Middleish

Reliving some of our favorite moments as we update our beloved listeners on the next chapter.

If you’re a longtime Middleish follower you’ll know that we loathe the idea of making things hard on yourself simply because that’s the message presented by the health world. Do more. Go bigger. Commit or quit. All or none. These concepts make change hard. And we’re all about finding ways to make healthy changes doable and sustainable. But what if the easy way isn’t as effective? How much of the h...

Here we go with the holiday hubbub that promises to keep you on track with your diet and health. It happens every year: well-meaning advice from others around how to avoid overeating, how to stick to your "diet" and how to stave off holiday weight gain comes at us full-force. In this episode, we want to honor the truth behind some of the most common strategies while also exposing the big...

In today's hustle culture, we often associate the need for rest with laziness and apathy. Despite signs that the grind is unsustainable, we keep pushing, seeking more productivity and trying to keep up with (or outdo) our peers. What if we looked at this another way? Consider the idea that we must first rest in order to bring our best work forward. Join us for this valuable discussion on givin...

We’re wrapping up on month on metabolism this week with a mini-pod to drive the message home: your metabolism isn’t “broken” or “bad” and you needn’t micromanage it in order for it to function. Free yourself from the burden of trying to hack your metabolism to death. We break down the foundational health practices that you can actually DO to promote a healthy metabolism and encourage you to look a...

The diet and fitness industry is obsessed with metabolism. It can be optimized! Hacked! Kick-started! Maximized! With all the hype and buzzwords, it’s easy to get seduced into thinking metabolism is something to manage and monitor in every waking moment.  We first discussed metabolism and its basic functions in Episode 48, but the myths and misinformation persists so we’re revisiting it! Let’s tal...

It's hard not to notice all the cool things other people are doing, seemingly living a life above and beyond your own. Social media is a constant highlight reel, and we've all had that friend one-up our chill weekend recap with some epic adventure. FOMO is real. What if what you're missing out on is not the big, exciting, brag-worthy events, but the meaningful, enriching moments right...

It's back-to-school time and we've nailed the vibe with this month's topic: school meals. In keeping with the theme of food fears parents have for their children, school meals trend toward the top of the list of nebulous anxieties. Rumors fly about how "processed" the foods are and how they're lacking in nutrition. Here to clear all of this up is Registered Dietitian, Che...

If we didn't present a strong enough case against the use of fear in childhood nutrition in our full-length episode, let's just make sure we got our point across. First of all, we hear you parents who are concerned about your child's nutrition and health. We see the messaging around food and understand why the fear around food exists. In this mini-pod, we validate the concerns parents...

It's back! Our previous review of misguided fear-mongering health messages was so popular for you (and so cathartic for us) that we decided to do a sequel. This time, we're looking specifically at the most deplorable of the Fear Factor scum: those who prey on parents of young children. With a focus on reducing sugar intake, eating "clean" and protecting children from the evils of...

This episode is for everyone who has a body. We have the privilege of interviewing Dr. Mary Pritchard, a psychology professor and body image researcher at Boise State University. Dr. Pritchard has dedicated her work to understanding and combatting skewed body ideals, particularly in athletes, and how those ideals precipitate disordered eating. Our views on body acceptance, weight stigma and true t...

This mini-pod takes a closer look at somer personality traits and temperament correlations with eating disorders. Since eating disorders are psychological illnesses at their core, the way we think and approach life are the drivers behind the behavior. NOTE: We are not psychologists and these discussions are intended to inform and bring awareness to eating disorders and disordered eating. If you or...

We've had several conversations on the podcast about harmful eating patterns and body image concerns. We've mentioned that diet mentality is akin to disordered eating, but haven't really delved into what it means to have an Eating Disorder (ED). EDs are diagnosed by a specific set of criteria found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM 5). That&...

Call it exercise, training, movement, working out...sometimes it just isn't all music and rainbows. It takes effort, time management, discipline and creativity to stick to a physical activity routine. But what happens when you truly loathe working out? What's behind the disinterest and "meh" attitude toward something we know helps us feel better? And is there a way to break throu...

OK, we really dislike the term "superfoods" (listen to the pod for the reasons) but since the term resonates with health-conscious individuals, we're running with it! And if you think a "superfood" can't be processed...think again! In this episode we provide 10 examples of foods that have a wide range of health benefits despite being processed. Our current food culture would have you believe that...

Ever notice how influencers tend to gravitate toward fear mongering as a motivational tactic? Have you watched a video and felt a sense of dread, panic, shock or anxiety based on the message being presented?    In this episode, we break down how fear is used by the health and fitness industry in powerful, but manipulative and damaging ways. Whether it’s the ingredients in your food, how...

We're a few weeks into 2023 and history tells us that by now many New Year's Resolutions have lost their luster. If you're one of those who have already thrown in the towel, you need to listen to this discussion. Still going strong with your New Year goals? High Five! You'll still benefit from the ideas we share on navigating the unknowns down the road and avoiding pitfalls of the start/stop cycle...

It's resolution time! While some people get super psyched for a fresh start, others might be filled with anxiety around choosing a goal for 2023. It can feel overwhelming to approach an entire year with the pressure of bringing forward your best you. While we're fans of the best version of you, consider that it might not emerge how you think it should and it certainly won't be perfect. None of us...

As we find ourselves heading into the thick of the holiday season, many people are asking us how to navigate it in a way that doesn't feel like they're on a runaway train. Parties, wrapping up work projects, family visits, shopping, volunteering, church activities and various holiday festivities can leave us all feeling like we need a reset once January hits. This incessant hustle is often what dr...

Time to lighten things up a bit! We love interviewing each other once in a while and we thought the perfect subject matter would be talking about some of our favorite things. We styled this after the popular game "Table Topics" and withheld some of our questions as a surprise reveal during recording. We hit on all kinds of things, from favorite trips to favorite foods to favorite daily moments. Ea...

Wrapping up this month's topic addressing society's obsession with the "perfect" diet. We've got a few examples of how you can explore the best eating pattern for you while disregarding all the noise in the diet and fitness industry that you're doing it wrong. You're not! Spoiler: If you're doing what's best for YOU, then you're on the right track!    Resources:   Information on Ort...

Does the perfect diet exist? Honestly...yes and no. The answer is nuanced (so Middleish of us!) Fundamentally speaking, there are a key set of nutritional principles that are strongly associated with positive health outcomes. Most diets, even the faddest of the fad diets, tend to embrace these concepts. However, what this looks like for each individual can differ and there is no "perfect" eating p...

We've been doing this Middleish thing for well over two years now. And both of us have believed in the concept of Middleish long before we started this podcast.  All of our work and conversations over the past couple years have only deepened our stance that there's some real magic in the middle. In this episode, we present the basis of our Middleish philosophy and some of the ways we've chang...

We're trying something new! This mini-episode is a continuation of our discussion around health and fitness experts being wrong. Our humorous review of misguided old health recommendations was so well-received we thought we'd bring you more. Enjoy this entertaining look at how celebrity misinformation, modern street drugs and, um, "meat grinders" were once promoted as health hacks. Links to make y...

How many times have you clicked on an eye-catching article and found that the messaging therein is remarkably different from what you thought you knew about nutrition or health? In today's maelstrom of online information it's probably becoming more and more frequent. It can feel impossible to trust what "experts" are telling us when it seems to change constantly and conflict with other experts' re...