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Tough Cookie Talks
By Jenna JozefowskiHealth & Fitness
Tough Cookie Talks episodes
- How Do I Nutrition? Wellness Without the Weird Shit with Eleni Agresta-Levine and Ashantis Jones
This week's episode with Ashantis Jones and Eleni Agresta-Levine hit so many important topics around gentle nutrition and truly holistic wellness with a weight-inclusive approach. It was also just a ton of fun and I know you're gonna love it!
On this episode we talk about:
- What their new program and community, Body Kind Nutrition is and how it came to be.
- Commitment to community and personal care of ourselves as we transition into the winter months.
- How weird it is that there are all sorts of communities centered around weight loss, but almost none that are weight inclusive--and how they're attempting to change that.
- Staying within your scope of practice as a professional and how we can support and refer out to each other.
- Ways to support yourself with nutrition when you're also in ED/DE recovery, neurodivergent, dealing with chronic illness, etc.
- How they're addressing the very real concerns people have around their health and nutrition without dipping into diet culture or pseudoscience.
- What a weight inclusive approach to nutrition actually looks like.
- How to make food choices that feel good for you without following the arbitrary rules of diet culture OR anti-diet culture.
- Some examples of recipes and meal prep ideas they've shared.
- So many other good things.!
Ashantis Jones (she/they) is a weight-inclusive Pre-Licensed Therapist, Mental Health Coach, NASM Certified Personal Trainer, Group Fitness Instructor, and Educator. You can visit her website www.ashantisjones.com or follow her at @iamashantis on Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube, and Threads.
Eleni Agresta Levine (she/her) is a weight-inclusive Registered Dietitian. You can follow her @all.bodies.nutrition on Instagram, TikTok, and Threads.
Body Kind Nutrition is a meal preparation program and community that supports people with gentle nutrition from a weight-inclusive approach. Created by Eleni Agresta Levine, MS, RDN, and Ashantis Jones, MEd, QMHP, NASM CPT, the BKN mission is to assist folks as they learn to build body trust through nourishment. You can join our community at www.patreon.com/BodyKindNutrition or follow along at @body.kind.nutrition on Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and Threads. To learn more you can visit our site.
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1 hr 21 min - How To Avoid Black Friday Buyer's Remorse (For Fitness Things & All the Things)
The holiday season is upon us. The Black Friday ads are already coming. And I don't want you to regret any of your purchases. Because the more money we all spend on dumb shit we don't really want or need, the less money we have to put towards the things we really care about. As we move into January, we are gonna need to lean on that now more than ever.
On this episode we talk about:
- The things to consider if you want to avoid buyers remorse & feel good about your spending.
- Why you might wanna make a list in advance.
- How to avoid scarcity and urgency.
- How to spot fake deals that aren't really deals at all.
- Hacks to sometimes get extra $$ off.
- Voting with your dollar.
- How to bring all of this into your holiday gift giving
- Fitness specific considerations.
- All sorts of other fun and festive things!
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29 min - All Things ADHD with Britt-Marie Sivertsen
Today I'm pumped to be talking to my friend and long time co-worker Britt-Marie Sivertsen. So often you hear about ADHD from a clinical perspective, but today we're sharing our lived experience with it!
Britt-Marie is an Orangetheory Coach of 8 years, Head Coach of Chicago-Andersonville location for 5 years, Personal Trainer of 12 years, former yoga teacher, former gymnast, cat mom, plant based human of 10 years, Chicago performer, company member of Comedy Dance Chicago, volunteer bird rescuer, and Renaissance Faire goer.
On this episode we talk about:
- Her experience with having late diagnosed ADHD.
- How we both used to move our furniture around our rooms as children (an ADHD thing?!)
- Being a trainer with ADHD and how it shows up in her life and job.
- Why we think women like us were missed for a diagnosis as children.
- How things like imposter syndrome, rejection sensitivity dysphoria, and justice sensitivity show up for her.
- Hacks we've found help ourselves and our clients do the things we want to do.
- Our current hyper fixations.
- How we connect with our neurodivergent clients.
- How we use labels to understand ourselves and how to use that understanding as an explanation but not an excuse.
- So many other fun things!
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1 hr 13 min - WTF Are We Gonna Do Now??
