Fuel Your Strength

Recently I decided to welcome back a wearable fitness tracker into my life after a decade-long break from one. This topic brought up a lot of questions for me. While the decision to stop or start wearing a tracker is very personal, I want to bring to light a few of the questions that have surfaced for me in the hopes that they can help you out when making this call for yourself.

If You Are Considering Stopping, Or Starting, Using a Fitness Tracker, You Should:

1. Examine the pros and cons of fitness trackers and how they play into your personal relationship with your body
2. Find a tracker that suits your lifestyle and provides you with the data you are curious about
3. Keep listening to the signals of your body as your guide to what your body needs

Getting Curious About Your Body Patterns

It took me over ten years to get to the place where I am confident enough to listen to my body signals to be curious about the patterns and trends that a wearable fitness tracker can provide.

How my recovery is correlating with my heart rate variability, menstrual cycle, and fatigue are incredibly interesting to me. The key is to not be so reliant on these numbers that you stop listening to your body and only listen to the numbers on an app.

It's All About Balance

Wearing a fitness tracker is an incredibly personal decision and depends on your ability to combine the data from a tracker with the signals your body is sending you. While most of us don't have the same relationship to data, such as heart rate variability, as we do to the numbers on the scale, it is still something to be sensitive to.

An app can never tell you everything that is going on in your body. The question is, does the data from a fitness tracker help you reinforce the way your body feels, or distract you from it?

How do you feel about your relationship with fitness trackers? Do you believe they are diet culture? Share your thoughts with me in the comments on the episode page.

• Why I decided to start using a wearable fitness tracker again (4:48)
• The pros and cons I see when using a fitness tracker (9:10)
• How to deal with fitness trackers if you have an all-or-nothing personality (20:38)
• Which tracker I am using currently and why I personally like it (23:42)
• Explore if fitness trackers are in fact a part of diet culture (29:04)

Quotes

"I am not in an all-or-nothing situation with training anymore, I am able to really listen to my body, but I am curious about bringing some sort of fitness tracker back into my life." (8:37)

"I am not here to present my argument necessarily for or against, but if it is something that you have kind of been thinking about, maybe these will be some interesting points." (14:34)

"There is a tendency to become too reliant sometimes on external trackers at the expense of also developing a sense of what your training and recovery feel like overall so that you get to know your body a lot more intimately." (19:27)

"If you have started looking at data, do you sort of tune out what your body is telling you? Or are you looking where they overlap and using both to make decisions? Or can one help you make decisions about the other? Can having data help you connect to how your body is feeling? In some cases, potentially yes, but it is really about you individually." (23:20)

"I don't think fitness trackers are in the same league as the scale and tracking body weight. However, could they potentially become an issue for some people? Potentially. So this is where it is really important to know yourself." (32:18)

Join the Waitlist for my Group Strength Nutrition Coaching Program Here

Get a Free Month of the Whoop Tracker Here

Follow Steph on Instagram

Steph Gaudreau Website

Check out the full show notes here! Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest

I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!

LTYB 336: Bathroom Scale Real Talk You Need To Hear

LTYB 333: Overcoming Fitness Comparison-itis with Craig Zielinski

LTYB 322: Hungry For Change: When Too Much Info is Too Much

Having tougher body image days is perfectly normal. Yes, even when you're actively working on your mental and physical health. Yes, even when you're strength training every day. Let's look at how we can start being kinder to ourselves when these thoughts happen.

How to Work Through Negative Body Thoughts

1. Journal it Out: Mentally backtrack in your day, or the day before, to see what, if anything, influenced that event.
2. Check-in with Yourself: Is there a basic need you're not meeting for yourself?
3. Understand your Menstrual Cycle: Your cycle can impact your mood and how you feel about your body
4. Practice Gratitude: Especially when you're feeling challenging ways about your body

Body Image Issues Impact Everyone

Challenging and negative thoughts about your body are perfectly normal. They're not pleasant or productive, but please let me reassure you that they're absolutely normal. We all experience them, even when we're actively working on our positive mental and physical health.

It's not realistic to never have a negative thought about your body. And that's okay. Working towards some form of body neutrality is a journey, not a destination.

Working Through a Negative Body Image

When you do have negative or challenging thoughts about your body, it's important to try to get to the root cause of these thoughts. First, take some time to journal out what might have influenced these thoughts throughout the last day or two.

