Insatiable with Ali Shapiro, MSOD, CHHC

This week, I’m joined by my former cohost Juliet Root for a fun, truth-seeking conversation about how our perspectives on food, body, and movement have shifted in 2025.Together, we share the biggest things we’ve changed our minds about—what no longer feels true, what surprised us, and what new possibilities opened up when we let old beliefs go.We discuss:Releasing restriction and shameProtein, fiber, and variety in our dietsDental care and holistic vs Western dentistsIs getting to the “root cause” endless? and reconsidering functional medicineUpdating our views on mammogramsThe nuanced truth about weighted vestsReal talk about “vanity weight loss”Where we stand with food tracking and GLP1sChanging our minds about zone two cardio & HIITThe value of community and how connection improves our health More about Juliet: Juliet Root is the co-founder of Ultralife, an online coaching platform, where she has spent nearly two decades helping people achieve lasting health, fitness, and longevity. As a certified personal trainer, board-certified nutritionist, and health coach, Juliet has worked with thousands of clients ranging from busy parents to high-performing executives and celebrities. Her mission is to cut through the noise of fitness fads and give people clear, sustainable strategies to feel and perform their best. Juliet has been featured in Shape Magazine, NBC, ABC, and Fox News, and is known for making complex training and nutrition science practical and actionable. At her company Ultralife she and here team help adults 35+ build strength, energy, and resilience so they can thrive in every season of lifeMentioned in this episode:Juliet Root and UltralifeErin Holt297. Why I Joined Orange Theory (even though it’s “Bad” if you’re over 40)Send me (Ali) a text message.

If you’ve ever thought “Why can’t I just stick with it?”, this episode is for you.Today I’m resharing a conversation I had with Noelle Tarr of Coconuts & Kettlebells for her podcast, Well-Fed Women.We discuss why willpower isn’t the problem, how shame hijacks true behavior change, and what it really takes to heal your relationship with food and your body. We also dive into emotional eating, weight loss without diet culture, and the mindset shifts that actually work—no guilt trips included.Questions we explore:How can people start to rethink the idea of willpower so it’s not the enemy?Why is it that I feel like a lot of us know what to do but we can’t follow through consistently?In your work, what is the biggest mindset shift for women struggling with food and fitness?How do we distinguish between emotional hunger and physical hunger, especially if it’s been disconnected for years?I’ve noticed a week before my period I have intense carb and sugar cravings. Is there a reason?Why do I still lie to myself even when I know the thing will hurt me?How do we approach weight loss without feeling shame or guilt?How can we change mindset and behavior and see results in our bodies and help our children with it without shame?How do you start a regular exercise routine when you don’t have the time?I was a weight watchers girl and have tracked points and calories on and off.  I haven’t tracked my food the past few years, but I’m at the point where I think tracking macros would be helpful. Any tips on how to ease back into tracking?I was diagnosed with cancer and have been down for the count with treatment and recovery has been slow. How do I come back from this? How do I position my mindset going in to the end of treatment?With all the advertisements for GLP-1s, it definitely feels like the new savior. I am classified as obese by the medical system and have high blood pressure. How do we make sure we’re making decisions on medical treatment that are grounded in health and not vanity? Mentioned in this episode:Coconuts & KettlebellsWell-Fed WomenGluten-Free Dinner RollsSend me (Ali) a text message.

It’s officially back-to-school season! Which means you might be thinking it’s time for a new nutrition plan, exercise routine, or self-improvement challenge.But before you set out once again, I want you to ask yourself: “Will I just end up back here in six months if I don’t get to the root of what’s really going on with my relationship to food?”In this episode, I share the three most common things I hear when people are wrestling with “Why am I eating this now?” — and how each one points to deeper truths about your health and habits.Tune in for insights that go beyond quick fixes. And if you’re ready to create lasting change, join me in Why Am I Eating This Now. Doors close September 10th!I discuss:Fresh starts versus clean slatesThe little known mindset shift necessary for results that last (and you can enjoy)Why investing in our health is even more important when the world is on fireHow to re-think success for results beyond what you can imagine right now Mentioned in this episode:⭐️ Why Am I Eating This Now? — Join our next live cohort, starting September 13thEpisode 301: You Don’t Have to Feel Powerless Around Food with Ginny and IsisSend me (Ali) a text message.

