If there is one macronutrient that I receive pushback on, it’s protein. That is because it can be hard to increase your protein intake, but that doesn’t mean it is without merit to do. If you want to feel good in your body and go throughout the day feeling strong and capable, you need protein, and that’s a fact.
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Key Takeaways
If You Want to Enjoy the Benefits of Protein, You Should:
- Understand the difference between knowledge and implementation when it comes to nutrition science
- Find a source of protein that works for you and your unique dietary needs
- Focus on balance and creating an atmosphere in which your body can thrive in longevity
The Power of Protein with Victoria LaFont
Victoria LaFont is an opera singer turned scientist. Her nutrition-focused copywriting and coaching have helped hundreds of clinicians go from burnout to career bliss. She is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Western States with a master’s degree in human nutrition and functional medicine and is passionate about helping women build strength through balanced nutrition and strength training.
Protein is Primary
Protein is incredibly important when it comes to preventing age-related muscle loss, overall health, and longevity. The Latin root of the word protein even means primary, as it is essential to your body’s ability to build muscle and function throughout the day.
Victoria is passionate about letting the research speak for itself. She has seen firsthand how eating a balanced, protein-rich diet, and lifting heavy stuff, has helped women thrive for longer and avoid sarcopenia, or age-related muscle loss. If you want to protect your muscles for as long as possible, protein is the key you have been looking for.
Making Balance Trendy
Victoria’s hope is that one day, balance becomes trendy. Women being afraid of their bodies changing is a billion-dollar industry, and the way society projects the way a woman is supposed to look prevents us from having perspective about our own body autonomy.
Don’t let protein scare you. Instead, work to understand the science, research, and benefits behind protein so that you can bring your body to a place of balance and make decisions about your health based on what is right for your body.
Are you ready to embrace the power of protein? Share your thoughts on this episode with me in the comments below.
In This Episode
- Why you need to apply the basics when it comes to sports nutrition (14:28)
- Learn about sarcopenia and why it is such a growing problem for women (19:31)
- Debunking common myths around protein and getting back to the research (28:33)
- How to get started on increasing your protein intake if the numbers scare you (35:17)
- Tips for focusing on the benefits of protein that have nothing to do with the scale (44:42)
Quotes
“If we are going through those actions, we have to fuel that, or else we have detrimental outcomes. Not just in the gym but in our life.” (16:09)
“I want my feet to stay healthy and I want to put on as much muscle mass as possible before I hit menopause because I want to stay functional as I age.” (22:21)
“I hope and pray that balance becomes trendy and sexy and sells a lot of products. Because really that is what we need. And part of that balance is we have to intake enough protein for physiological function.” (29:41)
“Most women who are after this formula of increasing dietary protein and picking up some heavy stuff, weight gain, that’s the thing you want to see on the scale, but it’s so much different than what we have been taught.” (48:46)
“My job is to present a balanced point of view to people and support other practitioners who are doing that.” (55:56)
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Protein Intake and Preventing Muscle Loss w/ Victoria LaFont
Steph Gaudreau
If we were to ever meet in person, it wouldn’t be long before I probably would start talking about the benefits of eating more protein and lifting weights. I know I’m very fun at parties. Today on the podcast, we’re exploring why protein intake is so important, especially when it comes to preventing age-related muscle loss and subsequent effects of health and longevity, why the recommended daily allowance for protein is simply far too low, and why women athletes over 40 really need to focus on protein intake.
Steph Gaudreau
If you’re an athletic 40, something woman who loves lifting weights, challenging yourself, and doing hard shit, the fuel your strength podcast is for you. You’ll learn how to eat, train, and recover smarter, so you build strength and muscle, have more energy, and perform better in and out of the gym. I’m strength nutrition strategist and weightlifting coach Steph Gaudreau. The Fuel Your Strength podcast dives into evidence-based strategies for nutrition training and recovery, and why once you’re approaching your 40s and beyond, you need to do things a little differently than you did in your 20s. We’re here to challenge the limiting industry narratives about what women can and should do in training and beyond. If that sounds good, hit subscribe on your favorite podcast app and let’s go!
Steph Gaudreau
Welcome back to the show. Thanks so much for being here with me today. I’m so excited to welcome my very special guest, Victoria Lafont, she has a master’s degree in human nutrition and is a science writer. And as somebody who is very involved in the world of sports nutrition. Today on this show, we’re going to be digging through a bunch of different topics. But specifically looking at protein intake, if there is one macronutrient that I hear so much pushback on it is protein. And that’s because you know it sometimes it’s hard to increase your protein intake. But that doesn’t mean that it is without merit to focus on. And so on the show, we’re digging through what does the science say about the RDA for protein? Is it enough? Once you active athletic woman, especially once we hit our 40s really need? And we’ll also be diving into a couple of other topics, specifically, some of the challenges that come with relaying scientific content to the general population. Why is it so difficult for us to really understand when we see headlines? What do they really mean? What is the strength of that evidence saying? And how do we then interpret it and put it into practice in our own lives? So I’m really excited that Victoria is here to help us walk through these topics.
Steph Gaudreau
Before we get into this episode, two things. Number one hit subscribe on that podcast app. And number two, if you have been struggling with your nutrition, you’re 40 something you know, you can’t keep doing the same things that you did before. The Strength Nutrition Unlock program is here for you. This is for women who are looking to build muscle, increase your strength, boost your energy and perform better in and out of the gym. But you need guidance, you need a step-by-step plan, mentorship, customization, and you need support. This is a high-level program where you show up, put things into practice and take action. And that’s where you see the results. It was not cheap. And that’s because we’re here to offer you the very best support, guidance, and mentorship and really make it work for you in your life to apply and see if you’re qualified for this high-level program, including talking with someone from the team. Go ahead and head over to StephGaudreau.com/apply. Alright, without further ado, let’s hop into the show with Victoria Lafont.
Steph Gaudreau
Hey Victoria, welcome to the podcast. Hey, I’m so excited to be here. I’m so excited. We’re connecting as well. You’ve kind of been connected through the online space for a while you have kind of have run in some similar circles. And yet recently, we’ve bonded over talking about things like protein and training and getting strong and I just love those conversations. So I’m happy to have you here and we’re gonna dive into some more of that on the show.
Steph Gaudreau
Awesome. Yeah, before I got on, actually, it’s still sitting here next to me. I was like shoving my chicken lunch in my face. I was just like, yes. apropos.
