The Joyful Health Show: A Non-Diet Wellness Podcast for Christians

By Kasey ShulerHealth & Fitness Nutrition Mental Health Religion & Spirituality Christianity

The Joyful Health Show: A Non-Diet Wellness Podcast for Christians episodes

October 13115. 4 Signals Your Body Is Sending You (and What They Mean) with Dr. Dusty Hess
Dr. Dusty Hess, a doctor of functional medicine and founder of Upstream Health, joins the show to explain why your symptoms aren't a moral failure, but messages worth listening to. We talk about moving past symptom chasing and learning to read the biofeedback signals God built into your body, and why conventional and functional medicine should work together instead of competing.
In this episode:
Why a symptom is "evidence that the body is working hard," not proof that something is wrong with you
The 4 signals worth paying attention to
Learning what "right" looks like first, instead of only hunting for what's wrong
We'll also discuss the difference between health care and sick care and how to navigate the functional medicine vs. western medicine world.
Our hope is that you can walk away from this episode with a bit more knowledge and a lot more peace, knowing that God made you on purpose, for a purpose, fearfully and wonderfully designed.
"A symptom is evidence that the body is working hard." — Dr. Dusty Hess
Helpful timestamps:
04:30 Avoiding Health Idols
09:50 Healthcare Versus Sick Care
15:18 Costly Protocols and Basics
17:37 Symptoms Grace and Stewardship
21:56 Four Biofeedback Basics
22:39 Sleep And Daily Rhythm
24:12 Energy And Capacity Check
25:37 Digestion And Elimination
28:46 Stress Recovery And Baseline
31:18 Keep It Simple And Track Patterns
👉 Work with Dr. Hess at Upstream Health
If you liked this episode please consider rating and reviewing the show! Give back and help someone else cut through the weeds of wellness culture and discover joyful health, by grace. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.”
If you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast so you don't miss an episode and timely announcements. Let's keep setting others free to ditch the guilt and pursue joyful health, by grace!
☀️ Get your free 5-Week Bible Study on Body Image here
🎉 Find freedom from dieting and get healthy the joyful way with our signature course
Connect with me: joyfulhealth.co | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
43 min
September 29114. Don't Brush Your Teeth after Coffee? | Q&A with Dentist Eleanor Patterson
Brushing your teeth may sound like common sense, but did you know that timing really matters? Did you know that you shouldn't brush your teeth right after you drink coffee? After I had this exact conversation after tennis with my friend and dentist, Eleanor Patterson, I knew she had to come on the podcast and explain more. In this episode, we not only chat about the science of dentistry, but the heart behind good care.
Here's what we'll cover:
What actually causes cavities (it's not sugar)
The one food to pair with wine that keeps your teeth healthier
What to look for in a worthwhile dentist
I know that many people dread going to the dentist for various reasons. My hope is that through this conversation, Eleanor will shine the light of Christ as a dentist who truly cares about her patients. Let's raise the standard for you to find a provider who can do the same. May you leave this episode feeling confident to shine not only through your smile, but whether you eat, drink, or whatever you do.
"In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:16
Helpful timestamps:
02:24 Coffee Brushing Myth
05:08 What Cavities Really Are
10:01 Timing Meals vs Sipping
12:42 Kids Teeth and School Snacks
18:36 Wine and your teeth
23:56 Grace Not Shame Care
32:23 Corporate vs Private Practices
🦷 Find Eleanor at https://pattersonandcodentalcare.com/
If you liked this episode please consider rating and reviewing the show! Give back and help someone else cut through the weeds of wellness culture and discover joyful health, by grace. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.”
If you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast so you don't miss an episode and timely announcements. Let's keep setting others free to ditch the guilt and pursue joyful health, by grace!
☀️ Get your free 5-Week Bible Study on Body Image here
🎉 Find freedom from dieting and get healthy the joyful way with our signature course
Connect with me: joyfulhealth.co | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
47 min
September 15113. Top 10 Fitness Mistakes Christian Women Make
As a fitness instructor for 20 years now, I've seen a lot. The fitness industry ebbs and flows on the pendulum from aerobics to weight lifting to everything in between. Today, I want to highlight what I see working well, and 10 things we can look out for to improve upon.
