than me. So that's It seems easy. And then you can level set and then actually have some success. What are some of the things that people who might not have access or people who are just consuming this information on social media? What are they coming to you with like as far as trends go? I know that you mentioned keto and IF a while back. Is there anything right now that you're hearing more of that you're just like what? You know, people with this like cycling, oh, should I seed cycle? And I'm like, well, you can.

But it feels like effort. That's the thing. It's like, do you have capacity for all of these things that require this like matrix? If you do, then by all means, like, try it. If it works for you and it doesn't cause you any like mental stress. Like everyone, the way that people eat, every single person, I could hear how you eat and like clean it up pretty fast. And then you would just do that and you're not like really suffering. Like people are like, oh wow, I lost weight and I had wine and I ate pizza and I still lost weight. I'm like, I know. I just. didn't do it all the time. So yes, all the regular trends still exist. And now I think the Kardashians have some like, ozempic pill that people are like asking me about now. I don't even know what you're It sounds wild. Shout out Simon. I do love Simon Huck. He's a friend of the podcast. Sure. It was like, what is this? Yeah. I think there are, there are quite a few brands. I feel like capitalizing on that. I mean, they actually named there's GLP something one something. I'm like, how did they get around that? Okay. But there are so many supplement companies, I feel like, so many.

Kind of maximizing on this moment, piggybacking on the GLP1 thing with like fat burners and appetite suppressants. Make your heart raise and, like, sick you out because you don't drink coffee and booze. And then you're going to be like turned up and then afraid. It's just not worth it. Right. So like you don't eat all these supplements. Just go see a dietitian. You don't have to see us. But, you know, most of dietitians take insurance. So it's free. Like, is it just a copay? So go talk to someone. Even if you don't have weight problems, even if you don't have elevated cholesterol, even if you don't have diabetes, you can just go see a dietitian like three times a year and just talk about general healthy eating and like devise a plan for you that is sustainable. So I think this is good measure. Like you go get your teeth clean twice a year. You go to the PCP once a year. You should also go see the dietitian once or twice a year and go figure that out. I think the world would be a better place because everybody. has questions about food, food supply, how they should eat. So just get them answered. I know. I remember you saying a few years ago that I think we were talking about maybe like

disordered eating, binge eating, things like that. And this was like an early stages, I think, of Kulina even, maybe even before. I remember you saying like people go to a therapist. We're here. Like dietitians are here to talk to you about these food issues to your point, not just about weight, not just about what you're eating, but also like these other things. things that people struggle with. And that really stuck with me because I was like, oh, yeah. And then I feel like people go to their GP and then they go complain like, oh, they don't know anything about nutrition or like, my cardiologist doesn't know anything about nutrition. That's right. Doctors only get, you know, one class in nutrition. It's like, yeah, but there's this other group. Yes. But I think that people do

have that perception maybe to the point of what we were talking about before that dietitians are like, you know, funded by whatever, big food. And they are kind of like, everything's, so. And they are kind of like, everything's good. Right. So you have to find the right. Yeah, I think the thing that people don't realize, right, dietitians are highly trained and underutilized. Like, we are in class with med students, nursing students, PT students. We take organic chemistry, anatomy and physiology. Like, in the hospital, the physician relies on us for more than just a low sodium diet education. So like, yes, go see the dietitian. We are trained. We know we can look at you, look at your labs, like medically and talk to you. We're not going to diagnose you, but we can collaborate with your

physician and we do that really well. If you think about this, one medical has 808 referring providers. 505 of those providers refer to Kulina before they refer to a specialty physician. Wow. So that speaks volumes, right? Like 70% of our business comes from physician partners because they know like, hey, we're just going to send these people over to Kalina and Kalina's going to tell us back what's happening with this patient and then sick patients can actually see the doctor at. we can keep less sick patients out of the doctor's office. And no, the physician has to learn about being a physician. Nutrition is its own discipline.

