Insatiable

The world is a lot right now. Globally, personally, often both. And when things are this intense, it can be easy to feel like your relationship with food is a first world problem, or that nothing matters, you're just going to eat. To dismiss the battle as something to deal with later, when things calm down. But this is exactly when it matters most. We can't all collapse at the same time. If you're hungry, depleted, or consumed by overriding your cravings, you don't have the energy for your own life, let alone for showing up with the values you want to see ripple out into the world. And the conditioning that tells you investing in yourself takes from others, that you should be able to power through, that your needs are too much, is the same conditioning that keeps the cycle going. In this episode of Truce with Food, I walk through three reasons your food battle matters more in hard times, not less. I cover why you need to be physically nourished to show up for what you care about, why the all-or-nothing thinking that says investing in yourself takes from others is the same conditioning we need to change, and why most weight and food struggles are really about a complicated relationship with power. Healing your relationship with food isn't a distraction from the work of this moment. It's part of it. 5:47 – Why overriding your hunger actually robs you of the rebelliousness and energy needed for your life 11:17 – Why learning to connect how you eat to how your body works is revolutionary 13:52 – The cultural conditioning that makes you believe investing in your own health must come at the expense of your family or work 17:23 – How this zero-sum cultural conditioning trap exists on every level 19:55 – How a client learned the emotional work of tending to her needs, instead of trying to fix issues for her daughter 21:13 – Your food battle as a doorway to examine where you’re still sacrificing yourself to unsustainable norms 24:01 – How that guilty feeling you get for overeating or not working out is often a symptom of internalized capitalist productivity 26:42 – Backlash as a sign of actual progress and how “slow and steady” keeps you in the game 31:41 – How stubborn weight issues are often linked to an unconscious resistance to dominative power, and the need to redefine power as collaborative 36:03 – The yin archetype’s association with food and body issues (including eating disorders) Mentioned In Healing Your Relationship With Food Is a Rebellious Act Why Intuitive Functional Medicine Works When Protocols Don’t with Erin Holt What Your Food Stage Reveals About Why Nothing Has Worked Long Term Freedom from Cravings course Truce with Food Food Stage Finder Assessment

Twenty years ago, functional medicine changed everything for me. My IBS cleared. My skin cleared. My depression lifted. And for the first time, I understood food as medicine instead of just calories. But somewhere in the last five years, functional medicine started looking a lot like what it was railing against. A supplement for every lab marker. A protocol for every person. A business model that profits from making you feel more broken than when you walked in. So I stopped talking about it much here. But I still believe in root cause resolution. And I wanted to bring on someone who practices it the way it was meant to be practiced. That's why I brought Erin Holt on the show. Erin is a seasoned clinician, clinic founder, and trainer of other practitioners who has been vocal about what's gone wrong in this industry while still believing fiercely in what it can be. She practices what she calls intuitive functional medicine, a framework that starts with the physical body and refuses to stop there. In this episode of Truce with Food, Erin and I get into what's actually broken in functional medicine right now, why data can never replace discernment or lived experience, and how her five-phase formula bridges the physical, mental, emotional, and energetic aspects of healing. We also talk about why you can't rewire an inflamed brain with mindset work, and what it really means to self-source your health instead of outsourcing it to someone in a white coat. 2:48 – Introduction to Erin and how she and her trainees help one-on-one clients 7:56 – The shift in functional medicine over the last five years that’s recreating the exact problem it was designed to solve 11:25 – Defining functional medicine and comparing it to more conventional medicine 16:46 – What intuitive functional medicine is and what it looks like in Erin’s practice (and her training of other practitioners) 24:08 – Self-sourcing vs. outsourcing your health and the long, underexamined history of the loss of self-trust in so many people 34:09 – A basic example of how Erin helps her clients rebuild their self-trust (without forcing it) 39:55 – Why too many choices in the name of empowerment can actually cause someone to freeze in response (and what skilled practitioners do differently) 44:11 – The real point of fear-based marketing and how to spot it before it sells you something you don't need 47:00 – Why the nocebo effect, medical hexing, and the labels a practitioner puts on you can quietly become the ceiling on your healing 49:15 – Functional labs that are actually worth it and the very contextual, individualized way Erin administers them as a practitioner 51:43 – Erin’s framework for whole-person healing, why the starting point doesn’t matter, and what needs to happen before you can rewire your brain using mindset work 1:00:42 – The importance and meaning of self-compassion and why you must only work with those who see your potential to heal Mentioned In Why Intuitive Functional Medicine Works When Protocols Don't with Erin Holt Manifest Your Health™ The Funk’tional Nutrition | Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest Funk’tional Nutrition Academy (FNA)  Funk’tional Nutrition: How Belonging, Not Willpower, Shapes Your Eating Find Your Food Stage Quiz

