Lori Bergman began her journey to becoming a naturopath with the Alternative Medicine College of Canada, then became a licensed and practicing nutrition coach with Precision Nutrition as a Level 1 Coach in Exercise Nutrition. She took her education further and received certification in Nutrition & Healthy Living with Cornell University and became a licensed Naturopath in 2019.
In 2020, Lori wrote and published a cookbook, Kitchen Confident, and created Alithini Nutrition, a nutrition coaching company with the goal of promoting healthy living and improving quality of life through dietary and lifestyle changes. She also works as a Property Administrator for a commercial and industrial real estate company and is the single mom of a teenage daughter.
How did you get into the world of nutrition?
For what seemed like my whole life, I felt that I was overweight. There was always a new diet or new trend that would come out and I was the first one to jump on the bandwagon and give it a shot. Sometimes they would work, but the weight always seemed to creep back on, with a little extra to add insult to injury. It was so frustrating!
After my daughter was born, I was the heaviest I had ever been, and I decided that it was enough. I was not comfortable in my own skin, and I knew I was at my lowest point. Changes had to be made. I remember sitting down and creating a list of every potential diet I could do and the only one that made sense to me at the time was Weight Watchers because I wanted to eat the foods I enjoyed without having to buy someone else’s meals. Plus, I also needed to learn portion control and WW was perfect for that so, when it was all said and done, I ended up losing 45 lbs and felt like a new person. I wanted to share my experience and help others who were on their journey, so for four years afterwards, I worked for them as a leader.
I knew that there was so much more to the science of nutrition, and I was dying to learn more so I went back to school and received my degree as a naturotherapist in 2014, which just started the obsession with wanting to know more. From there, I just kept investigating other respected programs and added more and more knowledge so I could coach as many people as possible.
What are three of the major points people need to know about weight loss?
You can eat EVERYTHING. There is no need to eliminate food groups, since our bodies need all of them. The key is portion control and frequency. Cookies are fine! Pasta is fine! It just becomes a question of how often you are eating them.
Protein is your best friend when you are trying to lose weight. It will keep you fuller longer, so adding a bit more to your meals (about 30%, depending on your goals), will help immensely. Check with a health professional to be sure it’s safe for you.
Adding vegetables to your meals will also help keep you full and you’ll get a myriad of vitamins and nutrients to fuel your body. Try a new one every week to get as much variety as possible and a simple internet search will help you find recipes to incorporate them into your diet in a delicious way.
What inspired you to write a cookbook?
One recurring theme I noticed as a nutrition coach was that clients were excited to start working with me but, when they would start out, they had no idea what to eat. To get them started, I provided them with recipes that had worked for me when I was trying to lose weight, then I would create more and more recipes, which I collected. That was when one of my clients gave me the idea for a cookbook, which led to publishing Kitchen Confident in 2020. It was a labour of love, taking almost three years to complete because I was working two jobs and parenting at the same time. Lots of work, terrifying, and incredibly exciting all at the same time!
The name of your company is Alithini Nutrition. Where does that name come from and why did you choose it?
Alithini is the Greek word for “true”. I chose that name for several reasons, the main one being what we eat has a huge impact on our health. It can either fuel us for strength and endurance or it can negatively impact an illness. The best part about nutrition is that no matter what your age, no matter what your goals are, as soon as you start eating healthier, everything improves. Whether you want to make the changes for fat loss, or to reduce your chances of heart disease, diabetes, digestive issues, etc., a great number of medical issues can be improved as soon as you modify your diet. Once you adjust it and bring it into alignment with what a balanced diet should resemble, your health tends to fall into place like pieces of a puzzle.
What kind of philosophy do you adopt with your clients?
The relationship between client and coach is a partnership. I am there to help my clients become the best version of themselves and to help them achieve their goals by providing them with information, support, and encouragement. I want to know what their objectives are and what made them want to seek a coach in the first place. Did they see their doctor and the blood test results were concerning? Did they have a medical scare? The answers to those questions are key, and I use that along with an extensive discussion about their lifestyle, work, stress level, and sleep quality, to come up with a health plan. One aspect of your life can affect another so, the more I know, the easier it will be to help the client achieve the result they are seeking.
I like to begin by talking about diet and seeing what we can do to improve the quality first before I potentially introduce anything else. Exercise or movement is important, but I focus more on the other aspects to start with.
What are your goals or dreams you want to accomplish within the next 5 years?
I’m already in the process of creating a second cookbook, so that is going to be within the next two to three years and I have plans to grow Alithini Nutrition to create a centre where I can offer various services as a “one-stop shop” for healthy living, but that may be more on the ten-year plan than five! Right now, I am thoroughly enjoying the creative process of cooking healthy meals, being a mom, and helping my clients achieve their best lives.
