Welcome back to Lending Leadership, where we dive into the crucial topics that impact our industry, our lives, and our well-being.

Today we’re taking on a subject that affects every professional, especially those of us who spend hours glued to Zoom or planted at our desks: the impact of sitting, moving, eating, and caring for ourselves in a remote work world. With research showing that people working from home are taking 2,500 fewer steps a day, we wanted to explore what that really means for our health and what we can do about it.

To guide us through this conversation, we’re thrilled to welcome Kristen Zetterberg, registered and licensed dietitian and founder of Inspire Nutrition, to Lending Leadership. With over 20 years of experience helping people break free from chronic dieting and build sustainable health habits, Kristen Zetterberg shares practical, real-world insights for busy professionals looking to boost their well-being and productivity.

In this episode, we unpack the realities of working from home, from disrupted movement and metabolic health to the myths of intermittent fasting and the nuances of new weight loss medications. We talk about the importance of intentional habits, why “knowing” isn’t the same as “doing,” and how grace, not perfection, is the secret to lasting health changes. Whether you want to feel more energized, age with strength, or simply avoid that afternoon crash, this conversation offers tangible steps and a refreshing dose of honesty.

Key takeaways:

1. Interrupted Movement is Essential
2. Just working out in the morning isn’t enough if you’re sitting for 8-10 hours a day. Kristen Zetterberg recommends building in small interruptions: set a timer, take hydration breaks, or walk while on calls to keep your blood circulating and mind fresh (00:00, 06:13).
3. Don’t Skip Meals Intentional Nutrition Matters
4. Adrenaline may mask your hunger, but skipping meals leads to energy crashes and mindless eating at night. Instead, front-load your day with balanced meals (protein, fat, fiber) to maintain energy and avoid roller coaster cravings (13:43, 14:07).
5. Customization Over Cookie-Cutter Diets
6. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Kristen Zetterberg emphasizes bio-individuality, your habits, stress levels, and genetics all matter. Diet trends like intermittent fasting aren’t right for everyone, especially women, and should always be individualized (11:19, 10:10).
7. Small Habits Build “Health Savings” for the Future
8. Your daily habits add up to determine your long-term vitality. Prioritize protein, hydration, and movement now to “deposit” into your health savings account so you can live well, not just live long (12:26, 12:40).
9. Progress, Not Perfection Give Yourself Grace
10. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by wellness checklists. Kristen Zetterberg encourages a Ferris wheel approach: focus on one or two buckets (sleep, hydration, nutrition, movement) at a time. Sustainable, incremental change is what lasts, not chasing perfection (18:04, 19:37).

We hope this episode helps you reflect, recalibrate, and give yourself the permission to move, eat, and thrive even in the thick of your busiest days. And if you’re ready for even more support, details on how to connect with Kristen Zetterberg at Inspire Nutrition are linked below.

But your body still needs like that interrupted movement if you're sitting for 8 to 9 to 10 hours a day. So just like realizing that you have to kind of change your habits a little bit there and your mindset around it just to kind of get up and just like stretch your legs, go outside, get some sunshine on your face, just something to interrupt it.

So I read something the other day that kind of stopped me in my tracks and I was like, wow, this is, this is interesting. So research has found that people working from home may be taking 2,500 fewer steps a day. And this is compared to people who are actually working on site. So, you know, I immediately thought of our audience and our lending leadership audience, people working from home in sales in a lot of different capacities. But talking to our loan officers, realtors, executives, we sit on Zoom, we sit all day, we sit at our desks And, I just want to start by throwing this question. Are we sitting and is this actually a detriment to our health? Kristen Zetterberg, what is sitting all day actually doing to us?

Yeah. Well, first of all, our bodies are made to move, right? Our bodies are designed to move. So, the problem is not inherently sitting all day, it's that you have no— you're not interrupting that sitting. Withstanding or taking a break or going outside or something like that. So what can happen more than just posture is your metabolic health can have problems, blood sugar regulation, not to mention if you're sitting, people are not eating. We're going to get into that, of course, but skipping lunches, not drinking water, because really your adrenaline is going. And when your adrenaline is going, your hunger signals are not really there. So people will say, I'm not hungry, so I'm just going to not eat.

