Thrive Beyond Size

What happens when you ask your husband for his unfiltered opinions on diet culture, fitness myths, and wellness fads? You get Hot Takes with Rob—a lighthearted, totally unscripted episode where Rob and I riff on everything from gym selfies and cheat days to dad bods, fat jokes in movies, and whether "no pain, no gain" still has a place in our lives.

Expect laughter, surprising insights, and some real talk about body image, food rules, and why the number on the scale doesn’t tell the full story. We definitely didn’t agree on everything—but that’s the point.

In this episode, we cover:

• Are gym selfies empowering or cringey?
• Why cheat days felt self-destructive to Rob
• How going vegetarian (ish) works in our marriage
• The double standard of the dad bod
• Fat jokes in media—and why they still matter
• Emotional eating (yep, men do it too)
• Buying bigger clothes: defeat or self-care?
• The real reason we ditched our bathroom scale
• Why Rob says "life is better without the scorecard"

Whether you’re in a relationship or just love seeing how these everyday conversations play out in real life, this episode offers a refreshing, funny, and relatable take on what it means to live beyond the rules of diet culture.

🎧 Listen now, and let us know—what’s your hot take?

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What happens when you want to move your body more—but it always feels like a “should”? In this episode, I’m sharing a personal story from a recent camping trip with my husband, Rob, that sparked a meaningful conversation about movement, motivation, and mindset.

Together, we unpacked what’s really getting in the way of consistent, joyful movement—even when we know it’s good for us. Spoiler: it’s not laziness. It’s the pressure, the language, and the unrealistic expectations we place on ourselves.

You’ll learn:

• Why “working out” might be the problem—and what to say instead
• How to recognize the movement you're already doing
• Why “meeting yourself where you’re at” is the secret to sustainability
• What joyful movement actually looks like (hint: it’s not punishment)
• The role of compassion and curiosity in rebuilding a relationship with movement

If you’re craving a kinder, more sustainable way to move your body—this episode is for you.

Mentioned in the episode:

• Fly Fitness dance workouts (https://www.flydancefitness.com/classes)
• Camping, walking, and redefining movement beyond the gym

I’d love to hear from you: What does joyful movement look like for you this summer? Email me at [email protected] and share your story.

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What if your eating habits could teach you more about how you move through the world than you ever imagined?

In this deeply personal episode, I share insights sparked by a recent labyrinth walk—one that cracked open an uncomfortable (but necessary) realization about how I navigate discomfort in all areas of life, not just around food.

You’ll hear:

• Why I’ve been rushing through everything—and how that mirrors my relationship with food
• How overwhelm transformed into a subtler discomfort I’ve been calling “boredom”
• The real reason I’ve been wandering into the kitchen lately—and what I’ve started doing instead
• A surprising confession about my coaching business (and what’s next for me)
• How movement, mindfulness, and even a shower can reveal what you're really avoiding

If you’ve ever used food to dodge uncomfortable thoughts, or felt stuck at the edge of your own growth, this one’s for you.

💌 I’d love to hear from you:
Where are you being pushed to your edge right now?
Send me a note: [email protected]

🔗 Resources Mentioned:

Don't Believe Everything You Think by Joseph Nguyen

The HALT Tool (Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired)

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Healthism is everywhere—but most of us don’t even know it has a name. In this powerful episode of Thrive Beyond Size, Dr. Michelle Tubman unpacks the hidden force that turns health into a moral responsibility and worth into a measurement of discipline. From the praise of weight loss at any cost to the judgment we place on food, movement, and rest, Michelle explores how healthism intersects with fatphobia, ableism, diet culture, and systemic injustice.

You’ll learn where healthism shows up in everyday life, why it’s harmful, and what it looks like to push back—without giving up on yourself or your well-being. This is a must-listen for anyone ready to reclaim body autonomy, soften perfectionism, and redefine what care really means.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• What healthism is—how how it subtly shapes our beliefs about food, bodies, and self-worth
• How it shows up in medical settings, social media, and daily conversations
• Why the pursuit of “health” can become harmful and shaming
• The link between healthism and diet culture, fatphobia, ableism, and trauma
• What it looks like to care for yourself without subscribing to health as a moral mandate
• How to reclaim body autonomy and offer yourself compassion instead of judgment

Resources & Links

• Learn more about Wayza Health
• Follow Michelle on Instagram @wayzahealth
• Listen to previous episodes of Thrive Beyond Size here

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This week, I’m joined by award-winning author Paulette Stout for a powerful conversation about her latest novel, What We Give Away—a book that absolutely blew me away.

