The Wellness Myths Keeping Women Stuck | E28

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And welcome back to the podcast. This is Abby. I am an online women's health and fitness coach, and this is Train Like a Girl, where we kind of debunk myths and we talk about health and fitness so that I can help you get the results that you want for the long run. And today is quite a sensitive topic, really, and something that I've sat on for a little bit because I know that it might ruffle a few feathers because a lot of these things are quite controversial, and a lot of people are big fans of people that promote these things. So we start to get a bit of an argument happening online potentially, but I can't ignore this any longer because I have so many women coming to me talking about things like cortisol and some of the stuff we're gonna discuss today. Um so I feel like I just need to address it and give my give my piece on it and just uh yeah, tell you my standpoint, really. Um so we are talking all about fitness and nutrition bullshit. And I'm gonna go into five specifically that you've probably heard, you might believe, and that sound scientific but are not scientific and are not rooted in science, which is where we get a lot of confusion come in. So let's get into it. I think one of the hardest things about trying to get healthier nowadays, or lose weight, or you know, get fitter or whatever, isn't actually the getting healthier part. It's it's simply figuring out who to listen to because we are just inundated with so many um so much information, and a lot of it might appear uh legit um when actually it's not. So, you know, even personally, every time I open Instagram, there's a new thing where we we're apparently supposed to be worried about, you know, one week it's cortisol and the next it's insulin and then glucose spikes and toxins and gut health and hormones and and then it's some supplement that costs half your bloody monthly budget and it's apparently the missing piece that you've been searching for. Anyway, all of this stuff. The problem is a lot of it sounds really, really convincing. It it's usually told to you by somebody that has a huge following and therefore it seems reputable. There's always a graph, there's a podcast clip, there's literally these people on big TV shows, there's people um on the news, like it's it's frightening. And these people are speaking with such certainty that it's mega convincing, right? Like they've they're telling you why you've been doing everything wrong your entire life, or they'll hone in on a pain point, like, oh, this is the reason that you're feeling bloated or whatever. And because most of these topics, most, have a tiny grain of truth somewhere in them, it becomes really, really difficult for us to separate what's useful from what's actual nonsense. It all looks so convincing to the naked eye. So today I want to talk about some of the biggest myths that I see women especially, but probably men too, getting caught up in. Not because these concepts are entirely made up, but because I think the wellness, nutrition, fitness industry has taken them and basically stretched them so far beyond recognition and convinced people that these problem, these are problems that need fixing, and usually then monetize off them, which is, you know, which is a crucial thing to mention because that's where a lot of these things are, that's why a lot of these things exist, to be honest. So let's get into the myths. Myth number one, it's kind of a couple of things in one, really, but they all they all uh kind of line up together. So it's carbs, it's insulin, blood sugar spikes, and it's the idea that these make you fat. Um I'm gonna just say the word glucose goddess. And I know you some of you are probably gonna be big fans, but this is one of the biggest ones. It's the it's carbs, it's specifically the fear of carbs. Over the last few years, we've seen an explosion of content around blood sugar spikes, you know, when the Zoe diet came out, basically. Blood sugar, blood sugar spikes, insulin responses, glucose monitors, um, food sequencing, like what order to eat your food in, and all these little hacks that supposedly stop your body from storing fat. And if you listen to enough of it, it is so convincing. You start believing that every time your blood sugar rises, something bad is happening, like that this is something wrong. But let's I want to think about this logically for a second. What do you think genuinely is supposed to happen when you eat carbs? Your blood glucose rises, but that is literally the point. That is the point. Your body is very clever, it doesn't mean there's something wrong. Food comes in, your digestive system breaks it down, glucose enters the bloodstream, and then insulin is released so that nutrients get transported to cells and energy gets used. So this isn't wrong, this is actual normal physio human physiology. But the internet and certain people on the internet have somehow managed to convince people that a healthy body is one that doesn't do all of those things. They've convinced us that the exact thing that needs to happen in our body shouldn't be happening and that it's a problem that needs fixing. I I've genuinely seen women becoming scared of eating fruit because they're worried about glucose spikes or oats in the morning. If we think about that logically, let you know, we've reached a point where some people are scared of eating grapes, they're scared of eating bananas. Meanwhile, they might be sleeping for five hours a night, doing no strength training, barely moving through the day, hardly eating any protein, but we're focusing on being scared of fruit. It's frightening. It's almost like focusing on the minors without addressing the main headline. So before anyone comes for me, there are some useful habits that have come out of the blood sugar conversation. Um, for example, going for a walk after meals, great advice. Building