Latest / SAY GRACE | Weight Loss + Health for Overwhelmed Women- Stress, Busy, Consistency, Realistic, Motivation, Starting Over, No Restrictions / The shift in weight loss culture with PFN Dietitian, Stacy (part 1)
Transcript
- 0:40On this two-part episode, I have invited team dietitian Stacey back on with
- 0:45us as we dive into weight loss culture and how it has shifted over the years.
- 0:51So from things like perception to recommendations to even the impact that GLP
- 0:56One and social media have had on the weight loss space, nothing is the same
- 1:02as it used to be. And we share our perspectives on this.
- 1:06So here's part one. Let's dive in.
- 1:09Welcome, Stacey. I'm so glad to have you back.
- 1:13Yes, I'm so glad to be back. I'm so glad to be back. It's always fun when we get together.
- 1:18It is, and I'm always trying to get her to come on here more.
- 1:23I know y'all, like I see the numbers, and so I know y'all like to hear from both of us at one time.
- 1:29And so I think this topic is, this is one that has just kind of been on my mind a lot lately.
- 1:37It's one I think you and I talk about a lot, you know, just like the shifts
- 1:42in things across the weight loss space.
- 1:45And so today we are just here, y'all, to kind of talk it out.
- 1:49Like we have no like major, you know, objectives or whatever.
- 1:54We're just going to kind of talk through what we see the shifts are in weight loss.
- 2:01So if you don't know, Stacey is our team dietitian at PFN. If you are a client,
- 2:06you know exactly who Stacey is.
- 2:08She is who is always communicating in the inbox and in the community.
- 2:12She is where our members will get a lot of their answers from any of their needs.
- 2:19Stacey is usually their number one to call and they love her.
- 2:24And so she's also a registered dietitian. And so Stacey has been around the block.
- 2:31She has seen all the things I've seen plus some, right?
- 2:35And so Stacey, I would love to reflect back on because, okay,
- 2:39so Stacey, you got your RD.
- 2:43Probably like 10 years before I got mine, right? Yes.
- 2:47So I graduated from Mississippi State in 1997.
- 2:52Okay. And did my internship. I took a year off because I had a car wreck.
- 2:58That's beside the point. Wow, I didn't know that.
- 3:01I did. I had a pretty bad car wreck in 1998.
- 3:05Oh, my gosh. I had no idea. That is awful.
- 3:09That's another podcast. Yeah, I was T-boned by a dump truck at an intersection.
- 3:14So I am very lucky to be alive.
- 3:16But that's why I kind of had to take some time off to rehab.
- 3:21But, yeah, so did my internship and then got my RD. So I've been working for a long time.
- 3:28Yeah, yeah. So I got my RD in 2011, like literally the same year,
- 3:34Jess, and I got married. It was a wild time.
- 3:36Me too. Like, yeah. When you and Ben got married, I'm like, why did I do that
- 3:41to myself? Why didn't I take one step at a time? So wild.
- 3:45Well, I mean, I didn't pass the test the first time. I missed it by one point.
- 3:50But y'all, that test is so freaking hard because this degree is hard.
- 3:53It is so hard. Do you know I made it? I made it by one point.
- 3:57Like, it was like down to the wire. I was like, oh, thank you, Jesus.
- 4:01You know what I mean? Y'all, I'm so sorry, but to be paid what traditional RDs are paid is,
- 4:11That test is absolutely freaking ridiculous.
- 4:14Like it will make, it will scare, it scared tons of my classmates off.
- 4:18Like now, now that we're like grownups and we've all got different careers,
- 4:21we're like, oh yeah, I chose, I chose a different path.
- 4:25I got my, I got my undergraduate in nutrition, but I chose a different path.
- 4:29I'm like, baby, that's because you didn't get into an internship and you didn't
- 4:33pass your RD exam because it's so freaking hard.
- 4:36It is. It's very hard.
- 4:39I mean, you know, it's like, I remember they used to compare it to like med
- 4:43school exam. Like it was insane.
- 4:47So we have all been there, and I think all your fellow dietitians listening
- 4:51would say that I'm sure they did not pass with flying colors.
- 4:55I mean, it doesn't make you a bad dietitian or a good dietitian if you don't pass it the first time.
- 5:01So it's just, you know. Well, because it asks the dietitians.
- 5:03It's not like, how do you help somebody lose weight? It's like calculations
- 5:08and, like, food service stuff.
- 5:10I mean, I do appreciate some of the food service stuff that we learned.
- 5:13Like we've talked about this before, but like the food for 50,
- 5:17how, I mean, me and you both could crank out a catering business if we needed to, you know what I mean?
- 5:23But stuff like, don't you remember like the rules and the regulations for like
- 5:29freezer safety and like when you do,
- 5:34restock, how, you know, how it's supposed to go, just things that like we're
- 5:38not ever going to use if we're not working in a massive hospital, you know.
- 5:44Food service situation, which I guess some people did go on to use that.
- 5:48I get it. They did. But I mean, it's very scientific and technical and a lot
- 5:53of different aspects of the test.
