I don’t know about you, but I have been an emotional eater for most of my life. It started in childhood. If I had a bad day at school, my Mom would make my favorite food to help me feel better. This lasted even through college; remember care packages?

It is no wonder we continue to use food to help us feel better into our adult life. I encouraged this with my children when they were growing up as well.

In this podcast, I outline the differences between physical and emotional hunger.

When you eat to numb your emotions, it feels better temporarily; but the feelings that triggered the eating are still there. Then you feel worse for overeating, beat yourself up for not having more willpower and the cycle continues.

Over the years this way of eating becomes a well-practiced habit. A habit is something you can change; it does not define who you are as a person.

You may have no idea you are thinking this way because it is going on in your subconscious. It’s like background noise or music you don’t notice anymore.

Whether you realize it or not; your emotions run the show. The key is to identify your emotional eating triggers. One way to do this is to journal or keep a food and mood diary which will increase your awareness. At first, the awareness will be after you overeat which is OK because you are learning what your triggers are. Then, over time you see patterns emerge so you can target specific actions to take to change this habit.

If you want the transcript for the podcast, I upload it as a blog on my website: https://www.weightlosswithwendy.coach

If you want help to overcome your emotional or stress eating, get on a call with me. Click on the link to schedule: https://chatwithwendy.as.me/

Contact me: [email protected]

I was thinking about the first 2 weeks of a diet or new healthy eating plan. This is the time when we are the most motivated and excited about the plan and when we get our initial results of weight loss.

I call this the honeymoon phase. It may last longer than 2 weeks depending on what type of eating plan you are following. For me, the honeymoon phase lasted 2 months.

Then, after that, reality hits that you need to continue to follow the plan; and that’s when it gets harder in your mind. But it only gets harder because you think you should be able to go back to eating what you want.

Maybe what needs to happen is to check in and ask yourself, do I want to continue to eat this way for the rest of my life? Instead of quitting after 2 weeks, why not tweak your plan to make it work for you? Or better yet, tweak your favorite meals into healthier versions.

Don’t forget you don’t always have to eat the healthier version. You can treat yourself once a week or so by making or ordering your favorite food, and enjoying every bite.

I give you examples of what tweaking looks like from my recent workshop 5 steps to lose weight over 50. 

If you want the transcript, I upload it as a blog every Saturday on my website: https://www.weightlosswithwendy.coach   

Get on a call with me so I can help you tweak your own plan. Click on the link to schedule: https://chatwithwendy.as.me/

Contact me: [email protected]

Have you ever noticed that the idea of starting a new diet and losing weight is more appealing than doing the work?

That’s because we make things harder than they need to be. It’s also because we set unrealistic expectations for ourselves and what we are willing to do. We want to lose the weight fast when it took years to put the weight on.

In this podcast episode, I give you 8 tips that have helped me and my clients to lose weight, not only for the honeymoon period (first 2 weeks); but to continue towards their goal.

1.  Get started now – Even if you don’t have a healthy eating plan yet or you are still deciding which plan to follow. Take a moment to brainstorm and write down what has worked for you in the past to lose weight that didn’t make you feel hangry or too restricted. Pick 1 thing and start doing it today.

2.  Set a goal, then break it down so it does not feel so overwhelming

3.  Have 5 or more Why’s for wanting to lose weight – you will need all of them throughout your weight loss journey

4.  Set yourself up for success

5.  Make a plan – Come to my 5 steps to lose weight over 50 workshop, where I help you set up your healthy eating road map.

6.  Every week evaluate what worked, what didn’t work, and what to do differently.

7.  Make friends with the scale – It’s just a number.

8.  Be OK with less than perfect – You will go off your healthy eating plan and that’s OK. It’s what you learn about it that’s important.

The most important way to get the results you want is to get help along the way if you need it. Getting rid of old diet habits and mindset is not easy and neither is learning new habits. It takes practice and if you get stuck, get help with coaching or listening to a podcast, going to a training, or getting on a call with me. Coaching is exactly what I needed to lose the weight and keep it off.Click on the link to schedule: https://chatwithwendy.as.me/

Contact me: [email protected]

Visit me on the web: https://www.weightlosswithwendy.coach/

Freedom around food (FAF) seems so unattainable for most of us even if we have lost the weight and are on maintenance. Why, because we have the tendency to focus on our struggles and not what we’ve accomplished.

I had to ask myself after 3 years of being on maintenance if I feel like I am in control around food? To tell you the truth, my gut reaction was no. But when I really think about it and how differently I think and feel about food and how far I have come, I change my answer to yes.

