I Don't Have Trouble With Crabs

Summary

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Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: I Don't Have Trouble With Crabs
Date: February 18, 2026
Host: iHeartPodcasts

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Overview

This episode of Armstrong & Getty dives into American cravings for fast food, the allure of nostalgic junk eats, and shifts into a candid, critical discussion on the modern body positivity movement. The team unpacks recent events around influencers turning away from radical body positivity culture and explores the psychological phenomenon known as 'crab bucket mentality.' The conversation blends humor, personal anecdotes, and pointed social commentary.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. McDonald's Cravings & Fast Food Nostalgia

• The episode kicks off with a discussion about cravings, specifically a pregnant woman's desire for McDonald's.
• Notable moments:
  • Katie (Hunter Woodhull) shares her recent order, expressing that sometimes you just need “that certain taste and smell” unique to McDonald’s.
  • Armstrong admits to enjoying his trip to McDonald's with his kids:
    • “It's not good for you, but it was frigging good.” (Armstrong, 04:09)
• The hosts debate old-school menu favorites, with tongue-in-cheek mockery about new items versus “the classics.”

Timestamps

• 02:55–03:44: Discussion about the McDonald's craving and menu choices.
• 03:53–04:19: Armstrong shares his family’s recent indulgence and the appeal of McDonald's fries.

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2. The Body Positivity Movement – A Radical Shift

• Armstrong introduces the story of Gabriella Lascano, a prominent body positivity influencer who has turned away from the movement after experiencing declining health and backlash over her desire for change.
  • “You got a former body positive influencer who's come out and said, these people are radicals and I was brainwashed.” (Armstrong, 04:19)
  • Lascano, who was once featured in magazines promoting self-love “at any size,” expresses that as she aged, she became uncomfortable with her substantial weight and struggled with daily activities.
  • The community’s reaction was hostile when she expressed a wish to lose weight for health, accusing her of betrayal and fat-shaming.
• The hosts point out the movement's increasingly radical stance, noting its rejection of weight loss even for health reasons.

Timestamps

• 04:44–06:12: Armstrong summarizes Lascano's journey and the toxicity of extreme body positivity.

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3. Social Media, Peer Influence & Groupthink

• Katie (Hunter Woodhull) reflects on her own experiences with online body positivity communities:
  • “These pages would just end up in my For You, and like you said, it was a way to make big girls feel better about themselves. But then it really turns you away from any push to get healthy.” (Hunter Woodhull, 06:12)
  • Points out that the groups not only push back against fat-shaming but actually discourage any efforts to get healthier.
  • Getty likens it to peer pressure among drinkers or stoners:
    • “Every drunk wants everybody else to have another drink too...every stoner wants everybody to get high and just because, you know, that's true. Better about yourself.” (Getty, 06:54)
  • Armstrong draws a distinction—other unhealthy behaviors aren’t celebrated via a national “be a drunk” movement, but a dangerous parallel exists in the way some treat obesity advocacy.
• The tone is critical but empathetic, focusing on wanting people “to not die prematurely,” rather than shaming.

Timestamps

• 06:12–07:26: Reflections on social media influence and community hostility regarding weight loss.
• 07:26–07:45: Discussion on intentions—concern for health vs. “fat-shaming.”

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4. Crab Bucket Syndrome & Cultural Barriers to Self-Improvement

• The hosts pivot to the concept of ‘crab bucket syndrome’—the idea that people pull down anyone trying to better themselves, analogous to crabs dragging each other back into the bucket.
  • “The flip side of that is...the metaphor about crabs pulling the other crabs back down into the bucket if they try to climb out. It's...a terrible malady.” (Getty, 08:35)
  • Armstrong shares a personal story from his youth, experiencing backlash for aspiring to attend college:
    • “I was around that...grown men in their 40s who...really trashed that whole idea [of going to college]. Like you're being a traitor to your class or something.” (Armstrong, 09:08)
• The hosts agree that such mentalities discourage self-improvement and reinforce negative cycles.

Timestamps

• 08:35–10:05: Extended discussion of 'crab bucket' mentality in various communities.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Getty: “It's like every drunk wants everybody else to have another drink too.” (06:54)
• Armstrong: “There wasn't a giant nationwide 'be a drunk' movement in which you talked about how great it is to be a drunk and shamed anybody who had anything critical to say about it, because that'd be crazy.” (07:06)
• Getty (on crab bucket): “The metaphor about crabs pulling the other crabs back down into the bucket if they try to climb out. It's...a terrible malady.” (08:35)
• Armstrong (self-mockery): “I don't have trouble with crabs. You can talk about too much work. I don't want to put that much.” (10:14)
  • Leads to show title joke:
  • Getty: “That needs to be the title of the podcast.” (10:22)
  • Armstrong: “Yeah, I should put that on my bumble page. Right on the profile.” (10:28)

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Tone and Flow

The conversation oscillates between satirical banter and earnest commentary. The hosts use humor to diffuse tension but do not shy away from blunt critique of modern social trends and peer pressure dynamics. Personal anecdotes keep the discussion relatable, while references to internet phenomena and mainstream celebrities ground the subject matter in contemporary culture.

