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Bite-Sized Balance is a podcast where everyday extraordinary women share their stories, expertise and wisdom with other women - all in the name of lifting each other up and creating a better life balance. Whether it’s wellness, career, relationships, alcohol, food, mindfulness, hormones or parenting - we talk about all things women’s balance. If your life looks great "on paper" but it still feels like something is missing, you're in the right place. Wendy McCallum, the host of Bite-Sized Bal ...
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In this bittersweet season finale, Sarah Baillie and I come together to share some big news: the early wrap-up of Season 4. It's been a tough decision, but one that opens up exciting opportunities on the horizon for both of us. We peel back the curtain on the "why" behind this choice, exploring the joyous spaces it's creating for personal pursuits.…
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In this second to last episode of Season 4 of Bite-Sized Balance, I'm joined by Sarah Baillie to explore what’s been a game-changing concept for both of us: "No One Is Coming." We dive deep into the profound reality that if our lives aren't what we want them to be, the power to change that rests solely in our hands. This awakening often hits women …
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Hey there, lovely listeners! First, I've got some big news to share with you on this short episode of Bite-Sized Balance. But mostly, I want to dive deep into a mindset shift that has truly transformed my life (and that I recently applied in relation the big decision that prompted today’s announcement): the powerful perspective shift from "What if …
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In this down-to-earth episode, Wendy sits down with Natasha Carrillo, a Financial Educator and Coach, to chat all things women and money. No stiff suits or complicated jargon here – just a real conversation about why women need to take the reins when it comes to their finances, and how avoiding the topic isn’t serving us! Natasha breaks down the im…
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In this short episode of Bite-Sized Balance, I'm serving up practical, empowering strategies to keep your holiday balance in check, with a goal of you wrapping up the year feeling rested, restored, and not even a tiny bit over-stuffed and annoyed! I'm dishing out practical tips on how to prioritize what truly matters by deciphering between energy d…
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In this heartwarming episode of Bite-Sized Balance, Wendy McCallum sits down with a remarkable guest, her client Chantal. Chantal recounts her transformative journey from decades of addiction to true freedom from alcohol. Chantal candidly shares her experience with the medication Antabuse and the pivotal role it played in her recovery. The conversa…
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In this brief yet powerful episode of Bite-Sized Balance, my regular guest and BFF Sarah Baillie and I explain the transformative idea behind "Holding it Lightly", a tool we both use regularly in our coaching practices. I open up about a challenging period in my life and how intentionally loosening my grip on the problem (with the help of a fantast…
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In this fascinating episode, I’m joined by Adele Spraggon, a Behavioral Change Expert and author, to explore the complicated world of decision-making in your brain. Adele sheds light on why your brain is always making choices on your behalf (spoiler alert: it's not your fault!) and unveils the step-by-step path to reprogramming it with a fresh set …
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In this short and insightful Bite-Sized Balance episode, my regular guest and BFF, Sarah Baillie, and I explore the notion of "Filling the Space" that often arises as we begin to say "no" to things that no longer serve us, set boundaries, and experience a shift in caregiving duties as our children grow older. Sarah beautifully articulates the commo…
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No matter what kind of healing or balance you're seeking in this season of life, you've probably realized that quick fixes and shortcuts rarely bring about lasting results. But taking that initial step towards educating yourself is the first stride toward creating real change. In this episode, I sit down with Ayurveda Health Coach, Carina Greweling…
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Today we're diving deep into a transformative practice that can supercharge your daily joy and make you feel like you can tackle the big challenges in your life. Gratitude is not just a buzzword; it's a game-changer. It has empowered me to stay so much more present as a parent, wife, and daughter, especially in the last year of my dad’s life. In th…
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Did you know that 1 in 10 women relies on sleep aids regularly? It's a staggering statistic, but it's hardly surprising. In today's fast-paced world, where we juggle demanding careers, relationships, never-ending to-do lists, hormonal shifts, and mental health challenges, even a mere six hours of sleep can seem like an unattainable dream. What migh…
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If you’ve been curious about what life might look like without alcohol, Sober October is the perfect time to do an experiment. I’m sharing this episode with you now so you have some time to prepare for a successful break from alcohol because it absolutely requires having a solid plan. First, you’ll want to start examining your assumptions about alc…
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Vacations are over and the kids are back at school. It’s that time of year when we often feel the need to get “back on track” and into the structure and routines that help us thrive. But something that we rarely consider is that as life changes, so does our personal “recipe for success.” Be it in relationships, careers, added responsibilities, shif…
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There’s a very pervasive social narrative that moms need alcohol in order to survive motherhood. This is what is known as “mommy wine culture” and chances are, you’re all too familiar with this messaging because the marketing behind it is really unavoidable. On this episode, I’m joined by life coach and author of It’s Not About the Wine, Celeste Yv…
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Aaaand we’re back for Season 4! My lovely co-host Sarah joins me as we share some summer updates and ease back into routines and rhythms that keep us sane! I finally moved into the house we’ve been renovating for months, but then we had to deal with the flooding of my husband’s business and the cottage. Sarah spent a good portion of the summer in h…
