Disrupting Obesity

Send us Fan Mail

I’m answering your questions on balancing weight loss with a busy life, managing physical and emotional challenges, and what it really looks like to stay consistent long enough for things to feel easier.

We talk about the reality of starting and stopping, how to reduce overwhelm, and why building skills instead of chasing perfection is what actually changes everything.

I also share my experience with chronic pain, how it impacted my journey, and the mindset shifts that helped me keep going even when things felt heavy.

And we finish with a very real conversation about what it’s like to live at a healthy weight, without obsession, without constant tracking, and without the mental noise.

🟡 How to approach weight loss when you have young children
🟡 Practical ways to reduce decision fatigue and make things easier
🟡 Why giving yourself grace is essential (not optional)
🟡 What “starting and stopping” really means and why it’s normal
🟡 Whether weight loss actually gets easier over time
🟡 How to navigate weight loss while living with chronic pain
🟡 The difference between physical hunger and emotional hunger
🟡 What changes when you reach a healthy weight
🟡 Whether calorie tracking is something you do forever

Support the show

Please consider heading to buymeacoffee.com/CharlotteSkanes to show your support. It helps me keep the podcast going. 

Looking for help on your weight loss journey?
• My Membership Community Flamingo Forum! Join HERE
• My Immersive Weight Loss Experience: Sustainable 7
• My Cookbook 'Disruptor'
• Free Guide ‘Getting Started for the Last Time’
• Weight Loss Workbook Disruptor, find anywhere in the world on Amazon by searching “Disruptor Charlotte Skanes”
•Get Started For The Last Time LIVE Webinar Replay Sign-Up - free Spread Sprinkle Pour worksheets

Website
Instagram
Youtube
Facebook

Send us Fan Mail

This week, I’m doing something a little different.

I’m sharing part of a presentation I created for the Flamingo Forum because this is one of the most important pieces of the weight loss process, and it’s not something we talk about nearly enough.

We’re talking about goals and expectations.

Most people focus on their goal
Very few people stop to think about their expectations

And that’s where things start to fall apart

Because you can have a perfectly reasonable goal, but if your expectations don’t line up with reality, you’re going to feel like you’re failing even when you’re doing everything right

In this episode, I break down the difference between goals and expectations, how to make both of them work for you, and why managing them properly is critical if you want to keep going long enough to lose the weight and keep it off

I also walk you through how to calculate your weekly average and use it to set realistic timelines, along with a deeper look at non scale victories and why they matter more than most people think

What I cover:

• The difference between goals and expectations
 • Why unrealistic expectations lead to frustration and loss of momentum
 • The difference between possible and probable
 • Why weight loss does not happen in a straight line
 • How to calculate your weekly average weight loss
 • How to use your data to set realistic timelines
 • What happens when your timeline becomes unrealistic
 • Why it is better to surprise yourself than constantly feel behind
 • How expectations impact self trust and consistency

Key Takeaways:

• Goals and expectations are not the same thing
 • Both must be possible and probable
 • Your weekly average gives you a realistic timeline
 • When the math does not work, your expectations need to change
 • Non scale victories are essential for long term success
 • Weight loss will not fix everything, but it will change a lot
 • Managing expectations is how you stay consistent

Support the show

Please consider heading to buymeacoffee.com/CharlotteSkanes to show your support. It helps me keep the podcast going. 

Looking for help on your weight loss journey?
• My Membership Community Flamingo Forum! Join HERE
• My Immersive Weight Loss Experience: Sustainable 7
• My Cookbook 'Disruptor'
• Free Guide ‘Getting Started for the Last Time’
• Weight Loss Workbook Disruptor, find anywhere in the world on Amazon by searching “Disruptor Charlotte Skanes”
•Get Started For The Last Time LIVE Webinar Replay Sign-Up - free Spread Sprinkle Pour worksheets

Website
Instagram
Youtube
Facebook

Send us Fan Mail

Weight loss questions are back, and this one covers everything from calorie deficits to carbs to managing hunger during the day.

