The Daily Ascent

Wendy Swanson dives into the ins and outs of acupuncture. Molly calls the modality "an absolute, life-changing measure" after she was cured of her Long Covid symptoms following her sessions with Wendy—something traditional Western medicine was never able to do for her. Listen in as Wendy paints a comprehensive picture of acupuncture and its history, as well as her fascinating journey in going agai...

Molly and Dr. Suzanne talk all things integrative health. From the food we consume to the products we put on our skin, to the things we smell, hear, and the types of people we spend our time with. These are the things Dr. Suzanne says have a huge impact on our health and affect all areas of our lives all the time. She also discusses sexual health and the integration of mind, body, and spirit. Dr....

Today's guest, Joseph Sheehey, holds nothing back in sharing the details of his struggles with depression, suicidal thoughts, his career, as well as his views on medicine and healing. Joseph's mission is to have conversations that are nuanced that allow us to hear and understand why we think the way we do. He wants to share his experience with medicine and how that impacted his mission. When Josep...

Having struggled with her weight and self-image since childhood, Sara discusses with Molly her journey of breaking up with sugar, her relationship with food, and the road to recovery. Due to an autoimmune disorder, she eliminated gluten and grains. This was a decision she made on her own, not from any medical advice from a doctor. Molly and Sara explore her journey through EMDR, reintroducing alco...

After being diagnosed with Hashimoto's, Julie Reisler discusses her wake-up call from her body alerting her to stop consuming sugar. She has 19 years experience in recovering from sugar addiction.  Molly and Julie relate their journeys of leaving sugar behind and how it can be easy to fall prey to the mind games associated with lifestyle changes. It can be easy to succumb to the "diet culture" whe...

On today's episode, Molly sits down with her close friend Michelle Garside. Michelle begins the conversation by disclosing her journey through her eating disorder. She begins by discussing her experience with pregnancy and postpartum eating disorders and the struggles that come with it.  Molly and Michelle dig into the thoughts that can creep in while struggling with eating disorders and relate to...

Molly talks with comedian and actress friend Ashley Austin Morris. Together, they unpack Ashley's road to recovery from her trauma-induced eating disorder. From her childhood and upbringing to her current career, she discusses her perspective of her unique healing journey.  Ashley goes in-depth about how God and her faith played a key role in her recovery from her past trauma that induced an eatin...

When it comes to breaking up with sugar (or any addiction), the answer for most people is  not  to become overly strict and unforgiving with yourself. According to Molly, "The answer is never the opposite. The answer is balance." To illustrate this, Molly breaks down the three states of mind as defined by the practice of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and how this concept can shed some ligh...

Molly sits down with a listener of the podcast to talk about his inspiring road to recovery as it has been unfolding so far. Marshall Malone is on the fourth day of his  Breaking Up With Sugar  journey. Marshall, a digital marketing expert, recently got in touch with Molly, and he's here today to talk about the toughest part about breaking up with any addiction: getting through those first few day...

When it comes to breaking up with sugar, there is no "magic pill", and one size definitely does  not  fit all. Nancy Kaley BS, LADC is the Program Director and Facilitator of the COR Retreat, a food recovery program that teaches a way to live free from obsession with food and the excess weight it causes. Her story once again proves that the journey towards better health and wellness is one of self...

"Diseases, discomforts, and dysfunctions of the body are actually gifts," says today's special guest Rob Wergin, "gifts created by our soul and by the Divine. They are powerful gifts packaged in ways we cannot ignore… and because we cannot ignore them, we are given the opportunity to do something about them." Rob Wergin has provided healing transformation to over 300,000 people in the last 19 year...

Dropping weight and living a healthier life overall is less about counting calories, and more about getting rid of unproductive beliefs and building a better relationship with yourself. Not too long ago, after having tried every diet in the world, our longtime listener Joy finally broke up with sugar, alcohol, and the false sense of accomplishment that comes with following the latest "cutting edge...