Tara Schmidt, M.Ed., RDN, LD is the lead dietitian for the Mayo Clinic Diet, host of the Mayo Clinic On Nutrition podcast, and Medical Editor of the Nutrition & Fitness channel.Today she joins me for a holistic, evidence-based conversation about GLP-1s, where we cut through the misinformation around these drugs and offer information you can really trust.If you’re already taking Ozempic or Wegovy, you want to start so you can lose weight, or maybe your doctor’s recommending it — this episode is for you.I hope you enjoy it, and if you do, RSVP for my FREE Workshop on September 3rd, Untangle Your Food Triggers: Catch Yourself Before You Fall Off Track.We discuss:What GLP-1s are and how they workThe place of medication and are these long term drugs?Micro-dosing and low-dosing GLP-1sWhich doctors should be prescribing metabolic drugsRegenerative healing from GLP-1sThe causes of food noiseHunger vs appetiteThe triggers for emotional eatingWhy eating for comfort makes senseReclaiming your agency so you want to change (rather than feeling like you “should”) More about our guest: Tara Schmidt, M.Ed., RDN, LD is a registered dietitian and an instructor of nutrition at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. As the lead dietitian for the Mayo Clinic Diet, she provides guidance rooted in evidence-based principles, helping individuals develop sustainable and realistic strategies for long-term health. She also hosts Mayo Clinic On Nutrition, a podcast that dives into current nutrition research and practical weight management tips, and she lends her expertise as the Medical Editor of the Nutrition & Fitness channel. In addition, Tara co-authored The Mayo Clinic Diet: Weight Loss Medications Edition, highlighting her commitment to thoroughly researched and medically sound advice.Beyond her professional endeavors, Tara is devoted to reducing weight bias and ensuring that everyone, regardless of size or background, has access to accurate, empathetic dietary information. She balances her busy career with family life, staying active with her husband, two children, and a golden retriever who—just like the rest of the family—enjoys a healthy serving of vegetables.Connect with Tara and Mayo Clinic:On Nutrition podcast from Mayo ClinicMayo Clinic DietMayo Clinic Press Mentioned in this episode:Insatiable Episode 280: What’s Missing From the “Emotional Eating” Conversation with Dr. Deborah MacNamaraInsatiable Episode 271: Over 40 Metabolism Myths with Liz Wolfe, NTP and Certified Personal TrainerSend me (Ali) a text message.

Why Am I Eating This Now? is open for registration!Today I’m resharing a great conversation — and a powerful “Where are they now?” update — with two past Why Am I Eating This Now?: The Courage for Consistency participants who tell their powerful stories of going from “failing” at every program they tried to address the root issues of why they were falling off track with food.Tune in to hear Ginny and Isis talk about the diets they’ve been on, the health concerns they’re navigating, and how our work together transformed their eating habits, including food no longer being their go-to.We discuss:Our unique health priorities & how they relate to what we eatThe many ways popular diets shame & isolate usWhy Ginny & Isis decided to join Why Am I Eating This Now?How to know you’re ready to invest in yourselfSupport for pulling yourself out of feeling powerlessThe importance of having a flexible path (not a rigid rulebook)⭐️ Ready to catch yourself before you fall off track? RSVP for my free workshop on September 3rd.Send me (Ali) a text message.