We’re talking about what actually matters (and what really doesn’t), how to make changes without burning yourself out, and why doing “less” might actually be the thing that helps you keep going.

If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re eating too little, whether macros matter, or how to stop thinking about food all day… this one’s for you.

What I cover in this episode:

• What people really mean when they say “you’re not eating enough”
 • Why overly aggressive calorie deficits lead to burnout
 • How slowing your weight loss can feel like failure (but isn’t)
 • The mental side of adjusting your calories back up
 • How to start changing your eating habits once you’re aware of them
 • Why small, incremental changes are the key to long-term success
 • A simple way to reduce portions without feeling deprived
 • Whether carb-heavy days actually matter for weight loss
 • Why calories matter more than macro splits
 • Letting go of guilt around food choices when you’re still in a deficit
 • How to manage hunger during the day
 • Why your eating window matters more than you think
 • The concept of “hunger waking up” and how it affects your eating patterns
 • Finding an eating schedule that actually works for you
 • Practical ways to distract yourself when you’re not actually hungry
 • Why there is no one-size-fits-all approach to when you should eat

Support the show

Please consider heading to buymeacoffee.com/CharlotteSkanes to show your support. It helps me keep the podcast going. 

Looking for help on your weight loss journey?
• My Membership Community Flamingo Forum! Join HERE
• My Immersive Weight Loss Experience: Sustainable 7
• My Cookbook 'Disruptor'
• Free Guide ‘Getting Started for the Last Time’
• Weight Loss Workbook Disruptor, find anywhere in the world on Amazon by searching “Disruptor Charlotte Skanes”
•Get Started For The Last Time LIVE Webinar Replay Sign-Up - free Spread Sprinkle Pour worksheets

Website
Instagram
Youtube
Facebook

Send us Fan Mail

Last week, I talked about the most important weight loss truth. This week, we’re starting at the beginning.

Weight Loss Truth number one is simple, but it matters more than most people realise.

Weight loss is hard.

This episode is about pushing back against the idea that it should be easy, quick, or effortless. Because when you expect it to be easy and it’s not, that’s when self-blame creeps in.

And that’s where people get stuck.

There is nothing wrong with you for finding this difficult. You’re not failing. You’re doing something that is genuinely challenging, especially while living your normal life, in your normal environment, with the same triggers, habits, and people around you.

In this episode, I talk about why acknowledging that weight loss is hard can actually help you stay consistent, why the “easy” narrative is so damaging, and what really makes this process so complex.

We also get into the reality of external pressure, self-sabotage, and why focusing only on food misses the bigger picture. Because it’s not just about what you eat. It’s about your relationship with food, your environment, your habits, and your mindset.

No matter how you approach it, there is no easy way to lose weight. But that doesn’t mean it won’t get easier over time.

And it definitely doesn’t mean you can’t do it.

Support the show

Please consider heading to buymeacoffee.com/CharlotteSkanes to show your support. It helps me keep the podcast going. 

Looking for help on your weight loss journey?
• My Membership Community Flamingo Forum! Join HERE
• My Immersive Weight Loss Experience: Sustainable 7
• My Cookbook 'Disruptor'
• Free Guide ‘Getting Started for the Last Time’
• Weight Loss Workbook Disruptor, find anywhere in the world on Amazon by searching “Disruptor Charlotte Skanes”
•Get Started For The Last Time LIVE Webinar Replay Sign-Up - free Spread Sprinkle Pour worksheets

Website
Instagram
Youtube
Facebook

Send us Fan Mail

Weight loss isn’t one big decision. It’s a series of small choices made over and over again. And sometimes, those choices feel like a full-on internal battle.

In this Weight Loss Q&A, I’m answering questions about going over calories without guilt, whether you actually need exercise to lose weight, how to handle a plateau, and the grief that can come with changing your relationship with food. 

If you’ve ever felt conflicted, stuck, or emotional during your journey, you’re not alone.

