Have you ever asked yourself, ‘why am I eating this now?’

I’ve talked about this in many of my past episodes, but today I’m excited to have two clients joining me to share their powerful stories of going from “failing” at every program they tried to addressing the root issues of their falling off track with food.

Tune in to hear Ginny and Isis talk about the diets they’ve been on, the health concerns they’re navigating, and how our work together transformed their eating habits, including food no longer being their go-to.

We discuss:

• Our unique health priorities & how they relate to what we eat
• The many ways popular diets shame & isolate us
• Why Ginny & Isis decided to join Why Am I Eating This Now?
• How to know you’re ready to invest in yourself
• Support for pulling yourself out of feeling powerless
• The importance of having a flexible path (not a rigid rulebook)

 
Part two of this conversation is coming next week. Make sure you sign up for my free masterclass before then!

Send me (Ali) a text message.

As a cancer survivor, I’ve always felt like aging is a privilege. But now in my mid-forties, I’m learning firsthand that perimenopause, menopause and midlife bring their own set of body image issues and health concerns.

My clients ask me questions like: Should I lift weights to stay strong? Is it normal or OK to gain weight in midlife? Will I ever sleep through the night again? How do I focus on my health and not get caught up in vanity yet still want to look good for my age?

I hear you! And we all know that we can’t trust anyone on Instagram to give us the answers.

So in today’s episode, Dr. Jannine Krause joins me to talk about the free, simple things you can do to support your body as you age. Because you don’t have to “go downhill” as is often the default expectation, and you can take control of your health as you get older.

We discuss:

• Jannine’s path to Naturopathic medicine
• Body image issues in perimenopause & menopause
• How to approach calorie restriction & the problem with extreme calorie deficits
• Diagnosing stomach acid issues & H. pylori
• Simple steps to heal your gut without supplements
• Why we need to pay attention to insulin sensitivity as we age
• What to do before you start fasting or biohacking
• Protein intake recommendations & sustainability
• How rest & recharge in a minute or less

 
More about our guest: Dr. Jannine Krause is a naturopathic doctor, acupuncturist, and host of The Health Fix Podcast specializing in helping women over 40 not age like their mothers or society. She has a doctorate in naturopathic medicine, master’s in acupuncture, and bachelor’s in biology.

Connect with Jannine:

• Website
• Instagram
• Youtube

Mentioned in this episode:

• HCL Challenge PDF
• Lumen
• Kate Northrup

Send me (Ali) a text message.

Have you ever struggled with family dinners, comfort foods, or getting your kids to eat? Or do you feel like you should be working harder to change your own eating habits? If you answered yes, then this episode just might help you make life-changing connections that have been elusive for years.

In this conversation with parenting expert Dr. Deborah MacNamara, we explore how food connects to our deep need for belonging, why there’s no such thing as a “picky eater,” and the many ways we can heal our relationships with food, fullness, and needing other people.

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 Deborah:

• 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.

I'm thrilled to bring you the powerful, perspective-shifting stories of two recent participants in my Truce with Food group program. In this deep dive conversation, we explore the idea of restriction as a moving target, not just in our food struggles, but throughout our lives. This reframing of restriction is a concept we also work through—in a supportive group setting and with effective tools—in my upcoming  Why Am I Eating This Now program that launches in September.

If the conversation in this episode ressonates with you, be sure to sign-up for the waitlist to be included in an upcoming FREE masterclass. In the Why Am I Eating This Now? program, we'll also unpack why the same hard work and discipline that has gotten you so far in life often backfires when you try and apply it to your eating and what’s really happening when your food discipline disappears in the moments when you feel like you need it most. 12 WEEKS. MASTER COACHING. GROUP SUPPORT. Learn more

Among the Questions Explored:

• How can "being in choice" begin to loosen the feeling of restriction?
• What does the often repeated HALT tool miss?
• How can the TAIL tool help you begin to dampen food noise?
• How do our upbringing and early food struggles show up in our present-day lives?
• While this work isn't therapy, how can it still be therapeutic? 
• How can we begin repairing trust in ourselves for sustainable transformation?
• How can midlife be viewed as a deeper calling?

