So can you speak a little bit on that?

Yes.

So for sure when it comes to collagen, you know, it's, it's, it's definitely more nuanced, because collagen is not complete snake oil.

But the marketing typically is considerably, like, way more confident than what the evidence suggests.

So basically, first thing we need to know is that when we consume collagen, whether it's in a food like bone broth or in, um, a supplement, we don't just, like, take a collagen m- molecule from, like, the cow and just, like, staple it onto our, you know, onto, on our face, basically.

So most of it is digested into in, um, amino acids, small peptides.

Um, and interestingly, you know, human studies have shown that some collagen-specific, um, hydroxyproline-containing peptides do appear in the bloodstream after you supplement with a collagen supplement.

I, I would love to know, like what are, um, you know, there's so many myths out there, but like what are some of the, the foods that you think are really impactful for someone wanting to focus on longevity and wellness and, and a, a healthy lifestyle and, and aging well? Like is there a diet you in general, right, um, recommend?

Does that all make sense? That's a lot there.

It all makes sense.

And and I hear this very often.

So thank you for sharing.

And you're absolutely not alone in that struggle, especially if you've come from a history as a child of, you know, struggling with your weight, perhaps being teased for your weight.

I mean.

These are core memories that kids carry with them their entire lives.

Like, what's like a simple, straightforward thing we can do with that?

Any tips on how we can control that?

Yeah.

So believe it or not, I mean, I just want to put to kind of set, like, just to set the stage that, you know, I don't want you to ever think that you can never eat emotionally again.

You know, food is emotional, right? It is so, you know, we eat for pleasure, we eat for um, you know, we eat to, to mourn, like it's part of culture, it's part of joy, it's part of celebration.

So eating because you're upset or lonely or exhausted or stressed, you know, it's, it's a very normal human behavior because like I said, food is pleasurable, it's comforting, it's culturally and, you know, emotionally meaningful.

That said, we don't want food to be the only tool in our emotional regulation toolbox.

And so, you know, when I hear people kind of getting trapped in this kind of stress eating, binge eating cycle, I usually look at two different contributors.

yes such bad advice right it was it was it's

The mentality that a business owner that wants to protect from merchant fees is creates friction and takes cash only at the till when people don't carry cash around and so what is the cost of that scarcity thinking the scarcity thinking on the end of the user is like i want french fries probably not the best example to bring up with the dietician i take that back um but that's what it was like i want french fries but on the other hand the guy's like i don't want to pay merchant fees and so one um now there's friction in between and so when we when we think about the lack of diet thinking cutting things out restricting things um that's not really a created diet is it i mean that just kind of almost goes back to just our thinking

Yes, it really is a psychological mind shift that has to happen here because I'm sure a lot of your listeners who have been on and off diets their entire lives, they know that they all have one thing in common, which is they are teaching us to restrict ourselves or deny ourselves something that inherently we want, whether it is enough calories, so we're actually in a state of physical hunger, Or we are restricting the types of foods that we are allowed.

So perhaps we're going keto or we're cutting out carbs or cutting out sugar.

No, you know, going on these detoxes.

And like I said, what ends up happening is that, you know, our body is just biologically primed to fight against those states of deprivation.

So it takes this mindset shift where instead of always thinking, OK, what am I cutting out? What am I restricting? Because that's what's going to cause the binge.

We are going to think about simply adding.

road trip.

What is that full formula? What is the secret?

Yeah.

So I mean, just to give you kind of a little bit of a background on this method that I call the hunger crushing combo method.

So, you know, essentially, you know, we know most of those kind of crash diets, any of the diets that we see come up in our feeds every single day, all of them are telling us to cut something out, to restrict something.

And you and I both know that our bodies, like, fight tooth and nail against deprivation with all these different compensatory mechanisms, you know, physiologically and psychologically.

