Hey sis, here is hope. You can turn your worries and your wishes into your true realities, and you can surely find freedom from the debilitating disease of an eating disorder and disordered eating.

In this powerful episode, host Lindsey Nichol speaks truth directly to your heart, spirit, and mind. If you're stuck in the same place year after year - same worries, same wishes, same Thanksgiving anxiety, same holiday struggles - this is your wake-up call.

Lindsey reveals why your worries and anxieties can actually HELP you move forward (or keep you stuck in the safe zone), and why your wishes and dreams must become greater than your fears. She introduces her 3-step battle plan for turning wishes into reality: align with your biggest challenge, align with your greatest dream, and study your enemy - that nagging voice keeping you in the cycle.

This isn't just another motivational episode. This is a strategic battle plan for warriors ready to stop wishing and start living. Because girlfriend, warriors don't go into battle without a shield, a sword, or a plan. And you're not meant to go alone.

If you've been waiting for the "magic pill" to create peace in your life, this episode will show you that YOU have the power to transform everything - starting right now.

Why Worries Can Help You (Or Keep You Stuck)

Why Wishes Aren't Enough

The Biggest Challenges Women Face in Recovery When Lindsey asks her one-on-one clients "What is your biggest challenge?" she hears:

The Greatest Wishes Women Have When Lindsey asks "What is your greatest wish?" she hears:

The Bridge: Freedom IS Your Reality

The Hard Truth You Need to Hear

Study the enemy like no other:

✨ Worries can work FOR you or AGAINST you - they can propel you forward or keep you stuck

✨ Wishes without action keep you in the same place - year after year, holiday after holiday

✨ Feelings aren't forever - no matter how stuck you feel right now, it can change

✨ You have to stop loving the drama of the cycle - the cycle only continues if you participate

✨ Your wishes must become GREATER than your worries - this is the tipping point

✨ Warriors don't go into battle unprepared - you need a shield, sword, helmet, and plan

✨ You're not meant to do this alone - going solo into battle is a losing strategy

✨ YOU have the power to transform your life - no one else can do this for you

✨ Freedom is already yours - it's been granted to you, you just have to claim it

✨ Commit to ONE action today - your future self will thank you

Zechariah 10:5-12 (paraphrased):

You shall be mighty in battle, trampling the foe in the mud of the streets. You shall fight because God is with you and you will put to shame the riders on horses. He will strengthen you. He will save you. He will bring you back because he has compassion for you.

And you will be enough. You won't be rejected. For he is God and he will deliver you. You shall become a mighty warrior and your heart will be glad and your children will see it and rejoice.

God will whistle for you and gather you in because he is redeeming you and you shall be as you were before. He will bring you home from the desert land and gather you. He will pass through the sea of troubles with you and strike down the waves, and all the depths will dry up.

The enemy shall depart. He will make you strong and you shall walk in his name.

About Your Challenges:

About Your Dreams:

About Your Enemy:

About Your Battle Plan:

The Big Question:

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If this episode resonated with you—if you saw yourself in Lindsey's rejection story—please subscribe to Her Best Self wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a review. Your reviews help other women who are tired of perfectionism and people-pleasing find this show and realize they're not alone.

Share this episode with a friend who needs to hear that her rejection story can become her redemption story.

Lindsey Nichol is a former competitive figure skater turned God-led entrepreneur, boy mom, and digital CEO. She understands how core beliefs formed in childhood can create and maintain eating disorder patterns, and she's passionate about helping women identify and transform these beliefs to find lasting freedom.

If this episode helped you feel hopeful again and remember your worth isn't found in your body or on your plate, please share it with someone who needs to hear this message. Your support helps more women break the chains of limiting beliefs.

*While I am a certified health coach, anorexia survivor & eating disorder recovery coach, I do not intend the use of this message to serve as medical advice. Please refer to the disclaimer here in the show & be sure to contact a licensed clinical provider if you are struggling with an eating disorder.

Girlfriend, if you've fallen in your recovery - if you've had a setback, slipped back into old behaviors, or feel like you're not where you "should" be - this episode is for you.

This morning, Lindsey was walking her 7-year-old son Blake to school when he fell hard while skipping in Crocs. Through his tears, he looked up and said, "I guess I shouldn't skip so fast to school." And in that moment, Lindsey realized something profound: Sometimes the fall is required. Not because we want to hurt, but because without the fall, we wouldn't learn any other way.

In this vulnerable episode, Lindsey shares her own painful fall in recovery - when she was lying to her treatment team, telling everyone she was "doing the things" while secretly still restricting out of fear. Her results weren't matching her actions, and she felt defeated. But that fall? It became her turning point.

Drawing from her figure skating background (landing her first double loop took countless falls), Lindsey reveals why falls aren't failures - they're required education. She addresses the shame that comes with relapsing, gives you permission to be right where you are, and shows you how to get back up without beating yourself up.

If you've been too afraid to risk falling or too ashamed to get back up, this episode will change everything.