Welcome to the 300th episode of Insatiable! To celebrate this milestone, I’m sharing three essential lessons every woman over 40 should know about health, weight loss, and nutrition in midlife.After years of making this show and working with real life clients, I’ve seen what actually works for women in perimenopause and menopause—and it’s not counting calories, cutting carbs, or blaming yourself when your body doesn’t respond the way it used to.Instead, we need to improve the quality of our food, quit punishing ourselves with exercise, and learn how to pivot without triggering our inner-perfectionist.Want to know more? Tune in and share this one with your friends. These insights will save you so much time, energy, and (maybe even) digestive distress.Learn about:The reality of counting calories and eating less over 40Why you need to eat carbs (especially if you can’t sleep)How to find joy in exercise (even if you’ve never been consistent!)Pivoting into a flexible mindset and prioritizing your health as you ageWhy pushing harder is rarely the answer and there is no perfect plan Mentioned in this episode:⭐️ FREE Workshop on September 3rd — Untangle Your Food Triggers: Catch Yourself Before You Fall Off Track⭐️ Why Am I Eating This Now? — Get earlybird pricing on our next live cohortWhy I Joined Orange Theory (even though it’s “Bad” if you’re over 40)Insatiable named to FeedSpot’s Top 20 Emotional Eating podcastsSend me (Ali) a text message.

Body Stories is back — and we’re halfway through the journey.Sas Petherick returns to share what she’s learning six months into her year-long holistic weight loss experiment. She opens up about how her relationship with food is evolving, what strength feels like in her body now, and how all of it is reshaping her work as a coach.Together, we explore what it means to approach weight loss as an act of care — not punishment — especially in midlife, when everything from metabolism to motivation starts to shift.If you’re tired of all-or-nothing thinking about your health, this one’s for you. And if you're ready to untangle your own food triggers, RSVP for my free workshop on September 3rd.We discuss:The power of loving limits and keeping promises to yourselfHow diet culture, wellness influencers, and capitalism shape your body storyWhat “complexity fitness” means — and why it matters for you to hold the nuanceWhy taking a break from Instagram can change how you see yourselfWhy a glucose monitor won’t give you all the answersLetting yourself be more high-maintenance More about our guest: Sas Petherick believes that healing our self-doubt is one of the most important contributions we can make to ourselves, our families, our work, and the world.Sas holds a Master's degree from Oxford, and her research on self-doubt was published in the International Journal of Coaching and Mentoring. She has developed an evidence-based, trauma-informed, ICF-accredited coaching methodology for cultivating self-belief.For over a decade, Sas has coached with hundreds of women experiencing self-doubt in their professional and personal lives. Sas hosts the top 1% rated self-doubt podcast Courage & Spice which has enjoyed over half a million downloads. She is also an accomplished speaker and has developed coaching workshops and programmes for clients like BBC Worldwide and Pinterest. Her writing has appeared in numerous magazines.After 25 years in the UK, Sas currently lives by the beach in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland, with her partner Ash and pooch Bohdi, imagining a post-capitalist world, exploring consciousness, and listening to obscure UFO podcasts.Connect with Sas Petherick:Visits Sas’s websiteFollow Sas on InstagramSubscribe to Sas’s newsletter Courage & Spice ⭐️ Ready to catch yourself before you fall off track? RSVP for my free workshop on September 3rd.Send me (Ali) a text message.

Today Elise Loehnen returns to Insatiable for a much-needed reminder that you don’t have to be good. And in fact, focusing on being “good” or “nice” might perpetuate your battle with food and leave you feeling deeply unfulfilled.In this conversation, we unpack what it means to be whole, why it’s fine if some people don’t like you, and how to stop seeking external approval. We also tap into how the stories we tell about goodness impact our relationship to food and our body (including what the deepest layer of body image is really about).Tune in for a huge permission slip to rest and replenish — even when you’d rather push through (and learn how this supports staying on track with your food). And stick around until the end for a great reframe for envy!We discuss:How your desire to be “good” shows up in your daily lifeWays to unhook from external validationThe shadow & why it matters in midlife, health includedRejecting the “sin” of sloth & learning to restMAHA and why it’s not selfish yet essential to tend to your inner life during political turmoilEnvy as a GPS for your soul More about our guest: Elise Loehnen Fissmer is a writer and editor living in Los Angeles with her husband, Rob, and their sons, Max and Sam. She is the host of *Pulling the Thread* where she interviews cultural luminaries on the big questions of the day. While she’s co-written 12 books, including five New York Times Best Sellers, her first book under her own name, *On Our Best Behavior: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Price Women Pay to Be Good* (Dial Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House), was also an instant New York Times bestseller. Previously, she was the chief content officer of goop, where she co-hosted The goop Podcast and The goop Lab on Netflix, and led the brand’s content strategy and programming, including the launch of a magazine with Condé Nast and a book imprint.Connect with Elise:Preorder Elise’s new workbook Choosing Wholeness Over Goodness: A Process for Reclaiming Your Full SelfGet Elise’s book On Our Best BehaviorListen to Elise’s podcast Pulling the ThreadFollow Elise on Instagram @EliseLoehnen Mentioned in this episode:Why Am I Eating This Now? — Get the free masterclass and earlybird pricing hereRethinking Food Guilt, Gluttony, and “Goodness” with Elise LoehnenWomen’s Bodies, Envy, and Scarcity with Elise Loehnen (Part 2)Send me (Ali) a text message.