My gut reaction of no was from the all or nothing habit brain, coming from a place of judgment and the belief that I have to do it perfectly. Total BS. Newsflash to myself is I don’t do anything perfectly and I’m not supposed to, because I am human and not a robot.

Here is what is different for me:

·  I am no longer in the dark about how much I am eating. I don’t have to put whatever looks good into my mouth; and I have full awareness of what I’m eating. This is huge for me because I used to graze and eat all day long without realizing how much I was eating.

·  I no longer think about my weight or food when I first wake up in the morning or worry about what I will wear because I can only fit into a few things.

·  I make a plan for what I will eat for the day, so I don’t have to think about what to make for dinner; I have a plan with a simple meal that is 5-ingredients or less and I have the ingredients to make it.

·  Most of the time, I do not go to food to numb my negative emotions, boredom or plain discomfort. Not perfect here, but I’m a work in progress.

If your initial answer to the question about if you have freedom around food was no, I challenge you to consider this:

1.  Look at the areas where you have already made changes about how you think about food, if you have less cravings, or don’t feel the need to snack as often. All of these things are little wins on your way to feeling more in control around food.

2.  Maybe you decide that you are on your way to having freedom around food and all the little steps you take for your wins only brings you closer.

3.  FAF doesn’t mean you never make mistakes or eat off plan; but you learn from your mistakes.

4.  FAF means you figure out 1 thing you will do differently in the week ahead and commit to doing that.

5.  FAF is only a thought away and here are some good ones to practice:

🇺🇸  I am learning how to feel in control around food

🇺🇸  I know what fuels my body and I am willing to allow food cravings and am willing to feel uncomfortable without giving in to the craving

🇺🇸  Cravings are temporary and having a craving feels uncomfortable, but I can handle it

🇺🇸  It’s OK to make mistakes because I learn from them. Every time I learn, I am closer to freedom around food.

🇺🇸  I decide what I put in my mouthIf your want to learn more ways to have freedom around food, then join me for this online workshop:

5 Steps to Lose Weight Over Age 50

Thursday, September 16, 2021 at 7 pm CST

Lose weight and get healthier without feeling deprived and hungry all the time, click on the link to register: https://my.demio.com/ref/G8XW3w3KauCiBHqx

Get on a call with me so I show you how to build your own healthy eating plan and how to listen to your body. Click on the link to schedule: https://chatwithwendy.as.me/

Contact me: [email protected]

Visit me on the web: https://www.weightlosswithwendy.coach/

Are you listening to what your body is telling you that it needs or are you going through the motions and eating without even thinking about what or how much you are putting in your mouth?

Most people are on auto-pilot with what they are eating. They see something, think that looks good and automatically pop whatever it is into their mouth. No thought to checking in to see if they are even hungry.

In this podcast, I talk about a recent health scare, hospitalization and surgery and how I learned to listen to my body and how you can apply these tools to weight loss.

Join me for an interactive online workshop:

5 Steps to Lose Weight Over Age 50

Thursday, September 16 2021 at 7 pm CST

If you want to lose weight and get healthier without feeling deprived and hungry all the time, click on the link to register: https://my.demio.com/ref/G8XW3w3KauCiBHqx 

Get on a call with me so I show you how to build your own healthy eating plan and how to listen to your body. Click on the link to schedule: https://chatwithwendy.as.me/

Contact me: [email protected]

Visit me on the web: https://www.weightlosswithwendy.coach/

You may see a lot of coaches out there on social media for business, life issues, relationships, weight loss, etc. but wondered what exactly does a coach do? Or maybe, what do I have to do as a client of a coach?

Coaching helps people who feels stuck in the process of achieving a goal like weight loss, overdrinking, improving relationship issues, etc. A coach can show you the thinking that is keeping you from achieving your goal by being an impartial observer to what is going on in your brain.

A coach takes you from where you are and helps you to get to where you want to go by helping you brainstorm how to overcome obstacles that get in the way.

A coach assumes you have all the answers and that you are lovable and whole the way you are. I have tools I can use to help you uncover the answers already inside of you.

The type of coaching I do is causal coaching which is a process of looking at our problems from a different point of view. For example, in weight loss, I thought my problem was the diets I had tried. My real problem was my thinking around food, my weight, and my body. I was using food to numb my stress, boredom and negative emotions.

If you enjoy this content, please rate my show and tell your friends about it! I love to see people making healthier choices, and I want to get this message out to hundreds or even thousands of women. Women are the leaders of their families: if women get healthier, so do their families.

