It Has to Be Me

In unstable times like these, it’s easy to harden, retreat, or get swept up in fear and shouting. Instead of being part of destructive narratives, find clarity and perspective in stories—in books, poetry, theater, film, TV, music, and your own life. I reflect on my childhood and the values my parents instilled—curiosity, compassion, asking questions, and imagining life through someone else’s eyes. My mom and dad encouraged storytelling as a way to explore challenging ideas without needing certainty or agreement. In adulthood, stories help me hold confusion and overwhelm, understand my experience and those of others, and connect with what matters most.Inviting us into lives we haven’t lived and perspectives we don’t yet understand, stories invite us to practice empathy toward understanding. Connecting with characters and situations soften our certainty, and remind us of our shared humanity.In this episode, I share recent experiences that have done that for me. From a Jacob Collier concert that turned thousands of strangers into willing collaborators, to shows like Schitt’s Creek and Heated Rivalry that remind us of our capacity to connect with people who are not like us. Be invested in the diversity of stories, including your own. Stay curious and risk talking with people who think differently, even if it provokes their hostility. Hear them out. Dare to be wrong. Allow yourself to be surprised, not by their views, but their willingness to have a civil conversation. Storytelling can soften your edges, and those of others. Someone has to make the first move. Decide—It Has To Be Me. TESS’S TAKEAWAYSStories invite empathy and understanding without force or persuasion.Stories help us hold complexity without shutting down.Curiosity keeps us connected. It changes our minds and perspectives.Listening is an act of resistance to outrage.Share your stories and take in the stories of those who think differently. Be kind as a quiet form of courage.You can learn from someone without agreeing with them.We build community through shared humanity, not shared opinions.MEET TESS MASTERS: Tess Masters is an actor, presenter, health coach, cook, and author of The Blender Girl, The Blender Girl Smoothies, and The Perfect Blend, published by Penguin Random House. She is also the creator of the Skinny60® health programs.Health tips and recipes by Tess have been featured in the LA Times, Washington Post, InStyle, Prevention, Shape, Glamour, Real Simple, Yoga Journal, Yahoo Health, Hallmark Channel, The Today Show, and many others.Tess’s magnetic personality, infectious enthusiasm, and down-to-earth approach have made her a go-to personality for people of all dietary stripes who share her conviction that healthy living can be easy and fun. Get delicious recipes at TheBlenderGirl.com.CONNECT WITH TESS: Website: https://tessmasters.com/ Podcast: https://ithastobeme.com/ Health Programs: https://www.skinny60.com/ Delicious Recipes: https://www.theblendergirl.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theblendergirl/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theblendergirl/ YouTube: a...

It’s the Year of the Horse. Are you going to be a rocking horse, going back and forth and staying in the same place? Or a champion—sharp and focused, determined to win the race?Easier said than done. In this episode, I share how I had decided to shut the podcast down, because I felt like an imposter, that I’d been too ambitious, and bitten off more than I could chew!I recall tools shared by our guests to combat fear and overwhelm, and which ones worked for me. In the end, I realized we don’t always need to spend time and money correcting course. Often, it just takes the right person saying the right thing at the right time to shift your perspective.What got me back in the game was trusting myself to do my own triage, and choosing the strategies that felt right. Two mantras I embraced help me enjoy the work, not just obsess about the result.Just because you don’t know how it’s going to happen, doesn’t mean it’s not possible.Spoiler: Self-doubt and self-belief are both needed to create anything of value.If you’re waiting for the perfect time to go after your It Has To Be Me, you’ll be waiting forever.TESS’S TAKEAWAYSIt’s a puzzle, not a problem. If you want to, you can figure it out.Don’t be overwhelmed or depleted by your “to do” list—be energized by it.When faced with an overwhelming task, imagine the feeling of having done it.Worrying is like a rocking horse. It has motion, but gets you nowhere.There are a finite amount of yes’s and an infinite amount of no’s. Choose them wisely.A compassionate no is a gift for you and the other person.Stay in the race. Most people give up right before they cross the finish line.Give your imperfect offering. The right people can handle it. The wrong people never will.MEET TESS MASTERS: Tess Masters is an actor, presenter, health coach, cook, and author of The Blender Girl, The Blender Girl Smoothies, and The Perfect Blend, published by Penguin Random House. She is also the creator of the Skinny60® health programs.Health tips and recipes by Tess have been featured in the LA Times, Washington Post, InStyle, Prevention, Shape, Glamour, Real Simple, Yoga Journal, Yahoo Health, Hallmark Channel, The Today Show, and many others.Tess’s magnetic personality, infectious enthusiasm, and down-to-earth approach have made her a go-to personality for people of all dietary stripes who share her conviction that healthy living can be easy and fun. Get delicious recipes at TheBlenderGirl.com.CONNECT WITH TESS: Website: https://tessmasters.com/ Podcast: https://ithastobeme.com/ Health Programs: https://www.skinny60.com/ Delicious Recipes: https://www.theblendergirl.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theblendergirl/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theblendergirl/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/theblendergirl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tessmasters/ Thanks for listening!...

Fatty Liver Disease is an epidemic—1 in 3 people has it and many don’t know they do. Dr. Ibrahim Hanouneh, leading hepatologist and co-author of Skinny Liver and Regenerative Health, tells us what we need to know so we can avoid fatty liver or reverse it. We track his career from early medical training in Syria and England to cutting-edge work at the Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Hanouneh shares how the liver’s extraordinary ability to regenerate brought him into the study of the liver, then breaks down the progression of liver disease in an accessible—and hopeful—way.We discuss the critical role of the liver, the metabolic health crisis affecting 90% of people, the root causes of fatty liver in both adults and children, and how the disease is linked to heart attacks and strokes. From there, we cover risk factors we can control, those we can’t, and why women over 40 and adults with obesity, diabetes, and sleep apnea are at particularly high risk. Dr. Hanouneh explains the non-specific symptoms of “the silent disease,” the five criteria for metabolic syndrome, and how to get tested for fatty liver. He addresses the four metabolic types, why BMI is outdated, and how “skinny fat” is the real medical risk.Stressing the importance of prevention and early detection, Dr. Hanouneh shares the impact of diet, sleep, and stress, the best exercise to reduce fat in your liver, and proven food and lifestyle strategies. Next up: the common supplements, detox products, and over-the-counter medications that are causing liver damage, and why a daily cup of black coffee may be exactly what you need. For those diagnosed with liver disease: We get into the latest studies, what we need to know about the two FDA-approved medications, timelines for recovery, and exciting new developments with transplants. The key takeaway: When you catch it early and make strategic lifestyle changes, fatty liver is 100% reversible. Don’t miss this episode so you know exactly what to do. TESS’S TAKEAWAYSFatty liver has surpassed alcohol as the leading cause of liver disease and liver cancer. What causes fatty liver is a high intake of carbs and sugar—not necessarily fat. Type 2 diabetes and fatty liver are linked—having one increases risk for the other. Sleep apnea and chronic stress both accelerate fatty liver through inflammation. Children are developing fatty liver due to diet and sugary drinks, obesity, and diabetes. Fatty Liver was renamed from NAFLD to MASLD to reflect its metabolic origins. Knowing your metabolic type enables detection and tailored treatment for fatty liver.Rezdiffra and Wegovy are FDA-approved drugs for treating fatty liver disease. ABOUT DR. IBRAHIM HANOUNEHDr. Hanouneh completed his residency in internal medicine and fellowship in gastroenterology and hepatology at the Cleveland Clinic, and served on staff there before attending patients at the Mayo Clinic and joining the Board Of Directors at MNGI Digestive Health. Co-author of the books Skinny Liver and Regenerative Health, Dr. Hanouneh has spent much of his career working with liver disease, with particular expertise in studies relating to fatty liver. He has presented at national and international conferences, and authored over 70 papers and numerous abstracts. CONNECT WITH DR. HANOUNEHWebsite: https://www.mngi.com/provider/ibrahim-hanouneh-mdSkinny Liver book: https://www.amazon.com/Skinny-Liver-Program-Prevent-Epidemic-Fatty/dp/0738234648/Regenerative Health book:

Want to lose weight but don’t know whether a GLP-1 medication is right for you? Ashley Koff, dietitian and author of Your Best Shot, explains the links between gut health, blood sugar, hormones, and metabolism, and how we can achieve and maintain our goal weight, with or without the Shot.We start with Ashley’s own struggle with weight, from belly awareness as a kid and dieting in high school and college, to obsessive exercise, extreme fads, and even a goat’s-milk cleanse! Finally, a gastroenterologist provided a real solution: First, focus on digestion. The results were life-changing. Ashley became a dietitian, building on that approach. She recognized, before the GLP-1s came along, the impact of weight-health hormones—"the Switch"—on blood sugar and appetite, and the connection between these hormones and gut health. She fine-tuned her system, and treated patients with huge success.From there she walks us through the science—the difference between the Switch and GLP-1 medications that replace these hormones, ”The Shot.” We weigh the benefits and side effects of medications, and how to titrate off them and maintain your results. Covering what you need to know to establish and maintain a healthy weight, Ashley says it's not just about losing weight, it's about optimizing your weight health.What's “Your Best Shot”? Assess and decode your body’s signals, then create a personalized action plan to fit your specific situation and needs. We talk through that process and what a plan might look like, common pitfalls in formulating a strategy, the skinny on supplements, and why doctors are not always the best guides.The great news: You can control your weight health more than you think.TESS’S TAKEAWAYSYour body is an ecosystem, and needs optimized resources to run better.To optimize weight health start with improving digestion and gut health.The body produces hormones that act as “the Switch” to regulate appetite and blood sugar.GLP-1s can reduce food noise, regulate blood sugar, and support weight loss.GLP-1 medications are a hormone-replacement therapy—and suppress the Switch.The medications also can cause dehydration, digestive problems, and other health issues.Titrating off a GLP-1 medication without improving digestion can result in rebound weight gain.Willpower is a fake muscle that does not play a role in effective weight management.ABOUT ASHLEYAuthor of Your Best Shot, Ashley Koff, RD is the founder of The Better Nutrition Program (BNP), the Nutrition Course Director for UC Irvine’s Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute's Integrative and Functional Medicine Fellowship. Also a faculty member at the Integrative and Functional Nutrition Academy, she teaches the IFNA course “An Integrative and Functional Nutrition Approach to Obesity and Weight Management.”A go-to nutrition expert on the Today Show, Good Morning America, and others, Ashley was among CNN’s Top 100 Health Makers, InStyle magazine’s Hollywood Nutritionist, and a Global Wellness Ambassador for Westin Hotels.As a practitioner and business owner, Ashley makes her mission providing personalized nutrition solutions and helping people identify their needs to make “better, not perfect” choices toward their...

Ladies: Tap into the power of other women to get where you want to go. My friends and colleagues Mia Moran, Julie Hannon, and Kelly Lubeck—all members of Skinny60® and the FLOW365 community—join me to talk about what happens when women express themselves freely, and celebrate themselves and each other.Mia, Julie, and Kelly share their healing journeys, and the profound impact nutrition has had on their personal growth and transformation. They take us inside how they use that knowledge and experience in their private practices, and together, to guide and champion other women.Starting with support and accountability, we get into why private and group coaching can help us see ourselves with more confidence and resilience. And we discuss the importance of leaders maintaining self-care and awareness practices to create safe spaces and meet clients with clarity and integrity.We explore the challenges women face today, what keeps most of us stuck, and what we can do to leverage our femininity to make choices that align with what we want. By moving the conversation from our heads to our hearts, making a plan and executing it—with guidance—we reduce overwhelm, and can navigate the complexities of life with balance and ease.Don’t do it alone. When women come together with a vision, they change the world.TESS’S TAKEAWAYS: Coach and client engage in a dynamic of co-creation and drive thoughts into action.Great coaches create listening containers that help us approach ourselves in new ways.To walk the talk, ethical wellness practitioners maintain self-care practices.Women need each other. Seek out communities. Tap into the power of the feminine collective.Acting in a community activates the parasympathetic nervous system, for more connection.Titration—making key changes slowly—creates safety in doing things that are hard or scary.Befriending resistance is the path to getting past it.You wouldn’t have an idea if you didn't have the capacity to make it happen.MEET OUR GUESTSMIA MORAN Mia Moran is a mom, productivity coach, and planning expert. She is the host of the Plan Simple podcast, author of Plan Simple Meals, and creator of the FLOW365 program. Her belief in the power of wellness and a good plan got its start during a health crisis. Making changes to her diet, she experienced the impact better nutrition had on her work, relationships, and family life. While operating her design business, she began creating and sharing content around food, wellness, spirituality, motherhood, and feminine productivity. Her content resonated with other women. Mia has struck her perfect balance between wellness, work, and family; and she helps busy women and female entrepreneurs reduce overwhelm, find balance, and make strategic plans that enable them to achieve their goals.JULIE HANNON As a shamanic healer, energy medicine teacher, and yoga practitioner, Julie Hannon helps clients connect with their gifts and strengths, and make heart-centered decisions. With a master’s degree in psychology from Columbia University and bachelor’s in psychology from University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Julie worked for over 20 years as a human resources director. She then trained in the healing...

