Along with hot flashes, sleep challenges in midlife and menopause can take a toll on your well-being. If you have struggled with sleep in midlife you know firsthand that the lack of sleep makes normal daily tasks feel very taxing. As if that weren’t enough, the anxiety of not being able to sleep takes the exhaustion to the next level. If getting a good night’s sleep feels hopeless, I invite you to join me and my guest this week, Dr. Leigha Saunders ND. Leigha is a naturopathic sleep doctor who understands the struggle of insomnia and is passionate about helping women in midlife regain the sleep they need to navigate this very demanding season. There is a lot that happens in menopause that is entirely outside of our control, but Leigha will help us refocus our tired and fuzzy brains on what we CAN do to ditch the habits that aren’t helping and retrain our bodies to prepare for good sleep each night, even in the middle of the hormone soup of midlife! To learn more about Dr. Leigha Saunders and her work, check out her website at ​​www.leighasaundersnd.com and follow her on IG @drleighasaundersnd. Be sure to cash in on her offer to listeners and get $100 off The Better Sleep Bootcamp with coupon code MIDLIFEFEAST100!Looking for a place to learn more about midlife, menopause nutrition, and intuitive eating? Click here to grab one of my free resources and learn what I've got "on the menu" including my 1:1 and group programs. https://www.menopausenutritionist.ca/links

While you may be 1000% sure that spending the rest of your life on a diet is NOT the life for you…have you ever found yourself  thinking that the path to becoming an intuitive eater doesn’t feel all that intuitive? If so, welcome! This episode if for you.The good news is that you are not alone! How do I know? Because of the messages I regularly get from women who are all in what I call the “messy middle” on the road to intuitive eating. Yes, intuitive eating begins with understanding how to stay in tune with your body’s hunger and fullness cues. But it often feels overwhelming  as you learn to navigate all of the other reasons we eat. So in this episode, I'll help you sort through three common speed bumps that can bring your intuitive eating journey to a screeching halt. Come listen and see if these reasons are keeping you stuck too.  But what I’m most excited to share with you in this episode is that for the month of June, you can get one week of 100% free access to my Intuitive Eating Beginner’s Course. Sign up here: https://www.menopausenutritionist.ca/intuitiveeatingcourseLooking for a place to learn more about midlife, menopause nutrition, and intuitive eating? Click here to grab one of my free resources and learn what I've got "on the menu" including my 1:1 and group programs. https://www.menopausenutritionist.ca/links

If movement had zero impact on your body size, would you still choose to move? If the answer is no, then I encourage you to join me and Christine Chessman in this episode to learn why joyful movement is key to making movement sustainable in midlife and beyond. If you’ve started an intuitive eating journey, it is not uncommon to feel the desire to break up with your usual workout routine too. But in this conversation, we dive into understanding the non-scale benefits of movement which include self-care, stress relief, strength-building, and perhaps most importantly, learning how to choose to love your body right now. To learn more about Christine and her work, check out her website at https://hellofitnesschristine.com, follow her on Instagram @hellofitnesschristine, or on Facebook at @@hellofitnesschristine. As a listener, take advantage of 2 Free Classes & Kettle Bells Made Easy! Looking for a place to learn more about midlife, menopause nutrition, and intuitive eating? Click here to grab one of my free resources and learn what I've got "on the menu" including my 1:1 and group programs. https://www.menopausenutritionist.ca/links

In honor of Osteoporosis Awareness Month,  I’ve invited movement educator Rebekah Rotstein to shed light on the topic of bone health. It’s incredibly common to avoid thinking about the strength of our bones until later in life, which might be too late if your goal is to be resilient and independent as you age. Rebekah shares the many factors we need to understand about bone health and what screenings we need to ask for starting in perimenopause if we haven’t already. Rebecca will also share her personal journey of being diagnosed with osteoporosis in her late 20s and how she now helps people across the globe get Buff Bones through fun and accessible education and movement.To learn more about Rebekah and her work, check out her website at www.buff-bones.com or follow her on Instagram @gotbuffbones and on Facebook @BuffBones. Also take advantage of 20% off of the Buff Bones©10 Day Challenge using the code:  Bbfeast23Looking for a place to learn more about midlife, menopause nutrition, and intuitive eating? Click here to grab one of my free resources and learn what I've got "on the menu" including my 1:1 and group programs. https://www.menopausenutritionist.ca/links

