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Fuel Your Strength

The Fuel Your Strength podcast is all about helping women who lift weights get stronger, fuel themselves (without counting every bite of food), perform better in and out of the gym, and take up space. Strength nutrition strategist and weight lifting coach Steph Gaudreau shares how lifting weights is a catalyst for a more expansive life and how to challenge the status quo around nutrition and fitness. This weekly show brings you discussion about building strength without obsessing about food and exercise, lifting weights, food psychology, and more. You'll learn how to eat, train, recover, listen to your body, and step into your strength.
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Now displaying: June, 2019
Jun 28, 2019

All-or-nothing thinking is not helpful when it comes to how you approach eating. Talk of "falling off the wagon" is extremely common and serves to keep you stuck in a loop of white-knuckle "compliance" (yuck) followed by periods of fuck-it-all eating, guilt, and shame. If you keep coming back to this way of thinking, start by asking yourself if it's actually helping you find better health and more ease. Probably not.

In this episode, I'm talking about why all-or-nothing words and ways of thinking create unhelpful feelings which then lead to behaviors that cause further guilt and shame with food. I'm also sharing five practical steps you can follow for beginning to detangle yourself from the words and metaphors of dieting so you're more empowered from within and less likely to spend all of your time thinking about food.

In this episode I covered:

  • The reaction to last week's BMI episode
  • Who I'm not for
  • Why all-or-nothing thinking about food is disempowering
  • 5 steps you can follow to begin breaking the cycle of on the wagon, off the wagon thinking

Harder to Kill Radio is sponsored by the Nutritional Therapy Association. Registration is now open for the NTA's September class. You can learn more and save your seat by going to: www.nutritionaltherapy.com (and don't forget to mention my name on your application!) 

You can also try out their free 7-day course, Nutritional Therapy 101 by going to: https://nutritionaltherapy.com/nutritional-therapy-101/

Remember to find the show notes and other episodes on StephGaudreau.com

Pre-order bonuses for The Core 4 are now available for you! Get all the freebies before July 30. Just pre-order The Core 4 and claim the bonuses here. Thank you so much for all your support!

Resources from this episode:

Follow Steph on:

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Jun 25, 2019

I invite you to welcome back my real life friends Kristin Kaschak and Taylor Gage as we dive into a thought-provoking, curse-filled discussion about everything fitness. Fellow business owners, Kristin and Taylor are here to share strong opinions about everything from CrossFit to diet and nutrition and the ever ominous scale.

Value Sustainable Health

If you are looking for an episode that makes you think, provides new perspectives and encouragement that you are not alone in your fitness struggles, these are the girls for you. Everything from the stigma of CrossFit and the fitness realms preference to value output over mechanics, to the importance of separating the ideas of health and aesthetics into two very different categories, and so much more are covered today.

Often we are so focused on the achievement of our goal that we forget about the ‘why’ behind our actions. Kristin and Taylor are here to drop some truth bombs and help you get out of the loop of unfulfillment to find something that really works for your physical and mental health.

Kristin and Taylor believe that you should stop putting your performance on a pedestal and find what works for your long term health. Join us as we unweave the internalized messages many approach fitness with to address the language and mindset you use to impact your ability to suit your own health.

Are you ready to learn how to stop valuing your performance over sustainable health? Share what steps you are taking to achieve a more holistic approach to wellness in the comments on the episode page!

 

On Today's Episode

  • Identifying your internal feelings to find the type of fitness that works for you
  • How to get over the number on the scale without questioning your self worth
  • Ways to readjust your priorities away from aesthetics and towards feeling good
  • Why you should question everything you believe to find what is true for you
  • Addressing your language and context when it comes to your fitness goals

 

Quotes

“When we are prioritizing output, when we feel like you have to be dead on the floor after every single workout and that's the bar for the workout, that's the only place I give a little bit of a side eye and think oh, I feel like we should stop and ask some questions right here.” (16:30)

“Health is contextual. It is going to change depending on who you are and where you are, it's different for everybody and what that looks like. So if you are just putting a big stamp on something and saying ‘this is what health looks like’, that I think where the error comes in.” (22:28)

“Health ultimately is there to support your life, it should not be your life.” (37:54)

“Until you literally go all the way down, to these foundational elements of what you believe to be true about yourself in the world, you really are going to have a hard time seeing much else change in your life.” (56:10)

 

Resources Mentioned In This Show

She Thrives Blog

The Girl With The Butter Website

Follow She Thrives on Instagram

She Thrives Radio

She Thrives Academy

Follow The Girl With The Butter on Instagram

Functional Fare Nutrition Website

HTK 104: Kristin Kaschak

HTK 073: Taylor Gage

HTK 014: She Thrives

HTK 188: Nutritional Therapy

Nutritional Therapy Association Website

Nutritional Therapy 101

Order The Core 4 Book Here

 

Check out the full show notes here!

Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest

I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!

Jun 21, 2019

I've dabbled with this topic before in other podcast episodes about the scale and diet culture, but I haven't taken on BMI as a separate topic until now. A recent routine doctor's appointment had me reeling from an offhand BMI comment. It brought up a lot for me, and had I not been mentally stronger, it could have pushed me back into disordered eating and exercise behaviors.

In this episode, I'm relaying my story and tearing into six reasons why BMI is bullshit. There's a lot of nuance here, and my experiences as a person in a smaller body are nothing like what someone else in a larger body may experience. It's my hope that you'll walk away from this episode with some things to think about and start conversations of your own with the people you care about.

In this episode I covered:

  • My recent BMI story
  • What I said when told my BMI was too high
  • 6 reasons BMI is total bullshit
  • Why intuitive eating is important to move past diet mentality and diet culture

Remember to find the show notes and other episodes on StephGaudreau.com

Pre-order bonuses for The Core 4 are now available and free for you! Get all the freebies before July 30. Just pre-order The Core 4 and claim the bonuses here. Thank you so much for all your support!

Resources from this episode:

Follow Steph on:

Instagram| Facebook | Pinterest | YouTube | Twitter

I'd really love it if you would take 10 seconds and subscribe to the podcast!

Jun 18, 2019

Instead of focusing on the latest diet or exercise fad, Laura Schoenfeld wants you to figure out what works best for your body. A registered dietitian and placeholder of the most downloaded Harder To Kill episode to date, Laura is back for round two to take her nutrition expertise in a new and exciting direction.

Food, Fitness, & Faith

Believe it or not, but being malnourished in the fitness space is a very common problem, and Laura is working to fix that by spreading information and knowledge. You don't have to break up with sugar to be healthy, all it takes is understanding your cravings and balancing your micronutrients, macronutrients, and calories.

Learn how to stop the binge behavior that has been ingrained into your bodies functioning, understand what your body needs both physically and spiritually to achieve optimal health, start looking at your health decisions as part of your belief system, and so much more.

Sugar is not the enemy, negative self-talk and self-criticism are. Laura believes in creating a positive self-image that is not based on performance but instead based on your own sense of purpose. We all want to create a meaningful life that we look back on with fond memories, and being focused or distracted by your body image is not the way to achieve that

When you have a sense of purpose, you can increase your physiological resiliency and in turn create healthy habits that are as easy as autopilot. It is time to start looking at your health decisions and understanding how it relates to your belief system in order to find the most minimal way to keep your body on track.

Are you ready to stop focusing so heavily on diet and nutrition and start feeding yourself spiritually? Share what you loved most about Laura's perspective in the comments on the episode page.

 

On Today's Episode

  • Understanding why you may be craving sugar and how to reduce the cravings
  • How over exercising could be holding you back from experiencing your best health
  • The three categories you should be using to evaluate your malnourishment
  • Using your faith to release your anxiety over food, fitness and body image
  • Recognizing yourself as valuable regardless of your performance or diet

 

Quotes

“Just because you are eating good quality real food, vegetables, proteins, healthy fats, all that stuff, that doesn't mean you are getting enough calories or macronutrients to meet your bodies needs.” (25:31)

“There is research showing that the restriction of foods can actually trigger cravings and then bingeing on those foods later. That's not just an anecdotal thing, it is found in the research.” (40:52)

“If we can switch that mindset of the typical belief that the more you do the better your results will be, I really like to switch that and say ‘what is the least I can do to get the results that I want to get’, and after that, it’s more just like bonus points if I feel like doing more.” (50:38)

“Make sure that you aren't spending all of your time focused so heavily on nutrition and fitness and all that stuff. Honestly, I feel that should be a tool to help you pursue your purpose, not the purpose of your life to focus on that stuff so heavily.” (1:06:38)

 

Resources Mentioned In This Show

Get the Free 3-Part Video Training Series Here

Download the Faith-Based Fed and Fearless Guide Here

Fed and Fearless Website

Laura Schoenfeld Website

Follow Laura on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest

Join the Fed and Fearless Society Here

The Ancestral RDs Podcast

HTK 105: Laura Schoenfeld

Pre-Order The Core 4 Book Here

 

Check out the full show notes here!

Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest

I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!

Jun 14, 2019

 

Whatever you call it, exercise/fitness/movement has so many proven benefits for your body and mind that it can be hard to accept that sometimes, more is definitely not more. If you're like many people I work with, you're afraid that taking it down a notch means you're lazy, you're a failure, and you'll automatically gain 20 pounds. And that's total BS you've been lead to believe.

In this episode, I'm sharing three important ways to adjust your fitness routine when life shovels a big heap of stress your way. Making adjustments to these three factors can have a huge impact on how you feel, how you perform, and how you're able to recover. Remember, more is not always more! It's time to start listening more to what your body is asking for...and what it's not.

In this episode I covered:

  • Why I'm personally taking it down a notch right now
  • Objective & subjective ways to listen to your body re: exercise 
  • 3 ways to adjust your fitness plan when life turns up the heat
  • Real talk about what's not going to happen to your body when you rest

Remember to find the show notes and other episodes on StephGaudreau.com

Pre-order bonuses for The Core 4 are now available and free for you! Get all the freebies before July 30. Just pre-order The Core 4 and claim the bonuses here. Thank you so much for all your support!

Resources from this episode:

Follow Steph on:

Instagram| Facebook | Pinterest | YouTube | Twitter

I'd really love it if you would take 10 seconds and subscribe to the podcast!

Jun 11, 2019

At 40 years of age, Jennifer Schreckengost left behind her stable career, health insurance and the guarantee of many things to start living a life that she loved instead. Jennifer started a food blog, Wanderlust and Wellness, focused around promoting nut-free and paleo options, eventually switching to a more well-rounded version of nut-free, dairy-free and gluten-free. Since taking the leap Jennifer has successfully turned her brand into a full-time business and has never looked back.

Health + Freedom

Today Jennifer is passionate about helping other women realize that they too can take whatever steps necessary to change your life into something you love at any age. On this episode, Jennifer explores precise tools you can use to hit the reset button on your life at any stage, ways to get out of your own way, and tips for business and life to accomplish whatever you want to do.

By creating a community where women feel safe to explore the visions of the life that they have always dreamed of while promoting healthy and positive ideas, Jennifer is spreading the mantra of ‘eat well, live well and explore often’.

Are you ready to solidify your ‘why’, take the leap to business ownership or just learn the steps necessary to start living a life you love? Share what your biggest takeaway from Jennifer’s wisdom was in the comments on the episode page.

 

On Today's Episode

  • Getting over imposter syndrome around stepping out on your own
  • Resources for those that live a nut-free, gluten-free or dairy-free lifestyle
  • How to find your happy center in the current vortex of diet trends
  • Letting go of the anxiety around the rules of what you are eating
  • Ways Jennifer is creating a model for women at any age accomplish their goals

 

Quotes

“Patience and persistence and consistency, those are three words I have written on my board because that is probably the biggest lesson I have learned is it's not going to happen overnight, it’s a slow gain.” (16:17)

“My goal was always to be able to do my blog full time and leave that full-time job, and my deep down vision, my ‘why’, was to create a life that I love, to live my best life, as cliche as that sounds, and to help other people see that they could do that too.” (18:10)

“To me, that sacrifice was worth it because I knew that in order for me to take that final leap into creating that life, that vision that I had, I needed to make that big jump and sacrifice and so that's what I did.” (32:58)

“What I want to show women is that you can make that transition, you can make that career change, you can make that lifestyle change. Whatever it is, at any age, even if it's at 40 because that's exactly what I did.” (39:10)

 

Resources Mentioned In This Show

Wanderlust and Wellness Website

Follow Wanderlust and Wellness on Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest

The Wanderlust and Wellness Podcast by Jennifer Schreckengost

Wanderlust Cooking Club

HTK 205: Veronica Valli

Pre-Order The Core 4 The Book Here

 

Check out the full show notes here!

Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest

I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!

Jun 7, 2019

I'm back this week with part two of our body image real talk conversation. Last week, I covered the sub-topics of why fitting rooms fuck with our minds, the role of media in all of this, and why cellulite should not be demonized. It got spicy at times, and this week proves to be the same. But don't mistake my spiciness for bitchiness. No. My job as a coach is to support you in the areas you need support while challenging you to stop playing small. Growth and expansion, FTW.

In this week's episode, I'm reminding you about what fierce love means and then diving headlong into a few points about why blaming others for making you feel bad = a lack of taking personal responsibility for what you can change or affect. I'm also bringing up the topic of body neutrality and how this can be a more attainable middle ground between all-out self-love and crushing self-hatred. And finally, I'm covering the an unexpected aspect of comparison that could be holding you back.

In this episode I covered:

  • What fierce love means
  • Why you can't just blame others for making you feel bad
  • The underutilized topic of body neutrality
  • Why loving everything about yourself can set you up for self-sabotage
  • The comparison trap you probably aren't even aware of that's holding you back 

Remember to find the show notes and other episodes on StephGaudreau.com

Resources from this episode:

Follow Steph on:

Instagram| Facebook | Pinterest | YouTube | Twitter

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Jun 4, 2019

Are you often unable to fall asleep, experiencing mood swings, random cravings, or are unable to work out the way you want to? Instead of focusing on pushing yourself harder, these issues may require a deeper look into your hormonal changes and how it is affecting your body.

Supporting Your Hormones

While it is normal for women to experience highs and lows in their hormones, sometimes we can feel confused and under-informed. This is why I have hormone expert Dr. Brooke Kalanick back on the show today to help you understand your hormones holistically and what you can start, or stop, doing to help support your body best.

Dr. Brooke is exploding with information, explaining the connection between your menstrual cycle, nutrition, exercise level, and hormones, the role cortisol and thyroid levels play in your ability to regulate itself, and why you should be listening to your appetite, cravings, energy, and sleep to hear what your hormones are trying to tell you.

Learn about which environmental and stress factors could be wreaking havoc on your hormones, ways to allow yourself to get to a place unrestricted by strict nutrition rules, and how to support your hormones through perimenopause, menopause and beyond.

Dr. Brooke is all about customizing a solution to fit your needs and shares her foundational approaches to life and wellness which is changing women's lives with her and Sarah Fragoso’s new book, Hangry. If the title alone resonates with you, you need to listen in on Dr. Brooke’s pillars to success in order to empower yourself to become fully present in life again.

Stop mistaking common symptoms for normal and start getting answers so that you can start feeling better. Are you ready to start listening to your intuition and put your own health first? Share where you are at in your hormone discovery journey in the comments on the episode page.

 

On Today's Episode

  • Using nutrition and stress management to offset hormonal changes after 30
  • How to start personalizing your carb timing for your specific carb tolerance
  • Which foods you should be eating at different times of the month depending on you
  • Signs that you may need to decrease your exercise for your own good
  • Understanding your cravings and why they aren't something to freak out about
  • Ways to prioritize what moves the needle for your health without guilt

Quotes

“We shouldn't be mad at our hormones, we shouldn't feel like they are betraying us, they are trying so hard to stay in balance in our crazy, bonkers, toxic, busy, overstressed world.” (14:05)

“It's not as pretty, it's not as easy for me to just say ‘you have got this hormone issue so you need to eat this many grams this many times a day’. For a lot of women, it’s a little more nuanced than that.” (32:07)

“Most women have multiple hormone issues going on and so we really need to take them in a systematic fashion and deal with the stuff that makes you hangry first.” (39:48)

“Be who you are authentically and unapologetically. Because when we are not, I really think that is the most, and Sarah would agree with me, the most stressful thing for a woman.” (51:57)

 

Resources Mentioned In This Show

Pre-Order Hangry by Dr. Brooke and Sarah Fragoso

Better by Dr. Brooke Website

Follow Dr. Brooke on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

The Sarah & Dr. Brooke Show Podcast

Better Everyday Podcast

HTK 071: Hormone Help with Dr. Brooke Kalanic

Pre Order The Core 4 Book Here

Join the Harder to Kill Facebook Group Here

 

Check out the full show notes here!

Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest

I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!

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