What happens when the pressure to perform collides with the pressure to look a certain way? This week, we’re tackling body image in sports and fitness—breaking down the differences between body dysmorphia, body dissatisfaction, and body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), and why athletes are especially vulnerable.

From social media-fueled comparison traps (looking at you, Facetune) to toxic fitness culture and outdated coaching methods, we explore why so many athletes struggle with body image—and what actually helps.

Plus, a deep dive into why traditional body positivity isn’t the answer and why frameworks like body neutrality, fat liberation, and radical body acceptance are changing the conversation.

💥 Spoiler: It’s not your body that’s broken—it’s the system.

Resources & Further Reading:
📖 The link between social media and body dysmorphia
📖 Athletes, disordered eating, and performance pressures
📖 How fitness culture reinforces body dissatisfaction

Shoutout to Our Sponsors!
🎉 Big thanks to Tailwind Nutrition and Janji for making this episode possible. Their support helps us keep the conversations real, evidence-based, and (mostly) free of diet culture BS.

🚀 Support the show! Shop Tailwind’s performance fuel at ⁠tailwindnutrition.com⁠ and gear up with Janji’s adventure-ready apparel at ⁠janji.com⁠.

Stay Connected:
📲 Follow Your Diet Sucks on Instagram: @yourdietsuckspod
📩 Questions or topic requests? Email us at [email protected]

If this episode resonated with you, please rate & review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify—it helps more people find the show!

Follow us on Instagram!

 Your Diet Sucks is back, and today Zoë and Kylee are diving into the Wild Wild West of sports nutrition marketing—where sugar is the enemy, ketones are tactical, and somehow, gels need to be “guilt-free.”

In this episode, we break down how sports nutrition marketing plays on fear, misinformation, and diet culture to sell you products that may or may not actually help you perform. We unpack why terms like “guilt-free” are designed to manipulate you (as if your fuel choices require moral absolution), how brands sneak in buzzwords like “clean” or “sugar-free” to stoke carb paranoia, and why influencer culture has turned sports nutrition into a race to see who can make the most dramatic, pseudoscientific claims.

We also dig into the science—or lack thereof—behind metabolism-boosting formulas, carb-phobic electrolyte mixes, and products that promise you won’t experience GI distress (bold claim, considering we’ve all been betrayed by a burrito at some point).

Hold onto your ketones—we’re debunking, demystifying, and dunking on pseudoscience.

So what should you actually look for in a sports nutrition product? We got you. We break down how to separate marketing BS from real science, so you don’t end up under-fueled, overcharged, or spending $5 on a single gram of carbs.

Thanks to our sponsors, Janji and Microcosm Coaching!

You came here for nutrition tips and maybe some good-natured dunking on diet fads—not a deep dive into politics. But here’s the thing: food and health are political. And with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pushing his "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) agenda, it's impossible to ignore how his take on fitness, food, and public health is pulling people into his camp.

On the surface, MAHA taps into real concerns—ultra-processed foods, chronic disease, corporate influence on health policy. But beneath the slogans, the movement leans hard on personal responsibility while offering little in the way of actual solutions.

We’re not here to dunk on anyone for questioning the status quo—critical thinking is good! But when it comes to making America healthy, actually, we need solutions that go beyond slogans.

Thanks to our sponsors, Janji! Get 10% off your purchase with the code YDS.

And Microcosm Coaching. Book your free consultation call today!

Is sugar the enemy? Or is it just misunderstood? In this episode of Your Diet Sucks Zoë and Kylee dive deep into the science and misconceptions behind sugar addiction, breaking down the science behind dopamine, deprivation, and diet culture.

Join us as we cut through the BS, debunk inflammatory headlines, and reclaim the middle ground between demonizing sugar and downing 591 Sour Patch Kids (Zoë!!). If you’ve ever felt guilty about a cupcake or been told to fear fruit, this one’s for you.

Thanks to our sponsors!

Janji: Gear for runners, made for adventure. Shop now with code YDS for 10% off.

Microcosm Coaching: Personalized coaching for athletes of all levels. Start your journey at microcosm-coaching.com.

