In this heartwarming episode of Bite-Sized Balance, I sit down with my remarkable guest and past client, Chantal. Chantal recounts her transformative journey from decades of addiction to true freedom from alcohol. Chantal candidly shares her experience with the medication Antabuse and the pivotal role it played in her recovery. 

The conversation takes a beautiful turn as Chantal unveils her unique practice of specific gratitude, demonstrating how it has reignited joy in her life. By focusing on the little things, she has discovered the immense power of gratitude in her journey toward lasting freedom from drinking. This episode is an inspiring testament to the profound impact of finding joy in the simplicity of everyday moments.

We talk about:

• Naltrexone v. Antabuse as aids in sobriety
• Gratitude as part of your sobriety toolkit
• Finding the joy when your life looks “good on paper” but something is missing
• The unexpected gifts of sobriety 

Links...

 Watch the podcast, above, or listen below. 

This week I am joined by Maureen Benkovich. Maureen shares her moving personal story as she and I have an honest discussion about infertility, pregnancy loss, grief, depression, and women’s drinking. 

Maureen has experienced the pain of infertility and failed adoption and knows firsthand how easy it is to get stuck in a cycle of shame and blame when it comes to grief, depression, and drinking. For years, she used alcohol as a way to cope with these challenges, and it only made things worse.

But with help, compassionate support, and the latest neuroscience-based techniques, Maureen was able to break free from her patterns and transform her life. Now, as a life coach, she is committed to helping others do the same.

Topics include:

•  Maureen’s journey through multiple miscarriages and fertility treatments
• The painful decision to stop treatment
• Her failed adoption and the grief that followed
• Using alcohol to...

Watch the podcast, above, or listen below.

Scott Pinyard is the owner and coach at Modern Coparent, a company dedicated to helping people find peace while coparenting. He has years of coaching experience both in private practice and as the Head Coach of This Naked Mind. Scott’s focus is in helping people through challenging growth with compassion, patience and humor.

Scott shares his personal story of modern coparenting and how he came to be a coach in this area. He explains how our lives are built on story and how these stories inform how we parent and coparent. Scott and I discuss some of the most common coparenting stories, why we often get stuck in patterns that don’t serve our kids, and how we can step into personal responsibility once we get clear on our stories and replace them with new beliefs that serve us better as individuals and parents. Scott provides some accessible, practical tips for parents who are currently in conflict and seeking more peace around...

This morning I had the opportunity to talk about the new Canadian Guidelines for Alcohol Consumption from the Centre for Substance Abuse and Addiction. In particular, we discussed how they are impacting women and women's drinking.

Watch the podcast, above, or listen below.

I chat with Mitch Cobb, Co-Founder and CEO of Upstreet Brewing and Libra Non-Alcoholic Craft Beer about the alcohol-free drink market, the sober curious movement, and our shared mission to normalize socializing without alcohol.

Mitch shares how he came to start a craft brewery on Prince Edward Island, Canada, and soon after began exploring his own relationship with alcohol, as well some fascinating behind-the-scenes details on how alcohol-free beer is made and marketed.

This is a fun and light conversation around what it means to find your balance and how having a great alcohol-free alternative on hand can make that easier. 

For free tools and resources for making change around alcohol, burnout, or midlife, visit: www.wendymccallum.com/learn-with-wendy

Libra Alcohol-Free Craft Beer: www.drinklibra.ca

Watch the podcast, above, or listen below.

1 in 4 pregnancies ends in loss, and it’s high time we started talking about it.

In this episode, with the help of my BFF Megan, I tell my personal story of recurrent miscarriage and grief.

Of my five pregnancies, only one resulted in a live birth. My friend Megan was there for the grief and joy along the way and shares what she learned about how to best support someone who’s going through infertility and/or loss. I recollect some of the toughest moments, but also the lovely ways I was supported by so many.

The goal of this episode is to help anyone who’s been through this feel less alone and to change the conversation by increasing awareness and sensitivity around this really common struggle for women.

  Watch the episode, above, or listen, below!

In this special episode, guest host Julie Lesperance takes the reins to interview me about my personal alcohol story on my 3-year anniversary of living alcohol-free. I explain how and why my relationship with wine changed over the course of my life, when and why I started to question it, and how I found freedom and went on to become a Certified Naked Mind Coach. 

If you think you’re the only one questioning your relationship with alcohol, you’re not. If you’re thinking things aren’t “bad enough” to make a change, you’re wrong. 

"Grey-area drinking" exists on a huge spectrum. You don't need to objectively have " a problem", be an "alcoholic" or hit a "rock bottom" to change your habits. The truth is: you simply don't HAVE to drink (or drink as much), and it's 100% up to you! (Boy, was it ever liberating when I realized that!)

You get to...