Broads: The Bold & Badass Fitness Podcast for Women

You have been treating your hair the same way diet culture taught you to treat your body. Something feels off, so you add another product, another step, or another routine you saw online. And just like with food and fitness, more is almost never the answer.

Shandi Nichelle has been touching hair for 20 years and she has one question she asks every woman who sits in her chair. What are you using and who told you to buy it? Because almost every hair problem she sees comes back to the same thing: women are solving a problem they have not correctly diagnosed yet.

Shandi Nichelle is a hairstylist, hair educator, and founder of FREEWELL, a clean hair care brand built around the idea that your hair needs less than you think. In this episode, Shandi breaks down the five types of hair damage most active women are dealing with without knowing it, why the habits that feel responsible are often the ones causing the most harm, and what it actually takes to get your hair healthy without overhauling your life.

If you have ever felt like nothing you try is working, this episode is going to tell you exactly why.

What's Discussed:

(1:49) The biggest hair myth Shandi wants to kill for good

(3:50) Why the slick back bun is quietly receding your hairline

(7:09) What healthy hair actually means and why most products fake it

(9:01) The five types of hair damage and the surprising new one on the rise

(18:11) Why over-washing is the first thing Shandi identifies in every active woman

(23:45) What dry shampoo is actually doing to your scalp

(26:44) Why scalp health is simpler than the industry wants you to think

(36:53) The protocol Shandi gives every woman before she buys another product

(40:27) The one ingredient your hair needs more than any treatment you can buy

(42:00) How Power Gloss was born out of training for a triathlon

(48:18) How often you actually need to use it and where to keep it so you remember

(49:52) Where to find Shandi and what is coming June 1st

Find more from Broads:

Website: broads.app

Instagram: @broads.podcast @broads.app

Check out more from Tara LaFerrara:

Website: taralaferrara.com

Instagram: @taralaferrara

YouTube: @TaraLaferrara

TikTok: @taralaferrara

Check out more from Shandi Nichelle:

Website: livefreewell.com 

Facebook: FreewellInstagram: @livefreewell

If you grew up in the Pinterest and early Facebook era, you probably learned early that summer meant one thing: getting your body ready for it. It all starts with restrictive diets in April, punishing workouts, and a whole lot of self-criticism in front of the mirror. 

Most millennial women never questioned it. It was just the 'norm' or what we thought we should look like.

The pressure to shrink, tone, and transform your body in 30 days for a vacation or a swimsuit is not a health goal but a trap that keeps you on a yearly hamster wheel. One that is costing you your hormones, your relationship with food, and your long-term progress every single time you fall into it.

In this episode, I am breaking down why the summer body mentality keeps you stuck in a loop, what it is actually doing to your body biologically, and what to do instead if you want results that last longer than August.

What's Discussed:


(0:00) Why the bikini body cycle keeps repeating itself


(1:04) Tara's personal history with chasing a summer look


(3:17) What the bikini body mentality actually is and what it costs you


(6:28) The hormone disruption nobody talks about: cortisol, leptin, and the binge-restrict cycle


(8:09) The question to ask yourself before starting any summer challenge


(9:53) Why real results take real time and what slow progress actually looks like


(11:48) Three non-negotiables you can anchor into year round


(14:37) What people think they need to do to lose weight fast and why it backfires


(18:05) What actually works: strength, protein, sleep, and stress management


(20:07) The abs myth: why crunches are not giving you what you think


(24:10) Your body does not have a seasonal deadline

Find out more from Broads:

Website: broads.app

Instagram: @broads.podcast @broads.app

BroadsCOACH: Head to broads.app/broadscoach and apply for BroadsCOACH.

Check More Resources:

Nutrition Webinar: Check out the plate method at broads.app/nutritionwebinar

Macronutrient Guide: Want a simple place to start fuelling for the body you're building? Grab Broad’s FREE Macronutrient Guide: The Balanced Plate Blueprint at broads.app/macronutrient-guide.