meals that contain protein and fibre and fats and alongside the carbs, great advice. Eating more veg, great advice. So I'm not saying that there aren't some benefits to the advice that accompanies this myth, but the problem is the problem isn't in telling people like to walk after their meals or whatever. The problem comes in when we're like zooming in on the fact that carbs are a problem because they're not. The reality is that insulin is not the villain that is made out to be. And if insulin itself caused fat gain, nobody ever in the world eating carbs would ever be lean. Athletes wouldn't be lean, people losing weight whilst eating potatoes and rice and oats wouldn't exist. Um and that's not true. We know that there are people out there that eat carbs and that we should eat carbs because that's our main body body's um source of energy. And we know that the thing that drives fat gain is consistently eating more energy than your body needs over time. It's not about a bowl of oats or a banana or bread or any of those things, it's not your blood sugar spike. Your blood sugar spiking is a natural human physiological response. And so long as your insulin levels come back down again, for most people they would. Otherwise, you know, you'd be looking at uh diabet diabetes, in which case, then yes, we would be addressing it. But the fact that this has become a conversation for like general population is a problem because it means that we suddenly fear eating carbs, or suddenly fear eating carbs on their own, or suddenly are, you know, analyzing which bit of our meal we eat first when it's not gonna have any effect, and actually your body is very efficient and it's doing what it needs to do. So that is that one. I'm gonna keep these short. Myth number two, cortisol. And the idea that cortisol is the idea is the reason you can't lose weight. Honestly, I feel like social media has managed to turn cortisol into the I don't know, the villain for almost everything. Can't lose weight, cortisol. Feeling bloated, cortisol. Had a stressful week, definitely cortisol. And that look, cortisol is obviously a real hormone and it matters. It's involved in stress responses, energy regulation, inflammation, whole a bunch of important processes in the body. But the way it's discussed online is so misleading. Most people don't realize that cortisol naturally rises and falls through the day. It's supposed to be at its highest in the morning and gradually declines as the day goes on. And, you know, so many things raise cortisol. Exercise, coffee, public speaking, being excited. But the presence of cortisol isn't a problem. The issue is chronic stress and the effect that that stress has on behavior. So it's not that cortisol itself leads to fat storage. That is the myth. But what is true, or what could potentially be true, is if you're somebody thinking, I'm so stressed and that's why I'm not losing weight, it's not because cortisol itself is storing fat in your body. It's because, potentially, that when you're stressed out, you're more likely to sleep poorly, you're more likely to crave, you might be really busy, so you want on-the-go fast options for food. You're more likely to emotionally eat, you're less likely to exercise, especially if you haven't got much time. Um, you're less likely to prioritize yourself if your brain is full or if you've got brain fog. And if you're tired, uh, which a lot of stressed people are because they're not sleeping very well, you will crave highly palatable foods. Which, all of those things obviously make fat loss harder because your choices are going to be different. But that's a very different conversation from saying that cortisol itself is preventing fat loss. I think sometimes people hear stress affects weight loss, and they translate that into, you know, my body physically can't lose fat because my cortisol is too high, and those things are not the same. So this isn't me saying that stress doesn't matter, obviously it matters, but this isn't a conversation of like cortisol is the problem. This is a conversation of how can we manage stress, which is different. Because usually the problem, actually, if you are stressed out, the problem is, and and kind of are relating that to uh an issue with fat loss, the problem is your behaviors that are caused because you are stressed out, not because the cortisol overrides the fundamental principles of energy balance. Because ultimately, if you're in a deficit, you will lose weight. So that is that on cortisol. Myth number three of five is detoxing and the need to detox. This one might actually be my favorite because it's honestly one of the greatest marketing campaigns ever created. Imagine convincing people that their bodies are full of mysterious toxins and then selling them a tea or a green juice to fix it. Absolutely genius. Every year there seems to be a new detox, a new cleanse, like a new protocol that's supposed supposedly gonna flush out toxins and leave you feeling amazing. But first of all, what is a toxin specifically? What's it called? How do we know it's there? How are we measuring it? Because most detox products, they never answer those questions. They just rely on really vague language, um, because that vague language is really difficult to challenge. But the reality is that your body, our bodies are so great, guys, like they're so incredibly effective, and they are very sophisticated at detoxif at d uh at naturally detoxing. And you know what that is? It's your liver and your kidneys. They are working right now as we speak, whether you've bought a detox tea or not. And I'd argue that probably better without the detox tea, to be honest, because God knows what's in them and what it's doing to you. But when researchers look at detox diets, there is so little evidence, little to no evidence supporting these huge claims around them that it has this like toxin removal. What usually happens if somebody is claiming to have a result