Podcast
Heart Led Wellness
The Heart Led Wellness Podcast is hosted by Ashlyn Burnett, a National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach and Integrative Healthcare graduate, who has helped 500+ women learn to eat the way naturally thin people do...no tracking, no rules, no obsessing. Rooted in Polyvagal theory and somatic healing, this show teaches you how to heal your relationship with food at the nervous system level so you can finally eat from your body instead of your brain. New episodes every week. Follow Ashlyn on Instagram @heart.led.wellness.
- Health & Fitness chart
- #137
- Episodes
- 173
- Releases
- Weekly
- Typical length
- 32 min
- On air since
- 2023
- Latest episode
- 20 hours ago
Episodes
173 episodes, newest first
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51 min
186: From chasing wellness rabbit holes to becoming naturally thin: Olivia’s Heart Led Eating journey
Episode 186
Show notes
Olivia thought she was just “a wellness girly.” But from middle-school crash diets to macros, keto, protein targets, and the infamous bean protocol, food had become something she was constantly trying to control. In this episode, she shares what happened when motherhood, a move to Japan, and an unexpected trip back to the US intensified the food noise…and how she eventually found Heart Led Eating and became naturally thin instead.
We discuss...
• Olivia’s early restrict-and-overeat cycle
• Wellness rabbit holes that promised a fix
• Why rigid food rules felt comforting, even when they took over her life
• The whip cream moment she realized she couldn’t keep living this way
• Her “messy middle” in Heart Led Eating…and why she nearly gave up around week eight
• How community and nervous system tools helped her respond differently when things felt hard
• What it’s like to eat a burger, keep sourdough in the kitchen, and move on with her day
• Her advice for anyone who knows what to do but feels stuck trying to do it🔗 Links
Free root cause quiz
Email me at: ashlyn@heartledwellness.com
Medical Disclaimer
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34 min
185: diets make you fat (a raw share)
Episode 185
Show notes
this episode is a bit different than normal. I'm riffing on why diets make you fat and how to let go of the constant chase for weight loss so you can actually become naturally thin :)
🔗 Links
Free root cause quiz
Email me at: ashlyn@heartledwellness.com
Medical Disclaimer
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41 min
184: From "I just have thick thighs" to losing 20 lbs and becoming naturally thin: Krista's Heart Led Eating transformation
Episode 184
Show notes
Krista spent years thinking she was basically healed because the big night binges had stopped. She still had food noise, still overate at most meals without fully realizing it, and had mostly accepted that she just carried excess in her legs and assumed that’s just how her body was built. Growing up in a house where someone was always dieting or binging, she used to wish she could be anorexic so she could finally control herself. As a mom of three, the pull to track, volume eat, and “get back on track” after her third baby almost pulled her right back in. In this episode, Krista shares how she became naturally thin, released over 20 pounds without white-knuckling it, and stop treating food and her body like the main project of her life.
We discuss:
• Growing up in a home where someone was always dieting or bingeing
• Restriction, nightly binges, digestion issues, and the long-held belief that she “just had food issues”
• Stuck in quasi-recovery for years (not bingeing as badly but still wishing she was thinner)
• Learning to read the nuances of her built in calorie calculator
• How she lost 20lbs without tracking anything or removing soul foods
• Letting go of the all or nothing root cause
• Surrendering to the weight her body wants to land at
• Raising heart led eating children
• Krista’s advice for current student HLE students in the messy middle
• How putting food back in order opens new options for life🔗 Links
Free root cause quiz
Email me at: ashlyn@heartledwellness.com
Medical Disclaimer
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32 min
183: Hyperspecific signs you’re eating WAYYYY too much
Episode 183
Show notes
Most people think eating too much only looks like binges, but a lot of overeating is quieter than that. In this episode I’m walking through the hyper-specific signs your body is getting wayyyyy more food than it needs. These signs are part of how you read your built in calorie calculator!
I discuss...
• 7 signs you’re eating too much
• Body positivity culture normalizing overeating
• Hunger being an amplifier of trapped pain
• How you should feel when you stop eating
• Digestive issues that are related to overeating
• The low grade buffer of grazing all day
• Why excess storage gets blamed on thyroid, parasites, mold, or hormones instead of too much food🔗 Links
Free root cause quiz
Email me at: ashlyn@heartledwellness.com
Medical Disclaimer
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36 min
182: She became naturally thin and got off her GLP1: Allison’s Heart Led Eating transformation
Episode 182
Show notes
Imagine binge eating every single day (while on the maximum dose of a GLP-1) weighing yourself multiple times a day, and living with constant food noise and body shame… then titrating off the medication, ditching the scale, maintaining a 25-pound weight loss, and feeling like a completely different person. In this episode, my Heart Led Eating alum Allison shares how a lifetime of family weight policing, extreme restriction, binge-purge cycles, yo-yo dieting, and a nursing background that pushed her further from her body led her to the moment she decided to draw a line in the sand and become naturally thin instead.
