{"id":82,"date":"2023-04-15T11:36:56","date_gmt":"2023-04-15T11:36:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thenutritionnutrition.com\/?p=82"},"modified":"2023-04-15T11:36:56","modified_gmt":"2023-04-15T11:36:56","slug":"conversations-on-unapologetic-eating-interview-series-featuring-tatyana-german","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thenutritionnutrition.com\/index.php\/2023\/04\/15\/conversations-on-unapologetic-eating-interview-series-featuring-tatyana-german\/","title":{"rendered":"Conversations on Unapologetic Eating: Interview Series featuring Tatyana German"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Come along as I chat with Tatyana German, who’s spent the last two years navigating her way out of the constraints of diet culture. Tatyana reveals some truly motivating tales about how beginning with intuitive eating led to growth in numerous aspects of her life. Tune in to hear Tatyana discuss her journey from minimizing her presence to now embracing her true self without reservations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alissa<\/strong>: Welcome everybody. We are on day five of the Unapologetic Eating interview series, which I\u2019m doing in the lead-up to my book, which comes out on February 9th.  Today, I\u2019m so excited to be talking to Tatyana German. When I put out that I\u2019m doing this interview series, I asked, \u201cwho do you all want me to interview?<\/em>\u201d And a lot of people said, \u201cCan you interview a real person? Not necessarily a health professional or someone in the field.<\/em>\u201d And you were the first person I thought of.  We met several years ago through a Facebook group I run. I think you were one of the first people that joined in the early days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tatyana:<\/strong> I think so! I learned about intuitive eating about two and a half years ago. And I joined [the group] probably two years ago. So it\u2019s been a while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alissa:<\/strong> It feels to me it\u2019s been more than two years, so that\u2019s surprising to me. So where are you on your journey?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tatyana: <\/strong>When you first learn something, it doesn\u2019t always sink in. When I first learned about [Intuitive Eating], I was still in a weight loss mindset and I thought, \u201cOh, this is a way for me to maintain my weight loss.\u201d I\u2019d say it took me at least 6-8 months to fully embrace it and actually let go. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alissa:<\/strong> Which is very common\u2026 If I\u2019m set in this belief that I have to lose weight to be healthy, accepted, or whatever it is, it\u2019s very common for Intuitive Eating to come along and for the mindset to transfer over in that transition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tatyana:<\/strong> It\u2019s funny because I actually remember when I was in my hardcore weight loss mindset, I saw a post about Intuitive Eating and I got so mad about it. I was like, okay, that works for naturally skinny people, but what about us fat people? It doesn\u2019t work for us. So I got mad at it and made sure to block the account because I thought, \u201cthis doesn\u2019t work for everybody.\u201d  And now I just wish I had learned sooner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HOW TO BREAK FREE FROM DIET CULTURE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Alissa:<\/strong> I hear this a lot, but what do you think kind of flipped for you that allowed you to fully embrace and move forward with walking away from the diet culture and from potential weight loss?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tatyana:<\/strong> I actually remember the exact day where I decided this is too much for me. I was dog-sitting and eating my pre-organized food. And I was just like, why am I still eating this? Even though I\u2019m not necessarily hungry. And I was like, Oh, well I can do some intuitive eating and just like stop eating when I\u2019m full. And then I had posted about it on Instagram and a friend of mine from high school reached out to me and she\u2019s like, let me tell you about Intuitive Eating. Here\u2019s the book, just read into it. And I was like, wow, thanks. That\u2019s very helpful information. And I remember first getting into it and being like, this sounds nice, but I\u2019m not going to do it exactly how they say to do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I joined a six-day challenge of another Instagram person about decluttering and giving up diet culture<\/a> and allowing yourself to crave all this food. And it was still very impacted by my diet mindset. And then as I was reading the intuitive eating book, I kind of was like, oh my gosh this makes so much sense how we were just stuck to believe that this is the only way of living! And as I was going through the book and following the steps, I just found myself being a lot happier because before, my weight wasn\u2019t exactly where I wanted it to be. So every day it was a struggle and I was not happy with my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And once I kind of transitioned out of that, I found more and more happiness and I was like, all right, I am never going back! I don\u2019t think there\u2019s ever been a day since that I was like, all right, I\u2019m starting a new diet. I think I\u2019ve been totally diet-free ever since, despite the occasional, like I kind of want to count my calories. It\u2019s been hard, but really, really fulfilling, I would say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EXPLORING NEW PATHS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Alissa: <\/strong>Yeah, so I would love to hear more from you. So it\u2019s been about two years since you were like, okay, I\u2019m giving up dieting and really getting into this intuitive eating. So what would you say are some of the impacts? I know you mentioned just being so much happier. Are there other impacts in your life that you\u2019ve noticed?