Obesity, Food Choices, And Real Change

Some truths hit hard because they’re personal. I open up about crossing into severe obesity after having twins, the pain that made getting out of bed a struggle, and the string of diet attempts that didn’t work. The missing pieces weren’t just willpower—they were sleep, stress, and a food environment built on ultra-processed convenience that overrides hunger cues and keeps us stuck.

We dig into why “it starts in the kitchen” isn’t a slogan but a strategy. I explain how calorie-dense, nutrient-poor foods undo gym efforts, and why sustainable weight loss begins with simple, repeatable meals you can make when you’re tired and short on time. We compare the American diet—heavy on soda, refined grains, processed meats, additives, and dyes—with European patterns that center fresh produce, legumes, fish, whole grains, olive oil, and slower, social eating. You’ll hear how some US ingredients are restricted abroad, why reformulated products exist in other countries, and what that means for your cart at home.

This is a judgment-free, practical guide born from lived experience. We talk body positivity without denial, the real health risks of carrying excess weight, and the compounding power of small changes: one whole-food dinner a week, reading labels for added sugars and dyes, swapping deli meats for home-roasted protein, choosing seeded whole grains, and protecting sleep as a weight-loss lever. If you’re balancing kids, work, and a tight budget, you’ll get realistic ways to tip the odds back toward energy, mobility, and long-term health.

If this conversation resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs a boost, and leave a quick review with your biggest whole-food swap—you might inspire someone else’s first step.

Chapters

• 0:00 A Personal Wake-Up Call
• 0:31 Resolutions Versus An Epidemic
• 0:36 Trials With Diets That Failed
• 2:49 Sleep Deprivation And Weight Gain
• 4:13 Body Positivity Without Denial
• 5:13 The Physical Toll Of Obesity
• 6:11 It Starts In The Kitchen
• 7:06 Ultra-Processed Foods In America
• 8:18 Why Other Countries Ban Our Ingredients
• 10:05 Lifestyle Pressure And Convenience Eating
• 10:41 What Europeans Eat Differently
• 12:23 Small Steps Toward Whole Foods
• 15:15 Closing Encouragement And Next Steps

