Sustainable Fitness—The Anti-Diet Holistic Approach

In 2024, I saw many personal trainers proudly declare that they were #non-feminist, #non-toxin trainers. Disappointing? Harmful? To say the least, yes. But unexpected?

The wellness industry is a billion dollar industry. It’s filled with social media influencers. Personal trainers often make their money on selling fast fixes (“join my 6 week weight loss program”), focus on gimmicks (“here’s one exercise that will get your waist snatched”), and prey on women. Perimenopausal and menopausal women are vulnerable to the crop up of “coaches” and “programs” selling drinks, low calories, and promises of a younger body. Younger women are being pressured into re-shaping their bodies and hate themselves into submission.

Many personal trainers that you see in person are no better. They associate health with weight-loss, and send your body on competing goals…losing weight and building muscles.

So I’m going to tell you why I chose the anti-diet approach.

There’s no quick fix.

Anti-diet asks you to focus on what you can do besides making yourself smaller.

If you train with me, we can talk about calories and protein and even take a look at what you’re eating. There’s a decent chance you’re not eating enough, although you probably don’t believe that. We can talk about ADDING THINGS IN, such as adding more protein, adding meals you’ve may have been skipping, adding more vegetables for better nutrition. But are we going to restrict you, punish you, starve you so that you can turn around and gain it all back?

Yeah, that’s a hell no.

The anti-diet approach is just that. No diets. No doctor selling you a “hormone balancing diet” when it’s just another 1200 calorie-a-day scheme disguised in better packaging. No intermittent-fasting, when scientific studies show it’s another diet in a different package. Athletes don’t fast in order to train and perform, and neither should you.

Does that mean your body won’t change if you start strength-training? It probably will. Over time, you’ll have more muscles mass and it can reshape the composition of your body. You’ll also feel better, sleep better, and have less pain. Because our bodies will change throughout our lives, many times. The goal is to make sure how we feel in our body remains constant as long as possible.

Adding holistic elements to it is understanding that all of this doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Health is also an equity issue. What do I mean by this? Here’s a few examples:

• Women disproportionately handle emotional labor, physical labor, and mental labor in the home, and often at least one of these in the workplace. This leads to exhaustion, a lack of time, and a lack of resources and/or support.

• Women are socialized to put everyone else first, making it difficult to prioritize themselves with food, time, stress management, or working out.

• Women are highly more at risk of developing auto-immune diseases due to social and interpersonal pressures.

• Women are socialized to be smaller, thinner, and socially-perceived as good-looking in order to receive power or protection. This often means getting smaller without worrying about losing muscle. Smaller is smaller, and it can lead to brittle bones, poor energy, and health problems later.

• POC women are victims of all of the above, but even more impacted by the burden of poorer healthcare, racism and prejudice, oppressive social structures, and pressures to conform to white culture.

• LGBTQIA are also vulnerable, subject to higher stress due to hate and prejudice, and often targeted for violence. Safe spaces matter.

Do you think this doesn’t affect your health? There’s a pervasive mythology in America that you can exercise, supplement, and raw juice your way to health. It’s a bootstrap ideology that unfortunately lends itself well to the personal training industry, where advertisements read “your body is a status symbol". And it’s wrong. No one is immune from illness or death. Hatred, oppression, and pressure to be the working mules of society harm health.

I take the holistic approach because it is going to take time to build muscles, and we aren’t starving you while you need calories to build that muscle. And we build muscle celebrating the woman you’re going to be when you’re 85 and getting out of the bathtub on your own. We’ll build functional stability in your movements and joints, and address any existing injuries. I’m going to recommend books on equity in the household if it’s relevant, and encourage you to journal to promote self-esteem. I’ll nag you about prioritizing recovery and I’ll support you when you lift heavier than you ever have before.

When I saw those trainers proudly present themselves as #anti-feminism, I was furious. I was sad. Because you can’t be anti-feminist and train women well. You can’t support ending social programs and then sell your newest 8 week package of empty promises to women juggling a balancing act. Health is holistic. Strength training is the long game. So I won’t offer you a comfortable environment if you think women thrive in the shadows. What I will promise is that with support, accountability, eating enough, and feeling good about yourself you will notice a difference. You’ll love your life a little more. You’ll manage it with less pain.

I believe in you. And I like you enough to never sell you bullshit in a can.

Fitness should be sustainable. So let’s skip the diet, commit to consistency over perfection, and I’ll see you when we’re 80 and fit!