When it comes to the diabetes conversation, have you ever felt like common sense was the missing ingredient? If so, you’re 100% correct. The fear-based messaging like “you’re just one donut away from diabetes” indicates how out of control it’s become. What I want you to walk away with is knowing that you can make peace with food, even with diabetes- and one of the best ways to do that is through adopting an intuitive eating approach. To help us tackle this topic, I’ve invited Danielle Bublitz, a weight-neutral registered dietitian who not only specializes in supporting clients with all different types of diabetes but has also lived with diabetes herself since she was a teenager. Danielle will help us debunk some of the most harmful myths about diabetes and help us understand why having diabetes is not your fault.To learn more about Danielle and her work, connect with her on her website at www.foodfreedomdiabetes.com, or follow her on Instagram @foodfreedomdiabetes or on Facebook @DanielleBublitzRDN.Looking for a place to learn more about midlife, menopause nutrition, and intuitive eating? Click here to grab one of my free resources and learn what I've got "on the menu" including my 1:1 and group programs. https://www.menopausenutritionist.ca/links

Are you convinced that with your welcome to midlife and menopause letter, you’re also doomed to develop insulin resistance? It’s not much different from believing that every pregnant woman will also develop gestational diabetes. Is it possible? Sure. Does it happen to everyone? Definitely not. In this episode, I’ve invited Registered Dietitian, Val Schonberg back on the show to help challenge some of the most common assumptions about insulin resistance for women in menopause. Your body composition can change significantly in menopause, but it doesn’t automatically mean you’ve developed insulin resistance. In most cases, it just means you’re human. Join us as we celebrate normalizing bodies of all shapes and sizes and building boring balanced plates! To learn more about Val Schonberg and her work, visit her website at www.enlightenUnutrition.com and follow her on Instagram at @V.SchonbergRD or on Facebook @ EnlightenU NutritionLooking for a place to learn more about midlife, menopause nutrition, and intuitive eating? Click here to grab one of my free resources and learn what I've got "on the menu" including my 1:1 and group programs. https://www.menopausenutritionist.ca/links

If you’ve been around here for a season or two, you know that I’ll never be in favor of taking anything off the menu when it comes to nutrition- with one exception: information overload. These days, the problem with making decisions about food in midlife is not due to lack of information. It’s a lack of awareness of the other things that influence our decisions about food! So in this season, you can look forward to every episode helping you filter through the noise so you can have access to the best experts, research, and tools. Think of this as your personalized road map for discovering how to make confident decisions about food and your body. Hit the easy button on midlife and menopause and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode! I’m thrilled you’re here!Looking for a place to learn more about midlife, menopause nutrition, and intuitive eating? Click here to grab one of my free resources and learn what I've got "on the menu" including my 1:1 and group programs. https://www.menopausenutritionist.ca/links

Wondering why in the world would a naturopathic doctor and dietitian would suggest that food is not medicine. It’s a great question and one I wanted to tackle for the last episode of season 3. There’s no doubt about it-food does incredible things for our bodies. It fuels, supports, and nourishes us every day. But here’s a little secret: broccoli alone can’t save your life. Food is just food!The pressure we feel to choose only the most “perfect” foods often ends up taking so much of our time and attention in an already demanding season of life. In this episode, I’ll be sharing 5 ways you can lower the bar to improve your health. I would love to know which one takes the pressure off your relationship with food the most! I’ve already got so much in store for you for Season 4, so take a minute to catch up on any episodes you’ve missed and I’ll meet you back here in September! Looking for a place to learn more about midlife, menopause nutrition, and intuitive eating? Click here to grab one of my free resources and learn what I've got "on the menu" including my 1:1 and group programs. https://www.menopausenutritionist.ca/links

