So Frickin' Healthy

Chapter 4: When It's Working (Even When It's Not Perfect)

Joanna shows up with the best possible news: she feels good. More energy. The afternoon slump that used to start at two and drag on for hours? Now it's maybe fifteen minutes around four—if it happens at all. Fewer carbs, more protein. It's working.

The food logging, though? That fell off a bit. The notebook ended up on the other side of the house, and there's still birthday cake in the freezer calling her name. Life happens.

So they simplify: sticky notes, or a stoplight system—green, orange, red—to mark how the day went. No perfection required.

The next experiment? Intermittent fasting, a few times a week. And one critical rule: never break a fast with carbs. Start with protein. Always.

This is session four of Joanna's health journey.

If you want to hear the all of the coaching sessions (the real-time coaching conversations between Danna and Joanna), listen on So Frickin’ Healthy.

Listen to all the coaching sessions

If you want the coaching “behind the scenes” (health history, coaching debriefs, and Joanna’s reflection), listen on Becoming a Health Coach.

Listen to all the post session debriefs

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Ready to hit reset without the boring juice-only drama?

The Urban Cleanse is calling your name — come see what it's all about!

Organilicious - Danna, Functional Medicine Health Coach

Listen to the Whole Coaching Series

Coaching Series - Joanna's Playlist

Your body's been dropping hints...

Time to listen! Check out the Urban Cleanse and give yourself the refresh you deserve.

Organilicious - Danna, Functional Medicine Health Coach

Got 10 Minutes?

Megan had AI generate a list of common wellness mantras. They picked three. Things got heated fast.

First up: eat less, move more. Danna's take? Bullshit. This one boils her blood. Because what people hear is "fast for 24 hours and live on the treadmill"—and when they do that, their body panics, holds onto every fat cell, and they don't lose the weight anyway. Her rewrite? Eat healthier and move a little bit. Friendlier. And actually works.

Next: "I'm being so bad today." Megan's beef is that you should never, ever associate feeding your body—emotional or physical—with being bad. You're vilifying your nana's bread. You're vilifying your Friday night pizza. Danna says her clients are shocked when they confess to eating pizza and she says "good." The real issue isn't the pizza—it's shoveling it in on the couch, hating yourself by the last bite, and calling it a failure. Order the pizza. Sit down. Enjoy every single bite. Give yourself a pat on the back. Make the next meal count. That's not bad—that's a treat. Treat it like a recreational drug: once in a while, enjoy it; every single day, you've got a problem.

Last one: "Just have more willpower." Megan's response? Fuck you. Danna's? What the actual fuck. That was basically the whole discussion. Willpower doesn't override body chemistry, DNA, addiction, or neurodiversity. Processed food is designed to keep you hooked. Telling someone to just try harder is shaming, not helping.

They've got 15 to 20 more of these. Let them know if you want a round two.

That's your 10 minutes.

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Hot Flashes, Belly Fat & Brain Fog — Could Keto Be the Answer?

Two topics. One episode. Zero fluff. Vanessa Gatelein joins Danna and Megan to dig into the intersection of the ketogenic diet and perimenopause. Vanessa came to keto the hard way: through carnivore, hair loss scares, Hashimoto's, and a broken ankle that made her realize she was, in fact, breakable. What she learned along the way is genuinely eye-opening — and probably not what you've heard before.

About Vanessa Gatelein: Vanessa is a certified health coach, IIN alumna, yoga teacher, and Dr. Mindy Pelz-certified "Fast Like a Girl" practitioner based in Switzerland. She works with women navigating the hormonal chaos of perimenopause and menopause through a whole-food, low-carb approach that weaves in nervous system resets, breathwork, and mindset. Her new group program, Back to Her, brings together keto exploration, blood sugar management, hormone support, and community accountability.

