Exam Room Nutrition: Where Busy Clinicians Learn About Nutrition

 You Are Not Your Struggle So many women are trying to eat better, lose weight, meal plan, feed their families, manage busy schedules, and somehow not feel guilty about every food choice along the way. In this episode, I’m joined by Kelsey Wickenhauser, PA, homeschooling mom of four, Christian health coach, and founder of Kingdom Fit Moms, for a conversation about what it really looks like to purs...

CKD Food Rules That Need an Update  Kidney nutrition has a reputation for being restrictive, confusing, and honestly… a little intimidating. But for many patients with chronic kidney disease, the biggest problem isn’t that they’re eating a banana or adding tomatoes to dinner. It’s that they’ve been handed outdated food rules that leave them scared to eat. In this episode, I’m joined by renal dieti...

 Give Nutrition Advice Without Making Patients Feel Punished  Have you ever asked, “Do you have any other questions?” at the end of a visit and immediately regretted it? Same. Because of course they have more questions. Important questions. Questions that probably should have been asked 15 minutes ago, except now you’re already behind, the next patient is waiting, and you’re trying to be compassio...

What Really Happens Inside an Obesity Clinic  GLP-1 medications are everywhere right now. Patients are asking about Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound, compounded medications, muscle loss, “Ozempic face,” insurance denials, and what happens when the weight loss slows down. But what does obesity medicine actually look like inside the clinic? In this episode, I’m joined by Joseph Zucchi, PA-C , clinical supe...

Nutrition Advice Needs More Nuance. Your patients are hearing a lot online: fix your gut, avoid processed foods, buy organic, take a probiotic, and eat the “right” foods if you want to be healthy. But nutrition is rarely that simple. In this episode, I’m joined by Registered Dietitian Manju Karkare to talk about how clinicians can respond to common nutrition questions with more nuance, less fear,...

Injured Athletes Still Need Fuel. When an athlete gets injured, the instinct is often to eat less. But according to sports dietitian Emily Barnhart, recovery still requires fuel. In this episode, we talk about how nutrition needs change after injury, surgery, ACL repair, stress fractures, and periods of immobilization. Emily explains why under-fueling can delay healing, how to think about protein...

“I’m doing everything right, but nothing’s working.”  I bet you've heard that before!  In this episode, I’m joined by registered dietitian Devin Breedon to talk about the hidden barriers that impact weight loss, blood sugar, and overall health. We also pull back the curtain on what registered dietitians actually do during a patient session, why behavior change matters more than meal plans, an...

3 Mistakes We Make When Talking About Nutrition I spoke at 2 different conferences, 4 lectures in total, this weekend and all of them had a similar thread: HOW we communicate our recommendations matter. Enjoy this quickie episode summarizing one of my presentations at the American Association of Physician Associates in New Orleans.  Shoot me a DM @examroomnutrition and vote: T/F: When you Know Bet...

Weight loss doesn’t fail overnight. It usually happens slowly… through all-or-nothing thinking, unrealistic expectations, and patients feeling like they have to “start over” every Monday. In this episode, I’m joined by registered dietitian Sam Barone for a conversation about sustainable weight loss, behavior change, and why the best “diet” might not be a diet at all. We unpack the real reason pati...

Social Media Is Confusing Your Patients.  In this episode, I’m joined by endocrinology PA Emily Stevens to discuss diabetes, insulin resistance, and blood sugar control and help you explain it in a way your patients will actually understand.  If your patients are asking about glucose spikes, CGMs, keto, or supplements like berberine, this episode will give you clear, practical answers you can use...

Teen Athletes Need Different Fuel. What happens when well-meaning parents apply adult nutrition rules to teenage athletes? You get under-fueled kids, missed performance potential… and a whole lot of confusion in the exam room. In this episode, I sit down with sports dietitian and former D1 athlete Maria Vallasciani to break down what teen athletes actually need and why most of them aren’t getting...

 Why Patients Overeat and Feel Out of Control  What’s really driving overeating: hunger, habit, or emotions? In this episode, I’m joined by Kate Johnston, a physician assistant turned eating habits and weight loss coach, to unpack why patients eat past fullness, why nighttime eating feels so out of control, and how to quickly uncover what’s actually going on beneath the behavior.  Here’s what you’...