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Hello everybody. This is Still Roses Podcast. This podcast was created for women by women to elevate women's voices. I hope you all are doing well. I hope January is treating everybody right. Something I want to talk about next is is uh it's something I've gone through personally and I think still going through, actually, roughly. And I wanted to address it because January big month for everybody to make those uh weight loss resolutions. And there's something significant that I actually do want to address with this because it's not this is not really a resolution, this is a epidemic. And that is the obesity epidemic in the United States. Um last year, my January episodes consisted of discussing Ozempic and those weight, the weight loss injections and the wave of weight loss injections that were released pretty much all of 2025. FDA approved, proven effective, everyone's given it the green light, everyone's taken it. Everyone is taking it. Now, I'm not gonna judge or knock that because to be perfectly honest with you, I've hit my obesity limit after I had my twins. And it is something that is incredibly difficult to deal with. Personally, there was a lot of shame that carried with me when I was severely obese. It was quite literally the heaviest I ever was in my entire life. I had lost complete control. I lost total control of my body. And I had no actual sense of nutrition and what I was what I should have been doing to regain hormonal balance while also eating a healthy diet that was going to have better benefits for me. The initial thing that I tried was um ketogenic diet. That was something that, which is actually kind of funny to say since I'm a vegetarian now. But one of the initial things I tried was ketogenic. I was like, I can go low carb. Let me just do low carb. That's the answer. That's what's gonna make me drop weight. I think I might have gained weight doing that. That didn't last very long. Then I thought, okay, I'll just cut calories. Let me just monitor my calorie intake. I'll do my fitness pal, which I think I don't know if that's it's probably still a thing. But I would track, I was tracking everything on an app, my phone. It's like, this is it. This is what I need. I need to track everything I'm putting in my mouth because I always I was a grazer, huge, huge grazer before, like massive grazer before. And so I would just be eating all day long and not really thinking about what I was putting in my mouth calorie-wise, huge pitfall. So that just that clearly didn't work. Although I was horrified once I realized, like, wow, I'm actually way overeating. So then I turned to Weight Watchers. I'm like, you know what? Let me just try to make it simple. Get Weight Watchers' foods and just stick with that, stick with the point system. It's straight, it's it's really clear, like, there's no way I can screw this up. I didn't, I don't even think I lost a pound. And what I'm talking to you about is something that over the course of like almost a year, I was like, I gotta do something. I gotta do something. Unfortunately, compounded with the fact that I wasn't sleeping and I was working until three o'clock in the morning every night and you know, taking care of myself in general and only taking care of my kids, I was pretty much set up for failure. It wasn't gonna happen. The weight loss wasn't gonna happen, especially with the sleep deprivation. I actually do want to point that out specifically, because I was so sleep deprived, my body was not gonna lose weight. It was not gonna happen. I actually spoke to some doctors about it because I was so frustrated and beyond myself with the amount of weight that I had gained when I was pregnant. So I was pregnant in 2016 and 2017. Hit me like, you know, there's like really cute pregnant women that are like adorable when they're pregnant and then they get then they have the baby, and it's like they never had the baby. I actually know some of these women, bless you all, but that was not me. And so I was a hot mess. It was bad. If you look at my driver's license picture, you will see exactly what I'm talking about. Anyway, I digress. So I personally have gone through it. The first thing I want to say, because I do understand that there are a school of thought out there, and there is basically a whole movement for body positivity. I'm on board with body positivity. I am 100% on board with body positivity. I am not on board with fat shaming. I'm not on I'm not on board with any of these things, with any negativity. What I'm also not on board with is pretending that it is okay to be obese. And I say this from the depths of my heart because I have been there. It is probably one of the most physically painful things. And I'm sitting here telling you this as someone who had two C-sections. Being obese was probably more physically damaging to my body than anything else that I've done, which also says a lot because I've done a lot of things. I'm going to talk a little bit about some of the physical problems I have now because of the extreme weight that was on my body. Now it wasn't even for it was maybe for about five years before I was able to get it under control. In those five years, when I was at my heaviest, getting out of bed was difficult. My hips, my joints in my back, my knees, my feet, my ankles. Everything hurt. It was difficult to do anything. I was constantly just like feeling horrible, really, about myself. Clothes were like, there was no clothes to be found that would fit that I the way that I really wanted to look because it how I had the image in my head was not the image on my person. I think there was just my stomach health was poor. Like everything was just harder and more difficult. And it just it puts everything under