Thinner Peace in Menopause

For years, I believed that if I wanted to be thin, I couldn't eat certain foods. Potato chips were one of them. But what I've learned is that telling yourself you can't have something can actually make you think about it even more. In this episode, I want to talk about why restricting foods you enjoy may be keeping you stuck in the dieting cycle. I'll explain how food noise, emotional eating, and the belief that certain foods are off-limits affect your relationship with food. I'll also introduce the concept of a joy eat. It's about learning to enjoy foods you love, eating mindfully, and stopping when you've finished enjoying them. Because I believe making peace with food starts with learning to trust yourself. My goal is to help you stop fighting food and start creating a more peaceful relationship with eating, especially during menopause. Enjoy the show! Free Guide: Download the Jumpstart Your Weight Loss in Menopause Guide at drdebbutler.com/podcast-companion-guide   Mini Session: Ready to master your mind? Book a free mini session at drdebbutler.com/workwithme   Thinner Peace Quiz: Take the quiz at drdebbutler.com/quiz to identify your obstacles to eating when hungry and stopping when full Peace with Food 30-Day Course - Available at www.drdebbutler.com/joy Now, go listen to the podcast. Click here to listen to the 1st episode. It's the best place to start! If you've been loving my podcast, please subscribe and review the show. The only way it will pop up to others is when people review it, so if you're loving it – pass on the good word!  What You'll Learn From This Episode Why restricting certain foods can make you want them more. What food noise is and how it affects your relationship with eating. How to recognize emotional hunger versus physical hunger. What a joy eat is and how to practice mindful eating. Why trusting yourself around food matters more than following another set of food rules. How to feel your emotions instead of filling them with food.      

After years of dieting, you may know all the rules about what to eat and when to eat. But knowing the rules doesn't necessarily mean you feel at peace with food. I know what it's like to spend years focused on weight loss and eventually realize there was something more I needed to understand. In this episode, I explore how approaching food with a beginner's mind can help you see your eating patterns differently. We'll look at physical hunger, emotional hunger, and the four types of eating: fuel, joy, fog, and storm. I'll also share why getting curious about your habits, rather than assuming you've already tried everything, can open the door to a different relationship with food. If you're ready to look beyond another set of diet rules and understand what's happening when you eat, join me for this episode of ThINNER Peace in Menopause & Beyond. Enjoy the show! Free Guide: Download the Jumpstart Your Weight Loss in Menopause Guide at drdebbutler.com/podcast-companion-guide What You'll Learn From This Episode Why knowing what to eat doesn't necessarily resolve your struggles with food. How to recognize physical hunger and fullness. How emotional hunger differs from physical hunger. What I mean by fuel eating, joy eating, fog eating, and storm eating. How approaching familiar ideas with curiosity can help you understand your eating patterns.

Have you ever felt like exercise is just another thing you should be doing to lose weight? Maybe you've tried to force yourself to work out, only to find that you dread it before you even begin. I used to think that way, too. I believed that because I was overweight, I had to exercise and eat things I didn't enjoy to get the body I wanted. But what if we could approach movement differently? In this episode of ThINNER Peace in Menopause & Beyond, I share ideas inspired by mindfulness researcher Dr. Ellen Langer and explore how our beliefs and perceptions can influence the way we approach our bodies, aging, and movement. I also talk about why the words we use matter. When you say, "I'll try," you may be leaving yourself an easy way out. What happens when you replace that language with a clear, doable commitment? You'll learn why I encourage women to think of movement as play rather than punishment, and how starting with just 10 minutes of walking, dancing, stretching, or another activity you enjoy can help you build a different relationship with movement. Instead of forcing yourself through a workout you hate, I want you to get curious. Notice how you feel before you move and how you feel afterward. When you begin connecting movement with feeling better, you may find it easier to want to do it again. If you're navigating menopause and struggling with weight, this episode invites you to question some of the beliefs that may be making change harder than it needs to be. You don't need another reason to criticize yourself. You can start with a small step, a more supportive perspective, and a little curiosity. Enjoy the show! Free Guide: Download the Jumpstart Your Weight Loss in Menopause Guide at drdebbutler.com/podcast-companion-guide What You'll Learn From This Episode How your beliefs about aging can influence the way you approach this stage of life Why saying "I'll try" may make it harder to follow through on your intentions How changing your perception can change the way you act and feel Why movement doesn't have to feel like punishment How to start with just 10 minutes and make movement feel more manageable Why checking in with your emotions before and after movement can help you notice its benefits How to identify patterns that may be getting in the way of mindful eating and movement  

If you've been telling yourself, "I'll feel better once I lose the weight," I want you to consider something different. In this episode, I share a listener's response that captures why emotional health matters so much in weight loss. We often focus on improving our physical health first, believing that once we lose weight, we'll finally feel better. But what if learning to manage your emotions needs to come first? I share why emotional eating isn't always about physical hunger, what it means to comfort yourself without food, and why true self-compassion isn't simply giving yourself whatever you want in the moment. It's learning to recognize your emotional needs and respond in a way that's good for you in the long term. If you've been struggling with weight for years, I hope this gives you a different way to think about your relationship with food and yourself. Revisit Episode 516: Going All In On Yourself: Tracie's Story www.drdebbutler.com/516 Enjoy the show! Free Guide: Download the Jumpstart Your Weight Loss in Menopause Guide at drdebbutler.com/podcast-companion-guide What You'll Learn From This Episode Why emotional health is an important foundation for weight loss in menopause Why waiting until you lose weight to feel better may keep you stuck How emotional triggers can lead to eating when you're not physically hungry What it means to comfort yourself without food Why self-compassion isn't the same as giving in to every craving How to recognize your emotional needs and respond with long-term well-being in mind Why learning to manage your emotions can support a healthier relationship with food

Have you spent years thinking about food, your weight, and what you should or shouldn't be eating? Maybe you've tried diet after diet, but the constant food thoughts and emotional eating never really went away. That's where my client Debra found herself. She had been thinking about food, weight, and her body since she was 12. After decades of dieting and food obsession, she was simply sick of it. In this episode, Debra shares how she began to change her relationship with food and lose weight in menopause by looking beyond what she was eating and understanding the thoughts and emotions driving her eating. We changed how she used food journals. Instead of tracking whether she was "winning or losing," we used them to understand emotional hunger, emotional eating, and the patterns behind her food choices. Debra learned to recognize emotional hunger, feel difficult emotions instead of eating or drinking them away, and question thoughts she had carried for decades. And perhaps the biggest transformation came down to one simple sentence: "I'm calm around food." She no longer obsesses about food, has more space in her brain, and feels calmer in other areas of her life too. If you're a woman in menopause who wants to lose weight without being controlled by food thoughts and emotional eating, I think you'll really connect with Debra's story. Enjoy the show! Free Guide: Download the Jumpstart Your Weight Loss in Menopause Guide at drdebbutler.com/podcast-companion-guide Mini Session: Ready to master your mind? Book a free mini session at drdebbutler.com/workwithme   What You'll Learn From This Episode -Why years of dieting can lead to constant food thoughts and food obsession -How Debra used food journaling to recognize emotional hunger and emotional eating -The difference between tracking what you eat and understanding why you eat -Why learning to feel difficult emotions can change your relationship with food -How thoughts from the past can continue to influence your emotions and eating habits -Why you don't have to eliminate negative emotions to feel better around food -How Debra went from feeling desperate about food to feeling calm around food -Why addressing the emotional side of weight loss became an important part of Debra's journey -How finding calm around food gave Debra more mental space for the rest of her life