Live Like a Girl with Dr. Mindy Pelz

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 approach to relational empowerment and why reinventing your relationship may be another option worth exploring.IN THIS EPISODE:Why marriage can feel different after menopauseHow resentment builds when your needs go unspokenThe difference between individual and relational empowermentHow childhood experiences influence relationship conflictsPractical ways to communicate, reconnect, and repairDON'T LEAVE IT – REINVENT IT | LIVE VIRTUAL WORKSHOP | October 27, 2026 | 9 AM–12 PM PTJoin Terry and me for a special 3-hour workshop exploring how to create a new chapter in your relationship. Your $47 registration includes access for you and your partner, live Q&A, and a full replay.SAVE YOUR SEAT: https://www.drmindypelz.com/reinvent_MORE ON TERRY REALYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@realterryrealInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/realterryreal/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TerryRealRLI/Website: https://terryreal.com/For more resources related to today’s episode, visit the podcast episode page: https://www.drmindypelz.com/ep379/Connect with Dr. Mindy:Join Reset AcademyWatch the episodes on YouTubeFollow Dr. Mindy on InstagramSubscribe to Dr. Mindy’s newsletterDisclaimer: This podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your diet, fasting routine, or lifestyle.

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: How to identify ultra-processed foodsWhat Vani looks for on ingredient labelsIngredients she personally avoidsFood noise and highly palatable foodsHelping kids develop a wider palateEasy real-food swapsNavigating holidays and celebrations_RESOURCES MENTIONEDFood Babe Feast CookbookVani’s speech at HHS in Washington DC Vani’s speech at HHS in Washington DC Vani’s Senate Testimony _MORE ON VANI HARIVani Hari, widely known as the Food Babe, is a food activist, author, entrepreneur, and founder of FoodBabe.com. For more than two decades, she has investigated ingredients used in the American food supply and advocated for changes in the way major food companies formulate their products.Facebook: @thefoodbabeInstagram: @thefoodbabeYouTube: @thefoodbabeFor more resources related to today’s episode, visit the podcast episode page: drmindypelz.com/ep377Connect with Dr. Mindy:Join Reset AcademyWatch the episodes on YouTubeFollow Dr. Mindy on InstagramSubscribe to Dr. Mindy’s newsletterDisclaimer: This podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your diet, fasting routine, or lifestyle.

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.In this episode:Leanne's 27-year road to successAlmost giving up in her early 50sMenopause and finding confidencePrioritizing health while touringAging, body image, and longevityWhy Leanne won't “fake peace” anymoreFamily, friendship, and learning to say noReinventing yourself later in life_MORE ON LEANNE MORGANLeanne Season 2 Airing on NetflixThe Time of Our Lives TourWhat in the World?! by Leanne MorganInstagram: @leannemorgancomedyFacebook: @leannemorgancomedyX: @leannecomedyYouTube: @LeanneMorganComedyTikTok: @leannemorgancomedyFor more resources related to today’s episode, visit the podcast episode page: https://www.drmindypelz.com/ep375/_CONNECT WITH DR. MINDYJoin Reset AcademyWatch the episodes on YouTubeFollow Dr. Mindy on InstagramSubscribe to Dr. Mindy’s newsletterDisclaimer: This podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your diet, fasting routine, or lifestyle.

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 acknowledge the parts of ourselves we’d rather push away may be an important part of building genuine self-worth.In this episode:Self-worth vs. confidenceBody image and menopauseHow old memories shape the way we see ourselvesWhy insecurity can feel protectiveReparenting and Internal Family SystemsInterrupting negative thought spiralsVulnerability and deeper relationshipsLearning to value who you are now_RESOURCES MENTIONEDFREE Nervous System Questionnaire NEW! Book WorthBest Selling Book Platonic_MORE ON MARISA FRANCOInstagram: @drmarisagfrancoSubstack Newsletter: Attached by Dr. Marisa FrancoLinkedIn: Dr. Marisa G FrancoWebsite: https://drmarisagfranco.com/NEW! Book WorthBest Selling Book PlatonicFor more resources related to today’s episode, visit the podcast episode page: drmindypelz.com/ep373Connect with Dr. Mindy:Join Reset AcademyWatch the episodes on YouTubeFollow Dr. Mindy on InstagramSubscribe to Dr. Mindy’s newsletterDisclaimer: This podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your diet, fasting routine, or lifestyle.

