Your Diet Sucks

Get "Carb Slut" and "Petty and Scientifically Literate" merch here!Check out our website for references, transcripts, and more!Diet culture is really good at one thing: finding the places people go to belong, and nesting inside them. This episode follows that instinct back to one of its oldest sources, the American evangelical church. Zoë and Kylee are joined by Leslie Schilling, RDN, CSSD, sports dietitian, eating disorder specialist, and author of Feed Yourself, to trace how food, bodies, and spiritual worthiness got so tangled together, and what it costs the people caught inside that tangle. From Pope Gregory's taxonomy of gluttony in the sixth century to Rick Warren's Daniel Plan weigh-ins, "your body is a temple" taken wildly out of context, and why eating disorders tied to religious identity are among the hardest to treat. You don't have to have ever set foot in a church to have received this transmission.Support Your Diet Sucks on Patreon for bonus episodes, weekly threads, recipes, and AMA access: patreon.com/yourdietsucks.This episode is brought to you by rabbit — use code YDSMARCH10 for 10% off at rabbit.com. Osmia Skincare — code YDS20 for 20% off at osmiaskincare.com. Tailwind Nutrition — code YOURDIET20 for 20% off at tailwindnutrition.com. And Microcosm Coaching — book a free consultation at microcosm-coaching.com.

The hosts trace Whole30 from a CrossFit blog to a multimillion-dollar licensing machine and branded-product ecosystem. They unpack the program's loaded language, strict rules, and parable-like origin story. They examine a 450-citation fact-check, the lack of peer-reviewed trials, how reintroduction and elimination differ from clinical practice, and the risks for athletes and disordered eating.

Intermittent fasting is the most Googled diet-related term on the planet, except everyone who does it will tell you it's not a diet. It's a protocol. An eating window. A lifestyle. An optimization hack. Definitely, absolutely, under no circumstances a diet. You just don't eat for sixteen hours. Totally different.In this episode, we trace IF from ancient religious fasting traditions through its secularization and commodification, afrom Martin Berkhan's Leangains forum and its tagline ("fuck breakfast") to Michael Mosley's BBC documentary, Hugh Jackman's Wolverine physique, and Jack Dorsey describing his weekend-long fasts as "hallucinating" like that's a selling point. We walk through how a Nobel Prize in yeast biology became a justification for skipping breakfast, why Jason Fung's The Obesity Code scored 31% on scientific accuracy and still became the IF bible, and how the fasting app market turned one simple rule into a multimillion-dollar industry.Then we get into what the science actually says. We break down the claimed mechanisms — metabolic switching, autophagy, insulin sensitivity — and look honestly at where the evidence lands. Spoiler: the mechanisms are real, but the confidence far outpaces the human data. The first direct measurement of autophagy in humans was published in 2025. Mouse metabolism runs seven times faster than ours. And the landmark Liu et al. trial in the New England Journal of Medicine found that time-restricted eating is no better than regular caloric restriction for weight loss. You're not metabolic switching. You're just eating less.We also dig into what IF means for active people (no performance benefit across any exercise type, real risk of under-fueling and RED-S, and a protein distribution problem that no eight-hour window can solve), what the AHA, ADA, NIA, and ISSN actually say about it, and the robust research linking IF to eating disorder behaviors across all genders — including a landmark study showing that fasting was a stronger predictor of binge eating disorder than any other form of dietary restraint. Fasting is listed in the DSM-5 as a compensatory behavior. Just because you give it a different vocabulary doesn't mean your body experiences it differently.Your body is smarter than any fasting app. Also, breakfast slaps..This Episode's Sponsors:rabbit — Code YDSFEB for 10% offOsmia — Code YDS20 for 20% offTailwind — Code YOURDIET20 for 20% offMicrocosm Coaching — Book a free consultationFull references, episode archive, and our advertising ethics policy at yourdietsuckspodcast.comHosted by: Zoë Rom & Kylee Van Horn, RDN

They unpack how inflammation went from a specific biology term to a wellness catchall that sells products. They trace the history of anti-inflammatory hype and critique extreme elimination protocols like AIP. They evaluate evidence for Mediterranean, plant-based, and low-glycemic patterns and explain why rodent studies and sugar panic mislead. Practical athlete advice focuses on fueling, sleep, and overall diet quality.

