Dr. Deepti Sharma is a triple board-certified physician in Family Medicine, Obesity, and Lifestyle Medicine. She is also a certified menopause practitioner by The Menopause Society (previously NAMS) and a certified life coach. For over a decade, her clinical practice has focused on guiding individuals towards optimal health through evidence-based strategies.
She recognizes the unique challenges many individuals face in understanding their metabolism and managing their weight. This podcast is dedicated to addressing those specific nuances and providing clarity amidst widespread misinformation.
Each episode will delve into the science behind effective weight management and metabolic health exploring the critical roles of nutrition, physical activity, sleep, and mental well-being.
Please remember that while she is a doctor, she is not your doctor. This podcast is meant for educational and informational purposes only, not medical advice. Please consult your physician for your specific questions and needs.
Presented by Dr Deepti Sharma, MD
Learn more at www.weightandmetabolism.com
Just try Weight Watchers" is advice almost everyone has heard — but does the evidence actually back it up? In this episode, Dr. Deepti Sharma takes a clear-eyed look at commercial weight loss programs like Weight Watchers, Noom, and Jenny Craig, examining what the research actually shows about their effectiveness, who they tend to work for, and where they consistently fall short. She walks through the data on short-term versus long-term outcomes, the role of behavioral support and community accountability in these programs' modest successes, and why so many people regain the weight once they stop paying for the structure. Dr. Sharma also addresses the parts of these programs that rarely get examined critically — the points systems and food rules that can quietly reinforce disordered eating patterns, the one-size-fits-all approach that ignores metabolic and cultural differences, and the profit motive built into a business model that depends on people needing to come back. This isn't about shaming anyone who's used these programs or found value in them — it's about separating genuine evidence from marketing, and understanding what these programs can and can't actually do for metabolic health.
30 Sept 2026
Decision Fatigue
By the time most people sit down to plan dinner, they've already made hundreds of decisions — what to wear, what to say, what to let go, what to fix. In this episode, Dr. Deepti Sharma explores decision fatigue: the very real, well-documented phenomenon where the sheer volume of choices we make each day depletes our mental resources, and why that depletion doesn't stay contained to the mind. She explains how decision fatigue shows up physically — reaching for the easiest food instead of the planned one, skipping the workout, saying yes to things you meant to decline — not because of a lack of willpower, but because the brain, like any other organ, runs on a finite budget. Dr. Sharma connects this to the disproportionate mental load so many women carry: managing households, relationships, caregiving, and careers, often while suppressing their own needs to keep things running smoothly for everyone else. That invisible labor adds up, and by evening, the choices that matter most for health — what to eat, whether to move, whether to rest — are often the ones made with the least capacity left. This episode isn't about adding another task to your list; it's about understanding why "just make better choices" is incomplete advice, and what actually reduces the load.
23 Sept 2026
Cortisol
Cortisol gets blamed for everything — weight gain, belly fat, bad sleep, burnout — but most people have never actually heard how it works. In this episode, Dr. Deepti Sharma breaks down cortisol as more than just "the stress hormone": it's a survival signal that shapes blood sugar, appetite, fat storage, and even how your body decides where to hold onto weight. She walks through what happens physiologically when cortisol stays elevated for too long — not from a single stressful day, but from the chronic, low-grade stress so many people live in without realizing it. That includes the stress of caregiving, financial pressure, cultural expectations, and the silent stress of staying quiet in relationships or at work. Dr. Sharma connects the dots between this kind of sustained stress and real metabolic consequences: insulin resistance, disrupted sleep, cravings, and stubborn weight that doesn't respond to diet and exercise alone. This isn't a "just relax more" episode — it's a clear, physiology-first look at why chronic stress is a legitimate metabolic issue, and what actually helps regulate cortisol over time, not just in theory.
Inside a recent episode
The Doctor Behind the Podcast
Published 30 Apr 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] Is there one that you would say, hey, focus on this first before all others? Or what would be your approach if you were giving someone advice on helping with this root cause by attacking some of those preventative measures? Yeah, all the things that you listed, nutrition, physical activity, stress, sleep, social connection, purpose, all of them are important. But the most critical, I think, is mental health. Mental health drives your biology, your habits, your resilience, your coping skills. And I could give you the best plan for your nutrition, best plan for your exercise and medications, but if you're not feeling good inside, you won't be able to make the changes. […]
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