SHOW NOTES
About the Guest
Brooke Harmer is a certified perinatal nutritionist and women’s health coach who helps women feel strong, nourished, and supported throughout pregnancy, postpartum, and motherhood. As an Army wife and mom of three, Brooke understands firsthand the challenges and beauty of raising young children while trying to care for yourself. Through holistic nutrition, lifestyle guidance, education, and one-on-one coaching, she helps moms build sustainable habits that support their health and their families. She is also the host of The Well-Nourished Mama podcast.
Episode Summary
Brooke Harmer joins Jen Aks for a vulnerable and deeply encouraging conversation about motherhood, nourishment, faith, recovery, and choosing to take responsibility for the way you experience your life.
Brooke shares how motherhood once felt like something that was happening to her. Exhausted by the repetitive demands of caring for young children, she began to feel resentful toward the life she had chosen and found herself blaming her children for how she felt. Her turning point came when she realized that no one else could rescue her or determine the feeling inside her home. That responsibility belonged to her.
She also opens up about her recovery from an eating disorder while trying to conceive. Although she appeared to be checking every health box, her body was sending unmistakable signals that she was not well. A close friend lovingly named the behaviors he was seeing, helping Brooke feel truly seen and giving her the courage to begin recovery.
Together, Jen and Brooke explore how nourishment affects mood, nervous-system regulation, spiritual connection, parenting, and the ability to hear inner guidance. Brooke explains why so many moms are unintentionally under-eating and why something as simple as eating three complete meals can profoundly change how motherhood feels.
This episode is a heartfelt reminder that thriving motherhood does not begin with doing more for everyone else. It begins with nourishing yourself well enough to show up with clarity, energy, confidence, and compassion.
What You’ll Learn
• Why Brooke once felt resentful toward motherhood and the repetitive demands of raising young children
• What changed when she stopped waiting for someone else to rescue her
• Why taking responsibility is different from blaming yourself
• How Brooke connects prayer, scripture, worship music, and bodily sensations to spiritual guidance
• Why asking “Is this good?” helps Brooke recognize the direction she wants to follow
• How an eating disorder affected Brooke’s physical health, emotional regulation, sleep, fertility, and daily life
• What happened when a close friend lovingly told Brooke what he was noticing
• Why feeling truly seen can become the beginning of healing
• How Brooke’s recovery shaped her work in maternal nutrition and women’s health
• Why many mothers are unintentionally under-eating throughout the day
• How eating enough protein, calories, and complete meals can support mood, energy, hormones, and nervous-system regulation
• Why nourishing yourself helps you parent and lead your family with more clarity and confidence
Key Concepts Introduced
• Motherhood Happening to Me — Brooke’s description of feeling controlled by her children’s emotions, sleep, routines, and needs rather than actively choosing how she wanted to show up
• From Resentment to Responsibility — the shift from waiting to be rescued to recognizing, “It’s my job to determine the feeling in our home”
• Is This Good? — Brooke’s way of discerning spiritual guidance by asking whether a thought or feeling leads toward love, humility, service, faith, and alignment with her values
• Creating Space to Hear — using prayer, scripture, worship music, quiet, sunshine, and attention to the body to become more receptive to guidance
• Health Beyond Checking Boxes — the difference between following wellness rules and actually paying attention to whether your body feels safe, nourished, and well
• Working With Your Body — Brooke’s approach to helping women support their bodies instead of demanding that their bodies perform under deprivation and stress
• Feeling Seen — the relief that came when Brooke’s friend compassionately named the eating-disorder behaviors she had been too afraid to admit
• Passing It Forward — using the lessons, struggles, and growth from your own life to support others on theirs
• Nourishment and Nervous-System Regulation — the connection between eating enough food and having the physical capacity to regulate emotions, receive spiritual guidance, and parent with clarity
Quotes From This Episode
“It’s my job to determine the feeling in our home.”
“For a long time, I felt like motherhood and mothering was happening to me.”
“I was tired of being a victim. I was tired of waiting for somebody to come rescue me.”
