My best friend Lilly Van Alsburg is back on the pod, and this episode is all hot takes. We've known each other since we were 8, but we could not be more different when it comes to anxiety and dating. We break down how our anxiety has shown up in totally different ways — social anxiety vs. overthinking, perfectionism, etc. from years of competitive sports, therapy trial-and-error, and what actually helped each of us manage it. Then we get into dating: our opposite approaches, the worst first date I've ever been on, and a rapid-fire red flag vs. deal breaker game where we don't always agree. Two friends, two very different perspectives — grab your coffee for this one. 🎙️

Follow:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Personal IG: @macileejones⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Podcast IG: @myverbaljournal.letschat⁠

Lilly's IG: @lilly.vanalsburg

This week's episode is a personal one. I've been off birth control for over a year and still haven't gotten my period back — and if that's you too, I want you to know you're not broken, and you're not alone.

We're breaking down everything you need to know about menstrual cycle loss (amenorrhea): what it actually feels like physically and mentally, the real reasons it happens, why coming off birth control can unmask a problem that was there all along, and — most importantly — what you can actually do about it.

In this episode, we cover:

• The physical and mental symptoms of losing your period that no one talks about
• The HPO axis and why your cycle is connected to way more than reproduction
• Hypothalamic Amenorrhea (HA) / RED-S — the most common cause in active women in their 20s
• How PCOS, thyroid dysfunction, high prolactin, and POI can also drive cycle loss
• Why "post-pill amenorrhea" almost always means an underlying issue was there before you ever started birth control
• Why waiting it out isn't a great plan (bone health + estrogen)
• What labs to actually ask for
• My own ongoing journey with this, alongside managing ankylosing spondylitis and Hashimoto's

Connect w/ RD Blayke for Help Getting Your Cycle Back:

Insta: ⁠@dietitianblayke ⁠send a DM to learn more about my program and get connected!

⁠https://my.practicebetter.io/#/699dc4c14e633a4df222f625/bookings?s=699de054a07dcc9be948a67d⁠ 

Follow:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Personal IG: @macileejones⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Podcast IG: @myverbaljournal.letschat⁠

My parents met at summer camp in 6th grade – and then took fourteen years and one five-year breakup to actually get married. They just celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. I brought them both on the pod today to tell their story, but more than that, to get honest about the parts nobody posts: the hardest seasons, what they each gave up for the other, and what's actually kept their love going. And because they did it the slow, completely non-linear way, I asked them the question I think a lot of us are quietly sitting with: Is Love Like This Even Possible Anymore? If you've ever felt behind, burnt out on the apps, or if you're just in need of proof that true love exists, this one's for you.

Follow:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Personal IG: @macileejones⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Podcast IG: @myverbaljournal.letschat⁠

In this episode, I get vulnerable about the five years it took to stop running from myself. From being the girl who said yes to everything — the drinks, the late nights, the validation from men — to overcorrecting into rigid routines, isolation, and perfectionism, I share what it actually looked like to swing between two extremes and call it growth. This one is raw, honest, and for anyone who has ever felt like they were performing a version of themselves just to survive the week.

What we talk about:

• The all-or-nothing mindset and why it kept showing up in every area of her life
• What "the girl who said yes to everything" was really chasing
• How the overcorrection looked healthy from the outside but wasn't
• Over-exercising, undereating, and what she learned from it
• Why neither version of her was actually healed
• The girl in between — who she's becoming, and why it's still a work in progress

Follow:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Personal IG: @macileejones⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Podcast IG: @myverbaljournal.letschat⁠

You've been lifting for years. You track your food, you sleep, you're consistent, but you're still not seeing the progress that matches your effort. This episode is for you.

Today I break down the real physiology behind why building muscle gets exponentially harder the more trained you are, bust the most common myths keeping experienced lifters stuck, and share my own story of training through an undiagnosed autoimmune disease for years before finally getting answers.

We cover the law of diminishing returns, anabolic resistance, why more protein isn't the answer, the truth about BCAAs, what your bloodwork should actually look like, and the two supplements worth your money. Plus, what ankylosing spondylitis, and other inflammatory conditions actually do to your body's ability to build muscle.

This one is personal, science-backed, and long overdue. If you have hid a fitness plateau, and don’t know how to make progress, this one is for you.

