THE CONFIDENT BODY PODCAST - Brain-based strategies and self-compassion practices to unlock your full potential

You drank the water. You took the walk. You tracked the food for a while. And when the scale didn't move the way you hoped, your brain quietly filed it away: “NOT GOOD ENOUGH”.  So now when someone tells you to start small, something in you goes a little flat. Because small hasn't worked before. And you're tired of hoping for something that doesn't pan out. This episode is about what your brain was actually missing every time it measured a small step and came up empty. It wasn't measuring you. It was measuring the scale. And those are two very different things. A small step doesn't just add up on the scale. It adds up in your brain. Every time you do what you said you were going to do, your brain collects a piece of evidence that you are someone who follows through. That evidence is quiet. You can't see it in the mirror yet.  But it is changing the story your brain tells about who you are. And that story is what everything else is built on.   What You'll Learn in This Episode   Why your brain dismisses small steps before they have a chance to work   What the waterfall effect is, and why it's never just the walk   The real fear underneath "this isn't enough" and why it makes complete sense   Why your brain has been measuring the wrong thing all along   How small steps build the evidence that changes your story over time   Key Takeaway The goal was never the ten minutes. The goal was the version of you who got up anyway. Small steps don't just burn calories. They build the case your brain needs to finally deliver a different verdict about who you are. And the woman underneath that verdict has been there all along, waiting for the evidence to catch up.   Listen If You've Ever Thought...   "I've tried this before and it didn't work."   "A ten-minute walk isn't going to make a dent."   "I just need to find something that actually has a chance."   "I'm willing to try. I'm just scared it still won't matter."   "Why does starting over always feel like starting from zero?"   Enjoy This Episode? Subscribe to The Confident Body Podcast so you never miss an episode. Every week I talk about the mental and emotional side of weight loss that diets never touch. Things like self-trust around food, breaking free from diet rules, emotional eating, and building a relationship with your body that actually lasts. If this episode resonated with you, it would mean so much if you left a review. It helps other women find the show and feel a little less alone in this.   Check out my new Substack page! You’ll get bonus articles, inspiration, and wisdom. Plus some extra goodies I’ve got rolled up my sleeve. Check it out at: https://substack.com/@coachlizziemerritt   PS: Ever had that moment when you just WANT it?  Your brain doesn’t care if you’re hungry. It just tastes SO good and you just want it.  If that’s you, then download the guide I JUST WANT IT. IT TASTES SO GOOD at: confidentbody.coach/wantit   Get the book my new book LIGHT: The New Psychology of Weight Loss Also, check out my first book: You Are A Miracle   

A Mother's Day Letter Bonus Episode Mother's Day is complicated. For some women, it is warm and full. For others, it is quiet, or tender, or just a little heavy. Wherever you are today, this episode is for you. Not the you who is someone's mother. Not the you who had a mother. Just you. This is a short bonus episode, no frameworks, no action steps, just a letter read out loud. Because most Mother's Day messages miss the woman who is listening. This one doesn't. What You'll Learn in This Episode Why mothering is a quality every human being already carries, not a biological category How every major spiritual tradition has recognized the mothering face of God, including your own What the Bible actually says about God's love and how it compares to a mother's Why you have been looking for a specific kind of love in all the wrong places, and why that makes complete sense What it looks like to finally give that love to yourself Key Takeaway The love you have been searching for has been inside you the whole time. God put it there. The mothering face of the divine is part of your own nature. And the child inside you who is still waiting, still longing, still hoping someone will finally say you are enough, she is not waiting for someone else anymore. She is waiting for you. Listen If You've Ever Thought... "Mother's Day just feels hard and I can't really explain why." "I don't have kids, so this holiday isn't really for me." "I love my mom, but our relationship is complicated." "I know I should be kinder to myself. I just don't know how." "I keep looking for something I can't quite name." Enjoyed this episode? The Confident Body Podcast is here every week for the woman who is done fighting her body and ready to understand it. We talk about the mental and emotional side of weight loss that diets never address, including emotional eating, self-trust around food, and how to build something that actually lasts. Subscribe so you never miss an episode. Check out my new Substack page! You’ll get bonus articles, inspiration, and wisdom. Plus some extra goodies I’ve got rolled up my sleeve. Check it out at: https://substack.com/@coachlizziemerritt   PS: Ever had that moment when you just WANT it?  Your brain doesn’t care if you’re hungry. It just tastes SO good and you just want it.  If that’s you, then download the guide I JUST WANT IT. IT TASTES SO GOOD at: confidentbody.coach/wantit   Get the book my new book LIGHT: The New Psychology of Weight Loss Also, check out my first book: You Are A Miracle 

