Influencers and celebrities can play a massive role in how we act, shop, look, work and feel. It is literally their job to influence us. And especially when it comes to weight loss and body image, a lack of transparency can be harmful and detrimental to their audience.
In this episode I dig into well known influencers and celebrities currently sharing their new bodies on social media. The conversation is centered around transparency, honesty and what they owe us.
Agree with me or not, I encourage you to tune in and listen to what I have to say on this.
The anti-diet culture movement has influenced many to believe that "all approaches to intentional weight loss are unhealthy". Many proponents of the anti-diet culture movement preach that engaging in intentional weight loss will end up in worse health outcomes, weight regain and a worse relationship with food.
BUT what if the approach to weight loss is rooted in a shift of mindset, attitudes towards food and body image, solid education, realistic goals and a focus on behaviors? What if the actual solution wasn't just all black and white.
In this episode I discuss my experience as a Registered Dietitian working in the disordered eating field, once participating in anti-diet culture dialogue, and recognizing there was a MUCH better way to help people.
And it isn't being tied to a "movement" but instead treating each individual as an individual with their own experiences and needs.
Welcome back to strengthen! If this is your first listen, I invite you to listen back at the evolution of this podcast, while small, but full of perspectives from all different women. But as I have evolved and continue to grow myself, my business and my own knowledge, I am seeking to bring more practical episodes, with things you can apply to your life to improve your health.
In this episode, I talk a tiny bit about motherhood, where I've been and my new business, Women in Motion Nutrition. And to fit the new era of my business, our episode is about demystifying the term "balancing hormones", why everyone is talking about, and if you REALLY need to focus on that.
High protein diets are touted by gymfluencers and docfluencers all of social media. But what do they mean and is a high protein diet right for me?
In this episode I take a dive into the recommended daily intake of protein, what I recommend for most of my clients and address common misconceptions and shedding light on the various factors influencing individual protein needs.
I discuss how I decide macros for clients and how a LOT of times a very high protein diet does not work. Adequate gains in the gym can be made without an insanely high amount of protein!
I also discuss the potential dangers to certain individuals who may be harmed by a high protein diet and why I think there needs to be more nuance in posts by professional on these apps!
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From cleanses, to detoxes, to supplements and ice baths, wellness culture has convinced us for years that expensive treatments are the only pathway to a healthy lifestyle.
But do we really need to buy into the influence? And how can this damage our relationship with food?
Wellness culture is very similar to diet culture. Both give the "eat like me, look like me" message and that thinness (and youth) are a societal success. In this episode I discussed the link between diet and wellness culture, define both and its ties to disordered eating.
In this episode I discuss my own journey through wellness culture, discuss its links to disordered eating and define orthorexia.
Social media will sell womens a problem, while also selling them a fix. In this podcast episode, I take a dive into the complex world of hormone balance for women while examining the significant influences of diet culture, wellness culture, and the supplement industry.
From hot girl walks, to detox drinks and supplements, the scene on social media when it comes to women's health and hormones is not based in research and scientific evidence. In this episode a briefly breakdown women's hormones, where some imbalances may be and why, as well as lending some signs and symptoms you want to look out for the ensure you are taking care of your health.
As always, send your questions to nutritionbygabby@gmail.com
The almond mom: a mom with an unhealthy obsession with thinness, dieting, and exercise who project that onto their own children. In this episode I breakdown what the "almond mom" is and take a deep dive into the complex relationship between almond moms, diet culture, and eating disorders.
In a world where wellness trends, superfoods, and diet fads seem to be constantly evolving, it's easy to feel overwhelmed by the pressure to maintain an idealized image of health. Many of us have heard about the so-called 'almond moms,' individuals who often prioritize clean eating, exercise, and wellness to an extreme degree, but what lies beneath the surface of this seemingly healthy lifestyle?
In this episode I dive into the background of the almond mom, often trapped in diet culture themselves. We'll also explore the broader implications of the almond mom and diet culture and how it can contribute to the development of eating disorders.
Gut health supplements are literally "trending" on social media. And as a nutritionist I am here to debunk (and debloat) the loads of misinformation, false marketing and overall shams of the diet and supplement industry. In this episode I talk about glutamine supplement, greens powders, and very popular herbal remedies for "gut health" as I dive into its link to thinness, weight loss and diet culture.
Links from this episode:
Citrus Labs
https://www.citruslabs.com/testedproducts
Bunny Rabbit Wheatgrass Study
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20508870/
In this episode I discuss three mindsets to have when you are healing from disordered eating/body image from Toxic Diet + Fitness Culture:
1) Healing your relationship with you body from a disordered eating lense isn’t healed by changing your body
2) Healing your relationship with food cannot happen with more restriction
3) Cutting off people, places, things that may be triggered - not permanently, but for some time.
I hope you enjoy the episode- contact me @gabbybarreto on IG or nutritionbygabby@gmail.com for questions.
