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Ditch the Diet: How to Eat With Joy · Fit As A Fiddle

0:00
SPEAKER_00: There's always a reason not to pick up the kale.
0:02
SPEAKER_00: There's always a reason not to do something, whether it's planning this birthday party or being in a rush for that, or whatever the reasons are.
0:10
SPEAKER_00: And equally, there's always a reason to do something.
0:14
SPEAKER_00: And we need to anchor into the reason to do something.
0:18
SPEAKER_00: What I want for myself long term outweighs my current state of annoyance.
0:24
SPEAKER_01: Hello, everyone.
0:25
SPEAKER_01: I'm your host, Dr.
0:27
SPEAKER_01: Sneha Ghazi, a physical therapist, course creator, and mom.
0:31
SPEAKER_01: I own Sneha Physical Therapy, a private practice in New York City, and created the course Master Your Pelvic Floor to help you transform the way you think about and move your body.
0:42
SPEAKER_01: Use discount code FIT20 for a special 20% discount exclusively for my listeners at the link in all show notes.
0:50
SPEAKER_01: Each episode brings phenomenal guests in the health and wellness space who share inspiring tips and tangible advice.
0:57
SPEAKER_01: All things health and wellness starts right here.
1:01
SPEAKER_01: Hello everyone, and welcome to this week's episode on Fit as a Fiddle.
1:06
SPEAKER_01: We have a lovely returning guest on our show today.
1:09
SPEAKER_01: She is celebrated and wonderful Bridget Zeitlin.
1:12
SPEAKER_01: Um, Bridget has been on our show before to talk about a lot of things surrounding her field of work, which is nutrition.
1:20
SPEAKER_01: And today, you know, I guess a couple of years later, she's gonna come in with more information, great new insights for us.
1:28
SPEAKER_01: Bridget uh is a registered dietitian and she's also a women's nutrition coach and a media personality.
1:35
SPEAKER_01: And she has been on so many different publications, all the things, all the cool, fun stuff.
1:40
SPEAKER_01: So she's been on Vogue and Women's Health, Men's Health, Glamour, all the great things.
1:45
SPEAKER_01: So we're really excited and happy to have you join us on our show today.
1:49
SPEAKER_01: Again, Bridget, thank you for being here.
1:51
SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for having me.
1:52
SPEAKER_00: I'm super excited to be back with you and your community.
1:55
SPEAKER_00: It's always such a fun conversation.
1:57
SPEAKER_00: I'm excited to dive in.
1:58
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
1:59
SPEAKER_01: So for listeners who maybe didn't get a chance to watch that first episode, although it will be linked in the show notes for you.
2:05
SPEAKER_01: Um, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what brought you into nutrition and why you're so passionate about what you do?
2:12
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
2:13
SPEAKER_00: So, like you said, I'm a registered dietitian, nutritionist, and really I work with women who feel like they're doing all the right things but aren't seeing the right results.
2:22
SPEAKER_00: So I teach them how to do all the right things for them, their body, their lifestyle, um, so that they can reach their goals without restriction, without dieting, and without calorie counting.
2:34
SPEAKER_00: It is one of the main reasons I became a dietitian, was because I believe that taking really good care of yourself and enjoying the foods you love get to go hand in hand.
2:43
SPEAKER_00: It's not an either or situation.
2:46
SPEAKER_00: And so, and at the time, the dietitians, nutritionists that were out and about in the world were really preaching like the fat-free lifestyle, the restriction lifestyle, the you know, carbs and sugar are the devil lifestyle.
3:01
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, that's just not sustainable.
3:03
SPEAKER_00: Like I, it's just not sustainable, in my opinion, because whatever you do, and I will say that the majority of my clients come to me for weight weight management.
3:12
SPEAKER_00: Whatever you do to lose the weight or whatever you do to reach your health goal, you have to stay doing to keep that goal.
3:21
SPEAKER_00: So if you, if your goal is weight loss, if you lose the weight giving up the carbs, then you have to keep the carbs out to keep the weight off, because when you put them back in, the scale goes back up, the genes get tight again.
3:32
SPEAKER_00: If you can lose the weight while you're eating the carbs, while you're traveling through Italy and enjoying the pasta, while you are celebrating holidays and having dessert, if you know how to lose the weight doing all of those things, then the weight gets to stay off while you do all of those things.
3:48
SPEAKER_00: And then you have a lifestyle.
3:50
SPEAKER_00: You don't have a um, you don't have a limited fix to your long-term desire.
3:57
SPEAKER_00: You have a long-term fix for your lifestyle.
4:00
SPEAKER_01: I 100% agree with that.
4:02
SPEAKER_01: I think that um off screen we were just saying how this goes hand in hand with what I talk to people about in terms of exercise and movement.
4:11
SPEAKER_01: And movement and exercise sometimes are two different words for people, and that's fine, but it just means just get up, do something with your body that is not sitting or laying, is like my idea of some kind of movement and exercise.
4:25
SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think similarly, if you're doing like a particular movement pattern to try to achieve a certain result, it's the same thing.
4:32
SPEAKER_01: You have to keep doing that, otherwise, your muscles will literally atrophy.
4:36
SPEAKER_01: It's called atrophying, is when you lose the muscle mass or you lose the effects of the training.
4:41
SPEAKER_01: And so you must continue the training to maintain the effects of the training.
4:45
SPEAKER_01: And so it's the same thing.
4:47
SPEAKER_01: We are hoping to be on this planet for a long time.