Gym Starter Guide: Ready to stop waiting for "someday"? Download the free guide at broads.app/gym-starter-guide 

Check out more from Tara LaFerrara:

Website: taralaferrara.com

Instagram: @taralaferrara

YouTube: @TaraLaferrara

TikTok: @taralaferrara

The identity shift that comes with motherhood is one of the least talked about transitions a woman will ever go through. Research shows it rivals puberty and menopause in the scale of psychological and neurological change it triggers in a woman's brain and body.

For high-achieving women, that shift hits differently. The woman who built her entire sense of self around drive, accomplishment, and control suddenly finds none of that prepares her for the part where she has to let that version of herself go.

Jenna Kennedy is an entrepreneur, podcaster, and mom of two who got pregnant twice unexpectedly and had to find her way through the identity loss, the invisible grief, and the slow surrender that nobody warned her was coming.

If you have ever felt like motherhood asked you to give up the most hard-won version of yourself, this conversation will make you feel a lot less alone in it.

What's Discussed:


(1:33) The bounce back myth and what we are actually bouncing from


(3:41) When motherhood arrives before you agreed to it


(6:10) The grief nobody gives you permission to feel


(8:27) What your most important role actually is right now


(9:45) The identity death and rebirth of becoming a mom


(21:15) Why anxiety is a signal not a problem to fix


(32:20) How high achievers confuse accomplishment with happiness


(41:10) What surrender actually looks like for a woman who always had a plan


(48:15) The small habits that build genuine happiness over time

Thank you to our sponsors!

IM8: Use my code TARA at checkout to save 10% on your first order at im8health.com/

Find more from Broads:

Website: https://www.broads.app

Instagram: @broads.podcast @broads.app

Check out more from Tara LaFerrara:

Website: taralaferrara.com

Instagram: @taralaferrara

Youtube: @TaraLaferrara

Tiktok: @taralaferrara

Check out more from Jenna Kennedy:

Instagram: @itsjennakennedy      

Tiktok: @itsjennakennedy

Podcast: Hope You’re Wellhttps://www.instagram.com/itsjennakennedy

A 2025 study out of McMaster University found that your body builds muscle the same whether you're in your follicular phase or your luteal phase. Your muscles, it turns out, do not care what your cycle tracker says.

So why are so many women losing their consistency, skipping workouts, and rebuilding their entire program every week around an app? Because cycle syncing culture sold us a system that sounds scientific but is actually costing us our progress.

In this week's episode, I'm breaking down what's really happening across your cycle, why the cycle syncing approach is creating more anxiety than results, and how to make smart adjustments to your training and nutrition without overhauling a thing.

What's Discussed:


(0:35) What this episode is and what it is not


(2:29) The four phases of your cycle and why certain weeks feel the way they do


(4:05) Your power window: the phase most women hit their strongest sessions


(4:30) What is actually happening in the luteal phase (and why it is not weakness)


(5:19) The problem with cycle syncing culture and who it actually serves


(6:22) What the research really says about performance across cycle phases


(8:46) The smart adjustment framework: when to lean in, when to dial back


(10:34) Why high-intensity cardio in late luteal is usually not worth it


(11:19) How to fuel across your cycle without tracking every macro


(13:03) The simplest way to track your cycle (no app required)


(15:02) Why consistency will always beat perfect phase alignment


(16:05) Your challenge for the week

Find out more from Broads:

Website: www.broads.app

Instagram: @broads.podcast @broads.app

BroadsCOACH: Head to www.broads.app/broadscoach and apply for BroadsCOACH.

Check out previous podcast about listening to your body: 

Episode 108: Dr. Alyssa Olenick: The Real Truth About Hybrid Training

Resources Mentioned:

Nutrition Webinar: Check out the plate method at www.broads.app/nutritionwebinar

Macronutrient Guide: Want a simple place to start fuelling for the body you're building?