Follow:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Personal IG: @macileejones⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Podcast IG: @myverbaljournal.letschat⁠

In this episode, I sit down with Blayke Johnson, MS, RD, LD — a registered and licensed dietitian, TCU alum, and founder of the Hormone Restoration Method — for one of the most important conversations we could be having as women in our 20s.

We dive deep into what birth control actually does to your hormones, what happens when you come off it, and why so many women are left feeling completely lost in the process. Blayke breaks down the root causes of hormonal chaos, the nutrients the pill quietly depletes, and what eating for your hormones actually looks like in real life.

We also get into PMS, PMOS (formerly known as PCOS), GLP-1s and their impact on female hormones, the truth about supplements, and how Blayke built her own private practice straight out of her dietetic internship.

Whether you're currently on birth control, thinking about coming off it, struggling with irregular periods, or just want to understand your body better — this episode is for you.

In this episode we cover:

• What birth control actually does to your hormones
• How to restore your cycle after stopping BC
• Nutrients depleted by the pill
• PMS, PMOS (formerly PCOS) & root cause nutrition
• GLP-1s & women's hormones
• Eating for your hormones in real life
• How to build a business as a new RD

Connect w/ Blayke:

Insta: @dietitianblayke send a DM to learn more about my program and get connected!

https://my.practicebetter.io/#/699dc4c14e633a4df222f625/bookings?s=699de054a07dcc9be948a67d 

Follow:

⁠⁠⁠⁠Personal IG: @macileejones⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Podcast IG: @myverbaljournal.letschat⁠

Ellie Ogden is back on the pod, and a lot has changed since her last appearance in early 2025. In this episode, I am joined by Ellie, a fellow TCU alum to talk about everything nobody really prepares you for after graduation… the good, the hard, and the in-between. 

Ellie opens up about surviving her first tax season as a CPA candidate (think 60-hour weeks and 4am gym sessions), moving back home after four years of independence, and what it actually looks like to build a life from scratch in your mid-twenties. She also shares something deeply personal, losing a close friend unexpectedly, and how that grief reshaped the way she thinks about relationships, time, and what it means to really live.

From the realities of making friends as an adult, to green and red flags in relationships, to figuring out whether you even like the career you chose, this one is honest, real, and exactly what every 20-something needs to hear.

Follow:

⁠⁠⁠Personal IG: @macileejones⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Podcast IG: @myverbaljournal.letschat⁠

Ellie's IG: @eleanorogden

Ever wondered why your friend can down four espresso shots and feel nothing while one cup of coffee sends your heart racing? This week, I am joined by Katie Harnan to break down the science of caffeine metabolism and why the universal "400mg of caffeine a day" recommendation doesn't work for everyone. 

Plus: life updates, graduation, playoff hockey, reality tv, & more

⁠⁠Personal IG: @macileejones⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Podcast IG: @myverbaljournal.letschat⁠⁠

⁠⁠Katies IG: @katieharnen⁠

This week I'm sitting down with one of my favorite people and fellow TCU dietetics students, Katie Harnen. Katie is a master's student finishing up her degree this May, a spin instructor at CycleBar Waterside, a RevStrong trainer, and a dog mom. Somehow she makes it all look effortless.

We are diving into how Katie went from a pre-med biology major to finding her home in the TCU dietetics program, the two years she spent working the CycleBar front desk before ever getting her shot at auditioning as an instructor, and what it actually takes to train for and compete in HYROX and run a half marathon. We also talk about what nutrition really looks like in real life as a dietetics student… meal prepping when you genuinely don't love cooking, eating intuitively without obsessing over numbers, and what it means to actually practice what you preach.

⁠⁠Personal IG: @macileejones⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Podcast IG: @myverbaljournal.letschat⁠

⁠Katies IG: @katieharnen⁠

We live in a world with this invisible timeline: graduate, get the job, have it together by 22. And if your life doesn't look like that, it's really easy to feel like you're falling behind.

This week I'm getting personal. I transferred schools, switched my major from finance to dietetics, and I'm heading straight from graduation into my master's program and then PA school. It sounds like a plan, but some days it just feels like I’m falling behind. Today we're getting into the comparison trap, invisible timelines, and what to ask yourself when you're not sure if you're headed in the right direction. 

⁠⁠Personal IG: @macileejones⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Podcast IG: @myverbaljournal.letschat