The Fit Physician

With over 30 years of experience treating patients with chronic pain, prescription drug dependence, and complex health conditions, Dr. Ann Crabtree has dedicated much of her career to helping patients reduce their reliance on medication when appropriate. Along the way, she's developed a practical, evidence-based approach that goes beyond prescriptions to help patients improve their health and quality of life.

In this episode of The Fit Physician Podcast, she joins Suzanne and Jake to share her approach to deprescribing and the six evidence-based pillars of better health. We explore how small, sustainable lifestyle changes can help patients improve their quality of life, reduce their reliance on medication when appropriate, and build a stronger foundation for long-term health.

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Supplements are everywhere, but do we actually know what we're taking? And how can we be sure what's on the label is actually what's inside?

In this week's Science Snack, Dr. Suzanne Rutherford and Coach Jake Wright review an eye-opening study that raises important questions about supplement safety, quality, and regulation. They break down what the findings mean for your health and share what you should look for before buying your next supplement.

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For Dr. Anna Donovan, a busy neonatologist and mom of two, chronic hip pain made everyday activities difficult. Between 100-hour work weeks, motherhood, and ongoing injuries, finding a way to get stronger felt nearly impossible and she worried about her future health and quality of life. Then she found The Fit Physician Coaching.

In this episode, Dr. Suzanne Rutherford and Coach Mitch Luck share how Anna went from struggling to grocery shop to walking 10 km a day with her daughter. Discovering how personalized strength training helped her overcome setbacks, rebuild confidence, and get back to living life to the fullest.

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Midlife weight gain is often reduced to one simple message: eat less and move more... But for many women, there’s much more to the story.

In this episode, Dr. Suzanne Rutherford explores the often-overlooked factors that can impact body composition in midlife, including sleep, stress, changing family roles, aging parents, work demands, and simply having too much on your plate

If midlife weight gain has left you wondering “What am I doing wrong?”, this episode will help you look beyond the usual advice, identify what may actually be impacting you, and decide what to focus on first.

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You already know what you should be doing for your health. But somewhere between patients, call weeks, kids, travel, and taking care of everyone else, your own health keeps getting pushed to the bottom of the list. You start, life gets busy, you fall off, and eventually you find yourself right back where you started.

In this episode, Jake and Suzanne share a different way forward: stop trying to change everything at once and start building a foundation that can actually survive your life. You’ll learn how to break the start-stop cycle, take some of the mental load off your plate, and build strength, nutrition, and health habits that finally stick, so you can feel like yourself again and stay strong and capable for the decades ahead.

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In this Science Snack, Dr. Suzanne Rutherford explores what the evidence says about exercise, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and dementia. She breaks down why some of the popular claims around exercise and dementia prevention aren’t as clear-cut as they seem, and where the research is much more promising.

We explore the evidence supporting exercise for people with MCI, including the roles of cardiovascular and resistance training, how much exercise appears to be beneficial, and the important limitations of what exercise can and cannot do.

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In this episode, Jake and Suzanne take you behind the scenes of The Fit Physician and share the story of how it all began. What started with Suzanne struggling to fit fitness into the realities of life as a busy physician and mom eventually became a mission to help women physicians build strength, prioritize their health, and feel their best without their lives having to revolve around fitness.

500+ women physicians later, that mission has only grown. Jake and Suzanne reflect on how their “why” has evolved, the ripple effect that prioritizing your health can have on every area of your life, and why providing women with evidence-based information they can genuinely trust matters more than ever.

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Amy Flood, Executive Director of Women’s Health Collective Canada, joins us to unpack the current state of women’s health in Canada and why the gaps in research, funding, and care are much bigger than many of us realize. From women receiving just a fraction of public health research funding to Canada’s surprising global ranking in women’s health, Amy talks about a problem that impacts women, families, workplaces, and our healthcare system.

We also explore the economic case for investing in women’s health, including the estimated $37 billion annual opportunity for Canada, and the work Amy and Women’s Health Collective Canada are doing to turn awareness into action. It’s an eye-opening conversation about where we are today, why these gaps still exist, and what needs to change to create a healthier future for women in Canada.

👉 Click here to learn more about the Women’s Health Collective Canada

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In this Science Snack, Suzanne takes a closer look at the growing trend of “exercise snacks,” short bursts of movement performed throughout the day. She breaks down a recent 2026 meta-analysis of 21 randomized controlled trials to find out whether a minute or two of exercise at a time can actually make a meaningful difference to your health and fitness.

What does the research show, how hard do these exercise snacks need to be, and can they help when you simply don’t have time for a full workout? Suzanne breaks down the evidence and shares practical ways busy women physicians can incorporate exercise snacks into even the busiest days.

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Wellness peptides like BPC-157 and TB-500 are exploding in popularity, with bold claims around recovery, longevity, and performance. But how much of that promise is actually backed by human data? In this episode, we sit down with drug development expert Dr. Leigh Baxt to separate what we know from what we still don't.

Leigh takes us behind the scenes of how therapeutics actually move from promising science to approved medicine, and why that process matters when evaluating today's peptide boom. We unpack the gaps in research, potential risks, gray-market sourcing, and what physicians should know when patients come asking about wellness peptides.

