Episode 47: Is Weight Really the Problem? with Amanda Frothingham
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Episode Transcription
Participant #1:
Hello, guys. Today we are joined by Amanda Frothingham. Amanda is a former professional dancer turned into a registered dietitian and a private practice owner who specializes in helping people rediscover a healthy relationship with food. After surviving her own battle with an eating disorder, she knew her calling was to help others the way that her Rd had helped her. She received her undergrad from the University of Georgia Go Dogs
Participant #1:
Hermanda and then she actually moved to the big city of NYC to complete her Dietetic internship. So enjoy this episode. Hello, everybody. Welcome back to another episode of the upbeat Dietitians podcast. Hello, everyone. Today we are joined by another very special guest, Amanda Fraudingham. And we have so much fun conversations in store with you today. So let's just jump straight into it. Amanda, welcome to the podcast. Thank you. Hello. Thanks for having me, guys. Yeah, we're so excited to have you on. We've seen all your fun social medias and it's always exciting bringing new dietitians on here. So let's jump right into it. So, Amanda, tell us about kind of a day in the life of what you do specifically as a dietitian, what your previous education is, and then what you like to do for fun. Yeah. Okay. So I am currently full time in my private practice as a registered dietitian. So that is fun because my days kind of are always changing. I work primarily in the intuitive eating health at every size non diet and eating disorder realm of nutrition. So most of the people that I work with are somewhere in that genre. But yeah. So I wake up, I sit right here at this desk for a majority of my day. I film TikToks and make Instagrams, and that's about it. It's always changing. And then I get to do fun things like this. That's kind of like what a day today looks like. But my past. So I did my undergrad at the University of Georgia Go Dogs National Champions, and I was actually on the dance team there. I was a D one athlete, so that was really cool seeing that from a D one sports nutrition program. So I did that. And then I knew I always wanted to live in New York. So that was my goal with my internship. I didn't really care about the program. I was just like, I just want to be in New York. And I always had the idea that I wanted to go into private practice. So I also was just like, really anxious. So I ended up doing my internship at a hospital program, like a clinical program at New York Presbyterian. And it was really cool because it was associated with both Cornell and Columbia, like, campuses. Suddenly there's a lot of really good resources at the program. We got a lot of good exposure in the clinical world. And so I did that and then took the exam and then started my practice. I jumped right into it. That's awesome. Very cool. Emily and I both also dabble in private practice. We have yet to go full time. We love hearing from other RDS who have gotten just like, go head first. That is so inspiring. So awesome. Yeah. Thank you. It was definitely really scary, especially coming straight from my internship, from such a clinical background where everyone else I graduated with me was going into outpatient jobs or clinical jobs and things like that. And I kind of felt this pressure maybe to just go ahead and get a regular clinical job, like starting off. But I really, like, sat down and thought about it, and I was like, where is this actually going to take me other than like, yes, it'll be like a reliable source of income. It's not going to help me in terms of my clients with my private practice. It's not going to help me in terms of my experience with my outpatient counseling and things like that. So, yeah, I was like, okay, I'm screwed. I'm just going to do it.
Participant #1:
Awesome. I also love that you just decided you wanted to go to New York.
