Tough Cookie Talks

I can't seem to let go of the need to talk about the current social and political climate, the rise of fascism and authoritarianism, and how it relates to fitness, wellness, diet culture, and everything I do here. I wanted to approach this topic from a historical lens, so I knew that Jen Borruso was the person I needed to talk to. We've known each other for years professionally, but as a friend she has always be my go-to person when I want to learn more about the historical context behind something. I'm so excited for you to learn from her today!

Jen Borruso is a personal trainer and nutrition coach who helps people build a healthier, more compassionate relationship with their bodies. Before entering the fitness world, Jen studied history and literature at the University of Central Florida, earning a Bachelor’s degree in History (with a focus on post-Civil War U.S. history) and a minor in English, with an emphasis on American Literature. Originally planning to become a high school teacher and possibly pursue law school, Jen developed a strong foundation in critical thinking, analysis, and understanding how historical and cultural forces shape the present. Reading Fearing the Black Body by Dr. Sabrina Strings was a pivotal moment in Jen’s learning journey, deepening her understanding of how diet culture is rooted in systems of control and oppression, including racism and the policing of bodies.Today, Jen works at the intersection of fitness and social justice, exploring how we can resist harmful narratives about health, worth, and perfection; and build a more inclusive, body-positive world.

On this episode we talk about:

• Jen's origin story as a history major turned fitness professional.
• Ways that diet culture and fascism are two flavors of the same shit sandwich.
• What fascism is, why we need to be concerned, and whether or not we're being too dramatic.
• Historical examples of fascist regimes as a cautionary tale for what we're slipping into today.
• How purity culture, whiteness and national identity play into this and how it's showing up right now.
• The dangers of seemingly innocent things like hyperfemininity, tradwife content, and skinnytok.
• How things like fat liberation, body neutrality, and feminism, are a way to reject both diet culture and fascist ideals and participate in political resistance.
• How capitalism plays into all of this.
• Attempts to whitewash history and demonize intellectualism, and books we can read to further our knowledge.
• So many other important things!

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Today's podcast is brought to you by listeners like you! Or at least the conversations I've had with you in response to last weeks episode with Vinny Welsby. Apparently weight loss drugs are a popular topic and you all have a lot of your own thoughts and opinions about them. After dedicating a whole episode to talking about the research behind medications like Ozempic and Wegovy, I'm back to talk about feelings. Like the complicated ones you have around whether or not to try these drugs. Or the fact that you want to lose weight in general.

On this episode we talk about:

• Some of the conversations I've had recently with clients, family, and friends around weight loss medication and intentional weight loss in general.
• Why there is no shade or shame to anyone who chooses to try this.
• AND why you need to have alll the information before you go all in with it--including the failure stories we don't usually hear about.
• The reasons you might be feeling the pull to lose weight at this point in time.
• The questions you need to be asking yourself and your medical provider before going down this path.

• So many other good things!

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Vinny Welsby is here today, and I could not think of anyone better to talk to about weight loss drugs with. They have done a really deep dive into research and know these GLP-1 meds inside and out. We all deserve to go into big medical decisions armed with all the information and we're so glad to be able to share what we know with you today!

Vinny Welsby (they/them) is a fat activist and diversity, equity and inclusion leader. They are a world-leading expert on dismantling anti-fat bias and diet culture, a TEDx speaker, podcast host and best-selling author. Vinny is trans-non-binary and is dedicated to shifting how society views fat and queer bodies through education and compassion.

When Vinny isn’t talking about DEI stuff they love snuggling with their dog, cross-stitching swear words and singing in a pop choir.

On this episode we talk about:

• All the different names & varieties that weight loss drugs go by these days.
• Why they may not be the "miracle" drug we think they are.
• The latest research surrounding them and why it may not be showing is the full picture.
• How much weight you can expect to lose on a GLP-1.
• What happens when you go off it.
• Side effects you may experience that nobody talks about.
• How to talk to your doctor about it.

• Why you might be feeling the pull to try one and why we don't fault you for that.
• Diets and weight loss drugs throughout history--is this just another flavor of the same shit sandwich??

• So many other good things!



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Diets Through the Decades Post

Wegovy/Ozempic Research Post



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Erin Lingle is here this week to teach us how to manage our stress better. I don't know about you, but I always laugh at the suggestion of lowering my stress levels. Ummm hello! I am the mom of a 4 year old. I live in America! What I appreciate most about Erin is her incredible sense of humor and her very realistic approach to handling the inevitable stress that's gonna come our way.

Erin Lingle, founder of Find Your Strength, is a personal trainer on a mission to equip women with the tools they need to not just survive, but thrive, no matter how messy life gets. Through her integrated approach of strength and conditioning and stress resilience training, she empowers women to build inner and outer strength. Her compassion extends to her three rescued pups, "team R," highlighting her belief in resilience and love.

On this episode we talk about:

• Erin's origin story and what managing grief and anxiety helped her learn about how to handle stress better.
• What it means to "stress better".
• Stress resilience training and the parallels between that and strength training.
• Simple ways to manage your stress differently in those moments when it's simply unavoidable.
• The duality of working out/strength training as stressor on the body AND stress relief.
• How to approach your workouts differently in high stress vs. lower stress times.
• What to add more of and/ortake away from your workouts when life get's stressful or you're experiencing specific mental health challenges.
• The most underrated things we can do to support our minds and bodies.
• The joy of coffee naps, improvisation, and generally doing weird shit.

• So many other good things!