Steph Gaudreau
Absolutely, you know, I think being a science-minded person, being in the world of, you know, in and around academia. Being in and around the world of understanding sports nutrition. All things I appreciate so much. And I think that this show today will hopefully give the listeners some insight as to, you know, what’s going on in a lot of these different areas. And I think we’re going to touch on a lot of stuff. But before we do sometimes I call this the superhero origin story. You know, tell us what, like, what do you do in your professional career? And how did you end up there? Give us kind of the journey, the character arc, if you will.
Victoria LaFont
Cool. Yes, I will be that superhero. That’s exciting.
Victoria LaFont
Yeah, so I actually, like got into this because I dropped out of college, I was an opera singer, dropped out. And I went to Hawaii to the Big Island, and I started to hitchhike. And I just landed at this raw food community. So these people, actually, I see them now on Instagram. It’s like this new generation of primal diet eaters. They’re like the raw meat freaks. I was totally one of those, like, the original kind of like, generation. We weren’t just eating meat, though, we would eat anything raw. And we were in the jungle in Hawaii. So we got a lot of good fruit and like that, but that was kind of my first introduction to like, nutrition, like, Hey, there’s this different way of eating and doing things like you can brush your teeth with raw honey. What I mean, now, you know, it’s like, I’ve read that in the research literature, there’s like legitimacy to that. But at that time, I had no idea. So that definitely piqued my interest. And then how I felt, I just felt like, wow, my body is very different eating. I mean, that was the extreme diet. But Whole Foods essentially, is what I’ve boiled it down to. And then I went through NTA, the Nutrition Therapy Association’s program in 2010.
Victoria LaFont
And from there just kind of never stopped. So I ended up teaching for them and writing for them. And then I went through the University of Western states master’s program for human nutrition and functional medicine. And now I’m teaching for them. I assistant teach a few different classes, but the main one for us is sports nutrition. With Tim Sharp, who I consider my mentor, I just adore him. And then in my, business I write, so I do nutrition, content, and copywriting for other professionals. And that’s just like, my favorite kind of amalgamation of getting to use all the science and my creative side during the copywriting, like for marketing and like, putting it all together is really fun for me. But my brain is very, research-based. Although like I said, when we were talking before, it does not come naturally to me. I’ve had to work really hard to foster that part of my mind, I’m like, should be out in the garden and in the woods in some like witchy Baba Yaga hut somewhere. So I didn’t my mind to it, because it’s important to me.
Victoria LaFont
I really dove in and like got invested in statistics and trying to understand like, Where does the information come from? Right, like, how can we make the best decisions possible?
Victoria LaFont
If we don’t know the genesis of where that information is coming from? So I think that’s why Tim lets me stick around the sports nutrition class.
Steph Gaudreau
Yeah, I was gonna ask as an opera singer, how much science did you have? You know you said you kind of like had this. This, you left a sort of academic world. But the leading up to that how much science background and training or classes did you have?
Victoria LaFont
Very little No, like, I think I had to take like a biology class. You know, like an algebra class. That was it. So before I went to AWS, I had to get prereqs there were these like, couple years in there where I was like, I’m going to be a nurse. And so I took all of these like beginning nursing classes. I can’t remember what year it was. So those got to transfer over when I started to UWS that, yeah, I had never taken biochemistry or organic chem, none of that. And it took me a long time to get through it was not a quick process. But I wanted it to be thorough as I like it.
Steph Gaudreau
What got you interested in sports nutrition snd by the way, this is like one of the most interesting story or you’re like I have started hitchhiking across Hawaii. For the most interesting story intro. But what brought you to be your interest in sports nutrition?
Victoria LaFont
Yeah, so I was disinterested in sports nutrition. I mean, I like to move like I definitely am very physical human, but I never like I just I don’t know it was never interested in like that direct application. So when I became a student at UWS, people were like sports nutrition, like Be on the lookout for that class. It’s like the hardest class you know, the professor’s such a hard ass, so I was like, okay, you know, like, I didn’t, I had no idea what I was looking into the reality is that like, he wanted people to learn the deep information, right like the like I’m saying like, where information comes from information like that, and that is still in the context of sports nutrition. So there was that, as part of that class, like, part of that class at University of Western states is you have to write a review paper. And particularly, the review has to be on sarcopenia. So we give students you know, all these different thesis statements based on sarcopenia, like underlying causes hormonal or sleep disturbances, or, you know, all these different factors. But the review is like, very meticulous, right? Like, the guidelines are specific. And we hold students to that, and I was held to that, but I’d love that, like, I went to grad school to learn how to do that for myself, because I wanted to directly access the research and, and get what I wanted to get from it.
Victoria LaFont
But then secondary to that there’s this like, purity to sports, nutrition. You know, there’s what I’ve seen, I mean, I’ve been in this field now for close to 15 years, it’s like, there’s kind of this like, sort of like amoebic ego in this world where it’s like, this is the best, and this is the best, and it’s like, okay, well, you know, you can like go a level under that. And people are bio individuals and different things for different people. And I think we’re all subscribers to that. But when you send an athlete down the field, they’re either gonna win or not. And there’s no in between, like your first place or your second place. And so the people that work in them, like the biochemistry of that world, don’t give a shit if something does not work. And they are happy to give up what they thought was true for what will actually work. And the only way that you can really accurately get there. I mean, you definitely see anecdotal stuff, right? I’m not saying that doesn’t exist. But the research is what gets you there. Right. So there’s this like, lack of ego a little bit, and I’m not sure that that’s an all circles, but in the circle that I’m privileged to be part of with this class. It’s like, they’re just going to do what works. And if it’s different than what they thought they’ll update. And that is so appealing to me, right? That, like, we’re gonna go for, like, what is the best what works rather than, like, what we’re trying to sell, what we’ve made our name around, what we have a reputation for, you know, it’s like, those are two very different things. So that is so appealing to me.
Victoria LaFont
And then I like to move right. So that kind of like, coincided with that part of me, like, every time this class comes up, and I, you know, of course, facilitator for it, I’m like, oh, I’m, like, more physical than normal, just because I’m like, in this culture, again, as being part of the class. So, yeah, all of that kind of put together. You know, it’s like, the biochemistry of it is fabulous. Do you really learn metabolism when you study sports nutrition? And it’s fascinating?
Steph Gaudreau
Absolutely. I have so many questions. Just yeah. Cool. You said they’re the first one, I think that comes to mind and I think that will really resonate with the listener is, that a lot of listeners to this show, like you like me, love being active, and I love to do all the things. You know, I have the term multi-passionate is not one that I invented, but I see a lot of multi-passionate, athletic people. Yeah, athletic women. And yet, there’s a disconnect often because these women don’t actually ever step on the field of competition. And so they have a really hard time conceptualizing that they are athletic, or athletes.
