Meet the Holistic Nutritionist

For women in today's world there is an overwhelming pressure to be a lot of things...super hot with a killer body, professionally successful, a social butterfly, a mother (and a good one at that), the perfect partner and let's not forget an all round 'good' person. But what we've found is that the pressure to be all these things can be detrimental to our overall health and wellbeing.So the real question is, how do we find the balance?Meet Kate Callaghan - The Holistic Nutritionist! She has been there, done that and boy has she learnt a lot along the way about this balancing act. Kate had the 'ideal' body... lean, sexy and rocking a serious 8-pack of abs. Not to mention she was kicking serious goals as a personal trainer while enjoying a bustling Sydney social life. However this high stress lifestyle had begun to take it's toll and despite the shiny exterior, inside was hormonal chaos.Kate became determined to fix this imbalance! She studied a Bachelor in Nutrition and Dietetics and used this knowledge to completely flip her situation, not just for her but for the hundreds of women she now coaches. She is so passionate about this message that she's just written a book titled Holistic Nutrition: Eat Well, Train Smart & Be Kind to Your Body... I think you get the gist!In conjunction with her book launch, the gorgeous Kate agreed to give us a sneak peek into her daily routine and also share with us some gems of wisdom when it comes to finding that health and wellness balance.  What happens in the 1st hour of your day?I snuggle with my 15 month old daughter, while she has her first breastfeed upon waking. Then we get up, I have a mug of hot water with lemon, and some breakfast – usually a banana omelette with yoghurt, nuts and seeds. Then we might play or read books. She’s a little crazy, so as soon as she’s awake (from about 5AM), it is go time. Not the chilled out, slow-paced mornings of my past!What 5 food items are always in your trolley?Sweet potato, some sort of greens, coconut milk, eggs, and a little Carob Kitchen mint carob bear (Olivia doesn’t tolerate real chocolate through my breast milk – it’s a cruel world. Haha!)3 food rules you live by?Hmmm I don’t like to set rules around eating so much these days, but I guess the following would guide my eating style:

1. Fresh, local and seasonal produce should make up the bulk of your diet
2. Listen to your body, instead of some “guru” – if something isn’t working for you, be it veganism, paleo, Atkins, macrobiotic or whatever, then change it. You know your body best. Be kind to it and nourish it how it wants and needs to be nourished
3. Don’t give food morality. Labelling certain foods as “good” or “bad” results in us transferring this morality to ourselves if and when we eat it. For example, so often I hear people say that they have “been bad” because they have eaten “bad food”. Food is just food. It’s there to fuel us, to nourish us. It does not define who we are as a person. Once you let go of this kind of negative labelling, you will also let go of guilt around food and be more at peace with your plate and with yourself. And if you eat a piece of sugar-filled cake, then so be it. Enjoy it and move on!

Habits that make you & habits that break you?

• Those that make me – daily stress management and gratitude practice, as well as making sure that most of the time I am filling my belly with wholesome foods
• Those that break me – lack of sleep and lack of “me time”

What kind of foods are perfect for the active woman for recovery and maintaining energy?Whole-food sources of carbohydrates, such as sweet potato, potato, parsnip, fruit, quinoa and buckwheat. Serve these with some good quality proteins (such as wild caught fish, grass-fed meat, or pasture-raised eggs ) and liberal dose of healthy fats (avocado, nuts and seeds, coconut, butter, full fat dairy if tolerated).It’s also really important to eat ENOUGH food. This is a common mistake I see many active women making, and it will lead you down the path of poor recovery, increased risk of injury, fatigue, and hormonal imbalancesTell us about your weekly fitness routine?It changes, depending on what I have going on. At the moment, I try to do vinyasa yoga twice a week and ashtanga yoga once a week (I would LOVE to do it more, but it’s tricky fitting things in with the mini-me and work).I go on a long walk about 2-3 times a week. Nothing strenuous. I also do weights 1-3 times per week. These are usually quite short and sharp sessions, involving whole body, functional exercises, such as kettlebell swings, push ups, and vipr training.I have also just started doing a 30 minute bootcamp session on Mondays to get some of my cardiovascular fitness back.What inspired you to write your book?It really stemmed from my own issues with hormone imbalances and infertility, which was a result of my own doing – not eating enough, exercising too much, and being a major stress-head with no down time. I was told I wouldn’t be able to fall pregnant naturally, however, being the stubborn person I am, I went into “I’ll show you” mode. This led me down the path of discovering how to manipulate food and lifestyle factors to heal my body, rebalance my hormones and, ultimately, fall pregnant with my daughter….naturally!After being very open and sharing my story, many women came to me and said that they were experiencing the same issues, and that they were grateful to see that there were natural alternatives, as they had also been told that medication was the only option, which left them feeling discouraged and a little heartbroken.However, it’s not just women with fertility issues that inspired me to write this book. I speak to women all the time who are experiencing a vast array of symptoms, such as depression, acne, low libido, hair loss, moodiness, weight gain and fatigue, all of which are stemming from hormonal imbalances, that can largely be corrected, or at least helped in a BIG way, by subtle changes to what we eat and the way we live our lives.So basically, I wanted to write this book so women could start to take back the power over their own body, so that they could understand what was going on with their hormones, and how they could take simple steps to get things back on track….without having to rely on someone else.What exactly is ‘holistic nutrition’?Basically, holistic nutrition looks at what you eat and how this affects all of your body systems, and how the functioning of individual body systems are dependent on the functioning of other body systems. For example, if your thyroid function is not optimal, your gut, brain and reproductive systems are going to suffer.It’s also about taking into account the way you move your body, how well and where you sleep, what stressors you are faced with and how you manage (or mismanage) these, the products you use on your body and around your home, and what you enjoy doing during your down time. Holistic nutrition also involves exploring emotions and beliefs to provide a well-rounded picture of the WHOLE person.What is one piece of advice you would give women when it comes to maintaining a healthy hormone balance?Start with self love. Respect yourself. Speak kindly to yourself. And treat yourself as you would a best friend. From here, everything else falls into place. If you don’t love yourself or respect yourself, you’re less likely to do everything else that you need to do to keep your hormones balanced (eating well, training appropriately, resting adequately, and managing stress). 

The BUF QUICK 5...

First 3 words that come to mind when you think about your body?Strong, functional, amazing (child-birth makes you appreciate just how incredible the female body is)How do you take your coffee or tea? Coffee = full cream latte; tea = black. I have a coffee followed by a black tea. The L-theanine in the tea helps to smooth out the cortisol response from the coffee, which means you will experience longer-lasting, less-jittery, energyGuilty pleasure? Cake date! Once a week my hubby and I go to the local organic café and sit and enjoy some cake together. Usually carrot cake. Not guilty at all.You can only do one style of workout for life… what would it be? Yoga, for sure!Something people wouldn’t know about you? I grew up in Tamworth, which is country NSW, Australia. And no, I am not a country music fan. Haha! 

Your FAVE 5...

Brunch orderEggs benedictInstagram account@celestebarber – hilarious!!BookOooh tough one – “May Cause Miracles” by Gabby BernsteinExercise (e.g burpees) If it’s weights, kettlebell swings. For yoga, it would be inversions (headstands, handstands etc)Sentimental item Hmmm I’m not a big “stuff” person, but my engagement ring is pretty darn special to me.