We explore how fiction can illuminate truths in ways facts and figures can’t, and why Paulette’s story of a woman navigating disordered eating, body image, and diet culture feels so real, so needed, and so affirming.

We talk about:

• Why she chose to tackle diet culture in a novel
   
• The impact of weight stigma, even in straight-sized bodies
   
• The power of relationships, food, and cultural identity in healing
   
• How fiction can become a bridge for deeper understanding—especially for those new to these ideas
   

We also chat about favorite characters (everyone needs a Dot!) and how this story is already changing lives.

Whether you’re deep in your intuitive eating journey or just beginning to question the rules you’ve always followed, this episode will speak to your heart.

🎧 Plus—listen to learn how you can win a free copy of What We Give Away!

Resources + Links:

• Email me: [email protected] – I’d love to hear your thoughts on this one!
• Learn more about Paulette at www.paulettestout.com
• Amazon link: See Paulette’s books here
• Learn more about how to work with me at wayzahealth.com

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Welcome to Episode 200 of Thrive Beyond Size! 🎉

This milestone episode is deeply personal. I'm pulling back the curtain on my full journey—from launching this podcast in my bedroom closet under the name Mindful Weight Loss… to becoming a fierce advocate for body trust, intuitive eating, and weight-inclusive care.

In this episode, I share:

The truth behind why I kept my early weight-loss episodes online

My painful turning points—from binge eating in secret to a moment of heartbreak at a physician leadership conference

What made me finally walk away from weight loss coaching

The moment everything clicked (spoiler: it involved one powerful training video and a lot of late-night reflection)

What it really looks like to live a life guided by intuition, not obsession

How I now honor my body instead of trying to change it

If you've ever felt stuck in your body… ashamed of your story… or unsure if this kind of freedom is even possible for you—this episode is for you. You’ll hear my raw truth, including the messy middle and the moments I wanted to give up.

This is more than a reflection. It’s a love letter to your future self—and a celebration of what’s possible when you stop fighting your body and start living your life.

If this episode resonated with you, please share it with a friend, leave a review, or tag me on social media. Let’s spread the message that you don’t have to change your body to change your life.

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In this episode of Thrive Beyond Size, I'm diving into something that's been showing up in my own intuitive eating journey lately—something sneaky that might be tripping you up too: the difference between pleasure and familiarity.

Sometimes we reach for certain foods, habits, or even thought patterns not because they truly bring us joy or nourishment—but because they’re familiar. They’re predictable. And in a world that feels overwhelming or exhausting, predictability can feel like relief. But here’s the thing: comfort isn’t always the same as pleasure. And when we mistake one for the other, we can stay stuck in patterns that don’t actually support us.

This week, I’m exploring:

• Why our brains cling to the familiar (even when it’s not helpful)
• How to tell the difference between real pleasure and short-term comfort
• Why discomfort is part of the change process—and not a sign you’re doing it wrong
• How mindfulness can help you break free from old autopilot behaviors and make more nourishing, conscious choices

Whether it’s food, body image habits, or the way you talk to yourself—this episode will help you tune in more clearly to what actually feels good (not just what feels known). No shame, no judgment—just curiosity, compassion, and a gentle invitation to try something new.

Resources + Links:

Email me: [email protected] – I’d love to hear your thoughts on this one!

Learn more about how to work with me at wayzahealth.com

Enjoyed this episode?
Share it with a friend or leave a review—it helps more folks find the support they need to heal their relationship with food, body, and self.

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Hello there, and welcome back to the podcast. In last week’s episode, I used the phrase ‘food freedom’ in the context of food being a mirror to show the relationship you have with yourself. But upon reflection, it doesn’t make sense. Food freedom is a phrase that is used a lot in diet culture and weight loss circles. But what is food freedom? It sounds catchy, but it’s an illusion. We don’t actually need freedom from food because food is not the problem. Rules around food are the thing keeping us hostage. That’s what I look into in this episode.     

The guilt and shame we feel around food are because we have been taught that certain foods are bad or that there are food rules we must follow. We are taught to be afraid of carbs or sweets or emotional eating, and so we feel like we’re held hostage by food. That’s where the idea of food freedom comes from. But when we understand that food is not the problem and rules are, the idea of food freedom falls apart. Food is neutral. Hunger is normal. There is no perfect way to eat. We don’t have to fear food. We’re free to eat without guilt. Those are the five things I explore in this episode, breaking apart the idea that we need freedom from food.  