A few months ago, my exercise routine stopped working for me. I’d been focusing on strength training for years, but I just didn’t want to go to the gym anymore. I felt super apathetic.At first, I chalked it up to bad sleep and low energy. But then I realized that some sneaky Menopause 101 messaging was actually holding me back from doing what felt right for my body.In this episode, I take you behind-the-scenes on how I noticed I was falling off track and the method that helped me return to movement again.Tune in to hear about:How to bridge the Knowing-But-Not-Doing gapMy experience with Orange Theory as a cardio-skepticHow to find the triggers that get you off trackPolarity lessons I’ve learned from HIIT classesThe results I’ve noticed with my sleep, my energy, my mental health, and my weight since reintroducing cardio Mentioned in this episode:Next Level by Dr. Stacy SimsListen to Dr. Stacy Sims on Insatiable podcastTry a free Orange Theory classGet my free Masterclass: Untangle Your Food Triggers: Catch Yourself Before You Fall Off TrackLearn about the Truce Coaching CertificationSpecial thanks to Juliet for her expert guidance. Learn more or work with Juliet here. Send me (Ali) a text message.

Our Body Stories series is back with another installment of my friend Sas Petherick’s intentional weight loss journey.We’re three months in now, and she’s discovering how her new routines are integrating into her daily life and reshaping her identity in the process.Tune in to hear us unpack the emotional body, the power of habits, and how to actually stop treating food as an escape.We discuss:Self-authoring and redefining what it means to “work out”How to cultivate self-compassion without resignationWays that Sas is handling “bad days” without turning to food as an escapeRated of Perceived Exertion (RPE) & the reasons we underestimate our abilityWhy support from others is so importantThe Kardashians' new food productHow much weight Sas has lost so far (stick around to the end for that!) More about our guest: Sas Petherick believes that healing our self-doubt is one of the most important contributions we can make to ourselves, our families, our work, and the world.Sas holds a Master's degree from Oxford, and her research on self-doubt was published in the International Journal of Coaching and Mentoring. She has developed an evidence-based, trauma-informed, ICF-accredited coaching methodology for cultivating self-belief.For over a decade, Sas has coached with hundreds of women experiencing self-doubt in their professional and personal lives. Sas hosts the top 1% rated self-doubt podcast Courage & Spice which has enjoyed over half a million downloads. She is also an accomplished speaker and has developed coaching workshops and programmes for clients like BBC Worldwide and Pinterest. Her writing has appeared in numerous magazines.After 25 years in the UK, Sas currently lives by the beach in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland, with her partner Ash and pooch Bohdi, imagining a post-capitalist world, exploring consciousness, and listening to obscure UFO podcasts.Connect with Sas Petherick:Visits Sas’s websiteFollow Sas on InstagramSubscribe to Sas’s newsletter Courage & Spice Mentioned in this episode:291. How to Lose Weight AND Love Yourself (because you can do both!) with Sas Petherick [Body Series #1]295. “We’re the Brave Ones” — Discipline vs Devotion, Macros & Being “Sporty” with Sas Petherick [Body Stories Series #2]Send me (Ali) a text message.