"Gah! Why am I feeling like this?" I thought as I stabbed my hiking poles into the trail with each step, desperately trying to keep up with my friends. We were only 5 days into a 17-day hike of the John Muir Trail in the NE Sierra Mountains of California. Sure, we were hiking above 7,000 feet most days and carrying 30-pound packs, but I had trained for this all summer! My legs felt great. My heart and lungs were strong. But what was wrong with my head? I felt faint and dizzy even on flat or...
7 days ago • 1 min read
What if there were a recipe for thriving in menopause? Would you use it, Reader? A recipe you can make on any crazy, busy day to help you feel less like you're on the menopause struggle bus. "I just need an easy recipe," Jenn said as we sat on logs eating our overnight oats on a recent backpacking trip. Jenn struggled to find the right combination of food to fuel our outdoor adventures without offending her sensitive late-40s digestive tract. I gave her a simple, few-ingredient recipe for...
14 days ago • 2 min read
"Can I get arugula on the pizza instead of artichoke hearts?" Theresa asked She's not a fan of artichoke heart textures (me neither!) and she knows having more greens helps her digest pizza better, not to mention benefits her cardiovascular health. Hi Reader! Can you "think about it (food)" without food rules yet? Theresa's pizza order is a good example of the lesson in last week's email - finding the sweet spot between what your body needs to eat (more greens = better cardiovascular health)...
21 days ago • 1 min read
"What do you want to get out of our session today?" In other words... Why are you here, Reader? While most clients hope that whatever I suggest will magically melt away perimenopause weight gain... They also want to know how to eat healthier during perimenopause or after menopause. Remember. Gentle nutrition is the sweet spot of satisfaction between what your body needs to eat and what you want to eat. If you answered the 'why are you here' question with "my doctor recently said my...
28 days ago • 1 min read
What do you WANT to eat Reader? Not what you think you should eat. What do you want to eat? What would be satisfying right now? "I can't believe it!" Sharon said in our session today. "My clothes fit looser for the first time in 3 years!" "What changed?" I asked "I stopped forcing myself to eat salads every night for dinner and ate the foods I wanted. I stopped eating so fast because I wasn't trying to just get through the meal that I didn't really like." She said "So, your clothes fit looser...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
What do you think when you see a plate of pasta, pizza, fresh-baked bread, cookies, chips, or a bowl of ice cream, Reader? "Too many carbs" "Too much sugar" "Too much fat" "Processed/packaged food isn't healthy." "I'll get diabetes if I eat too much of this." "I'll get fat if I eat that" Yep. I had those thoughts too. Diet culture is a fantastic teacher. Unfortunately, most of the lessons it teaches aren't helpful. When you eat foods labeled as good, bad, healthy, or unhealthy, it's easy to...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
"This is terrifying. I didn't think it was going to be like this." Jenn said as we peered over the edge of another cliff, we needed to down-climb in the middle of a nearly 4000-foot descent from a remote lake most hikers don’t venture to. Smart. It's true. We thought our route down would be smooth sailing through a gentle-ish valley. Instead, we followed 3 gym bros down a more direct route. This left us triggering rock slides, clinging to granite walls, and removing leg hairs by butt-sliding...
2 months ago • 2 min read
“I thought I was going to have all this time to eat healthy and work out consistently this summer, but THAT hasn’t happened. Summer is chaotic around her - it’s good chaos, usually, but I need to get back on track. I want some better habits going into the fall when I go back to teaching - a different kind of chaos.” This was Mel’s (not her real name) opening statement in our initial session this week. Her good kind of chaos involved a family trip to Colorado, including mountain biking, easy...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Truth. I'm panic-buying snacks, Reader, How do you pack enough food and nutrition to be satisfied and well-fed on a multi-night backpacking adventure? Eating a brain-healthy diet is easy when you have access to grocery stores, fresh produce, and a variety of nutrient-dense foods. But what happens when you travel out of your day-to-day routine or go on an epic 220+ mile hike through the Northern Sierra Mountains? I’m about to find out! Fueling outdoor adventures is an adventure in itself. Can...
3 months ago • 2 min read
Do you feel stuck in the messy middle of wanting to eat healthier for brain health, cardiovascular health, bone health, etc, BUT you DON'T want to fall back into the diet culture trap of food rules, Reader? Here's a question I hear often from the women I work with... "How do I eat to support my brain/heart/bone health without falling into the dumpster fire of diet culture? Is that even possible?" Yes! Intuitive eating helps you find the sweet spot between honoring your satisfaction with food...
3 months ago • 3 min read