What I cover in this episode:

• Why going over your calories doesn’t mean you don’t want weight loss
 • The internal “two voices” battle and how to handle it
 • Why shame and guilt are making things harder, not easier
 • The truth about exercise and why it is NOT required for weight loss
 • Breaking down the myth of the “right way” to lose weight
 • What to do when the scale isn’t moving
 • How to handle plateaus and why they happen
 • Where calorie tracking often goes wrong
 • Why the only way out of a plateau is to keep going
 • The grief of changing your relationship with food
 • Why feeling loss around food is normal
 • How to process those emotions without sabotaging yourself

You do not have to be perfect to lose weight. You just have to keep going.

Support the show

Please consider heading to buymeacoffee.com/CharlotteSkanes to show your support. It helps me keep the podcast going. 

Looking for help on your weight loss journey?
• My Membership Community Flamingo Forum! Join HERE
• My Immersive Weight Loss Experience: Sustainable 7
• My Cookbook 'Disruptor'
• Free Guide ‘Getting Started for the Last Time’
• Weight Loss Workbook Disruptor, find anywhere in the world on Amazon by searching “Disruptor Charlotte Skanes”
•Get Started For The Last Time LIVE Webinar Replay Sign-Up - free Spread Sprinkle Pour worksheets

Website
Instagram
Youtube
Facebook

Send us Fan Mail

Last summer I released my list of 101 Weight Loss Truths, and ever since then I’ve been asked the same question over and over again:

Which one is the most important?

It’s a fair question, but it took me a long time to answer it. My favourite truths are not necessarily the most important ones. Some of them matter to me personally because of how I discovered them. Others matter because they are absolutely critical if you want to lose weight and keep it off.

After thinking about it for a long time, I’ve narrowed it down.

The most important truth on the entire list is Weight Loss Truth #4: Eat whatever you want, just less of it.

In this episode I explain why both halves of that sentence matter so much. The second half is about the reality of calories and the deficit required for weight loss. The first half is where the real work happens, because it changes your relationship with food and makes long-term success possible.

I also talk about the current conversations around weight loss medications, food noise, and why learning how to handle food still matters regardless of how you lose weight.

Weight loss is not just about removing pounds from your body. It is about changing how you interact with food so that when the weight is gone, it stays gone.

And that work starts with a simple idea:

Eat whatever you want. Just less of it.

Support the show

Please consider heading to buymeacoffee.com/CharlotteSkanes to show your support. It helps me keep the podcast going. 

Looking for help on your weight loss journey?
• My Membership Community Flamingo Forum! Join HERE
• My Immersive Weight Loss Experience: Sustainable 7
• My Cookbook 'Disruptor'
• Free Guide ‘Getting Started for the Last Time’
• Weight Loss Workbook Disruptor, find anywhere in the world on Amazon by searching “Disruptor Charlotte Skanes”
•Get Started For The Last Time LIVE Webinar Replay Sign-Up - free Spread Sprinkle Pour worksheets

Website
Instagram
Youtube
Facebook

Send us Fan Mail

It’s time for another Weight Loss Q&A, and in this episode I’m answering several listener questions about emotional eating, food substitutions, calorie tracking, and what happens when the excitement of new habits starts to fade.

We talk about how emotional eating is not always obvious. It is not just the big dramatic moments people tend to imagine. Sometimes it looks a lot quieter. Boredom, burnout, or simply eating because the food is there can all fall into that category.

I also respond to a very “Gladys” comment about recipe substitutions and why it is important to remember that what seems obvious to one person may be completely new to someone else. The internet allows us to share knowledge, and sometimes the simplest tips can make a huge difference for someone who has never heard them before.

We also get into a practical question about tracking calories when you are using marinades. Do you have to measure everything perfectly, or is estimating okay?

Finally, I talk about something many people experience once their habits are well established. What happens when the novelty wears off and the dopamine hit you used to feel from the process just is not there anymore?

