Women Road Warriors

What if stubborn weight gain, constant cravings and “food noise” aren't simply a matter of willpower? What if your brain is driving more of your hunger, metabolism and eating behavior than you realize?
Triple board-certified neurologist and obesity medicine specialist Dr. Sara Siavoshi joins Women Road Warriors with Shelley Johnson and Kathy Tuccaro to reveal the connection between the brain, weight gain and weight loss, metabolism, GLP-1 medications, inflammation and healthy aging.
Dr. Siavoshi is the Founder and CEO of DrBrainRx, a nationwide physician-led telehealth platform focused on metabolic health, brain health, longevity and preventive medicine. She also practices clinical neurology and serves as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Neurosciences at UC San Diego.
In this eye-opening conversation, Dr. Siavoshi explains why she considers GLP-1 medications “brain drugs,” how the hypothalamus regulates hunger and satiety, and how dopamine-driven reward pathways can contribute to food cravings and addictive behaviors.
She breaks down the science behind Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound, Mounjaro, semaglutide and tirzepatide, including what may happen when people stop taking GLP-1 medications and why maintaining muscle through resistance training and adequate protein are so important during weight loss.
Dr. Siavoshi explores the relationship between obesity, insulin resistance, inflammation and brain health, including why protecting the brain's blood vessels may matter for cognitive health as we age. She also explains how exercise increases BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), which supports neurons, neural connections and the hippocampus. That’s the brain region critical to learning and memory.
You'll also hear a fascinating discussion about genetics and obesity, fertility and metabolic health, “Ozempic babies,” vitamin D and the nervous system, neuroplasticity after neurological injury, and what science is discovering about GLP-1 medications and addictive behaviors.
In this episode, discover:
How your brain regulates hunger, fullness, cravings and “food noise”
Why GLP-1 medications may affect far more than appetite and weight
How dopamine and the brain’s reward system can influence compulsive eating
Why researchers are studying GLP-1s in connection with alcohol, nicotine and other addictive behaviors
Why weight can return after stopping GLP-1 medications
Why muscle, protein and resistance training matter during weight loss
What “skinny fat” means—and why appearance doesn’t always reveal metabolic health
How obesity, insulin resistance and inflammation can affect the brain and its blood vessels
Why exercise boosts BDNF, supporting memory, neuroplasticity and the hippocampus
What metabolic health may have to do with fertility and “Ozempic babies”
The differences between semaglutide, tirzepatide, Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound and Mounjaro
Why vitamin D matters to neurological health

If you've ever wondered why one person seems able to ignore food while another battles cravings all day or why losing weight can feel like fighting your own body this conversation may change the way you think about weight forever.
Healthy aging isn't only about living longer. It's about protecting your brain, preserving your muscle, improving your metabolic health and staying mentally and physically capable as you age.
Listen to Women Road Warriors as Dr. Sara Siavoshi takes us inside the brain-body connection and separates medical science from the wellness hype.
Learn more at www.drbrainrx.com
Learn more about Women Road Warriors at www.womenroadwarriors.com
#GLP1 #WeightLoss #FoodNoise #BrainHealth #HealthyAging #Ozempic #DrBrainRX #DrSaraSiavoshi #ShelleyJohnson #KathyTuccaro #WomenRoadWarriors

Sexual abuse, sexual assault, and harassment can leave survivors feeling powerless, silenced, and afraid they won’t be believed. Attorney and survivor advocate Alreen Haeggquist knows that firsthand. She survived years of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse as a child and remained silent out of fear and shame. Today, she has turned that painful experience into a mission to help other survivors find their voices, stand up to their abusers, and pursue justice.
For more than 20 years, Alreen has represented survivors of sexual assault, sexual harassment, workplace discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination. As founder and managing partner of Haeggquist & Eck, LLP, she has recovered millions of dollars for clients while taking on powerful corporations, institutions, and individuals. Her belief is unwavering: wealth, influence, and status should never put anyone above accountability.
In this powerful conversation with Women Road Warriors hosts Shelley Johnson and Kathy Tuccaro, Alreen talks about why survivors often remain silent, why so many fear they won’t be believed, and how abuse can profoundly affect self-worth and a person’s ability to recognize abusive behavior later in life.
She also explains the importance of documenting misconduct, understanding your legal options, and having someone in your corner when confronting an abuser, employer, or powerful institution. Alreen shares why healing from trauma is a journey and how finding your voice can be an important part of reclaiming your power.
Beyond the courtroom, Alreen founded the HAE Fired Up Foundation to help survivors access resources for healing and empowerment. She is also the bestselling author of Fired Up: Fueling Triumph from Trauma, which chronicles her own journey and encourages other survivors to break the silence, find their voices, and move forward.
In this episode:
Why sexual abuse and harassment survivors often remain silent
How Alreen turned her own childhood trauma into a mission to advocate for others
Why being heard and believed can be so important for survivors
How Alreen helps survivors stand up to powerful people and institutions
Sexual harassment, workplace discrimination, and survivor legal rights
Steps survivors can take to document misconduct and explore legal options
How trauma can affect self-worth and the ability to recognize abusive behavior
Why finding your voice can be an important part of healing