You've tried the plans. The protocols. Maybe therapy, journaling, intuitive eating. And food still feels like a battle. The problem isn't that you haven't tried hard enough. It's that no one has ever shown you where you actually are. I've spent 19 years working with women who've tried everything and nothing's worked long term. What I keep finding is that the approach mismatches the stage. And you can't know what to do next until you know where you're starting from. In this episode of Truce with Food, I walk through I walk through the four developmental stages of resolving your food battle and introduce my free Food Stage Finder Assessment. If you've ever wondered why you're still struggling despite everything you've done, this is where to start. 1:40 – How women's healthcare concerns get dismissed and what led Ali to this work 3:59 – Why food struggles fall into two extremes and why both miss the point 6:26 – What the Food Stage Finder Assessment is and why Ali created it 7:34 – Why more information stopped being the problem for Ali's clients 9:03 – Women's health span post-menopause and why midlife is the time to get this right 11:56 – Taking responsibility for your own body literacy without burning out 13:11 – Why intuitive eating is hard when you've never had healthy eating patterns 14:06 – How adolescent culture shapes our food culture and why quick fixes dominate 19:50 – Why maturity, not more learning, is what actually creates food freedom 22:38 – The four developmental stages of resolving your food battle 25:53 – Stage one: Gathering Evidence 27:04 – Stage two: Breakthrough Ready 29:37 – Stage three: Practicing Freedom 32:48 – Stage four: Trusting in Satisfaction 36:19 – Why most people are surprised by their Food Stage Finder results 36:32 – How to take the free Food Stage Finder Assessment Mentioned In What Your Food Stage Reveals About Why Nothing Has Worked Long Term Truce with Food Food Stage Finder Assessment

After nearly a decade of conversations about food, culture, and psychology, this podcast has a new name. What was Insatiable is now the Truce with Food Podcast. What started as a rebrand turned into an honest look at how success, ambition, and identity shift over time. Ten years ago, metrics like downloads and productivity felt like the scorecard. Then motherhood happened. Menopause happened. The realities of limited time and energy became impossible to ignore. I had to ask what actually feels like success now. In this episode of Truce with Food, I share how hustle culture quietly shaped my definition of success and how I used my own framework to work through overworking. Because creating a truce with food often means creating a truce with the relentless pursuit of success itself. 4:26 – How a decade of podcasting quietly reveals how cultural definitions of success shape our goals and habits  9:57 – When things began to shift in my energy and capacity regarding hustle culture 13:13 – What the rebrand is about and why a years-long evolving framework involving work with real people matters now more than ever 16:48 – The Truce with Food framework as a way to take back your power and how I used it to stop overworking 23:32 – Re-evaluation of time, energy, and capacity as a result of hustle culture limits in midlife  32:54 – What is and isn’t changing about the podcast Mentioned In What a Truce with Food Taught Me About Redefining Success Truce with Food How Just Showing Up Ended Years of Binging Braid Creative | Kathleen Shannon on Skipping One-Size-Fits-All and Experimenting Instead Health, Body, and Business with Ali Shapiro (Being Boss Podcast) Find Your Food Stage Quiz

Diet culture, anti-diet rhetoric, and functional medicine all live in a messy middle ground. Our culture trains us to outsource authority, chase gold stars, and equate thinness with worth. We're taught to live by someone else's food rules, health rules, weight rules. So if you're still struggling to figure food out, it's not a failure of discipline. It's a misunderstanding of safety and belonging. In this episode of Insatiable, I join Erin Holt on The Funk'tional Nutritionist podcast to talk about how functional medicine, adult development, and lived experience create pendulum swings in eating patterns. We get into why food feels like both the problem and the solution, and what it means to author your own choices around health and weight without shame, dogma, or perfectionism. 6:28 – How Ali’s history with cancer, functional medicine, and adult development work led her to see “falling off track” with food as a symptom instead of a core issue 10:15 – Erin’s history with eating disorders and how her story overlaps with Ali’s 14:00 – How the “good girl” (or socialized) mindset influences your thinking with food, weight, and health (even after you’ve rejected diet culture on the surface) 18:10 – Example of how seeing yourself (not others) as the author of your story changes what “success” looks like. 22:54 – Why people “go off track” with food and how it has nothing to do with willpower 27:45 – Erin’s food memories that illustrate the clash between the need for rest and resourcefulness vs. the need for approval and belonging  34:34 – How tools like GLP‑1s aren’t inherently good or bad and can help or harm  38:32 – Why weight loss alone can never deliver belonging, purpose, or a meaningful life 42:37 – Why it’s okay if you still feel like weight loss should be your focus right now 46:56 – Where to start if you don’t even know what emotional needs you have that need to be met  52:26 – Seeing the inner critic as protection, not self-sabotage, and an example of how healing doesn’t always have to be difficult Mentioned In Funk’tional Nutrition: How Belonging, Not Willpower, Shapes Your Eating The Funk’tional Nutrition Podcast Find Your Food Stage Quiz Dr. Deborah MacNamara Next Level by Stacy Sims