Blake's Fall: The Morning Walk to School

Lindsey's Recovery Fall: The Painful Truth

The Figure Skating Metaphor: Landing the Double Loop

The Shame of Falling in Recovery

You Are Right Where You Need to Be

✨ Sometimes the fall is required - without it, we wouldn't learn any other way

✨ Falls aren't failures, they're required education - each one teaches you something

✨ Shame isn't about the fall - it's about what you're making the fall mean about you

✨ You are right where you need to be - not where you want to be, but exactly where you need to be to learn and grow

✨ You can't change what you won't acknowledge - getting honest is the first step to getting back up

✨ The fall is setup for your breakthrough - not a setback, but preparation for progress

✨ Recovery is learning a jump you've never done before - of course you're going to fall multiple times

✨ Staying stuck is its own kind of fall - it's just slower, more painful, and doesn't teach you anything

✨ You don't have to get up alone - reach out for help, let someone stoop down to your level

Step 1: Stop Beating Yourself Up Stop making the fall mean something about your worth. The fall is data. It's information. It's feedback. It's not a judgment on who you are.

Step 2: Get Honest Really honest. With yourself first, then with your treatment team, support system, and your people. Say: "I fell. Here's where I am. Here's what I need."

Step 3: Reach Out for Help Just like Lindsey stooped down to Blake's level to dust him off - you don't have to get up alone. In fact, you shouldn't. Let someone help you back up.

Step 4: Take the Lesson Forward Blake learned not to skip so fast. What are YOU learning from this fall? What does this fall need to teach you that you couldn't have learned any other way?

Step 5: Keep Moving Forward Maybe a little slower. Maybe a little more carefully. Maybe with more honesty this time. But keep going. Because recovery isn't about never falling - it's about learning to get back up.

About Your Falls:

About Growth:

Specific Scenarios:

The Risk Question:

This episode is essential listening if you:

Falls Are Not Failures: They're required education. Each fall teaches you something you couldn't learn any other way.

The Length of Your Struggle Doesn't Matter: Whether this is your first fall or your hundredth, you can still get back up and keep going.

Results Not Matching Actions Is a Sign: It means you're not being fully honest - with yourself or others. That realization IS the breakthrough.

You Can't Skip the Lesson: Just like Blake couldn't skip learning to slow down without falling, you can't bypass the lessons recovery requires.

Honesty Is the Turning Point: Once you get real about where you are, you can finally do something about it.

Blake was skipping too fast → You might be rushing recovery, trying to do it perfectly

Lindsey kept warning him to be careful → Your body, treatment team, loved ones have been giving you signals

He fell hard and got hurt → You've had a setback, relapse, or painful realization

He reached out for help → You don't have to get up alone - reach out

Lindsey stooped to his level → The right support meets you where you are, doesn't shame you

She dusted him off → You can clean yourself up and start fresh

He learned the lesson → "I shouldn't skip so fast" = awareness leads to change

He got back up and kept going to school → You get back up and keep moving toward recovery

Just like Lindsey fell countless times before landing her first double loop jump - and it became her favorite jump BECAUSE of all the falls - your recovery falls are teaching you:

And eventually, when you land it, recovery will become your favorite part of your story. Not in spite of the falls, but because of them.

You have permission to:

If you need support getting back up after a fall, Lindsey has spots open for one-on-one recovery coaching. She'll meet you exactly where you are - no judgment, no shame - and help you find your footing again.

Visit www.herbestself.co to book your complimentary consultation.

Let's turn your fall into your breakthrough.

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If this episode resonated with you—if you saw yourself in Lindsey's rejection story—please subscribe to Her Best Self wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a review. Your reviews help other women who are tired of perfectionism and people-pleasing find this show and realize they're not alone.

Share this episode with a friend who needs to hear that her rejection story can become her redemption story.

Lindsey Nichol is a former competitive figure skater turned God-led entrepreneur, boy mom, and digital CEO. She understands how core beliefs formed in childhood can create and maintain eating disorder patterns, and she's passionate about helping women identify and transform these beliefs to find lasting freedom.

If this episode helped you feel hopeful again and remember your worth isn't found in your body or on your plate, please share it with someone who needs to hear this message. Your support helps more women break the chains of limiting beliefs.

*While I am a certified health coach, anorexia survivor & eating disorder recovery coach, I do not intend the use of this message to serve as medical advice. Please refer to the disclaimer here in the show & be sure to contact a licensed clinical provider if you are struggling with an eating disorder.

Girlfriend, maybe you've been struggling with disordered eating for decades and you don't want to put your life on hold to go into a full-blown treatment facility. Maybe you have kids at home, aging parents to care for, or a career you can't walk away from. Or maybe you don't even know what options are available, so you just stay stuck thinking you'll manage it all by yourself.

Girl, you weren't meant to do this alone.

In this episode, host Lindsey Nichol breaks down the 6 different levels of eating disorder treatment and care - from outpatient support to acute medical stabilization - so you can understand what's available and what might be best for YOUR unique situation and life circumstances.

