153. Competing Desires: The Mental Game of Food Decisions
Release Date: 05/28/2025
168. Your 5 Most Common Health & Fitness Struggles
Strong Is a Mindset
If you're wondering why you keep falling into the same patterns with your health and fitness goals, you're not alone. After coaching countless physicians, lawyers, executives, and entrepreneurs, the same handful of recurring struggles comes up over and over again. That’s why, this week, I'm sharing the top five struggles my clients face when they change their habits, plus the tools to overcome them. Join me on the podcast today to learn concrete tools, actionable strategies, and mindset shifts you can practice immediately. Get full show notes, transcript, and more...
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167. Over-Scientizing Your Health & Fitness: Why More Data Doesn't Mean Better Results
Strong Is a Mindset
Have you ever caught yourself thinking that if you just had the right fitness tracker, the perfect app, or the latest gadget, your health and fitness goals would finally click into place? I get it. Data feels safe. Numbers feel concrete. When everything about your body, health, fitness, and weight loss feels unpredictable, numbers might feel like a lifeline. But here's the truth: Your Oura ring won't get you to bed earlier. Your food tracking app won't put vegetables on your plate. And your CGM won't stop you from reaching for those M&Ms. Tune in this week to learn about how...
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166. When Healthy Eating Backfires
Strong Is a Mindset
Have you ever found yourself obsessing over every single bite of food you eat? When you've imposed rigid rules around healthy eating, the very thing meant to make you feel better ends up making you miserable. The constant mental checklist and fear of messing up takes up way too much brain space, and that’s why this week, I’m exploring why perfectionism around food backfires, especially for high-achievers who apply their usual excellence to every bite they take. Listen in this week to discover why sometimes our pursuit of healthy eating can actually backfire – and more...
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165. When Looking Good Feels Bad
Strong Is a Mindset
That old photo where you looked amazing might be lying to you. You know the one - where your arms looked defined, your waist looked tiny, and you got compliments everywhere you went. The photo that makes you think, “I want that body back,” while forgetting that you were actually exhausted, hungry, and missing out on life just to maintain it. This disconnect between looking good and feeling terrible is something I see constantly in my coaching practice. Tune in this week to discover why your brain tricks you into wanting a body that made you miserable, and more...
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164. Crab Cakes & People Pleasing: How One Dinner Changed Everything
Strong Is a Mindset
This episode tells the powerful story of a client who transformed not just her body, but her entire approach to life after a single dinner changed her perspective. After years of yo-yo dieting and trying programs like Optavia, she came to coaching wanting something different. Listen in this week to hear exactly what happens when someone decides their own opinion matters most. Her story demonstrates that real, lasting change isn't about willpower or perfection. It’s about becoming someone who sticks to the commitments they make to themselves. Get full show notes,...
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163. The Uncomfortable Truth About Your Priorities
Strong Is a Mindset
The disconnect between wanting to exercise, eat better, or sleep more and actually doing it can feel incredibly frustrating. You know these things matter, you genuinely want them in your life, but somehow they keep getting pushed aside. Listen in this week to learn how to recognize the difference between "I don't have time" and "This isn't a priority right now," and why that distinction gives you back your power. Most importantly, you'll learn practical ways to start aligning your daily choices with your true priorities, even if it means making uncomfortable trade-offs. Get...
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162. The Second Shift: How to Stop the Evening Spiral Before It Starts
Strong Is a Mindset
That window between getting home from work and going to bed can feel like clocking into a second full-time job. The second shift - your role as mother, wife, pet parent, chauffeur, chef, and manager of all the things - is emotionally charged and exhausting. You're physically tired from your day, legitimately hungry from meals eaten hours ago, and experiencing mental whiplash from switching between your structured work role and the emotional labor of caregiving. Add decision fatigue from making thousands of choices throughout the day, and it's no wonder your brain defaults to...
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161. Walking Through Discomfort: How to Stay Present When Things Feel Hard
Strong Is a Mindset
Have you ever noticed how exhausting it is to fight against your emotions? Whether it's trying to resist a craving, suppress anxiety, or push through difficult feelings, the constant battle is draining. And here's the truth: fighting against discomfort actually makes things harder. But what if there was another way? This episode was inspired by a surprising conversation with my 12-year-old son after his first 5k race, where a simple statement captured something profound about how we handle discomfort in every area of our lives. Get full show notes, transcript, and...
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160. Self-Trust: Why Keeping Small Promises to Yourself Changes Everything
Strong Is a Mindset
Have you ever noticed how easily we break promises to ourselves? Maybe it's the workout you swore you'd do this morning, the meal prep you planned for Sunday, or the evening routine you promised to stick to. Each time we break these promises, we're doing more damage than we realize. It's not just about the missed workout or the skipped meal prep – it's about the relationship we're building with ourselves. If you've ever felt stuck in a cycle of making and breaking promises to yourself, this episode is your roadmap to breaking free. Get full show notes, transcript,...
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159. Stop White-Knuckling: Choose Peace Over Willpower
Strong Is a Mindset
White-knuckling through food cravings is what happens when you try to manage an urge by force alone, without any skill, strategy, or self-awareness to back it up. It's holding on with all your might and hoping the urge ends, treating every craving like a threat that must be shut down immediately. Join me this week to discover how to be in the presence of a food urge without needing to fight it, fix it, or feed it. You’ll hear how real growth happens when you stop white-knuckling through your cravings, and I share practical tips that will help you transform your relationship with...
info_outlineHow often do you experience two competing desires at once? Maybe you want to eat the cake, but you also want to reach your physique goals. Do you make either one of those desires wrong for existing?
This internal tug-of-war between immediate pleasure and long-term progress is something I see consistently in my coaching practice. Having competing desires around food and body goals doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you – it makes you human.
In this episode, I break down how to hold space for competing desires without shame or self-judgment. I share practical mindset tools for making intentional food choices, including how to slow down, create awareness, and choose from a place of empowerment rather than restriction. We’ll also explore why resentment develops and how to shift from feeling deprived to feeling in control of your decisions.
Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://carriehollandmd.com/153