Participant #1:
Yes. Before I went into nutrition, I was a dancer for most of my life and was pursuing it professionally and doing some things like that. That was my passion. So my mind was always like, I'm going to be in New York one day. And all of my friends lived in New York, too, all of them, because they're also in the performing arts. And so I was like, I'm always going to end up there. Eventually I'm going to find a way. It just was for nutrition and not dance, but he still ended up there. Well, today we really want to dive into a little bit about weight loss versus health. And if those two can kind of, like work together, if they don't. Listeners of the podcast kind of already know Emily and I thought on intentional weight loss as a whole. And Emily and I both also really practicing the anti diet space. And so we have I don't want to say, like, wishy washy thoughts on weight loss, but we definitely don't think that everyone needs to be losing weight all the time. So anyway, we know that you kind of practice in that same area of anti diet haze, like you said. And so we'd love to hear your perspective on that. So I guess our first leading question is a pretty big one. But is weight loss a good indicator of health? What are your thoughts on that? Okay, so I think that my initial reaction is like, yes and no. At first. I want to be like, no, it's not a good indicator of health. Like, there's so many other things. But then when I really sit down and think about it as a good indicator of health, like, actually, on the other hand, most people think like, oh, I want to get healthy, I should just lose weight. And there are so many other things that you can do to promote your health. And weight loss is kind of I always say weight loss is more of a side effect than an actual goal. Right. So what I mean by that is like weight loss and weight change in general. If you're trying to make healthier choices in your lifestyle, whatever that may be, and it causes weight loss or weight gain or no change in your weight, then that's fine because the ultimate goal is against your health and making sure we create and nourish our bodies for a long amount of time. But on the other hand, I think back to all of my years in the hospital doing, like, clinical stuff, all of that stuff. And health is a big indicator of malnutrition. Sorry, weight is a big indicator of malnutrition, weight loss. And so we always think of weight loss as this good thing. But in a clinical setting, if there is a significant amount of weight loss, then we can diagnose malnutrition for certain patients, and that's not a good thing. That's not what we want. That's like, that's not healthy. So I guess you just have to look at it in the whole picture, what is causing this weight loss? Is it intentional? Is it not intentional? But like, if we're just like, I want to be healthy, then there's a lot of other things we can look at outside of weight change. Yeah, that's so true. I like how you said it's like a side effect. That's something I often talk about too. I always say that your weight is not a behavior, but it can be a result of the different behavior changes you make. So it might come if you maybe have some weight to lose, it might come with changing your behaviors. But having that as our sole goal that we focus on often, we can't focus on that as the only thing because there are so many factors that play into it. It may or may not even be an appropriate goal in the first place. And so I love hearing that side of it, the side effects, it's a really good way to put it. I love that. I also think it's so important how in, like, our clinicals we focus so much on weight loss from that malnutrition aspect, where it's unintentional and something's typically going on chronically that leads to that. And everyone always thinks weight loss. I feel like they think, like, lower body fat percentage, like intentional stuff like that. But it's not always intentional, which some people don't realize. And then my head is some other thoughts. We're not going to get into that. But I really like how you brought it up with malnutrition because that's something that I feel like a lot of people don't talk about or don't even realize with weight loss. Yeah. And you don't even think about it. I'm just talking to my friends and we're like hanging out and getting drinks and I bring up weight loss immediately. Their reaction is going to be like something good, like weight loss is a good thing. But then if I go into like this patient that has lost most of their body weight and it's affecting their recovery from whatever they're in the hospital for, they're like, oh, yeah, I don't see how that would ever be a conversation I would have. But just hypothetically, there's unhealthy area of concern with weight loss also that we just don't focus on. Yeah, absolutely. It's like if you compliment a friend for losing weight without knowing if she was doing it intentionally and maybe she's struggling with an eating disorder or she has a chronic disease or cancer, maybe that is leading to that weight loss you complimenting, that is going to lead to a whole really bad thought. But it could lead to her thinking that that is a good thing, even though it is