4:51
SPEAKER_01: And for we hope that, especially towards the end of that time, that we have less problem and we have less need for other people to take care of us, right?
5:02
SPEAKER_01: Most people's goal is truly to live a fulfilling life with longevity and independence and have a good quality of life.
5:10
SPEAKER_01: And so the work that you do is so important because what you put into your body, and then on my end, how you move your body, which is what I preach, are just the two things that you do to some level have in your control.
5:24
SPEAKER_01: Because all those genetic factors you don't, all of the things that happened, like all the, you know, when you were a kid, the the the some of the stressors that you may have dealt with physically or emotionally, you can't change those things.
5:36
SPEAKER_01: But currently, right now, the choices that you make are important, but without having to stress about them in a way that actually almost backfires and creates this negative pattern, right?
5:48
SPEAKER_01: So I'd love for you, like genuine question.
5:51
SPEAKER_01: How do you talk to or work with your clients who feel like they're just stuck in this loop where they feel like they're just relapsing into like really bad habits and then really good habits and then really bad habits and really good habits, and it's just a cycle.
6:07
SPEAKER_01: How do you help people get out of that cycle?
6:09
SPEAKER_00: That's a great question.
6:11
SPEAKER_00: Um, and I think no matter what the habit is, like we've all fallen into some cycle like that.
6:17
SPEAKER_00: Like for me, oh my gosh, flossing my teeth.
6:20
SPEAKER_00: I like, I hate it, I know I have to do it, and I'll and there'll be times I'll get in a really good rhythm and I'll be flossing regularly.
6:27
SPEAKER_00: My dentist will love it.
6:28
SPEAKER_00: And then there'll be times where I just like fall off.
6:31
SPEAKER_00: So that whatever it is, it's a human condition to to have that.
6:36
SPEAKER_00: What I so it depends first and foremost, what habit, what habit are we trying to break?
6:42
SPEAKER_00: What is the quote unquote bad habit that we're trying to break?
6:45
SPEAKER_00: And what is the what is your goal?
6:47
SPEAKER_00: So the good habit that we want to create would then reach our goal.
6:51
SPEAKER_00: Um, and I think that the initially, well, there are two things that make a huge difference.
6:58
SPEAKER_00: One, how can we make it really simple?
7:00
SPEAKER_00: Right?
7:01
SPEAKER_00: So, what can we do?
7:02
SPEAKER_00: I think so many times when it comes to being healthier, people micromanage every single decision and like overcomplicate things.
7:11
SPEAKER_00: How can we make it so much more simple and easier?
7:15
SPEAKER_00: We are busy people, we are constantly on the go, we are juggling a thousand balls at once.
7:20
SPEAKER_00: So taking care of yourself is one of the balls, but it shouldn't be a heavy one.
7:25
SPEAKER_00: So, how do we make it easier?
7:26
SPEAKER_00: And again, that's gonna um tailor a little bit to like what what your long-term goal is, what habit we're trying to break.
7:33
SPEAKER_00: Um, and then accountability.
7:36
SPEAKER_00: Like there is something to be said for why my clients come to me, not because they don't know kale is healthy.
7:42
SPEAKER_00: All my clients know kale is healthy.
7:44
SPEAKER_00: There's a disconnect between what they know and what they're doing.
7:47
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes having accountability, right?
7:49
SPEAKER_00: Like while your clients come to work with you and check in with you, my clients work in work with me and check in with me regularly to create some accountability to build that momentum until it becomes second nature, and then and then they keep on keeping on.
8:02
SPEAKER_00: So, one, how can we make it really simple and easy for your day-to-day?
8:06
SPEAKER_00: And two, how do we add in a little bit of accountability?
8:09
SPEAKER_00: Um, either, you know, with an expert like you or I, or accountability buddy, or creating some self-accountability to just make it consistent.
8:18
SPEAKER_01: I love that.
8:20
SPEAKER_01: And it is so true because uh the habit formation, I often tell my patients to like pair it with another habit that already exists in their life because it's one of the ways that scientifically helps people stick to things.
8:33
SPEAKER_01: Um, but when it comes to food, I feel like so.
8:38
SPEAKER_01: Personally, what I do, and you can tell me if this is a good idea or not, but I literally just don't buy things that most of the time are unhealthy, unless it's like I'm actually like this is our date night dinner, that we're gonna get like all the cheeses and all the snacks and like all the things, and we're just doing that.
8:57
SPEAKER_01: But in my regular grocery shopping list, like if I'm go, if I'm whether I'm ordering it or going to the grocery store, I usually don't um have the things in front of me.
9:06
SPEAKER_01: So like I can't even reach for the bag of chips because the bag of chips does not exist in my life to be reached for.
9:12
SPEAKER_01: And the the the two options right now that I have are a box of strawberries, which if I eat, my daughter will kill me, or like four bananas sitting on my countertop.
9:21
SPEAKER_01: And that's what's gonna be my midday snack at some point when I'm like, you know, wanting a little pick-me-up.
9:27
SPEAKER_01: So I say this because that's what I do, and I tell my patients this with working out because if you don't have the visual cues to work out, you probably won't.
9:37
SPEAKER_01: And so I actually asked them to like instead of what I do with the nutrition, which is remove the bad stuff.
9:43
SPEAKER_01: Uh, the bad stuff is really for my patients who are sedentary, they're like work desk, which can't usually be moved.
9:48
SPEAKER_01: So I asked them to like put their theraband wrapped around their wrist to like remind them because it's like on their wrist and they're looking at it.