Get on a call with me where I show you my 5-step process to lose 20+ pounds in 12 weeks. Click on the link to schedule: https://chatwithwendy.as.me/

Contact me: [email protected]

Visit me on the web: https://www.weightlosswithwendy.coach/

Do you think you’ll be happier when you get to your goal weight?

I have been noticing this a lot lately with myself and my clients. You may think everything will be better when you reach your goal weight.

The problem with this line of thinking is you still take all your negative thoughts and feelings about you, your weight, food, etc. with you. Then when you don’t feel any different at your goal weight, you feel disappointed and still feel uncomfortable in your body because you haven’t worked on your mindset.

In this podcast I talk about mindset hacks, how journaling will help you understand that your thinking is creating the results you have in your life. I also give you great questions to ask yourself to keep motivated and making progress towards your goal.

If you enjoy this content, please rate my show and tell your friends about it! I love to see people making healthier choices, and I want to get this message out to hundreds or even thousands of women. Women are the leaders of their families: if women get healthier, so do their families.

Get on a call with me where I show you my 5-step process to lose 20+ pounds in 12 weeks. Click on the link to schedule: https://chatwithwendy.as.me/

Contact me: [email protected]

Visit me on the web: https://www.weightlosswithwendy.coach/

What are YOU willing to do to prevent complications in your health or prevent new health problems?

This question has been on my mind a lot recently. After my dad had COVID-19 this summer, I experienced a gallstone attack and ended up in the ER and was admitted to the hospital for 2 days. It was an eye opening experience and made me really think about my diet and what I could do to prevent another attack.

The gallbladder, the site of my severe pain, serves important functions in the process of digestion. In this episode, I talk about dietary considerations, both DOs and DON'Ts, that can help keep your gallbladder happy. I'll also share a few hard-earned insights about keeping healthy in general, since prevention is easier and more effective than attempting to cure an ailment.

If you enjoy this content, please rate my show and tell your friends about it! I love to see people making healthier choices, and I want to get this message out to hundreds or even thousands of women. Women are the leaders of their families: if women get healthier, so do their families.

Get on a call with me where I show you my 5-step process to lose 20+ pounds in 12 weeks. Click on the link to schedule: https://chatwithwendy.as.me/

Contact me: [email protected]

Visit me on the web: https://www.weightlosswithwendy.coach/

What if you decided to throw out the script that you've heard about how to lose weight — and just did it by listening to your body?

Your weight loss journey is uniquely yours. NOBODY else is going to have the same experiences. So it makes sense to own that journey and make it yours! YOU get to choose how to implement your eating plan. YOU get to choose whether or how often to snack. YOU get to choose all the parts that make up the whole journey. That feels so much more empowering than feeling like you should do this or you should do that.

The best part is that this whole process of experimentation can be combined with the experience of someone who is an expert at losing weight and keeping it off and can use coaching to help you do the same. If you're looking for someone to facilitate your process of experimentation and work with your specific needs, look no further! Reach out to me with any of the links below.

If you enjoy this content, please rate my show and tell your friends about it! I love to see people making healthier choices. Women are the leaders of their families: if women get healthier, so do their families.

Get on a call with me where I show you my 5-step process to lose 20+ pounds in 12 weeks. Click on the link to schedule: https://chatwithwendy.as.me/

Contact me: [email protected]

Visit me on the web: https://www.weightlosswithwendy.coach/

What can YOU do with self-control?

Self-control allows you to make conscious healthy choices. With the power of consistent conscious thinking (using the prefrontal cortex, the thinking brain), you can override your primitive brain's impulses to seek immediate pleasure and make unhealthy decisions in the moment with food. i

In your weight loss journey, you may find your progress hindered by your habits around food. One minute, you may feel ready to deal with any situation, and then suddenly you realize you've been snacking between meals without thinking about it! "What happened?!" you ask yourself.

The primitive brain tends to take over when we're under STRESS and that means to go back to doing what's comfortable. For many of us, that means going back to previous eating habits that put on the pounds in the first place. In this episode, I talk about four ways to decrease the stress response in your body. This will in turn help you increase self-control by activating your thinking brain. This allows you to focus your efforts on your journey to a happier, healthier you.

If you enjoy this content, please rate my show and tell your friends about it! I love to see people making healthier choices. Women are the leaders of their families: if women get healthier, so do their families.

Get on a call with me where I show you my 5-step process to lose 20+ pounds in 12 weeks. Click on the link to schedule: https://chatwithwendy.as.me/

Contact me: [email protected]

Visit me on the web: https://www.weightlosswithwendy.coach/