When you’re focused on fat loss, sometimes it isn’t more food you’re craving — it’s texture. In this Mini Mikkipedia episode, Mikki tackles one of the most common complaints she hears: where did all the crunch go? She shares 27 low-calorie ways to add crunch, freshness and satisfaction back into meals without relying on calorie-dense extras that can quickly eat into your budget. From cabbage, radish and sugar snap peas to crispy air-fried vegetables, pickles, sauerkraut, nori and edamame, there are plenty of options beyond crackers and nuts. Mikki also explains how preparation methods, different vegetable cuts and clever use of seasonings can completely change the eating experience — proving that a fat-loss meal doesn’t have to be soft, sad or boring.

In this episode

• 27 low-calorie foods that bring crunch and texture to meals
• Why nuts, seeds and crispy chickpeas can be harder to budget during fat loss
• Simple air-fryer, roasting and quick-pickling ideas
• How different cuts and textures make salads and bowls more satisfying
• Using seasonings to make the same basic ingredients taste completely different

Contact Mikki:
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This week on the podcast Mikki speaks to Gina Urlich, clinical nutritionist and founder of Odi Nutrition. Mikki and Gina dive into why iron deficiency is such an important issue in babies and young children, and why iron needs increase so dramatically from around six months of age.

They unpack the difference between low iron stores, iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia, why iron matters so much for brain development, behaviour, immunity and growth, and some of the signs that might warrant further investigation.

They also get very practical about feeding. Gina explains haem versus non-haem iron, the best iron-rich foods for babies and toddlers, how to improve absorption, and why meeting iron requirements can be surprisingly difficult when you are dealing with small appetites and picky eaters.

They also discuss the baby and toddler food environment, what parents should know about common packaging claims, and the gap Gina saw in the market that ultimately led her to create Odi Nutrition.

This is a really practical episode for parents, grandparents and practitioners who want to better understand how to support iron status during these critical early years.

Gina Urlich is a clinical nutritionist, former nurse, mother of four and the founder of Odi Nutrition. She holds a Bachelor of Health Science in Nutritional Medicine and has spent much of her career working in women’s health and infant nutrition.

Her interest in early childhood nutrition grew through both her clinical work and her own experience as a mum. After creating resources to help parents navigate introducing solids, Gina saw just how much confusion there was around feeding babies well, particularly when it came to balancing good nutrition with the realities of busy family life.

That ultimately led her to create Odi Nutrition, a New Zealand baby and children’s food company focused on convenient, nutrient-dense wholefood options for growing children.

https://odinutrition.com/

https://www.instagram.com/gina.urlich/?hl=en 

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Food tracking, weighing portions and stepping on the scales are increasingly framed as obsessive behaviours—but are the tools themselves really the problem? In this Mini Mikkipedia episode, Mikki explores what the research actually says about self-monitoring for weight loss and maintenance. She looks at evidence showing that regular weighing and food tracking can improve awareness, support behaviour change and help people catch weight regain early, while also acknowledging that tracking can become problematic for some people. The crucial distinction appears to be how and why the tool is being used. Mikki discusses autonomous versus guilt-driven motivation, the importance of self-talk, and when numbers can shift from useful information to a measure of self-worth. The takeaway: tracking can be incredibly useful—but it should serve you, not control you. 

In this episode:

•  Why self-monitoring is consistently associated with successful weight management 
•  What research says about daily weighing, food logging and disordered eating 
•  When tracking shifts from useful feedback to unhealthy fixation 
•  Why motivation and self-talk can completely change the tracking experience 
•  How to use tracking temporarily, strategically and without needing to log forever

Contact Mikki:
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This week on Mikkipedia Mikki is joined by Brandon DaCruz, host of the Chasing Clarity podcast, for the first episode in a new collaborative series bringing together their perspectives on nutrition, fat loss and body composition.

They kick things off with a deep dive into rapid fat loss and protein-sparing modified fasting, starting with what a PSMF actually is and how each of them defines rapid fat loss in practice.