Send me (Ali) a text message.

Stress. We experience it so much in our lives today, yet do we truly understand it? We bring stress to our healing, to our eating, to our health challenges, but how often do we pause to take in the whole picture of what's really going on? How can we begin to tune into ourselves among all the noise out there? How can we start moving through stress more effectively? In this conversation with Functional Medicine Nutritionist and educator, Andrea Nakayama, we go deep on all things stress and how to "separate the problem from the solution" for a more holistic understanding of what's really going on.

Among the Questions Explored:

• How can we develop a deeper understanding of stress?
• How can being self-aware be self-care?
• Why do quick fixes and endless data often do more harm than good?
• How can working within a group on food and other stressful issues be life changing? 
• How has functional medicine gone off the rails?

Guest: Over two decades ago, Andrea Nakayama's husband was diagnosed with a brain tumor and given 6 months to live while she was pregnant with their first and only child. In response, she doubled down on an area she was passionate about—nutrition—in an attempt to extend his lifespan beyond his 30s. They made it over two years, and in the wake of his death, she discovered that she had developed Hashimoto’s. The transition from caregiver to patient challenged her to advocate for herself and others within a healthcare system that routinely pushes cases like hers and her late husband’s to the margins. As the host of the 15-Minute Matrix Podcast and the founder of Functional Nutrition Alliance, Andrea is leading thousands of students and practitioners around the globe in a revolution to offer better solutions to the growing chronic illness epidemic.

Connect with Andrea Nakayama: 

• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Website

Send me (Ali) a text message.

• Why Am I Eating This Now? (Ali's Live 12-week Group Program, Starts in September!)
• Liz Wolfe's IdealAge Daily Aminos+

• The Health Fix Podcast
• Instagram 
• Facebook
• Pinterest

Send me (Ali) a text message.

Audience favorite Liz Wolfe is back! Macros matter more than you might expect. Liz and I both cover macros in our work, although from different (yet complimentary) angles, so expect a wide-ranging, dot-connecting conversation that'll give you a deeper understanding of the magic of macros.
 Among the Questions Explored:

• What exactly are macros and how do I balance them to quiet food noise and reduce emotional eating?   
• Why is protein so crucial, especially as I age?
• How do I know if I'm getting enough protein?
• Wait, I don't have to fear carbs?!

About Liz: Liz Wolfe is a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, Certified Personal Trainer, and best-selling author who encourages women to embrace their inner (and outer) badass while keeping the efficiency high and the drama low. She's the author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller Eat the Yolks, host of the award-winning Balanced Bites Podcast, founder of IdealAge supplements and Daily Aminos+, and creator of the Own Your Metabolism program. Connect: Instagram, Facebook, Website

Mentioned:

• Liz Wolfe's 8-week Own Your Metabolism course is open through June 28th (Use code "Ali50" for $50 off!) 
• 271. Over 40 Metabolism Myths with Liz Wolfe, NTP and Certified Personal Trainer
• 164. Radical Healing: Light, mitochondria dysfunction and weight gain with Brandon Mentore
• 117. Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong with Journalist Angela Saini

Send me (Ali) a text message.

Get ready for an insightful conversation with Angela Pugh, a renowned recovery expert and life coach. We discuss how to tell when thoughts and behaviors around food and alcohol tip over into problematic, even when life is seemingly going well to all outside appearances (i.e. the myth—for many—of "hitting rock bottom"). Angela shares the dramatic moment that set her on the path to sobriety and led to her life's mission to be of service to others. We explore coping mechanisms, addictive behaviors, and the identity shifts that are necessary for truly sustainable change. 

