#92 - From Body Grief to Body Acceptance: The Way Forward with Amanda Mittman

In this special story session, Christina Testut—a kindergarten teacher and champion of body acceptance—joins us this week on The Midlife Feast to share her inspiring un-dieting journey and the lessons that quarantine taught her about embracing body diversity. 

She shares why her weight-loss “success story”  became unsustainable, physically, mentally, and emotionally. As a mother and educator, she recognized the urgent need to redefine beauty standards for impressionable young people and took a powerful stand by transforming her epiphany into a children's book celebrating all body shapes and sizes.

You can grab the book Embrace Your Features, learn more about Christina and her work on her website, www.christinarunstheworld.com, and follow her on IG @christina_runstheworld or Facebook @christina.testut.

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

Tight pants. Bloating. IBS. Food sensitivities. If you’re one of the many people who have experienced gastrointestinal discomfort in midlife, you know how complex this issue is. 

Dr. Kim Bretz ND is joining me to answer some of the most frequently asked gut health questions. She will help us understand that there’s a fair amount of confusion about our gut because we’re navigating both physical symptoms and perceptions all at once. We’ll dive into FODMAPs, why digestive diversity is so important, and why self-directed diets not only add discomfort but actually put us at risk if we don’t know when and how to reintroduce foods. 

We’ll also touch on why trying to self-diagnose gut health problems can be an unexpected path to disordered eating patterns.

To learn more about Kim and the work she does, check out her website at www.drkimbretznd.com and follow her on IG @ drkimbretznd or on Facebook @FundamentalsOfHealth.

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

Diet and wellness culture do a fantastic job “shoulding” all over us, especially when it comes to the habits we put into place. This pressure does not mix well with our already strained capacity in midlife, making it necessary to ask ourselves if the habits we keep are serving us anymore. That’s why I’ve invited health coach and behavior change expert Heather Sayers Lehman to help us dive into this work.

Habits can be powerful tools, but they should be a reflection of how attuned we are to our own needs and preferences-not diet culture rules. We’ll unpack why we need to focus less on willpower and more on self-compassion. You’ll be so refreshed by the way Heather helps us approach habit change in a way that actually feels aligned and makes the ROI easy to recognize!

To learn more about Heather and her work, connect with her on her website at  heathersayerslehman.com or follow her on IG @heathersayerslehman. Also, be sure to tune into her podcast The Air We Breathe. 

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

Celebrate with me as we toast to the 100th episode of the Midlife Feast! As you know, on every episode of the podcast, I ask my guests what they think the missing ingredient in midlife is. After revisiting the answers in 100 episodes, I want to share with you the top five insights that have reshaped our understanding of midlife and menopause. 

As we clink glasses to this journey, I’m celebrating all the incredible guests who have come to share their wisdom and experience, collectively reminding us this is not our mother’s menopause. No one has to navigate this season alone anymore. What’s more, is that we’ve discovered that with the right information, resources, and a trusted community, we have the chance to thrive in this season, not just survive.

But most of all, I am celebrating the fact that you, the listeners have made this such a special community. Thank you for being such loyal listeners, for your regular feedback, and for sharing the show with more of your friends in midlife.

Looking forward, I invite you to continue feasting on all that midlife has in store with more episodes full of vulnerable and empowering discussions!

🎉🎉🎉 Celebrate and SAVE 10% on an annual membership in the Midlife Feast Community using the code MISSINGINGREDIENT at checkout here ⬇️
https://www.menopausenutritionist.ca/themidlifefeastcommunity

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 addition to the emotional and physical changes that can come with midlife, have you ever felt discouraged when you realized that your relationship with your spouse or partner was having its own midlife crisis?

If so, you’re not alone, but you don’t have to stay stuck. Since we’re celebrating Valentine’s Day this week, I thought it would be the perfect time to invite relationship expert Carrie Cohen on the show to talk about why feeling disconnected in relationships and marriage in midlife can happen without us even noticing. She will let us in on why midlife is another transition for our relationship that will need plenty of communication and negotiation until both partners land in a sweet spot. 

Best of all, Carrie shares some incredibly practical and powerful tools you can implement in your relationship to get the spark and connection back on the menu again! 

To learn more about Carrie and her work, check out her website at www.carriecohencoaching.com and follow her on IG @CarrieCohenCoaching. 

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 have recently been told that you have high blood pressure, (perhaps for the first time ever) there are a couple of things you should know. First, this is not your fault! Second, don’t panic - because Dr. Alex Verge ND is back to help us understand why you’re not alone when it comes to understanding why blood pressure (among so many other things) changes in midlife.

