Healthy Teen Life

If you've ever lost weight, gained it back, and convinced yourself it must be a willpower problem, this episode is for you. Kamy's whole message is the opposite. Excess weight in a teen is almost never about willpower, the food itself, or how much you move. It's a symptom of something deeper that nobody has helped you name yet. Today's guest is Kamy Moussavi, founder of Step Together, an organizat...

If you've been hard on yourself, beating yourself up to push yourself to perform, holding impossible standards, and still ending up disappointed, anxious, lonely, or not enough, this episode is for you. Most teens are running this same loop and most don't have the language for why it isn't working anymore. Today's guest is Dr. Jerry Weichman, a clinical psychologist and the founder of The Weichman...

If you've been told that getting healthier starts with a diet and an exercise plan, this episode is going to flip that on its head. Real, lasting change starts in your mind, not on the scale, and the work of building the right foundation comes before anything you eat or any workout you do. Today's guest is Jonathan Boulware, a lifestyle behavior change specialist and the founder of You Can Beat Ob...

If you've ever finished a snack, a meal, or a whole container of food and then sat in the aftermath wondering how you got there and why you did it, this episode is for you. Binge eating and overeating don't usually start with the food. They start with something underneath that nobody has helped you name yet. Today's episode is a solo with Leslie, sharing the story of a friend who recovered from bi...

Depression doesn't always look the way you've been told it looks. Sometimes it shows up as a slow heaviness. Sometimes it shows up as a loop in your head you can't seem to climb out of. Sometimes it shows up as isolation, exhaustion, or the feeling that nothing you do is going to matter. Wherever it shows up for you, this episode is for you. Today's guest is Brian Sachetta, an author, blogger, and...

Your skin is more than what it looks like. It's the largest organ in your body, it's the first responder talking to your nervous system, your immune system, and your endocrine system, and it's covered in a living microbiome that's quietly doing protective work for you all day. Which means the stuff you put on it matters way more than you've been told. Today's guest is Jodie Scott, cofounder of Gre...

If you're feeling stuck right now, like life just sucks, like nothing is going your way and you can't see how it's going to get better, this one is for you. Hard things happen to every single one of us. The question is never whether they happen. The question is what you do with them when they hit. Today's guest is Ty Gibson, a speaker and mindset advocate whose entire framework is built around one...

If you're a high school senior heading to college, or already a freshman who's hitting some academic walls, this one is for you. There's a stretch of skills your teachers probably aren't teaching, your parents may not have had to learn the same way, and that nobody is sitting you down to walk you through. They're the skills that decide whether your first year of college feels manageable or complet...

If you're a high school senior who just committed to a college, or you've already graduated and you're heading to your freshman year, this one is for you. You did it. You got in. You made the call. And the next chapter is genuinely one of the wildest, most growth filled seasons of your entire life. New city, new people, new freedom, new version of you. It's exciting. Here's what almost nobody is t...

If you're a teen who thinks losing weight is the goal, today's episode might change how you see food, your body, and what "healthy" actually means. Diet culture has been lying to every single one of us for a long time. The corset you didn't know you were wearing. The caloric deficit you've been taught to chase. The size you think will finally make you feel enough. None of it is what it told you it...

If staying focused, getting started on tasks, or managing everything on your plate feels impossible, you are not broken and you are not behind. In this episode, Leslie sits down with executive function coach Lauran Kerr-Heraly to break down what executive function skills actually are and why they are something every teen can learn regardless of where they are starting from. From procrastination to...

Have you ever wondered whether the person messaging you online is actually who they say they are? In this episode, Leslie sits down with Dr. Bronwen Carroll, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Boston Medical Center, to have the conversation that most adults are not having with teens but absolutely should be. Dr. Carroll breaks down the real risks of sexting, explains what sextortion is an...

School teaches you a lot of things, but what about how to deal with stress, navigate awkward social moments, or feel like you actually belong? In this episode of Healthy Teen Life, Leslie sits down with Kevin Dahill-Fuchel, a licensed clinical social worker and executive director of Counseling in Schools in New York City, to talk about the emotional and social skills that matter just as much as yo...

