Arielle Bloom of Navigating Nutrition On The 5 Things You Need To Do To Achieve a Healthy Body Weight, And Keep It Permanently
Variety MATTERS! We want to make sure we are getting a variety of proteins, and fruits/veggies in different colors to ensure we are covering all our bases with the nutrients from all these different nourishing options! Aim to get a different fruit or veggie, and a different protein source with every meal throughout the day, and try to vary them up even further week to week!
So many of us have tried dieting. All too often though, many of us lose 10–20 pounds, but we end up gaining it back. Not only is yo-yo dieting unhealthy, it is also demoralizing and makes us feel like giving up. What exactly do we have to do to achieve a healthy body weight and to stick with it forever?
In this interview series called “5 Things You Need To Do To Achieve A Healthy Body Weight And Keep It Permanently” we are interviewing health and wellness professionals who can share lessons from their research and experience about how to do this.
As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Arielle Bloom.
Arielle is a Functional Nutrition & Mindset Coach, helping women optimize their health & routine to maximize success and avoid burning out in the process. Prior to starting her own nutrition coaching business, she coached fitness and CrossFit for over 8 years, and has since been incredibly passionate about how to create a life where she feels (& looks) great, and performs better both mentally and physically. Arielle believes in looking at our health from a holistic lens, taking into account her 4 Pillars of Health that she works to optimize with her clients: Sleep, Hydration, Movement & Nourishment.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?
Absolutely! I never considered myself an athlete growing up- I felt awkward, unconfident in my own skin, and I didn’t feel like I identified with movement because of it. It wasn’t until I found fitness again in college that I started to understand how food made me feel, and how movement brought out resiliency in me. The problem I kept running into, however, was that all the information out there for women in fitness was centered around losing weight, getting smaller, or manipulating my body to look a certain way. I didn’t align with those goals- I wanted to get stronger, perform better, and show up as an athlete. After a long journey navigating disordered eating, autoimmune issues related to my diet and lifestyle, and all around a negative association with exercise, I started learning as much as I could so I could help the women around me step into strong, healthy, capable bodies, and in the process, I found my own health and strength as well.
What or who inspired you to pursue your career? We’d love to hear the story.
WOW- so many people, it’s hard to name just one. After finding myself through fitness, I really started to pursue my calling in coaching. I had inklings of thoughts in my head that maybe I was meant to do more than just coach, and that maybe there was a better (or bigger) way for me to make an impact and rise the tides (my favorite saying).
My husband really was a driving force behind me building my business. He found the first business coach I ever worked with, and he even suggested we use the money we got as gifts from our engagement party to work with her. He has been at the foundation of this business since day one, and I really can’t begin to say how grateful I am to have such a strong support system behind me.
None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Was there a particular person who you feel gave you the most help or encouragement to be who you are today? Can you share a story about that?
Well my husband is definitely one of those people, and I can’t say it enough how much gratitude and love I have for that man. He encourages me every day, especially the days when it feels really heavy or hard to keep going, and he celebrates everything with me. But aside from my husband, my parents have been incredibly supportive over the course of my entire life, and I feel so lucky to have had their support. It didn’t matter if I said I wanted to be a vet
(when I was 7), go to art school (when I was 18), move to California (when I was 23), live in an RV (when I was 26), or buy a farm (when I was 28), their support has been unwavering, and that has been the most powerful driving force I could have ever gotten to keep going.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting mistake that occurred to you in the course of your career? What lesson or take away did you learn from that?
I am definitely continuing to learn these lessons, make mistakes, and laugh at myself in the process. When I first started my business, I thought everything had to be perfectly curated, and that I also had to look a certain way to be considered a “real coach” in my field. This pressure that I laid on myself built and built until one day, in the middle of a workout with my husband, I put my jump rope down and just broke out in tears. The funny part about this story is that I kept the fact that I was overwhelmed, overworked, and exhausted from even my husband, so when I broke out in tears, the look on his face was actually quite funny. In that moment, I realized the pressure I felt to be perfect was just on me, and that no one else needed me to be that way in order for me to actually make a difference in their lives. So from then on, I started scheduling in specific time to myself, instead of working 12–16 hours every day. It not only let me fall back in love with the process of building my business, it also allowed me to fall back in love with my life.