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tatyana<\/strong>: So I think the biggest thing that I learned from intuitive eating is to stop letting society and other people\u2019s opinions dictate my life. And so because of that, I\u2019ve been able to express my life beyond just body positivity. I\u2019m very vocal about sexuality. I\u2019m polyamorous, which is not a lifestyle that many people agree with. And I\u2019m super open about that \u2013 with how I dress, what I do, what I wear. So it\u2019s really impacted my life in many different ways beyond just diet culture. I\u2019m just free to be, as my profile says, unapologetically me and just doing things that make me happy, whether or not they\u2019re socially acceptable. So I\u2019ve come out as pansexual and polyamorous. I\u2019m very vocal about the topic of sex and making it an un-taboo subject. These things are part of life and I\u2019m just so tired of people living in a shell of what they think they should be when life could be so much more! It\u2019s so expansive!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like why not explore it all? Pole dancing, for example\u2026 a lot of people have very negative opinions about it. But I mean it\u2019s such a great sport and embracing that sexuality is really important. I feel like, especially for women, because we\u2019re constantly told that we have to be hush hush about everything and we get subject to a lot of discrimination. Just talking about, for example, female masturbation \u2013 it\u2019s not a subject. And I\u2019m just like, why, why aren\u2019t we talking about these things? They\u2019re so important and everybody does it, you know? So through intuitive eating, I see it as a kickstart to all of these expansive parts of life. And it\u2019s just been super great and I\u2019m just loving every minute of it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alissa: <\/strong>I love that. I feel like that speaks so much to when you start to question things, like your beliefs around food and body size. Like you mentioned with polyamory, it\u2019s like wait\u2026why is there just this one way? And how did this become the \u201cdefault\u201d or \u201cnormal\u201d way, and why? And you start to question everything even more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tatyana<\/strong>: Yeah, that\u2019s totally my model. I\u2019m a question everything person. I was actually talking to someone the other day and they were talking about their favorite color. And I\u2019ve said to them \u2013 but I want to know why it\u2019s your favorite color? Or why is your favorite food the way it is? I just love to question everything and I\u2019ve always been kind of that type of person who pushes standards a little bit. I remember in high school, I would wear different things. I wore tutus to school because I felt like it. So I\u2019ve always been kind of wanting to push the norm, but now even more. I just love to question things and I love to push boundaries. It\u2019s just part of who I am. And now I\u2019m just doing it without feeling guilty about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LIVING UNAPOLOGETICALLY<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Alissa:<\/strong> I guess that brings me to my next question. You have on your profile \u201cunapologetically me\u201d which is funny because before I asked you to come onto this, I hadn\u2019t actually even seen that. And I was like, oh wait, this is just so perfect. What does being unapologetic in your life mean to you? Or what does that look like to you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tatyana<\/strong>: To me, it\u2019s not looking for someone else\u2019s idea of who I am. It\u2019s only looking at what I want to be. And if that doesn\u2019t match how someone else wants to see me\u2026 tough tater tots! I mean, I\u2019m the only person living my life. I\u2019m the only person doing what I want to do. It\u2019s just basically living my life and not letting anyone tell me what I need to be. And only looking inward, I mean, generally looking inward for what I want, because no one else can tell me what I want or what I can do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So whether that means being a fat pole dancer\u2026no one can tell me I can\u2019t do that. No one can tell me that I can\u2019t do anything because of my size. But a lot of that was my own internal voice saying, \u201cYou can\u2019t do these things.\u201d So now I\u2019ve told that voice, \u201cThat\u2019s from society, don\u2019t listen to that. Do everything you can.