Maybe you hit your goal weight. Maybe you're still working toward it. Either way, you're still thinking about food more than you want to. Still feeling guilty when you eat the wrong thing. Still waiting to feel normal around food. Still wondering if you're one bad week away from blowing it all. That feeling has a name. And it has nothing to do with willpower. In this episode, I share a real conversation with a client who reached her goal weight and still felt like a fraud. Still felt like she hadn't figured out maintenance. Still felt like the war wasn't over. And I explain exactly why that happens, and what to do instead. Whether you're in maintenance or just starting out, this one is for you. I also get specific about the moments that are hardest. The woman stress eating at 4pm because she hasn't stopped all day. The mom who turns to food because it's the one thing in her day that belongs to her. And the woman alone at night finally having the thing she's been waiting for since 3pm. All three of them get a moment in this episode. This episode is about the shift from asking "is this allowed?" to asking "is this worth it to me?" It sounds simple. It changes everything.   What You'll Learn in This Episode   Why hitting your goal weight doesn't automatically create peace around food   What maintenance actually is, and why it's simpler than you think   Why thinking about food all the time is a sign of diet thinking, not a personal flaw   The difference between following diet rules and making your own choices   The one question that shifts your whole relationship with food   Why self-trust with food has nothing to do with being perfect   Key Takeaway Diets taught you how to follow rules. They never taught you how to choose. The shift from asking "is this allowed?" to asking "is this worth it to me?" is the whole game. The wisdom to trust yourself around food was never at the finish line. It has been inside you all along. And you can start uncovering it today, wherever you are in your journey.   Listen If You've Ever Thought...   "I reached my goal and I still feel crazy around food."   "I don't trust myself around food."   "I keep waiting to feel normal around food."   "Why am I still thinking about food all the time?"   "I lost the weight. Why does it still feel like I'm on a diet?"   "I feel like I'm one bad week away from gaining it all back."   Enjoy This Episode? Subscribe to The Confident Body Podcast so you never miss an episode. Every week I talk about the mental and emotional side of weight loss that diets never touch. Things like self-trust around food, breaking free from diet rules, emotional eating, and building a relationship with your body that actually lasts. If this episode resonated with you, it would mean so much if you left a review. It helps other women find the show and feel a little less alone in this.   Check out my new Substack page! You’ll get bonus articles, inspiration, and wisdom. Plus some extra goodies I’ve got rolled up my sleeve. Check it out at: https://substack.com/@coachlizziemerritt PS: Ever had that moment when you just WANT it?  Your brain doesn’t care if you’re hungry. It just tastes SO good and you just want it.  If that’s you, then download the guide I JUST WANT IT. IT TASTES SO GOOD at: confidentbody.coach/wantit   Get the book my new book LIGHT: The New Psychology of Weight Loss Also, check out my first book: You Are A Miracle

If you've ever felt like every diet you've tried was the wrong tool for the job, this episode is for you. You knew deep down it was probably going to let you down again. But you tried it anyway. Because what else were you going to do? This week's episode is unapologetically nerdy. It's May the 4th, which means it's Star Wars Day. And here's the wild part. The more I worked on this episode, the more I realized Star Wars actually holds the key to weight loss success. I'm not even kidding. I walk you through six lessons from the saga that change the way you think about food, your body, and the version of you you've been waiting to become. By the end, you'll see why the help you've been searching for has been the wrong help, why your inner critic has been wearing your own face, and why the Force you used to wish was real has been inside you the whole time. Whether you're a Star Wars superfan or you think Wookiees are a discontinued Girl Scout cookie (they're not, but honestly that would be cool), this episode is for you. The lightsabers are just the costume. The hero's journey is the story of every woman who has ever tried to lose weight. What You'll Learn Why the help you keep searching for from diets and gurus is asking the wrong question The Yoda lesson that the entire first part of my book LIGHT is built on Why "I'll try harder Monday" is the trap, not the solution, and what to do instead How to recognize when you're fighting yourself instead of fighting your habits The difference between the fear path and the love path in weight loss A simple practice for trusting your body again, even when the cookies are right there at 9pm Key Takeaway The wisdom, the trust, the Force, the Light, all of it has been inside you the whole time. You don't need a better diet. You need a better relationship with yourself. The work isn't acquiring more rules. It's letting go of the ones that have never served you and remembering what was true when you were six years old and wanted to be a Jedi. Listen If You've Ever Thought... "I'll be good today." "If I had a bad meal, the day is ruined." "Maybe THIS diet is the one that finally works." "I should already know better by now." "Why can't I just stick to it?" "Help me, xyz program. You're my only hope."   Enjoy This Episode? Subscribe to The Confident Body Podcast so you never miss an episode. Every week I talk about the mental and emotional side of weight loss that diets never touch. Things like self-trust around food, breaking free from diet rules, emotional eating, and building a relationship with your body that actually lasts. If this episode resonated with you, it would mean so much if you left a review. It helps other women find the show and feel a little less alone in this.   Check out my new Substack page! You’ll get bonus articles, inspiration, and wisdom. Plus some extra goodies I’ve got rolled up my sleeve. Check it out at: https://substack.com/@coachlizziemerritt   Get the book my new book LIGHT: The New Psychology of Weight Loss Also, check out my first book: You Are A Miracle

