Kathleen Shahbaz

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Kathleen Shahbaz

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🔹Clinical nutrition education for fitness professionals and health coaches.🔹Evidence-based coaching and support for women struggling with disordered eating and body image distress.

18/03/2026

I’ll be spending a LOT of time on my laptop over the next 3 days. Taking my professional coaching skills to the next level with Block 1 of the Diploma in Excellence in Practitioner Skills for Eating Disorders. I’ve wanted to do this for a while yet it’s always eluded me - but I’ve finally made it happen! I’m really looking forward to learning from experts in this field so I can help people struggling with disordered eating and body image issues - with confidence.

09/03/2026

Fitness Industry Focus: Postpartum Eating Disorders

Disordered eating behaviours and body image concerns in the postpartum period are more common than many people realise - and this is supported by scientific research.

A longitudinal study showed that the postpartum period is a high‑risk window for the onset or relapse of eating disorders, particularly for women with a prior history (Micali et al., 2015). At the same time, as discussed previously, postpartum body image is shaped by a complex mix of biological, psychological, social, and cultural influences (Lee et al., 2023).

Postpartum women are particularly vulnerable due to:

🔸 Rapid body changes
🔸 Hormonal shifts
🔸 Sleep deprivation
🔸 Identity changes
🔸 Reduced support
🔸 Cultural pressure to “bounce back”

So it's not surprising that some of these women will show up in fitness spaces seeking your weight loss services. Disordered eating may present subtly: restriction framed as “clean eating,” guilt after eating, avoidance of 'feared' foods, excessive calorie or macro tracking, compulsive exercise and anxiety about weight and shape.

Awareness, early recognition, and supportive communication can make a meaningful difference:

🔹Emphasise whole body exercises to support recovery and a gradual return to fitness.
🔹Avoid advice centred on 'problem' body parts, particularly the abs.
🔹Prioritise eating for health and recovery rather than weight loss.
🔹Be wary of colluding with your client's disordered attitudes, beliefs and behaviours.
🔹 Be conscious about your own biases.

When we understand the evidence, we’re better equipped to reduce stigma, promote safety, and support postpartum women with compassion.

Watch this space for specialist training for fitness professionals coming soon.

05/03/2026

Postpartum body image distress

So many postpartum women are saying things like 'I hate my stomach', I don’t recognise my own body', 'I feel broken'. And I've been saddened to see some of these posts on my own feeds recently.

But it's not just about low self-confidence or feelings of insecurity. It’s a socioecological issue. Lee et al., 2023)* reported that postpartum body image is shaped by multiple interacting layers: intrapersonal factors like 'thin ideal' internalisation, relationship dynamics, community expectations, and cultural pressures.

Add in social media - with its 'bounce back' narratives, curated bodies, and algorithms that reward comparison and it’s no surprise that so many women feel overwhelmed by their own reflection.

Key point: If you're a health or fitness professional working with postpartum clients, you need to be aware of the bigger picture. You're in a powerful position to start shifting the narrative by:

💠Normalising diverse bodies.
💠Challenging harmful social norms.
💠Supporting recovery over aesthetics.
💠Creating safety, not pressure.

Let’s build a culture where postpartum bodies are understood, respected, and supported - not judged.

*A systematic review of influences and outcomes of body image in postpartum via a socioecological framework (Lee et al., 2023).

02/03/2026

4 Common Cognitive Distortions in Disordered Eating and Body Image

If you're a fitness professional or health coach working with weight loss clients, chances are you've come across these common cognitive distortions. You may even have experienced them yourself.

We all have 'off days' but for people living with disordered eating and body image issues, these faulty thought patterns can seriously impact their eating and exercise behaviours, self worth and social life.

🔷 Fortune Telling
These predictions feel like facts, but they’re fear-based assumptions that limit life, connection, and autonomy.
🔷 Mind Reading
We assume we know what others think — and avoid entire social worlds because of it.
🔷 'All or Nothing' Thinking
This creates a cycle of perfection → perceived failure → shame → starting over. It’s not discipline. It’s dysregulation.
🔷 Mental filter
You can have 20 neutral or positive thoughts about your body but your brain will zoom in on the one thing you dislike. This isn’t vanity. It’s shaped by lived experience, trauma, and socio-cultural conditioning.

As coaches, we need to recognise these patterns early. Not to 'fix' them, but to create safety, reduce shame, and support clients in building more flexible, compassionate thinking.