So they cannot be made to learn that as well. And the more that people understand that, that you don't expect that the doctor knows about PT. You don't expect the doctor to give you therapy. So why do you expect the doctor to give you nutrition advice? They don't know. Same thing. So I'm here to tell America, this is what you,

don't ask her doctor. He doesn't know, but he will probably refer you to Kulina. So just come see us. That's amazing. Those are amazing numbers. Yeah, yeah. It's, it is been a very wild ride. Like, at the start when we first started, we were at like 200 sessions a month. And we thought that was so much. We were, last month, we did 4,200 sessions. Wow. We have 85 dietitians. We just raised our Series A, 10 million dollars series A. Only 15% of startups ever like get there. We've done something really amazing and special. And I'm really proud of that. And I think that, you know, I know the team is proud of that. We care about the dietitians that work for us. We don't just, like, have a thousand dietitians on a platform. We make sure that everybody's books are full to their capacity. We just,

we want dietitians to win. We want people to see that the work that we do is good work and responsible for the reduction in total cost of care and, like, makes a difference. And so that's what we're trying to do. I think it's interesting what you said about doctors referring to dietitians to keep people out of the hospitals and keep people out of their offices to make room for people that have other issues. So what are some things that diet alone can help to alleviate like physical conditions? We know like cholesterol, things like that. Yeah. Obesity, obviously. Obesity. So, like, pre-diabetics, right? So, like, we took 100 pre-diabetic patients last year. We tracked them for one year. We reversed all of their pre-diabetes every single one of those patients. We did that. No medication, nothing. Just

lifestyle and behavior change and like teaching them how to eat. Like this is how you eat a carbohydrate, right? And so these are the things that we're doing. Also, we can see like little nuance things. And maybe the doctor doesn't have time to see because the doctor only talks to you for seven to 12 minutes. We talk to the patient for 60 minutes. And we just let you talk. So you talk and then we start asking questions and, you know, people feel safe and they start telling you all kinds of shit. And you're like, wait, wait, wait. Double-clicking that. That's not normal. Let's go get that. checked out. And so because of that, we're able to help find things that do matter that could be causing issue. And also, like, not making people spend money on all of these tests that aren't necessarily validated and not saying that those tests don't have value, saying they're not validated. And if you can't afford them, there are other tests that are just as good that we can get you. So it's just guiding people in this direction. And, like, yes, you can be well, but still leverage your insurance. And, like, yes, it's interesting to see all the influencers and the wellness culture, but it's even if you're not doing that, you can still be well.

Love that. Great tie-in to the rebrand. Yeah. Thanks. Thanks for that. Thanks for doing my job for me. I got you, babe. What are some easy things that people can make? And again, this is kind of generalizing because everybody is practicing different habits and eating different things and everyone is where they are on the spectrum. But just from what you see, what are some easy swaps that people can make to have a better balanced diet. Yeah, well, I think people are adverse to being prepared. They think that they have to meal prep and they have to have like 14 containers of like wet salad and like dried chicken.

Yeah, gross. And you're like, why are you doing that? You don't have to do that. So like I go to the supermarket and I buy like the bag salads and then I split them in two, right? And I never use the packet. I do my own thing. So I'll like get chickpeas and I'll cook them up on a pan and I put them in. the fridge and I'll dump half a cup and then I'll add my own nuts and my own feta and my own dressing

and then I have a salad for two days or I'll get a can of tuna. I know it sounds disgusting in water, but it's really not. You add the feta cheese and really take you to it on the level. Yeah, so good. So like you mix it in with the feta. Yep. And so like, exactly. People are like, oh. Yeah. Or like, I will roast a chicken on a Monday. My kids are always pissed. They're like, seriously, I'm like, shut up. So we roast the chicken and you have like your vegetables or your, you know, potatoes, fine. And then the next day I like tread the rest of chicken and I add taco seasoning and then I make cassidias or I make tacos. Like you can really do a lot of quick, easy things who don't have to be making this like these beautiful prepared meals that take like eight hours. It's like not a thing. Or like, you know, I go to the empanata shop down the

block because my kids like it and I buy the empanadas and then I just put vegetables on the side and I'm like, here's dinner or lunch or, you know, I take chicken tenders and I make chicken tenders for my kids and I make this really great one. And sometimes they put it. it on salads and sometimes they just put in their thermos to go to lunch. There are a lot of tricks. You don't need to be making meals and prepping all day on Sunday. You just have to be prepared. And so you need shopping lists. And so you can, you know, you have the bag of salads. You have the fruit. You have the, you cut up vegetables. Vegetables don't have to be roasted broccoli. Like, you can cut up cucumbers and carrots and put them on the side of your plate and eat that.