⁠Check out our website for a full list of episodes and references!⁠Support us on Patreon, or Apple Subscriptions or Spotify Premium!Can you build muscle, train hard, and actually perform on a vegetarian diet? Do plant-based eaters need more protein? Is iron deficiency a real concern or just wellness industry noise? This week, Zoë and Kylee dig into what the research actually says about vegetarian diets for athletes and active people, no Game Changers propaganda, no carnivore fear-mongering, just science.Turns out vegetarian athletes do need about 20-30% more protein than omnivores to achieve the same muscle protein synthesis. Kylee explains why leucine matters, what PDCAAS scores actually mean, and which plant proteins are worth prioritizing (and which ones are working against you). Then Zoë gets quizzed on iron, B12, zinc, omega-3s, and protein combining in a game called Truth or Deficit, and her performance is, frankly, embarrassing for someone who's been vegetarian since age 17.They also talk about something that doesn't get discussed enough: the research linking vegetarianism and disordered eating. Studies show plant-based eaters are about twice as likely to report orthorexic symptoms as omnivores, and Zoë gets honest about her own history using veganism as eating disorder cover. Plus: 2,500 years of people being unhinged about dietary purity, including Pythagoras possibly getting murdered because he refused to walk through a bean field, the anti-masturbation origins of graham crackers, and how "you are what you eat" thinking has been claimed by feminist abolitionists and literal Nazis alike. The plants aren't the problem. The purity logic might be.Vegetarian diets can absolutely support your training and your health. They just require more planning, more attention to a few key nutrients, and an honest conversation with yourself about why you're doing it.Sponsors:Osmia Skincare — Code YDS20 at osmiaskincare.com for 20% offTailwind Nutrition — Code YOURDIET20 at tailwindnutrition.com for 20% offMicrocosm Coaching — Free consult at microcosm-coaching.com

This episode is presented in partnership with Mount to Coast.Use code YDS10 for 10% off at mounttocoast.comWhat does it take to run 603 miles in six days?We recorded this episode live at The Running Event with Megan Eckert, who set the women's six-day world record this past May at the Gomu World Championships in France, becoming the first woman in history to break 600 miles. She also holds the women's backyard ultra world record (362 miles at Big Dog's) and somehow still works full-time as a middle school special education teacher and high school track coach.Megan didn't come up through the traditional running pipeline. She started as an adult, dealt with undiagnosed iron deficiency for years, and figured out her approach to fueling through trial, error, and eventually working with a sports nutritionist. At 38, she's proof that it's never too late, and that eating enough is actually faster than eating less.We talked about iron deficiency in female athletes and why "normal" lab ranges don't work for us, how to fuel multi-day events with real food (Doritos included), carbohydrate periodization without overthinking it, body image pressure on women as we age in sport, and why her supplement routine is probably simpler than yours.Follow Megan: @meg_eckert on InstagramFollow YDS: @yourdietsucks on Instagram | yourdietsucks.comThis episode is brought to you by Mount to Coast, the first performance footwear brand designed specifically for ultrarunning. Their shoes feature technology built for long-distance runners, including dual lacing systems that let you adjust fit as your feet swell and endurable midsoles with cushioning that stays supportive from mile one to mile 500. Megan set her six-day world record in Mount to Coast AR Ones.

We brought the husbands on for this one. Sean Van Horn and TJ David join us to talk about eating disorders in men, disordered eating in male athletes, and how the wellness industry preys on masculine insecurity with different packaging but the same playbook.First up: a game called Influencer or Dictator, where the guys guess whether quotes about discipline and suffering came from David Goggins or Joseph Stalin. It was harder than it should have been.Ten million American men will experience an eating disorder. Men make up 25 percent of cases, but only 10 percent of treatment, and the shame is double because you're told you have a "women's disease." Meanwhile, gym culture sells restriction as optimization and calls it biohacking. If you put it in a spreadsheet, it's not mental illness, right? It's astrology for boys.We trace the history from Charles Atlas selling masculinity during the Great Depression to G.I. Joe's impossible biceps to today's Ginfluencer explosion. Every masculinity crisis spawns a fitness boom. Sean shares his own eating disorder recovery, and we break down the red flags hiding in plain sight: cutting, clean eating, cheat days, earning food, no rest days. When The Rock does it, he's a brand. When your friend does it, check in.Sponsors:Osmia Skincare — Code YDS20 at osmiaskincare.com for 20% offTailwind Nutrition — Code YOURDIET20 at tailwindnutrition.com for 20% offMicrocosm Coaching — Free consult at microcosm-coaching.com