What if the thing you’ve been searching for isn’t another diet, another rulebook, or another “fix” but a way back to yourself?   In this intimate, heart‑centered roundtable, I sit down with three extraordinary members of our Skinny60 community, Rachel, Gina, and Deborah, to talk about what really happens when women stop chasing perfection and finally decide, it has to be me. These women have tried everything, from cabbage soup diets and celebrity programs to vegan meal plans and giving up altogether. But when they landed in the 60-day reset, something clicked. Not because it was “easier,” but because it was designed to work with them, not against them.  Rachel takes us back to 2020, when she wrote in her phone the desires she hoped to call in: miraculous weight loss, energy, glow. She had tried every diet under the sun, Weight Watchers, Atkins, keto, cabbage soup days, lemon detoxes, and still felt stuck. When the SK60 newsletter landed in her inbox, something in her said, this might be it. Not because she believed it would definitely work…but because she knew she couldn’t stay where she was.  Gina shares what it’s like to live with lupus from childhood, how food was always something she loved, but also something doctors told her might be harming her. She had tested my recipes for years, but still wasn’t ready to commit to a program until she saw a photo of herself that made her cry. That moment became her “I’m ready” turning point. And then there’s Deborah, long‑time vegan, trauma counselor, and someone who had been told she needed to lose weight before she could be approved for hiatal hernia surgery. Nothing she tried worked because nothing had been designed with her body, her ethics, and her digestion in mind. But when she came to the SK60 webinar on hormones and gut health, something clicked. She joined out of curiosity… and curiosity became transformation. If you’re listening and thinking, “That’s amazing for them, but I don’t know if it can happen for me…” Let this conversation be your reminder that change and healing is possible and you don’t have to believe the whole story, just the next step, because when you give yourself permission to try again extraordinary things happen. TESS’S TAKEAWAYS: You’re not “too late.” You’re right on time for your own transformation. 60 days can be the catalyst for a lifetime of change.  What starts as a food reset often becomes a self-worth revolution. “Good. Better. Best. Not Perfect.” is more than a mantra, it’s freedom.  Food is fuel, but it’s also joy, connection, and memory-making.  You’re not lazy, broken, or undisciplined, your approach just didn’t fit you… until now.  Trusting your body begins with learning how to listen to it.  The stories you tell yourself matter. Rewrite the ones that don’t serve you. Investing in yourself doesn’t make you selfish, it makes you stronger. Real change starts when you decide: it has to be me. MEET TESS MASTERS:   Tess Masters is an actor, presenter, health coach, cook, and author of The Blender Girl, The Blender Girl Smoothies, and The Perfect Blend, published by Penguin Random House. She is also the creator of the Skinny60® health programs.       Health tips and recipes by Tess have been featured in the LA Times, Washington Post, InStyle, Prevention, Shape, Glamour, Real Simple, Yoga Journal, Yahoo Health, Hallmark Channel, The Today Show, and many others.    Tess’s magnetic personality, infectious enthusiasm, and down-to-earth approach have made her a go-to personality for people of all dietary stripes who share...

Why is it that some audiobooks have you on the edge of your seat, believing you’re living inside the story, while others leave you out in the cold? Paula Parker—Grammy-winning director—breaks down the art of narration.     We start with her own story. From singing and collecting quarters and performing in bus-and-truck shows as a child, to acting in professional theater in Chicago and New York and doing voiceovers for commercials, animated series, books, and films. When their work in audio took off, Paula and her husband, Paul Alan Ruben, founded their company, producing hundreds of titles with the major US publishers. Her keen ear for casting the right actor for the job took Paula to directing the full story with high-profile narrators and celebrities.  She walks us through techniques for connecting performers with the emotional truth of the story, and the thrill of working with actors who relish collaborative discovery, along with the challenges of dealing with actors who don’t. She also covers directing authors—non-actors—when they narrate audio editions of their works.  For actors: We dive into the intimate nature of audiobook performance, and the importance of developing a relationship with the listener. From there, we get into the importance of imagination, vulnerability, and breath, the impact of speed, and the value of honoring punctuation. For listeners: Paula compares audiobooks to dating. You know if you want a second one with the narrator. When you do, don’t be in a hurry to get it over with—listen at natural speed.  Paula says great actors are like champion stallions and take the listener on the ride.  TESS’S TAKEAWAYS: Audiobook narration is an intimate form of storytelling more aligned with film than stage.   Great narration is not about vocal tricks and “oral interp,” it’s about great acting.  For a book to come to life, the narrator must develop a relationship with the listener. The best experience is when the narrator and listener breathe together.  Narrators: Your booth is a sanctuary. Bring your vulnerability in to tell the story. The truth of the story is not just in the words spoken, but the emotions underneath.  Listen to an audiobook at 1.5x or 2x the speed, and you miss the full experience. Coat-check your ego, and be a willing participant in the collaborative process. ABOUT PAULA PARKER Paula Parker has produced and directed hundreds of audiobooks for major US publishers over 25-plus years and delivered numerous award-winning titles. Highlights include the recording of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods—10th-Anniversary Edition,  Audiobook of the Year for Brimstone with Rene Auberjonois, and a Grammy for Always Looking Up with Michael J. Fox. Before directing audiobooks, Paula worked as an actor, first in Chicago then in New York at the Public Theater and off Broadway, and in diverse regional productions. As a voice actor, she dubbed films, worked in commercials, and played characters in animated series.   With a passion for teaching, Paula trained actors at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and the Neighborhood Playhouse, and moved on to coaching actors from film, Broadway and other New York theater, in narration.  She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and fellow audiobook director, Paul Alan Ruben.  CONNECT WITH PAULA LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paula-parker-5b687411/  MEET...