Lindsey shares her own treatment journey through IOP and day treatment, and why finding the right level of care that fits your life is so important. Whether you're a busy mom, working woman, caregiver, or someone who simply can't leave home for residential treatment, this episode will help you understand all your options - including recovery coaching as a personalized support option.

You deserve a life free from the chains of disordered eating. And it starts with knowing what treatment options are out there.

The 6 Levels of Eating Disorder Treatment:

Level 1: Outpatient Care

Level 2: Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP)

Level 3: Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) / Day Treatment

Level 4: Residential Treatment

Level 5: Inpatient Hospitalization

Level 6: Acute Medical Stabilization

Plus: Recovery Coaching as a Treatment Option

✨ Treatment is personalized - what works for someone else may not work for you, and that's okay

✨ You don't have to choose residential - there are multiple levels of care that allow you to stay home

✨ Recovery is NOT black and white - you can get support at various levels based on your life circumstances

✨ You weren't meant to do this alone - even if you can't go to residential, you need SOME level of support

✨ Everyone's recovery is their own - your journey is unique and valid regardless of which level of care you choose

✨ Recovery coaching is a valid option - especially when layered with other care team members

✨ You owe you, sister - putting yourself first isn't selfish, it's necessary

✨ More options exist now - compared to years ago, there are so many more treatment options available

Not therapy: Coaches don't diagnose or address trauma - they focus on forward action

Accountability structure: Weekly sessions keep you committed to your recovery goals

Actionable support: Focused on practical steps like facing fear foods, getting off the scale, eating out with family

Virtual and flexible: Fits into busy lives with kids, work, caregiving responsibilities

Layered care: Works alongside dietitians, therapists, and medical professionals

Relapse prevention: Helps maintain recovery after intensive treatment

This episode is essential listening if you:

National Alliance for Eating Disorders: Information on treatment levels and resources

National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA): Comprehensive treatment information and support

Recovery Coaching with Lindsey: One-on-one virtual support, weekly sessions, actionable recovery tools

Her Best Self Facebook Community: Support group for women in recovery

Lindsey is NOT a medical professional. The information in this episode is based on her personal experience and education but should not replace consultation with a licensed healthcare professional. Always speak with your doctor, therapist, or treatment team to determine which level of care is most appropriate for your specific situation.

Lindsey Nichol is a former competitive figure skater turned God-led entrepreneur, boy mom, and digital CEO. She understands how core beliefs formed in childhood can create and maintain eating disorder patterns, and she's passionate about helping women identify and transform these beliefs to find lasting freedom.

If this episode helped you identify the core beliefs feeding your eating disorder, please share it with someone who needs to hear this message. Your support helps more women break the chains of limiting beliefs.

*While I am a certified health coach, anorexia survivor & eating disorder recovery coach, I do not intend the use of this message to serve as medical advice. Please refer to the disclaimer here in the show & be sure to contact a licensed clinical provider if you are struggling with an eating disorder.

Happy Halloween, girlfriend! But let's talk about what's TRULY scary - the lies your eating disorder has been telling you that keep you trapped, paralyzed, and missing out on your life.

In this special Halloween episode, host Lindsey Nichol unmasks the 5 scariest stories your eating disorder tells you and reveals why they're complete fiction. If you're a woman over 40 who's been haunted by food fears, candy panic, and the belief that you've been struggling "too long" to ever find freedom, this episode is your wake-up call.

Lindsey shares her own triggering Halloween experience - dressing up as a plastic surgery victim in her mid-20s, complete with bandages and circles marking her "imperfections" - and how that costume revealed just how deep her denial really was. Then she walks you through each scary story, debunking the lies and replacing them with truth.

This isn't just a Halloween episode. This is permission to finally unmask your eating disorder and step into the freedom you deserve - no matter your age, no matter how long you've been struggling.

Lindsey's Halloween Confession:

The 5 Scary Stories (Lies) Your ED Tells You:

Scary Story #1: "If I Eat Candy, I'll Lose All Control"

Scary Story #2: "I'll Gain Weight Immediately If I Stop Restricting"

Scary Story #3: "I Can't Trust Myself Around Food"

Scary Story #4: "Everyone Will Judge Me If I Gain Weight (And So Will I)"

Scary Story #5: "I've Been Struggling So Long, I'll Probably Always Be This Way"

The Unmasking:

✨ The ED convinces you the horror show is normal - it puts a mask over your eyes so you can't see reality

✨ Fear of losing control actually CREATES loss of control - restriction is what makes you feel out of control

✨ Your body has a set point - fighting against it is what's exhausting you, not the weight itself

✨ You CAN trust yourself - but trust is rebuilt one choice at a time after years of external rules

✨ The people who matter want you present, not perfect - they're judging your obsession, not your body

✨ It's NOT too late - recovery is possible at ANY age after ANY amount of time struggling

✨ You're already miserable - the ED isn't protecting you from misery, it IS the misery

✨ Today is your "sooner" - stop waiting for the perfect time to unmask and get free

Part 1: Identify and Unmask Your Scariest Lie

Write down the SCARIEST lie you've been believing - the one that has the most power over you.

