Thriving As A Physician: How to Lose Weight & Love Your Life

For years I assumed I'd lose weight over the summer. Warm weather, fresh food, more time off — it just felt like lighter eating should happen on its own. It took me way too long to notice the truth: summer was actually the hardest time of year for me, and I usually gained. If that's you too, this episode is for you. I walk through the four things that quietly make summer eating harder — disrupted...

You set the goal: get the weight off before the long weekend, before the conference, before you see those people again. And you're great at it… for a couple weeks. Then you get sick, or your kid gets sick, or you have a week from hell — and one off day turns into "well, I blew it, I'm done." In this episode I sit down with registered psychotherapist Brian Baumal to talk about why that keeps happen...

You overate last night, so today you tell yourself you'll be "extra careful." A light salad. Maybe skip lunch. It sounds smart. It sounds like the responsible thing to do. But that little plan to make up for it? It sets up your next overeating episode. In this episode I break down the binge-restrict cycle — the hidden loop that keeps almost everyone stuck. I'll show you why trying to stop yourself...

Do you think about food almost all day — what you ate, what you shouldn't have, what you really want, how to finally fix it?  I didn't realize how much space food was taking up in my brain until I started to get a handle on it.  In this episode I walk through five reasons your brain won't stop thinking about food — and a couple of them you've probably never heard before — plus the practical things...

Ever come home from a vacation feeling like you have to spend the next two weeks undoing it? I get it. In this episode I'm talking with Dr. Krystal Sodaitis, host of the Luxury Cruising podcast, about how to make cruise vacations actually work — for your wallet, your family, and your eating. Krystal shares her best tips for booking the right room, finding deals without going generic, and using a t...

You know that pattern. You decide a food is off limits. You white-knuckle through the first few days. Then you cave — and somehow eat way more of it than you would have if you'd just let yourself have some in the first place. In this episode, I'm flipping the script on that whole approach. Your desires around food are valid. The crunch, the saltiness, the convenience, the spontaneity, the way it f...

Have you hit the wall? You've tried to lose weight or change your eating more than a few times now. Maybe it worked for a little while. Then it didn't. And now you're sitting there wondering if there's even any point in trying again. I recorded this episode for you, because I know how exhausting it is to keep trying and yet keep feeling like you're failing. In episode 350 of the Thriving As A Phys...

The appointments that drain you most aren't always the hardest clinically. They're the ones where you said all the right things and the patient still left frustrated. Or the encounter where something felt off and you couldn't name it — but you carried stress from it through the day (and maybe into a 3pm break-room raid).   In this episode, I talk with Christine Miles — a listening expert and CEO o...

You've tried the diets. You've made the plans. And yet, there you are at 3pm, or after a brutal clinic day, or standing in the hotel breakfast buffet, eating more than you meant to — and feeling awful about it after. Here's what nobody has told you: the problem isn't that you can't stick to a plan. It's that every plan you've been given has been pointed at the wrong target. In this episode, I'm sh...

You've tried the diets. You know what you're "supposed" to eat. And yet there you are at 3pm, somehow in the break room eating cookies you didn't even plan to touch — and spending the rest of the afternoon beating yourself up about it.   Here's what I want you to hear: that's not a food problem. And diet culture has been handing you the completely wrong answer for years.   In this episode, I'm bre...

You submitted the questions. Now here are the real answers. In this episode, I'm sharing a replay of a live Q&A I did the other week — and I answer the questions you're probably too embarrassed to ask out loud.  Why can't you stop eating after supper even though you know better? Is it worth tracking macros? Do supplements actually work? What about exercise in menopause? And is change even possible...

If you've lived life in a larger body, you know what it's like when you just feel "too big".  You look at a group photo and instead of seeing a great memory, all you see is how much space you take up. You second-guess what you order at a catered lunch because you're sure someone's watching what the overweight doctor eats. And that shrinking doesn't stop at your body — it starts showing up in your...

Welcome to Part 3 of our annual Thriving in the New Year interview series! Every January, I sit down with physician coaches to hear how they're thinking about the year ahead—and there's always something that shifts my perspective. I'm joined by Dr. Sonia Wright (pediatric radiologist and midlife sex coach), Dr. Sarah Smith (family physician and charting coach), and Dr. Lea Grace Famularcano (famil...

