Dr Julie's Coffee Chats

Episodes

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  146. Crawl Before You Walk: Learning to be a beginner in nutrition, strength training & beyond 04.11.2026 32m

  Why do we put so much pressure on ourselves to be good at something before we've even started? This week on Dr Julie's Coffee Chats, Anna is back, and we're talking about something that applies to almost every area of our lives — learning to crawl before we walk! From CrossFit and nutrition to Anna's experiences training and working in medicine, we're exploring why we so often want to skip the foundations, rush the process and expect ourselves to have everything figured out from day one...
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  145. How to Have Your Cake and Eat It Too: Finding Freedom With Food 28.10.2026 33m

  What if you could enjoy birthday cake without guilt, counting calories or wondering how you're going to burn it off? This weekend we celebrated TWO birthdays in our household — which meant two parties, two homemade cakes, plenty of delicious food and a whole lot of celebrating! And somewhere amongst it all, I found myself reflecting on something that I think is incredibly important. The freedom of having a healthy relationship with food. Because while I was making countless food decisio...
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  144. The Hour of Power: My Simple Strategy to Reduce Overwhelm & Share the Load 21.10.2026 27m

  Ever looked around your house, seen a hundred things that need doing, and thought… where on earth do I even begin?! As a solo mum of three boys, running my own businesses and juggling everything that comes with family life, I know that feeling VERY well. So this week on Dr Julie's Coffee Chats, I'm sharing a simple strategy we've started using in our household that has made a surprisingly big difference — our Hour of Power! It's not about having a perfectly clean house. It's about makin...
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  143. Creatine for Women: Muscle, Menopause, Brain Health & What the Science REALLY Says 14.10.2026 27m

  Creatine seems to be EVERYWHERE right now! But is it really worth taking, particularly for women? Once associated mainly with bodybuilders and athletes, creatine is now being talked about for everything from strength and muscle mass to menopause, healthy ageing and even brain health. But what does the science actually say? In this episode of Dr Julie's Coffee Chats, I'm putting my nutrition researcher hat on to unpack one of the most researched supplements around — separating what we know, wh...
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  142. School Holidays Part 2: When the Maths Simply Doesn't Math — with Anna 07.10.2026 49m

  Last week, I pulled the most-listened-to episode of Dr Julie's Coffee Chats out of the archives — The Controversial School Holidays Episode. This week, we're picking up the conversation three years later. And Anna is joining me. Because when you look at the hours our children are at school, the weeks they're at school, and the hours and weeks we're expected to work… the maths simply doesn't math. In this episode, we go beyond the statistics and talk about what navigating this system actually ...
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  141. The Controversial School Holidays Episode — 3 Years Later 30.09.2026 45m

  Three years ago, I recorded what became the most-listened-to episode of Dr Julie's Coffee Chats — and listening back, I was struck by just how relevant it still is today. So I'm bringing it back. While school holidays might seem like a simple issue of juggling children and work, the reality is much bigger. In this episode, I unpack the research and statistics behind what happens to women's careers, income, financial security and wellbeing when they become parents — and why this matters to ALL...
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  140. The Sydney Sweeney Ad: Body Image, Beauty & What Are We Teaching Our Kids? 23.09.2026 40m

  Unless you've been living under a rock, chances are you've seen the Sydney Sweeney ad taking over the internet — and EVERYONE seems to have an opinion. So, naturally, Anna and I had to sit down and talk about it. But this isn't an episode about hating on another woman, judging her body or deciding what women should or shouldn't wear. Instead, we're asking: why has this ad created such a huge reaction — and what does the conversation around it say about us? We share our own reactions to ...
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  139. The Conversations We NEED to Have With Our Kids: Sex, Consent & Safe People — with Anna 15.09.2026 41m

  Some conversations with our kids are easy. And then there are the ones we desperately want to get right… but aren't always quite sure how to start. This week on Dr Julie's Coffee Chats, my friend Anna is back for a really important conversation about sex, bodies, consent, safety and communication with our kids. How early should we use the correct names for body parts? How do we talk about sex without making it one enormous, awkward "talk"? What does consent actually look like as our chi...
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  138. The Power of Making a Decision: You Don't Need to Have It All Figured Out 09.09.2026 28m

  Have you ever found yourself waiting until all your ducks are lined up before making a decision? The money, the time, the confidence, the perfect plan… and somehow, the perfect moment never quite arrives? In this episode of Dr Julie's Coffee Chats, I'm talking about the power of making a decision — and why sometimes we need to decide first, then find our way. This is a shorter, honest conversation about the things I've learnt through business, training, parenting and life. Because the truth i...
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  137. OREOGATE! The Parenting Debate That Has Broken the Internet — with Anna 02.09.2026 38m

  Ohhhh we're going there. Welcome to OREOGATE. This week on Dr Julie's Coffee Chats, I'm introducing you to my friend Anna — and we're diving straight into one of the hottest parenting debates to take the internet by storm. Yes. We're talking about the Oreos. What starts as a conversation about one seemingly innocent parenting moment very quickly becomes a much bigger chat about modern parenting, judgement, food, boundaries, social media and the enormous pressure parents face to somehow ...
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  136. THE Sugar Episode: What Parents Actually Need to Know 26.08.2026 1h