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 and after menopause, why fiber matters, how he thinks about food pairing, what a CGM can tell you, and why his perspective on GLP-1 medications has evolved.In this episode:Are carbs actually bad for you?How many carbohydrates should you eat?Good carbs vs. highly refined carbsWhy fiber changes the conversationWhy muscle gives you more metabolic “wiggle room”Carbohydrates, blood sugar, stress, and sleepCan food naturally stimulate GLP-1?More on Dr. Ben BikmanDr. Ben Bikman is a metabolic scientist and professor whose research focuses on insulin resistance, metabolic health, and the ways nutrition influences human metabolism. He is the author of Why We Get Sick and the upcoming book The Carb Crisis, which explores carbohydrates through the lens of metabolism and other factors that may influence how our bodies respond to the foods we eat.The Carb Crisis Book: https://link.amazon/B096Jd0u4Website: http://benbikman.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benbikmanphdFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/BenjaminBikmanPhDYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@benbikmanTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@benbikmanphdX: https://x.com/BenBikmanPhDFor more resources related to today’s episode, visit the podcast episode page: drmindypelz.com/ep371Connect with Dr. Mindy:Join Reset AcademyWatch the episodes on YouTubeFollow Dr. Mindy on InstagramSubscribe to Dr. Mindy’s newsletterDisclaimer: This podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your diet, fasting routine, or lifestyle.

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.We also talk about emotional eating, body image, nervous system regulation, fasting, food noise, GLP-1 medications, and the messages about our bodies that can be passed from one generation to the next.This conversation gave me an entirely new way to think about some of the struggles I’ve seen women experience when changing how they eat, because sometimes there may be more happening beneath the surface than what’s on the plate.In this episode:Kelly’s Mother Hunger frameworkWhy food can become emotionally significantWhat Kelly means by “surrogate comfort”Why changing eating patterns can bring up difficult emotionsFood and nervous system regulationWhat mothers can unintentionally teach daughters about their bodiesKelly’s perspective on food noise and GLP-1 medicationsHow support and connection can help us create new patternsMORE ON KELLY MCDANIELInstagram: @kellymcdanieltherapyMother Hunger, Revised EditionFor more resources related to today’s episode, visit the podcast episode page: drmindypelz.com/ep369Connect with Dr. Mindy:Join Reset AcademyWatch the episodes on YouTubeFollow Dr. Mindy on InstagramSubscribe to Dr. Mindy’s newsletterDisclaimer: This podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your diet, fasting routine, or lifestyle.

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 may strengthen empathy by allowing us to experience the world through another person’s perspective. She also shares why knitting, singing, dancing, and other so-called “grandmother hobbies” are finding their way back into modern life.In this episode you'll learn:Why creativity became separated from everyday lifeHow to choose music that meets your nervous system where it is How regular creative activity may support healthier cortisol patterns Why book clubs provide more than a reason to read What the research suggests about art, brain fog, and cognitive reserve Whether online creative classes offer the same benefits as meeting in person Simple ways to bring more creativity into everyday lifeResources MentionedArt Cure by Daisy FancourtInstagram: @daisy.fancourtMore on Daisy FancourtDr. Daisy Fancourt is a researcher and author whose work examines the effects of arts and cultural engagement on health and well-being.Her research explores how activities such as music, reading, crafting, dancing, and visiting cultural spaces may influence mental health, stress, cognition, social connection, and physical health. She has published extensively in the field and works on projects examining the biological, psychological, and social effects of creative participation.For more resources related to today’s episode, visit the podcast episode page: drmindypelz.com/ep357Connect with Dr. Mindy:Join Reset AcademyWatch the episodes on YouTubeFollow Dr. Mindy on InstagramSubscribe to Dr. Mindy’s newsletterDisclaimer: This podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your diet, fasting routine, or lifestyle.

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 tied to performing, producing, and pushing through.This is a conversation about hormones, but it is also about identity, capacity, anger, rest, and the question so many women begin asking in midlife: who do I want to be now?In this episode you'll learn:The difference between mental anxiety and physical “body anxiety” Why LeAnn has had to change her relationship with rest What happens when your life still demands more than your body can give The grief women may experience around motherhood, identity, and missed choices Why hormone replacement therapy is not always a simple fix How perimenopause can force women to reconsider who they have always beenMore on LeAnn RimesLeAnn Rimes is a 2x Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, performer, and actress whose career has spanned more than 30 years. She rose to fame as a teenager and has since built a career across music, television, writing, and live performance. In recent years, LeAnn has also spoken openly about mental health, trauma, psoriasis, anxiety, and the realities of growing up in the public eye. She currently stars in 9-1-1: Nashville and is touring in celebration of the 30th anniversary of her album Blue.Website: leannrimes.comLeAnn's Tour DatesLeAnn's Substack: @leannrimescibrianInstagram: @leannrimesSoul of EverLe CandlesFor more resources related to today’s episode, visit the podcast episode page: drmindypelz.com/ep355 Connect with Dr. Mindy:Join Reset AcademyWatch the episodes on YouTubeFollow Dr. Mindy on InstagramSubscribe to Dr. Mindy’s newsletterDisclaimer: This podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your diet, fasting routine, or lifestyle.