In The Know With Nina

What if the number on the scale is the least interesting thing about your health?

In this episode of In the Know with Nina, Dr. Nina Crowley is joined by Dr. Molly Lupo, DNP—owner of Lupo Preventive Medicine and host of the More Than Weight Loss podcast—for a powerful and practical conversation on body composition, women’s health, and redefining success in weight management.

Dr. Lupo shares how she uses her seca body composition analyzer in clinical practice to move the focus away from weight alone. By tracking muscle, fat mass, visceral adiposity, and trends over time, she empowers women to reclaim their health journeys with individualized, data-informed care. Together, they unpack the emotional history many women have with the scale, explore the role of hunger hormones and GLP-1 medications, and offer practical strategies for building trust, motivation, and muscle—at any age.

Key Takeaways

• The relationship with the scale runs deep, especially for women.

• Shifting from weight to body composition can be empowering.

• Medication can play a pivotal role in managing obesity.

• Understanding hunger hormones helps reframe blame and build trust.

• Strength training is essential for long-term health and muscle preservation.

• Motivational interviewing and group support boost engagement.

• seca’s Treatment Tracker helps personalize care with trend-based visual data.

• Patients love seeing their progress in muscle gain and body fat reduction.

• Reframing expectations is key in long-term weight management.

About Dr. Molly Lupo

Dr. Molly Lupo is a nurse practitioner and the founder of Lupo Preventive Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska. She specializes in women’s health, weight management, and preventive care, and hosts the More Than Weight Loss podcast. As a seca user, Dr. Lupo integrates body composition data into her patient visits to offer individualized care, increase self-efficacy, and support behavior change through visual progress tracking.

How to Connect with Dr. Lupo

📲 Instagram: @drmollylupo

🎧 Podcast: More Than Weight Loss with Dr. Molly Lupo – episode 70 with Dr. Nina Crowley

🌐 Practice Website: www.mollylupo.com

Episode Description

What happens when a single number—like body fat percentage—starts to define an athlete’s worth?

In this episode of In the Know with Nina, Dr. Nina Crowley is joined by Dr. Robyn Whitehead, a sports psychologist and exercise physiologist, to unpack a recent article in the NYT/The Athletic on “Football, Fat, and a Culture of Fear: Some Weigh Themselves Multiple Times a Day” Together, they explore how misused metrics, outdated coaching practices, and harmful language around body composition can erode trust, motivation, and mental well-being in athletes.

They offer a more compassionate, evidence-based path forward—one rooted in athlete-centered care, motivational interviewing, and inclusive communication. When used responsibly, body composition can move beyond shame and surveillance to become a tool that supports performance, protects mental health, and empowers individuals to pursue meaningful, personalized goals.

Key Takeaways:

• Why relying on body fat % alone can harm athlete trust and performance
• The mental health toll of outdated coaching practices and body surveillance

• How motivational interviewing builds connection and long-term buy-in

• The importance of athlete-centered language and personalized coaching

• What gyms and personal trainers can learn from sports psychology

• How to use body composition as a tool—not a threat—for education, support, and empowerment

About Dr. Whitehead:

Dr. Robyn Whitehead is a sports psychologist, exercise physiologist, and professor at Stephen F. Austin State University. With a background in both clinical and athletic settings, she’s passionate about inclusive, person-centered care that values mental and physical health equally. She teaches motivational interviewing and psychology of sport and exercise to future health and performance professionals.

How to Connect with Dr. Whitehead:

Instagram: @dr_robyn_whitehead

What happens when a single number—like body fat percentage—starts to define an athlete’s worth?

In this episode of In the Know with Nina, Dr. Nina Crowley is joined by Dr. Robyn Whitehead, a sports psychologist and exercise physiologist, to unpack a recent article in the NYT/The Athletic on “Football, Fat, and a Culture of Fear: Some Weigh Themselves Multiple Times a Day” Together, they explore how misused metrics, outdated coaching practices, and harmful language around body composition can erode trust, motivation, and mental well-being in athletes.

They offer a more compassionate, evidence-based path forward—one rooted in athlete-centered care, motivational interviewing, and inclusive communication. When used responsibly, body composition can move beyond shame and surveillance to become a tool that supports performance, protects mental health, and empowers individuals to pursue meaningful, personalized goals.

Key Takeaways

• Why relying on body fat % alone can harm athlete trust and performance
• The mental health toll of outdated coaching practices and body surveillance
• How motivational interviewing builds connection and long-term buy-in
• The importance of athlete-centered language and personalized coaching
• What gyms and personal trainers can learn from sports psychology
• How to use body composition as a tool—not a threat—for education, support, and empowerment

About Dr. Whitehead:

Dr. Robyn Whitehead is a sports psychologist, exercise physiologist, and professor at Stephen F. Austin State University. With a background in both clinical and athletic settings, she’s passionate about inclusive, person-centered care that values mental and physical health equally. She teaches motivational interviewing and psychology of sport and exercise to future health and performance professionals.

How to Connect with Dr. Robyn Whitehead:

Instagram: @dr_robyn_whitehead

There’s a lot of chatter—and even more confusion—about what it really means to support patients on obesity medications.

In this episode of In the Know with Nina, Dr. Nina Crowley welcomes Summer Kessel, RD, CSOWM—widely known as @SummertheDietitian—for a deeply personal and refreshingly honest conversation. Summer blends clinical expertise with lived experience as both a GLP-1 patient and provider. Together, they explore what it takes to rebuild a relationship with food, overcome stigma, and reimagine success in weight management beyond the number on the scale.