Steph Gaudreau
Or that the tenants, like tried and true super basics of sports nutrition, not that, you know, again, we’re learning new things all the time, but like so some of the things that were really a lot of robust evidence for, like really getting in there and applying some of those basics. They oftentimes think that that’s for those people, but not for me.
Victoria LaFont
Yeah, yeah.
Steph Gaudreau
What do you see with that? What are your feelings about that?
Victoria LaFont
That’s an awesome question. And like an awesome like, set of thoughts. Because that it’s, it is the majority of us, I feel that way. Right? Like I am with a man who is like, a collegiate football player. He’s been an athlete his whole life. He looks the part, you know, and I remember when we first got together, I was like, okay, dude, that’s like your thing. You know, like, I love it. And I love strength training and lifting weights, actually, for me was like, the first time in my life that I didn’t feel anxiety. He was like, Oh, this is how you feel anxiety. Amazing, but that never translated into like, I’m an athlete. So he ran an Ironman and I, like, you know, would do some training with him.
Victoria LaFont
And so I ran a sprint, just as like, well, if I’m training, I might as well run a sprint triathlon. And I remember seeing a picture of myself after that triathlon. And I was like, oh, my God, I am an athlete, like it finally, like, clicked in my brain. But it was years, of doing the actions of an athlete. Right. So I think what you’re saying is so widespread, that it’s like, we just, we have this idea, right? And I think it does, like, we’ve spoken about before, like, it ties into this, like, Inculturation of like, our bodies are supposed to look a certain way, or like, our bodies maybe don’t look like, quote, unquote, athletes body looks, you know, and so like, well, we’re not that. So we shouldn’t do what they do. But if we’re going through those actions, we have to fuel that, or else we have detrimental outcomes, not just in, let’s say, the gym, but like in our life. So yeah, that point is really, really important and I experienced that myself.
Steph Gaudreau
Yeah, it’s so common. Yeah. And that’s I bring it up. And, you know, that’s also why I use the term I’ve, I’ve shifted, you know, I know, you’re a copywriter, and you are very big into science writing. And I’ve shifted even subtly the language that I use, I used to say things like 40 Something, athletes. And now I say something like 40 Something athletic women.
Victoria LaFont
Uh huh, totally.
Steph Gaudreau
Because a lot of women do consider themselves athletic, they’re sporty, they love movement, they love all the things, but they don’t ever compete. And I even I personally am in a phase of my life where I’m not competing.
Steph Gaudreau
And I still, you know, have that sort of like, oh, well, I’m not competing, but I still am athletic. And I need to support the training that I’m doing. And I think that’s what I hear you saying is like, we have to kind of have that moment where we realize, Hey, I am challenging myself, I am putting myself through this training, I am training quite intentionally, I’m putting a lot of effort forward. And if I really want to support not only my performance but also my health in general. Yeah, there are certain things I have to have to pay more attention to, is what I’m hearing. I’ve never thought about that. That connection. I mean, even I knew I experienced it, but I’ve never thought about it like, oh, other women may be experienced this also. And then because of that disconnect, we don’t give ourselves what we need.
Victoria LaFont
So yeah, we have no actually, this is a part of it that like for me, helped me realize it is when you look at certain research studies they either want or they don’t want. Women, in particular, is this one study, I’m thinking women who do, like extreme exercise, that’s, that’s not the exact word that they use, but it’s like a, like a high level of exercise. And it’s three times or more of 30-minute sessions per week. It wasn’t even, like specified, and I was like, Wait for a second, that’s considered as a lot of movement. You know, they’re doing this for like, scientific research, right? They have to like, either bring people in or out based on those parameters. And it’s like, okay, so if you’re moving three times or more per week for more than 30 minutes, like, you are an athlete.
Victoria LaFont
If you want to call yourself, you know, like, whoever makes you feel most comfortable. But what that translates into is like, you have to eat enough food for that rest enough for that it’s the right type of food to like, make sure that you stay healthy in that state. But I think maybe sometimes women who are really active, they don’t realize that that connection is there.
Steph Gaudreau
Yeah, absolutely. One of the things you touched on is the kind of the focus of what your class is all about are some of the research and you mentioned the word sarcopenia, which some people know what that is. But I don’t know if everybody does. So talk to us a little bit about sarcopenia. And about why is such a problem. Yeah, and what are some of the things that people are doing, or not doing that’s making that progression? I guess worse, and then we’re really looking at in terms of health outcomes.
Victoria LaFont
Yeah, so I think you know, technically the definition is age-related loss of, of muscle mass and muscle strength, which are kind of two different things, but they’re combined and that definition. So it’s muscle loss. What we’re seeing though, is like in people as young as 18 and particularly women, right, this is the part that it’s like it gets really funky right? We have different hormonal, you know, environments in our body, we go through menopause, you know, we have these different changes, we have less muscle mass than then generally most males, we tend to have sarcopenia more severely and sooner than men in our lifespan. So the loss of muscle mass, right? Which doesn’t seem like a huge deal you like to hear it? It’s like, the words are just like, okay, you know, well, what does that really mean? Like, maybe that person’s smaller, what it translates into, and this is, like, the most potent example that I’ve discovered is I have a friend who right now is getting her nurse practitioner degree.
Victoria LaFont
And she knows that I help, you know, with this class at UWS, and that we, we teach really directly to sarcopenia. And that’s what they have to write their final paper on. And she sent me a text the other day, and she’s like, Hey, I just want you to know, I’m in my clinical rounds this weekend. And there’s this woman who she, you know, is in her 80s, she’s in the hospital, basically, like, has an illness that has made it, you know, so that she’s been there for a few weeks, like a prolonged period of time. And the amount of muscle mass that she’s lost has made it so that she can no longer even get out of bed by herself, you know, so it’s like, that’s the end range of what you see, with sarcopenia. The middle ranges are like, osteoporosis, you know, broken hips, which directly translates into mortality, right? It’s like, if we break a hip as we get older, our chances of living a functional longer life drastically decrease sleep disturbances, hormonal disturbances, functional loss, like, there’s inflammation, right?
Victoria LaFont
That’s like, it’s so big, I like forget about it, right? It’s like, they’re all these kinds of like chicken or the egg issues that pop up with sarcopenia. But ultimately, it’s like, we lose function. Right? And especially as we get older, it’s like, you know, kind of the, like, the number one thing we have to maintain is like healthy feet. So we can walk around, right? This is like geriatric medicine, like touching on this, but it’s, I like to think about it, I’m turning 40. This year, it’s like, my feet to stay healthy. And I want to put on as much muscle as possible before I hit menopause. Because I want to stay functional. as I age, like, if I’m 80, I hope I’m still pulling, you know, like, heavy deadlift off the floor, which is totally possible. And then if something does happen, we have this primary. That’s what I mean, protein means primary. Right? That’s, that’s, it’s like the root of that word. We have this shield that protects us, right? We have this like, a muscle shield.