1. How Vanessa went from carnivore to keto — and what that shift revealed about hormones, mood, and brain clarity
2. Why strict keto might not be the right move for perimenopausal women 24/7, and what cycling in and out actually means
3. The hair loss risk nobody warns you about — and the mineral deficiencies behind it
4. The fat-before-bed trick that may ease hot flashes (yes, really — butter is involved)
5. Why your belly fat isn't betraying you — it's your body desperately trying to make estrogen
6. The adrenal gland-stress-estrogen connection that explains everything about midlife weight gain
7. How to actually get into ketosis without making yourself miserable on day one
8. Why keto has a brain health angle that goes way beyond weight loss
9. Who needs to be careful with keto — and why "just Google it" is a terrible idea

Real Talk Moments: Danna arrives to the recording fresh out of the shower, developing what she describes as a Cruella DeVil mane in real time. Megan hasn't washed her hair in four days and is deep in dry shampoo powder. Vanessa brings the poise. There's a moment mid-episode where all three women land on a truth that hits hard: when we were teenagers going through hormonal chaos, everyone told us to rest. When we were pregnant, people made us sit down. In perimenopause — the same magnitude of hormonal transition — nobody is cutting us a break. Dishes still need doing. Kids still need feeding. And the economy is kicking everyone's ass.

Vanessa's Parting Wisdom: "Your body's doing that to protect you. The key is to give your adrenal glands the time and space to do their job — and that means managing your stress, not just your macros."

Connect with Vanessa Gatelein: Find her on Instagram for food videos and updates, and keep an eye out for Back to Her — her upcoming group program on keto, hormone health, blood sugar, and nervous system reset.

00:00 Keto Meets Menopause

02:46 Defining Keto and Early Wins

07:28 Risks Cycling and Women’s Hormones

23:58 Tracking Ketosis Data

27:41 Who Should Go Keto

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Come See Our Faces - Live Every Wednesday

That's right! Danna and Megan are LIVE and unfiltered every Wednesday morning, 10:00 CET.

Ready to hit reset without the boring juice-only drama?

The Urban Cleanse is calling your name — come see what it's all about!

Organilicious - Danna, Functional Medicine Health Coach

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Got 10 Minutes?

Megan's gutting her kitchen for a renovation, so naturally we're talking gadgets. Which ones do we actually use? Which ones are collecting dust? And which one did Megan love so much she broke it with her bare hands?

Danna's ride-or-die is the food processor. There have been times it broke and she told her family: we're not eating that tonight. I am not grating. Megan's obsessed with her air fryer—frozen chicken to dinner in under 20 minutes. Danna fires back with the Instant Pot, which she's convinced is basically Rosie from the Jetsons.

Then there's the citrus juicer debate, a fork-based life hack, and a garlic press disagreement that may never be resolved.

That's your 10 minutes.

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Session 3: When the Data Finally Speaks

Joanna arrives fresh off her birthday weekend—cake eaten, no regrets. But she's also carrying something new: proof.

Through a work project, she spent ten days wearing a continuous glucose monitor. For someone with a scientist's brain who's always wanted to see the data, this was gold. And what she discovered confirmed everything they'd been working on: that innocent afternoon snack—a few grapes, a plum—was sending her glucose through the roof and keeping it there until dinner.

But here's the bigger win: when she started lunch with protein and vegetables, she didn't crave a snack at all. The data matched the feeling. The advice was landing.

She's also been cooking from Danna's recipe booklet—peanut butter curry with lime, quinoa chili—and the whole family loved them. Small victories that add up.

The plan going forward? Keep the food log going, swap pasta for zucchini noodles or hearts of palm, and keep building meals around protein, veggies, and healthy fats. Oh, and the popcorn question? Unfortunately, anything popped spikes glucose fast. Some truths hurt.

This is session three of Joanna's health journey.

If you want to hear the all of the coaching sessions (the real-time coaching conversations between Danna and Joanna), listen on So Frickin’ Healthy.

Listen to all the coaching sessions

If you want the coaching “behind the scenes” (health history, coaching debriefs, and Joanna’s reflection), listen on Becoming a Health Coach.

Listen to all the post session debriefs

Check out the So Frickin' Healthy Website

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Book your free discovery call!

Think of it as a coffee date, minus the awkward small talk. Book your free discovery call at organilicious.ch!

Organilicious - Danna, Functional Medicine Health Coach

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Coaching Series - Joanna's Playlist

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BHC Coaching Series - Joanna's Playlist

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In this So Frickin’ Mini, Megan and Danna keep it simple: a quick, honest chat about why meditation can feel impossible (especially if you think you’re “supposed to think about nothing”), followed by a 10-minute guided practice from Gretchen Larsen. The goal isn’t perfection—it’s training your body back into rest and digest, one breath at a time.

