In this episode, Dr. Carla DiGirolamo, a double board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist and reproductive endocrinologist, joins the conversation to discuss the intersection of fitness, performance, and hormone health. She delves into the science of optimizing health for high-performing individuals, shedding light on hormone therapy, recovery strategies, and how women can train in sync with their physiology. Don't miss this insightful discussion packed with expert knowledge and practical takeaw...
Apr 01, 2025•33 min
In this episode, Nicole Aucoin sits down with Dr. Shveta Raju, a primary care physician with a deep passion for integrating lifestyle changes into medicine. Dr. Raju shares her journey from a traditional medical background to pioneering a preventative care model through GC Healthy Living. She discusses the critical gaps in medical education regarding nutrition and fitness, the power of CrossFit and strength training, and the role of coaching in sustainable health transformations. Tune in to expl...
Jan 22, 2025•36 min
In this episode of Nutrition Made Simple , Meg Baker, a former nurse with 40 years of experience, shares her inspiring shift from hospital-based sick care to a focus on preventive health. She reveals how continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) transformed her understanding of blood sugar control, even while living a seemingly healthy lifestyle. Meg discusses how monitoring glucose levels has empowered her to take proactive steps toward preventing chronic diseases like diabetes. Now working as a nutr...
Oct 09, 2024•32 min
In this episode of the Nutrition Made Simple podcast, host Nicole is joined by Amanda Haar to explore the controversial topic of financial influence on global nutritional guidelines. They discuss how food and pharmaceutical giants like Pepsi, Coke, and Nestlé exert substantial control over these policies, as highlighted by the Noakes Foundation. The conversation focuses on the alarming fact that 95% of the experts who contributed to the 2020 food guidelines had financial ties to such companies, ...
Oct 04, 2024•26 min
In this episode of the Nutrition Made Simple podcast, Chris Williams, a California gym owner, shares his transformative journey toward better health and fitness. Battling weight issues and poor eating habits since adulthood, Chris discovered the power of fitness and nutrition at a CrossFit gym in 2013. He opens up about the challenges of prioritizing business success over personal health and how hiring a nutrition coach helped him regain balance. Chris highlights the significance of setting and ...
Aug 14, 2024•38 min
In this episode of the 'Nutrition Made Simple' podcast, Amanda and Nicole dive into the critical topic of cortisol, an essential stress hormone. They explain how cortisol influences health and wellness goals, stressing the need to balance its levels for optimal well-being. The discussion covers cortisol's role in stress responses, its effects on chronic diseases, and why saliva tests are preferable to blood tests for accurate measurements. The hosts also share practical tips for managing and nor...
Aug 07, 2024•26 min
In this episode, Amanda Haar delves into the essential relationship between gut health and overall wellness. She highlights research showing that 80% of our immune system resides in the gut and explains the gut-brain connection via the vagus nerve, shedding light on how our diet influences mental health. Amanda offers practical tips for enhancing gut health, such as eating a variety of whole, unprocessed foods, and incorporating prebiotics and probiotics into your diet. She also advises on reduc...
Jul 31, 2024•21 min
In this episode, Nicole Aucoin, interviews Ashley Martin, a long-time friend and nurse practitioner transitioning into preventative medicine. They discuss the importance of a holistic approach to health, including nutrition, stress management, and lifestyle changes. Ashley shares her experiences from working in the ER to starting a concierge medical practice focused on prevention and lifestyle interventions. Together, they emphasize the need for regular health assessments and the power of making...
Jun 17, 2024•40 min
In this episode, Nicole Aucoin welcomes Amanda Haar to discuss hormone health, focusing on menopause. They explore the challenges women face during perimenopause and menopause, including hormone fluctuations, sleep disturbances, stress, and lifestyle responsibilities. Amanda shares insights and strategies for managing these challenges through nutrition, emphasizing the importance of a holistic approach that includes optimizing protein intake, balancing carbohydrates, increasing fiber consumption...
Apr 30, 2024•28 min
In this episode, join Nicole Aucoin as she engages in a conversation with Dr. Tom McCoy, an advocate for CrossFit health and a proponent of shifting the healthcare approach from reactive to preventive. Dr. McCoy, a former ER physician, shares his insightful journey and frustrations within the conventional medical system, emphasizing the necessity of adopting a proactive mindset. The discussion explores the seamless integration of wellness practices with CrossFit, advocating for the inclusion of ...
