In this deeply personal solo episode, Lindsie marks the release of her book," Healing Beyond the Diagnosis: Rewrite Your PCOS Story to Finally Reclaim Your Health" and invites listeners into a radically different way of approaching PCOS and healing. Rather than focusing on fixing, controlling, or overriding the body, this episode explores what becomes possible when we rebuild trust, release limiting beliefs, and learn to listen without fear. Lindsie unpacks how common narratives around “chronic conditions,” willpower, and restriction quietly disconnect women from their bodies—and why true, sustainable healing begins with safety, curiosity, and self-trust. She reads a powerful passage from the book, reflects on the emotional weight many women carry after diagnosis, and explains why resolutions and all-or-nothing thinking often fail women with PCOS. The episode also introduces the upcoming Anti-Resolution Revolution, a collaborative event designed to help women step off the cycle of starting over and instead rewrite the rules of health—without shame, extremes, or pressure. This is an invitation to see symptoms as communication, not condemnation, and to remember that your diagnosis is only one chapter—not the whole story.
Grab a copy of Lindsie's book HERE
Find out more and register for The Anti-Resolution Revolution for free HERE
In this episode, you’ll hear about:
(0:00 - 3:11) The first step is to release those limiting beliefs so you can fully embrace what's ahead. I think that passage matters because so many women are trying to heal while still believing that the story, um, the story that their body can't be trusted. And when you don't trust your body, every choice becomes stressful. Every meal becomes a test. Every symptom becomes a threat. But what if symptoms are actually communication, not a condemnation? What if your body isn't betraying you but asking for something different? Healing beyond the diagnosis doesn't mean ignoring symptoms or pretending everything is fine. It means learning how to listen without panicking, how to respond without any judgment or punishment, how to build a relationship with your body that's rooted in curiosity instead of control. And this is where real sustainable change begins. Not because you're forcing it, but because you're finally working with yourself, not against yourself. Welcome back to PCOS unfiltered nourish, heal, drive. I'm your host, Lindsie. And today's episode is a really meaningful one for me because it marks the release of something that has been on my heart for a long time. My book healing beyond the diagnosis, rewrite your story to finally reclaim your health is officially available on Amazon. But this episode isn't about a launch in the traditional sense. It's about the story so many women have been handed when it comes to their health and the quiet belief that once you receive a diagnosis, that's it. If you've ever felt dismissed, stuck, or like you're doing everything right, but still not feeling well, this episode is for you. Today, I'm sharing why I wrote this book, reading a short passage from it and inviting you into a different way of approaching your health. One that doesn't rely on restriction pressure or starting over every January. As always, the content shared on PCOS unfiltered is for informational and educational purposes only. The views and opinions expressed by the hosts and guests are not intended to serve as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional before making any changes to your diet, exercise, or treatment plan. The information shared is based on personal experience and expert interviews and is not a substitute for professional medical guidance. Now let's get into it. There was a moment, actually probably many moments when I realized this book was not anymore. And it happened in conversations with women who said things like, I don't trust my body anymore. I'm scared to eat. I feel like I'm constantly failing at my health. I've tried everything. I mean, even to the extreme of, you know, they're just ready to give up. And what struck me wasn't just what they were experiencing. It was how quickly they blamed themselves. It was a story they had been given a story that said, this is chronic. This is forever.
(3:11 - 4:16) This is just how it's going to be over time. That story becomes internalized. We stopped trusting our bodies. We stopped listening. We stopped fighting. And somewhere along the way, they had absorbed the idea that if healing wasn't happening, it must be because they weren't disciplined enough, strict enough, or committed enough. As a nurse, I saw this on the medical side, um, as a coach, even a coach, when we had the gym, I saw the emotional and behavior fallout from this. And of course I see it more and more each day. And as a woman, I feel the weight of how deeply these narratives lodge themselves into our identity. So this book came from a place of wanting to pause that cycle to interrupt it and say, what if nothing is actually wrong with you? What if your body has been doing the best it can with what it's been given? Because when we believe our bodies are broken, we stop listening. We override, we control. And ironically, we move even farther away from healing.
(4:17 - 4:35) So this book was written because I don't believe healing, healing happens when we're at war with ourselves. And I don't believe your diagnosis defines who you are or what's possible for your health. So much of modern wellness, um, especially for women with PCOS centers around fixing.
(4:36 - 6:43) Um, it's fixed your hormones, fix your weight, fix your metabolism. And yes, there are a lot of tools that can be supportive, but the underlying message often sounds like you are the problem to be solved. Over time that creates fear-based health decisions. Um, just the quick fix, the urgency, more pressure, um, and pressure is not a fertile ground for healing, unfortunately. So one of the core messages of the book is this healing doesn't begin with more rules. It begins with safety and, and just recognizing what your body is trying to tell you. So when your nervous system feels constantly under threats, whether that's from stress restriction, self-criticism, your body is not in a state where it can heal efficiently. It has to feel safe to heal, to lose weight, to get pregnant. That's not weakness. That's just simple physiology. And once you understand that the entire conversation about health begins to shift. What I want to do is pause here and read a short passage from the book. One that speaks to this identity of, um, or speaks to the idea of identity, trust, and rewriting the story that, that we've been living inside of. So as you listen, I invite you to notice not just the words, but how your body responds. You don't need to agree with everything. You don't need to do anything, um, just yet. Um, if you want to do anything at all, just listen. And I want to see where it lands for you. Um, so this is, this is the book right here. Super excited. Um, this is actually from the end of the book, uh, taking out the technical stuff. I feel like this one sums up a lot of what the book is about. As you begin this phase, focus on applying what you've learned in your own context. For example, if you know blood sugar affects your cravings and mood, start by planning meals with glucose stability in mind, which prevents the insulin spikes that drive many PCOS symptoms.