pressure. So it's not really just about appearance, but your spine is basically crushed under pressure. Your hips and your knees will start to deform over time. This didn't happen to me exactly, but it can happen. Your heart is pushed behind beyond its limits. Your organs, like your liver and your pancreas, can become overwhelmed. The risk of cancer, stroke, diabetes, heart disease, all these things become much more significant for you. High blood pressure. Fat is not just something that's, oh, it's extra, and oh, you just need to lose it for cosmetic reasons. Fat is unhealthy for you to be carrying around. You are not meant to be obese. I don't care how long you've been obese. I don't care if you've been if you've been heavy your whole life. I have been heavy my whole life as well. And I'm telling you, this is not how we're supposed to be. Now, a lot of it has to do with our diet. 90% of it has to be do with our diet. Because anybody worth their salt will tell you that your physical body, the good health and the good image and the good look that you need and that you want, it starts in the kitchen. The gym is extra. Yes, we need that, right? Because you want to tone up, you need to build muscle, right? But it starts in the kitchen. You could go to the gym every single day and lift weights and do cardio and do spin classes and do Zumba, which by the way is super fun. But at the end of the day, if you go home and you're like, let me get a fettuccine alfredo and a pepperoni pizza or loaded pizza with everything on it, or let me stop at McDonald's on the way home, then you might as well just not go to the gym because you are undoing everything that you've just done for yourself at the gym. It is the worst possible thing to load yourself with a bunch of crap. Now, I did a little bit of research because I wanted to really dig into this because food because food safety has been something that's been on the news quite a bit. Um, and I'd like to get into it on other episodes, but for this one in particular, in America, the average American diet is heavily reliant on ultra-processed foods, sugary drinks, refined grains, animal products, which make up over half of the daily calories, while often lacking fruits, vegetables, whole grains, healthy oils. This leads to diets that are high in sodium, saturated fat, and the added sugars, but low in essential nutrients. Key culprits for this is sodas, packaged snacks, desserts, processed meats, pizza, fast food, contributing to energy dense but nutrient-poor eating patterns. Those are the key components of the American diet. Now, here in America, I hope that some of you have been following along with this. If you haven't been, I want you to fact-check me. I challenge you to fact-check me on this. Here in America, there are a lot of foods that are illegal in other countries, but they are allowed here. Now, in other countries, they actually have healthier variations of the foods that America allows in. Let that sink in just for a minute. There's a healthier version of Skittles out there. It's the craziest thing to think about because our country is allowing, and our leadership here in America is allowing our population to be polluted with foods that are bad for you. Foods that cause cancer over extended periods of time. It's beyond me. And it, to be perfectly honest with you, it pisses me off. It really does because we're not even educated on this. We're not even given a choice. And nowhere, nowhere in my whole education experience, which actually includes a master's degree or part of a master's degree, no time ever has it ever been relayed. By the way, did you know ultra-processed foods can actually cause cancer? No, it hasn't. And the times that it was brought to me, it was brought as a joke in a movie. And people were like, ah, the vegan. Like that's how it's positioned. We are saturated with images and media and content that makes a mockery of the people that are actually gonna outlive everybody else. It is appalling. Quick Google that you can also do what are the worst foods to consume in America? The worst foods in America often include ultra-processed items high in sugar, salt, unhealthy fats, and refined carbs, such as sugary sodas, processed meats, which include bacon and hot dogs. Welcome to America, fried foods, which is French fries, sugary snacks, donuts, chips, candy. Good lord, I have some of the shit in my kitchen. Sorry to curse, but good God. Refined cereals, also in my kitchen. All of this contributes to weight gain, heart disease, and diabetes, and they offer little nutritional value and increase health risks. Processed foods include french fries, fast food burgers, chips, frozen meals that are high in sodium, unhealthy fats, calories, increasing heart disease risk, bacon, hot dogs, deli meats, sausages. They contain sodium, raising cholesterol and blood pressure, like white bread, white pasta, good grief, sugary cereals. Let me see. I mean, it's the health concerns is weight gain, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Oh my God. This is like, but this is everything, right? We are sold all of these products over and over and over and over again to the point of nauseum. And then we're consuming them. And I'm not gonna lie, I have this stuff downstairs. Now, granted, I'm trying desperately to start leaning towards whole foods for my kids because for a really long time I couldn't get them to eat anything but frozen pizza. Like, I'm not gonna get on my pedestal and tell you I'm perfect because I have pizza bagels downstairs. Like, I am not perfect by any means, but I am working desperately to find a balance that leans more towards healthier. My kids ate fish fillets tonight that I made at home along with roasted potatoes and whole grain rice. So that was their