- 5:56Yeah. And then, yeah. And then you got to know every single illness and what
- 5:59it means and how it's cured and the lab values associated with it.
- 6:03Like it's such a broad range.
- 6:04You know, you learn management, you learn a little bit of business,
- 6:08and you learn a whole lot of health and science. So it is, it's wild.
- 6:13I see. So, yeah, we've seen a lot of change, I guess, me more than you. Yeah.
- 6:19Okay. So I'm just curious, like when you entered the weight loss scene or not
- 6:24the weight loss scene, the nutrition scene, let's say, like in 98,
- 6:28what was it then? Like, what was it like then?
- 6:32Because in 98, I'm thinking Slim Fast, what else?
- 6:38It was more like, first of all, there wasn't as many choices as there are now.
- 6:44It was like, this was the end thing. So it was Slim Fast, or it was,
- 6:48I guess Atkins was really getting started back then. That's what I was trying to think of, yeah.
- 6:54Weight Watchers was still going strong.
- 6:57Maybe Atipex had just come on the scene. I can't remember. Some of the older, older things.
- 7:04Weight loss drugs. Oh, FinFan. Was that what was FinFan? Was FinFan a weight loss drug?
- 7:12I think. Yeah. Was supposed to like take away cravings. Yes.
- 7:17FinFan was a weight loss drug.
- 7:20Yes. But it wasn't really called a weight loss drug. It was just like,
- 7:24let's help your cravings. Right.
- 7:27Yeah. Reducing your appetite. Right.
- 7:29But I do think like those times, whereas now we're talking about them like they're
- 7:36ancient or something, you know what I mean?
- 7:38But like you when you said like, I've got to lose weight.
- 7:42This was kind of like it. Like these were your options.
- 7:45You know what I mean? Like you didn't have Instagram, you know,
- 7:49to go to and search around for 500 different programs. and you didn't have Google
- 7:53really to like read a whole lot about.
- 7:57And, you know, even the mention of your doctor saying that, probably me and
- 8:02you both with our phones right beside us right now, after me saying that,
- 8:05like we'll be hit with ads about weight loss.
- 8:07Like, and it's so, present day, which we're going to talk about in a little
- 8:11while, is so like full of oversaturation of information.
- 8:15Whereas back then, you really just kind of went to your doctor and he did what
- 8:20he said to do. You know what I mean?
- 8:22I mean, it more was, because when I graduated, finished my internship,
- 8:27I went straight to working in the hospital setting, which I think is great for
- 8:31everybody because you learn a whole lot.
- 8:33But it was more, okay, here's your paper and low fat, low fat everything.
- 8:38Yes. It was real hot back then. And Elaine was coming out and people's guts
- 8:43were torn up because, oh, Elaine, I forgot about that.
- 8:49Yes. You were still in the football field cheering.
- 8:53Oh, my gosh. Yes, everything was low-fat.
- 8:58And you just like, you know, they put a lean in things and...
- 9:02I guess maybe some of the baked chips started coming out and just made people sick.
- 9:08That is, that is, yes. Oh my gosh, I forgot all about that, Stacey. That is crazy. Yeah.
- 9:17So, yeah, I feel like as it progressed, right, which is kind of when I feel like,
- 9:23I entered the weight loss scene, right? So after I graduated with my internship,
- 9:29I went and I worked for a nonprofit.
- 9:31Well, first I worked for WIC for like five minutes. And then I went and worked
- 9:35for a nonprofit. And then I was there for several years right before I started Perfect Fit.
- 9:40And so when I entered the weight loss scene, I felt like my competitors,
- 9:46like it felt like I was, Man, the preacher did a sermon yesterday about going
- 9:54upstream and how that's how you see the beauty in life.
- 9:58It's hard to go upstream when you're in a river that's flowing furiously the other way.
- 10:04But that's how you see the beauty in things and by going against the grain.
- 10:09And I thought about it yesterday.
- 10:11I thought, that is exactly how I felt. I was going upstream in the weight loss
- 10:16industry. Like, I was coming up against every kind of regimented diet.
- 10:22You were cutting carbs. You were cutting protein.
- 10:25I mean, you were cutting red meat. You were cutting, I mean,
- 10:28people were cutting out vegetables. Like, it was insane. You know what I mean?
- 10:33And so I felt like I'm over here with my little voice at that point saying,
- 10:38like, let's just include all foods.
- 10:40You know what I mean? when everybody else was hardcore exclusion,
- 10:45quick fix, like how you drop the weight fast.
- 10:49And so, and I think that is really where we've been up until this point, right?
- 10:55Like quick fix, what do I need to exclude?
- 11:00And so I think it's really important to say here that, and Stacey and I say
- 11:05this till we're blue in the face to our clients, but like sometimes exclusions
- 11:10are necessary for our health, right?
- 11:12Like if Stacey was still in the hospital and she had a patient that just had
- 11:17a heart attack and she was consulted to go up there to talk to that patient
- 11:22about their diet, she would say, what would you say, Stacey,
- 11:25if the patient had just had a heart attack?
- 11:28I would teach them about lower fat, lower fat, healthier meat.
