Episode 36Feb 4, 2026· 5:00

400 Classes and 26 Pounds Lost - A Lot of Fitness Influencers Are Selling You Crap

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About this episode

Ashley Grant reflects on hitting 400 fitness classes and 200 days of maximum effort, celebrating being down 26 pounds and four pant sizes while emphasizing improved energy and sleep over scale results. She frames her journey explicitly as a lifestyle change rather than a short-term challenge. The episode also includes a direct callout of fitness influencer marketing — protein powders, weight loss drugs, vitamins,…

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Who this episode is for

This episode may resonate with you if:

You've tried the 30-day challenges and the quick-fix programs before and they never stuck, and you're quietly wondering if you're just someone who can't do fitness long-term.

You just started posting about your fitness journey publicly and your feeds are suddenly flooded with ads for supplements and products and you don't know what to trust.

You've spent money on shots, pills, or programs before and felt embarrassed about it, and you're looking for someone who gets it without judging you.

You're making real progress but it doesn't feel dramatic enough to celebrate, and you're not sure you're allowed to make a big deal out of it.

You're frustrated that fitness culture keeps telling you the answer is another product, when what you actually want is someone who just did the work and talks about how it felt.

Questions this episode wrestles with

Do I actually need supplements to lose weight or is that just influencer marketing?

answered

Ashley's experience is that you don't — she's down 26 pounds and four pant sizes, and her view is that 'what you really need is to put in the work,' though she does acknowledge taking some supplements for her own health issues.

"I'm living proof that what you really need is to put in the work. Yeah, you might need to be in a calorie deficit and you might need to diet a little bit and all that jazz. but don't go"

How do I know which fitness products are worth it and which are snake oil?

answered

Ashley doesn't offer a checklist, but her advice is to do your homework before buying anything — she warns that once you start posting publicly about your fitness journey, you'll get bombarded with ads, and a lot of what gets peddled 'just feels like snake oil.'

"you do, please do your homework. Don't just buy a bunch of crap. Don't just believe all these fitness influencers. Do your homework. Don't just buy a bunch of crap you don't need. Because"

Why do I keep looking for a shortcut even when I know consistency is what works?

open question

Ashley doesn't answer why the pull toward shortcuts exists — instead she references her own past of taking shots and pills, names it as the wrong path, and points toward movement as the better way without unpacking what made the shortcuts so tempting in the first place.

"crazy with it. Don't do what I did before of taking a bunch of shots and pills. There's a better way. Putting in the movement, putting in the work, doing the work, you will get so many better results than you would if you just buy a bunch of crap that fitness influencers are peddling to you. So I hope this helps someone."

Does celebrating small wins actually help you keep going, or is it just noise?

answered

Ashley's position is that celebrating milestones is fuel — 'the more excited I get, the more I want to work, the more I want to do' — and she plans to obnoxiously celebrate every single one because of it.

"I get. Because the more excited I get, the more I want to work, the more I want to do, and the better I'm feeling about the effort that I'm putting in. And it's not just about the scale."

Setting expectations: This episode is not a product review, a supplement guide, or a breakdown of what fitness influencers are doing wrong in any analytical sense. It's Ashley sharing her personal milestones — 400 classes, 26 pounds lost — and venting about the flood of protein powder and weight loss drug ads that started hitting her feeds once she went public with her journey.

Tone & style

Ashley starts having believed supplements and shots were part of the fitness equation — she admits she used to take 'a bunch of shots and pills.' Going public with her journey triggered a flood of influencer ads for protein powders and weight loss drugs, which she now recognizes as snake oil against the backdrop of losing 26 pounds through movement alone. She closes by warning listeners who go public that they'll face the same bombardment, and affirms her milestones as proof that putting in the work is what actually delivers.

Personal experience and opinion. Ashley is sharing her own results and frustrations, not offering fitness or nutrition expertise.

toneEnthusiastic & candid

focusAshley celebrates 400 classes and 200 days of maximum effort, then calls out the fitness influencer ads flooding her feeds as 'snake oil' — arguing her results came from putting in the work, not buying stuff.

stylepersonal_confession

energymedium_high

complexitybeginner

pressure Levellow

emotional Texturecelebratory, frustrated, encouraging

Notable quotes

"celebrate every single milestone in this fitness"

— Famous Ashley Grant

"things. Right. But for me, this was not a challenge. This was about trying to implement a change in my lifestyle. And that is what I have done. And"

— Famous Ashley Grant

"if I see one more protein powder get pimped to"

— Famous Ashley Grant

"I'm living proof that what you really need is to put in the work. Yeah, you might need to be"

— Famous Ashley Grant

"crazy with it. Don't do what I did before of taking a bunch of shots and pills. There's a better way. Putting in the movement, putting"

— Famous Ashley Grant

Episode transcript

Organized into 2 chapters — open any part to read the full text.

0:001. 400 Classes and 200 Days of Maximum EffortAshley celebrates hitting 400 classes completed and 200 days of maximum effort, explaining why she plans to obnoxiously celebrate every milestone and how the journey has improved her energy, sleep, and body — down 26 pounds and four pant sizes.2:022. Fitness Influencers Pushing Snake OilAshley calls out the flood of fitness influencer ads — protein powders, vitamins, weight loss drugs — that started hitting her feeds as she got more public about her journey, warning listeners to do their homework and not buy a bunch of crap they don't need.

Open full transcript

Mentioned in this episode

personFamous Ashley Grant

The host of More Movement Please, who shares her personal fitness journey — 400 classes, 200 days of maximum effort, 26 pounds lost — and warns listeners about predatory fitness influencer marketing.

websiteFacebook

One of the social media feeds where Ashley says she gets bombarded with fitness influencer ads for protein powders, vitamins, and weight loss drugs.

websiteInstagram

One of the social media feeds where Ashley says she gets bombarded with fitness influencer ads for protein powders, vitamins, and weight loss drugs.

websiteTikTok

One of the social media feeds where Ashley says she gets bombarded with fitness influencer ads for protein powders, vitamins, and weight loss drugs.

productZumba

Mentioned as an example of the kinds of instructor certification ads Ashley keeps getting served in her social media feeds.

Key themes

Obnoxiously celebrating every milestone

Ashley says she plans to 'obnoxiously celebrate every single milestone' because excitement about the journey makes her want to work harder and do more.

Lifestyle change, not a challenge

Ashley distinguishes what she's doing from 30-day challenges or couch-to-5K programs, framing it as a permanent change to how she lives rather than a finite event.

Fitness influencers pushing snake oil

Ashley calls out the wave of influencer ads — protein powders, vitamins, weight loss drugs — flooding her social feeds since she went public about her journey, describing it as 'snake oil.'

Going public invites the ad flood

Ashley notes that posting publicly about a fitness journey triggers a bombardment of targeted ads, and warns listeners starting their own public journeys to expect the same.

Putting in the work over buying products

Ashley says she is 'living proof' that actual movement and effort produces better results than buying supplements or pills, referencing her own past of 'taking a bunch of shots and pills.'

Progress beyond the scale

Ashley describes feeling better, having more energy, and sleeping a little better as markers of progress alongside the 26 pounds and four pant sizes lost.

Do your homework before buying anything

Ashley directly tells listeners not to blindly trust fitness influencers or buy products without researching them first.

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