In this episode of the Health, Wellth & Wisdom Podcast, Nicole talks with fitness coach, author, and podcast host Lindsey Mathews about what perimenopause actually is, the signs women may notice as they enter this season, and how shifts in estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone can affect the way women feel and respond to diet and exercise.

Lindsey explains why she considers strength training a form of “midlife medicine,” how nutrition and recovery may need to evolve during the menopausal transition, and which popular perimenopause trends and fear-based messages women can safely ignore.

If you’re navigating perimenopause - or simply want a more evidence-based, sustainable approach to strength, nutrition, and health in midlife - this conversation is for you.

Learn more from Lindsey through her podcast, Nourish and Strengthen with Trainer Lindsey, and her book, Perimenopause Fitness and Nutrition For Dummies.

Lindsey’s Instagram: 

https://www.instagram.com/trainerlindsey/

Perimenopause Fitness and Nutrition For Dummies Pre-Sale: 

http://www.moxiebylindsey.com/books

In this episode, Nicole talks about why today’s body and weight-loss landscape feels eerily familiar to Millennial women who grew up in 90s and early-2000s diet culture; and why old beliefs about food, weight, discipline, and thinness can start feeling louder when everyone around you suddenly seems to be getting smaller.

Nicole breaks down how you can be “done with dieting” and still mentally follow the rules you learned from Weight Watchers, Atkins, SlimFast, The Biggest Loser, and the rest of the diet culture that raised us. She also explores the important difference between wanting to lose body fat and feeling like you need to become as small as possible to be successful, disciplined, or worthy.

Throughout this episode you’ll learn what sustainable, health-promoting fat loss can look like; including creating a manageable calorie deficit, protecting muscle and strength, eating enough to support your body, maintaining flexibility around food, and building habits that can survive your actual life. Nicole also introduces The Rewrite, her approach to identifying the old diet-culture rules still influencing your choices and replacing them with evidence-based nutrition skills so you can finally create fat loss you can confidently maintain. 

Apply for 1:1 Nutrition Coaching:

https://nutritioncoachingwithnicole.com/1-on-1-coaching

Check your HSA/FSA Eligibility:  

https://app.truemed.com/qualify/tm_qual_q0c29x5n9v

In this episode, Nicole unpacks the difference between pursuing thinness at all costs and pursuing fat loss in a way that actually supports your health. She shares her own experience of being at her smallest - and simultaneously her least healthy - as years of restriction and over-exercise cost her energy, strength, her menstrual cycle, bone health, and a healthy relationship with food.

Nicole also explores where our obsession with thinness comes from, how 90s and early-2000s diet culture taught women to equate smaller bodies with health, discipline, and worth, and how weight stigma and fear of gaining weight continue to influence the way women eat and care for their bodies today.

Throughout this episode you’ll learn how to tell the difference between weight loss at all costs and health-promoting, sustainable fat loss - including why muscle, strength, nutrition, menstrual health, energy, flexibility around food, and your ability to maintain your habits matter more than getting the number on the scale as low as possible.

Because weight loss tells you your body got lighter, but it doesn’t tell you what you lost to get there. If you want to lose body fat without bringing back the restriction, food fear, or diet-culture rules you grew up with, DM Nicole REWRITE on Instagram or fill out a 1:1 coaching application.

Apply for 1:1 Nutrition Coaching:

https://nutritioncoachingwithnicole.com/1-on-1-coaching

Check your HSA/FSA Eligibility:  

https://app.truemed.com/qualify/tm_qual_q0c29x5n9v

If you grew up in the ’90s or early 2000s, there’s a good chance some of the diet rules you learned back then are still influencing the way you eat, exercise, and think about weight loss today.

In this episode, Nicole breaks down seven common diet-culture beliefs Millennial women may still be subscribing to without realizing it - from believing eating less is always better, to treating the scale like a report card, “saving” calories, earning food with exercise, and assuming struggle means you need more discipline.

You’ll also learn the evidence-based rewrite for each rule, why knowing better doesn’t always mean you can immediately do better, and how old diet-culture conditioning can sabotage sustainable fat loss.

If you’re ready to lose body fat without reliving ’90s and early-2000s diet culture, apply for 1:1 nutrition coaching through the link in the show notes or DM Nicole REWRITE on Instagram.

Apply for 1:1 Nutrition Coaching:

https://nutritioncoachingwithnicole.com/1-on-1-coaching

Check your HSA/FSA Eligibility:  

https://app.truemed.com/qualify/tm_qual_q0c29x5n9v

In this episode of the Health, Wellth & Wisdom Podcast, Nicole explores why guilt, fear, and shame can create urgency, but rarely create the flexible, sustainable habits required for lasting fat loss.