Last week I told you my story. This week I want to talk about yours. Because whether you have been losing weight and feel strangely anxious about it, or you have been stuck and doing things in secret you would never do in the daylight, I think the same belief is running in the background. And once you see it, so much of the struggle starts to make a different kind of sense. This episode is for two women. The one hanging on by her fingernails as the weight comes off. And the one in the CVS parking lot who does not fully understand why she keeps ending up there. Both of them are dealing with the same thing underneath. And this episode names it.   What You'll Learn in This Episode Why weight loss can feel dangerous even when it is working How the belief "it's not safe to be fully me" shows up differently depending on where you are in your journey Why secret eating is not a discipline problem and what it actually is Why you cannot lose your way into feeling worthy, and what actually changes the verdict The brain science behind why trying harder keeps backfiring How to start building safety one small honest choice at a time Key Takeaway You are not doing it wrong. You are covered. And there is a very big difference between those two things. The woman underneath the hiding, the patterns, and the protection has been there the whole time. The sun has been shining. This episode is about starting to let her out.   Listen If You've Ever Thought... "Why do I feel more anxious the more weight I lose?" "I keep eating in secret and I don't fully understand why." "I just want to feel normal around food." "I'll finally feel okay about myself when I reach my goal weight." "I know what I want to do. Why can't I just do it?"   Enjoy This Episode? Subscribe to The Confident Body Podcast so you never miss an episode. Every week I talk about the mental and emotional side of weight loss that diets never touch. Things like self-trust around food, breaking free from diet rules, emotional eating, and building a relationship with your body that actually lasts. If this one landed somewhere real for you, it would mean so much if you left a review. It helps other women find the show and feel a little less alone in this. PS: Ever had that moment when you just WANT it?  Your brain doesn’t care if you’re hungry. It just tastes SO good and you just want it.  If that’s you, then download the guide I JUST WANT IT. IT TASTES SO GOOD at: confidentbody.coach/wantit   Get the book my new book LIGHT: The New Psychology of Weight Loss Also, check out my first book: You Are A Miracle

Have you ever had a time when the weather was getting colder and you swapped out the summer clothes for the winter ones and realized, "Dang. My winter clothes don't feel so great on me." So you go shopping and you find yourself standing in front of a dressing room mirror, winter clothes in hand, and feel your heart sink because you just feel like nothing seems to fit?    My friend, you're not alone! It's a moment that hits us all, leaving us feeling discouraged and trapped in a never-ending cycle of self-doubt.   How many times have you heard that nagging voice in your head saying you'll never lose weight, never reach your goals, and never truly be happy.   What if the real roadblock to reaching your goals is not the diet or the exercise routine, but your own lack of self-love? It's that self-sabotaging voice inside your head, telling you that you're not worthy, that you'll never shed those pounds, and you'll never truly be content.   In this episode I want to tell you about a recent conversation I had with a client and how it uncovered something a lot deeper that could unlock what's been holding her back - and most importantly, how that applies to you.    It's time to stop quitting on yourself and start embracing the love you deserve. It's time to rewrite the story you tell yourself and discover the keys to unlock the treasure trove in your heart to allow yourself to shine your light nice and bright, the way you were made to.     Ready to stop blocking your own progress and find out how loving yourself is the best gift of all?    Let's let the love in baby! Here we go!   Learn more! www.confidentbody.coach/tips You Are A Miracle book

Have you ever had a specific food that just feels like it has a little more power over you than you do over it? Like there are some foods that you can just take it or leave but there are others that you’re like “you’ll have to pry it from my cold dead fingers.” And yet on the inside, you’re maybe a teensy bit scared that this food is more in control of you than you are of it?  Today we’re going to talk about what to do when you get to a place where just want to NOT want it. And how to take baby steps towards reclaiming your control. Ready? Let’s get started! Learn more! www.confidentbody.coach You Are A Miracle book https://confidentbody.coach/tips/