Episode 29: Defining Positive Body Image, Achieving True Body Acceptance, and Anti-Perfectionism with Megababe Founder Katie Sturino
Do you feel so out of touch with your body that you're not sure what "healthy body image" really looks like? Are you sick of yo-yo dieting and weight loss goals, always hoping to change how you look? This episode is for the high school girl in all of us who never felt good enough, and the adult women who are still struggling to feel lovable as we are. Josie is joined by Katie Sturino, an entrepreneur, influencer, author, and body acceptance advocate. Katie is the author of Body Talk, host of the Boob Sweat Podcast, founder of successful wellness and beauty brand MEGABABE, and a media personality, recently interviewed on The Drew Barrymore Show. Josie and Katie discuss how to achieve true body acceptance, what healthy body image really means, and the source of body insecurities. Josie also grills Katie for her productivity tips and secrets behind her success (because she is doing a lot). This conversation is going to transform the way you think about your body, guaranteed.
SHOW NOTES:
On this episode of The Everygirl Podcast, Josie has a happy hour chat with Katie Sturino, founder of the wildly successful beauty company Megababe and author of “Body Talk.” The episode kicks off with Josie and Katie discussing how Katie has been able to achieve such amazing accomplishments through entrepreneurship, plus some of the qualities that make her stand out as a founder, author, and body acceptance advocate. Katie explains some of her greatest strengths as an entrepreneur, including the ability to look past small details and see the big picture in order to get things done in a timely manner. She discusses the value of failure in business ventures for increased confidence and an ability to gut-check big decisions. Josie asks Katie about the inspiration behind her book, “Body Talk,” and Katie tells the story of how she took her body positivity content off of Instagram and put it into a physical book. The two then have a conversation about how we first buy into the toxic narrative that our bodies are less than enough, the societal structures that maintain that mindset, and what it looks like to evolve beyond a negative relationship with our bodies. Katie discusses some of the challenges she faced as a child and young adult when it came to her body. Josie and Katie also discuss how our mindsets about our bodies can be passed down generationally, through social media, and from the people we surround ourselves with. Katie provides some recommendations for having tough discussions and setting boundaries with people in our lives who might exacerbate our own negative relationships with our bodies. As she tells the story of her own journey to body acceptance, Katie recounts the first moment that she realized that she was not alone in her size; that she could serve as an inspiration to other women. The discussion then pivots to the importance of remembering that body acceptance is not black-and-white, and does not mean that you can never change something about yourself. Katie explains that body acceptance means realizing that your body does not constitute your value, but does not have to mean that you love your body how it is every second of every day. She also talks through the difference between a productive and unproductive resolution, especially health and wellness resolutions. Josie asks Katie how she approaches self-confidence outside of body acceptance, and the two have a conversation about affirmations. The episode wraps up with Katie answering some rapid-fire questions and giving some final pieces of advice.
Must-Listen Moments:
[6:27] What are the skills and qualities that have contributed to Katie’s success with Megababe, “Body Talk,” and her internet presence?
[16:43] The inspiration behind “Body Talk,” plus what it is like to build and be a part of a body positivity community on the internet
[25:59] Katie’s body acceptance journey: from her high school self to finding body positivity at age 34
[35:15] What is the real definition of body acceptance? Can we still change things about ourselves and have body acceptance?
[41:33] Katie’s thoughts on resolutions, and the difference between a healthy goal and a potentially toxic goal
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