And then we have problems later on in the day. Which I know we'll get into.

And that pretty much just describes my morning. So as my nutritionist, don't yell at me, but that's why you're here today, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. That's why we have Kristen Zetterberg, registered and licensed dietitian, founder of Inspire Nutrition. She's been doing this for more than 20 years. She is a good friend of mine and helping me to move more and eat better, even though I didn't do it this morning. Kristen, thank you so much for joining me on Lending Leadership.

Absolutely. I'm happy to be here.

Yeah. All right. So give me a little bit about your background. Tell people who you are.

Sure. I created Inspire Nutrition. It's a private practice where we see clients all day long. So I actually sit all day long also. And it definitely takes its toll, especially towards the end of the week. But I created my practice because I was the youngest of 3. And I grew up in a family of like what I like to call chronic dieters. So I watched them kind of go on and off diets their whole lives and just like the impact of diet culture.

And that was something that I felt really strongly about. So I started, you know, studying it in college and I just realized that I really had a passion for helping other people. And also there's a genetic component there too. So I just wanted to like surround my life with eating better and moving my body and just kind of like a holistic approach. And so now we just see people for all kinds of different reasons. So diabetes, cardiovascular disease, you know, weight management. I'm all about flexibility though. So definitely like pushing that diet mentality out and kind of meeting a person where they're at and what their needs are, their readiness for change, and really just help people change their lives for the better and focus on longevity.

Yeah, I love that. I love that whole mentality. And I think this applies to everybody, you know, whether you are, feel very fit and maybe you're not moving as much or you have a family member that is in the house that is not moving as much as you'd like to. I mean, this really applies to everybody. And I love that idea of the constant dieters because that has been my roller coaster as well. But let's talk about the sitting aspect because I feel like a lot of people that I talk to are working from home. Are you seeing a lot of clients today that maybe are sitting more?

Than 100% in the past. 100%, especially with COVID and everybody kind of like started working from home. So that made people move even less, including myself, because we went all virtual when that happened. And so there's actually a difference between sitting and being engaged with a monitor versus sitting and talking to somebody. I found that you kind of lean more forward, which affects your posture. Again, your legs can start to go numb because you're sitting so long. And I just think people working from home. That's the reality.

I have so many clients that I see virtually that just don't move. And we're constantly working on getting in adequate nutrition, of course, because that's my thing, but also moving their bodies more and understanding the difference between movement and exercise. So someone might say to you, I work out for 30 to 60 minutes in the morning before I do anything else. So that counts, right? And absolutely that counts. But your body still needs that interrupted movement if you're sitting for 8 to 9 to 10 hours a day. So just like realizing that you have to kind of change your habits a little bit there and your mindset around it just to kind of get up and just like stretch your legs, go outside, get some sunshine on your face, just something to interrupt it. And you'll actually find that you'll come back to work usually more refreshed and not so tired.

As you're saying this, it's reminding me of that scene in WALL-E. I don't know if you remember.

Oh, of course. Love that movie.

The movie WALL-E. And there's all those Larger characters that are sitting on the little, you know, mopeds and they're, they're in front of a screen and they're not moving and they're not interacting. I'm like, oh my gosh, is that what our society is going towards?

I mean, it kind of feels like that.

Yeah, it feels like that. So, so having that interrupted time where you get up and you move, even, even a couple minutes, really does make a difference.

Huge difference. I think you should probably aim for— and listen, it's behavioral too. So like, if you have to set a timer, or let's say you're like struggling with your hydration and you just like can go for hours and you're like, I didn't even drink anything all day today. Using that as an opportunity just to kind of get up and fill your water glass up. Or, you know, just maybe you're taking a call and you can get up and walk around and take your call. It is important because you can let that blood flow, you know, your large muscle groups, especially like your lower body, you know, we want to move them, right?

Yeah.

And that's important just to kind of get that blood flow going. Stretch again, like, again, you're being pulled forward usually if you're on a monitor. So like just pulling your shoulders As we're sitting here pulling our shoulders back, I'm guilty of it also. It makes a huge difference. Yeah.

