The Diet Diaries

If you've ever wondered why you can't seem to stick with a habit, even when you REALLY want to, this conversation might completely change how you think about follow through and consistency.

I'm joined by habits and identity coach Monica Packer, author of Sticky Habits, to talk about something that almost never gets discussed when we're told to just be more disciplined, try harder or stop making excuses: the fact that traditional habit formation self help completely ignores the lives and responsibilities of women. 

I learned so much from Monica while recording this episode and you will walk away with an entirely new perspective on why you've always struggled to follow through.

Here's some of what we get into: 

• The invisible demands on women that make consistency so much harder than we realize
• Why doing something every single day isn't actually what consistency mean
• How perfectionism keeps you stuck in the cycle of starting over
• What to do when your carefully planned habit falls apart in real life
• Why even the habits you desperately want to stop are trying to help you

Monica also shares her own experience recovering from eating disorders and how changing her relationship with habits transformed the way she thinks about food, her body and herself.

If you've spent most of your life believing you're just someone who can't follow through, this episode will give you a completely different way to look at what's actually going on.

Monica Packer is a longtime podcaster and founder of About Progress, a top-rated show with millions of downloads. She guides women to find sustainable growth by adopting progress over perfection. She has served thousands of women online as a certified habits and identity coach. Her book, Sticky Habits: A Woman’s Guide to Reclaim Happiness, Ditch Perfectionism, and Create Habits That Last, was traditionally published Fall of 2026. Monica is a mom of five, former middle school teacher, sourdough obsessor, and beginning gardener. 

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I've been strength training consistently for three years after 10 years of starting and stopping. My body is pretty much the same size. I wear the same clothes. I still have a squishy stomach and a double chin.

And my body image is the best it's ever been in my entire life.

So what changed?

In episode 297 of The Diet Diaries, I'm talking about the connection between strength training and body image, and why getting stronger can change how you feel about your body even when it doesn't change how your body looks.

We're getting into:

- Why feeling better IN your body can change how you feel ABOUT your body
- The surprising way strength training can help turn down body noise
- Why seeing what your body can DO matters more than you might realize
- How movement can give you a completely different way to respond when you're feeling shitty about your appearance
- Why this isn't really about lifting weights at all

You don't have to love how your body looks to feel good about how YOU look. This is how you make it happen. 

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Think about the things you heard your parents say about bodies when you were growing up.

"She doesn't have the body for that."
"I look so fat in these jeans."
"Wow, she looks amazing. Did she lose weight?"

Now think about what your own kids hear you say.

In this second episode of my special Diet Diaries series for moms about kids, food and body image, we're talking about the seemingly harmless comments that can shape how our kids see both their own and other people's bodies.

And this isn't just about daughters. If you're raising a son, this conversation is just as important.

We're getting into how the way you talk about your own body is already influencing your kids, why compliments about weight aren't always doing what you think they are, and how to start noticing the messages you're sending without even realizing it.

This isn't about policing every word that comes out of your mouth or adding one more thing to your mental load as a mom. It's about getting curious, asking better questions and making more intentional choices.

Because your kids are listening. Even when you don't think they are.

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When you feel shitty about your body, getting dressed is probably the LAST thing you want to put effort into.

You grab whatever fits. You hide under something oversized. You save the clothes you actually love for a day when you’re “feeling skinny” or have somewhere important to go.

And without realizing it, you’re making yourself feel even worse.

In episode 295 of The Diet Diaries, I’m talking about why getting dressed is actually more important when you’re unhappy with your body—and why your clothes are one of the most powerful levers you have to change how you feel about yourself without changing your body.

I get into:

• The shitty body image → shitty clothes → shittier body image cycle
• Why the days nobody sees you might be the most important days to get dressed
• The difference between how you feel about your naked body and how you feel about your appearance
• Why losing weight doesn't guarantee you'll finally like how you look
• How to use my LFC method everytime you go shopping or get dressed.

You don't have to love your stomach, your thighs or what you see naked in the mirror to put on an outfit and think, damn, I look good.

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You're trying really hard not to pass your own food and body image issues on to your kids.

But what if some of the things you're doing because you think they're helpful are actually creating the exact problems you're trying to prevent?

Welcome to the first episode in a brand-new series for moms about how to talk to your kids about food and bodies without passing along all the shit you've spent years trying to undo yourself.

We're talking about everything from your 12-year-old wanting to wear a string bikini to your teenager announcing they want to lose 10 pounds, the sweets you keep (or don't keep) in the house, and what your son is learning from the way you talk about other women's bodies.

Whether your kid is 2 months, 2 years or 20, it is NOT too late to shift the conversation. 

I’m super excited about this series and as part of it would love to help you navigate your real life situations, so send them my way and I’ll work it through in an episode! 

Also, taking all name suggestions! 

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You can ask ChatGPT to create a perimenopause fat loss meal plan, calculate your daily protein target and build a fat burning workout routine.

