Ever feel overwhelmed by conflicting nutrition advice? One influencer swears by seed oils while another demonizes them. Your feed is flooded with "80 grams of protein" meal challenges, and you're left wondering: what should I actually believe?

In this episode, I sit down with Colleen Christensen, registered dietitian, recovering perfectionist, and the compassionate voice behind the wildly popular @No.Food.Rules Instagram account. Colleen shares her personal journey from competitive dietetics student to her struggle with eating disorders, and ultimately to becoming one of the leading voices helping people unlearn decades of diet culture programming.

This conversation is a masterclass in cutting through nutrition misinformation. Colleen breaks down why seed oils have become the internet's latest villain, what's really happening with the protein obsession, and why authority bias keeps us trusting the wrong "experts." But more importantly, she shares the one thing that changed everything for her recovery: learning to experiment with food instead of following rigid rules.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why reading the headline isn't enough, and how to actually evaluate nutrition studies
• The two biggest nutrition myths getting in the way of normal eating right now
• How to become your own best experiment (and why that's more powerful than any meal plan)
• Why the education piece matters just as much as the inspiration
• What it really means to find joy in midlife eating, beyond just saying "all foods fit"

Connect with Colleen:

• Instagram: @NoFoodRules

Related Episodes You'll Love:

• EP #137: 5 Tips for Spotting Nutrition Misinformation with Dr. Emma Beckett
• EP #138: 5 Things I Wish I Had Known About Intuitive Eating 10 Years Ago
• EP #123: You Are More Than What You Eat with Dr. Emma Beckett

What did you think of this episode? Click here and let me know!

📚 I wrote a book! Eat To Thrive During Menopause is out now! Order your copy today and start thriving in midlife.

Looking for more about midlife, menopause nutrition, and intuitive eating? Click here to grab one of my free guides and learn what I've got "on the menu" including my 1:1 and group programs. https://www.easy.link/menopause.nutritionist

If you’ve been told you should get more fiber but feel confused by the fiber-maxing trend and don’t want it to become a full-time job, this episode is for you.

In this episode, I explain why fiber matters in midlife and menopause, how it truly supports digestion, energy, heart health, and satisfaction, and why you don’t need to count every gram or chase perfection.

This episode offers clear, practical ways to think about soluble and insoluble fiber, bust common myths, and add more fiber to your eating in ways that feel doable, not overwhelming. This episode gives you permission to focus on patterns, not pressure.

Get the Mediterranean Salmon Smash recipe here: https://www.jennsalibhuber.ca/blog/fiber-without-tracking-in-menopause

Episodes mentioned:

🎙Episode 39 — What Every Woman Needs to Know About Heart Health, Cholesterol, and Menopause with Dr. Alex Verge, ND.
🎙Episode 98 — High Blood Pressure in Menopause and Midlife (The Estrogen Connection) with Dr. Alex Verge, ND.

What did you think of this episode? Click here and let me know!

📚 I wrote a book! Eat To Thrive During Menopause is out now! Order your copy today and start thriving in midlife.

Looking for more about midlife, menopause nutrition, and intuitive eating? Click here to grab one of my free guides and learn what I've got "on the menu" including my 1:1 and group programs. https://www.easy.link/menopause.nutritionist

Perimenopause can feel unpredictable, emotional, and deeply disorienting, especially when your body changes quickly and nothing seems to work the way it used to. In this story session, I'm joined by Britney, a 49-year-old therapist navigating late perimenopause, who shares her honest experience with weight changes, fatigue, mood swings, and the fear that often shows up alongside them.

Together, we talk about what it’s really like to move from panic and food rules into trust, attunement, and food freedom in midlife. This episode explores how stepping out of diet culture, wearing clothes that fit your today body, and finding supportive community can free up mental space and help you feel more like yourself again, even in the middle of uncertainty.

If you’re in perimenopause and struggling with body image, confusing symptoms, or your relationship with food, this conversation will help you feel less alone and more hopeful about what’s possible next.

Learn more about Britney's work here: www.lecofva.com

If you'd like to join the Feaster community, learn more at https://www.menopausenutritionist.ca/themidlifefeastcommunity

What did you think of this episode? Click here and let me know!