In this episode I discuss what is toxic fitness culture, how in is intertwined with diet culture, how to spot it and how to combat it. Everyday in gym, social media and in our culture, women are pressured to look and be and ideal way, promising that if we looked a certain way this would bring us happiness. But with all my years working with women in the disordered eating and eating disorder space, I have rarely seen this happen amongst this population. With the rising rates of poor body image and eating disorders, this episode discusses the origin of this posed as the objectification theory. Enjoy :)
Dieting and being small is popular, but the consequences of consistently underfueling our bodies comes with some pretty crappy side effects. The obsession with our bodies is more than a mental health concern, it takes a physical toll. In the episode I discuss the impacts to women's bodies from experiencing low energy availability: dysregulation of hormones, impacts to cardiovascular, immune, reproduction and bone health. This is a beginner to nutrition and human physiology friendly podcast and will not dig super deep into science, though terminology is used and explained.
Gut health is the buzziest buzz word in the social media world, but as a consumer of content, do you really know what it means? In this episode, I breakdown what gut health even means, how it impacts your overall health, the microbiome, pre/pro/syn/postbiotics and how to navigate these words as you scroll away. While I do use big words like "proliferate" and "histone deacetylase", this *digestible* episode will arm you with facts on facts on facts.
I mention in the beginning it will be a two part episode and in fact, it will. I'll dive deeper into the myths and trends and how to spot the BS out there. I'll also dive deeper into how this stuff actually "works".
Enjoy and DM me @gabbymbarreto with your questions.
In this episode, I told with myself (while my 7th month old plays and eats breakfast LOL) on 2 myths and 1 trend that has to go. I know the last one isn't a myth, but I made the list and then realized that it's not a myth but just an overall harmful practice.
Below are the 3 myths I discussed (all coated in diet culture BS)
1) Your metabolism is "ruined" and you need to reverse diet to heal it (but like restrictive dieting is like way worse for you than just this/doesn't happen to the degree people think and say it does but KKKKKK).
2) You should be synching your workouts and nutrition with your menstrual cycle (STOP it. Like now. Just go and eat and workout).
3) Why "what I eat in a day" videos are toxic.
Love you BOOs.
Maddie Myer's is definitely a GET TO KNOW trainer in NYC. In this episode we discuss what a body neutral approach to fitness is and how you can enjoy your fitness journey without the annoying #abz culture it brings. Because it's boring, right? And fitness is a feeling we don't always need to quantify, set goals for and micromanage (Something Maddie and I discuss and thoroughly agree on).
After listening to this episode three times (because I messed up editing), Maddie brings a fresh energy this industry 1000000% needs (the toxic fitness industry that is). A PA girl, with a NYC attitude, we're so grateful she left (boring) corporate life to join (the very fun) fitness industry.
In this episode, I sat down with NYC Trainer Amanda Katz for a conversation where literally, we did NOT hold back on our experience and observations about the state of the fitness industry: overly and unhealthily obsessed with our aesthetics and pressures to be "fit" enough. We discuss our journey to having a healthy relationship with exercise, our profession and how to help you weed our toxicity in your fitness practice.
Amanda is also an avid runner, and her approach to running is unique, fun and smart. In this episode we also discuss the importance of strength training and kettlebells for runners, having a positive mindset while running and approaches races from a radical perspective (Amanda is great at surprising people by showing up and racing unannounced, and I love it!).
Find Amanda on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amanda_katzz/
Learn more about her practice here: https://www.amandaskatz.com/
I took some time off and now it's game time. A whole year off to have a baby, publish some academic papers and some other fun things. Take a glimpse into the update of my professional and personal growth + 5 Nutrition Hacks for Strength Training Women (you're going to want to stick around and listen to that!). PLUS, head to my IG story on 3/1 and 3/5 to get your AMA (ask me anything) question in for my 3/29 episode (you can also DM me :) @gabbymbarreto
An attorney by trade, May is a fighter for social justice, including social justice in the fitness space. As we evolve in understanding more about body shape and size in relation to health, we still see the same bodies represented in fitness. We question, especially in a progressive city like NYC, how we can start to bring more of that to life. Listen in on May’s experience as we discuss her lifelong relationship with food and her body, her joy of boxing and mission to make all bodies comfortable, confident and present in the fitness space.
What helps me through negative thoughts best is a guided mindful meditation. This episode is my FIRST mindful meditation on this podcast I needed to post with the overwhelming need to help my followers, clients and the world move through the comments about their bodies this holiday season. This meditation will help you feed your mind with POSITIVE affirmations to help you move into a future self that isn't bothered or moved by others comments (or bothered less). This meditation uses imagery, a technique that allows us to image a future where we aren't affected by comments about our bodies.
Your feedback is appreciated! Hit me at gabby@gabbymbarreto.com or here on instagram with you feedback.
You'll hear it from both us of: we are so over toxic messages of over excising, under eating and beat yourself up in the fitness industry. Because your FITNESS journey should be beneficial to your HEALTH, no detrimental.
I seriously loved every moment and every work Gabi said because we share a similar journey and mindset around fitness, food and our ED experience. People like her are a RARE experience, so I highly recommend you tune in HARD.
Trigger warning: eating disordered are discussed. No descriptive or vulgar behaviors are discussed in depth (AS always because that doesn't help anyone!).
I talk a LOT about bones. As women, our bone health is so fragile, especially as we age and hormones change. It's such a damn shame that we are sold restrictive weight loss as a means to better health when it has the potential to weaken the one thing we need the most care for. In this episode I discuss the reality of nutrition and bone health and how dieting and restriction affects women of all age (even young girls, very young).
PLUS this FALL I will be throwing down another Fuel Your Strength Nutrition program to help you fuel your training and improve you relationship with food at the same time.