Your blood pressure might even improve as you listen to this episode and hear all of the great suggestions Dr. Alex shares with us to help you feel prepared for your next checkup. We talk about why Dr. Alex advocates for measuring your BP at home, how estrogen contributes to the equation, and what secondary factors to consider if you feel like you’re already doing all the right things.

If you learned something new on this episode, be sure to share it with another friend in this season as a way to celebrate heart health this month!

To learn more about Dr. Alex and her work, check out her website at www.kuraclinic.ca and follow her on Instagram at alexvergend.

Links Mentioned: 

• Hypertension Canada’s List of Recommended Devices - https://hypertension.ca/public/recommended-devices
• US Blood Pressure Validated Device Listing - https://www.validatebp.org/
• Stride BP (Joint Initiative with European Society of Hypertension) Validated Blood Pressure Monitors - https://www.stridebp.org/bp-monitors/

Episode 39: What Every Woman Needs to Know About Heart Health, Cholesterol, and Menopause with Dr. Alex Verge, ND

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 we’re tackling a topic we haven’t yet devoted an entire episode to but certainly deserves one!  I’ve invited Nutrition & Body Relationship Coach, Deb Benfield to help us explore the subtle but profound impact of ageism on body image in midlife. We cover so much in this one conversation including aging body liberation, what it means to carry internalized ageism, and how that intersects with disordered eating during midlife. 

The episode emphasizes the importance of self-compassion, acknowledging losses, and practicing body acceptance. Deb and I get to express our excitement about this life stage, challenge societal norms, and promote a positive and fresh perspective on aging.
 
 To learn more about Deb and her work, be sure to check out her website at www.debrabenfield.com and follow her on IG @agingbodyliberation.

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

One of the biggest challenges of midlife is the fact that so many of us feel flat-out exhausted, even after 8 hours of sleep!  That’s why I invited the Fatigue Fixer, Dr. Sarah Vadeboncoeur, ND to help us understand why this chronic exhaustion is so common but also more complex than just having low iron levels. 

Sarah will share the four areas you need to explore to discover what's zapping your energy these days. We’ll also dive into why ”meno-rage” could actually be a gift and why we need to allocate more time each day to meet our own needs for nutrition, movement, rest, and pleasure. 

To learn more about Sarah and her work, connect with her on her website at www.drsarahv.ca, follow her on Instagram @sarahvadeboncoeur and listen to her podcast The Fatigue Fixer.

Links Mentioned: 

Episode #26 Understanding Cultural Menorage with Mona Eltahawy
Episode #44: What Women in Perimenopause Need to Know About Iron Deficiency with MaryAnn Jacobsen

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

Everyone comes from somewhere. It’s a simple, perhaps obvious statement, but one that is more relevant than we might realize. In this episode, I’m joined by psychologist, speaker, and author, Dr. Jody Carrington. Jody believes that finding the courage and the safe places to tell our stories is what we need most as we navigate a distracted and disconnected world.

While I haven’t known Jody for long, we quickly connected over the bathing suit story she shared on her podcast (what she calls the connector of all stories). I hope that by sharing some of these relatable battles with body image, you’ll realize you’re not alone. Jody will also talk about two of the biggest tools for recovery in moments like these: gratitude and agency. 

You have a story too, and it needs to be told. Join us if you are craving friendships where we can trade in comparison for the confidence to finally take up space.

To learn more about Jody and her work, connect with her on her website at www. drjodycarrington.com, or follow her on Instagram @drjodycarrington. 

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 the pressure from wellness culture leaves you feeling fearful and anxious because of its unattainable standards, it's probably safe to say that it's not truly promoting well-being. And if you've invested time, money, or energy in the myths and promises of wellness culture, you probably haven't seen much ROI on those either. 

In this episode, I’m kicking off 2024 with a guest who needs little introduction-Registered Dietitian and author of The Wellness Trap, Christy Harrison. We are taking a deep dive into why clean eating became so trendy (and dangerous), why we are drawn to the fear-based messaging of wellness culture, as well as why it’s so irrelevant to such a large population of the world.

If you’ve been craving an approach to food and body image that is more gentle, nuanced and includes priorities like mental health, community, and the understanding of socioeconomic influences on health disparities, you won’t want to miss this episode!

To learn more about Christy, check out her website at https://christyharrison.com/ or follow her on Instagram @chr1styharrison or join her free membership: https://rethinkingwellness.substack.com/

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