In a culture that often praises thin bodies, perfection, and control, how are our kids—especially our daughters—internalizing messages around body image, food, and fitness?

In this episode of The Nourished Child podcast, I speak with Sara Dean, a former gym owner turned leadership coach and podcast host, who has seen firsthand how fitness culture may shape a woman’s self-worth—and what that means for the next generation.

Sara’s story is deeply personal and profoundly reflective. With over a decade in the fitness industry, she built a successful business helping women lose weight and get strong. But over time, she began to question whether the messages she was promoting were truly helping women thrive—or just keeping them small.

We unpack the subtle ways fitness and diet culture shape our beliefs about our bodies and worthiness, how those beliefs get passed on to our children, and how we can step into a new narrative that empowers health, confidence, and self-trust.

From Gym Owner to Mindset Leader

Sara spent years coaching women toward their fitness goals—many of whom were mothers, juggling work, home life, and their own identities. She built her brand around transformation: losing weight, getting lean, feeling empowered. But a turning point came when she realized that the focus on shrinking our bodies often led to women shrinking their lives.

She noticed how the pursuit of weight loss took up an incredible amount of emotional and mental space for her clients. And how the focus on controlling food and exercise distracted them from their ambitions, joy, and even parenting.

“If I was helping women shrink their bodies, I was also encouraging them to play small in other areas of their lives.”

This realization led Sara to pivot—dramatically. She closed her gym and opened a new chapter: helping women build leadership from the inside out.

The Unseen Impact of Fitness Culture on Kids

Many of us don’t realize how early our children start to internalize beliefs about bodies, worth, and health.

Sara and I talked about how kids watch and absorb everything—our attitudes about food, our exercise habits, even the way we talk about bodies. When children constantly hear their parents talk about “good” or “bad” foods, burning calories, or being “naughty” when eating dessert, it creates a blueprint for how they understand health and self-worth.

Even when we think we’re being subtle, those messages stick.

“Your kids aren’t just listening to what you say. They’re watching how you live in your body.”

We also explored how fitness culture can look like empowerment on the surface—but sometimes underneath, it’s steeped in control, fear, or shame.

Breaking Free from “Health” as Moral Value

So often, we assign moral value to food and exercise: clean eating, cheat meals, earning your food through workouts.

Sara calls this out for what it is: diet culture repackaged. And while many of us have moved on from the fad diets of the early 2000s, the wellness world still promotes a version of health that’s often unattainable—and harmful.

That’s why reframing health as something rooted in trust, nourishment, and flexibility is so important. And it’s the first step in raising kids who feel confident in their bodies and capable of making choices that work for them.

What Taking Up Space Really Means

For Sara, “taking up space” means using your voice, following your passions, and being present in your body—not at war with it.

And it means helping our kids do the same.

That might look like:

• Speaking positively about your body in front of your child
• Skipping the self-deprecating comments at the dinner table
• Letting your child explore movement that feels good, instead of focusing on performance or weight outcomes
• Creating a home environment where food is neutral and all bodies are respected

If this episode resonates, consider it an invitation to reflect, question, and rewrite the stories we’ve been told about fitness, worth, and what it means to be “healthy.”

Sara’s work is a beautiful reminder that health isn’t about shrinking ourselves—it’s about stepping into our full power, and teaching our children to do the same.

Listen to the full podcast episode:

Connect with Sara:

• Website: saradean.com
• Podcast: Shameless Leadership
• Instagram: @saradeanspeaks

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