What happens after you've tried everything? The plans, protocols, cleanses, and tracking apps. The running, the restriction, the attempt to outrun the fork. At some point, the effort becomes its own kind of exhaustion. You're no longer chasing health, you're chasing relief. In this episode of Insatiable, I sit down with Dee, a graduate of the Truce with Food: Consistency program, to talk about what actually creates lasting change when food has become comfort, numbness, and self-punishment all at once. Dee shares what it was like to move from binging and rigid thinking into something quieter and more powerful: just showing up. 3:51 – Why Dee felt stuck before joining Truce With Food: Consistency  7:47 – Why Dee had no hesitation about signing up, even after having tried so many things before 11:04 – What changed for Dee when success was defined as simply showing up 13:47 – Having a safe space and the role of compassionate witnesses in ending her isolation  21:13 – The unexpected power of language in reshaping Dee’s thinking and behavior 27:23 – Where things shifted for Dee and where she is now compared to when she started 30:50 – How Dee’s rigid thinking and perspective on movement and motivation have changed 34:40 – The biggest shift for Dee in her relationship with food and why intensity and duration matter more than perfection 37:19 – The shift from measuring thinness to measuring aliveness 40:32 – What else surprised Dee about the work within the program and her words for anyone considering joining Mentioned In How Just Showing Up Ended Years of Binging Finding Me: A Memoir by Viola Davis FREE Workshop on February 10th - ​​Untangle Your Food Triggers: Catch Yourself Before You Fall Off Track Find Your Food Stage Quiz Send me (Ali) a text message. Join me February 10th for my free workshop, Untangle Your Food Triggers: Catch Yourself Before You Fall Off Track. Discover why falling off track makes sense and leave with the paradigm shift needed for lasting change without deprivation. I’ll share the driving force behind food sabotage, and it’s not willpower. Sign up now at trucewithfood.com/consistency. Free Workshop: Untangle Your Food Triggers: Catch Yourself Before You Fall Off Track: February 10, 2026 at 12:00pm (EST) You'll see why falling off track with your food makes complete sense (no, that's not a typo) and leave with the most important paradigm shift you can make if lasting change, without feeling deprived, is what you're after. Register today.

You tell yourself you're too busy and too tired to focus on yourself. You'll do it when things calm down, when work eases up, when the kids need less, when you finally get a good night's sleep. But food still calls your name at all the wrong times. You've tried to fix it, but the cycle keeps repeating. You're not lazy. You're not broken. You're trying to solve exhaustion without understanding where it actually comes from. In this episode of Insatiable, I break down why "too busy and too tired" is often protective resistance in disguise and why waiting for life to calm down costs you more than you think. I walk through how midlife physiology, perfectionism, lack of agency, and how we're conditioned as women all fuel the tired trigger. Plus, why turning to food makes complete sense as a solution, not a character flaw. 1:48 - Why “too busy and too tired” can be protective resistance disguised as practicality 4:48 – Example of how investing in your health earlier creates dividends you can’t see until later 6:33 - Biological shifts in midlife that quietly change hunger, satiety, and energy 9:16 - How perfectionism and over-functioning impact your energy 9:50 - Why sugar and “I deserve this” thinking are solutions before they’re problems 12:03 - Example of the surprising role of agency in chronic exhaustion 15:25 – How investing in the right support for yourself and self-compassion can energize you 19:25 - Final takeaways for this episode and an invitation to you Mentioned In Why Being Too Tired Is Exactly Why You Need Support Oura Ring FREE Workshop on February 10th - ​​Untangle Your Food Triggers: Catch Yourself Before You Fall Off Track Find Your Food Stage Quiz Send me (Ali) a text message. 🧭 If you're tired of knowing what works but not being able to make it stick, try my free food stage finder. There are four distinct stages in how we relate to food, and a few questions will reveal yours along with next steps. Visit: trucewithfood.com/find-your-food-stage

