Anna Niec BSc MNutr&Diet

APD (Accredited Practicing Dietitian)
AN (Accredited Nutritionist)  
Founder of Nutrition 4 Health

Professional Brief

Intention

In 1991 I wrote a letter to the University of Sydney applying for the Masters of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, a 2 year postgraduate course that would qualify me to practice as an accredited practicing dietitian and nutritionist. It was the only application I sent, I had by then made up my mind that I will dedicate a significant part of my life to learn and then teach others about the science of eating well and its benefits to weight control and general wellbeing .

My words neatly formatted on an A4 piece of paper as well as my already gained Bachelor of Science Degree (Biochemistry Major) convinced the university’s selection panel that I am fit to undertake the selective study of human nutrition and dietetics. There were 26 of us that year. 

“the science of nutrition will help prevent the disease of tomorrow ”

Preventative “medicine” , a healthy diet  included,  is gaining respect in our society because it is powerful, and is at our disposal. It seems that the days of just popping a pill are coming to an end.

Of course medicines will always be a vital part of treatment for many conditions and illnesses, but more often than not we are asking ourselves: can I do something to reverse this condition, can I manage it with diet and lifestyle changes?

“Can you do something now to manage and to reverse being overweight?”

Experience

At the completion of the Master’s degree curriculum in  1993 I was a young apprentice for the first time applying the freshly learned knowledge in the real world.  

My first position as an accredited dietitian and nutritionist was on a team at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney.  I worked on a major nutrition project were I turned my attention to the little people. The little people, aged 2-5 years of age were making their first decisions about their diets.

This project started me on a professional journey working with and teaching across all age groups from children to adults to the elderly during many years of private practice, research, and consultancy positions. Apart from the first year when I worked on the nutrition project with children I spent the next 14 years continuously consulting people wanting to lower their weight and improve their wellbeing.

I was able to see real weight and wellbeing benefits as a result of my professional interaction with people who needed, and who made positive changes to their eating habits. I found it very gratifying to share in the experience  of success when those I helped reached their target weight, and reported further benefits like greater energy levels and the enjoyment of a more active lifestyle.

I knew that my teachings when applied worked and worked well!

Belief

“Few things in life are as intimate and as much in our control as the food we put into our mouth”

Now is this true? Before I get philosophical let’s take a down to earth approach with the use of my examples to get you to see that you are the boss when it comes to your eating habits.

Myth – healthy eating costs more

Let’s take a look at the “the cost of healthy food is limiting my choices” reason for not eating well.

• a 200g packet of crisps cost $4.50
• a kilogram of apples costs on average $6.00
  
  

The apples would last you for 3 days (eating two a day) and the chips will last you anywhere between an afternoon to 4 days  (50 gram serve seems to be the lower limit from my experience) . That’s an average of 2.5 days. On average apples are a better financial choice than chips i.e. they last longer.

Another way to look at this is to consider the price per weight . In this example you can see that apples cost on average 60 c per 100g and chips $2.20 per 100g ouch ! An average apple weighs approx 150g
You must now know that I do not buy into the argument that eating well is too expensive, and I have not even mentioned the cost of medication and procedures necessary to rescue an ailing body as it starts to struggle with the consequence of unhealthy excess weight.

Please reframe, refocus and redo your shopping list.

Myth – I don’t have time to eat well

The second example will help us to look at the choices we make around food and how we fit it into our lifestyle. Here I look at the notion of  “I don’t have the time to eat well”

• A healthy meal takes 15-30 min to prepare
• Waiting for a delivery pizza takes at least that: 30 min
  
  

And if you want to tell me that I forgot about the shopping time I can tell you that you can get your shopping done on the internet faster than you can order a burger from a local Take-away shop.

Hmm you may not like me by now but here it is “busy-iness” is not where it’s at as far as a valid reason for not eating well. If your life is as busy as to prevent you from eating well something is amiss and that something  I call a little tender loving care towards yourself , period.

Myth – My partner is  stopping me

My partner  ( you can insert ‘my family’ ,  ‘my best friend’ etc) is the reason for me not eating well. Ok, this can be a tough one. Teams  (including partnerships) have these silent and sometimes not so silent codes of behavior. If you are a part of the group you do as the group does , or do you?

What if your goals are not the goals of the group ? Do you take the side of the group and abandon your goals or do you side with yourself? Frightening at first, when you take the first steps toward your goals you assert yourself ,and you may find others may well follow if they will see a real benefit in the change for themselves.

