#349: Do You Have The Capacity To Change?

The health space often boxes everyone into a single narrative: if you’re overweight, you must be overeating. But that’s not always true. In fact, undereating can lead to many of the same problems as overeating. Surprisingly, most people today are underfed—not just in quantity but in quality—leading me to ask: are you eating enough? One of the most comprehensive studies on the effects of undereating is the Minnesota Starvation Experiment. This yearlong study documented what happened to participants during prolonged semi-starvation and explored the process of refeeding. I believe it offers a great understanding of the impacts of under-eating and how to better understand the effects of food on one's physiology. Inside this podcast, I dive deeper into the Minnesota Starvation Experiment and discuss why undereating is a hidden problem in the health space. I also explain how chronic undereating leads to metabolic adaptation, triggering a cascade of health issues.   Listen to today's episode to learn more: https://thelivingwell.com/350.   Be sure to take my Free Energy quiz.  Take things to the next level: Get health advice that works delivered straight to your inbox. The only place guaranteed to make you healthier and happier. Join The Weekly Fill here. Ready to go deeper and take back your health? Learn how to nourish yourself in a way that is personal to you while also helping you to fully embrace all of you. Take back your hormones, get more energy, and learn how to thrive inside Health Made Simple. Follow my day-to-day life plus mini tidbits of health encouragement on Instagram.

You can't change if you don't have the capacity. No matter how much you will it, plan for it, or research it, the only way to create change that lasts is through resourcing your cells with the capacity to change. As the first month of the new year comes to a close, it's a perfect time to evaluate how is your 'attempt' at change working? For many, the initial drive and motivation to stick to New Year’s resolutions are starting to wane. But even if it’s not the new year as you read this, understanding the process of change—and how to make it stick—is vital. The truth is that most people struggle to change not because they lack willpower but because they lack capacity. Listen to today's episode to learn more: https://thelivingwell.com/349.   Be sure to take my Free Energy quiz.  Take things to the next level: Get health advice that works delivered straight to your inbox. The only place guaranteed to make you healthier and happier. Join The Weekly Fill here. Ready to go deeper and take back your health? Learn how to nourish yourself in a way that is personal to you while also helping you to fully embrace all of you. Take back your hormones, get more energy, and learn how to thrive inside Health Made Simple. Follow my day-to-day life plus mini tidbits of health encouragement on Instagram.

I’ve spent more than a minute in the health space. I’ve tried my fair share of extremes. At one point, I even quit health altogether. While I don’t discount any part of that journey, I can’t help but wish I’d known ten years ago what I know now: the three non-negotiables required for health. A few years ago, after “quitting health,” I realized something important: I still wanted to be healthy. It wasn’t my desire for health I was over. I was over the approach we’re told to take to get there. Through years of research, experimentation, and frustration, I uncovered a truth that’s radically changed my perspective: The problem isn’t you—or your body. The problem is the system you’re trying to use to get healthy. You might be thinking, I’ve changed my approach, tried different things, and still, nothing changes. I get it. But here’s the thing: nearly every approach to health—even when wrapped in positivity—stems from the same flawed foundation, restriction, deprivation, and scarcity. Sure, some approaches focus on addition, like crowding out the bad with the good. While that’s better, our skewed understanding of what it takes to get healthy often twists even the best intentions into forms of restriction. And this, my friend, is what needs to change. Because health doesn’t thrive in restriction, health grows through expansion. In this episode, I’m breaking down the three non-negotiables for health—the principles that will shift you from surviving in restriction to thriving in expansion. I’ll also share one simple way to get started living this approach today. Listen to today's episode to learn more: https://thelivingwell.com/348.   Be sure to take my Free Energy quiz.  Take things to the next level: Get health advice that works delivered straight to your inbox. The only place guaranteed to make you healthier and happier. Join The Weekly Fill here. Ready to go deeper and take back your health? Learn how to nourish yourself in a way that is personal to you while also helping you to fully embrace all of you. Take back your hormones, get more energy, and learn how to thrive inside Health Made Simple. Follow my day-to-day life plus mini tidbits of health encouragement on Instagram.

It might be overdone, but I must say I love the newness of a new year. I know, it really doesn't change anything. January 1st is no different than any other day of the year, but I think it causes reflection, and that (hopefully) changes things. I've been reflecting a lot over the past few weeks—what's working well, what isn't, and what I want to take into the new year. And, I must say, I've found some interesting points, including a newfound love for being right where I am. It might sound unexciting, but I'm actually loving my current reality. I need to celebrate this because I've spent nearly every other year of my adult life wishing for the next season. Not out of hate for my present but from a belief that something better was always ahead. I lived life like a chase, which ultimately meant I wasn't living it well. Last year, I committed to breaking up with this mindset, to fully live in the present. While difficult at first, it's been one of the greatest experiences of my life—one I didn’t even realize I needed. The beauty is that contentment and change can coexist. Contentment is not the same as complacency. So, as I reflect back on what is working well, what isn’t, and where I want to grow, I thought I’d share some updates. My life these days involves less five-year planning and more pattern-shifting and system-building. In fact, moving from goal-setting to pattern-shifting has led to more health changes this year than in the past five years combined. Listen to learn the five things that are working well and that I’m taking into 2025.   Learn more about today's episode: https://thelivingwell.com/347.   Don't forget to track where your energy level using: This FREE energy quiz to determine your metabolic output. Follow my day-to-day life plus mini tidbits of health encouragement on Instagram.  