(6:43 - 7:53) If you've discovered that stress exacerbates your symptoms, begin incorporating simple breath work or boundary setting practices. These breathing techniques help shift your body from stress mode to a calmer state, which can reduce cortisol production and improve higher system processes insulin. Furthermore, this phase requires an active rather than passive approach. Instead of waiting for motivation to strike, work strategically with what you know about your body's patterns, begin to treat setbacks as valuable information rather than failures. When energy drops or cravings increase, investigate what changed recently instead of assuming you lack willpower. When you reframe this as a beginning, you recognize that health isn't a destination, but an evolving process. Your hormone levels will naturally fluctuate with age, stress, and life circumstances, and your needs will change accordingly. The framework you've developed provides a foundation for navigating these shifts with confidence rather than confusion, allowing you to adapt your approach as your body's requirements continue to evolve. It's also important to recognize the language you use to describe your health journey.
(7:54 - 10:34) You'll notice I don't use words like manage or chronic condition when talking about PCOS. Why? Because those terms create invisible ceilings. If you believe PCOS is only something to manage or that it's a lifelong chronic condition with no hope of improvement, you've already limited what's possible. Those are stories you may have been told by doctors, the media, or even well-meaning friends, but they don't have to be your story. Healing and thriving with PCOS is not only possible, it's happening every day for women who choose to believe in a different outcome. The first step is to release those limiting beliefs so you can fully embrace what's ahead. I think that passage matters because so many women are trying to heal while still believing that the story, the story that their body can't be trusted. And when you don't trust your body, every choice becomes stressful. Every meal becomes a test. Every symptom becomes a threat. But what if symptoms are actually communication, not a condemnation? What if your body isn't betraying you but asking for something different? Healing beyond the diagnosis doesn't mean ignoring symptoms or pretending everything is fine. It means learning how to listen without panicking, how to respond without any judgment or punishment, how to build a relationship with your body that's rooted in curiosity instead of control. And this is where real sustainable change begins. Not because you're forcing it, but because you're finally working with yourself, not against yourself. This also brings me to something I feel really strongly about, especially this time of year. Every January, women are often told this is the time to reset. You know, there needs to be a challenge, a dry January, right? This is a time to get serious. This is the time that's finally, you know, finally need to stick to it. But resolutions are often built on the assumption that something is wrong with you and that you just need more willpower to fix it. For women with PCOS, that approach is especially damaging. It ignores the role of hormones. It ignores stress. It ignores the nervous system. It ignores the unique blueprint that each of us have. And it reinforces the idea that health is something you earn by suffering. So no wonder so many women often feel defeated by February, maybe even sooner than that, before January is even up. So that's why I created the Anti-Resolution Revolution.
(10:34 - 11:04) And this event is not about doing more. It's about doing things differently. It's for the woman who is tired of starting over year after year, tired of the extremes, tired of measuring your worth by the number on a scale. And just like the book, this event is about rewriting the rules. It's about stepping out of the all or nothing thinking. It's about building a foundation that actually supports long-term health, physically, emotionally, and mentally, maybe even spiritually.
(11:04 - 11:15) Just holistically. So instead of resolutions, this is about rewriting the rules. I will be joined by five other speakers who have also rejected the resolution narrative.
(11:16 - 12:16) These are Natanya Ruth, Beth Chisholm, Kirstyn Ali, Tori Sorrell-Cook, and Samantha Beckton. They have actually all been guests on the podcast. So I can link those in the show notes, but you'll be able to find those as well. And just like the book, this event is about reclaiming your agency, your trust in your body, and your definition of health, without the shame, without extremes, without all or nothing thinking. Most importantly, it reminds you that you don't have to do this alone. This event is fun and free. It is gamified. So super excited about that. I would love to see everybody play every single day. It's going to be running from January 26th through the 31st. So that might sound overwhelming, but you'll get recordings to your inbox each day that you can watch on your own time. And then you just take a couple simple minutes to play that day's game.
(12:17 - 12:42) And we're giving away prizes from each of our speakers to the top two winners. And the grand prize is valued at around $2,500. So amazing stuff going there. And if there's one thing that you do take away from today, let it be this. Healing is not about becoming someone new. It's about coming back to yourself.
(12:43 - 14:05) Your diagnosis doesn't disqualify you from health. Your past doesn't disqualify you from change. And your body is not the enemy in this process. So whether you are taking the next step to read the book, maybe joining the event, or even just simply pausing before you make your next health decision, having that conversation with your doctor and maybe deciding what to eat next, I trust that you'll know what feels supportive for you. Before we wrap up, I just want to say this. Your diagnosis is one chapter, not the whole story. If today's episode resonated with you, you can find my book, Healing Beyond the Diagnosis, rewrite your story to finally reclaim your health, now available on Amazon. And if you're ready to take this message even deeper, I would love for you to join us at the Anti-Resolution Revolution, a collaborative, empowering event designed for women who are done living their lives by the scale and tired of short-term fixes. All the links are waiting for you in the show notes. Thank you so much for being here, for listening, and for allowing yourself to imagine a different story for your health. Until next time, nourish your body, heal beyond the diagnosis, and thrive unfiltered and unstoppable.