from these kind of teas or whatever, is that person is drastically cutting calories. They might be removing, you know, high pro ultra processed foods for a few days, they might be drinking more water than usual, which makes perfect sense. If they start eating differently, they're gonna, I don't know, be less bloated or whatever. But that doesn't mean that they've cleansed themselves of toxins, it just means they've eaten less food. Those two things are very different. Our body naturally detoxes for us. We don't need if you see a product that is selling detox, run a mile. Okay, let's move on. I think that is it in a nutshell. Myth number four is around just general wellness supplements. Um, and this is where I feel like people get really upset because every everyone's got like, we all follow lots of people online that we are big fans of and we become, I don't know, Instagram is such a funny one because we start to feel like we really know people, and then when we feel like we know those people, we trust those people. Um so I am talking about supplements where people claim that they will change your life. Supplements that have little to no research backing them, like greens powders, fat burners, collagen. Collagen's a big one. And gosh, it this is so tricky because again, there is like sometimes a grain of truth in these things, and it's hard to like, you know, it's hard, it's it's mist, you know, it's like mystery, isn't it? It's hard to kind of de uh look through the bullshit basically. Um, especially because some supplements on the market can be useful, uh useful, but not essential. No supplements are essential. We should most of us be getting the most bang for our buck out of our diet. If we change our nutritional behaviors around food, if we prioritize protein and create a balanced plate and learn how to do that and drink lots of water, get lots of sleep. Like, if we master the basics, the need for supplements is so minimal. I feel like people turn to supplements thinking like this is going to fix everything, when actually we're just trying to major in the miners when we do that. Or one step further, we're buying into something that is actual bollocks, like collagen, greens, powders, like there's a hyperfixation on bloody electrolytes right now. And in in some cases, they could even be harmful. We won't go there today, but the only real supplements that are useful are certain vitamins and minerals that, if you've got a deficiency, might be useful, but if you have a deficiency in those. And then creatine is useful, and that is the most heavily researched supplement. Um, and then protein powder is useful. But again, none of these things are essential if we are maximizing our, you know, if we're majoring in the majors. Like protein powder, for example, it's useful, but it's not essential if we're able to get 30 grams, say, of protein at every meal from a whole food source, which is very achievable when we know how to do that. But it's useful for those that, I don't know, maybe you're on the go and it's it's harder to get your protein in because you're you don't have time to meal prep, your life is chaotic, maybe you're a nurse and you work night shifts, whatever. Maybe you're a mum and things and just really, really busy, whatever it is, protein powder could be useful, but it's not essential, right? So there's a difference. But there are then supplements that are very under-researched, namely collagen. I feel like that's a big one right now, that are so under-researched and but but are being pushed by popular influencers or popular people online or on TV, um, convincing us very convincingly that it's essential for progress when actually most of us are not even doing the bare minimum in the beginning. Um, and it's fascinating how often people start at the top of this pyramid instead of the bottom, right? If we're looking at the bottom of the pyramid, is nutrition, habits, and uh resistance training and sleep and water. But then people are going to the top of the pyramid, like, oh, I need to be taking this tiny little supplement and that's going to change everything. Spending, and here's the really sad thing: a lot of these people are spending hundreds of pounds a month on supplements when they're struggling to eat enough protein to begin with. They're buying collagen powders whilst barely eating quality protein sources throughout the day. They'll buy green powders instead of actually eating vegetables. So this is it becomes then a question of like what's the priority? So this isn't really a supplement problem, it's a priority problem. So if we take collagen as an example, there might be a minimal evidence suggesting that supplementing collagen might provide a modest benefit at the most, but it's not miraculous, and the marketing around it makes it sound like, oh, it's the foundation of youth in powder form. But the reality of it is so much less exciting than that, and actually the the benefits of collagen are being so stretched online by influencers, um, convincing us that we need it, and it just could not be further from the truth. People, most people would get a far greater benefit from sorting out their sleep, their protein intake, resistance training, and all those kind of major things, right? Rather than adding another really expensive supplement to their routine. So that is myth number four, which kind of encompasses all just wellness supplements generally. Um, and then myth number five, hormones. Now, before I say anything else, this is a really grey and tricky area to talk about because obviously hormonal conditions exist. PCOS exists. I've got endometriosis, like I am not disputing the fact that hormonal conditions exist. PCOS exists, thyroid disorder disorders exist, medical conditions absolutely exist and should be taken seriously for that individual. But what we're seeing online is a huge growth in anyone that struggles with bloating or fat loss immediately are like blaming their