Sharing in group rituals from time to time will also help you to stay connected and as you will see later when you read through your Weight Loss Blueprint, this is something you can do and still get to your weight and wellbeing goals.

I believe in leadership towards positive goals, and the freedom of self actualization. Simply put you are free to choose your diet in a democratic society (we could replace it with a democratic family, partnership). Is it time for you to stand up for what you want and believe in, and lead by example?

Myth – I can’t control what I eat

“I am not free to choose to eat well, often times eating is an immediate reaction “

Of the four examples I give this is probably the toughest  obstacle to weight loss that I have come across in my professional practice. Some of us seem to be spell bound by certain foods and while our rational mind tells us ‘no’ the emotional self desires more .

This is where I would like to encourage you to look for a substitute to food, and typically allow some time to find and enjoy a more positive experience, so that you are less likely to reach for food in times of sadness or gladness or anger or fear.

Learning  to cope with stronger emotions will help you to break the spell that holds you semi-connected to food as your safety blanket of sorts. Please seek professional help if this rings true, and worries you as it plays itself out at the moment in your life. You can make this change for yourself, a change that will free you up immensely, and get you moving towards your goals.

By now I am wondering how I got onto these examples, and how do they help you to know me and to benefit from my message?

On reflection, I find that they illustrate the insights that I gained working with people wishing to lose weight  and to improve their wellbeing. Everyone of them faced obstacles (including false believes) , as well as feeling the need and the desire to lose weight.  

You will also face challenges in your quest towards your target weight. Your resolve will be tested at least a few times and probably many times as you make the transition to a healthier lifestyle, one that supports and realises your wellbeing goals.

Knowing the challenges ahead of time and organizing your thinking as well as your routines to support your resolve to get to your goal will help you immensely. The above examples are the  four major stopping attitudes I found lurking in the background, jeopardising weight loss success.

I encourage you to challenge these and to adopt the winning conviction that what you eat really matters, synonymous with your health, wellbeing and longevity over and above those “considerations”.
“Your wellbeing is your life-force!”

Nutrition 4 Health. What is this site about?

Lets now look at what the Nutrition 4 Health site and the Weight Loss Blueprints are about:

The Nutrition 4 Health website allows you to gain access to my personally designed, and tested approach to weight loss. I have sieved the evidence based knowledge base looking for what has been shown to work in the professional literature on diet and weight loss. I have also worked with eating plans over the last 15 years. You could say I have done my homework.

This site offers you my personally designed healthy eating weight loss scripts to help you to achieve significant and long lasting weight reduction without sacrificing your wellbeing or your lifestyle. The personally designed weight loss scripts are called Weight Loss Blueprints.

The Weight Loss Blueprints are designed for those of you who enjoy a mixed omnivorous diet that includes both plant and animal foods.

Health Warning

Please note that the Blueprint/s are not suitable for people with food allergies or food intolerances or people with diagnosed medical conditions like Heart Disease or Type 1 diabetes. If you suffer from a medical condition that requires a special diet please do not follow the Weight Loss Blueprint/s without seeking further professional help.

Weight Loss  Blueprints

The website has over 64 Blueprints and you are going to find an energy Blueprint that suits your individual weight loss goals, guaranteed. The Blueprints are categorized on their energy (calorie/kiljoule) content as well as the inclusion or exclusion of alcohol.

Your chosen Blueprint will show you how to put together balanced meals and how much, what and when to eat to get your body burning up its surplus energy (body fat) supply. The Blueprint will teach you how to classify and include foods in your diet based on their own unique food categories and nutrition qualities. It will also show you how much fun food can be a part of your healthy eating weight loss plan.

Your Blueprint will also focus your attention on drinks as they often add greatly to your daily energy intake and will guide you as to how to fit those into your plan. The Weight Loss Blueprint is a balanced long term approach to weight loss and maintenance, and is my attempt to present you with a complete, independent solution to achieving your weight loss goals. I present you with an eating action plan that when you put into practice will realize your weight loss goals without hidden agendas:

• You do not need to sign up to any special foods, supplements or medication
  
  

Lastly, I am committed to expanding the Weight Loss Blueprints from here on as the science of good eating reveals more practical tips that we can apply in our quest for a healthy weight, enjoyment of wellbeing  and longevity. So I invite you to visit our website again.

Take some time to look around our website for much more information, to work out your weight loss goals, and for the opportunity to get your own weight loss action plan today.

Enjoy!

Anna Niec