Unlearning Beautiful

Menopause seems to come with an endless stream of advice about what to eat, how much protein to get, how to build muscle, lose belly fat and keep our bodies healthy. But when does caring for our health start to feel like another thing we're getting wrong?

In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Jenn Salib Huber, registered dietitian, naturopathic doctor and intuitive eating counselor, for a conversation about menopause, nutrition, body image and the pressure to constantly optimize our bodies.

We explore why there's so much conflicting information surrounding menopause, how fear-based messaging can leave us feeling anxious about our changing bodies, and how to distinguish genuinely helpful health information from advice that simply gives us another reason to worry.

Because taking care of your health doesn't have to mean obsessing over your body, trying to control every change or constantly searching for the next thing to fix.

And as Jenn reminds us, menopause is the end of your period. It is not the end of you. There's so much possibility for confidence, self-trust and happiness in this next chapter.

Connect with Dr. Jenn Salib Huber:
Website: https://www.menopausenutritionist.ca/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/menopause.nutritionist/
Podcast: The Midlife Feast https://themidlifefeast.buzzsprout.com/

Connect with Kristina Bruce:
Website: https://www.kristinabruce.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristinabrucecoach/

This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice.

Have you ever looked at a photograph of yourself and thought, "Who is that woman? That doesn't even look like me anymore"?

Maybe your body has changed after pregnancy, menopause, illness, surgery, or simply through the passage of time. And part of you is still longing for the body you used to have.

But what if making peace with your body isn't about getting back to the way things were?

EXPLORE RETURNING HOME TO YOUR BODY
This 3-part video series will help you reconnect with yourself and build a more peaceful relationship with your body, even when it changes.
▶️ Learn more here: www.kristinabruce.com/bodypeaceseries

GET YOUR FREE GUIDE TO BODY PEACE
Take a first step toward feeling more at home in your body.
👉 www.kristinabruce.com/guide

IN THIS EPISODE

I explore why changes in our bodies can leave us feeling disconnected from ourselves, and why we can become so attached to a particular version of our physical appearance.

We look at:

• Why we can feel like a different person when our body changes.
• The meaning we've assigned to our bodies and how those beliefs shape our sense of worth and desirability.
• The difference between physical discomfort and emotional resistance.
• Why we struggle to let go of the way things used to be.
• How reconnecting with the part of ourselves that hasn't changed can become an anchor through life's inevitable changes.

Because your body will change. But you don't have to lose yourself in the process.

CONNECT WITH KRISTINA
🌐 Website: https://www.kristinabruce.com/
📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristinabrucecoach

This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice.

Today, I'm joined again by my colleague and fellow body image coach, Stefanie Michele.

Every few month, Stefanie and I get together for a chat and press record. We never know what we’re going to talk about, but it always ends up being a rich conversation.

This time around, we talked about how exhausting it is to try to control our lives, why letting go can feel so unsafe, and what our struggles with body image and dieting have taught us around this.

We also explore what it means to sit with difficult feelings without getting caught up in the stories we tell ourselves. And we ask a question that might just change how you look at your own life: What if you're not getting it wrong?

So pull up a seat and join us as we think out loud and explore this wild ride of being human.

CONNECT WITH KRISTINA

Kristina is a Body Peace Coach helping women build a more peaceful, trusting relationship with their bodies and untangle their self-worth from their appearance — without dieting, shrinking, or constant self-judgment.

1:1 Coaching & Offerings: https://www.kristinabruce.com/workwithme

Website: https://www.kristinabruce.com

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

CONNECT WITH STEFANIE MICHELE

Stefanie is a certified coach and somatic practitioner who helps people understand the psychological, emotional, and nervous-system patterns underneath binge eating, food control, and body image anxiety.

1:1 Coaching: https://www.iamstefaniemichele.com/coaching

Website: https://www.iamstefaniemichele.com

YouTube — Full But Not Finished: https://www.youtube.com/@iamstefaniemichele

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

Have you ever tried on clothes, looked in the mirror, and suddenly felt terrible about your body? Maybe the jeans don't fit, your bathing suit shows more of your stomach than you'd like, or you find yourself picking apart everything you see.

It's easy to assume that if we could just lose some weight or change our bodies, we'd finally feel good about ourselves. But what if there's something deeper going on?

In this episode of Unlearning Beautiful, I'm exploring why trying on clothes can be such an emotionally loaded experience, and why even reaching the body ideal you've been chasing doesn't necessarily stop the self-criticism.