probably not actually a good thing. Right? Yeah. That's why we should just never compliment on the way other people look. Yes. Even if we think it's like a good thing, there's so many other things we can talk about. So many things. I love you said that. So many things. Yeah. Cool. So let's dive into the next question. I think we did a good job discussing weight loss and indicator of health, but if anyone has any other questions about it, let us know. But the next kind of topic we want to discuss is what are kind of the risks when we focus solely on weight as a means of getting healthy? Mandy, you probably don't know this, but I do not like the word healthy because of how it can mean a lot of different things. And there's not really one thing that it means, but so many people say it's so commonly utilized in today's world. So what are your thoughts on kind of when people utilize weight solely as a healthy factor and what are risks around it? Yeah. Well, just really quickly, I thought it was really like, I'm glad that you guys we're not glad they feel that way. But I also feel the same way just because. Yeah. Like what actually is healthy, it's not like there is a list of checkbox that we need to get and then this makes you healthy. Right. And it's very dependent on the person and their feelings and like what help is blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So yeah, that word healthy, we throw it out all the time and it's just used for so many different things. Right. So I mean, the biggest thing is that if all you're looking at is weight and you think that that's health, then you're missing so many other factors that can contribute to a long, comfortable, confident, fulfilled life, which is kind of what I think of when I think of healthy. Right. What is our ultimate goal? We can focus so much on the short term and how we look and how we feel. At the end of the day, we want to be able to live like a long life, and that's what our health is going to get us, too. So if you're just looking at weight loss, I think it's really interesting. And I actually had this is so random and I might be oversharing. No, I'm not oversharing. It's fine. I actually had a conversation with my OBGYN the other day because he knows that I'm a dietitian. So we talk about these things a lot, like randomly and when I go to the doctor. But he was mentioning how he has started to the conversation about weight has started to go into the clinical field. And he is starting to now think that it's just because someone has an overweight or an obese or whatever that is BMI doesn't necessarily mean that they're less healthy than the person that comes in with technically normal weight, which is very enlightening to hear my doctor say that, because I was like, yes, but I think he hit it like the nail right on the head when he said his example was like someone that came in and technically, on paper, like their weight was five, but they were still struggling with high cholesterol, and they were still struggling with some other things like physiologically that she needed to go seek help for. And then there was someone else that came in, and on paper, the only issue with them, their labs were normal. Their blood work looks good. Everything was okay. Was that technically they were overweight. Right. If we're just focusing on weight loss, then again, on paper, the first person that had that normal BMI was great, and she probably felt really healthy. But then she has been struggling with that high cholesterol, and that could be something that continued to cause other problems in the future. So it was kind of like a tantrum. So, no, I think it can be dangerous to only focus on weight loss as like a form of health. That is so cool that your doctor has said that. That is so cool because Emily and I, it'll be out when you guys hear this episode. But Emily and I just recorded this week an episode on BMI and talked about how in healthcare, it's often used to diagnose overweight obesity, even though someone who is, quote, unquote obese can be perfectly healthy. And we're talking about how older generation of doctors may really use that and take it to heart and be like, well, your BMI is in the 30s, no matter what, you're definitely at higher risk of diabetes, heavier cholesterolemia, all those different things. But we said you just verified that we think that doctors hopefully are kind of shifting the newer ones that are kind of going through the schooling these days and becoming new doctors. So it's cool that is actually happening. That is amazing. Yeah. It was so enlightening. It made me so happy. And I was like, yeah, and you chose the right doctor. Yeah. Well, our next question you kind of already answered, but I'll see if any other thoughts on it. Our next question is, is it possible to be overweight and healthy? It sounds like we have an answer to that for sure. But is there anything else you kind of want to add to that statement at all or that question at all? Well, yeah. I mean, you guys probably if you said you're coming out with an episode on BMI, probably already talked about this. But just the fact that for so long we've heard, like, BMI is like if you fall in certain categories, you're bad. Right. And