Victoria LaFont
And yeah, the number one ways that, you know, to top ways to maintain muscle mass and to prevent that progression, like I said, even as young as 18 years, is protein intake and resistance training, right? So it’s pretty straightforward. Like, there are all these different inputs, like I said, but it’s basic is like, you have to drink water and stay hydrated is nutrition, you know, you got to do that. You’re gonna have problems, if you’re not hydrated, you will have some type of muscle wasting, especially as a woman, and especially by the time we hit 40, or 50. If we’re not paying attention to protein and our movement.
Steph Gaudreau
Yes, I am going to plus one, all of that. I think, you know, you read a lot of great points, obviously, you know, we’re all about that on this podcast. And there are, you know, we were talking off the air, about, you know, there’s just, I want people to enjoy or find satisfaction from their movement, right? I think like, even if you do hard things, you can find satisfaction in that, right. Like you can do uncomfortable things, or lift heavy things that are challenging is difficult, and still derive some, like I said, satisfaction is the best word I can come up with. But I also feel like sometimes, we, I in the pursuit of that and saying like, yes, you have autonomy, you always have autonomy about what you choose. But I think also sometimes we’re not having the tougher conversations around. I know that strength training might feel strange or unapproachable to you, for whatever reason, you might not know how to get started, how to begin where to go, and you might not feel necessarily welcomed or safe in some spaces. So there are a lot of barriers. And at the same time, what I hear you saying and I think what I’m trying to get across, at the same time, is it’s just one of those things that we kind of we have a half to do.
Victoria LaFont
We gotta do the thing. Yeah, I mean, you know, you always get to pick. But if you want to have an outcome that does not increase muscle aging as you age, you have to eat an adequate amount of protein and pick up some weight. Yeah, look, we take my beautiful and I adore my 75-year-old mom, and she goes bowling a few times a week. That’s not all that she does. Really. She picks up a pretty heavy dang bowling ball. She was a semi-professional bowler for years, which was just like, a super fun part. Yeah, she’s really cool. So just like an amazing bowler, she kicks my ass all over the lanes. But you know, it’s like she picks up a heavy bowling ball, you know, and it’s like, in her mind, she’s getting to go bowling, and she’s stoked. Well, in my mind, I’m like, keep picking up the bowling ball. Right? You know, or it’s like, in between her like, very regimented housecleaning schedule. Like she has some small tentacles that she’s picking up. It’s like, we’ve found ways to incorporate it like you’re saying into her life because she hates going to the gym. I actually forced her into training at one point, and she threatened me.
Victoria LaFont
It’s because she doesn’t feel safe or comfortable. So there are ways to do it. But it’s like, yeah, it’s like it was water, you have to drink water if you want to, you know, have these like amazing outcomes, being hydrated, like increased mental cognition and energy, like the top two, if you want to prevent sarcopenia, you’ve got to pick up a little bit of weight, and you have to eat the certain macronutrient Yes, the way it goes. And yeah, that can maybe kind of overcome those barriers is an important part of the work that you’re doing. Right, I see that.
Steph Gaudreau
And I think, you know, a lot of listeners to this show are, they’re sort of at the point where they’re like, I know, this stuff is important. And I’m, I want to make it more effective, or I want to eat in a way that’s going to be more supportive of the things that I want to do. And so I do give the listeners a lot of credit because I feel like they’re, they’re pretty much bought in. If I don’t get a lot of folks reaching out to me saying, you know, I just don’t see the value in things like lifting weights. And maybe that’s just the community that’s been cultivated over the years. And I’m not here to change everybody’s mind. But I hope that you know, folks will start to consider, like, sometimes we have to do things like do I always love eating vegetables. I mean, I like vegetables, but it’s not always my first natural choice. And I think, you know, sometimes we do sometimes have to make those decisions about what’s going to be health promoting.
Steph Gaudreau
And to your point, you know, it’s not always like, yeah, like lifting weights makes you feel badass, and you get muscles and like, that’s really cool. But there’s also this health and well-being element. And so I kind of want to shift into talking a bit more about protein here. Because even with things like energy availability, you know, sometimes people say or think, well, it’s just gonna affect, maybe I won’t hit a PR, or maybe I’m not maxing out my lifts or something. But we know that energy availability also affects health and well-being not just performance. So let’s kind of talk about protein because yeah, this is the one I get. I mean, I get a lot of pushback about carbs, as well as just another story for another day. But protein is one of those things that I’m hearing a lot of pushback about, as well.
Steph Gaudreau
Talk to the listener about, you know, what do we know about things like protein intake, the RDA, where we really need to be moving things, especially with what research is showing us?
Victoria LaFont
Yeah, yeah, I mean, like, we were talking about a little bit before we got on it’s like, like, like how you see like a set coming in when you’re surfing and it’s like, the big wave starts to come in and you’re like, oh, okay, it’s like I feel like I can see that happening right now that and I hope it does not peak and crash over but the trend of low protein coming and happening, which we’ve seen, it’s like I don’t know why we haven’t caught on to this yet. Maybe it’s just because I’m a little older. I’m like, we’ve gone through these cycles, like I grew up on snack wells and fat-free Fig Newtons and Alastor chips, you know, that make you sit your pants, right?
Victoria LaFont
It’s like, first it was low fat, you know, it’s like all of these like different cycles that we go through. It’s like at some point, I think, I hope, I pray that like, you know, balanced becomes trendy and sexy and sells a lot of products because really, that is what we need. And part of that balance is we have to intake enough protein for physiological function, like the bottom line, that is it your body runs on protein, it’s just basic biochem actually, last night, my husband and I were sitting down to dinner and we had this meal which I’m you know reheating today and eating for lunch, but it was like a chicken thigh and asparagus and some salad and potatoes.
Victoria LaFont
Like just a bunch of food too, like we’re big, weighty folks, you know. And so I like digging in and like as I’m eating, I’m like, this is like a detoxification meal right here. And he’s like, what are you talking about, like, juice and this and that. And I was like no way. I was like the basis of all detoxification, medical term biotransformation in the body is protein. The base of all enzymatic function is protein, the base level antibody function, which has been incredibly apropos the past few years is protein, like, the base of muscle protein synthesis, obviously, is protein, it’s like, we have to have it for so many physiological assumptions that it’s like before we even get to the conversation about like, which is one of my favorite conversations how like badass it feels to pick up heavy weight and get muscley. It’s like, well, first of all, we’ve got to make like cell walls and like skin, and antibodies and enzymes. And oh, yeah, hormones are pretty important.