Here's what I'll cover:
The popular fitness mindset that may be the #1 reason you keep quitting
The random YouTube workout trend: why it's inefficient and what to do instead
Busting the fear of getting bulky and the catch 22 of other results-based programs
As always, my hope is that we can return to our original design, discover how God made us to move, and to continue pursuing Jesus as we walk with God both literally and spiritually. Because in the end, God won't ask you how many push-ups you can do but how much He loves you.
"Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thessalonians 5:23
Time Stamps:
06:07 Movement as Worship
07:29 No Pain no gain?
13:51 Prioritize your routine
16:47 Reinventing the wheel
20:36 Doing Random Youtube Videos
22:03 Skipping Strength
24:28 Recovery and Fueling
27:18 Form and Full Range
28:42 Push Your Potential
32:21 Get Help Starting
🎧 Start with joyful movement habit worksheets
If you liked this episode please consider rating and reviewing the show! Give back and help someone else cut through the weeds of wellness culture and discover joyful health, by grace. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.”
If you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast so you don't miss an episode and timely announcements. Let's keep setting others free to ditch the guilt and pursue joyful health, by grace!
☀️ Get your free 5-Week Bible Study on Body Image here
🎉 Find freedom from dieting and get healthy the joyful way with our signature course
Connect with me: joyfulhealth.co | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
40 min
September 01112. Freedom from Food Fixation: A 21-Day Intuitive Eating Devotional for Christian Women (Sample)
In this episode of the Joyful Health Show, I share a sample of my newest book, Freedom from Food Fixation: A 21-Day Intuitive Eating Devotional for Christian Women. I wrote this to help you rest from the food rules, reconnect with your body, and renew your trust in your Maker.
You were meant to think about more than food, so let's get free!
Through daily biblical encouragement, practical reflection, and intuitive eating principles, you'll learn how to quiet the mental noise around food so you can focus on Jesus instead of be fixated on food.
This book will help you:
Recognize the subtle ways diet culture has shaped your thoughts about food and your body
Replace guilt, shame, and food rules with biblical wisdom
Find freedom from food obsession so you can pursue the abundant life God desires for you
Whether you've struggled with chronic dieting, emotional eating, food guilt, or body image, this devotional is here to help you walk towards greater freedom and better health with the Lord your God.

🎧 Get the new book here
✅ Click here for a quiz and group guide
If you liked this episode please consider rating and reviewing the show! Give back and help someone else cut through the weeds of wellness culture and discover joyful health, by grace. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.”
If you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast so you don't miss an episode and timely announcements. Let's keep setting others free to ditch the guilt and pursue joyful health, by grace!
☀️ Get your free 5-Week Bible Study on Body Image here
🎉 Find freedom from dieting and get healthy the joyful way with our signature course
Connect with me: joyfulhealth.co | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
18 min
August 18111. Running, Injury, and Identity: Keeping Jesus at the Center with Upward Running’s Claire Boyce & Travis Vaughn
In today's episode, I interview Claire Boyce and Travis Bond from Upward Sports/Upward Running and the Kinda Fast podcast about running, identity, and keeping Jesus at the center of fitness—especially when injury interrupts training. If you're a faith-driven runner or fitness enthusiast who feels discouraged by injuries or even too intimidated to start, this episode is for you. What we'll cover:
Imposter syndrome and defining what it means to be a runner
Practical ways to avoid making fitness an idol
Lessons from recurring injuries
Rekindling a love for running and embracing all paces
My hope is that you'll walk away with a fresh perspective on running, faith, and what "winning" means to you on your fitness journey.
"Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."
Helpful time stamps:
00:53 What Is Upward Running 02:51 How They Joined Upward 05:01 Adult Running and Community 06:57 Runner Identity Mindset 10:12 Injuries and Training Smarter 13:00 When Running Becomes an Idol 16:22 Practical Ways to Keep Balance 23:31 Training Plans and Defining Wins
🏃‍♀️ Check out Upward Running here
🎧 Listen to the Kinda Fast Podcast
✅ Click here for the full blog post with more resources.
If you liked this episode please consider rating and reviewing the show! Give back and help someone else cut through the weeds of wellness culture and discover joyful health, by grace. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.”
If you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast so you don't miss an episode and timely announcements. Let's keep setting others free to ditch the guilt and pursue joyful health, by grace!
