The "Cake Doesn't Count" Podcast

Have you ever had a really solid day around food, you're feeling positive and then BAM...it all falls apart in the evening?

I call it the witching hour.

(Witching hour=the time after work (5pm ish) and before bed)

How does one actually fill the time between work and bed WITHOUT eating?

Tune in to today's podcast to find out!

PS--Here is the "How to Fill the Void without Food" that I mentioned in the podcast if you want more info!

You what what is SO mind numbingly frustrating?! When you know what to do but can't make it stick...

I had a long list of things I knew I "should" do:

• Don't turn to food when I'm stressed
• Stop myself after one bowl of ice cream
• Eat vegetables with every meal
• Don't eat a lot of sugar
• Exercise 4-5x a week

I also know I "shouldn't" binge, eat at night, go to the store for a secret dessert run, bake cookies because I'd eat them all...and on and on the list went.

Why is it so hard to shift from the knowing in our heads to doing it in life?!

In today's episode, I explain why and share some tidbits to help you change this.

This is for the "you know what to do but can't make it stick" people :)

(**Which is most likely all of us in some form or fashion!)

PS--If you haven't yet read the "How to Be a Normal Eater" book or the "7 Biggest Obstacles to Making Peace with Food & How to Overcome Them?", whatchya waiting for?! :)

It's the crave-y-wanting-of-sweets that we sometimes can't shake: "I have a bad sweet tooth and all I want to do is eat!"

I was chatting with one of my friends earlier this week and I said this exact thing to her.

The last week or so I've been battling cravings and just wanting to eat lots of goodies.

This can be a complicated subject when you're trying to be "normal" around food.

Sometimes this path is a riddle of paradox's... you're working on finding the balance of not dieting but also trying to eat "healthy" but working on not following food rules but also trying to give yourself permission/freedom.

See how confusing it can get?!

I wanted to share in today's episode how I'm working through this sweet tooth and what tactics/things I'm utilizing.

One of the most useful things I find on this path is real life stories.

While not everything I say may resonate, when you hear HOW someone got through a craving or HOW someone felt an emotion or HOW to get a through a bad body image day...those can be so immensely helpful.

(It's the part of us that loved diets--we like checklists, we want the steps and formula to follow :) ).

So here it is in today's episode: "I have a bad sweet tooth-help!" PS--If you battle overeating at night, you're in luck! I'm doing a 30 day "How to Stop Overeating at Night" Challenge starting November 16th, 2022! Click here for all the info.

I'm going to Poland for 10 days (and am excited!) and was getting in my head about eating while I'm there. The "how will I feel in control around food when I'm eating out and staying in a hotel?!)

I realized I was doing a bunch of things to mitigate this anxiety...

...and decided it'd be a great podcast episode!

In the world of intuitive eating, we're told to "just listen to your body" and eat according to that.

But what if all your body wants is junk food?

What are you supposed to do then?

Enter today's podcast where I'm answering this question in depth.

"Can I Trust My Cravings if All I Want is Junk Food?" Answers below!

Next time you think "can I trust my cravings", let me know which one in the comments will help YOU the most!

On a personal note...

I haven't recorded a podcast in a while.

To be honest, I've been in sort of a rut.

All my social media was hacked and it got me super down about my work.

(All of the Instagram and Facebook posts I've done over the years--gone in an instant).

Even though I'm not a huge social media fan, it did make me feel more connected to my community (aka you)

Since it's been gone, I've had a hard time getting inspired.

But I'm back now 😉

If you do read my blog or listen to my podcast, email me ([email protected]) and let me know what you'd like to hear more of.

CONNECTION is one major reason I began this work and connecting with my readers & listeners is what keeps me inspired. ♥️

Know that I read and respond to each email, so you are always welcome to 1) say hi, 2) give suggestions, or 3) say anything else. 😉

PS--the Food Freedom Toolkit will be taken down at the end of the month. I'm "cleaning house" with my offerings, so if you do want the After-Binge Toolkit, Let Go of the Scale Challenge or Body Love Meditation, grab it while it's still up!

The single most common struggle I hear from women? The struggle to win the evening food battle. Don't know what else to do besides eat at night?

That's what we're talking about on the podcast today!

Evenings can be the most challenging time for most of us around food. The day is done, the busy-ness settles, the distractions fade.

And we're left with that whisper from the pantry that seems to call us off the couch.

(It can also be annoying when you hear suggestions like "go take a bubble bath" or "go for a walk" as substitutions for eating--and when they don't work, we just feel like we're the failure)

Today, I'm sharing the 4-step process to walk you through how to figure out what's going on with eating at night and then how to "fix" it!

(If you do need more support, check out the self-paced "How to Stop Overeating at Night" challenge.

So what else to do besides eat at night? Dive in below!

If you'd like other related content, you can explore the following blogs and podcasts!

• How to Stop Emotional Eating (video training)
• 4 Helpful Hints to Deal with Discomfort (blog)
• The Biggest Cause of Overeating at Night (podcast)
• An Inside Look at What I Eat in a Day (blog)

When you look around, it can feel like everyone has their eating under control.