You might also be neglecting one of your basic needs. When was the last time you ate or drank water? Are you getting enough sleep?

For longer-term solutions, start tracking your menstrual cycle as your cycle has an impact on how you feel mentally and towards yourself. Finally, take up a daily gratitude practice to help shift your entire perspective.

How do you currently feel about your own body image? What struggles have you gone through? Share your experiences with me in the comments on the episode page.

• Why it's normal to have challenging thoughts about your body [6:00]
• Why it's not realistic to expect to never have a challenging thought about your body [7:45]
• The importance of body neutrality [13:00]
• You deserve to eat. Make sure you're eating regularly [33:30]
• Why you should track your menstrual cycle [24:00]
• How challenging yourself with practicing gratitude can help shift your perspective [27:45]

Quotes

"It is still normal to have challenging thoughts about your body. You're not failing or doing this wrong if you still have those doubts, negative self-talk, or aren't at body neutrality or beyond to body liberation, or wherever you are on that spectrum." [6:28]

"By thinking or expecting that we're never going to have the negative thought or the challenging feeling ever again, we're actually setting ourselves up for not being as adept or experienced with getting through those challenging thoughts or feelings." [9:45]

"You need to eat. We need to eat. When you're running on low energy, your blood sugar is really low, and you're hangry, your mood is affected. You're feeling mentally foggy, more anxious, and on edge. Food is essential." [20:03]

"Gratitude is a muscle that you have to practice. Yes, you can feel these ways about yourself, you can feel down, sad, grief. All of those emotions are normal. At the same time, you can challenge yourself to give even a little bit of gratitude, just a little bit. It can be both - and." [27:18]

"It's okay for those negative body thoughts to pop up, even at positive times in our life. They probably will. Working on that resilience, instead of walking around on eggshells, is ultimately what makes you more resilient, more able to unlearn the things that aren't serving you, and lean into what it's like to be on this journey. It's never going to be perfect but it is so worthwhile." [31:31]

Join the Waitlist for the Online Strength Nutrition Program

Follow Steph on Instagram

Steph Gaudreau Website

Check out the full show notes here! Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest

I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!

LTYB 332: Dealing with Negative Body Image w/ Beauty Redefined

There are six common questions I hear all the time about lifting weights. So, I decided to put them into an episode with some simple answers for you so that you have a resource that you can come back to time and time again. If you are looking for answers to common questions I hear about strength training; this is the episode for you.

If You Want To Embrace The Benefits of Strength Training, You Should:

1. Realize that what is 'heavy' is different for each person, and you should focus on adding enough of a load that is challenging for you
2. Create goals that are focused on what your body can do, not the number on the bathroom scale
3. Take care of your body through generous recovery time and exercises that do not involve weights

It's All Relative

Questions like 'am I lifting heavy enough?', 'am I too old to start lifting weights?', or 'how soon can I expect to see results?', are very nuanced. The short answer is, everybody's body is different and will look different even if doing the same exercise.

It is about finding a combination of weight lifting and other exercises that feel right for your unique body. What is 'heavy' is relative to each person and can change over time. Consistency and progressive overload are the keys to a long game mentality needed when strength training.

The Many Benefits of Strength Training

I know for sure that strength training can give you something to think about besides shrinking your body. Having goals that are only focused on achieving a certain number on the scale or an aesthetic look are not sustainable.

Lifting weights can help you stop focusing on the scale, promote healthy muscle mass, improve your bone density, and boost your metabolism. These are goals that can have a huge impact on your overall health but cannot be measured by the number on the scale. Strength training can help you reconnect with a sense of what your body can do, not what it looks like.

Have you ever asked one of these common questions? How did my answer hold up to what you have been told in the past? Share your experiences with me in the comments section of the episode page.