Victoria LaFont
Like, all of those things are based on proteins. It’s like a science experiment. That is our biochemistry runs on that. So the RDA barely even covers that. Right? The point is eight grams per kilogram per day, right? It’s like it’s, it is not optimal, an optimal measurement, it’s just not right. So it’s like, we have a whole history of that, that we can see, it’s pretty black and white, right? It’s like, things get kind of like mushy when they get in that trend lens, right? So we can look at like this little, you know, finger, that little finger offshoot of like, well, maybe why a lower protein diet would be optimal in this area or that area. But it’s like, overall, we have to look at physiological functions first, right. So it’s like, just to cover that you need more than what the RDA recommends, then if you would like to have like, really like solid function. Like, I know, the word optimal, I have a love-hate relationship with but like, if you want to, like feel good, and feel strong in your body and feel capable, like strong and like go throughout, you know, activities of daily living in a more capable way, you have to have much more than what the RDA recommends.
Victoria LaFont
So I actually I know, like ISSN has like a certain like, kind of range, which I actually do not have memorized like 1.1 to…
Steph Gaudreau
1.4 to 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram per day.
Victoria LaFont
That is, I mean, that’s legit. And that for like to get up around like the 2.2 grams per kilogram per day, for somebody who does want to maximize muscle protein synthesis, like put some muscle on their body, you know, it’s like, you go even a little bit higher, but like, I’m guessing part of what they’re laying out in that range is just physiology, is not athletic, right, or any type of like March change, it’s just like, you’ve got to make the enzymes that like, break down toxins and get them out of your body. That is a protein that does that. So I could feel on and on and on. But like, that’s kind of the main thing. It’s like if we want to lessen inflammation, contrary to not even popular belief, but to trend belief, if we want our enzymatic function to work correctly, to create, you know, the antibodies that we need, the hormones that we need, I would say, baseline right would be the 1.4 grams per kilogram per day. And goodness gracious, yes, it would go higher than that.
Steph Gaudreau
Yeah, and there’s, there’s some, some more recent research, especially around women, and this is mostly been done in premenstrual women, that’s more in the depending on the type of sports, we have very endurance sports, we have resistance training and strength, strength training, and all that sort of stuff like that we’re seeing upwards of, you know, a starting point view somewhere between 1.6 and 1.8. Right in that range. And so what a lot of people here is getting out their calculator to get out their phone calculator, they start plugging in the numbers, and they freak out. Mm-hmm. And this is where I think, you know, we have this…information is not implementation.
Steph Gaudreau
Right. And so I think this is one of the reasons why people sometimes struggle with well, you know, we have this pretty robust body of science about things like muscle protein synthesis, what we mean in order to make muscle tissue, recoup, repair and recover muscle, etc. And then they run the numerical calculation and they think there’s no fucking way. Okay? What if I’m, what if I’m eating half of that? And then they think this is not going to work? It’s going to be too hard. I don’t even know how I would do it. And I think this is where things like coaching and practicality come in around how do we make this stuff happen? So do you ever run into that when you’re sort of working with students? Or you’re having this conversation where people, they see that number and they’re just like, I don’t even know how this would be possible?
Victoria LaFont
Totally. Yeah. 100%? Yeah, it’s like, I think also because, you know, we eat the kind of foods that we eat, and we sort of, like, get used to that pattern. And so it’s like, all of a sudden, yeah, if you go from zero to 50, it feels so out of reach. I mean, you make a great point, it’s like, implementing it is a lot different than learning about it. And yes, absolutely. I mean, I’ve experienced that, until I like started to think about all the protein-dominant foods that I can incorporate into my diet. And then I was like, score, like, those are delicious, awesome food. And then it flipped to where I was like, Okay, I like don’t need that much protein, it’s still important for me to like, eat fibrous foods, which is an important part of this conversation also, that, I think would be great to touch on, but it’s like, yeah, absolutely.
Victoria LaFont
You know, it’s like, we’d like to wake up and, like, I didn’t even think to, like, oh, I’m gonna put like whey protein in a smoothie that I have in the morning, or I’m gonna, like, make sure to, you know, think about like, Okay, how many grams of protein are in an egg, you know, versus like, if I had toast and peanut butter, right? You know, or we all think that nuts are protein rich. They’re not protein-rich, but they’re much more fat-rich than they are to read, you know. So it’s like, starting to kind of understand. And this is important too, right, it’s like, we can go from like, I can’t do this to like, I’m obsessed with doing this. And it’s like, if we just start to think, this is how I’ve taught and this is how we eat in our house and I think what works best for a lot of people is like, just consider what’s protein dominant, and try to get that in at every meal. And if you have a snack, try to incorporate a protein dominant food into that snack, you know, those foods are all over the place.
Victoria LaFont
Cottage cheese, eggs, sardines, anchovies, chicken, beef, beef sticks, salmon sticks, and edamame. A, I’m a huge, huge fan of soy, it’s the only protein-dominant plant food that exists. You know, so it’s like having those foods on hand and starting to just like take over just a protein dominant food is going to be a part of this, this time of eating. That is such a drastic increase for most people that like they almost get to where they might get to where they need to be with that.
Steph Gaudreau
Absolutely. And I’m glad you brought up nut butter and peanut butter and almond butter. And like all very wonderful, delicious foods. But we have we sort of you know, you think about marketing, food labeling. You go into a store, and you see these things advertised as a good source of protein. Right, right. What does that actually mean? What does it mean?
Victoria LaFont
Totally! Yeah, absolutely. Right. Yeah. And when you look at the actual macronutrient breakdown of a night, it’s like two to one. Fat to protein. Yeah, I think just becoming familiar with what a protein dominant food is, is important in this conversation. Hmm, absolutely. And then on the kind of the other side of that, right, it’s like part of what we really stressed when we teach is like when you do increase the amount of protein that you eat, it’s also really important to increase the number of foods that you eat that are high in potassium and fiber, right? So it’s like, basically, what it boils down to is like meat.