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Wendy and Sarah are back again to wrap up season 3 of BSB and talk about the one impactful mindset shift they have made in the last couple of years that has led to them living with more compassion and way less judgment. Drawing on a Brené Brown anecdote, Wendy and Sarah explain how everything changes when we start assuming that everyone, even the p…
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Wendy talks about how the empty nesting went last year with Sarah, and how she is feeling now that both of her kids are home for the summer. Just one year ago on the podcast, Wendy shared the reality of Empty Nest Syndrome, including her apprehension and grief around her children leaving for university and the sale of their childhood home. But thei…
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This week Wendy is joined by Maureen Benkovich. Maureen shares her moving personal story as she and Wendy have an honest discussion about infertility, pregnancy loss, grief, depression, and women’s drinking. Maureen is someone who has experienced the pain of infertility and knows firsthand how easy it is to get stuck in a cycle of shame and blame w…
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This week, Wendy is joined again by her friend and colleague Sarah Baillie, N.D. to talk about the practical steps women can take to avoid hitting an emotional rock bottom in midlife. Research suggests that most people are at their unhappiest in their forties, but that this continues to improve as they age. Sarah and Wendy believe there are ways to…
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Wendy talks with Jay Fields, an educator, coach, and author who has taught the principles of embodied social and emotional intelligence to individuals and organizations for twenty years. If you’ve ever wondered how to get better at sitting with your emotions, instead of drinking, eating, or scrolling to escape them, Jay’s got the practical three-st…
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Today’s conversation around the value of meaningful female friendships in midlife is especially poignant for host Wendy and her co-host Sarah, colleagues who have also become very good friends over the course of the last few years. They discuss how picture-perfect social media feeds can often lead to comparison and feelings of inadequacy, and how t…
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What does your inner critic sound like? In this episode, Wendy introduces coach Lorna Wilson and they dive deep into how to silence your inner critic, identify the opinions or feedback you should be paying attention to, and how not to be reliant on receiving praise from others. Wendy shares how Lorna has helped her reframe criticism and tap into he…
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This is Part 2 of the “How to Do Less and Get More in Midlife” Episode. In Part 1, Sarah & Wendy discussed why so many women reach overwhelm and burnout in the care sandwich that is midlife. They shared their favourite coaching strategies and tools to help busy women scale back on their to-do list and clear some space to bring in more of the things…
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Friends and colleagues Sarah and Wendy talk about why so many of us reach overwhelm and burnout in the care sandwich that is midlife and share their favourite coaching strategies and tools to help busy women scale back on their to-do list and clear some space to bring in more of the things that serve them (listen to Part 2 of this episode, coming s…
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Susan Hodgson is an Irish expat coach helping women navigate new territory with their drinking amidst the challenges of living abroad and trying to find that elusive feeling of “home”. She lives near Paris with her French husband and three kids who enjoy correcting her grammar and complaining about holidays back to the Donegal rain. Susan shares he…
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Melissa Chureau is a purpose and mindset coach, lawyer, and podcaster. She helps women move beyond imposterism and perfectionism to create space in the mind, and uncover our true, integrated selves. As a lawyer for 20 years, she has witnessed many people who work and live out of alignment with their values and purpose—often because they don’t know …
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Michael Amster, M.D., is the co-author (with Jake Eagle, LPC) of the new book The Power of Awe. Dr. Amster is a pain management specialist and awe researcher who teaches at the UC Berkeley Greater Good Science Center. He’s also a long-time meditator and yoga instructor. He joins host Wendy McCallum to share what he and Jake discovered a few years a…
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Julia Anderson shares her incredible story of leaving the narrow experience of her evangelistic Christian upbringing (including its purity culture) at the age of 19 to raise her newborn daughter and create the independent, successful life she craved. Julia is now the CEO of the Canadian Partnership for Women and Children’s Health (CanWaCH) and has …
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As a best-selling author and speaker, Meg Geisewite is changing the narrative on the mommy wine culture, hustle culture, and our pro-drinking culture. In Meg’s debut book, Intoxicating Lies: One Woman's Journey to Freedom from Gray Area Drinking, Meg flips the script on the five most intoxicating lies we tell ourselves about alcohol. In this episod…
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Emily Lynn Paulson is the author of the new book Hey, Hun: Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy, and the Other Lies Behind Multilevel Marketing and Highlight Real: Finding Honesty & Recovery Beyond the Filtered Life. She is also a speaker, recovery coach, and the founder of Sober Mom Squad, and has given two powerful TEDx talks, both challenging the status…
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Amy and Matt Edwards are the hosts of the Alcohol-Free Marriage Podcast. Amy is also a certified coach who helps high-achieving women get out of the shame and blame cycle when it comes to their relationship with alcohol. They join host Wendy McCallum today to share their story of quitting drinking as former craft beer enthusiasts and starting the p…
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Tabbin Almond is a certified coach living in Devon, England, who is passionate about removing the stigma and creating meaningful employee support around alcohol use disorder. She is committed to changing the corporate wellness conversation to include alcohol as an important factor in employees’ physical and mental health. Tabbin has a book in the w…