Yesterday I cried for most of the day. I have been through every stage of grief over the election results and now I'm attempting to answer the tough question "WTF are we gonna do now?"
On this episode we talk about:
- The surprising conversation I had with a woman at my son's school that reminded me that there are good people hiding all around us.
- Why I'm leading with vulnerability.
- How moving forward needs to be treated like a relay race--tapping in and out as we need to.
- What I said to my adult tap class to acknowledge our shared grief without making it awkward.
- Why our power as women is in having our own money, creating our own safe spaces, and sharing that with each other.
- How I'm planning to take action AND take care of myself.
- So many other shitty things. 🙃
Watch the Syncopated Ladies
Get the book Democracy In Retrograde
Kettlebell Basics Workshop-Sign up!
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Listen to my “We’re Not Going Back” playlist
17 min - Tradwives, Influencer Grifters & the Wellness to Right-Wing Conspiracy Theory Pipeline with Jo Piazza
This week Jo Piazza is here, and if you don't know her, you need to!! I discovered her podcast, Under the Influence last year, and was drawn in by the way she exposes social media bullshit in the same way I call out the fitness industry. She introduced me to mind blowing stories about tradwives, the wellness to right wing conspiracy theory pipeline, and all the ways social media makes women feel like garbage.
My hope is that it will help you become a more critical consumer of social media and avoid going down conspiracy theory rabbit holes the next time you're just looking for a banana bread recipe.
Jo Piazza is the international bestselling author of The Sicilian Inheritance and twelve other books. She is also the creator of the wildly popular Under the Influence podcast. She lives in Philly with her husband and three feral children.
On this episode we talk about:
- The work Jo is doing and who she is as a whole human (because that matters too!)
- What exactly a "tradwife" is, in case you didn't know.
- The wellness to right-wing conspiracy theory pipeline, and the path that people typically follow to get there.
- How content like this can suck women into believing disinformation that can cause them to act/vote against their own best interests.
- Red flags to watch out for when you want to make sure you don't get scammed into weird shit on the internet.
- How the broken U.S. medical system and lack of support for women and moms can cause us to turn to internet grifters for advice.
- How trad-wife and wellness content makes us feel about ourselves as regular ass women in the world.
Follow Jo on Instagram
Listen To Under the Influence
Listen to We've Got Issues
Buy the Sicilian Inheritance
Preorder Everyone Is Lying To You
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42 min - When Wellness Turns Toxic: Thriving Without Striving with Paula Freedman-Diamond, Psy.D
Today I'm back with my friend Dr. Paula! She was originally a guest on Season 1 (Episode 31, Flexibility for Your Mind & Getting Unstuck) and today she is back as a PUBLISHED AUTHOR! We are talking all about her new book, Toxic Striving.
Paula Freedman-Diamond, Psy.D., is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor. She is the owner and clinical director of HumanKind Psychological Services in Chicago, IL and the author of Toxic Striving: Why Hustle and Wellness Cultures are Leaving Us Anxious, Stressed, and Burned Out-- and How to Break Free, and The Addiction Recovery Workbook: Powerful Skills for Preventing Relapse Every Day.
Dr. Paula specializes in perfectionism, anxiety, and eating disorders. She enjoys helping high-achievers and people-pleasers learn to stop chasing external approval and start living according to the wisdom of their own bodies and minds. Dr. Paula is on a mission to take down the toxic systems that make people feel like they're not good enough, no matter how hard they work. She is especially passionate about making healthcare more welcoming and respectful for all bodies. She provides education and supervision for clinical psychology doctoral students. She is a strong advocate for size inclusivity in health, fitness, and wellness spaces.
Dr. Paula has been featured in the New York Times and is a featured expert for Reebok, Bark Technologies, and A Sweat Life. She is on the advisory boards for Medical Students for Size Inclusivity and Fat Torah. You can follow her on Instagram at @mindfuldrpaula.On this episode we talk about:
- The real life experiences (of herself and her patients) that inspired the book.
- How we've all been brainwashed by society, and how to start questioning our conditioning more.
- Privilege vs. hard work/virtue and how we sometimes conflate the two.
- Why all personality traits have good and bad sides and why we're taught that some are more desirable than others.
- Breaking arbitrary rules and busting through all-or-nothing mindset (my favorite topic!).
