Live Like a Girl with Dr. Mindy Pelz

What if your body has never once been working against you?

In this special solo episode of Live Like a Girl, you'll hear Dr. Mindy Pelz's live keynote from Hay House's Empower Your Life weekend, an event honoring what would have been Louise Hay’s 100th birthday.

Dr. Mindy shares how a single YouTube video on autophagy took her from a busy functional health clinic to writing Fast Like a Girl, and why the book she thought was a fasting manual turned out to be a women’s empowerment book. She then lays out the five...

Have you ever wondered why you feel the need to prove yourself, struggle to set boundaries, or constantly put everyone else's needs before your own?

In this episode of Live Like a Girl, I'm joined by licensed psychotherapist and bestselling author Terri Cole to discuss her new book, Father Wound, and how our relationships with our fathers can shape our self-worth, relationships, and behaviors long into adulthood.

Terri explains why so many high-achieving women struggle with perfectionism, people-pleasing, and overfunctioning. I also open up about my own father wound...

What if one of the simplest ways to support your weight loss journey is already sitting in your refrigerator?

In this solo episode, Dr. Mindy Pelz breaks down a fascinating study examining how probiotic-rich yogurt may influence hunger, blood sugar, and your body's natural GLP-1 production. The findings offer a closer look at why the bacteria in your food matter and how certain fermented foods may support your metabolic health.

Dr. Mindy explains the connection between your gut microbiome and two important appetite-related hormones, GLP-1 and ghrelin, including why hunger can become more challenging as...

Have you reached a point in your marriage where you feel like you've changed, but your relationship hasn't?

In this episode of Live Like a Girl, I'm joined by renowned couples therapist Terry Real to explore why so many women begin questioning their relationships during midlife and menopause, and what it takes to reconnect when you've grown apart.

We talk about resentment, emotional intimacy, the childhood patterns that shape how we handle conflict, and how to communicate your needs without pushing your partner further away. Terry also shares his...

Insulin resistance can develop gradually, sometimes long before you notice changes in your blood sugar. And while genetics and other health factors play a role, the habits you practice every day can have a meaningful impact on your metabolic health.

In this solo episode of Live Like a Girl, Dr. Mindy Pelz shares six practical habits that can help support insulin sensitivity, particularly for women navigating midlife and hormonal changes.

She explains why the quality of your carbohydrates matters, how a 10-minute walk after meals can influence your blood sugar response, and why building muscle...

Food activist and Food Babe founder Vani Hari returns to Live Like a Girl to break down what's actually hiding in many of the foods we buy every day.

We get into ultra-processed foods, ingredient labels, added flavors, artificial sweeteners, food dyes, MSG, cooking oils, food noise, and the simple grocery-store habits Vani uses with her own family. Vani also shares how to make the transition toward more real food without making food boring or giving up birthdays, holidays, French fries, pizza, and the traditions you love.

_
IN THIS EPISODE: 

GLP-1 is a hormone your body naturally produces, and the foods you eat can influence its release. In this episode, I'm walking you through 10 everyday foods that support your natural GLP-1 response, satiety, and gut health, with practical ways to start adding them to your meals.

We get into fiber, protein, resistant starch, fermented foods, polyphenols, and why I've become increasingly focused on building meals around protein and fiber. I'll also show you what happens when you cook and cool potatoes, why plant variety matters, and some of the foods currently sitting in my own refrigerator.

Leanne Morgan spent more than 20 years pursuing comedy before her career exploded in her 50s. Now, at 60, she's selling out arenas, starring in her own Netflix series, and living a life that once felt almost impossible.

In this conversation, we talk about what changed when Leanne stopped worrying so much about what everyone else thought and started trusting herself. We get into menopause, imposter syndrome, aging, ambition, health, family, and what happens when a woman's life gets bigger at the exact age she was taught it should start getting smaller.

Chronic stress can influence your metabolism, sleep, appetite, blood sugar, and where your body tends to carry fat—which makes your nervous system an important part of the belly-fat conversation.

In this solo episode, I’m breaking down what happens to cortisol after you wake up and sharing the simple 10-minute morning routine I want you to try for the next 30 days.

We’ll talk about morning light, your phone, breathwork, movement, hydration, exercise, and how to identify the stressors that may be setting the tone for your entire day. I’ll also explain what I mean b...

So many women believe they’ll finally feel better about themselves when they lose the weight, change their body, or reach the goal. But changing the outside doesn’t always change how we feel on the inside.

Psychologist and author Dr. Marisa G. Franco joins me to explore where our sense of self-worth actually comes from and how old experiences can continue shaping the way we see ourselves years later.

