Catholic Women’s Metabolism | weight gain, fatigue, insulin resistance, stress hormones, thyroid health, perimenopause, and metabolic resilience

355. Behind the Scenes of 2025 + Metabolic Restoration: Who It’s For, What’s Inside

I disappeared in 2025 from the podcast and all things online.  Where did I go, you might be wondering?? 

The truth is: I didn’t stop caring.
I got more intentional.

In 2025, I made a decision to pause accepting clients—not because I wasn’t called to this work, but because I was “practicing what I preach” and needed to care for myself and my family on a different level.  

In this episode, I’m taking you behind the scenes of my 2025 AND breaking down what to expect in my 12-week group program, Restore.  

…so you can stop guessing, stop spiraling, and finally feel clear about whether this is your next step.

We’re covering:
✨ Who Restore is designed for
✨ Who it’s not for (with love + clarity)
✨ What the 12 weeks actually look like

If you’ve been praying about getting support…
If you’re tired of “starting over” every Monday…
If your body feels like it’s fighting you and you don’t know why…

This episode will help you think:
“I feel clear. I feel safe. I know what to do next.”

🙏 Enrollment closes soon. If you’ve been praying about this, take the next faithful step.
Apply for Restore now.

354. Is It Time for Support? How to Know When You Shouldn’t “Just Try Harder”

If you’ve been telling yourself that the answer is more discipline, more willpower, or one more restart — this episode is for you.

We talk about:

• Signs you’ve outgrown DIY approaches
• Why waiting often costs more than acting
• What support actually changes (and what it doesn’t)
• Who thrives inside Restore

If you’ve been quietly wondering, “Is it time?”
This episode helps you listen honestly.

✨ Enrollment for Restore is open now✨

Spots are filling–apply at www.rootedwellness.academy/restore

353. Your Body Is Not a Problem to Fix — It’s a Gift to Steward

Many Catholic women have been taught—explicitly or subtly—that caring for their body is vanity, weakness, or distraction from what “really” matters.

In this episode, we gently reframe that belief.

We talk about:

• The difference between stewardship and punishment
• Why caring for your body is not vanity, but responsibility
• How shaming yourself is hurting your health
• What Scripture actually says about nourishing and cherishing the body (Eph 5:29)

If your approach to food and health has felt tense, anxious, or misaligned with your faith, this conversation is an invitation to something quieter, steadier, and more peaceful.

✨ Restore begins in February.

Restore is my 12-week group program for Catholic women in their 30s and 40s who want to stop fighting their bodies and start supporting them — without dieting extremes.

Early applicants receive additional personal support, including a private 1:1 session, personalized lab + symptom review, and early voice-note access.

👉 Apply for Restore here: www.RootedWellness.Academy/restore

352. The Cycle Catholic Women Don’t Talk About: Restriction, Burnout, Guilt, Repeat

It often begins with good intentions — a desire to be disciplined, healthy, and faithful. But over time, food choices start to feel moral, guilt replaces peace, and caring for your body becomes heavy instead of life-giving.

In this episode, we talk about:

• How diet culture sneaks into faith spaces
  
• Why guilt often disguises itself as “discipline”
  
• How “off the wagon” thinking harms both metabolism and conscience
  
• What peace with food actually requires — physically and spiritually
  
  

If you’ve ever wondered why doing “everything right” still leaves you exhausted and discouraged, this conversation is for you.

You’re not failing.

You may simply be stuck in a cycle your body was never meant to carry.

✨ Restore begins February 9th ✨
Restore is my 12-week group program for Catholic women in their 30s and 40s who want to stop fighting their bodies and start supporting them — without dieting extremes.

Early applicants receive additional personal support, including a private 1:1 session, personalized lab + symptom review, and early voice-note access.

