Wellness in a Chaotic World

Sheryl Davis

Wellness in a Chaotic World explores what it means to take ownership of your own health and wellness in a world that doesn't support a healthy lifestyle. If you feel drained by the expectations of modern life or you know what it’s like to be in a downward spiral of negative self-talk when you make a less-than-healthy decision for yourself, you’re in the right place. Join your host, Sheryl Davis, for conversations with real people learning to live well in our unhealthy, stressed-out, and chaotic world.

  1. 1d ago

    Ep. 34 - Weight Loss Can Help Prevent Type 2 Diabetes. But Is It the Right Goal?

    If you have prediabetes, chances are someone has told you to lose weight. Maybe your doctor said it. Maybe you found it online. But "lose weight" isn't actually something you do. It's not a behavior. It's an outcome. In this episode, I break down the nuance behind the advice to lose weight. We look at what the Diabetes Prevention Program study really showed, and why the people in that study weren't just told to lose 7% of their body weight and sent on their way. We also dig into the problems with reducing weight to "calories in, calories out," and why that framework can leave people feeling ashamed instead of informed.  Instead of asking "how do I lose weight," I want us to start asking a different question: what's actually going on here? Because once you get curious about your food, your movement, your sleep, and your stress, you start finding things you can actually work with. And a lot of those same things that support blood sugar regulation also happen to support weight, whether or not the scale moves right away.  This episode is about looking underneath the number and finding the real, actionable starting point for your health.  Did you miss my last free online workshop called My Doctor Said I Have Prediabetes. Now What?  Click here to learn more and register for the next one. Note: I'm a health coach and behavior change specialist, not a doctor or dietitian. This podcast is educational and isn't intended to diagnose or treat any medical condition.  Want to connect with Wellness in a Chaotic World? Join the free, private Facebook Group Website: https://wellnessinachaoticworld.com Instagram: @wellnessinachaoticworld Facebook: @wellnessinachaoticworldpodcast Sign Up for Wellness Insights and Podcast Updates Click here to sign up for episode alerts, reflections, and more. Get Your Free Guide to Rooted, Sustainable Wellness Want simple ways to plant seeds of wellness in your daily life? Grab your free guide here: Planting Seeds of Well-Being. Defy the Chaos. Reclaim Your Well-Being. Thrive on Your Terms. Ready to go deeper? My 1:1 health coaching gives you personalized guidance, accountability, and space to grow habits that actually last. Together, we’ll create a roadmap that fits your life—not someone else’s rules. Apply here to get started: Apply for Coaching.

  2. Aug 12

    Ep. 33 - Walking to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes: Does it Make a Difference?

    If you’ve been told you have prediabetes, chances are you’ve heard that you should exercise more. But what does that actually mean? Does movement have to be a full workout to make a difference? And can something as simple as a 10-minute walk after a meal really affect your blood sugar? In this episode of Wellness in a Chaotic World, we’re looking at what the research says about walking, post-meal blood sugar, and shorter bouts of movement. We’ll talk about why working muscles can take up more glucose, including the fascinating role of GLUT4 glucose transporters, what studies have found about walking after meals and breaking up prolonged sitting, and why you don’t necessarily need to think of movement as a 30-minute workout for it to count. Most importantly, we’ll bring the research back to real life. Instead of looking for the perfect walking routine, you’ll be invited to consider where a little more movement might realistically fit into your own day and what you might want to experiment with. In this episode: Why physical activity matters for blood sugarHow muscle contraction helps your muscles take up glucoseWhat research tells us about 10- and 15-minute walks after mealsWhy even shorter movement breaks may matterHow to experiment with walking without turning it into another all-or-nothing health goalFree Prediabetes Workshop If you’ve been diagnosed with prediabetes and you’re wondering what changes make sense for you, join me for my free interactive workshop, My Doctor Says I Have Prediabetes. Now What? We’ll look at the areas that can decrease your risk of developing type 2 diabetes and help you identify one or two realistic places to begin. Click here to learn more about the workshop. Remember, better health doesn’t happen in a perfect world. It happens in this one. Research & Resources CDC: Prediabetes – Your Chance to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes Information about prediabetes and reducing the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/prevention-type-2/prediabetes-prevent-type-2.html CDC: Get Active Physical activity guidance, including the example of starting with a 10-minute walk after dinner. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/living-with/physical-activity.html Sports Medicine, 2022: The Acute Effects of Interrupting Prolonged Sitting Time in Adults with Standing and Light-Intensity Walking on Biomarkers of Cardiometabolic Health A systematic review and meta-analysis examining the effects of breaking up prolonged sitting with standing or light-intensity walking. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-022-01649-4 Diabetologia, 2016: Advice to walk after meals is more effective for lowering postprandial glycaemia in type 2 diabetes mellitus than advice that does not specify timing A randomized crossover study comparing three 10-minute walks after meals with one 30-minute daily walk in adults with type 2 diabetes. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27747394/ Diabetes Care, 2013: Three 15-min bouts of moderate postmeal walking significantly improves 24-h glycemic control in older people at risk for impaired glucose tolerance A small study comparing three 15-minute post-meal walks with one 45-minute walk in older adults at risk for impaired glucose tolerance. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23761134/ Physiological Reviews, 2025: A Comprehensive View of Muscle Glucose Uptake: Regulation by Insulin, Contractile Activity, and Exercise A comprehensive review of how skeletal muscle takes up glucose, including the insulin- and contraction-responsive role of GLUT4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40173020/ Diabetes, 1999: Acute Exercise Induces GLUT4 Translocation in Skeletal Muscle of Normal Human Subjects and Subjects with Type 2 Diabetes A human study examining how acute exercise stimulates GLUT4 movement to the muscle cell membrane, including in people with type 2 diabetes. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10331428/ Want to connect with Wellness in a Chaotic World? Join the free, private Facebook Group Website: https://wellnessinachaoticworld.com Instagram: @wellnessinachaoticworld Facebook: @wellnessinachaoticworldpodcast Sign Up for Wellness Insights and Podcast Updates Click here to sign up for episode alerts, reflections, and more. Get Your Free Guide to Rooted, Sustainable Wellness Want simple ways to plant seeds of wellness in your daily life? Grab your free guide here: Planting Seeds of Well-Being. Defy the Chaos. Reclaim Your Well-Being. Thrive on Your Terms. Ready to go deeper? My 1:1 health coaching gives you personalized guidance, accountability, and space to grow habits that actually last. Together, we’ll create a roadmap that fits your life—not someone else’s rules. Apply here to get started: Apply for Coaching.