\u201d And if you can\u2019t, just try it in a different way or keep trying, you know? I have no one else to be, so why not be totally 100% me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alissa:<\/strong> I love that. Was there an area of your life that this had an impact on that kind of surprised you that you didn\u2019t think would change when you started your journey a couple of years ago?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tatyana:<\/strong> I definitely didn\u2019t think I\u2019d be where I am. I didn\u2019t expect to have multiple romantic partners. I didn\u2019t expect to be able to share, like for example, my naked body. I had someone paint my naked body for an art display, like seven feet tall. And I used to be so insecure about having body rolls and now I\u2019m just like, oh my gosh, it\u2019s so normal! Why am I scared? And I just feel like I\u2019m not scared of anything anymore. I\u2019m not intimidated by my naked body, and I\u2019m constantly trying to tell other people to embrace what they have because there\u2019s actually nothing wrong with it. I feel like I\u2019m the same person, but totally different in some ways, because I never thought I would get to embrace my life this much and just do everything!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FOCUSING ON POSITIVE INFLUENCES<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Alissa: <\/strong>Right. It\u2019s that expansiveness like you said before. In yesterday\u2019s conversation with Christina, she talked about how people are living like they\u2019re in a studio and then they go to a two-bedroom apartment. It\u2019s amazing. And she\u2019s like, no, no, no. There\u2019s more like, there\u2019s so much more than a two-bedroom apartment!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tatyana: <\/strong>I know I watched that one and everybody you\u2019ve had so far has been so amazing. And every time I listened to them say something, I\u2019m thinking, \u201cYes, yes, that\u2019s exactly it!\u201d And it\u2019s funny because I get so intimidated because I am more of an average person, but everything they say, I\u2019m like, \u201cYes, this is how I\u2019ve been living my life.\u201d Like, how is this different from everybody else? Because this is how I\u2019ve been living my life for the last two years. I\u2019ve only been listening to people who also have a really open mind and everything. So then when I see things like old TV shows that make fat jokes, I\u2019m like, wait, these still exist?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alissa:<\/strong> I know there are some things now that I just can\u2019t watch, like things I used to maybe love. I\u2019m just like, oh no, because it\u2019s just so in your face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tatyana:<\/strong> Cause if you watch like a lot of nineties stuff and all the jokes are surrounded by like mocking other people. Whether it was transphobia, fatphobia, or homophobia, you\u2019re just like \u201cummm this is not ok.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alissa: <\/strong>Totally. I think this is so inspiring hearing from you because even a lot of us in the field have gone through our own journey, but I know my clients feel very alone, like no one in their life is going through this. And it\u2019s inspiring to hear from someone like yourself who in two years, which in the scheme of things is not that long, so much has shifted for you to just have come into your own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tatyana:<\/strong> I even went on this interview without any makeup and like you could ask my college friends\u2026 I would not leave the dorm without makeup. They would get so annoyed and be like, \u201cOh my God, just stop!\u201d And I\u2019d be like, \u201cBut I have zits and stuff!\u201d And now I\u2019m just like, \u201cYeah, there\u2019s like a ton of people watching me with no makeup, that\u2019s fine.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SPEAK UP ABOUT YOUR JOURNEY<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Alissa: <\/strong>Showing up. I love it. Last question for you. For people who are maybe in this journey and still struggling to get to this place where they can embrace themselves unapologetically, what advice or words of wisdom would you want to share with them? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tatyana:<\/strong> Yes, I\u2019ve thought about this one! So my main thing I want everyone to know is to not be silent because I thought for so long that no one really cared about what I was saying about this. And over the last two years, I\u2019ve had so many people message me individually and either be like, \u201cHey, I\u2019ve really liked what you said. It\u2019s really spoken to me.\u201d Or \u201cHey, I haven\u2019t seen you post in a while. What\u2019s been going on?