Victoria LaFont
There are protein-dominant dairies, right? And the egg is about half that half protein, I think it’s like seven, seven or 16, six, depending on the type of egg you get, you know, and it’s like, and fruits and vegetables, grains, legumes, like the fibrous foods, right? So that promotes the gut health that we need to also kind of work against muscle wasting sarcopenic tendencies as we age, we can definitely have an imbalance in the microbiota that which is this sort of like, very like mind twisting paradoxical response, where protein can affect gut microbiota in a negative way if it’s not paired with other foods in the diet. And then that can actually lead to muscle wasting in and of itself. It’s like, we can see that, but you just like eat a mixed diet. Right? That’s where I like always come back to like, hopefully, someday, like, a balanced diet will be trendy, like we’re gonna get there someday. Because there’s a reason we need that balance. Like we evolved with those foods for our bodies to work in a certain way. And they work really, really well most of the time. If that is the base.
Steph Gaudreau
Yeah, yeah. I was gonna say a moment of silence for all of us that were basically born in the late 70s to early 80s. We’re, you know, the young, the very young Gen X or elder millennials because I feel like we’ve been through it all. We’ve seen the low fat of the 80s. We’ve seen the low carb now and we’re just like we’ve been through the wringer.
Victoria LaFont
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And yeah, so I’m like, oh, gosh, I would love to talk to you about low carbohydrate diet at some point. It’s like, the carbohydrate is what feeds. I mean, this is just one small aspect, but it’s like, that is what feeds are, like, herd of amazing creatures that live inside of us that work every day to like, lower inflammation, give us micronutrients, basically, like modulate every system in our body that, you know, the microbiome, that’s, that is what they eat, I think about it is like, I have to feed the cows. But like many cows that live inside of me, and it’s especially important, yeah, if we want to maintain function through, you know, intact functional muscles, you know, skeletal muscles and avoid that, that muscle wasting tendency. We have to eat carbohydrates, that which mean for us and them.
Victoria LaFont
But yeah, that that trend is, it is difficult to watch, the effect that it has on the population, essentially, like looking at it from a nutritional standpoint, or, you know, scientific standpoint, clinically, I mean, it just wrecks people, and it’s hard to see, like, we have been conditioned to like, have this like, hyper-awareness as women of our bodies and the way that we look. And there’s all this fear around that, right? You know, it’s like, so it makes sense that we get drawn into that more easily. I guess my work, I try so hard to just push against that. And hopefully, bring us back to a place of balance. Or even like, actually, I’m at the point. Now, I feel very proud to say like, when I get on the scale, and I’ve gained some weight, I’m like, Yes. Like my muscle mass is increased a little bit. And when I lose some weight, I’m like, oh, man, yeah, I haven’t, like been eating as much protein and lifting as heavy as I normally do. Like, this script has flipped. Yes. Such a relaxed, joyful place to live. This gives us an outlook that I think we don’t have, when we’re in that, like, I’m afraid. I don’t know where to turn, you know, the trend is kind of there to fill in that vacuum. It’s a bummer to see that, for sure.
Steph Gaudreau
Yeah, one of the things that people ask me about all the time, and my own kind of story is, well, once you started lifting weights, did you know, do you lose a bunch of weight, etc. Because we, we hear that’s a very common, you know, body composition, or muscle mass, muscle mass gain, things like that. But the fat loss, like all these things, and I don’t talk about it a lot, but I gained 20 pounds over the, you know, it took a while. But I had come into strength training, from endurance training.
Steph Gaudreau
Definitely, in hindsight, existing in a low energy availability state, not just for days, you know, a couple of days, a couple of weeks, we’re talking about months and years, had really started to lose muscle mass. And that was, that was where I walked into the gym at. And so yeah, I put on weight I gained muscle. And along with that, sometimes if you are coming in in a really deprived state, there might also be a little bit of body fat gain as well, that goes along with that. But people get really freaked out. They’re like, oh, like, I was kind of on the leaner side, lower body fat side, when I’m getting in the gym, I’m eating more protein, I’m eating more overall.
Steph Gaudreau
I’m lifting heavier like my muscle mass is increasing. But sometimes there’s a, you know, a small amount of body fat gain that comes along with that. And that element has been really difficult as well, I think to discuss in and around the community. So I don’t know if you have any thoughts on that in your own story, or if you’ve seen things like that. It’s like, even if we’re getting a lot of benefits. I feel so much better. I hear this all the time, I feel so much better in every way.
Steph Gaudreau
Better Energy, better sleep, better mood, better sex drive, and drive better strength better this better that but the scale is either not gone down or maybe I have a little bit of a little bit more body fat than I had before. It’s just, that it can really negate the whole conversation. And I wonder if you can share any thoughts or experiences on that?
Victoria LaFont
Yeah, it kind of just makes me so sad. I’m sure men deal with it too. But I’m not in a male body. It’s like I just see so many females deal with that. And it’s like, yeah, I felt that for sure. It’s actually, it’s like really was like a beautiful experience for me to be around these like old school donut binging. I mean, like, don’t use that word lightly. Like people who just like, love to eat a lot of food, love to eat heavy weights, love big bodies, like, that is the culture of weightlifting that I got introduced to incredibly supportive, accepting humble, just love being in the gym and hanging out. And it’s like, that is such a, like a balm for the like, bullshit. Like, you have to look this certain way the skill has to say this thing. We like to believe that you know, it’s like, you can only be told something or see something on a magazine or a billboard, or, you know, sold it so many times until you’re like, that’s true.
Victoria LaFont
And actually, I feel so grateful for the like, I see younger women, we live in an area of Boston, where there are universities all around us, and I see the younger women around and it’s like, that, I think is starting to change a little bit like younger women are, like, seem more comfortable in their bodies, they have different body image, like, you know, visualizations that they’re seeing and accepting in their own bodies. I’m like, Yes, oh, my God, you know, like, if the skill goes up, maybe they didn’t even weigh themselves. Like, maybe that’s not even part of their, you know, like experience or if they’re close to the little tighter, it’s not that they’re bad, or they’ve done something wrong, or that it’s a bad experience. It’s like, just part of living in a body. And as you’re saying, it’s like when everything else is working better. And that’s happening, like, maybe that’s what’s supposed to happen. And yeah, it does happen. It’s like, you know, the again like to go back to like, the science experiment of the body. It’s like, it runs on nutrients. Fat is one of those.
Victoria LaFont
So is protein, right? So like, our muscles are the like, sink of amino acid stores in our body. It’s like, as I said before, that is the backbone for everything. It’s like, yes, sometimes those things coincide and like your suit jacket gets a little bit tighter. Is it always going to be that way? If that’s where your body is the most balanced? Maybe you get a bigger suit jacket? Are you getting your taken out? And it’s like, wonderful. You know, it’s like you get to live longer, have a better sex drive like you’re saying it’s like all of these things get to work better. But I do think that that infiltration and the fear that that puts into us, it prevents us from having perspective around that. And it’s yeah, it’s a total bummer. So I guess, for me, yeah, the antidotes for that was being around weightlifters right. And seeing like getting heavier to them. That’s what they’re after.