• How to know if you are lifting heavy enough (3:40)
• How often you should be lifting every week (7:29)
• How to know if lifting weights will help you feel better about yourself (9:53)
• Why you should still consider lifting weights even if you do other sports (14:17)
• Why it is never too late to start lifting weights (17:52)
• How long it will take for you to experience results (22:20)

"Generally speaking, you want to think about grooving in the main functional movement patterns, which are push, pull, hinge, squat, and weighted carries; those are what the Made Strong program is built off of." (8:24)

"Lifting weights gives you something besides shrinking your body, or the bathroom scale, to focus on." (11:59)

"If you lift weights two or three times a week, it will make you better at that sport, period." (15:07)

"To efficiently build and maintain your muscle and bones and keep your metabolism humming along… the answer is lift weights." (21:52)

"Please focus on some kind of goal that goes beyond what you weigh or exactly having some kind of aesthetic look. Because it is going to be far easier to sustain your work towards what you can do, or developing a new skill, or building your strength in a specific lift, it's going to be a lot more motivating and a lot easier to stick to that than when you are not seeing the number on the scale go in the direction that you want it to go." (26:26)

Sign Up For Private Coaching Here

Join the Waitlist for Group Coaching Here

Steph Gaudreau Website

Check out the full show notes here! Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest

I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!

LTYB 332: 3 Mistakes Keeping You From Getting Stronger In The Gym

LTYB 331: Strength Training & Your Relationship with Exercise

LTYB 327: Getting Back to Exercise Without Feeling Wrecked

The general narrative in the fitness world says that by getting into shape, you will get smaller. In reality, there are so many other ways to measure your fitness that have nothing to do with the size of your body. 'Getting In Shape' really has no concrete meaning, and it's time we stop equating fitness with a specific look.

If You Want To Dig Deeper Into The Problem With 'Getting in Shape', You Should:

1. Challenge those in the fitness space to stop defining fitness as 'a look'
2. Focus on the benefits of training that have nothing to do with your body size
3. Work to include marginalized bodies into the wellness space for the greater benefit of everyone

Fitness Is Not a 'Look'

Fitness doesn't have a specific look. Instead, it is your ability to do a task. Simple as that. Working out and 'getting in shape' simply to get smaller is not sustainable, and the companies or trainers that guarantee that your body will get smaller are not acknowledging all of the other things out of our control that go into fitness, and all of the other benefits of getting stronger and healthier. Your size does not equal your health and has no reflection on how fit or how unfit a person is.

How To Stop Comparing and Start Representing

If we compare ourselves to the highest performing human specimens participating in an activity, is that an accurate representation of all the people who engage with that activity? By comparing ourselves to the top athletes in the world, we are doing a disservice to the people out there who want to engage with a certain type of fitness but don't see anyone who looks like them being represented.

The idea that fit bodies have to look a certain way stops people from engaging with those pursuits and perpetuates the stereotype that fitness is a certain look and only people who look like that can be deemed 'in shape'. By challenging these narratives and making fitness available to people who don't fit the conventional 'fitspo' version of health, we can break down these assumptions and, in turn, make 'getting in shape' more beneficial for everyone.

What stood out most to you from this episode? Let me know your thoughts in the comments on the episode page.

• Why 'getting in shape' really means nothing (4:12)
• How I want to challenge the fitness space to focus on fitness as an ability and not a look (10:35)
• Addressing the fit bias and fit shaming I see online (14:40)
• The benefits of strength training that have nothing to do with how you look (21:50)
• Why I don't like to promise anybody that 'getting in shape' is going to look a certain way (27:53)

"Getting in shape when used to mean getting fit is a huge problem because physical fitness isn't a look, it's not a look." (7:14)

"Strength training can give you a new lease on life because you get to focus on what your body can do, not just on what it looks like." (15:34)

"I can think of so many people who are not fitting the 'thin fitspo' gently toned but not too muscular body who are fit as fuck! Fit as fuck for what they do. And that to me is a cause for applause." (19:50)

"We have to be able to tease apart fitness from overall health and wellbeing. If we think health is multifactorial and influenced by so many things out of our control, we have to be able to tease apart fitness from health and from weight." (24:44)

"I hope that this podcast gives you some seeds of ideas to ask or to bring up with that potential personal trainer that you want to work within your city, or that potential email that you open up… what does the person or the company promising to you? What other ways are there going to be to see how your fitness has changed and improved?" (32:01)

Strength Workout Mini-Course

Text me at 619-313-5948

Steph Gaudreau Website

Check out the full show notes here! Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest

I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!

LTYB 335: Breaking the Body Stereotype with Amanda LaCount

LTYB 324: Is It Wrong To Want To Lose Weight?

LTYB 319: Why Fitspo Needs To Die

LTYB 025: Master the Art of Self Love with Noelle Tarr

If you are someone who is not strength training yet or are looking to get back into activity, you might be nervous. Getting back into movement in a way that keeps you safe and healthy starts with understanding your foundation and finding mobility practices that meet you where you are now.