    Ep. 33 - Walking to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes: Does it Make a Difference?
  3. Aug 7

    Ep. 32 - Information Isn't Enough: It's Time to Close the Gap for People with Prediabetes

    It's been a few months since the last episode, and I'm glad to be back. In this episode, I'm sharing where I've been, what I've been reflecting on, and why I'm shifting my focus right now toward metabolic health and Type 2 diabetes prevention. Here's the reality: according to the CDC, about 12% of U.S. adults have Type 2 diabetes, and 44% have prediabetes. Most of them don't know it. Type 2 diabetes is closely linked to heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, kidney disease, nerve damage, fatty liver disease, eye problems, a weakened immune system, and mental health struggles. But this topic isn't just statistics to me. I grew up watching my mom navigate Type 2 diabetes in the 80s, along with all the bad diet advice of that era. I watched her frustration with weight management up close, long before I understood how much it would shape my own perspective on health. My own challenges in my early 40s, dealing with chronic inflammation, joint pain, digestive issues, and weight changes, is part of what led me to become a health coach in the first place. What I've learned along the way is that lasting change isn't about finding the perfect plan or having more willpower. It's about reconnecting with yourself and making choices that fit your life, your values, and where you want to go. If you've heard the words "you have prediabetes" from your doctor, you know how confusing and scary that moment can be. You're told to lose weight, eat better, move more, and then you're left standing there wondering where to actually start. In this episode, I talk about why that moment doesn't have to mean overhauling your entire life overnight, and why prediabetes, while a real warning sign, is also a real opportunity. That's the heart of why I'm hosting a free workshop: My Doctor Said I Have Prediabetes. Now What? This workshop is for anyone who's recently been diagnosed with prediabetes and isn't sure what to do next, and for anyone who wants to make lifestyle changes to prevent or reverse prediabetes but feels stuck on where to begin. We'll cover what prediabetes actually means and practical first steps you can take. My goal isn't to hand you another overwhelming list of things you should be doing. It's to help you leave feeling more informed, more confident, and clear on where to start. 📅 Workshop date: August 15th at 1:00 PM Eastern 📍 Free and online 🔗 Click here to learn more and register for the free workshop. Whether or not you join the workshop, I hope you'll keep listening. I'll be sharing more about metabolic health, sustainable behavior change, and what it actually takes to build habits that hold up in real life. Because wellness doesn't happen in a perfect world. It happens in this one. Want to connect with Wellness in a Chaotic World? Join the free, private Facebook Group Website: https://wellnessinachaoticworld.com Instagram: @wellnessinachaoticworld Facebook: @wellnessinachaoticworldpodcast Sign Up for Wellness Insights and Podcast Updates Click here to sign up for episode alerts, reflections, and more. Get Your Free Guide to Rooted, Sustainable Wellness Want simple ways to plant seeds of wellness in your daily life? Grab your free guide here: Planting Seeds of Well-Being. Defy the Chaos. Reclaim Your Well-Being. Thrive on Your Terms. Ready to go deeper? My 1:1 health coaching gives you personalized guidance, accountability, and space to grow habits that actually last. Together, we’ll create a roadmap that fits your life—not someone else’s rules. Apply here to get started: Apply for Coaching.

