Interview with Natalie Carter of New Outlook Fitness

Natalie Carter

Natalie Carter is a Personal Trainer from Australia. After seeing tweets on Twitter about “NoSugarVember,” which is a challenge she created to inspire her clients, I wanted to introduce her to you by way of an interview…

1. Why/how did you get involved in fitness and personal training?

I started to take interest in Fitness when I had finished high school, I had always wanted to run my own business and was very into my sport (swimming, waterpolo, touch football, weight training, surfing, to name a few) so it seemed quite natural to venture into Fitness. I had got a taste of it at school with a pre fitness course so I thought why not. I completed the necessary certificates in Fitness but its funny though, at first I was apprehensive about applying for a PT job in my area. My best friend told me I’d be “really great at it” and “I’d be crazy not to” so I just picked up the phone and applied for a job. It baffles me why I was scared, I absolutely love what I do and have been inspirational to changing people’s lives. After I gained insight into the fitness industry, I saw how I wanted to do things- step away from the norms and be more holistic & functional. Also getting in the “mental” side of things is key to clients achieving great results; and then set up New Outlook Fitness and the rest is history as they say!

2. What is NoSugarVember? What is the goal or purpose behind it? Why did you start it?

I created NoSugarVember- The No Sugar Challenge to highlight the need for people to decrease sugar consumption for better health & vitality. Yes losing weight is important but I wanted people to realise sugar is in SO many products that we consume on a daily basis. I’ve read several books on Americas alarming stats and I knew Australia wasn’t far behind. It was also a great way to reach out to my Twitter and Facebook followers and help them kick the sweet stuff. I also created The Spring Shred in September so NoSugarVember was our next challenge. I’ve really been overwhelmed by everyone’s enthusiasm and support. It’s blown me away. I’m definitely excited to add more challenges and NoSugarVember & Spring Shred will be an annual events.

3. On your website you say, “...we are all addicted to sugar in some way or another.” Can a person be addicted to sugar like they can to alcohol or drugs?

Most definitely! Sugar has the same addictive properties as drugs or alcohol. People also tend to abuse sugar like drugs or alcohol to; in times of stress, to deal with grief, happiness. We love shoving a big hunk of cake in our mouths when we get married or celebrate a birthday or when our boyfriend breaks up with us! We need to realise there are different options when it comes to food choices. Writing down our feelings is a great start. Dealing with the emotional reasons we are turning to sugar (or food in general) is part of breaking the emotional eating cycle. I should know, I was a MASSIVE emotional eater! I was once a hefty 84kg (I’m now 66kg), all due to emotional eating. I guess that’s why I feel passionate about my cause, I’ve been there and change now I want others to as well.

4. In your experience, what is the most difficult obstacle that people face when trying to eliminate sugar from their diet?

Two things:

1. Everybody drastically under estimates their sugar consumption. At least 50% of people have said to me “Oh i don’t even eat that much sugar” It’s not till I rattle off a few things that the penny drops and they begin to realise their consumption is too high. Even I began to realise I was consuming too much sugar (yes it was all “healthy”- fruit, honey, milk) but at the end of the day your body will still convert it to fat if it doesn’t use it for energy.
2. The fruit thing. I’ve had several people tell me it’s bad to cut out fruit (fructose) but little do they realise sugar is sugar. The less of it we consume the better. Fruit is fine in moderation (2 serves of low sugar fruit is fine in my book and also follows the recommended daily intake) however many people think they are being healthy by consuming 5 or 6 pieces a day and steering clear of fat & protein. Fat and protein is necessary for growth, repair and satiety. Sugar doesn’t provide any nutrients yet we love consuming it.

5. Are weight and sugar intrinsically linked? Can a heavy person be a healthy person?

Generally speaking people who suffer from obesity or who are overweight have high sugar diets. It’s important to note that also consume too much bad fats and oils and usually don’t exercise. That is a sure fire cocktail for ill-health. Yes, a heavy person can be healthy however our bodies were designed to be kept at a “normal weight” and considering we don’t live life like our ancestors did (fearing when our next meal may be) I feel there is no excuse to carry excess body fat. As long as we keep in the ranges of between 21-33% for women (20-40 yrs) or 8-19% for men of the same age group, then that’s fine. Don’t forget our heart, lungs, organs all need to work much harder the more fat and weight we hold. Give yourself the best possible chance at a healthy life by keeping your fat levels stabilised.

