Season 3, Episode 22 of the Medical Fitness Podcast is live, and it is an extremely insightful conversation.

In this episode, Thomas sits down with Courtney McCliment, a registered dietitian, certified diabetes educator, and manager of the Lifestyle Medicine Department at Valley Medical Center. Courtney oversees physical and occupational therapists, registered dietitians, cardiac and pulmonary rehab staff, and medical exercise personnel across a large multidisciplinary team. Her advocacy for exercise, behavior change, and patient empowerment is unmatched.

This conversation goes far deeper than standard discussions about nutrition or exercise. Highlights include:
1. Why “move more” is not enough.
Courtney explains why physical activity must be viewed as a prescription, not a hobby, and why relying on generic advice leaves patients stuck. She details how movement drives metabolic change, supports long-term disease management, and gives patients genuine control over their health.

2. Strength training as a cornerstone therapy for insulin resistance.
Courtney outlines how skeletal muscle drives glucose metabolism, why under-muscled patients face major metabolic limitations, and how resistance training is essential for improving type 2 diabetes outcomes.

3. The real story behind bariatric surgery preparation.
Courtney walks through the rigorous nutrition and behavioral requirements patients must meet long before surgery, and why expecting them to self-diagnose their own exercise plan often backfires. Her examples make clear why structured guidance matters, especially for medically complex individuals.

4. How continuous glucose monitors (CGM) can transform motivation.
She explains how CGM provides immediate feedback about the effects of meals, stress, sleep, and exercise, and why this real-time insight often increases patient engagement far more than traditional education. It is one of the most powerful behavior-change tools now available.

5. A practical look at motivational interviewing.
Courtney shares how true behavior change conversations differ from education or advice-giving, why fear-based messaging fails, and how eliciting a patient’s own motivations creates lasting adherence. Her examples are relevant to clinicians, coaches, and anyone trying to help people change.

This is one of those episodes that blends science, clinical wisdom, and real-world experience in a way that can reshape how clinicians and fitness professionals think about patient care.
If you work in medicine, rehab, fitness, lifestyle medicine, diabetes education, bariatric services, or health coaching, you will take something meaningful from this conversation.
Listen to Season 3, Episode 22 now and share it with colleagues who believe lifestyle change deserves a seat at the clinical table.

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🎙️ New Episode: Season 3, Episode 21 — “Bridging Lifestyle Medicine and Medical Fitness with Dr. Andrew Mock”

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Andrew Mock, physician, educator, and national leader in lifestyle medicine and medical fitness. Dr. Mock currently serves as Chair of the Fitness & Medicine Member Interest Group for the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, Chair of the MFA Physician Advisory Committee, and a member of the MFA Board of Directors. He’s also delivering a keynote presentation at the upcoming Medical Fitness Association Annual Conference in San Diego.

Dr. Mock shares his personal journey and his evolving vision for how medicine and fitness must merge to build a healthier society. Together, we explore five key topics shaping the future of medical fitness:

✅ The Six Pillars of Lifestyle Medicine in a Medical Fitness Context
Dr. Mock discusses how the six pillars—nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress management, social connection, and avoidance of risky substances—can be assessed and integrated into every medical fitness program. While nutrition and exercise often receive attention, he highlights sleep and connection as profoundly underutilized levers for improving health outcomes. He also emphasizes how substance use, while often overlooked in fitness settings, should be addressed through proper screening and referral systems.

✅ The Underrated Role of Sleep and Recovery
Sleep emerged as one of the most powerful yet neglected health determinants. Dr. Mock explains that inadequate sleep impacts every physiological system and is linked to billions of dollars in productivity loss annually. He and Jeff discuss how wearables and self-monitoring can help track improvements in sleep and recovery as patients progress through medical fitness programs. They also explore how progressive resistance training and structured recovery can coexist under the same “sleep” pillar, representing two sides of the same restorative process.

✅ Behavior Change and Habit Formation
Dr. Mock outlines practical methods for promoting sustained lifestyle change, including habit stacking, self-monitoring, and shifting from outcome-oriented to process-oriented goals. He explains how simple prompts (like linking daily activities to desired behaviors) and connecting patients to their deeper “why” can dramatically improve adherence. The discussion reinforces that long-term success depends not on willpower alone but on intentional structure, tracking, and meaning.

✅ The Role of Exercise Professionals in Clinical Integration
Exercise professionals, Dr. Mock notes, are essential to bridging the gap between medicine and wellness. Since most physicians receive minimal formal training in exercise prescription, fitness professionals with advanced education and credentials play a key role in guiding patients safely and effectively. He emphasizes the importance of two-way communication between clinicians and fitness specialists, data sharing, and referral quality control to build trust and continuity of care.

✅ Policy and Advocacy: Coverage Determination and the Path to Reimbursement
Dr. Mock provides an inside look at current efforts to secure insurance coverage for exercise services through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). He explains the ongoing work between the Medical Fitness Association, Physical Activity Alliance, and American College of Lifestyle Medicine to expand national coverage determinations and modify the Physician Fee Schedule so that preventive exercise interventions can be reimbursed. The discussion also touches on the need for standardized exercise reporting (CERT) and better data capture to strengthen the c

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🎙️ New Episode of the Medical Fitness Podcast

Guest: Dr. Michelle Segar, University of Michigan

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Michelle Segar, NIH-funded scientist, author of No Sweat and The Joy Choice, and internationally recognized expert on sustainable behavior change. With more than 30 years of research and coaching experience, Dr. Segar has advised organizations like the World Health Organization, Kaiser Permanente, and Walmart on how to create lasting lifestyle change.

What we cover:

• The “lightbulb” moment: Dr. Segar discovered early in her career that even cancer survivors who benefited from exercise stopped once a study ended. This sparked her life’s work—understanding why people quit and how to help them stick with movement for good.
• Why people don’t stay active: It’s rarely “lack of time” or “no motivation.” These are smokescreens. The real issues often include guilt about prioritizing self-care, choosing exercise they don’t enjoy, or linking exercise only to weight loss.
• A better approach: Her coaching model blends three pillars:

1. Pleasure & positivity – helping people actually enjoy movement.

2. Permission for self-care – reframing exercise as fuel for life, not a selfish act.

3. Flexible strategies – building a toolkit of options so people can adapt when life gets busy.

• The power of the “why”: Long-term motivation comes from immediate benefits like energy, stress relief, and feeling better now—not distant goals like weight loss.
• Changing mindsets, not just behaviors: Sustainable activity starts with shifting beliefs about what exercise means. Dr. Segar calls it liberating people from cultural “brainwashing” around exercise.

Key takeaway:
If we want people to sustain physical activity, we must help them discover ways to feel good while moving. Enjoyment, permission, and flexible strategies—not shame, rigid goals, or generic prescriptions—are what create lifelong habits.

📌 Dr. Segar will also present an MFA webinar on October 7th: Reframing Exercise: Why our approach to exercise counseling causes harm and what science shows is a better way. She will also be leading a pre-conference workshop at the ACLM annual conference in November.

Connect with Dr. Michelle Segar:

• Website & newsletter: michellesegar.com
• Email: available via her website contact page
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellelsegar/

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