Shame & Strength: Reclaiming Power Beyond Diet Culture with Clarissa Gannon
About this episode
This episode features a conversation with Clarissa Gannon about the intersection of shame, strength training, and women's relationships with food and body image.
In this episode of Untethering Shame , I’m joined by Clarissa Gannon — certified coach, plant-based bodybuilder, and founder of EmpowerHER Wellness — for an honest conversation about shame, strength, and women’s relationships with food, movement, and body size. Many women are raised to believe that worth and safety come from being smaller — eating less, doing more cardio, and living in cycles of restriction and self-monitoring. When dieting stops working, strength training can feel empowering… and deeply uncomfortable. Together, we explore why weightlifting and building muscle can feel inaccessible to women, how shame shows up in both diet culture and fitness spaces, and what it means to pursue strength without turning it into another form of self-control. Inside this episode, we talk about: How shame shapes body image, food choices, and movement Why strength training challenges shrinking-based conditioning The fear of eating more, slowing down, and taking up space The “slow grind” of building strength without instant validation Where fitness and bodybuilding culture can recreate disordered patterns Wanting to feel strong and like how you look — without tying worth to outcomes…
More episodes of Untethering Shame
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- 🎙️Ask Me Anything – E46: When They Change After You Leave (And Why It Hurts More)
- Shame & Bully Culture: The Silence That Protects Toxic Leaders with Andy Regal
- 🎙️Ask Me Anything – E45: Why Doesn’t Anything Ever Actually Fix Me?
- Shame & Grief: The Hidden Cost of Self-Blame with Chris Mamone
- 🎙️Ask Me Anything – E44: How the F*ck Are We Supposed to Be Mentally Well in a World Like This?
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