Hi friends! I have a really exciting nutrition post to share with you all today, which I know is a topic many of you have been requesting for quite some time. A couple of weeks ago, I had an opportunity to attend a health event with AVON (the iconic beauty social selling company) and speak with their nutritionist, Ashley Koff, to ask her some questions I have related to nutrition.
I know we all have predisposed assumptions related to nutrition from what others have told us as well as what we should be eating every day, so I made an effort to ask some of these questions to her directly. After all, why not ask a trained expert? To be honest, I was surprised by some of her answers, so I thought I’d share these with you so we can become more informed about our eating decisions as well as gain a better understanding around the gossip of what we shouldn’t be eating, too.
In addition to my Q&A session with Ashley, I also had an opportunity to try out AVON’s new wellness line, Espira, and attend a yoga event at one of my favorite yoga studios in town, Y2 Yoga (Have any of y’all been there?). There is so much information out there regarding nutrition and supplements, that I often get overloaded with all the ‘extra’ information and then avoid the category all together and choose not to consume them. It was nice to sit down and determine what supplements are genuinely best for me and my lifestyle. Keep in mind, what one person needs is always different from the next person, so I recommend you consult a nutritionist to determine which supplements are best for you.
Since chatting with Ashley, I’ve determined it’s necessary to regularly work a protein supplement into my diet (which I do so intermittently already), and I should also consider a multi-vitamin of some sort. I’m the absolute worst at staying consistent with vitamins, but thanks to what I learned, I’m going to make it a goal moving forward. Espira has a daily essentials pack that includes every vitamin we should be consuming in a single day. It really simplifies the process for me because I know the single pack are all the nutrients my body needs for that day. If you struggle with the same problems, I highly recommend you check it out, too.
Q&A with AVON Nutritionist, Ashley Koff*
- Can you talk a little bit about your background as a nutritionist? What lens do you look through when discussing someone’s nutritional needs? What is important to you as a nutritionist? I would love to share my story with you, available here: https://www.ashleykoffapproved.com/about-ashley. I think it sums up why I’m so passionate about what I do!
- What does an ideal day of eating look like to you? The goal for any day is to give your body what it needs to run better. I may be able to get in oatmeal with walnuts or hemp seeds, a glass of water and an espresso in the morning, some greens with canned wild salmon and beans for lunch, something chocolate with some nuts mid-afternoon and a delicious dinner of sautéed zucchini noodles and plant protein meatballs (or turkey meatballs). And I’ll even have a glass of wine. However, I may even still miss out on key nutrients that help my body run better, so I would add Espira Daily Essentials in the morning and likely enjoy an Espira PM Restore in my water before bed. I also work out a few mornings a week, so I’ll drink an Espira Plant Power Protein shake after exercising to give my body what it needs to repair and recover after my workout.
- What are the essential nutrients you think a woman needs in their everyday diet? What are the base foods in which to get the nutrients and vitamins we need? Every woman is different based on her health history and current health / life stage / what she eats, etc. We need to assess her current nutrition to see if she is giving her body what it needs to run better and if not, then that’s what we focus on helping her get in more often. There are certain nutrients bodies need like Omega-3’s and -6’s and Amino Acids. We can’t make these so we need to get them in from food. We likely need probiotics (good bacteria) to balance the other bacteria in our system – and we need to get in all our vitamins and minerals. There’s a lot to consider!
- It seems like there is always a new fad diet right around the corner. What is your opinion on fad diets? Are there some fad diets you actually like/approve of? Why? We know what better nutrition is and is not – it is giving your body what It needs to run better without giving it things that can irritate, overwhelm and disrupt its functioning. So, no, we don’t need fads. They usually are just new ways of marketing existing nutrition messages, but when it comes to our better health it is better to be fashionable than to follow a fad.
- How much of a person’s weight/body composition influenced by genetics and how much is influenced by their eating habits/environment? We don’t have a set percentage, but your weight and body composition is HIGHLY impacted by whether or not you are giving your body what it needs to run better. Said differently, there is a lot that we can impact on weight / body composition based on giving our body better nutrition.