- 11:33Foods, I mean, which. She would say, cut the red meat, right?
- 11:39Cut the processed food, right? Watch your sodium. Watch your sodium.
- 11:43Higher cholesterol things, absolutely. Right. And so while those changes are
- 11:49important for a healthy heart.
- 11:52Like Stacey, we're always going to advise balance and like not eating red meat
- 11:57three times a day every day, right? Like we're always going to promote that.
- 12:00But Stacey wouldn't have as much urgency in her tone if it was, you know,
- 12:08someone who did not have a heart attack and has no signs or symptoms of that,
- 12:13has no, you know, risks of that, and is really just looking for how to get off the last 10 pounds.
- 12:17You know what I mean? She wouldn't say cut all red meat and don't have any sodium
- 12:21and, you know, don't have any processed foods.
- 12:24Like, and so we do have to always keep that in mind when we are talking to our,
- 12:29our clients or just anyone that like, that's why we say like,
- 12:33what works for someone is not what we're going to recommend for someone else,
- 12:38especially when their health is on the line, you know?
- 12:43And so for us in the weight loss space, it really is just about weight loss
- 12:48for the most part like if they come we we know these we and first of all across
- 12:52the board if you lose weight you can you can look it up right now if you lose weight.
- 12:58Like majority of the time, the other things will improve. So your cholesterol levels will improve.
- 13:04Your A1C will improve. Like your risks for all these things improve just with the weight loss.
- 13:12We have seen that so many times, y'all, with our clients.
- 13:15Like they will have done the program for a few months. And I mean,
- 13:19even just losing the five pounds will email and say, oh, my gosh,
- 13:22my cholesterol dropped this amount or whatever.
- 13:25My A1C went down. And it's just the proof is in the pudding.
- 13:28That's right. And these are people that we, again, we have not been like,
- 13:32cut all red meat, cut out sodium.
- 13:34These are people that are just like learning how to navigate balanced intake,
- 13:40you know, like, yes, they may have had a cookie after dinner.
- 13:43But yes, they also ordered that
- 13:45salad at lunch and had the dressing on the side. You know what I mean?
- 13:49And so, yeah, it's so we are just we are not going to advise everyone the same.
- 13:56But the weight loss in general will help people with the other things most of the time.
- 14:03And so what we know and what we have learned over time, especially just working
- 14:07with all these people is that.
- 14:10It can be very overwhelming to like say to lose weight, you've got to fast on
- 14:16these days, exercise on these days, only eat this kind of food on these days.
- 14:20But on these days, you can eat this kind of food.
- 14:22Like that's very overwhelming for someone to incorporate into their lifestyle
- 14:26when most of our ladies, I mean, I don't know about everybody,
- 14:29but most of our ladies are super busy.
- 14:31And so we've just kind of learned to cut them, cut the crap.
- 14:35You know, it's like, okay, just watch what you eat. And here's how we teach
- 14:40you how to do it, you know, and figuring out how to fit it all in,
- 14:44you know, however you need it to fit.
- 14:46And so you see the weight loss. And again, it's that layered cake I'm always
- 14:49talking about where then, then, right?
- 14:53If then, if you say, okay, gosh, I've lost this weight, but now I'm really noticing
- 14:58I'm a sugar, I eat too much sugar.
- 15:00Like, let me focus on cutting, cutting my sugar down a little bit or,
- 15:04you know, whatever it may be for, for all of us, right?
- 15:07Like for me, it was Diet Coke. Like, what's it been for you lately, Stacey? Sugar.
- 15:12Sugar. And it's really been since, I guess, so I was 51 in October.
- 15:17And it's really since I have hit my 50s, I'm like, you know what?
- 15:21I'm really going to watch the added sugars that I have because they creep in on you.
- 15:26And I have a couple of PFM Plus clients that we're kind of like,
- 15:30all right, let's really look at our sugar because they've got that base,
- 15:34that foundation that we give them. And, yeah.
- 15:39And two, as you age, right, the sugar you are, you do become like,
- 15:42everything becomes more sensitive to sugar.
- 15:44It really sucks. I mean, don't get me wrong.
- 15:48I mean, I've already had a piece of Halloween candy today. It's not like I've cut it out.
- 15:54It's like crack sometimes. I mean, I've never done drugs, but it is. What you would imagine?
- 16:02Huh? It's what you would imagine is crack? Yes, is what I would imagine would
- 16:06be crack for somebody because it's just, it's addicting.
- 16:10I would love to cut out my code zeros in the afternoons. Yeah.
- 16:14I mean, one thing at a time, right? Yeah. But anyway, all that to say, I just,
- 16:21we feel like this approach has been what works best, especially for people who
- 16:27maybe haven't seen a lot of success in the past, people who feel like maybe
- 16:32they don't have a lot of willpower,
- 16:34people who feel like they don't have a lot of time to commit to their weight
- 16:40loss, like consistently.
- 16:41And so I do think that brings me to like, Stacey and I were kind of brainstorming
- 16:46about, you know, what weight loss does look like at this point in,
- 16:53you know, here we are at the end of 2025.
