Tough Cookie Talks

Tough Cookie Talks

By Jenna JozefowskiHealth & Fitness
Download on the App Store

Tough Cookie Talks episodes

  • The Intersectionality of Cowboy Carter with Ashantis Jones (Bonus Episode! Part 1)

    This week we are BACK with a bonus episode with Ashantis Jones and we are talking all about Cowboy Carter--the new Beyonce´ album.

    Season 3 of the podcast will be back in a few weeks, but we couldn't wait to nerd out over this album. We took a deep dive into the intersectionality of Cowboy Carter, what we think Beyonce´ meant by certain lyrics, the social and political meaning behind it, the musical influences, and how it applies to everything we do here!

    This episode goes into the first half of the album. We will be back with a part 2 soon!

    Ashantis Jones (she/they) is a trained Master’s level Counselor, NASM Certified Personal Trainer, Group Fitness Instructor, and Coach that focuses on both the mind and body - both of which are equally important to one’s health. By using an intersectional approach, self-love becomes the tool that heals and educates. 
    Check out our Cowboy Carter inspired playlist on ⁠Apple Music⁠ or ⁠Spotify!⁠

    Check out this Cowboy Carter curated collection on ⁠Tiktok⁠⁠⁠⁠

    Follow Ashantis on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    Follow Ashantis on TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    Work with Ashantis ⁠⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠⁠Work with me⁠⁠
    ⁠⁠⁠⁠Get my free mini push-up program⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    Follow & tag me on Instagram⁠⁠⁠