We'll look at how beauty standards, learned beliefs, and the fear of how other people see us can turn something as ordinary as getting dressed into a painful experience. I'll also share some practical ways to navigate those moments when you find yourself spiralling in the changing room.

Because clothes are meant to fit your body. Your body isn't meant to fit the clothes.

RESOURCES & LINKS

🕊️ Get your free Guide to Body Peace: For women tired of "fixing" their bodies, and ready to feel free. www.kristinabruce.com/guide

💛 Work with me: If you're ready to stop making your appearance the measure of your worth and build a more trusting, peaceful relationship with your body, check out my offerings to support you: www.kristinabruce.com/workwithme

👗 The clothing account I mentioned on IG: https://www.instagram.com/aniksanandco.in/

If you're enjoying Unlearning Beautiful, I'd love for you to leave a rating anf review. It will help get this message out to more women who need to hear it. 💗

This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice.

We spend so much time thinking about our bodies — trying to change them, worrying about how we look, and thinking about what we should or shouldn't eat. But what is all that focus costing us?

In this episode of Unlearning Beautiful, I'm exploring how our preoccupation with our bodies can take up so much of our time, energy and mental space that we lose sight of other things that matter to us.

We look at why body image struggles and dieting can become ways of coping with uncertainty, difficult emotions and the pressure to feel accepted. And how, sometimes, focusing on fixing our bodies can distract us from things in our lives that need our attention — or from desires, interests and experiences we haven't made room for.

This isn't about blaming ourselves for the patterns we've developed. There are understandable reasons we get caught up in them. But we can start to question whether these patterns are actually giving us what we need, and what might become possible if we weren't spending so much of our lives trying to change ourselves.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why we can come to believe we need to change our bodies to feel confident, desirable or accepted
• How body and food preoccupation can become a way of coping when other parts of life feel uncertain
• The hidden cost of constantly monitoring our appearance, food and weight
• How body fixation can sometimes distract us from difficult decisions or things we want to explore
• What we might make room for when we're no longer so consumed by trying to fix ourselves
• Questions to help you reconnect with what matters to you and take small steps toward a life that feels more fulfilling

You don't have to wait until you love your body or feel completely confident to start living your life.

RESOURCES

Work with me 1:1
If you're ready to change your relationship with your body, build self-trust and spend less time trying to fix yourself, learn more about private coaching here: www.kristinabruce.com/private-coaching

Get your free Guide to Body Peace
A place to begin if you're ready to step away from body criticism and move toward a more peaceful relationship with your body: www.kristinabruce.com/guide

Thanks for listening to Unlearning Beautiful. If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who might find it helpful.

You can find me at kristinabruce.com and on Instagram at @kristinabrucecoach.

This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice.

Have you ever gained five pounds and felt like you failed as a human being? Not just that you didn't like how your clothes fit, but genuinely ashamed, as if you lacked discipline, self-control, or worth?

In this episode, we’re unpacking how weight stopped being just a physical measurement and turned into a moral report card. We look at the subtle ways diet culture conditions us to equate thinness with character and goodness—and how that judgment keeps us trapped in a cycle of hyper-vigilance, restriction, and body fear.

In this episode, we explore:

• How weight gain became culturally tied to shame while weight loss became framed as a character upgrade
• The "rain metaphor" and why weight in itself is actually neutral
• What a recent study on young kids and Barbie dolls reveals about our early conditioning
• Why food, exercise, and the scale became daily moral assignments
• How body changes in midlife trigger panic—and how to stop using your body as evidence of your worth

LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED:

👉 Work With Me 1:1: Ready to untangle your worth from the scale and feel at ease in your body? Learn more about Body Peace Coaching and book a free consultation: https://www.kristinabruce.com/workwithme

🎁 Free Guide to Body Peace: Download my free guide to help you stop fighting your body and begin building trust with yourself today: www.kristinabruce.com/guide

CONNECT WITH KRISTINA
🌐 Website: https://www.kristinabruce.com/

📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristinabrucecoach

This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice.

What happens when trying to control your body—and your life—becomes the very thing keeping you stuck?

In this episode, I’m talking with Alison about her experience with an eating disorder, and what began to change when she started questioning the beliefs that kept her trapped in control, fear, and rigidity.

Alison shares what she’s learned about trusting her body, letting go of the need to have all the answers, making space for pleasure and rest, and discovering that she can live her life without needing to know exactly how everything will turn out.

And you don’t need to have an eating disorder to relate to this conversation. If you’ve ever thought, “If I could just figure this out, then I’d finally be okay,” there’s something here for you.

Want to feel more at peace in your body?

