When the Huffington Post named identical twins Lyssie Lakatos and Tammie Lakatos-Shames one of the Top 20 Nutrition Experts to Follow on Twitter in 2012, no one was more shocked than them.
“We had no clue we were up for it,” they said. “Then there was our picture and it was totally unexpected.”
Yet even with their tens of thousands of Twitter followers, millions of fans on Pinterest, thousands of Facebook fans and huge website following, Tammy and Lyssie, better known as The Nutrition Twins, are some of the most approachable, engaging, attentive experts out there. They are beautiful and smart, their bubbly personalities draw people in, and it’s not uncommon for them to personally reply to tweets, comments and Facebook posts from their fans.
Their social media pages are full of everything a person needs to lose weight, get healthy and achieve total wellness. They are the experts to follow because they offer pro tips and advice, motivation, fitness and workout routines for both beginners and advanced, and recipes that provide energy boosts, fat-burning kick-starts, easy on-the-go snacks and much, much more.
The Nutrition Twins believe in giving people advice and training tips they can practically apply in their every day life. They believe moderation is the key to making lasting changes, and that people should focus on what they can do rather than what they can’t.
“When people focus on the positive, it makes it much easier to make a lifestyle change,” said the twins.
It’s not uncommon for them to be seen on shows like Good Morning America demonstrating how cleaning can become a fun workout, talking about how to lose weight by decreasing sodium on The Doctors, or providing food tips on Wake Up With Al Roker that make adding vegetables to daily meals a cinch.
“People think that overnight they might have to do something hardcore,” said the twins. “But it’s really working in more vegetables into what you’re already eating.”
The Nutrition Twins said one of their biggest motivations is helping make people more aware that healthy food can taste better than processed foods.
“Ads aren’t for healthy foods, they’re for processed foods. And that’s a problem,” they said. “If they’re not exposed to healthy foods often, they may eat them, but they taste bad and it’s no wonder they don’t want to keep eating them.”
To give people access to healthier options, the twins constantly add tasty recipes to their website. Recipes like their Sweet BBQ Chickpea Bursts put a fun twist on a traditional health food that even the man-of-the-house will want to gobble down in droves. (And seriously, who wouldn't love a yummy health-food coated in sweet BBQ sauce? Um, yes please!)
They also advocate for making small changes towards both food and fitness.
“Walk 10 minutes outside your front door and then turn around and walk back – that’s 20 minutes,” they said. “Then, gradually increase it.”
As the authors of Fire Up Your Metabolism, the Nutrition Twins put their own bodies to the test so they could offer different foods and methods that will kick-start any person’s metabolism and help them burn fat faster.
They also co-wrote The Secret to Skinny, their guide to cutting out high-sodium foods. The system has already helped thousands lose the weight for good.
Some of their soundest advice, to eat vegetables more often, will be given practical application in their upcoming book Veggie Cure, where they offer expert advice and tantalizing recipes for health, energy and beauty.
“Veggies are the ultimate magic weapon for weight loss,” said the twins. “We wanted to give people a foolproof way to use them. No matter what your goal is – better skin, weight loss, lowering blood pressure – we tell you why they work and what recipes to match.”
Veggie Cure will be released in January.
Ultimately, the Nutrition Twins want to impact people’s lives and help them understand that they don’t have to give up everything they love to lead a healthy lifestyle or lose weight. Rather, they need to feel good about what they are doing so they can achieve true wellness.
“So many people struggle with feeling good,” said the twins. “When they get ahold of their health and habits, it’s really rewarding to watch people fulfill their dreams.”
Author: Caitlin H
Diet-to-Go Community Manager
Caitlin is the Diet-to-Go community manager and an avid runner. She is passionate about engaging with others online and maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle. She believes moderation is key, and people will have the most weight loss success if they engage in common-sense healthy eating and fitness.