👉 Apply for Restore here: www.RootedWellness.Academy/restore

351. Why Dieting Stops Working in Your 30s and 40s (And What Actually Helps)

What used to work in your 20s literally and physically doesn’t work anymore.  Let’s break it down in this episode:

• What changes hormonally and metabolically in this season
• Why dieting feels harder and gives worse results
• Why your body isn’t resisting — it’s adapting
• What support actually looks like now

If this episode strikes a chord with you, I’ve built a program based on this framework–Restore: A 12-Week Metabolic Reset for Catholic Women

A dietitian-led group program for Catholic women in their 30s–40s who are exhausted, gaining weight, and frustrated with their bodies — and want to restore energy, metabolism, and peace with food without dieting extremes.

What to Expect:

• Restore metabolic function without dieting extremes
• Support hormones, thyroid, and energy
• Learn how to nourish your body with confidence and consistency
• Find peace with food while honoring faith and physiology

This is not a weight-loss challenge.
This is not a detox.
This is not another plan that asks you to override your body.

Restore teaches you how your metabolism actually works—and how to support it for the long term.

Apply today at RootedWellness.Academy/restore

Women who apply and are accepted by early enrollment will receive the following additional support:

✔️ One private 30-minute 1:1 session during the 12 weeks
Personalized guidance to apply Restore to your specific body, history, and season of life.

✔️ Personal lab + symptom review (async)
Submit recent labs and symptoms for individualized metabolic insight and recommendations.

✔️ Two weeks of voice-note support inside the program
Direct access for questions and reassurance as momentum builds early on.

These enrollment bonuses are only available for early applicants and are not guaranteed once the group fills.

Apply today at RootedWellness.Academy/restore!!

350. You’re Not Lazy, Broken, or Undisciplined — You’re Under-Supported

As a woman who can seemingly conquer it all, is trying to "eat clean" and do the right things, yet feels like she is running on empty...

It's not your fault! Your body is simply begging you to support it in a different way.

This episode will unpack:
-why so many faithful
-disciplined women feel exhausted
-the hidden cost of chronic under-fueling + stress
-why “doing everything right” can still backfire

******

If this episode puts words to something you’ve been carrying quietly, I want you to know — you don’t have to figure this out alone.

 

I'm currently enrolling in Restore: A 12-Week Metabolic Reset for Catholic Women

A 12-week, dietitian-led group program for Catholic women in their 30s–40s who are exhausted, gaining weight, and frustrated with their bodies — and want to restore energy, metabolism, and peace with food without dieting extremes.

What to expect in Restore:

• Stabilize energy
  
  
• Support hormones + metabolism
  
  
• End the cycle of restriction → burnout → guilt
  
  
• Do it in a way that honors faith, body, and vocation

This is not weight-loss at all costs. It’s nutrition that respects your hormones, your nervous system, and your faith. 

 

Apply today at RootedWellness.Academy/restore

349. Welcome to Catholic Women’s Metabolism

Hi friends, and welcome to a very special episode of the podcast! If you’ve been with me for a while, you know this show has always been about supporting women in their health journeys. Today, I’m excited to announce a big change: our podcast is rebranding as Catholic Women’s Metabolism.

 

This new name reflects exactly who we serve—Catholic women in their 30s and 40s navigating metabolism, hormones, and weight changes—and the evidence-based, clinically grounded education you’ll hear in every episode.

 

You may be wondering why the change. Over the last five years, I’ve realized that my listeners need more than general health tips—they need science-backed information, personalized for midlife women, delivered in a way that respects Catholic teaching on the body and moral health.

 

So, everything you’ve loved about this show—honest discussion, practical insights, and compassionate guidance—remains, but now the focus is sharper: helping you understand your metabolism, your hormones, and your health through a faith-aligned and clinically informed lens.

 

For those who may be new here, I’m Kristen Noriega, a Registered Dietitian and Integrative & Functional Nutrition–Certified Practitioner. I’ve worked with hundreds of women to understand the physiology behind weight gain, fatigue, insulin resistance, thyroid function, and perimenopause, and now I get to bring that expertise to you, right here in this podcast.