Victoria LaFont
I also gained 15 pounds over the pandemic, because we were just here in our apartment, we had weights because my husband’s a trainer. And so we were like, Screw it, okay, well, you can’t go anywhere. I posted this actually on my Instagram page, pictures in my bra and underwear, because we were like, Hey, this is just what we’re gonna do. For the next six months, we just like paid attention to protein, and we lifted some heavy ass weights, and I gained 15 pounds. But while I gained that 15 pounds, my body did change, like I put on muscle. And that is when that shift happened, where I was like, Whoa, for me. And I would guess for most women who are after this, you know, this like kind of formula of increasing their dietary protein and, and picking up some heavy stuff. Weight gain. It’s like, that’s, that’s the thing that you want to see on the scale. But it’s so much different, than what we’ve been taught.
Steph Gaudreau
Yeah, so, so, so much different. Absolutely. Yeah. And the scale doesn’t tell the full story. And I mean, I just always, you know, it’s hard to tell someone to stop doing something that they’re so habituated to just something almost made up a new word. Love it. But you’re habituated to it. And it’s been a huge part of your routine. And I get it, I was that person. And this is one of the things that I just had to kind of make amends with, I guess, over my when I started lifting weights and strength training and eating more and now it’s it’s a nonissue. It’s just not something I do. But I think it’s it’s something that can really derail the progress and the positive changes if you’re only that’s really the only metric that you’re putting weight, no pun intended into. You know, it’s kind of got it’s like the final determinant of whether or not this is working. And that right there, I think is a problem.
Victoria LaFont
Yeah, it’s like the determinant needs to be like, how do you feel when you lay down to go to bed at night, like relaxed and stoked and sleepy and you’ve got energy when you wake up in the morning. And, you know, it’s like, can you like to bend down and pick up your kids and feel capable of that? It’s like, yeah, that but that’s just not what sells diet plans and, you know, all the like products that are set up in a culture that I mean, it’s a billion dollar industry, for women to be terrified of their bodies changing to be any bigger, or, you know, changing and really in any way other than just to get smaller and smaller and smaller, and especially powerful. So yeah, it’s a big push to go against that. And I think the part that’s hardest for me is like, there is also this like, kind of like, a section of, of like influencers or science influencers, where it’s like, it’s, I don’t think that is the like connector, but like, viewing protein as like, like decreasing protein as a way to, like, have longevity or, you know, to like, change your genetic expression or, you know, to like decrease inflammation, right?
Victoria LaFont
It’s like, there are scientific studies that do show that mainly in rats, actually, only, I would say only, like 95% plus of this that laser and rodents, but at what cost is really the question, right? So it’s like, do we want to live to be 90, but not be able to function? Which is really the balance? Or do we maybe want to live to be 85? And like, be a total badass, like go-getters. That is what the like whole story is, so only to approach, you know, one macronutrient from this one perspective, without putting it into this context, which is our life by the way. The context is our life from birth until death, right? It’s like, how it’s going to affect us, you know, overall, seems, seems very irresponsible to me. So I think part of you know, research interpretation and communicating that to people is like, okay, yes, there can be this one, like, you know, one aspect of it that does show like, you know, an outcome from a decrease in protein, say, but like, how does that play into the larger body of research? And how does that play into human life? We have to look at that.
Steph Gaudreau
Absolutely, it’s, uh, yeah, there’s a lot of things that end up becoming very trendy, or popular, or they’re sort of the, what the mainstream is nudging toward, and at the same time, you’re right, there’s a lot of nuances there. There’s a lot of not necessarily being well versed in understanding what the science is saying in terms of even what’s being communicated to us as we’re reading an article, you know, an article in some kind of publication, not primary literature, journal articles, but we’re reading something on I don’t know, outside online, or we’re reading something on wherever it is just the news. And, and not necessarily understanding that there are different layers that go into research and kind of the strength of that research.
Steph Gaudreau
And, yes, it’s really tough. It’s an A lot of people don’t have they, you know, for they may have gone through high school and had a couple of science classes. And that’s where it ended, even if they went on to secondary, or tertiary education. And that’s fine. You don’t have to be that interpreter. But I think that there’s, that’s the challenge is how do we weigh all of those things? And that’s what I hear you saying, I think is sure, maybe it’s something some, some study here showed a benefit for longevity over here. But what about all of the other negatives or all the other challenges to that research or what that research wasn’t showing?
Victoria LaFont
Or what wasn’t included in the conversation. It’s like, you know, generally when we write a review article, or we read a review article, it’s like, we’re reading it on a certain subject. And we want to find the like, things that support that stance. I mean, that’s just human nature, we have bias, it’s like, we just do. So it’s like, like in our class, we encourage students, okay, when you are writing your paper on sarcopenia, let’s say we’re looking at like the microbiota has an effect on the sarcopenic tendency. That’s like one of our thesis statements that we give to students find research that supports and negates whatever stance you’re taking, like, do the full story, right? That’s, that is the stuff right there, like that allows us to make decisions that are the best decisions for a human population. Right? And in that same vein, it’s like people, you know, we shouldn’t have to be research researchers. We shouldn’t all have that job. Like I need a lawyer sometimes or like, you know, whatever, you know, another profession like professional people that I have my life, it’s like, I don’t want everybody to be like, having to do this as their job.
Victoria LaFont
But I do think that people who do it as their job, it’s like, that’s why I want the trend to be, you know, the most part I want balance to be trendy is because it’s like, if we make that trendy then it’s like all of a sudden people who do that for a living, they get to make a living off of saying, like, here’s the balanced perspective, here’s what we know now. And if that changes, or if it changes in this specific way, for a specific population, we’ll let you know. Because that’s what’s the coolest thing to do. Not to say like, oh, here’s the like, low macronutrient does your like low carbohydrate does, right? Or here’s the high macronutrients are like keto was, for instance, it’s like, here’s, here’s the full picture of what this looks like. And it’s like, to me, that is my job. Like more than any other copywriting or teaching a little bit, you know, it’s like, my job is to present a balanced point of view to people and support other practitioners who are doing that.
Victoria LaFont
And part of the reason I am so drawn to your work is that like I see you say, like, yes, protein is important for women who are, you know, athletic in nature, and, you know, they want to lift weights and be more powerful and like that, but also like, hey, Osteoporosis is a huge issue that women deal with, we need to understand how protein plays a role in that and how resistance training and plyometrics play a role in that, you know, muscle wasting is a huge issue for all humans, right? It’s like that those are our that’s our life. Right? That’s like we get to like experience older adulthood in a functional enjoyable way or not. Right. So that balance is very appealing to me, and I think is what we need that so bad in this world.
