Talk RD to Me

Breaking the Chains of Diet Culture: A Journey to Food Freedom and Long Term Health

• Catherine

Share episode

Sick and tired of the endless cycle of dieting? I've been there—spinning my wheels on the latest fads, only to end up back where I started. But my journey through the mire of restrictive eating and the mental toll it exacts led to an epiphany that reshaped my life. As Coach Cat, I'm spilling the beans on the dark side of diet culture and extolling the virtues of a life where food is a friend, not a foe. Imagine trading pound-pinching for power-lifting, and calorie-counting for culinary celebrations. That's the transformative tale I'll unravel in this heart-to-heart, designed to fuel a revolution of self-acceptance and nutritional wisdom.

Ditch the one-size-fits-all diet plans and costly powders—real, sustainable health doesn't come from a bottle. In this candid exchange, we dissect the fallacies that keep us shackled to unsustainable eating habits and explore the liberating process of tailoring a nutrition plan that sings in harmony with our unique lives. I'm not just sharing my story; I'm inviting you to dismantle your own dietary history and pave the way to a relationship with food that's rich with pleasure and devoid of guilt. Together, let's lift the veil on authentic health and stride confidently toward a horizon where strength training builds more than muscle—it forges a fortress of self-confidence.

Follow me on IG! @that.rd.cat

Get 7 Days FREE Access to My Collective Community!

MADE FORE MORE: LEVEL UP HERE!

Speaker 1:

Welcome to Talk RD to Me, the unfiltered podcast where we dissect diet, culture, metabolism myths and unveil the raw truth behind the results you truly crave. My goal is to help guide you towards a happier and more fulfilling version of you Because, let's be real, it's not about the leanest you. It's about finding the joy in your health and fitness journey and building the life you desire. Get ready for unfiltered, dietitian, real talk that speaks to your soul and empowers you to live the life you desire. Hello, hello, welcome to episode number one of Talk RD to Me. I am your host, I am Coach Cat, I am a registered dietitian and I am here to really share about my journey, to share about how I coach, to give you some steps, to give you some insight on what it is actually going to take for you to live a happy, balanced, joyful life while still reaching your health and fitness goals.

Speaker 1:

I think so many of us women, including myself, have been tied and almost identified by our diet and by our program that we're doing and our life revolves around these goals. I'm here to tell you that does not need to be the case. I really wanted to jump on today and talk a little bit about my journey and give you some insights, some little thoughts and some little mindset shifts to get you in the right head space before you commit to your next program, before you commit to a meal plan, whatever that next step you're thinking about I really want to give you some tools to think through and make a rational decision before you jump into something else. So I want to share first things first about my journey and why I'm here and what I do as a coach, because right now, my main focus is working with women to lose weight in a sustainable way. I try to simplify it as much as possible and I want to teach you guys. I want to teach you how to eat, because this is something we have literally never been taught.

Speaker 1:

Think about whenever you've been taught nutrition aside from out, on your own and following another coach. Think about a time that you were actually taught about nutrition and about what it means and about what your body needs specifically. You probably don't have anything coming to mind other than in grade school, learning about the pyramid or learning about my plate. So if all you know right now is the Adkins diet, advacare, isagenix, octavia, the South Beach diet, the Special K diet, that is not learning about nutrition, and that is all your body knows. So if that's what you're depending on and you're buying into all of these programs, all of these supplements that are way overpriced, you are never going to learn about your specific body and about what foods to be giving it and what your body is really going to thrive on.

Speaker 1:

So that is my job as a dietitian I'm here to teach you how to eat real food, how to balance out your life and how to reap yourself out of the serious amount of negative energy that needs to be saved. And você, whereas I'll wear a seat belt with bad skin, really allow yourself the freedom of eating those foods and still get the results. So that's my goal when it comes to coaching, and I had to learn how to do this myself because, from a very young age, all I knew was dieting right, and that's just how a lot of us grew up right Like. Think about your family. You were living with your mom, any aunts, any grandmothers and think about how often you were hearing a new diet program come up, a new, you know, quick fix right.