In This Episode

• How to recognize emotional eating and why it is not always obvious
• Why unnecessary eating is often connected to emotions like boredom, guilt, or stress
• The three drivers behind emotional eating: comfort, reward, and coping
• Why asking yourself “Why am I eating this?” is such an important awareness tool
• Why not everyone knows the same food swaps and substitutions
• How small ingredient changes can significantly reduce calories in recipes
• How to think about marinades and sauces when you are tracking calories
• When it makes sense to estimate instead of tracking every calorie perfectly
• What can happen when the excitement of new habits fades
• Ways to keep enjoying food and staying motivated even after the novelty wears off

Support the show

Please consider heading to buymeacoffee.com/CharlotteSkanes to show your support. It helps me keep the podcast going. 

Looking for help on your weight loss journey?
• My Membership Community Flamingo Forum! Join HERE
• My Immersive Weight Loss Experience: Sustainable 7
• My Cookbook 'Disruptor'
• Free Guide ‘Getting Started for the Last Time’
• Weight Loss Workbook Disruptor, find anywhere in the world on Amazon by searching “Disruptor Charlotte Skanes”
•Get Started For The Last Time LIVE Webinar Replay Sign-Up - free Spread Sprinkle Pour worksheets

Website
Instagram
Youtube
Facebook

Send us Fan Mail

The word deserve sounds positive. Encouraging, even. But when it comes to weight loss and your relationship with food, it can quietly become one of the most dangerous words you use with yourself.

In this episode, I’m talking about the language of deserving and how it can work both for you and against you.

Feeling like you deserve better health, more mobility, and a body that supports the life you want can be incredibly powerful. But the same word can also become a justification for the very behaviours that undermine the progress you’re trying to make.

“I had a rough day. I deserve this.”
 “I’ve been good all week. I deserve a break.”
 “I’ll skip tracking today. I deserve it.”

The problem isn’t the food. The problem is what this kind of thinking does to the trust you’re building with yourself.

Weight loss isn’t just about changing your body. It’s about building a new relationship with food and learning to trust your own decisions again. When you use “deserving” as a reason to undo the commitments you’ve made to yourself, you’re quietly pulling apart the progress you’ve been working so hard to build.

In this episode, Charlotte talks about how the language we use with ourselves can either support the work we’re doing or slowly undermine it.

You deserve to reach your goal. You deserve to build trust with yourself. And you deserve a relationship with food that actually brings you peace.

But sometimes the most important question is this:

What do you really deserve right now and in the long run?

In This Episode

• Why the word “deserve” can be both motivating and dangerous
• How “I deserve this” often becomes a justification for self-sabotage
• The connection between deserving language and self-trust
• Why short-term rewards can undermine long-term goals
• The mental side of building a new relationship with food
• How to pause and question the stories you tell yourself about food

Support the show

Please consider heading to buymeacoffee.com/CharlotteSkanes to show your support. It helps me keep the podcast going. 

Looking for help on your weight loss journey?
• My Membership Community Flamingo Forum! Join HERE
• My Immersive Weight Loss Experience: Sustainable 7
• My Cookbook 'Disruptor'
• Free Guide ‘Getting Started for the Last Time’
• Weight Loss Workbook Disruptor, find anywhere in the world on Amazon by searching “Disruptor Charlotte Skanes”
•Get Started For The Last Time LIVE Webinar Replay Sign-Up - free Spread Sprinkle Pour worksheets

Website
Instagram
Youtube
Facebook

Send us Fan Mail

Welcome back to another Weight Loss Q&A. This is number 25, and we’re covering metabolism myths, early weight loss expectations, TDEE confusion, food scales, and the question I still get almost daily: how I lost 201 pounds.

There’s science in here. There’s myth-busting. There’s practical advice. And there’s a reminder that consistency will always beat extremes.

If you’ve ever wondered whether you “ruined” your metabolism… or felt like a failure because you didn’t drop huge numbers in week one… this episode is for you.