- What makes up a balanced diet in your opinion? The four pillars of better nutrition are: Better Quantity, Better Quality, Better Nutrient Balance & Better Frequency. Your readers can get the better nutrition guide that explains this by texting BETTERNUTRITION to 44222 it will come to them via email.
- What is the best way for someone to get back on track and stay accountable after a period of bad eating and wanting to get back in shape? Just Do It. Don’t beat yourself up. Do swap sugar-laden snacks for better plant protein ones like a smoothie with Espira Plant Power Protein and do aim to get better sleep (if you need help you can get good nutrient support with Espira Restful Sleep).
- Does every person need the same amount of nutrients/minerals/vitamins or should this be personalized? It 100% has to be personalized.
- What are you top-5 favorite healthy snacks for someone on the go? A mint case filled with nuts; a nutrient balanced bar (I like Perfect Foods bars); a packet of Espira Plant Power Protein; a water bottle filled with water; wild salmon jerky; 1 oz of dark chocolate.
- Three big meals or several small meals throughout the day? Your body needs a balance of nutrients to run better not a set number of calories. For example, you could have 2 apples for 100 calories (and all carbs) but your body will do better with one apple and a serving of nuts (protein and healthy fats) which is more like 150-200 calories total. Nutrient balance pit stops, which includes aiming to get in a rainbow of non-starchy vegetables as the colors all do different things in the body and getting them in helps you feel satisfied with less of the other foods. When you nutrient balance and get in better amounts of those nutrients, you give your body about 3 hours-worth of energy. I recommend pit-stopping for better nutrition about every 3 hours from waking until 3 hours before bed.
- How much does diet really plan in to healthy skin, hair, nails? A LOT! Your body will show you if you are getting in key nutrients it needs for healthy hair skin and nails – like biotin and collagen – that is why Espira Beauty from Within system (AM protect and PM restore) are great additions as we lose 1% of collagen every year after age 30!
- What’s the one food you tell your clients to stop eating? Anything made with artificial colors and sweeteners – and to be clear when I say “stop” I mean that I want them to not have it regularly. Having anything every once in a while doesn’t matter.
- What are some tips for the girl on the go? Eating healthy while traveling or constantly on the run is such a big struggle for so many women, I’d love to know how you advise clients when eating out or on vacation! Bring along your supplements to help you prevent any nutrition gaps, because you don’t know what you will have available. Check out menus for local destinations so you do have a better idea and BYOB – bring your own better (snacks) so that you have some options you can count on. I like having Espira Plant Power Protein packets with me so I can easily shake up a better snack. This is a HUGE topic, so I also have a webinar on it, available here: https://youtu.be/yhK9YLdalhw
- What is the biggest/most common eating mistake you see across your clients when they first come to you? The biggest mistake is calorie counting instead of learning to nutrient-balance their “pit stops” (meals and snacks). Your body needs a balance of nutrients to run better, not a set number of calories. For example, you could eat 2 apples for 100 calories (and all carbs) but your body will do better with one apple and a serving of nuts (protein and healthy fats) which is closer to 150-200 calories total. I recommend nutrient-balancing your “pit stops,” which includes aiming to get in a rainbow of non-starchy vegetables as the colors all do different things in the body and getting them in helps you feel satisfied with less of the other foods.
- What’s the best word of nutritional advice you can give? There is no perfect health nor perfect nutrition, but there is your better nutrition and it begins with understanding what your body needs to run better today.
- What are your favorite supplements in the Espira line? What would you recommend for a daily routine? I love them all! I would want to personalize the routine but for someone just getting started the Daily Essentials is an easy way to get in what the body needs and can use, and the Espira Plant Power Protein is a delicious way to do the same.
- Are there any questions in this Q&A you wish I would have asked and didn’t? Can you answer it? If anyone wants more information from me they can head to my website www.AshleyKoffApproved.com, and of course, they should go to www.Avon.com to grab their Espira products ASAP!
I’d love to hear what surprised you from the Q&A session above, or even what you feel like you already knew. I felt like I learned a lot, so was thankful for Ashley dedicating the time to answer my questions. If there are other questions you have you can either consult the resources above Ashley laid out, or leave a comment section below and I can follow up with Ashley on your questions.
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you found this post informative. 🙂