If You Want To Encourage Mobility, Representation, and Justice In The Fitness Space, You Should:

1. Get assessed to find out where your body is at and what mobility practices could benefit you
2. Stop viewing mobility practices as an optional extra and start including them in your daily routine
3. Work to view people in the fitness space as whole people, not just exercise machines
4. Seek out voices other than your own to find out how you can increase representation in the fitness space

Taking Care Of Yourself as a Whole Person

Rich Thurman, better known as Coach RT3, is a mobility specialist who is passionate about sharing his experiences as a black man in the fitness industry and advocating for coaching in a way that takes care of your body, mind, and spirit as one whole person.

Rich knows that mobility practices are not an optional extra but something that helps you get better at what you are trying to do and is here today to share how mobility, inclusivity, and representation intersect in the fitness space.

Investing In Yourself Through Mobility Practices

Mobility is the best investment you can make for yourself. By giving time to mobility practices that will improve your longevity, and preserve, improve, and enhance your ability to do the things you love longer, you will save yourself the necessity to give it up later.

Something as simple as preparation can help you create strength in the realms you may not have strength in anymore, save you from injury, and help you find a workout that fits your body's strengths and shortcomings. Mobility practices are the key to move better, feel better, and ultimately do more for longer.

Representation Is Power

For too long, underrepresented people in the fitness space, such as Black, Asian, and LGBTQ+ persons, have been burying themselves to make other people feel comfortable. Rich is here to say no more to that and encourage organizations, coaches, trainers, and anyone involved in the fitness space to do the work, become aware, and take steps to view someone as a whole person.

Instead of assuming the needs of others and pushing that agenda, Rich wants to challenge you to work to improve yourself, learn about your community, and recognize the intersections between identity, representation, and fitness. It is only by working to be better, that we can include the voices that have been marginalized for too long and lift up our fellow humans.

Are you ready to give yourself the gift of time through mobility practices? How do you work to stand up for your fellow humans in the fitness space? Share your thoughts about Rich's perspective with me in the comments on the episode page.

• Why mobility is an important piece to getting active again that a lot of people skip over (6:16)
• Tips for tackling mobility as part of your overall training program (21:35)
• The role of social justice when it comes to the experience of being in the fitness industry (31:07)
• How walking away from certification bodies can be liberating, challenging, and transformative (38:43)
• The importance of mental health and representation when coaching a whole person (44:32)

"When we look at training mobility, and why it's important, it's more along the lines of preparing your body for the things that you want to do." (10:02)

"You can spend the time now, or you can give up the time later. There are only really 2 options. So when we create more room for the things that we love, we are basically creating more time." (22:31)

"Peripherally, all of the wealth that came as a peripheral means of those bodies, the bodies of my ancestors who survived this ordeal, to make me possible, that is carried inside of me." (33:07)

"The onus is not on us to find out when these things happen, the onus is on the organization to say 'this is what we want, this is what we would like, can we find the people who are doing good work within our organization who have paid us money and maintained our certification, can we find those people?'." (41:34)

"These conversations need to be had throughout all of these organizations and need to be commonplace. Because we need to know how to best serve the people we are working with, the people in front of us." (48:01)

Free Strength Workout Mini-Course

Upgrade Guys Mobility Membership

The Upgrade Guys Website

The Upgrade Yo Sh*t Podcast

Follow Rich on Instagram | TikTok

Steph Gaudreau Website

Check out the full show notes here! Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest

I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!

LTYB 327: Getting Back to Exercise Without Feeling Wrecked

LTYB 143: Inclusivity & Social Justice In Health & Fitness with Dr. Tee Williams

Have you ever considered that at some point, an obsession with healthy eating can turn unhealthy? Many of us struggle to understand what healthy eating really is and where it crosses the line into an unhealthy preoccupation. This is why I have brought my guest, Mimi Cole, onto the show today. Please be aware there is a trigger warning for weight loss and eating disorders in this episode.

If You Are Ready To Reexamine Your Relationship With Food and Your Body, You Should:

1. Start viewing food as neutral and not inherently good or bad
2. Be real about your mindset when it comes to the foods you are eating
3. Remind yourself what you are working towards and what you are living for
4. Use mirror work to confront yourself when you feel uncomfortable about your body

What Is Healthy Eating? With Mimi Cole

Mimi is a graduate student currently working on her Master's degree in clinical mental health counseling. She is the host of the Lovely Becoming Podcast and specializes in learning about disordered eating and eating disorders. Mimi knows firsthand the issues that those with eating disorders face, which is why she is passionate about breaking down stereotypes, meeting others with compassion, and helping people break out of the labels that surround these topics.