9:55
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, just do a couple of scab squeezes, just do a couple of things because it's on your wrist.
10:01
SPEAKER_01: So you can still move your body.
10:03
SPEAKER_01: And it's like a good reminder for them.
10:05
SPEAKER_01: Um so jumping off of that, we are going into the summer right now.
10:10
SPEAKER_01: This episode is coming out in the summer of 2026.
10:13
SPEAKER_01: Um, and what are some of the things that people can start to do tangibly to start developing some of these healthy habits?
10:21
SPEAKER_01: And what are those healthy habits in the first place?
10:23
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, great question.
10:24
SPEAKER_00: So, in terms of like your food one's food shop, I I love I love that it works for you the way that you do it.
10:32
SPEAKER_00: I think that's fabulous.
10:33
SPEAKER_00: I don't believe that there are healthy foods and unhealthy foods.
10:37
SPEAKER_00: I believe that there are healthy habits and unhealthy habits.
10:39
SPEAKER_00: And so creating, so if for someone, um potato chips are like a thing, they they overeat it, they haven't learned great portion control around it, it's right, they have a hard time keeping the whole bag at home.
10:52
SPEAKER_00: Um then what we want to do, what we want to do is create some self-trust around it, right?
10:59
SPEAKER_00: Like most of the time, um, what that would tell me is that whatever else is going on throughout the day, food-wise, stress-wise, hydration-wise, is not setting you you one, not not just you know how, but like one up for for not being able to stop, for not being able to create some portion control.
11:19
SPEAKER_00: So there are two, there are two schools of thought.
11:22
SPEAKER_00: One, yes, you could totally remove the the temptation and not have it in your home at all.
11:26
SPEAKER_00: Um, or you can practice a little bit of, you know, portion control and build, you know, some some why people love diets is because they're so structured.
11:38
SPEAKER_00: It's very defined lines of like where you can color and where you can't color.
11:43
SPEAKER_00: What I teach my clients is food flexibility, right?
11:46
SPEAKER_00: So there aren't such rigid lines, like potato chips on their own aren't necessarily unhealthy.
11:53
SPEAKER_00: How many you eat, how frequently you eat, what else you're eating throughout the day matters.
11:57
SPEAKER_00: Are you only eating potato chips, right?
11:59
SPEAKER_00: There's so many other questions.
12:00
SPEAKER_00: And that's why I'm coming to nutrition through the lens of there are no good foods or bad foods, and the foods that you enjoy get to go hand in hand with how you take care of yourself.
12:10
SPEAKER_00: So I think um one, it's it's knowing yourself and what works best for you, and that sometimes that takes time.
12:16
SPEAKER_00: And two, it's being able to create some portion control within, and so that you're not like so that when you walk into a party and there is a bowl of potato chips on the buffet or like at the whatever the next Super Bowl party, we're coming into barbecue, summer season, pool parties, right?
12:35
SPEAKER_00: Like there's gonna be potato chips everywhere.
12:37
SPEAKER_00: So being able to know that you can trust yourself around the random pop-up ambush of potato chips, right?
12:45
SPEAKER_00: That's what I want to create for my clients.
12:48
SPEAKER_00: Um, so when it comes to the summer, and the number one thing I think is there's so many things, but one thing that for and remind me what the demographic here for your audience, like percentage of women to men.
13:04
SPEAKER_01: Um, I would say probably something like 60, 40, with women slightly on the higher side, but I think it's a pretty split.
13:12
SPEAKER_00: Okay, perfect.
13:13
SPEAKER_00: So something I think that works really well when it comes to it can sound counterintuitive, but we need to eat consistently throughout the day if we want to lose weight or maintain our healthy weight.
13:25
SPEAKER_00: Because when we don't eat consistently throughout the day, we almost guarantee that we're going to overeat later on.
13:32
SPEAKER_00: So making sure you're having breakfast.
13:34
SPEAKER_00: And then about three to four hours later, have lunch.
13:38
SPEAKER_00: Three to four hours after that, you're gonna have an afternoon snack.
13:41
SPEAKER_00: For you, it's gonna be the banana, not the strawberries, because we learned that.
13:45
SPEAKER_00: Um, and then three to four hours after that, we wanna have dinner.
13:49
SPEAKER_00: So I don't really care, and it's this is going to change depending on the season.
13:54
SPEAKER_00: What the clock says, like it doesn't matter for me or for you or for your health goals if you eat breakfast at 7 a.m.
14:00
SPEAKER_00: or 8 a.m., right?
14:02
SPEAKER_00: But that you're having breakfast within about the first two hours of waking up.
14:07
SPEAKER_00: Um, and then that's when the internal clock starts of when you want to be eating about every three to four hours.
14:13
SPEAKER_00: So on a Monday, maybe breakfast is at 7 a.m.
14:16
SPEAKER_00: On a Saturday, maybe breakfast is at 9 a.m.
14:19
SPEAKER_00: if you've slept in a little bit.
14:20
SPEAKER_00: Everyone's everyone's schedule is going to be different.
14:23
SPEAKER_00: Everyone's Monday versus Saturday is going to look a little bit different.
14:26
SPEAKER_00: Um, summertime, things are a little bit lazier, a little bit slower, right?
14:30
SPEAKER_00: We're not working as much.
14:32
SPEAKER_00: Um, so I don't, what the time says on the clock is not so super relevant, but what the eating times that you're doing going throughout your day are really, really beneficial for making sure that you have enough energy throughout the day, that you're not over-snacking or overportioning any of your meals.