Can you share your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Why does that resonate with you so much?
“When a wave comes, go deep. There’s three things you can do when a wave comes at you. You can run from it, but then it’s going to catch up to you and it’s going to knock you down. You can also fall back on your ego and try to stand your ground, but then it’s still going to clobber you. Or you can use it as an opportunity to go deep, and transform yourself to match the circumstances. And that’s how you get through the wave.”
I came across this quote in a Humans Of New York post on Instagram several years ago, and its stuck with me ever since. This quote constantly reminds me that we can change, we can adapt, and we have the power within ourselves to find the answers we need. In every tough situation, every setback, and every time I felt like I wasn’t enough, this quote helped me see that I could go deep and come out on the other side.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?
AH I love this question! Food quality is so important to me, especially because I’ve experienced firsthand the difference in my health when I started to make more educated choices around the foods I was putting in my body. Because of this, my husband and I recently bought a farm in Central Texas, where we practice regenerative ranching, raising livestock and educating people on why food quality matters, why you should know where your food comes from, and how you can make a positive impact on the earth around us.
For the benefit of our readers, can you briefly let us know why you are an authority in the fitness and wellness field?
I consider myself a constant student in the fitness and wellness field. My journey over the past 10 years has led me on many different paths, from studying the body and how movement affects our health, to studying the way food affects our bodies and minds. Every step of the way, I’ve shared what I’ve learned with my clients and followers on social media, and it has allowed me to continue learning, growing and adapting as a coach, leader, and entrepreneur.
OK, thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview about achieving a healthy body weight. Let’s begin with a basic definition of terms so that all of us are on the same page. How do you define a “Healthy Body Weight”?
A “healthy body weight” is the weight that your body can maintain to support the main functions necessary for life (digestion, respiration, brain function, etc.) as well as your activity levels.
How can an individual learn what is a healthy body weight for them? How can we discern what is “too overweight” or what is “too underweight”?
Bodyweight is completely bioindividual, meaning it depends on the individual. Many things play a huge role in your body’s gravitational pull on earth. A good rule of thumb is that if you have healthy biomarkers (bloodwork, resting heart rate, healthy cholesterol and blood pressure), if you are eating in a way that nourishes your body, and you are maintaining a level of activity that feels good for you daily, then your body would be a healthy body weight. The BMI scale has gotten a bad rep in some fitness circles, but it still is a good rule of thumb for the average human (not the super active, like in CrossFit or other functional fitness spaces, due to higher muscle mass in these populations). But like with anything relating to your nutrition, it completely depends on your body and it’s individual needs.
This might be intuitive to you, but it will be instructive to expressly articulate this. Can you please share a few reasons why being over your healthy body weight, or under your healthy body weight, can be harmful to your health?
I would argue that even for fitness and wellness professionals, this is not necessarily that intuitive. Being over your healthy body weight can lead to increased risks for certain diseases, dysfunctions, and cancers in the body, because the excess weight is a breeding ground for mutations, overgrowth of cells, and inflammation within the body. This really happens when you are significantly over your healthy body weight, which is important to note, because 5–10 pounds won’t cause these issues, however 5–10 pounds can sometimes spiral into 20+ pounds rather rapidly, which is where the problem occurs. Now, being under your healthy body weight is also a dangerous place to be. Our body weight is determined by our body’s ability to maintain a specific level of nourishment, and the human body is incredibly resilient. When we eat an excessively low calorie intake for extended periods of time (think: anorexia and also crash diets) our bodies adapt to that amount of calories by saving energy in other functions, That means the primary functions are the only ones that get energy, and the rest go on pause (think: hair loss, hormone production, immune system function in order to keep your heart beating and your brain sending signals to the rest of your body).
In contrast, can you help articulate a few examples of how a person who achieves and maintains a healthy body weight will feel better and perform better in many areas of life?
Maintaining a healthy body weight can help you think clearer, have more energy throughout the day, and sleep better at night. But this is also a chicken or egg conversation, because you can’t realize these benefits without actively working on implementing these habits in the process. So a healthy body weight allows you to have all these things, and you achieve a healthy body weight by prioritizing these habits!
Ok, fantastic. Here is the main question of our discussion. Can you please share your “5 Things You Need To Do To Achieve a Healthy Body Weight And Keep It Permanently?”. If you can, please share a story or an example for each.
- Get Great Sleep.
The National Sleep Foundations recommends the average adult get between 7–9 hours of sleep nightly. That’s time asleep, not just time in bed!
a. You can get great sleep by practicing sleep hygiene:
i. Make the room dark- use blackout curtains or an eye mask.
ii. Cool off the room: 68 degrees is the optimal sleeping temperature.
iii. Wind it down: implement a calming nighttime routine that helps you get into a relaxed state before bed.
iv. Avoid screens: part of winding down includes avoiding the stimulation from our devices. The blue light emitted from these devices stimulates cortisol production making it harder to fall asleep, and the subject matter on the screens stimulates our brain to continue processing information when it should be getting ready for sleep.
2. Hydrate! Adequate hydration isn’t just about drinking enough water.
a. Water + Electrolytes = Hydration.
i. Aim for at least ½ your bodyweight in ounces daily, and aim to have at least 1 serving of electrolytes in about 20–24 ounces of water daily (not a scientific number, but a good starting place!)
3. Move Daily. This doesn’t mean a super intense or long workout every day, but you should be moving your body daily in some way
a. Going for short walks daily is a great goal:
i. Park farther from the grocery store entrance and walk
ii. Walk around in the airport before a flight
iii. Take a call or two walking around the office, house, or outside
iv. Aim for 10–15 minute walks, 3–4 times daily
4. Nourish Your Body with High Quality Foods (Mostly Whole & Unprocessed Foods!)
a. Food quality plays a major role in our body’s health- buying organic produce, pasture-raised or regeneratively raised animal products, and high quality fat sources can help not only your body, but also the planet.
i. Check the list from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) for their updated list of the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen for produce that should be organic when possible and the produce that doesn’t need to be.
ii. Buying frozen veggies and fruit is another great way to get high quality, nutrient-dense options- and can help tremendously if you are on a tighter budget or a packed schedule.
b. Variety MATTERS! We want to make sure we are getting a variety of proteins, and fruits/veggies in different colors to ensure we are covering all our bases with the nutrients from all these different nourishing options! Aim to get a different fruit or veggie, and a different protein source with every meal throughout the day, and try to vary them up even further week to week!
i. These nutrient deficiencies can lead to overeating because our bodies (as resilient as they are) will continue sending signals that we need more food until those nutrient needs are met. If we are eating diets low in fruits/veggies, high quality proteins, and high quality fats, we miss out on all those nutrients our bodies need, so we eat more to find them.
5. Eat Enough To Fuel Your Activity Levels
a. You want to make sure you’re eating enough to fuel your activity levels. By focusing on a diet of mostly whole & unprocessed foods, we can ensure we get the nutrients we need (macronutrients and micronutrients) to fuel our bodies and maintain a healthy body weight.
b. I always recommend my clients start to balance out their meals by utilizing this checklist for each meal:
i. Protein, veggie (non-starchy)/fruit, fat, and a carb source (including starchy veggies). By balancing out your meals to ensure at least 1 in each of these categories is represented on your plate at every meal, you are ensuring you are getting a variety of nutrients and your body will be able to utilize it as fuel.
c. I recommend these measurements as a starting place for your plate every meal (you can always adjust if you’re still hungry!):
i. Palm-sized amount of protein
ii. Two cupped hands for veggies/ fruit
iii. One cupped hand for carbohydrate sources
iv. A thumb-sized amount of fat
If you want to play around with understanding further how much food your body needs, you can look into tracking your food- I don’t recommend going this route without someone to help support you in learning about your food choices and biomarkers, because this is where I see a lot of people develop an unhealthy relationship with food if not done with the proper support.
