Quit Like A Badass

This episode is a little different. I’m pressing pause on the QLAB podcast, for now, and I wanted to share why. Over the past months, life has asked a lot of me. From being with my Nana in her final weeks, to navigating layers of grief and loss, it’s become clear that I can’t continue creating from a place of depletion. And if I can’t show up fully, I’d rather not show up at all – for now. In this...

We often talk about the financial cost of alcohol - how much we spend on drinks, nights out, or even on things to cure hangovers. But the real cost of drinking goes far beyond the money we hand over on these occasions. In this episode, I explore the hidden costs of alcohol that many of us rarely stop to consider. From the lost hours after a night of drinking , to the mental fog, reduced productivi...

Good sleep may become elusive as women enter and journey through menopause. My guest this week - Dr Michael Gradisar (my husband) - has been treating sleep issues for women for decades. In this episode, we discuss the most common sleep problems during menopause, provide some understanding as to why they occur, and how alcohol can become a fuel thrown on this fire of sleeplessness. Michael discusse...

In Part Two of this conversation, myself and Danielle go deeper into the nutrition side of peri-menopause and menopause - what actually supports women during this transition, and what can unknowingly make things harder. We talk about: ·       Why nutrition needs change in midlife ·       Protein, carbs, inflammation, and energy ·       The role alcohol plays in peri-menopause and menopause - and w...

In this first part of a two-part conversation, I sit down with my mentor Danielle, the woman who graciously supported me through my Personal Training certification back in 2019, to talk about peri-menopause and menopause in a way that feels honest, grounded, and deeply needed right now. We discuss what reasons women are coming to Danielle for support with, the symptoms and frustrations they’re nam...

I'm not talking about dry January this month. I'm posing this question instead. But why? Well, the world feels loud, heavy, and relentless right now - Climate anxiety. Wars. Cost-of-living pressure. Family stress. And in the middle of all that… alcohol can sometimes feel like the only relief. But what if it’s actually making things harder? In this episode, I’m talking about hanxiety, the q...

In this episode, I sit down with my friend Jeremy, to talk about Naltrexone - a medication used to help people reduce or stop drinking - and the Sinclair Method, a science-based approach developed in Finland. Together, we explore how Naltrexone works, what the experience was like for us both personally, and how it fits into a holistic approach to recovery, healing, self-care, and finding freedom f...

What if one, clear plan of action could change everything? In this episode, I walk you through the framework that truly supports lasting change - not willpower, not perfection, but something deeper and steadier. I discuss what it really means to decide to change, how intention can be your inner guide, how alcohol is woven into our identity, why self-compassion is non-negotiable, and how courage, c...

This week is an episode I'm passionate about - what if the “truths” we’ve been fed about alcohol for years are nothing more than clever marketing, cultural pressure, and outdated stories? This specific marketing (not only by Big Alcohol either!) targeted at women, as well as outdated stories, can keep us small, stressed, and reaching for a drink over and over. In this episode, I’m calling out...

In this episode I sit down with my very first guest — my husband, who’s a sleep expert with more than 20 years’ experience working in sleep and sleep disorders. We talk about what alcohol actually does to our sleep (even in small amounts), why it feels like alcohol helps at first but quietly disturbs our stages of sleep. We discuss what starts to change in our bodies and nervous system - once we p...

In this episode I’m sharing 6 powerful reasons to take a break from drinking - not from a place of restriction or rules, but from a place of curiosity and self-care. These are 6 changes women actually see and feel when alcohol is no longer a daily habit. Because I think what we ALL want is less stress, more calm, more connection and a gradual return to feeling like ourselves again. And I want that...

Fear is a very common human emotion — but when it holds us back from necessary change or keeps us small, it’s time to dig a little deeper. Did you ever notice how fear shows up right when you’re about to make a big decision or try something new? In this episode, I explore what fear really is, why it shows up when it does, and how we can work with it rather than against it. If fear has ever stopped...

I detail part of my ‘quitting alcohol’ journey here in Part 1. As the patriarchal nature of AA really didn't suit me, it was a welcome change to learn from some truly amazing women who stood up to speak about their own issues with alcohol (in the mid to late 2010's). I could resonate so much. This includes Holly Whitaker, my first ever paid Coach. Their goal was to teach others about how w...

This is 'Part 2 'of my story: *trigger warning* I mention sexual assault in this episode, but I don't go into any specific details. In this episode I describe what life was like for me in regards to alcohol - from 2017 onwards. My chronic pain was getting worse and I certainly felt that I was at my lowest point - but I never really had what would be described as a 'rock bottom' moment. I was getti...

In this episode I talk about what Grey-Area Drinking is. Briefly: The 'Grey Area' of drinking sits between the extremes of alcohol use - it’s definitely not at the “social, take-it-or-leave-it” end of the spectrum, but it’s absolutely not the rock-bottom, full alcohol dependence stage either. It’s the space in between, where drinking might look “normal” from the outside, but inside it feels: misal...