Steph Gaudreau
Yeah, I agree. And I think what I see too is this, there’s this desire for the just desire for answers. And I don’t want to say quick fixes. But sometimes that you know, the thing that as people who are coaches, or people who help others implement these things, and I talked about implementation earlier, we are up against is like, it’s not, it’s just as simple as telling someone, okay, just to like increase your protein intake, like they’re a person in an environment with challenges with, with different preferences and things of that nature that can make the implementation piece a challenge, right? It’s in this is, I think, why things like, and maybe, I don’t know, we’re covering this on another podcast is going to be out about this, I’m not gonna go too far into this, but intermittent fasting has become so popular in the female athletic population.
Steph Gaudreau
Because it’s, it’s a simplification, in a way, it’s a removal of something it to avoid is sometimes easier than to make changes that help you put some of these more balanced things into practice. So I see it as almost a symptom sometimes of the overwhelm of the busyness of the looking for the easy, easily implemented answer, you know, the avoid all this macronutrient? Or do this, this or that? And I don’t know if that’s something that we can…I think we have to talk about it. I don’t I don’t know if it’s something that we’re going to be able to get around of, like, why are we so drawn to the things that feel extreme?
Victoria LaFont
Yeah. It is a very cool question to think about. And it is, it does seem important to speak to it. Absolutely. And just started putting it up, put it out there like, hey, this happens. What is it with us that we do that in? And there is to me, as an element of like, sometimes I think to myself, like, yeah, it would be easier for me just to say like, I’m going to eat a ketogenic diet, for instance, it’s like, I’m not picking on that diet for any, like, I could pick on any diet, for all kinds of reasons. But it’s like, it would be it would just be it would be very easy, but it’s like, it wouldn’t be what would be most beneficial for me, throughout my life, maybe for a certain amount of time. But you know, not for the long term. But, but yeah, to have that ease of just kind of sinking into like, Oh, it’s just these parameters. And I can follow that and do right. I mean, I see that with people that you know, we put on we now call it elimination reintroduction so that people understand, like, yes, you will eliminate some foods to see if you’re reacting to them. You will eventually reintroduce those foods to see if you’re you are actually reactive like you can’t stay on an elimination diet forever. It’s too extreme.
Victoria LaFont
But it’s like easy for some people to stay on that because it feels safe. It feels like the boundaries are there. They can live with insight inside of that and they’re going to be okay. And it’s like yeah, I did. It makes a great question. It makes me think of so many different aspects like, why are we drawn to that. Yeah, I don’t know. It’s a very cool kind of like, almost like the evolutionary thing to trip out on.
Steph Gaudreau
Yeah. Simplicity. Control.
Victoria LaFont
It used to be a calorie, like humans are just after calories for like ever, you know, you look at a human timeline, it’s like up until like one second ago in the like, you know the evolution of humans, it’s like a calorie was a calorie. And even like this morning I was reading about the grandmother hypothesis, which is like, you know, women are the only animals that live past reproductive age, right? We’re like, from an evolutionary perspective, it’s like once you can’t create survivable progeny like you’re, you’re done, right, except for human women, we live like yours. And so one of the hypotheses that they say might cause that is that we were able to show the village like where the best food was helped take care of the kids, like we had a very, like useful role in society. Mainly though that was calorie based, right, we like can provide more calories for the calorie-hungry brain that humans carry. So it’s like, for all of that time, we didn’t have to think about this. And so now in this, like, you know, my new section of our timeline and being on this earth, all of a sudden, it’s like, everywhere you look, that’s what people are talking about, and thinking about. It’s like, I want to escape it sometimes but it’s my career. So I’m sure that simplification has got to just be like screaming for people who don’t have that interest. For sure.
Steph Gaudreau
Absolutely. Oh, this has been such a great conversation, we’ve covered a lot of stuff. And there’s still so much more, I feel like we didn’t, we just scratched the surface of which I always like to leave a little bit just in case somebody wants to come back on the show at a later time. But for anybody who’s interested, they want to learn more about you. Maybe they’re interested in science writing or copywriting or just anything that you’re up to where can people find out more about what you’re doing?
Victoria LaFont
Yeah, so my website is VictoriaLaFont.com. That’s my name, Victoria LaFont. And then I’m on Instagram, at the same handle that’s VictoriaLaFont. And definitely what I talked about more than anything is the writing. The teaching and the biochemistry is just in the background. Like once I talk to people about content, they’re like, oh, wow, this is very different.
Victoria LaFont
Like, yeah, now we have to talk about statistics, and, you know, all of the like, background of research. Yeah, but that, yeah, it’s what fuels what I do, because I’m like, let’s like, you know, search engine optimize, awesome, applicable, practical, balanced information, as much as we’ve optimized, kind of, you know, the trendy, you know, cut out those don’t cut out that rhetoric. So, that’s my secret goal of my business.
Steph Gaudreau
I love it. I think it’s very necessary. And it’s a great antidote or counterpoint, I guess, to a lot of the, you know, there’s a lot of social media driven, trendy stuff, Tik Tok, which is just another story altogether. But I think, you know, this is really important. And for those people out there, who this is part of their work part of their job, and they’re looking for the way to communicate this stuff to the masses, and they really care about that, then this, this is a necessary skill or service. And I just appreciate that you’re doing that because it’s not always easy.
Victoria LaFont
Thanks. Yeah, no it’s not, and ditto, right back at you. It’s like, you’re out there fighting the good fight with balanced information.
Steph Gaudreau
Thanks so much for coming on the show. I really appreciate it.
Victoria LaFont
Yeah, same. Thanks for having me Steph.
Steph Gaudreau
Thanks.
Steph Gaudreau
There you go. That’s a wrap on this episode with Victoria LaFont. Make sure you hit subscribe on your podcast app. And of course, if you want the show notes for this episode, including all the links to get connected with Victoria. And you can do that over at my website, StephGaudreau.com. You can also find a full list of all of our podcasts, including transcripts, if that would help you out. And if you’re interested in getting on the phone and chatting with us about Strength Nutrition Unlocked and see if it’s the right fit for you, if you’re qualified to join us in this high level coaching program and mentorship and go ahead and submit your application over at StephGaudreau.com/apply. All right, that does it for this episode. Thank you so much for listening and tuning in continuing to tune into these topics and for going out and having these conversations with others in your life. I hope that it is useful and until next week, stay strong.