But should you?

And how do you know when it's actually helping you versus sending you into another spiral of overthinking, overcommitting and starting over on Monday?  

In episode 293 of The Diet Diaries, I'm joined by health coach and AI expert Kate Solovieva for a conversation about what AI can (and can't) do when it comes to your health, nutrition and changing your behavior.

We get into:

* Why having access to more information isn't necessarily going to change how you eat
* A simple filter to figure out when it makes sense to use AI and when it doesn’t
* What human coaching provides that even the most personalized AI plan can't replicate
* The question to ask yourself when you're wondering whether you actually need more support

If you've ever asked ChatGPT ANYTHING related to your health, nutrition, exercise, stress or sleep, listen up, because this conversation will have you rethinking when, why and how to use AI so that it actually does what you want it to do. 

Kate Solovieva is a health coach with over ten years of experience, having worked with 1,000+ clients and having mentored 200+ coaches. Her academic background includes undergraduate and graduate psychology degrees, focusing on health and stress management, as well as post-graduate degrees in trauma and cognitive behavioral therapy. 

Connect with Kate

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When you’re trying to figure out why your cravings are through the roof and you never seem to feel full, you immediately jump to protein. Or that you ate too many carbs. Or that you must have a cortisol imbalance. 

What if it was WAY simpler than that? 

Because there’s one HUGE part of eating that almost no one talks about.

And once you start paying attention to it, you’re going to notice it everywhere.

In this episode, I’m talking about one of the most overlooked reasons food sometimes hits the spot—and sometimes leaves you blowing through a box of stale cookies an hour later.

It has nothing to do with calories, macros or whether a food is “healthy.”

But it can have a surprisingly big impact on satisfaction, cravings, food noise and even how easy or hard it feels to stop eating.

And the best part? You can start experimenting with what you learn at your very next meal.  

Listen up, friends. This is a fun one. 

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Is it just me, or is feeling hungry somehow become something we’re afraid of? 

I’ve heard this from SO many clients over the last year and now with GLP1s feeling like they are everywhere, I think this has become a THING. 

Friends, hunger has a PR problem. 

And I get it. What you do when you’re too hungry has historically made you feel pretty shitty, both mentally and physically. 

But hunger itself isn’t a problem. 

Hunger is a normal biological signal. 

It’s that a lot of us have lost the ability to deal with it without freaking out. 

In episode 291 of The Diet Diaries I’m talking about:

* Why hunger can feel scary 
* How GLP-1s are changing our relationship with hunger
* The difference between regulating hunger and suppressing it
* Why eating every 2–3 hours can make it harder to recognize actual hunger
* Two skills to help you easily and quickly deal with hunger

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You know that thing where you keep saying you’ll deal with it Monday?

Or next month. Or after the holidays. Or January 1st when you’ll magically become a completely different human?

Yeah. We’re talking about that.

In this episode, I’m joined by my friend and ADHD/executive function coach Debbie White to talk about why waiting for the “right time” keeps you doing the same shit over and over—and what actually helps you make changes that work in your real life.

We also talk about  the mini retreat Debbie and I are hosting this October, 2026 Course Correct, and exactly what we’ll be working on together and why you should join us!

We talk about:

* Why your brain loves a fresh start—but how that can actually keep you stuck
* Why copying someone else’s food, exercise or productivity plan usually backfires
* How your personal values can show you exactly why your current plan isn’t working for you
* How to stop trying to “get back on track” and figure out what to do next instead
* What we’re doing at the 2026 Course Correct mini retreat and what you’ll walk out with

If you’ve been telling yourself you’ll deal with your eating, your exercise, your career or whatever else isn’t working once life calms down, this episode (and this retreat!) is for you.

Here are all the details for the mini retreat, Sunday October 4, 3-5pm in Fanwood, NJ. 

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If you’re “good” all week and then find yourself standing in the pantry on Sunday eating stale cookies, random handfuls of snacks and whatever else you can find, listen up. 

Because the answer probably isn’t cleaning out the pantry or doing another detox. 

It might actually be the exact opposite.

In this episode, I’m breaking down a real scenario from one of my recent hot seat coaching sessions: a woman who eats very rigidly during the week and then, a couple times a month, feels completely out of control around food.

We get into:
* Why restriction and “fuck it” eating are so closely connected
* What your body is actually trying to tell you when you feel like you cannot stop eating
* Why enjoying your food isn't optional—and how constantly eating the “healthy” choice can eventually catch up with you
* Why going from rigid dieting straight into “just eat whatever you want” can feel absolutely terrifying
* The step by step approach I use with clients to make previously off-limits foods feel less scary

There’s a whole life between eating no cake and eating all the cake.

So if you’ve ever thought, I know this isn’t working but if I stop doing it  I’m going to completely lose control, this episode will show you why that fear makes so much sense and exactly what to start doing differently.

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Listen to more episodes of The Diet Diaries