Stop dieting. Stop apologizing for hunger. Start eating like a woman who plans to be here for a long time. Eat the F*cking Food is a nutrition and mindset podcast for women who are exhausted by diet culture and confused by conflicting nutrition advice. If you’ve tried low carb, no carb, calorie counting, points, powders, or “starting over on Monday” and still feel tired, bloated, hormonal, or stuck, this show is for you. This podcast helps women understand how to eat enough, especially in midlife, by breaking down nutrition, metabolism, and hormones in a way that actually makes sense. We talk about why 1200 calories is never the answer, how chronic under eating impacts hormone health, gut health, digestion, sleep, and energy, and how to build a balanced plate without fear or food rules. Each week, we cover topics like diet myths, popular diets explained, intuitive eating foundations, blood work and lab results, bloating and gut health, GLP-1 medications and lifestyle support, and how to heal your relationship with food after years of dieting. You’ll hear from nutrition coaches, strength coaches, hormone experts, and women who believe strong is better than skinny, prioritize good health, and know that nourishment is not something you earn. This isn’t about weight loss at any cost. It’s about metabolic health, energy, hormone balance, and freedom around food. Subscribe for honest conversations about women’s nutrition, body image, hormone health, and learning how to actually eat. Your body isn’t broken. It’s underfed. Connect here: https://kristincollinshealthcoaching.com/ / https://www.instagram.com/kristinrcollins/
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033: GLP-1s, Peptides, and HRT: What Midlife Women Keep Getting Wrong | Karen Martel & Kristin Collins
Episode 33
Tuesday, September 1, 2026 • Duration 45:55
Using GLP-1s and HRT together in midlife is one of the most confusing topics facing perimenopausal and menopausal women right now, and Karen Martel is here to clear it up.
If you have been told you have to wait until you are officially in menopause before you qualify for hormone therapy, or you are scrolling GLP-1 ads wondering if they are safe for your changing metabolism, this episode breaks down exactly what your body needs and when. Perimenopause can start as early as your late 30s, symptoms get dismissed for years, and by the time most women finally get help, they have already suffered far longer than necessary.
Kristin Collins, nutrition and body composition coach and host of Eat the F*cking Food, sits down with Karen Martel, certified hormone specialist, transformational nutrition coach, and CEO of Midlife Solutions, for a no-nonsense breakdown of HRT, peptides, and GLP-1s. Karen explains why bioidentical hormones differ from old-school Premarin, why the ten-year post-menopause window is not a hard stop on starting HRT, and why a half pound to a pound a week is the appropriate rate of weight loss on a GLP-1.
She also shares her personal biohacking toolbox, from her PEMF mat to her Eight Sleep cover, and why more women need to hear that suffering through perimenopause is not required. If you have ever wondered whether you already qualify for HRT, or whether your GLP-1 dose is doing more harm than good, press play.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
Why HRT is not just for women in full blown menopause, and how starting hormone support in your late 30s can prevent the metabolic storm that hits later.
Why bioidentical hormones and old school Premarin are not interchangeable, and what the research actually shows about the ten year post menopause window for starting HRT.
Why GLP-1s work differently for midlife women than for a 20 year old or a 40 year old man, and the exact weekly weight loss rate that signals you are losing too fast.
Why suffering is a choice according to Karen Martel, and how women downplay symptoms like anxiety, night sweats, and insomnia until they can no longer function.
Why estrogen loss and collagen loss move on the exact same trajectory, and what that means for your skin, your bones, and your brain long before menopause hits.
What Karen's top biohacking tools actually are, from a PEMF mat to an Eight Sleep cover, and why sleep tracking data does not always match how you actually feel.
Why the Wild West of peptide prescribing means most providers get titration wrong, and what a properly managed GLP-1 or peptide protocol should look like instead.
We talk about:
00:00 Why suffering through perimenopause is a choice
02:00 What HRT actually is and who needs it
05:00 The shocking stat on how few women use HRT
08:00 Karen's own blindsided perimenopause story
09:00 Why 25 percent of women get severe symptoms
14:00 How perimenopause symptoms creep in during your late 30s
18:00 Whether you can start HRT years after menopause
24:00 Why peptide prescribing is the Wild West
27:00 How GLP-1s work differently for midlife women
34:00 What the appropriate rate of weight loss is on a GLP-1
36:00 Karen's favorite biohacking tools including her Eight Sleep cover
43:00 Where to find Karen Martel and The Hormone Solution Podcast
032: Dieting Never Fixes the Real Problem | Lizzie Ens & Kristin Collins
Episode 32
Tuesday, August 25, 2026 • Duration 36:07
Why dieting doesn't work comes down to one thing: it only ever addresses food, and most midlife women have spent decades restricting without ever touching the mental, emotional, or spiritual pieces that actually keep them stuck.
