Health Up

Did you close your rings, hit your protein macros, do your 30-minute sauna… and still feel worse than ever?

This week it's just you and me. I recently overheard two young guys in a sauna insisting that 30 minutes was the rule — no less, no more. And it got me thinking about how many of us are living someone else's health protocol.

Influencers are selling attention. Studies describe populations, not you. Neither one knows your DNA, your values or what actually feels good in your body. So we end up ticking boxes, chasing numbers, being "good" all week and then swinging to the other extreme — the binge, the booze, the 22K punishment run. I call it the licensing effect, and it's the reason health starts to feel like a chore.

In this episode I share:
- Why influencer routines and research protocols were never designed for you
- How numbers on your watch and food labels create a disconnect from how health should feel
- The binge-restrict pendulum and how to find your middle ground
- What a pregnant client's KFC cravings were really telling her
- Why 5 minutes in the sauna might serve you better than 30
- How to become your own "N of 1" and build health you actually look forward to

This picks up where last week's Pleasure Principle episode left off. If you missed it, it's the perfect companion.

If you need help shutting down the noise so you can hear your own body again, I offer a free consultation — book via the link in the show notes.

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Anthony Hartcher is a clinical nutritionist and lifestyle medicine specialist based in Sydney, Australia.

This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for personalised medical or nutritional advice.

What if the reason you burn out on wellness routines isn't a personal failure—it's the system?
This week on HealthUp, Anthony Hartcher explores The Pleasure Principle in a unique AI-generated discussion format. Discover why your nervous system responds better to pleasure than punishment, how to stop over-optimizing your health, and why the practices you enjoy are actually the ones that work best.
A conversation about the wellness trends reshaping how we approach sustainable health—without the guilt.

Stop burning out on wellness routines that feel like punishment. Discover why pleasure is the missing piece in sustainable health, and how your nervous system actually responds to joy over obligation. New research on the over-optimization backlash is changing everything. What if wellness could feel good?
What You'll Learn:
• Why the over-optimization backlash is changing wellness in 2026
• How your nervous system responds differently to obligation vs. pleasure
• Why people who enjoy their wellness routines see better results
• Personalized health: using data without letting it control you • The missing piece in sustainable wellness practices
• 4 practical steps to transform your approach to health

As spring arrives, it's time to realign with nature. In this episode, Anthony breaks down 5 evidence-based principles for springing into wellness: eat seasonal food, increase movement with daylight, optimize sleep in warmer months, prioritize social connection, and maximize outdoor time safely.
Discover how to work with your circadian rhythm instead of against it—whether you're in the northern or southern hemisphere. No extreme diets, no fasting in summer. Just practical seasonal wellness habits.
Music licensed through Soundstripe.
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A weekend certificate does not make someone trauma-informed. Breathwork practitioner and clinical nutritionist Kathy O returns to Health Up to explain what actually separates a safe breathwork facilitator from an under-trained one — and the questions to ask before you lie down on that mat.

If you've had a breathwork session that left you shaken, dissociated or convinced the whole modality "doesn't work for you," this conversation may reframe it. The problem often isn't the breath. It's the room, the screening and the hours behind the person holding it.

WHAT WE COVER

- The difference between conscious connected breathwork and conscious controlled breathing (box breathing, Wim Hof) — and why the distinction matters for your nervous system
- Rebirthing vs holotropic breathwork: parasympathetic and gentle vs sympathetic and stimulating
- Why healing does not have to be forceful, and how "freeing the breath mechanism" changes how you live, not just how you breathe
- Contraindications, waivers and full disclosure — what a competent practitioner asks you before a session
- Panic breathing and freeze states: why a trauma response can look completely calm from the outside
- Group size and safety — why Kathy caps solo-facilitated groups at 10, and what happens at 50-plus festival sessions
- How to vet a practitioner: training hours, mentorship, recognised schools, the Australian and Global Breathwork Alliances
- Confidence vs arrogance, and why a safe practitioner will never call themselves your healer
- How many sessions before you notice a shift, and why integration matters as much as the breathing

HOW TO CHOOSE A BREATHWORK PRACTITIONER

Ask where they trained, how many hours, and who accredits the school. Ask what happens if you panic. Ask whether they screen for contraindications and medications. A two-day trauma-informed course is not equivalent to a 450-hour program with six months of mentorship — compare the pair.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Welcome back, Kathy O
00:41 From dietetics to breathwork: the backstory
05:33 Finding breathwork through her explant journey
09:03 Rebirthing vs holotropic: two branches of conscious connected breathwork
11:26 Freeing the breath mechanism and why we chest-breathe
14:30 The breath as a bridge between conscious and unconscious
16:21 One-on-one vs group sessions
19:05 Waivers, contraindications and what you may experience
21:27 Panic breathing, freeze and flop, and the polyvagal picture
23:39 Where beginners should actually start
25:00 Credentials, training hours and vetting a school
27:14 Confidence vs arrogance in a facilitator
29:14 Healing can be gentle
32:06 Co-regulation, screams and large-group risk
38:49 How many sessions before you feel a shift
41:07 Why the effects continue after the session ends
43:17 Where to find Kathy O

ABOUT OUR GUEST
Kathy O is a clinical nutritionist, breathwork practitioner and NLP practitioner who blends Eastern and Western approaches. This is her fifth appearance on Health Up — earlier episodes cover gut health, thyroid, burnout and breast implant illness.
Connect with Kathy on Instagram: @kathyo

Hosted by Anthony Hartcher, clinical nutritionist and lifestyle medicine specialist at me&my wellness.

If this episode helped, share it with someone considering their first breathwork session.

Music licensed through Soundstripe.
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