And as we're saying this, my dog gets— I don't know why he only barks during a podcast. Amazon likes to come right when I'm recording a podcast. But yes, I think as you're saying that, he's getting better posture, I'm getting better posture. And it's true, you can find yourself just slumping and getting into that sitting there typing something. You really do. It has to be an intentional thing. And I know this sounds ridiculous, but I'm sure people listening will understand this, that sometimes I even need to block out time to take a walk, get up, because if not, your day can just be taken. So time blocking, personal time is really important.

And I am speaking to myself right now because I did not do that this week or this morning.

Yeah.

And that is why I I'm out of water. I'm out of water right now. Whoops.

Well, you drank it, so that's a positive. That's good.

Yesterday.

Oh, oh no.

I know. And that's why, you know, even when we know the right things to do, that's why I really wanted to have you on. Because again, I feel like what you preach, it affects everyone. So, you know, let's talk about the nutrition part of things because really busy people, They can go from meeting after meeting after meeting and, you know, oh, intermittent fasting, that's great for you, so I'm gonna jump on that, when really it's just because I haven't had a chance to eat anything during the day. So let's talk to me about that a little bit, because that is a hot button topic, you know, intermittent fasting.

So you've mentioned something earlier, knowing is not doing though. So a lot of people do know what to do. They do know that they need to eat more produce. They know they need to eat protein. They know they need to drink water. But unless it becomes Like, really, this is kind of where your values come in. And this is how I start with all of my clients. You know, what do you care about? Like, what do you think about? What's important to you? And just kind of bringing your values into it, because without a really strong why, you're never going to do it.

So, yes, drink water. Well, why are we doing that? Maybe a person's like, I struggle with constipation. Well, the biggest thing you can do is make sure you're hydrated to get your stool going. I know we're not talking about that today, but it's important.

Everybody poops.

Yeah, I have a book about it. And it tells you a lot. So I spend a lot of my day looking at the consistency, not your literal poop, but looking at the consistency of what it is. And it will tell me if you're hydrated, if you're getting enough fiber, if you're on the other end of that and it's too fast, like your motility is too fast, we're not absorbing any nutrients. That tells me a lot also. But back to your question, what I definitely pride myself on is meeting a person where they're at. And what's good for your friend is not necessarily good for you. So that's where you kind of have to silence the noise of where really quote-unquote diet culture where everybody's fasting, it's great for you.

Um, I'm really trying to lose weight, so maybe if I just continue to try to eat less and put more stress on my body. So a person who's already stressed, if you add not eating, especially in the morning, especially if you're a woman, especially if you're going through some hormonal changes, now you're adding more stress to your body, and you cannot lose weight when you're under a lot of chronic stress. So if you're using intermittent fasting for a weight loss tool, It's not a good approach if you're a person who's not sleeping well or you're not stressed. Now, on the other side of that, most of the studies were done for intermittent fasting on men. I'm just going to take a moment right there.

Yes.

Because who struggles with their weight more? I'm sorry, men, I understand, but women struggle so much and it's like, why are we doing all of our research on men? With that said, there could be something to fasting, but really that's where you meet with the dietitian and they try to see if it's appropriate or not for you. And some people do great with it. I don't like the ones where you're going 24 hours, you know, without a meal. I don't think that's great for your blood sugar. There's definitely talks about inflammation and lowering your inflammation, better for your digestion. But I think you have to take it with a grain of salt and just look at the overall person and what they're dealing with.

Yeah. So it is a very individualized approach. And I know that personally from the way that you work and hopefully the way that most dietitians work, it's not a one-size-fits-all.

Oh, no. And if you're doing it that way, that's not right. Yeah.

Run. Run away if that's what's happening.

No cookie cutter, no eliminating a food group just to eliminate a food group. It's about bio-individuality, which means you're different than me, I'm different than somebody else. And it's a person who's looking at all of your genetics and your labs and your lifestyle and, again, your why, your values. Why is this important to you? Without that, you're never going to do it long-term. And this is all about sustainability.

