Show Notes
In Today’s Episode
In this episode of the Table Talk Podcast, Melody Hartzler sits down with Dr. Nicole Grams, PharmToTable pharmacist, functional medicine practitioner, and national board-certified health coach, to explore why sustainable health changes are about more than willpower. They discuss how underlying thoughts, emotional patterns, gut health, hormones, sleep, stress, and ultra-processed foods can influence eating habits and decision-making. Together, they highlight how health coaching, self-compassion, and realistic lifestyle strategies can help people overcome barriers, build healthier habits, and create lasting change without relying on perfection or self-blame.
Key Takeaways
- Willpower isn’t a sustainable long-term strategy. Willpower is a finite resource that can become depleted by daily responsibilities, stress, and decision fatigue. Lasting change requires supportive habits and strategies that make healthy choices easier.
- Understand the thoughts behind your habits. Emotional eating and other behaviors may be connected to stress, fear, exhaustion, or the need for comfort. Recognizing these underlying patterns can help people make more intentional decisions.
- Biochemistry plays a role in food choices. Gut microbiome health, satiety hormones, sleep, stress, and the types of foods we eat can influence hunger, cravings, and appetite. These factors may make healthy choices more challenging than simply a matter of discipline.
- Health coaching helps turn knowledge into action. Even when people know what they need to do, they may struggle to follow through. Coaching helps identify barriers, challenge unhelpful thought patterns, and develop realistic strategies that support individual goals.
- Sustainable progress starts with self-compassion and realistic planning. Instead of waiting for the perfect time or expecting perfection, focus on small, manageable changes. Scheduling personal priorities, finding opportunities to move throughout the day, and allowing room for mistakes can help build lasting habits.
Topics Discussed
00:00 – Welcome to Table Talk: It Was Never a Willpower Problem
Melody Hartzler introduces Dr. Nicole Grams, a PharmToTable pharmacist and health coach, and opens a conversation about why struggles with weight loss and healthy habits aren’t simply a matter of willpower.
01:00 – Why Willpower Isn’t Enough for Lasting Change
Nicole explains why willpower is a limited resource and how daily responsibilities, decision fatigue, and stress can make it harder to maintain healthy habits.
03:00 – Understanding Emotional Eating and Underlying Thoughts
Nicole discusses how stress, exhaustion, and unprocessed emotions can influence food choices, emphasizing the importance of understanding what’s driving behavior.
04:00 – How Health Coaching Helps Turn Knowledge Into Action
Melody and Nicole explore why knowing what to do doesn’t always translate into action and how coaching can help people identify and overcome personal barriers.
06:00 – Self-Reflection and Recognizing Thought Patterns
Nicole shares how coaching helps uncover unhelpful thought patterns, build self-awareness, and feel more confident taking action toward personal goals.
07:00 – Health Coaching vs. Therapy
Nicole explains the differences between coaching and therapy, including when someone may benefit from goal-oriented support versus professional help processing past trauma or treating a mental health condition.
09:00 – Finding the Right Coach for Your Needs
Why trying coaching, finding someone who resonates with you, and evaluating whether you’re making progress are important parts of the process.
10:00 – The Biochemistry Behind Hunger and Food Choices
Melody discusses how hormones, dopamine, satiety signals, and ultra-processed foods can influence appetite and eating behaviors beyond willpower alone.
11:00 – The Gut Microbiome and Satiety Signals
How gut bacteria and hormones such as GLP-1, ghrelin, and leptin may influence hunger, fullness, and the body’s ability to regulate food intake.
13:00 – How Stress and Sleep Influence Eating Habits
Melody and Nicole explore how inadequate sleep, stress, cortisol, and blood sugar fluctuations can affect cravings, appetite, and everyday food choices.
15:00 – Breaking Behavioral Cycles and Exploring Gut Health
Why changing established habits takes effort, how the brain learns behavioral patterns, and how gut health may contribute to the challenges people experience.
16:00 – Gut Microbiome Testing and Understanding Bacterial Balance
Melody introduces PharmToTable’s Gut Scan, discussing how microbiome testing can provide insights into bacterial species and potential connections to digestion, appetite regulation, and overall health.
17:00 – Moving Beyond Shame and Self-Blame
Nicole explains why negative self-talk doesn’t necessarily motivate change and how recognizing shame-based patterns can create opportunities for healthier responses.
19:00 – Quieting the Inner Critic and Practicing Self-Compassion
The conversation explores inner-child work, self-trust, and learning to view mistakes as opportunities for growth rather than evidence of failure.
21:00 – Letting Go of Perfectionism
Melody and Nicole discuss why waiting until everything is perfect can prevent progress and why taking small steps matters more than having everything figured out.
22:00 – Finding Time for Sustainable Lifestyle Changes
Nicole explains why there’s rarely a perfect time to start and how people can identify realistic opportunities for healthier habits within their existing responsibilities.
24:00 – Building Habits That Fit Your Real Life
How to focus on sustainable progress instead of quick fixes, recognize which circumstances can be changed, and build capacity to manage everyday demands.
25:00 – Expanding Your Capacity Through Small Changes
Nicole shares practical ways to create space for self-care, manage daily stress, and build the emotional capacity needed to follow through on lifestyle changes.
26:00 – Making Movement and Exercise Work for You
Melody discusses fitting physical activity into busy schedules, the importance of strength training and muscle health, and why exercise routines should reflect individual needs and preferences.
28:00 – Managing Screen Time and Creating Healthy Boundaries
Melody and Nicole explore how social media habits, phone use, and screen-time limits can influence daily routines and the ability to prioritize personal goals.
29:00 – Prioritizing Yourself and Scheduling What Matters
Nicole shares practical calendar strategies, including scheduling meals, family time, and personal priorities to create space for health and well-being.
31:00 – Building Accountability and Following Through
Melody and Nicole discuss how scheduling commitments to yourself, understanding resistance, and exploring personal priorities can improve consistency and accountability.
32:00 – Where to Find Dr. Nicole Grams and Explore Coaching
Nicole shares where listeners can connect with her through Clarity with Nicole and PharmToTable, while Melody explains how listeners can inquire about coaching packages and discovery calls.
Resources Mentioned
Functional Lab Testing
Stress and cortisol support:
Sleep support:
Health coaching and personalized support:
Leading the way to better chronic disease management through functional and integrative medicine.