14:50
SPEAKER_00: So that way, um, you know, I don't teach my clients how to calorie count, I teach my clients how to eat.
14:55
SPEAKER_00: So that, but we ultimately are eating less calories when we eat consistently throughout the day because we're not going to overeat at any one meal, right?
15:04
SPEAKER_00: We're we're our body is expecting like good, and I'll talk about what we want to fill those meals with.
15:10
SPEAKER_00: But when we when we eat consistently, we naturally end up eating less at our meals overall throughout the whole day.
15:18
SPEAKER_00: So you're consuming overall less calories so that the weight is coming off.
15:22
SPEAKER_00: And um, but of course, what we at the meals, like we want to be eating a combination of nutrient-dense foods, so foods that are going to fill you up and satiate you and give you energy, right?
15:34
SPEAKER_00: Like a really, really great source of protein at every meal.
15:37
SPEAKER_00: And that protein could be plant-based, so tofu, lentils, edamame, nut butter, hummus, chickpeas, or it can be animal-based, eggs, Greek yogurt, chicken, turkey, steak, whichever you you decide, you do you.
15:53
SPEAKER_00: But we want a good portion, we want a good protein, and then we want to mix in and always, always, always make sure we have a produce with our meal.
16:02
SPEAKER_00: So a produce would be a fruit or a vegetable, and that you're having that anytime you're eating, whether it's a meal or a snack, you're having a protein and a produce.
16:10
SPEAKER_00: And that should set you up for like an eating routine, no matter what season, where you're going to be making really conscious, mindful food choices throughout the rest of the day in terms of over snacking, overeating, because your body is feeling really satiated consistently overall.
16:27
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
16:27
SPEAKER_01: I'd love to comment on that one really quick.
16:30
SPEAKER_01: I remember before I understood anything about health, I think I must have been like in college at some point.
16:36
SPEAKER_01: And even though I was like 110 pounds and like a little skinnier than I probably should have been, you know how these women have like been conditioned in the world and society.
16:48
SPEAKER_01: So in my head, I had to like keep running and keep eating less carbs and eating less food.
16:55
SPEAKER_01: And it wasn't like I was anorexic or totally limiting, but I was I was strong and relatively healthy.
17:00
SPEAKER_01: But subconsciously I had to, I kept telling myself, okay, make sure that you don't do X, Y, Z and have like the two like bowls of cake that's sitting in the fridge.
17:10
SPEAKER_01: Just make healthier choices and don't eat that.
17:12
SPEAKER_01: Um, and I remember it was like one day I was talking to a friend and she was like studying um like exercise science and nutrition.
17:23
SPEAKER_01: She was like learning about physiology and and things like that.
17:27
SPEAKER_01: And um I was like, Oh yeah, I'm like, try to be really healthy.
17:30
SPEAKER_01: I'm just having a clementine for breakfast.
17:32
SPEAKER_01: That's it.
17:33
SPEAKER_01: And she was like, Why, why?
17:34
SPEAKER_01: Like, that's not that nope, that's blood sugar spike.
17:38
SPEAKER_01: That's like there's nothing about having a single clementine for breakfast that is even remotely good for your blood sugar regulation or for your health or keeping off the weight, quote unquote, if that's what you're thinking about.
17:50
SPEAKER_01: And I was so confused by this.
17:52
SPEAKER_01: And I think it just speaks to the lack of basic education on what we're speaking about today and your field from like a young age.
18:03
SPEAKER_01: And um, I know that you work with women especially, and like you understand the psychology behind why, like the societal influences and the just marketing and things that we're inundated with, especially as young girls, um, and that are kind of like generational traumas in some ways that um lead women to feel so restrictive and almost punishing themselves, which then can lead to those serious conditions and eating disorders that are often fatal for so many people and such a, you know, can have like such huge health impacts for the long term.
18:41
SPEAKER_01: So I guess I'd love for you to speed up to that a little bit in your experience and just talking about like restriction and deprivation in general and how we can hopefully create a society with conversations like this where we kind of talk real science and kind of put away those concepts that feel so ingrained in our psychology.
19:04
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, thank you for sharing that story um and your experience.
19:07
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
19:08
SPEAKER_00: Like it's it's paramount, it is pervasive.
19:11
SPEAKER_00: Um like, and and lots and lots and lots of young women feel it.
19:16
SPEAKER_00: Lots of young boys feel it too.
19:18
SPEAKER_00: They get it also.
19:19
SPEAKER_00: So it no one escapes unscathed from from the body image, the weight conversations, the wanting to be healthier stuff.
19:28
SPEAKER_00: So, what I will say is one's language really, really, really matters.
19:33
SPEAKER_00: How you talk to yourself about yes, how you look, but how you talk to yourself about food, how you relate to food.
19:41
SPEAKER_00: So, one of the reasons why um I don't use I don't talk about food being good or bad or healthy or unhealthy is because if we were, let's say if we follow that train of thought fully through.
19:53
SPEAKER_00: So if I were to say, I was really bad today, like I was really bad today, I had French toast for breakfast, um, right?
20:02
SPEAKER_00: But inherently I then connect my self-worth just by the language to the French toast.
20:08
SPEAKER_00: So I was really bad today.
20:11
SPEAKER_00: No, I'm a really good person.
20:12
SPEAKER_00: I'm kind to the people I interact with.
20:15
SPEAKER_00: I am um, right, like I'm a good friend.
