106: Christina Chu: Busting Nutrition Myths for Real Results
Busting Nutrition Myths: Why Carbs Aren't the Enemy and Balance Beats Perfection
Stop demonizing carbs and obsessing over perfect nutrition. Christina Chu breaks down macro myths, why balance matters more than extremes, and how to fuel for real results.
If you've ever felt confused about whether carbs are good or bad, if protein is really that important, or if you need to eat perfectly to see results, you're definitely not alone. The amount of conflicting nutrition advice out there is enough to make anyone's head spin.
In this conversation with Christina Chu, sports and performance dietitian, Tara dives into the most pervasive nutrition myths keeping women stuck, why balance is the actual key (not extremes), and how to fuel your body for strength, muscle gain, and long-term wellness without the guilt or obsession.
Christina's all about helping women build sustainable nutrition habits that support their goals without taking over their entire lives. If you're tired of quick fixes, all-or-nothing thinking, and feeling like you can never get it right, this episode delivers the clarity you've been searching for.
Why Carbs Are Essential for Muscle Recovery (Not the Enemy)
Let's start with the biggest myth that refuses to die: carbs are bad.
Here's the reality that Christina emphasizes, carbohydrates are absolutely essential for muscle recovery, performance, and energy. If you're strength training (which you should be), your body needs carbs to replenish glycogen stores, support recovery, and fuel your workouts.
The anti-carb movement has done serious damage to women's understanding of nutrition. Carbs aren't making you fat. Eating more calories than your body needs makes you gain weight, regardless of whether those calories come from carbs, protein, or fat.
In fact, if you're under-eating carbs while training hard, you're sabotaging your own progress. Your workouts will suffer, your recovery will be compromised, and you'll likely feel tired, irritable, and unable to build the muscle you're working so hard for.
Christina breaks down that the type of carbs matters, sure. Prioritizing whole food sources like rice, potatoes, oats, fruits, and vegetables is ideal. But demonizing an entire macronutrient category because diet culture told you to? That's not science. That's fear-mongering.
If you want to build muscle, perform well in the gym, and actually have energy to live your life, carbs need to be part of your nutrition strategy. Period.
The Truth About Protein (And Why More Isn't Always Better)
On the flip side of the carb-phobia is the protein obsession. And while protein is absolutely important, especially for women who strength train, there's a point of diminishing returns.
Christina explains that yes, protein supports muscle protein synthesis, helps you feel full, and aids in recovery. But you don't need to eat your body weight in grams of protein every single day to see results. The research shows that somewhere around 0.7 to 1 gram per pound of body weight is sufficient for most active women, and going significantly higher than that doesn't provide additional benefits.
The problem is, the fitness industry has convinced women that more protein is always better. So you've got people choking down protein shakes they don't enjoy, stressing about hitting impossibly high protein targets, and feeling like failures when they fall short.
Here's the truth: if you're consistently eating a moderate to high protein diet with most meals containing a solid protein source, you're probably doing just fine. You don't need to be perfect. You don't need to hit 200 grams of protein if you're a 140-pound woman. And you definitely don't need to make yourself miserable trying to optimize every single gram.
Focus on getting enough protein to support your goals, but don't let it consume your entire relationship with food.
Understanding Healthy Carbs and Why Fiber Matters
Not all carbs are created equal, and understanding the difference between refined and whole food carb sources is important, but not in the black-and-white way diet culture presents it.
Christina emphasizes that fiber-rich carbohydrate sources like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes offer more than just energy. They support digestive health, help regulate blood sugar, keep you feeling full, and provide essential micronutrients your body needs to function optimally.
That doesn't mean you can never eat white rice, pasta, or bread. It means building your nutrition around whole food sources most of the time while still having the flexibility to enjoy other foods when you want them.
The all-or-nothing approach to carbs, where you're either eating only sweet potatoes and quinoa or you're binging on pizza because you "broke" your diet, is exhausting and unsustainable. Balance means including a variety of carb sources that you enjoy and that make you feel good.
And here's the thing about fiber specifically: most women aren't getting enough of it. Fiber supports gut health, helps with satiety, and can even impact your hormone balance. Aiming for 25-30 grams of fiber per day from whole food sources is a solid baseline.
But again, this isn't about perfection. It's about building habits that support your health over time, not stressing over every single meal.