Mikki and Brandon explore the potential benefits of taking a more aggressive approach to fat loss, alongside the physiological, psychological and behavioural drawbacks that need to be considered.

They also get into how these strategies look with real clients. Brandon shares how he uses rapid fat-loss days, deficit deloads and high-carbohydrate refeeds, while Mikki explains how PSMF days and structured diet breaks are incorporated into Mondays Matter.

Finally, they discuss who rapid fat-loss strategies are not appropriate for, including circumstances where hormonal health, energy availability, training demands or physique goals mean a more conservative approach is warranted.

It’s a practical and nuanced discussion about when rapid fat loss can be a useful tool, when it can become counterproductive, and why context matters far more than simply labelling an approach as good or bad.

Brandon DaCruz at his website https://www.brandondacruzfit.com/, and on Instagram @brandondacruz_

Chasing Clarity https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/chasing-clarity-health-fitness-podcast/id1619611966 

Brandon DaCruz is an online nutrition and physique coach, accredited nutritionist, functional nutrition and metabolism specialist, and health and fitness educator with over 16 years of coaching experience.

Throughout his career, Brandon has helped more than 1,200 clients ranging from Olympia-level physique competitors and competitive athletes to business owners, executives, and lifestyle clients improve their body composition, optimize performance, and enhance their overall health. His coaching philosophy is rooted in an evidence-informed approach that combines the best available research with real-world coaching experience gained from working directly with clients in the trenches for over a decade and a half.

Brandon has been featured in leading industry publications including Men’s Fitness Magazine, Muscular Development, Bodybuilding.com, and the Alan Aragon Research Review, where he served as a contributing author.

Known for his ability to translate complex scientific concepts into practical, actionable strategies, Brandon specializes in helping clients lose body fat, build muscle, improve metabolic health, and create sustainable long-term results without relying on extremes or quick fixes.

Brandon is also the host of the Chasing Clarity Health & Fitness Podcast, a show ranked in the top 5% of all podcasts on Spotify. Through both solo episodes and conversations with many of the industry’s leading researchers, and educators, the podcast aims to bridge the gap between complexity and clarity in health, fitness, nutrition, and physique development. Each episode is designed to empower listeners through education and provide the tools needed to make informed decisions about their health and physique goals.

https://podcast.mikkiwilliden.com/270

https://podcast.mikkiwilliden.com/226 

https://podcast.mikkiwilliden.com/300 

https://podcast.mikkiwilliden.com/368 

https://podcast.mikkiwilliden.com/416 

https://podcast.mikkiwilliden.com/422 

https://podcast.mikkiwilliden.com/458 

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wo people can have the same body weight and BMI yet face very different metabolic risks. In this episode, Mikki explores the biological reasons men and women store fat differently and why location matters more than the number on the scale. She explains how oestrogen directs fat towards the hips and thighs before menopause, why declining oestrogen can shift fat towards the abdomen, and how immune signalling, liver function and cholesterol patterns differ between the sexes. Mikki also examines women’s surprising advantage in insulin sensitivity, the role of skeletal muscle in glucose control, and why waist circumference may predict cardiovascular risk better than BMI. This episode offers a nuanced look at fat distribution, menopause and metabolic health, while reinforcing the powerful role of nutrition, exercise and lifestyle.

Topics covered:

• Why equal body weight does not mean equal metabolic risk
• How oestrogen influences fat storage and fat release
• Why visceral fat often increases through menopause
• Sex differences in inflammation, liver health and cholesterol
• The roles of muscle mass and insulin sensitivity

Contact Mikki:
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In this episode, Kira joins Mikki to explore medical astrology through the broader lens of ancestral medicine. They discuss how astrology once sat alongside herbal medicine, food, seasonal living and close observation of the natural world as part of a practitioner’s medical map.

This is not a conversation about newspaper horoscopes or using a birth chart to diagnose disease. Instead, Kira explains how medical astrology may be used as a constitutional and reflective framework for considering temperament, health patterns, resilience, vulnerability and timing. They explore the roles of the four elements, the relationship between planetary cycles and the body, and whether astrology can sometimes provide language for experiences that are not easily captured by standard testing.