20:18
SPEAKER_00: Like I my who I am is not about what I eat.
20:22
SPEAKER_00: So when you say things like, I was really bad today, in relation to how you eat, you're you're internalizing that, you're reinforcing that our brains connect patterns without us even realizing it.
20:34
SPEAKER_00: And so you're going to inherently feel guilty or shamed, whether you're consciously telling yourself to be guilty about it or not.
20:42
SPEAKER_00: Your brain is going to connect those dots and associate your self-worth with the food choices you're making.
20:49
SPEAKER_00: So there are no, there are no good or bad foods.
20:52
SPEAKER_00: There are, like I said, good and bad habits.
20:55
SPEAKER_00: Eating French toast for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, that's a really bad habit to be in, right?
21:00
SPEAKER_00: Eating French toast for breakfast, it happens, like fine, cool.
21:03
SPEAKER_00: What are we having for lunch?
21:05
SPEAKER_00: For lunch, are we having um, you know, grilled chicken with a big ass salad?
21:10
SPEAKER_00: Great.
21:10
SPEAKER_00: For dinner, what are we having for dinner?
21:12
SPEAKER_00: Right.
21:13
SPEAKER_00: So thinking about your entire day overall, something else that happens frequently too, when we talk about foods being good or bad, you know, um, then it's hard to, if we were quote unquote bad today, then we think the rest of the day doesn't really matter and we can screw it and like, and then this, and then it snowballs through versus, no, I had French toast.
21:35
SPEAKER_00: It tasted delicious.
21:36
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna move on.
21:36
SPEAKER_00: I'm super excited for lunch.
21:38
SPEAKER_00: I'm meeting up with my friend, we're gonna go to whatever restaurant and I'm going to get the grilled chicken and their amazing salad.
21:45
SPEAKER_00: Like they have this awesome Brussels sprout season salad.
21:49
SPEAKER_00: I can't wait.
21:49
SPEAKER_00: Right.
21:50
SPEAKER_00: Like, so thinking about thinking about like the whole day and the fact that every single meal is an opportunity for you to take good care of yourself.
21:59
SPEAKER_00: Um, and By good care of yourself, meaning to make choices and talk to yourself in a way that you want to feel long term.
22:07
SPEAKER_00: So I want to feel good.
22:08
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to talk to myself in terms of what makes me feel good.
22:12
SPEAKER_00: And there and food, you know, the example I gave earlier about kale and my clients knowing, like knowing kale is healthy.
22:20
SPEAKER_00: They're not coming to me for me to teach them, quote unquote, that kale's healthy.
22:24
SPEAKER_00: But for a lot, for my women clients who who have GI issues, for a lot of them, kale is not healthy.
22:31
SPEAKER_00: It's too fibrous.
22:32
SPEAKER_00: They can't digest it well.
22:34
SPEAKER_00: It bloats them.
22:35
SPEAKER_00: So for them, no, kale is quote unquote not unhealthy for them.
22:38
SPEAKER_00: So there's no one size fits all.
22:40
SPEAKER_00: It's really understanding yourself and creating, creating a whole, creating a relationship with food that isn't about good or bad, but is about am I nourishing myself with vitamins and nutrients, or am I like nourishing my soul right now with the French toast?
22:57
SPEAKER_00: Because grandma and I are going to the diner for breakfast.
23:00
SPEAKER_00: We do this once a month.
23:01
SPEAKER_00: Getting French toast is our thing.
23:02
SPEAKER_00: And so like that feels really good and like soul nourishing.
23:05
SPEAKER_00: You know, food, food is so closely related to our childhood memories, our family traditions, our holidays, our culture.
23:14
SPEAKER_00: And not all of those foods that are related to that are quote unquote, are like, you know, quote unquote healthy or particularly nutrient dense, but they are healthy for your soul because they they remind you of really good times.
23:26
SPEAKER_00: They bring smiles to your face, they connect you to your heritage.
23:29
SPEAKER_00: So being able to balance the foods that nourish your soul with the foods that nourish your body and being conscious, really, really conscious of how you're talking to yourself through that is crucial.
23:42
SPEAKER_00: And I will say also, we do not change our relationship with food is absolutely inherited.
23:47
SPEAKER_00: It came from our mother or our father or our grandmother or all the media we have consumed, right?
23:53
SPEAKER_00: All of our favorite TV shows that we grew up with, watching how other people talk about their bodies and how other people talk about food.
24:00
SPEAKER_00: And so while it's inherited, it isn't like we can change it.
24:05
SPEAKER_00: We can heal our relationship with food.
24:07
SPEAKER_00: We have to want to, you know, and a lot of my clients are what I would say like chronic dieters.
24:12
SPEAKER_00: They've been on every single diet, they've tried everything, and and they're like, I don't, I don't know what else I could try, but like tell me what else I'm missing here.
24:22
SPEAKER_00: So through that process, we've lost through the process of trying every single diet and giving up all these foods and focusing on everything you're not eating, we lose the self-trust, we lose the connection with how do I really like nourish myself.
24:36
SPEAKER_00: And I will say that when it comes to creating healthy habits and a healthier relationship with food, the number one thing that I think one, people get wrong and two how we're how we should be getting it right now is everyone, everyone, everyone, everyone focuses on being healthier by what they're removing from their diet.
24:58
unknown: Right.
24:58
SPEAKER_00: And I and when I say diet, I mean the foods that make up your life.
25:01
SPEAKER_00: Everyone is defining healthy by what they're not eating.