Audiobook fans and narrators: Paul Alan Ruben, Grammy-winning director, walks us through the process of working with actors to deliver riveting performances that make us feel like we’re living inside the story. Tracking Paul’s journey from acting with Second City to directing and writing, he recalls why he stopped chasing laughs, and the moment that cemented his decision to direct actors. To collaborate with authors and publishers, he started an audio production company, and became a go-to director for high-profile titles with celebrities.  Diving into what makes a compelling audiobook, Paul looks at why we lean into some narrators and not others. It’s not about the genre, a savvy reader, or a “golden” voice. It’s about a great actor intuiting the feelings of the character, and not only delivering the subtext with the words, but breathing life into the silence—what’s not being said. Takeaway: Turn up the playback speed and you'll miss the nuances of the performance.  Paul imparts key lessons from directing Meryl Streep, Burt Reynolds, Michael J. Fox, Lynn Redgrave, Johnny Depp, senators and cabinet members, and his insights on working productively with people, regardless of status or star power. Paul says to the actor and the listener alike: Understanding a story has zero to do with position or intellect. Give yourself the time to listen, feel, believe, and experience, and go on a magic carpet ride.  TESS’S TAKEAWAYS: What makes great audiobooks is great acting, not just clear reading or vocal tone.  Great audiobook narrators don’t “try to sound like” the characters; they become them.  Structure and technique matter; it’s more important to connect with the emotional core.  The truth of a story exists in the silent “white” spaces—what is not spoken. An actor who conveys the emotional subtext behind the words captivate the listener.  Narrators who use vocal tricks in place of emotional connection lose the listener. Audiobook listeners want to be ahead of the actor, to anticipate what they don’t know.   As an actor, be emotionally connected to your world, and the worlds you want to inhabit.  ABOUT PAUL Paul Alan Ruben has produced and directed audiobooks since 1990, winning numerous awards, including Grammys for Al Franken's Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them, and Always Looking Up by Michael J. Fox.  Teaching and coaching professional actors in the United States, Paul has cast and directed many first-time audiobook performers who’ve become celebrated narrators.   In his earlier career, Paul worked writing TV and theater, and has contributed features to Audiofile and Dadcentric magazines and The Washington Post.  His short story collection, Terms of Engagement: Stories of the father and son was published in 2018, and narrated by a stellar multi-cast including George Guidall and Scott Brick.  Paul lives in Brooklyn with fellow audiobook director, his wife Paula.  CONNECT WITH PAUL Paul Alan Ruben: http://www.paulalanruben.com/ Terms Of Engagement: https://www.amazon.com/Terms-of-Engagement-audiobook/dp/B07JHYGW9H/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-alan-ruben-8235276/ MEET TESS MASTERS:   Tess Masters is...

Are you sitting on a story you have to tell? Jess Taylor, editor and former literary agent, spills the tea about what makes compelling writing, and why people will be drawn to your unique voice.  Starting with Jess’s early love of stories, he recalls how at age 6 he broke his leg, and books became an escape and imagination a survival tool. Reading with his mother and watching classic movies at the revival house where he worked fueled a passion for analyzing how stories come together.  But, the academic approach to literature he found at Harvard and Columbia wasn’t as much fun as reading manuscripts for studios and agencies. Working with writers was even more rewarding, so Jess became an agent. Developing and selling material over ten years at Curtis Brown in New York and Endeavor in LA, he found his calling as an editor.  Together, we explore crafting narrative, developing plot and character, relishing language, and leveraging our curiosity. Jess brings in “incidentation”—a concept he learned from a great TV writer—and why sometimes “telling” over “showing” is the way to go. Then walks us through how to live in a story so it's real to you, to get to the place where your characters make choices before you do. That's how your story takes on its own internal drive.   You’ll hear about the power of the zero draft (just talk it out!), the best way to test-drive your ideas, when it’s time to work with an editor and how to find the right one, and the evolving role of AI in the writing process. The key takeaway: Have fun realizing your story. What's not fun to write isn't fun to read.    TESS’S TAKEAWAYS: Begin by beginning. You can only understand your story fully by writing it.   The art of storytelling is deciding what to include and what to omit. Great stories are not about words and themes, they’re about experiences.  Writing is a process of successive approximations. Trust your instincts, but verify. The match between story and storyteller is essential. That's how you test your story.  Character and plot develop together when people act and reveal who they are. Cast your characters and imagine the dialogue performed to construct your world.  Finding your voice is an experimental process. Writing can be learned, but not taught.   ABOUT JESS TAYLOR Jess Taylor is an editor collaborating with novelists, biographers, memoirists, screenwriters, and journalists.  After graduating from Harvard, Jess got a masters in English and Comparative Lit at Columbia, then launched into a PhD. Academia and narrative studies wasn’t about the nuts and bolts of storytelling, so he shifted to a career as a literary agent, at Curtis Brown, Ltd. in New York, and then at Endeavor in Los Angeles.    Representing writers for publishing, film and TV, he focused on working with clients in the development of their projects. Bookending his ten-year run were Peter Hedges’s What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and Rex Pickett’s Sideways, and the movie adaptations of those first novels.   Since making the move to independent editing, he’s worked closely with fiction and non-fiction writers from Gregg Hurwitz and Nicole Galland to Nancy Stout, Cyrus Copeland, and Tess Masters.  CONNECT WITH JESS Website: https://www.revizion.net/ LinkedIn:

This year, avoid the holiday bloat, food coma, and weight gain—without depriving yourself. Enjoy your favorite festive foods and stay on track with your health goals using some basic strategies.  I’ll walk you through how to prepare for the holiday season, planning ahead for catered events, what to do at parties, how to order at restaurants, best practices for travel, and tricks for entertaining with the healthy recipes that are always a hit.  We’ll also cover the 80/20 approach—the best way to eat during the holidays. Then, the number-one way to prevent blood sugar spikes and crashes, foods and supplements to keep on hand, what to do after meals. and the fastest way to recover when you’ve overdone it. The key takeaways: Stop stressing about what’s on your plate, go with your gut, and find a balance of self-care and fun.   TESS’S TAKEAWAYS: Your secret weapon for avoiding the holiday food hangover: Better gut health.  Offset holiday treats with vegetables, fermented foods, and lots of water.  Show up to holiday parties with a flexible mindset having eaten something. To minimize gas, bloating, and feeling stuffed: Eat until you’re satisfied, not full.  Take in healthy fats and protein with carbs to avoid blood sugar spikes and crashes.  Support better body balance with probiotics, enzymes, glutamine, and magnesium.  After a meal, go for a walk to aid digestion and burn off some calories. Celebrate the holidays as a data-gathering mission, not a pass/fail test.  MEET TESS MASTERS:   Tess Masters is an actor, presenter, health coach, cook, and author of The Blender Girl, The Blender Girl Smoothies, and The Perfect Blend, published by Penguin Random House. She is also the creator of the Skinny60® health programs.       Health tips and recipes by Tess have been featured in the LA Times, Washington Post, InStyle, Prevention, Shape, Glamour, Real Simple, Yoga Journal, Yahoo Health, Hallmark Channel, The Today Show, and many others.    Tess’s magnetic personality, infectious enthusiasm, and down-to-earth approach have made her a go-to personality for people of all dietary stripes who share her conviction that healthy living can be easy and fun. Get delicious recipes at TheBlenderGirl.com.     CONNECT WITH TESS:  Website:  https://tessmasters.com/     Podcast:  https://ithastobeme.com/      Health Programs: https://www.skinny60.com/  Delicious Recipes: https://www.theblendergirl.com/  Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/theblendergirl/     Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/theblendergirl/     YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/user/theblendergirl    LinkedIn: ...