Drawing on Kira’s background in naturopathy and nutrition, they also examine how ancestral knowledge might complement modern healthcare without romanticising the past or abandoning scientific scrutiny. Ultimately, the conversation asks whether health is only about identifying what is wrong with the body, or whether it can also involve understanding the patterns the body may be expressing.

Kira is an Australian Naturopath, Nutritionist, Herbalist and Medical Astrologer. Known for her vibrant, straight-forward teaching style, Kira has lectured in Medical Astrology within Australia, North America and Europe.

In private practice for over 25 years, Kira combines her knowledge in Natural Medicine with her passion for Medical Astrology into a wonderful mix of mind/body medicine. 

Kira's Medical Astrology training and mentoring programs attract hundreds of students every year from around the world, with rave reviews about her teaching style and breadth of knowledge and application. In her free time, she competes in endurance sport and skis with her family as much as possible.

Follow Kira online: https://www.kirasutherland.com.au 

https://www.astrologyofhealth.com/about

https://podcast.mikkiwilliden.com/154

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Food noise, hunger and cravings are often treated as interchangeable, but they arise from different biological and psychological systems. In this episode, Mikki explains how physiological hunger develops gradually in response to the body’s energy needs, while cravings are shorter, cue-driven urges for specific foods. Food noise is different again: a persistent background hum of food-related thoughts linked to reward circuitry, rumination and heightened responsiveness to food cues.

Mikki explores why GLP-1 medications can dramatically quiet food noise, how stress, poor sleep and highly palatable foods can amplify it, and why intuitive eating may improve calmness around food without necessarily producing fat loss. She also outlines practical strategies, including improving protein and fibre intake, reducing easy access to trigger foods, addressing stress and sleep, and recognising when medical support may be appropriate.

Topics covered

• The biological differences between hunger, cravings and food noise
• Why food noise feels intrusive and repetitive
• How GLP-1 medications affect food reward pathways
• The role of stress, sleep and ultra-processed foods
• Practical strategies for reducing appetite-related noise

Contact Mikki:
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NZ listeners - save 10% off Calocurb by using the code Mikkipedia10 at www.calocurb.co.nz
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This week on the podcast Mikki chats to Darren Ellis about movement, mobility and function as we age. As always, a grounding conversation that speaks to Darren’s passion in the fitness world and helping us live our best most awesome lives.

Darren Ellis, MSc, has an aim to share what he’s learned with as many people as possible, teaching them that there are no shortcuts with exercise, but that it can be achievable, and even fun, with good coaching and a supportive peer group. 

He is a regular contributor to a variety of popular print and web based health and fitness magazines, public speaker, and consultant to sporting organisations, businesses, universities and television.

Specialties: Strength training and nutrition for fitness, sport, weight loss, muscle gain, longevity.

Darren can be found at: https://www.darrenellis.coach/ 

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Contact Mikki:
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Perfectionism can look like discipline, but when it comes to fat loss, it often creates the exact opposite result. In this episode, Mikki explores why capable, high-achieving people can be disciplined in every area of life yet struggle to stay consistent with food and exercise. She explains the difference between rigid and flexible dietary restraint, why one unplanned meal can trigger an all-or-nothing spiral, and how self-criticism makes it harder to recover from normal setbacks. Drawing on research into self-efficacy, dichotomous thinking and self-compassion, Mikki shares practical ways to build systems that reduce reliance on willpower. The goal is not to follow a plan perfectly. It is to interpret setbacks more constructively, make the next useful decision and keep showing up often enough for consistency to become routine.