☀️ Get your free 5-Week Bible Study on Body Image here
🎉 Find freedom from dieting and get healthy the joyful way with our signature course
Connect with me: joyfulhealth.co | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
36 min
July 28110. How Leanna Crawford Stays Healthy on the Go
In this episode of the Joyful Health Show, I interview Leanna Crawford, award-winning contemporary Christian singer-songwriter. We talk through her journey from a small farm town to Nashville, how she battles comparison, and how she stays healthy and grounded in the Lord on the go.
If you've ever felt worn down by comparison or struggled to carve out time to keep yourself healthy and connect to God in a busy season, this is the episode for you! Leanna pulls back the curtain and shows us a glimpse of what she does to prioritize wellness on tour. I know this conversation will inspire you too!
Here's what we cover:
How she battles comparison by "singing for an audience of one" and remembering there's room at the table for everyone
Leanna's morning routine for staying grounded, even on the road
The no-gym, no-excuses way Leanna aims to stay fit on tour (it's less rigid than you think)
How she battles depression and anxiety with a supportive community
We want you to walk away knowing that you don't have to choose between chasing your calling and staying grounded in the Lord. Whatever season or schedule you're in, remember that God's got you, and you've got this!
"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you." Isaiah 26:3, ESV
Helpful Timestamps:
4:02 Beating Comparison
9:05 Daily Time With God
14:09 Road Rhythms and Prayer Walks
18:32 Staying Healthy on Tour
23:08 Hope Through Community
🎧 Listen to Leanna's new album here
✅ Click here for the full blog post with more resources.
If you liked this episode please consider rating and reviewing the show! Give back and help someone else cut through the weeds of wellness culture and discover joyful health, by grace. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.”
If you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast so you don't miss an episode and timely announcements. Let's keep setting others free to ditch the guilt and pursue joyful health, by grace!
☀️ Get your free 5-Week Bible Study on Body Image here
🎉 Find freedom from dieting and get healthy the joyful way with our signature course
Connect with me: joyfulhealth.co | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
32 min
May 19109. Work Hurt: How Stress, Grief, and Burnout Impacts Our Bodies and Souls | Meryl Herr
In this episode of the Joyful Health Show, I interview Meryl Herr, researcher, consultant, and author of When Work Hurts. We talk through how work stress impacts our bodies, minds, and spiritual well-being. If you're like us and have ever felt worn out by work but didn't feel validated enough to express it or that you had to simply push through, it's time we address the hidden hurt behind our work, what God says, and what we can do about it.
Here’s what we cover:
Meryl’s personal story of ambition, disappointment, and navigating career expectations
What “work hurt” actually is—and how it affects us through burnout, GI distress, headaches, and spiritual disillusionment
What the Bible says about work and work hurt
Practical steps to process work hurt, seek support, and move forward with hope and wisdom
We want you to walk away knowing that it's okay for work to hurt, but you don't have to bury it. Hold space for that pain in prayer, partner with God in His Kingdom work, and let's go forward with greater resilience together.
"Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." 1 Corinthians 15:58
Helpful Timestamps:
05:11 Health Impacts of Work Hurt
05:35 What Counts as Work
09:51 God's Design for Work and Rest
13:47 Untangling Work Hurt
16:40 Journaling and Support
18:43 Building Resilience
19:24 Calling Beyond Your Job
22:17 Holding Onto Hope
✅ Click here for the full blog post with more resources.
If you liked this episode please consider rating and reviewing the show! Give back and help someone else cut through the weeds of wellness culture and discover joyful health, by grace. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.”
If you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast so you don't miss an episode and timely announcements. Let's keep setting others free to ditch the guilt and pursue joyful health, by grace!
☀️ Get your free 5-Week Bible Study on Body Image Chapter here
🎉 Find freedom from dieting and get healthy the joyful way with our signature course
Connect with me: joyfulhealth.co | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
34 min
May 05108. Your Stress-Free Summer Health Plan
Summer is supposed to be easy breezy, right? But as women, we typically take on the burden of new schedules and circus-level logistics, all while trying to maintain our own health. In today's episode of the Joyful Health Show, I share my ideas for a stress-free summer for YOU, Christian women!
