Smart Weight Loss Coaching | Nutrition, Mindset and Fitness Tips for Women Who Want To Level Up Their Health, Wellness and Longevity

In Part 2 of this two-part series, Dr. Lisa shifts gears from short-term food choices to the daily habits and decisions that shape your long-term health, weight, and mobility. This episode explores how seemingly simple choices, like buying slip-on shoes or living in a one-story ranch, can quietly influence your strength, stability, and even your lifespan. From an eye-opening conversation about Ske...

What do slip-on Skechers, ranch-style homes, and marshmallow fluff have to do with wellness and weight loss? A lot more than you’d think. In this first part of a two-part series, Dr. Lisa takes you inside the 35,000 micro-decisions we make each day, and how many of them, if repeated, quietly shape our health, metabolism, and even how long we live. Through a relatable dessert dilemma from a summer...

Can you really enjoy vacation or host friends without overindulging in junk food?  YES. YOU. CAN. In this episode, Dr. Lisa shares highlights from the best weekend ever ...A trip to rural Michigan filled with simple pleasures, intentional meals, and meaningful reconnection with old friends. She'll talk about the common “vacation = food carnival” thought error and how to break free from it. Pl...

Ever feel like your new habits are stuck in “I’ll start Monday” mode? In this episode, Dr. Lisa shares a story about her client’s husband, and her own six-month delay in starting a shuffle dance class, to explore why habit change feels so hard. You’ll learn how perfectionism, time expectations, and lack of reward can stall progress, and how to use the Tiny Habits method by Dr. BJ Fogg to finally b...

In this episode, Dr. Lisa takes a deep dive into PCOS, insulin resistance, and their link to weight gain and metabolic health, using a story about her quirky Grandma Dot to explain how insulin works. Learn how hormones like insulin, leptin, cortisol, ghrelin, and GLP-1 interact in women with PCOS, and why this condition persists beyond menopause. Dr. Oldson also reviews dietary and lifestyle strat...

Today’s episode dives into Retatrutide —the upcoming “Triple G” weight loss medication creating major buzz. Dr. Lisa shares the science behind this powerful GLP-1 / GIP / glucagon receptor agonist, explains why it’s being called the “Taylor Swift of meds,” and answers common questions from a recent women’s summer event. From dramatic weight loss results to calming relentless food noise, we explore...

In this deeply personal and emotional episode, Dr. Lisa recounts a harrowing experience of verbal assault while en route to a local Pride parade. Through humor, vulnerability, and education, she explores the connection between hormones, stress, and emotional eating, especially in the face of trauma. Along the way, moments of unexpected kindness offer hope, and remind us of the power of allyship, s...

What do a weird car noise, two insanely good cookies, and your weight loss journey have in common? Way more than you think. In this episode, Dr. Lisa shares a personal (and oddly delicious) story about a recurring thunking noise in her car and how it led her to rethink her approach to treats, cravings, and using planning to create freedom around food. Spoiler: It all revolves around Carol’s Cookie...

Today, Dr. Lisa explores categorical self binding, a strategy where you intentionally avoid entire categories of food (like sugary drinks or ultra-processed snacks) to support weight loss, metabolic health, and potentially even cancer prevention. Unlike relying on willpower, binding creates systems that make healthier choices easier and more automatic over time. Dr. Lisa compares food addiction to...

Sarcopenic obesity is when we have an imbalance in our body composition with too much fat tissue and not enough muscle tissue. Not everyone who carries excess weight has this, but for those who do, the health and functional impact is tremendous. It changes everything from how long you live, to your risk of diabetes, heart attacks, and ability to climb the stairs. Of course Dr. Lisa swoops in with...

There is an abundance of data on the impact of coffee drinking on health. Dr. Lisa shares the data on the way coffee impacts our risk for premature death, diabetes, depression, heart disease, stroke, Parkinson's disease, dementia, and other health conditions.  She also dives in to the impact of coffee on weight loss, of course. And for those taking GLP1 agonists like Wegovy or Ozempic (or GLP...

Life throws us massive stress at times, but what about the daily worries that impact our stress hormones, and through that, impact our weight, our longevity, and our metabolic health? Sometimes we inadvertently choose thoughts that create undue anxiety, but we don't have to go there. Today, Dr. Lisa walks us through some ways to stop over-activating our sympathetic nervous system and stop fly...