Grab Broad’s FREE Macronutrient Guide: The Balanced Plate Blueprint at www.broads.app/macronutrient-guide.

Gym Starter Guide: Ready to stop waiting for "someday"? Download the free guide at www.broads.app/gym-starter-guide 

Check out more from Tara LaFerrara:

Website: www.taralaferrara.com

Instagram: @taralaferrara

YouTube: @TaraLaferrara

TikTok: @taralaferrara

Your body will literally overeat to hunt for protein it is not getting. It is called the protein leverage hypothesis, and it means your hunger is not a willpower problem. It is a signal that something is missing.

So no, you are not broken. You are not lazy. Your body is doing exactly what it is designed to do when it is not getting what it needs. And nobody has been louder about that than JJ Virgin.

JJ Virgin is a four-time New York Times bestselling author and nutrition expert who has spent over 40 years helping women stop measuring success by the wrong metric. In this episode, JJ breaks down why most women are under-fuelling the one macronutrient their body cannot go a single day without, what that is quietly doing to their muscle, their metabolism, and their results, and what to do about it starting with your next meal.

If you have had that quiet feeling that something is off with how you are eating, this episode is going to tell you exactly what it is. Let's dive into it.

What's Discussed:


(2:59) The non-negotiable JJ refuses to sacrifice no matter where she is in the world.


(5:21) The most overrated nutrition advice women are still following.


(6:22) When the protein trend went too far and created a junk food aisle.


(9:36) What chronic under-eating of protein is actually doing to your body.


(12:08) The biological reason you keep overeating and it is not discipline.


(13:16) The simplest food audit that changes everything in two weeks.


(14:45) The meal where most women are falling short and it is not dinner.


(16:30) How one breakfast sets your hormones up to fail for the rest of the day.


(18:26) Why JJ calls plant-based diets what she calls them.


(20:31) Where supplements actually fit and the four most women are missing.


(22:44) Why creatine belongs on your supplement list and it is not just for the gym.


(23:04) The creatine myth that 81% of women experienced firsthand.


(25:00) Why the common math on creatine dosing does not make sense.


(31:08) How to structure nutrition around your training without overthinking it.


(33:03) The first thing JJ looks at when body composition is not changing.


(34:20) The real reason most women are not building muscle and it is not protein.


(35:29) Why she stopped saying go heavy and what she says instead.


(41:06) The scale has done more damage to women than any diet ever has.


(42:28) The two things you must have before you ever touch a calorie deficit.


(42:47) What toned actually means and why you cannot stretch your muscles longer.


(43:37) 40 years and she has never seen a woman get big from lifting.


(45:23) The identity shift that separates women who maintain results from women who restart.


(56:33) What JJ would tell every woman between 35 and 50 right now.

Check out Broads FREE nutrition resources:


Macronutrient Guide: https://www.broads.app/macronutrient-guide 


Nutrition Webinar: https://www.broads.app/nutritionwebinar 

Find more from Broads:

Website: https://www.broads.app

Instagram: @broads.podcast @broads.app

Head to www.broads.app/broadscoach and apply for BroadsCOACH.

Check out more from Tara LaFerrara:Website: http://taralaferrara.com

Instagram: @taralaferrara

YouTube: @TaraLaferrara

Tiktok: @taralaferrara

Check out more from JJ Virgin:

Website: https://jjvirgin.com/

Facebook: JJ Virgin

Instagram: @jj.virgin      

YouTube: @jjvirginvideos

Tiktok: @reignitewellness

Pinterest: @jjvirgin

X: @jjvirgin

Got Questions: delphi.ai/jj-virgin

Podcast: https://jjvirgin.com/main-podcasts/ 

Speaking Engagements: https://jjvirgin.com/media-speaking-new/ 

JJ Virgin Programs: 

The 90-Day Metabolism Makeover: https://discover.jjvirgin.com/metabolism-makeover-int-1