There Are No 'Bad or Good' Foods

Clean eating culture is intertwined with many nuanced topics such as fatphobia, orthorexia, and weight-centric care. The clean eating industry wants you to label your food choices as 'bad or good', which inherently misses what the fluidity of humanity really is.

By unlearning what diet culture has taught us, we can start to get curious about the dichotomy of the rules of food and begin to view food as neutral. When we understand that food does have to fit into the binary of 'good and bad', 'healthy and unhealthy', or 'clean and guilty', you can give yourself permission to follow your humanity.

Using Your Values as an Anchor

Society tells us that certain eating disorders are only applicable to certain body types. In reality, it is about the mindset of a person, not the size of their body, that determines their relationship with food. We need to do a better job of breaking these labels down and expanding these definitions to include every body.

Mimi suggests getting clear on your values to anchor you when you may feel discomfort about your body. Working on your body really means working on your body image, your perspective, and how you feel about your body. By reminding yourself what you are working towards and what you are living for, you can live a life more aligned with your values and stop focusing on all of the restraints that come with food.

Which of Mimi's truth bombs today shocked you the most? What piece of her advice are you going to put into practice first? Share your thoughts with me in the comments section of the episode page.

• The inspiration that encouraged Mimi to embark on her current career path (9:39)
• Why the term 'clean eating' is problematic and why it is so difficult to confront that uncomfortability (15:22)
• Advice for those who are ready to break past their diet culture labels but are worried about the repercussions (18:06)
• Breaking the stereotype around what someone with an eating disorder looks like (23:56)
• A new perspective on how to get your body ready for summer (31:11)

"It doesn't have to be either 'this or that', I think there is a lot of nuance to nutrition." (8:29)

"It's a lot more subtle than we think it is, and I think it's a lot more intertwined with this clean eating culture. And so sometimes that push back where we say 'I just want to eat healthy' is really tied to different systems like fat-phobia and weight-centric care, and sometimes it looks like it's a healthy thing, and it sounds like it, but it's not really." (13:25)

"There are some people that might say, 'if you are going to be anti-diet, you need to do it all right now'. And I think I take on a slower approach where when we are unlearning it takes time and intentionality, and a lot of compassion for where we are at and meeting people where they are." (22:20)

"Working on your body for summer means learning how to nourish it, learning how to accept it and collate the distress around it, learning how to put on a swimsuit and work towards your values of enjoying time with friends, enjoying time with loved ones and family members, and being able to move towards your values when you feel uncomfortable in your body." (31:54)

"Moving towards a value doesn't necessarily mean moving you away from things you don't want to experience. So there is not necessarily less fear, but it means with that fear I can move towards those values." (35:06)

Free Strength Workout Mini-Course

Mimi Cole Website

Follow Mimi on Instagram | Facebook

The Lovely Becoming Podcast

How To Get Your Body Ready For Summer Post

Steph Gaudreau Website

Check out the full show notes here! Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest

I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!

LTYB 275: The Anti-Diet Approach to Eating with Evelyn Tribole

Your morning ritual can set the tone for your entire day. Getting up and immediately getting onto the scale can determine whether you will have a good day or a bad day. If you used to do that, or maybe you still do, I want to share five truths with you about the bathroom scale and why you should consider ditching or reducing that habit.

If You Are Ready To Get Real With Your Scale You Should:

1. Stop equating weight and health
2. Focus on healthy for you habits
3. Create a goal for yourself that has nothing to do with your weight
4. Track things other than your weight or calorie intake

Weight Does Not Equal Health

If you keep saying, 'I just wanted to hop on the scale and see', and there is an underlying sense of dread there, or the number you see is going to have the potential to wreck or elevate your day, wait.

You don't have to throw your scale out the window today. But, by taking baby steps of cutting back your reliance and focus on the scale, you will realize that the deep sense of self-worth you have always had is not reliant on the number you see on the scale. Having a full, healthy, and happy life is so much more important than the 'ideal' number we want to see on the scale, and when you are able to accept that, the whole world opens up.

