For many women, years of dieting, suppressing appetite, and fear of eating can lead to a diminished sense of hunger. This is especially true for those struggling with weight loss who may have internalized a fear of food, believing that eating less is the key to losing weight. However, skipping meals or eating too little can have serious consequences, including low energy levels, afternoon crashes, and evening overeating or binge eating.

If you’re not feeling hungry throughout the day but still want to fuel your body properly, it’s crucial to focus on nourishing foods that provide sustained energy without overwhelming your digestion.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re doing everything “right” — eating healthier, cutting portions, exercising — yet you still feel hungry, tired, and stuck at the same weight…

The problem might not be your willpower. It could be your hormones.

Specifically, one powerful but often-overlooked gut hormone: GLP-1 (Glucagon-Like Peptide-1).

GLP-1 has gained major attention in recent years as the key hormone behind popular weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. These medications mimic GLP-1 to help people feel fuller, reduce cravings, and shed weight.

But here’s the exciting part:
You can naturally support your body’s own GLP-1 production—without injections, side effects, or the price tag. And for many women, that can be the missing piece in finally feeling satisfied, in control, and successful with weight loss.

Hot flashes. Night sweats. Mood swings. Sleepless nights. Sluggish energy.
If you’re in your 40s or 50s and nodding your head, you’re not alone.
These are some of the most common symptoms women experience during perimenopause (the transition phase leading up to menopause) and menopause itself (the point when periods have stopped for a full year).

Beyond the obvious symptoms, though, many women are caught off guard by another major change: weight gain — especially around the midsection.
Despite eating the same and exercising regularly, the scale stubbornly climbs, clothes feel tighter, and the body starts to feel unfamiliar.

So what’s really going on?

If you’ve ever said, “I know what to do—I just can’t seem to stick with it,” you’re not alone.

Most women don’t struggle with knowledge. They struggle with overwhelm, exhaustion, and a deep disconnect from their bodies.

Conventional health advice says “eat less calories than you burn”, “eat low fat”, “eat sugar-free”, “exercise like a maniac”, and when all else fail, “let’s pay a surgeon uber bucks to butcher your gullet until it cannot digest or absorb food.” 

You exercise with your significant other, husband or boyfriend, doing CrossFit, running 5 miles a day, cycling. Your significant other start losing weight just as expected. But your weight just won’t budged, or you even gain weight. 

You and your significant other started eating cleaner and eats the same healthy low calories meals, and his weight just comes right off easily and effortlessly without even exercising. And your weight just won’t budge.

That’s because the typical weight loss advice was never made for women—not emotionally, not biologically.

If you find yourself reaching for chips, cookies, or raiding the fridge late at night, you're not alone—and there's a powerful reason behind it.

After working with hundreds of clients, I can confidently say this: the #1 reason why people overeat or binge eat at night is simply because they didn’t eat enough during the day.

Ever feel like you’re working out harder than ever but not seeing results? You’re not alone. Many women push themselves through intense workouts, believing that more sweat equals faster weight loss. But what if I told you that too much intensity might actually be slowing you down?

Losing weight is often portrayed as a simple equation: eat less, move more, and the pounds will melt away. But for many women, the reality is far more complex. Even with healthy eating, regular exercise, and weight-loss medications, the scale refuses to budge—or worse, the weight comes back. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone.

Several underlying factors can sabotage weight loss efforts, many of which are overlooked in traditional weight-loss advice. Let’s dive into why weight may not be coming off despite doing everything “right” and how a holistic approach is the key to lasting results.

If you're a woman who's been trying everything to lose weight—cutting carbs, intermittent fasting, working out, counting macros—but nothing seems to work, the problem may not be your diet or your willpower. The real culprit could be chronic stress.

Many women today are living in constant survival mode. You're juggling a full-time job (maybe even two), running a side business, going back to school, managing your household, and taking care of everyone else’s needs except your own. Some are pulling 12–16 hour shifts at high-stress jobs where they're expected to do the work of 3-4 people. With all that pressure, it's no wonder your body is holding onto weight, no matter what you eat or how much you exercise.

Intermittent fasting (IF) has gained a lot of attention in recent years as a weight loss method. It's often marketed as a simple, effective solution to shed pounds, enhance energy, and promote longevity. The main premise is simple: you eat during a specific window of time and fast for the rest of the day. Common patterns include fasting for 16 hours and eating within an 8-hour window, or even fasting for 24 hours once or twice a week.

Many people claim significant benefits from IF, such as weight loss, improved insulin sensitivity, better digestion, and clearer mental focus. As a result, intermittent fasting has become a go-to for those looking to lose weight and optimize their health, especially for busy professionals who want a quick fix to their struggles with food and body image.

But, for many women—particularly those in high-stress jobs or with complex relationships with food—intermittent fasting doesn’t always work as advertised, and in some cases, it can backfire.

Weight gain associated with certain medications can be particularly stubborn and resistant to traditional weight loss methods like dieting and exercise. This is because these medications may alter metabolism, increase appetite, or promote fat storage in ways that are difficult to counteract. Consequently, losing this weight can be nearly impossible while still taking the medication. In many cases, the only effective way to reverse this weight gain is to stop the medication under the guidance of a healthcare provider and find alternative treatments that do not have the same side effects.

