The majority of millennial women I talk to, including myself and especially those raised in South Asian households, face constant and exhausting body image issues. I can’t remember a time where I wasn’t hyper-aware of my body from a very early age. Today, I’m in conversation with Dee Gautham, who has dedicated her life to changing the narrative of diet culture, especially within the South Asian community. Dee is the founder of Boss Body Revolution, a coaching company that helps women build and maintain their confidence through fitness and health. In this episode, we discuss the all-too-common relationship with disordered eating, the nuances of body image and our upbringing, and practical strategies for maintaining a healthy routine while unlearning the lifelong normalization of unrealistic beauty standards.

Dee shares her personal journey with body image, which started at the age of 13 when she began her first diet. Her experiences motivated her to found The Boss Body Revolution and address the gap in the market for health and fitness coaching tailored to South Asian women. She shares her brilliant advice and actionable tips for understanding the root of emotional eating, practicing body neutrality, building healthy habits, and shifting self-criticism into self-love.

Topics Covered:

• Dee’s history with disordered eating and how she repaired her relationship with food
• The extremes of diet culture and how to find a middle ground for a healthy body image
• Understanding emotional eating and actionable tools for separating it from physical hunger
• How to build a linear and consistent routine and maintain healthy nutritional habits
• The normalization of body shaming in South Asian culture
• Practicing body neutrality to help develop a balanced perception of your body as a whole
• Strategies for shifting self-criticism to self-love
• The role social media plays in body image, especially for millennials
• Undoing the negative yet lifelong ingrained beauty standards

Follow along @themodernmillennialpodcast on Instagram.

Resources mentioned

• Daring Greatly by Brene Brown

• Instagram
• The Boss Body Revolution

• The Modern Millennial Newsletter

• Instagram