Yeah. You know, it's interesting. We're, you know, we're talking to professionals on here and I've never, I've never quite broached this subject, but it is so important because if you can't take care of what's going on internally, then you definitely can't serve other people and pour into other people. So, you know, especially busy entrepreneurs and when you're successful and there's just a lot going on, we can neglect Ourselves. Isn't that always the case?

I see it all the time. But then you're left 20 years from now, like, not, not well. Like, you're not well. And things start, you know, your genetics start to turn on and maybe you get some like, you know, okay, all of a sudden my LDL is high, which is, you know, your bad cholesterol or, you know, you're having hip pain and back pain and you can't really do what you want to do or like, you know. So it does add up. It's kind of like I try to tell people they have like a health savings account. So what you're doing when you're younger or even just starting right now, you're kind of building that account for that longevity. Listen, I don't need to live to 100 if I'm in a wheelchair and on medication.

Like, that's not the life that I want to live. What I want to be able to do is go on the beach with my grandkids and like be able to get down on the floor and to, you know, kind of ward off any type of disease, especially if it's food related, because I do believe food is medicine. So I think it's just important to understand that you are important. Your job's important. I get it. You got to pay your bills and you might love it and you love what you do, but you can't Do it well if you're not taking care of yourself. It will add up. It'll build up.

Yeah, it's so true. So, talk to me about where you start when someone comes to you and they either just want to get healthier. Let's say they feel pretty healthy. It's not a matter of the fact that they need to lose weight, but they just— maybe they're sitting all day or they're like, I don't know what to eat. I don't know where to start. And, I do want to create that health savings bank so that I can be on the You know, on the beach with my grandkids in 20 years. And they, they kind of want to start there. So where do you start when someone like that comes to you?

Absolutely. So especially if I know they do something like similar to you, right? Like, I know they're sitting all day in front of a computer and they're passionate about their job. So again, values. So like, I can see that that's important to them. But I'm not looking at a single meal. I'm not wondering if they're plowing through lunch and working. I want to know what's happening from the time they woke up to the time they go to bed. And I kind of walk through that entire day to see what the person's lifestyle is like.

You know, for example, like someone might say to me, well, I get up and I drink coffee and then I forget to eat. So then I'm looking at the clock and all of a sudden it's like 2 o'clock and I didn't have breakfast. That's good, right? Like I should be intermittent fasting, right? And it's not good. So what happens to people like that, when I see it time and time again, once I get towards the end of their day, And they'll say this, oh, this is where it all falls apart. I'm taking the tour of my kitchen. I'm like, I want some pretzels. Well, now I'm hungry. I need some cheese.

I need— you can't get satisfied because your body needs a certain amount of calories. And if you did not get those calories earlier in the day, you're going to go after them. And it's not going to be something like chicken and broccoli. It's going to be like, I want what I want when I want, you know, now. So I think the biggest problem is you're not front-loading your day with a balanced meal where you're getting your blood sugar nice and balanced, or you're just eating all carbohydrate. You crash by like 2 clock saying, oh gosh, I need some sugar and I need more coffee. In reality, if you try to work on your blood sugar and have a healthy amount of protein and some healthy fats in there with some high-fiber carbs, that's going to balance your blood sugar. So you're not on this roller coaster ride all day long, and it's more of this balanced rolling hill effect.

But that takes planning, and that's the biggest thing that I see. So people fly into their week and they're not thinking about their week before it happens. Maybe they were busy that weekend, but you kind of like kick yourself in the butt when that happens because then you're like, I don't know, I'm just flying by the seat of my pants. So it's twofold. I see habits. People have done this however long they've done it, and this is just what it is. And they're like, I'm writing it off. But then I see the other side of that where they're not feeling good.

So we want to kind of look at the entire day. Where do you put movement in? Is it at the end of the day? Half the time people will say, I can't get to it because I'm just so tired. So like, you just want to kind of like, you know, you go on a vacation, Rachel, You don't just show up. So it's like, no, it's the same with your health. Like, you don't just— like, we shouldn't just show up. It should be like, what are my intentions? How do I want this week to go? I want energy out of this day. And you're not going to get that by fueling yourself with a ton of coffee and no calories.