Skipping breakfast might seem harmless, especially if you're not hungry or short on time. Skipping breakfast has become a common habit for many, whether it’s due to a lack of hunger, a busy schedule, or the belief that intermittent fasting will help with weight loss. While fasting can work for some, it often backfires—leading to low energy, poor focus, and intense cravings later in the day. Without breakfast, your body runs on empty after fasting all night, making it harder to power through mentally demanding tasks.

When you're sick, it's natural to feel tired, weak, and lacking the desire to eat. Resting and sleeping are your body's ways of conserving energy so it can focus on fighting the illness. However, just because you're lying in bed doesn’t mean your body doesn’t need fuel. Even when you’re sick, it’s crucial to keep eating to maintain energy levels and prevent muscle loss.

For women struggling with weight loss, being sick can present additional challenges. Fear of weight gain, loss of appetite, and cravings for comfort foods can disrupt your routine and trigger emotional eating. It’s important to understand that nourishing your body when you’re ill is just as important for your health as it is for your weight loss journey.

Parties and special events are moments of joy, celebration, and connection. Yet for many women struggling with weight and emotional eating, these occasions can feel overwhelming and stressful. A common fear is losing control around the special foods available, leading to overeating, binge eating or regret. As a result, some women avoid parties altogether to escape the temptation, missing out on social moments that nourish the soul.

The truth is, you don’t have to choose between enjoying yourself and sticking to your health goals. With a few intuitive eating strategies, you can confidently navigate parties and special events without guilt or deprivation.

Women who struggle with weight loss often find themselves in a cycle where everyone else’s needs come before their own. Whether it's taking care of children, family, work, or friends, there’s always something or someone that needs attention, leaving little time for self-care or activities they truly enjoy. It’s no wonder that many women feel overwhelmed, exhausted, and frustrated, unable to focus on their own health and well-being.

One common piece of diet advice is, “Don’t eat after 6 PM.” On the surface, this sounds simple, but for many women, it’s far from realistic. Imagine this: 8 PM rolls around, and you’re hungry again. You know you won’t make it until midnight or 1 AM when you finally go to bed, so you grab something to eat—and then feel guilty because you “broke the rule.”

This type of advice can lead to a vicious cycle of restriction, guilt, and overeating, especially for women struggling with weight loss and emotional eating. To understand why this one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work, let’s unpack the science behind eating at night, how your body works during sleep, and why restrictive fasting can be harmful—especially for women.

Do you feel confused when eating out? Don’t know what to order? Then, second guess yourself, order something “safe” or healthy, but later regret you didn’t order what you really wanted? Or are you feeling self-conscious about your food choices when eating in front of others?

I was confused because “I want a hamburger,” but “I should be good and just have a salad.” When you order a salad, you wish you’d ordered a hamburger. On the other hand, if you ordered the hamburger, you wished you had ordered something healthier, such as a chicken sandwich.

When we talk about the "ideal weight," it's common to think of a specific number on the scale—one calculated based on height, age, and activity levels. Most women struggling with weight issues often have an “ideal weight” of their own that they believe is where their happiness lies. Unfortunately, most women who successfully reached their “ideal weight” are still not happy, and they create a new “ideal weight” that is even lower. Eventually, they realize that they can’t get to the new lower weight and feel defeated.

The Myth of the Perfect Number

Unfortunately, society has long propagated the notion that the perfect weight can be boiled down to a simple formula. Charts and calculators abound, offering an “ideal” number that many women chase. However, this approach often neglects the nuanced realities of individual health, body composition, and emotional well-being.

Belly fat is a common concern among women, and while many attribute it solely to diet or lack of exercise, stress plays a significant role in its accumulation. Understanding how stress contributes to belly fat and learning effective strategies to reduce it can make a big difference in achieving a flatter abdomen.

From free and paid weight-loss apps to structured programs and one-on-one consultations with dietitians, the choice isn't always clear. Many people consider taking the do-it-yourself (DIY) route using apps or programs, drawn by the convenience and low cost.

Is it really the best for what you pay for?

The Little Known Secret…

Did you know nutrition therapies by a Registered Dietitian are covered by insurance benefits?

Working with an experienced dietitian who understands your unique struggles, especially when insurance can help cover the cost, can offer benefits that far outweigh the appeal of going it alone.

I started out as a pediatric dietitian, seeing some very complicated and rare genetic disorders and kids with feeding disorders, extreme picky eaters, etc, with great success. Then I started seeing adults for weight loss and soon saw the disappointment in that the conventional weight loss advice of eating less and burning more does not work for most women struggling with weight loss.

It's actually causing more harm, leading to nutrient deficiencies, binge eating, food cravings, gut issues, food sensitivities, hormonal imbalance, auto-immune diseases, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and low confidence.

With my unique holistic nutrition therapy approach, I was able to help these women achieve the significant weight loss they'd never seen in years. And yet everyone eventually reverted back to their old eating habits after 2-3 months.