We talk about body image as we age, menopause, insecurity, nervous system patterns, reparenting, vulnerability, and why learning to ackn...

Think creatine is only for bodybuilders or worried it's going to make you bulky or gain weight? Let's talk about what creatine actually does.

In this episode, I'm breaking down the research on creatine, including studies looking specifically at women, and showing you how I personally use it as part of my strength and muscle-building routine.

We'll talk about creatine monohydrate, dosage, consistency, water retention, resistance training, protein, loading phases, and why maintaining muscle becomes increasingly important as we age.

I'm also giving you a simple challenge you can start today: 30 days of...

Are carbs actually bad for you, or have we been asking the wrong question? In this episode, I'm sitting down with metabolic scientist Dr. Ben Bikman to unpack one of the most confusing nutrition conversations happening right now.

We talk about how to know how many carbs your body can handle, why your muscle mass and activity level matter, how carbohydrate quality changes your metabolic response, and why the answer may be different depending on where a woman is in her hormonal life.

Ben also explains what happens to insulin sensitivity across the menstrual cycle...

Fasting gets a lot of attention for what happens while you’re not eating, but what happens when you start eating again deserves just as much attention.

In this solo episode, Dr. Mindy breaks down one of the most overlooked parts of fasting: the refeed.

She explains why longer isn’t always better when it comes to fasting, how the eating and fasting windows work together, and why protein, carbohydrates, fiber, fermented foods, and plant diversity can all have a place in your fasting rhythm.

She also takes on some of the biggest conv...

Why can changing the way you eat feel so emotional, even when you know exactly what you want to change?

In this conversation, I sit down with therapist and Mother Hunger author Kelly McDaniel to explore the deeper emotional and relational layers that can become intertwined with food.

Through Kelly’s Mother Hunger framework, we look at how early experiences with nurturing, safety, attachment, and caregiving may influence the way some of us relate to food later in life—and why food can sometimes become connected with comfort, connection, routine, and relief.

You’re exercising more, fasting more, changing what you eat, and trying everything you know to support your weight, and yet the scale still doesn’t seem to move.

In this solo episode, Dr. Mindy breaks down five foundational habits she wants you to look at before assuming your body simply isn’t responding. She explores how fibre-rich foods can support satiety and your gut microbiome, why walking after meals can benefit blood sugar, how meal timing interacts with your circadian rhythm, and why sleep and consistency deserve a much bigger place in the weight-loss conversation.

S...

Women spend so much time trying to change their bodies, but how often are we taught how to actually experience and enjoy them?

In this conversation, I sit down with Emma-Louise Boynton to explore what happens when we begin reconnecting with our bodies through pleasure, presence, and curiosity rather than constant criticism. We talk about body image, intimacy, sex therapy, self-pleasure, mindfulness, and the small everyday practices that can help you feel more at home in your body.

Because your relationship with your body affects far more than how...

If you’re constantly thinking about food, battling afternoon cravings, or struggling to feel satisfied after eating, your fullness hormones may be an important part of the conversation.

In this solo episode, Dr. Mindy breaks down the foods that can support your body’s natural GLP-1 production and explains how fiber, protein, resistant starch, fermented foods, and omega-3-rich foods influence satiety. You’ll learn practical ways to build meals that help you feel fuller longer, support your gut microbiome, and work with your body’s natural appetite signals.

Resources Mentioned

What if a healthier relationship with food started with enjoying it more?

In this episode of Live Like a Girl, Dr. Mindy sits down with acclaimed chef and Next Level Chef mentor Nyesha Arrington for a conversation about food that goes far beyond calories, macros, or following the “perfect” diet.

Nyesha shares how cooking with her grandmother shaped her relationship with food from childhood, why recipes can carry memories and identity across generations, and how years in professional kitchens taught her to see food as art, connection, and eventually, fuel.

They also get prac...

What if the changes you’re experiencing after 40 are asking you to look at more than your hormones?

In this solo episode of Live Like a Girl, Dr. Mindy walks through how she believes women can use the menopausal transition to better understand their nervous systems, reconnect with parts of themselves they may have lost, and begin building the next chapter of life more intentionally.

She explores why so many women arrive in midlife already overwhelmed, why learning to regulate your nervous system may need to come before another health protocol, and how years of...

Women are far more likely than men to develop Alzheimer’s disease, and Dr. David Perlmutter believes one of the most important pieces of that story is metabolic health.

In this episode of Live Like a Girl, Dr. Perlmutter joins Dr. Mindy to explain what happens when the brain’s immune cells shift from protective to destructive, why menopause may increase vulnerability, and how blood sugar, insulin resistance, visceral fat, inflammation, mitochondrial health, and lifestyle all influence brain aging.

