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

Two Kinds of Hungry

Have you ever found yourself eating something and realized you don't quite remember deciding to eat it? Your hand is just there, the food is halfway gone, and somehow you're eating it and judging yourself for it at the same time. You paid full price for half the experience.
What if the reason you can't stop isn't about willpower at all? What if the problem is that you're not actually tasting what you're eating?
In this episode, we're talking about two kinds of hunger that look exactly the same from the outside but are asking for completely different things. One is moving toward something. One is moving away. And once you can tell them apart, something quietly shifts.
We also get into some genuinely fascinating science — including what one Columbia neuroscientist discovered that flips everything the diet industry has ever told you about pleasure and food completely on its head.
What You'll Learn in This Episode
Why your first bite is the most powerful moment of any meal (and why most of us miss it entirely)
What Dr. Dana Small's research says about pleasure, processed food, and why satisfaction might actually be the strategy
The difference between the hunger that wants to arrive and the hunger that wants to escape
Why desire is not the enemy — and what it's actually pointing toward
How 30 seconds before a meal can shift how much you eat and how satisfied you feel
Why the peace you're looking for in the pantry at 9pm is already inside you
Key Takeaway
The reason you can't stop once you start usually has nothing to do with the food. It has to do with which hunger is doing the asking. When you're moving toward genuine pleasure and you're actually present for it, your body knows when it's had enough. It always has. It just needs you to be in the room long enough to hear it.
Listen If You've Ever Thought...
"I wasn't even that hungry. I don't know why I kept eating."
"I eat it and feel guilty the whole time and somehow still want more."
"Nothing in the fridge sounds good but I keep opening it anyway."
"I just want five minutes where my brain stops."
"Why can't I just be normal around food?"
Subscribe to The Confident Body Podcast
If this episode made you stop and think, there's a lot more where that came from. The Confident Body Podcast is for women who are done fighting themselves around food and ready to understand what's actually going on underneath. We talk about emotional eating, self-trust, breaking free from diet rules, and building sustainable weight loss that doesn't require white-knuckling every meal. Subscribe so you don't 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 

Why Can't I Stop Once I Start?

It's Never About the Chips
Have you ever reached for a food you told yourself you shouldn't have, then kept eating it because you already blew it? And the whole time, that voice in your head was running a full courtroom trial, presenting evidence, handing down a verdict, and sentencing you to start over Monday?
That's not a willpower problem. That's food morality. And it might be the very thing making it harder to stop.
In this episode, I'm breaking down why labeling food as good or bad doesn't protect you from overeating. It actually fuels it. The shame you feel while eating the chips? That's not the solution. That's the accelerant.
We talk about why your brain circles forbidden food like it's the most important thing in the room, what mental restriction actually looks like (hint: it's not the same as skipping the food), and how to start making choices instead of following rules.
What You'll Learn in This Episode
The difference between physical restriction and mental restriction
Why labeling food as "bad" makes your brain want it more
What the science says about dopamine, forbidden food, and the pressure that builds over time
How the shame spiral actually causes more eating, not less
What it looks like to remove morality from food without losing all structure
How to start building real self-trust around food decisions
Key Takeaway
The food isn't the problem. The story you're telling yourself about the food is what creates the spiral, the emotional hangover, and the sense that you just can't be trusted around certain things. When food stops being a verdict on your character and becomes just a choice with outcomes, something quietly shifts. The pressure drops. The beach ball stops launching. And you can finally hear yourself think.
Listen If You've Ever Thought...
"I already blew it, so I might as well keep going."
"Why can't I stop once I start?"
"I have zero self-control around certain foods."
"I'm so tired of feeling guilty every time I eat something I shouldn't."
"I know what to eat. So why do I keep doing this?"
Subscribe to The Confident Body Podcast
If this episode hit close to home, there's a lot more where that came from. The Confident Body Podcast is for women who are done fighting themselves at the dinner table and ready for weight loss that actually lasts. We talk about emotional eating, self-trust around food, breaking free from diet rules, and building a relationship with your body that doesn't require white-knuckling your way through every meal. Subscribe so you don't 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 

Not Good Enough

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 
 

BONUS EPISODE: A Mother's Day Letter

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 

I Don't Trust Myself Around Food

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

May the LIGHT Be With You

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

Where Are You Holding Yourself Back?