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⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Where my fellow DIY girls at? If you know anything about me, you know that I love a good home improvement project. For the past few summers, I've been doing ongoing maintenance on my deck.

Working on things like this always gives me time to let me mind wander, and as I was painting a few weeks ago, I had so many lightbulb moments that I knew I needed to record a podcast episode about it!

On this episode we talk about:

• Why our goals often take way longer to achieve than we think they will, and maybe that's ok?
• Doing anything well takes wayyyyy longer than a quick fix, but it's so worth it.
• How strength training prepares you for things in real life outside the gym
• Why you don't need to stress so much about "good form".
• Why reaching your goals doesn't always feel the way we think it's going to.
• How allll of this related to fitness, of course.

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Ashantis Jones is back this week and we're talking all about the relationship between healthism and the rise of fascism. I know, fun right? But as we often discover, it's all different flavors of the same shit sandwich. And if we really wanna be healthy, we need to talk about the hard stuff too! Turns out it's not all just organic hemp seeds and kale chips.

Ashantis Jones (she/they) is a weight-inclusive Licensed Therapist, Mental Health Coach, NASM Certified Personal Trainer, Group Fitness Instructor, and Educator. She supports individuals seeking mental health + fitness support and businesses seeking to create more efficient and equitable practices. Specialties include Body Image/Eating Disorder Recovery, Executive Functioning, and Navigating Systems of Oppression.The Wellness Financial Fund provides full or partial financial assistance for individuals seeking personal training and/or wellness consultations (coffee chats) from Ashantis. The fund prioritizes financial support for Black women, but anyone is eligible to request sponsorship.

On this episode we talk about:

• The problem with the new potential surgeon general.
• Why many wellness influencers say things that seem to make sense on a surface level but don't actually work in practice or have evidence to back them up.
• How many of the ways we think about health can be rooted in bad things like eugenics, and how it's a slippery slope.
• Why we need to embrace nuance and let go of black and white thinking when it comes to wellness and public health policy.
• Why it's important to dig a little deeper and look at the root cause of our health problems as Americans (which is more systemic than we realize.
• Why we think Americans rely so heavily on processed foods and what our solutions would look like.
• Why we need to look at the wellness media we're consuming with a more critical eye.

• So many other good things!

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I finally decided to stop rolling my eyes and record an episode about what it takes to get toned arms. Because while I had hoped we were all past this, the amount of questions I've gotten about this over the years, plus the amount of garbage information still being fed to you on the internet made me cave.

If you don't need to hear this, I am certain that there is someone in your life who does. Please share this episode with your mom, your best friend, or your client.

This episode shares info that might be considered "triggering" to some in the anti-diet community. I'm sharing it anyway, because it feels like the same thing as why offering sex education to teenagers is better than preaching abstinence. Knowledge is power!

On this episode we talk about:

• The surprising amount of times I am told "I don't want to get too muscular, I just wanna get toned."
• Why there are no "3 best exercises for toned arms".
• Why you literally have to build muscle if you want to look "toned".
• The actual exercise science behind what it takes to change your body composition.
• Why I don't typically recommend obsessing over this for most clients.
• How much control we actual have over our body composition (some, but not as much as we think.)
• My take on "calories in/calories out".
• So many other important things!

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This episode with Toni Rudd blew my mind and filled in all sorts gaps in my understanding of intuitive eating, and I can't wait to share it with you! Turns out that lack of willpower and food restriction might not be the only reasons you can't seem to stop overeating, and Toni is here to shine a light on it today.

Toni Rudd is a UK-registered dietitian and binge eating specialist. She works with people who feel stuck in the cycle of dieting and bingeing, helping them heal their relationship with food and body. Through a compassionate, non-diet approach, Toni supports her clients to let go of food guilt, eat with more ease, and stop obsessing over food. Her work focuses on building consistent, satisfying eating habits and shifting the focus away from control towards self-trust and care.

On this episode we talk about:

• Toni's origin story and how she came to be doing the work she does today.

• Why dieting and bingeing are two sides of the same coin.
• Why willpower and discipline might not be the solutions you're looking for.
• Secret eating, nighttime eating, food shame, falling off the wagon, and other flavors of eating issues that aren't quite binge eating.
• Some of the surprising things that could lead to binge eating beyond just dieting.

• Why so many of us know so much about food and nutrition but can't seem to apply it. 
• How content around intuitive eating can trick us into thinking we're doing it, except we're not.
• What's missing in the current intuitive eating space, and how can we fill those gaps for ourselves and/or our clients.
• So many other good things!

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Another short solo episode for you this week, after a cookbook Photoshop scandal sent me on a spicy rant.

On this episode we talk about:

• The cookbook that fell into my lap a few weeks ago, and the scandalous mistake inside.
• Why we are so much more than toned arms.
• Why most of the images you look at are fake.
• My problem with the way society treats women, especially as we age.
• So many other important things!

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This week I have not one but TWO of my clients on the podcast! Miranda and Steph are here to talk about all things fitness trackers. Specifically how we've been using our Apple watches to enhance our experience of our workouts, daily movement, working towards performance goals, recovery, and more. We've been working on these things together in our 1:1 sessions and now we're ready to share our insights with you.

On this episode we talk about:

• Our early (obsessive) fitness tracking experience.
• How it evolved as we started giving up diet culture.
• What made us come back around to it and where we are in our relationship to it now.
• What helped us get to that place.
• Things that still annoy us about our Apple watches vs. things we think are cool/neutral data. 
• Advice for someone on the fence about tracking fitness data.
• Avoiding triggers vs. curiosity.
• So many other good things!

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