We discuss:
• Growing up in a household where weight and size are constantly talked about
• Years of yo-yo dieting, a binge-eating disorder diagnosis, constant food noise
• More than a year on a max-dose GLP-1 that still didn’t work
• A pregnancy that brought a 70-pound gain and deep despair
• The lightning-bolt moment after her mom’s mastectomy, and signing up for Heart Led Eating that same night
• The real root causes Allison discovered underneath her food/body struggles
• Titrating off the GLP-1, maintaining the 25-pound loss without it, finally ditching the scale, and clothes from 11 years ago fitting loose again
• The ONE KEY thing that made the biggest difference in her Heart Led Eating journey🔗 Links
Free root cause quiz
Email me at: ashlyn@heartledwellness.com
Medical Disclaimer
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23 min
181: How to grow your nervous system capacity (so you don't need food as a buffer)
Episode 181
Show notes
If you keep getting urges to eat when you’re not hungry or past fullness, it’s not a willpower problem. It’s a capacity problem. In this episode I’m breaking down what nervous system capacity actually is, how a small capacity turns into overeating, and how to grow it so you don’t need food to feel safe.
I discuss...
• What “nervous system capacity” really means
• Signs your nervous system capacity is small
• How eating dulls sensation and traps unfelt emotion in the body as excess storage
• Other buffers besides food
• Common myths about how to grow your nervous system capacity
• Do all naturally thin people have big nervous system capacities?
• How to clear out trapped pain from your body
• How to actually grow your nervous system capacity🔗 Links
JOIN HEART LED EATING
Free root cause quiz
Email me at: ashlyn@heartledwellness.com
Medical Disclaimer
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26 min
180: You’ll never have a bad body image day again after this
Episode 180
Show notes
Body positivity culture says you heal body image by loving yourself, detaching from your physical body, and doing more inner work. That’s not what actually ended my bad body image days/body dysmorphia…and it’s not what I see work for my clients. In this episode I’m breaking down the 2 real reasons you don’t like how you look, and how to never have a bad body image day again.
I discuss...
• Why “just love your body” doesn’t work
• The real root causes of body dysmorphia
• How excess storage creates body hatred that isn’t a mindset problem
• Why wanting to be thin is not disordered
• How your nervous system literally changes the way you see your body
• What to do when you feel “fat”
• How to feel safe in your current body while excess is releasing
• Why you don’t have to choose between food freedom and a thin body
• My own shift from hating my body to actually feeling at home in it🔗 Links
JOIN HEART LED EATING
Free root cause quiz
Email me at: ashlyn@heartledwellness.com
Medical Disclaimer
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46 min
179: Brutally honest listener Q+A: bad body image days, exercise, pregnancy, hate comments, personal life updates
Episode 179
Show notes
Heart Led Exercise? Naturally thin pregnancies? Bad body images days? The meanest hate comment I’ve gotten? We’re going deeppppp today in this listener Q+A!
Questions I answer:
• My experience with volume eating and why I hate it
• What’s my relationship with exercise?
• How to fight bad body image days?
• How do you practice holistic health today in a non obsessive way?
• Somatic practices specifically as an alternative for the chewing/jaw sensation?
• Spaciousness in the body for intuition / god / creative energy
• How do you deal with all the hate you get online?
• What do I do when urge to eat is overwhelming
• What to do when you can’t stop eating once you start, even in physical pain?
• How do naturally thin women deal with pregnancy weight gain?
• Personal life update: what’s been on your mind/overwhelming you?🔗 Links
JOIN HEART LED EATING
Free root cause quiz
Email me at: ashlyn@heartledwellness.com
Medical Disclaimer
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19 min
178: Your excess weight will MELT OFF once you're in this nervous system state
Episode 178
Show notes
There’s one specific nervous system state that makes losing excess weight soooo much easier. Once you can get your nervous system into this state, it actually makes it hard to gain weight haha. In this episode I’m sharing what it is, why it changes everything about food and appetite, and how to access it even when life feels chaotic.
I discuss...