Gretchen’s Breath and Heartful Awareness meditation invites you to settle into a comfortable position, use your breath as an anchor, and gently bring attention to the heart. Whatever shows up—thoughts, feelings, sensations—you won’t be asked to fix it, judge it, or push it away. You’ll simply notice, breathe with it, and (when you’re ready) let it go. You’ll leave with an option for what comes next: a small journal note, and one gentle action to tend to whatever arose.

What You'll Learn:

• How to meditate without “clearing your mind”—by noticing thoughts and letting them pass, lovingly
• A simple way to meet emotions in the body (especially in the heart) without struggling, solving, or spiritual bypassing

Real Talk Moments: If you’ve never meditated before, 10 minutes can feel like an eternity—and that doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong. Just listening, breathing, and staying for what you can is enough.

Speaker's Parting Wisdom: After the meditation, take a moment to write down what came up, and choose one gentle action—comfort yourself if it was painful, or reach out to a trusted person if it felt like a question you don’t want to carry alone.

Connect with Speaker: Gretchen Larsen

Listen to our full interview with Gretchen on Becoming a Health Coach

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00:00 Danna & Megan Introduction to Meditation

03:12 Gretchen Larsen's Breath and Heartful Awareness Meditation

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What Ancient Chinese Medicine Knows About Your Hormones (That Your Doctor Doesn't)

Danna's been seeing Alex for years—and now we finally got him on the show. Alex Bechinger is a fully licensed TCM practitioner with 30 years of experience, a nursing background, training in craniosacral therapy and functional medicine, and a family legacy of healers. Today we're digging into what Traditional Chinese Medicine actually is (spoiler: it's way more than needles and cupping), why Western medicine keeps missing the mark on women's health, and what ancient China understood about your cycle that modern doctors still haven't figured out.

This conversation went places we didn't expect. We talked about why healing only happens in the present moment, why your symptoms might be a sign you're "homesick" from your own body, and how something as simple as keeping your feet warm can impact your hormones. Alex explains how pulse diagnosis works—connecting not just to your organs, but to your spirit—and why the extra two minutes a doctor won't give you might be exactly what's keeping you sick. If you've ever felt dismissed, over-medicated, or like nobody's actually listening, this one's for you.

What You'll Learn:

1. What TCM actually is—and why it's more than acupuncture and cupping
2. How meridians and chi work (explained for skeptics)
3. Why stress is the root cause of most symptoms—and how emotions live in the body
4. What Alex sees when women come in struggling with fertility, painful periods, or perimenopause
5. How pulse diagnosis connects to your spirit, not just your organs
6. Why cold salads and cold feet could be messing with your hormones
7. The lifestyle shifts TCM has known about for thousands of years that modern medicine is just catching up to

Real Talk Moments:

Danna shares how many times she's gone to the doctor for one thing and been handed medication for something else entirely—without anyone even asking about her life. Alex admits that even he struggles with impatience. And we all agree: the expectation of a magic pill is keeping people stuck.

Alex's Parting Wisdom:

"What women in ancient China understood is that everything has an impact. Keep yourself warm. Eat well. Stop eating cold salads. Keep your feet warm—that's where the kidney meridian starts. Hot foot baths. Stable glucose means stable hormones. And self-love? That's medicine. Eating well is an act of self-love. Love heals."

Get to know Alex:

https://bit.ly/alexbechinger

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00:00 Introduction and Guest Background

02:22 What is TCM?

07:21 TCM and Women's Health

10:34 Holistic Approach to Health

16:56 Combining Western and Eastern Medicine

32:33 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Mentioned in this episode:

Big ideas start with small conversations

Grab a slot, let's talk, no pressure — just good vibes.

Organilicious - Danna, Functional Medicine Health Coach

Come See Our Faces - Live Every Wednesday

That's right! Danna and Megan are LIVE and unfiltered every Wednesday morning, 10:00 CET.

So Frickin' Healthy is a proud member of and produced by the SwissCast Network

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Got 10 Minutes?

Megan has a friend who shits immediately every time she eats anything with sunflower oil in it. And Megan is furious that Barilla—an Italian brand—makes their pesto with fucking sunflower oil. So naturally, we're talking seed oils.

Here's the deal: seed oils have been vilified all over social media, and Danna's take is nuanced. They're not poison—but they are wildly out of balance in our diets. Seed oils are sky-high in omega-6s, and your body needs omega-3s and omega-6s in roughly equal amounts to keep inflammation in check. The problem isn't that seed oils exist. The problem is they're in everything—because they're cheap, shelf-stable, and easy for manufacturers to work with. When you're eating out or buying packaged food, you don't get to choose the oil. And it's almost always a seed oil.