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In this episode we sit down with Fit Physician member Jade. Just a few months ago, when she first came to us, she was a busy rural family physician, mom of two, and longtime runner who loved exercise, but struggled to find the right structure for her strength training and nutrition. She wanted to get stronger, fuel her body better, and move away from the perfectionism and all-or-nothing thinking that had shaped her relationship with food.

Today, Jade is stronger and more confident than ever, from comfortably using a squat rack to carrying her 70-pound daughter to bed and training for her first half marathon since having kids. In this episode, we sit down with Jade and her coach Dan to unpack her transformation, what finally clicked, and how she's built an approach to fitness and nutrition that works with her incredibly busy life.

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Can women with low bone density safely lift heavy weights, and could doing so actually help protect their bones? In this Science Snack, Jake and Suzanne review the **LIFTMOR study**, a randomized controlled trial examining high-intensity resistance and impact training in postmenopausal women with low bone mineral density.

They break down how the study was conducted, what researchers found, and the important limitations to consider before applying the results. They also discuss what this research could mean for women with osteopenia or osteoporosis and how to approach progressive strength training safely.

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What happens when a healthy 15-year-old athlete suffers a seemingly minor injury that turns into years of medical uncertainty? In this episode, we sit down with Kira Young and her mother, Dr. Sarah Cook, to hear Kira's incredible journey from a small ski injury to multiple hospitalizations, the ICU, and eventually a diagnosis of a rare autoinflammatory disease.

We explore what Kira's experience can teach all of us about listening to patients, sitting with uncertainty, and sometimes having the courage to simply say, "I don't know." We also hear how Kira held onto hope through some of her darkest days and ultimately returned to sport, culminating in an incredible 1,600 km bike ride retracing the journey she once travelled for medical care. It's a powerful conversation about hope, resilience, and belief.

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We can't believe we've reached 100 episodes! To celebrate this milestone, we're sharing five of our favorite clips from some of our most-listened-to episodes. Thank you for all the love and support. We couldn't have done it without you, and we're just getting started!

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Could your diet lower your LDL cholesterol almost as effectively as medication in some cases?

In this solo episode, Dr. Suzanne Rutherford explores the science behind the Portfolio Diet, an evidence-based nutrition strategy shown to significantly reduce LDL cholesterol. She explains the five key pillars of the diet, the unique science behind why it works, and when it may be the right choice compared with other well-known dietary patterns like the Mediterranean and DASH diets.

Whether you're a woman navigating midlife or a clinician looking to better support your patients, this episode will give you practical, research-backed strategies to improve heart health through nutrition.

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Artificial intelligence is changing the internet faster than most of us can keep up. From fake before-and-after photos to AI-generated health influencers, it's becoming harder to know what information (and who) you can trust.

In this episode, we sit down with AI literacy expert Jeremy Carrasco to explore how AI is reshaping the way we consume health information. We discuss the rise of AI-generated misinformation, why "seeing is believing" no longer applies, and practical strategies to help you become a more informed consumer while guiding your patients through an increasingly complex digital world.

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Anxiety, depression, irritability, panic attacks—how do you know what's a normal part of perimenopause, what hormone therapy can help with, and when it may be time to seek additional mental health support? In this episode, psychiatrist Dr. Bev Young joins us to unpack one of the most misunderstood topics in women's health.

We discuss the difference between hormonal changes and mood disorders, when antidepressants may be appropriate, the role of therapy, lifestyle strategies that support mental health, and how partners and healthcare providers can better support women through midlife.

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Exercise is one of the most powerful tools we have to reduce burnout, improve our health, and help us show up at our best. For many healthcare workers, the biggest barrier isn't motivation—it's access. In this episode, we explore why every hospital should have an on-site gym and how it could be a game-changer for physician wellness.

Suzanne shares how access to a hospital gym has transformed her own consistency, and we discuss the benefits for both healthcare workers and hospitals alike. We also walk through practical steps to advocate for a gym in your workplace, what equipment to prioritize, and simple ways to make exercise more accessible for busy physicians.

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Healthy habits aren't built through willpower, they're built through understanding how your brain works. In this episode, we sit down with behavior change expert Katie Faloon-Drew to explore the neuroscience behind lasting habit formation and why so many high-achieving women struggle to stay consistent, even when they know exactly what they "should" be doing.

Together, we discuss why motivation is unreliable, how to make healthy habits feel more automatic, and practical strategies to build routines that fit into the reality of a busy physician's life. Whether you're trying to exercise more consistently, improve your nutrition, or simply stop feeling like you're constantly starting over, this conversation will give you the tools to create healthy habits that actually last.

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In this episode, Suzanne reflects on her recent experience completing a half marathon at nearly 50 years old—an accomplishment she never expected to pursue again after swearing off long-distance racing more than a decade ago. What began as a tribute to her late mother, an inspiring runner who completed marathons and half marathons well into her 80s, became a journey of self-discovery, gratitude, and healing.

Along the way, Suzanne shares lessons about letting go of perfectionism, finding joy in the process rather than the outcome, and appreciating what our bodies are capable of at every stage of life. She opens up about the unexpected role the training played in helping her process grief after the loss of her mother. This episode is a heartfelt reminder that growth often comes from embracing the journey—not just the destination.

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