We’ve all heard it before: changing certain elements of our lifestyles can dramatically change our health. How do we put that into practice, and what does it really mean?

Dr. Amanda Adkins, a board-certified internal medicine physician, and a health coach/owner of Enlightenment Health and Wealth, joins me to discuss this point [and more!]

She has a deep passion for ensuring that everyone has a chance at a healthy and happy life. Her most recent focus has been to help women who are overweight prevent and possibly reverse chronic illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. 

If you’re not familiar with the powerhouse that is Kate Strong, you will be by the end of this episode. 

Kate is a 3x world record holder in cycling, world champion triathlete, passionately plant-based and a purpose-led coach and consultant. Her upcoming challenge, Challenge 3,000, involves her cycling 3,000 miles around the circumference of the UK and planting 3,000 trees- on a bamboo bicycle.

Do we have your attention?

Pause and answer immediately: who are your five favourite voices in the wellness industry right now, or those you see represented the most? 

Would you say that there is diversity represented in your responses? Does your answer surprise you? Let’s get into it.

Stacy Lee Kong is a writer, editor and the founder of Friday Things, a weekly newsletter and social media account about pop culture stories. We discuss the way white supremacy is embedded in the wellness industry, and how we can collectively work to decolonize wellness. 

“Bro culture” is the thing we chuckle about sometimes, or see featured in memes. What happens when we explore this term further, not only within a fitness realm, but in relation to women in business as a whole?

Holly Burton joins me to discuss women in business and in fitness: oppression, prejudice, expectations; “taking up space” physically and socially; the problems with so-called “bro culture”, and how to build your own path forward.

Holly is a leadership coach for women in male-dominated industries. She's also the founder of Women in Male-Dominated Industries [WIMDI], a community of over 4,000 ambitious folks who connect with each other and get delicious career and leadership resources that help them create the working world they deserve while they wait for the rest of society to catch up.

It’s not out of the ordinary for us to hear about self-care, ideal ways to practice it, and why it’s so imperative. It is rare, however, to hear it discussed within the culinary world. 

Enter Chef Stephanie Michalak White, who developed and launched a plant-based program at the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts [currently ranked as the #1 culinary school in the entire world.]

Stephanie and I discuss her program development, what self-care means for chefs and folks in culinary worlds, and the major topic of food insecurity.

Many folks come to veganism later in life, but there are a select few who start slightly earlier. Kingston Zoom Walters, also known as King Zoom the Vegan Kid, has been vegan since birth.

Kingston is an 18-year-old vegan, neurodivergent, feminist social justice activist and environmentalist. His early passion for speaking up against injustices towards animals, humans and the planet evolved into speaking at many events across North America.

Kingston joins me to discuss what he’s learned as a child activist, self-care for vegan animal activists, and his brand new book.

What constitutes a “vegan legend”? Let’s start with almost 40 years of veganism, being listed by VegNews among the “Top 10 Living Vegetarian Authors’, establishing the Main Street Vegan Academy…and more.

Meet Victoria Moran. Victoria first joined me on the podcast for episode 46, and this is our second discussion. We talk about the Main Street Vegan Academy training and certification program [where she is Founder/Director], healthy aging, leaving a lasting legacy, and the intersection of compassion with both faith and spirituality.

"I've got a great opportunity for you to start your own business and earn extra income on the side!" -- most of us have received an MLM (multi-level marketing) pitch like this from a distant acquaintance after some small talk.

Although they're declining in popularity, MLM is a business structure rampant in the fitness, nutrition, and health space. Beachbody, Arbonne, Herbalife, Younique, Amway...the list goes on. In this episode I share 6 reasons why MLM is unethical, and why it's problematic within the fitness -- and vegan -- realms.

I also discuss why MLM decreases the brand equity of existing businesses, as well as the future of, and alternatives to, MLM.

It’s no secret that our podcast episodes often contain at least a few mic drops. This one may set the bar. 

Earlier this year, Registered Dietician Desiree Nielsen joined me to discuss all things food and nutrition. Our conversation was so expansive, we needed to bridge it into a separate discussion, and invite Coach Zoe [my fellow BS-buster] to join the talk.

We discuss dismantling certain structures within the ‘fitness industrial complex’ [term coined by Fitness for All Bodies], the problematic components of the diet industry, nutrition, when veganism is used as weight loss incentive, and so much more.

We’re all relatively familiar with the term and concept of meal plans. For years, they’ve been offered to us as the fail-proof, non-negotiable element that will help you nail all of your nutritional goals. What if there was a completely different approach that didn’t involve meal plans? Furthermore, what if they actually have a detrimental impact?

Certified plant-based sports nutritionist Philip Bryden joins me to talk about this- and much more! He also holds certifications in Integrative Nutrition, Nutrition Science, Nutrition Coaching, Anatomy and Physiology, Plant-Based Nutrition, Sports Nutrition, and he’s a certified Yoga Instructor and Ultra Running Coach. Philip works with international professional athletes across a variety of sports, including soccer, tennis, and ultra running; and he’s Club Nutritionist for the world’s first vegan rugby club.