here's how you calculate it. And this is like a big red flag you need to change. And this is something I work with my clients a lot is like reframing their mindset. One, we do a lot of work on taking weight out of the picture completely because I always say it can do nothing but cause harm, even if it's like something where you have a weight loss goal and you meet it a lot of times because weight loss is just something that we use to cover up our other insecurities. We're not actually satisfied when we get to that weight. And then we become more and more becomes almost like an obsession for most people. So I try to get them away from weight in general, but also, like, teach them that really BMI is just like bullshit. It makes sense. But it was created by a mathematician, not by someone in the medical field. It doesn't really consider health. All it is, is heightened weight. Right. And then if we think about weight too, just as a factor onto that, there is the fact that muscle weighs more than fat. Right. So if I'm a super tall person in my body carries muscle and fat differently, and I go to the gym. Right. I could easily be overweight. But I'm doing all the right things. I'm eating nutrient dense foods. I'm staying active. I'm hydrating myself, getting my vitamin D, like all of these things. And this one factor, I would go to the doctor and they would be like, yeah, so you're overweight. So you should probably try and eat healthier and lose weight, because that's pretty much the standard recommendation from any doctor when someone is overweight. Yeah. That's essentially how we concluded it, too. Bottom line is absolutely yes, absolutely, yes. Just like you can be a normal weight and be whatever healthiest to you unhealthy if you're at a normal weight. Right. And then also, I think this is so interesting and kind of maybe a side tangent. But some bodies like some human bodies when we think of going the other way and losing weight. And as long as I get to as long as I stay in this normal category, like I'm technically still healthy, some human bodies can't get to this underweight category. Right. And their body is still showing them signs that they are unhealthy. For females, losing your period is a sign of distress in the human body. And that can happen at a normal BMI or even at an overweight BMI. It can happen at any rate. And what we're doing is using this BMI underweight category being like, well, I'm not there. So I'm. Okay. So it can happen on both sides. And really realizing, no, you can be unhealthy in this normal area, too. You can be like, quote, unquote healthy in these other areas. Right. You have to look at again, it's just about looking at the whole picture. Our body will give us signs. I always say this, our body gives us signs that something is not right in ways other than the number on the scale. Yes. It's just like the smallest piece of the puzzle. There's no way we can make a diagnosis or any assumption based on a ratio of heights away. It's just not even being broken. Yeah. I also love that you brought up
Participant #1:
you can lose your period or skip your period no matter what weight you are. And we want to make sure we're having that regularly because it's important for hormone health. And whatnot one of our last questions for you today is we want to chat about is weight the problem to say, society, or is it our hyperfixation on weight that is more of the problem? Interesting. And as you're saying it, I'm hearing it differently than as I read it on the paper that you sent me. I'm just thinking about it differently. I'm going to say yes and no. Again, I think weight can be a problem. Right. Because there is like as your body increases in weight, you do become more susceptible to certain comorbidities and things. But I think the main issue right now is the focus in our society. Right. And the focus on weight in our society is like everyone needs to lose weight. We have been told since the moment that we were born, not told, but surrounded by this idea that weight loss equals health. Right. And that should always be what we're striving for and always be what we're looking at. And we are always surrounded, especially with our generation. Right. Because we grew up with social media being a big part of our lives, not like our parents or the people older than us that had social media kind of into their lives like later in life. Right. They had TV, they had movies. They had all that stuff. But the social media aspect is so important because it's more than just the five movie stars that are famous right now that we're seeing it's, everybody. Right. So I think a big problem is just that idea that there is an ideal way to look. And even if we're not saying it right now, we're moving away from the idea that there's an idea like we're in this place where there is like, body neutrality and like seeing every different shapes of bodies and different colors and skin types, all these different things underlying there still is that idea that thin equals good or thin is what we want. Right. And it's going to take a long time. We're not going to be able to fix it in two, three years of body positivity to fix this underlying idea that Finn equals good. So I think