Welcome to Part 2 of our annual Thriving in the New Year interview series! Every January, I sit down with physician coaches to hear how they're approaching the year—and I always walk away with something that shifts my thinking.   I'm joined by Dr. Maneesha Ahluwalia (life coach and former infectious disease physician), Dr. Nora Vasquez (internist and high-performance coach), and Dr. Ladan Davallow...

Welcome to the first episode of our annual Thriving in the New Year interview series! Every January, I sit down with physician coaches to hear how they're approaching the year ahead—and I always learn something that shifts my own thinking. This year is no different. I'm joined by three brilliant physician coaches: Dr. Jessie Mahoney (pediatrician and mindfulness coach), Dr. Allison Anderson (cardi...

You've made it through another year. Maybe the holidays went well. Maybe you've eaten more cookies than planned and you're already dreading January. Either way, here's what I want you to know: Nothing is wrong with you. In this episode, I share my year-end love letter to you—a physician who's probably being too hard on herself. We'll talk about why your experience around food isn't a given (even w...

In medical school, we learned to push feelings down, distance ourselves from them, and keep working no matter what. That is an essential skill as a doctor - we have to be able to keep a clear head in intensely emotional times.  But it's also the reason why food feels so hard to control as doctors. In this episode, I'm breaking down: why emotions drive so much of our eating (even when it doesn't fe...

You're standing in front of the break room donuts at 2pm wondering: Am I actually hungry? Or have I already eaten too much? Should I eat this? What if I'm eating when I'm not really hungry? If you've ever questioned whether you're "really" hungry, this episode is for you. Diet culture taught us to stop trusting ourselves. Eat less, less, less. And medical training taught us to ignore our bodies -...

You keep doing the same thing with food over and over. And you can't figure out why. Here's what's happening: there are hidden obstacles between you and healthy eating. You just can't see them yet. Because we're not trained to look for obstacles - we just blame ourselves instead.  And that's not fair. In this episode, I teach you how to spot the hidden obstacles that keep tripping you up with food...

You've started over so many times. Every Monday, every January 1st, promising yourself this time will be different. Then a few weeks later you're right back where you started, eating takeout in your car after clinic, wondering what's wrong with you.   Here's what nobody tells you: It's not that you failed. It's how you started.   In this episode, I'm sharing exactly how I would start over with eve...

You've delivered babies, managed codes, diagnosed complex cases. So why can't you figure out your eating? If you've ever thought "I'm a doctor, I should know better" while reaching for food you didn't plan to eat, this episode is for you. I break down exactly why food feels so much harder than everything else you've mastered - and why it has nothing to do with being stupid or lacking knowledge. Yo...

Ever feel like you're either "all in" or completely off track with your eating? Like you need to do everything perfectly or you might as well not try? In this episode, I dive deep into the perfectionism block that keeps so many physicians in the frustrating cycle of trying harder but always feeling stuck. I share why there's actually no "right way" to lose weight, despite what diet culture tells u...

You know that awful feeling after a weekend of eating way off-plan? The shame, the self-blame, the "I'll start over Monday" drama? There's a better way to handle these situations - and it's something you already know how to do. In this episode, I share exactly what happened during my recent lake weekend where I ate way more chips, pizza, and treats than usual, and how I approached it using the sam...

Think summer should be easy for healthy eating? Ha. You're covering for everyone on vacation, your kids are home with zero routine, and you're stress-eating in your car between patients. I'm sitting on my deck talking about why summer is actually brutal for physician eating. It's not your fault - summers create the perfect storm of schedule chaos, family stress, and social food pressure. But here'...

This is Part 2 of my live Q&A series where I dive into the deeper questions that keep physicians up at night. The stuff that makes you wonder if you're broken (spoiler: you're not). In this episode, I answer:  Is it food addiction or emotional eating? When it feels like "I must eat and I don't know how to not do it" - and what labels actually help vs hurt  What to do about sweet tooth cravings hit...