They also discuss HRT, GLP-1 medications, ketones, fasting, fiber, exercise, BNDF, sleep, and what wome...

If you’re eating less, exercising more, and fasting harder but still struggling to lose weight after 40, Dr. Mindy wants you to approach fat loss differently. This solo episode of Live Like a Girl is a special compilation of two of Dr. Mindy’s teachings on fat burning and metabolic health after 40.

In the first half, she breaks down why fat loss can become more challenging as estrogen changes and shares five strategies for training your body to become more metabolically flexible, from strength training and walking to fasting, protein pacing, and sleep.

Then she turn...

Laila Ali spent years training to win. As an undefeated professional boxer, her body was her career. She knew exactly how to train harder, eat less, and make weight when she needed to. Then perimenopause changed the rules.

In this episode of Live Like a Girl, Laila joins Dr. Mindy for an honest conversation about what happened when her old strategies stopped working, why she eventually stopped trying to outwork her hormones, and how fasting helped her build a completely different relationship with her body.

They talk about long fasts, exercising while...

Healing your nervous system does not always feel peaceful at first.

In this solo episode of Live Like a Girl, Dr. Mindy explains why fatigue, crying, irritability, digestive changes, and even discomfort with stillness can sometimes show up as your nervous system begins moving out of a chronically activated state.

She breaks down the relationship between heart rate variability, vagal tone, the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, and why learning to move more easily between stress and recovery may be one of the most important skills you can build for your health.

Resources...

I’ve been teaching fasting for years, but this conversation with Dr. Jason Fung made me rethink a few things.

Dr. Fung joins me to share how his thinking has evolved since publishing The Obesity Code, including what newer research suggests about longer fasts and why modified fasting may be more useful than many people realize.

We talk about whether a strict water-only fast is always necessary, how fasting aids such as bone broth, avocado, or olives may help someone continue longer, and why using a little support during a fast is not automatically “chea...

For decades, women have been taught to lose weight by eating less, doing more cardio, and watching the number on the scale.

But losing weight is not always the same as becoming healthier.

In this solo episode, Dr. Mindy breaks down a recent meta-analysis showing that adults between 60 and 75 years old were able to lose body fat, gain lean muscle, improve blood pressure, and build functional strength through resistance training.

She also challenges five of the most persistent weight-loss myths women have been taught, including the idea that cardio is the best way...

Most women know they should move their bodies, eat well, and protect their sleep. But creativity rarely makes the list.

In this conversation, Dr. Mindy sits down with Dr. Daisy Fancourt to explore the growing body of research showing that art is far more than entertainment or decoration. Music, reading, dancing, crafting, storytelling, and even spending time with a painting can affect stress, mood, cognition, connection, and the nervous system.

Daisy explains why creative activities can help the brain enter a state of flow, how music can slow the heart rate, and why reading fiction...

If you are hungry all the time, exhausted after meals, craving sugar, or suddenly gaining weight around your middle, your body may be signaling something deeper than a need to eat less.

In this solo episode, Dr. Mindy explains why nearly four in ten American adults now meet the criteria for metabolic syndrome—a collection of warning signs that can include elevated blood sugar, high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol, increased waist circumference, and changes in liver health.

She breaks down four common drivers that can quietly push the body toward metabolic dysfunction: unstable blood sugar, ch...

LeAnn Rimes joins Dr. Mindy for a deeply honest conversation about what perimenopause has brought to the surface in her life.

She opens up about the unpredictability of her hormones, the exhaustion of trying to maintain the same pace she has carried for decades, and the difference between anxious thoughts and anxiety that lives in the body. 

Together, LeAnn and Dr. Mindy explore why perimenopause can make old wounds feel louder, why hormone therapy can help without solving everything, and what it looks like to slow down when your identity has always been t...

Why are so many women doing everything "right" and still struggling to lose weight?

In this solo episode, Dr. Mindy explains why the missing piece may not be your diet or workout routine, it may be your nervous system. When your body is stuck in chronic fight-or-flight, it prioritizes survival over fat burning, making weight loss feel impossible despite your best efforts.

You'll learn how chronic stress impacts cortisol, cravings, digestion, sleep, and metabolism, the five signs your nervous system may be keeping you stuck, and practical ways to help your body shift...

Millions of women have been told they have PCOS. Millions more have been told nothing is wrong at all.

Now, one of the most common hormonal conditions affecting women has a new name: PMOS, Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome. The change reflects what experts have long understood, this condition is about far more than the ovaries. It's deeply connected to metabolism, insulin resistance, inflammation, and hormone balance.

In this episode, Dr. Mindy is joined by Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi, renowned OB-GYN and co-host of the She MD podcast, along with entrepreneur and women's health advocate Mary A...