Speaker 1:

I remember South Beach diet in my home and I remember no carbs. I remember that so vividly I was probably 12 years old, right, thinking about this and that's only teaching you about restriction. That's only about no foods and, yes, foods, and that is very damaging for our mental health, right. We have to understand that any food is really allowed it's just in moderation, right, and I know that sounds silly, but so many women that I work with are scared to eat bread, are scared to eat pasta and rice, because they have grown up around Adkins, keto, south Beach, all of these things that are saying no to carbs, right. So you have to start by unlearning some of these practices that you've been doing really your entire life, and that's what I had to do. And I started off, like I said, really at a young age. South Beach was in my house, Isagenix was in my house eating 12 almonds a day with a cleanse drink, okay, so that transferred through my entire life.

Speaker 1:

Then, you know, when I left and I went to college, I was doing the military diet. I was doing no carb, like I have done every diet out there. And it sounds silly to say, because you know I'm a dietitian, but I got here because of my experiences, right, and I learned from each of those and you know, I got into the gym and I got into training and learning about food. And that's where my mindset really started to shift, especially when I got into college and I was able to kind of be on my own and make my own food right, like I had to understand and learn what to be eating, and that's where a lot of the learning came into place. But then I really got into the gym and training because not a lot of women girls, whatever you want to say we're doing that and I was, and that made me feel really confident and powerful and that's why I still love being in the gym.

Speaker 1:

And it wasn't until probably I forget what year, but we went to the Arnold Classic and I saw these bodybuilders and I was like, oh my God, like how are they doing this? Like how do they look so amazing? Like what are they doing? And I was there with my mom and our friend slash trainer at the time and I was like I could do that and she's like, yes, you could. So then I really really got into bodybuilding and really taking my training to another level, and I think we're all on this journey to be like the skinnier version of ourselves and we think that that is going to bring confidence and happiness and success. And that's how you're measuring all of these things where, in reality, I did go to compete in my bodybuilding show and the day of my show, when I was at my leanest, the skinniest version of myself was the meanest version of myself, and I think for you guys to hear that is very important because you have to absolutely work on yourself, your mindset, your relationship with food, your relationship with your body and boundaries with other people During this time where you're not at that ideal version of yourself or that dream version you keep picturing and trying to be.

Speaker 1:

You're never going to be happy just because your body changes, and I want you guys to know that. So when I was competing and getting down, I was doing some digging of like. You know, after the fact of like, why was this so important to me? And I realized, like when I was younger, I never was the skinny person, I was never thin. I was never getting any attention for that. If anything, I was probably picked on for it or, you know, being compared to other people, and I wanted to be the person people looked at and were like, holy shit, you look great and that is a very shallow reason to have such a big goal. You have to do this for yourself and no one else, and that is something to start realizing and opening up your mind to.

Speaker 1:

Because I want you to take a step back and I want you to think of your big goal, whether that's losing 20 pounds, whether that's losing 30 pounds, whether that's losing five pounds and you want to lose weight, you want to get tone or whatever your goal is. It might not have anything to do with any of that, and I really want you to think and ask yourself why? Why is this goal so important to me? What do I have to gain from getting to this goal? How am I going to feel when I get to this goal? And I really, really want you to dig into the why behind your goal, and I want you to understand that. The why is what's going to keep you motivated, right? So if it's to gain confidence, right. You're not magically going to be confident when you see 125 on the scale or 130 or whatever your goal is. If I had a magic wand and could change your scale overnight and you stepped on the scale and felt the same way you do right now, you're not going to feel any different. So I really want you to start challenging yourself as to why that is important for you.

Speaker 1:

Another thing I want you to think about is how long have you been dieting? What was the first diet you have ever done? How old were you? What were you doing to see results? And I want you to put that into perspective as well. Have you been dieting since age 12? Have you been dieting since age 16? Younger, 8,? You know, and I really want you to think about how much diet, your program, your cleanse drinks, your shakes, your herbal life have taken away from your life. How often have you said no to going out somewhere? How often have you said no to date nights or a drink or Going out with your friends? How often has that happened?

Speaker 1:

Right, because if all you know is overpriced supplements that are keeping you pulled in because you know that's now all you know is Octavia drinks and fuelings if your meal plan is keeping you stuck, if the protocol you are on is taking away more than it is giving into your life, there needs to be some sort of switch. There needs to be some sort of sustainable aspect. And While there is a time for dieting, and while there is a time to be in a fat loss phase, it should not be 365 days a year. And I think that's where people get stuck is like you're trying to do these unrealistic Programs, protocols that echo 1,000 percent against what you value in your life Right, going out to dinner, spending time with your friends, going out with your family Like it's taking away from all of that, so it's unsustainable, right? The answer to this is Finding what is going to be sustainable, and it's not a product, it's not. It's a taking the time to learn and invest in your health and to be able to Figure out your nutrition and understand. That is not just drinking protein shakes and supplements. It is about learning how to eat the foods you love, balance them out, be able to enjoy those nights out with their family and your friends, and that's what I want to teach you.

