A seat at the table - with Lauren Coleman

It can be hard to decide whether to pursue appearance related fitness goals or whether to work on your health, relationship with food or body image instead.Neither are wrong, but one approach might make more sense for you than the other.

Sometimes what we think is beneficial for our overall health and well-being is more detrimental than we realise.Going over some of the ironies and hypocrisies that are prevalent in the fitness industry today

Do you find yourself often reaching for a sneaky snack? Feel like you eat well at meal times, but it's the snacks creeping in which are sabotaging your progress?In this episode, we break down why we turn to snacks, whether it's ok to have a little snack here and there, and practical strategies to snack more mindfully and more in line with your nutrition goals.

Discussing the morality behind diet culture that could be likened to puritanical religious ideologyWhat is it doing to us and how do we fix it?

Recently, it seems that there's a new demon in the nutrition-sphere, we're all ditching seed oils in favour of coconut oil, butter, beef tallow and ghee.But is this really what the evidence suggests?Are we doing ourselves a disservice by replacing polyunsaturated fatty acids with saturated fatty acids?This episode is a deep dive into several studies that look at what the body of evidence has to say.Instagram: @lauren_ptEmail: [email protected]

Why is it that sometimes what we say we want doesn't always line up with our actions?In this episode we explore what self sabotage is & how we can overcome it to work towards our health and fitness goals.

There's a surge in 'right wing' fitness & with it, a heavy focus on extreme discipline, morphing our bodies to look a certain way and buying into conspiracy theories and alt-wellness pipelines in order to get there.I believe many of us are missing the point of what health and fitness should be about, I think it's time that we took a step back and re-defined what success actually looks like when we're working towards health goals.

The best way I've found to shift my focus from trying to change my body, is learning how to appreciate my body. I've done that by shifting my training goals towards trying new things, learning skills and getting stronger - and by viewing nutrition as a way to fuel my different goals, rather than to shrink myself.

How do we know what type of body will make us the most happy if and when we finally achieve it?This is the reality check I wish I had when I was younger and unhappy with how I looked.

We know that being overweight can be a risk to an overall health. But dieting has it's own set of risks as well that can't be ignored.In this episode, we discuss the potential downsides of dieting, so that you can make an informed decision about whether that's something you'd benefit from.IG: @lauren_ptWebsite: www.thefitnutritionist.co.nz

Discussing what happens to a woman's body as she transitions through menopause, along with some strategies that people can implement to make this transition a little more seamless.Hope you enjoy!

Not your usual health and fitness guide to the holidays - more a conversation about not letting the overwhelm get to you and how to keep your relationship with food intact over the holiday period

Why do we sometimes have an all or nothing mentality around diet and fitness? What should we do to overcome it?

Talking about how not focusing on fat loss this time of year might be the best option for you long term, even if you do have a fat loss goal, and what you can do instead.

Why do we crave certain foods? How do we deal with cravings if we feel as though they are interfering with our nutrition goals?

The key to not bouncing back starts with whatever you are doing during your fat loss phase In this episode we go through what you need to be focusing on before, during and after a dieting phase so that you can actually maintain the results you achieve as well

What defines a binge versus an overeating episode? Is overeating a sign that something's wrong with us? What is emotional eating? How to break the overeating cycle

Continuing on from last week's discussion about how to know if you're taking it too far on your health and fitness journey. If you want to skip the pre-amble, I get into the discussion at around the 18-minute mark (apologies - I went on a little too long this time!)

A discussion on 'skinny' influencers, how to know whether your health and fitness journey is helping you or holding you back, and some advice on what to do if it is

There's so much advice about nutrition out there, how do we know what's fact and what's fiction? This episode goes through the basics of nutrition literacy and how to spot red flags when it comes to claims about nutrition.