📚 I wrote a book! Eat To Thrive During Menopause is out now! Order your copy today and start thriving in midlife.

Looking for more about midlife, menopause nutrition, and intuitive eating? Click here to grab one of my free guides and learn what I've got "on the menu" including my 1:1 and group programs. https://www.easy.link/menopause.nutritionist

If the word “selfish” still triggers guilt for you, this episode is the permission slip you didn’t know you needed. I’m joined by the ever-wise Suzy Reading to explore why so many of us in midlife struggle to receive support, set boundaries, and prioritize our own needs — even when we know better.

We unpack the deep roots of people-pleasing, the pressure to be endlessly self-reliant, and how we can start to reclaim selfish as something powerful, not shameful. If you’ve been doing all the “right” self-care things and still feel depleted, this conversation will help you connect the dots — and offer a new, more compassionate way forward.

Learn more about Suzy Reading and her new book How To Be Selfish here: https://www.suzyreading.co.uk/

Did you enjoy this episode?

#58 - Rest to Reset - Redefining Self-Care with Suzy Reading

#132 - Why You Need to Put Capacity, Self-Compassion, & Self-Care on the Menu

What did you think of this episode? Click here and let me know!

📚 I wrote a book! Eat To Thrive During Menopause is out now! Order your copy today and start thriving in midlife.

Looking for more about midlife, menopause nutrition, and intuitive eating? Click here to grab one of my free guides and learn what I've got "on the menu" including my 1:1 and group programs. https://www.easy.link/menopause.nutritionist

Welcome to 2026, where it suddenly feels harder than ever to talk about menopause, health, and nutrition without the conversation getting hijacked by weight loss. In this longer-than-usual episode, I’m joined by family physician and writer Dr. Mara Gordon (who proudly describes herself as an “anti-diet doctor”) to talk about the question that's been on my mind lately: Is a weight-neutral menopause still possible?

Mara and I unpack what weight neutrality actually means in real-world healthcare, why the “weight loss fixes everything” narrative has gotten louder again, and whether GLP-1 medications can fit into an informed, values-based, body-autonomy-first approach to care.

In this episode, we talk about:

• What I mean by “weight neutral” (and why it’s not the same as “anti-weight loss”)
• Why menopause weight changes can create so much urgency, fear, and pressure
• How to support weight-neutral conversations even when cholesterol, blood sugar, or blood pressure change
• The “Mediterranean pattern,” and why nutrition strategies can help without turning into restriction
• GLP-1s: what they can do well (and what they cannot do)
• Why a lot of expectations about weight loss are shaped by culture, not medicine
• Why “I want to avoid meds” is often about something deeper than the medication

About my guest, Dr. Mara Gordon
Dr. Mara Gordon is a family physician in Camden, New Jersey. She’s also a writer, including NPR’s Real Talk with a Doc column, and she writes a Substack newsletter called Your Doctor Friend, about healthcare being a mess and how we can figure it out together. She’s also working on a book about diet culture and medicine, expected in 2027.

Links & resources

• Dr. Mara Gordon’s Substack: Your Doctor Friend
• NPR column: Real Talk with a Doc
• My website + free resources + coaching: menopausenutritionist.ca

If this episode hit home
Share it with a friend who’s feeling the pressure to “fix” her midlife body. And if you have a question you want me to tackle on a future episode, send it my way.

Enjoying the show?
Follow The Midlife Feast and leave a review. It helps more midlife women find evidence-based, weight-neutral support that doens't feel like a diet.

What did you think of this episode? Click here and let me know!

📚 I wrote a book! Eat To Thrive During Menopause is out now! Order your copy today and start thriving in midlife.

Looking for more about midlife, menopause nutrition, and intuitive eating? Click here to grab one of my free guides and learn what I've got "on the menu" including my 1:1 and group programs. https://www.easy.link/menopause.nutritionist

What if the loudest voice at your meals isn’t hunger, but an overactive alarm telling you you’re doing it “wrong”? In this episode, I dig into the link between food guilt and relentless food noise, and show how midlife shifts, hormones, sleep, mood, and capacity can crank that alarm even higher. Instead of doubling down on rules, I'll walk you through the 3-step process that replaces food morality with neutrality.