hormones. And I kind of understand why, to be honest, because it is really comforting, isn't it? It's a lot easier for people to believe that your body is broken and something's wrong with your hormones, rather than accepting that consistency with the basics is it's just hard. You know, this isn't me saying, like, oh, um, it's difficult because, you know, people come to me often, it is sensitive. Like, people will say, oh no, no, no, it's definitely my metabolism that's broken. And it's really tough for me to then be like, uh that's highly unlikely. And actually, it's just that you've not stuck with the basics for long enough. But that's not me saying that the basics are easy, they might be basic, but they're very, very difficult to apply to real life, which is why I do one-to-one coaching and why it's so beneficial. But most women, there's no doubt that most women I speak to that like maybe think that there's something wrong with them, haven't actually been told by a doctor or a specialist that they've got a hormonal condition. They have just almost self diagnosed this based on all these tons of bloody, horrible Instagram posts and content that we see. And it's dangerous content because, again, it's so believable. They probably Prey on pictures of themselves bloated and then an after picture of themselves where they've lost weight and they're saying, I fixed my gut health. It's scary because it's so believable and it often leads people away from the things that would genuinely help them. But the reality is that most fat loss struggles come down to adherence, sticking to the basics for long enough. It's, you know, and that's not me saying people are lazy or that that they don't care. Um it's because it is hard, and it's hard and also it's hard because we are trying to swim through a sea of myths, right? Like the ones we've been talking about today. So they don't know where to start. They don't know that the right things to do, and then applying those right things to do to a life with work, uh, kids, um weekends, social events, you know, like real life. So it's not that uh the basics are easy, it's that it's hard, it's the opposite, isn't it? It's that the basics are hard, so it then becomes like, oh, it becomes easy then to blame your hormones, right? Like, oh, it's because my hormones. Um when actually it's not usually that, it's very it's very unlikely that it's actually consistently applying the basics. But obviously, that's far less exciting than blaming hormones. But the truth is that is that is the truth. It usually is. In fact, I don't think I've ever worked with anyone where it's been a problem because even if you do have like PCOS, for example, that doesn't undo the uh the fact of um energy balance, it just might be harder to apply to your life. Um yeah, so that is myth number five that it's your hormones that are the problem, because it's probably not. So that's the top five, guys. To recap, what did we talk about? Number one was worrying about insulin spikes and like, you know, all the stuff that c blood glucose and all the stuff that comes with that and fearing carbs. Number two was cortisol, number three was wellness supplements like collagen, number four hormones uh was that number four? No I missed one, didn't I? Detoxing. Detoxing. So that's the five. Um and that's everything, guys. I think the to wrap it up, I think the biggest issue with the wellness industry is that not everything that they say is wrong, completely wrong, but they take grains of truth and blow them completely out of proportion, and suddenly normal biological responses become something to fear. You know, it's like normal hunger becomes a hormone issue, or blood sugar responses become like this thing that we need to fix, and normal fluctuations in weight become evidence that something is wrong, and and you know, they make us feel really overwhelmed and confused and convinced that something about us is wrong. And the longer I coach women, the more convinced I become that most people have uh run into a rabbit hole like this, thinking that they need another supplement or another wellness trend, or you know, thinking that they're the problem, that they need another another hack. But actually, what they need is fewer distractions and a and more evidence-based stuff. And they need someone to help them focus on the things that actually work rather than, you know, as I said earlier, like plucking things from the top of that pyramid. Actually, for most of us, for 99% of the population, it's about depending on the the goal, obviously, if the goal is fat loss, it's about a calorie deficit, but beyond that, it's about eating enough protein, training consistently, moving your body regularly, sleeping as well as you can, managing stress where possible, and repeating those behaviors long enough to actually see a difference. But the problem with that is it's not a sexy sale, it's not, it doesn't make viral Instagram content. But the truth is the basics are where the results happen. So yeah, that's everything from me today, guys. That is exactly where I help my clients. We debunk all of this stuff, demystify it all, cut the crap, basically, cut through the noise, and stop trying every trend and and and beating ourselves up and actually focus on things that that will push us in the right direction. That is what I help women do. And as you can tell, I'm bloody passionate about it. Um, so if you have a friend that is tied up in numbers at the moment or thinking they need to detox themselves or are stressing out about hormones, maybe send this their way. Um, just as a little bit of an evidence-based no BS approach. And if you want help yourself, I will leave some um some stuff in the show notes for you. You can apply for coaching with me or go to my Instagram and drop me a line. I'm so happy to talk through all this stuff and answer any questions you've got. But for now, that is everything, and I will speak to you again next week.