You Can Only Control Your Habits, Not the Scale

Your health is so much more multifaceted than the number you see on the scale. Your mental, emotional, spiritual, and environmental health play just as important of a role in your overall health as your physical body does. Even though you may be doing things in a health-promoting way, such as eating more vegetables or getting more fresh air, focusing on the number on the scale changing is not what you should be relying on for 'results'.

The truth is, we are not in control of the number on the scale. What we are in control of is health-promoting habits that can lead to a healthier life, regardless of what the scale says.

Have you ever considered your relationship with your bathroom scale? Share your thoughts with me in the comments on the episode page.

• Why your weight does not definitively equal your health (5:24)
• What to do if you are getting frustrated by the number you see on the scale (10:08)
• How to untrain your brain from thinking that weight loss is a behavior (15:51)
• Why the scale is not always a 'neutral tool' for everybody (21:47)
• Three basic things that you can focus on instead of the scale (27:10)

"We have been taught that weight causes health, and that is not the case." (6:51)

"Weight loss is not a behavior. I will say that again, weight loss is not a behavior." (16:04)

"If you want peace of mind, and you want your brain space back, focus on healthy habits. Focus on healthy-for-you habits. When you stay hyper-focused on weight loss, this is where you miss body signals; this is where you miss other indicators of your health, for example, your mental health. This is where you miss the consistency that is required to perhaps improve your health over a long period of time." (17:41)

"It might take years of consistent healing and redefining your beliefs, getting to the root of your beliefs, finding other things to focus on. Really just going through the ebbs and the flows and the ups and the downs of your relationship with your body and food and body image, to get to the point where the scale is a 'neutral tool'." (23:34)

"It is very uncommon that someone can just snap their fingers and suddenly see the scale as a neutral tool." (24:50)

Strength Workout Mini-Course

Text me at 619-313-5948

Steph Gaudreau Website

Check out the full show notes here! Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest

I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!

LTYB 314: How To Set Health Goals Beyond the Scale with Steph Dodier

LTYB 324: Is It Wrong To Want To Lose Weight?

Ever since a dance studio director told Amanda LaCount that she could not participate due to her body size, she has been on a mission to break the stereotype and promote body positivity and the belief that any body can be a dancer's body. So if you are feeling like you are ready to get back out there and start moving your body but are nervous about what other people might think, this is the episode for you.

If You Want To Break The Stereotype You Should:

1. Start moving your body in a way that feels good to you
2. Stop listening to the haters and find a way to push through the negative comments
3. Remember that everyone is focusing on themselves, and you have nothing to be self-conscious about
4. Work to lift up marginalized voices in the entertainment you consume

Doing What You Love with Amanda LaCount

Rihanna follows her on Instagram; she has danced with Lady Gaga in her Stupid Love music video and danced with Lizzo at Coachella. She has also danced with Meghan Trainor and Katy Perry, was the first plus-sized Disney mermaid, and has partnered with international brands to bring body inclusivity to the forefront. Amanda LaCount is making huge waves in the world of entertainment and is working day by day to #breakthestereotype.

Don't Let The 'Haters' Get You Down

Amanda has been dancing since she was 2 years old, but it hasn't come without her fair share of setbacks. 'Haters' have often made Amanda feel like she didn't belong in a world where your appearance means way more than it should. But Amanda never let that stop her and has developed her own way to move past the mean comments and embrace what she truly loves to do.

Amanda believes that your body should not play a role in what job you get or how qualified people assume you are, and she wants to inspire people to do what they love regardless of any stereotypes you may or may not fit into.

#breakthestereotype

The hashtag #breakthestereotype is Amanda's way to make change actionable. What started as something just for her has turned into a global movement on social media. Amanda wants other people to know that you don't have to be perfect, skinny, or tall to 'make it' in your chosen field. All it takes is hard work, dedication, and the right attitude.

Working to promote inclusivity and body positivity in the dance world and entertainment space, Amanda, and her famous friends, are working to break the stereotype piece by piece.

Are you ready to #breakthestereotype and get out there and start moving your body in a way that is fun and enjoyable for you? Share what you loved most about Amanda's story with me in the comments section of the episode page.