You can, you know, I have a bag of frozen turkey meatballs from Wegmans and we might be eating those later. So convenience foods are out there and they're just as good and you should use them. Yeah. Not that anybody asked, but I'm with you. Like, I think that people see my recipes and think that I'm cooking all the time. Sometimes I do. And like, I don't have kids and I, you know, have autonomy in my schedule.

So I can make the time. But usually I'm kind of doing a version of that where like I'm putting chicken thighs in the instant pot and then I'm shredding it up or something and then I'm making a thing of rice, like my bone broth right. And then I'm putting a bunch of vegetables on a sheet and roasting them. And then that's dinner. And then that's lunch the next day. And the vegetables are with like an egg for breakfast.

And then there's more dinner for that night. That's right. To your point, you can use it. And I think that like that is a misconception, like preparation. We think of like meal prep, like Jim Bro meal prep. Yeah. And that Jim Bro meal prep is so gross. It has like no flavor.

So there's that problem. But I feel like so many people are like, okay, I have breakfast and dinner. But then like I fall apart on lunch or like I don't know what to snack on. And I always say like preparation is so key because I just know for myself like if I'm not and then I'm reaching for crap. Or like ordering crap and yeah, people just don't realize like yes, it's work. My flex. I hope one day I can hire a chef. And even when I hire the chef, I will. I just want that person to literally just make my dinner. Just make my dinner and clean my kitchen. And that's it. And make sure that my kids eat this dinner. That's all I want. I can make my own breakfast. But yes. Like. I take the vegetables and I put it on the eggs and you have it for the week. It's not, it's not anything special. Just have to do the work. It's not sexy, unfortunately. I'm like, I'm not that sexy boyfriend. I'm the stable one. We're not making a goldfish from scratch here. Like, what's her name, Nora? Yeah. It's so crazy. She's so smart. That girl's so smart. She knows exactly what she's doing. Yeah, because you're like, oh, but it just makes us all feel bad about ourselves, right? It's like my mom. My mom will be like, oh, you're making. the kids in bananas, but you didn't make your own bread for them banana. I'm like, lady,

no. The goia disco just as good. Like, she's like, well, you obviously don't love your kids enough. I'm like, obviously. You make it for them then, right? And it's like more convenience. That's what it's there for, but just the right convenience stuff. And I think just to like lift the veil a little bit or the curtain, I don't know if that's the right phrase, but on so many of these food accounts where you think that this is what people are just doing, like, no, it's a business. And And that girl is she doesn't always talk like that. Like she didn't start making food like that. I'm sure she has a whole production team.

She does. They plan it out. Of course. And she knows that it's like incendiary. It gets people so upset. Like social media, you have to make somebody feel something in order for them to engage with your content. And she either makes people feel jealous or outraged because who can do this.

And look, I mean, her business like, so people need to, I think, keep that in the back of their mind when they're consuming content. I know. It's like there's another influencer that I used to live in town like her very much. And she basically does, it's the same thing. Her husband quit his job to like work with her. They just pump out food content all day long. Like, and they have a lot of help from their parents. And that's it. Yeah. That's what they do. It's kind of like when you see these dietitians too, they're like, look at this food that I make and I eat. And I'm like, that person doesn't eat. I actually know this person. That person does not eat anything. They are so, their skin is so gray.

It is really sad. But like, yes, they're making you feel so jealous that they are making all this beautiful food and they're so thin. And look at their eating pasta. And I'm like, that person has never eaten pasta in their life. I'm positive. And so, like, that was also like a pervasive shitty thing. Because then people are like, oh, well, if that person is doing that, then I should be

able to do that too. And I'm like, no, it's bullshit. Yeah. It's all a lie. Yeah. I know, like, recipe creators, they eat the food, I'm sure, but they're making so many recipes a day because it's a job. And whenever I film recipes, it's like on Sunday, I'm like, okay, I'm going to do like this,

this and this recipe. And it's like, that's not what I'm eating in the entire day. It's like, that one recipe content person that I'm friends with when she lived in town, she would give me food. She would be like, hey, she would give us all. Like, hey, guys, do you want food? And it wasn't because she's weird and not eating it. It's because it's like too much. At that time, it was just her and her husband and like one baby. So who was going to eat it. Yeah. Yeah. So don't feel bad, whoever's listening. Yeah, don't go bad. You're a regular person. We're all regular. Yeah. Yeah. This is a kind of big topic. I'm sure that we could get way into, but I just want to touch on it. Seed oils. This is the big, sexy, not sexy thing. Ooh. Yeah. I don't know if we're allowed to say this,