Alreen’s message is powerful: survivors deserve to be heard, believed, supported, and empowered to reclaim their voices.
Learn more about Alreen Haeggquist: Alreen.com
HAE Fired Up Foundation: FiredUpFoundation.org
Get Fired Up: Fueling Triumph from Trauma: Fired Up book information
Haeggquist & Eck, LLP: HAE Law
Learn more about Women Road Warriors www.womenroadwarriors.com
#SexualAbuseSurvivor #SexualAssaultSurvivor #SurvivorAdvocate #SexualHarassment #WorkplaceHarassment #WorkplaceDiscrimination #SurvivorSupport #TraumaHealing #HealingFromTrauma #BreakingTheSilence #FindingYourVoice #WomensEmpowerment #SurvivorRights #AlreenHaeggquist #WomenRoadWarriors

Is AI coming for your job? Artificial Intelligence is rewriting the rules of work and changing what it takes to get hired, get ahead, and stay valuable. So, how do you AI-proof your career and become harder to replace? How can you protect your career, move up, change careers, and capitalize on new opportunities created by AI?
Michelle Perchuk, known as the Career Whisperer, is a career acceleration strategist, negotiation coach, talent acquisition expert, founder of MTV Coaching, and member of the Forbes Coaches Council. With more than 18 years of experience working alongside HR executives and C-suite leaders at Fortune 1000 companies, Michelle knows what makes decision-makers say yes.
Michelle says employers hire because their “hair is on fire.” They have problems that need solving. Your job is to show them why you are the solution.
She joins Women Road Warriors hosts Shelley Johnson and Kathy Tuccaro to reveal how to adapt, stand out, strategically upskill, and position yourself for opportunity in the age of AI.
In This Episode
How to AI-proof your career and become harder to replace
The human skills AI can't easily duplicate
How to identify and leverage your transferable skills
Why becoming a problem solver can transform your career
How to successfully navigate a career pivot or midlife career change
Why networking can uncover opportunities you won't find on job boards
What employers really look for when hiring
How to communicate your value and negotiate what you're worth
Career opportunities emerging in the age of AI
Michelle's powerful 3Cs, 2Ts & 1L hiring formula

AI may be changing the workplace, but change also creates opportunity. Learn how to recognize your value, strengthen the skills that set you apart, and position yourself and your career for whatever comes next.
Learn more about Michelle Perchuk and MTV Coaching:
www.mtvcoaching.com
Listen to more of Women Road Warriors:
www.womenroadwarriors.com
#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #AIJobs #MichellePerchuk #MTVCoaching #WomenRoadWarriors #ShelleyJohnson #KathyTuccaro #WomensEmpowerment