Losing weight is one challenge. Keeping it off is another.

Research shows that most people regain the weight they've lost within a few years, not because they lack willpower, but because they were never taught what comes after weight loss.

In this episode, Dr. Mindy breaks down the science behind weight regain and shares the eight most common reasons people struggle to maintain their results. From metabolic flexibility and hormone balance to muscle, stress, and sleep, she explains why lasting success requires a different approach than simply losing weight.

You'll also learn five...

What if the biggest thing standing between you and better health isn't your diet, your workout routine, or your hormones?

What if it's the relationship you've built with yourself?

In this conversation, I sit down with psychologist and bestselling author Dr. Nicole LePera to explore how our earliest experiences shape the way we move through adulthood. From emotional eating and food noise to perfectionism, people pleasing, burnout, and the struggle to trust ourselves, so many of the habits we think are personality traits are actually learned survival strategies.

We...

For years we've been told that if fasting is good, then fasting longer must be better.

That simply isn't true.

Fasting is one of the most powerful healing tools we have, but it's also a stressor. Like exercise, the benefits don't come from the stress itself. They come from how well your body recovers afterward.

In this solo episode, Dr. Mindy explains how to tell whether fasting is supporting your metabolism or pushing your nervous system beyond its limits. You'll learn the five green lights that signal your body is adapting...

What if the biggest obstacle to better health isn't your diet and instead it's the relationship you've built with your body?

In this conversation, I sit down with psychologist Dr. Rachel Goldman to unpack why so many women struggle with body image, emotional eating, food noise, and self-worth, especially during midlife.

We explore why lasting health isn't built through shame or punishment. It's built through curiosity, compassion, and learning to work with your body instead of constantly fighting against it.

We also discuss the psychology behind food noise, body neutrality...

Americans spent more than $69 billion on supplements last year, yet nutrient deficiencies are still widespread.

Somewhere along the way, wellness became a cabinet full of pills, powders, and promises. But what if better health isn't about taking more?

In this episode, I share the five supplements I would prioritize if I had to start over today. These aren't trendy products or quick fixes. They're foundational nutrients that support metabolism, hormones, muscle, brain health, and healthy aging, especially for women in midlife.

You'll also learn why supplements should never replace a healthy lifestyle, how...

For years we've been told that healing trauma means talking about it. But what if talking isn't enough?

In this powerful conversation, I sit down with Harvard-trained psychiatrist and world-renowned trauma expert Dr. Frank Anderson to explore why trauma isn't simply stored in your memories. It's stored in your body.

We discuss why so many women find old wounds resurfacing during perimenopause and menopause, why food often becomes a coping mechanism for unresolved trauma, and why traditional talk therapy doesn't always create lasting healing.

Dr. Anderson shares the science behind trauma, nervous system...

Right now, millions of women are stuck in a cycle of constant hunger, food noise, energy crashes, stubborn weight gain, and frustration. Most have been told they need more willpower, but the truth is often much simpler.

Your metabolism may be stuck in sugar-burning mode.

In this episode, I break down one of the most important concepts I’ve taught over the last decade: the metabolic switch. You'll learn the difference between your body's sugar-burning and fat-burning systems, why blood sugar crashes drive cravings, and the five simple steps I use to help women be...

For our very first guest on the The Live Like a Girl podcast, I sat down with the woman who taught generations of us how to take back our financial power: Suze Orman.

Here’s why I had to start here. I spend my life helping women with hormones, weight loss, menopause, and underneath almost all of it sits one thing – cortisol. And when you scratch beneath the “cortisol surface,” so often what you find is money stress. So I brought in the icon herself to talk about what’s really keeping women sick and stuck, and what to do...

After five years as The Resetter Podcast, everything changes. Welcome to Live Like a Girl.

In this first episode, Dr. Mindy Pelz explains why she retired a name she loved and what she's building in its place. The truth driving it all: women aren't thriving, and most of the health advice out there was never written for us to begin with.

She opens with the numbers on Alzheimer's, depression, anxiety, cancer, and heart disease, then digs into why the science behind "evidence-based" wellness has left women out, and why fifteen-minute doctor visits and almost...

After 30 years in health, Dr. Mindy is calling time on the rules.

This solo episode is one of the most personal things she's shared on this podcast. It covers two big ideas: the science and story behind why she stopped fasting for most of the past year and the five health habits she's deliberately walking away from in 2026.

First, flex fasting. When cortisol is high from grief, trauma, illness, perimenopause, or chronic stress rigidly pushing through long fasting windows doesn't support the body. It depletes it. Dr. Mindy shares what happened when...