The Right-Sized Life with Amy Schmidt

What if moving forward after loss doesn’t mean moving on? When you’re grieving, it can be hard to know how to take the next step, especially when the world seems to expect you to eventually return to “normal.” In this conversation, Kate Doerge shares how losing her daughter, Penny, along with the earlier losses of her parents, changed the way she thinks about grief, healing, and what it means to carry someone’s legacy forward. Her experience navigating grief led her to write her book, Reimagining Grief and launch Penny’s Flight Foundation, creating ways to honor Penny’s life while helping others navigate loss. Throughout this conversation, she shares five actions that have helped her move through grief while still making room for connection, joy, purpose, and the signs she feels from loved ones who have passed.

You'll Learn:

• How to reimagine grief: Shift from the idea of “moving on” to choosing how you carry grief forward.
• Ways to stay connected: Use stories, shared memories, and simple conversations to keep loved ones present and help others feel less alone.
• How to celebrate a loved one: Find meaningful, personal ways to honor who they were instead of feeling limited by traditional expectations around grief.
• How to turn pain into purpose: Channel grief into helping others, sharing your story, or creating something meaningful in your loved one's honor.
• How grief and joy can coexist: Give yourself permission to experience moments of joy without feeling like they diminish your loss.
• Practical ways to take the next step: Create a simple daily routine, move your body, and name three things you're grateful for when getting through the day feels difficult.

Links: 

Connect with Kate:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doergek 

Website: https://www.katedoerge.com/ 

Penny’s Flight Foundation: https://pennysflight.org/

Join a Penny’s Flight chapter near you: https://pennysflight.org/pages/student-chapters 

Get a copy of Kate’s book: Reimagining Grief: A New Path to Finding Healing, Strength, and Joy after Loss: https://www.amazon.com/Reimagining-Grief-Finding-Healing-Strength/dp/B0G3KN3SKN/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0

Get a copy of Amy’s Best selling book: CANNONBALL! FEARLESSLY Facing Midlife and Beyond here

Make sure to share with friends and family and would love if you could leave a review. There are so many shows out there floating around and if you are finding value in the The Right Sized Life Podcast share it with the world – a review means so much.

And sign up for the Radiant Woman Reset here

And don’t forget to follow along on all the socials:

http://instagram.com/theamy.schmidt

https://www.facebook.com/fearlesslyfacingfifty/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-schmidt-a5684412/

This weeks Right-Sized Reflection solocast is going deep. We discuss how to stop treating wellness like a race back to our younger selves, and start building the strength, energy, and resilience to live the life ahead. I share a simple question that right-sizes everything, from beauty and skincare to relationships, home, and the space we give our future selves. 

• asking “Does this still fit?” as a midlife wellness filter 
• shifting from appearance goals to capacity goals like strength, balance, sleep, and resilience 
• redefining beauty as care rather than criticism 
• reflecting on skincare rituals, collagen curiosity, and an inside-out approach 
• naming relationships as a core wellness factor that affects energy and health 
• right-sizing relationships with nuance instead of quick labels 
• using the two-room rule to care for who you are and who you’re becoming 
• doing one small thing today that your future self will be glad you did 

If this episode made you think about wellness differently, send it to a friend you want beside you in this next chapter. And then ask her the question I'm leaving you with today. Who are you becoming? And are you making enough room for her? 

Get a copy of Amy’s Best selling book: CANNONBALL! FEARLESSLY Facing Midlife and Beyond here

Make sure to share with friends and family and would love if you could leave a review. There are so many shows out there floating around and if you are finding value in the The Right Sized Life Podcast share it with the world – a review means so much.

And sign up for the Radiant Woman Reset here

And don’t forget to follow along on all the socials:

http://instagram.com/theamy.schmidt

https://www.facebook.com/fearlesslyfacingfifty/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-schmidt-a5684412/

It’s easy to feel like you’re constantly getting new rules about what to eat, how much to eat, and what your body should look like, especially as you move through midlife and your body begins to change. But what if the answer isn’t another diet or set of restrictions, but learning to listen to and nourish your body instead? That’s exactly what I wanted to explore with registered dietitian and women’s wellness expert Lee Cotton as we talk about how our relationship with food evolves, how our nutritional needs change in midlife, and what it looks like to nourish ourselves without all the rules and restrictions.Together, we unpack the noise around protein, carbohydrates, gut health, and supplements while exploring what a non-diet approach can actually look like in everyday life. You’ll walk away with practical ways to advocate for your health, bring more variety and enjoyment to your plate, and let go of some of the food rules you may have been carrying for years.

