WOMEN WHO INSPIRE
Eat Clean,
but Enjoy Your Life
DR. KATIE DRAKE SHERER RECOMMENDS BALANCE
S t o r y a n d P h o t o b y Vi c k i B e n n i n g t o n
L
ooking back, Dr. Katie Drake Sherer believes she has had
an eating disorder since high school.
“I was never officially diagnosed, but I would try not to
eat so I would lose weight, and then binge because I had
been depriving myself so much,” Sherer said.
Now, as a nutritionist and chiropractor, she said that 70 percent of
her nutrition patients have admitted to the same kind of binge-eating
that she dealt with herself. But she’s changed all that now – for herself
and her patients.
Sherer earned a bachelor’s degree in biology at Illinois College in
Jacksonville, Illinois, later attending Logan University in St. Louis,
studying chiropractics. There, she met Jacob Sherer, who eventually
became her husband.
“He introduced me to programs on healthy eating and total body
wellness. I saw that as a chiropractor, I could also focus on nutrition,”
Sherer said. “It snowballed from there. I took more nutrition classes
and did more research, all the while still struggling to find my own
balance with food.
“As I started to learn more about ‘eating clean,’ and how dangerous
processed foods can be for you, I began to eliminate anything boxed
or bagged, and it made a difference for me,” she said. “As I learned to
allow myself to live my life – and eat well most of the time, I was able to
maintain my weight and feel ‘normal.’”
She and Jacob eventually opened their own chiropractic practice where
both work to offer a range of programs focused on overall health. Sherer
has applied the principles she’s learned in her practice, utilizing a holistic
approach to nutritional counseling to assist her patients in achieving
health-oriented goals, while living a maintainable, yet healthy, lifestyle.
At home, she uses only whole foods and fresh ingredients, uses tricks
like substituting Greek yoghurt for sour cream, spreading sunflower butter
instead of margarine, and choosing alternatives to sugar and flour like
almond or brown rice flour that are not processed or bleached, and contain
natural enzymes and fatty acids, which are so important for women.
“Ninety percent of what you put in your mouth is mental, and you
need to be 100 percent in control,” she said. “When you figure out how
to eat clean, you feel full. Substituting healthier options allows you to
enjoy even your favorite foods.”
Bottom line: Try to eat foods in their most natural state, with no
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GAZELLE STL
sugars or artificial sweeteners, no dyes, no preservatives or chemical
additives (most of the time). “Most foods billed as low-fat are still
processed foods. Basically, if it is natural – it can run, jump swim or fly
or grows in the ground – it’s good for you. Good fats come from olive
oil, avocados, nuts and cheese,” she said.
But if you are going to dinner with friends or you have a birthday
party to attend, you don’t have to stand on the sidelines. After all, the
majority of social events revolve around food and drink, and partaking
with others makes life more fun.
“If you eat well (clean) most days, you can afford to live a little on
social occasions, have pizza once a week with your kids, or eat a cupcake
at a baby shower,” Sherer said. “You can’t be too obsessive because that’s
not sustainable. You’ve got to find a balance. It doesn’t have to be all or
nothing. That has been my own lesson to learn, and I make it as easy as
I can on myself. Give yourself zero excuses to fail.”
She sets aside time every Sunday to prepare meals for the upcoming
week (and admits she sometimes has to force herself to do it). Every day,
the clean-eating dinner is in the freezer, ready to pop into the crockpot
or skillet. She also keeps a food diary and provides variety in her meals.
Sherer finds and/or develops new recipes and has produced one clean-
eating cookbook, “Not So Guilty Pleasures.” A second cookbook is due
for release this fall, which also includes a restaurant guide.
“It all goes so far beyond weight loss,” she said. “By simply changing
nutritional habits, it can help control diabetes, thyroid levels, blood
pressure, gastrointestinal problems, chronic inflammation, heartburn
and polycystic ovarian syndrome.”
Staying physically active has been another important element for
Sherer. That can mean walking the neighborhood with your best friend,
playing your favorite sport or going to the gym, like Sherer, who lifts
weights with interval training to stay toned. She has competed in two
body-building competitions.
“Find something you like and get moving,” she said.
Under the name Dr. Katie’s Kitchen, Sherer and her team lead groups
through a seven-day meal preparation of healthy, clean-eating dinners
in a party-type atmosphere.
“And Jacob and I love to try new restaurants,” she said. “You don’t have
to stay at home to eat healthy or lose weight. Never be afraid to ask for a
dish without sauces, cheese or oils. And portion control is so important.”