but we should, we should say, okay, because I'm like, guys, why is everyone mad at the seed oils? Yeah. Like, what happened here that, like, that this is going on, right? Like, okay, just like use it. teaspoon of the oil, like, whatever. I mean, only, like, vegetable oil, like, really freaks me out when I'm like, you know, you get, like, the box of bedrock going to, like, vegetable oil. Yeah. And they're like, oh, man, this is, we shouldn't be using this. But otherwise, like, it's just one teaspoon, maybe one tablespoon if you're making, like, a larger recipe. So that's not going to ruin your life. Everyone's like, oh, it's the inflammation. It's going to, like, basically kill you. And you're like, I don't really think so. So why is this, like, an attack

against the oils? So one of my friends, a dietitian, who I love so much, she's like, girl, I talk to the lobbyist. I'm like, tell me, she's like, yo, it's a billionaire who has this algae oil, and he's put the dollars towards all of us hating on the seed oils. I'm like, no way. Like, this is insane. And I have to get the more download from her about this, so I will let you know. But I'm like, okay, this makes more sense to me because I don't know why we are all so mad. Like, I was on TV on the Today Show a few weeks back, and I was just talking about oils and like, these are what all these different oils are for. And, I saw that smoke points.

Yeah, smoke points and stuff. Yeah. And I was like, okay, great. Do you know how many people came to my DMs telling me that I was like, the devil? I was like, guys, this is not good. This is not what's killing you. Maybe it's the vodka, the fifth of the handle of vodka that you drink every week and not the seed oils. I'm just going to go out on a limb.

Everyone's like, relax. You heard it here first. Depending on what you're eating, like one teaspoon to one tablespoons. It really just depends on whatever you're cooking. Use what you got. Obviously, we don't want these hydrogenated oils, right? So, like, just because the processing is not good for you, but otherwise, like, you're okay. And yes.

And, you know, there was like a while they were like, oh, the way that the seed oil is processed, it has these chemicals, it's going to kill you. And, like, whatever. No, guys, the way that we process the oils, all of those chemicals are burned off. So it's not like exactly. The videos, like the scary videos online where it's like black tar sludge, like the rape seed. It's like just stop. Like just stop.

Everyone stop. None of these people are scientists. Nobody knows how to read a study. It's actually kind of scary sometimes when I'm like, they're like, oh, I read this study and it was an N of five. I'm like, guys, that's not statistically significant. Did you not take statistics? So everyone calm down. Use your oils.

Just, you know. This is why we care about serving sizes. Yeah. Yeah. What are the hydrogenated ones, though? Like all the trans fat, like, so like vegetable oils, like stuff like that. But we use those oils in like packaged goods and like cookies and cakes, right? They're stabilizers. So, and it makes it taste delicious, right? And so that's why it's like, this is the devil. You can't eat it. It's like, well, because, you know, you shouldn't be eating, like I said, a sleeve of cookies. But, you know, one or two is okay every once in a while.

Like, that's it. So any other myths out there that drive you crazy. It's honestly like the carb thing. It drives me bananas when people are just like, I can't eat carbs. I'm like, no, you need to learn how much. And also that when people are saying like portions don't matter, like, no, portions matter. Portions actually matter. You need to care about how many carbs you eat at each meal. Like you, if weight loss is your goal or like weight maintenance is your goal, you need to care about these things. Like also, I think I think the whole alcohol thing is like so insane that we have just like. you know, establishments around something that we know is like a carcinogen and like everyone's just like drinking all the time and then like coming to our office being like, I don't know what happened and I'm not doing anything different. And like I've gained so much weight. I'm like, since you're 37 years old and you're still drinking a bottle and a half of wine a week. Doesn't work for you. It's not serving you try to do something else. So just, you know, people trying to normalize like, oh, well, if you drink vodka, it's going to be better than wine and then you're going to be fine.