Here's what I'll share:
My story of burnout and what I did in response
How to prioritize instead of agonize
A 20-minute summer morning that will get you going
I want you to walk away feeling light-hearted about the summer ahead, excited about what God has in store and equipped for whatever comes.
"For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven." Ecclesiastes 3:1
Helpful Timestamps:
00:13 Why Summer Feels Hard
07:37 Let Go Of Expectations
15:45 Keystone Health Habits
26:18 The 20 Minute Morning
👉🏽 Head here to get my 4-week Bible study Rest and Rise
✅ Click here for the full blog post with more resources.
If you liked this episode please consider rating and reviewing the show! Give back and help someone else cut through the weeds of wellness culture and discover joyful health, by grace. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.”
If you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast so you don't miss an episode and timely announcements. Let's keep setting others free to ditch the guilt and pursue joyful health, by grace!
☀️ Get your free 5-Week Bible Study on Body Image Chapter here
🎉 Find freedom from dieting and get healthy the joyful way with our signature course
Connect with me: joyfulhealth.co | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
37 min
April 21107. From Burnout to Renewal: What Your Body is Trying to Tell You | Hope Cook
In this episode of the Joyful Health Show, I interview Hope Cook, PA and life coach, about her book Healing Clinician Burnout: How to Revive Your Life and Career. If you're feeling apathetic, cynical, or experience a sense of resentment around work, this conversation is for you.
Here's what we cover:
Hope and Kasey's stories of burnout, including dreading work and fantasizing about being injured
Burnout stats, symptoms, and the impact of overloaded schedules and chronic comparison
Practical tools to recognize and move through burnout
We want you to walk away knowing that burnout is not a personal failure, but a wake-up call to listen in and change course. There is always hope!
"Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." —Jesus, Matthew 11:28
Helpful Timestamps:
01:30 Why Burnout Matters
05:57 Burnout By the Numbers
07:24 Why We’re So Overloaded
10:43 Signs and Symptoms
15:07 Body Compass and Truth
17:21 Bag Barter Better
20:26 Cocoon Prep Action
23:38 Find Value Beyond Work
👉🏽 Head here to get Hope's book Healing Clinician Burnout
✅ Click here for the full blog post with more resources.
If you liked this episode please consider rating and reviewing the show! Give back and help someone else cut through the weeds of wellness culture and discover joyful health, by grace. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.”
If you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast so you don't miss an episode and timely announcements. Let's keep setting others free to ditch the guilt and pursue joyful health, by grace!
☀️ Get your free 5-Week Bible Study on Body Image Chapter here
🎉 Find freedom from dieting and get healthy the joyful way with our signature course
Connect with me: joyfulhealth.co | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
33 min
April 07106- Freely Sober: Rethinking Alcohol Through the Lens of Faith with Ericka Anderson
In this episode of the Joyful Health Show, I interview Ericka Anderson about her book Freely Sober: Rethinking Alcohol Through the Lens of Faith. Alcohol is a tricky subject in any Christian circle: how much is too much? Can we drink alcohol intuitively?
Here's what we cover:
The differences between biblical references to alcohol and modern day consumption
Red flags for your own relationship with alcohol
Sober curious: what it is and how to practice it
Our hope is that this conversation would help you reconsider your habits with alcohol and reset your mind to think and drink responsibly. We want you not only to ask yourself "how close to the line can I get?" but rather, "how much life do I want to live?" We want you to be filled with the Holy Spirit and led by Jesus, who gives you life to the full!
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." John 10:10
Helpful Timestamps:
04:06 Health Wake Up Calls
05:23 Bible and Modern Drinking
12:30 Social Anxiety and Sobriety
20:06 What Sober Curious Means
27:46 Key Takeaway and Nudge
👉🏽 Head here to get Ericka's 10 Tools for Finding Freedom with Alcohol
✅ Click here for the full blog post with more resources.
If you liked this episode please consider rating and reviewing the show! Give back and help someone else cut through the weeds of wellness culture and discover joyful health, by grace. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.”
If you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast so you don't miss an episode and timely announcements. Let's keep setting others free to ditch the guilt and pursue joyful health, by grace!
☀️ Get your free 5-Week Bible Study on Body Image Chapter here
🎉 Find freedom from dieting and get healthy the joyful way with our signature course
Connect with me: joyfulhealth.co | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
38 min