Throughout this conversation you'll learn what research says about self-compassion, acceptance, weight stigma, and behavior change, plus how the diet-culture messages Millennial women learned in the ’90s and early 2000s continue to influence food choices, exercise, body image, and expectations today.

Nicole also shares how to rewrite old diet culture scripts and pursue body composition goals without punishment, and create an evidence-based approach to nutrition that supports fat loss and a healthier relationship with food.

Ready to lose body fat without reliving diet culture? Apply for one-on-one nutrition coaching through the link in the show notes, or DM Nicole REWRITE on Instagram.

Apply for 1:1 Nutrition Coaching:

https://nutritioncoachingwithnicole.com/1-on-1-coaching

Check your HSA/FSA Eligibility:  

https://app.truemed.com/qualify/tm_qual_q0c29x5n9v

In this episode of Health, Wellth & Wisdom, host and head coach, Nicole Hagen shares a conversation originally recorded for fellow nutrition coach Lisa Franz’s podcast, Nutrition Coaching & Life. Throughout the conversation you’ll hear about Nicole’s journey from restrictive eating and calorie-focused exercise to strength training, flexible consistency, and her healthiest relationship with food yet. 

You’ll also learn about: 

• why hyper-independent women struggle with sustainable weight loss, 

• how perfectionism fuels all-or-nothing thinking, 

• why the scale is only one measure of progress, 

• what healthy habits can look like while raising two toddlers

• why “good enough” meals and workouts still count

• why sustainable progress is less about discipline and more about learning how to adapt when life doesn’t go according to plan

If you’ve ever thought you should be able to manage your nutrition and weight-loss goals on your own, or felt like a workout or meal didn’t count because it wasn’t ideal, this conversation is for you.

Lisa’s Instagram: 

https://www.instagram.com/nutritioncoachingandlife/

Nicole’s Instagram: 

https://www.instagram.com/nutritionwithnicole/

In this episode of the Health, Wellth & Wisdom Podcast, host Nicole Hagen unpacks the toxic diet culture that shaped an entire generation of millennial women and explains why so many of us are still trying to unlearn the messages we absorbed decades later.

Throughout this episode, you'll learn:

• Why growing up during the 90s and early 2000s created unique relationship with food, weight, and body image struggles for many millennial women

• Five lies diet culture taught us about health, weight loss, and our bodies

• Why eating less isn't automatically healthier, and what research says about nourishing your body for energy, recovery, muscle preservation, and long-term health

• How to pursue body composition goals without sacrificing your well-being

• How labeling foods as "good" and "bad" fuels guilt, all-or-nothing thinking, and a complicated relationship with eating

• How to recognize the difference between pursuing fat loss because you genuinely want to feel stronger and healthier versus chasing the impossible standard diet culture convinced us would finally make us feel "enough"

If brands like Special K, SlimFast, SnackWell’s, Yoplait, Weight Watchers, Cosmo, America's Next Top Model, and/or The Biggest Loser were a part of your childhood this episode will help you understand how the messages shared by those brands shaped us so we can stop blaming ourselves and choose a healthier path forward.

Apply for 1:1 Nutrition Coaching:

https://nutritioncoachingwithnicole.com/1-on-1-coaching

Check your HSA/FSA Eligibility:  

https://app.truemed.com/qualify/tm_qual_q0c29x5n9v

In this episode of the Health, Wellth & Wisdom Podcast, host Nicole Hagen unpacks the concept of vanishing caloric density and explains why it's so easy to eat more than you realize - even when you genuinely don't feel like you're eating that much.

If you've ever wondered why a bag of chips seems to disappear in minutes while a balanced meal keeps you full for hours, this episode is for you. Nicole shares how understanding vanishing caloric density can help you build meals that naturally leave you feeling fuller, more energized, and better equipped to pursue sustainable weight loss.

Throughout this episode, you'll learn:

• What vanishing caloric density is

• Why your brain doesn't count calories and instead relies on cues like volume, protein, fiber, water, and chewing to regulate fullness

• Why highly processed foods make it easier to consume calories without feeling satisfied

• Practical ways to increase satiety by building meals around protein, fiber, water, and volume

• How to navigate calorie-dense foods without fear, guilt, or an all-or-nothing mindset

Reaching your sustainable weight loss doesn’t require eliminating potato chips or never eating processed foods. It requires understanding how different foods influence your hunger, fullness, and appetite so you can make informed decisions that support your goals. When you stop relying on willpower and start working with your biology, healthy eating gets a whole lot easier.