Every Sunday brings a moment of alarm. The moment my phone sends a notification of screen time averages for the week. I can't say I'm surprised. I know I spend more time than I would like on my phone. But the amount is still disturbing. Have you ever considered what you could accomplish or genuinely enjoy if you reclaimed that time? Looking back, I can’t say my screen time ever feels worth it. Most of the time, I can’t even remember what I was doing on my phone fifteen minutes ago, let alone justify the hours I spend scrolling through the week. It’s embarrassing, but I know I’m not alone. Recent statistics show the average person spends about 4 hours and 37 minutes on their phone daily. And that doesn’t include time spent on computers or watching TV. Rather than justify it, I’ve decided to take control, inspired by my friend and author Hannah Brencher’s book, The Unplugged Hours: Cultivating a Life of Presence in a Digitally Connected World. On her 33rd birthday, Hannah realized something had to change. She challenged herself to spend 1,000 unplugged hours over the course of a year. In a recent podcast episode, I interviewed her about this journey—what she learned, what surprised her, and whether she plans to continue. If you’re ready to rethink your screen habits, give it a listen. It might inspire you to live differently in the year ahead.   Learn more about today's episode: https://thelivingwell.com/346.   Don't forget to track where your energy level using: This FREE energy quiz to determine your metabolic output. Follow my day-to-day life plus mini tidbits of health encouragement on Instagram.  

This is a recording of my latest live class as a part of The Weekly Fill for paid subscribers. Do you want to be a part of participating in these live classes and submitting your questions to have Alexa answer them? Subscribe to The Weekly Fill here to get the information on the next live class is ready to be scheduled. Take things to the next level: Get health advice that works delivered straight to your inbox. It is the only place guaranteed to make you healthier and happier. Join The Weekly Fill here. Learn more about today's episode and get the free download for my Health Sugar Guide: https://thelivingwell.com/345.   Don't forget to track where your energy level using: This FREE energy quiz to determine your metabolic output. Follow my day-to-day life plus mini tidbits of health encouragement on Instagram.

Food has a lot of power in the health space. It might even be the reigning king, but sometimes, it's distracting you from more important issues. Take sugar, for instance. It's not the villain in the story. In fact, there are many benefits of sugar (some may surprise you). Spoiler to tip one: Your body needs sugar. Unfortunately, our use of processed and modified sugars has led many people to overconsume them, creating a cascade of health problems associated with sugar. But to clarify, those problems exist not because you consumed sugar but because it causes instability or a rise in your blood glucose levels that are outside your homeostatic balance. I think it's important to clarify the problem - that sugar is not the problem but the instability or spikes in your blood glucose - when you understand this, you can focus more on blood glucose regulation and less on restriction. Inside this podcast, I teach you the benefits of sugar, including why you need it, what happens when you eliminate it, the addiction behind it, and the real problem (that is less about sugar and more about stress). Listen to today's episode to learn more: https://thelivingwell.com/344. Listen To The Rest Of The Health School Episodes: https://thelivingwell.com/health-school   Don't forget to track where your energy level using: This FREE energy quiz to determine your metabolic output. This FREE download to track your body temperature and pulse rate. Take things to the next level: Get health advice that works delivered straight to your inbox. The only place guaranteed to make you healthier and happier. Join The Weekly Fill here. Ready to go deeper and take back your health? Learn how to nourish yourself in a way that is personal to you while also helping you to fully embrace all of you. Take back your hormones, get more energy, and learn how to thrive inside Health Made Simple. Follow my day-to-day life plus mini tidbits of health encouragement on Instagram.