I think that you just spoke to pretty much the entire population out there of working professionals, busy moms. I mean, that really— you just spoke to a lot of people, a lot of different demographics too, because That pretty much sums it up. I mean, when we're not intentional with our day, the day can just happen to us and it happens time and time again. And again, I will tell you, that was completely me this morning. And obviously, since I've been coming to you and I've been really trying to be more purposeful, those days are very few and far between, but they do still happen from time to time. But, it's when they're happening consistently and then all of a sudden, you're like, oh my gosh, that 2:00 p.m. crash, why don't we do siestas in this country. I need a nap.

I need to just go relax. But, it all makes sense because then it's compounding on itself and you can't understand why you're so tired, why you want sugar at 10:00 p.m. at night, why you just can't feel satiated by the end of the day, that you're just like a garbage can and you just want to eat, eat, eat and you're not losing weight. I mean, you just laid it out. It makes perfect sense.

That and adrenaline. So, when a person's working, whether you're in a hospital working or you're at a desk working and you're taking call after call, meeting after meeting, Your adrenaline is firing. And so, some people will say to me, well, I'm just not hungry. You're not going to be hungry when you're like that.

Yeah.

So then, what happens is you log off and your adrenaline drops, and that's when you're starving. And that's where, oh, I messed up again. Oh my gosh, I ate all these calories right before I went to bed and I didn't sleep well. Because you cannot rest and digest at the same time. So, if you're eating a bunch of calories at the end of the night, you're not sleeping well. And when you're not sleeping well, guess what? You're not eating well, you're not moving well, you're not thinking well. So it's just that overall picture and balance of all the different modalities.

Yeah.

And I'm just going to throw this in there. One visual that I like to give people is picture all different behaviors on a Ferris wheel. And in each little bucket of the Ferris wheel that you ride, it's a different behavior. So one bucket might be your nutrition, one bucket might be your sleep hygiene, one might be stress management, one might be hydration, and so on. And inside of those buckets are all these different tools. But that Ferris wheel kind of keeps going. So you can't do all the things at once because that's where people get gassed out and they're like, all or nothing. And that's— I see that so often.

Yeah.

If I can't do it perfectly, I'm just not going to do it. So what you want to do is kind of evaluate those buckets and say, where am I off the most? Is my sleep off the most now? Well, what can I do to get my sleep a little bit better? So it's more manageable, it's more sustainable. So then once your sleep is good, then it's like, all right, I am always thirsty. Like, I'm not, you know, and we can come up with tools and things that work for you. But again, knowing that that Ferris wheel is kind of moving all the time and that you cannot do all the things at once and just focusing on 1 or 2 things and then kind of moving from there. I think that's like a good approach in general.

Yeah, I like that analogy. I like visuals like that. And that makes it very tangible and very— gives somebody a lot of grace because I think we do feel like, especially the Type A people who are very successful and they want to hit everything and they want to get— they want results quickly. Yeah, give yourself a little bit of time and grace to say, okay, I don't need to work on everything at once.

No.

That it can feel overwhelming.

Um, progress, not perfection. If you're going after perfection, you're never getting it, ever.

Yeah.

You know, so it's not something— but that's what, like, the culture wants you to think. Like, you need to be perfect, you need to be going out and running, you know, 4 miles, you need to be making sure you're, you know, meal prepping and your macronutrients and You need to be making sure that you're sleeping in 65 degrees, 68 degrees. You need to make sure— it's overwhelming. So no wonder that you gas out and you're like, oh, whatever, I'll figure it out at some point. So making it more manageable, I think, is just like the ultimate goal.

Yeah, no, I like that approach. I'm curious though, if there are any of those essentials that maybe not taking everything under the sun into into consideration at once, the 10,000 steps or I don't know how many ounces, 60 ounces of water. Are those 2 that are essential, absolutely got to do it, or where would you start?

I would start by, again, kind of evaluating yourself and thinking about where you're suffering. But, I would say for general health, it's making sure that you're getting adequate protein. That's really important. Your body cannot make—

100%.