Feb 07, 2024•44 min
In this podcast episode, Nicole Aucoin welcomes back Brittany Wharton to delve into her recent continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) experiment and its profound implications for health. Brittany shares her firsthand experience with CGM, shedding light on the role of vegetables and post-meal walks in stabilizing blood sugar levels. They also uncover surprising connections between stress, medications, and high-intensity exercise, offering a comprehensive understanding of factors affecting blood suga...
Jan 31, 2024•36 min
In this episode, Nicole Aucoin welcomes Avery Quinn, a breast cancer survivor who recently completed the 12-week scholarship program with Compete for a Cure. Avery shares her journey, discussing the challenges she faced during conventional treatment and the transformative impact of personalized nutrition coaching. They explore the importance of mindset, habit tracking, and the plate method in enhancing overall well-being. Avery also highlights the positive influence of her healthy habits on her ...
Jan 26, 2024•23 min
In this podcast episode, Nicole Aucoin engages in a dynamic conversation with Jon Acuff on the art of goal-setting. Jon shares a comprehensive approach to goal-setting, breaking it into five key categories: career, finances, relationships, health, and fun. He advocates a flexible and iterative strategy, encouraging listeners to "speed date" their goals and learn from ongoing experiments. Drawing from personal experiences, Jon delves into his fitness journey, emphasizing the importance of realist...
Jan 24, 2024•44 min
In this episode, Nicole Aucoin, founder and dietitian at Healthy Steps Nutrition, provides essential insights into the organization's four pillars of health: nutrition, sleep, daily movement, and mindset. Aucoin underscores the significance of adopting gradual, sustainable steps to prevent and reverse chronic diseases. She delves into practical tips for nutrition, emphasizing whole foods, balanced meals, and the reduction of processed foods and added sugars. She explores the mental fit framework...
Jan 19, 2024•25 min
In this podcast episode, Nicole Aucoin discusses the influence of our environment on our ability to achieve weight loss goals. She emphasizes the importance of making the healthy choice the easy choice by structuring our physical and social environments to support our goals. Aucoin shares personal examples and references a study on willpower to illustrate how environmental factors impact our decision-making process. She highlights the significance of a supportive social network and suggests seek...
May 31, 2023•15 min
In this episode, Nicole Aucoin explores the fascinating connection between food, mood, and mental health. Drawing on her conversation with Dr. Uma Naidoo, author of "Your Brain on Food," Nicole dives into the profound impact of nutrition on our mental well-being. She uncovers the dangers of ultra-processed foods and their link to mental illness while emphasizing the importance of consuming whole foods. Nicole shares key findings from a study indicating that high consumption of ultra-processed fo...
May 24, 2023•14 min
In this episode, two neonatologists, Dr. Benjamin Courchia and Dr. Daphna Yasova Barbeau, discuss the importance of a patient-centered approach to healthcare that prioritizes human interaction and addresses the root causes of burnout among healthcare professionals. The guests emphasized the need for healthcare professionals to prioritize themselves and their mental wellness, with Dr. Barbeau coining the term "moral injury" to describe the psychological distress experienced by healthcare workers ...
May 10, 2023•45 min
In this episode, Nicole interviews Amanda Harr, one of the lead dietitians at HSN, Amanda shares her knowledge and passion about hormones and how they affect weight loss. They cover various hormones, including thyroid, cortisol, serotonin, insulin, and sex hormones. They also touch on the role of sleep and stress management in maintaining an adequate metabolism. Overall, this episode aims to empower women to take control of their health by understanding their hormones and how they can affect the...
May 03, 2023•28 min
In this episode, Brittany and Nicole continue their discussion on Blood Sugar Management and Diabetes Education. They talk about the benefits of Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM), which is a tiny device that can be inserted into the body to show real-time glucose readings. CGM provides quick feedback without causing much pain, and it can help diabetic patients understand what's going on inside their bodies and why their blood sugar levels are spiking. They also emphasize the importance of taki...
Apr 28, 2023•37 min
Growing up, I never expected that my passion for helping others would lead me to become an expert on understanding blood sugar management and diabetes - a journey of discovery that began with my mother's unexpected diagnosis of breast cancer. Little did I know that this experience would ultimately shape my mission to educate others on the importance of holistic health and empower them to take control of their destiny. In this episode, I delved into the topic of blood sugar management and diabete...
