The Unfiltered Trainer: Mindset, Health and Real Life

Volume 6 of The Unfiltered Bookshelf is here and this month delivered everything from a book that absolutely wrecked me in the best way to one I am still recovering from for all the wrong reasons.Six books. Completely honest takes. Here is what made the cut and what did not.The Coworker by Freida McFadden. A well constructed thriller from one of BookTok’s biggest names, but the ending landed with less surprise than I needed. Three out of five.Summit Lake by Charlie Donlea. Atmospheric, slow building dread, a dual timeline that actually works. This one put Donlea firmly on my must read more list. Four out of five.Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell. This woman writes grief and missing person stories with a specificity that gets completely under your skin. One of the strongest emotional thriller reads I have had in a while. Four out of five.What Lies Between Us by John Marrs. Two narrators. Neither one fully trustworthy. Your sympathy will shift multiple times and the ending genuinely caught me off guard. Four out of five.Kill For Me Kill For You by Steve Cavanagh. The standout of this entire volume. Two women in a grief support group, a friendship that takes a very dark turn, and pacing that made me read the last third in one sitting. Go pick this one up immediately. Four and a half out of five.If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin. Honest answer: this one was not for me. Two and a half out of five. But I want to hear from the fans in the comments because I know this book means a lot to a lot of readers.New episodes every Tuesday and The Unfiltered Bookshelf drops monthly. Subscribe so you never miss either.Podcast: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/createdbyginamarie/Substack: https://substack.com/@theginamariefitInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/ginamariefitBookTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theunfilteredbookshelfTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ginamariefitWebsite: https://www.ginamariefit.com

You are working out consistently. You are eating better than you ever have. You are doing the work. And your body looks different than it did five years ago and not in the direction you wanted. So you push harder. You restrict more. You tell yourself you are just not disciplined enough.That spiral is a lie. And this episode is here to dismantle it completely.Gina Marie goes fully personal in Episode 133, sharing her own experience with IBS-C, a chronic progressive GI condition complicated by secondary illnesses that affect her body composition regardless of her effort. She talks about the wild weight fluctuations, the gap between consistent work and unpredictable results, and what it actually feels like to live in a body that operates on its own terms no matter how hard you show up.She also goes deep on body dysmorphia, what it actually is clinically, why the fitness industry never talks about it, and why a fit person saying they hate what they see in the mirror deserves to be taken seriously instead of dismissed. And she tells the full truth about her own disordered eating history. The restriction. The carb fear. The macro obsession that turned food into data and stole the joy out of eating entirely. The binge and shame cycle that the fitness world normalizes by calling it discipline.This is the episode for the woman doing everything right and still feeling like she is failing. The one who is accurate, not overreacting. The one whose body has its own story that does not fit the before and after photo. Come listen.New episodes every Tuesday.Podcast: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/createdbyginamarie/Substack: https://substack.com/@theginamariefitInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/ginamariefitTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ginamariefitWebsite: https://www.ginamariefit.com

It's Not All Men. So Why Is It Always All Women?We need to talk about it. All of it. Without softening it.This week I am going into the conversation that I think a lot of women have been needing someone to have out loud. The one about the exhaustion. The double standard. The audacity of unsolicited, degrading opinions delivered with zero hesitation and zero consequence. The way this current administration has not created misogyny but has absolutely licensed it and handed people the social permission to say the quiet part out loud. And what happened at Cornell, which shocked nobody, and that is exactly the problem.I am getting personal in this episode. I have read things about myself in comment sections that I will not repeat. And I want you to understand what it actually costs to be a woman with a voice online right now. The way disagreement with a man looks like debating an idea. The way disagreement with a woman looks like going straight for her body, her worth, her right to exist in public and have an opinion.We are also talking about the phrase itself. Not all men. Where it comes from, what it is designed to do, and why it works as a redirect every single time. Because nobody said all men. Women almost never say all men. But somehow all men always gets inserted into the conversation by the people who want to derail it.This episode is honest. It is unfiltered. It is for every woman who has ever been told she is overreacting when she was accurately seeing something real.Tired and still here is one of the most powerful things a woman can be. This episode is proof of that.New episodes every Tuesday. Subscribe so you never miss one.Stay Connected:Podcast: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/createdbyginamarie/Substack: https://substack.com/@theginamariefitInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/ginamariefitTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ginamariefitYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ginamariefitWebsite and Blog: https://www.ginamariefit.com

