Make Peace With Food

Want to know how to stop cravings without relying on willpower? Do this the next time a craving hits: before you reach for the food, ask yourself four simple questions.

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In this episode, I share the tool I personally used to create a gap between a craving and the action to eat. Whether it's binge eating, emotional eating or nighttime snacking, you're stuck in that loop for two reasons: your unconscious mind has put the pattern on autopilot, and the pattern is still giving you something in the moment, like relief, pleasure or a reward at the end of a long day.

I walk you through HALT step by step. You'll learn why giving yourself full permission works better than saying "no," what anger and loneliness really look like, and why the craving often shifts by the time you're done. Because making peace with food isn't just about changing your relationship with food. It's about changing your relationship with the things in your life that drive you to it.

#EmotionalEating #HALT #MakePeaceWithFood

💌 LET'S KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING

Try HALT the next time a craving hits, then come back and tell me in the comments: which letter was it, and did the craving shift? I read every one, and your question may be answered in a future Ask Sherry episode.

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Make Peace with Food Tribe To End Binge Eating, Stress & Emotional Eating is my free Facebook community for women in midlife who are navigating life's biggest transitions and want to feel like themselves again. Join here www.facebook.com/share/g/19ytUXpjpy/

▶️ Watch next: Why Most People Regain Weight After a Diet: www.youtu.be/jILO8tDRi28 

🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts / Spotify

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Apple Podcast: www.podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/make-peace-with-food/id1543673323

⭐ If this episode helped you, a 5-star rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify helps other women find the show. I read a review on the show every week!

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What’s the real reason most people regain the weight after a diet? It’s not that they don’t know what to do, and it’s not a lack of motivation or discipline. Think about it: you get up for work and take care of your kids every day. You’re responsible in every other area of your life.

In this episode, I share why so many diets end in weight regain, whether it’s vegan, fasting, juice fasting, carnivore or counting macros. When life gets hard and the discomfort feels like too much, we go back to our “medication of choice,” and for many of us that’s food. I explain how the brain builds a reward loop around highly palatable foods, why they feel like the best fix for stress, boredom and difficult emotions, and why old patterns come back when we don’t know how to regulate our nervous system.

The good news: when you learn to shift from Protection Mode to Safety Mode, you no longer need food to self-medicate or self-regulate.

#WeightRegain #EmotionalEating #NervousSystemRegulation #MakePeaceWithFood

💌 Let’s keep the conversation going!

Have you ever lost weight on a diet and then watched it come back? What was going on in your life when it did? Tell me in the comments. I read every one, and your questions may be answered in a future episode.

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Follow Sherry:

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Website: http://www.sherryshaban.com 

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Work with Sherry: www.sherryshaban.com/transform

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Subscribe to Sherry’s channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@makepeacewithfoodofficial 

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Join our Facebook Community: www.myfoodfreedomlifestyle.com

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Listen to The Make Peace With Food Podcast 🎧New episodes drop every Monday & Thursday!

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/28c9Hyty6dmyKHAkP0QfTr?si=a87001710b5d499e

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/make-peace-with-food/id1543673323

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/dc4aff39-fde6-4d73-aba7-c34771827306/make-peace-with-food 

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Book your FREE 30-minute Food Freedom Call with Sherry and start your journey to lasting change! www.sherryshabanfitness.com/clarity

—

FREE eBook for Coaches! Discover what’s replacing traditional advice-based coaching and how you can evolve your approach to create deeper client transformation. Download ‘The End of Advice-Based Coaching’ here: https://mpwfpractitioner.com

What are the 3 dangerous words sabotaging your relationship with food? “I know that.” If you’ve been working on your health or your weight for years, you probably know exactly what to do. You could write a book on nutrition and diets. So why isn’t it working?

In this episode, I share why “I know that” quietly shuts your mind off to new information, and why there’s a big difference between knowing something and embodying it. After 25 years in the health and fitness space, I rarely hear something completely new. But the same information lands very differently in my 40s than it did in my 20s, and I’d miss that if I’d already decided I knew it all.

I also share why I always work with a coach when I’m learning something new, how a coach sees the blind spots we can’t, and how a private Muay Thai coach helped me earn my orange belt in just three months. Plus, the simple phrase to replace “I know that” so you can finally hear familiar information in a new way.