Have you ever caught yourself thinking I just want to stop eating this but I can't, or why did I eat that when I didn't even want it? You are not alone and it is not about willpower. In this episode of Healthy Teen Life, Leslie breaks down what is actually going on with your eating and introduces a different approach called mindful mindset eating that might finally make it all click. This is not t...

Have you ever felt like your body is something you need to fix? In this episode of Healthy Teen Life, Leslie sits down with Dr. Joey Skelton, a pediatrician and author of Your Child Is Not Their Weight, to talk honestly about what your body size actually means, what it does not mean, and why the number on the scale tells you far less than our culture wants you to believe. If you have ever felt jud...

Are you fueling your body, moving enough, and getting the sleep you actually need to perform your best? In this episode of Healthy Teen Life, Leslie sits down with Dr. Chris Koutures, a pediatric and sports medicine physician at Active Kids MD, to talk about how teen athletes can build real sustainable habits around food, fitness, and recovery. If you have ever wondered whether you are eating the...

Have you ever eaten lunch and then felt like falling asleep in your next class? Or crushed it at practice one day and felt completely empty the next? That is not random — it could be your food talking. In this episode of Healthy Teen Life, Leslie breaks down how to build a personal fuel plan that actually works for your unique body, your schedule, and your life. This is not about strict meal plans...

Are you fueling your body enough to actually perform your best? In this episode of Healthy Teen Life, Leslie sits down with Michele Pettinger, a nutrition expert and lifelong runner who started running at 12 and now runs ultra marathons, to talk about what teen athletes need to eat to train well, recover faster, and protect their long term health. If you've ever felt exhausted at practice, hit a w...

Have you ever felt like the sport you once loved has started to feel more like a job? In this episode of Healthy Teen Life, Leslie sits down with Harvey Araton, a 25-year New York Times columnist and author of The Goal of the Game, to talk about what youth sports pressure is doing to young athletes and how you can start playing for yourself again. If you have ever stayed in a sport because quittin...

Did you know that 1 in 5 teenagers may be struggling with disordered eating right now and most don't even realize it? In this episode of Healthy Teen Life, Leslie breaks down what disordered eating actually is, why it's so easy to miss, and why catching it early is one of the most powerful things you can do for your health and future.   If you've ever felt anxious around food, guilty after eating,...

If you have ever felt like you're not good enough, not confident enough, or that one bad moment defines who you are, this episode is for you. Leslie sits down with Laura Ollinger, Teen & Parent Well-Being Coach, speaker, and certified Parent-Child Whisperer™, to get into the hidden ways self-doubt shows up in everyday teen life and, more importantly, what to actually do about it. Blending neur...

Stress and anxiety can feel unavoidable in your teen and college years — from school pressure and exams to friendships and expectations. But what if there was an easy way to manage it? In this episode, Leslie sits down talks with Ariel Balfour to break down why stress feels so intense and how stress isn’t something to fear — it’s a signal. We explore simple, Ariel's powerful 4-step reset you can u...

Teen stress, emotional regulation, and mental health are deeply connected to how the brain works. When teens and college students are under pressure, the emotional brain can override logic, leading to overwhelm, impulsive reactions, and feeling out of control. This isn’t a willpower problem — it’s a stress response in the brain. In this episode, Leslie talks with psychologist Dr. Laurel Mellin, fo...

Stop waiting to “feel motivated.” Learn how to actually build motivation to eat healthy, move your body, and stick with it — even on low-energy days. We often think we just need to “get motivated” to eat better, work out, or finally stick to healthy habits. Think again. In this episode, we break down why motivation isn’t what you think it is — and why waiting to feel motivated keeps you stuck. You...

Feeling exhausted, anxious, bloated, foggy, or just not yourself—even though doctor visits end in more questions than answers, and your labs come back “normal”? Having health concerns as a teen or college student can be concerning when you're not sure what's going on. But not getting clear answers can be even more stressful, frustrating and sometimes, feel hopeless. In this chat with functional me...