Welcome to the Mindful Balance Mini Podcast. If you are a woman over 40 ready to break free from fad diets and discover the power of balance and confidence in your life, then this podcast is for you, and I am so happy that you are here. I'm your host. I'm Rachel, a nutrition and mindset coach, and I'm going to break down everything you need to know into bite-sized pieces of sustainable and realistic tips.
I want to invite you to join me as we explore practical strategies to stop overeating, nourish your body, and use the potential of your amazing brain to achieve your goals. If you haven't already, make sure to hit that subscribe button so you never miss an episode filled with insights on nutrition, mindset, and building healthy habits. Hey, and welcome back to the podcast. This is episode 21.
There's a phrase that I often hear and maybe you have said it yourself, and that is, "I have tried everything, but I just can't stop turning to food when I am emotional." This is a common sentiment, and it's important to know that you are not alone in this struggle. In fact, I have just in the last week heard it from at least three ladies. So often, we tend to believe that we are the only ones feeling such emotions and having these experiences.
When we do, it can feel super lonely, which is why I always make a point to remind you that, number one, your feelings are valid and it is safe for you to acknowledge them and give them space, but also that you are never alone. And in fact, these thoughts and feelings are so very common because they are a result of how your perfectly normal brain works and not a rare fault in you,
in your body, in your personality. Okay? Now, specifically, when you believe that you have done everything and nothing has worked for you, it can be incredibly disheartening. Feeling like you have exhausted every strategy out there, yet you still find yourself caught in the same cycle of emotional eating, it can be not only sad, but also feels really hopeless. It is also a significant barrier to achieving your goals.
You may tell yourself that you have tried diets, courses, programs, you invested time and money and energy to then just find yourself in the same exact place. If you do have that thought, then please pay attention because I know it is not a great feeling. It is also not a great place to be with yourself in life in general. This experience can also be, or I should say, it can feel very isolating and it makes you wonder if your situation is just unusually challenging.
I used to ask myself in all seriousness, am I the oddball? Is it possible that I am a person who can be so successful in so many other areas in life, except for this, except for figuring out how to stop overeating? So today, I want to offer you a new perspective on it. And to do that, I want to start with a question. Think about everything that you have tried. Are those things truly in sync with your personal needs and lifestyle? It's common to try strategies that work well for other people.
The diet that your cousin used in order to lose 15 pounds in one month, or the super trendy gym that offers boot camps, or any other idea out there that gave you the hope of finally feeling better in your body. If this sounds familiar, it might not have been the right fit for you.
This mismatch between the diet or the program, the protocol, the detox, or whatever falls into that category of you have tried everything, and you and your needs, your lifestyle, the way that you are doing things, is often where we find ourselves feeling stuck. Because there is a gap between what you feel should work, and how it actually plays out in your life.
Now, let's talk about other reasons why it may feel that you have tried many things, and none of them worked, other than the possibility that it was not something that was going to fit into your personal situation. The first one is the challenge of consistency and time. The most common hurdle is the misconception that a quick fix can lead to lasting change.
When we decide to try a new solution, a new strategy, many of us allow ourselves to believe that we so badly want it, and we so crave the change, that we want to think that the next solution is going to be that magic wand. Even if on a rational level, we know that it won 't happen, emotionally, we allow ourselves to expect to see results fast. When we emotionally expect it, we tend to feel extremely discouraged when progress doesn't come instantly.
This is when I feel the need to tell you, and I am sure you've heard it before, that sustainable body composition changes, particularly after 40, is a marathon. It is not a sprint. It requires consistent, small lifestyle changes over time, and that is something that we don't want to accept. We hope that it's not true. We hope that there is something out there that will allow us to do it fast, or without any effort.
Here's another thing that I often see that makes women feel like they have tried everything and nothing works, and that is your mindset. Your mindset plays a crucial role in your journey . The most common and clear example is if you are someone who often tells yourself that you are going to fail because you have struggled in the past, or it may sound like you are not a consistent person. I know so many women that actually say this about themselves. I am not a consistent person.
