E01 - Beyond Calories: Understanding Body and Diet Complexity

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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 wanna 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.

Hello and welcome to the first episode

of the Mindful Balance podcast.

I'm your host, Rachel Emma, and I'm here to embark with you

on a journey of self-discovery

and holistic body transformation.

I am so beyond excited to be here with you today.

We're going to deep our toes

into the not so calm waters of diet culture.

And I wanted to start with an episode

that asks the question of why don't diets work?

So buckle up as we deeply dive into this complex topics.

So let's start with a widely believed myth.

All right, this is the idea that fat loss

is simply about calories in versus calories out.

But in reality, it's really not that black and white.

Our bodies aren't simple machines

that can just be manipulated with numbers and formulas.

And in fact, I'm not at all a big fan of the number games

when it comes to nutrition,

because our bodies are much more complex biological systems.

So imagine that you're trying to drive a car

with only two gears, right?

There is a reverse and the high speed gear.

It's either going fully forward or going backwards.

That's the essence of a diet.

There's really no in between.

Now, if you consider the journey towards,

let's say a healthier lifestyle as a scenic drive,

you really don't want to speed through it

and you definitely don't want to reverse, right?

So my guess is you would probably want to slow down, right?

Enjoy the view, maybe stop for a bit

and then continue again.

This is the gray area,

the balance that we're all seeking in this journey.

And here's another point that I like to share with you,

and that's the psychological impact of diets.

When we restrict ourselves, for so many women,

it can lead to a feeling of deprivation,

creating this mindset of scarcity around food.

This scarcity mindset often could possibly lead

to craving, overeating, guilt,

and then probably even more eating and dieting.

It doesn't of course have to be this way,

but from my own experience,

we tend to resist restrictions as humans,

which manifests itself in overcompensation.

So this is what I want to offer you.

What if we try to reverse this mindset?

What if instead of focusing on what we can't have,

we shift our focus to abundance?

So I want to pause here for a second

because as you're listening to me,

you must be thinking to yourself,

but hey, Rachel, I am trying to stop eating

more than I need or more than is comfortable in my body.

How can that be done with an abundance mindset?

And that's exactly what I want to share the following story.

So stay tuned.

So Sarah, she was one of my first clients

when I just started coaching clients one-on-one.

Sarah's journey was filled with so many diets

from the grapefruit diet to cabbage soup diet, you name it.

She tried it all and every time she started a new diet,

she did have some success.

She would lose some weight, but as soon as she stopped,

yep, you guessed it, she regained it more often than not

with even more than where she started.

So she didn't realize that she was really caught

in a tug of war with her own body.

The diets created an artificial scarcity, forcing her into a survival mode.

The more she dieted, the harder her body fought back.

Now, I want to clarify this for a second, because your body doesn't actually fight against

you.

It is not the enemy, even though we feel this way sometimes.

It simply makes any change you want to make mean that there is danger.

It is trying to protect you by resisting change.

Right?

The thing that you are not familiar with will always be experienced as something that is

of a danger.

This is important because we don't want to think about our bodies or our brains in terms

of a war.

Back to the story, when Sarah shifted her focus to nourishing her body, things really

started to change.

She was able to eat a variety of food, enjoyed every meal that she was eating without guilt,

and her body no longer was in this survival mode.

It was adjusting to this new calm and balanced place.

The change in body composition comes naturally,

not because she was depriving herself,

but actually the opposite,

because she was nurturing herself

and approaching this weight loss goal

from a place of love and kindness.

So if you've been wrestling with diets for years,

as I had, remember that there is a different path,

one where you really don't need to fight with your body,

but instead work together on the same team.

You can pursue body change while accepting

and respecting your body.

You really don't need to pick one over the other.

This is the beautiful gray, your balance, your life,

and you get to choose what works for you.

As we conclude today's episode,

I want to remind you that finding balance and peace

with food and your body isn't about deprivation.

It is not about fighting

and pushing hard through challenges.

I'm going to guess that this approach

just hasn't worked for you.

Instead, what if we tried a softer and kinder approach

towards your long-term goals?

What if it would work?

I know it sounds impossible right now,

but I promise you it is available

and I hope you stick around to learn more

about how to find that balance.

I'm going to leave you with that today

and I hope this episode has given you a fresh perspective

and hopefully some inspiration.

Until next time, take care, be kind to yourself

and remember the journey always equally matters

as your destination.

Take care.

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 Bo Gleason.

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 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.

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