Food isn’t the enemy, but dipsh*ts on TikTok might be. Find balance, embrace nuance, and eat the damn banana. 🍌

YDS is sponsored by Janji! Use our code "YDS" for 10% off your purchase.

YDS is sponsored by Microcosm Coaching. Get matched with a certified coach today!

New Year, same unrealistic resolutions? Zoë and Kylee dive into the science, myths, and psychology behind habit formation—and why your January goals are destined to flop without a game plan. From ancient Babylonian promises to modern-day Quitters Day, we unpack the history of resolutions, the cognitive biases that sabotage them, and why you can’t willpower your way into a better life. Spoiler: It’s not about losing 20 pounds in 4 weeks or cutting out sugar forever.

Learn why SMART goals aren’t just a corporate buzzword and how to make resolutions that actually work (hint: be specific, not perfect). Whether you’re stuck in the cult of optimization or just trying to make it to February with your sanity intact, this episode will teach you how to build habits that last longer than a TikTok trend.

References:

https://www.driveresearch.com/market-research-company-blog/new-years-resolutions-statistics/

https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/new-years#ancient-new-year-s-celebrations

https://www.forbes.com/sites/prudygourguechon/2019/01/01/why-you-should-ditch-depressing-new-years-resolutions-and-do-this-instead/

Join the Feisty Fueled Challenge!

Sponsored by Microcosm Coaching and Fly Nutrition.

Happy New Year! It’s the season of crash diets and bad advice, so we’re here to cut through the noise with evidence-based answers to your nutrition questions.

In this episode, we’re covering:

Start your year off with smarter fueling and real talk—no BS, no quick fixes, just sustainable solutions that work.

Join the Feisty Fueled Challenge!

Kylee and Zoë wade into the murky waters of "racing weight"—a concept that’s been messing with athletes’ heads since the early days of endurance sports. From ancient Greek wrestlers sweating it out in bathhouses to modern-day endurance athletes chewing gum to spit out extra grams (yes, that’s a thing), the obsession with weight and performance has a long, bizarre history.

We unpack the origins of this idea, critique the pseudoscience and harmful messaging it often comes with, and dig into why lighter doesn’t always mean faster. Along the way, we examine why weight has become such a fixation in endurance sports and how that obsession can derail not just your performance, but your overall health.

Whether you’ve been told you need to hit an “ideal weight” to perform your best, or you’re just curious about why athletes fixate on the scale, this episode is a deep dive into why chasing racing weight can do more harm than good. Spoiler alert: You’re more than your power-to-weight ratio.

Tune in for the history, the science, and the many reasons you don’t need a scale to measure your worth—or your speed. Plus, a surprising history lesson involving figs, bloodletting, and why we don’t recommend using Horny Goat Weed to prep for your next race.

Ask Kylee and Zoë Anything! We're looking for listener questions for an "Ask Us Anything" episode in the New Year!

Follow us on the 'gram.

In this episode, Kylee and Zoë dive unpack the history of superfoods and why the term might have more to do with marketing than science (spoiler alert, I guess?). We debunk some popular superfood myths and examine the downsides of being hyper-reliant on any one food or ingredient when it comes to maximizing health and performance. Then, we walk through the foods with a strong base of evidence for improving athlete performance and adaptations.

Plus, some spicy takes about bananas. Checkmate, atheists!

Kylee and Zoë dive deep into the culture and science of biohacking, from cold plunges to Bulletproof coffee to see why we're all obsessed with the idea that "one weird trick" can have huge results. We unpack where the idea of biohacking came from, and how it has become a major factor in many athletes, especially men's diets. We'll look at some studies that show how the trend is feeding into many men's disordered relationships with food, and ask the question: is biohacking just another way for dudes to mask disordered eating under pseudoscience?

Take Our Audience Survey!

This podcast is supported by Microcosm Coaching and Fly Nutrition. 

Does tracking your sleep, steps, and nutrition actually make you healthier?

In this episode of Your Diet Sucks, Kylee and Zoë dive into the research on when activity trackers help and when they might hurt your health. Whether it's orthosomnia or jogging laps around the parking lot, we examine how the quest for optimization can undermine your well-being and how obsessively tracking your metrics and stats can actually lead to worse health outcomes - and even bad sex?!?