Diet Notes with Susie Burrell

You're eating healthy foods, exercising regularly and making a real effort with your nutrition, so why aren't you losing weight?

In this episode of Diet Notes, leading Australian dietitian Susie Burrell explains why eating for good health and eating for fat loss aren't necessarily the same thing.

From oversized portions of nutritious foods to exercise habits that can unintentionally increase your appetite, Susie explores the common reasons fat loss can stall, even when your diet looks great on paper.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why eating healthy doesn't automatically mean you're in a calorie deficit
• How stacking nutritious ingredients can add hundreds of extra calories to everyday meals
• The difference between overeating and under-fuelling, and why both deserve attention
• How exercise, appetite and recovery can influence your fat loss efforts
• Why consistency, patience and tracking progress over time matter more than daily fluctuations on the scales.
• How to make more intentional food choices based on your individual needs and goals.

Whether you're struggling to shift a few stubborn kilos or simply wondering why your healthy habits aren't delivering the results you'd hoped for, this episode offers practical insights to help you better understand the difference between eating well and eating for fat loss.

Resources

Follow Susie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susieburrelldietitian/

For information about Susie's nutrition programs or to book a consultation, email [email protected]

Are the stories you tell yourself about food, exercise and weight loss actually holding you back?

In this episode of Diet Notes, Susie draws on her 25 years of experience as a dietitian and her background in psychology to challenge some of the most common beliefs that can sabotage our weight loss efforts.

From thinking everyone else can eat whatever they like, to rewarding ourselves with food after exercise, Susie explores the mindset traps that can make achieving our goals so frustrating.

She also explains why eating healthily doesn't always translate to fat loss, how to distinguish genuine hunger from habitual snacking, and why a daily gym session might not be enough if you're spending the rest of your day sitting down.

If you're feeling like you're doing all the right things but aren't seeing results, this episode might be just the reality check you need!

Blood sugar control isn't just important for people with diabetes - it plays a key role in our metabolic health, appetite regulation and healthy ageing.

In this week's episode of Diet Notes, dietitian Susie Burrell explores the connection between blood glucose, insulin and longevity, and shares five simple strategies to help improve blood sugar control through everyday diet and lifestyle habits.

From choosing savoury breakfasts and managing sugar cravings to spacing out meals and moving after eating, Susie explains how small changes to your daily routine can make a meaningful difference.

In this episode, Susie discusses:

• Why blood glucose and HbA1c levels are worth monitoring as we age
• How savoury breakfasts may help with appetite control and sugar cravings
• Why limiting sweet snacks throughout the day can be beneficial
• The importance of allowing time between meals and snacks
• How a short walk after eating can support healthy blood glucose levels
• The role of muscle mass, carbohydrate portions and meal balance in metabolic health

Plus, Susie takes a closer look at the growing longevity trend, explaining why the foundations of good metabolic health may be far more valuable than expensive supplements and wellness fads.

Tune in for practical, achievable ways to support your blood sugar control and long-term health - without overcomplicating your diet.

Gestational diabetes may disappear after pregnancy, but does the underlying metabolic risk disappear with it?

In this episode of Diet Notes, Susie explains why a history of gestational diabetes should be treated as an important long-term warning sign for metabolic health, particularly as women move through their 30s, 40s and into perimenopause.

After seeing several women in a single week struggling with weight gain and insulin resistance years after having gestational diabetes, Susie explores why early monitoring and prevention matter so much.

She discusses the importance of keeping an eye on blood glucose and HbA1c levels over time, changes in waist measurement and weight, and the signs that glucose regulation may be becoming less efficient.

Susie also looks at the role of diet and lifestyle intervention, Metformin and GLP-1 medications, and why acting early may help prevent more significant metabolic issues later in life.

Plus, she explains why women with a history of gestational diabetes should continue having their glucose levels checked annually, even if they are young, lean and otherwise feeling well.

Next week, Susie continues the conversation with a closer look at carbohydrate loads and glucose control.

Why is it that we can have the very best intentions when it comes to our diet, yet still find ourselves falling back into the same old habits?

In this episode of Diet Notes, Susie takes a closer look at self-sabotage and some of the deeper reasons we struggle to make lasting changes to the way we eat. From early experiences with dieting and deeply ingrained food beliefs, to all-or-nothing thinking, emotional eating and simply being too exhausted to prioritise ourselves, there’s often much more going on than a lack of willpower.

Susie explores how familiar patterns can keep us stuck, why overly restrictive approaches so often backfire, and how creating more time and energy for yourself can make healthy choices far easier to sustain.

Plus, she finishes with one very simple piece of advice that can make an immediate difference: if you don’t want to eat it, stop buying it.