- 16:55Like, what does it look like? And so these are two, like, two main paths that
- 16:59I feel like have really stood out to me. And would you agree with it, Stacey?
- 17:03Like, do you feel like the paths that I laid out are like, they're pretty broad, right?
- 17:08100%. Yeah. So the first one of the two paths is like people that are kind of
- 17:15still stuck in that old mindset that I just described where it's like,
- 17:20oh, I decided I needed to lose 10 pounds, 20 pounds, whatever.
- 17:24What's the newest, quickest, best,
- 17:27most talked about thing that's going to help me like get skinny fast?
- 17:32You know, I know we all know people like this. There are people,
- 17:35people in my life surround me where they're just like, they lose it.
- 17:40They're so proud of it. They work the program so hard.
- 17:42They eat, breathe, sleep it, you know, and then they get off the program and they gain it back.
- 17:48And it's just like this cycle of lose weight just to regain it,
- 17:56just to find the next thing to lose, to help them lose the weight. Right.
- 18:01And so that like that mindset to me is like being skinny is the ultimate goal
- 18:09every single time, right?
- 18:11And so the, we're always, people are always going to be trying to lose weight to lose weight, right?
- 18:17To have lower body fat percentage, to have, you know, smaller number on the scale.
- 18:21Like that's not, that's not anything new, but like when your mindset is so focused
- 18:27on just weight loss is better. Weight loss is better.
- 18:31That is, you know, the focus of a lot of these people that are stuck in this yayo dieting.
- 18:35And it's so wild because those are the people that are not ever going to stick to it.
- 18:39You know, those are the people that kill themselves trying.
- 18:43And then what?
- 18:46They fail. They fail. Yeah. Yeah. They can't keep up.
- 18:50You know, I feel like I've had this conversation with several of my PFM plus
- 18:56clients lately is it's like with anything when you want it so, so bad.
- 19:02You're not going to because you have to give it time and you have to get that
- 19:07foundation because skinny is not that is not the new end.
- 19:11You know, you have to be what it looks for your body, what looks good for your body.
- 19:15Sorry. And you have to get comfortable in the process like that's with everything in life.
- 19:21You know, you've got to be comfortable in the process for you to truly evolve into the end result.
- 19:29You know what I mean? And if you're not comfortable in the process and people who are, you know,
- 19:34cutting carbs or committing to like cardio every day or like whatever,
- 19:38people that are over committing themselves to the end goal and killing themselves
- 19:43trying, like they're not comfortable in the process. That is so that is uncomfortable.
- 19:47You know, it's so funny you say that because a couple weeks ago I was at the
- 19:51gym and there was a girl there and she's always worked out. She's always been active.
- 19:58Didn't to me look like she didn't lose any weight and somebody came up to her
- 20:01and said what have you done and she said I cut out carbs and I cut out sugar
- 20:07and she's also like cardio cardio cardio.
- 20:11And I just sat in the corner doing my own little thing thinking sister update
- 20:16us in January you know what I mean when you see her in the gym in January because it's like,
- 20:22And we even have clients that do this, right? Like they think they're ready
- 20:25to take that next level, like add that next layer to their cake and they're
- 20:28like, okay, I'm going to cut sugar.
- 20:30And then it's like, I never want to discourage.
- 20:33And I know you're the same way. Like you never, if somebody feels motivated
- 20:36to do something, I never want to discourage them from trying,
- 20:40but it is like really like sad to, to see them when, when, when the bottom falls
- 20:48out, cause the bottom is going to fall out.
- 20:50Like, if Stacey sat here and said, I'm never having any sugar again,
- 20:55you know, then, like, we know Stacey lying.
- 21:00Obviously, because I already had some milk duds. Right, right.
- 21:03But, like, and so what she means, so what Stacey means by watching her sugar
- 21:08is, like, what, do you still eat yogurt most days?
- 21:12Every night. That's my after-dinner snack is yogurt and some kind of good granola and fruit.
- 21:18Right. And so she checks the label on the yogurt containers to see,
- 21:24like, what are the added sugars in these?
- 21:27Like, what do they look like across the board, right? Like, if she's making
- 21:31something, she may cut the sugar, you know, in half or in whatever.
- 21:37Like, she may just be more mindful of the amount of sugar. She's not saying,
- 21:42I'm not having any sugar, right?
- 21:45And so that's the same case with me with Diet Coke, right? Like,
- 21:48I worked it down to where I was just not having as much.
- 21:51But if I told you I'm never having Diet Coke again, oh, my gosh,
- 21:54I got some yesterday at lunch to go.
- 21:57I mean, I had some on the side. It was so glorious, you know.
- 22:00I want to try the Diet Coke with lime.
- 22:02I heard it's really good. Oh, really? I have not had that.
- 22:06So, like, with these kind of people, right, and I think the girl at the gym,
- 22:11Stacey, just described might be one of these people. Like, you know,
- 22:14if skinny is the ultimate goal and you're like stuck in this deprivation is the only way mindset...
- 22:21You know, sometimes they can
- 22:23take it to the extreme. So that's kind of how I feel like that she was.
