Spandex & Wine

You know the feeling: vacation ends, real life hits, and suddenly you’re bargaining with yourself. Monday will be perfect. Every workout. Clean meals. Early bedtime. A brand-new you. Then Tuesday shows up and the plan collapses, and by Thursday you’re ready to “start over” again. We’re done with that cycle.

We talk about why post-vacation guilt makes everything harder and how all-or-nothing thinking turns a small routine break into a full-blown derailment. Vacation is not a mistake to correct. Real life includes travel, birthdays, dinner out, busy work weeks, and days when you just do not hav...

Three years into this podcast, I’ve learned something that changes everything about “healthy living”: if your habits only work when life behaves itself, they’re not habits, they’re a perfect-week fantasy. I’m pulling apart the myth that you just need more motivation, more time, or a more organized meal plan, and replacing it with a simpler standard: health that still holds up on tired Tuesdays, on work trips, during messy weeks, and when your schedule explodes.

I tell a story about our new porch lights getting installed upside down because the photo on the box was upsi...

Purpose can feel like a high-stakes riddle, especially when you’ve done everything “right” and still feel restless. We talk honestly about why that pressure is misplaced and why purpose is often simpler, more ordinary, and more seasonal than we were taught. What gives your life meaning at 25 may not fit at 45, and that shift is not a problem to fix. It is a signal that you’re growing.

I share my own turning point from hating corporate life to stumbling into fitness through something that was already in front of me. We also unpack a powerful reminder...

That daily loop of “great after breakfast” to “what is wrong with me at 3 p.m.” isn’t a willpower issue. I’m talking about blood sugar as an energy and cravings issue, even if you’ve never once worried about diabetes. When glucose swings hard, it can show up as afternoon crashes, after-dinner sweets cravings, feeling shaky when meals run late, or relying on coffee to hold everything together.

I keep the science simple: blood sugar is glucose in your bloodstream, and insulin helps move it into your cells for energy. The goal isn’t perfectly flat numbers. It...

A six-pack is optional. Being able to get up off the floor is not. We’re digging into functional fitness, the kind of training that keeps you independent as you get older, so you can travel, hike, garden, golf, dance, and play with your kids or grandkids without your body feeling like the limiter. I want fitness to be about freedom, not just aesthetics, and that shift changes everything about how we train.

We start with falls, because the stakes are real. CDC data shows more than one in four adults age 65 and older falls each year, le...

Bone density isn’t a “later” problem, and it’s definitely not a boring one. I’m breaking down why your bones are living tissue that respond to how you move, how strong you are, what you eat, and even how well you balance and recover from everyday life in midlife. If you’ve ever worried about osteoporosis, osteopenia, or a future fracture, this is the mindset shift that turns fear into a plan.

We start with the big lever: load. I explain the difference between weight-bearing exercise (walking, hiking, stairs, dancing) and strength training (squats, lunges, step-ups, ba...

“You can’t heal a body you hate” is the kind of truth that stops you mid-scroll, because it explains why so many wellness plans feel like a fight. We sit with that line and talk honestly about the hidden voice underneath common goals like weight loss, getting stronger, eating better, having more energy, and sleeping well. Wanting change doesn’t make you shallow. Starting from self-disgust just makes the journey harder than it has to be. 

We borrow a little wisdom from Dolly Parton and use her quotes as a map for inside-out wellness, body image healing...

Your skin isn’t just reacting to what you put on it, it’s responding to what you put in your body and how you live day to day. We’re wrapping up our skin series by stepping back from the endless lineup of cleansers, serums, and “miracle” products and looking at what actually gives skin the raw materials to repair and thrive. If you’ve ever felt pulled into skincare rabbit holes and conflicting internet advice, this conversation is your reset.

We talk about why skin health is tied to the same systems that run the rest of you...

Some weeks don’t call for a bubble bath and a glass of wine, they call for a hard reset. I almost didn’t record, but what came out is one of the most honest conversations I’ve shared on Spandex and Wine: what happens when you realize you’ve been taking care of everyone else and putting yourself last, and how “playing it safe” quietly steals your voice over time. 

I talk about the fear behind being careful with opinions, posts, and conversations, especially when you work in wellness and feel like you’re supposed to have everything...

Your skin might be giving you data, not drama. We’re so used to treating every new rash, breakout, or dry patch like a product problem, but sometimes the real story is happening underneath the surface and your skin is simply the messenger.

I walk through how the body’s systems connect in predictable patterns: chronic stress affects sleep, sleep affects food choices, nutrition affects inflammation, and everything downstream can show up on your skin. We dig into the liver’s outsized role in wellness and why issues like jaundice, persistent itching without a rash, spider angiomas, red pa...