 When Weight Loss Hides Something Deeper  In this episode, I’m joined by Shawna Melbourn, a Registered Dietitian with over 20 years of experience in eating disorder care, to unpack whether the most celebrated effects of GLP-1 medications, appetite suppression, is actually masking something deeper  Here’s what you’ll learn: Why appetite suppression isn’t always a win (and how it can reinforce restr...

Daily Habits Your Patients Need For Brain Health.  If your patients are asking how to protect their brain, and you’re defaulting to “eat better and exercise more”, this episode will challenge that in the best way. In this episode, I’m joined by Eric Collett, a brain health expert, to unpack a more practical, real-world approach to cognitive health. We cover everything from how food fuels the brain...

"It’s not just what children are eating. It’s how they’re experiencing food that shapes their habits." In this episode, I’m joined by Alicia Eaton, a behavior change therapist and author, to unpack what’s really happening beneath the surface when kids struggle with food. Because it’s not just about what’s on the plate. It’s about the environment, the language, and the emotional experienc...

Processed Food “Kills”. That message is everywhere right now. Social media posts, viral headlines, even Super Bowl commercials warning that processed foods are dangerous. But what do we actually mean when we say “ultra-processed food”? In this episode, I sit down with nutrition researcher Dr. Mandy Willig to unpack the science behind ultra-processed foods, the NOVA classification system, and why t...

How To Decide Between Bariatric Surgery and Obesity Medications I’m joined by Kate Fuss, PA-C to unpack how GLP-1 medications and bariatric surgery actually work together, when each option makes sense, and what primary care clinicians should understand when caring for patients before or after bariatric surgery. We also dive into the psychological side of weight loss, because hitting a number on th...

Did the Dietary Guidelines ignore culture? In this special roundtable episode, I’m joined by four registered dietitians from Indian, Mexican, Filipino, and Nicaraguan backgrounds to unpack a major concern in the latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans: the absence of explicit cultural inclusivity. Because food isn’t just carbs and protein. It’s identity, tradition, and community. And when guidelin...

Mental Health Nutrition Starts Here.  When a patient opens up about their mood, we think therapy. We think medication. But do we ever pause and ask… are they eating enough to support their brain? In this episode, I’m joined by registered dietitian Jennifer Hanes, who specializes in nutrition and mental health. We unpack how food impacts mood, why under-eating can worsen anxiety and depression, and...

Discuss Pediatric Weight Gain Without Triggering Shame What would you say if a parent asked, “Can you tell my son he needs to lose weight?” That question sits at the center of one of the hardest conversations in pediatrics. In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Amy Beck, clinical psychologist and expert in teen mental health and weight stigma, to unpack how we address pediatric obesity without causin...

Randomized controlled trials. Cohort studies. Abstracts. Methods sections. If your brain starts spinning just hearing those words, you’re not alone. In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Carlene Starck, a protein biochemist and nutrition scientist, to help clinicians who aren’t researchers learn how to spot high-quality research in a world full of misinformation. Together, we walk through how a resea...

If you’ve ever had a patient training for a marathon (or you are that patient) this episode will change how you think about fueling, injury risk, and longevity in running.  In this episode, you’ll learn: Why runners over 35 are uniquely vulnerable to injury, even when they "eat healthy" Why so many runners under-consume carbohydrates (and how to explain carbs without triggering fear) How...

Patient-Centered Weight Management | Dr. Robert Kushner on the Six-Factor Questionnaire, GLP-1s, and Lifestyle Counseling  “Eat less, move more” might be the fastest way to lose your patient’s trust, according my my guest Dr. Robert Kushner, a passionate doctor, educator, and researcher who has spent more than four decades improving care for people living with overweight and obesity. Dr. Kushner s...

What’s missing in obesity care? It’s not another diet plan or more willpower.  In this episode Colleen  is joined by Dr. Robyn Pashby, clinical health psychologist and co-author of The New Food Fight , to unpack the mental and emotional side of obesity care (the part most clinicians were never trained to address) Together, they break down why shame, stigma, and oversimplified “just eat less and mo...

The 2026 Dietary Guidelines for Americans just dropped and the new upside-down food pyramid caused quite the chatter online this week.  In this special Nutrition Newsroom roundtable, Colleen Sloan, PA, RDN, brings together nine nutrition experts to break down what the new guidelines actually are (and what they’re not), what stayed the same, what changed, and what’s missing.  You’ll hear respectful...