- 22:28And a lot of people out there do because they just, they keep on going and don't know when to stop.
- 22:33And they have tried to outwork or outdo anything that they've ever done.
- 22:39And it just, I don't know, made me sad.
- 22:43It is sad because like one of our PFM Plus girls just got back from,
- 22:48She went to visit her mom.
- 22:49Her mom does not live near her and so she was there for a week They had like
- 22:53a like kind of a sad happening while they were there but she had not seen her
- 22:58mom in months upon months upon months and so She got back and she was like.
- 23:03You know, I ate a little bit more than I thought I was, than I thought, than I had planned to.
- 23:08Like I went over maintenance some
- 23:10days and I'm kind of feeling discouraged about that. And I'm like, why?
- 23:15Like why? Who told you that when you go see your mom for the first time in months
- 23:21upon months, like who told you that like staying in your calorie deficit is
- 23:27still the priority there?
- 23:28Like who told you that? Because, you know, but it was like she had this internal
- 23:33feeling of like, I'm weak or I didn't or I failed or whatever,
- 23:36because she chose to go get ice cream with her mom in the afternoons instead of saying, oh, no, mom,
- 23:43I don't want to have that memory or that experience with you while I'm here
- 23:46and I'll hardly ever get to see you. You know what I mean?
- 23:49And so I'm like, there is nothing to be ashamed of over that.
- 23:52But that is a lot of like what we can hear and what we can see in in others,
- 23:59in what we watch, what we follow, what we, you know, just consume,
- 24:04is that like if you aren't actively depriving yourself in every single moment,
- 24:09then you're not doing it right, you know.
- 24:12And so I have seen this, I think, and we're going to talk about GLP-1 specifically
- 24:16here like in a minute, but I have seen this a lot with people who are taking GLP-1.
- 24:22Like they get it in their heads that like it is their savior,
- 24:25you know, like this has come to save me.
- 24:28And so I am going to do everything I can to maximize this, which I do agree with to some point.
- 24:35Like if you are spending this money on this drug and if you are,
- 24:38you know, taking the risk or whatever to use it, maximize it,
- 24:43right? Like do the work alongside of it.
- 24:46But most of the time it's like,
- 24:50they eat nothing, you know, or they withdraw themselves from society because
- 24:57that would mean if I went out to eat with my friends, then I would have to eat
- 25:00something or, you know, I would have to be questioned about what I'm going to eat, you know.
- 25:05And so I've seen this kind of, have you noticed that?
- 25:11Like a lot of, like, not a lot, but some GLP-1 users like withdraw themselves socially.
- 25:18Totally, yeah. It's wild. And so I don't, again, that is like,
- 25:22to me, you know, I think for some of them, the drug can, that can be a side
- 25:26effect where they're just like not as interested in people and like being people, I guess.
- 25:33Yeah. I mean, their socialization definitely changes. Right.
- 25:37Being ashamed that they are on it comes into play and they just don't want anybody to know.
- 25:43So they choose not to be around others, especially eating.
- 25:46Right. And it's also like a lack of comfort eating in front of people because
- 25:53they don't know how to handle it, right? Like, I don't know what to order.
- 25:57If I'm not going to Italian and ordering the chicken Alfredo because now I'm
- 26:02on a weight loss, what do I order?
- 26:03And then, like, are people going to ask me why I ordered the salad?
- 26:08Or, you know, it's like a lot more pressure that they can sometimes take on
- 26:13with this, which again is why I'm always like, Lord, please,
- 26:17if y'all are on it and you still need to learn how to navigate food, come on over.
- 26:21Let us tell you, you know what I mean? So that you can have that confidence along the way, you know?
- 26:28Well, but that whole thing, which you said, is what to me is sad.
- 26:32I mean, whether you're on the GLP-1 or not, like.
- 26:36We as women, we judge each other in everything.
- 26:41And so say I went out to eat with a group of friends and they all got something
- 26:48higher calorie, higher fat, and I chose not to, we're going to get the same question.
- 26:55It's like, you know, why aren't you eating? You know?
- 26:58You're right. You don't look at, I mean, you don't know what my day was like
- 27:04before. I don't know what your day was like.
- 27:06Before, and we all go into.
- 27:10Eating and food based on what our day has been like or how we're feeling you
- 27:16know we let our emotions take over have you have you ever been I mean I feel
- 27:22like this happens all the time for me,
- 27:24like have you ever been sitting at a table with a group of women like getting ready to order,
- 27:30and like people will verbally like they will they will be trying to make up
- 27:33their mind you know and it's like I think I'm gonna get the salad with the salmon
- 27:38on top and then it's like well, I don't know that chicken piccata sounds good too.
- 27:45Well, you know, like they, they talk it out. And then if another friend at the
- 27:49table is like, well, I'm getting the chicken Parmesan with like extra Parmesan cheese, you know.
- 27:56Then like people will, people will adjust their order and adjust like,
- 28:01you know, they started with the salad with the grilled salmon on top.
- 28:05And then And it gets around to her and she's like, you know,
- 28:08I want the highest fat, highest calorie thing on the menu.