Midlife is the ultimate “messy middle”, isn’t it? But when we take time to listen to our bodies, get comfortable with not having control, and surround ourselves with authentic community, there are a lot of gifts to discover in this season too! In this episode, I’ve invited Ann Douglas, the author of Navigating the Messy Middle, a book that brilliantly unpacks the challenges and experiences of women in midlife, especially those of us who are parenting teens at the same time!Part of what makes this middle so messy is that it’s easy to feel like you’re always dropping a ball, between juggling the demands of caretaking, parenting, maintaining a career, or even dodging fear-based media around health and wellness. In this episode, we talk about these familiar challenges and hopefully provide you with a bit of reassurance that you’re not alone, and it will get better. But here’s what I hope will be your #1 takeaway: life is far from over. Midlife is the chance to become your own expert in self-compassion, expression, growth, and trying on new hobbies, all for the joy of it! To learn more about Ann and her work, be sure to check out her website at anndouglas.ca or follow her on Instagram @annmdouglas on Twitter at @anndouglas , or on Facebook @NavigatingTheMessyMiddle. Looking for a place to learn more about midlife, menopause nutrition, and intuitive eating? Click here to grab one of my free resources and learn what I've got "on the menu" including my 1:1 and group programs. https://www.menopausenutritionist.ca/links

Have you ever noticed that as you embrace midlife, you discover this newfound ability to stop doing all the things that just don’t serve you anymore? Isn’t it fantastic? My guest today Kate Codrington is joining me to help us understand that this fresh confidence and freedom has a name, and is also known as the autumn of perimenopause. But you might be more familiar with the experience of “meno-rage”, where your emotions feel completely out of control which leads us to explode and feel overwhelmed by the fallout. Kate helps us understand that this is an invitation to become aware of the gap between what you need, and what you’ve received at this point in life. When we can identify what we’re missing, we’re better able to find ways to express and use this energy for good and invite more pleasure into our lives daily!To learn more about Kate and her work, check out her website at https://www.katecodrington.co.uk/, and follow her on @kate_codrington on Instagram. Looking for a place to learn more about midlife, menopause nutrition, and intuitive eating? Click here to grab one of my free resources and learn what I've got "on the menu" including my 1:1 and group programs. https://www.menopausenutritionist.ca/links

Today I have a very special treat for you in this Q&A session with Registered Dietitian Amanda Bullat, who (*spoiler alert*) I am thrilled to announce will be joining us as a regular expert resource in the Midlife Feast community very soon!In this episode, we tackle three of the most-asked questions about un-dieting in midlife. The answers to these questions are helpful for anyone who has considered intuitive eating before but maybe got bogged down by the most common challenges and misconceptions related to un-dieting.We talk about how tempting it is to sprinkle in formerly “successful” dieting strategies while you learn to become an intuitive eater, as well as how to challenge the most common fears that pop up when you let go of tracking, measuring, and dieting. If listening to this episode prompts more questions about starting your intuitive eating journey, make sure to register for the Intuitive Eating Foundations Course which is my free gift to you for the month of June! To learn more about Amanda and her work, connect with her on her website at www.alpinenutrition.org, or follow her on Instagram @alpinenutrition, on Youtube @AmandaBullatRDN, or tune into the Savor Food and Body PodcastLooking for a place to learn more about midlife, menopause nutrition, and intuitive eating? Click here to grab one of my free resources and learn what I've got "on the menu" including my 1:1 and group programs. https://www.menopausenutritionist.ca/links

If you’re navigating any stage of midlife right now, there’s a good chance wellness culture has made an impact on your relationship with food. While the principles of wellness culture tote the appearance of supporting your physical health, the moralization of food can wreak havoc on your mental health by heaping on unnecessary guilt and shame. In this Story Session episode, a Midlife Feast Community Member joins me to share her journey of un-dieting from wellness culture. She’s learned the importance of letting go of restrictive food rules, how to question societal expectations, and how to prioritize a more balanced sense of well-being. When we discover the courage to challenge wellness culture's influence in our lives, we can develop a more sustainable relationship with food. And the real payoff is that we have more room for self-discovery and creativity in midlife-two key ingredients for making midlife that much sweeter.Looking for a place to learn more about midlife, menopause nutrition, and intuitive eating? Click here to grab one of my free resources and learn what I've got "on the menu" including my 1:1 and group programs. https://www.menopausenutritionist.ca/links

