Diet Notes with Susie Burrell

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.

There’s more information about perimenopause than ever before - but is all of it actually helping?

In this episode of Diet Notes, Susie cuts through some of the increasingly noisy advice surrounding nutrition, exercise and supplements during perimenopause. Drawing on her clinical experience working with women, she questions some of the blanket recommendations now dominating social media and explains why what works for one woman may be completely inappropriate for another.

Susie discusses why weight and calorie needs can become complicated as our lifestyles change, why more protein isn’t necessarily always better, and why focusing exclusively on strength training may mean an important piece of the exercise puzzle is being missed.

She also takes a closer look at the booming perimenopause supplement industry, the importance of considering who your health advice is coming from, and why individualised guidance from appropriately qualified professionals matters.

In this episode:
Why perimenopause has become such a crowded health conversation
The changing relationship between calories, lifestyle and body weight
Why protein recommendations shouldn’t be one-size-fits-all
Strength training vs cardio - and why Susie believes women need both
Walking, movement and getting your heart rate up
Supplements including creatine, magnesium, collagen and protein powders
Why qualifications matter when taking nutrition and supplement advice
GLP-1 medications and the importance of appropriate, individualised care
How to quieten the noise and focus on what is actually relevant to you
If you’ve found yourself overwhelmed by conflicting perimenopause advice online, this episode is a reminder that more information isn’t always better - and that your nutrition, training and health strategy should ultimately fit you.