Body By Eats Interview with Leigh Peele

If you are a long-time reader of LiveWell360.com you are probably familiar with Leigh Peele, trainer and author from North Carolina who specializes in metabolic and fat loss research. Leigh was our knight in shining armor in many ways. I love the quote from Buddha,

“When the student is ready, the teacher appears.”

So true, so true. To make a very long story short, Leigh was our trainer for over a year and was the person who helped us to flip the fat loss switch, and learn to pay attention. That is really her thing. Direct, to the point, no tricky stuff or beating around the bush. That’s Leigh. And I am so proud and excited that she is launching a new book, called Body By Eats, that is sure to make some serious waves not only in world of fat loss, but also in the cookbook industry as well.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Leigh and talk to her one on one about fat loss, Body By Eats, and what else… oh yeah, FOOD.

The Fat Loss Foundation

Sheila: You have a very unique style – the no-nonsense approach – which is what drew Ryan and me to you in the first place. We were done with trying to “figure it out” and just wanted plain and simple fat loss answers. I know this is an integral part of who you are, but what made you decide to bring this skill to the fitness industry?

Leigh: I got in this field, and please forgive me for the cliché, to help people. I also saw that there was a hole in the industry for the types of things I had to say or more so the way I say them. Different people can help you in different ways. I think there is room for multiple cooks in the kitchen when they are all contributing something valuable to the table.

Sheila: I absolutely agree. Sometimes all it takes is to hear something a slightly different way and suddenly it clicks. You’ve got to resonate with your coach for the knowledge to sink in and become part of who you, “the student,” are. I’ve said this before, but that is totally why Ryan and I were able to start the gigantic rock of fat loss rolling. When our path crossed with yours, we were open to erasing everything that we had previously “learned” and to doing exactly what you said to do and you were open to not just telling us what to do, but explaining the “why” behind it. I think that the ability to teach and inspire is such an important part of what makes a good food coach and trainer.

Leigh: Well, I read a LOT of research and I find nutrition and weight loss to be my constant draws. Don’t get me wrong; I love helping people increasing their athletic performance and I love helping a skinny guy add on pounds of pure muscle but, there is something about seeing a person transform in front of your eyes and melt away into this new person. It’s downright addictive.

Sheila: That is so funny that you say that because when I look at our before and after pictures, that is exactly what I see. We both look like totally different people. Speaking of our journey, the book that you wrote based on the same principles that you taught us, The Fat Loss Troubleshoot (FLT), has been off the charts successful. YAY!! Can you give a brief rundown of what that book is about?

Leigh: Thanks, I’ve worked hard on it. It is way beyond just a book at this point and will continue to be so as it is constantly updated. In short, the package is about how to achieve and maintain life-long fat loss.

I wrote the FLT for everyone that has ever been baffled by fat loss. Everyone from bodybuilders to recovering anorexics are covered in this collection. I included everything from program designs, to explanations about various myths, to nutritional strategies… all the stuff that people rarely learn yet need to understand. It literally puts you in control of fat loss so that you are not blindly following a program and then wondering why it’s not working.

For example, take something like Billy Blanks Tae-Bo system. Millions of people have bought this system and for some people it works, but for most it does not. This is because people don’t understand how it is supposed to work in the first place. They think that a different DVD is going to cause a different reaction and it doesn’t work that way. You have to understand how fat loss works first and then if you want to get creative about how to go about it, fine. I am about teaching you the science and the facts.

Sheila: And THAT is why you are “The Fat Loss Troubleshooter.” Haha.

Leigh: Yeah. Haha. Fat loss just gets me going. I can’t help it!

Sheila: But The Fat Loss Troubleshoot is currently unavailable due to updates, correct? When will you re-release it?

Leigh: Correct. I am updating it for re-release but it will be available for the 3-day launch of Body By Eats, as an addition if the customer so desires to select it. I intend to re-release it to the public in regular fashion by the beginning of 2010. However everyone who has bought ANY version of it will always get any future updates (including this re-release) for free.

Food For Thought

Sheila: Sweet! I’m excited to see what new goodies you add. So let’s talk about Body By Eats. Give us the scoop on the basic premise of the book?

