Today I'm chatting with Kayla Kotecki, a rebel Holistic Nutritionist who’s sick of women and men suffering from restrictive diets and physical/mental decline, caused by shame around unrealistic and unsustainable diet culture and beauty standard demands. Kayla is the author of Damn the Diets and founder of damnthediets.com. After almost a decade suffering as a [miserable] bikini competitor, fitness model, yo-yo dieter, bulimic, orthorexic, and extreme exercise addict, in which she ruined her physical and mental health, she managed to get her life back, and now she is dedicated to helping others get their lives back as well.

In this episode, Kayla shares her history with undereating and overtraining and how she went "all in" to restore her mental and physical health. We discuss how food volume doesn't tell you if you're eating enough, how trauma can affect your relationship with food, and the dark side of bikini competitions. Kayla shares what it was like for her to go all in, eating 10,000 calories a day, why she had to quit exercise, how food restriction can be connected to digestive issues, the rebound effect of weight gain, what normal eating really is, and much more.

For more from Kayla, head to damnthediets.com, check out her YouTube channel, and read her book, Damn the Diets. 

For more from Christina, head to her website, christinaricewellness.com, to find her services, blog, programs, and ebooks. If there's a question you'd like answered or a topic you'd like discussed on the podcast, send it in to podcast@christinaricewellness.com! Don’t forget to join the Facebook group, Wellness Realness Podcast Tribe, to meet other podcast listeners!

This podcast episode is sponsored by Ned, a wellness brand that offers a range of full-spectrum hemp products including hemp oil, lip balms, and body butter. CBD oil can help with inflammation, anxiety, insomnia, depression, chronic pain, and more, and Ned full-spectrum hemp oil is my favorite CBD. You can order hemp oil from helloned.com and use the discount code "WELLNESS" for 15% off!

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If you're ready to finally take control of your health, Christina's online course, The Paleo Women Lifestyle Program, is exactly what you need. This course is designed to teach you everything you need to know to optimize your health as a woman, no matter your age or where you are in your health journey. This course has hours of video lectures, audio lectures, and PDFs that cover nutrition, fitness, sleep, stress management, balancing hormones, self-love, cooking and grocery shopping, and more. You can learn more / sign up at bit.ly/paleowomenlifestyle.

If you love desserts but want to avoid the sugar and sweeteners, pick up a copy of Christina's new ebook, #NoSugarNoProblems Part 2! This ebook contains over 30 paleo dessert recipes (most are also vegan) that contain absolutely no sugar or sweeteners - no stevia, xylitol, erythritol, maple syrup, honey, dates, bananas, or other sugar substitutes. Perfect if you're keto, low-carb, on a gut-healing diet, looking to balance your hormones, or trying to break your sugar addiction! Grab your copy at bit.ly/nsnp2 and use the code "wellnessrealness" for 20% off!

If you're finally ready to reach your fitness goals, check out the MAPS programs from Mind Pump Media at bit.ly/mindpumpcrw. You can use the code "WELLNESS" for 10% off! I recommend MAPS Anabolic to anyone who goes to the gym and wants something that will increase their strength and fitness levels while also reducing body fat, and I recommend MAPS Anywhere if you're looking for a program that doesn't require a gym and focuses more on bodyweight exercises.

Interested in switching to safer beauty products to protect your health? Shop at beautycounter.com/christinarice for safer skincare, makeup, hair care, and more! If you need help with color matching or product recommendations, feel free to reach out to Christina. You can email her at christina@christinaricewellness.com.

If you want to change your life with essential oils, head to bit.ly/doterrachristina to get started! Feel free to email Christina to learn more about how doTERRA essential oils can transform your health! If you're not sure where to start with essential oils, head here.

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