By now we’re sure you would have heard of Chloe McLeod, the fantastic APD behind ‘The FODMAP Challenge’. We recently sat down with Chloe to find out more about the lady behind the business… read on to learn more!
Chloe’s background: I’ve been working as a dietitian for nearly 8 years, and have had a variety of roles, though most of my experience has been working in private practice. In my first job, which was a community based role, I was sent to the FODMAP education course at Monash, which is where my interest in FODMAPs was developed, after doing my final year research project at uni on IBD. Since then, I’ve been lucky enough to work with many people with IBS and other gut issues. A while ago I realised that there was a gap in the market for an online program like The FODMAP Challenge, and it has grown from there! Whilst I live in Sydney now, I grew up in the country, and whilst we were lucky to have a great health service in my town, I know that not everyone is that lucky. One of my favourite things about The FODMAP Challenge is it can be done from anywhere; it removes geography as a barrier to working with someone who specialises in what you require. Personally, I’ve had food intolerances myself my whole life, which I feel very lucky that I am able to manage relatively well most of the time now, and it is one of the main reasons I became interested in nutrition in the first place. Improving individuals quality of life through feeling better each day, because of being able to make the right food choices for them is the reason I love what I do; there is no better feeling than when you can see the change in someone who now has the tools to help them live the life they want to lead.
The FODMAP Challenge – how does it work? The FODMAP Challenge has three parts, the elimination phase, food challenge phase and reintroduction phase. It is designed to be done wholly online, through meal plans, recipes, facebook group and live video discussions. Going through the process alone can feel isolating to some people, so doing it as a group, when you know others are going through, or have been through the same thing as you can make it easier. Plus having access to myself, Kate (also an experienced dietitian), or even other group members, to ask questions to 24/7 through the private group makes it much easier to feel fully supported. That said, if anyone needs more individualised support, we can see them face to face, or through skype sessions as required.
We are also working at partnering with other companies who provide FODMAP friendly products; we want our clients to have access to, and know about the different products out there, so that eating a low FODMAP diet is as easy as possible! We’ve had some great support already from a number of companies who make FODMAP Friendly products, which has been really well received by our clients.
Feedback on the Challenge so far:
So far, the feedback we’ve received has been really positive, and it’s been great to see people sharing their creations in the facebook group. We’ve implemented two types of meal plans (so far) based on if you like to cook regularly, or if you’d prefer to only cook a couple of times per week, and this has received lots of positive comments!
Practicing as a dietician:
I currently see clients face to face through Balmain Sports Medicine, and Redfern Physiotherapy and Sports Medicine in Sydney, and also offer skype or phone consults.
Biggest mistakes patients make on a low FODMAP diet:
The most common mistake I see is people thinking they need to stay completely low FODMAP long term; this is unnecessary and restrictive, and having the knowledge of what your individual triggers are is empowering!
Favourite low FODMAP foods to use in cooking:
I absolutely love the Cobram Estate Garlic infused olive oil, garlic is one of my personal favourite flavours, so this gets used a lot in my recipes! Otherwise I love including walnuts and macadamias, and natural peanut butter; they’re so versatile and can be used in so many things. And I love including blueberries and spinach as well, for the delicious flavour, and nutritional ‘punch’ they provide.
Where can people go to find more about Chloe’s work?
www.facebook.com/thefodmapchallenge/
www.instagram.com/chloe_mcleod_dietitian/
