If you’ve ever thought, “I’m eating healthy… so why do I feel worse?” — this episode is for you.

In today’s conversation, we’re breaking down GI-MAP testing in clear, human language. No fear-mongering. No over-promising. Just honest insight into what this popular gut health tool can and can’t tell us—and how it can help bring clarity when symptoms feel confusing.

You’ll learn why more data doesn’t always mean better outcomes, how gut testing fits into an empowered, food-first approach, and why the solution is almost never cutting more foods—but understanding which foods your body is ready for right now.

Connect with us HERE.

Learn more about working with the Empowered Eating team here!

• What a GI-MAP actually is (and how PCR stool testing works—in plain English)

• What defines a “healthy gut” beyond perfect lab numbers

• What dysbiosis means—and why it’s not a diagnosis or a life sentence

• The pros of GI-MAP testing and how it can help identify possible contributors to symptoms

• The limitations of GI-MAPs, including:

  • Lack of regulation

  • Cost considerations

  • Emerging (but incomplete) microbiome science

  • The risk of over-restriction without proper guidance

• A personal story of eating “healthier” and feeling worse—and how gut data helped explain why

• Why whole foods are always the foundation, but which whole foods matter

• Who GI-MAP testing is best suited for—and who it’s not

GI-MAP testing isn’t about controlling your gut or chasing perfect results. It’s about listening to your body with better context, reducing guesswork, and choosing support strategies that actually align with where your gut is today.

Data doesn’t heal—but informed care does.

If you’re curious whether GI-MAP testing could be a helpful tool for your health journey, I offer guided GI-MAP testing with personalized interpretation and a food-first plan—so the data supports your life instead of overwhelming it.

👉 Learn more or apply to work together: Connect with us HERE.

Learn more about working with the Empowered Eating team here!

What if your body isn’t betraying you when you restrict food — but protecting you?

In this powerful conversation, Jess sits down with Dr. Jennifer Gaudiani, world-renowned internal medicine physician and author of Sick Enough: A Guide to the Medical Complications of Eating Disorders, to explore the misunderstood physiology of undernutrition.

Dr. Gaudiani (“Dr. G”) breaks down what really happens in the brain and body when we don’t eat enough — from slowed metabolism to changes in heart rate, hormones, digestion, and mood. Together, Jess and Dr. G unpack the survival adaptations that often get mislabeled as “failures,” and why compassion and nourishment (not more control) are the key to healing.

Whether you’re a clinician, athlete, or someone on your own recovery journey, this episode will deepen your understanding of the body’s wisdom — and remind you that your body is not the problem; it’s the protector. 💛

• What “undernutrition” really means (and how it shows up beyond weight)

• The body’s built-in survival mechanisms — and why they’re signs of protection, not weakness

• How restriction impacts the brain, hormones, and mood

• Why “Sick Enough” still matters — and what’s new in the second edition

• What compassionate, evidence-based care looks like for those healing from eating disorders

• Book: Sick Enough: A Guide to the Medical Complications of Eating Disorders, Second Edition

• Dr. Gaudiani’s Clinic: Gaudiani Clinic

Over the last few episodes, we’ve talked about why so many smart, motivated women feel stuck with food — even when they’re “doing everything right.”

We’ve unpacked:

• Why macros alone don’t create peace

• How your gut microbiome influences cravings, energy, and metabolism

• Why willpower fails when the nervous system doesn’t feel safe

• And how emotional and physiological triggers often get mislabeled as “lack of discipline”

In this episode, we zoom out and bring it all together — because empowered eating isn’t about choosing one approach. It’s about integration.

Empowered eating lives at the intersection of three things:

Sustainable nutrition starts with knowing what matters most to you. Not Instagram’s definition of health. Not rigid rules. But your values — family, faith, energy, longevity, joy, impact.

When health goals align with values, consistency feels meaningful instead of forced.

Your body is constantly communicating through:

• Hunger and fullness

• Cravings

• Energy and mood

• Digestion and stress responses

These signals aren’t obstacles to overcome — they’re data to interpret. When we learn to listen instead of override, the nervous system settles, clarity increases, and change becomes sustainable.

Science still matters. Fuel matters. Structure matters.

But nutrition science works best when it’s applied in context — alongside your biology, your nervous system, and your real life. Macros, gut health, hormones, and metabolism are tools — not moral scorecards.

Empowered eating isn’t about control. It’s about partnership.

When values guide the direction, biofeedback provides the information, and nutrition science offers the tools — food stops being the fight, and health becomes a platform instead of a pressure point.

If this series has resonated — if you’re ready for a different kind of January — I want to personally invite you to join me live:

Not another macro workshop — this is where food freedom finally clicks.

In this 90-minute live training (with replay included), we’ll walk through:

• A 3-step framework to set health goals that actually stick

• How to align nutrition with your values

• How to use biofeedback to get out of survival mode

• How to apply nutrition science without rigidity or shame

• Live Q&A so you can apply this to your body and your season

👉 Join us here: https://www.jessbrownrd.com/meaningbeyondmacros-masterclass

If you’re done white-knuckling and ready to feel peace in the process — I would love to see you there.