Nobody makes content for the person who is still in it.Still working the full time job. Still trying to post consistently while running on empty. Still managing every email, every pitch, every follow up alone. Still trying to figure out which platforms are actually worth the time. Still keeping it all going when the results are not matching the effort yet.This episode is for that person. Because I am that person right now.I am working 60 to 70 hours a week in healthcare while running this podcast, managing multiple platforms, responding to brand emails, and trying to build something real on the side. And in Episode 131 I am giving you the honest version of what that actually looks like from the inside. Not the cleaned up version. The real one.What We Cover:What 60 to 70 hour work weeks actually do to your creative brain and why the advice to just batch your content does not land when you are genuinely depletedThe difference between inconsistency from laziness and inconsistency from depletion and why that distinction changes everythingThe platform chaos trap and a real framework for deciding which platforms deserve your energy right now versus which ones you are on out of obligationHow to manage your own business communications professionally without a team and without burning out.The psychological weight of building in public when the results are not matching the effort and what actually carries you through itThe five things to hold onto when you are in the messy middle and nothing has blown up yet.If you are building something real while holding down a demanding job and doing it all without a roadmap, this episode was made for you.Stay Connected:Podcast: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/createdbyginamarie/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ginamariefitTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ginamariefitYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ginamariefitWebsite and Blog: https://www.ginamariefit.comSubstack: https://substack.com/@theginamariefit

This was my luckiest reading month yet. Two five star reads in the same volume. One book I donated the second I finished it. And a Freida McFadden read where not a single character is likeable and somehow that made it impossible to put down.Volume 5 is ranked from least to most recommended so you know exactly where to start and exactly what to skip.Starting at the bottom: Next of Kin by Kia Abdullah at 3 stars. Devastating premise. Disappointing execution. I donated it after finishing and would not recommend it based on my experience.Working up: The Divorce by Freida McFadden at 4 stars. Unhinged characters, chaos from start to finish, and a Freida twist that delivers. Nobody in this book is likeable and that is exactly why it works.Then: Ward D by Freida McFadden at 4.5 stars. A psych ward, a power outage, a narrator you cannot trust, and a premise that deserves a screen adaptation immediately.And your two five star reads at the top: The Only One Left by Riley Sager and Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney. Both earned it. Both will stay with you.New episodes every Tuesday. The Unfiltered Bookshelf drops the first Tuesday of every month on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and everywhere you listen.📱 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ginamariefit📚 BookTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theunfilteredbookshelf📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ginamariefit▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ginamariefit🌐 Website: ginamariefit.com

You made it through. So why does it feel like you are still lost?Nobody warns you about the disorientation that comes after a hard season. You are not in crisis anymore, but you are not okay either. You are somewhere in the in-between, trying to figure out who you are now, what you actually want, and how to move forward without pretending the last season did not cost you something real.In this episode I am giving you the honest guide to what comes after the hard part. Not the motivational version. The real one.We cover what regrouping actually means and why stillness has to come before strategy. We talk about how to audit what is and is not serving you now versus what was only serving you in survival mode. We get into why rest feels dangerous for high achievers and how to tell the difference between real recovery and performed recovery. And we end with grief and gratitude, and why you do not have to choose between them.I also share what this past year has taught me personally, from health challenges to stepping back from in-person training to losing people I love. Because the most important thing I can do from this mic is show you the real journey, not just the lesson after it is tidied up.If you are somewhere in the after right now, this one is for you.What You Will Take Away:The three questions that reveal which habits belong in your next chapter and which ones were only meant for survivalWhy high achievers are the most likely to get stuck in survival mode long after the threat has passedWhat real recovery looks like versus the performance of recovery that leaves you still depletedHow to hold grief and gratitude at the same time without forcing either oneThe four things you owe yourself after a hard seasonStay Connected:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/your-show-linkInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/ginamariefitTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ginamariefitYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ginamariefitWebsite and Blog: https://www.ginamariefit.com

September is Suicide Prevention Month. And this year I am marking it the only way I know how. By telling the truth.I call it Perspective Day. The time of year when I sit with everything I have survived and everything I almost did not. This episode is the most unfiltered thing I have ever said out loud on this show. And I am saying it because someone listening right now needs to hear it.This is the story of losing my grandfather, my dad, and almost myself. Of getting my affairs in order. Of sitting on my best friend's floor while she told me her cancer had progressed and receiving the perspective that changed my direction. Of a car accident I did not think I would survive and a podcast I launched on my birthday because I did not know if I would see it.Eleven years into this grief journey. Three years post accident. Still here. Still choosing.This episode is for anyone who is carrying something heavy right now and wondering if they can keep going. You can. And I am going to tell you why.If you are in crisis right now please reach out:988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: https://afsp.orgListen on all podcast platforms: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/createdbyginamarie/Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ginamariefitFollow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ginamariefitWatch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ginamariefitWebsite and Blog: https://ginamariefit.com/New episodes every Tuesday. Please share this one with someone who needs it.