If you are that person, then this will be hard. What happens when you tell yourself things like that is that your brain listens. Yeah, it can be the generator and the recipient of these negative conversations. This mindset, and when I refer to mindset, I really mean all your thoughts and perceptions about your situation.
This mindset becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, whether you are aware of it or not, whether you want to admit those things or not, or if it is just the way that your thinking is operating on autopilot. When there is a gap between your identity, what you think about yourself, and the actions that you want to take, your brain will respond by aligning your actions with your thoughts. This is the very core of self-sabotaging. It doesn't just happen. It is actually rooted in your beliefs.
You may tell yourself that you want to do something, but if at the core you don't believe that it is possible, your brain will find evidence to why you are right, and you are in fact that person that can't get it done. Along the same lines, when you doubt the effectiveness of your plan, for example, if you have thoughts like, "Ah, I don't know if this will work," or "I don't know if I can eat this way," or even something like, "I don't know, this person, I don't know if they understand me.
They don't understand my situation." When you think this way, it leads you to giving up on those actions before you even had time to practice it for long enough. Again, you may think that you have tried everything under the sun, and nothing worked, but if you have this skept icism, which, by the way, often stems from past experiences or unrealistic expectations, then now you have another explanation for why things you have attempted failed to work.
Trusting the process means giving your body, including your brain and your thoughts, the time and respect that it needs to adjust and respond to new habits. And I know that in our fast-paced world, patience is almost a virtue that's so often overlooked. Focusing only on immediate results can and will lead to frustration. And the belief that your efforts are going nowhere. No one wants to tell you this because it isn't something women want to hear.
But again, I'm going to say it, that real change takes time. It takes learning. It takes failing and getting up and developing a strong mindset and resilience and all those good stuff that come with learning and new skills. You have to be okay with being bad at it, definitely at first, if you want to be good. I promise you, if you consistently continue with whatever it is that you choose to work on, and you stop looking for the next shiny object or the best magic pill, it will work.
You just have to continue and take the next step. All these women that you see around and you wonder, how do they do it? By the way, not just in the field of weight management, it can be in other areas of life, right? They don't have any magic powers or special skills. They're not more disciplined or love cookies less . They were just willing to not see immediate results. They were willing to be okay with waiting. They were ready to fail.
They got right back and they were not married to a story about why they can't get it done. They just went out there and they did the things, even when they didn't feel like doing it. That's all. This is also your reminder that if you are struggling to make a change on your own, don't hesitate to ask for help. An outside perspective can often reveal aspects of our behavior that we cannot see for ourselves. It's like pointing a flashlight towards an area that is in your blind spot.
Remember, your journey is unique. There's no universal solution that works for everyone. You have yet to try everything. There are always new paths to discover and explore. And one of those things will work, I promise. I hope you have a wonderful week. You have shown up to learn how to improve and grow. And that says a lot about you. Until next time, take care. Bye. Thank you for tuning in to the Mindful Balance Podcast today.
I hope you enjoyed our conversation and find inspiration to find your unique balance and confidence. Remember that the journey continues on Instagram. You can find me @rachelemmanutrition. That is one word where I share daily nuggets of wisdom to help you reach your goals with ease. If you loved today's episode, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast and leave us a review. Your feedback fuels our mission to empower more women on their Mindful Balance journey.
Until next time, take care and stay mindful. Bye. Thank you for listening to the Mindful Balance. The Mindful Balance is brought to you by Rachel Emma Nutrition. Our editing and mixing engineer is Michael Plawner . Our theme song is "Good Feelings" by Bold Delic ence. The information in this podcast does not substitute for medical or psychological advice and is intended for educational purposes only.
Please consult a qualified health professional regarding health conditions or concerns before starting a new diet or health program. Rachel Emma Nutrition LLC and the accompanying websites and social media platforms are not responsible for adverse reactions, effects, or consequences resulting from the use of any suggestions herein or procedures undertaken hereafter. Mindful Balance (upbeat music)