And, and that psychological piece is so important because when we put ourselves in a state of scarcity mentality, it almost always triggers this hyperfixation and obsession and food noise and binging, and then eventually we just throw in the towel because this is just not sustainable.

So the hunger crushing combo method flips that script because it's working with our biology and our psychology to focus instead on adding nutrition, not always taking away.

Like, where, where are you on that spectrum?

So what would you say worked earlier on that you think many pe- many dieticians overlook when it comes to building an empire?

Yeah, I think a few things.

I- for one, I would say to really have a clear point of view, and ideally, if you can create a series around that that you become known for.

I popped off about 10 years ago, and at the time I was really experimenting with different formats to see what s- what took off.

I was doing some kind of recipe videos, some kind of more nutrition facts, some skit-based content.

But then this YouTuber came along named Freelee the Banana Girl, and she was a raw frugivore, basically recommending people consume a case of dates and 12 bananas into a smoothie for breakfast.

And I was like, "Yeah, I need to respond to this.

And uh, when did you realize that you needed a method to stand out?

Mm-hmm

... um, which is, you know, its own problem because I don't know how to relax.

Um, but I think, you know, for me, it, it has been, like even with diet, it, it comes down to like, okay, how-- we're never necessarily going to stop liking, uh, candy or ice cream or whatever it may-- that's not the, that shouldn't be the goal.

Um, and you know, some of us might also not, like, be obsessed with broccoli.

Um, but the goal should be to, like, how do I find little, little hacks in my day to make these behaviors, these health-promoting behaviors, a little bit more intuitive, a little bit more like a habit, like second, like just second nature? So that might mean like habit stacking these things, so it just takes one, um, you know, you're anchoring the behavior, the health-promoting behavior with something you're already gonna do.

So with me, it is I know I need to get in my water first thing in the morning, um, and I do that while I'm brewing my coffee 'cause I'm never gonna skip out on my coffee.

So Abby, starting with you, deficit or maintenance?

maintenance?Um, well, I think you do need to think about a deficit if you're, if you're going to be trying to lose body fat.

Totally.

100% right.

And you know, at first, this was a very innocent endeavor where I wasn't in this to, to lose weight.

I wasn't in this because I was wanting a unhealthy relationship with food.

I just wanted to feel better.But then it kind of became this control issue, and I thought, you know, I was getting all these compliments at first because people were like, "Oh, you're, you know, you're looking more toned." They're like, "What are you doing?" And I'm like, "Oh, I'm just eating more healthy, you know, like not eating sugar." And as a Type A perfectionist, that validation was so addictive to me that I was thinking in my head, "Ooh, if cutting out sugar gets me this kind of like, you know, rah, rah, what would cutting out more, quote, unquote, 'bad things' get me?" And so that, of course, led me down to, like, no fat.

And so I eventually had this very limited diet of just a handful of safe foods.

My body was rapidly shrinking, so that validation, those compliments very quickly were being replaced by these words of, you know, concern.

[laughs]

Can you explain like what it is for those that maybe have not heard what that is? And then also like, why is it so pervasive?

Yeah, yeah, those are great questions.

So if you are lucky enough to not have been on Skinny Talk or getting kind of down that rabbit hole, it's essentially a subculture on TikTok that's glorifying extreme fitness, often promoting disorder behaviors under the guise of kind of wellness or health or discipline or femininity even.

And it's really just like this algorithmic-driven rabbit hole where users are, you know, sort of video after video after video of unrealistic body ideals, you know, very restrictive low-calorie what-in-a-days, thinspo images, etc.

repackaged with pastel fonts and wellness hashtags.

And all of this is bound up in this messaging suggesting that discipline is this moral virtue and it weaponizes a lot of the language around self-care to actually be about suffering.

And it's hugely dangerous because it's essentially glamorizing and normalizing disordered eating and body dysmorphia and And it doesn't just influence how people are eating.

Why is protein important in protein timing and the quality? Why is it such a game changer for women after before and after menopause?