Then unmask it by writing the TRUTH next to that lie.

Examples:

Part 2: Face One Food Fear This Halloween Weekend

Take one action that scares you:

One unmasked lie. One fear faced. That's how recovery starts.

This Halloween episode is for you if:

EPISODE 250! This milestone episode falls on Halloween, making it the perfect time to unmask the eating disorder and celebrate how far you've come. Whether this is your first episode or you've been listening since day one, thank you for being part of this community. Recovery is possible, girlfriend - and it starts with unmasking the lies.

Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. This isn't small. This is life and death. If you're trapped in the cycle of food fear, restriction, and believing you've been struggling "too long" to ever find freedom, please hear this: It's not too late. Recovery is possible. And you deserve to live without being haunted.

Lindsey has spots open for one-on-one recovery coaching. If you're done being haunted by scary stories and ready to live in truth, visit www.herbestself.co to book your complimentary consultation.

Let's make this the last Halloween you spend trapped in these lies.

💝 Rate and review to help more perfectionists find freedom 💝 Share with a friend who's stuck in the perfection trap 💝 Join the Facebook community for recovery hugs and support 💝 Apply for 1:1 coaching if you're ready for personalized guidance

🎉 Subscribe to the email list at www.herbestself.co to get your free recovery journal download 🎉 Free FB Community at www.herbestselfsociety.com 

Lindsey Nichol is a former competitive figure skater turned God-led entrepreneur, boy mom, and digital CEO. She understands how core beliefs formed in childhood can create and maintain eating disorder patterns, and she's passionate about helping women identify and transform these beliefs to find lasting freedom.

If this episode helped you feel hopeful again and remember your worth isn't found in your body or on your plate, please share it with someone who needs to hear this message. Your support helps more women break the chains of limiting beliefs.

*While I am a certified health coach, anorexia survivor & eating disorder recovery coach, I do not intend the use of this message to serve as medical advice. Please refer to the disclaimer here in the show & be sure to contact a licensed clinical provider if you are struggling with an eating disorder.

Girlfriend, it's time for some real talk. If you keep saying you want recovery but your actions don't match your words, this episode is your wake-up call. Host Lindsey Nichol delivers tough love with compassion as she breaks down the truth: there are two types of people in this world - those with reasons and those with results. Which one are you?

In this powerful episode, Lindsey shares her own struggle with desperately wanting recovery while still restricting, lying to her treatment team, and choosing the "safe" option every single time. She'll teach you how one simple shift - replacing "I can't" with "I won't" - can completely transform your recovery journey by helping you own your choices and reclaim your power.

If you're tired of making excuses, breaking promises to yourself, and staying stuck in the same cycle, this is the episode that will challenge you to finally show up for yourself and your family.

The Two Types of People Framework:

The "I Can't" vs "I Won't" Truth Bomb:

Lindsey's Personal Story:

The Reality Check You Need:

✨ There are two types of people: those with reasons and those with results - you get to choose which one you'll be

✨ "I can't" is a lie - what you really mean is "I won't" and that's a choice you have power over

✨ Wanting recovery and DOING recovery are completely different things - listening to podcasts isn't the same as taking action

✨ You cannot want recovery more than you want the eating disorder - your actions reveal what you truly want

✨ Your recovery isn't just for you - it's for your family too - they need to see you model what keeping promises looks like

✨ Every action you take is a vote for who you're becoming - what are you voting for today?

Brené Brown: "You either walk inside your story and own it, or you stand outside your story and hustle for your worthiness."

James Clear (Atomic Habits): "Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become."

Mel Robbins: "You are one decision away from a completely different life."

Did you know? Eating disorders have the HIGHEST mortality rate of any mental illness. This isn't small. This is life and death. If you're stuck in the cycle of wanting recovery but not doing recovery, it's time to get honest about what's at stake.

For the next 24 hours, every time you catch yourself saying "I can't," PAUSE. Take a breath. Replace it with "I won't."

Examples:

Notice how different that FEELS. When you admit it's a choice, you suddenly have the power to make a different one.

Just ONE. Not ten. Not a complete recovery overhaul. ONE promise.

Maybe it's:

Write it down. Then DO IT. Prove to yourself that you're someone who keeps promises.

This episode is your wake-up call and reality check if you:

You have everything you need to recover. You have the desire. You have the resources. You have the support. The only thing standing between you and freedom is YOU.

Your family needs you. Your future needs you. And most importantly, YOU need you.

So stop playing small. Stop breaking promises. Stop saying "I can't" when you mean "I won't."

Because those with reasons stay stuck. But those with RESULTS? They change their lives.

Which one are you going to be?

Lindsey has spots open for one-on-one recovery coaching. If you're ready to stop making excuses and start getting results, visit www.herbestself.co to book your complimentary consultation.