food for, you know, dinner. Lunchtime was like chicken soup and french fries. Yes, french fries, I know, appalling. But again, you have to find a balance that works for you. I am not sitting here on a soapbox by any means, believe me, because I am working just as hard as many of you to try to make sure that my kids have a balanced, healthy diet. Now, what really made me depressed was when I hold on one second. Actually, let me look at this. Wait, one more thing. Foods are illegal in other countries, but not in America. Many common US foods ingredients include ingredients like certain food dyes, yellow number five, red 40, preservatives, BHA, BHT, potassium bromate, hormones, and additives are banned or restricted in Europe, Canada, and other countries due to health concerns leading to different formulations for products, such as holy hell, here we go. The list of healthier products that are available outside of the United States, Skittles, Pop Tarts, Fruit Loops, Gatorade, Mountain Dew, and US-styled chlorinated chicken. That grosses me out. I don't know what that is. It's baking additives, processed meats, pesticides. Oh, excuse me, pesticides on apples is banned in Europe, but not here in the US. I hope we all enjoy our apples with our pesticides. Examples of banned products, skills, fruit loops, lucky charms, and pop tarts, they're all reformulated in Europe due to dyes. Mountain Dew is banned in Europe and Japan. Gatorade is banned in Europe. I'm glad we're having that all the time. Coffee meat, I don't drink that. Stovetop stuffing is banned in Europe. Wow, that's a new one. So the reason why I'm running through that list is because like this isn't like Jenny's crazy and she's on a rant here. No, this is real legitimate stuff. Like, if you go down this rabbit hole, honestly, you need to enlighten yourself. Because, you know, for a really long time when I was growing up, I remember my mom kind of talking, talking badly about like the current state of like affairs and in America's health. Oh, well, there's so much cancer and there's so much all these things happening now. We didn't have any of that back in my day. And she would kind of try to blame it on like stuff happening in the current current arena. But the reality of it is the American diet shifted from whole foods and ingredients to processed foods, heavily processed foods. It has a lot to do with our lifestyle too. We're constantly rushing. I mean, I don't know about you guys, but I am constantly rushing Monday through Friday. It is hard to get a proper dinner on the table. I don't always make it. I do my best, but I don't always make it. I'm gonna be honest with you. There was some pasta with butter on my table tonight because I was trying, but I didn't quite make it. So you have to do your own fruit research. You really do. Now, what I did look up was what does the average European diet look like? We know the average American diet is full of processed, disgusting foods. What's the average European diet? It emphasizes fresh, local whole foods, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, legumes with olive oil as the main fat, moderate, moderate dairy, less processed food and sugar, smaller portions, and a focus on social, slower eating, varying by region, but generally less processed than typical American diets. Key elements include seasonal produce, real butter and cheese, less red meat, and flavoring with herbs instead of excessive salt. Fresh and local, whole grains, legumes, healthy fats, lean proteins, hot sardines, tuna, poultry legumes. Red meat is consumed in moderation rest, isn't it? Because red meat is old rage here in America. Dairy is real butter, cheese, and yogurt made from local dairy farms, fruits and vegetables, herbs and spices, water, and wine. Guys, wine is allowed. Moderate red wine with meals is traditional in some areas. Make it happen. But let's do it in a healthy fashion. Um, eating habits and culture, I think, have a lot to do with it. So it's the meals are slower paced and social, smaller portions, less processed food, and real ingredients. The key element here is real ingredients, not processed ingredients. Real ingredients. Now, I will say this: I've actually read a lot of bad things about vegetarian quote unquote meat that I used to actually lean pretty heavily on. So I've actually pulled back from that and I'm trying to go with just straight up vegetables at this point. It's important to educate yourselves on this because what we're putting into our bodies is affecting our children and it's affecting us personally. If you start now with trying to have just one day a week where you are eating just healthy whole foods because it is hella expensive, and I'm with you guys on like being like Jenny, I can't afford that. I totally hear you. Get a package of broccoli, get yourself a package of fish, do a little maybe baked fish in the oven with butter and olive oil and some white wine, roast the broccoli on the side, do that once. Just do it once. Let's try to make things a little bit healthier for ourselves so that we can live longer, healthier lives. Let's get off the bandwagon of processed, heavily salted foods and let's make our lives better. It's going to affect our mental health, it's going to affect our physical health, it will affect our children. And if our kids are seeing us eating healthier, then guess what? They will eat healthier too. I know I went on a bit of a rant, but this is something I'm highly passionate about. I hope you found this informative. I really want people to really start learning about this. I encourage you to look it up, do some research on your own, and find what will fit best for you and for your family. I hope you enjoyed this episode. Until next time, take care and I'll catch you on the next one.