Fat Intake Guidelines for Strength and Recovery
Fat is the third macronutrient that often gets misunderstood. Some diet trends demonize it, while others (hello, keto) make it the hero. The truth, as usual, is somewhere in the middle.
Christina explains that fat is essential for hormone production, vitamin absorption, brain health, and overall wellness. If you're not eating enough fat, your hormones will suffer, and that includes your ability to build muscle, recover properly, and maintain a healthy menstrual cycle.
The recommendation for active women is generally around 20-30% of total calories from fat, with an emphasis on including sources of healthy fats like avocados, nuts, seeds, olive oil, and fatty fish.
But here's where the nuance comes in: you don't need to obsess over hitting a specific fat target every single day. What matters more is making sure you're not chronically under-eating fat in pursuit of lower calories or some arbitrary diet rule.
If you're eating a variety of whole foods, including protein sources with some natural fat (like eggs, salmon, or chicken thighs), cooking with olive oil, and having some nuts or avocado throughout the day, you're probably in a good place.
The goal isn't to track every gram. It's to build an intuitive understanding of what balanced eating looks like for your body and your goals.
The "Dimmer" Approach to Nutrition (Not the Light Switch)
One of the most powerful concepts Christina shares is the idea of approaching nutrition like a dimmer switch, not a light switch.
Most women approach nutrition with an all-or-nothing mindset. You're either "on" a diet or you're "off." You're either eating perfectly or you've completely blown it. There's no middle ground.
But that's not how sustainable nutrition works. The dimmer approach means recognizing that some days you'll eat more vegetables, prioritize protein, and feel great. Other days you'll eat out, have dessert, and care less about hitting your macros. And that's completely okay.
The goal is to keep the dimmer at a reasonable level most of the time, not cranked all the way up to perfection, but also not turned completely off. It's about finding a sustainable middle ground that supports your goals without consuming your entire life.
This mindset shift is huge. It takes the pressure off needing to be perfect and instead focuses on consistency over time. It allows for flexibility, enjoyment, and actually living your life while still making progress toward your goals.
If you're stuck in the all-or-nothing cycle, this reframe can be genuinely life-changing.
Balanced Macronutrients for Daily Meals and Fitness Goals
So what does a balanced meal actually look like? Christina keeps it simple.
A well-balanced meal includes a protein source, a carbohydrate source (ideally with some fiber), a fat source, and ideally some vegetables. That's it. You don't need to overthink it.
For example: grilled chicken, roasted sweet potatoes, a side salad with olive oil dressing, and maybe some avocado. Or scrambled eggs, whole grain toast, sautéed spinach, and a piece of fruit. Or a stir-fry with tofu, rice, lots of vegetables, and cashews.
The formula is simple, flexible, and adaptable to whatever foods you enjoy and have access to. You're not locked into specific foods or rigid meal plans. You're just making sure each meal has the building blocks your body needs to perform, recover, and feel good.
And here's the key: this doesn't have to be every single meal. Sometimes you'll have a snack that's just carbs. Sometimes you'll have a meal that's heavier on one macro than another. That's normal. The goal is balance across your day and your week, not perfection at every meal.
Stop Obsessing Over Perfect Nutrition, It's Setting You Up for Burnout
At the end of the day, the pursuit of perfect nutrition is what's actually holding you back.
When you're constantly stressed about eating the "right" foods, hitting exact macro targets, and never deviating from your plan, you're creating a relationship with food that's rooted in anxiety and control, not health and wellness.
Christina and Tara both emphasize that sustainable results come from building habits you can maintain long-term, not from white-knuckling your way through a restrictive plan until you inevitably burn out.
If your nutrition strategy makes you feel anxious, isolated, or obsessive, it's not working—even if you're seeing short-term physical results. True health includes your mental and emotional wellbeing, and that means giving yourself permission to be human.
Eat the foods that make you feel strong and energized most of the time. Enjoy meals with friends and family without guilt. Have dessert when you want it. Trust that your body can handle flexibility without falling apart.
The goal isn't perfection. It's building a sustainable, balanced approach that supports your long-term health, strength, and happiness.
Ready to stop stressing about nutrition and start fueling your body for real results? If you want personalized guidance that goes beyond generic meal plans and actually addresses your specific goals and lifestyle, check out Broads 1:1 Coaching and work with a coach who gets it.
What's the biggest nutrition myth you've believed? Share your thoughts with the Broads community on Instagram @broads.podcast, we'd love to hear what resonated with you most.