Let's make this the season where everything changes.

Now let's talk support:

Ready to sign up for our recovery support group? www.herbestself.co/recoverycollective 

📧 Email Lindsey: [email protected] 

Limited spots available for fall coaching - only 2 slots remaining

🌟 Website: www.herbestself.co 🌟 Instagram: @thelindseynichol 🌟 Client Application: HBS Co. Recovery Coaching - Client Application - Google Forms

💕 Share it with a woman who might need to hear this message 💕 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts - it helps other women find the show 💕 Screenshot and tag @thelindseynichol if any of these steps help you this week!

Remember, beautiful: Your worth is not measured by how perfectly you do recovery. Healing isn't linear, progress over perfection always, and you are exactly where you need to be right now.

Her Best Self with Lindsey Nichol is a podcast for women in eating disorder recovery who are ready to break free from perfectionism, people-pleasing, and diet culture to live authentically and wholeheartedly.

*While I am a certified health coach, anorexia survivor & eating disorder recovery coach, I do not intend the use of this message to serve as medical advice. Please refer to the disclaimer here in the show & be sure to contact a licensed clinical provider if you are struggling with an eating disorder.

Girlfriend, if you're tired of the never-ending cycle of body checking, comparing yourself to everyone around you, and feeling trapped in a body you don't recognize, this episode is for you. Host Lindsey Nichol breaks down the 4 categories of body image according to the National Eating Disorder Collaboration and walks you through practical exercises to challenge the negative body ideals that are keeping you stuck.

The 4 Categories of Body Image:

Plus, You'll Learn:

✨ You are NOT your body - Your body is a vessel, not your identity

Write out every detail of your "perfect body." Then ask yourself:

Today, look at someone in your life without judging or comparing their body to yours. Find ONE thing you can admire or appreciate about their body. Then reflect on what this reveals about your own body ideals.

Look at yourself face-to-face in the mirror and say OUT LOUD: "I am willing to do the hard things. I am willing to make changes in my life. I may not be seeing what is real and true because of false distortion, but I can choose right now to appreciate, respect, and care for me regardless."

Choose one body part you criticize. Now reframe it - what can you appreciate about this part? Just like you appreciated something about someone else, extend that same grace to yourself.

Instead of idolizing being skinny, focus on STRENGTH. Instead of weighing less, focus on HEALTH. What would change in your life if you made this shift?

This episode is for you if you're:

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 - "Do you not know that your body is a temple? You are not your own. You were bought at a price. Honor your body to honor your creator."

Join the Community: Connect with other women on the recovery journey in Lindsey's private Facebook community - www.herbsestselfsociety.com !

Work with Lindsey: Ready for one-on-one support? Lindsey offers personalized recovery coaching. Visit www.herbestself.co/services  to book a complimentary consultation and see if coaching is the right fit for you.

Take Action: Grab your journal, do the exercises from this episode, and share your insights in the Her Best Self Facebook community. Recovery isn't meant to be done alone, girlfriend!

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If this episode resonated with you—if you saw yourself in Lindsey's rejection story—please subscribe to Her Best Self wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a review. Your reviews help other women who are tired of perfectionism and people-pleasing find this show and realize they're not alone.

Share this episode with a friend who needs to hear that her rejection story can become her redemption story.

Lindsey Nichol is a former competitive figure skater turned God-led entrepreneur, boy mom, and digital CEO. She understands how core beliefs formed in childhood can create and maintain eating disorder patterns, and she's passionate about helping women identify and transform these beliefs to find lasting freedom.

If this episode helped you feel hopeful again and remember your worth isn't found in your body or on your plate, please share it with someone who needs to hear this message. Your support helps more women break the chains of limiting beliefs.

*While I am a certified health coach, anorexia survivor & eating disorder recovery coach, I do not intend the use of this message to serve as medical advice. Please refer to the disclaimer here in the show & be sure to contact a licensed clinical provider if you are struggling with an eating disorder

What if I told you that the eating disorder you're battling isn't really about food at all—it's about rejection?

In this deeply personal episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on my own rejection story and how those painful moments shaped my relationship with food, my body, and control. From being told to "get in line by size" at dance practice to corporate disappointments and broken friendships, I'm sharing the rejection wounds that led me down the path of disordered eating.

Here's the truth: perfectionism is rejection prevention. It's the way your brain tries to avoid the emotional trauma of feeling "not enough." And your eating disorder? It offers the illusion of protection—a false comfort that promises to fix everything and prevent future rejection. But the only thing it really does is lead to the deepest rejection of all: rejecting your own worthiness.

Today, we're dissecting rejection together. I'm meeting you in that painful place so you can discover what I've learned: your rejection story can become your redemption story. Rejection isn't the end—it's God's protection, His redirection, and often the most powerful motivator for transformation.

If you've been shrinking yourself to fit into spaces you were rejected from, this episode is your invitation to take up space again, feel free again, and reject the rejection that was never yours to carry.

