How much of my weight loss journey should I share with my young child?
Hi Heather, I am a long time listener in the UK and I love the podcast. I had a baby boy just over a year ago, my first child. I gave myself 6 months after to recover as you suggest, and am now back on my weight loss journey. I am down around 2 stone (28 pounds) since February, and I have been attending a weight loss group - the program is Slimming World, I'm not sure if you have it in the US, but I have found it a very gentle way to lose weight as it encourages eating good, nutritious food without deprivation. My question is how much of this should I expose my son to as he gets older? I have listened to a lot of interviews with people who have been taken along to weight loss groups as a child and it has created problematic relationships with food and dieting. I really want to ensure my son has a healthy relationship with food - I don't want "dieting" to be a thing in our house, but I also don't necessarily want to stop attending my group completely as it has really helped me lose weight - I'm currently the lowest weight I've been in years. I would still like to lose 40-50lb more, but I'm not in a rush. How would you approach this - would you suggest attending the group but just not mentioning it at home? Aim to stop attending the group once he is old enough to understand what it is, and work on it by myself? Or have an honest conversation with him when he is old enough to explain what it is? I would imagine that boys are less susceptible to the pressure of weight loss than girls, but I really don't know how to handle this. He is only one now, so I have some time to figure it out, but I would love to know your thoughts. Thanks so much, Catherine.
Moderation vs. Abstaining
Hi Heather, thanks for the great podcast. Currently I am having health issues that would get better if my eating quality is better. Especially around sugar, fat and meat. For the last month I did the paper and pencil journaling and put in a treat every day (either a can of soda, one serving of chips or something sweet, mostly soda). This already made my eating way better, not completely out of control than it was before. Although I have my days where I still eat/drink more than planned. However I still have my health issues and feel like I need to eat more clean to fix those. Especially I struggle with drinking soda/caffeine. I abstained from it for over 4 years till the pandemic and a very stressful work period. I feel like abstaining is the only right way for this particular thing for me and obviously once I am in I can abstain for years. However, I struggle to completely abstain now for the last 4 months. So I am unsure how to go from here. Whenever I am unmotivated at work or especially tired I want either caffeine or sugar. I can abstain from one of those but not both it seems. How do I go from here? Should I find treat substitutes that are not soda and/or not sweets and use this instead for curbing the cravings? Should I clean up the rest of the diet and not worry about one can of soda? Should I first fix my health issued by eating as clean as possible and then re-introduce treats? Is there ever a point where you would say better abstain from this extremely addictive substitute than moderate? My current way is just not working and my health issues seem to get worse. Thanks a lot, Michaela
Overcoming health related fears
Hi Heather! I lost about 20 pounds last year, gained 5 back, and then got stuck there for about 10 months. I've been listening to your podcast for a few weeks and I'm finally making progress again. Your advice about the lower brain has been really helpful to me. Something I have noticed is that I am fearful of losing weight because of a past illness that caused uncontrolled weight loss. I am now on medication and am very stable, and have been for several years, however, I find my brain bringing up this fear of what if I don't have enough extra weight to lose and I relapse. I am about 25 pounds overweight, and I know it would be best for my long-term health if I can maintain a lower weight. Do you have any suggestions of good strategies to deal with these types of thoughts?
Planning around social events
Hi Heather! I am a proud premium podcast member! I love having access to all the shows and have learned so much. Thank you! I have been working on my habits and have had a lot of success talking to my lower brain about unplanned treats and delaying gratification. I am ready to tackle my next issue which is social events. I am having trouble pre-planning a social event and identifying lower-brain chatter. I want the freedom to eat what the host is serving or to eat what the group is ordering at a restaurant for the table. I just do not know where to set limits. I have set an alcohol limit of one drink but when it comes to food, I am having trouble identifying what would be normal eating versus what my lower brain would like me to eat,. I budget calories for social occasions but frequently go over the budget. I get caught up in the celebration and things seem to get out of hand from there. On occasions when I am super careful and I limit myself, I find myself going home and eating more. Any tips on how to plan around this and how to talk to my lower brain during these occasions? I am a pretty social person so this is an area I need to work on to have sustainable weight loss. Thanks for your insight.
Wedding weight loss advice, please
Hi Heather, Hope you're doing well! Thank you for the awesome work that you do; it's so inspiring. It has helped me stick to my core habits, and, as a result, I have lost 6.3 pounds since the last month. I make healthy food choices, mix up walks (3x a week), cardio (2x a week), swimming (1x a week) and strength training (2x a week). I lost 66 pounds in 2018 and maintained it for two years, but gained it all back in 2021 after contracting COVID. Suffering through long COVID symptoms for 9 months left me spent, with no energy to eat well or train hard. But I finally feel like my energy levels are back and I'm working hard once again to lose the extra weight for my wedding in December this year. Any tips you could offer to help me see this through so that I could fit into my dream dress will really help! I love seeing the weight trending down but get disappointed with fluctuations after a heavy leg training day or a cheat meal. Thank you again for the lovely work you do! Regards, Evita