- 28:13And it is. It's kind of a wild.
- 28:16It's peer pressure to see what you're going to eat based on what your friend
- 28:19sitting next to you is going to order. And that's just the way women have been.
- 28:23I mean, we dress to please other women, not men.
- 28:28Yeah. You know, because we all have that little bit of insecurity in us.
- 28:32You're right. And it's crazy because I feel like people, women who have a group
- 28:36of friends that are going to get the chicken alfredo, the, you know,
- 28:43chicken parmesan, the fried chicken and French fries, like whatever it is.
- 28:46Like, if that's your friend group, like if y'all all go out to eat and y'all
- 28:51all order and stuff like that, well, then if you are on a weight loss journey...
- 28:55And you do want to try to order something that's a little lighter.
- 28:58Like you're saying, like, that is so stressful. And it almost makes you not want to go.
- 29:04Because then you're, because, like, just like you said, like,
- 29:06well, why aren't you eating? Well, why are you, why did you order that?
- 29:10Because those people are internally feeling like, oh, she thinks she's better
- 29:14than us. Oh, she thinks she's got more willpower than us.
- 29:17So then they're going to shame her for the choice.
- 29:20But also her as the one that is, like, navigating the weight loss journey.
- 29:25She is battling her own brain every single day, telling herself,
- 29:30I can do this this time. I am not going to fail.
- 29:34And then now she's got her friends looking at her like, I don't know why she
- 29:39ordered this. I'm sure in her head she feels this way.
- 29:41I don't know why she ordered that. She ain't going to stick to it this time
- 29:44anyway. You know what I mean?
- 29:47It's actually kind of wild to think about how avoiding the dinner might just be easier.
- 29:56You know, but I feel like it's the same thing in that that is one thing that
- 30:00I came up against heavily early on in my perfect fit days,
- 30:05even dare I say before perfect fit, when I was just like the dietitian in the circles that we ran in.
- 30:11It was like, if we went out to dinner after like the hardest workout ever with
- 30:17my gym people and I got pizza, people would be like, Constance,
- 30:23I can't believe you eat that.
- 30:25Like, I can't believe you eat that way, you know? And then I feel like something's
- 30:29wrong with me because I am supposed to be the dietitian.
- 30:31And they are telling me dietitians don't eat this way, you know? Yeah.
- 30:39It's quite a side eye that dietitians get. It is. When they're out. Yeah, it is.
- 30:46And it probably made you think that you, which is something we were going to
- 30:49touch on too, is that you go the next day and out work, work out that pizza
- 30:54that you ate. Right, right.
- 30:56Yeah, like, or prove, prove the next time around that I do also eat healthy
- 31:00too. You know what I mean?
- 31:03But so anyway, I do. Okay, so that's path one, right? Like, just constantly
- 31:09chasing the lower number on
- 31:11the scale and then kind of forgetting about it and then chasing it again.
- 31:15You know, where it's just like, you're either on a diet or you're off a diet.
- 31:20You know, and that to me is just never going to...
- 31:26Last. You know, you're always going to be on a diet or off a diet, you know?
- 31:32So you were talking about one of your PFM plus clients. And I feel like,
- 31:35I just love that aspect that we've incorporated because I feel like I've talked about them a lot too.
- 31:40But I have one that just got back from, she was out of the country for two weeks.
- 31:45Oh yeah. I cannot wait for her to be on the Zoom call this week.
- 31:49I cannot wait to catch up with her yeah okay well this
- 31:52is a mentality that a lot of people have had and that
- 31:54you know we we all still work through but she we
- 31:58were talking last week and she said well I've tried to eat x amount of calories
- 32:04to make up for what I ate when I was out of the country and she said guess what
- 32:08it's not working no girl I mean she was eating like eight or nine hundred calories and I was like,
- 32:17really it's not working i said you gotta be kidding me and she was just like.
- 32:24Gosh and i bet she was starving coming home like you know probably it was i
- 32:30tell everybody like when you get back from vacation like it's gonna take you
- 32:34at least a week to get back into your calorie deficit because your body is like
- 32:39keep feeding me all the good stuff you know it is so I mean,
- 32:43I think to sum all that part one up is, you know, we tell our clients,
- 32:49go out and enjoy the meal, you know, and enjoy the time out with your friends and your husband.
- 32:56Don't act like it's not going to affect, right? Because that client,
- 33:01she was gone for two weeks.
- 33:02If she ate above her maintenance number every day for two weeks,
- 33:06I bet she walked a lot too, though.
- 33:07You know, she's always, it's not as bad as she thinks it is every single time, you know, and so but.
- 33:14It might affect the scale, right? Like, we're not saying stay in denial,
- 33:19you know, like, it might affect the scale.
- 33:23But at the same time, we want you to live your life and enjoy,
- 33:27like, this was a really big trip for her, a very special trip for your PFN client,
- 33:31just the same, PFN plus client, just the same way it is, it was for mine, you know.
- 33:35And so we don't want them to go over there thinking about their weight and thinking
- 33:40about their body and thinking about that pressure, because that's really not
- 33:44what life is about at that time.