If you find healthy eating and weight loss challenging because you struggle with desire for certain foods, Dr. Lisa's 3 step plan to tame food desire is exactly what you need. There's nothing wrong with wanting treats, and for having them at times, but we'll show you how to stay in charge of that decision, rather than feeling like food desire is in charge of YOU!  Thanks for listeni...

While some people may be familiar with kaizen as a business philosophy used by Toyota, it's also an approach we can tap into for continuous self improvement and behavioral change. In today's episode, Dr. Lisa walks you through 4 simple steps to use kaizen for weight loss, to improve your blood sugar & cholesterol, or to tackle any health goal you may have. Sometimes all it takes is o...

In today’s episode, Bridget Brennan interviews Lisa Oldson, not about health, longevity, or weight loss, but about her life. If you’ve listened to all 100 episodes of the Smart Weight Loss Coaching Podcast, you surely feel you know Dr. Lisa, but after this episode, that knowing will go far deeper. To start, take a listen to the amusing way Lisa & Bridget first became friends, about 25 years ag...

Do you feel like the only one intimidated by all the talk about seeds, omega 3 fatty acids, and antioxidants? It's not just you! Any food can seem unapproachable until you get familiar with it, which is why Dr. Lisa is doing a deep dive into seeds today. If you're interested in losing weight, as well as protecting your metabolic, heart, and gut health, you're going to love this epis...

It's SPRING!  If you're the kind of person who loves spring cleaning, or is at least WILLING to entertain a spring spruce up, Dr. Lisa has 4 EASY spring cleaning tips that will have an impact on your weight loss and your health. Whether it's tackling nutrition, exercise space, your home, or YOUR BRAIN, we've got 4 actions you can take to spring clean & jump start your weigh...

If you want to be one of those superagers, a person who is healthy and sharp as a tack later in life, then it's time to do some planning, followed by taking ACTION. Whether you're in your 2nd, 3rd, or 4th quarter of life, it's not too late to make some changes! Dr. Lisa walks you through some habit changes you might consider that will help with weight loss as a byproduct of investin...

Why is it that people feel free to comment on other people's bodies and on what other people eat? Today, Dr. Lisa shares an experience being on the receiving end of an unflattering comment, and how reframing her thoughts about it reduced her stress. The ability to reframe things is a critical skill when it comes to managing stress, and it's therefore indirectly important for weight loss...

Did your doctor ever blow it with you by bringing up your weight when you didn't want to talk about it? You're certainly not alone! Today, Dr. Lisa talks about the right way for health care providers to bring up weight, and the right way to graciously allow YOU to decide whether or not you're interested in discussing it. There are many health care providers (including many therapist...

Today, Dr. Lisa walks through FIVE TIPS for eating healthy for weight loss (or for better health or maintenance of weight loss), whether you're traveling for work, or facing a long day in the office, followed by a long commute home. When you find yourself in an environment without a lot of healthy options, channel your inner Marie Forleo and remember that "everything is figure-out-able!&...

In today's episode, Dr. Lisa shares her experience using a technique called self binding to help both her clients and herself. Whether it's physical self binding or chronological self binding, these two approaches can help you to create obstacles between you and certain things you might be consuming that aren't aligned with your health or weight loss goals. If you want to lose weigh...

If you want to lose weight, play the long game and practice the skill of delaying gratification. If you're looking for the scale to give you a short term reward, you'll probably be disappointed. Weight loss happens over months, not days or weeks. Dr. Lisa will walk you through a few tricks of the trade to start slowly transforming your nutritional protocol in a healthy way that doesn&apo...

In today's data driven episode, Dr. Lisa explores the research on water intake. Is it true that there's a benefit to drinking 8 glasses of water every day? What about drinking 2 glasses before each meal? Does drinking more water help with weight loss, migraine headaches, urinary tract infections, diabetes, or kidney stones? Is there any downside to drinking a lot of water? Take a listen...

So many of the things we want to do for our health are HARD, but today's episode offers you an EASY approach to weight loss that also lowers your risk of cancer and diabetes. The best part? It's something you can do gradually. No need to flip a switch and make a massive change overnight. As Dr. Lisa is fond of saying, "Do the easy things with a big impact first." Today, she&apo...