Forgiveness is not the sexiest tool in the health space. In fact, most wouldn't consider it a health tool, even though it has a massive health impact - arguably just as much (if not more) than what you eat. Research has found that forgiveness changes your mind and biology. It improves heart health, immune function, hormonal flow, and reproductive health, to name a few. Unfortunately, most people aren't great at forgiveness, especially forgiving themself.  Honestly, I wasn't any better. My stubbornness is partially to blame, but I also misunderstood what forgiveness meant, keeping me stuck holding on to my pain and anger. It kept me holding onto the hurt that ended in bitterness. Thankfully, I didn't stay here.  After years of studying and living in a posture of forgiveness, I have new thoughts and research on why it's one of the most remarkable healing tools we have at our disposal. Not to mention, it's free! In the podcast, I present a new view of forgiveness, using it to gain health. It helps you heal from bad diet advice, but more importantly, it helps you forgive, which is the epitome of good diet advice. If you want to be well, you have to forgive.  Listen to today's episode to learn more: https://thelivingwell.com/343. Listen To The Rest Of The Health School Episodes: https://thelivingwell.com/health-school   Don't forget to track where your energy level using: This FREE energy quiz to determine your metabolic output. This FREE download to track your body temperature and pulse rate. Take things to the next level: Get health advice that works delivered straight to your inbox. The only place guaranteed to make you healthier and happier. Join The Weekly Fill here. Ready to go deeper and take back your health? Learn how to nourish yourself in a way that is personal to you while also helping you to fully embrace all of you. Take back your hormones, get more energy, and learn how to thrive inside Health Made Simple. Follow my day-to-day life plus mini tidbits of health encouragement on Instagram.  

There is a lot of bad diet advice out there, and while it's easy to blame diets, at the root, bad diet advice is not the problem. The problem is our need for diets. A problem stemming from generational beliefs about health that have created the idea that your body is the problem. I'm certainly not attempting to put everyone in the same box. But regardless of where you fall, understanding generational beliefs, challenges, or trauma is worth talking about. We all have them, regardless of our environment. While parents and grandparents are the main culprits of these beliefs, the culture and environment of our childhoods also play a defining role. For many of us, there was no escaping the health storyline the media portrayed. Historically, these health beliefs have spanned everything from magazines to TV and magazine ads (even for kids). The confusing and mixed messages of the dieting era: Growing up in the 80's and 90's, I was exposed to an entirely different set of beliefs than culture portrays now. The same would be true of our grandparents generation. There was always a belief about health, but that belief has shifted throughout the generations, bringing a world of confusion. Currently, we exist in a tangled mess of two very large extremes—the beliefs created at the peak of diet culture in the '70s, '80s, and '90s that skinny was in and how you looked determined your worth to the 2000s when health shifted to body awareness, and strong was the new skinny. I'm not saying what message is true or if any are, but rather proving that regardless, we've all been shaped by these cultural ideas. There is no escaping them. If you fail to change them, they will become your beliefs.  In this podcast, I discuss generational beliefs about health and the trauma they have caused. I also show you how to let go of these unhealthy beliefs and establish new (and true) beliefs that will change your health and your health legacy.  Listen to today's episode to learn more: https://thelivingwell.com/342. Listen To The Rest Of The Health School Episodes: https://thelivingwell.com/health-school   Don't forget to track where your energy level using: This FREE energy quiz to determine your metabolic output. This FREE download to track your body temperature and pulse rate. Take things to the next level: Get health advice that works delivered straight to your inbox. The only place guaranteed to make you healthier and happier. Join The Weekly Fill here. Ready to go deeper and take back your health? Learn how to nourish yourself in a way that is personal to you while also helping you to fully embrace all of you. Take back your hormones, get more energy, and learn how to thrive inside Health Made Simple. Follow my day-to-day life plus mini tidbits of health encouragement on Instagram.  

If you're breathing, it's assumed you've been exposed to bad diet advice. Growing up in the '80s and '90s, I lived through what some consider the peak of 'crazy diet advice.' From cabbage soup to grapefruit diets and liquid fasts, the '90s were anything short of one wild idea to the next that might help someone achieve their desired outcomes. Bad diet advice didn't just emerge in the last few decades; history proves it has been circulating throughout different millenniums. It's part of our history and still part of our culture. Yet, under the surface, there is more to dieting than meets the eye. It may feel like an approach to reach a better destination, whether through weight loss or another metric, but dieting creates a sense of safety, no matter how artificial it may be. It feels strange to combine dieting and safety—even contradictory. But if you dig deeper, you'll find that people seek diets to create order in what feels chaotic or dysregulated. They seek a system that provides safety when they don't feel safe. Safety is a human need (not a wish), and diets provide just enough safety to keep people needing them. In the podcast, I share a shift in understanding diet culture. I also share where it's led us astray and how to use it to better your life. Bad diet advice is only bad because we misunderstand what we need. This is different from your average conversation about bad diet advice. It's deeper and yet more profound. Listen to the podcast to understand the full story. Listen to today's episode to learn more: https://thelivingwell.com/341. Listen To The Rest Of The Health School Episodes: https://thelivingwell.com/health-school   Don't forget to track where your energy level using: This FREE energy quiz to determine your metabolic output. This FREE download to track your body temperature and pulse rate. Take things to the next level: Get health advice that works delivered straight to your inbox. The only place guaranteed to make you healthier and happier. Join The Weekly Fill here. Ready to go deeper and take back your health? Learn how to nourish yourself in a way that is personal to you while also helping you to fully embrace all of you. Take back your hormones, get more energy, and learn how to thrive inside Health Made Simple. Follow my day-to-day life plus mini tidbits of health encouragement on Instagram.