• How to get over the haters and push through negative comments (9:12)
• Gain a peek inside the dance world and the expectations to conform to a certain body type (13:45)
• Why the #breakthestereotype hashtag was created (18:10)
• The importance of representation in the dance world and entertainment industry (23:57)
• Some of Amanda's proudest moments and coolest experiences (29:29)
• Advice for those who want to get started moving their body through dance (33:15)

"There is no point in feeling bad for yourself, that's only going to hurt you at the end of the day." (11:26)

"I just don't want my body to be part of the discussion, I want my dancing to speak for itself." (15:19)

"I came up with 'breaking the stereotype' because that's what I do, and that's what I am doing still." (19:44)

"What I want to see is more fat people, or fat films, or fat movies, that are positive and show the beautiful parts of being a plus-size person and show how strong we are and how beautiful we are." (26:12)

"Stop caring so much about what other people think or have to say. At the end of the day, if it makes you happy, that's all that matters." (34:12)

Strength Workout Mini-Course

Follow Amanda on Instagram | TikTok

Amanda LaCount Website

Steph Gaudreau Website

Check out the full show notes here! Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest

I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!

LTYB 311: Reclaiming Your Spark By Honoring Your Swagger with Anniedi Essien

LTYB 313: How To Stop a Bad Body Image Day In Its Tracks with Brianna Campos

Have you ever considered how much more we as women could get done if we chose to lift each other up instead of getting caught up in comparison traps, jealousy, and the feeling of 'not enoughness'? It has been famously said that comparison is the thief of joy, but becoming aware of how you compare yourself to yourself and to other women online and in real life can be a hard nut to crack.

If You Want To Become A Strong Woman Who Lifts Up Other Strong Women, You Should:

1. Find a coach or a trainer who knows how to support women in all aspects of their lives
2. Stop focusing on jealousy and comparison by getting curious about your unique values and goals
3. Notice, name, and normalize your emotions
4. Take small steps every day to amplify other women's voices and help lift them up

Molly Galbraith has been a coach in the fitness industry for over 17 years. It became clear to her early on how underserved women were in health and fitness, which is why she co-founded Girls Gone Strong almost ten years ago. Her new book, Strong Women Lift Each Other Up, helps women overcome their own personal struggles with comparison, jealousy, body image, and competition to feel strong, confident, and empowered in their body while supporting other women to feel the same.

Molly believes that when you know better, you do better. This is why she has dedicated herself and her new book to help women improve all areas of their lives. Everything from teaching coaches what they need to know in order to better serve women to helping women get out of the comparison trap by noticing, naming, and normalizing their emotions act as foundational tools necessary to help lift women up in everyday life. By getting radically clear on your values and getting curious about how we can support other women, revolutionary change is possible.

In a world where women's voices are often drowned out, and it's challenging to be heard, amplifying other women's voices can go a long way. The ripple effect that can be created through women empowering women isn't always obvious, but it can play a huge role in bringing the values we want to see into the world.

You don't need a lot of resources, money, or a big network to lift up other women in your life. All it takes are small, simple steps that can help you feel stronger and help strengthen the women around you. Lifting up all women is a group effort, but the ramifications can change the world as we know it.

Are you ready to get away from your comparison traps and scarcity mindset and embrace the beautiful possibilities that come from being a strong woman who lifts up other strong women? Share one way you are working to actively lift up other women in the comments section of the episode page.

• What made Molly start GGS and help create a community of strong women (5:54)
• The reason that Molly's new book was needed for our current strength landscape (19:40)
• Tips for getting over your comparison traps and scarcity mindset once and for all (25:07)Why identifying your core values and what truly makes you happy can be a gamechanger (30:49)
• Simple ways that you can lift women up in the world regardless of your time or resources (34:05)

"We believe that when women feel strong, confident and empowered in our lives and bodies, that we can change the world." (4:30)

"Coaches and trainers, we are on the front lines of such important conversations with our clients. And I truly believe that we have the power to impact women's lives positively more than almost anyone else in their life." (15:17)

"I envisioned a world that I wanted to see for women and saw that it wasn't our reality. I wanted to see a world where all women and girls get the support and opportunities they need to thrive and succeed. Where women believe that we are enough just as we are and that we are actually happy to see other women succeed because we know there is enough success to go around. And I wanted to see a world where there was an equitable presentation of all women in important places where decisions are made, and that is not our current reality." (22:00)

"Taking the time to identify my values has just been life-changing. It has allowed me to feel so steadfast in the decisions that I make." (31:03)

"We have the opportunity to massively lift people up and create huge ripple effects through very small actions, and I want people to know and feel empowered by those possibilities." (38:42)

Strength Workout Mini-Course

Molly Galbraith Website

Girls Gone Strong Website

Strong Women Lift Eachother Up by Molly Galbraith

Follow Molly on Instagram | Facebook

Steph Gaudreau Website

Check out the full show notes here! Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest

I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!

