Nutrition Coach Feature: Zeynep's Approach | Bodzii

Meet Zeynep! She joined BODZii in March 2020 and has coached 23 clients so far. Originally from Istanbul, she came to Canada to advance her knowledge of nutrition and health. As someone who has struggled with an eating disorder before, she knows it is more than just knowledge but an attitude towards seeing food as fuel. When she coaches her clients, she wants to be 100% sure that the individual has a mentally healthy and positive relationship with food. 

That’s why she’s hosting an Intro to Carbs webinar to help people understand why they shouldn’t be scared of carbs, how glycemic index works and build better habits. Join us Aug 12 at 6:30pm!

‍Fitness goals:

‍She is training to run a half marathon! She used to do regular bodybuilding, but she has shifted towards crossfit, running, sports and gymnastics.

Hobbies:

‍Hiking, watercolor painting and reading books on herbs.

Nutrition coaching style:

‍Supportive, goal-focused, and motivational with occasional memes. She'll never put you down and has lifelong change in mind for you! For the first two weeks, she focuses on having a good food mentality first and setting good habits. Check out some of her recipes on our blog and Instagram highlights!

What clients say about Zeynep:

‍“Zeynep is very responsive which is awesome. She took the time to go through my goals, my schedule and broke down what meals to include to give me energy for my workouts vs. being at work. I noticed a difference in my energy pretty quickly.” - Nicholas Merianos, lost 11 lbs in 6 weeks

“I couldn’t have asked for a better coach. Zeynep is great at coaching but also being very understanding and supportive of bad weeks. She’s helping me maintain a healthy lifestyle even if I don’t have a huge fitness goal right now.” - Brenna German, went from only eating out to regular meal prepping

“If I’m feeling unmotivated, Zeynep will give me something new to focus on that week. It’s helpful having her hold me accountable. I’m learning to control my eating and build good habits.” Anna V, upped her calories from 1500 to 2000 calories and lost weight as a result

Q&A

What would you say to someone new to our nutrition coaching program?

“Whether you have a specific goal of fat loss, muscle gain, or just want to control a crazy habit, we’re here! Even if you are just looking to maintain a healthy lifestyle, we are here to support you.

Don’t worry if you’re not sure where to start. We provide resources and knowledge, so you can make the informed decision to apply them. Sticking to a certain goal alone can be hard to do long-term. We are not here to control your every choice, but to help hold you accountable.

It can be tough to see where you need to change a habit, or if there’s a block in your mentality towards food that’s holding you back. That’s why it’s better to move forward with a nutrition coach.”

How do you help someone achieve a healthy food mentality?

"I suggest normalizing every type of food. I encourage people not to demonize certain types of food or label certain foods a healthy or unhealthy. To me, there is no healthy or unhealthy food, just foods that we have to consume more or less considering our goals. It can be related to physical appearance, athletic performance, or just feeling better in your own skin.

Right now this is the first thing I say to clients which helps people change their mentality towards food. The second thing is about cravings. Often times, these cravings especially for high sugar or high fat food come from restricting yourself too much or not getting enough macronutrients during meal times.

If you restrict yourself too much, your body is more likely to want it.  It's much better to be strategic and have a routine around getting enough nutrients during mealtimes and setting specific times to snack in order to keep it under control."

What are some of your favourite memories with BODZii?

‍‍“I really like seeing my clients achieve their goals! I feel happy seeing their before and after photos, knowing they achieved their weight loss goals, even helping them manage their stress and stick to a regular meal plan.

It’s a great feeling encouraging someone to achieve their goals and showing them they have the power to do that!

I’ve had clients that actually overtrain or eat too little. It’s a mentality shift, but once they’re open to increasing food intake and following suggestions, they can lose weight from improving their eating habits. One of my clients did three or four sessions a day with the goal to lose weight. We worked on letting her rest more, since putting too much stress on your body puts it into starvation mode where it resists fat loss.”

Are their food myths that might be holding you back?

Stay tuned for Zeynep’s Intro to Carbs webinar here to better understand your body's relationship with carbs.