If you have done everything right, tracked, restricted, worked out harder, and still feel exhausted, bloated, or stuck in your body, you are not imagining it and you are not failing. The problem was never just what was on your plate.
Kristin Collins, certified nutrition coach and menopause coaching specialist, sits down with Lizzie Ens, functional health coach and founder of Undiet You, for a conversation that goes way past food. Lizzie breaks down why chronic dieting is more likely to wreck your thyroid than help you lose weight, how she reversed her own Hashimoto's diagnosis by learning to speak up instead of staying silent, and why walking for ten minutes after a meal does more for insulin resistance than most supplements ever will.
You will walk away with a new way to think about the food, the self talk, and the silence that might be keeping you stuck.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
Why gluten sensitivity symptoms like bloating, brain fog, and joint pain trace back to zonulin, a protein that breaks down your gut lining and lets inflammation leak into your bloodstream.
How the seven day inflammation cycle works, and why eating gluten or drinking every few days keeps your body stuck in a constant state of chronic inflammation without you realizing it.
Why chronic dieting and undereating are more likely to wreck your thyroid and hormones than help you lose weight, according to functional health coach Lizzie Ens.
The surprising connection between suppressing your voice growing up and developing thyroid problems as an adult, and how Lizzie reversed her own Hashimoto's diagnosis.
Three free lifestyle changes, walking after meals, drinking filtered water, and prioritizing sleep, that move the needle more than any supplement or expensive protocol.
Why you cannot hate your body into a smaller one, and how negative self talk gets stored in your body the same way chronic stress does.
031: Why Undereating Is Sabotaging Your Midlife Body | Kylie Larson & Kristin Collins
Episode 31
Tuesday, August 18, 2026 • Duration 36:47
Your lowest weight is not automatically your healthiest weight, and if you got the most compliments during the season of your life you now recognize as your worst, this episode explains exactly why. If you have ever chased a smaller number on the scale only to end up exhausted, not sleeping, and dealing with new perimenopausal symptoms, you are not imagining it. Undereating does not just stall your results, it can wreck your digestion, your sleep, and your hormones, and most women do not connect the dots until years later.
Kristin Collins, nutrition and body composition coach and host of Eat the F*cking Food, sits down with Kylie Larson, a nutrition, strength, and mindset coach for midlife women navigating perimenopause without dieting themselves into worse symptoms.
Kylie breaks down the real math behind maintenance calories, including her own jump from 1,600 calories a day to 2,250 before her metabolism, sleep, and body composition actually improved, and why progressive overload strength training builds muscle in ways group fitness classes cannot. She also introduces her six-week program, Lift Beyond Lean, where women learn to eat and train for change that lasts. You will walk away knowing the difference between group fitness for fun and strength training for results, why a rising scale number can mean you are getting healthier, and how to find your own maintenance calories instead of guessing with an app.
If you have been falling apart while everyone keeps telling you how great you look, press play.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
Why your lowest weight is not automatically your healthiest weight, and how compliments during your hardest season can keep you chasing a body that was never sustainable to begin with.
Why undereating is quietly common in midlife women, and how living on 1,500 calories a day can stall your results instead of speeding them up.
How to find your maintenance calories, and why increasing intake from 1,600 to 2,250 calories can improve your metabolism, sleep, and body composition over time.
Why lifting weights does not make you bulky, and what actually happens to your body when you build real muscle instead of fearing the number on the scale.
030: Are Carbs Bad for Menopause? The Truth for Midlife Women | Kristin Collins
Episode 30
Tuesday, August 11, 2026 • Duration 22:21
Are carbs bad for menopause? Not even close. If you have spent years cutting carbohydrates to chase a smaller number on the scale, this episode explains why that restriction has been working against you, not for you. Carbohydrates are your body's preferred source of energy, and going without enough of them can leave you exhausted, hangry, and unable to sleep through the night. That drop on the scale after cutting carbs is mostly water weight, not fat, and the crash that follows in your energy, mood, and digestion is real.