25:05
SPEAKER_00: I don't give a shit about what you're not eating.
25:07
SPEAKER_00: What I care, sorry, what I care about is what you are eating.
25:11
SPEAKER_00: What foods are getting into your body, right?
25:15
SPEAKER_00: Are you getting in enough protein?
25:16
SPEAKER_00: Are you getting in enough vegetables?
25:18
SPEAKER_00: Are you having um fruit?
25:20
SPEAKER_00: Are you having whole grains?
25:21
SPEAKER_00: Are you having enough sweet stuff that like you enjoy, right?
25:24
SPEAKER_00: Are you are you enjoying the cake at your birthday or your friend's birthday?
25:28
SPEAKER_00: Like, are what foods are you eating?
25:31
SPEAKER_00: I I don't care so much what foods you're not eating because they're not affecting your body.
25:37
SPEAKER_00: So if we can focus on what we are eating and and um not demonizing any food, not not putting foods in the categories of good or bad, but just food is neutral.
25:49
SPEAKER_00: Your the amount of it you're eating, um, the frequency of it that you're eating and what else you're eating will dictate if you have good eating habits or bad eating habits.
26:01
SPEAKER_01: I really love that.
26:02
SPEAKER_01: I think the piece that I want to comment on this, which relates the most closely with some stuff that I tell my patients regarding movement and exercise.
26:11
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
26:11
SPEAKER_01: And this happens with especially the new moms that I work with who are extremely busy transitioning into their role of motherhood with new challenges and demands and all the things.
26:23
SPEAKER_01: And they're it's usually like the busy New Yorker mom who's like, I used to, and then they'll like list all these like really cool physical things that they used to be able to do or used to do regularly, other it was CrossFit or the yoga classes and the bar and the Pilates and the strength training at the gym and running marathons and and they're like, I just can't, I don't do any of that more.
26:43
SPEAKER_01: I can't do any of that.
26:45
SPEAKER_01: And so what it reminded me of this was when you said you make one bad choice and then the or bad choice, quote unquote, and then the whole day is a wash, and you feel like, okay, well, now I'm just gonna eat whatever and I'm not gonna, whatever.
26:59
SPEAKER_01: Today is just today.
27:00
SPEAKER_01: Um, but every choice that you make is accumulatory, if that's a word accumulatory.
27:06
SPEAKER_01: Is that the reason?
27:07
SPEAKER_01: It accumulates.
27:10
SPEAKER_01: And it's the same concept because I'm like, just because you have like, okay, so we got into this good rhythm, you um did like, for example, you went to the gym twice this week, and then suddenly your kid gets sick and you have a vacation, and then you haven't gone in three weeks, and you're like, yeah, I'm just I'm gonna get started after Labor Day weekend, just gonna be in a better rhythm.
27:32
SPEAKER_01: And it's like, no, just go and do 10 body weight squats right now.
27:36
SPEAKER_01: That's healthy movement right now, you know, and like just drop down into like as we're speaking, drop down into the plank and hold it for 15 seconds or 20 seconds while you breathe well, you know?
27:47
SPEAKER_01: Like, and every small accumulation matters.
27:51
SPEAKER_01: And so it's not a wash, and you don't have to wait until the kid's birthday party that you're planning is finished, or until, you know, this thing that you this project that you're doing at work is done, or until this vacation is finished.
28:04
SPEAKER_01: All every moment, every day is an opportunity to create those changes in your body because those changes matter.
28:13
SPEAKER_01: And so that's, I think is a really important thing that people sometimes miss.
28:17
SPEAKER_01: And like you just said, with food, with food and exercise, it's like the same thing.
28:21
SPEAKER_01: It's the stuff that we can really truly control, whether you believe it or not, even though there's a lot of ingrained psychology, as we've discussed, and there's a lot of misconceptions, there is so much that we can do to change our mindset around things.
28:35
SPEAKER_01: And once we can change the mindset and understand in an evidence-based way, if that helps people at all, sometimes it really does, and sometimes it's not helpful, but hopefully it does why you are do why you should be doing certain things and not like you just said, it's like good or bad.
28:52
SPEAKER_01: It's not like awful if you sit there and watch a movie and did nothing for the weekend.
28:56
SPEAKER_01: It's like, okay, well, it's Monday morning now.
28:58
SPEAKER_01: Why don't we get up and plan something throughout our day that is, you know, just getting off at the subway stop two stops before you have to get off so you can do the extra half a mile of walking, or just if you live on if you're on the fifth floor, just don't bring the elevator.
29:15
SPEAKER_01: Um, don't um press the elevator button and just choose to take the stairs.
29:18
SPEAKER_01: And then sometimes it's these small swaps.
29:21
SPEAKER_01: And I think the biggest thing here is mindset and understanding, which is what I know that you probably want people to get away the most is it's not black and white, it's not good and bad.
29:31
SPEAKER_01: You're not gonna be perfect.
29:32
SPEAKER_01: I will uh there's absolutely no way that you will 100% do the perfect thing every time.
29:39
SPEAKER_01: And that is okay.
29:41
SPEAKER_01: That is actually like makes us human and makes us great and wonderful.
29:46
SPEAKER_01: And recognizing that we are gonna make those, you know, choices that maybe we reflect on and think maybe we can do differently next time is the first step to making those changes in the first place.
29:58
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if it's absolutely no for sure.
30:00
SPEAKER_00: Yes, I have two things to add 100%.
30:03
SPEAKER_00: Like we I am not here for perfection.
30:05
SPEAKER_00: You are not here for perfection.