Grab The Food Guilt Decoder here: https://www.menopausenutritionist.ca/FoodGuiltDecoder

Episodes mentiond:

Episode 172: https://themidlifefeast.buzzsprout.com/1851576/episodes/18238090

Episode 151:https://www.buzzsprout.com/1851576/episodes/17038620

What did you think of this episode? Click here and let me know!

📚 I wrote a book! Eat To Thrive During Menopause is out now! Order your copy today and start thriving in midlife.

Looking for more about midlife, menopause nutrition, and intuitive eating? Click here to grab one of my free guides and learn what I've got "on the menu" including my 1:1 and group programs. https://www.easy.link/menopause.nutritionist

Sometimes the routines that feel the hardest to change are the ones that once helped us cope. In this episode, therapist and eating-disorder specialist Signe Darpinian breaks down how those patterns get wired into the brain, why diet culture reinforces them, and how midlife is actually an ideal time to reshape habits with clarity and compassion.

We dig into what it really takes to unwind the patterns that feel automatic, especially the ones that show up at the end of a long day or week. You’ll hear how small, well-timed shifts can loosen the grip of old routines and create space for choices that actually feel good.

We also explore simple tools for calming the mental swirl that fuels cravings and second-guessing, along with a gentler approach to movement and nourishment that supports energy, mood, and a steadier sense of self. It’s all about building habits that fit your real life, not forcing yourself into rigid rules.

If you’re stepping away from dieting and looking for routines that feel kinder, more sustainable, and more you, this conversation offers encouragement, clarity, and a practical path forward.

Connect with Signe Darpinian

Grab the Book: A Woman's Guide to Menopause, Body Image, and Emotional Well-being at Midlife
Instagram: @therapyrockspodcast
Website: www.signedarpinian.com

Like what you learned? Check out these other episodes!

• Finding Your Movement Rhythm with ADHD & Perimenopause with Christine Chessman
• How to Cancel Your Clean Plate Club Membership with Emily Sucher, RD
• How to Stop the Cycle of “Starting Over” Every Monday
• 3 Reasons Why Intuitive Eating Might Feel Hard with Abbie Attwood

What did you think of this episode? Click here and let me know!

📚 I wrote a book! Eat To Thrive During Menopause is out now! Order your copy today and start thriving in midlife.

Looking for more about midlife, menopause nutrition, and intuitive eating? Click here to grab one of my free guides and learn what I've got "on the menu" including my 1:1 and group programs. https://www.easy.link/menopause.nutritionist

What if the fear of “looking older” isn’t really about wrinkles at all, but about relevance, visibility, and power? I welcome registered dietitian and author Deb Benfield to dig into internalized ageism and the subtle ways culture teaches us to distrust our future selves. We walk about how it gets tangled up with diet culture, wellness trends, and perfectionism. Together we unpack why compliments like “you haven’t aged a bit” keep youth on a pedestal, how patriarchy and ableism shape appearance pressure, and what it takes to build a truly age-affirming life. We talk about:

• Defining internalized ageism and why it starts early
• Separating facts of aging from fear-based stories
• Naming patriarchy, sexism and ableism in appearance pressure
• How wellness trends can trigger relapse and obsession
• Autonomy vs pressure in skincare, movement and food
• Her book's framework for untangling systems and mending body trust
• Practical steps to notice, name and unlearn ageist thoughts
• Choosing freedom and values over perfection

Learn more about Deb's work:https://www.debrabenfield.com

Order Unapologetic Aging: https://www.debrabenfield.com/book

If you've loved today's conversation and found it helpful, please share it with a friend who needs to hear this and leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts

If you're ready to take the next step towards thriving in midlife, head to menopause nutritionist.ca to learn more about my one-to-one and group coaching programs, free resources, and where to get your copy of Eat to Thrive during menopause

What did you think of this episode? Click here and let me know!

📚 I wrote a book! Eat To Thrive During Menopause is out now! Order your copy today and start thriving in midlife.

Looking for more about midlife, menopause nutrition, and intuitive eating? Click here to grab one of my free guides and learn what I've got "on the menu" including my 1:1 and group programs. https://www.easy.link/menopause.nutritionist