- 33:46Now, if we have clients, which we do, we have some clients that travel a lot,
- 33:51like for work or like, I mean, I feel like I'm a great example.
- 33:55We have traveled a lot this year, you know?
- 33:58And some of it, I have chosen to stick more towards my calorie deficit,
- 34:03but some of it I have said, okay, like when we went to Tulum,
- 34:05I'm like, I know I'm gonna gain, you know? And I'm accepting that.
- 34:08And so it's about navigating each, like each trip or each weekend or each whatever
- 34:16as it comes to really say to yourself.
- 34:20Okay, work is providing catered luncheon at a hotel this week at a conference.
- 34:26Is this the week that I really want to, you know, like eat the cookie or you
- 34:33have too many cocktails or like, is this where I want to, you know,
- 34:36go in my excess or do I want to save that for when we go to the beach next month
- 34:39or whatever it is, you know.
- 34:41It's just about discernment there, like making that conscious choice to say,
- 34:46I do understand, I do know that I'm probably going to gain a little bit here,
- 34:51but I also know that it's worth it, you know, because of whatever we've got going on.
- 34:56I always got to look at the big picture because it's bigger than that moment. That's right.
- 35:03So then down this second path, right, of weight loss, like.
- 35:10Generalized mindset or whatever it is, I do feel like, or maybe,
- 35:16I don't know, am I delusional?
- 35:17Like, tell me if I'm delusional, Stacey, but I do just feel like over the past five,
- 35:25eight, 10 years, we are seeing more and more people who are realizing that it
- 35:32has to be like all-inclusive.
- 35:34Like, you cannot just follow some cookie cutter diet,
- 35:41some, you know, black and white meal plan that you found on the internet,
- 35:45you know, only buying certain foods from a prescribed food list.
- 35:50Like, I feel like people are beginning to understand that that is always going
- 35:56to keep you where you are.
- 35:58You know, eventually you are going to yo-yo your way back to where you currently are.
- 36:02And so I feel like more and more people are understanding that it does have
- 36:07to look like a lifestyle change it does have to you know include actually understanding
- 36:12what you're eating and understanding your health and also understanding like
- 36:16your mindset along the way but again,
- 36:19I eat breathe and sleep this every day so I could just be delusional I know I do and I.
- 36:27I really wish that we could put our finger and pinpoint as to as to when the shift changed.
- 36:33I mean, but I would say definitely in the past five to six years,
- 36:36people have really gotten more health conscious and maybe they've looked at
- 36:40the history of all these different things that were introduced.
- 36:44And it was like, OK, do the grapefruit diet for three days and that doesn't work.
- 36:51And then it's just like, OK, what is really getting down to going what's really going on inside of me?
- 36:57And maybe it's from all of
- 37:00the press around like what we're
- 37:03putting in our food and that sort of stuff I mean
- 37:05it's just all that is really coming to light to
- 37:09what are we really putting in our food that's gonna that's hurting us it makes
- 37:13you know it makes it want to get better I don't know but okay do you I kind
- 37:18of feel like too okay I feel like before all the what what are we putting inside of our food movement.
- 37:26I feel like before that was the like body at all size, like love your body at all size movement.
- 37:33You know, we're like, that's when Aerie like stopped touching up their, their people.
- 37:39Like, you know, there was just this huge movement of like, why are we.
- 37:45Why are we making this Barbie doll? Why is she the idol that everybody needs to look like? Right.
- 37:51And why are we trying to tell women that this is how they need to,
- 37:57you know, have a tiny waist and big boobs and a big butt?
- 38:01And so I almost feel like it's the marrying of all of it, right?
- 38:06Like we went from, oh, my God, we're striving to be supermodel worthy.
- 38:10And then this huge movement of, you know, body, body love at all size, at all sizes.
- 38:18And then you're like, you're saying, then it's like, well, also though,
- 38:22what are we eating? We've got to be aware of like what we're actually putting
- 38:26inside of our bodies, you know?
- 38:29And so I don't know, maybe it's just like more awareness of it all, you know,
- 38:34instead of searching for the answer people are encouraged
- 38:38to like come up with how how like
- 38:41we get so much information now
- 38:44that it's like now we have enough information to decide
- 38:48how we feel about it you know I was gonna say
- 38:51and we touch into this later on in this podcast
- 38:54but social media I mean like when social media really
- 38:57took off and there were so many different platforms and
- 39:01availability of things that we could search I think
- 39:04is when it all did kind of marry right because now
- 39:08you don't just have the suit
- 39:11the the supermodels and the actors and actresses to look at like the magazine
- 39:16covers to look at and that be like what we are striving for you have your real
- 39:24life you know So mom up the street that is, you know,
- 39:29on Instagram telling you, you know, how she eats or whatever.
- 39:32And so that's really empowering when you think about it, like for women,
- 39:38you know, because it's like for the first time in forever.
- 39:43There's not a universe where, not to be like gender shaming or whatever,
- 39:48but like men did have a really big impact on how women were portrayed.
