LLN Episode #318: Dr. Glenn Livingston - Why Willpower Fails with Food — The Science Behind Cravings & Emotional Eating
Release Date: 12/29/2025
LLN Episode #323: Caffeine, Sugar & Alcohol — What’s the Real Impact in Midlife?
Living Life Naturally
If caffeine suddenly makes you anxious, sugar cravings feel louder than ever, and alcohol disrupts your sleep more than it used to… you’re not imagining it. In this Tea & Truth episode, Lynne breaks down what’s really happening in midlife — and why everyday stimulants can feel so different during perimenopause and menopause. You’ll learn how hormones, blood sugar, and the nervous system all play a role, plus gentle, realistic ways to support your body without extremes. Show Notes: In midlife, it can feel like your body has a new “volume setting.” Coffee that once felt...
info_outline
LLN Episode #322: Alicia Jones - The Truth About Protein And Why Most Women Over 40 Are Falling Short
Living Life Naturally
If you’re over 40 and feel like the old “eat less, move more” advice isn’t working anymore, you’re not alone. In this episode, I’m joined by Alicia Jones to talk about why most women are falling short on protein in midlife — and the simple, realistic shifts that can support muscle, metabolism, and steady energy without extreme dieting. If you’re over 40 and feel like your energy, strength, or body composition has shifted — you’re not imagining it. One of the biggest gaps I see in midlife women is protein intake. Most women are simply not getting enough, and in perimenopause...
info_outline
LLN Episode #321: Gut Health and Menopause: The Overlooked Connection
Living Life Naturally
Midlife digestion changes can feel confusing — bloating, constipation, reflux, cravings, brain fog, and inflammation that seem to come out of nowhere. In this episode, we unpack the gut–hormone connection in perimenopause and menopause, and I share a gentle framework to feel better: Calm • Feed • Support, plus a free 14-day gut reset. If perimenopause or menopause has you feeling like your digestion has changed overnight — bloating by lunchtime, stubborn constipation, reflux out of nowhere, new food sensitivities, cravings, brain fog, or feeling inflamed and puffy — you’re...
info_outline
LLN Episode #320: Dr. Jaime Knopman – Midlife Hormone Chaos? How To Advocate For Better Care
Living Life Naturally
Perimenopause isn’t just hot flashes and mood shifts — for many women, it can be a silent fertility disruptor. In today’s episode of Living Life Naturally, Lynne Wadsworth sits down with Dr. Jaime Knopman, double board-certified reproductive endocrinologist and fertility expert, to talk about what’s really happening with egg quality, ovulation, IVF outcomes, and why so many women feel dismissed or misdiagnosed in midlife. We also explore practical ways to advocate for better care — from tracking cycles and symptoms, to bringing a “plus one” to appointments, to understanding why...
info_outline
LLN Episode 319: Stop Dieting In Midlife: Why Nourishment Works Better Than Punishment
Living Life Naturally
If you’ve spent years — or decades — starting diets on Monday, feeling “good” or “bad” based on what you ate, or letting the scale decide your mood for the day… this episode is a deep breath of fresh air. In this powerful Tea & Truth conversation, Lynne invites you to gently step out of diet culture and into a new way of relating to food, your body, and your midlife health: nourish, don’t punish. You’ll learn why strict dieting backfires in midlife (especially with shifting hormones), how it impacts your metabolism, mood, cravings, and self-worth — and what it looks...
info_outline
LLN Episode #318: Dr. Glenn Livingston - Why Willpower Fails with Food — The Science Behind Cravings & Emotional Eating
Living Life Naturally
About Dr. Glenn Livington: Dr Glenn Livingston, Ph.D. is a veteran psychologist and longtime CEO of a multi-million-dollar consulting firm which has serviced several Fortune 500 clients in the food industry. Doctor Glenn’s work, theories, and research have been published in major periodicals like The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Sun Times. Disillusioned by what traditional psychology had to offer overweight and/or food obsessed individuals, Doctor Livingston spent several decades researching the nature of bingeing and overeating via work with his own patients AND a...
info_outline
LLN Episode #317: Eating for Hormonal Balance: Key Foods for Midlife Wellness
Living Life Naturally
Series: Tea & Truth: Honest Talk for Women in Midlife Host: Lynne Wadsworth, Holistic Health Coach If you’ve been feeling inflamed, tired, foggy, or just not like yourself lately, this episode will feel like a deep exhale. In today’s Tea & Truth, we’re breaking down exactly what to eat in midlife to balance hormones naturally, reduce inflammation, boost energy, stabilize mood, and finally feel at home in your body again. This is your personal guide to midlife nutrition that works with your changing hormones, not against them — no dieting, no deprivation, no guilt. Just...
info_outline
LLN Episode #316: The Emotional Weight of Hormonal Shifts — and How to Lighten It
Living Life Naturally
So many women in midlife say the same thing: “I feel heavier inside, and I don’t know why.” The truth is, hormonal shifts during perimenopause and menopause can profoundly affect your emotions — often in ways no one ever warned you about. In this compassionate episode of Tea & Truth, Lynne breaks down the real science behind the emotional weight of hormonal change, including how fluctuations in estrogen, progesterone, cortisol, and neurotransmitters influence your mood, stress tolerance, sleep, and overall emotional stability. We also explore the human experience — the overwhelm,...