A practical and thought-provoking episode for anyone who feels like they’re constantly starting over with their diet and wondering why nothing seems to stick.

With summer and party season just around the corner, now is the time many of us start noticing those extra winter kilos - but the good news is, there’s still plenty of time to make a difference.

In this episode of Diet Notes, Susie shares her practical tips for shifting the last few kilos and getting fat loss moving in the right direction. From tightening up your diet and getting comfortable with a little hunger, to increasing cardio, rethinking dinner portions and cutting back on eating out, Susie breaks down the small changes that can have the biggest impact.

Plus, why your food environment matters more than willpower, when it may be worth seeing a dietitian for a personalised plan, and why the best time to start is now rather than waiting for summer to arrive.

There’s no shortage of nutrition advice online - but not all of it comes from people with the training to be prescribing diets.

In this episode of Diet Notes, Susie takes a slightly tongue-in-cheek look at five popular nutrition recommendations that you’re very unlikely to hear from a qualified dietitian.

From extremely low-calorie diets and expensive greens powders to cutting out gluten and dairy, protein bars and the idea of “cleansing” your liver, Susie explains why these approaches deserve a little more scrutiny - and why context and individual needs matter when it comes to nutrition advice.

In this episode:

• Why 800-calorie diets aren’t an appropriate everyday weight-loss strategy
• The health halo surrounding greens powders
• Why eliminating gluten or dairy shouldn’t be a blanket recommendation
• Whether protein bars are really as healthy as their marketing suggests
• Why your liver doesn’t need a “cleanse”
• The importance of evidence-based, individualised nutrition advice

A practical look at some of the nutrition trends Susie continues to see crossing her path in clinic - and why a qualified dietitian may take a very different view.

Being told you have fatty liver can be alarming - particularly if you don’t drink much alcohol, aren’t significantly overweight and generally eat well. But is fatty liver really as simple as cutting out alcohol, losing weight or following a “liver cleansing” diet?

In this episode of Diet Notes, Susie takes a closer look at the complex metabolic factors that can influence liver health and explains why an isolated elevated liver enzyme doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story.

She explores the role of family history, insulin resistance and metabolic health, along with the potential links between liver function and thyroid health, vitamin D, iron and ferritin levels, cholesterol and menopause.

Susie also discusses why popular liver cleanses and supplements may miss the underlying issue, when medications such as metformin and GLP-1s may form part of the conversation, and why getting a comprehensive blood profile and the right professional advice can be so important.

If you’ve ever been told you have fatty liver and the diagnosis just didn’t seem to make sense, this episode will help you understand why it may be worth looking a little deeper.

Do you really have a “slow” or broken metabolism - or is something else going on?

This week on Diet Notes, Susie takes a deep dive into how metabolism actually works, what influences your metabolic rate and why changes in muscle mass, activity levels and hormones can make weight management feel increasingly difficult as you get older.

Susie also clears up some of the most common metabolism myths, including whether skipping a meal will slow your metabolism, whether you need to eat every few hours, and why simply lifting weights isn’t always enough to improve metabolic efficiency.

Plus, she explains why muscle mass, insulin resistance, meal timing, protein intake and the intensity of your training can all play a role - and why rebuilding metabolic health is often a gradual process rather than a quick fix.

In this episode:

• What actually makes up your metabolism
• The difference between a “slow metabolism” and metabolic inefficiency
• Why muscle mass becomes increasingly important with age
• How strength and higher-intensity exercise can affect the way your body uses fuel
• Why skipping the occasional meal won’t “damage” your metabolism
• Whether you really need to eat every three hours
• Why Susie recommends eating more earlier in the day and less later
• How long it can take to improve metabolic health and body composition

If you’ve ever wondered why your body seems to respond differently to food and exercise than it once did, this episode will help unpack what may actually be happening.

On today’s episode, Susie tackles one of the most common questions after successful weight loss: how do you actually keep the weight off?

Whether you’ve lost a few kilos through changes to your diet and exercise, completed a structured weight loss program or used a GLP-1 medication, maintaining that loss requires a different mindset than simply reaching your goal weight.

Susie shares five key strategies for preventing weight regain and explains why your new habits need to become your new normal.

You’ll learn:

• Why returning to your old eating and exercise habits can quickly lead to weight regain
• Why changing up your diet and exercise routine can be important over time
• Simple ways to spot weight creep early without becoming obsessed with the scales
• How small “extras” like snacks, alcohol, treats and mindless munching can gradually add up
• Susie’s approach to GLP-1 medications, exercise and long-term weight management

The biggest takeaway? Maintaining weight loss isn’t about being permanently “on a diet” - it’s about finding a sustainable way of eating and living that supports the weight you want to maintain.