Kristin Collins, a certified nutrition coach and menopause coaching specialist, breaks down exactly why midlife women need carbohydrates now more than ever, not fewer of them. She explains how carbs protect your muscle mass by giving your body glucose to burn instead of pulling energy from muscle, how low carb eating raises cortisol and can lower thyroid function, and how carbohydrates support progesterone during the menopause transition. You will also learn the simple pairing trick, carbs with protein or fat, that keeps blood sugar steady and energy consistent all day.
If you are ready to stop fearing food and start building a plate that actually works, this episode is your permission slip to eat the fucking food.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
Why carbohydrates are your body's preferred source of energy, and how eating too few carbs leads to afternoon energy crashes, poor sleep, and constant hunger.
How carbohydrates protect your muscle mass in midlife by giving your body glucose to burn instead of pulling energy from the muscle you are trying to build.
Why low carb diets raise cortisol and can lower thyroid function, since women are already far more likely than men to develop hypothyroidism.
How eating enough carbohydrates supports progesterone during perimenopause, helping with bloating, fluid retention, and the calming effect progesterone has on your body.
Why high fiber, slow digesting carbs like oats and whole grains can improve your sleep by preventing the blood sugar drops that wake you up at 2 or 3 in the morning.
Which carb sources to add back to your plate first, including potatoes, rice, oats, fruit, and whole grains, and why pairing them with protein or fat matters.
029: You Don't Need to Lose Weight Before You Learn to Maintain It
Episode 29
Tuesday, August 4, 2026 • Duration 21:02
Why women don't start nutrition coaching usually has nothing to do with willpower and everything to do with timing myths, body fear, and stories they have told themselves for years.
If you have ever said, "I'm too busy right now," or "I need to lose weight before I can maintain it," you are not lazy, you are stuck in a narrative Kristin hears constantly from midlife women. Every month you wait for a quieter season is a month you could have spent learning how to actually feed your body.
Kristin Collins, certified nutrition coach and menopause coaching specialist, breaks down the three objections she hears most before women ever start working on their nutrition: not having enough time, needing to lose weight before learning maintenance, and believing their body is simply built to feel this way. She explains why finding your true maintenance calories usually means eating 100 to 400 more calories a day, not less, and why perfectionism, not busyness, is the real thing standing between you and feeling good in your body.
This is your permission to stop waiting for a better week to start.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
Why "I'm too busy" is not actually the barrier keeping you from starting nutrition coaching, and what to ask yourself instead of waiting for a slower season of life.
Why you do not need to lose weight before learning your maintenance calories, and why maintenance is often the missing piece women skip entirely.
What actually happens when you find your true maintenance calories, including why most women end up eating 100 to 400 more a day, not fewer.
Why "this is just how I am" is only half true, and the difference between genetics you cannot change and habits you have never questioned.
Why the fear of gaining weight keeps so many women stuck, and what maintenance actually looks like when it is done slowly and correctly.
Why there is no such thing as the perfect time to start eating better, and what months of waiting actually costs you.
How to stop chasing a scale number before you address how you actually feel, your energy, your sleep, and your everyday joy.
028: Why Am I Not Losing Weight? 4 Midlife Diet Mistakes You Are Making
Episode 28
Tuesday, July 28, 2026 • Duration 24:50
Midlife weight loss mistakes usually come down to four sneaky habits, not a lack of willpower. If you have cut calories, skipped meals, and still are not seeing results, your body may be stuck in survival mode instead of fat-loss mode. This snack-sized solo episode breaks down the exact patterns keeping midlife women plateaued, exhausted, and frustrated with the scale.
Kristin Collins, certified nutrition coach and menopause coaching specialist, walks through the four mistakes she sees most often in coaching, from undereating and treating weekends as a free-for-all, which is 42 percent of your week, to trading consistency for perfection. She shares how learning her own maintenance calories inside her Game On Nutrition method ended years of yo-yo dieting and helped her build visible muscle after six years of consistent strength training. Give yourself permission to be boring, and watch what changes.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
Learn why eating too little is one of the most common midlife weight loss mistakes, and how undereating trains your body to store fat instead of releasing it.
Find out why the weekend makes up 42 percent of your week, and why treating Friday through Sunday like a free-for-all quietly stalls your progress.
Discover why consistency beats perfection every time, and how one small daily habit compounds faster than an intense workout you only do once a month.
Understand what maintenance calories actually are and why learning yours is the missing link that makes any weight loss sustainable long term.
Hear why building muscle in midlife takes years, not weeks, and how three years of progressive overload finally created visible definition.
Get the honest signs you are undereating, including waking up tired, crashing at 3pm, and dealing with worsening perimenopausal symptoms you may be blaming on something else.