    Ep. 32 - Information Isn't Enough: It's Time to Close the Gap for People with Prediabetes
  4. Mar 30

    Ep. 31 - Your Health, Your Way: Building a Healthy Lifestyle That Works for You | A Convo with Kate Erwin

    In this episode, I’m joined by Kate Erwin, who also happens to be my very first podcast guest from over two years ago. It was really special to reconnect and hear what’s changed since then, because a lot has. Kate shares her experience of losing more than 60 pounds in the past year, but more importantly, how she’s done it in a way that actually feels sustainable for her. And that’s what this conversation is really about. We talk about what it looks like to step away from rigid rules and instead create a way of eating, moving, and living that reflects your personality, your values, and your real life. Kate is very honest about what works for her and what doesn’t. From tracking her habits in spreadsheets, to finding movement she actually enjoys, to navigating her relationship with food and alcohol, this is a conversation about learning yourself instead of trying to force yourself. We also talk about her experience working with a health coach, and how surprised she was by the level of empathy, personalization, and acceptance she received. That piece alone is something I think a lot of people don’t expect but it can make all the difference. A few things we explore in this episode:  Why sustainable change has to fit you The role of joy in building habits that last  How understanding your “why” changes everything  What support can look like when it’s collaborative instead of prescriptive  Kate’s experience with GLP-1 medications, and how she’s approached them in a measured, intentional way  How celebrating wins helps cement changes into new habitsWhat stood out most to me in this conversation is how much of this comes back to self-trust. When you stop trying to follow someone else’s plan and start paying attention to what actually works for you, everything shifts. Connect with Kate: Kate shares bits of her journey on social. You can find her on:  LinkedIn TikTok: @notthatnewyork  Facebook (where she’s active in GLP-1 communities)  Want to connect with Wellness in a Chaotic World? Join the free, private Facebook Group Website: https://wellnessinachaoticworld.com Instagram: @wellnessinachaoticworld Facebook: @wellnessinachaoticworldpodcast Sign Up for Wellness Insights and Podcast Updates Click here to sign up for episode alerts, reflections, and more. Get Your Free Guide to Rooted, Sustainable Wellness Want simple ways to plant seeds of wellness in your daily life? Grab your free guide here: Planting Seeds of Well-Being. Defy the Chaos. Reclaim Your Well-Being. Thrive on Your Terms. Ready to go deeper? My 1:1 health coaching gives you personalized guidance, accountability, and space to grow habits that actually last. Together, we’ll create a roadmap that fits your life—not someone else’s rules. Apply here to get started: Apply for Coaching.

    Ep. 31 - Your Health, Your Way: Building a Healthy Lifestyle That Works for You | A Convo with Kate Erwin
  5. 09/16/2025

    Ep. 29 - Weeding Out Wellness Myths: “If I Want It, I Should Just Do It”

    Have you ever told yourself, “If I really wanted to change, I should just be able to do it” only to end up feeling stuck, frustrated, or even ashamed when you don't follow through? You’re not alone. In this episode, I’m busting the myth that willpower and commitment are all it takes to make lasting change. I share why unconscious ambivalence is a completely normal part of the process, how our environment shapes our habits more than we realize, and why shame cycles can hold us back instead of helping us move forward. I’ll also tell a personal story about how giving up dairy wasn’t as simple as I thought it would be, and the lessons I learned along the way. You’ll walk away with practical strategies that can help you actually do the things you say you want to do. Want to connect with Wellness in a Chaotic World? Join the free, private Facebook Group Website: https://wellnessinachaoticworld.com Instagram: @wellnessinachaoticworld Facebook: @wellnessinachaoticworldpodcast Sign Up for Wellness Insights and Podcast Updates Click here to sign up for episode alerts, reflections, and more. Get Your Free Guide to Rooted, Sustainable Wellness Want simple ways to plant seeds of wellness in your daily life? Grab your free guide here: Planting Seeds of Well-Being. Defy the Chaos. Reclaim Your Well-Being. Thrive on Your Terms. Ready to go deeper? My 1:1 health coaching gives you personalized guidance, accountability, and space to grow habits that actually last. Together, we’ll create a roadmap that fits your life—not someone else’s rules. Apply here to get started: Apply for Coaching.