 

This show has also been recognized as a Top 100 podcast and independently named one of the Top 15 Catholic podcasts, which is truly an honor. I’m grateful for this community of women seeking clarity and health stewardship in alignment with their faith.

 

Moving forward, you can expect episodes that are:

•Educational and evidence-based, exploring metabolism, hormones, and weight regulation

•Faith-aligned, grounded in Catholic teaching about the body as a gift to steward

•Practical, with lifestyle strategies rooted in science, not extreme dieting or quick fixes.

 

Each episode will help you understand your body better, improve metabolic resilience, and feel confident in caring for your health in a sustainable, ethical way.

 

So here’s what I’d love for you to do:

1. SUBSCRIBE to the newly rebranded Catholic Women’s Metabolism wherever you listen to podcasts.

2. SHARE this episode with a friend or sister who might benefit from understanding their metabolism and hormones.

3. FOLLOW along on Instagram www.instagram.com/weightloss.wellmom

4. Grab this free gift that I put together for you: rootedwellness.academy/hormonehacker

 

Thank you for being part of this community. I’m so excited for this next chapter, and I can’t wait to help you understand your metabolism, steward your health, and embrace the body God gave you with confidence and clarity. Let’s do this!

348. Why You Shouldn't DIY Your Weight Loss Plan

If you give a mom her lab results, she's going to jump on Google.

 

  When she's on Google, she's going to decide that she has a life-altering disease that is causing her weight gain.  

 

After all that Googling, she's going to find her husband for a shoulder to cry on.  

 

He'll suggest grabbing a diet book, so she hops on Amazon to purchase the latest fad-that-isn't-a-fad diet book.  

 

While online, she's going to see that the return window has passed for the outfit that she ordered for Christmas that was 2 sizes too small. 

 

Fed up, she'll head out the door to GoodWill to donate all of the clothes that don't fit her.  

 

After she exits the highway, however, she'll drive right passed Chick-Fil-A, where she'll mindlessly turn in and grab her "healthy" comfort food.  

 

As she grabs her fries, she notices the time and sprints off to pick the kids up from practice.  She'll roll straight into the madness that is her daily evening routine, so she'll push the weight loss planning (and the workout btw) until tomorrow.

 

Before going to bed she checks her email one last time and sees the notification about her lab results from her patients portal and starts spiraling all over….

 

The moral of this give-a-mouse-a-cookie story?  Don't rely on lab "results" alone to be your weight loss fix.  

 

It can't be your only plan, because, let's be honest, the doctor's office isn't typically going to have a ton of follow-up and support for you. 

 

Let's dive in!

 

****Ready to support your metabolism, restore energy, & bring your body back into balance—without dieting or burning out?

 

Grab your free Hormone Hacker's Guide for Women here: rootedwellness.academy/hormonehacker

347. Heal Your Hormones, Challenge Day 7 | 2025 Invitation to Weight Loss Program!

You can guess at what your hormones need--right here. Right now! 

 

Orrrrr, you can test!  

 

I'll walk you through swaps to make to heal your hormones on this episode  and explore what type of labs and tests you should take.

 

****Ready to support your metabolism, restore energy, & bring your body back into balance—without dieting or burning out?

 

Grab your free Hormone Hacker's Guide for Women here: rootedwellness.academy/hormonehacker

346. What's the Deal With Seed Oils and Other Fats? | Weight Loss Challenge Day 6

Two words: seed oils.

I get questions about this hot topic all the time. Are they ok? Why do so many say to avoid them? What's the deal?!


We'll explore the fats you should actually consume regularly and we'll also touch on herbs and spices.

 

****Ready to support your metabolism, restore energy, & bring your body back into balance—without dieting or burning out?

 

Grab your free Hormone Hacker's Guide for Women here: rootedwellness.academy/hormonehacker