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Segment Timestamps for Quick Reference

• 00:00–02:38: Ads & show intro
• 02:38–04:19: McDonald’s cravings and food nostalgia
• 04:19–06:12: Story of Gabriella Lascano and doubts about body positivity
• 06:12–07:45: Social media and the peer pressure of the body positivity movement
• 07:45–10:05: Crab bucket mentality and personal stories of backlash against self-improvement
• 10:05–10:36: Joking about podcast titles and crabs

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Summary

This episode explores the shifting boundaries of the body positivity movement, highlighting real consequences for individuals who depart from ideological orthodoxy. Through anecdotes and sharp commentary, Armstrong & Getty discuss broader issues of peer influence, societal barriers to personal growth, and the complex relationship between encouragement and enablement. The “crab bucket” metaphor underlines the dangers of cultures—online or otherwise—that penalize ambition and improvement, whether in health, education, or lifestyle.

Perfect for listeners interested in the interplay of cultural trends, personal freedom, and the ongoing debate between self-acceptance and self-improvement—all served up in Armstrong & Getty’s trademark irreverent, yet thoughtful, style.

Transcript

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

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[Hunter Woodhull]

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[Armstrong]

Finally, somebody's willing to say it out loud. It's one more thing.

[Hunter Woodhull]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Armstrong]

One more.

[Getty]

Nobody's had the guts to say it until now, apparently. I don't know what's going on here, but I'm excited.

[Armstrong]

First of all, Katie mentioned going to McDonald's. What'd you get at McDonald's? Was this a pregnant woman craving?

[Hunter Woodhull]

Yes, it was a pregnant woman craving that I put off for about a week and a half and I ended up getting a McChicken and a double cheeseburger and fries.

[Armstrong]

Is this the new McChicken? No, there's a new. There's a new chicken.

[Hunter Woodhull]

It's called. That's called the MC Crispy. I'm not playing that game.

[Getty]

I'm going old school. There you go.

[Armstrong]

I'm not playing that game. I almost got the MC Crispy the other day because it looked pretty good.

[Hunter Woodhull]

But it did look good.

[Armstrong]

But no, I wanted that game.

[Hunter Woodhull]

I wanted the old school McChicken for way too long.

[Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Getty]

Do you have a Chick Fil a within driving distance?

[Hunter Woodhull]

I do.

[Armstrong]

You do.

[Getty]

But you went with the McDonald's instead.

[Hunter Woodhull]

Oh. Because nothing there is a fl. It's like kind of like, you know, Subway has that certain taste and smell. McDonald's has the same thing. You just can't. Once you. Yeah.

[Armstrong]

Did you have anything with it? Do you have fries or anything?

[Hunter Woodhull]

I did. I got a medium fry.

[Armstrong]

Clearly, there's nothing like McDonald's fries.

[Hunter Woodhull]

Yeah.

[Armstrong]

You get a McFlurry?

[Hunter Woodhull]

I did not. I am not a child.

[Armstrong]

Well said. That's a damn good dessert, though. Oh, boy.

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[Armstrong]

I took the kids to McDonald's and I wondered, I thought, are we going to regret this? And we all enjoyed it. It was delicious. It's not good for you, but it was. It was frigging good.

[Hunter Woodhull]

So good.

[Armstrong]

I had a quarter pounder with cheese, no onions, which is one of my go tos, and with fries. And I was. It was just good. It was expensive, but it was good. Speaking of eating like that, I wondered when this might happen. You got a former body positive influencer who's come out and said, these people are radicals and I was brainwashed. Very big woman. Five foot tall, £400.

[Hunter Woodhull]

Holy hell.

[Armstrong]

Pretty big, but very attractive and very pretty face. You know, just.

[Hunter Woodhull]

Do you have her name?

[Armstrong]

What is her Name Here I do have her name. Gabriella Lascano.

[Hunter Woodhull]

Okay.