If you’ve begun your menopause journey, you’ve probably had to deal with hot flashes by now. When they first start, they can certainly take you by surprise, especially since the experience of them can vary a lot from person to person. But however they show up, they are always uncomfortable and disruptive. In this episode, I’m going to break down what is happening in your body (more specifically in your brain) when hot flashes strike. I’ll also share what foods you might be eating or drinking that can impact how often you have them, as well as simple (and tasty) foods you can eat to support the rollercoaster of hormone changes in this age and stage of lifeLooking for a place to learn more about midlife, menopause nutrition, and intuitive eating? Click here to grab one of my free resources and learn what I've got "on the menu" including my 1:1 and group programs. https://www.menopausenutritionist.ca/links

When you’re looking for a medical provider in midlife, finding someone who is committed to listening, staying curious, and staying up to date on research are just some of the top priorities. But when you can find a woman who has some skin in the midlife game, well, many times you’ve hit the jackpot. My guest on today’s Story Session is health coach and dietitian, Tracy Kelly. She’s sharing her story about how her practice has been transformed as a result of having recently started perimenopause. As universal as the symptoms of menopause can be, each of us has a story to tell. This episode will inspire you to lean into your experience, ask more questions, and discover how to live authentically in what likely feels like someone else’s body on a lot of days. To learn more about Tracy and her work, check out her website at www.bloomhealthhub.com and follow her on Instagram @tracykellysays. Looking for a place to learn more about midlife, menopause nutrition, and intuitive eating? Click here to grab one of my free resources and learn what I've got "on the menu" including my 1:1 and group programs. https://www.menopausenutritionist.ca/links

You probably already know that protecting our bones in midlife and beyond is a top priority. The problem is that like much of the health information we’re exposed to it doesn’t always translate into practical how-to strategies. Instead, it can induce a lot of fear about getting an osteoporosis diagnosis, also known as the “silent disease” since there are so few outward signs and symptoms.In this episode, I’m joined for a second time by my friend Niamh Daly who will help us understand what is really happening to our bones in post-menopause. She will also help us understand why focusing on movement, balance, and posture are key to slowing bone loss. You’ll also walk away from this episode with examples of simple low-impact exercises you can do anywhere throughout your day. It’s high time to challenge the idea that movement only happens once a day in concentrated bursts. Your bones will thank you when you do! To learn more about Niamh and her work, check out her website at yinstinctyoga.com and follow her on Instagram at @yinstinctyoga.Looking for a place to learn more about midlife, menopause nutrition, and intuitive eating? Click here to grab one of my free resources and learn what I've got "on the menu" including my 1:1 and group programs. https://www.menopausenutritionist.ca/links

What memories do you have of diet culture as you were growing up? If you’re like many parents in our community, there’s a good chance you’d like to spare your children from these experiences altogether. That’s why I invited Registered Dietitian and author of Diet-Proof Your Daughter, Amelia Sherry to the podcast. We take a deep dive into understanding what’s at the root of our desire for our kids to be healthy and have a healthy relationship with food. Even if you’ve worked hard to keep diet culture out of your house, there are so many ways our kids can still feel pressured to fit into certain body shape expectations. Amelia will share some helpful questions you can ask your kids in order to challenge common examples of diet, food, and health misinformation. We will also talk about ways to help our kids feel welcome to try, enjoy, and have access to all kinds of food (even sugar) so that they learn how their bodies can communicate with them. If you’re curious about raising intuitive eaters, this episode is a perfect place to start! Check out the book here: Diet-Proof Your DaughterTo learn more about Amelia and her work, check out her website at www.nourishher.com and follow her on Instagram at @ameliasherryrdLooking for a place to learn more about midlife, menopause nutrition, and intuitive eating? Click here to grab one of my free resources and learn what I've got "on the menu" including my 1:1 and group programs. https://www.menopausenutritionist.ca/links