that is probably the biggest problem we're struggling with right now in our society. I see it all the time when, like I said, we work on getting away from weight, getting away from numbers, and feeling confident in your body and whatever that may be, figuring out what that is outside of weight. But then there still is that lingering, like subtext, I guess in our mind that is focused on like, there still is that idea that. But I'm still not small, right? Like, I'm supposed to be small. I've been taught this. It's very hard to rewrite that narrative that we've been surrounded by for 20 plus years. So I think that is really the problem. And I wish I had the solution. If there was a solution out there, I would do every step that I needed to to change it. But I think it just comes with time and having these conversations and I don't know, like spreading more information to counteract the thin ideal that's out there. It's so true that it's going to take a long time to get out of this. That's going to be a few hashtag, body positive posts that are going to change at all. Right. And it's even harder because not everybody feels the way that like, we do as anti diet dietitians. And so even if our clients are slowly learning from us and whoever else they interact with that maybe they don't have to be the smallest version themselves to be healthy. They're still going to go in their lives, whether it's like friends or family or things on social media that say the opposite of what we're saying. And so that makes it harder too, because we're fighting the good fight. But there's people on the opposite end also being as vocal as we are about it, but on the opposite side of things. So it's always just like a back and forth in people's brains who don't know which side to kind of choose. Yeah. And I think we are moving in the right direction. It's so interesting. Like, I posted a TikTok recently focusing on all of the struggles. And I can't think of the word but, like, oh, pressures that come with being a human being nowadays. I mean, I specifically said woman, but it can be like the men, like, men, has their own separate. Everyone has different things they're trying to meet or pictures they're trying to fit into. But someone commented like, oh, at least you don't live. In the 2000s, when we were thinking of low rise genes and that toxic culture and pop culture, all the people getting ripped apart by the tabloids that had just normal bodies, they commented that. And I was like, yeah, I didn't respond, but I was thinking about it. And I was like, yeah, but that doesn't mean that where we are. Just because we improve doesn't mean that we should stop. We should keep continuing to try and improve and get away, because all you're going to do is change. Right? In the early 2000s, it was like that idea of being really thin, as thin as possible. And now we're in this world where we want really giant surgery sized butts and tiny waist. Right? It's changing, and we're not going to be able to fit all of those dynamics like a normal person isn't. Right. Maybe if I were Kim Kardashian and I had Kim Kardashian as money, I could change, and that's fine. But setting those unrealistic standards for just a normal person that works a normal job, it's not fair. So while we have improved from that really toxic place, we're still just as focused on our bodies in different ways, and there's still room for improvement. There is so much room for improvement. I was thinking that I was like, maybe. I think they're almost potentially different types of things coming up now compared to the 2000s. And even looking back at the 90s, it was completely different. And you look past that every single decade. I feel like there's always a new toxic thing that comes up, especially around the ideal body type. But like you said, there is a lot more conversation going on, which is good, but just kind of comparing it to this one incredibly toxic piece of time doesn't mean that we should throw in towel. Good. Problem solved. Everyone is body positive. No one has body image issues. There's no such thing as diet culture anymore. We're good. We're out of jobs. Like, no, there is a lot still going on, just in different ways. Yeah. And I feel like every like we're never as human beings, we could be in this perfect world in 20 or 40 years where, like, everyone is accepted, no one, blah, blah, blah. All of these society pressures were gone. People are still going to have body image issues. It's just a part of being human, too. That's why I also say, and this is like a hot take, but I think body positivity the same way that I think that weight loss and all of that stuff is bullshit. I think the idea of body positivity is bullshit because there's absolutely no way we're going to feel 100% about ourselves 100% of the time. Right. We're just human. We're going to have days when we don't feel great. And the thing we want to get to is being able to move out of those days. Like you're like, okay, I don't feel great today, but that's okay. I'm still taking care of my body, and then your confidence comes back and you move on. That's the difference. You don't want to let the body image issues, like, slander every single thing you do all of the time. So