→ Work with me 1:1: www.kristinabruce.com/private-coaching

→ Get my free Guide to Body Peace: www.kristinabruce.com/guide

CONNECT WITH KRISTINA
🌐 Website: https://www.kristinabruce.com/
📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristinabrucecoach

This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice.

Do you feel like you have to get everything right?

Your body. Your work. Your relationships. The way other people see you.

For many of us, perfectionism isn't really about wanting to be perfect. It's about what we believe being “good enough” will give us: safety, love, acceptance, approval, and a sense of worth.

And when that belief gets attached to our bodies, we can spend years trying to make our bodies “right”—without realizing that we're asking our bodies to prove something about us.

In this episode, I explore:

• Why criticism and feedback can feel so much more threatening than they seem
• How perfectionism can become a way of protecting ourselves
• Why our bodies can become a kind of armour
• Why letting go of dieting and body control can feel surprisingly scary
• How the same perfectionism pattern can show up in our work, relationships, parenting and people-pleasing
• The difference between receiving someone's feedback and making their opinion mean something about your worth
• Why we don't need to prove that we're good enough
• And what becomes possible when we stop asking our bodies—and our lives—to prove our value

At the end of the episode, I'll guide you through a short reflection to help you notice where you might be trying to prove yourself in your own life.

Want to go deeper?

If you're recognizing yourself in this episode and want support untangling the beliefs underneath your body struggle, I work with women privately through 1:1 coaching.

→ Learn about 1:1 coaching: www.kristinabruce.com/private-coaching

Not ready for coaching? Start with my free Guide to Body Peace for a gentle introduction to building a more peaceful relationship with your body.

→ Get the free Guide to Body Peace: www.kristinabruce.com/gude

CONNECT WITH KRISTINA
🌐 Website: https://www.kristinabruce.com/
📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristinabrucecoach

This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice.

The Sydney Sweeney ad has sparked a lot of conversation about women, sexuality, empowerment, and objectification. But what does any of this have to do with the way we see our own bodies?

In this episode, I’m using the controversy around the ad as a jumping-off point to explore something much deeper: what happens when we internalize the idea that being desirable makes us valuable.

Because the message isn’t only “women should look a certain way.” Over time, it can become: If I look desirable, I’ll get attention. If I get attention, I’ll feel validated. And if I feel validated, maybe that means I’m valuable.

And suddenly, your body becomes a job—something to maintain, monitor, improve, or hide.

We’ll explore the difference between a woman having agency over her body and the cultural messages we absorb about what makes a woman valuable—and why even shifting from “my body needs to be beautiful” to “my body needs to be strong, capable, or impressive” can still leave us tying our worth to our bodies.

Ultimately, this episode is about something much bigger than one ad: learning to experience yourself without constantly evaluating yourself through someone else’s eyes.

And asking a very important question: When I look at my body, whose eyes am I looking through?

If you want to explore this work more deeply, check out my Body Peace Video Series: www.kristinabruce.com/bodypeaceseries

CONNECT WITH KRISTINA
🌐 Website: https://www.kristinabruce.com/

📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristinabrucecoach

This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice.

Caitlin had already done the work to heal her anxious relationship with food. But the anxiety didn’t go away.

Instead, it started taking over more and more of her life — fueling constant overthinking, rumination, and a desperate search for reassurance and proof that everything was okay.

For so many women, struggles with body image and food are intertwined with anxiety. Anxiety about how you look, what you eat, what other people think, and whether you’re “doing it right.” That’s part of what brought Caitlin to me for 1:1 coaching.

In this honest conversation, Caitlin shares what changed when she stopped trying to think her way out of anxiety and began learning how to relate to it differently. She talks about how her life began to expand again — sleeping better, feeling more present, traveling, and doing things she had been putting off.

But this isn’t a story about anxiety disappearing forever.

Two years later, anxiety came back. Caitlin initially wondered if she was right back where she started. What she discovered instead was that she wasn’t. The work she had done had changed how she could meet anxiety, and she was able to move through it in a very different way.

If you struggle with anxiety, overthinking, self-doubt, or constantly searching for reassurance and acceptance, I think you’ll relate to a lot of what Caitlin shares.

Want support with your own relationship with your body and yourself?

I work 1:1 with women who are ready to stop fighting with their bodies, quiet the constant mental noise, and build more trust, peace, and freedom.

→ Learn more about 1:1 coaching here: www.kristinabruce.com/private-coaching

Connect with Kristina:
Instagram: @kristinabrucecoach
Website: www.kristinabruce.com

This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice.