Summary: Are your workouts fun and empowering? Or are they an endless cycle of stress, guilt, and exhaustion that leaves you feeling drained and defeated? Nia Shanks is a fitness coach who specializes in empowering women in health and fitness. Her new book is <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lift-Like-Girl-More-Less-ebook/dp/B078C8QB6N/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lift Like a Girl</a>. <br> In this conversation, Nia breaks through the clichés in weight loss and body image that keep so many women dissatisfied, depressed, and constantly dieting. By the end of this episode, you’ll know how to scrap the “less is better” mentality, so you can have a happier, healthier relationship with yourself.<br> Key Points From This Episode:<br> <br> * How Nia’s restrictive diet lead to a binge eating disorder<br> * Filtering through sensational online food information<br> * Veganism, vegetarianism and fear-based diet pressure<br> * Nia’s approach to lifting, strength training, and food<br> <br> <br> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lift-Like-Girl-More-Less-ebook/dp/B078C8QB6N/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a>Get Nia’s book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lift-Like-Girl-More-Less-ebook/dp/B078C8QB6N/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Lift Like A Girl</a> on Amazon.<br> Learn more about Nia’s training regimens at <a href="http://niashanks.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NiaShanks.com</a>.<br> <br> How did Nia Shanks’ exercise journey begin?<br> I became a personal trainer at age 19. I got into the gym world very naturally, thanks to my mom because she was the first woman personal trainer in our area. She actually introduced me to the weight room when I was about 14 or 15. Once I turned 16 and could drive to the gym, I was hooked, was doing it consistently, have been doing it consistently since then.<br> <br> I had the privilege of growing up in a healthy household, eating well. I was always physically active and it wasn’t until I became a certified personal trainer, I was 19 and spending tons of time at the gym, that I would hear other women having these conversations about, they ate 1,928 calories that day. I mean, they knew it down to the point. They just knew this off the top of their head.<br> It got me thinking, because I knew how to eat well. I knew how to eat if I wanted to lose fat or to build muscle. But calculating what I ate on a daily basis was never something I had done, it had just been intuitive for me.<br> Out of curiosity, I started counting calories and tracking my macronutrients to know how many grams of protein and fat and carbohydrates that I ate each day. Through that experimentation, I became aware of what I was eating and it led to me experimenting with some other things because I thought, “Well, I’m a trainer, I’m trying to learn, I want to experiment. I want to look as best as I can because it will help me get respect from other trainers and help me get new clients.”<br> <br> Slowly that progressed into obsessive, restrictive eating habits. I got to the point where I was counting every calorie I ate.<br> <br> I mean, I even calculated in a five calorie stick of gum. If I chewed a stick of gum with five calories, I added that in to my caloric intake for the day. You know, for a while, I was just super strict with what I would eat and I was religiously going to the gym. I would not miss a workout if the gym was closed for a holiday, I would make sure to sneak in an extra workout the day before or after. It consumed me.<br> I didn’t think there was anything wrong with it at the time, until all of that turned into binge eating. I finally just cracked from depriving myself. I was trying to be super disciplined for so long. I wouldn’t eat junk food, I wouldn’t let myself have pizza or things I enjoyed because you know, I was really big into eating clean at that point.<br>
