Dr Lisa Leslie-Williams On The 5 Things You Need To Do To Achieve a Healthy Body Weight, And Keep It Permanently
Drink two full glasses of water upon awakening.
Sleep is a very dehydrating process, so drinking fresh water immediately upon awakening is paramount. Not only will doing that help you hydrate, but it will flush the toxins and push along waste which often shows up as bloat and unwanted pounds.
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 Dr. Lisa Leslie-Williams. Dr. Lisa is a pharmacist turned national holistic wellness expert, founder of the Domestic Life Stylist, media spokesperson, speaker, host of “Mom Prescribed” (a digital web series by the TLC network) and veteran homeschooling mom of two. She has appeared as a brand spokesperson on both national and regional tv shows including the Dr. Oz show, Good Morning Washington, ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS and more. A clinically-trained pharmacist by trade, Dr. Lisa encourages others to write their own prescriptions for health and wellness where food and lifestyle are the keys to optimal health and well-being.
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?
A native islander, I was born and raised in the Caribbean and grew up with the notion that nature was a resource tapped into first for wellness and well-being. I was a “Mr. Wizards World” tv show fan who loved to cook, watch beauty pageants and often imagined myself cooking up elaborate meals on tv. I battled tremendous shyness from childhood all the way up to young adulthood. In college, I won the title of University Queen which set the course for a persistent, “I can do anything I put my mind to attitude” and helped me work through my withdrawn social tendencies to go after my dreams.
What or who inspired you to pursue your career? We’d love to hear the story.
I’ve always had a love for health, the sciences and the ability to have a flexible schedule. In my third or fourth year of undergraduate studies, while I was still undecided about what career I was going to choose, a friend brought up the idea of pharmacy as an option. I did some research, spoke with local pharmacists and made the decision to go to pharmacy school after graduation.
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?
My boyfriend in college always supported my dreams. Everything from when I was vying for the title of the university queen to eventually pivoting from my career as a pharmacist to pursue dreams of natural health and media/tv work on my own. Nothing was too absurd according to him. I just needed one person to believe that I could do it and it was him. He was the best encourager. By the way, I decided to marry him.
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?
Most people find it interesting that I am credentialed in pharmaceutical medicine, but have a heart for natural medicine. Makes sense to me since I was born on an island known as the “Nature Isle”. But I think it perplexes everyone else. The lesson is no experience is ever wasted.
Can you share your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Why does that resonate with you so much?
“No experience is wasted. Everything in life is happening to grow you up, to fill you up, to help you become more of who you were created to be”- Oprah Winfrey
When I look back at my life, there were so many experiences that seemed disjointed based on where I thought I wanted to go. But I realized that I’m well equipped because of those experiences. I had to go through it all to get where I am today. See response to above question.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?
I’m working on a video summer cooking series with a holistic wellness brand that I’ve used and love for so long. It’s a dream partnership and It’s called Cooking with Dr. Lisa. The idea is to get more people excited about cooking healthy tasty foods and I’m excited to be a part of it.
For the benefit of our readers, can you briefly let us know why you are an authority in the fitness and wellness field?
I could say things like my degrees and daily application in my personal life. But the truth is that in addition to my undeniable passion and experience, God put me in this space. I’m just happy that I get to do what I love and that people actually listen.
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”? 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”?
Talking to your doctor about BMI is a great place to start. How you feel, sleep, digest food, your activity level and emotional well-being should also be considered.
Think about what weight were you when you felt your absolute best? These are all things to consider.
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?
Certainly. Malnutrition, bone fragility, decreased immunity, decreased vitality and increased propensity to illness and disease are just a few reasons for why being over (or under) your healthy body weight is so damaging. This is harmful on so many levels that it’s best to pay attention.
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?
Health is wealth and when you feel good that carries over to other areas of life including relationships, personal life, business and emotional, physical and mental well-being. That being said, if I could write you a prescription right now that would improve your life in all these ways, would you take it?
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.
Number 1: Don’t drink your calories.
Back off of smoothies, juices (even 100% juice), alcohol, fancy coffee, shakes, and diet drinks. Instead, drink water and unsweetened herbal tea; then watch any unwanted pounds drop without even trying. Water can be flavored with fresh lemon, cucumbers, and herbs.
Number 2: Drink two full glasses of water upon awakening.
Sleep is a very dehydrating process, so drinking fresh water immediately upon awakening is paramount. Not only will doing that help you hydrate, but it will flush the toxins and push along waste which often shows up as bloat and unwanted pounds.
Number 3: Drink a full glass of water before snacks and meals.
Most people mistake thirst cues for hunger cues and grab a snack instead of grabbing a glass of water. To make sure this doesn’t happen to you, start out with a glass of water before every meal. If after drinking the water your hunger goes away, then you were actually thirsty not hungry.
Number 4: Adapt Mindful Eating
Eat meals at the dinner table with no distractions (including: telephone, TV, electronics, reading, scrolling etc.). One study found that distracted eating led to a 10–25% increase in the amount of food eaten. So look at your food, smell the food, feel the texture of the food on your tongue. Pay attention to your food.
All of these things will keep you present and reduce unwanted additional calories in the long run.
Number 5: Go Against the Grain
Grain (oats, wheat, rice…etc.) has undergone so many changes that’s it’s not just what “healthy” is supposed to be. These foods lead to quick insulin spikes which can slow metabolism and prevent fat from being burned by the body.
Instead, reach for things like 100% wild rice (not wild rice mix), nut flours, chia seeds and flaxseeds in your favorite recipes. Even pancakes can be made deliciously grain free.
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?
One of the most common mistakes people make is not incorporating consistent strength training as a part of their wellness routine. Muscle burns more calories than fat and there is a gradual 3% to 8% decrease of muscle with each decade of life. So not only do we lose muscle with increasing age but, there is a gradual slow down of metabolism (if strength training is not involved too).
Lastly, when it comes to the changes that you’re trying to make remember it’s a marathon and not a sprint.
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?
Think of these changes as long-term lifestyle changes not as short-term changes as part of a diet. These changes shouldn’t be thought of as elective but permanent. There has to be a mindset shift for long term health, healing, consistent weight management and long-term positive change.
The blockages occur because people are more concerned about what they’ll lose instead of what they’ll gain in the process.
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?
The most important piece of advice is to start now and keep going. There is no start date when you’re adapting a lifestyle. The start date is right now, wherever you are. If you fall off track, get right back on it the moment there is awareness. Build wellness into your everyday and those wellness habits will build into you.
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.
Ohh…let see. I’d say teaching kids that appreciating whole foods is a way of life and not a way of strife. Anything that amplifies health-promoting and disease-lowering food would have to be it.
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 :-)
Great question. I would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with Alicia Ybarbo, who is the executive producer of the Today Show. I have been a big fan of the show for many years. I follow her work, and I admire how she balances work and life. It’s super clear that family is a core value. I also had the fortune of meeting her in person three years ago, and her approachability is, yet, another reason why I would enjoy spending time with her.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Follow me at theDomesticLifeStylist.com
It’s the virtual home of all my original articles and wellness recipes online. You can also follow me on social media at Instagram @DrLisaLeslie-Williams
Thank you for these really excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success.
