Live Better With Tips From Nutritionist & Co-Founder Of Re:vitalize Weight Loss: Dan LeMoine
Dan is passionate about helping others get healthy and reclaim their best lives.
He holds two board certifications in holistic nutrition and has been passionate about fitness and nutrition for as long as he can remember. Originally from Ohio, Dan and his wife Danae (also a nutritionist on staff at re:vitalize) moved to Phoenix in 2017 to open their Arizona location. (He is still trying to get used to the heat.)
Read into Dan’s day-in-a-life as we chat all things food, re:vitalize weightloss, health & wellness tips, and more.
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m Dan LeMoine — a husband, dad/foster dad, board-certified nutritionist, and co-founder (alongside my wife and Dr. Noel Abood) of re:vitalize weight loss & wellness. I’m also a best-selling author. I love traveling, running, skateboarding, stand-up paddle boarding, and spending time with my family.
Where do you consider to be your culinary home; a city or country that helped inform or inspire your love of food, health, or nutrition?
I’m from the Midwest (Ohio) and don’t feel like I personally have a strong “culinary home.” However, my wife is Lebanese-American and we LOVE Mediterranean and Lebanese culture and food. This has greatly shaped my love of food more than anything else. Additionally, seeing many family and friends eating the standard American diet and their resulting obesity-related issues has also inspired my passion for health and nutrition and the powerful role food can play — positively or negatively — in our lives.
Is there a story behind starting re:vitalize weightloss? What makes the program’s offerings unique for those interested in boosting their health/nutrition or accomplishing their weight goals?
My co-founder, Dr. Noel Abood, suffered a heart attack at 49 while on the tennis court, despite being a relatively healthy guy and a holistic healthcare practitioner! This launched a years-long search for a way to use food to turn things around. This was really the start of his focus on creating a weight loss that just made sense — free from using medication or drugs or crash tactics.
The program Dr. Abood created and we’ve continued to evolve is rooted in giving each person a fully customized plan (using our bio scan technology and expert staff) and providing the support and wrap-around nutrition team that truly cares to help members get life-changing results.
If one-size-fits-all doesn’t work for t-shirts, it certainly doesn’t work for weight loss and nutrition. Our bodies are different and the things affecting all of our metabolisms are different. It stands to reason that each person ought to have their own bespoke plan to address their biological and lifestyle needs to get lasting results. That’s what we do best at re:vitalize.
Some say the best way to bring people together is through food. What kinds of foods bring your audience together?
We have a very active and engaged private membership community — they are super encouraging and often celebrate one another on their individual paths toward living healthier lives. They also bond over food. The foods that we see bring our members together are healthy takes on what otherwise would be considered “unhealthy” foods. For example, each week we’ll see someone post how they discovered a new product made with little-to-no processed sugar that is just as good as the original (like Stevia chocolate chips) or a candy apple they figured out how to make themselves in a healthy way. Healthy food doesn’t have to be bland or boring — you just have to be a little creative!
Cocktails can liven up the culinary experience. Any top tips for cocktails in regard to weight loss, health, and nutrition?
Finding mixers that are low-to-no sugar is key. There are some really fun flavored sodas and tonic waters on the market today that are sweetened with Stevia leaf extract instead of sugar that can be great for enjoying yourself but keeping your sugar intake low. That said, alcohol is a pretty ugly neurotoxin especially when overconsumed. It negatively affects sleep, is a diuretic (dehydrates you), and has a negative effect on the metabolism. In a perfect world, it ought to be avoided most days.
What food and wellness tips can you share with our readers?
So many. My big four are:
.) Protein is key. Getting sufficient protein is key. Whether it’s plant-based or animal, making sure your body is properly fueled with this key macronutrient is so important for maintaining muscle mass, fueling your metabolism, and feeling full.
2.) Proper hydration for a healthy metabolism. Making sure you’re drinking enough water and that the water you’re drinking has electrolytes and trace minerals helps lay the foundation for healthy cells and almost all your body’s metabolic processes.
3.) Lots of veggies. Most of what we eat should be plants. We simply don’t eat enough veggies.