LTYB 147: The Importance Of Feeling At Home In Your Body with Molly Galbraith

Have you found yourself falling into fitness comparisons not only with the people around you or that you know but in comparison with yourself and what you used to be able to do? If you are struggling with this concept or keep challenging the idea of coming back to exercise because you worry you won't be at the place you left off, this episode is for you.

If You Want To Stop Falling Into Fitness Comparisons, You Should:

1. Let go of your 'all or nothing' mentality
2. Choose movement practices that bring you joy
3. Work towards developing a set of skills rather than a specific outcome
4. Redefine your fitness goals and focus on mental and physical flexibility

Craig Zielinski is a USA Weightlifting Sports Performance Coach, a repeated LTYB guest, and my loving husband. Throughout the course of the pandemic, Craig came face to face with his 'all or nothing' mentality and found a way to get over his 'Comparison-itis'. Today he is here to share his story about how to get over your fear of judgment from others or yourself and start enjoying moving your body again.

For many people, their fitness identity in the past was tied to the exercise routines we used to do that are more often than not based on equipment that we simply don't have access to during the Covid-19 pandemic. Although Craig originally got caught up in the 'all or nothing' funk, he realized that a lot of his reasoning was unreasonable and started to choose exercises that were based more on having a good time and making the best of what we had, rather than training super hard. Instead of engaging in movements that were comparison-based, Craig learned to focus on building his 'skill tree'.

The way that diet and fitness culture convince us that we have to specialize in one certain thing, even if it makes us miserable, is simply not true. When you are able to get back to the basics as Craig did, you can develop multiple skills and focus on the process than the all-illusive outcome.

You never know where any exercise will lead or take you, so the point is to be open to trying new things during this time of uncertainty and continually check on what feels right for you. Looking for fun, developing new skills, and being flexible about what fitness is can help you enjoy different areas of your life and get back into the movement mentality without all that added pressure.

What activity are you excited to get back into the routine of? How are you going to find healthy ways to limit your comparison-itis mentality? Share your thoughts with us in the comments on the episode page.

• How the Covid-19 pandemic affected the way in which Craig trains (5:56)
• Tips for navigating the 'all or nothing' funk by choosing exercises that you feel are fun (12:20)
• Why you should stick to the basics when it comes to reintroducing yourself to movement practices (30:11)
• The issue with training for a competition and why Craig chooses to direct his fitness goals elsewhere (33:30)
• How to redefine your process to get closer to your fitness goals given the current circumstances (35:32)

"I, for the longest time, could not get my head around what on Earth to do with myself [with Covid restrictions], so the answer was, in classic 'all or nothing style', was to do nothing." (9:53)

"The problem created by returning to training and doing the same thing and being all dejected about how I have lost strength or capacity is by doing training that is adjacent to the training that I did, and as also something that is fun and I enjoyed while I would do it. And the cool part is that because it is adjacent to the training that I used to do, I have got developed skills so I won't feel like a complete novice and just give up." (21:25)

"It is really basic, and it is a lot of fun. And it also, when you think about it really, it is more a skill tree." (30:28)

"We are told that we have to specialize in everything, and we end up plowing the same furrow, and that is just not very interesting. And there is also no point in doing that, it's not very fulfilling, at least for me. Being a specialist in one thing is my worst nightmare, but that was kind of what I did in the gym if you think about it." (31:52)

"The importance of developing what you can do as a project, is much greater than whatever the conclusion of the project is, right? (36:56)

Join the Tune-In Membership Here

Strength Workout Mini-Course

Rogue Fitness Website

Magic Carpet Sled

The EmPack Website

The McGill Big 3 for Core Stability

Breathe: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor

The 5 Main Movement Patterns of Functional Movement Reel

Steph Gaudreau Website

Check out the full show notes here! Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest

I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!

LTYB 165: How To Adapt Strength Training To Your Menstrual Cycle with Craig Zielinski

LTYB 327: Getting Back to Exercise Without Feeling Wrecked

LTYB 331: Strength Training & Your Relationship with Exercise