You’ll Learn:

• How to recognize the food stories you may have carried from childhood and begin creating a different relationship with food
• Why your nutritional needs change with age and how to approach those changes without automatically turning to restriction
• Ways to move beyond the “protein is everything” mindset and make room for carbohydrates, fiber, fruits, vegetables, and variety
• What gut health and the microbiome have to do with overall well-being and why variety matters
• How to stop using exercise as permission to eat and reconnect movement with enjoyment and self-care
• Practical strategies for becoming your own health advocate, including asking questions, understanding your labs, and seeking qualified nutrition advice
• What a non-diet approach really means and how allowing all foods can create more freedom, awareness, and enjoyment around eating

Links & Resources:

Email me at [email protected] with the subject line LIST to get on the list so you’ll be the first to know when my newest book Creating the Right-Sized Life comes out in the world

Connect with Lee:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leecottonnutrition/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Leecottonnutrition/

Website: https://www.leecottonnutrition.com/ 

Get Lee’s new book, Nourishing Perspective: Reconnect with Your Inner Voice and Harmonize Your Relationship with Food:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GTTTBDTK/ 

Get a copy of Amy’s Best selling book: CANNONBALL! FEARLESSLY Facing Midlife and Beyond here

Make sure to share with friends and family and would love if you could leave a review. There are so many shows out there floating around and if you are finding value in the The Right Sized Life Podcast share it with the world – a review means so much.

And sign up for the Radiant Woman Reset here

And don’t forget to follow along on all the socials:

http://instagram.com/theamy.schmidt

https://www.facebook.com/fearlesslyfacingfifty/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-schmidt-a5684412/

We share the story of a turquoise necklace and the moment a mother hands her daughter more than jewelry. We use that moment to walk through a legacy filter that helps us choose what to keep, what to release, and what love asks us to pass on. 
• Telling the backstory of the turquoise necklace and why it matters 
• Naming legacy as patterns, stories, and unspoken rules 
• Facing the overwhelm of sorting possessions without prior conversations 
• Shifting from legacy as “after” to legacy as what we hand over daily 
• Using three legacy filter questions to cut through guilt and obligation 
• Choosing love over pressure when deciding what ends with us 
• Creating an annual Christmas gathering tradition to honour connection 
• Using inherited items as tools for belonging rather than burdens 

This week I want you to pick one thing, an object, a tradition, a phrase you find yourself repeating to your own kids or the people you love, and run it through the filter. Is this mind to keep? Does it tell the truth? What does love actually require here? 

Get a copy of Amy’s Best selling book: CANNONBALL! FEARLESSLY Facing Midlife and Beyond here

Make sure to share with friends and family and would love if you could leave a review. There are so many shows out there floating around and if you are finding value in the The Right Sized Life Podcast share it with the world – a review means so much.

And sign up for the Radiant Woman Reset here

And don’t forget to follow along on all the socials:

http://instagram.com/theamy.schmidt

https://www.facebook.com/fearlesslyfacingfifty/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-schmidt-a5684412/

What if the same approach you use to declutter your home could help you create more space in the rest of your life, too? Shira Gill, a globally recognized organizing expert and bestselling author, has built her career around helping people clear the clutter, but her newest book, LifeStyled, expands that idea far beyond closets and kitchen drawers. We talk about how to take a more intentional look at your relationships, commitments, routines, work, and the ways you spend your time, and how to recognize when you’ve simply taken on too much. Shira offers practical strategies for choosing your priorities, setting boundaries, and letting go of the “just in case” thinking that can keep us holding onto things and commitments we no longer need. It’s a conversation about editing your life with intention rather than trying to fit more into it.

You’ll Learn:

• How to identify your one true priority for this season and create a baseline of “enough” in the other areas of your life
• Ways to practice saying no without guilt or over-explaining, while still being gracious and honoring your own capacity
• What to do when sentimental items feel tied to your identity and how to hold onto the memory without holding onto the stuff 
• How to get clearer about boundaries in your relationships by identifying your personal deal breakers before they’re tested
• What “enough” can look like in different seasons of life and how to shift from constantly achieving toward appreciating what you already have

Links:

Listen to EP7: The One Night a Week That Changes Everything–Introducing No Plan Night:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-right-sized-life-with-amy-schmidt/id1484425679?i=1000770811753 

And make sure to send me an email with your pictures and stories about your NPNs and some of the rate sizing strategies you're doing: [email protected] 

Connect with Shira

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shiragill 

Website: https://www.shiragill.com/ 

You can find more about Shira’s books, programs, workshops, and retreats on her website

Join Shira’s newsletter, The Life Edit: https://shiragill.substack.com/ 

Get a copy of Amy’s Best selling book: CANNONBALL! FEARLESSLY Facing Midlife and Beyond here

Make sure to share with friends and family and would love if you could leave a review. There are so many shows out there floating around and if you are finding value in the The Right Sized Life Podcast share it with the world – a review means so much.

