What if your relationship with food had nothing to do with discipline and everything to do with your nervous system?

In this conversation with Luis Mojica, we explore the connection between developmental trauma, chronic stress, and the way we relate to food. Luis shares his own story of using an eating disorder to cope with undiagnosed PTSD, and how that led him to question the traditional psychology model that focuses on behavior without getting curious about environment, physiology, or nutrition.

His work in nutrition counseling revealed a pattern: people with unresolved trauma and chronic stress often struggle to stabilize their health in ways that have nothing to do with discipline and everything to do with their nervous system.

We talk about food as a relationship. Not just something we consume, but something that becomes us. Our tissues, our skin, our blood. Food can stimulate, suppress, or balance the body, much like our relationships with people. Caffeine, sugar, and refined carbohydrates can activate the system. Rich, comforting foods can initially settle us but create downstream effects that dysregulate. Whole foods tend to support balance. This shifts the conversation away from good and bad foods and toward how different foods impact our internal state.

We also unpack trauma as a physiological response rather than an event. The body mobilizes for fight or flight, and when that is not possible, it moves into freeze, collapse, or fawn. Many high achievers learn early how to override their own needs in order to belong. That override becomes a strength professionally, but it comes at a cost. Hunger signals, boundaries, and emotional cues all get muted, and over time there is a growing disconnection from the body. The same stress pathways that are activated in trauma can also be activated by the foods we eat.

A big part of this conversation is reframing cravings. Instead of something to control, they can be understood as a signal. A compass pointing toward an unmet need. Luis shares examples from his work with patients, including how removing a coping mechanism too quickly can create more distress if we do not first understand what role it is playing. We talk about what it looks like to pause, get curious, and actually listen to what the body is communicating.

We also go into practical tools. Tracking where tension or pressure lives in the body. Creating a sense of safety with simple physical cues. Working with numbness and understanding what is underneath it. For those of us in high intensity environments like surgery, this matters. The constant activation, sleep deprivation, and vicarious trauma create a baseline level of stress that most people never experience. In that context, food becomes more than fuel. It becomes a way to regulate. Meals and snacks can either amplify that stress or help bring it down.

We close by talking about capacity versus desire. Many physicians love what they do, but their capacity to metabolize the constant input is maxed out. Without space to process, the system stays activated. Practices like pendulation, moving between states of activation and regulation, help rebuild that capacity. This is ultimately about returning to a more sovereign relationship with the body, supporting the microbiome, and understanding that even something as simple as fiber can play a meaningful role in restoring balance.

Get Luis's book Food Therapy here.

Follow Luis on instagram here.

Join us inside Empowered Surgeons Group here.

Learn more about Love and Science Fertility here.

Learn more about the Norway retreat here. Get on my calendar for an interview for a spot here.

Join Empowerd Surgeons here.

Infertility is shaping the lives of female physicians, and we need to talk about it.

Dr. Erica Bove, creator of Love and Science, shares the startling fact that 1 in 4 female physicians and 1 in 3 female surgeons experience infertility. Interestingly, the very mindset that makes us successful in surgery can work against us when it comes to building a family.

We explore the hidden role of stress, trauma, and nervous system dysregulation, and the trap so many physicians fall into: trying to solve infertility by working harder, researching more, and disconnecting from their own bodies.

Dr. Bove offers a radically different approach, one that begins with humanity.

We talk about:

• Why going on a certainty frenzy doesn't solve the problem
• How trauma states impact fertility physiology
• The courage it takes to receive care, not just give and give
• Reconnecting with your deepest “why”
• Boundaries, community, and learning to say: I deserve to be a patient

This is not just a conversation about fertility, it’s about reclaiming your humanity in a system that taught you to override it.

Erica Bove, MD, is a double board certified OB-GYN and Reproductive Endocrinologist (REI) physician at the University of Vermont, She is also the CEO and founder of Love and Science: Thriving Through Infertility. She has a keen interest in marrying an evidence-based approach with intuitive knowing in the context of a trusting relationship. She empowers women physicians to build their families with confidence, self compassion and community. Her mission is to heal and support the healers and to create a legacy she is proud of.

In her free time, she enjoys running, yoga, kayaking, skiing, reading, writing, and spending time with her inner circle.

Follow her on Linkedin here, IG here, FB here, and check out her podcast, Love and Science Fertility here.

Surgeons, join us inside Empowered Surgeons Group today.

In this episode, Dr. Karen Leitner and I explore the hidden thought patterns that keep women physicians stuck. And how to break free!

We cover:

• Why charting paralysis happens (and the thought loops that drive it)
• Being diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) later in life and the shift from self-judgment to self-understanding
• The power of acceptance and letting go of control over outcomes
• The moment Karen realized even “good doctors” get sued
• How medical training builds a hypercritical inner voice (and how to replace it with self-compassion)
• Moving from walking a tightrope → to feeling solid and safe within yourself
• The reality of inequity: women physicians being undervalued and underpaid
• Lessons from Women Don’t Ask on why women avoid negotiation
• The mindset shifts needed to negotiate powerfully:
• Your value is yours—even if others don’t recognize it
• Hearing “no” is part of the process, not the end
• Discomfort is the price of increasing your impact and income
• Practical negotiation strategies:
• Research compensation (e.g., Medical Group Management Association data)
• Communicate your value from the institution’s perspective
• Have the conversation in person and set expectations ahead of time
• Anticipate objections and stay in the conversation

Key takeaway:

Money = impact. When you are compensated appropriately, you expand your ability to create change.

Ready to go deeper?

If you’re a woman physician looking to feel better, think clearer, and show up more powerfully in your life and career, check out Dr. Karen Leitner's coaching program here. Make sure to follow her on Instagram here.

And if you’re a surgeon ready to step out of burnout and lead your career from a place of confidence and ownership, join Empowered Surgeons. You don’t have to keep doing this alone.