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

It's Not Safe To Be Seen

Have you ever felt like you've been holding back a part of yourself? Like there's a version of you that keeps almost showing up fully, and then something pulls you back.
You get a little smaller. A little more careful. A little more acceptable.
This episode is different from anything I've shared before. It's personal. It's honest. 
I'm taking you inside a trip to California that turned into something much bigger than a work event. Through a coaching session in front of twelve people, a three hour kitchen table conversation with a Jewish rabbi, and a string of signs that were impossible to ignore, I came home with a declaration I've been afraid to make.
I'm done hiding. And I want to know if you are too.
What You'll Learn in This Episode
What the "crime of outshining" is and why it might be running quietly in the background of your life
Why a moment at a childhood birthday party shaped decades of playing small
What a rabbi said about my book that stopped me in my tracks
Why the light you're looking for has been inside you all along
What it means to choose life, choose light, every single day
Key Takeaway
The safest thing you can possibly be is who God made you to be. Not the smaller, more acceptable, more careful version. The whole thing. This episode is me saying that out loud for the first time, and inviting you to consider where you might be doing the same thing I was.
Listen If You've Ever Thought...
"I feel like I've been holding something back but I don't know what."
"I'm afraid if I show up too fully, people will think I'm too much."
"Why does being seen feel so scary, even when things are going well?"
"I've been waiting for permission to just be myself."
"I know there's more in me. I just don't know how to let it out."
Part 2 is coming next week. And it gets very specific about how all of this shows up in your weight loss. You won't want to miss it.
 
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 
 

Why Do I Eat Differently When No One's Watching?

Somewhere between Friday night and Sunday afternoon, things went sideways. 
Your brain found a crack in the rules and said, “Now's my chance.”
And by Monday you were standing in the kitchen feeling defeated, wondering how you ended up right back where you started.
If that sounds familiar, this episode is for you.
The problem is that diet culture trained your brain to treat certain foods as forbidden. And forbidden things feel exciting the second no one's watching. 
This episode is about understanding why that happens, and what to do instead.
We dig into the 6 most common mistakes that cause weight loss to fall apart, and why fixing them has almost nothing to do with what's on your plate.
What You'll Learn in This Episode
Why your brain says "now's my chance" the second you're alone
How treating your plan like a rulebook sets you up to fail
Why all-or-nothing thinking turns one overeat into a whole day
The real reason waiting for the perfect time keeps you stuck
Why shame makes weight loss harder, not easier
How self compassion is actually a more effective strategy than self criticism
Why weight loss is more about how you think than what you eat
Key Takeaway
Food impacts your body exactly the same whether you're alone on a Saturday or sitting at a dinner table with your family. So if the rules feel different when no one's watching, the real work isn't about the food. It's about the story your brain is telling. And that story is worth getting curious about.
Listen If You've Ever Thought...
"I was doing so well and then I just blew it."
"Why do I eat things when I'm alone that I'd never eat otherwise?"
"I'll start fresh on Monday."
"I don't know why I keep doing this."
"I just need more discipline."
 
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 
 

I'm So Close to Quitting

You're not being dramatic.
You're just tired.
Tired of trying, tired of tracking, tired of thinking about food all the time. And not seeing the results you expected.
And in the back of your mind, you find yourself asking, "What's the point if it's not working?"
That feeling is real.
But the problem isn't your consistency or your willpower.
The real problem is that you're still playing by diet rules you never actually agreed to.
 
This episode is for the woman who is so close to quitting and needs to hear why that quit was never real to begin with.
What You'll Learn in This Episode
Why the exhaustion you feel isn't really about food
What your brain is doing when it cycles through options and none of them feel right
The truth about GLP-1s and why using them isn't cheating
Why the scale going up doesn't mean it's not working
The one sentence that changed everything for a client and might change everything for you too
Key Takeaway
You can only quit something you're on. And if you're not on a diet, if you're just living your life and making choices, there's nothing to quit. There's just the next choice. That shift in thinking is where sustainable weight loss actually begins.
Listen If You've Ever Thought...
"I don't know how much longer I can do this."
"I'm doing everything right and the scale still isn't moving."
"Maybe I should just accept my body and stop trying."
"Why do I keep starting over?"
"I'm so tired of thinking about food."
 
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