We’ve gotten loud, repeated messages about skin: avoid the sun, buy the product, fix the wrinkle. But when I started digging into the connection between sunburn risk, ultra-processed foods, and what we put on our bodies, I realized skin is not a side topic at all. Skin is an organ. It protects you, regulates temperature, keeps you hydrated, and it’s working for you every hour of the day. Once you see it that way, “healthy skin” stops being a vanity goal and starts becoming a whole-body conversation.

We talk about sunlight with nuance: yes, UV exposure...

Skin seems simple until you start pulling the thread and suddenly you’re holding a whole library of questions. That’s exactly where we’re going next on Spandex and Wine: beyond “wear sunscreen” and into the surprising ways your skin may connect to what’s happening inside your body. 

We’re kicking off a brand-new skin series sparked by a few eyebrow-raising ideas, like whether nutrition and ultra-processed foods might influence how easily you burn, and why a cholesterol-derived compound in your skin helps your body make vitamin D when sunlight hits it. From there, the curiosity grows...

The bourbon trail taught me something I didn’t expect: the best “fun facts” stick when they come with a story and a simple way to remember them. After a quick Louisville getaway (yes, I’m learning to say it right), I’m sharing the riverfront house surprise, the porch coffee views with rowing teams and barges, and why Dave and I love traveling for the history behind what we’re tasting. 

Then we get practical with a question that comes up all the time: what’s the difference between bourbon and whiskey? I break it down in plain Englis...

If you’re the person everyone depends on, you probably know the moment when “I can handle it” quietly turns into “I can’t breathe.” We’re closing our nervous system regulation series with the most uncomfortable and most powerful tool of all: asking for help.

We talk about the lie so many capable people carry that you should be able to fix everything on your own, and why that mindset confuses independence with isolation. I share my honest relationship with therapy, how I’ve processed hard parts of my story over time, and the question that keeps echoing fo...

Freedom is not just something we celebrate on a calendar. It’s the quiet stuff: waking up and going for a walk, lifting your grandkids, carrying groceries without thinking twice, taking a bike ride, hugging the people you love, and feeling your heartbeat after a hill. For this special holiday message, I’m pausing the nervous system regulation series to bring the idea of freedom closer to home, into the daily choices that shape our health, mobility, and joy. 

We talk about how easy it is to take your body for granted until movement gets harder, and why t...

Your day might look “normal” but your nervous system could be interpreting it like a stress test. From the alarm clock on your phone to emails, headlines, social media, buzzing watches, background TV, and bedtime scrolling, we’re asking our brains to process nonstop information with almost no real pauses. When that input never lets up, it’s no surprise you end the day feeling irritable, overwhelmed, unfocused, or mentally exhausted even if you didn’t do anything physically hard.

We dig into an idea that can change how you rest: scrolling isn’t relaxation, it’s distraction. R...

Anxiety has a sneaky way of time-traveling our brains, dragging us into worst-case futures, while rumination can keep us replaying the past on a loop. When that happens, sensory grounding is one of the fastest, most practical ways to come back to what is actually happening right now. We share why grounding helps the nervous system settle and how this kind of present-moment awareness connects to practices many of us already love, like yoga and mindful movement.

We walk you through the 5-4-3-2-1 method step-by-step: five things you can see, four you can touch...

Your body is always reading signals from the outside world and from the inside of your chest. When stress ramps up, your breathing often becomes shallow and fast, and that pattern tells your nervous system to stay on alert. The good news is you have a built-in reset button you can use anywhere, anytime: intentional breathing. We kick off our series on nervous system regulation with breath work because it’s simple, free, and shockingly effective. 

We share a personal story from early yoga training that still surprises me, sitting in quiet space, focusing on deep breathing, and...

Your body isn’t being “dramatic.” It might be overloaded. We’re kicking off season four of Spandex and Wine with a topic that’s quietly affecting a lot of women: nervous system regulation, especially through the lens of perimenopause and menopause, modern stress, and the nonstop stimulation of everyday life.

We talk through the real signs that your nervous system may be overtaxed, from fatigue, headaches, digestive issues, muscle tension, poor sleep, and injuries that feel like they appear out of nowhere, to emotional shifts like anxiety, irritability, overwhelm, and feeling disconnected from what you usually enjoy. We...

You don’t need a perfect schedule to build healthy habits. You need a smarter system. We’re recording from a car on a rainy day and talking through a practical approach that helps when life is full: habit stacking. It’s the simple act of pairing a habit you already do with a habit you want to do more consistently, so progress happens without waiting for the “right” time or the “right” motivation. 