Protein. So it's essential, which means you have to eat it. So planning in your protein is very important. It protects your muscle as you get older. After the age of 35, we have a lot of loss of muscle, especially women as they're going through, you know, perimenopause and menopause. You have a lot of muscle loss, and then you're undermuscled, and then you have problems with your bones. So protein is key to make sure that you're having like that strong, you know, skeletal muscle mass. And then also, yes, hydration.

And these are like low-hanging fruit. Your hydration is really important. Actually, when I first started, I couldn't believe I would have some of my clients tell me like they just weren't ever thirsty, or I don't like water. And I didn't really understand that, you know, 20 years ago. But now I legit have had people like, I don't think they're ever thirsty. So it's coming up with, you know, ways that they can get in their hydration. You know, fruits, vegetables, our food provides us some fluid, but then making it manageable. Like, do you need it cold? Do you need it warm? You know, room temperature? Are you a straw person? Are you not a straw person? So it's coming up with different little techniques, and that's why it's good to work with someone like myself, because I can give you, especially with my experience, all the different ways that you can do it.

But protein, hydration, and fiber is really important. And of course, movement. All the things are so important, but just really more whole foods, less processed foods is probably the biggest thing, especially when you're a busy working mom, working person. You don't have time, you don't make time to figure it out. So then you're, you know, flying through the drive-through or you're, you know, throwing something in the microwave. And so it does take intention.

Yeah. Um, I like that you, you did mention protein because that's something that I hadn't realized. You know, I, I do MyFitnessPal and I was tracking and I just couldn't understand why some things weren't moving and, you know, why I wasn't hitting goals. And that's one thing you really unlocked for me is that, wow, okay, you are not getting enough protein. And I think that's probably something that maybe women Is that something that women struggle with more than men? Or maybe just if you're not paying attention, anyone can struggle with that.

If you're not paying attention, it's like you will be at the end of the day and you've probably maybe gotten in 50 grams of protein. And with the days of the GLP-1 medications right now, even more important for a person to make sure they're preserving their skeletal muscle mass as they're losing body fat. And if you're not meeting your protein needs, at least your minimum, then you're going to really compromise your muscle. And again, down the road, that's like bone health. And other problems. Yeah. So, yeah, it's important and it's important to realize and find foods that you like. You don't want to eat stuff that you don't like just to eat it.

So it's coming up with different ideas and flavors and that kind of thing.

I mean, I'm stubborn as the day is long. I'm like that 5-year-old who's like, I'm not going to eat this just because it's good for me. I have to trick myself sometimes.

Yeah.

I'm that person who really is never thirsty. And I, again, I have to trick myself too. I have this giant— although we got these at our sales rally last Yeah, these giant bottles with our names engraved on them. Very nice. But, this is 40. So, I'm like, okay, I know I need at least 2 of these a day. And, I do this crystallized lemon, put that in there to kind of trick myself. That definitely helps.

But, you just mentioned something that I wasn't going to bring up, but now I kind of want to go there.

Sure. Let's go.

With the whole craze of the GLP-1s because I feel like maybe there is a bit of a stigma. I'm curious From a nutrition standpoint, someone with your background, how do you feel about the whole GLP-1 movement?

If you asked me 4 years ago, I had a totally different opinion. Now that I work with so many people and I've seen so many people's lives change and I see such— there is a huge stigma and I would love to just mic drop on that because a lot of people are like, oh, it's the easy way out, or of course they're just taking the shot or they're just taking the pill now that's available of course, too. But the problem is, it's not— it's not a willpower issue. It is a metabolic dysfunction. So, for people who truly need this medication, it is treating a disease. Obesity is a disease, and it's a metabolic dysfunction. So, it's not that the person can't just, like, control themselves.

Right.

It's that if you're trying to eat in a calorie deficit and you lack your own production of GLP-1, because it's a hormone that your body actually produces, then you're going to struggle with hunger, and you're going to be fine for a little bit. This is where diets come in, right? You're fine. I can white-knuckle this. I'm good. I'm good. But then you lose your mind and then you just wind up eating the way you were eating before. So, the medication in itself is— I mean, there's so many. There's cardiologists prescribing it at this point because there's so many cardiometabolic effects that are a positive thing.