4.) Sleep sleep sleep. Sleep really is the magic pill of health and wellness. You can be doing a lot right, but if your sleep is off (not getting enough or not getting deep restorative sleep) things won’t run smoothly. Your body repairs itself at night so having a strong bedtime routine at a consistent time is so important for metabolic health, biochemical and hormonal health, weight management, and overall good feels.
What is one thing that you hope your readers take away with re:vitalize weightloss?
You don’t have to fear food. It’s one of the things we say most often to our clients — “don’t fear food.” Too many weight loss programs rely on quick fixes like medications or bars/shakes, coupled with restrictive diets, to help people lose weight only to regain it when the diet ends. We believe that if we can address the underlying metabolic issues, and give you a custom plan which outlines which foods are best for your body, you can enjoy the foods you love (within reason, of course) without fear of yo-yo-ing.
Has re:vitalize weight loss always been your career plan?
My original career plan was to play professional sports. I graduated college with a business degree but with a mission to play rugby at the highest level I could. My passion for rugby took me to Edinburgh, Scotland, to play for a team there. I then spent some time in corporate finance before making my way to the nonprofit world where I worked for half a decade doing economic and educational development work in the Dominican Republic. re:vitalize really is an extension of all my prior work experience — I loved how food and nutrition affect my body and performance on the sports field (and life), I loved business and entrepreneurship, and I loved working in the nonprofit world where I saw my work truly changing lives. re:vitalize sits at the middle of all these passions I’ve discovered along the way.
What’s a typical day like for you? What do you eat in a day?
I’m usually spending the mornings helping my wife out with my daughter and then make my way to one of our offices. How my time is spent has shifted considerably over the last couple of years where I’m spending less time with members in the nutritional coaching capacity and more time managing our various teams as re:vitalize continues to grow its impact in our clinics and virtually with our remote program options.
One of the most gratifying things has been seeing our nutrition team grow and seeing my staff outshine me. We have health coaches and nutritionists on staff who are extremely more gifted than I am and seeing them walk alongside our members through our life-changing program is so wonderful.
I usually start the day with a big glass of water and a pinch of high-quality pink Hawaiian salt or hydrogen-rich water.
Some days I eat breakfast, and some days I intermittently fast and skip breakfast. Just depends on how I feel. I have learned to listen to my body on these things vs. making a hard rule to follow always.
If I am eating breakfast, it’s usually 2 eggs and a piece of toast or a protein-rich smoothie with some frozen fruit, whey or vegan protein, flax seed, hemp, and chia seeds. And LOTS of spinach.
Lunch is usually leftovers or a salad.
Dinner is normally lots of vegetables, a whole grain like rice or farro, and a small amount of animal protein like chicken or steak, or salmon.
My snacks usually include yogurt or a beef jerky-type protein-rich snack and cut-up veggies.
Do you prefer to cook, eat out, or do a quick-service delivery?
My wife is a wonderful cook. We also are foodies and love to try new foods and restaurants so we eat out often, too.
What are some of the best food or nutrition apps to have?
We don’t ask our members to count or restrict calories so there aren’t many apps I can recommend. Dr. Greger‘s Daily Dozen app is great. He wrote How Not To Die which is a staple around our office!
The Fox Magazine is all about inspiration, what or who inspires you the most?
Little kids inspire me on so many levels. Their curiosity, excitement, and innocence are something we should all be looking to learn from and get back to. In the realm of food in particular littles are the most intuitive of eaters. From a very young age, if given the choice they will naturally gravitate toward what their body needs — proteins, carbs, or fats. Emotionally, they feel no shame or guilt about what they’re eating or how much they’re eating, or what their bodies look like. They are simply living life freely. We could all use some of that.
What’s something people would be surprised to learn about you?
People are often surprised I come from a family where both of my parents and many relatives wrestle with their weight or have weight issues and don’t have genetics on my side. I often get comments to the effect of: “You look really healthy. I assumed you had great genetics.”
What’s your favorite food-related motto, quote, or words to live by?
“Treat treats like treats.” or “Just eat your damn veggies.”
I always get a smile out of that last one, which we have made into a sign at one of our offices.
Connect with Dan & re:vitalize weightloss!