Are you craving more pleasure in your life? You're not the only one!  Countless women are either craving more sexual pleasure in their life or they're unaware of how much they're craving great sex. People who experience frequent pleasure and connection to their sexuality are happier and more connected to themselves and the world. Makes sense, right?  So, are you ready to join the fun? Dr. Bat Shev...

What is true? That's a powerful question; one that Molly is asking herself and sharing her answer with you today. Molly has listened to stories of people's transgressions against themselves, whether it be binging, starving, drinking until blackout, the list goes on. Though, based on her experience, there are three real truths behind why we transgress, particularly with food. Not being able to set...

Have you ever had a moment in your life where you just experienced a deep knowing about something? Needed to end a relationship? Needed to begin a different career? Needed to break up with sugar? This is your wise mind speaking to you. Molly is talking all about the wise mind we all have, what it is, and how to interact with it. In its most basic sense, Molly likens the wise mind to your gut feeli...

Did you know that in America's fitness-crazed, obsessive society that it was once strange not just for women to go to the gym, but also men? In today's episode, Molly is interviewing Natalia Petrzela– a historian, writer, teacher, and activist– about our history of fitness culture and walks us through its interesting (and polarizing) spectrum. This episode starts out with something that comes up o...

Have you ever found that if you are indecisive about something that the best approach is to just dive in? In today's episode that is exactly what is being talked about with Breaking Up with Sugar Warrior, Martha. Molly introduces us to Martha and her "all in" approach she has had in her relationship with food.  Let's paint part of the picture of Martha's journey. "I can do anything, but I can't gi...

Dr. Alex Korb is back for part 2 of the Upward Spiral discussion with Molly. In the second half of the interview, Molly and Alex talk all things related to brain-based solutions to overcome the downward spiral.  The two start off the discussion by talking about the power of reframing certain situations in our minds. Dr. Alex describes it as the power to be able to imagine things that don't exist y...

In today's episode, Molly welcomes back Dr. Alex Korb! Molly and Alex are getting down to the why behind our brain behavior– why certain actions may trigger negative thoughts, and what we can do to go on an upward spiral rather than downward. As the episode starts, Dr. Alex sums up what we talked about the last time he was on– when downward spirals are triggered. To review that, think about being...

Molly is welcoming back to the show, Breaking Up with Sugar Warrior, Laura W. Laura was first on the show earlier this year in January, but is back to talk about her journey in Portugal and Spain. The theme of this episode can be summed up in one phrase, and is something that Molly likes to say to her audience "Live a big, beautiful life." To set the stage in answer to that mantra, Laura takes us...

Dr. B is back in today's episode with Molly for part two all about gut health. In this episode, Molly starts out with hard-hitting questions about what the problem is behind our gut health–what are the things that we do that completely wreck our gut microbiome? Dr. B breaks it down to these factors: saturated fat, sugar (including flours), salts, processed foods, alcohol, and Molly's topic of choi...

Today's episode features the Gut Health G.O.A.T., himself, Dr. Will Bulsiewicz. Molly chats with Dr. B about all things gut health and how it affects not only our bodies, but our mental wellbeing as well. As the episode begins, Molly and Dr. B discuss his turning point that made him pursue his well-established career in gastroenterology as a clinical practitioner rather than researcher.  This prop...

Today's episode is all about the food, but not about the food as Molly and Susan dive into Susan's journey and relationship with food. Even as young as four years old, Susan, like many of us, remembers and reflects on defining moments she had with food that dictated her relationship with food, particularly sugar, in adulthood. As the two discuss, Molly and Susan note that when we are faced with fo...

Today's episode calls for a pencil and notepad as Molly and Dr. Marty Lerner dig deep into the psychological relationship we have with food and how it affects us. Dr. Lerner, being a pioneer in the field of food addiction, starts off by talking about his foundations in research of eating disorders and food addiction and then his transition to the treatment of the individuals suffering from these d...

Today's episode is a heart to heart as Molly and Debbie dive into their discussion of the innate human need for connection and how it can be blocked by the armor we encase ourselves in. The healing, open discussion that Debbie presents to us challenges our need to feel that we are in control over our decisions.  There are times where we all so desperately need help, but what happens when we are af...