Join me and parent coach Oona Hanson for a compassionate conversation about the tangled relationship between diet culture, body image, and family dynamics. Drawing from both professional expertise and personal journey through eating disorder recovery, Oona offers helpful insights into the subtle ways language shapes our beliefs about food and self-worth, and how these patterns impact the next generation. Together, we call out why parenting in the face of eating disorders is so tricky to navigate, and why we have to prioritize understanding and advocating for early intervention over blaming our ..read more

If you're ready to hop off the dieting rollercoaster, you might be starting to wonder what body acceptance really means for you. But here's the thing: a lot of folks mix up body acceptance with giving up, and it’s just not the case! So, in this quick solo episode, I'm going to offer you a crystal clear definition of what body acceptance is, and what it isn't. The big takeaway? You don't have to stay feeling stuck in the “suck”- as I call it. You can have freedom in your relationship with food and your body AND feel like you’re moving your health in the right direction. I'll share how to kickst ..read more

Building and maintaining new movement habits can feel daunting, especially if you don’t enjoy moving as much as you did in the past, or are learning to navigate changes to your physical abilities in midlife. But as my guest and I both agree, fitness culture has way overcomplicated what counts as success when it comes to fitness goals. In this episode, personal trainer and nutrition coach, Michael Ulloa joins me to share his inclusive (and refreshing) perspective on fitness.  We peel back the layers of industry myths, especially those that relate to us in midlife and menopause, and reveal ..read more

The body acceptance and un-dieting journey is not for the faint of heart. It’s why so many people tell me they will be ready to work with me after they try this “last diet” one more time. Body image work tends to bring up more questions than answers and it takes a lot of courage to sit in all of the emotions that come with the questions.  To help us unpack the many layers of this conversation, I’ve invited nutritionist and body image coach, Steph Dodier to help us understand why our brains naturally associate being thin with being safe, why others feel threatened by people who feel at hom ..read more

In my work supporting women in midlife and menopause, there are some regular and recurring themes to the questions I get. Whether it’s a client, someone in the community, or DMs, they  typically go like this: “I don’t understand what’s wrong with me.” or “There must be something I’m missing.”  I always reassure them by saying, “I can’t tell you how common that is.”  Why is it so common? If you’re over 40, you can thank the 1980s for many of the beliefs you have about food, nutrition, and health. Having grown up in the days before the internet, we didn’t have the luxury of choos ..read more

When we begin to heal from all the damage diet culture has had on our growth and development, it can feel very urgent to get it “right” for our kids and learn how to keep diet culture out of our homes. While this deserves to be a top priority, it requires a lot of grace. In this episode, nutritionist and fitness coach, Tracey Harper helps us understand why rewriting the narrative for the next generation demands that we continue healing in our relationships with food and our bodies. She will help us frame up conversations that invite young people to get curious about how they relate to their b ..read more

In this special story session, Christina Testut—a kindergarten teacher and champion of body acceptance—joins us this week on The Midlife Feast to share her inspiring un-dieting journey and the lessons that quarantine taught her about embracing body diversity.  She shares why her weight-loss “success story”  became unsustainable, physically, mentally, and emotionally. As a mother and educator, she recognized the urgent need to redefine beauty standards for impressionable young people and took a powerful stand by transforming her epiphany into a children's book celebrating all body sha ..read more

Tight pants. Bloating. IBS. Food sensitivities. If you’re one of the many people who have experienced gastrointestinal discomfort in midlife, you know how complex this issue is.  Dr. Kim Bretz ND is joining me to answer some of the most frequently asked gut health questions. She will help us understand that there’s a fair amount of confusion about our gut because we’re navigating both physical symptoms and perceptions all at once. We’ll dive into FODMAPs, why digestive diversity is so important, and why self-directed diets not only add discomfort but actually put us at risk if we don’t k ..read more

Diet and wellness culture do a fantastic job “shoulding” all over us, especially when it comes to the habits we put into place. This pressure does not mix well with our already strained capacity in midlife, making it necessary to ask ourselves if the habits we keep are serving us anymore. That’s why I’ve invited health coach and behavior change expert Heather Sayers Lehman to help us dive into this work. Habits can be powerful tools, but they should be a reflection of how attuned we are to our own needs and preferences-not diet culture rules. We’ll unpack why we need to focus less on willpowe ..read more

In addition to the emotional and physical changes that can come with midlife, have you ever felt discouraged when you realized that your relationship with your spouse or partner was having its own midlife crisis? If so, you’re not alone, but you don’t have to stay stuck. Since we’re celebrating Valentine’s Day this week, I thought it would be the perfect time to invite relationship expert Carrie Cohen on the show to talk about why feeling disconnected in relationships and marriage in midlife can happen without us even noticing. She will let us in on why midlife is another transition for our re ..read more