You've followed the plans. Upped the discipline. Doubled down on getting back on track. And still, food and taking care of yourself feel harder than they used to. You're not the problem. The problem is trying to apply the same strategies you relied on in your twenties and thirties to a body and life that have fundamentally changed. In this episode of Insatiable, I share the five shifts that finally make consistency possible when perfectionism stops working. You'll learn why your resistance to showing up imperfectly is protective, not personal, and how to stay in the game even when it feels like you're barely moving forward. 3:28 - Why old strategies no longer working for you isn’t a sign of your failure 11:06 - Why C-plus effort triggers disgust and why that disgust has nothing to do with laziness 19:52 - How certainty becomes a shield against vulnerability and keeps you repeating the same all-or-nothing loop 24:51 - Why “momentum” sounds like a soft metric but becomes the only measure that compounds into lasting change 28:52 - The protective resistance that shows up the moment you try to break the cycle and why planning for it is non-negotiable 34:25 – Quick recap of the five shifts that redefine what success actually looks like in midlife with food struggles Mentioned In Five Shifts to Finally Stay Consistent With Food FREE Workshop on February 10th - ​​Untangle Your Food Triggers: Catch Yourself Before You Fall Off Track Find Your Food Stage Quiz Send me (Ali) a text message. 🧭 If you're tired of knowing what works but not being able to make it stick, try my free food stage finder. There are four distinct stages in how we relate to food, and a few questions will reveal yours along with next steps. Visit: trucewithfood.com/find-your-food-stage

You've done the work. Tried the protocols, followed the plans. And yet food still takes up way too much mental space. You're not the problem. Those one-size-fits-all protocols you've been handed were never going to work for where you actually are. After nearly two decades working with clients, I've watched the wellness space get louder and louder with protocols and plans telling you what to do without knowing who you are or what stage you're in. Frameworks meet you where you actually are and help you figure out why you keep turning to food in the first place. That distinction is everything when it comes to lasting change. In this episode of Insatiable, I explain why frameworks work when protocols don't, walk you through the four developmental stages most women move through in their relationship with food, and share details about my free Untangle Your Food Triggers workshop coming up in February for those ready to move beyond protocols.  5:52 - How last year’s “composting phase” reshaped my body of work 9:46 - Why midlife women need frameworks instead of protocols 13:19 - An appetizer for the Truce with Food Consistency program to kickstart your year 15:16 - Stages in the developmental process to a truce with food 17:16 - Why stage two is both the most confusing and the most hopeful place to land (and how to leverage it) Mentioned In Why Food Plans Fail After 40 and What Works Instead FREE Workshop on February 10th (not 11th, misspoke in episode) - ​​Untangle Your Food Triggers: Catch Yourself Before You Fall Off Track Braid Creative and Consulting How to Better Understand Stress with Andrea Nakayama Find Your Food Stage Quiz Send me (Ali) a text message. 🧭 If you're tired of knowing what works but not being able to make it stick, try my free food stage finder. There are four distinct stages in how we relate to food, and a few questions will reveal yours along with next steps. Visit: trucewithfood.com/find-your-food-stage

Happy New Year, Insatiable listeners! Welcome to 2026. Today I’m resharing my conversation with parenting expert Dr. Deborah MacNamara, where we explore how food connects to our deep need for belonging, how feeling significant plays into belonging and food choices, as well as the many ways we can heal our relationships with food, fullness, and needing other people. If you want to make real changes with your or your loved ones eating, this episode just might help you make life-changing connections that have been elusive for years and be focused in the right direction for 2026. Tune in, then make sure to check out my new website trucewithfood.com.  We discuss: The difference between attachment and belonging What Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is missing How to focus on receptivity in relationships with our kids Why food is often the place our relationship dynamics play out The surprising connection between food, fullness, and vulnerability Self-soothing vs satiation Why feelings are different than emotions The problematic invasiveness of “work mode” Experimenting with being “needy” so we can learn to depend on others More about our guest: Dr. Deborah MacNamara is the author of two books, Nourished: Connection, food and caring for our kids (and everyone else we love), and Rest, Play, Grow: Making sense of preschoolers (or anyone who acts like one). She is on Faculty at the Neufeld Institute and the Director of Kid’s Best Bet counselling. Connect with Dr. Deborah MacNamara: Website Books Facebook Instagram Mentioned in this episode: Dr. Gordon Neufeld & Dr. Gabor Maté The Religion of Wellness Culture with Anne Helen Petersen (Episode 252) Send me (Ali) a text message. 🧭 If you're tired of knowing what works but not being able to make it stick, try my free food stage finder. There are four distinct stages in how we relate to food, and a few questions will reveal yours along with next steps. Visit: trucewithfood.com/find-your-food-stage