And you're like, that's actually not the case. And seeing people, I see it all the time. in my town, all the mommies that are like super thin. And they'll tell you like, I don't eat because I want to drink. And I'm like, oh, God. Okay, that's not good, but like, swapping nutrients and vitamins and micro nutrients. Yep, I prefer to drink alcohol than eat food. So again, you're comparing yourself to that person who like doesn't eat regular meals. And that's not where I want to be at all. It's interesting the trajectory that alcohol has been on lately because I feel like just in the last. few years. We went from alcohol is good for you, the glass of wine, there was varitrol, which maybe it's true. To get that benefit, which then would outweigh it. Yeah. And it outweighs. And now it's like, and it's so crazy. I was at Airwan course last week. And I was in the refrigerated section.

I have pictures. I mean, it was like this whole wall of all the non-alcoholic IPA. Yeah. Champagne. It looks like real. Yeah. It's like French non-alcoholic champagne. All these wines like rosé sparkling wines they're de-alcoholized i'm like is that still bad for you or it doesn't taste good so i went to a restaurant in cape cod over the summer and it was like de-alcoholized red wine and i was like oh i will try this and i was like this taste gross i don't like it like chemically yeah tasted chemically i have tasted that athletic like IPA which is like actually like tastes good so i i don't know like the processing of it but again like i don't know i'm just like I'm drinking like juice.

So like, I don't want this. I mean, I drank for the effect. So I'm like, you can have fun with that. Yeah. Great. And it's like harm reduction. And I think it's cool that as a culture, we're moving away from like so much drinking. Yeah.

Hopefully. I mean, I'm neutral about alcohol. Like, I have to be. Yeah. I don't judge. Yeah. But it is kind of wild to see how much things have changed, especially since I got sober 10 and a half years ago. Like it was a different.

You could not get a mock tail anywhere. And now it's like all my flights. Like they have a mocktail menu. anywhere I go in the world. Africa, I was just there, mocktails. And I'm like, whoa. Yeah. It's really caught on. I know. It's like, okay, well, it's just like juice. So you're like, I just give me the water. But like, yeah, yeah. It is so funny. I will say, though, you know, I go out with people and they'll be like, I can't believe you're not drinking. I'm like, I don't know what you can't believe you can't believe you are drinking. It's Tuesday. Yeah. So like, don't judge me. And I'm not going to judge you. And also the medication that I'm on, the efficacy is reduced by drinking alcohol. so seems like pretty easy to continue this. I mean, everyone can just stop judging.

Exactly. Relax. And I feel like it kind of depends where you are because in L.A. It's such a wellness culture. People don't drink. I mean, they're all doing like edibles and like, oh my God, drawing a blank. Ketamine. Yeah. All kinds of mushrooms.

Everyone's microdosing. Yeah, no. But no alcohol. Here everyone's just like dark. Like it's going to start to get dark here. I know. It's because everyone's just going to be, like, drunk and wearing black and, like, not talking. It's awesome.

I love it. Well, tell everybody about Kalina. Yeah. I mean, we're telemedicine company. We are venture back, just really nuts. We have about 85 dietitians. Although the other day somebody said 90, and I was like, oh, I basically don't know what goes on these days. And we take insurance.

So we will help you achieve your goals. 50% of you are going to want to lose weight. We can help you do that. And the way that we work, actually, is that our dietitians, are in pods. So there's like a GI pod, you know, menopause pod. There is a weight loss pod. There is a weight, a gentle nutrition pod. There is an eating disorder pod. Right. And then those are, those dietitians only see those patients. So they are very highly skilled in that one area. So you can just go on our website. You can book directly and find someone to meet your needs. That's amazing.

It's been so cool to kind of watch from afar everything that's happened over the last journey together. Yeah, we are. Well, thank you so much for coming back on. We'll have to catch up again next time I'm here. You're welcome on anytime. Thank you. You're the best. Tell everybody where they can find you. Yeah, you can find Coalina Health at KalinaHealth.com or KalinaHealth is the Instagram handle. And you can find me at Vanessa Rosetto, R.D. on Instagram, but I don't know what I'm putting on there. Just my kids and food. You have good content. Yeah. And Today Show. Yeah. Today Show. Yeah. You can see me on the Today Show. I happen to just always be on, which is kind of cool. Amazing. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. I hope you enjoyed that episode. If you liked the episode, and if you like the show in general, please take a second to rate, review, and subscribe. It goes such a long way in supporting the show. Follow the show over on Instagram at well.pod. You can also follow my personal Instagram at Ariel Lurie. I'm always sharing great clips from the episodes, and we also have full episodes on YouTube as well if you want to watch in entirety. Thanks for listening.

Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.