💌 Let’s keep the conversation going!

Have you ever caught yourself saying “I know that” and tuning out? Tell me in the comments. I read every one, and your questions may be answered in a future episode.

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Follow Sherry:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makepeacewithfoodofficial/ 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sherryshaban 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MakePeaceWithFoodOfficial/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherryshaban/ 

Website: http://www.sherryshaban.com 

—

Work with Sherry: www.sherryshaban.com/transform

—

Subscribe to Sherry’s channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@makepeacewithfoodofficial 

—

Join our Facebook Community: www.myfoodfreedomlifestyle.com

—

Listen to The Make Peace With Food Podcast 🎧New episodes drop every Monday & Thursday!

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/28c9Hyty6dmyKHAkP0QfTr?si=a87001710b5d499e

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/make-peace-with-food/id1543673323

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/dc4aff39-fde6-4d73-aba7-c34771827306/make-peace-with-food 

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Book your FREE 30-minute Food Freedom Call with Sherry and start your journey to lasting change! www.sherryshabanfitness.com/clarity

—

FREE eBook for Coaches! Discover what’s replacing traditional advice-based coaching and how you can evolve your approach to create deeper client transformation. Download ‘The End of Advice-Based Coaching’ here: https://mpwfpractitioner.com

What’s the problem with cheat meals? If one planned cheat meal keeps turning into a whole weekend of eating past the point of discomfort, the problem isn’t your willpower. Strict food rules put your body into survival mode.

In this episode, I share why the word “cheat” judges you before you even take a bite, and why “now or never” thoughts around food are a sign of a disordered relationship with food. I explain how restriction and food rules create induced food scarcity. That puts your nervous system in protection mode, which slows your metabolism and switches on your natural binge mechanism.

I also open up about my own “cheat meal gone bad” days as a CrossFit gym owner. I drove to grocery stores where my members wouldn’t see me, ate with a lot of shame, then “cleaned it up” every Monday. And I share the two steps that changed everything for me: shifting my nervous system from protection mode to safety mode, then retraining my hunger and fullness cues through appetite correction.

#CheatMeal #BingeEatingRecovery #AntiDiet #MakePeaceWithFood

💌 Let’s keep the conversation going!

 Have you ever had a cheat meal turn into a whole cheat weekend? Tell me in the comments. I read every one, and your questions may be answered in a future episode.

—

Follow Sherry:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makepeacewithfoodofficial/ 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sherryshaban 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MakePeaceWithFoodOfficial/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherryshaban/ 

Website: http://www.sherryshaban.com 

—

Work with Sherry: www.sherryshaban.com/transform

—

Subscribe to Sherry’s channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@makepeacewithfoodofficial 

—

Join our Facebook Community: www.myfoodfreedomlifestyle.com

—

Listen to The Make Peace With Food Podcast 🎧New episodes drop every Monday & Thursday!

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/28c9Hyty6dmyKHAkP0QfTr?si=a87001710b5d499e

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/make-peace-with-food/id1543673323

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/dc4aff39-fde6-4d73-aba7-c34771827306/make-peace-with-food 

—

Book your FREE 30-minute Food Freedom Call with Sherry and start your journey to lasting change! www.sherryshabanfitness.com/clarity

—

FREE eBook for Coaches! Discover what’s replacing traditional advice-based coaching and how you can evolve your approach to create deeper client transformation. Download ‘The End of Advice-Based Coaching’ here: https://mpwfpractitioner.com

Are you really hungry, or is it mind hunger? When you’re binge eating, emotional eating, nighttime snacking or boredom eating, it’s usually your mind that’s hungry, not your body. In this episode, I share how to tell the difference.

Real body hunger builds slowly. It starts with a light growl, gets louder if you ignore it, and almost any real meal will satisfy it. Mind hunger starts with a trigger: an emotion like stress, worry, shame, sadness, boredom, or even joy. Then comes a craving that’s urgent and very specific. I explain why protection mode makes you crave high-energy processed foods, and why you can eat the carrots, the soup and four other things and still end up eating the ice cream.

I also share how binge eating disrupts your hunger and fullness cues, and simple ways to start rebuilding them: putting your food on a plate, giving yourself visual feedback, and the “come back in an hour” permission that helped me stop binge eating.

