Annemarie Nijhof, Senior Lecturer of Nutrition and Dietetics
Hello Jonno,
I work as a lecturer at the nutrition and dietetics department (bachelor study) at the HAN University of Applied Sciences in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
As a professional, I am interested in nutrition and health, and in 2020, I will be reading a lot of books and literature about banting and keto.
I live in the Netherlands, and as you probably know, that is carb country! We eat a lot of bread, cereals, potatoes and grains in our meals. And we eat and drink a lot of dairy. Our national nutrition centre advises people who want to lose weight to eat according to the ‘Schijf van Vijf’ (Wheel of Five). Not too much saturated fat, not too much fat, so you end up with a lot of carbs.
In the last 10 years, I gained some weight myself and ended up being overweight. A few times I tried a keto diet, but after two or three days, I experienced the keto flu (I know now) and stopped because I thought it wasn’t healthy. Then, I didn’t realise that being raised and living in carb country is really in my (professional and personal) system. I measured my blood glucose (normal), my blood pressure (normal), I exercised one hour per day and I was focussing on the energy balance (and low fat diet). I didn’t lose weight, I always had ‘ snack trek’ and I couldn’t explain the hypoglycemic feeling I sometimes had after exercising. Now I know that the hypoglycemie was caused by the insulin resistance I had, and that I have to blame the carbs for that.
In December 2020, I joined the RMR revolution. I didn’t eat carbs anymore, I knew how to handle the keto flu, and I felt more energetic then I felt in years, and for the first time in my life, I could lose weight! First I lost 8kg with the Online Program, and after two hero programs I lost 10 more. Thanks to the amazing work of all the members in the group, especially the leaders Victoria and Adrienne.
After my RMR experience, I realised that the amount of carbs caused the ‘snack trek’ and ‘hypoglycemic’ feelings when I was overweight and that it is almost impossible to lose weight while eating carbs. Slim dietitians, who chew slices of bread all day and say that you won’t become obese due to the amount of carbs in bread and potatoes, probably never felt what insuline resistance does in an obese body, how it messes up your hormones and feelings of hunger and satiety, and how carbs can negatively interfere in a healthy sustainable diet, and can cause a low self esteem in obese people who blame themselves for not having enough will power or motivation to eat healthy.
Jonno, I was really impressed by the RMR revolution – by the professional approach, the workshops and videos about mindset, nutrition and psychology of eating, the RMR community (warm, stimulating and full of energy) and the RMR Hero Program, with professionals and peers and coaching online. It really worked!
I will share all the insights and experiences from RMR in my work with future dietitians. I owe that to all the obese people who can benefit from a low carb or keto diet, and have been told up till now to eat enough bread and grains in their low energy diet.
I wish you and your Real Meal Revolution all the best, and I hope I will meet you and your team in person one day.
Annemarie Nijhof
Senior Lecturer
Nutrition and Dietetics Department
HAN University of Applied Sciences in Nijmegen