Learn why giving yourself a full year, not five days, to build new habits is what actually makes lifestyle change stick.
We talk about:
00:00 Welcome back and an update on the current cohort
01:44 Why eating too little is a common midlife mistake
027: The Hustle Is Eating You Alive | Relle Dixon & Kristin Collins
Episode 27
Tuesday, July 21, 2026 • Duration 31:54
Non-negotiables for busy women start with the one thing most entrepreneurs skip first: eating enough. If you are running a business, a household, or both, and you keep pushing lunch, skipping snacks, and telling yourself you will rest once things calm down, this episode is the wake-up call.
Kristin Collins, certified nutrition coach and menopause coaching specialist, sits down with health and wellness coach Relle Dixon of Be Well with Relle, who works with female entrepreneurs to keep their bodies from becoming the last thing on the to-do list. Relle breaks down the body audit she runs with clients, why sitting all day quietly wrecks blood sugar even after a good morning workout, and why sustainable beats extreme every time. You will walk away with a short list of non-negotiables that fit into a real schedule, not a fantasy one.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
Non-negotiables for busy women look different every season, and Relle explains how to build a flexible routine around protein, movement, and water instead of chasing a perfect one
Why the promise women break first is the one they made to themselves, and what that pattern quietly costs energy, mood, and business performance
What a body audit actually checks, sleep quality, daily steps, and how long you sit still, before any conversation about food even starts
Why being sedentary after a morning workout still spikes blood sugar and undoes the benefit, and the 20-squat fix that changes it
How under-fueling shows up as brain fog, low patience, and a stalled creative mindset, not just a rumbling stomach
Why letting go of rigid, all-or-nothing routines actually builds more consistency than chasing a perfect one ever will
We talk about:
00:00 Welcome and why busy women put themselves last
01:26 Kristin's free maintenance masterclass for July
02:32 Meet Relle Dixon, coach for entrepreneur health
03:12 What happens when you break your own promises first
04:41 What happens when women stop taking care of themselves
026: Is Your Thyroid Actually Normal? The Optimal Truth | Ashley Cruz Arata & Kristin Collins
Episode 26
Tuesday, July 14, 2026 • Duration 37:08
Optimal vs normal thyroid levels is not just a technicality, it is the reason you can have "normal" bloodwork and still feel exhausted, foggy, and stuck in your midlife body. If your hair is thinning, your sleep is wrecked, your weight will not budge, and you are constipated more than you would ever admit out loud, your thyroid and your gut may be the missing piece your last doctor never fully investigated.
On this episode of Eat the F*cking Food, Kristin Collins, certified nutrition coach and menopause coaching specialist, sits down with Ashley Cruz Arata, a board certified integrative health practitioner, to break down why a TSH between 0.8 and 6 is technically normal but 1 to 1.5 is where most women actually feel their best.
Ashley shares the three day stool testing she uses to catch root cause gut and hormone imbalances, why constipation is one of the most overlooked signs of low thyroid function, and the two limiting beliefs, "I don't have time" and "I'm not ready," that keep women stuck longer than they need to be. Press play and stop settling for normal when optimal is possible.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
The difference between normal and optimal thyroid lab ranges, including why a TSH of 0.8 to 6 is considered normal but 1 to 1.5 is where most women actually feel their best.
Why functional medicine testing goes beyond a basic TSH and T4 panel to look at gut health, nutrient status, and whole body patterns most conventional doctors never test.
Why constipation, defined as fewer than one to two complete bowel movements a day, is one of the most overlooked signs of an underactive thyroid.
Why Kristin Collins and Ashley Cruz Arata both point to gut health as the piece conventional care skips when women complain of stubborn weight, mood swings, and poor sleep in midlife.
Why "I don't have time" and "I'm not ready" are the two limiting beliefs Ashley sees holding women back most, and how to work around both.
How daily journaling and scripting in the present tense helped Ashley shift her mindset and health outcomes before she even got her lab results back.
We talk about:
025: Is Soy Bad for You? The Truth About Soy in Menopause | Attessa Bradley & Kristin Collins
Episode 25
Tuesday, July 7, 2026 • Duration 27:37
Is soy bad for you in menopause? That myth has kept women away from one of the most protective foods available in midlife, and it is time to set the record straight.
If you swapped your soy latte for almond milk because someone warned you it messes with your hormones, you are not alone, and you were misinformed.
Kristin Collins, certified nutrition coach and menopause coaching specialist, sits down with Attessa Bradley, founder of Standing Tall Foods and a 25 year veteran of the natural food industry, to break down why soy protects your heart, your bones, and your brain as estrogen declines.
