Susie Colles, PhD

Susie is a dietitian and researcher turned natural health practitioner on a journey.

Today she is a passionate Ayurvedic practitioner, Yoga therapist, counsellor and

health writer, working online and face-to-face, guiding people’s knowhow and

practices toward balanced health, self-knowledge, and spiritual freedom.

During the first stage of her thirty-year career Susie worked and researched in Western clinical and public health settings. She experienced peoples’ struggles, and reflected deeply on what, how, and why people eat; why they do and don't exercise; what causes disease; and what exactly health is. At the personal level, Susie bore her own 'diet mentality', exercised stringently, and suffered debilitating inflammatory bowel disease, sinus pain, and migraines.

Disillusioned with Western approaches, Susie spent time in Africa and remote Australian settings then, seven years ago moved to India. Here she began formally studying Āyurveda and extending her exploration of Yoga. As Susie's knowledge and practices developed, finally the science and art of healthcare, nutrition and joyful living truly resonated. She found therapeutic answers; deepening relations with food, body, mind and spirit; and ever-broadening definitions of health.

Specific Endeavours

A gymnastic coach throughout her teenage years.

After schooling, Susie completed a B App Sci in Human Movement.

This led to jobs in the health industry in Melbourne and London, including gymnasium, aerobics and swim instructing, and roles in centre management.

She returned to uni to study chemistry and biochemistry, then a Masters in Nutrition and Dietetics.

Susie worked for almost a decade as a clinical dietitian in Australia and the UK specialising in diabetes, gut and kidney disorders, cystic fibrosis, aged care, and food service.

She returned again to university to undertake a Doctorate in Biomedical Science.

Her Ph.D. thesis examined links between weight management, eating behaviour, metabolism, and psychology. Susie worked with individuals seeking weight loss, particularly by surgical methods. She published a number of highly cited peer-reviewed papers, and presented work in Australia, the US, and Europe.
By now she had established a daily Yoga practice, and visited India three times.
She also started the practice of qigong.

Susie spent 3 years in Africa, mostly Swaziland, working (volunteering) in women's health services.

She helped develop and deliver a Masters in Nutrition and Dietetics at an Australian university.

Susie undertook research in food and nutrition among Australian Aboriginal people living remotely.

During this time she established a tai chi practice.

She moved to India with her husband (Digonta), whose family come from Assam in India's northeast.

For 4 years she lived in the Himalayas in Manali.

Here she studied Āyurveda with Vaidya Atreya Smith, Dr Sunil Joshi, and others.

Study with Vinayak Panchakarma Chikitsalaya in Nagpur, Maharashtra, and the European Institute of Vedic Studies (over 2000 formal hours).
Selected teachings of others including Dr Vasant Lad, Dr David Frawley, Dr Robert Svoboda and Claudia Welch.
She read widely, including the classics; lived a daily Ayurvedic lifestyle; and offered holistic health advice as opportunities increasingly arose.
Susie consolidated her Yoga, qigong and tai chi practice, and learned the art of Reiki healing.

Susie relocated to Southern India.

Today Susie continues to study, write about, and practice Āyurveda.
She also continues to expand her practice and devotion of Yoga's eight limb path, particularly through Yoga Therapy, Yoga Nidra, and meditation. Most recently she studied with Rebecca Ellis and Giusi Pezzotta in Kerala; Krishna Prakash of Shrimath Yoga in Karnataka; and Hatha Yoga programs at the Isha Yoga Centre in Tamil Nadu.

Susie launches her book--The Art of Ayurvedic Nutrition--June 16, 2020.

Through the lens of India’s traditional healing system, this personal health and nutrition guide delivers an alternative view of the body you live in, the food you eat, and what it means to be truly healthy. Find out more...

Peer-Reviewed Research Publications

Colles S, Belton, S, Brimblecombe J. Insights into nutritionists’ practices and experiences in remote Australian Aboriginal communities. Aust N Z J Public Health. 2016 Apr; 40 Suppl 1:S7-13. [7 citations, March 2020]

Colles S, Maypilama E, Brimblecombe J. Food, food choice and nutrition promotion in a remote Australian Aboriginal community. Aust J Prim Health. 2014 Oct;20(4):365-72.

[15 citations, March 2020]

Brimblecombe J, Maypilama E, Colles S, Scarlett M, Dhurrkay JG, Ritchie J, O'Dea K. Factors influencing food choice in an Australian Aboriginal community. Qual Health Res. 2014 Mar;24(3):387-400.

[44 citations, March 2020]

Gulati S, Misra A, Colles S, Kondal D, Gupta N, Goel K et al. Dietary intakes and familial correlates of overweight/obesity: a four cities study in India. Ann Nutr Metab. 2013; 62(4):279-90. [45 citations, March 2020]

Colles S, Singh S, Kohli C and Mithal A. Dietary beliefs and eating patterns influence metabolic health in type 2 diabetes: a clinic-based study in urban North India. Indian J Endocrinol Metab. 2013 Nov-Dec; 17(6):1066-1072. [11 citations, March 2020]

Nigam P, Misra A and Colles S. Comparison of DEXA-derived body fat measurement to two race-specific bioelectrical impedance equations in healthy Indians. Diab Metab Syn Clin Res Rev. 2013; 7(2): 72–77. [30 citations, March 2020]

Colles S, Dixon J, O’Brien P. Hunger control and regular physical activity facilitate weight loss after laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding. Obesity Surgery, 2008; 18 (7): 833-840.

[145 citations, March 2020]

Colles S, Dixon J, O’Brien P. Grazing and loss of control related to eating: two high risk factors following bariatric surgery. Obesity, 2008; 16 (3): 615-622. [375 citations, March 2020]

Colles S, Dixon J, O’Brien P. Loss of control is central to psychological disturbance associated with binge eating disorder. Obesity, 2008; 16 (3): 608-614. [207 citations, March 2020]

Colles S, Dixon J, O’Brien P. Night eating syndrome and nocturnal snacking: association with obesity, binge eating and psychological distress. International Journal of Obesity, 2007; 31(11): 1722-30.

[322 citations, March 2020]

Colles S and Dixon J. Night Eating Syndrome: Impact on Bariatric Surgery. Obesity Surgery 2006; 16(7): 811-20. [86 citations, March 2020]

Colles S, Dixon J, Marks P, Strauss B, O’Brien P. Preoperative weight loss by very low calorie diet: Quantitation of changes in liver and abdominal fat by serial imaging. Am J Clin Nutr 2006; 84(2): 304-11. [301 citations, March 2020]

Related Educational Publications

Colles S and Dixon J. The Relationship of Night Eating with Obesity, Bariatric Surgery, and Physical Health. Chapter in: Night Eating Syndrome: Definition, Assessment, and Treatment. Eds Lundgren, J, Allison, K and Stunkard, A. Guilford Publications, Inc. New York, 2012.

Colles, S and Maypilama, E. Food and health communication across cultures.

A manual developed in conjunction with Menzies School of Health Research at Charles Darwin University, and The Fred Hollows Foundation, for health professionals working with remote Aboriginal communities, especially in the areas of food, nutrition, and health.