[Armstrong]

Bueno. And she became a champion of the body positivity movement on the COVID of all kinds of magazines about loving yourself at any size and all that sort of stuff. And then as she got a little bit older, because she became famous when she's quite young, but she got a tiny bit older, and she said some days I would look at photos and not even recognize myself and my height and weight. And I became really uncomfortable with my weight. I just. I didn't feel good. It was very hard to, like, I couldn't ride rides at the amusement park and just all these different things she didn't like about being that size. And then when she started to talk about wanting to lose weight, they got really hostile toward her about being, you know, fat, shaming people, and you're a traitor to us and all this information. And she realized that it was a. A bit of a racket, as opposed to you're really work. Looking out for what's best for people. She. She bought into the idea that, you know, you're trying to, you know, make people like me who are big feel good about themselves. But no, they're hostile toward the idea of losing weight and eating healthy, she realized. And so now she has turned on them.

[Hunter Woodhull]

One thing I've noticed about these body positivity pages, and it was when I was a big girl, they were suggested to me on Instagram and TikTok. These pages would just end up in my. For you. And like you said, it was a way to make big girls feel better about themselves. But then it really turns you away from any push to get healthy. So. And you're. When you look at the. They argue about how healthy they are. They argue about how, you know, working out is. Is not even what it. You know, it's about. I've been working out for years, and it did nothing. And it gives you every reason to not, which is the last thing here.

[Getty]

Yeah, yeah. It's like every drunk wants everybody else to have another drink too.

[Hunter Woodhull]

Right.

[Getty]

And every stoner wants everybody to get high and just because, you know, that's true. Better about yourself.

[Armstrong]

But there wasn't a giant nationwide be a drunk movement in which you. You talked about how great it is to be a drunk and shamed anybody who had anything critical to say about it, because that'd be crazy.

[Public Investing Sponsor]

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[Getty]

Yeah.

[Armstrong]

But they did that for being, you know, obese at a really unhealthy level. I mean, obviously kind.

[Getty]

There's no excuse for that ever if somebody's overweight. But that's not what we're talking about. And that's the. And that's what they always put up. They attack the straw man of quote, unquote, fat shaming. No, I. You seem like a good person. I care about you. I want you to not die prematurely. That's not shaming.

[Armstrong]

Lascana said that she eventually saw the body positivity community become hostile toward weight loss and exercise, like you were saying, Katie, even for health purposes, which led her to turning on the movement. Then she really realized what she was. They were like. But as the body positivity community became more radical, I was scared to say the wrong thing, so I stayed silent. Then a friend of mine died, and I decided to speak out, but everybody came after me, trying to make me feel guilty for saying anything and being fat, phobic and blah, blah, blah. Who's the big singer? Who? Lizzo? She is. She has talked about that since she lost all her weight, that a lot of people turned on her when she lost weight. And she's. She says I'm healthier now. This was clearly a good idea, but a lot of people are very critical of me. That's. That's an interesting thing.

[Getty]

Yeah, yeah. It's like I was saying, everybody wants to feel better about themselves. And that's why, you know, the. The flip side of that is proverb or whatever it is about the. The metaphor about crabs pulling the other crabs back down into the bucket if they try to climb out. It's. It's a terrible malady. It might be. It's. It's one of the two candidates for the most serious problems with poor inner city culture is the kids shaming the other kids for learning or acting white or whatever the epithet might be. It's terrible.

[Armstrong]

I was around that. I was around that a lot in rural area grown men in their 40s who. Who did really mundane labor for low wages, who really had a bad attitude about anybody. But, like, when they found out I was going to go to college as a high school kid, just you know, really trashed that whole idea. Like you're being a traitor to your class or something.

[Hunter Woodhull]

God, that's such a weird mentality to.

[Armstrong]

Trash that rather than motivated by clearly human nature, though. I mean, yeah, people do it. It's. It's bad. It's really awful. You got to watch out for it. I thought, that's really interesting. I mean, you're 40 years old and you're slinging hay bales for $5 an hour, but somebody else who tries to do end up with something maybe better easier than this is crab bucket. Yeah, exactly.

[Getty]

Bucket of crabs.

[Hunter Woodhull]

Oh, so good.

[Getty]

I'm hungry. I'm trying to lose.

[Hunter Woodhull]

Now I'm gonna want that.

[Getty]

Go. Go get it, pregnant lady.

[Armstrong]

I don't have trouble with crabs. You can talk about too much work. I don't want to put that much.

[Hunter Woodhull]

You don't have trouble with crabs.

[Armstrong]

Very good.

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[Getty]

That needs to be the title of the podcast. That needs to be a drop Hanson.

[Armstrong]

Yeah, I should put that on my bumble page. Right on the profile.

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