    Ep. 29 - Weeding Out Wellness Myths: “If I Want It, I Should Just Do It”
  6. 09/02/2025

    Ep. 28 - Rethinking Our Beliefs About Money with Women, Worth & Wellness Founder Nancy Griffin

    What does money have to do with health and wellness? More than we often realize. In this episode of Wellness in a Chaotic World, I sit down with Nancy Griffin, founder of Women, Worth & Wellness, who works with women to explore the connection between money, self-worth, and well-being. Together, we dig into the hidden beliefs we carry about wealth and how those beliefs quietly shape the choices we make. Over the past few years, I’ve had my own realizations about money—like how I often unconsciously capped what I felt “allowed” to earn. Looking back, it seemed like a matter of career circumstances, but underneath was a story about safety and self-worth. This conversation with Nancy is another reminder of how powerful these hidden money stories can be, and how freeing it is when we begin to shift them. Some of the key takeaways? Health and wealth are inseparable. Your financial wellbeing supports your health, and your health is the foundation for everything else.It’s okay to ask for help. Just as we lean on trusted health professionals, we can also turn to trusted advisors to guide our finances.Honesty is the cornerstone. With yourself, a partner, or an advisor, truthfulness is what opens the door to real solutions.You are worthy. Seeking guidance, asking questions, and taking ownership of your resources is an act of self-worth.If you’ve ever felt tension around money—whether it’s shame, confusion, or uncertainty—you’re not alone. This episode is an invitation to look at your money beliefs with compassion and curiosity, and to consider what healthier truths you might begin to carry forward. Nancy shares practical insights and encouragement that make this conversation feel both grounding and liberating. Whether you’re navigating a financial transition, rethinking your relationship with work, or simply curious about how money intersects with health, I hope you’ll find something here that speaks to your own journey. Connect with Nancy Griffin: Website: womenworthwellness.com/ Email: nancy@womenworthwellness.com IG: @womenworthandwellness Want to connect with Wellness in a Chaotic World? Join the free, private Facebook Group Website: https://wellnessinachaoticworld.com Instagram: @wellnessinachaoticworld Facebook: @wellnessinachaoticworldpodcast Sign Up for Wellness Insights and Podcast Updates Click here to sign up for episode alerts, reflections, and more. Get Your Free Guide to Rooted, Sustainable Wellness Want simple ways to plant seeds of wellness in your daily life? Grab your free guide here: Planting Seeds of Well-Being. Defy the Chaos. Reclaim Your Well-Being. Thrive on Your Terms. Ready to go deeper? My 1:1 health coaching gives you personalized guidance, accountability, and space to grow habits that actually last. Together, we’ll create a roadmap that fits your life—not someone else’s rules. Apply here to get started: Apply for Coaching.

    Ep. 28 -  Rethinking Our Beliefs About Money with Women, Worth & Wellness Founder Nancy Griffin
  7. 06/05/2025

    Ep. 27 - When Progress Feels Slow: Choosing Patience & Prioritizing Well-Being

    In this episode, I’m talking about something that often comes up in personal growth and the pursuit of well-being: that quiet, frustrating space where change feels slow and progress isn’t easy to measure. Maybe you’re showing up for yourself, making intentional choices, and still wondering, why don’t I feel further along by now? If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone — and you’re not off track. Today, I’m exploring what it means to trust the process, give ourselves credit for the small shifts, and care for ourselves deeply during the in-between seasons. I’m sharing a personal reflection, a practice I use with my coaching clients, and a few gentle questions to help you reconnect with your own path — even if it’s unfolding more slowly than you'd like. This isn’t about pushing harder. It’s about moving with care. If you’re craving permission to slow down and a reminder that meaningful change often happens beneath the surface, I hope this episode gives you what you need. *** Listen to the Guided Visualization episode mentioned today, or read the blog post that inspired today's episode. Want to connect with Wellness in a Chaotic World? Join the free, private Facebook Group Website: https://wellnessinachaoticworld.com Instagram: @wellnessinachaoticworld Facebook: @wellnessinachaoticworldpodcast Sign Up for Wellness Insights and Podcast Updates Click here to sign up for episode alerts, reflections, and more. Get Your Free Guide to Rooted, Sustainable Wellness Want simple ways to plant seeds of wellness in your daily life? Grab your free guide here: Planting Seeds of Well-Being. Defy the Chaos. Reclaim Your Well-Being. Thrive on Your Terms. Ready to go deeper? My 1:1 health coaching gives you personalized guidance, accountability, and space to grow habits that actually last. Together, we’ll create a roadmap that fits your life—not someone else’s rules. Apply here to get started: Apply for Coaching.

    Ep. 27 - When Progress Feels Slow: Choosing Patience & Prioritizing Well-Being

Trailer

5
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

Wellness in a Chaotic World explores what it means to take ownership of your own health and wellness in a world that doesn't support a healthy lifestyle. If you feel drained by the expectations of modern life or you know what it’s like to be in a downward spiral of negative self-talk when you make a less-than-healthy decision for yourself, you’re in the right place. Join your host, Sheryl Davis, for conversations with real people learning to live well in our unhealthy, stressed-out, and chaotic world.