Healthy Teen Life

Ever lose track of time doing something you love — then completely dread starting your homework two minutes later? That's flow, and you can actually trigger it on purpose to help you do the things you want to do. In this episode, I'm talking with Laurie Smith, author of The Flow Habit, about how to get into a flow state even when you have zero motivation. We break down her 4-step FEAL method (Focus, Engage, Equalize, Listen &...

We just hit 200 episodes — so which ones actually stuck with you? In this solo recap, I'm counting down the top 5 episodes of all time and breaking down why I think each one hit different. From body image and comparison, to resilience after hard stuff, to why procrastination isn't really a focus problem — this episode is basically a highlight reel of everything that's helped you most so far.

Here are some of the topics t...

If you're using AI to knock out your homework in five seconds so you can go hang out with your friends, this episode is for you. Not to lecture you. To show you what's actually at stake in a few years when you're applying to college and trying to get hired, and why the way you're using AI right now is quietly deciding which side of that transition you land on.

Today's guest is Amy Love, a Harvard MBA, former Fortune 500 chief market...

If your mornings feel like a chaotic scramble the second your feet hit the floor, or you start the day already stressed, foggy, grumpy, or behind before school has even started, this episode is for you. There's a specific 10 minute morning routine that changes everything, and summer is the perfect window to build it before school starts back up.

Today Leslie walks you through the exact morning routine she recommends to teens and col...

Getting to college is one thing. Thriving there is a completely different skill set, and most freshmen figure it out the hard way while they're also trying to keep up with huge lecture halls, new schedules, and an unfamiliar campus. This episode is the roadmap nobody puts in your orientation packet.

Today's guest is Cynthia Coufal, a life coach who spent 36 years working with teens and young adults. She started as a special educatio...

If you're a teen seeking more independence and you want to start handling things on your own, or if you're planning on moving into your own place and feeling a little unsure of how to prepare, this episode is for you. Katie Kimball, founder of Raising Healthy Families, breaks down the three life skills that will change everything about how you show up in the world o...

If you've ever lost weight, gained it back, and convinced yourself it must be a willpower problem, this episode is for you. Kamy's whole message is the opposite. Excess weight in a teen is almost never about willpower, the food itself, or how much you move. It's a symptom of something deeper that nobody has helped you name yet.

Today's guest is Kamy Moussavi, founder of Step Together, an organization that helps families address the...

If you've been hard on yourself, beating yourself up to push yourself to perform, holding impossible standards, and still ending up disappointed, anxious, lonely, or not enough, this episode is for you. Most teens are running this same loop and most don't have the language for why it isn't working anymore.

Today's guest is Dr. Jerry Weichman, a clinical psychologist and the founder of The Weichman Clinic. Dr. Jerry has worked with ...

If you've been told that getting healthier starts with a diet and an exercise plan, this episode is going to flip that on its head. Real, lasting change starts in your mind, not on the scale, and the work of building the right foundation comes before anything you eat or any workout you do.

Today's guest is Jonathan Boulware, a lifestyle behavior change specialist and the founder of You Can Beat Obesity. Jonathan spent years carryin...

If you've ever finished a snack, a meal, or a whole container of food and then sat in the aftermath wondering how you got there and why you did it, this episode is for you. Binge eating and overeating don't usually start with the food. They start with something underneath that nobody has helped you name yet.

Today's episode is a solo with Leslie, sharing the story of a friend who recovered from binge eating disorder and what her st...

Depression doesn't always look the way you've been told it looks. Sometimes it shows up as a slow heaviness. Sometimes it shows up as a loop in your head you can't seem to climb out of. Sometimes it shows up as isolation, exhaustion, or the feeling that nothing you do is going to matter. Wherever it shows up for you, this episode is for you.

Today's guest is Brian Sachetta, an author, blogger, and mental health advocate behind Get ...

Your skin is more than what it looks like. It's the largest organ in your body, it's the first responder talking to your nervous system, your immune system, and your endocrine system, and it's covered in a living microbiome that's quietly doing protective work for you all day. Which means the stuff you put on it matters way more than you've been told.

If you're feeling stuck right now, like life just sucks, like nothing is going your way and you can't see how it's going to get better, this one is for you. Hard things happen to every single one of us. The question is never whether they happen. The question is what you do with them when they hit.

Today's guest is Ty Gibson, a speaker and mindset advocate whose entire framework is built around one core principle. There are no optio...

If you're a high school senior heading to college, or already a freshman who's hitting some academic walls, this one is for you. There's a stretch of skills your teachers probably aren't teaching, your parents may not have had to learn the same way, and that nobody is sitting you down to walk you through. They're the skills that decide whether your first year of college feels manageable or completely impossible.

Today's guest is Dr...

If you're a high school senior who just committed to a college, or you've already graduated and you're heading to your freshman year, this one is for you. You did it. You got in. You made the call. And the next chapter is genuinely one of the wildest, most growth filled seasons of your entire life. New city, new people, new freedom, new version of you. It's exciting.

Here's what almost nobody is telling you. The academic prep, the ...

If you're a teen who thinks losing weight is the goal, today's episode might change how you see food, your body, and what "healthy" actually means. Diet culture has been lying to every single one of us for a long time. The corset you didn't know you were wearing. The caloric deficit you've been taught to chase. The size you think will finally make you feel enough. None of it is what it told you it was.

Carrie Lupoli is a nutrition ...

If staying focused, getting started on tasks, or managing everything on your plate feels impossible, you are not broken and you are not behind. In this episode, Leslie sits down with executive function coach Lauran Kerr-Heraly to break down what executive function skills actually are and why they are something every teen can learn regardless of where they are starting from.

From procrastination to planning to keeping your focus whe...

Have you ever wondered whether the person messaging you online is actually who they say they are? In this episode, Leslie sits down with Dr. Bronwen Carroll, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Boston Medical Center, to have the conversation that most adults are not having with teens but absolutely should be. Dr. Carroll breaks down the real risks of sexting, explains what sextortion is and how fast it can escalate, and wal...

School teaches you a lot of things, but what about how to deal with stress, navigate awkward social moments, or feel like you actually belong? In this episode of Healthy Teen Life, Leslie sits down with Kevin Dahill-Fuchel, a licensed clinical social worker and executive director of Counseling in Schools in New York City, to talk about the emotional an...