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About Dr. Michelle Tubman:

Dr. Michelle Tubman is certified by the American Board of Obesity Medicine, which means she understands exactly what's happening in your body when you diet. Although she does not provide any medical advice in her coaching programs, this knowledge gives her an edge over most coaches.

She also holds Level 1 and Level 2 Precision Nutrition coaching certifications which make her skilled at coaching nutrition, dietary change, and habit change in general. Realizing that emotional eating and bingeing are complicated for most of us, she also did training in mind-body and intuitive eating. Peace around food is possible.

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Learn more about Dr. Michelle Tubman and Wayza Health:

• Website: www.wayzahealth.com
• Follow me on Facebook and Instagram
• Email Michelle: [email protected]

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Welcome, everyone. I’m excited to have you back here this week because I want to talk to you about something truly life-changing. I call it the mirror effect. It has to do with diet culture telling us to fix our eating and fix our bodies when really those are not the issues. There’s nothing wrong with our bodies. I want to make the point that true freedom is releasing ourselves from the belief that we have to change our bodies to change our lives. If food isn’t the problem, maybe the way we eat is actually a mirror for how we relate to ourselves. So join me as I explore that.     

When diet culture drills into us the idea that we have to think about food in isolation, it makes food just food, just fuel, just calories in and calories out, we then believe that anything we do in regards to overeating or emotional eating or cravings is a problem to be solved. But what if we got curious instead and asked what our eating is reflecting back to us? If I focus just on the fact that I binge at night because I’m starving, I’ll miss the point that I’m not structuring my days in a way that allows for self-care and meeting my needs. We need to start asking what we truly need right now, rather than vilifying food or eating. How do we do that? What steps do we take to begin to understand the mirror effect? How do we gain a deeper understanding of why we’re eating? Those are the questions I ask and hopefully address for you in this episode.

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About Dr. Michelle Tubman:

Dr. Michelle Tubman is certified by the American Board of Obesity Medicine, which means she understands exactly what's happening in your body when you diet. Although she does not provide any medical advice in her coaching programs, this knowledge gives her an edge over most coaches.

She also holds Level 1 and Level 2 Precision Nutrition coaching certifications which make her skilled at coaching nutrition, dietary change, and habit change in general. Realizing that emotional eating and bingeing are complicated for most of us, she also did training in mind-body and intuitive eating. Peace around food is possible.

__

Learn more about Dr. Michelle Tubman and Wayza Health:

• Website: www.wayzahealth.com
• Follow me on Facebook and Instagram
• Email Michelle: [email protected]

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello everyone and welcome back to Thrive Beyond Size. This episode was partly inspired by my husband returning to school and watching how meticulous he is about his assignments. The effort he puts into things is admirable but not sustainable and I realized that striving for perfection is about the illusion of control. It correlates to healing relationships with food in a very real way. If you’ve spent years trying to control food, just holding onto the reins of your relationship with food so tightly, you probably believe that you have control and are safe, right? But something I call the control paradox comes into play which is that the tighter we clamp down, the less control we actually have. The more we restrict, the more chaotic and compulsive things become. So today I dive into the control paradox: what it means, how it works, and how to break free.    

I explore three very important questions: 1) Why do we believe that control equals safety in the first place? 2) How do restriction and rigid food rules backfire on us, making food feel even more chaotic? 3) How can we step out of this control paradox and into a place of more trust and freedom with food? A lot of our food rules are shaped from a very young age and when we also factor diet culture into the mix, we take in the primary message that our bodies can’t be trusted and control is the answer. Control makes us feel like we might be safe. But as soon as we slip up, we spiral into chaos and feel very unsafe. So the answer actually lies in trust. Learning to trust our bodies again. And that’s what I explore: why trust is so scary but vital to intuitive eating and breaking out of the control paradox.

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About Dr. Michelle Tubman:

Dr. Michelle Tubman is certified by the American Board of Obesity Medicine, which means she understands exactly what's happening in your body when you diet. Although she does not provide any medical advice in her coaching programs, this knowledge gives her an edge over most coaches.

She also holds Level 1 and Level 2 Precision Nutrition coaching certifications which make her skilled at coaching nutrition, dietary change, and habit change in general. Realizing that emotional eating and bingeing are complicated for most of us, she also did training in mind-body and intuitive eating. Peace around food is possible.

__

Learn more about Dr. Michelle Tubman and Wayza Health:

• Website: www.wayzahealth.com
• Follow me on Facebook and Instagram
• Email Michelle: [email protected]

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.