Apply for 1:1 Nutrition Coaching:

https://nutritioncoachingwithnicole.com/1-on-1-coaching

Check your HSA/FSA Eligibility:  

https://app.truemed.com/qualify/tm_qual_q0c29x5n9v

In this episode of the Health, Wellth & Wisdom Podcast, host Nicole Hagen explores an important question: Can GLP-1 medications affect your mood?

While these medications are well known for reducing appetite, quieting food noise, and supporting weight loss, far less attention has been given to their potential psychological and emotional effects. Nicole takes an evidence-based, nuanced look at what researchers know so far, why experiences vary from person to person, and why conversations about mental health deserve to be part of the GLP-1 discussion.

Throughout this episode, you'll learn:

• How GLP-1 medications work and why they may influence more than just appetite

• What current research says about mood changes, emotional blunting, and the brain's reward system

• Why food provides more than nutrition, and how losing interest in food can create an unexpected emotional adjustment

• How rapid weight loss and identity shifts can impact mental and emotional well-being

• Why some people feel happier on GLP-1 medications while others report feeling "flat"

• Questions to ask yourself if you notice changes in your mood and when it's time to talk with your healthcare provider

As GLP-1 medications become increasingly common, it's important to move beyond oversimplified conversations that label them as either miracle drugs or something to fear. Whether you're taking a GLP-1 medication yourself, considering one, or simply trying to better understand a loved one's experience, this episode offers a compassionate, evidence-based perspective that acknowledges both the physical and emotional aspects of treatment.

Apply for 1:1 Nutrition Coaching:

https://nutritioncoachingwithnicole.com/1-on-1-coaching

Check your HSA/FSA Eligibility:  

https://app.truemed.com/qualify/tm_qual_q0c29x5n9v

In this episode of the Health, Wellth & Wisdom Podcast, host and head coach, Nicole Hagen answers four listener-submitted questions covering some of the most talked-about topics in nutrition and wellness right now: creatine, the viral "bean diet," GLP-1 medications and mood, and how to navigate the emotional ups and downs of measuring progress.

Throughout this episode, you'll learn:

• Whether creatine is only beneficial for heavy lifters or if women can benefit from taking it too

• The research behind creatine supplementation for muscle health, strength, and aging

• Why the viral "bean diet" may be helping some people lose weight 

• The role fiber plays in satiety, blood sugar regulation, and sustainable weight loss

• Whether GLP-1 medications can affect mood and why some people report feeling emotionally different while taking them

• Why scale and measurement fluctuations can feel emotionally charged and how to develop a healthier relationship with progress 

• Practical ways to separate your worth and effort from the number you see on the scale

If you've ever wondered whether you need the latest supplement, questioned a viral nutrition trend, or felt discouraged when your progress didn't look the way you expected, this episode will leave you feeling informed, reassured, and better equipped to navigate your weight loss journey with more nuance and self-compassion.

Apply for 1:1 Nutrition Coaching:

https://nutritioncoachingwithnicole.com/1-on-1-coaching

Check your HSA/FSA Eligibility:  

https://app.truemed.com/qualify/tm_qual_q0c29x5n9v

In this episode of the Health, Wellth & Wisdom Podcast, host and head coach, Nicole Hagen shares 6 wellness industry trends that are wildly overrated and explains why complexity often distracts people from the foundational behaviors that actually move the needle when it comes to health and sustainable weight loss.

Throughout this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why adding trendy ingredients like beef tallow, collagen, or protein powder doesn’t make ultra-processed foods “healthy”

• What the “health halo effect” is and how it can unintentionally lead to overeating

• Why demonizing processed and convenience foods ignores accessibility, privilege, and real-life capacity

• Why supplements are often marketed as solutions to problems rooted in inconsistent foundational habits

• The truth about “natural” foods and why natural doesn’t always mean healthier or safer

• Why most people would benefit more from mastering basic health behaviors before diving into biohacking and expensive optimization tools

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by wellness advice online or wondered whether you really need all the powders, gadgets, routines, and optimization strategies influencers promote, this episode will help you separate what’s flashy from what’s actually effective.

Apply for 1:1 Nutrition Coaching:

https://nutritioncoachingwithnicole.com/1-on-1-coaching

Check your HSA/FSA Eligibility:  

https://app.truemed.com/qualify/tm_qual_q0c29x5n9v