    1 hr 19 min
  • Body Image Beyond the Basics with Summer Innanen (Best of Season 2 Replay)
    I'm so excited for today's podcast guest, Summer Innanen! Her work was absolutely instrumental to my own journey in letting go of diet culture. Without her help in dealing with my own body image shit and her encouragement to start doing my own thing online, I would probably still be trying to make nacho cheese out of sweet potatoes and sending Jillian Michaels quotes to the people in my 6am bootcamp. I first heard her on a paleo podcast back in the day, believe it or not. LOL. Now you get to hear her on mine!
    Summer Innanen is a professionally trained coach specializing in body image, self-worth and confidence. She is the host of the podcast Eat The Rules and creator of You, On Fire – an online group coaching program dedicated to helping people get free from body shame. She also co-runs the Body Image Coach Certification program with Danni Adams to train professionals to be better equipped to work with clients around body image. She helps people all over the world to stop living behind the numbers on their scales through her private and group coaching at summerinnanen.com.
    On this episode we talk about:
    Where to even start when you're just getting started letting go of diet culture and trying to figure out how to finally accept your body as-is.
    Why it's important to dig deeper into systemic issues (AKA racism, transphobia, fat phobia, etc. etc.) when it comes to working on your own body image.
    Where to turn if you are actually bumping up against those systemic issues yourself, and how that can make body image work so hard.
    Why we need to stop using the words "I feel fat" and what to do instead.
    How to better support your clients in more marginalized bodies if you're a coach.
    SO man other important things.
    ⁠Listen to Summer's Podcast⁠
    ⁠Follow Summer on Instagram⁠
    ⁠Work with Summer⁠
    ⁠Work with me⁠
    ⁠Get my free mini push-up program⁠
    ⁠Follow & tag me on Instagram⁠
    ⁠Join me in the UNdiet Online Community
    50 min
  • When Your Family Ditches Diet Culture With You: A Candid & Delightful Convo With My Sister Kristi (Best of Season 2 Replay)
    This week we have a VERY special guest. My ever so delightful little sister Kristi! I'm really lucky to have her in my life and talking to us this week, because I am one of the few people who is able to share similar views about diet culture with a family member. And we commiserate and banter OFTEN. So often that I decided that one of our text conversations needed to become a podcast episode ASAP.  It wasn't always this way though. As kids I was often jealous of her for being "the skinny one" and notoriously slapped her in the middle of Abercrombie & Fitch when she was upset that they sold out of her teeny tiny jeans size. Thankfully she has forgiven me and we are friends today.
    On this episode we talk about: 
    How my sister got on board with all the anti-diet culture stuff with and without my influence. 
    Letting go of labels when it comes to food rules (and everything else). 
    The next-level body image fuckery that shows up when you grow up as a dancer. 
    Dealing with the obnoxious comments people make about your body when you're pregnant and/or postpartum. 
    Why we both agree that your weight/body size is the least important thing about you. 
    How diet culture shows up in the medical field for my sister as a nurse, and what she wishes more healthcare professionals understood.
    Our experience trying to raise kids who are intuitive eaters (AKA how do they NOT eat the chocolate donut or lollipop??)
    Dealing with people in our lives who DON'T get it. 
    Lots of other super fun anecdotes about growing up in diet culture and finding our way out!
    ⁠Work with me!⁠
    ⁠Get my free mini push-up program⁠
    ⁠Follow & tag me on Instagram⁠
    ⁠Join me in the UNdiet Online Community
    55 min
  • Can We Stop Saying "Tone" "Sculpt" "Shape" & "Lift"? Busting Through Barre BS with Maya Bryant (Best of Season 2 Replay)
    Today I'm so excited to be talking with Maya Bryant! I originally connected with her on Instagram because as a fellow dancer, I LOVED the way she called out the bullshit in the barre industry. One of my biggest pet peeves as a personal trainer with a dance background is seeing barre instructors online selling lies in the form of "the 4 best exercises for a thigh gap", because that's not how any of this works. Maya has the best way of calling it out without coming off as mean and in this episode, she brings light to the fact that many barre instructors don't look the way they do because of barre--they look that way because that's their natural body type!
    After dancing for 20 years, studying Exercise Science in undergrad, being beaten up by diet culture, and eventually falling into compulsive exercise and disordered eating, Maya sought to create something empowering in fitness. During her Master of Public Health Program, she created a workout program, Raise The Barre! Women are under immense pressure to maintain a certain body type that changes every decade and go on extreme diets and exercise plans to try and change their bodies. Those diets, they fail 95% of the time and weight regain happens within 1-5 years. Her research project showed that we can help women feel better in their bodies, without intentionally striving to change them because body image is internal work. In addition to Maya's professional work in Public Health policy, she is also the Founder and CEO of Barre Empowered. A fitness platform for Barre in an empowering way, without the toxic diet culture. At Barre Empowered, Maya helps women feel fierce and fit in their bodies, fall in love with fitness, and develop a life-giving wellness routine that inspires them for a lifetime. 
    On this episode we talk about:
    Her path from being a dancer stuck in disordered eating and exercise to
    How Maya got into barre, what she loves about it, and what really grinds her gears about the marketing?
    The biggest myths about barre that are being perpetuated and what she wants you to know is LIES.
    Red flags to look out for when choosing a barre class or following a barre instructor on social media.
    How Maya brings what she learned from getting her Masters in Public Health to her approach to fitness.
    What she wishes more fitpros (and the general population) understood about fitness from a public health perspective. 
    The amazing benefits you miss out on when you're overly focused on aesthetics.
    How she helps clients set goals to build themselves up, rather than tear themselves down.
    So much other good stuff!
    ⁠Work with Maya⁠
    ⁠Follow Maya on Instagram⁠
    ⁠Work with me⁠
    ⁠Get on the Kettlebell Social Interest List!⁠
    ⁠Follow & tag me on Instagram/Threads
    43 min
  • Your Science Means Nothing Without Empathy (An Open Letter To the Instagram Gym Bros) (Best of Season 2 Replay)

    I get so tired of reading posts from Instagram gym bros who can tell you all about what the science says but have no concept of how that applies to the actual human beings they work with. Especially women. I've wanted to comment on their posts so many times, but I know they don't give AF. So I decided to record a podcast episode about it.