We walk through how habit stacking can transform your fitness routine, especially if you’ve been stuck in an all-or-nothing mindset about workouts. We share a real-l...

I’m going to say the quiet part out loud: sometimes the person telling you to drink water between glasses of wine… forgets to do it. If you’ve been beating yourself up for falling off your healthy habits, this short, honest chat is your permission slip to drop perfection and rebuild momentum without starting from scratch.

We talk about what consistency really means in a real-life wellness routine, especially when you’re juggling work, stress, social plans, and the occasional happy hour. I share the coaching framework that keeps coming back for a reason: the three C’s. We...

That tired, foggy, “why do I want something sweet right now” feeling might not be a willpower problem. I’m talking about blood sugar and how it quietly drives your energy, mood, cravings, sleep, and even your ability to lose fat, especially around your midsection. If you’ve ever felt like you’re working out and eating “pretty well” but still feel stuck, this conversation will help you connect the dots in a simple, practical way.

I walk through what happens when a carb heavy meal spikes your blood sugar, insulin rushes in, and you crash lower than you start...

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I missed last week, and I’m not going to pretend I didn’t. I’ve been under the weather, needed an actual break, and I should’ve given you a heads up, so I’m owning that and moving forward. The good news: I’m starting to feel better, and I’m getting back to regular podcast episodes so you can count on a steady rhythm again. 

To make it even more real, I share a moment that sums up the current vibe perfectly: walking out the door with my supplements...

Grief changes the rules overnight. One day you’re living your normal life, and the next you’re trying to figure out how to breathe, eat, move, and exist in a world that looks the same but feels completely different.

I’m joined by Mary, the creator of Wearing Grief, who shares the story of losing her 21-year-old daughter, Grace, in a sudden car accident and how that kind of loss reshapes identity, relationships, and even the simplest daily choices. We talk about why she started designing grief shirts as a form of catharsis, how the project grew i...

Weight loss shots are everywhere right now, and I understand the pull. When you’re tired of cravings, tired of “food noise,” and tired of feeling stuck, a fast solution can sound like relief. But I want to slow the conversation down and ask a different question: what if the first step is supporting your body naturally instead of jumping straight to a prescription?

We talk through why these medications are so appealing, plus the concerns that don’t always make the headline, like nausea, muscle loss, and the risk of long-term dependency. I also share a moment f...

You can do everything “right” for a week and still feel stuck for months. That’s usually not because you’re broken, it’s because the basics got buried under perfectionism, noise, and plans you can’t sustain. We sit down for a rapid-fire Q&A and tackle the real questions people ask when they’re trying to feel better in their body: what to eat, whether tracking food matters, what workouts actually work, and why results sometimes refuse to show up. 

We talk practical nutrition for real life: whole foods, enough protein, fiber, and water, plus the one thing t...

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Check out Daily Objective Distillery

We didn’t plan to find a new favorite Missouri distillery, but a quick drive for Christmas gifts turned into a full-on discovery. On the way to Amsterdam, Missouri, we spotted a building that looked like it had a story, took the chance, and ended up at Daily Objective Distillery, a ranch-side tasting room that’s growing fast for a reason. If you love craft spirits, real behind-the-scenes process talk, and places that feel like an instant weekend tradition, this one hits. 

S...

My outline was ready, my answers were planned, and then I did the most relatable thing possible: I left the notes on the wrong computer. So instead of a polished Q&A on fitness, nutrition, and midlife health, I hit record anyway and leaned into the bigger lesson: real life rarely follows the plan, and a balanced wellness journey has to include the ability to pivot. If you’ve ever felt thrown off by one small mistake that snowballed, you’ll feel seen. 

I also share a sneak peek at two conversations I’m genuinely excited to bring y...

What if the way you breathe is the quiet lever that calms your nerves, powers your lifts, protects your pelvic floor, and helps you sleep deeper? We dig into the simple mechanics that shift your body from braced and busy to steady and strong, using tools that cost nothing and work anywhere. From longer nasal exhales that signal safety to a rib-expanding inhale that wakes up your diaphragm, you’ll learn how breath becomes a skill you can use before bed, before a hard conversation, and under a barbell.

We break down the body’s pressure system with...

What if better light could change how you feel, move, and age? We sit down with Dr. Carl, a veteran chiropractor and light therapy pioneer, to unpack how full-body red and near-infrared systems aim to boost cellular energy, accelerate recovery, and support fat loss without extremes. From the earliest “flashlight” gadgets to today’s medical-grade beds, we trace what actually matters—cool-running LEDs placed close to the skin, full-body coverage, and adjustable settings that fit different bodies and goals.

We break down two distinct mechanisms. First, fat loss: specific red wavelengths can temporarily increase the permeability of fat cell...