What if your inability to change isn't a failure of willpower, but your heart's way of protecting you from something you're not ready to face? Today I’m sharing a conversation I had with Meghan Telpner for the Courageous Pivot podcast about how my journey from overworking addiction to radical life redesign began with a simple question: "Why does this make sense?" I reveals how addressing my relationship with food became the gateway to confronting deeper questions about worth, identity, and what success actually means—and why healing often requires becoming a beginner all over again. From my journey through cancer, infertility, and postpartum menopause to finally redefining wealth as "freedom over my time," we get into how having the courage to slow down and listen to your body's wisdom can unlock transformations you never imagined possible. Essential listening for anyone measuring busyness instead of impact, struggling to make changes they know they need, or ready to understand why their body might be wiser than their ambition. We discuss: Why only 1 in 7 heart attack survivors actually change their diet and lifestyle—even when they know it could save their lives The hidden cost of measuring busyness instead of impact and how it perpetuates chronic exhaustion The developmental reason we spend the first half of life proving we can exert our will on the world—and what the second half requires Why food (and overwork) are “almost addictive”—soothing just enough to quiet the alarm but never enough to meet the actual need What “immunity to change” reveals about the knowing-doing gap and why willpower will never be the answer How cultural conditioning around productivity and “earning your worth” gets embedded in our nervous systems The question that transforms self-judgment into constructive self-compassion Connect with Meghan: Visit Meghan’s website Listen to the Courageous Pivot Podcast Mentioned in this episode: Culinary Nutrition: How to Cook for Health and Taste with Meghan Telpner – Insatiable Season 12, Episode 2 Enneagram: personality types Immunity to Change by Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey — published by Harvard Business Review Press Rest, Play, Grow by Dr. Deborah MacNamara Nourished by Dr. Deborah MacNamara — available through her foundation website Laura McKowen — writer on sobriety whose rule "it's not your fault, but it is your responsibility" Dr. Stacy Sims — exercise physiologist, Ali references regarding protein recommendations Send me (Ali) a text message. Make sure to check out Ali’s new website trucewithfood.com, and take the new Find Your Food Stage assessment!

Today, Sas Petherick returns for the fifth installment of our Body Stories series — and she’s nearly a year into her holistic weight-loss journey! In this conversation, Sas shares what’s become unmistakably clear along the way: true change happens at the pace of your body, and all-or-nothing thinking around food and movement is far more pervasive (and sneaky) than we realize. Together, we discuss: Why dieting isn’t an either/or thing — and you’re never just “on track” or “off track” How Sas embraced her birthday dinner without stressing over macros Moving at the pace of your body instead of rushing to the “end” of a diet The realities of The Biggest Loser and the ways they faked things for TV How to choose a trainer you can actually trust Self-compassion as an antidote to perfectionism Sas’ sobriety journey and finding the third way Make sure to check out Ali’s new website trucewithfood.com, and take the new Find Your Food Stage assessment! Connect with Sas Petherick: Visit Sas’s website Follow Sas on Instagram Subscribe to Sas’s newsletter Courage & Spice Mentioned in this episode: How to Lose Weight AND Love Yourself (because you can do both!) with Sas Petherick [Body Stories Series #1] “We’re the Brave Ones” — Discipline vs Devotion, Macros & Being “Sporty” with Sas Petherick [Body Stories Series #2] Emotions & Embodiment for Sustainable Weight Loss with Sas Petherick [Body Stories Series #3] How to Hold Your Weight Loss Goals Loosely (for better results) with Sas Petherick [Body Stories #4] Fit For TV: The Reality of The Biggest Loser Self-compassion books from Kristin Neff Train with Joan Send me (Ali) a text message.