30:06
SPEAKER_00: Perfection is a losing game.
30:08
SPEAKER_00: I'm here for progress.
30:10
SPEAKER_00: What choices are you making today towards your goals that are different than yesterday or last week, right?
30:16
SPEAKER_00: Like, how are you showing up today in a way that's moving the needle closer?
30:20
SPEAKER_00: So I'm not here for progress, not perfection.
30:23
SPEAKER_00: Um, the other thing, which you so beautifully shared with, you know, when you're talking about your clients and movement and exercise, there our brains are so right, they're constantly trying to protect us.
30:36
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
30:38
SPEAKER_00: And there's and so there's always a reason not to.
30:40
SPEAKER_00: There's always a reason not to go back to like not to go to the gym today.
30:44
SPEAKER_00: There's always a reason not to pick up the kale.
30:46
SPEAKER_00: There's always a like there's always a reason not to do something, um, whether it's planning this birthday party or being in a rush for that, or whatever the reasons are.
30:56
SPEAKER_00: And equally, there's always a reason to do something.
31:00
SPEAKER_00: And we need to anchor into the reason to do something.
31:04
SPEAKER_00: You know, I I floss my teeth not because I like to floss my teeth.
31:09
SPEAKER_00: No, I floss my teeth because I don't want cavities.
31:13
SPEAKER_00: I don't want to lose my teeth as I age, right?
31:17
SPEAKER_00: So the my goal, my long-term goal, like what I want for myself long term, outweighs my my current state of annoyance, my current state of not wanting, not wanting to floss, right?
31:31
SPEAKER_00: So if we can anchor into how do I want to feel at the end of the day?
31:35
SPEAKER_00: How do I want to feel, you know, when I wake up in the morning, how do I want to feel at the end of the week, right?
31:42
SPEAKER_00: Focusing on the reasons to do something will always should hopefully outweigh the reasons not to do something when it comes to taking care of yourself.
31:54
SPEAKER_00: You know what we um, someone I admire in the entrepreneurial space, she frequently says, F your mood, I'm gonna be conscious of my cursing on the show, if your mood, follow the plan.
32:07
SPEAKER_00: Our moods change constantly, right?
32:10
SPEAKER_00: Like when we're happy, we know it's fleeting.
32:13
SPEAKER_00: When we're sad, we also know that that passes.
32:16
SPEAKER_00: When we're frustrated, that passes, right?
32:18
SPEAKER_00: Our moods are constantly, constantly changing.
32:20
SPEAKER_00: We go through so many moods throughout a single day, a single hour.
32:24
SPEAKER_00: But the plan, the plan is the same.
32:27
SPEAKER_00: The plan is to have better movement, the plan is to have more physical health, the plan is to lose the weight, the plan is to have more energy, the plan is to take the best care of yourself possible.
32:36
SPEAKER_00: And these are the steps you know to do it because you've worked with uh yourself or myself.
32:42
SPEAKER_00: Um, right.
32:43
SPEAKER_00: So you know what the plan is.
32:45
SPEAKER_00: So let's not focus on the mood right now that changes so constantly.
32:51
SPEAKER_00: Forget the mood and follow the plan.
32:54
SPEAKER_01: I do really like that.
32:55
SPEAKER_01: I think it's extremely important.
32:58
SPEAKER_01: It it can be very hard because people who are listening are probably like, well, I feel like consumed by that emotion or whatever it is.
33:08
SPEAKER_01: And I think this kind of goes back to the psychology of when you get really good at creating structure and planning for yourself and understand the big why behind that, then everything else becomes a little bit easier because you develop this kind of um it's almost like a habit of counting on yourself.
33:34
SPEAKER_01: Once you've had enough experiences doing it and it working for you.
33:38
SPEAKER_01: And I tell this to my patients, because I'm like, sometimes you you kind of have to force yourself in the beginning to set the alarm and do the thing because once you have uh developed this sort of a pattern, just like everybody hopefully is brushing their teeth.
33:54
SPEAKER_00: If you're not flossing, I don't floss that much.
33:59
SPEAKER_01: But if you are brushing your teeth, which I really hope everyone is, I tell some of my patients to like who have like standing exercises in front of a mirror to do it then.
34:09
SPEAKER_01: But I'm like, I really hope you're at least once a day brushing your teeth.
34:12
SPEAKER_01: And that's like a habit to pair it on top of.
34:15
SPEAKER_01: But once you get into the cycle of doing something, you notice the benefit of doing it, you're gonna keep doing it because your body genuinely feels good.
34:23
SPEAKER_01: And that feel good, whether it's with what you food that you're putting in your mouth, um, or it's the way that you're moving your body, hold.
34:30
SPEAKER_01: I tell my patients, the way you hold your body in the space, the way you move your body in space.
34:35
SPEAKER_01: We're always thinking about that.
34:36
SPEAKER_01: Um, but when you have enough reason and it feels good to do it, that turns into the way that your body protects your mind protects yourself.
34:46
SPEAKER_01: Because then you start going, oh, this is how it should be, because it makes me feel good.
34:52
SPEAKER_01: And then your brain is literally wired to go, let's do things that feel good for us.
34:58
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
34:59
SPEAKER_01: It's really easy to slip into it.
35:01
SPEAKER_01: Feels really good eating a bag.
35:03
SPEAKER_01: For me, it's the sour cream and onion chips, the UTC brand.
35:06
SPEAKER_01: It's got the ruffles on it.
