#176 - Coached by Swifty: Eating More, Lifting Heavy & Ditching Diet Culture with Vicky Swift

This week I'm joined by Vicky Swift, founder of Coached by Swifty, and we're getting into all the things — eating more (not less), why "smaller and skinnier" isn't the goal, and how to finally step away from diet culture for good.

Vicky opens up about her own turning point after post-pregnancy weight gain, and how that experience shaped everything she now teaches her clients. We talk about the language of diet culture — "cheat meals," "detox," "shred" — and why words like that quietly wreck your relationship with food and your self-belief long before you notice it happening.

We get into the real mechanics of sustainable fat loss: phased dieting, calorie deficits followed by maintenance blocks, tracking for awareness rather than restriction, and why strength training does so much more than change your body — it changes how you show up in every other part of your life too.

Vicky also shares the honest, unfiltered story of building her coaching business — parenting through the early grind, her dad's cancer diagnosis, and the reality of trying to balance business, home, and health as a woman. We talk about what it means to model healthy habits for your kids, and why waiting for the "right time" to start is the biggest trap of all.

If you needed a reminder to eat more, lift heavier, and build real confidence — this episode is it.

Timestamps:

00:00 Meet Vicky Swift

02:49 Vicky's Story

04:02 Diet Culture Roots

06:11 Social Media vs Magazines

13:11 Crash Diet Myths

15:44 Slow and Steady Wins