🔶 If you're not sure how best to support clients presenting with these cognitive distortions, comment HANDOUT below ⬇️ and I'll send you my free resource.🔶

26/02/2026

Fitness Industry Focus: Beyond body goals

As this research paper shows, the pressure to attain appearance ideals doesn’t just affect our clients - it has negative effects on our mental health too.

As we move through Eating Disorders Awareness Week, it could be time to remind ourselves - our value and self worth go way beyond body size, weight and shape.

25/02/2026

Client Case Study: When cardio becomes compulsive

My recently married client believed strongly that cardio = weight loss, more = better and that only the treadmill would work for her.

Ignoring my advice to explore other exercise modes and factor in rest days, she:

Struggled to get through monotonous 2 hour daily treadmill walks - in unsupportive footwear.
Started to 'sneak in' second sessions on the days when I was off site.
Constantly sought reassurance that she wasn't gaining weight.
Remained resistant to my professional advice.

Fast forward 3 weeks and the overuse injury I’d been predicting appeared. She was devastated - not because of the pain, but because she feared fat gain. Soon she stopped exercising altogether and her membership lapsed.

I'm sure this scenario will be familiar to many fitness professionals and can happen when:

🔷 Weight loss is perceived as the sole measure of success.
🔷 Cultural and relational pressures reinforce the ‘thin appearance ideal’ - in this case, from her husband.
🔷 Exercise becomes rigid, rule‑bound and compulsive.
🔷 'More cardio is seen as the only route to fat loss.

As fitness professionals, we need to recognise the early signs of rigid exercise behaviour - and understand the cultural, relational, and emotional layers that lie beneath. We must be careful of colluding with such dysfunctional attitudes and behaviours, so as not to worsen client outcomes.

Which is why I'm developing resources and training to help you, as a passionate health or fitness professional, coach your clients with clarity, compassion and confidence.

24/02/2026

Most fitness professionals still misunderstand eating disorders — and it could be costing clients their health.

Outdated assumptions are everywhere and if you work with weight loss clients, athletes, or members of the public, understanding these nuances isn’t optional — it’s part of ethical, trauma‑informed practice.

Follow me to find out more about my work in this area. I'm developing a programme to help you navigate this tricky area and coach with clarity, compassion and confidence. And look out for my free resource for fitpros coming soon!

23/02/2026

I've never shared this before ...

With Eating Disorders Awareness Week starting today, I wanted to share a personal story that helped shape the work I do today.

When I was 18 and pregnant with my daughter, I experienced severe Hyperemesis gravidarum — long before I knew what those words meant. At its worst, I couldn’t keep down even a small glass of water.

I lost a stone in weight rapidly. It was terrifying and confusing - I couldn't trust my own body. My mental health suffered: I was stressed out, anxious and unhappy. And hyper-focussed on the food I wanted to eat but which I knew I'd inevitably vomit up almost immediately.
Only later did I understand how this early experience of semi starvation had altered my relationship with food and became ONE of the roots of my later disordered eating and bingeing.

During that same pregnancy, I was weight shamed - by the same GP who had treated my hyperemesis - for gaining a mere 1lb in ONE week over the recommended average maximum. I was 18, scared, and doing my best - yet I was made to feel like I’d failed.

These experiences are part of why I’m so passionate about trauma informed, ethical coaching. Because you never know what someone’s history with food, weight, or their body really holds.

If you work with clients, especially women navigating those tricky life transitions, your words matter. Your approach matters. Your awareness matters.

This is why I teach what I teach. And why this week matters so much. If you've been affected by any these issues, feel free to DM. I'm always interested to hear your stories.

19/02/2026

Is fitness industry culture kicking off eating disorders and keeping them going? Inadvertently...

Understanding the 3Ps model of eating disorder formulation can help fitness professionals coach your more ethically, and with confidence, compassion and clarity, particularly if you work with weight loss clients.

I'm creating resources and training for personal trainers, coaches and instructors. Stay tuned if this is of interest.

18/02/2026

When exercise becomes unhealthy … exercise motivations in people living with eating disorders and disordered eating.

I’ve worked in the fitness industry for 30 years and I’ve seen it all. I’ve encountered unhealthy exercise attitudes and behaviours in my weight loss clients, some of which I’ve unintentionally reinforced, because … fitness culture.

And I’ve been caught up in compulsive exercise myself - at the time not even realising anything was wrong.

Understanding the why is key to supporting our clients safely and ethically.

Address

Dumfries

Website

http://www.kathleenshahbazpilates.com/

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