The fix is simpler than you think: just don't use them at home. Cook with olive oil, coconut oil, ghee, butter, sesame oil—whatever you like. That way, when you have the bag of potato chips or eat out, the dose is low enough that your body can handle it. The 80/20 rule in action.

One more thing: that "high heat" olive oil at the store? It's been chemically processed with the same methods used on seed oils to make it shelf-stable. So skip it.

Danna had more to say but the timer won. Mic drop. She's out.

That's your 10 minutes.

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So Frickin' Healthy is a proud member of and produced by the SwissCast Network

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Come See Our Faces - Live Every Wednesday

That's right! Danna and Megan are LIVE and unfiltered every Wednesday morning, 10:00 CET.

Session 2: When Your Brain Needs More Than Willpower

Two weeks in, and something has already shifted. No more afternoon slumps. That simple switch—breaking her fast with protein—is working.

But today, Joanna arrives with a bigger question. Her workload is increasing by twenty percent, and the focus she used to have has faded somewhere between the twins, turning forty, and the relentless pace of life. Is it ADHD? Perimenopause? Or just a brain that isn't getting the fuel it needs?

The answer might be simpler than she thinks: our brains are nearly seventy percent fat. When we avoid fat, they suffer.

The new plan? More healthy fats, fewer glucose spikes, and a dinner strategy that finally makes sense—stop trying to eat what the kids eat. Build your own plate. One new recipe a week.

Small moves. Big shifts.

This is session two of Joanna's health journey.

If you want to hear the all of the coaching sessions (the real-time coaching conversations between Danna and Joanna), listen on So Frickin’ Healthy.

Listen to all the coaching sessions

If you want the coaching “behind the scenes” (health history, coaching debriefs, and Joanna’s reflection), listen on Becoming a Health Coach.

Listen to all the post session debriefs

Check out the So Frickin' Healthy Website

Leave us a Voicemail

Join the So Frickin' Healthy Community

Watch us on YouTube

Connect with us on Substack

Mentioned in this episode:

Your body's been dropping hints. Time to listen!

Check out the Urban Cleanse and give yourself the refresh you deserve.

Organilicious - Danna, Functional Medicine Health Coach

Come See Our Faces - Live Every Wednesday

That's right! Danna and Megan are LIVE and unfiltered every Wednesday morning, 10:00 CET.

So Frickin' Healthy is a proud member of and produced by the SwissCast Network

Discover more great podcasts for English-speaking Switzerland

SwissCast Network

Check out Becoming a Health Coach

Want more?

BHC Coaching Series - Joanna's Playlist

Listen to the Whole Coaching Series

Coaching Series - Joanna's Playlist

Got 10 Minutes?

Danna was lying in bed trying to fall asleep—but her brain had other plans. It was busy counting how many wearables Megan has talked about and which one does what. So she turned it into an episode.

Here's the deal: before you buy anything, ask yourself one question—what do I actually want to track? Sleep? Steps? Hormones? Because you don't need to wear a ring all day if all you care about is sleep, and you definitely don't need a golf swing analyzer.

Megan wears both an Apple Watch and an Oura Ring. The watch handles activity tracking and—surprisingly—her ADHD. The timer function keeps her from spiraling into rabbit holes. But the ring? That one's personal. After a hysterectomy at 39, she lost all visibility on her menstrual cycle. The Oura Ring tracks skin temperature, which shifts with hormonal fluctuations—so now she can see exactly where she is in her cycle and will know when she's moved through menopause, even without a period to tell her.

They also touch on CGMs—continuous glucose monitors—which both of them have tested. Megan just wrapped up a Swiss glucose study where she wore two rings, two watches, and a CGM for a month. Basically a cyborg.

Oh, and if you're wearing a wearable but never looking at the data? That's just Dumbo's feather. An expensive one.

That's your 10 minutes.

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Mentioned in this episode:

So Frickin' Healthy is a proud member of and produced by the SwissCast Network

Discover more great podcasts for English-speaking Switzerland

SwissCast Network

Come See Our Faces - Live Every Wednesday

That's right! Danna and Megan are LIVE and unfiltered every Wednesday morning, 10:00 CET.