Description

🎙️ New Episode of the Medical Fitness Podcast

Guest: Dr. Michelle Segar, University of Michigan

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Michelle Segar, NIH-funded scientist, author of No Sweat and The Joy Choice, and internationally recognized expert on sustainable behavior change. With more than 30 years of research and coaching experience, Dr. Segar has advised organizations like the World Health Organization, Kaiser Permanente, and Walmart on how to create lasting lifestyle change.

What we cover:

• The “lightbulb” moment: Dr. Segar discovered early in her career that even cancer survivors who benefited from exercise stopped once a study ended. This sparked her life’s work—understanding why people quit and how to help them stick with movement for good.
• Why people don’t stay active: It’s rarely “lack of time” or “no motivation.” These are smokescreens. The real issues often include guilt about prioritizing self-care, choosing exercise they don’t enjoy, or linking exercise only to weight loss.
• A better approach: Her coaching model blends three pillars:

1.     Pleasure & positivity – helping people actually enjoy movement.

2.     Permission for self-care – reframing exercise as fuel for life, not a selfish act.

3.     Flexible strategies – building a toolkit of options so people can adapt when life gets busy.

• The power of the “why”: Long-term motivation comes from immediate benefits like energy, stress relief, and feeling better now—not distant goals like weight loss.
• Changing mindsets, not just behaviors: Sustainable activity starts with shifting beliefs about what exercise means. Dr. Segar calls it liberating people from cultural “brainwashing” around exercise.

Key takeaway:
If we want people to sustain physical activity, we must help them discover ways to feel good while moving. Enjoyment, permission, and flexible strategies—not shame, rigid goals, or generic prescriptions—are what create lifelong habits.

📌 Dr. Segar will also present an MFA webinar on October 7th: Reframing Exercise: Why our approach to exercise counseling causes harm and what science shows is a better way. She will also be leading a pre-conference workshop at the ACLM annual conference in November.

Connect with Dr. Michelle Segar:

• Website & newsletter: michellesegar.com
• Email: available via her website contact page
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellelsegar/

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