Life coach and business mentor Amanda Leigh Walker gives us the lowdown on  Human Design. We then get into how this self-awareness tool can help us celebrate our natural energy and desires, and stop fighting who we are and what we want simply to please others.  We track Amanda’s journey from studying filmmaking in Canada, to teaching English in Taiwan, to meeting her Aussie husband and moving to Australia. Committed and creative vegetarians, they founded Lord Of The Fries. Their humble plant-based food truck grew into a national restaurant franchise.  On that wave of success, Amanda began strategizing for other female entrepreneurs. When covid hit, putting the restaurant business in turmoil, she left the food business. At the same time, her marriage ended. Leaning into self-care and spiritual practices to navigate these changes, she made coaching her vocation. Human Design helped Amanda lead from alignment instead of conditioning, and she began using the system with her clients.   She unpacks what Human Design is, and how we can leverage our strengths, use our energy more efficiently, make clearer decisions, and attract people and opportunities that are the right fit. Amanda gives experience-based examples of how Human Design supports more ease and flow in our relationships, and better parenting.   To wrap up, Amanda does a basic reading of my Human Design. Her insights were bang on, and raised questions that will be provocative for you.  TESS’S TAKEAWAYS Human Design reveals your energetic blueprint and how you make decisions. Human Design combines astrology, the I Ching, Kabbalah, and Chakras.  Like fingerprints, no two Human Design charts are the same. Human Design can help us stop fighting our nature and work with it.   Burnout happens when we say yes to what’s not aligned.  Intuition is a muscle, and Human Design is a map that helps strengthen it.  Celebrating your nature helps you see blocks and make clearer choices. Understanding our design and that of others creates more ease in relationships.  MEET AMANDA Amanda Leigh Walker uses Human Design in her work as a life coach and business mentor. She has developed signature frameworks—Decode & Design™, The Success Map, and The Heart Sanctuary to guide women and entrepreneurs.  Co-founder of the plant-based Australian restaurant chain Lord Of The Fries, Amanda spent two decades building an iconic fast-food franchise.   Combining practical strategies with intuitive energy work, Amanda mentors others to create conscious lives and businesses, for growth and purpose, in alignment with who they are. CONNECT WITH AMANDA Website: https://www.amandaleighwalker.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amanda.leigh.walker/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-leigh-walker-73305613/ MEET TESS MASTERS:   Tess Masters is an actor, presenter, health coach, cook, and author of The Blender Girl, The Blender Girl Smoothies, and The Perfect Blend, published by Penguin Random House. She is also the creator of the Skinny60® health programs.       Health tips and recipes by Tess have been featured in the LA Times, Washington Post, InStyle, Prevention, Shape,...

Are you sharing your superpowers? Or exiling huge parts of yourself to please others? Amy Stanton, PR trailblazer and author of The Feminine Revolution, insists that our greatest assets are the qualities we’ve been told to hide.  Growing up as the responsible first child in a values-driven family, Amy felt she had to be “the good girl,” and spent her childhood perpetually stressed. Destined to follow in the footsteps of her entrepreneurial grandfather, she was making and selling hair barrettes before she was 10, dreaming of building companies, and chalking up the next achievement.   We track Amy’s career trajectory, from working in advertising, to running communications for New York City’s Olympic bid, and serving as Chief Marketing Officer for Martha Stewart. Then, changing the game for women’s sports agents, and on to launching her company to promote positive female role models and change makers.  Through it all, she struggled to balance the badass boss persona with the sensitivity, vulnerability, and other “soft traits” she prized in her personal life. Figuring out how to make these qualities strengths, not liabilities, Amy incorporated them into her leadership style, approach to business, and core company values. Walking us through how to leverage other feminine qualities that are conventionally dismissed as weaknesses, she shares her check-in questions and secret weapon for decision making, the mistake that makes everything harder, and the best way to reshape our perspective on success and failure.   Amy says: You don’t need to prove your worth, it’s already there. Unleash your full power. Run with your wolf. Show up as your full, feeling, and sometimes-messy self.  TESS’S TAKEAWAYS Use challenging moments as training opportunities to learn and build resilience.  Emotional awareness and sensitivity allows you to read people and feel before you speak. Trusting your gut is a practice. Start with the little things, then level up to the big ones. Againstness—kneejerk opposition—gets in the way of productivity and team building.  Agreeability—the antidote to againstness—isn’t playing small. It’s choosing collaboration. Surrender isn’t giving up. It’s letting go of the need to put yourself at the center.   Vulnerability is a superpower—the bridge between being seen and known.  It will all work out in the end, and if it hasn't worked out, it's not the end. ABOUT AMY STANTON Amy Stanton has built a leading boutique PR and marketing agency by championing impact-oriented people and brands.  She founded Stanton & Company in 2006 exclusively to promote positive female role models. S&Co has grown to represent men and companies as well. Clients include top medical practitioners and authors, elite athletes, and philosophy-driven businesses. Recognized as an industry leader in health and wellness, women’s sports, and female entrepreneurship and empowerment, S&Co has been on the Inc. 5000 list of Fastest Growing Companies in America for the past three years.  Beginning her career with global advertising agencies including BBDO and JWT, Amy also served as the head of marketing and communications for NYC2012 (New York City's Olympic bid), and as Chief Marketing Officer for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.  Drawing on her personal and professional experience, she co-authored The Feminine Revolution with Catherine Connors, and speaks regularly about female leadership and entrepreneurship, business and marketing, and women in sports.  CONNECT WITH AMY Website: a...

Does feeling not ready block you from going after what you want? Let’s shift what “ready” feels like to stop waiting for the “right time” and seize the day.    The “I’m not enough” and “I’m too much” narratives are not opposites, but stories echoing from the same voice of self-doubt. We feel like we have to be different to meet the moment. Rather than buying into the myths, create a different relationship with the story, and use it as a springboard for action.  Exploring the impact of family dynamics, we look at how to disrupt old thought patterns, identify energetic currencies, and use our strengths to build confidence and resilience.  Next up: Self-talk strategies. The high-low and “water not cement” exercises, the “I get to” shift, the “3 vs 11” barometer, and the “well, that happened” conversation.   I close with the words I remove from my vocabulary when making decisions, and the mantra that helps exile the bully perfectionist. Then share the random interaction with a stranger that changed my life. There’s one that can change yours.  The key takeaway: Share. Sometimes the best teacher for a 3rd grader is a 4th grader.  TESS’S TAKEAWAYS: The energetic currencies we value and exchange most drive our choices.   Anchor yourself to the things you do well and hold the fear of change in balance. When not held in balance, your superpower is your Achilles' Heel.  To stop being a hostage to others’ expectations, claim your yes’s and no’s.  You're never enough for the wrong people. You’re always enough for the right ones.   Showing your vulnerability gives others permission to show you theirs.  Go with your gut and give your imperfect offering.  Practice doesn’t make perfect, it makes possible.  MEET TESS MASTERS:   Tess Masters is an actor, presenter, health coach, cook, and author of The Blender Girl, The Blender Girl Smoothies, and The Perfect Blend, published by Penguin Random House. She is also the creator of the Skinny60® health programs.       Health tips and recipes by Tess have been featured in the LA Times, Washington Post, InStyle, Prevention, Shape, Glamour, Real Simple, Yoga Journal, Yahoo Health, Hallmark Channel, The Today Show, and many others.    Tess’s magnetic personality, infectious enthusiasm, and down-to-earth approach have made her a go-to personality for people of all dietary stripes who share her conviction that healthy living can be easy and fun. Get delicious recipes at TheBlenderGirl.com.     CONNECT WITH TESS:  Website:  https://tessmasters.com/     Podcast:  https://ithastobeme.com/      Health Programs: https://www.skinny60.com/  Delicious Recipes: https://www.theblendergirl.com/  Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/theblendergirl/     Instagram: 