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Host Wendy and her friend and colleague Sarah Baillie discuss a 2011 article from The Atlantic (by author Sandra Tsing Loh) that is still a very relevant and hilarious read for women in midlife, no matter where they are when it comes to the hormonal transition of perimenopause and menopause. They discuss what it would mean if fertility was actually…
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Scott Pinyard is the owner and coach at Modern Coparent, a company dedicated to helping people find peace while coparenting. He has years of coaching experience both in private practice and as the Head Coach of This Naked Mind. Scott’s focus is in helping people through challenging growth with compassion, patience and humor. Scott shares his person…
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Amanda Lee is a domestic abuse survivor and the author of the new book One of The Lucky Ones. 1 in 3 women have experienced physical violence by an intimate partner. This extraordinarily common form of abuse silences victims and paralyzes them with terror, a pattern Amanda is all too familiar with. In this episode, Amanda shares her dramatic story.…
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If you recently saw the revised drinking guidelines in Canada and gasped, you’re not alone. Most Canadians are drinking more than two drinks a week, the new low-risk maximum. Ann Dowsett Johnston is an award-winning journalist and the bestselling author of Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol, a book named one of the top 10 of…
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Are you stuck in a job, habit or relationship that’s not serving you? Maybe you’re struggling with whether you should stick it out a little longer in case it gets better? In this episode, Wendy shares the approach she uses with coaching clients who are feeling unsatisfied and unfulfilled to help them gain clarity, get unstuck and start taking actio…
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Jenn Salib-Huber is a Registered Dietitian, Naturopathic Doctor, and intuitive eating advocate. Jenn provides health and hormone education to women in midlife without a side of diet culture, so they can make peace with food, aging, and hot flashes and find the confidence they deserve in midlife. Jenn and Wendy discuss the concept of “undieting your…
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Fellow This Naked Mind coach and friend Christy Osborne joins Wendy to celebrate her five-year anniversary of quitting drinking. Wendy shares her alcohol story, including her “last straw(s)” and talks about everything that has changed for her (big and small!) since she had her last drink. Christy and Wendy discuss some of the surprise gifts of goin…
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Wendy and her best friend Megan, who have five young adult children between them, reflect on their transition to an empty nest together this fall. They share the story their unique lifelong friendship, and their shared experience entering motherhood, midlife, and now empty nesting together. They recount some of their favourite parts of living witho…
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In today’s episode, regular co-host and bestie Dr. Sarah Baillie, N.D., joins host Wendy to talk all things teenager. They share their top insights and tips as experienced parents of teens, including strategies to diffuse tension, improve communication, and re-frame the teenage years to increase the joy and decrease the common frustration around pa…
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How many years have you made New Year promises only to find yourself making them all over again 12 months later? Wendy shares her Top 10 Tips for making lasting habit change in 2023 and every year thereafter in this bite-sized solo episode. With these strategies you’ll make permanent, meaningful change this year instead of giving up when “life gets…
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Wait! Before you say, “But I don’t have a problem with alcohol”, know this – Wendy’s tips in this bite-sized solo episode are critical to making permanent, meaningful change in ANY area of your life. Whether your coping mechanism of choice is red wine, salt and vinegar chips, cupcakes, or Nordstrom Rack, there’s something in this episode for everyo…
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In this episode, Wendy talks to Mary Byers, author, speaker, and coach, who helps organizations and individuals set priorities and develop winning focus, about Mary’s experience with her “One Word Year” experiment. Mary explains how she has let one word guide her each year for the last decade, and how that’s helped her to concentrate on what’s most…
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It’s the 100th episode of Bite-Sized Balance! In today’s episode of ‘the little podcast that could’, regular co-host and bestie Dr. Sarah Baillie, N.D., joins host Wendy to celebrate 100 episodes of Bite-Sized Balance, the “fake” podcast that Wendy started over two years ago. They each choose a handful of episodes that stand out for them from past …
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Sara McElroy is a former hustle culture devotee, ex-chief marketing officer, the Wall Street Journal’s poster girl for pandemic career burnout, and a two-time member of the Great Resignation: class of 2021 and 2022. Following a stress-induced shingles diagnosis in early 2021, Sara decided to hit the reset button on her life; she quit her hard-won C…
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Kelley Kitley is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and therapist with over 20 years of experience in the field, a sought after international mental health media expert, a mom of four, and a bestselling author of her autobiography of survival “My self.” She has appeared in hundreds of publications, podcasts, live news, and radio shows including The …
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Racquel Reid is a certified This Naked Mind coach with a unique story of recovery. In this episode, Racquel shares her drinking story and explains why her life got smaller 11 years ago when she first stopped drinking, and how after years of feeling “abnormal” and hiding away from the world, she rediscovered her power and magic and has built a life …
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If you need a good laugh and a little levity, tune into this episode, where Wendy and Sarah share the list of “Pet Peeves” that they’ve been accumulating together over the last year, including petty yet universal annoyances like the perpetual “goaty” smell of dishtowels and empty ice cube trays left in the freezer, but also inexplicable, less ratio…
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