Discover the surprising history of New Year's resolutions, tracing back to Babylonian promises. Learn why 91% of resolutions fail by examining the neuroscience of habit formation and the myth of willpower. The average time to form habits is debunked, revealing it can take anywhere from 18 to 254 days. Examine the quirks of January, including the phenomenon of 'Quitters Day'. Plus, explore creative goal-setting, including Woody Guthrie's playful resolutions and why specificity is key to success.

Do detoxes work? Do you need a juice cleanse to "reset" your body? Is your liver full of toxins? Short answer: no, no, and absolutely not.This week we debunk the $6.3 trillion wellness industry's claims,juice cleanses, detox teas, foot pads, coffee enemas, the Master Cleanse, and everything in between. We cover how your liver actually detoxifies, why your kidneys filter 200 quarts of blood daily without any help from celery juice, and what a 2015 systematic review concluded about the science of detoxes.We also dig into the history, from ancient Greek bloodletting to George Washington's death to John Harvey Kellogg's yogurt enemas (ew?) and the psychology of why we fall for purity narratives. Plus: why athletes are prime targets, the connection between "clean eating" and orthorexia, documented harms (kidney failure, electrolyte imbalances, rectal perforations (again, EW!)), and 8 red flags for spotting detox scams.95+ facts checked, 17 sources cited. Full references at https://www.yourdietsuckspodcast.comSponsors:Tailwind Nutrition – Sports nutrition without the BS. Code YOURDIET20 for 20% off at tailwindnutrition.comOsmia – Small-batch skincare made by a doctor who reads the research. Code YDS20 at osmiaorganics.comJanji – Running gear with purpose. Code YDS at janji.comMicrocosm Coaching – Work with coaches like Zoë and Kylee who get endurance athletes, no shame, no pseudoscience, just evidence-based training. Get connected with a coach at microcosmcoaching.com

The skincare industry is worth over $180 billion globally. The science backing most of it? Let's just say your liver isn't the only organ that doesn't need a detox.This episode is sponsored by Osmia, Science-backed skincare formulated by a physician who actually reads PubMed. Use code YDS20 for 20% off your first order at osmiaskincare.com.This week we're doing something a little different: a partner episode with Osmia, one of our sponsors this season. But if you know YDS, you know we don't do puff pieces. Dr. Sarah Villafranco is a board-certified emergency medicine physician who left the ER to formulate skincare, and brought her doctor brain with her. She's here because she shares our allergy to pseudoscience, not because she's paying us to be nice—and we approached this conversation with the same critical lens we'd bring to any industry deep-dive. (You can read more about how we handle sponsorships and editorial independence at yourdietsuckspodcast.com/our-advertising-ethics-policy.)We talk about why tallow is the new wellness grift (sorry, ancestral girlies), what "natural" actually means when the FDA doesn't regulate it, and why your 20-step TikTok routine is probably making your skin worse. Sarah breaks down the three products that actually matter, explains why thicker doesn't mean more hydrating (remember: hydrate has "water" in it), and makes the case for the least sexy skincare advice ever spoken aloud: consistency.We also get into the ethics of beauty marketing, why "anti-aging" language is completely absent from everything Osmia does, and how to be your own N of 1 experiment when it comes to your skin, which should sound familiar if you've been listening to this show.Plus: the St. Ives Apricot Scrub accountability moment we all needed, why medicated lip balms are a scam, and the skincare equivalent of taking 500 supplements a day.If you've ever felt overwhelmed by serums, confused by "clean beauty" claims, or suspicious that the wellness industry just found a new way to sell you a crisis and then the cure, this one's for you.