And sign up for the Radiant Woman Reset here

And don’t forget to follow along on all the socials:

http://instagram.com/theamy.schmidt

https://www.facebook.com/fearlesslyfacingfifty/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-schmidt-a5684412/

Self-care has quietly become another job many of us feel like we’re failing at. If you’ve ever turned “take care of yourself” into a punishing checklist, this solo cast is for you. I’m Amy, and I’m talking about self-care for midlife women in a way that’s less about adding more routines and more about creating a right size life that fits the season you’re in right now.

We walk through five shifts that change everything: becoming the CEO of your own health (not obsessing, participating), reframing wellness as preparation and capacity, and noticing how your inner voice may be the most overlooked form of self-care. I share a simple practice I use to interrupt the “I’m too old” and “it’s too late” loop by catching the sentence and changing the sentence, so your self-talk starts supporting you instead of draining you.

From there, we tackle a hard truth: you don’t owe anyone the same version of you forever. Midlife brings real change in body, family, relationships, and priorities, and self-care can mean meeting the woman you’re becoming rather than chasing who you were 10 years ago. We also talk about recovery without guilt and why rest is part of strength, not a reward for exhaustion. Finally, we end with my favorite idea: put something on the horizon. Anticipation and curiosity are self-care, too.

If this resonates, subscribe to The Right Size Life, share the episode with a friend who needs a gentler approach to wellness, and leave a review so more women can find this conversation.

Get a copy of Amy’s Best selling book: CANNONBALL! FEARLESSLY Facing Midlife and Beyond here

Make sure to share with friends and family and would love if you could leave a review. There are so many shows out there floating around and if you are finding value in the The Right Sized Life Podcast share it with the world – a review means so much.

And sign up for the Radiant Woman Reset here

And don’t forget to follow along on all the socials:

http://instagram.com/theamy.schmidt

https://www.facebook.com/fearlesslyfacingfifty/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-schmidt-a5684412/

Have you ever stayed quiet because bringing something up felt harder than just letting it go? Between busy schedules, phones, family responsibilities, and years of falling into familiar patterns, it can be surprisingly easy to become disconnected from the people closest to you without realizing it. I sat down with licensed marriage and family therapist Colette Jane Fehr to talk about why avoiding conflict can quietly create distance, and how approaching difficult conversations with honesty and vulnerability can actually bring you closer. We unpack the difference between sharing what you’re truly feeling and turning your interpretations into facts about the other person. You’ll walk away with practical ways to start hard conversations, recognize when you’re abandoning your own needs to keep the peace, and begin rebuilding connection even if your relationship has been on autopilot for years.

You'll Learn:

• How to start a difficult conversation without blame or defensiveness
• How to separate your feelings from the story you're telling yourself about your partner
• What to do when your partner says, “Nothing’s wrong” or “You’re overreacting”
• How to recognize the “siren song of avoidance”
• Ways to protect your relationship while still getting support from friends
• Why midlife can be an opportunity to reconnect
• How to stop keeping the peace at your own expense

Links:

Connect with Colette:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colettejanefehr 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colettejanefehr

Substack: Secrets from a Therapist https://colettejanefehr.substack.com/

Watch Colette’s TEDx Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tSUOB2yEd0 

Order a copy of The Cost of Quiet: How to Have the Hard Conversations That Create Secure, Lasting Love: https://www.colettejanefehr.com/new-book 

Get a copy of Amy’s Best selling book: CANNONBALL! FEARLESSLY Facing Midlife and Beyond here

Make sure to share with friends and family and would love if you could leave a review. There are so many shows out there floating around and if you are finding value in the The Right Sized Life Podcast share it with the world – a review means so much.

And sign up for the Radiant Woman Reset here

And don’t forget to follow along on all the socials:

http://instagram.com/theamy.schmidt

https://www.facebook.com/fearlesslyfacingfifty/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-schmidt-a5684412/

Your kids grow up and move out, the house gets quieter, and suddenly the question is not “What’s next for them?” It is “What fits me now?” I’m sharing a personal right-sized reflection sparked by a Motown costume party, an unexpectedly tender empty nest summer, and a big realisation: the space that opens up in midlife can either get filled with more obligations or it can become the place where you come back to yourself. 

We dig into the core right-sizing question I use for everything: does this still fit the season I’m actually in? I connect the dots between time management and energy management, including my simple daily energy audit: what energized me, what drained me, and what I did for my future self. We also talk about how midlife hormonal changes can shape sleep, stress, mood, and emotional load, and why that makes intentional self-care more important, not more selfish. 