Struggling with gas, bloating, stomach cramps, IBS, IBD, or SIBO? Meghan Donnelly—dietitian and certified FODMAP practitioner—lays out in detail how the Low FODMAP Diet can help manage symptoms.  We start with the basics: what FODMAPs are, why these carbohydrates are difficult to digest, and the common foods that can aggravate digestive distress.  From there, Meghan outlines how Monash University developed the FODMAP protocol and the go-to app. Then walks us through the protocol’s three phases, and the importance of consulting with a qualified dietitian who can help determine trigger foods to rethink your diet in the least restrictive way.  She covers who can benefit from a low-FODMAP approach, who should not be limiting their diets in this way, and how the key to success is personalization. Meghan stresses that the protocol is not treatment for digestive conditions, but a dietary intervention to reduce the discomfort and suffering from them.  Debunking popular misconceptions, Meghan addresses why the diet is a short-term strategy, and how most people go at it wrong. She stresses the dangers of being on the protocol long-term.  This conversation goes way beyond “eat this, avoid that.” We discuss how stress, sleep, and exercise impact gut health. And wrap up with lifestyle strategies, natural therapies, mental health practices, and supplements that can improve our digestion. The key takeaway: Embrace a holistic approach to a FODMAP diet and personalize with support from qualified practitioners.   TESS’S TAKEAWAYS: FODMAPs are short-chain carbohydrates that can cause digestive problems. The Low FODMAP Diet is a temporary therapeutic protocol, not a long-term plan. The protocol is a three-step process—elimination, reintroduction, and personalization.  The protocol is the most evidence-based dietary strategy for managing IBS. It can also support people with IBD, SIBO, and ongoing bloating or endometriosis.  FODMAP sensitivities may shift with foodborne illnesses, stress, or hormone changes.  Once you determine food triggers, liberalize your diet to avoid nutrient deficiencies.  Without the guidance of a practitioner, the FODMAP Diet can do more harm than good.  ABOUT MEGHAN DONNELLY, MS, RDN, CDN Meghan is a registered dietitian specializing in gastrointestinal nutrition, and is Director Of Health Communications at the Celiac Disease Foundation.  Her experience spans clinical practice, nutrition counseling, medical nonprofits, and the food industry. In her private practice at Nutmeg Nutrition, Meghan helps her clients establish a balanced and joyful relationship with food, particularly when managing digestive disorders (IBS and SIBO), food intolerances, gluten-related conditions (celiac disease), and disordered eating.   She also provides nutrition counseling for heart health, kidney disease, weight management, and food intolerances. Monash University certified, she guides clients on Low-FODMAP diets.   As lead dietitian for Skinny60®, Meghan provides nutrition education and support for participants in the 60-Day Reset.   CONNECT WITH MEGHAN Consult with Meghan: https://www.nutmegnutrition.org/ Join the 60-Day Reset: https://www.skinny60.com/60-day-reset/ MEET TESS MASTERS:   Tess Masters is an...

Lee Veal gives us the scoop on craniosacral therapy and how it leverages our innate healing power by working with the body’s connective tissue and communication network—the fascia.   In Lee's youth, two life-threatening accidents left him in debilitating pain. Rolphing, craniosacral work, and other healing modalities were instrumental in his recovery, prompting Lee to go to chiropractic school. Assisting a cranial osteopath and seeing and experiencing the life-changing effects of treatments inspired a passion for craniosacral therapy and a now four-decade career as practitioner and educator. Lee walks us through the significance of the original wounding we all experience in being born. Then lays out why connecting in adulthood with the body’s’ fascial language is the key to recovering from deep-seated ailments and moving with ease as we age.  We go over the importance of keeping our fascia healthy, and why tapping into our brain pulses is so effective in releasing physical and emotional trauma. Lee covers the physical practices to do every day, shares what the behavior of babies teaches us, and challenges us to rethink the furniture we’re sitting on!  In a surprising perspective, Lee sees pain as something that reveals, not just as something that needs to be healed.  He says: Lie down, trust your body, and listen to the story it’s sharing with you.  TESS’S TAKEAWAYS Craniosacral therapy unlocks the innate healing power of the body to rebalance.  The heart, not the mind, is the biggest electromagnetic generator of the body. Fascia is the way of the heart. Its intelligence is not of the mind, it's about intuition.  Fascia records and responds to every experience, intention, emotion, injury, and story.   Listen to your physical pain as a way to access what is going on in your inner world.  Conventional furniture restricts the body’s flow. Get on the floor, squat, and sit on a ball.  Train the body to move in its original state to unwind trauma with Tai Chi and Qigong.  “Doing nothing” is not passive—it’s a sacred discipline.   ABOUT LEE VEAL With over 40 years’ experience in the healing arts, Lee Veal draws from a variety of movement vocabularies to support recovery in adults, children, and babies.  Having an undergraduate degree in biochemistry, Lee attended the Cleveland Chiropractic College in Kansas City, and graduated with a focus on cranial sacral, working alongside a cranial osteopath. He also studied Sanskrit, yoga, meditation, Tai Chi, Thai Massage, and Qigong with three masters from China.   In 1988 he established his practice, working entirely from a cranial perspective, and joined the first integrated healing center in Kansas City, in association with an MD, an acupuncturist, a Feldenkreis therapist, and a Rolfer.  Lee’s unique approach draws from Qigong, and integrates cranial sacral with therapeutic Pilates, contact improvisation, sound healing, and diverse internal arts. To help people of all ages recover from trauma, he developed the Advanced Cranial™ system of Myo-fascial release and gentle resisted movements. As an educator, Lee devised a curriculum for training instructors. Since 2006 he has devoted more time to research and development, and to teaching cranial work to babies and their parents. CONNECT WITH LEE Website: https://leevealdc.com/ MEET TESS MASTERS:   Tess Masters is an actor, presenter, health coach, cook,

