Disrupting Obesity

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Welcome back to Weight Loss Wednesday Q&A number 24! In this episode, I’m answering your questions about appetite fatigue, emotional eating patterns, calorie targets, clean vs. non-clean eating, and the ongoing confusion around TDEE vs. BMR.

We cover a lot of ground in this one: practical strategy, mindset work, and a little myth-busting.

• What to do when it’s “time to eat” but nothing sounds appealing
• How to build a list of neutral, reliable go-to foods
• The difference between not being hungry and just feeling food fatigue
• Comfort, Reward, and Cope and whether one food can fall into all three categories (yes, it can)
• Why identifying the emotion matters more than labeling the food
• If you’re losing weight at a reasonable pace before reaching TDEE -500, should you lower calories further?
• Clean vs. non-clean eating and why the debate isn’t helpful
• The confusion between BMR and TDEE
• Why faster weight loss does not automatically mean better weight loss

If you have a question for an upcoming Weight Loss Wednesday, send it in. I answer every email, and your question might be featured on a future episode.

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

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Welcome to Part 3 of the “101 Weight Loss Truths That Made Gladys Mad” series.

This week we’re covering truths #46–49 and they’re all in the same spicy little category:

Carbs aren’t evil.
Fruit isn’t evil.
Sweeteners aren’t evil.
Processed foods aren’t evil.

If you’ve ever felt judged for eating bread, questioned for eating grapes, side-eyed for drinking Diet Coke, or feel guilty for microwaving dinner, this episode is for you.

We’re unpacking where the fear came from, why it stuck, and why it might be time to let it go.

In this episode, I break down:

• How carbs became the villain of modern dieting
• Why fruit is being unfairly blamed
• The difference between fructose in fruit vs high fructose corn syrup
• What the sweetener research actually says
• Why processed food is not a moral failure
• How convenience can actually support long-term weight loss
• Why guilt has never helped anyone lose weight

If your weight loss plan depends on cutting out entire food groups, fearing bread, or shaming yourself for frozen dinners… we need to talk.

Sustainable weight loss is about consistency, not purity.

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

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Welcome back to Weight Loss Wednesday. In episode 160, I’m answering your questions about consistency with accountability, calorie perspective, low TDEE fears, sweeteners, managing sweets and chips as a diabetic, and flavour drops for water. This episode is practical, direct, and a reminder that weight loss works best when you build it in a way that actually fits your real life.

What I cover in this episode:

• Why accountability starts with awareness and acknowledgement, not willpower
• The 3A Way framework and how skipping the middle step sabotages consistency
• Why you cannot successfully hold yourself accountable to something you refuse to fully admit is happening
• How to make accountability easier
• Why consistency is incremental and does not require perfection
• Why calories are relative
• How your starting point changes what “high” or “low” calorie really means
• Concerns about having a low TDEE and fearing extremely low maintenance calories at goal weight
• The difference between deficit calories and maintenance calories
• Why setting your app to lose two pounds per week may be cutting your calories too aggressively
• How to use a TDEE calculator to project realistic maintenance numbers
• My honest thoughts on sweeteners and why I consider them a useful tool
• The reality behind the aspartame fear headlines
• How I manage sweets and chips as a diabetic without eliminating them
• Why I don’t eat from the bag and how being selective helps control both calories and blood sugar
• My take on water flavour drops and why they are not “cheating”

This episode is a reminder that accountability is built, not flipped on like a switch, that calories are contextual, that tools are meant to be used and that consistency is not about being perfect, it is about continuing.

If you have a question you’d like answered on a future Weight Loss Wednesday, please send it in. I love hearing from you.

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

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Last week we started digging into the weight loss truths that made people the most upset. Today, we’re continuing that conversation.

Some of these didn’t surprise me. Some absolutely did. But if something makes people angry, that usually means it’s worth talking about.

So let’s keep going.

In this episode, I tackle four more weight loss truths that stirred up strong reactions:

• Emotional hunger is real
• Carbs and fat don’t make you fat
• Protein is not a magic weight loss bullet
• You do not have to exercise to lose weight

We’re unpacking why these ideas make people uncomfortable, where the confusion comes from, and what actually matters if you’re trying to lose significant weight.