It's anti-inflammatory. So, even within the first 2 weeks of a person going on the medication, they'll come in and just see it, they feel deflated. And then honestly, it just I've seen people, it gives them their life back. They're not shackled to restriction and diets, and it's like enables them to be able to live their life without being a prisoner with their own thoughts. You know, a lot of people talk about food noise. If you don't understand what that is, that's a blessing. But if you understand what food is, my food noise is, myself included, it's rough. Like, I know that pizza's in there, I don't want to touch that pizza, so okay, I'm good for right Oh wait, that pizza's in there.

I should probably go get that. Whatever the situation, that's food noise where it just overtakes you. So if I see 8 people a day, 6 of them are on a GLP-1. It's a big thing. And at this point, I definitely would consider myself an expert because I just help them and hold their hands. And with that, that's where protein comes in, your fiber to keep that stool moving.

Okay.

And we monitor your body fat, something called your visceral fat, which is that fat that's in and around your organs that suffocates your organs. And the top 5 killers are associated with, which the medication works really, really good on. And then making sure that you're losing body fat and not muscle. So we monitor that. So I definitely think they have a place in this world. I want to shut down the stigma because it's just not cool.

Not cool.

If you don't get it and you've never struggled with your body weight, then you don't understand and you have no place in speaking to it, in my opinion.

Yeah, I'm really— I'm glad to hear you say that. And I'm fascinated to hear you say that as a professional because There absolutely is that stigma. But, you know, from somebody who does have your background to be able to walk people through, hey, we need coaches for everything. And sure, people can do things on their own, but I guess to have somebody like you in their corner that is really walking them through and helping them to not harm themselves and to do things the right way.

And that's the problem, Rachel, because a lot of, you know, doctors don't have a lot of time with you. So they're giving you a medication, you go get it filled. What's next? Maybe something you saw on TikTok, maybe something you saw. If you're not guided, you are dropping. I've seen this. I've had a client come in where, you know, they've been on it for a little while, and I— this is specific— and she said— I said, well, what do you have for lunch? She's like, well, I have Swedish Fish because I can. I'm like, you know, I don't care that you're eating Swedish Fish, but I do care that you're not meeting the nutrient needs that your body needs, because your body— just because you're not hungry doesn't mean that you don't need those those things, you know, like protein and fiber and things like that. So they're not educated well, and most people only care about the result piece of it, and everybody wants to lose 40 pounds yesterday.

So the thing yesterday, it is all about slow and steady and sustainable, changing your habits, you know, working with someone who's again guiding you and leading you. And it's slow results. Like, you do not want to lose 40 pounds in 2 months. Like, that's not an achievement. That's That's scary, actually. So, we're talking 1 to 2 pounds a week is a really good weight loss, and that people need to kind of wrap their head around that it is a slow process.

Yeah. Well, I'm really glad to hear you kind of shed some light on that because we all know people who are on them, or maybe we've seen somebody, haven't seen in a long time, it's like, oh, okay. And then, there's chatter like, oh, well, they just did the shot. And it's like, oh.

I can't stand the chatter.

Yeah, yeah. So, I'm glad for you to shed some light on that. Okay, I'm going to do some rapid fire. I'm really curious on these. So, you can pick 1 or 2, comment on it. And, are you ready for this game? Yeah, bring it on. Okay. Walking or strength training?

If you were a female and you were over the age of 35, you absolutely should be strength training. That compound movement is really important for longevity, your metabolism. I mean, I can go on. I will say walking is great. The best thing you can ever do after a meal is take a walk because that'll help regulate your blood sugar. But if I were to pick, I would say strength training is the best.

Oh, okay. Interesting. Breakfast or fasting?

Breakfast, 100%. You got to start that day well, but not just all carbs. Like, you want to have a balanced breakfast. And if you're, like, on the go, then we can definitely, like, come up with easy ways that you can have a quick meal that's balanced.

Okay, protein shakes.