Get the truth about colon hydrotherapy from Cathy Basse so you can use colonics safely and effectively for better health.  We track Cathy’s journey to becoming a healer. Her mother’s premature death, when she was 12, and her father’s insistence on healthy food prompted Cathy’s keen interest in medicine and natural healing modalities. Working in a hospital as a nurse, she witnessed the chronic effects of poor food and lifestyle choices. She became passionate about preventing disease rather than treating it, and moved into colon hydrotherapy. Cathy gives us the lowdown on the benefits of colonics, what compromises our gut microbiome, and how our colon, liver, kidneys, lymph, sexual health, and nervous system are connected. And why regular bowel elimination is the key to achieving our health goals.  Unpacking the history and science of colonics, and debunking common misconceptions, Cathy lays out why the closed system is preferable to the open. Then, walks us through how to find a skilled practitioner, what questions to ask, the best way to prepare, the logistics of a session, and how to optimize our results.   Beyond the physical benefits, we explore the mental, emotional, and spiritual elements of the practice. Helping us understand why it’s called “therapy,” Cathy emphasizes the importance of working with an intuitive practitioner who treats with care and sensitivity.  The big takeaway: Healing isn’t just what we eat or the actions we take, it’s about what we release.   TESS’S TAKEAWAYS: If your colon is congested, toxins get reabsorbed, putting a strain on vital organs.  Colon hydrotherapy helps the body keep up with the constant barrage of toxins.  Colonics help digestion, circulation, immunity, energy, mental clarity, and weight loss.  The practice supports pelvic and sexual health, to avoid UTIs and prostate issues.  Go for medical-grade treatments with a qualified practitioner rather than a spa session.  Choose the closed system to allow the practitioner to do bodywork during the treatment. Work with a skilled therapist who remains in the room the whole time. How many sessions you need depends on your physical and emotional needs and preferences. ABOUT CATHY: Cathy Basse is a licensed colon hydrotherapist certified in integrative bodywork and massage with a practice in Kansas City.  Drawing on her career as a nurse and decades of experience in the healing arts, Cathy combines colonics with energy therapies, Bach Flower Remedies, Reiki, massage, and other therapeutic and intuitive strategies. She helps clients release physically and emotionally to manage stress, reduce pain, improve digestion and elimination, and enhance overall well-being.  Cathy worked with Dr. Andrew Weil in the production of the PBS specials: Spontaneous Healing and 8 Weeks to Optimum Health, and has designed programs for other renowned experts in the wellness space.  CONNECT WITH CATHY: Website: https://ahealthtrust.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ihealwell/ MEET TESS MASTERS:   Tess Masters is an actor, presenter, health coach, cook, and author of The Blender Girl, The Blender Girl Smoothies, and The Perfect Blend, published by Penguin Random House. She is also the creator of the Skinny60® health programs.       Health tips and recipes by Tess have been featured in the LA Times, Washington Post, InStyle, Prevention, Shape, Glamour, Real Simple, Yoga Journal, Yahoo Health, Hallmark Channel, The Today Show, and many...

Is the voice in your head on your side? Take back control and drive the conversation to open possibilities and go after what you want.   Is the dominant narrative yours or has it been installed by your family and other influences? I’ll share insights and strategies that my clients find most effective for engaging differently with the inner critic and instigating positive change.  We'll cover sitting in the inquiry, the journey of why, listening to the white space, the golden rule of improvisation, and the power of the pause. Then, we explore how shifting from short-hand to long-hand communication helps manage the conflict and resentment we feel when others fall short or don’t meet our needs.   The words we choose matter. They’re either building a bridge toward our desires or tearing them down. By playing in the promise, changing our state when we feel stuck, owning our superpowers, and leveraging our lessons, we find the balance of what we want and what others want for us.  Upgrade how you speak to yourself, get out of your own way, and own your “It has to be me.”  TESS’S TAKEAWAYS: Every choice starts with permission and a conversation with yourself.  Awareness of your inner dialogue is the first step.  Is the dominant narrative yours or somebody else? Your family knows how to press your buttons because they installed them.  Listen and pay attention to the white space—what’s not being said.  Choose to be in your experience, as opposed to on it.  Feeling stuck? Change your physical state to access yourself differently.   Making better choices is a process of deciding and re-deciding. MEET TESS MASTERS:   Tess Masters is an actor, presenter, health coach, cook, and author of The Blender Girl, The Blender Girl Smoothies, and The Perfect Blend, published by Penguin Random House. She is also the creator of the Skinny60® health programs.       Health tips and recipes by Tess have been featured in the LA Times, Washington Post, InStyle, Prevention, Shape, Glamour, Real Simple, Yoga Journal, Yahoo Health, Hallmark Channel, The Today Show, and many others.    Tess’s magnetic personality, infectious enthusiasm, and down-to-earth approach have made her a go-to personality for people of all dietary stripes who share her conviction that healthy living can be easy and fun. Get delicious recipes at TheBlenderGirl.com.     CONNECT WITH TESS:  Website:  https://tessmasters.com/     Podcast:  https://ithastobeme.com/      Health Programs: https://www.skinny60.com/  Delicious Recipes: https://www.theblendergirl.com/  Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/theblendergirl/     Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/theblendergirl/     YouTube:  a...

Want to feel more connected in your relationship and have mind-blowing sex that keeps getting better? Justin Patrick Pierce and Londin Angel Winters—life partners, authors, and intimacy teachers—give us a masterclass.  After enduring the usual relationship disappointments in her 20’s and 30’s, Londin wasn’t settling, and got into sacred sexuality. At 24, Justin was on a very different path, albeit a spiritual one. In becoming a couple, they embraced the study and practice together. Then, over a decade, developed their signature system—Yoga Of Intimacy—which they share through private consultations and workshops.  In our conversation, we hear male and female perspectives on what gets in the way of experiencing the love and sex we want. Starting with the traits of an unconscious lover—unaware, reactive, distracted, selfish—we learn how to be more conscious lovers, and seek partners who want to cultivate similar values. Building a relationship this way, you keep attraction and passion alive and growing.  Londin and Justin demonstrate some of the foundational practices they use with their clients to balance expectations, and soften fear and resentment. Then share how to open more trust and intimacy, reignite the fire when the spark dies out, and create the hottest moments of ecstasy.  We get practical tools for communicating what we want without shutting our partner down, celebrating desires that are different, and finding the bridge to meet with excitement.  This episode is about surrendering and showing up fully, moment by moment, and listening to our hearts in the interactions that most of us find the hardest.  Justin and Londin invite us to love like we’re never been hurt, and see how we deny others the things we don’t know how to give ourselves. TESS’S TAKEAWAYS: We attract partners who deny us love as much as we deny them. Surrendering enables deeper love that’s free from attachment to external outcomes. Avoid expectation and resentment. Meet your lover each time as if for the first time. The “I See / I Feel” practice helps partners share and grow without reactivity.  Consciously cultivate polarity to enhance attraction, desire, and passion.  Balancing desire and equanimity helps us want and allow at the same time.  The Yoga Of Intimacy provides a blueprint to be a masterful lover.   Mastery is not a destination, but a commitment to a path that has no end.  ABOUT JUSTIN AND LONDIN Co-authors of Playing With Fire and The Awakened Woman's Guide to Everlasting Love, Justin Patrick Pierce and Londin Angel Winters are business and life partners, and relationship coaches who teach sacred sexuality with their signature training, Yoga Of Intimacy.  Having studied and practiced sacred intimacy for more than a decade under the tutelage of renowned teachers, Justin and Londin’s system prioritizes practicality over theory. Using a hands-on approach, and incorporating their personal stories, Justin and Londin educate men and women on spiritual and intimate development.  Their students learn to create tangible change in their lives from a couple dedicated to understanding the complex dynamics of modern relationships.  CONNECT WITH JUSTIN AND LONDIN Playing With Fire: https://www.amazon.com/Playing-Fire-Spiritual-Intimate-Relationship/dp/0986394254/ a...