    On this episode we talk about:

    • Why listening to your client's lived experience is just as important (if not more so) than understanding what the science says.
    • Why we need more evidence based training and less dogma and misinformation AND the understanding that not every client we work with is going to fall neatly into the box of what "studies show".
    • How many of the people who preach "CaLoRiEs In CaLoRiEs OuT bEcAuSe SciEnce!" fail to account for are things like what that calorie deficit feels like to live out in real life.
    • Why we, as fitness professionals need to start unpacking our own assumptions about people's bodies and stop contributing to weight stigma by celebrating fat loss like it's the greatest thing a person could ever achieve.
    • Unrealistic beauty standards, body dysmorphia, and how losing weight often doesn't make you feel as great as you think it will.
    • The patriarchal bullshit of it all.

      • ⁠Work with me!⁠

      ⁠Get my free mini push-up program⁠

      ⁠Follow & tag me on Instagram⁠

      ⁠Join me in the UNdiet Online Community⁠

      26 min
    • Maybe Cardio Isn't So Bad After All. . .Running Without Running Yourself Into the Ground with Liz Brinkmoeller (Best of Season 2 Replay)

      This week's episode is inspired by MANY conversations I've been having with clients lately. It seems that improving cardiovascular endurance is a common goal for a lot of us. And there are so many questions surrounding how to do that. Especially if you've previously had a complicated relationship with cardio. My friend Liz Brinkmoeller seemed like the perfect person to have this conversation.

      After being a track athlete in high school, Liz went through college and had a traditional desk job for about 6 years. After finding her way back to fitness and running, she became certified in group fitness and personal training and switched careers to full time training. As a former runner with a complicated past with exercising and eating, her goal is to work through all the misinformation in the fitness and running world so all the clients she serves don't forget they live a life outside of body size and PRs. 

      On this episode we talk about: 

      • How lifting weights can benefit people who run AND how running can benefit those who primarily lift.
      • How to balance hybrid training (AKA running and strength training) without overdoing it.
      • The ways diet culture shows up in the running world.
      • How to improve your relationship with running/cardio if you've previously used it as a compensatory behavior.
      • The ways that cardio (like running) can be both a really good and healthy thing, and also a disordered and unhealthy thing depending on your approach.
      • How to improve your capacity for running/cardiovascular fitness when you haven't done it in awhile (or ever).
      • So many other great things!

        • ⁠Follow Liz on Instagram⁠

        ⁠Work with me⁠

        ⁠Get my free mini push-up program⁠

        ⁠Follow & tag me on Instagram⁠

        ⁠Join me in the UNdiet Online Community⁠


        53 min
      • You're NOT Going Insane. Regulating Your Nervous System & Perimenopause with Diana May (Best of Season 2 Replay)

        This conversation with Diana May left me feeling seen and understood in ways I didn't even realize I needed. I recently re-connected with Diana on Instagram as a result of my quest to clear out a lot of the noise on my feed. I unfollowed a LOT of big accounts and the result was me getting to see content from people in my real life who I had lost touch with. One of them being Diana--who was one for my first and favorite yoga teachers. After discovering that we were both talking about similar concepts in different contexts (same shit sandwich) I knew I needed to bring her on the podcast!

        Diana May is a life-long learner, yoga teacher, environmentalist, and somatic practitioner.  She has taught full-time for 14 years and since the pandemic has transitioned to being an entirely online yoga teacher.  She believes the big-scale shifts she wants to see in the world comes down to nervous system regulation, the ability to truly slow down, enjoy life in the present moment, and build a compassionate relationship with your full experience.  