Except you.

Looking out at the world, it can feel like you are the only one that battles food.

Everyone else has it all together--at ease in their clothes, eating what they want, not worrying about weight gain.

So why does it feel like this?

And what can help move you through it?

Listen in on today's podcast for answers :)

I just got back from a week with my extended family in the Outer Banks and was in a bathing suit much of the week.

Now, as you know from my blog and podcasts, I've done A LOT of work on body image over the years.

The one thing that can still trip me up?!

Seeing myself in a bathing suit in a photo.

It's like I suddenly take a magnifying glass to the photo to scrutinize every single detail of my body and what I don't like, what I think looks weird, and what I think should be changed.

When we criticize ourselves in photos, in one instant all of our good feelings and progress is discounted.

Here are some of the things I did to help myself NOT go down that rabbit hole!

If you feel critical of a bathing suit picture, check out the 3 tips below!

Prefer to listen to the podcast? Do so here:

1. My Mantra: "That's Just One Perspective"

One of my clients told me a story about taking photos when she and her family were in Vegas.

She has this photo framed on her mantle of her family at the hotel that she loves.

She told me that her daughters told her how to "pose" so that she looked "good" in the pic.

The other photos from just a few minutes earlier/later?

She hated them and thought she looked terrible.

Same outfit, same people, totally different perspective in how she saw the photo.

There are 100 different angles, styles of lighting, and poses that impact a picture.

I learned SO much about posing when I did a Boudoir photoshoot a few years ago (which is a story about body image for another day!).

The photographer had me in poses that were insane--weird back arches, head tilts, crisscrossing of body parts...completely ABNORMAL poses you would never do in real life that make the female body "curve" like you see on magazines.

What if the photo you're criticizing is just one perspective out of a million?

You know how people can witness something and see it totally differently? That's how it is with photos.

That pic is literally one angle, one pose, one perspective.

2. What Was The Moment You Wanted to Capture?

As soon as I hear the critical voice in my head, I like to close my eyes and ask myself what I wanted to remember about that photo.

When I get in touch with these reasons: playing in the sand with my 18 month niece, swimming with my 13 month nephew, running down to the ocean with my older nieces/nephews...it helps to soften the criticisms.

(**I know this isn't a bathing suit photo, but my philosophy is that I don't really post photos like that... I want this to be about your body/mind/journey and not mine :) )

We all have that critical voice that can ruin any moment.

We feel great about our progress and then we see ourselves in the mirror.

Or we're feeling solid that we're eating more normally and then someone makes a comment.

Or our neighbor raves they're counting macros and having "success".

In the snap of a finger, that critical voice can send us into a spiral.

I like to remind myself that photos are supposed to give us feelings of a memory.

What is it I want to remember from the picture?

I certainly don't want to remember me criticizing myself for 20 minutes.

I want to remember the little smile on my niece's face when she sees the sandcastle I built for her :)

3. There Can Be Non-Flattering Photos

I remember looking through my wedding photos a few years ago and was fixating on all the pictures I didn't like.

I said something to my husband about how I didn't like how I looked in some of the pics.

And he said something life changing to me:

"Well, not every photo is great".

Those simple words hit me like a ton of bricks.

You mean, NOT EVERY PHOTO WILL BE A PRINT IT OUT, BLOW IT UP TO 8X10 AND HANG IT ON THE MANTEL ONE?!

Who knew?!

When we get critical about photos...it may just not be a great picture.

It could be who was taking the photo, a weird angle, you turned a weird way, the lighting or any other number of reasons.

What if when you started going down the rabbit hole in the critical mindset, you instead just shrugged and said...

"Well, not every photo is great".

And then moved on with your day :)

So the next time you find yourself being critical of a bathing suit picture, try one of these out and let me know how it goes :)

Which one resonates with you? (Or if you have another idea, post it below!)

Fear of weight comments can pop up at the most inconvenient times.

You're going to a party with friends you haven't seen in a while and get bogged down in anxiety about what they'll think. You have a family event with that one person who ALWAYS makes a comment and you are dreading it like the plague. You're seeing people post pregnancy and can't stop thinking that they'll think you look terrible not having lost baby weight.

What will they think?

Will someone notice I've gained weight?

Will people judge me for this outfit that looks terrible?

I kind of just want to hide instead of seeing people who may comment on my body.

We can get mired down in fear and paralyzed in a negative mind spiral.

What to do?

You know when you just feel plain exhausted thinking about food?

Maybe it's the fears of weight gain and anxieties of the food battle (what you should/shouldn't eat).

Or it's the criticism of yourself and how you're not "getting" it fast enough.

Maybe it's the stress of trying to be really "good" because you have a big event or vacation coming up.

Whatever it is, today's podcast is a must listen if you feel exhausted thinking about food!

If you wanna get unstuck, grab the "7 Biggest Obstacles to Making Peace with Food & How to Overcome Them" e-book and workbook!