You’ll leave with a practical right-sizing check-in and three concrete journal prompts for the week, plus a challenge to stop putting joy on layaway. Fun is not a treat you earn after you finish the list. Joy is part of wellness, part of healing, and part of building a life that actually fits. If this resonated, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more women can find this conversation.

Get a copy of Amy’s Best selling book: CANNONBALL! FEARLESSLY Facing Midlife and Beyond here

Make sure to share with friends and family and would love if you could leave a review. There are so many shows out there floating around and if you are finding value in the The Right Sized Life Podcast share it with the world – a review means so much.

And sign up for the Radiant Woman Reset here

And don’t forget to follow along on all the socials:

http://instagram.com/theamy.schmidt

https://www.facebook.com/fearlesslyfacingfifty/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-schmidt-a5684412/

It's easy to feel like midlife arrived and your body suddenly started playing by a completely different set of rules. The habits that used to work no longer seem to make a difference, there's endless advice telling you what to do, and it can leave you wondering where to even begin. I sat down with women's health specialist and clinical nutritionist Linda Stephens to cut through the noise and have an honest conversation about what really changes in midlife and how to support your body without chasing perfection. You'll walk away with practical, encouraging reminders that feeling better doesn't have to mean doing everything. Sometimes it starts with understanding what's happening and taking one simple step at a time.

You'll Learn:

• Why discipline matters more than motivation when you're building healthy habits that last
• How to support your changing body with three simple daily habits: food, strength training, and hydration
• How hormonal changes in midlife can affect your energy, sleep, mood, muscle, and overall well-being
• How to advocate for yourself when you're looking for answers about menopause and hormone health
• Why midlife can be an opportunity to prioritize yourself without guilt and embrace this next season with intention
• Practical strategies for building muscle and supporting long-term bone health without spending hours in the gym

Links:

Connect with Linda on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lindastephensfit 

Visit Linda’s website to learn more about her services and Midlife Mastery program: https://www.lindamstephens.com/ 

Get a copy of Amy’s Best selling book: CANNONBALL! FEARLESSLY Facing Midlife and Beyond here

Make sure to share with friends and family and I would love if you could leave a review. There are so many shows out there floating around and if you are finding value in the The Right Sized Life Podcast share it with the world – a review means so much.

Sign up for the Radiant Woman Reset here

And don’t forget to follow along on all the socials:

http://instagram.com/theamy.schmidt

https://www.facebook.com/fearlesslyfacingfifty/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-schmidt-a5684412/

Get a copy of Amy’s Best selling book: CANNONBALL! FEARLESSLY Facing Midlife and Beyond here

Make sure to share with friends and family and would love if you could leave a review. There are so many shows out there floating around and if you are finding value in the The Right Sized Life Podcast share it with the world – a review means so much.

And sign up for the Radiant Woman Reset here

And don’t forget to follow along on all the socials:

http://instagram.com/theamy.schmidt

https://www.facebook.com/fearlesslyfacingfifty/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-schmidt-a5684412/

Your calendar can look perfectly reasonable and still leave you wiped out by Friday. We dig into the real reason: a planner tracks time, but it does not measure emotional load, mental stress, or the subtle drain of always being “on.” When we start asking “Do I have the energy?” instead of only “Do I have the time?” the whole game changes, especially for anyone navigating midlife, recovery, or a season packed with invisible responsibilities. 

We walk through a simple, practical energy audit you can do with nothing more than a notebook and 15 minutes. Using three columns, we sort the last seven days into energy builders, energy drains, and necessary but neutral tasks. Builders are the activities that restore you and help prevent burnout, like quiet mornings, movement, reading, prayer, or meaningful connection. Drains include the sneaky stuff that looks responsible but costs you dearly: meetings that should have been emails, obligations you have outgrown, overcommitting, people-pleasing, and constant availability. 

We also share one boundary that consistently creates breathing room: a weekly “no plan night,” protected before anything else hits the schedule. It is simple, it is not glamorous, and it can reset your entire week by reminding you that rest is not something you earn after you finish everything. Listen through to the closing question, choose one thing to let go of this week, and then subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find these conversations.

Get a copy of Amy’s Best selling book: CANNONBALL! FEARLESSLY Facing Midlife and Beyond here

Make sure to share with friends and family and would love if you could leave a review. There are so many shows out there floating around and if you are finding value in the The Right Sized Life Podcast share it with the world – a review means so much.

And sign up for the Radiant Woman Reset here

And don’t forget to follow along on all the socials:

http://instagram.com/theamy.schmidt

https://www.facebook.com/fearlesslyfacingfifty/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-schmidt-a5684412/