\u201d And they aren\u2019t people who comment on the posts. They\u2019re just people who messaged me directly. So even if you don\u2019t think people are listening, people are listening. So the more we can promote this idea and the more we can question things around diet culture, the more people are going to see. And sure there\u2019s going to be some fight back, but always watch for those silent listeners, because they\u2019re some of the most important people you\u2019ll impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, don\u2019t be afraid to do it from an individual level. Like it\u2019s great what all of you guys do with your big communities and everything, but just the individual level can make such an impact on other people\u2019s lives. Like just my mom and I have a lot of discussions about it. And even if I change one person\u2019s mind and help them live a happier life, that\u2019s fulfilling for me. I care about the masses, but doing work at an individual level is so important. And I think a lot of people forget about that. So you know, if you need a community, definitely find one, but also don\u2019t be afraid to just be loud and be you, because those people need it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SHOWING UP AND INSPIRING OTHERS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Alissa:<\/strong> I love that. I think to your point, often this one-on-one level can happen. Even if it\u2019s not, you know, you blatantly explaining intuitive eating, but just people in your life seeing you live unapologetically, seeing show up with no makeup on, and not explaining or apologizing. It\u2019s just you being you. I\u2019ve had friends say this to me when we were away together for a week. And at the beginning of the week, they were like putting on makeup and I was not, but I didn\u2019t say anything about it. And at the end of the week, one of them actually did not put on makeup. And she told me, \u201cYou know, I was really inspired just by seeing you just like show up.\u201d So I think it\u2019s these little things that we don\u2019t always realize that people are watching and noticing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tatyana:<\/strong> Yeah even like, just the little comments. I saw a post yesterday of someone with \u201cgreat ways to motivate children to do things\u201d. And they had all these unhealthy snacks and the children had to do chores or whatever to earn them. And I commented on it and was like, \u201cHey, just so you know, this can create a really disordered relationship with food and blah, blah, blah.\u201d And maybe the original poster will get annoyed by that. I don\u2019t care. But it\u2019ll get people thinking because there\u2019s more than just one person reading those. And so, I try to do it in like a non-judgy sense like,  \u201cHey, just so you know\u2026\u201d or like, if there\u2019s like a fat person joke, I\u2019ll be like, \u201cHey, just so you know, this is a fatphobic joke.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And people will get mad at me, whatever. But I also know there\u2019s a lot of people who read it and are like, \u201cOh yeah, you\u2019re kind of right\u2026\u201d And they won\u2019t say anything, but I know they\u2019re there because they\u2019ve told me. It\u2019s so important to me because I\u2019ve always been one to stand out and if I\u2019m going to stand out, I might as well let others follow the lead. If they don\u2019t want to follow the lead, someone has to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alissa:<\/strong> Well, thank you so much. This was super inspiring and just so awesome to see your evolution over the past few years. And thank you so much for coming today and sharing your story and your wisdom. I really, really appreciate it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tatyana:<\/strong> Well, thank you for all that you do. I mean, I don\u2019t think I\u2019d be where I am without your Facebook group! There are so many, it\u2019s just a whole community and it\u2019s made me feel so welcome and it made the journey feel a lot more connected and less alone. So I\u2019m very, very thankful for it. And I invite people to it all the time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alissa:<\/strong> Yeah it\u2019s a community and it\u2019s so, so important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tatyana:<\/strong> It really is. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alissa:<\/strong> Well thank you again, Tatyana. And thank you everyone for watching. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Come along as I chat with Tatyana German, who’s spent the last two years navigating her way out of the constraints of diet culture. Tatyana reveals some truly motivating tales about how beginning with intuitive eating led to growth in numerous aspects of her life. Tune in to hear Tatyana discuss her journey from minimizing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":206,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-82","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-unapologetic-living"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenutritionnutrition.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenutritionnutrition.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenutritionnutrition.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenutritionnutrition.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenutritionnutrition.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thenutritionnutrition.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":207,"href":"https:\/\/thenutritionnutrition.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82\/revisions\/207"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenutritionnutrition.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenutritionnutrition.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenutritionnutrition.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenutritionnutrition.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}