The emphasis of this series is how to maintain an ideal weight for the long term, and how to avoid yo-yo dieting. Specifically, how does a person who loses weight maintain that permanently and sustainably?
Weight loss is tricky, because weight loss is inherently a stressor on our bodies. Our bodies adapt when given the appropriate and necessary time to do so, which is why rapid weight loss doesn’t stick for most people. Slow, steady, incremental weight loss is the most sustainable way to lose weight, and is a good indicator that the weight will stay off long-term. However, that does not mean it’s guaranteed. A big piece of this puzzle we haven’t talked about yet is our relationship with our bodies and food, and how big of a role that plays in our ability to maintain a healthy body weight. In order to be successful in maintaining a new body weight after weight loss, you have to ensure you are supporting yourself by addressing the triggers you may have around food, developing stress management practices and coping mechanisms that do not involve coping with food, in order to better support your growth as a person. If we don’t develop healthy habits, we won’t be able to maintain the weight loss we worked so hard for!
What are a few of the most common mistakes you have seen people make when they try to lose weight? What errors cause people to just snap back to their old unhealthy selves? What can they do to avoid those mistakes?
The biggest mistake I see time and time again is trying to make the process go faster by cutting down food to a super low quantity, or working out 3x as much. Sometimes, it comes down to the instant gratification being more important or valuable than your long-term health and well-being. This usually comes down to comparison- comparison is the thief of joy, and when we compare our day 2 to someone else’s day 252, it gets dangerous and incredibly enticing to want to speed things up. I always work with my clients to identify where these triggers are in their lives, and help them develop tools to identify them, and choose new ways to view the situation- and make the process more fun by finding the small wins to celebrate along the way! If we aren’t celebrating our progress, it means we are too caught up in comparison.
How do we take all this information and integrate it into our actual lives? The truth is that we all know that it’s important to eat more vegetables, eat less sugar, etc. But while we know it intellectually, it’s difficult to put it into practice and make it a part of our daily habits. In your opinion what are the main blockages that prevent us from taking the information that we all know, and integrating it into our lives?
We absolutely do at our core know what we need to do to be healthier. It is just a matter of finding the smallest possible change you can make and implement that first. Huge transformation occurs because of the compounding small wins we get every single day. We get caught up in trying to make way too many drastic changes at once, and then we fall short because it was just simply too much to do at once.
On the flip side, how can we prevent these ideas from just being trapped in a rarified, theoretical ideal that never gets put into practice? What specific habits can we develop to take these intellectual ideas and integrate them into our normal routine?
Instead of trying to make a huge, drastic change, find the smallest thing that is a no-brainer for you to do first- is it going for a walk every day? Maybe it’s getting into bed 10 minutes earlier. Maybe it is cooking at least 1 meal at home every week- doesn’t matter where you start, that small change is enough to set the trajectory! Sometimes we think the huge transformation has to happen all at once, but it never actually happens that way. Those small, incremental wins add up to the huge transformation you’re looking for.
Ok, we are nearly done. You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
Okay wow, crying tears of gratitude already. I am on a mission to help rise the tides on our health and wellness- I work every day to inspire at least one person to take radical personal responsibility for their health, no matter the circumstance they are in. If we all took responsibility to learn, and then to pass that information on to the people in our community, that is how we become a healthier country, and ultimately a healthier world.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we both tag them :-)
I am incredibly honored to be able to spread this message with you!
I would be honored, delighted, and completely stoked to have lunch with Annie Brown, who is the Director of Development at the Rodale Institute. The Rodale Institute has been doing so much amazing work educating consumers, as well as being a resource for farmers looking to develop a greater understanding and implementation of sustainable and regenerative farming practices. Annie on her own has been in the food industry for such a long time, and I would love to learn from her wide array of experiences, and maybe even give her a tour of what we’re working on at our ranch in Central Texas!
How can our readers further follow your work online?
I am super active on social media, so you can find me on Instagram @arielle_bloom, as well as on my website www.ariellebloom.com
Thank you for these really excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success.