Among the Questions Explored:

• Why is sugar such a struggle for many in the sober community?
• What is the overlap between struggles with food/sugar and alcohol? 
• Why does Angela says that being an alcoholic is the best thing that ever happened to her?
• How do you recognize when a behavior is crossing the line or tipping over to unhealthy? 

About Angela: After bartending her way across Hollywood and Beverly Hills, Angela was in over her head with a drinking problem that was relentless. She got sober in 2006 and dedicated her life to helping others do the same. She has spent the last 18+ years working in addiction/recovery as an Interventionist and trainer, and now serves as a Master Life Coach, host of the nationally-ranked Addiction Unlimited Podcast, national speaker, and entrepreneur.
Connect with Angela Pugh: 

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Website

Mentioned in this episode:

• The 12 Steps of AA (Alcoholics Anonymous)
• Why Am I Eating This Now? Ali's live group program,  (opens in September)
• Please help Ali reach her goal of 200 podcast reviews on Apple Podcasts by the end of the summer! It takes 30 seconds and really helps support the show.

Send me (Ali) a text message.

In this special Insatiable podcast episode, I celebrate a major milestone: 30 years as a cancer survivor. 

I’ll share how what resolved my acne, depression, IBS, infertility, and out of control eating was learning how to redefine health beyond losing weight and learning to trust in my body feeling satisfied, not sacrificing and suffering. 

And how this new orientation led to transformational health results I didn’t even know were possible. Including sustainable weight loss, a Truce with Food, and a relationship of awe and gratitude for my body. 

I share:

• Why knowing the difference between authorities and experts is essential for transformational results. Especially if like me, as the first generation of childhood cancer survivors, there’s very little research to go on for your own body challenges.
• How I got out of the insanity of “I know sugar feeds on cancer” yet would binge on it during “scanxiety” season. If you struggle with health issues that are exacerbated by eating things you know you shouldn’t, this mindset shift helps.
• How mainstream goal setting, predicated on “You are not your story! Day 1 starts today”” sabotages us exactly like "Diet starts tomorrow" and a different approach to goal setting that resolves our root-causes and works in our real lives. 
• The root cause of my bingeing and weight loss obsession that cancer deepened but wasn’t any more destructive than diets. And a simple practice for you to get to the root of your destructive eating habits.
• What I now believe about how weight is or isn’t related to health.

And then I answer listeners' questions, which include:

• What role does diet play in your life as a survivor? 
• Have you put your cancer in the rear view mirror, or does it still occupy your thoughts?
• Residual worries and things you have to be concerned about that others don’t?
• How can friends be supportive? 

Send me (Ali) a text message.

Today's episode is all about you, dear Insatiable listeners. The questions are coming in hot via voicemail and text messaging. Please keep them coming! I love connecting with you and I'll  continue to do my best to guide you along your path. In today's episode, I address 3 very different recent questions. 

But before we dive in, especially if you’re a regular Insatiable listener, please consider rating and reviewing the show on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. My goal is to reach 200 reviews on Apple Podcasts in the U.S. in the next couple of months, but to get there I'll need your help. If you’re stuck on what to write, you can simply say what you like about the show or the episode that made you a regular listener or if you have a favorite guest or episode. 

A lot of work goes into putting out this podcast and this is a free way for you to support my show and all it takes is about 30 seconds. It’s really simple too. All you have to do to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts is scroll down the Insatiable show page, select a star rating, and tap “Write a review.” These reviews really do help others find the show—they mean more to me than you know.

Past Insatiable episodes mentioned:

• 267. Esther Blum Demystifies Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) for Perimenopause and Menopause Relief
• 269. Let’s Get Triggered: Oprah, Ozempic, and Our Outrage
• 271. Over 40 Metabolism Myths with Liz Wolfe, NTP and Certified Personal Trainer

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Why Am I Eating This Now? (Ali's Live Group Program, begins in September 2024)
• The Truce Coaching Certification: A New Paradigm of Change (email Ali directly to be added to free upcoming trainings. No worries, these trainings are not sales calls in disguise.)

Send me (Ali) a text message.