I talk a lot more about just like, body acceptance rather than body positivity, accepting that your body is where it is and we're doing everything we can to promote health at where we are now, and that's all we can do. I'm actually really glad you said that, because it's something I personally been reteaching myself, I would say over the past year or so, because pre, maybe undergrad, maybe a little bit. In grad school, I was very much like, yes, body positivity is what we need to solve all the world's issues. But I've seen some conversations around how it's not always good and stuff like that. And I'm in that middle ground of re learning how to approach it, because personally, I feel like I've improved my relationship with my body a lot. But I still have terrible days where I'm just like, I want to be in sweats right now. I don't want to have one inch of clothing touching me. I don't want to look. It's always on my period. That's always going to happen. Yes. And I think it's something that we definitely need to talk about a lot because I feel like it's very I don't want to think last half, like full, but to just expect everyone to love their body every single second of the day, because that's not realistic at all. Right. And also not wrong. It's not a bad thing. We don't need to change our mood and change how our day is going based off that. All right, Amanda. Well, we have lovely perspectives so far. We have one last question for you on this topic, and I kind of have alluded to it a little bit, but we would love to hear more on this. So the question is how can you improve your health? Well, we're talking about how the scale is not everything. And so if you're shifting your focus from the scale to overall health in general, how can we improve our health without only worrying about the number on the scale going down? Well, I like to break up my health into the idea of health into different segments. Right. Because we have physical health, we have emotional health, we have mental health. So you want to do things that promote that well being in all realms. So thinking about physical health because that's really what we go to immediately. Right. And we're talking about getting away from weight loss. I always say there's a little bit of truth behind all of these diet cultural things that dieting has taken away from us. Right. So there's truth behind like moving your body. Right. That doesn't mean you need to go to the gym six days a week, sweat for 2 hours and come back because that for a lot of people sounds miserable. Now what I do is what I talk about is you have to find movement that you enjoy. And that doesn't have to look like what I just said, like going to the gym, it could look like so many different things. But you're going to get so many benefits from moving your body. And that is going to help promote physical health. Right. You're going to get your heart rate up, you're going to move your body. Right. If we just sat inside all day, I see the effect of sitting inside all day. Right now I have a heating pad on my back because I sit down way too much. Right. And I prioritize my physical health by taking my dog on walks and stuff. Right. That's what I think about that's. One way you can do it. Now, another thing too, is like, again, there's truth behind why we've been told since we were sick that we needed to eat fruits and vegetables. Right. There's a little bit of truth there. And it's just from the fact that those foods provide things that carbs and proteins and everything else they don't. These are like our vitamins and minerals, the things that help in our bodies. But don't technically, if you were to pull up my fitness pal, which is a whole another thing it doesn't focus on. So I always say to people, if they're like, how do I become healthy? And I know a lot of dietitians also say this, but I have taken it on and I say it too. But you don't want to think about what you need to take out of your lifestyle. You want to think about what you can add. Right. So if you really enjoy, like you have a sweet tooth and you really enjoy eating a cookie, you don't need to focus on taking out the cookie. But maybe at dinner or lunchtime, how can you increase the variability of vegetables that you're getting in. Right. And then still have your cookie? That's fine. But how can you increase vegetables? How can you get if you don't eat fruit? Like, where can we add in a little bit here or there to increase your vitamin C intake, things like that. So that's what I really like to think about when I think about how to make healthy changes, because the more we think how our brains work is, if we think about cutting something out, we get into kind of like a fight or flight response where it's like, oh, I can't have this, what's going to happen? You're going to think about it so much more. So I like to think about adding things and using that perspective because it takes away that all or nothing mentality. So yeah, those are just like two things with physical health. I know I mentioned mental, emotional health. They're just as important. I'm all about finding things that actually bring joy in your life outside of just the standard going to work, going to school, coming home, making