Leigh: Originally I wanted to call it “The Caloric Burn Cookbook” because I was going to focus primarily on my research with caloric burn in everyday movement and how important general activity is to achieving your fat loss goal. Caloric burn is not static, we burn a different amount of calories based on the activity we perform each day, which is a constant variable. Cooking is an amazing way to achieve that burn (activity) and in turn become connected to food in the right way. The most important aspect of cooking for fat loss is to embrace food. I want people to not only be able to love to eat, but also to learn to cook amazing food that allows them to stick to their fat loss plan. I want to remove the idea from their heads that healthy food is bland food. The best chefs in the world use whole, fresh ingredients to make the most incredible food and the majority of the time, the calories are not that high. It is all about perception.

Another topic I cover in Body By Eats is public health and the food industry as a whole. As I was writing the book I started to get really caught up in the constant discussions that were occurring about the food industry. Things like high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and organics. I had personally been someone who bought organic foods and went out of my way to support local farming and businesses. Then I started learning more about it and realized, like most things in life, what I thought I knew wasn’t true at all.

So the book kind of took a detour to cover more than just caloric burn, and focuses instead on the whole package of embracing life, our health, activity, etc.

Sheila: That really is the foundation to maintaining fat loss for the long-term, isn’t it? And there is a membership site that goes along with the book, right? What role does that play?

Leigh: The membership site is a crucial part of the program. It is the long-term support where you get things like new cookbooks every month, a members only forum, videos, articles, live calls with me, and more. I look at the book and the recipes as an introduction into this knowledge and a stepping-stone for using the site and the forums to go deeper in that awareness. Also getting a chance to talk with me on an on-going basis helps with the accelerated learning because a lot can be resolved with that 1-on-1 verbal dialogue.

Sheila: It sounds like you have really covered every angle to set people up with life-long success! Ok, so let’s talk food, my favorite part. Tell me what I get with Body By Eats.

Leigh: Yeah, the important stuff, right? Haha. Well, with the first package alone you are going to receive 100+ recipes to work with and then you get a new book with 30 additional recipes each month. So, essentially, you will have a new recipe to use every day for the entire year, and then some. There are also chances to win additional recipe books.

And these aren’t your standard run of the mill recipes either. They take macros into account like no other cookbook does. You can measure in grams or cups. You have all the stats you need and you also have access to other members in the forums for support on any troubleshoot “how to” type questions if you get stuck. And like I mentioned, there will also be videos, general food tips, and more.

Sheila: So give me a few teaser recipes…

Leigh: Well, let’s see… there’s Tiramisu Without the Blues, Shepherds Corny Beef Pie, there’s Who Needs Apple Pie French Toast, the I Can Have Bacon and Cheese Chicken Sandwich, and Pulled BBQ with Salty Sweet Fries to name a few.

Sheila: What about vegans or vegetarians? Can they use Body By Eats?

Leigh: Yes, absolutely, Body By Eats is 100% vegetarian friendly. There is a specific download for vegetarians and vegans and there will be additional vegetarian and vegan friendly recipes in the future as well. Also, as part of the monthly cookbooks, there will be other focuses as well, like gluten-free recipes, culture specific recipes, like Thai food, and kids will even be getting a bonus manual too.

Sheila: Cool. So there is no excuse for not expanding our healthy foodie horizons. I know first-hand how easy it is to get stuck on the chicken and veggie meals day in and day out because that is the only thing you know how to make quickly and easily, that falls in line with your fat loss plan! So, if there was one point that you wanted to get across about Body By Eats what would that be?

Leigh: Body By Eats is about the concept of getting back to the good in life and not being afraid of food, but rather embracing it. We are scared of food because we are afraid of gaining fat. We are scared of food because of what it does to the earth to produce it. We are scared of food because of what we hear it can do to our bodies. I want to remove all of that and in the process give you good eats and the body you want and deserve.

Sheila: Thanks so much for chatting, Leigh! I can’t wait to get in the kitchen and dive into some of these fantastic looking recipes. The pictures alone have me drooling!

Leigh: My pleasure! Thank you, Sheila, for having me.

For more info on Leigh’s new book, check out www.BodyByEatsBook.com