“This is my reality. This is my experience. This is my choice. And I don’t like it, and I’m gonna change it.”
“Instead of playing this game of, is this from God? Is this my own thought? I ask myself, is this good?”
“That’s what health is. It’s about how you feel.”
“Let me teach you how to work with your body, not make your body work for you.”
“I remember feeling so seen and feeling so relieved that someone finally said what I was too afraid to say.”
“You’d be so surprised at how easy it is to actually enjoy being a mom when you’ve got a full belly.”
“Your nervous system is regulated by your diet.”
CHAPTER MARKERS
00:00 Opening: Motherhood Beyond Survival Mode
Jen introduces Brooke and frames the conversation around nourishment, motherhood, vulnerability, and learning to lead your family from a more grounded place.
03:32 When Motherhood Felt Like It Was Happening to Her
Brooke explains how exhaustion, repetitive routines, and feeling out of control led her to resentment and the sense that she was simply trying to keep up.
05:00 From Resentment to Responsibility
Brooke opens up about blaming her children for how she felt and the realization that she had the power to change how she showed up.
06:55 No One Else Was Coming to Rescue Her
Brooke describes the moment she stopped waiting for someone else to validate her, fix the problem, or take responsibility for her life.
08:56 The Light-Bulb Moments Keep Returning
Brooke explains that growth was not one permanent breakthrough. She still has to notice when resentment returns and intentionally realign.
09:00 Listening to God and Trusting Inner Wisdom
Brooke shares how prayer, faith, and paying attention to what she can control help her reconnect with the woman, wife, and mother she wants to be.
11:43 How Brooke Recognizes Spiritual Guidance
Brooke explains why she asks whether a thought is good rather than endlessly questioning whether it came from God, herself, or somewhere else.
14:00 Music, Scripture & Creating Space to Receive
Brooke describes using worship music, scripture, quiet, sunlight, and bodily sensations to hear guidance more clearly.
17:27 When Health Becomes a Checklist
Brooke reflects on how the wellness world can become focused on rules, numbers, and biohacks instead of whether someone actually feels well.
18:00 Eating Disorder, Infertility & the Body’s Warning Signs
Brooke shares the symptoms her body was sending while she struggled with an eating disorder and tried to conceive.
21:08 The Friend Who Was Brave Enough to Speak
Jen asks about the conversation that helped Brooke finally acknowledge that she was not okay.
24:00 Feeling Seen
During a half marathon, Brooke’s friend gently tells her that he recognizes the signs of anorexia and that she does not have to face it alone.
25:00 The Beginning of Recovery
Brooke describes the relief of realizing that someone saw through the facade and understood what she was experiencing.
28:07 Turning Pain Into Service
Brooke explains her belief that the difficult and beautiful parts of our lives can become ways to support and guide others.
30:00 Why Moms Need to Eat More, Not Less
Brooke gives practical advice for depleted mothers, beginning with something basic but often missed: eating three actual meals each day.
31:00 Coffee, Leftovers & the Underfed-Mom Cycle
Brooke describes the common pattern of skipping breakfast, eating a tiny lunch, surviving on children’s leftovers, and wondering why energy and mood are falling apart.
33:29 Nourishment and the Nervous System
Brooke explains why eating enough supports nervous-system regulation and the ability to hear, receive, and respond to spiritual guidance.
34:00 Nourishment, Motherhood & Leading Your Family Well
Jen and Brooke connect physical nourishment to emotional regulation, confident parenting, and modeling healthy care for children.
35:43 Where to Find Brooke
Brooke shares The Well-Nourished Mama platforms, free resources, podcast, and one-on-one coaching options.
CONNECT WITH BROOKE HARMER
Website: The Well-Nourished Mama
Instagram: @thewellnourishedmama_
TikTok: The Well-Nourished Mama
Podcast: The Well-Nourished Mama
One-on-One Coaching: Available through The Well-Nourished Mama
If this episode moved you, share it with someone who needs to hear that the transformation period is supposed to be hard — and that asking for help is not weakness. It’s the sign.