What if happiness and inner peace aren't things you have to chase—but something you uncover when you stop holding so tightly to who you think you're supposed to be?
We live in a world that constantly tells us to achieve more, prove ourselves, defend our positions and define who we are. Yet all that striving can leave us anxious, disconnected and exhausted. There is another way.
Award-winning author and alpinist Michael Schauch joins Women Road Warriors hosts Shelley Johnson and Kathy Tuccaro to explore Anattā, the ancient Buddhist concept of “non-self” at the heart of his book Anattā: Heart of Wisdom. It sounds mysterious, but its message is surprisingly practical: loosening our grip on the fears, wounds, identities and stories we carry can open the door to greater happiness, harmony, connection and inner peace. It happens when we loosen our attachment to the independent self and recognize how deeply interconnected we are with the world around us.
Anattā isn't about losing yourself, surrendering your power or allowing other people to walk over you. It's about discovering the deeper person underneath the roles, expectations and emotional reactions that can quietly control your life.
Michael explains why our attachment to an independent sense of self can intensify fear, dissatisfaction and an “us versus them” mentality. He also explores the Buddhist Four Immeasurables—loving kindness, compassion, joyful empathy and equanimity—and how they can help us build stronger connections and greater harmony.
You'll also discover why inner peace does not mean keeping the peace at your own expense.
Michael shares practical ways to begin: slow down, reconnect with nature, notice the stories running beneath your thoughts and emotions, and create enough stillness to hear what is happening inside you.
One of his most powerful insights turns our usual pursuit of happiness upside down: happiness and inner peace aren't destinations. They emerge as we become more aligned with our true nature.
Michael's path to this wisdom has taken him far beyond the meditation cushion. His extraordinary experiences include remote Himalayan expeditions, Alaskan ice walls, sacred places in Japan and the discovery of a Himalayan cave containing the ancient remains of 23 people. His connection with nature and a remarkable story passed down from his mother after her childhood in postwar Hong Kong helped shape his understanding of our connection to one another and the world around us.
Discover Anattā and a different path toward happiness, inner peace, self-discovery, mindfulness, emotional balance and human connection with Michael Schauch on Women Road Warriors.
In This Episode, Discover:
What Anattā really means and why “non-self” is not about losing your identity, voice, power or boundaries
Why happiness and inner peace aren't destinations but can emerge when we become more aligned with our true nature
How the fears, wounds, identities and stories we hold onto can create suffering, dissatisfaction and disconnection
Why recognizing our interconnection with other people and the world around us can create greater harmony and compassion
How to step out of an “us versus them” mindset and respond to conflict with greater clarity instead of reacting from fear
The Four Immeasurables—loving kindness, compassion, joyful empathy and equanimity—and how they strengthen human connection
Why inner peace does not require women to surrender their voices or sacrifice healthy boundaries
How nature can help quiet the mind, reveal hidden thought patterns and reconnect us with ourselves
Michael's extraordinary discovery of 23 ancient human remains in a Himalayan cave and what it taught him about impermanence and the human experience
How to recognize thoughts and emotions without allowing them to control you—like stepping out of a raging river and observing it from the bank
Practical ways to create more stillness, mindfulness, emotional balance and peace in everyday life

What might change if you stopped searching outside yourself for the happiness, wisdom and peace you already have the capacity to experience?
About Michael Schauch
Michael Schauch is an alpinist and award-winning author who lives to explore the depths of nature and the human spirit and share the beauty of connection he discovers along the way.
His books have received accolades from authors including Ken Wilber, Bernadette McDonald, Sharon Salzberg, Stephen Cope and Wade Davis, as well as reviewers including Kirkus, BlueInk and Foreword. His work has appeared in Elephant Journal, Unity Magazine and Thrive Global, with notable mentions in Lion's Roar, the Vancouver Sun and the South China Morning Post.
His new book is Anattā: Heart of Wisdom.
Learn more about Michael Schauch and his work:
www.michaelschauch.com
Discover more inspiring expert and celebrity conversations from Women Road Warriors:
www.womenroadwarriors.com
Listen to Women Road Warriors wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Audible and YouTube.
#WomenRoadWarriors #Anatta #InnerPeace #Happiness #Mindfulness #PersonalGrowth #BuddhistWisdom #SpiritualGrowth #MentalWellbeing #MichaelSchauch #WomenRoadWarriors #ShelleyJohnson #KathyTuccaro

Featured on The Oprah Podcast, award-winning leadership strategist Adyna K. Pressley knows what happens when the professional title that once defined you no longer fits and you must decide who you will become next.
Whether you are navigating a career change, stepping into leadership, or realizing that an old definition of success no longer serves you, this conversation will help you approach your next chapter with greater confidence, clarity, and purpose.
Adyna spent 34 years in corporate America, rising to Vice President of Operations in financial services and helping hundreds of team members grow and advance. She also witnessed something conventional leadership programs often overlook. It was that highly capable women can be undervalued, isolated, and expected to lead without the mentorship or support they need. That is not a lack of talent. It is often a structural problem.
Today, Adyna is the founder and CEO of AKP Innovations, a global leadership trainer, host of Pressley On Purpose, and the award-winning author of Rise Into You: Reclaiming Power, Love, Life, and Legacy. Named the 2025 Best Women’s Empowerment Leader in the U.S. and a 2026 Woman to Watch, she helps women strengthen their confidence, emotional intelligence, clarity, and purpose-driven leadership.
In this episode, Shelley Johnson and Kathy Tuccaro talk with Adyna about:
• Rebuilding confidence during career reinvention
• Separating your identity and self-worth from a job title
• Moving through fear, self-doubt and other people’s opinions
• Why mentorship, community and genuine support matter
• Redefining success without burnout or constant overperformance
• Creating an authentic, sustainable life and leadership path
Listen now, follow Women Road Warriors, and share this episode with someone ready to redefine success and reinvent herself.
Connect with Adyna K. Pressley:
https://www.adynakpressley.com/
#CareerReinvention #CareerChange #RedefineSuccess #WomensEmpowerment #SelfConfidence #PersonalGrowth #RiseIntoYou #AdynaKPressley #OprahPodcast #WomenRoadWarriors #ShelleyJohnson #KathyTuccaro