  If you listen to ONE podcast about sugar and kids, I want it to be this one. Because somehow sugar has become one of the most confusing, controversial and emotionally loaded parts of feeding our children. Is fruit sugar bad? Is fruit juice actually healthy? Is honey better than white sugar? How much sugar should kids really have? Should we restrict sweet foods — or does putting any boundaries around them just make kids obsessed with sugar? There is SO much noise out there. So in this ep...
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  135. A MUST LISTEN TO! Laugh, cry and find true hope from Jana of The Macpherson Diaries 19.08.2026 45m

  Every now and then, I record a podcast that stays with me long after we stop recording. This is one of those conversations. In this episode of Dr Julie's Coffee Chats, I'm joined by the incredible Jana from The Macpherson Diaries for a raw, funny, heartbreaking and, above all, deeply hopeful conversation about what happens when life changes in ways you could never have prepared for. Jana lost her husband to terminal cancer and found herself navigating unimaginable grief alongside the realitie...
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  134. The 3pm Slump 12.08.2026 33m

  Hit 3pm and suddenly all you can think about is coffee, chocolate… or preferably both? Following on from last week's episode on why you're hungry at 10am, this week on Dr Julie's Coffee Chats we're moving a few hours forward and tackling the infamous 3pm slump. Why do our energy levels drop? Why do sweet foods suddenly seem so much more appealing? And is an afternoon snack actually something we should be trying to avoid? In this episode, I unpack five common reasons you might find yours...
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  133. Hungry at 10am? 05.08.2026 31m

  Ever find yourself standing in the kitchen at 10am wondering why you're already hungry... even though you've had breakfast? In this episode of Dr Julie's Coffee Chats, we're unpacking one of the most common nutrition questions I hear from women: Why am I hungry so soon after breakfast? The good news? It's probably not a lack of willpower. Join me as we explore the five most common reasons you're hungry by mid-morning. I'll also share what breakfast often looks like in my own home—includ...
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  132. The Story Behind Chia Sisters with Chloe Van Dyke 29.07.2026 25m

  What does it take to build one of New Zealand's most recognisable health food brands? In this episode of Dr Julie's Coffee Chats, I'm joined by Chloe Van Dyke, co-founder of Chia Sisters, to talk about the story behind the brand, the passion that sparked it, and the realities of building a purpose-driven business. We explore Chloe's background in neuroscience, the inspiration behind Chia Sisters, and why making genuinely nourishing food and drinks has always been at the heart of what they do....
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  131. What Six Months Away Taught Me 22.07.2026 49m

  What if the hardest season of your life ended up becoming the one that changed you the most? Last week, I shared the story behind my six-month pause from the podcast. In this episode, I want to go a little deeper. This isn't about surgery—it's about the lessons that came from it. I'm reflecting on five things these last six months have taught me about health, recovery, business, relationships, personal growth, and having the courage to begin again before everything feels "ready." If you've ev...
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  130. Welcome Back! The Story Behind My 6 Month Pause 15.07.2026 26m

  Welcome back to Dr Julie's Coffee Chats! After a six-month break following a third major surgery, I'm so excited to finally be back behind the microphone. In this episode, I'm sharing where I've been, why I pressed pause on the podcast, what recovery really looked like, and some of the unexpected lessons that came with being forced to slow down. It's an honest conversation about health, healing, identity, and learning to give ourselves permission to rest when life doesn't go to plan. Whether ...
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  129. Update, Dropping Balls and What Really Matters 22.01.2026 15m

  In this episode I’m having an honest conversation about something we don’t talk about enough — dropping balls, trimming the fat, and focusing on what actually matters. After a busy and messy end to last year, I never quite got around to a proper wrap-up. And instead of forcing momentum, I realised it was time to pause, simplify, and reset — without guilt. This episode is about: Letting go of the pressure to do everything at onceWhy pausing doesn’t mean failingHow focusing on...
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  128. How Does Everyone Else Do It? 10.12.2025 25m

  This week on Dr Julie’s Coffee Chats I’m diving into a thought every mum has had — usually while staring at a pile of washing that’s been sitting in the machine for far too many days (me!) — “How does everyone else do it?” The truth? They don’t. None of us do. We’re all juggling, dropping balls, picking up new ones, and trying to keep ourselves and our families afloat as best we can. In this episode, I’m sharing a very real moment from my own morning that reminded me just how much invis...
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  127. Choices, Dropping the Ball & Never Enough Hours 03.12.2025 12m

  In this week’s Coffee Chat, I’m talking about something every parent, every woman, every human feels — that pressure of trying to hold all the balls, make all the choices, and somehow keep up as we head into Christmas. I share a moment from just this week: standing in my kitchen at 9pm, exhausted after a full day of work and training, trying to decide between dishes, a shower, or doing a puzzle with my 6-year-old… and what happened when I finally walked back out and found him fast aslee...