There's a huge gap between saying "I want to do UGC" and actually building a UGC business. Most people stay stuck in the first category far longer than they need to, not because they lack talent, but because nobody hands them the actual starter kit.In this week's episode of Mindset, Health, Empowerment: The Unfiltered Trainer, I'm breaking down the second installment of The Unfiltered Content Creation Series. If last episode was about the lies people believe before they start, this one is about what actually happens once you decide to take it seriously.I get into the proof you need before any brand ever pays you a dollar, why waiting for the "right" gear or the right follower count is the biggest thing holding new creators back, and the three actual doors that lead to paid gigs, most people only ever try one. I also walk through a 14 day challenge I want you to try if you're serious about getting better on camera, and the five specific things that quietly cost new creators money before they even realize it's happening.This one is part checklist, part reality check, and fully unfiltered, the way this podcast always is.Listen to the full episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music, or watch it on YouTube. Link is below.Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ginamariefitListen on Spotify: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/createdbyginamarie/New episodes every Tuesday. If you're building something right now, whether that's a UGC business or anything else, this one is for you.

Has someone ever made you the villain in a version of events you weren't even present for? Side comments. Assumptions. Conversations held about you in rooms you were never standing in.In this episode I'm talking about whispers, gossip, and being rewritten into someone else's story. Since moving to Tampa, this has been the norm for me, in the fitness industry and in healthcare, two completely different worlds with the exact same pattern. People always have an opinion. People always have something to say. Almost nobody says it to my face.I'm breaking down why until someone addresses you directly, they don't have an issue with you, they have an issue with themselves, why being gossiped about by someone you already distanced yourself from isn't a loss, and why staying exactly the same while people squirm is the most powerful response you actually have.Message me and let me know where this has shown up in your life.Stay Connected:Listen on all podcast platforms: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/createdbyginamarie/Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ginamariefitFollow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ginamariefitWatch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ginamariefitWebsite and Blog: https://ginamariefit.com/New episodes every Tuesday.

Welcome back to Mindset, Health, Empowerment: The Unfiltered Trainer and another volume of The Unfiltered Bookshelf 📚Five thrillers. Five completely unfiltered opinions. And a couple of books that had me questioning everything.This month I'm breaking down:📖 The Divorce by Freida McFadden — 4/5 ⭐A domestic thriller where literally nobody makes good decisions… and somehow that's exactly why it works.📖 Ward D by Freida McFadden — 4.5/5 ⭐A locked psychiatric ward, disappearing patients, secrets, and one very long night where absolutely nothing feels safe.📖 The Only One Left by Riley Sager — 5/5 ⭐My first Riley Sager book and an instant favorite. A gothic mansion, a decades-old family murder, and a twist I absolutely did not see coming.📖 Next of Kin by Kia Abdullah — 4/5 ⭐A devastating premise that turns into a complicated courtroom thriller about family, blame, secrets, and one decision that changes everything.📖 Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney — 5/5 ⭐A remote island, a missing wife, questionable residents, and the kind of ending that made me sit there and process what I had just read.Throughout the episode, I'm putting each book through The Unfiltered Bookshelf Rating System — the Green Flag, Red Flag, WTF Moment, Twist Test, and who should actually read it.No sugarcoating. No "everything was amazing." Just real reads, real reactions, and real ratings.Which book would you pick up first? And if you've already read one of these, did you agree with my rating?Follow The Unfiltered Bookshelf for more thriller reviews, book recommendations, TBRs, book hunts, and unfiltered bookish opinions.Drop a comment and tell me if the twist worked for you or lost you completely! 👇📱 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ginamariefit📚 BookTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theunfilteredbookshelf📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ginamariefit▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ginamariefit🛒 Amazon Storefront: amazon.com/shop/ginamariefit📖 ShopMy Unfiltered Bookshelf: https://shopmy.us/ginamariefit/the-unfiltered-bookshelf