- 39:56Yeah, I mean, women have found their voice is where it's.
- 40:00Right. And there is no filter now. Whereas,
- 40:03you know, if a woman tried to take a part on a show and she needed to lose five
- 40:10pounds, according to the man who produced her, you know, that show,
- 40:13she would have just had to lose five pounds.
- 40:15Well, now we've got influencers who don't need nobody's permission to get out
- 40:24there with her extra 5, 10,
- 40:2615 pounds and talk to the world, you know, and have more views than maybe said
- 40:32television show, you know.
- 40:36That's like, that's really powerful, I think, for women. And I don't even know
- 40:41if we realized that we were walking that out, you know. Well,
- 40:45I mean, you look at yourself.
- 40:47I mean, you are a woman business.
- 40:50You started this. And a lot of women are, they're getting their voices, you know.
- 40:55I mean, look at all the women that own businesses now. Yeah,
- 40:59you're right. Entrepreneurs.
- 41:01Well, you're right. I haven't, like, I don't know why I haven't thought about
- 41:04it in this way, like, even for myself.
- 41:07Like, I saw a girl at, oh, I went and bought Christmas decorations this weekend.
- 41:12And she was like She stopped me and she's like you're the weight loss girl, right?
- 41:16And I was like, yes, and she's like it's like seeing a celebrity in person and
- 41:20i'm like, I really don't Feel that way but like,
- 41:25I mean, I guess, you know, like I'm just putting it out there.
- 41:29Whereas 20 years ago, that was not possible for me in the way that it is now,
- 41:38you know, to just like say what I want to say, when I want to say it.
- 41:43It wasn't. It definitely was not.
- 41:46Without, without. But you also make it real. Like you, you're a real person.
- 41:51Like, this segment is a sit-down, real conversation.
- 41:57Right. Right.
- 42:00That's, I don't know, I think, man, what a time to be alive.
- 42:05I know. Like, what a time to raise my daughters, you know, for them to just
- 42:09be able to be like, Like, I'm not, like, I don't have to conform to what some, you know,
- 42:18person up in a, you know, box somewhere is telling me this is how things should look.
- 42:24This is how, you know, women should eat.
- 42:28This is how, you know, like, we are all just out here, which,
- 42:30I mean, gosh, it kind of makes it confusing, too, though, right?
- 42:32Like, it's like scrambled eggs in our brain.
- 42:35It does. Because, I mean, people can take it too far, for sure. But, you know, it's...
- 42:41Yeah. But there's such a beauty in that, too, to just even have that option, you know.
- 42:48I mean, I think this world definitely needs more strong people in general,
- 42:54women or men, you know, stand up for what you believe in. That's right.
- 42:58That's right. And just like also like the the awareness.
- 43:03I think that I think that's where the scrambled eggs part comes from.
- 43:07For me is like we all have different
- 43:10opinions we all have different thoughts and experiences like
- 43:13you said like earlier how you said like you don't know what I
- 43:16ate earlier in the day you know I mean these people don't know
- 43:19what kind of history we have what
- 43:22kind of health history we have what kind of like
- 43:25dynamics you grew up with at home around food
- 43:28or otherwise right like you don't
- 43:31know anything like you could be going through some kind of huge heavy
- 43:34trauma in your life like so people just don't know and
- 43:37so I think where it becomes scrambled eggs is like you do you will have people
- 43:43getting out there like hollering things that are really loud and really disruptive
- 43:47about different topics whether that be weight loss or something else and it's
- 43:52like but you don't know what.
- 43:56There's the circumstances were that caused them to be that like that caused
- 44:01them to be so passionate about it and then on the same flip of the coin those
- 44:05people hollering about it,
- 44:07don't take that time to consider that maybe everyone doesn't feel so passionately
- 44:15in one direction or another because they didn't have that history you know what I'm saying,
- 44:23Or that confidence of the other person. I mean, I think that through anything
- 44:27with food, with relationships, whatever,
- 44:30people that want to attack what you're eating or what you're not eating or how
- 44:36you look, don't have the confidence that you may have in yourself to be okay
- 44:42with, I'm going to eat this pizza.
- 44:44Yeah. You know, stop judging me because I'm confident in knowing what I want
- 44:49to choose or what I want to say.
- 44:51Right. Does that make sense? It does. We're going deep here. We are going deep.
- 44:55I love it. I love it. I will say, so I am in a few like Facebook groups. Okay, y'all.
- 45:01So we really did go deep and it did not stop here.
- 45:05This conversation went a lot longer than we had anticipated.
- 45:08So I went ahead and broke it up into a two-part series.
- 45:13So join us back next week for the second part of this Say Grace episode,
- 45:19where Stacey and I will continue to go deep on the topic of weight loss culture and not only that,
- 45:25how culture in general has shifted,
- 45:29which in turn does affect weight loss and weight loss culture.
- 45:32Also, we dive in a lot on social media and how that has affected us.
- 45:37And me personally, I talk about how things like rest has radically shifted my
- 45:43perspective on different things in life and why I feel that it is directly related to weight loss.
- 45:49So join us back next week on Say Grace.