[02:30] The moment everything changed: My dance practice rejection story and how one comment shifted my entire relationship with my body

[05:00] Why perfectionism is actually rejection prevention—and how it fuels your eating disorder

[07:15] The cycle that keeps you stuck: Fear of rejection → False control → Isolation → Disordered eating behaviors → Reinforced rejection fears

[09:45] How early experiences shape your relationship with safety (and why you desperately want to be seen, heard, and loved)

[12:00] Protection strategies your brain uses: Numbing through restriction, creating physical armor through body changes, food rituals as predictable comfort

[15:30] My personal rejection timeline: From Disney on Ice to corporate promotions, college boyfriends to broken friendships—the moments that shaped my story

[18:00] The powerful reframe: Rejection is God's protection and redirection. What would you have missed if those doors had stayed open?

[20:30] How recovered people reject rejection—practical steps to heal and move forward

[23:00] The three questions to ask when rejection voices show up: "So what? Says who? Who cares?"

💔 Perfectionism = Rejection Prevention: Your eating disorder isn't about food. It's your brain's attempt to avoid the pain of feeling "not enough."

🔄 The Rejection Cycle: Fear of rejection leads to false control (food/body manipulation), which leads to isolation, which reinforces rejection fears, which prevents you from being seen, heard, and loved.

✨ Rejection → Redemption: Your rejection story matters because it can become your redemption story. Every painful moment can be transformed into power.

🚪 If those doors had stayed open, what would you have missed? Rejection is often God's redirection toward a better path you couldn't have imagined.

🛡️ Protection Strategies Keeping You Stuck:

💪 Recovered People Reject Rejection: They show up imperfectly, embrace progress over perfection, create healthy boundaries, build self-trust, and sit with uncomfortable emotions.

🎯 The Most Powerful Truth: No one needs to like you but you. You are approved by God who created you and put a seal of worthiness on your birth certificate. You're not rejected—you're redeemed.

📝 What are your rejection stories? What moments made you feel unseen, unheard, or unloved?

📝 How did those rejections shape your relationship with food and your body? When did you start "the exhausting project of trying to shrink yourself"?

📝 What parts of yourself have you rejected? Movement you loved? Activities that brought joy? Nourishment? Rest? Connection?

📝 If those doors had stayed open, what would you have missed? What blessings came from closed doors?

📝 What rejection are you still carrying that isn't yours? What old wound keeps replaying as current truth?

✍️ Write out your rejection story. This isn't to create trauma—it's to find freedom in laying it down, forgiving it, and moving forward.

🗣️ Practice the three questions: Next time rejection voices show up ("you're not good enough," "you can't eat that"), respond with: "So what? Says who? Who cares?"

🔄 Reframe your rejections: List your biggest rejections, then write what you would have missed if those doors had stayed open.

💪 Start doing the next right thing: Show up imperfectly, embrace progress over perfection, create healthy boundaries, and build self-trust.

🙅‍♀️ Stop people pleasing: You don't need to be for everyone. It's okay to not have a seat at everyone's table.

"Perfectionism is rejection prevention. It's the way that our brain and our mind tries to avoid the pain and the emotional trauma of feeling the not enoughness."

"In trying to protect yourself from rejection, you begin rejecting parts of yourself—movement you enjoyed, activities that bring you joy, nourishment, rest, and eventually connection with people you cherished."

"The eating disorder promises to fix everything, promises that everyone will accept you, promises to fix any future rejection. But the only real thing it does is lead to the deepest rejection of all: rejecting your own worthiness."

"Whatever story you've been replaying on repeat, you can learn to take up space, feel free again, and reject the rejection that was never yours to carry."

"Rejection is nothing more than a necessary step in the pursuit of a better path. When we start looking at it like that, it becomes the most powerful motivator in your life."

"No one needs to like you but you. The cycle of fear of rejection leads to false control, which leads to isolation, which reinforces rejection fears and prevents you from being seen, heard, and loved."

"Rejection is God's protection. It is His redirection. If those doors had stayed open, what would you have missed?"

"You're not rejected, you're redeemed. You're not bad. Maybe you just shine a little too bright for someone who couldn't handle it."

"Recovered people reject rejection."

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If this episode resonated with you—if you saw yourself in Lindsey's rejection story—please subscribe to Her Best Self wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a review. Your reviews help other women who are tired of perfectionism and people-pleasing find this show and realize they're not alone.

Share this episode with a friend who needs to hear that her rejection story can become her redemption story.

Lindsey Nichol is a former competitive figure skater turned God-led entrepreneur, boy mom, and digital CEO. She understands how core beliefs formed in childhood can create and maintain eating disorder patterns, and she's passionate about helping women identify and transform these beliefs to find lasting freedom.

If this episode helped you feel hopeful again and remember your worth isn't found in your body or on your plate, please share it with someone who needs to hear this message. Your support helps more women break the chains of limiting beliefs.