We talk about:

Emotional hunger
 You’re not imagining it. Emotional hunger is real. Everyone eats for emotional reasons. The difference isn’t whether it exists, it’s how it shows up in your life and how you manage it.

Carbs, fat, and the calorie conversation
 It’s not the macro. It’s the calories.
 Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) determines whether you maintain, lose, or gain weight. Eat consistently below it and you lose. Eat above it and you gain. Carbs and fat aren’t villains. Surplus calories are.

Protein and the myth of the magic fix
 Protein helps with satiety. It’s important. It’s useful.
 It is not magic. It cannot override a calorie surplus. If you’re trying to lose a large amount of weight, mastering your calories matters more than perfecting your macros.

Exercise and weight loss
 This one always stirs the pot.
 Exercise is wonderful for mobility, health, and longevity. But it is not required for weight loss. Controlling your intake is what drives fat loss. For many people, believing they must exercise creates a barrier so big that they never start. That lie does more damage than good.

We also talk about:

• The danger of “earning” food through workouts
• Fitness tracker inaccuracies
• Double dipping exercise calories
• The mindset trap of “I deserve this”
• Why significant weight loss is different from losing 5 to 10 pounds

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

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Welcome back to Weight Loss Wednesday. In episode 158, I’m answering your questions on motivation, calorie adjustments, intuitive eating, exercise, comparison, and a very real conversation about loose skin and visibility. This episode is honest, practical, and a reminder that you do not need expensive tools, perfect circumstances, or anyone’s approval to lose weight.

What I cover in this episode:

• How to stay motivated when you’re comparing yourself to people with personal trainers, medications, or resources you don’t have
• Why you do not need money, coaching, or exercise to lose weight
• How comparison can quietly turn into self-sabotage and how to spot it
• How often to adjust your calorie target and when to recalculate your TDEE
• Whether calorie tracking apps automatically adjust your numbers
• Why I switched from regular cola to Diet Coke and eventually Coke Zero
• Managing calories and blood sugar without giving up the things you enjoy
• My honest thoughts on intuitive eating and why it was not a weight loss strategy for me
• When, or if, exercise played a role in my 200-pound weight loss
• Why exercise can be a barrier and why it does not have to be part of weight loss
• Addressing comments about loose skin, visibility, and why I choose not to hide it
• Why I am not ashamed of my body, before or after weight loss
• A reminder that weight loss is a solo pursuit and you are capable of doing this on your own

This episode is a reminder that you can lose weight with the tools you already have, that perfection is not required, and that your body does not need to be hidden to be worthy of respect.

If you have a question you’d like answered on a future Weight Loss Wednesday, please send it in. I love hearing from you.

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

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Last summer, I released the 101 Weight Loss Truths series and a lot of you found it helpful, but some of those truths made people very angry. So today, I’m starting a new series where I revisit the weight loss truths that caused the most controversy and explain why I still stand by them.

In this episode, I break down the first group of truths that triggered the strongest reactions and some very intense emails. We’re going through them in order and unpacking why these ideas matter, even when they’re uncomfortable.

⚪ Losing a lot of weight vs losing a little and why they are not the same journey
⚪ Why pretending all weight loss is the same actually harms people with more weight to lose
⚪ Why tracking after you eat is journaling, not active tracking
⚪ How passive tracking quietly sabotages progress
⚪ Why there are no good or bad foods when it comes to weight loss
⚪ How food labels create guilt, restriction, and self-sabotage
⚪ Why weight loss is not a willpower problem
⚪ Why small, incremental changes are more powerful than extreme overhauls
⚪How long-term success requires patience, grace, and honesty

This episode is direct and confrontational at times, on purpose. These truths aren’t meant to shame or pressure you. They’re meant to challenge the ideas that keep people stuck in the cycle of losing and regaining weight.

If this episode makes you uncomfortable or even angry, that reaction might be worth paying attention to. There’s usually something important hiding underneath it.