Attessa explains the science behind phytoestrogens, references a recent Journal of Menopause report on plant protein and hot flashes, and shares what it took to launch a soy snack brand at 48. If you have been avoiding soy out of fear, this episode gives you permission to eat it.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
Why the fear that soy raises breast cancer risk or disrupts hormones is a myth
How soy's phytoestrogens work in the body, gently binding to estrogen receptors instead of acting like synthetic estrogen, and why that matters as your own estrogen declines in midlife.
The specific ways declining estrogen affects heart health, bone density, and cognition, and why soy is one of the only plant foods with an FDA heart healthy seal of approval.
What a recent report from the Journal of Menopause found about eating more plant protein, including soy, and its effect on managing weight and reducing hot flash frequency.
Why Attessa Bradley left a 25 year career in natural foods to launch Standing Tall Foods at 48, and what it has actually been like building a company with her husband in midlife.
How to start adding soy back into your diet without overthinking it, from edamame and tofu to a one ounce roasted soybean snack you can keep in your car, bag, or desk.
We talk about:
00:00 Meet Attessa Bradley, founder of Standing Tall Foods
04:00 Where the name Standing Tall Foods came from
024: Misogi and Midlife Health Habits with Anne & Avery | Kristin Collins
Episode 24
Tuesday, June 30, 2026 • Duration 33:36
Building healthy habits before perimenopause is one of the most powerful things you can do for your body, and most women don't start until things are already falling apart.
If you're eating the same way you did in your 20s, doing the same workouts, and wondering why nothing is working, it's not a willpower problem. Your body is changing, and what used to work just doesn't anymore.
In this episode of Eat the F*cking Food, certified nutrition coach and menopause coaching specialist Kristin Collins sits down with Avery and Anne of Noos Worthy, a health coach and registered dietician duo dedicated to helping women in early perimenopause build real, lasting habits.
Together they break down the fiber and carbs conversation women are scared of, the "canary in the coal mine" mindset shift for perimenopause prep, and why one hard challenge a year, what Avery and Anne call their Misogi, can rebuild your relationship with what your body is capable of. If you've been waiting for permission to stop doing health the hard way, this episode is it.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
Why fiber keeps getting skipped and how to actually get more of it without cutting the foods you love, even when carbs feel off limits in perimenopause.
The difference between mindless habits and intentional ones, and a simple journaling practice Avery and Anne use with clients to spot which is which.
What the Misogi challenge is and why doing one physically hard thing a year, from a 20-mile run in a snowstorm to your first in-person event, can change how you see your limits.
Why what used to work in your 30s is not going to work in perimenopause, and what Anne says you need to let go of before you can actually make progress.
Why building healthy habits before the hormonal noise gets loud is the foundation Kristin wishes she'd had starting in her late 30s.
We talk about:
00:00 Welcome and free maintenance calories masterclass
00:48 Meet Anne and Avery of Noos Worthy
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How to tell the difference between giving yourself grace and making excuses, and why real accountability without shame is the fastest path to lasting change.
We talk about:
00:00 Meet Lizzie Ens and her Undiet You method
01:57 What does undiet actually mean
05:11 Why dieting never solved the real problem
09:22 Why food is such a small part of healing
10:18 How negative self talk gets stored in your body
12:23 Why chronic dieting causes thyroid and hormone issues
14:42 The truth about deficits and maintenance calories
17:01 What is the seven day inflammation cycle
18:13 The hidden symptoms of gluten sensitivity
23:00 Why suppressing your voice can hurt your thyroid
The real difference between group fitness and progressive overload strength training, and why one is for fun while the other is for measurable results.
Why an app or a chatbot cannot replace a coach, and what human factors like stress, sleep, and emotional eating a calculator will never account for.
Why commenting on another woman's weight or body is never as harmless as it sounds, and what those compliments are actually reinforcing.
We talk about:
00:00 Why we should not comment on other women's bodies
02:00 Your lowest weight is not your healthiest weight
04:00 What undereating actually looked like in her own body
08:00 Why perimenopausal women make symptoms worse by restricting
09:00 The scale number versus how your life actually feels
16:00 Her first build phase and carrying weight differently at midlife
18:30 How long does it really take to change your body
20:30 Why you cannot diet your way into someone else's physique
24:00 Why nutrition coaching is an investment worth making
27:30 Group fitness versus progressive overload strength training
32:00 How to protect your workout time on a busy day