*While I am a certified health coach, anorexia survivor & eating disorder recovery coach, I do not intend the use of this message to serve as medical advice. Please refer to the disclaimer here in the show & be sure to contact a licensed clinical provider if you are struggling with an eating disorder

If you're in the thick of eating disorder recovery right now and wondering if it's ever going to get easier, this episode is for you.

Maybe you had a rough week with food. Maybe you're exhausted from fighting the same battles in your head every single day. Maybe you're wondering if recovery is even worth it because right now it just feels so incredibly hard.

In this episode, Lindsey gets real about hard times in recovery and shares a truth that will change how you see your struggle: there are only three possible outcomes when you're going through something hard, and what you choose determines everything about your recovery and your future.

This isn't a "just think positive" pep talk. This is truth-telling, no-nonsense guidance about why hard times don't last forever—but only if you refuse to stay stuck in them. If you're ready to stop waiting for recovery to magically get easier and start building the resilience you need to actually get better, this episode will show you how.

What You'll Learn:

The 3 Outcomes of Hard Times:

Outcome #1: You Quit Quitting looks like going back to restriction because it feels safer. It's skipping meals after a bad body image day. It's choosing what's familiar over what will set you free. When you quit moving forward, the hard time doesn't end—it just becomes your new normal.

Outcome #2: It Gets Better Sometimes circumstances change and the external situation improves. But if YOU don't change? You're just waiting for the next hard time to come along. You'll always be one comment away from spiraling, one trigger away from old patterns.

Outcome #3: You Get Better This is where your power lives. This is where transformation happens. When YOU get better, you learn to nourish your body even when you don't feel deserving. You challenge food rules. You sit with emotions instead of controlling them through food or exercise. You make decisions from your healed self.

Key Takeaways:

✨ Hard times don't last forever—but they also don't end just because you want them to. They end when you choose to move through them.

✨ There are only 3 outcomes: you quit, it gets better, or you get better. Only one leads to lasting freedom.

✨ When you quit, the hard time doesn't disappear—it just continues and becomes your normal.

✨ Relying on circumstances to improve keeps you at the mercy of triggers and external situations.

✨ You getting better means actively participating in your own healing, not just hoping things change.

✨ The hard time becomes your identity when you refuse to move forward—it becomes who you are instead of something you're moving through.

✨ Choosing to get better is hard, but staying stuck is harder. Wake up a year from now in the same place or choose to do the work now.

Powerful Quotes from This Episode:

"Hard times don't last forever. They don't. But only if you refuse to stay stuck in them."

"Hard times end when you decide they end. Not when circumstances are perfect. Not when you feel ready. Not when it's easy. They end when you decide to keep moving forward even when it's hard."

"When you quit, the hard time doesn't actually end. It just continues. It stretches out. It becomes your new normal."

"When YOU get better, it doesn't matter as much what the circumstances are. When YOU get better, you have tools to work through triggers."

"You don't have to stay here. You don't have to live in this hard time forever. But you do have to choose to move through it."

"The hard time you're in right now? It's not forever. It's not your ending. It's not your identity. It's just a chapter. And you get to write what comes next."

Real Talk:

This episode delivers no-nonsense truth: the eating disorder wants you to believe you'll always feel this way, but that's a lie. You don't have to stay stuck. But you do have to choose outcome #3—to get better. That means showing up when you don't feel like it, doing the opposite of what the disorder tells you, and trusting the process even when you can't see results yet.

What's harder than doing the work? Waking up years from now still fighting the same battles because you never chose to get better.

Questions to Ask Yourself:

Ready to Choose Outcome #3?

If you're ready to stop staying stuck and start getting better, you don't have to do it alone.

Inside The Recovery Collective, Lindsey's support group program, you get:

Learn more and join at: www.herbestself.co/recoverycollective 

Lindsey Nichol is a former competitive figure skater turned God-led entrepreneur, boy mom, and digital CEO. She understands how core beliefs formed in childhood can create and maintain eating disorder patterns, and she's passionate about helping women identify and transform these beliefs to find lasting freedom.

If this episode helped you feel hopeful again and remember your worth isn't found in your body or on your plate, please share it with someone who needs to hear this message. Your support helps more women break the chains of limiting beliefs.

*While I am a certified health coach, anorexia survivor & eating disorder recovery coach, I do not intend the use of this message to serve as medical advice. Please refer to the disclaimer here in the show & be sure to contact a licensed clinical provider if you are struggling with an eating disorder.

You're at a family dinner. Someone makes a comment about your body or what's on your plate. Suddenly your chest is tight, your mind is racing, and you're already planning tomorrow's restriction or extra workout. Sound familiar?

In this episode, Lindsey Nichol gives you a real-time, actionable game plan for working through triggers as they happen—not tomorrow, not after the holidays, but RIGHT NOW. Whether it's an upcoming holiday gathering, a comment from a loved one, or scrolling social media, you'll learn exactly what to do in those moments when you feel completely out of control.

Lindsey walks you through six powerful steps to move through triggering situations without falling back into restriction, over-exercising, or shame spirals. This isn't theory—this is practical, do-it-now guidance that will help you act from your healed self instead of your wounded self.