• Why trying to lose weight from a place of hating your body keeps you stuck in the yo-yo cycle
• What this magical nervous system state actually feels like
• How being in this state makes it easy to hear your built-in calorie calculator and removes the need to overeat
• Why a sense of safety and abundance naturally lowers appetite and eliminates binge urges
• The real meaning of “growing nervous system capacity”
• How to feel safe in your current body (even with excess storage) so you stop sabotaging with extremes
• The myth of “maintenance mode”🔗 Links
JOIN HEART LED EATING
Free root cause quiz
Email me at: ashlyn@heartledwellness.com
Medical Disclaimer
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31 min
177: Restriction, binge-purge cycles, hospitalization & going in circles to healing once and for all: Georgia’s Heart Led Eating Transformation
Episode 177
Show notes
Sometimes you can do all the “right” things (therapy, eating disorder treatment centers, books, intuitive eating, CBT) and still feel stuck going in circles. In this episode, my Heart Led Eating client Georgia shares how she went from teenage restriction that led to a three-month hospitalization, years of binge-purge cycles, over-exercise, temporary “fixes” that always collapsed, gut destruction after a relapse, and a long stretch of feeling like something deeper was missing… to finally uncovering the nervous-system root and eating like a naturally thin woman with no food noise, seamless excess release, and the ability to just live for the first time in 15 years.
We discuss:
• How a desire to lose a couple of pounds as a teenager snowballed into massive restriction, hospitalization, over-exercising, fasting, and a multi-year binge-purge cycle
• The consuming years of volume eating, four-hour workouts, weekend binge-purge, concussion-forced rest, CBT, and intuitive-eating efforts that still felt like constant hard work
• A relapse that destroyed her gut for two years, then carnivore, weight loss that triggered monitoring, more weight gain, tanked thyroid, and increasingly extreme diets
• The pivotal realization that it wasn’t an incurable eating disorder but an underlying nervous-system issue preventing natural eating
• Finding Heart Led Eating (and the Somatics masterclass) after trying cold plunges, breathwork, and other tools that felt like a full-time job
• Why the practical, step-by-step, coaching-supported structure of HLE finally worked where years of therapy and self-research hadn’t
• The big “ah ha” around intense desire to lose weight as a dysregulation signal
• Tangible shifts after four months: 6–7 kg released, clear separation between dysregulation and hunger, ability to simply be with herself without constant coping, massive mental space, and genuine security that the old cycles are gone🔗 Links
JOIN HEART LED EATING
Free root cause quiz
Email me at: ashlyn@heartledwellness.com
Medical Disclaimer
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25 min
176: Gut issues: an unpopular way to heal that actually works
Episode 176
Show notes
I spent years with debilitating gut issues (constipation, bloating, gas, food intolerances etc) and nothing worked (yes, I tried traditional medicine as well as every “holistic” rabbit hole I could go down). In this episode I’m sharing the 2 root causes of chronic gut issues that almost no one talks about, and the unpopular approach that actually resolved mine (and so many of my clients’).
I discuss...
• My personal history of gut issues and everything I tried that didn’t work
• Why disordered eating and gut issues are so tightly linked
• How refining your built-in calorie calculator can eliminate a huge amount of gut symptoms
• Why chronic nervous system dysregulation shuts down “rest and digest”
• The connection between constipation, diarrhea, and the body being in survival mode
• How trapped pain and emotions cause food to “land” poorly in the body
• How to reverse food sensitivities and intolerances
• The simple (but not easy) way to heal🔗 Links
JOIN HEART LED EATING
Free root cause quiz
Email me at: ashlyn@heartledwellness.com
Medical Disclaimer
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38 min
175: How to get thin WITHOUT obsessive exercise or perfect eating: Kelly’s Heart Led Eating transformation
Episode 175
Show notes
Imagine living in the same “thin” body you’ve worked so hard for…but without the 20,000-step days, the Apple Watch obsession, the volume-eating salads, or the constant mental math. Imagine dropping every rule, eating peanut butter sandwiches when you feel like it, moving only when it feels good, and still fitting into all the same clothes a year later while having so much more time and energy for your family. In this episode, my Heart Led Eating student Kelly shares exactly how she went from forcefully thin to naturally thin.
We discuss...