You’ve probably heard the advice: “Feel your emotions.” But what does that actually mean in everyday life? Especially when so many of us believe we’re feeling our feelings when we’re actually thinking our feelings. And thus, not feeling better or resolving our stubborn bad habits. In this episode, Mary Tilson joins me to explore how we’ve each learned to stay with and move through our emotions. Mary also opens up about her journey with addiction and anorexia, offering an honest look at how activation, dysregulation, and stress show up in our bodies and minds. We discuss: Being with our feelings instead of “rising above” them Practicing mindful awareness with the R.A.I.N. acronym Simple (but effective!) ways to resource yourself Addiction as an adaptation The realities of recovery and finding joy every day The science of awe and the healing powers of nature   More about our guest: Mary Tilson is a Certified Professional Recovery Coach and Somatic Practitioner with a Master’s Degree in the Psychology & Neuroscience of Mental Health. She draws on a holistic background, which includes Somatic Experiencing, a body-based approach to healing trauma and stress-related disorders and over a decade of experience as a Yoga & Mindfulness Teacher. Having experienced drug and alcohol addiction firsthand, Mary's approach to coaching is rooted in compassion and understanding. She has been sober for over 12 years and is passionate about helping others build fulfilling lives substance-free. She supports clients through 1:1 Coaching and Retreats. Connect with Mary: Visit her website at sunandmoonsoberliving.com Follow her on IG: @marytilson @sunandmoon.soberliving Listen to her Podcast: The Sun & Moon Sober Living Podcast Join her 2026 Women's Recovery Retreat: sunandmoonsoberliving.com/banff Send me (Ali) a text message.

This week, Beatriz Victoria Albina returns to Insatiable for part two of our conversation on ending emotional outsourcing — the habit of looking outside ourselves for validation, safety, and worth. In this episode, we explore the practices that help you come back home to yourself: tuning into your needs, regulating your nervous system, returning to your body, and reclaiming your center. It all begins with one simple but powerful question: What feels good right now? Join us as we explore what it means to live from that place of connection and self-trust. We discuss: How to reconnect with your biological impulses Functional freeze and how to feel your feelings (not think them) Why wellness is not about coffee enemas or random supplements The dangers of emotionally outsourcing to wellness professionals How we’re trained to prioritize productivity Somatic practice and praxis More about our guest: Beatriz (Béa) Victoria Albina, NP, MPH, SEP (she/her) is a UCSF-trained Family Nurse Practitioner, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, Master Certified Somatic Life Coach, author of End Emotional Outsourcing: a Guide to Overcoming Codependent, Perfectionist and People Pleasing Habits and Breathwork Meditation Guide with a passion for helping humans socialized as women to reconnect with their bodies, regulate their nervous systems and rewire their minds, so they can break free from codependency, perfectionism and people pleasing and reclaim their joy. She is the host of the Feminist Wellness Podcast, holds a Masters degree in Public Health from Boston University School of Public Health and a BA in Latin American Studies from Oberlin College. Born in Mar del Plata, Argentina, Béa grew up in the great state of Rhode Island. She has been working in health & wellness for over 20 years and lives with her wife, Billey Albina and their handsome all-black cat Wade. Connect with Béa: Website Book Website Instagram: @beatrizvictoriaalbinanp Podcast: Feminist Wellness Facebook LinkedIn Free Meditations Send me (Ali) a text message.

Today, I’m joined by Beatriz Victoria Albina for a conversation about the emotions that often hide beneath common gut issues—and why codependency isn’t the real problem (and boundaries aren’t the full solution). We also dive into her new book, End Emotional Outsourcing: A Guide to Overcoming Codependent, Perfectionist, and People-Pleasing Habits, where Beatriz offers powerful reframes on parenting, community, and self-trust. This episode feels like a deep exhale—a reminder that healing isn’t about fixing yourself, but coming home to yourself. Join us for part one today, and come back next week for part two. We discuss: Our backgrounds with functional medicine What it means to end emotional outsourcing Why codependency isn’t the problem and boundaries aren’t the answer How patriarchy undermines caring for each other and ourselves Why perfectionism isn’t an identity - it’s a habit Attachment styles and “good enough” parenting How to stop striving and actually relax Polyvagal theory for healthy skeptics Functional freeze and why we dissociate from joy Why people-pleasing isn’t a problem — it’s a protection strategy   More about our guest: Beatriz (Béa) Victoria Albina, NP, MPH, SEP (she/her) is a UCSF-trained Family Nurse Practitioner, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, Master Certified Somatic Life Coach, author of End Emotional Outsourcing: a Guide to Overcoming Codependent, Perfectionist and People Pleasing Habits and Breathwork Meditation Guide with a passion for helping humans socialized as women to reconnect with their bodies, regulate their nervous systems and rewire their minds, so they can break free from codependency, perfectionism and people pleasing and reclaim their joy. She is the host of the Feminist Wellness Podcast, holds a Masters degree in Public Health from Boston University School of Public Health and a BA in Latin American Studies from Oberlin College. Born in Mar del Plata, Argentina, Béa grew up in the great state of Rhode Island. She has been working in health & wellness for over 20 years and lives with her wife, Billey Albina and their handsome all-black cat Wade.   Connect with Béa: Website Book Website Instagram: @beatrizvictoriaalbinanp Podcast: Feminist Wellness Facebook LinkedIn Free Meditations Send me (Ali) a text message.