#EmotionalEating #BingeEatingRecovery #MindHunger #MakePeaceWithFood

💌 Let’s keep the conversation going!

What’s your go-to mind hunger craving: ice cream, cookies, chips, something else? Tell me in the comments. I read every one, and your questions may be answered in a future episode.

—

Follow Sherry:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makepeacewithfoodofficial/ 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sherryshaban 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MakePeaceWithFoodOfficial/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherryshaban/ 

Website: http://www.sherryshaban.com 

—

Work with Sherry: www.sherryshaban.com/transform

—

Subscribe to Sherry’s channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@makepeacewithfoodofficial 

—

Join our Facebook Community: www.myfoodfreedomlifestyle.com

—

Listen to The Make Peace With Food Podcast 🎧New episodes drop every Monday & Thursday!

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/28c9Hyty6dmyKHAkP0QfTr?si=a87001710b5d499e

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/make-peace-with-food/id1543673323

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/dc4aff39-fde6-4d73-aba7-c34771827306/make-peace-with-food 

—

Book your FREE 30-minute Food Freedom Call with Sherry and start your journey to lasting change! www.sherryshabanfitness.com/clarity

—

FREE eBook for Coaches! Discover what’s replacing traditional advice-based coaching and how you can evolve your approach to create deeper client transformation. Download ‘The End of Advice-Based Coaching’ here: https://mpwfpractitioner.com

Why can intuitive eating backfire? If you’ve tried it and ended up gaining weight, snacking at night, or feeling even more out of control around food. You may be getting your cues from the wrong part of your brain.

In this episode, I explain what intuitive eating really is. We’re born with natural hunger and fullness cues. I also explain why those cues get disrupted by years of dieting, binge eating, and emotional eating. When your nervous system is stuck in Protection Mode, your survival brain bypasses those cues and pushes you toward processed, high-energy foods.

The goal is still to become an intuitive eater. But there’s a missing step between out-of-control eating and intuitive eating, and it’s your nervous system. I share how shifting from Protection Mode to Safety Mode helps you trust your cues again, and how I now eat and move intuitively, dessert included, without feeling controlled by food.

#IntuitiveEating #NervousSystemRegulation #AntiDiet #MakePeaceWithFood

💌 LET’S KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING

Have you tried intuitive eating before? Did it feel freeing, or did it leave you feeling more out of control? Tell me in the comments. I read every one, and your questions may be answered in a future episode.

—

Follow Sherry:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makepeacewithfoodofficial/ 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sherryshaban 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MakePeaceWithFoodOfficial/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherryshaban/ 

Website: http://www.sherryshaban.com 

—

Work with Sherry: www.sherryshaban.com/transform

—

Subscribe to Sherry’s channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@makepeacewithfoodofficial 

—

Join our Facebook Community: www.myfoodfreedomlifestyle.com

—

Listen to The Make Peace With Food Podcast 🎧New episodes drop every Monday & Thursday!

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/28c9Hyty6dmyKHAkP0QfTr?si=a87001710b5d499e

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/make-peace-with-food/id1543673323

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/dc4aff39-fde6-4d73-aba7-c34771827306/make-peace-with-food 

—

Book your FREE 30-minute Food Freedom Call with Sherry and start your journey to lasting change! www.sherryshabanfitness.com/clarity

—

FREE eBook for Coaches! Discover what’s replacing traditional advice-based coaching and how you can evolve your approach to create deeper client transformation. Download ‘The End of Advice-Based Coaching’ here: https://mpwfpractitioner.com

How do you overcome sugar addiction when you already know sugar isn’t good for you? It’s not more information. In this episode, I share the 3 steps that finally helped me break free from sugar, and you can use them for any habit that’s getting in the way of your results, from nighttime snacking to drinking during the week.

I used to be known as the family sugar addict. I could finish two rows of chocolate chip cookies and move straight on to triple chocolate muffins, and I raided my brother’s pantry every time I visited. I truly believed I’d never overcome it.

I walk you through conviction (building a why that goes deeper than your weight), curiosity (what would happen if you removed sugar for 28 days?), and commitment (the language of certainty and preparing for cravings before they hit). I also share why challenges like 75 Hard can backfire, how to set up your environment, and my “5 and 5” rule for riding out cravings.