dinner, all of that stuff. What do you really enjoy my mental health? I really took charge of my mental health by adopting my dog because I knew that that was something I needed. I had had a dog in my life before, and I was at a place where I could responsibly take care of a dog also, and financially too. So I knew that's what I was going to need. And that has just changed my life as like, a person living alone in an apartment, having a work from home job that they control. That's what I mean when I think about what is going to make you mentally happy, make you feel more in control of your life, and not bogged down by stress and anxiety all the time. I relate to the dog one hardcore. I feel like getting my pup adopted my dog. It was like right before Koba started, so it's perfect because that's when things, like, really went down. Yeah, he's like the best thing ever. So I totally like that one. And I also do love high practices to the whole addition over subtraction thing. I feel like it really does resonate, though, with clients and patients, because every time I see them like, hey, what do I cut out now? What do I have to get rid of? I need to cut out this. Let's not think about that, because it just makes you dread doing anything and it makes you probably hate coming to see me. If I were to say, you got to cut out ice cream and cookies and whatever else. So what can we add? Not subtract. I love that. I'm also a big fan of how you brought up all aspects of health, not just kind of physical, but also emotional and mental. That's something we talked about a bit on here, but it's so true that we talk about this all the time, and I feel like our listeners are sick of it. But just because if you have the best physical health markers and your mental health is trash, that might not be the best way to live. You're probably not happy. All aspects are important and find what works for you. If it's a dog, this is your sign to get a dog, because I already know my mental health would probably be incredible if I had a dog. So success right here. At least two out of three people are happier and they have a dog in their life, or if you don't like dogs, get a cat or a rabbit, whatever it is an emotional support. Fish. Yes. Whatever works for you. That kind of goes over everything we wanted to talk about today. I feel like we had a lot of great discussion and a lot of what you talked about, I feel like will resonate very well with our audience because this is something we talk about all the time. But it's always nice to hear from a different person, from a different perspective as well. So before we jump into our bonus question, which we always end our episodes on, what are kind of your final thoughts on this topic? Like, if you were to leave our listings with a couple last thoughts, what would you want them to hear and what would you like kind of want to resonate with them the most? I think the first thing that I think about is just that it's not as simple or straightforward as the Internet makes it seem. Right. You can look up anything on Google and like, how to be healthy, how to lose weight, how to gain weight, how to do any of these things. You're going to get a million different answers. Right. But like we talked about, there's so many things you can do to promote a healthy, sustainable, long, happy lifestyle. And weight is not one of those things. Right. Weight loss does not equivalent equal health. So I think that's it. And just like, finding different, like, again, don't look up something and be like, oh, well, this website says that I need to cut my sugar intake and do this, and that will make me healthy. Right. First of all, have patience with yourself and be kind to yourself and then get different perspectives. I think that is really it. It's not as straightforward as the Internet wants to make it seem. Yeah, agreed. I made a Tik Tok recently, not too long ago, where I proved that you can Google anything to support your own bias. I was like, I Googled, is keto healthy? And I got answers saying yes is Google unhealthy? I got answers saying no, it's not healthy. So it's so true. You can't Google it. That's a big point to make there. Yeah. That's why we exist. We're not just like quacks. We're saying eat more veggies. We actually do more than that. A lot more than that. Right. I know. I think it's so funny that there's this idea like, oh, my God, you're a dietitian. You're probably so healthy. Like, you probably eat so many vegetables. I'm like, actually, I eat a very decent amount of chocolate. I literally have a bag of stuffed chocolate sitting right next to me right now. Oh, my gosh. Amazing. Yeah. Let's go into the bonus question. We love this part of the episode because we talk about things that have nothing to do with our professional lives. Well, I guess a little bit because of food. But anyway, today's bonus question is I think it's going to be very controversial and Amanda will let our guest go first. So we'll let you lead. But the question is, is a hot dog a Taco? What are your thoughts on that? I was laying in bed because like I said, I hurt my back. I was like in bed before this, really putting in some thought. Like the old high school debate team girl came