35:07
SPEAKER_00: Oh, I know it.
35:08
SPEAKER_00: I know it.
35:09
SPEAKER_01: Yes, for me, the best chips in the whole world.
35:11
SPEAKER_01: You can fight me about it, but best chips in the whole world, bro.
35:15
SPEAKER_01: But if you it feels good to binge eat like half a bag, and then it's like you don't feel good afterward, right?
35:21
SPEAKER_01: But we do have a prefrontal cortex as human beings, whether you believe it or not, we all have it.
35:27
SPEAKER_01: We don't have to work off of our emotions and we can actually think about our choices and we can think about why are we doing what we're doing and overcome these things.
35:35
SPEAKER_01: And it's really a mental like challenge that people often have.
35:40
SPEAKER_01: But it's not a challenge you have to do on your own, because they have wonderful bridges here that you can work with to help you overcome your challenges and lovely providers all over the world.
35:52
SPEAKER_01: If you're listening from another country, which we often do have, um, and you can work with somebody to create this accountability, going back to what we talked about in the beginning.
36:01
SPEAKER_01: It's hard to do this sometimes.
36:03
SPEAKER_01: It's not always hard for some people, but for the people that find this challenging and need the support and need the guidance, also like beautifully curated structure around what those, like actually, like what are you eating in the first place?
36:17
SPEAKER_01: Not just about timing, not just about psychology, but what is it with current information that we have that is personalized to your body, most importantly, like we talked about with the kale example, right?
36:27
SPEAKER_01: Because not every single food is the best fit for you.
36:31
SPEAKER_01: And maybe not just at this period of time for you.
36:34
SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's something later that you can incorporate, but maybe right now you're going through something physically that's maybe limiting you from consuming this particular thing in very large amounts.
36:45
SPEAKER_01: So there is wonderful research and um literature around this information and people who can curate this for you.
36:53
SPEAKER_01: So, Bridget, um, can you please tell us how can people find you?
36:57
SPEAKER_01: How can they learn more about what the work that you do?
37:00
SPEAKER_01: And what's the best way that people can kind of get in touch and get started on this journey?
37:04
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
37:05
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for asking.
37:06
SPEAKER_00: So I am a virtual practice, so it doesn't matter what country you live in.
37:11
SPEAKER_00: I can work with you.
37:12
SPEAKER_00: There you go.
37:12
SPEAKER_00: And I work, I work with clients one-on-one or in group programs as well.
37:18
SPEAKER_00: My group program, Radical Reset, runs three times a year.
37:21
SPEAKER_00: It's eight weeks long, and it's um designed for the woman who wants to lose weight, stress less about her food choices, and feel better in her body.
37:29
SPEAKER_00: Um, so sorry, gents, that one's not available to you, but it's a fabulous, awesome program.
37:34
SPEAKER_00: Um, and then my one-on-one program is available to everybody.
37:39
SPEAKER_00: And, you know, it's that's a more high-touch, customized blueprint of what is absolutely right for you, what are the right food pairings for you, what are the right habits that we need to create into your day and into your week to help you reach your goal and maintain it for the long term.
37:53
SPEAKER_00: So the best way to stay in touch with me is to go over to my website and join my newsletter, subscribe to my newsletter so you can hear updates, pro tips, recipes, things that I'm sharing there, and follow me on Instagram at BridgetSitlin R D, where I also share a lot of information, pro tips, nutrition soundbites that I think are really helpful.
38:14
SPEAKER_01: I love that.
38:15
SPEAKER_01: And I think one of the wonderful things about um working with a practitioner who likes lives and breeds New York City in a very dense metropolitan multicultural area is that um she can cater foods for different types of cultural preferences too.
38:29
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
38:30
SPEAKER_01: Because I'm sure you've been in touch with so many people, with so many different kinds of cuisines and have a really good grasp around that.
38:36
SPEAKER_01: Because I know you said, and it's very true, that food can be very personal and very cultural.
38:41
SPEAKER_01: And so um Bridget can work with those things and help uh create um plans that really work with you, um, not only for your physiology, what's physically going on with your body and health conditions, but also what you enjoy in a cultural emotional perspective as well.
38:58
SPEAKER_01: So that way.
38:59
SPEAKER_01: I will definitely drop all of that in the show notes for everyone.
39:03
SPEAKER_01: I highly recommend sign up for her newsletter.
39:05
SPEAKER_01: There's like so much information that's so wonderful that you can just at least get started to um learn and get a good understanding of.
39:13
SPEAKER_01: And if you would like to work with her, um she's a fantastic practitioner to reach out to.
39:18
SPEAKER_00: So thank you so much.
39:20
SPEAKER_00: This was such a fun conversation.
39:22
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm so glad we touched on all the things.
39:24
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for being here.
39:25
SPEAKER_01: Thanks, absolutely.
39:27
SPEAKER_01: And hopefully, years from now, we'll have you again and talking about all kinds of wonderful things, too.
39:34
SPEAKER_00: Always happy to come back.
39:36
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for having me.
39:37
SPEAKER_01: Thank you all for tuning in and investing in yourself and your well-being.
39:41
SPEAKER_01: If you listened to the show today and gained anything out of it, share it far and wide.
39:47
SPEAKER_01: It means a world when you rate and review the show.
39:50
SPEAKER_01: Don't forget to use your exclusive 20% discount code FIT20 when you sign up for our signature course Master Your Public Floor, linked in the show notes.
40:00
SPEAKER_01: See you again next week with an exciting new guest and topic.