💌 LET'S KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOINGWhat’s your sugar weakness: cookies, chocolate, or something else? And when do your cravings hit hardest? Tell me in the comments. I read every one, and your questions may be answered in a future episode.

—

Follow Sherry:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makepeacewithfoodofficial/ 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sherryshaban 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MakePeaceWithFoodOfficial/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherryshaban/ 

Website: http://www.sherryshaban.com 

—

Work with Sherry: www.sherryshaban.com/transform

—

Subscribe to Sherry’s channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@makepeacewithfoodofficial 

—

Join our Facebook Community: www.myfoodfreedomlifestyle.com

—

Listen to The Make Peace With Food Podcast 🎧 New episodes drop every Monday & Thursday!

https://open.spotify.com/show/28c9Hyty6dmyKHAkP0QfTr?si=a87001710b5d499e

https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/make-peace-with-food/id1543673323

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/dc4aff39-fde6-4d73-aba7-c34771827306/make-peace-with-food 

—

Book your FREE 30-minute Food Freedom Call with Sherry and start your journey to lasting change! www.sherryshabanfitness.com/clarity

—

FREE eBook for Coaches! Discover what’s replacing traditional advice-based coaching and how you can evolve your approach to create deeper client transformation. Download ‘The End of Advice-Based Coaching’ here: https://mpwfpractitioner.com 

#SugarAddiction #SugarCravings #NoSugarChallenge #MakePeaceWithFood

Why do your cravings keep winning, even when you know exactly what to eat? Because cravings don’t start with food. They start in your mind.

In this episode, I share why health, cravings, and weight release all begin with the quality of your thoughts, not with another meal plan or more willpower. I open up about how years of meal plans, macros, and strict diets turned me into a closet binge eater while I was running a CrossFit gym, and what finally changed when I started working with my nervous system instead of against it.

You’ll learn how scarcity thoughts like “I’m not good enough” and “I don’t have enough” keep your body in Protection Mode, why willpower only works for a while, what being centered around your weight really looks like, and why I’m begging you to stop focusing on your weight and start focusing on your behavior.

💌 LET'S KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING Have you tried intermittent fasting? Did it feel calm and easy, or did it leave you thinking about food all day? Tell me in the comments. I read every one, and your questions may be answered in a future episode.

—

Follow Sherry:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makepeacewithfoodofficial/ 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sherryshaban 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MakePeaceWithFoodOfficial/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherryshaban/ 

Website: http://www.sherryshaban.com 

—

Work with Sherry: www.sherryshaban.com/transform

—

Subscribe to Sherry’s channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@makepeacewithfoodofficial 

—

Join our Facebook Community: www.myfoodfreedomlifestyle.com

—

Listen to The Make Peace With Food Podcast 🎧 New episodes drop every Monday & Thursday!

https://open.spotify.com/show/28c9Hyty6dmyKHAkP0QfTr?si=a87001710b5d499e

https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/make-peace-with-food/id1543673323

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/dc4aff39-fde6-4d73-aba7-c34771827306/make-peace-with-food 

—

Book your FREE 30-minute Food Freedom Call with Sherry and start your journey to lasting change! www.sherryshabanfitness.com/clarity

—

FREE eBook for Coaches! Discover what’s replacing traditional advice-based coaching and how you can evolve your approach to create deeper client transformation. Download ‘The End of Advice-Based Coaching’ here: https://mpwfpractitioner.com 

#EmotionalEating #StopCravings #AntiDiet #MakePeaceWithFood

Why isn't intermittent fasting right for you? If fasting leaves you obsessing about food, battling cravings, or overeating before your eating window closes, the problem isn't you. It's your nervous system.

In this episode, I share how intermittent fasting worked for me for years. Then my mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer, I switched to a plant-based diet overnight, and chronic stress put my body into "Protection Mode." Suddenly I was obsessing about food, fighting cravings, and eating like every meal was my last supper.

I explain how stress, cortisol, and blood sugar drive cravings when you fast, and the signs that fasting is or isn't working for you. I also share a gentler approach for stressful seasons: a savory breakfast within the first hour of waking, a short walk, coffee after, and closing your eating window earlier instead of opening it later.

I also answer a listener question about fasted workouts for women, high cortisol, and waking up at 2 a.m. while fasting.

