Advocating Women’s Strength with Steph Gaudreau- EP021

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Most women are guilty of developing a picture in their mind of the ‘perfect body’ or latching on to an unrealistic goal weight – and believing that they cannot be happy until they have realized that image or hit that number on the scale. The time has come to shift that belief system, to transform our relationship with exercise and nutrition, to focus on what our bodies can achieve – to stop fighting our bodies and harness our strength.

Steph Gaudreau is a strength coach and nutritionist who is on a mission to help women find their strength. Her blog, Stupid Easy Paleo, explores the principles of a Paleo lifestyle, and her podcast, Harder to Kill Radio, helps optimize health and wellness through interviews with experts in fitness, nutrition, sleep and mindset. She has also created an annual online event, the Women’s Strength Summit, to educate and inspire women to build physical, emotional, mental and spiritual strength.

Steph was a successful high school science teacher for twelve years before taking a leave of absence to start her own business helping women accept their bodies and embrace their power. Steph is uniquely qualified to help women feel capable and strong because of her own difficult journey from fighting her body and never feeling good enough to focusing on what she was capable of as she hit milestone after milestone. Today she shares her take on having a goal weight, her experience with body shaming on social media, and her advice around creating a customized Paleo nutrition track. Learn Steph’s comprehensive definition of strength and get inspired to embrace your own strength of mind, body and spirit!

Topics Covered

[0:50] Steph’s journey to becoming a thought leader in fitness and nutrition space

Sports important part of life since childhood
Digestive problems at ten (blamed on hormones)
Stopped listening to body
Gained weight in college, tried every diet and exercise regimen
Started racing mountain bikes in 2009
Friends encouraged to try Paleo diet
Significant improvement in energy
Started sharing recipes on biking blog
Founded food blog, Stupid Easy Paleo
Took leave of absence from teaching to try entrepreneurship

[9:06] How Steph finally learned to accept her body

Internalized negative teasing, ‘something is wrong with my body’ narrative
Began to compete in mountain bike races, felt big by comparison
Transitioned to triathlons and got down to 58 kg, still unhappy
Joined CrossFit gym and learned how to strength train
Liked feeling stronger, began to focus on what she was capable of

[15:10] Steph’s take on having a goal weight

Ask yourself, ‘Where did that number come from?’
Low weight is not synonymous with health
Spend less time fighting your natural body weight
Steph gained 30 lbs through CrossFit as muscle mass returned
Health and wellness skyrocketed

[17:54] Steph’s experience with body shaming via social media

Negative comment posted on Instagram picture
Recognized that younger version of self would have been devastated
Wrote blog post in response to body shaming
Highlights hyper-obsession with other people’s bodies
Online anonymity allows people to be hateful
Reveals double standard (either too vain or not trying hard enough)

[24:33] The validation aspect of social media

Single negative comment overrides hundreds of compliments
Value cannot be tied to praise, online support
Must realize worthiness regardless of performance in gym, success at work

[28:28 ] Steph’s definition of strength

Resiliency is key component
Can you weather tough situations?
Ability to learn and grow from adversity
Allow self to be human, feel pain
Tragedy doesn’t break you
Must experience the struggle to get to the light

[31:56] How Steph conceived of the Women’s Strength Summit

Idea for online event in 2015
Grew to encompass mind, body and spirit
2017 event included 24 speakers (all women)
Covers topics like birth control, menopause
Women crave advice from trusted sources

[37:20] Steph’s advice around creating a customized nutrition track

Develop personalized diet, sustainable for long-term
Research intuitive eating
Consider gradual approach to diet change
Incorporate healthy swap (i.e.: replace white rice with cauliflower rice, soda with sparkling water)
Add a vegetable to your plate
Don’t force yourself to eat things you find unpalatable
Give body time to adjust as eliminate processed foods

[43:27] Steph’s #1 tip for women