- Why you're not special for drinking celery juice and the ways we moralize various aspects of hustle culture and wellness culture.
- Her experience with infertility and all the ways we turn other aspects of our lives into different flavors of shit sandwich as diet culture.
- What to do if we value things like health and achievement and how to thrive without striving.
- Why what you resist persists.
- How connecting with your authentic identity and personal truth can help you break the cycle of toxic striving.
- So many other good things!
Work With Paula
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1 hr 13 min - Election Season Survival Guide
Today we're gonna talk about how to survive election hurricane wartime season. More specifically, the election part. Yup. Sorry not sorry, but we're talking politics. Why?
1. Because I never want to feel the way I did the day after election day 2016, and using my platform makes me feel like I'm doing my part.
2. I've been a little too engaged with this election cycle and am usually the person my friends and family ask to fill them in. Everything I'm sharing is stuff my people have told me they've found helpful.
3. If you're like many of my clients and friends, this is keeping you up at night.
4. It's my podcast and I do what I want. ;)
On this episode we talk about:
- Context around my political perspective as it relates to my values as a coach.
- Why I'm voting for Kamala Harris in spite of arguments against her AND why voting isn't the only tool in our toolbox.
- A message to my fellow friends on the left who are fighting each other in the comments over voting blue no matter who vs. abstaining/voting third part as an act of resistance. (AKA stop arguing and make a plan.)
- Ideas for how to take action toward the kind of country and world you wanna live in beyond just voting.
- Some of my favorite resources to help you stay informed, take action, and cope & my biggest takeaways from each.
Stuff I talk about in the episode:
Project 2025
Democracy In Retrograde (book)
Democracy Or Else (book)
How Fascism Works (book)
A Well-Trained Wife (book)
Educated (book)
Pod Save America (podcast)
We've Got Issues (podcast)
The Necessary Conversation (podcast)
Morning Announcements (podcast)
Under the Influence (podcast)
We Can Do Hard Things (podcast)
Postcards To Swing States
Moms Demand Action
Ripple Vote
5 Calls
Build Your Own Ballot Tool
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43 min - You Think You Know but You Have NO Idea--Travel, Training, and Typhoid Fever with Holly Myers
This week I'm talking Holly Myers--for the THIRD time. If you're on Instagram, you might know her as the barbell pistol squatting queen, and half of the strength coaching duo @liftwithhollyandarryn. Our first episode together, "Balancing Strength, Softness, and Silliness" and "When You're a Badass but You're Tired: The Conversation We Almost Cancelled" were two of my most downloaded ever, and today she's back!
Holly is an artist, mover, & mentor. She is a neurodivergent, multiracial, 2nd-generation Filipino immigrant with BIG FEELINGS and an enthusiastic seeker of growth & healing. Aside from heavy kettlebell ballistics, she enjoys making doggy friends, writing, photographing on film, and being a genuinely curious person. She is notably obsessed with pastries and used to make ice cream for a living (for real). The practice of becoming stronger has empowered her to keep questioning her limits and, in turn, the narrow societal limitations imposed upon us all. Her movement practice helps her show up more authentically every day. Witnessing others' expansion moves her deeply.On this episode we talk about:
- The truth about Holly's (almost) year as a digital nomad.
- Her experience getting super sick overseas.
- Why what you see online is NOT the whole story.
- How neither of our businesses are doing better than yours.
- Why being internet famous doesn't make you better than anyone else.
- Getting back into training when you're recovering from major illness.
- How travel changed her approach to her own workouts.
- Aging and feeling like a child all at once.
- So much other fun and random stuff.
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1 hr 19 min - FINALLY Back for Season 3!
Hello. Hi. I am back after a much longer than expected break. I'm super glad you're here and that you're still listening and I hope you're ready for an amazing Season 3!!
On this episode we talk about:
- Where the hell I went.
- What I was up to (and going through).
- What you can expect for Season 3!
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16 min - The Intersectionality of Cowboy Carter with Ashantis Jones (Bonus Episode! Part 2)
This week we are BACK with another bonus episode with Ashantis Jones and we are talking all about Cowboy Carter--the new Beyonce´ album. This episode is part 2 of this mini-series--be sure to check out last week's episode first, if you missed it!
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!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
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1 hr 22 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…
conversations with curiosity.