#IntermittentFasting #NervousSystemRegulation #StressEating #MakePeaceWithFood

💌 LET'S KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING Have you tried intermittent fasting? Did it feel calm and easy, or did it leave you thinking about food all day? Tell me in the comments. I read every one, and your questions may be answered in a future episode.

—

Follow Sherry:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makepeacewithfoodofficial/ 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sherryshaban 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MakePeaceWithFoodOfficial/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherryshaban/ 

Website: http://www.sherryshaban.com 

—

Work with Sherry: www.sherryshaban.com/transform

—

Subscribe to Sherry’s channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@makepeacewithfoodofficial 

—

Join our Facebook Community: www.myfoodfreedomlifestyle.com

—

Listen to The Make Peace With Food Podcast 🎧 New episodes drop every Monday & Thursday!

https://open.spotify.com/show/28c9Hyty6dmyKHAkP0QfTr?si=a87001710b5d499e

https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/make-peace-with-food/id1543673323

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/dc4aff39-fde6-4d73-aba7-c34771827306/make-peace-with-food 

—

Book your FREE 30-minute Food Freedom Call with Sherry and start your journey to lasting change! www.sherryshabanfitness.com/clarity

—

FREE eBook for Coaches! Discover what’s replacing traditional advice-based coaching and how you can evolve your approach to create deeper client transformation. Download ‘The End of Advice-Based Coaching’ here: https://mpwfpractitioner.com

In this episode, I go beyond the nervous system to explain exactly what's happening biologically in your body to drive those cravings — two systems, specifically, that are worth writing down.

The Dopamine Reward System

Any time we feel discomfort or pain — physical or emotional — and we do something that gives instant relief (a bite of ice cream, a cigarette, a glass of wine), dopamine is released. That reward hormone feels good instantly. Do this enough times, and the brain stores the pattern as an addiction: feeling this way is bad, and this thing makes it feel better, every time.

How the Pattern Gets Wired

Stress, boredom, loneliness, or even that first moment of peace after the kids go to bed — any of these can become the trigger. Pair that trigger with a large dopamine hit on repeat, and the body becomes physically, biologically addicted to that substance or behavior.

The Sugar Craving System: Cortisol and Adrenaline

In protection mode, the adrenal glands release cortisol and adrenaline. Adrenaline gives you "superpowers" — quick strength, lower pain sensitivity. Cortisol's job is different: it ensures a constant, easy supply of sugar circulating in the blood, positioned close to the liver for quick access.

Why High Cortisol Means More Cravings

When cortisol is high, it turns on a binge-response mechanism — making you feel like a bottomless pit, craving refined foods and simple carbohydrates specifically, because they deliver a fast, easy sugar supply.

Insulin's Double Job

Eating those refined, high-carb foods triggers insulin release. Insulin is both a storage hormone and a fat suppressor — it takes sugar from the blood and stores it (closer to the belly and liver when cortisol is present) while locking the door on anything already in storage.

The Craving Loop

Cortisol drives sugar cravings. Then the blood sugar spike-and-dip from eating refined carbs creates another craving. Blood sugar goes up, insulin brings it back down into storage, and the cycle repeats — which explains that mid-afternoon or after-dinner sweet tooth that seems to show up like clockwork.

Notice the Pattern

These cravings are rarely random — they're often tied to an emotional event, including something as simple as boredom. Recognizing the pattern is the first step toward working with your biology instead of against it.

Share Your Takeaway! Tag us on Instagram (@makepeacewithfoodofficial), Facebook (@MakePeaceWithFoodOfficial), TikTok (@sherryshaban), or LinkedIn (sherryshaban) and share your biggest insight from this episode!

FREE eBook for Coaches! Discover what’s replacing traditional advice-based coaching and how you can evolve your approach to create deeper client transformation. Download ‘The End of Advice-Based Coaching’ here https://mpwfpractitioner.com 

Catch more episodes at www.makepeacewithfood.com/podcast or subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube so you never miss an episode!

Book your FREE 30-minute Food Freedom Call and start your journey to lasting change! www.sherryshabanfitness.com/clarity

Join our Facebook Community: www.myfoodfreedomlifestyle.com

Work with Sherry: www.sherryshaban.com/transform

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