A romantic train ride with prime rib sounded perfect—until rain, a straight-line route, and a mid-journey food restock turned it into a comedy of logistics. We decided to laugh, connect with the couples around us, and pull a bigger lesson from the chaos: balance isn’t about perfect plans, it’s about finding joy when things get weird. That energy fuels everything we unpack next, from creative healing to strength training you can trust.

We bring back the voice of intuitive artist Alenda Jacobson, whose work grew out of a season of recovery. She explains how listen...

Ever feel like your days look successful from the outside but feel tight and joyless on the inside? We get honest about that midlife friction and share a path forward that doesn’t require burning it all down. Robin opens with a surprising health insight from a pelvic floor session with Lindsay Graham—an experience that reframed nagging hip and back issues—and uses it to springboard into a deeper question: how do we design a life that feels good to live, not just good to post?

Together, we unpack the shift from white-knuckling every outcome to loosen...

www.morgansheedy.com

A third DUI, a family tragedy, and a choice that changed everything. Morgan Sheedy joins us to share how he rebuilt his life by following a simple compass: want, structure, discipline, and grace. The story is raw and hopeful, grounded in practical steps you can start today—whether you’re pursuing sobriety, chasing a promotion, or trying to get your health back on track.

We dig into why clarity of want is non-negotiable and how structure makes discipline easier. Morgan lays out the morning tactics that outpace excuses, the power of planning tomo...

Your walk is a window into your brain. We sit down with Danny Davis of Atlas Custom Health to break down how gait, balance, vision, and breath reveal which parts of the nervous system need more activation or less noise—and how the right drill can create instant, measurable change. Instead of chasing tight muscles, we follow the signals your body gives in real time, using test-retest methods to confirm what actually improves range, stability, and coordination.

Danny explains the cross-talk between movement and cognition, why the right frontal lobe can be trained with complex left-side patterns, an...

The latest flip of the food pyramid sparked a lot of reactions in our feeds, and for good reason: it reflects how nutrition advice can swing from one extreme to the next. We take a clear-eyed look at why those swings leave people confused and hungry, and we map out a steady, practical approach to protein, plants, and sustainable habits that actually fit real life. You’ll hear how a simple protein baseline can stabilize appetite and energy, why spacing protein across the day matters, and how to use satiety as your most honest progress marker.

We re...

Ready for a fresh start that doesn’t demand more hustle? Robin returns after a short pause to share a candid reset: stepping away to rest, listening to her body, and choosing alignment over noise. The conversation is warm, honest, and practical—an invitation to build a wellness routine that feels sustainable, joyful, and real.

We dig into the pressure of over-scheduling and how chasing constant output can quietly drain your energy and joy. Robin unpacks why she moved from a packed guest lineup to focused topics and more presence, turning the show back into a genuine conv...

Holidays have a way of turning the kitchen into a cookie minefield and routines into wishful thinking. We get it—and we’re not here to guilt you into a celery cleanse. We’re sharing a path back to steady energy, clearer choices, and real momentum so January doesn’t feel like a crash diet in disguise.

We unpack why resolutions tend to fail by day two and show how simple systems—daily reminders, clear workouts, weekly progressions, and real accountability—beat extreme plans every time. You’ll hear how to set a personal goal that fits your life, dia...

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What if your watch could tell you when your set actually triggered muscle growth? We sit down with designer-turned-founder James Blake to explore how heartbreak, grit, and a lifetime of making useful things led to a new wearable that detects hypertrophy so you can stop guessing and start progressing with confidence.

James’ path is anything but linear: car design in the Bay Area, yacht projects in Miami, medical devices, and a turn into UX after building a language app to help his Native American children learn their heritage without written re...

What if your dog’s favorite treat also fueled a shelter dog’s second chance? We sat down with Chris and Christy Dennis, the duo behind GivePet, to explore how one small bag can create big, local change. Their promise is simple and powerful: for every purchase, treats go straight to a rescue or shelter chosen by the store you buy from, helping with daily training, socialization, and stress relief when it matters most.

We dig into how GivePet crafts truly human-grade treats using rolled oats, honey, flax oil, mango puree, and applesauce, with many formulas cold pres...

Toys for Tots Cornhole Tournament: CLICK HERE or reach out to me at info@spandexandwine.com or text 913-392-2877

The smallest gestures can transform a day—and your health. A friend who shows up early to cover your class. A circle of women who debate a book, laugh too loud, and hold space when life feels heavy. A cornhole league where strangers become teammates and a Saturday turns into service for Toys for Tots. This is where wellness breathes: in the ordinary moments that make you feel seen, steady, and part of something.

We sh...