While you would probably guess that the average age of women going through menopause is between 51-52, you might not know that approximately 1% of women go through menopause prematurely before age 40. In today’s story session, I am joined by Midlife Feast Community member, Jen, who is sharing her experience of going through Premature Ovarian Insufficiency (POI). It’s easy to imagine how disruptive and confusing it would be to experience symptoms like hot flashes and long gaps between periods at the age of 31. You’ll discover how Jen put the pieces together pre-diagnosis and learned the best ways to support her health post-diagnosis, which included joining The Midlife Feast Community! To get in touch with Jen, check out her website @chasingwildflowersayurveda.com and tune into her podcast PeaceLove Meditations.Looking for a place to learn more about midlife, menopause nutrition, and intuitive eating? Click here to grab one of my free resources and learn what I've got "on the menu" including my 1:1 and group programs. https://www.menopausenutritionist.ca/links

Midlife can be one of the most overwhelming seasons of life. It honestly feels like everything you are responsible for is a non-negotiable. But if you’re feeling like everything in your mind and body is pointing towards burnout, then something has to give- how do choose what to say no to? In this episode, I’ve invited my friend and Burnout and Alcohol Coach Wendy McCallum back on the show to walk us through how to start making these kinds of tough decisions in midlife. What I love about Wendy is that her advice is so practical and empowers you to take action on what you want most starting today, not tomorrow. So if you’re searching for ways to show up more intentionally for yourself and everyone around you, do whatever you have to do to let a ball drop for the next thirty minutes and tune into this episode. I know that the nuggets of wisdom you gain from Wendy will be time well spent and the best investment you’ll make in yourself in a long time.To learn more about Wendy and her work, connect with her on her website at www.wendymccallum.com, or follow her on Instagram @beatburnoutandbooze.Looking for a place to learn more about midlife, menopause nutrition, and intuitive eating? Click here to grab one of my free resources and learn what I've got "on the menu" including my 1:1 and group programs. https://www.menopausenutritionist.ca/links

If you’re burnt out on dieting, you’re probably interested in exploring a concept we talk about a lot around here: gentle nutrition. While most people are eager to get to the “good part” when learning to eat intuitively, gentle nutrition is one of the last steps of the journey of intuitive eating. Why? Because we have to un-do a lot of the default programming leftover from years of dieting and diet culture.In this episode, I’ve invited fellow non-diet dietitian Rachael Hartley on the show to take a deep dive into understanding gentle nutrition- including who it’s for, how to apply it, and the most common hiccups that people experience along the way. Join us if you’re ready to examine your relationship with food!To learn more about Rachael Hartley and her work, visit her website at www.rachaelhartleynutrition.com, or follow her on Instagram at @RachaelHartleyRD.Be sure to grab Rachael’s cookbook: Gentle Nutrition: A Non-Dieting Approach to Healthy Eating for some easy and delicious meal inspiration! Looking for a place to learn more about midlife, menopause nutrition, and intuitive eating? Click here to grab one of my free resources and learn what I've got "on the menu" including my 1:1 and group programs. https://www.menopausenutritionist.ca/links

While you may have expected many of the physical symptoms of menopause, the one that might really take you by surprise is brain fog. If you find daily tasks a real slog, you’re struggling to focus, or just forgetful in ways you would have never dreamed possible-know that this is a very common midlife experience. But what is really going on and is there anything we can do to better support our brains in this season? In this episode, I’ll share how hormones are the culprits (yet again) and the good news that brain fog won’t last forever! While what you eat won’t make the brain fog totally disappear, there are several things that you can do to support your brain, which I’ll share too. I’ll also let you in on one of the sneaky reasons that brain fog intensifies-and it’s one I bet you haven’t considered! 🌴 Register HERE to join me for the retreat in Bali September 19-26! 🌴Looking for a place to learn more about midlife, menopause nutrition, and intuitive eating? Click here to grab one of my free resources and learn what I've got "on the menu" including my 1:1 and group programs. https://www.menopausenutritionist.ca/links