6. Is it possible to lose weight just by abstaining from sugar?

Yes! I had loads of emails, tweets from my followers on NoSugarVember that have already lost kilos after only 5-6 days following my guidelines. Couple it with some exercise and it’ll be shedding off them. Amazing! 

7. Can a person ever really go completely sugar-free?

It is dependant on their will power. I’m certain in my own ability and I hope others will follow suit. We simply do not need sugar in our diets. Sugar -free is totally a do-able diet solution. I recently received this from a NoSugarVember participate and a client: “Nat, in all seriousness NoSugarVember is the best thing I’ve ever done for myself. I can’t thank you enough and after 6 days sugar free I feel f$%&ing Fantastic!” I mean that really speaks for itself right?

8. Why don’t you recommend artificial sweeteners?

Artificial sweeteners, in my opinion, are evil. They send the wrong message to people trying to lose weight (and even the general public), they say we are not going to deal with the reasons you consume too much sugar we are just going to make an artificial form of it which you can replace that behaviour with and then your life will change. They forget to mention you’ll have headaches, diarrhoea, stronger sugar craving and also the possibility of cancer. No thanks! I’m an advocate of using natural sugars (fructose found in fruit- no more than 2/day) to give us our “sugar fix”. So many of my NoSugarVember followers are finding that the don’t even have sugar cravings anymore.

9. What are your thoughts/feelings about gluten?

I think it should be avoided even if you aren’t gluten intolerant. I think most people these days have some small form of gluten intolerance, at the least they have bloating after consuming products with gluten. I just think why would you want to feel sick, gassy or bloated after a meal? It doesn’t make sense to me, so just choose foods out of that gluten group (breads, cereals, pastas). You don’t have to miss out try: Millet or rice pasta, have quinoa (I’ve been labeled the “Quinoa Queen” by an organic restaurant in Sydney for breakfast or brown rice for lunch instead of bread. It’s not hard you just need to make some swaps. 

10. What advice do you have for someone who wants to get off sugar and get healthy but doesn’t know where to start?

My partner actually jokes around that I need to stop dishing out nutrition and fitness advice to EVERYONE I interact with but I just can’t. If I need to listen to someone harp on about the fact that weight loss, exercise or giving up sugar is “too hard” I want to show them solutions.

My tips are:

1. Ask yourself if you are actually committed to giving up sugar or at least reducing your consumption
2. Visit my website for the guidelines on NoSugarVember
3. Eliminate all soft drinks (sodas), diet soft drinks, sugar in coffee/tea, sugar on cereals. So that begins to take care of the sugar you personally add to foods.
4. Eliminate those foods (potatoes, corn, white flours-pastas) those spike the blood sugar levels and bring them crashing down. Try quinoa, brown rice and oats as better options.
5. Check food labels. I recommend keeping sugar content to between 3-6g of sugar/100g better yet avoid foods that contain sugar
6. Lastly, stop being lazy and get cooking! I’ve got some great easy to follow recipes on my blog. By upping your protein and healthy fat intake that will really help with sugar cravings.

Natalie Carter is the Director & Owner of New Outlook Fitness. She regularly contributes as a Fitness/Lifestyle expert online & in print. With over 10 years industry experience, she has helped hundreds of clients achieve outstanding results. Her approach is results based and her clients transform not only their bodies but their entire lives. She provides individuals with realistic, achievable ways to stay healthy and happy. Natalie aims to inspire and motivate everybody to live each and every day as Awesomely as possible.

To find out how she and her team can transform your life visit: http://www.newoutlookfitness.com.au or get involved in the fun at: http://www.facebook.com/NewOutlookFitness.

Her blog is http://www.nataliecartertalksfitness.com
Follow Natalie on Twitter @NewOutlookPT

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