If they fit into your life, as long as there's no artificial sweeteners or other ingredients that are gonna— something I would consider not great, um, I absolutely think you can fit them into your day. It actually gives you opportunity to throw more things in there like extra fiber, um, either coming from like frozen fruit or maybe you're adding a fiber to that, um, or also Putting in greens, like a lot of times you can throw in like spinach or baby kale and it gives you opportunity to have a little bit more nutrients in that. So yeah, convenient.

Okay, good. I'm glad to hear you say that because I'm a protein shake girl every day.

Oh, I get them easy.

I love it. Standing desk thoughts?

Great. Sure. If you feel like you are— I'm like not moving. Absolutely walking, building that movement in like we talked about earlier. It's like breaking up this prolonged sitting. That's like what we were talking about today to begin with. So, yeah, you don't want to sit for, you know, 6, 8 hours and not have that breakup time. So, a standing desk could help you do that.

Good. 10,000 steps, legit or overhyped?

So, I definitely think that, again, our bodies are not moving very much. If I look at my steps at the end of the day, I sit for a long time too. I'm barely at 3,000. So that tells me that I didn't move, right? So I think this is where I meet with people where they're at. So if a person— I'll say, like, what are your average steps? And they might say to me, like, 4,000. I'll say, how about, you know, this week, over the next couple of weeks, that you shoot for 6,000? So you take the baby steps rather than saying go from 4,000 to 10,000. It's ridiculous. You'll get— you'll gas out.

So the baby steps to just, like, build in more movement to see what does it take for me to get that extra 1,000 or 2,000. And then kind of go from there.

That's great advice. Um, one snack that you always recommend?

Yeah, so it goes back to blood sugar balance. You never want to have carbohydrates by themselves. Carbs are not the enemy. I want to like go on blast about that too. It's not— you don't need to take them away, but you want to always pair things well so that you come back to that blood sugar balance. So if you're eating a carbohydrate such as like an apple or pretzels or crackers, you always want to be pairing them with— excuse me— with some protein and/or fat because that helps buffer the carbohydrate from releasing into your bloodstream really rapidly. So like an apple and peanut butter or like, you know, hummus and crackers or Greek yogurt and berries. So you take the carb and you add some protein or fat to that, and that helps with that balance.

That's a great suggestion. Okay. Last thing, biggest nutrition myth that you wish would just Disappear into the sunset.

I just said it. Carbs are the enemy. They're not the enemy. No, carbs are—

That's what I grew up as. Like, no carbs.

Don't have carbs. Yeah. Carbs are delicious and give you energy. It's just the problem is that we eat way too many processed carbohydrates. So we're talking about eating more whole foods, but then also some flexibility. So for example, like, your intention is to eat— again, it's all about consistency— but is to eat more natural whole foods, right? So like whole grains, fruits and veggies with flexibility. The flexibility is like, maybe I do want some Swedish Fish, or maybe I do want to have, you know, a handful of pretzels. Like, you should have flexibility in your life to be able to do that.

But you are the sum of all your small steps. So, if you're doing that all the time, then that adds up, right? So, carbs aren't the enemy. Fat doesn't make you fat. You know, I can go on about some of those myths, and I would say they're the biggest ones.

That's great. I love that. Small steps.

Yeah.

Small steps to success. That's great. Kristen Zetterberg, you are wonderful. Thank you so much for joining us today. I feel like a lot of what you said will really resonate resonate with the people listening. And if it doesn't resonate with you, send this to a friend who really needs to hear it. Inspire Nutrition, Kristen, we will put all of your info down below. So if anybody's interested in reaching out and just getting a start or getting a different perspective, reach out to Kristen.

I personally will attest she's wonderful and will really hold your hand and not make you feel terrible about yourself.

I pride myself on being the least judgmental person there Like I do. And a lot of times people come in and they just, you know, think like, oh gosh, what are they going to say about me?

Yeah.

Again, there's grace and I'm here to help you and I'm not judging you.

I love it. Yeah. Well, thank you so much for joining me on Lending Leadership today, friends. Don't forget to like and subscribe and we'll catch you next time. Thanks. Thanks, Chris.

Bye.