Topics covered

• Why discipline is context-specific rather than a fixed personality trait
• How rigid restraint can increase food preoccupation and loss-of-control eating
• Why the story you tell yourself after a lapse matters more than the lapse
• How self-compassion supports control, confidence and continued effort
• Practical systems for replacing willpower with structure

Contact Mikki:
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NZ listeners - save 10% off Calocurb by using the code Mikkipedia10 at www.calocurb.co.nz
Save 20% on all Nuzest Products WORLDWIDE with the code MIKKI at www.nuzest.co.nz, www.nuzest.com.au or www.nuzest.com
Curranz supplement: MIKKI saves you 25% at www.curranz.co.nz or www.curranz.co.uk off your first order

Save 20% on all Nuzest Products WORLDWIDE with the code MIKKIPEDIA at www.nuzest.co.nz, www.nuzest.com.au or www.nuzest.com
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This week on the podcast Mikki speaks to two researchers, Professor Daniela Hurtado and Dr Regina Castaneda about the interaction between HRT and tirzepatide use. In a conversation led by Regina, they talk about differences that occur as women head through menopause, the role of HRT at mitigating some of these changes and the findings from their paper looking at how hormone therapy might enhance the therapeutic effects of tirzepatide in a postmenopausal population - discussing sex related differences.

Maria Daniela Hurtado Andrade, M.D., Ph.D., is from Ecuador where she completed her medical degree at the Pontifical Catholic University. Her curiosity about the causes of obesity led her to pursue doctorate-level training in Physiology and Pharmacology at the University of Florida. Her research focused on the brain's regulation of food intake. After her doctoral training, she completed Internal Medicine training at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pittsburgh, PA, and Endocrinology Fellowship specialty training at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. She joined Mayo Clinic Staff in 2019.

Dr. Hurtado Andrade is interested in understanding obesity's pathophysiology to develop more effective therapeutic interventions. She is part of the Mayo Clinic Precision Medicine for Obesity program. This program aims at developing an individualized approach to the management of obesity and its complications with the goal of improving outcomes. To facilitate the generation of this new knowledge, she has focused her clinical and research efforts on specific populations: perimenopausal women and breast cancer survivors. Dr. Hurtado's contributions and expertise to the field of obesity have been recognized nationally and internationally.

Regina Castaneda, MD, serves as a postdoctoral research fellow at Mayo Clinic in Florida. She is also an MSc candidate at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. Her work centres on women's health topics including obesity, diabetes, and menopause-related metabolic changes.

Dr Castaneda has contributed to research examining the effects of tirzepatide on weight loss in postmenopausal women and the potential influence of hormone therapy. She is affiliated with the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at Mayo Clinic

https://www.mayoclinic.org/biographies/hurtado-andrade-maria-daniela-m-d-ph-d/bio-20539671

https://www.linkedin.com/in/regina-castaneda-md-8b2371358/ 

Paper: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanogw/article/PIIS3050-5038(25)00145-1/abstract

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This episode explores emerging evidence that high-dose tirzepatide may reduce more than appetite and food noise in some people. Mikki breaks down a new case series involving three women who experienced anhedonia, a loss of motivation or interest in previously rewarding activities, despite achieving substantial weight loss. She explains the difference between “wanting” and “liking,” how GLP-1 medications may influence dopamine reward pathways, and why symptoms can feel different from depression or early medication side effects. The cases suggest that dose reduction may restore motivation without necessarily compromising weight-loss maintenance. While three cases cannot establish causation or prevalence, the findings highlight the importance of monitoring exercise, hobbies, social engagement, and overall enjoyment alongside weight, appetite, and gastrointestinal symptoms.

Topics Covered

• What anhedonia is and how it differs from depression
• Three cases involving high-dose tirzepatide
• The potential role of dopamine and reward pathways
• Why dose reduction improved symptoms in these cases
• Practical considerations for patients and prescribers

Contact Mikki:
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NZ listeners - save 10% off Calocurb by using the code Mikkipedia10 at www.calocurb.co.nz
Save 20% on all Nuzest Products WORLDWIDE with the code MIKKI at www.nuzest.co.nz, www.nuzest.com.au or www.nuzest.com
Curranz supplement: MIKKI saves you 25% at www.curranz.co.nz or www.curranz.co.uk off your first order