        On this episode we talk about:

        • Diana's backstory and how she came to be doing the work she does today.
        • How the "nervous system" is a buzzword in fitness and wellness spaces and what we actually mean when we're talking about it.
        • The stages of menopause as it relates to the nervous system and how it applies to movement of all sorts.
        • How you might be getting into the late reproductive stage and stages of menopause earlier than you think and some symptoms to look out for. (AKA you're not going insane.)
        • Shifts you can make in your life to support yourself through it.
        • How different types of movement (yoga, strength training, and otherwise) can potentially support our nervous systems or push us into deeper disregulation?
        • How to tune in to know what our bodies actually need.
        • So many other mind blowing things!

          • ⁠Work with Diana⁠

          ⁠⁠Follow Diana on Instagram⁠⁠

          ⁠⁠Work with me⁠⁠

          ⁠⁠Get on the Kettlebell Social Interest List!⁠⁠

          ⁠Work with me: Lemonade Calls! ⁠

          ⁠⁠Follow & tag me on Instagram/Threads

          55 min
        • Self-Trust, Joy, Ease, and Unapologetic Queer Shit with Shohreh Davoodi (Best of Season 2 Replay)

          Today's episode is such a fun and mind blowing conversation with my friend Shohreh Davoodi. Seriously. The original plan was to talk about self-trust in fitness but we went in so many interesting directions (as two people with ADHD would). I had so many lightbulb moments when talking to her. Shohreh and I originally connected several years ago as two of the only HAES personal trainers in Facebook group full of non-diet dietitians and therapists. Over the years it's been awesome to watch her work (and life) shift and grow and I'm excited to let her share some of her wisdom and magic with you today.

          Shohreh Davoodi is an unapologetically queer writer and creator. Driven by a passion for equal rights and representation for LGBTQIA+ folks and people of color, her work supports and celebrates the queer and BIPOC communities of which she's a proud member. Shohreh is currently working on her first novel, and she is the author of the Substack newsletter, The Queer Agenda. She happily resides in Denver, Colorado, with her fiancée, but Texas will always be home and she's forever a Texan at heart.

          On this episode we talk about:

          • Shohreh's personal and professional journey and how she came to be doing the work (and living the life) that she is today.
          • Why changing directions can be so hard and scary and how to get yourself out of the cycle of trying to force yourself into ways of being that don't feel right or authentic for you.
          • Self-trust and of the things in life/society/systems that prevent us from trusting our own internal wisdom.
          • How we can reclaim and practice self-trust with our fitness and wellness.
          • Finding more joy and ease and what that can look and feel like in fitness and in life.
          • Allllll the queer shit! Comphet: why it never dawned on a lot of us that we could be anything but straight.

            • ⁠Check out Shohreh's website⁠⁠

            ⁠⁠Read Shohreh's substack⁠⁠

            ⁠Follow Shohreh on Instagram/Threads⁠

            ⁠Follow Shohreh on TikTok⁠

            ⁠Work with me⁠

            ⁠Get on the Kettlebell Social Interest List! ⁠

            ⁠Follow & tag me on Instagram/Threads

            1 hr 8 min
          • The Conversation You Didn't Know You Needed To Hear--Navigating Tough Transitions and Making a Comeback with Laura Jawad (Best of Season 2 Replay)

            Today's podcast episode is the conversation you didn't realize you needed to hear. It was absolutely cathartic to record this, and I know so many of you are going to feel a sense of hope after listening. Especially if you're going through some shit. Today I'm talking to Laura Jawad all about what it means to make a comeback, and also navigating life's tough transitions. She has certainly been through quite a few in recent years and has a TON of wisdom to share.


            As a pregnancy and postpartum personal trainer and birth doula, Laura Jawad helps people feel strong and confident in their changing bodies. Laura's journey navigating her own pregnancies and difficult postpartum recoveries opened her eyes to major gaps in care offered to birthing parents. She left her role as a PhD-trained scientist to become the coach and resource she needed during those vulnerable years. Today, she does more than simply program workouts. She helps people recognize pregnancy and postpartum as pivotal opportunities to grow strong and thrive. As a coach and a content expert with over five years exclusively focused on pregnancy and postpartum, she's on a mission to de-stigmatize conversations around birthing bodies and pelvic health. Laura holds certifications as a Girls Gone Strong Certified Pregnancy and Postpartum Coach and as a Certified Pregnancy and Postpartum Athleticism Coach.