Today I’m joined by everyone’s favorite poet, Kate Baer, for a tender conversation about midlife transitions, medical anxiety, and the power of female friendship. We talk about how to orient around ideas instead of problems, and we share a few poems from Kate’s forthcoming collection, How About Now, out November 4th. If you’ve been feeling a little lonely, uncertain, or in-between — or all three — this one is for you. We discuss: How the body makes itself known in midlife Body neutrality, medical anxiety, and illness The public scrutiny around Kate’s weight loss Parenting in a fatphobic world “Menopause is when all the girls you were come out to play” How to cultivate female friendships — even through conflict The difference between community and friends Being erased from the male gaze as you age More about our guest: Kate Baer is the 3x New York Times bestselling author of What Kind Of Woman, I Hope This Finds You Well, and And Yet. Her work has also been published in The New Yorker, Literary Hub, Huffington Post and The New York Times. Her next book, How About Now, is out November 4, 2025. Connect with Kate: Kate’s website: www.katebaer.com Kate’s Instagram: @katejbaer Buy How About Now. Pre and early orders help authors so much: bookshop.org/p/books/how-about-now-poems-kate-baer Mentioned in this episode: Katie Sturino Send me (Ali) a text message.

This week Liz Wolfe returns to the show for a candid conversation about all the fitness myths we’re seeing around the wild world of wellness in 2025. Together, we get into why people are slapping the word “perimenopause” on everything, how to focus on agility as much as strength training, and everyone’s favorite fall purchase: weighted vests. We also discuss: Taylor’s new album and why we love her with Travis Why strength is different than muscle mass Liz’s tips for injury prevention at any age The nervous system benefits of proper form How to reclaim your range of motion to prevent injury Perfectionism as a protection strategy How much muscle you can actually build (and maintain) The very real risks of under-eating in midlife Finding yourself on the spectrum of detrained to trained Muscle and strength don’t vanish from a few off weeks but at 4-6 weeks of no training What Liz really thinks about weighted vests   More about our guest: Liz Wolfe is a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, Certified Personal Trainer, best-selling author and award-winning podcaster. She’s also a mom, a military spouse, and an Enneagram 6 (with a STRONG 5 wing). When it comes to wellness, Liz has always been curious about where the truth actually lies. She’s wrote the Wall Street Journal best-seller Eat the Yolks, which tackles many of the lies we’ve been told about nutrition over the last 50 years. She’s also the founder of supplement company IdealAge and the host of the Ideal Age podcast. Connect with Liz: Visit Liz’s website Follow Liz on Instagram @realfoodliz   Mentioned in this episode: Simplifying Food: Liz Wolfe on the Magic of Macros (especially as we age) Over 40 Metabolism Myths with Liz Wolfe, NTP and Certified Personal Trainer Send me (Ali) a text message.

This week, I’m joined by my former cohost Juliet Root for a fun, truth-seeking conversation about how our perspectives on food, body, and movement have shifted in 2025. Together, we share the biggest things we’ve changed our minds about—what no longer feels true, what surprised us, and what new possibilities opened up when we let old beliefs go. We discuss: Releasing restriction and shame Protein, fiber, and variety in our diets Dental care and holistic vs Western dentists Is getting to the “root cause” endless? and reconsidering functional medicine Updating our views on mammograms The nuanced truth about weighted vests Real talk about “vanity weight loss” Where we stand with food tracking and GLP1s Changing our minds about zone two cardio & HIIT The value of community and how connection improves our health   More about Juliet: Juliet Root is the co-founder of Ultralife, an online coaching platform, where she has spent nearly two decades helping people achieve lasting health, fitness, and longevity. As a certified personal trainer, board-certified nutritionist, and health coach, Juliet has worked with thousands of clients ranging from busy parents to high-performing executives and celebrities. Her mission is to cut through the noise of fitness fads and give people clear, sustainable strategies to feel and perform their best. Juliet has been featured in Shape Magazine, NBC, ABC, and Fox News, and is known for making complex training and nutrition science practical and actionable. At her company Ultralife she and here team help adults 35+ build strength, energy, and resilience so they can thrive in every season of life Mentioned in this episode: Juliet Root and Ultralife Erin Holt 297. Why I Joined Orange Theory (even though it’s “Bad” if you’re over 40) Send me (Ali) a text message.