This is the first episode in a multi-part series. I’ll be back next week with more of the truths that caused the biggest backlash.

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

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Weight Loss Wednesday is back with another round of your questions!

In this episode, I’m answering questions about maintenance calories, loose skin, stubborn body fat, mayonnaise swaps, calorie tracking for family meals, and how to balance weight loss while feeding your kids and partner.

We talk about:
✔️ What maintenance calories actually look like in real life
✔️ Why calories matter more than carbs
✔️ Easy food swaps that don’t feel like punishment
✔️ The truth about loose skin and genetics
✔️ Stubborn areas that refuse to shrink
✔️ How to calculate calories in shared meals
✔️ Meal prep strategies that make life easier

Plus… Gladys made another appearance (because of course she did).

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

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You really can do this and today I'm going to tell you how I know that. 

I spent years genuinely trying to lose weight without understanding calories, food density, or what actually puts you into a deficit. It was the little things that added up for me, what I call “spread, sprinkle, pour”. Condiments, dressings, and extras were quietly doing more damage than the meals themselves. They were quietly pushing me into massive calorie overload without me realizing it.

We dig into why most diets fail, not because you failed, but because they never taught mindset, relationship with food, or how weight loss actually works. 

I explain why lumping every past attempt into one big “I can’t do this” story keeps you stuck, and how separating each try helps release shame and frustration instead of piling it higher and higher 

I also talk about:

• Why finding something that actually works makes it easier to keep going
• How small wins build momentum and confidence
• The difference between fear that’s hypothetical and fear that wakes you up into action
• Why awareness is one of the biggest game changers in weight loss
• How changing your relationship with food matters more than any diet plan

Most importantly, I remind you that trying isn’t failing, stopping doesn’t erase progress, and you don’t have to get it perfect to get it done.

You don’t need willpower.
You don’t need another diet.
You need a system that works and a mindset that supports you.

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

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In this week’s Weight Loss Wednesday, I’m answering a mix of very practical food questions and much bigger mindset struggles that so many of us deal with during weight loss and maintenance.

We talk about food benders and what to do when you’re already in the middle of one, why guilt and shame keep us stuck, and how the way you talk to yourself while eating can either help you slow down or send things completely off the rails.

I also answer questions about hunger, calorie timing, high-volume low-calorie foods, fibre, water, and how to stay satisfied when you’re working with a limited calorie budget.

Plus, there are a few random questions thrown in, because those are always welcome.

In this episode, I talk about:

• How to interrupt a food bender while it’s happening
• Asking “what do I want more?” as a way to pause overeating
• The guilt and shame spiral and how it fuels unnecessary eating
• Feeling hungry even after hitting your calorie limit
• How calorie timing affects satisfaction
• Physical hunger vs emotional hunger and why both matter
• High-volume low-calorie foods that actually help
• Fibre and water and their role in satiety
• Why eating food you don’t like is unnecessary eating

Weight loss doesn't require perfection. It requires awareness, honesty, and habits you can actually live with.

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

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In this Weight Loss Wednesday, I answer your questions about food addiction, mindset struggles, calorie adjustments, water intake, body image changes, and what happens when you regain.

We talk about the thoughts that get in the way of weight loss and how to challenge them, why labeling food as an addiction can sometimes make things harder, and how to work with your body instead of fighting it.

Topics I'm covering include:
Food addiction vs emotional attachment to food
How to approach mental roadblocks with curiosity instead of self-criticism
Why thoughts are not facts and how to question long-held beliefs
How fast to cut calories and why slow, incremental changes matter
What my own calorie reductions looked like at different weights
Why baseline tracking is important before making changes
How much water women are generally recommended to drink
Why losing weight but feeling like you look bigger is very common
Why before and after photos are less helpful than progress photos
How long it took me to regain and then lose the weight again
How health, fear, mobility, and vanity all play a role in my motivation
Why wanting to like the way you look is normal and not something to be ashamed of

Weight loss is not about doing everything perfectly. It is about learning how to question the stories you tell yourself, making changes you can sustain, and continuing even when it feels uncomfortable.

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

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