            On this episode we talk about:

            • Laura's experience navigating difficult postpartum recoveries and surviving breast cancer.
            • What it could it look like if we used big life events like pregnancy, postpartum, menopause, illness- as launch pads to do things differently- and perhaps BETTER, instead of ruminating on loss of a previous version of ourselves.
            • How she, a self-described cynic, came to be able to find the silver lining in hard times, and how she'd advise others to do the same.
            • How to navigate all of this without dipping into toxic positivity.
            • How to distinguish between a real systemic barrier that is out of your control vs. a fixed mindset that is keeping you stuck.
            • How we treat big life transitions as pathologies rather than opportunities and what she wishes we could do differently.
            • So many other good things!

              • ⁠Follow Laura on Instagram ⁠

              ⁠Work with Laura⁠

              ⁠Work with me⁠

              ⁠Get my free mini push-up program⁠

              ⁠Follow & tag me on Instagram

              57 min
            • Is This Actually Healthy?! Navigating Weight Gain + Intuitive Eating with Naomi Katz (Best of Season 2 Replay)

              Today we're talking all about Intuitive Eating! Something that I'm a big fan of and allude to a lot, but I haven't shared an episode about it yet. Today is the day! Many of my clients and listeners are kind of on board with it (you too?) but haven't completely gone all in or mastered it yet. Or maybe you have, but you gained weight and now you're wondering "how can this be healthy?" If yes, this episode is for you!

              Naomi Katz (she/her/hers) is a Certified Intuitive Eating Lay Facilitator, body image coach, and owner of Happy Shapes Coaching in Asheville, North Carolina. She supports and holds space for folks who are ready to reject diet culture so they can reclaim their autonomy and consent over their mind, body, and life.

              Rather than zooming in on the nutrition side of Intuitive Eating, Naomi focuses her coaching on the mindset piece—holding conversations about self-trust, body image, what the folks she works with value in their everyday lives, how diet culture robs us of these things, and how to navigate the process of rejecting and unlearning. 

              Naomi practices through a Health at Every Size and fat positive lens, and offers online individual and group coaching that focuses on learning to identify the systems influencing our feelings about food and our bodies, and learning to reclaim our power from those systems. Because we have bigger, better things to do in this world than spending our lives trying to fit a false ideal.


              On this episode we talk about:

              • What Intuitive Eating is and what it isn't.
              • Red flags to look out for when you're trying to follow or work with someone on Intuitive Eating.
              • How to know when you can DIY Intuitive Eating, work with a coach like Naomi, or need a Registered Dietitian.
              • How to navigate and take the shame out of lingering hopes for weight loss when you start down the path of intuitive eating.
              • Dealing with weight gain with Intuitive Eating and answering the "is this really healthy?" question.
              • Naomi's hot takes on the way Intuitive Eating is presented.
              • Why Intuitive Eating is a little like that 90's toy "Puppy Surprise"

                • ⁠⁠Work with me!⁠⁠⁠

                ⁠⁠⁠Get my free mini push-up program⁠⁠⁠

                ⁠⁠⁠Follow & tag me on Instagram⁠⁠⁠

                ⁠⁠⁠Work with Naomi⁠

                ⁠⁠⁠Listen to Naomi's podcast⁠⁠⁠

                ⁠⁠⁠Follow and tag Naomi on Instagram⁠⁠

                ⁠Official Intuitive Eating Stuff

                50 min

              About Tough Cookie Talks

              From the publisher's feed

              Tough Cookie Talks is a podcast we'll explore the intersection of fitness & anti-diet culture and all the gray areas in between. We'll let go of "shoulds" and judgment and dig into tough…