out, oh, my gosh. I was like really putting in some thought. And I landed upon the answer of no because my mom is from Guatemala. I've had plenty of tacos in my life. And I feel like I would be doing her injustice if I said a hot dog was a Taco. So my answer is no. Definitely. I'd probably step on some toes if you said that, you go, okay, I can go. I agree. I think the answer is no. I think the only reason that it's a question is just because of the shape that it's in. Like that's the only reason you would even say that. What we often do when these questions come up is we Google it as people do with the Internet. So I just Googled it. And Taco is a dish, as we know. But a Taco is a traditional Mexican dish consisting of a small hand sized corn or wheat tortilla keyword there, I think top of the filling. So I guess if you did like a tortilla with a hot dog like that, maybe a Taco because the tortilla part. But I also think that the Mexican side plays a role, too. I don't think hot dogs are like Mexican inspired at all. Definitely not. They're very us of a. Yeah, because I think hot dog, I think the fourth th of July, and I can get that actress with her voice. You know what I'm talking about? Yes. So, yeah, it's a no from me, too. I am also going to agree with this. I was going to say yes only because of the shape. No. I had some critical thought. I exercised my brain power. And then I was like, wait, but there was a soft shell because I was thinking about just the shape. I'm like. Not all tacos look like that soft shell one. And I would never eat a hot dog that was wrapped in a soft shell. I never say, really foods are bad or anything, but that's like one of the most unappealing things to me I could probably ever think of. And also, it just like screams America to me. I think it sounds kind of good. That tortilla like a warm, soft flour tortilla around the hot dog, like dipped in ketchup. You could deep Fry that. That sounds like Broadway food to me.
Participant #1:
Corn dogs, that's like flour. You're probably like it's a liquid batter and then you're frying it. Yeah. That gives me, like, more if we're making comparisons to Hispanic food gives me more Tamale vibes. Taco vibes. True. Well, three, that really happens. Usually at least one of us disagrees with the others. I know I was ready. I was ready. But I guess we're all just smart. We have the right answer. Yes, this is correct. It's just the shape. The shape is the only reason to be a yes. But we got to think beyond the ship. Like, I'm like said critical thoughts. Right. Well, thank you for joining the podcast. This is your chance now to kind of let our listeners know where they can find you at. They want to hear more. Yeah. So thank you guys for having me. I had so much fun. I feel like we could talk about this for so, like, we could be here for a long time. But it's the Balanced Peach B-A-L-A-N-C-E-D not the Balance. Balance Peach both on Instagram and TikTok. I mean, you can go to my website if you're interested in more about me stuff. But anything I do with my clients, working with people or just all of that, I am always on social media talking about. So, yeah, the Balance Peach. I love TikTok, so I'm always on TikTok. I prefer it over Instagram. So, yeah, go over there. I am also in just a quick little plug, the process of enrolling my first group coaching program.
Participant #1:
Yeah. So before this, I was doing just exclusively one on one. And I'm still going to do that. But this is like, makes it a little bit more accessible for some people in terms of schedule and flexibility and also like finances. So that is happening right now. So I don't know when this episode is going to come out, but we can tell you keep talking about something and then we'll find it. Yeah. So that is I'm accepting application. So if you went to my Instagram or my Kickstart bio, the link is there and you just apply and then we can chat about it if it's a good fit for you. And it is in that food freedom, healing your relationship with food, that is the goal of the program. So if you feel caught up, food is controlling your life. You feel obsessed with food or anything like that. That, you know, it's just like generally unhealthy. Or if you just want to make actual, realistic, sustainable life changes to honor your health, that's the place to be. So, yeah, I'll plug. That awesome. We're going to link all of your social medias in the description, just in case someone missed the D in Balance speech. It is confused where to find you. But we'll also link your website and whatnot. And if you're interested in group coaching and working in your relationship with who, definitely go check out Amanda's program. That's so exciting. Yeah. Thank you. I think that's all we have all right. Thank you, guys. Yes. Thank you so much again for joining us. It would be a good episode for listeners are really going to like it so we appreciate so much. I can't wait to probably not listen to it because I don't like the way my voice sounds like we don't listen to ours to edit it and even that's painful. Yeah, that's enough. Okay. Well, thank you guys so much and I'll see you around social media. Okay. All right. All right. Good bye, guys. Thank you. Bye, everyone.