It’s officially back-to-school season! Which means you might be thinking it’s time for a new nutrition plan, exercise routine, or self-improvement challenge. But before you set out once again, I want you to ask yourself: “Will I just end up back here in six months if I don’t get to the root of what’s really going on with my relationship to food?” In this episode, I share the three most common things I hear when people are wrestling with “Why am I eating this now?” — and how each one points to deeper truths about your health and habits. Tune in for insights that go beyond quick fixes. And if you’re ready to create lasting change, join me in Why Am I Eating This Now. Doors close September 10th! I discuss: Fresh starts versus clean slates The little known mindset shift necessary for results that last (and you can enjoy) Why investing in our health is even more important when the world is on fire How to re-think success for results beyond what you can imagine right now   Mentioned in this episode: ⭐️ Why Am I Eating This Now? — Join our next live cohort, starting September 13th Episode 301: You Don’t Have to Feel Powerless Around Food with Ginny and Isis Send me (Ali) a text message. ⭐️ Why Am I Eating This Now? is now enrolling! ⭐️ This is my signature group program to help you quiet your food noise, build lasting habits, and end emotional eating in 12 weeks—no white knuckling required. — Join our next live cohort, starting September 13th. Doors close September 10th!

Tara Schmidt, M.Ed., RDN, LD is the lead dietitian for the Mayo Clinic Diet, host of the Mayo Clinic On Nutrition podcast, and Medical Editor of the Nutrition & Fitness channel. Today she joins me for a holistic, evidence-based conversation about GLP-1s, where we cut through the misinformation around these drugs and offer information you can really trust. If you’re already taking Ozempic or Wegovy, you want to start so you can lose weight, or maybe your doctor’s recommending it — this episode is for you. I hope you enjoy it, and if you do, RSVP for my FREE Workshop on September 3rd, Untangle Your Food Triggers: Catch Yourself Before You Fall Off Track. We discuss: What GLP-1s are and how they work The place of medication and are these long term drugs? Micro-dosing and low-dosing GLP-1s Which doctors should be prescribing metabolic drugs Regenerative healing from GLP-1s The causes of food noise Hunger vs appetite The triggers for emotional eating Why eating for comfort makes sense Reclaiming your agency so you want to change (rather than feeling like you “should”)   More about our guest: Tara Schmidt, M.Ed., RDN, LD is a registered dietitian and an instructor of nutrition at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. As the lead dietitian for the Mayo Clinic Diet, she provides guidance rooted in evidence-based principles, helping individuals develop sustainable and realistic strategies for long-term health. She also hosts Mayo Clinic On Nutrition, a podcast that dives into current nutrition research and practical weight management tips, and she lends her expertise as the Medical Editor of the Nutrition & Fitness channel. In addition, Tara co-authored The Mayo Clinic Diet: Weight Loss Medications Edition, highlighting her commitment to thoroughly researched and medically sound advice. Beyond her professional endeavors, Tara is devoted to reducing weight bias and ensuring that everyone, regardless of size or background, has access to accurate, empathetic dietary information. She balances her busy career with family life, staying active with her husband, two children, and a golden retriever who—just like the rest of the family—enjoys a healthy serving of vegetables. Connect with Tara and Mayo Clinic: On Nutrition podcast from Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic Diet Mayo Clinic Press   Mentioned in this episode: Insatiable Episode 280: What’s Missing From the “Emotional Eating” Conversation with Dr. Deborah MacNamara Insatiable Episode 271: Over 40 Metabolism Myths with Liz Wolfe, NTP and Certified Personal Trainer Send me (Ali) a text message. ⭐️ Why Am I Eating This Now? is now enrolling! ⭐️ This is my signature group program to help you quiet your food noise, build lasting habits, and end emotional eating in 12 weeks—no white knuckling required. — Join our next live cohort, starting September 13th. Doors close September 10th!