Beyond the Barbell: Rebuilding Identity After Rock Bottom with Natasha Kostalas

In this episode, I sit down with former English teacher turned powerlifter, coach, and author Natasha “Tasha” Kostalas to talk about what really happens behind the stage-lean photos and polished fitness bios.

Tasha spent 10 years in the classroom, climbing the ladder, overworking herself into panic attacks, sleep paralysis, and binge eating. The turning point? Her brother sitting on the edge of her bed and telling her she couldn’t keep living like this. From that moment to her very first terrifying step into the weight room, Tasha slowly rebuilt her life barbell by barbell.

We talk about:

• The year her dream teaching job completely broke her mental and physical health
• How two hours a week in the gym became the only place she didn’t feel crushed by stress
• The brutal reality of bodybuilding: lost periods, body dysmorphia, frozen libido, and relationships strained by tunnel-vision discipline 
• Why stepping on stage was easier than figuring out who she was afterward
• Her long recovery from binge eating and what healing a relationship with food actually looks like in real life (no quick fixes, just a hundred tiny choices) 
• What “Always stay true to you” means to her now—and how she learned to make decisions for herself instead of for society’s expectations

If you’ve ever felt trapped between discipline and destruction, or if you’ve chased a body, a job, or a life that looked successful while secretly destroying you, this conversation is going to hit deep.

Connect with Natasha

• Instagram: @natashakostalas
• Book: Beyond the Barbell: Confessions of a Female Fitness Competitor
• Substack / Articles & Podcast Hub: natashakostalas.substack.com
• Podcast: Binges to Barbells on Spotify and wherever you listen to podcasts