• Growing up in a big Italian family where food = love and celebration, and how being overweight became part of her identity
• Using exercise to lose weight and stay thin
• All-consuming activity tracking (Apple Watch, 20k+ steps + workouts, never taking real breaks)
• Volume eating with lots of vegetables to stay thin
• The weekend/vacation overeating cycle that always restarted on Monday
• The flu and week in bed that changed her life
• Learning to trust her own body, drop the rules, and stop people-pleasing/food-fawning around others
• Moving through the “messy middle” with soul foods
• How Kelly eats and moves now to stay thin with ease🔗 Links
JOIN HEART LED EATING
Free root cause quiz
Email me at: ashlyn@heartledwellness.com
Medical Disclaimer
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35 min
174: If you want to be thin…MASTER these 7 niche skills
Episode 174
Show notes
There are specific mciro skills that naturally thin people have mastered…and most people never get taught them. And it’s NOT 10k steps, or tracking your calories, or hitting a protein goal. In this episode I’m breaking down the exact skills you need if you want to be thin long-term without force or constant willpower.
I discuss...
• The difference between body hunger and phantom hunger
• How to accurately read your built-in calorie calculator, especially the real stopping point
• Why you must disconnect eating from regulation so overeating starts to give you the ick
• Mastering the skill of leaving things incomplete (ending the all-or-nothing mindset)
• Learning satisfaction cues so you can eat rich foods without overdoing it
• Feeling the full spectrum of life without using food as a buffer
• Feeling safe being seen as your true self once the physical padding is gone
• Building a life that feels more exciting than eating🔗 Links
JOIN HEART LED EATING
Free root cause quiz
Email me at: ashlyn@heartledwellness.com
Medical Disclaimer
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38 min
173: From night eating, Adderall abuse, gut issues, and binge cycles to naturally thin and a body that feels safe: Kathleen’s story
Episode 173
Show notes
Ooooo this is a deep one. In this raw episode, my Heart Led Eating alumni Kathleen shares how she went from a deep binge restrict cycle, 60 lbs of weight gain, night eating with kitchen locks, debilitating gut issues, and an Adderall addiction…to healing it all and becoming naturally thin.
We discuss...
• Generational food and body issues
• The dark reality of using substances like Adderall to control appetite and weight
• Night eating…the shame, the locks on every cabinet, waking up having eaten a jar of peanut butter with no memory of it
• Living between extremes: tracking every bite or full-on binging, gaining or losing, never just existing in a normal body
• Coming off years of ultra-strict diets (carnivore, keto, etc.) and relearning how to eat normally
• How the simple act of eating can feel traumatizing and how nervous system work rewires that
• Completely healing her gut issues (zero bloating, zero pain, zero SIBO symptoms) through Heart Led Eating
• Weight slowly stabilizing at her smallest in a very long time, with zero fear of uncontrollable gain ever again
• Kathleen and I’s Mexico trip: two full weeks of eating out every single meal, desserts, processed food…and feeling completely free and normal
• Advice Kathleen would give to any new Heart Led Eaters🔗 Links
JOIN HEART LED EATING
Free root cause quiz
Email me at: ashlyn@heartledwellness.com
Medical Disclaimer
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29 min
172: Get thin WITHOUT peptides
Episode 172
Show notes
Naturally thin people are already eating like they’re on Ozempic (they literally get the ick from overeating) without ever taking a shot. In this episode I’m breaking down exactly how to get thin without peptides by addressing the real root cause.
I discuss...
• How peptides make you forcefully thin (and why that is not the same as being naturally thin)
• Why naturally thin people already get the “ick” from overeating without any interventions
• The real reason most people carry excess storage
• Why removing the food buffer without growing nervous system capacity can be dangerous
• The consequences of peptides that a lot of people are ignoring
• “ozemepic personality”
• Can you do Heart Led Eating while taking peptides?
• The exact steps to lose weight and become naturally thin without GLPs🔗 Links
JOIN HEART LED EATING
Free root cause quiz
Email me at: ashlyn@heartledwellness.com
Medical Disclaimer
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41 min
171: Scared you’ll gain weight if you stop tracking your food? Listen to Laura’s Heart Led Eating transformation
Episode 171
Show notes
What if tracking calories to try and manage your weight was actually keeping you stuck? And letting it go didn’t cause chaos, but brought peace, stable weight, better health markers, and a completely different relationship with your body? Today, my Heart Led Eating student, Laura, shares her powerful journey from restriction, pregnancy weight gain, yo-yo cycles, every diet phase (low-fat, low-sugar, high-protein, high-fiber), constant food noise, and fear of losing control...to discovering the root cause and finally trusting her body’s built-in calorie calculator.
We discuss...