Over 40 and want more juice and joy in your life? OBGYN and hormone expert Anna Cabeca—The Girlfriend Doctor—gives us the scoop on reclaiming our health, vitality, and sexual fire during menopause and beyond.  Anna’s struggle with infertility, and early-onset menopause, at 39, prompted a global pilgrimage to study alternative healing practices. Combining Western and Eastern medicine optimized her hormones and she conceived naturally at 41. The experience fueled her mission to help other women take control of their bodies.  Anna’s approach is holistic and human—a far cry from the typical “pop a pill or slap on a patch and hope for the best.” It’s about building a vibrant life from the inside out, with nutrition, movement, connection, community, pleasure, and purpose. And, hormone therapy is the icing on the cake!  We go over all the critical things every woman needs to know. How to harness the power of the hormone hierarchy, which adaptogens and supplements actually reduce symptoms, and the importance of gut health, alkalinity, and detox. Anna also spills the secret to getting rid of belly fat, and why bioidentical hormones are the way to go.  The two biggest secrets? Oxytocin… queen of all hormones, and getting serious about your sexual health. Anna lays out the science behind how love, connection, and intimacy are the keys to hormone balance and longevity. We celebrate self-pleasuring, and the best way to alleviate pain during intercourse and eradicate urinary infections and incontinence.  This is a must-listen if you want to age like a goddess and suck the marrow out of life.   TESS’S TAKEAWAYS: Fixing your hormones takes more than hormones. Nutrition and lifestyle are foundational.  Bioidentical hormones are superior to synthetic products on offer.  Reversing early menopause is possible with strategic nutrition and lifestyle changes.  Cortisol (stress hormone) is the enemy of health and happiness. Regulating it is essential.  Microdose oxytocin daily by cultivating pleasure and joy to change your physiology.  Sexual health is critical. Our health span should equal our lifespan and our sex span.  There’s no age limit on sexual pleasure. Cultivate the sex life you want.  Self-pleasure is a powerful form of self-care that boosts longevity.   ABOUT DR. ANNA Anna Cabeca, DO, OBGYN, FACOG is the author of The Hormone Fix, Keto-Green 16, and MenuPause.  Multi board certified, Dr. Anna is a fellow of gynecology and obstetrics, integrative medicine, and anti-aging and regenerative medicine. She also holds certifications in functional medicine, sexual health, and bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.  Anna lectures frequently demystifying the complexities of women’s health. A cornerstone of her work is helping women manage stress and cortisol, and leverage oxytocin—the “love hormone” to restore connection, desire, libido, joy, vitality, and sexual pleasure.  Through her practice and research, she developed a line of natural products, including Julva® vulva cream and MightyMaca® Plus, that help women thrive through menopause.    Known as “The Girlfriend Doctor,” Ann is blunt and speaks from the heart, using sassy humor to make health and science relatable and fun.  She lives in Dallas with her daughters, and their extended family of horses and dogs.  CONNECT WITH DR. ANNA Website:

Make sensational vegetarian meals without a lot of fuss with Amy Chaplin—chef and James Beard-award-winning cookbook author.   Amy and I track her food journey, from a childhood in rural Australia raised in a homesteader family that lived off the land and made everything from scratch, to Sydney's food scene and getting into macrobiotics, pastry chef in Amsterdam, caterer in London, and executive chef at New York’s Angelica Kitchen.  Every phase of her evolution, her philosophy has stayed the same: start with quality ingredients, cook with the seasons, keep things simple, and have fun with food. She takes us through her basics: stock the pantry with staples, grow food for ourselves (even if it’s just a pot of herbs), activate ingredients, combine them for better textures and flavors, elevate quick bowls and salads with a touch of magic, and get creative with your leftovers.  From there, Amy gives us her tips for intuitive cooking—draw inspiration from sources around you, and tap into your environments and moods. She goes on to share how being a mom and cooking for kids has taught her to be even more simple and flexible.  Her approach: Experiment with the ingredients that are speaking to you, listen to what your body and family want, and enjoy the discoveries!  TESS’S TAKEAWAYS The pantry is your playground—stock it well. Forage your fridge and pantry, and incorporate staples and leftovers for simple meals.  Eating well doesn’t require fancy tools. Start with a grain, a pot, and an intention.  Seasonal ingredients deliver economy, simplicity, and fabulous flavor. Activate foods for health benefits and slow-prep for better textures and flavors. Teas add fabulous flavors, not just in drinks, but to desserts, batters, and baked goods.  Elevate basic bowls and salads—add a splash of good oil, tamari, toasted seeds, or avocado. Leverage clever combinations of nuts and seeds, of whole grains, and complementary flours.  ABOUT AMY Amy Chaplin is a two-time winner of the James Beard Award, for At Home In The Whole Food Kitchen and Whole Food Cooking Every Day.   As a vegetarian chef and teacher, Amy anchors her approach in inspiration from nature, the benefits of fresh ingredients, and decades of experience working with food around the world.   Her recipes have been featured in Vogue, the Washington Post, T Magazine, and the Wall Street Journal, among other publications. Having worked as executive chef at Angelica Kitchen, New York City, and as private chef for individuals, she now cooks with a group of colleagues and dedicated subscribers who join her monthly classes on Substack.   Originally from Australia, she lives with her wife and two sons in a small town in Upstate New York. CONNECT WITH AMY Website: https://amychaplin.com/ Substack: https://amychaplin.substack.com/ At Home In The Whole Food Kitchen: https://www.amazon.com/Home-Whole-Food-Kitchen-Celebrating/dp/1645471454/ Whole Food Cooking Every Day: https://www.amazon.com/Whole-Food-Cooking-Every-Day/dp/1579658024/ Instagram: a...