info_outline
LLN Episode #315: Who Am I Now? Navigating Identity Shifts & Self-Discovery in Midlife
Living Life Naturally
In today’s heartfelt and empowering episode of Tea & Truth, we dive into one of the deepest — and most confusing — questions women face during perimenopause and menopause: Who am I now? Midlife often brings a surprising emotional and spiritual awakening. Many women suddenly feel different inside… questioning their identity, their purpose, their desires, and the life they’ve built. If you’ve felt “off,” restless, or disconnected from the woman you once were, you’re not alone — and nothing is wrong with you. In this episode, we explore the real reasons midlife triggers...
info_outline
LLN Episode #314 – What You Need to Know to Calm Your Midlife Anxiety & Mood Swings — Simply & Naturally
Living Life Naturally
If you’ve been feeling anxious, moody, or emotionally “off” lately, you are not alone. Midlife can bring sudden waves of anxiety, sleepless nights, irritability, and even sadness — all of which can leave you wondering what happened to your old self. But here’s the truth: your body isn’t betraying you — it’s speaking to you. In this heartfelt episode of Tea & Truth, Lynne dives into the emotional and biological changes that fuel midlife anxiety and mood swings — and how you can find calm again, naturally. She explains how shifting hormones, stress, and blood-sugar...
info_outlineAbout Dr. Glenn Livington:
Dr Glenn Livingston, Ph.D. is a veteran psychologist and longtime CEO of a multi-million-dollar consulting firm which has serviced several Fortune 500 clients in the food industry. Doctor Glenn’s work, theories, and research have been published in major periodicals like The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Sun Times.
Disillusioned by what traditional psychology had to offer overweight and/or food obsessed individuals, Doctor Livingston spent several decades researching the nature of bingeing and overeating via work with his own patients AND a self-funded research program with more than 40,000 participants.
Most important, however, was his own personal journey out of obesity and food prison to a normal, healthy weight and a much more lighthearted relationship with food.
Show Notes:
If food feels like it has power over you — whether that means occasional overeating, persistent cravings, or feeling stuck in a cycle of “starting tomorrow” — this episode offers a radically different and compassionate approach.
In this powerful conversation, Glenn Livingston, psychologist and author of Defeat Your Cravings, explains why willpower is not the solution to food struggles — and how lasting freedom comes from learning to quiet the brain’s emergency response around food. Dr. Glenn shares how cravings are rooted in the nervous system, why deprivation backfires, and how nourishing your body properly allows the rational brain to regain control.
Together, we explore the science behind cravings, binge urges, and emotional eating — including the concept of the cravings extinction curve, why cravings intensify before they disappear, and how self-care, sleep, and nutrition play a critical role in calming the brain. This episode offers hope, clarity, and practical tools for anyone who wants peace with food — without dieting, restriction, or shame.
✨ What You’ll Learn
· Why willpower fails — and what works instead
· How cravings are driven by the fight-or-flight nervous system
· The science of the cravings extinction curve
· Why nourishing your body reduces binge urges
· How sleep, stress, and decision fatigue impact cravings
· How to stop “starting tomorrow” and work with the present moment
· Why extreme diets make cravings worse, not better
· How to regain calm, control, and choice around food
📚 Free Resource from Dr. Glenn Livingston
Dr. Glenn is offering a FREE digital copy of his book Defeat Your Cravings along with additional tools, recovery audios, and practical resources.
👉 Get your free copy here:
https://www.defeatyourcravings.com
(Click the big blue button that says Free Book)
💛 Final Takeaway
You don’t need more discipline.
You don’t need to fight yourself.
You need nourishment, understanding, and a nervous system that feels safe.
This episode offers a path to lasting peace with food — one grounded in compassion, science, and self-regulation.
Connect with Lynne:
Imagine not having to “figure out midlife” on your own anymore. 💜
If you’re craving real support, practical solutions, and honest conversation, come join The Energized Healthy Women's Club —my private community for women who want to feel healthier, lighter, and more confident. Inside, we share tips and strategies for weight, belly bloat, hormones, sugar cravings, fatigue, recipes, perimenopause, menopause, headaches, and more… so you can feel energized, supported, and truly not alone in this season.
Website: https://holistic-healthandwellness.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/holistichealthandwellnessllc
The Energized Healthy Women’s Club: https://www.facebook.com/groups/energized.healthy.women
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lynnewadsworth
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynnewadsworth
Free Resources from Lynne Wadsworth:
Flourish in Midlife: 5 Essential Steps to Feeling Like Yourself Again
Hot flashes, mood swings, stubborn weight, zero energy… if midlife has you wondering “What happened to me?”—you are not alone, and you are not stuck this way.
Ladies, it’s time to move from just coping to truly flourishing.
In this FREE guide, you’ll discover 5 essential, practical steps to help you:
-
Stay fit and energized through perimenopause and menopause
-
Calm the chaos of hormones so you feel more balanced and in control
-
Start feeling more “like yourself” again—clearer, lighter, and more confident
-
Wake up with more energy and meet your day with real enthusiasm
These are the same simple, sustainable strategies I use with my clients—pulled together in one powerful resource designed just for midlife women like you.
✨ Ready to feel healthier, more in control, and excited about this next chapter?
Grab your free copy of Flourish in Midlife here: https://holistic-healthandwellness.com/flourish-in-midlife/
Did You Enjoy The Podcast?
If you enjoyed this episode please let us know! 5-star reviews for the Living Life Naturally podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or iHeart are greatly appreciated. This helps us reach more women struggling to live through midlife and beyond. Thank you. Together, we make a difference!