• How scoliosis, societal praise for smallness, and being short wired a deep drive to always be as small as possible
• Decades of calorie tracking, packaged foods for “accuracy,” low-fat/no-sugar eras, exercise as pure calorie burn, and the mental exhaustion of constant management
• Being scared to stop tracking calories and “lose control”
• The root cause of grazing on food all day long
• Releasing the obsession with being the smallest
• Tangible health wins: normalized cholesterol (first time in 11 years), improving DEXA/bone density scan, better energy (no more afternoon crashes), and stable weight without tracking
• Why this isn’t “eat whatever and accept excess weight”🔗 Links
JOIN HEART LED EATING
Free root cause quiz
Email me at: ashlyn@heartledwellness.com
Medical Disclaimer
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23 min
170: The human body is designed to be THIN
Episode 170
Show notes
You’re not disordered for wanting to be thin. When we live in times of food abundance, the human body’s natural state is thinness. In this episode I’m breaking down why excess storage feels so bad, why your brain actually wants you to be thin in times of abundance, and how to get back to your body’s natural design without force or restriction.
I discuss...
• Why carrying excess storage feels bad (it’s not about vanity or society beauty standards)
• Why it’s not disordered to want to be thin.
• The difference between naturally thin and underweight/skinny
• How emotional eating traps pain in the body and why we don’t need “survival fat” anymore
• How dieting and restricting keeps your brain and body in famine mode
• Why so many women secretly want to be thin but are afraid to say it
• How nervous system regulation and reconnecting to your built-in calorie calculator make thinness feel inevitable and effortless
• How to become naturally thin🔗 Links
JOIN HEART LED EATING
Free root cause quiz
Email me at: ashlyn@heartledwellness.com
Medical Disclaimer
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42 min
169: Weight falling off while eating pastries for breakfast: Allison’s Heart Led Eating transformation
Episode 169
Show notes
Imagine being able to enjoy your favorite foods (including homemade scones and cookies) while still releasing excess weight…all without tracking a single thing. My Heart Led Eating student Allison shares her full journey: from childhood body confusion in the ’90s diet culture era, through puberty changes, family “Clark butt” comments, black-and-white thinking, multiple diets (Weight Watchers, keto, macros), binge-purge eating disorder behaviors, postpartum restriction while nursing, and diving headfirst into wellness culture... to finally eating like a naturally thin woman.
We discuss:
• How growing up with skinny motivation, fat phobia, and family dynamics wired early fear and confusion around food
• The exhausting swing between being forcefully thin and feeling out of control with “intuitive eating”
• Allison’s rock bottom binge moment while breastfeeding
• How wellness obsession was just another form of dieting
• When you’ve taken all the courses and are still struggling
• How Allison lost 12 pounds without losing the muscle she needed through Heart Led Eating🔗 Links
JOIN HEART LED EATING
Free root cause quiz
Email me at: ashlyn@heartledwellness.com
Medical Disclaimer
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27 min
168: Program your brain to be naturally thin
Episode 168
Show notes
I used to think naturally thin people had special genes that made them skinny and I could never be like them. Turns out their brain relates to food differently…and that’s something we can all create. In this episode I’m breaking down exactly how to rewire your brain so your desire for food finally matches what your body actually needs.
I discuss...
• The mismatch between your brain’s desire for food and your body’s desire for food
• How using food as a nervous system buffer creates strong neurological pathways that keep us stuck in the binge-restrict cycle
• The inside-out process to weight loss that actually works
• Why forcing yourself to eat less with diets or Ozempic never creates lasting naturally thin energy
• How to let old food-regulation pathways die out so you stop fighting urges altogether
• Exactly how to program your brain to be naturally thin🔗 Links
JOIN HEART LED EATING
Free root cause quiz
Email me at: ashlyn@heartledwellness.com
Medical Disclaimer
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20 min
167: The dark side of intuitive eating...
Episode 167
Show notes
I tried intuitive eating, and it was the most out of control I have ever felt around food in my entire life. I was gaining weight, eating in a way that felt like a complete free-for-all, and being told by coaches that this was normal and where my body was supposed to be. It didn't feel true. In this episode I'm breaking down exactly why intuitive eating fails so many women…and what's different about how naturally thin women eat.
I discuss...
• My personal experience trying intuitive eating and why it made things worse instead of better
• Why "eat when you're hungry, stop when you're full" is bad advice
• How naturally thin women see hunger and fullness differently
• The root cause intuitive eating never addresses
• Why naturally thin women are not doing intuitive eating — and what they're actually doing instead
• The difference between intuitive eating and body-led eating
• Why you can follow intuitive eating perfectly and still gain excess weight🔗 Links
JOIN HEART LED EATING
Free root cause quiz
Email me at: ashlyn@heartledwellness.com
Medical Disclaimer
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