Apr 26, 2023•33 min
Amanda Haar strives to master mindfulness in order to feel fulfilled, but she must first learn to create margin, practice mindful eating, and cultivate an attitude of gratitude to overcome her busyness-induced stress and conflicting goals. She is one of the lead dietitians at Healthy Steps Nutrition HQ and runs specialty programs such as hormone health and family nutrition coaching. Amanda was searching for a way to become fulfilled and free from the stress of overbooking her schedule and being ...
Feb 17, 2023•31 min
Today is going to be really fun. This podcast is actually geared for parents first but then meant to be shared with your teen. 10 things I wish I knew about nutrition as a teen athlete. Most teenagers, especially girls, want to look a certain way. We don't realize the food that we eat and how it fuels our body and how it's truly how we are going to build muscle, get stronger, get faster, and recover from strenuous workouts, especially when we are teen athletes. I remember growing up doing gymnas...
Feb 08, 2023•24 min
Today's podcast guest is Registered Dietitian and Healthy Steps Nutrition Mentor , Kayla Pollock. Kayla had an “AHA” moment when she was in college, learning about how her restrictive diet was slowing her metabolism and making her tired. She realized that food was fuel and that mindset had to change if she wanted to reach her goals. She learned that having a balanced meal of protein, carbohydrates and fat, along with adequate hydration, electrolytes and limited alcohol consumption, was key to fe...
Feb 01, 2023•47 min
Bethany Ream is the co-owner with her husband of CrossFit Wooster, a Nutrition Coach, CF-L1 Trainer, and a mother of 2. At CrossFit Wooster, Bethany enables people to discover the best version of themselves through nutrition coaching and fitness. With a background in supporting college students and young adults, Bethany has a history of mentoring and developing individuals through stressful and trying seasons of life. Along with utilizing her own experience of losing 50 lbs since March 2022, Bet...
Jan 25, 2023•34 min
Amanda Haar is a nutritionist and dietitian with a passion for helping people make healthy eating easier. She specializes in meal prepping for beginners and helping families create balanced meals that are both nutritious and delicious. Amanda Haar talks about meal prepping for beginners and how it can be a great way to help them stay on track with new year's resolutions. She talks about the basics of meal prepping, such as having the essential tools, figuring out a plan, and grocery shopping. Sh...
Jan 18, 2023•23 min
The research showed that the four common things that those who lived 9 extra years free from the chronic disease had in common were a healthy BMI, daily activity, alcohol intake, and smoking. To prevent and reverse chronic disease, it is important to understand why you are making the changes and how it will impact the people and things you love. It is also important to focus on 4 main pillars; quality sleep, daily movement, eating well and having a positive mindset. Lastly, it is important to pa...
Jan 11, 2023•24 min
Jon Acuff, a New York Times bestselling author and motivational speaker, confronts the irony of setting goals and staying motivated as he shares his story of how to prioritize health and create achievable milestones to see them through to success. Jon focuses on how to stay motivated and achieve goals. He learned that health is connected to achieving all goals and encourages listeners to find metrics to measure their progress and prioritize one goal per category. He also emphasizes the importanc...
Jan 04, 2023•45 min
Do you love your favorite recipes, but feel guilty about the unhealthy ingredients they contain? Well, have no fear! There are plenty of ways to put a healthy spin on your old standbys. In this episode, we will outline three simple steps that will help make your recipes more nutritious. So get ready to enjoy your favorite dishes without feeling guilty! What You’ll Learn Making some simple swaps for healthy recipes Reduce the sugar without changing the texture or the flavor Making your brain thin...
Aug 10, 2022•25 min
The back-to-school season can be both exciting and nerve-wracking — for kids and parents alike. There’s the anticipation of new friends, clothes and school supplies. And then there are the worries about homework, grades and…health? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. This episode is packed with tips to help your child stay healthy and eat right during the school year. What You'll Learn: Breakfast and Lunch meal ideas How to include proteins and healthy fat along with starch! Tips on preparing me...
Aug 03, 2022•22 min
A nutrition coach genuinely studies and interprets various critical processes and foods, both those that may be beneficial to the body and those that may harm people's health. As a result, you can launch a nutrition coaching program where you will give your clients diet advice and even modify at-home diets for people with disabilities for everyone who asks for your help. Your efforts in this area will enhance not just your life but also the lives of others. In the end, you'll reap many rewards f...
Jul 27, 2022•27 min•Season 1Ep. 75