This conversation bridges science, behavior, and humanity—offering insight and empathy for anyone navigating obesity care in the GLP-1 era.

Key Takeaways

• What is “food noise”—and how do GLP-1s quiet it?
• Why intuitive eating principles can align with medication-based care
• The stigma dietitians face when living in larger bodies
• Why weight loss alone isn’t the goal—preserving muscle is
• What sustainable nutrition looks like in real life
• How GLP-1s help people finally follow through on their best intentions

About Summer Kessel, RD, CSOWM, LDN

Summer Kessel, RD, CSOWM, LDN is a registered dietitian, GLP-1 nutrition expert, and author of the upcoming book Living Your Healthiest Semaglutide Life (July 2025). She’s also co-founder of JoinVineyard.com, a virtual platform offering comprehensive obesity care and medication access.

Connect with Summer Kessel, RD, CSOWM, LDN

Pre-order her book: Living Your Healthiest Semaglutide Life on Amazon

Follow on Instagram: @SummertheDietitian

Learn more: JoinVineyard.com

There’s a lot of chatter—and even more confusion—about what it really means to support patients on obesity medications.

In this episode of In the Know with Nina, Dr. Nina Crowley welcomes Summer Kessel, RD, CSOWM—widely known as @SummertheDietitian—for a deeply personal and refreshingly honest conversation. Summer blends clinical expertise with lived experience as both a GLP-1 patient and provider. Together, they explore what it takes to rebuild a relationship with food, overcome stigma, and reimagine success in weight management beyond the number on the scale.

This conversation bridges science, behavior, and humanity—offering insight and empathy for anyone navigating obesity care in the GLP-1 era.

Key Takeaways

• What is “food noise”—and how do GLP-1s quiet it?
• Why intuitive eating principles can align with medication-based care
• The stigma dietitians face when living in larger bodies
• Why weight loss alone isn’t the goal—preserving muscle is
• What sustainable nutrition looks like in real life
• How GLP-1s help people finally follow through on their best intentions

About Summer Kessel, RD, CSOWM, LDN

Summer Kessel, RD, CSOWM, LDN is a registered dietitian, GLP-1 nutrition expert, and author of the upcoming book Living Your Healthiest Semaglutide Life (July 2025). She’s also co-founder of JoinVineyard.com, a virtual platform offering comprehensive obesity care and medication access.

Connect with Summer Kessel, RD, CSOWM, LDN

Pre-order her book: Living Your Healthiest Semaglutide Life on Amazon

Follow on Instagram: @SummertheDietitian

Learn more: JoinVineyard.com

In this conversation, Dr. Nina Crowley, discusses Obesity Care Week (March 4-8, 2024) with James Zervios, VP and Chief of Staff for the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC). 

#ObesityCareWeek will focus on the ‘5 Principles of Obesity’ and advocating for the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act on Capitol Hill.

They discuss the importance of addressing weight bias in healthcare, the complexity of insurance processes, and the role of comprehensive care teams. James also highlights OAC’s regional events and the significance of community engagement. The conversation ends with a call to action for healthcare providers to participate in Obesity Care Week by signing up for alerts and advocating for change at www.obesitycareweek.org

This podcast episode with Karli Burridge and Nina Crowley explores comprehensive obesity care, highlighting the chronic nature of obesity, language challenges, and anti-obesity medications. They introduce the MEANS Model (Medical treatment, Emotional well-being, Activity, Nutrition, Sleep) and emphasize evidence-based practice, body composition analysis, and personalized care. The episode underlines avoiding simplistic views and biases in obesity treatment. For more, see the Obesity Medicine Association’s statement.

Dr. Nina Crowley interviews Carah Horn, the metabolic and bariatric surgery coordinator at Bayfront Health in St. Petersburg, Florida. Carah discusses their recent MBSAQIP accreditation site visit, emphasizing the integration of surgical and medical components in their program. They stress the importance of personalized treatment plans, continuity of care, and including behavioral support and exercise for long-term success. Carah highlights the data collected on patients, focusing on outcomes like weight change, comorbidity resolution, and body fat percentage. Carah’s team is excited to incorporate body composition analysis in their program. She emphasizes the importance of a collaborative approach between medical and surgical arms to address obesity comprehensively.

In this episode, Dr. Nina Crowley engages in a deep conversation with Dr. Renee Rogers, PhD, FACSM, a senior scientist at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Dr. Rogers recently presented at the ACSM 2024 Annual Meeting in Boston, MA, alongside renowned experts Dr. Caroline Apovian and Dr. John Jakecic, focusing on ‘Focusing and Positioning Physical Activity and Lifestyle Modification in the Context of Contemporary Anti-Obesity Medications.’

Dr. Rogers brings a wealth of knowledge from her current research, clinical work, and extensive experience in the fields of exercise physiology and behavioral approaches to obesity care. The conversation delves into the critical need for a person-centered, rather than method-centered, approach to exercise and physical activity in weight management

Dr. Nina Crowley and sleep expert Dr. Audrey Wells discuss the connection between sleep, obesity, and pediatrics. They address the myth that weight loss alone resolves sleep apnea, highlighting the need to treat sleep disorders comprehensively. Dr. Wells underlines the critical role of sleep in health and discusses using body composition analysis to assess sleep apnea risk. The conversation advocates for ongoing evaluations to ensure effective treatment.