What You'll Learn:

Key Takeaways:

✨ Your body isn't broken—it's trying to protect you based on old experiences that aren't happening right now

✨ You can't heal what you won't feel—naming your emotions is essential to moving through triggers

✨ The emotions you feel during triggers exist because they once kept you safe, but you get to choose differently now

✨ What would your best self do? Your future self who's already free? Act as if you're already her—because you are

✨ One triggering moment doesn't define your recovery—how you respond does

The 6-Step Trigger Game Plan:

Powerful Quotes from This Episode:

"What you do in the next few minutes after you feel triggered will either keep you stuck in the same cycle or move you one step closer to the freedom you're desperately craving."

"You can't heal what you won't feel."

"That old experience isn't happening right now. You're not that little girl anymore who learned she had to earn love or approval."

"Stop operating from your unhealed self. Stop letting the wounds make the decisions. Stop letting the fear drive the bus."

"You ARE that future version of yourself. She's not some distant dream. She's you—making the next right choice in this moment."

Ready for More Support?

If you need help working through triggers and breaking free from the restrict-binge cycle, join The Recovery Collective—Lindsey's group support program where you get live weekly coaching, a supportive community, and the exact tools you need to find lasting food freedom.

Learn more at: www.herbestself.co/recoverycollective

💝 Rate and review to help more perfectionists find freedom 💝 Share with a friend who's stuck in the perfection trap 💝 Join the Facebook community for recovery hugs and support 💝 Apply for 1:1 coaching if you're ready for personalized guidance

Subscribe to the email list at www.herbestself.co to get first access 🎉 Free FB Community at www.herbestselfsociety.com 

You don't have to be perfect at recovery. You don't have to check all the boxes. You don't have to be further along than you are.

Success is showing up today, even when yesterday was hard. Success is choosing growth over perfection. Success is becoming who you're meant to be, not achieving some impossible standard.

You are worthy. You are strong. You are perfectly capable right now, today, to lean into the biggest struggle of your life.

Consider this your virtual hug from Lindsey. You've got this, beautiful.

Her Best Self with Lindsey Nichol is a podcast for women in eating disorder recovery who are ready to break free from perfectionism, people-pleasing, and diet culture to live authentically and wholeheartedly.

*While I am a certified health coach, anorexia survivor & eating disorder recovery coach, I do not intend the use of this message to serve as medical advice. Please refer to the disclaimer here in the show & be sure to contact a licensed clinical provider if you are struggling with an eating disorder.

In this insightful conversation originally recorded with dietitian Brittany Braswell on Faith-Filled Food Freedom podcast, I open up about the restrict-binge cycle that keeps so many women trapped—saving calories all day only to overeat at night. This episode dismantles the myth that it's about willpower and reveals the biological and spiritual truths behind this destructive pattern.

✨ The restrict-binge cycle is biological, not about willpower - When you don't eat enough during the day, your body forces a response

✨ Scarcity thinking is rooted in worthiness issues - Diet culture has taught us food must be earned, rationed, and controlled rather than something we deserve consistently

✨ Comfort isn't the goal, freedom is - Breaking the cycle requires doing uncomfortable opposite actions

✨ Ask yourself: Is this decision from fear or love? - If you're making food choices out of fear, that's a signal to do the opposite

✨ You are fearfully and wonderfully made - Your identity is larger than the vessel you came here with

"You were created by God, made in His image, and you are so worthy of love and nourishment—period. There's no arguing, no bargaining about that."

"Comfort isn't the goal. Freedom is the goal."

"Your body deserves consistent fuel. What would I tell my daughter, my best friend, you over coffee? I would never tell you that you can't have that coffee because there's cream in it."

"Is this decision coming from a place of fear or a place of love? If it's fear, pluck that thought."

"God's grace is built from abundance. Your identity is something larger than the vessel that you came here with."

This conversation was originally recorded as a guest appearance on Brittany Braswell's podcast, Faith-Filled Food Freedom. Adapted and shared with the Her Best Self Podcast community because the message was too powerful not to share with you.

Ready to break free from the restrict-binge cycle for good? The Recovery Collective is Lindsey Nichol's signature group support program where you'll get the support, strategies, and community you need to finally find freedom.

Inside The Recovery Collective, you'll receive:

Learn more and join The Recovery Collective at www.herbestself.co/recoverycollective  

Check out Faith-Filled Food Freedom podcast for more faith-based nutrition and food freedom content at www.brittanybraswellrd.com 

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If this episode helped you feel hopeful again and remember your worth isn't found in your body or on your plate, please share it with someone who needs to hear this message. Your support helps more women break the chains of limiting beliefs.

*While I am a certified health coach, anorexia survivor & eating disorder recovery coach, I do not intend the use of this message to serve as medical advice. Please refer to the disclaimer here in the show & be sure to contact a licensed clinical provider if you are struggling with an eating disorder.