In this episode, I talk about:

• Whether years of dieting permanently reset your caloric needs
• What research actually suggests about metabolic adaptation
• Why shifts after major weight loss are real — but usually smaller than people fear
• How to find your true maintenance calories after significant weight loss
• Why TDEE calculators can’t factor in your entire weight history
• The myth that you should lose big numbers at the start of a diet
• Why crash dieting creates fast early drops
• How extreme calorie cuts affect the scale (and why they’re hard to sustain)
• Why consistent weight loss beats aggressive restriction long term
• The difference between BMR and TDEE
• Why your TDEE should include exercise
• Why you don’t “eat back” calories when you’re using TDEE correctly
• Whether you need a food scale to lose weight
• When eyeballing portions is enough and when precision matters
• Why calorie tracking accuracy is often the missing piece
• How I lost 201 pounds in just under two and a half years
• Why calorie deficit was the real driver
• How intermittent fasting worked for me (and why it wasn’t magic)
• Why aligning your eating pattern with your natural tendencies can make weight loss easier

Weight loss is not a straight line.
Metabolism isn’t broken it’s adaptive.
Extreme deficits create extreme results… temporarily.
Calorie deficit is the mechanism. Everything else is a tool.

Support the show

Please consider heading to buymeacoffee.com/CharlotteSkanes to show your support. It helps me keep the podcast going. 

Looking for help on your weight loss journey?
• My Membership Community Flamingo Forum! Join HERE
• My Immersive Weight Loss Experience: Sustainable 7
• My Cookbook 'Disruptor'
• Free Guide ‘Getting Started for the Last Time’
• Weight Loss Workbook Disruptor, find anywhere in the world on Amazon by searching “Disruptor Charlotte Skanes”
•Get Started For The Last Time LIVE Webinar Replay Sign-Up - free Spread Sprinkle Pour worksheets

Website
Instagram
Youtube
Facebook

Send us Fan Mail

At the beginning of this year, I found myself unexpectedly thrown by something simple, the “where I was 10 years ago” trend. And it surprised me. Not because I’m unhappy with where I am. Not because I’m disappointed in my trajectory. But because somewhere in there was this quiet voice asking: “Shouldn’t you be over it by now?”

This episode is about that voice.

It’s about the fear of being seen as whining.
The fear of being seen as bragging.
The fear of being “too much.”
The fear of not being enough.

It’s about the long aftermath of survival, the surgeries, the rare complications, the setbacks, the recovery periods that stretched years beyond the original crisis.

And it’s about something bigger than all of that.

Decision.

Ten years ago, I didn’t know how anything was going to unfold. I didn’t know how I was going to give back. I didn’t know how I was going to make my second chance matter.

But I decided that I would.

That’s where this episode turns toward you.

Because weight loss is the same.

You don’t start with certainty.
You don’t start with perfect belief.
You don’t start with the full roadmap.

You start with a decision.

From there, you build.

And then comes the grinding.

You repeat the behaviors that work.
You stay consistent when it’s boring.
You show up when it’s inconvenient.
You keep going when it’s slow.

Losing 201 pounds wasn't dramatic or flashy.

It was a two-and-a-half-year grind.

And grinding can wear you down.

But it also transforms you.

Nobody wants whole peppercorns tossed on their pasta. The grind changes them into something usable. Something better.

The grind is worth it.

If you feel behind…
If you think you should be further by now…
If you’re carrying something you feel like you should be “over”…

You’re not behind.

You may just be in the build.

Or in the grind.

Either way, keep going.

Decide.

And then build and grind your way forward.

Support the show

Please consider heading to buymeacoffee.com/CharlotteSkanes to show your support. It helps me keep the podcast going. 

Looking for help on your weight loss journey?
• My Membership Community Flamingo Forum! Join HERE
• My Immersive Weight Loss Experience: Sustainable 7
• My Cookbook 'Disruptor'
• Free Guide ‘Getting Started for the Last Time’
• Weight Loss Workbook Disruptor, find anywhere in the world on Amazon by searching “Disruptor Charlotte Skanes”
•Get Started For The Last Time LIVE Webinar Replay Sign-Up - free Spread Sprinkle Pour worksheets

Website
Instagram
Youtube
Facebook