Speaker 1:

When you come on, when I have a client, come on from one-on-one coaching. We are working together to come up with a protocol that fits your lifestyle and that includes real food and that includes date nights that might even include wine, okay. So I want that to be very clear. When you are working one-on-one with the coach, whether it's me or anyone else, what we should be doing or seeing. There is an individualized protocol, right? So coming on with me looks a little bit like getting an intake form that goes over everything and then us working together, looking at your dieting history, looking at medical history, looking at labs, looking at your relationship with food, your body image, all of those things, and creating a plan that does not feel restrictive and does not feel like it's taking away from your life.

Speaker 1:

But you have to want to do these things. You have to want to change because, no matter what, if you hire me, if you hire someone else, if you do not want to do it, I cannot make you want to do it. I can give you all of the steps that are needed to get to the goal, but if you're not being consistent, patient and you know, sticking to the plan and protocol, not making the changes, not doing the work, you're not going to see the long-term results. So my advice to you is, before you start your next program, I want you to take a step back and I want you to think, like I said in the beginning. One, what do you know about nutrition? Right, when did you ever learn anything about nutrition, or has it all been different diets, different supplements, different protocols that someone else is creating for you and you are just trying to follow the plan and then it's exploding when you're feeling like this sucks and I do not want to do this anymore, and then you go off the rails. So that sounds similar.

Speaker 1:

I want you to figure out your pattern with dieting. What is your dieting history? What do you know about food? And, like I said, I want you to think what was that first diet you have ever done and how old were you? So when we're looking at these two things of the dieting history like everything we've done before, when we started dieting and what we actually know about food, if we're using those two questions to lead everything right here, you're not going to see the long-term success with any program like that, because you're not learning, you're not learning about yourself, you're not learning about nutrition and you're gonna continue to feel stuck.

Speaker 1:

So, like I said, before you start your next program, before you dive in, this is lesson number one when it comes to the podcast and when it comes to coaching or whatever it is, I want you to think about your knowledge for nutrition. Where are you at with that? What is your dieting history and what is your next step? What is your goal? What do you want to accomplish?

Speaker 1:

Because personally, I always fell. When I was just talking to a client the other day, I always felt like I needed to have a goal and I always needed to lose weight and I always needed to gain muscle and I needed to have some sort of goal. But I can tell you, the best accomplishment I have with my coaching clients or myself has been getting to a point where you don't even need a goal. You just want to exist and you want to live your life and be happy and fulfilled and not worried or stressed about food, about your next meal, about how are you gonna go to this wedding this weekend and try to enjoy yourself, when all you're thinking about is calories. The biggest win I've had myself or have had with clients is when they tell me they are content and they're not worried, they're not guilty, they're just living their life, enjoying food, seeing the results, but really not stressing or worrying about it. And that is my biggest hope and really that's just my biggest goal for you.

Speaker 1:

Listening to this podcast is just being okay with your body how it is now. You can still want to change it. You can always want to change it, but I want you to embrace where you're at right now. So that's your challenge for after episode number one. I really wanted to just tell you guys like it's okay to be where you're at, it's okay to not know the next step, but you will also have to realize you don't know the next step because you've been given bullshit this entire time. You've been given products, you've been pushed into programs, you've spent thousands of dollars and you still have no idea what your body needs. So my challenge for you, like I said, think about nutrition. What do you know, what don't you know? Send me a DM. I would love to hear from you.

Speaker 1:

Number two is your dieting history. What is the first diet you've done? And I really want you to think. Three, what is your big goal with where you're at right now? What is your goal? And I don't want it to be a number on the scale. I want it to be something that you can feel right. Is it feeling confident? Is it being able to go out to dinner and not feel guilty? Is it being able to lift the 30 pound dumbbells over your head? Like, what are the goals? So that's your homework after podcast number one, and I'm going to be sharing a lot more in terms of my journey, in terms of tips and everything starting out, but we all have to start somewhere. So I hope you enjoyed this episode, share it with your friends, share it with your family, and I will be back to talk more things diet, metabolism, diet culture and we're going to break through a lot of different barriers here on this podcast. So thanks for tuning in and we will chat soon.