Calorie counting, keeping food diaries and other methods of monitoring and making changes to your nutrition. Should we? Shouldn't we? Let's discuss

How I'd go about a fat loss process in a sustainable and health-focused way

There's so much noise out there about how you should eat, it can be hard to know where you should place your focus. I've come up with my own 'hierarchy of importance' when it comes to nutrition to help make navigating your food choices a bit easier

A short check-in - some questions to ask yourself to figure out how you're really feeling about things

We seek to control our surroundings because it provides a sense of security and relief from anxiety. But our desire for control, ironically, can prevent us from living embodied and authentic lives - and from getting the things that we really want. This is a discussion about why we feel the need for control and how to let go of that need, for a healthier and happier experience in life

The fine line between contentment and giving up trying Making an effort and becoming obsessed Taking care of yourself out of respect and trying to change out of insecurity How do we know where do draw the line?

A conversation about how our identity shapes our actions and how we need to assess our motivations behind the goals we set for ourselves

We keep being told we need to 'listen to your body' and 'your body knows best' - but HOW do we actually do so?

Emotional eating, comfort eating, boredom eating and how to deal with it all

My advice for what to do when you feel like you're constantly thinking about your appearance or your weight and how to cultivate better self esteem

If you're feeling a bit 'bleh', like you're in a bit of a slump, a funk or you're just not feeling super motivated atm - here are my tips to help you feel a little bit better :)

Deep diving into the history of the thin expectation for women and more recently, everyone else - why we should care about it and how it's causing harm. DM me on Instagram @lauren_pt if you want to contribute to this dialogue

Instagram therapists and TikTok wellness trends infiltrate our vocabulary, our beliefs and from there - our actions. Social media allows us to consume knowledge in a convenient and digestible format - many of us are learning more than we could have ever taught ourselves - but is there a danger to that as well?

What is body image, what can we do about 'poor' body image and does body positivity tie into that?

Chatting about insulin, insulin resistance and what to do if you think you have it.

Discussing why it's beneficial for all of us to heal our relationship with food, and some practical steps in order for us to do that.

This is an essay I wrote about how being disconnected from our bodies has resulted in unattainable beauty standards and takes us away from fully experiencing life. Yo-yo dieting, the capitalistic nature of trends and being taught to ignore our body's signals from a young age have contributed to the numbing of pleasure, pain and empathy - essential components of a fulfilling life.

In this episode, we are putting it all together - thinking about the long-term plan and what that would look like with regards to setting and achieving your health and fitness goals.

Discussing different methods of fat loss and how to figure out the approach that will work best for you

Continuing on from last weeks episode, this episode we discuss the important things to recognise and take into consideration if you do wish to pursue a journey with fat loss.

*This is an updated version of the previous episode, which I didn't upload the full episode for!* Why does it seem like everyone wants to lose weight all the time? When does fat loss become unhealthy? It is wrong to want to lose weight? Risks vs benefits of fat loss.

Why we struggle to make progress towards our goals, even when we want to change and know what we'd need to do in order to change.

How the people we spend time with influence our well-being.

Going into the other factors of what affects our wellbeing, including genetics, socioeconomic factors, sleep and stress.

A brief overview of different ways to exercise and their benefits when it comes to improving your overall health.

This was originally going to be my 10 pillars for overall health, I ended up only talking about one of them - nutrition. There's a lot of diet advice out there - good and not so good - so here is my take on how to eat for health from an evidence based perspective.

Getting started with behaviour change and how to actually stick with it.

How I became interested in nutrition, the various quacky diets I've been on and where I'm currently at with how I eat. If you want to contact me to discuss this episode or share your experiences with diet and nutrition, feel free to DM me on Instagram or send me an email! instagram.com/lauren_pt [email protected]

This is an overview of what my coaching process looks like - for both in person PT and online coaching. I have 5 spaces for online coaching opening up in the month of February - if you are interested in working with me - please head to my Instagram @lauren_pt and flick me a DM that you're keen, and I will give you some more details!

Welcome to A Seat at the Table! A podcast where we discuss nutrition, fitness and well-being without the quackery and the elitism. In this episode, I break down my philosophy when it comes to health and fitness - including my explanation of what exactly diet culture is and why it's probably harming all of us. This should provide you with some context of what to expect in future episodes - a compassionate discussion of how to improve our well-being, without being so extreme about it all. I hope you enjoy! Lauren