235. Become Your Own Weight Loss Ally
Love Yourself Thin Podcast
Mid-January is when most women feel the inner critic ramp up. If you’re feeling the pressure, the comparison, the self-judgment — this episode will set you free. You’re about to learn: My personal story of losing 50 pounds by becoming my own ally Why fighting with yourself guarantees that everyone loses Kristin Neff’s research on the brutal things we say to ourselves The Connie Rice story: 20 years of lawsuits vs. one compassionate question Why you cannot legislate behavior change — in yourself or anyone else How compassion led to a 70% drop in homicides in Watts The...
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234. Weight Loss is a Symptom - What You're Really Solving
Love Yourself Thin Podcast
One week into the new year and you’ve probably been bombarded with diet ads. But here’s the truth no one says out loud: The food isn’t the problem. In this episode, you’ll discover: Why weight loss is a symptom — not the root problem The client story that exposes what’s actually driving overeating The “gunman story” that explains why unmet needs escalate everything The four fundamental human needs your overeating may be trying to meet Why diets fail: you accidentally become your own enemy The bullseye model: separating actions from needs How to skip behavior...
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233. Weight Loss Foundations
Love Yourself Thin Podcast
Happy New Year! If you’re starting January thinking, “Why does this feel exactly like last year?” — this episode will change how you see yourself forever. Inside this episode, you’ll learn: Why you don’t have a knowledge problem — you have a thinking problem The neuroscience behind follow-through (hint: it’s not about willpower) How your reptilian brain’s threat-defense system quietly sabotages you How self-criticism triggers cortisol and shuts down motivation How to activate the mammalian caregiving system so change feels easier A powerful father/son example that...
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232. My Christmas Gift To You - Permanent Weight Loss
Love Yourself Thin Podcast
The black girdle hanging in your closet. The jeans you promise yourself you'll wear "this Christmas." The drive to your family's house wearing shapewear so tight you can't breathe, feeling ashamed the entire night because you're not "good enough" to wear those jeans. If this story sounds painfully familiar, this special Christmas episode is my gift to you—because you deserve to stop hiding behind Spanx and start actually enjoying your life. After struggling with my weight since my early twenties, I finally cracked the code of permanent weight loss in a way I never expected. On my 52nd...
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231. Achieving Weight Loss Goals at the Holidays
Love Yourself Thin Podcast
You know exactly what you should eat. You know you need eight hours of sleep. You know you should move your body. Yet here you are at 10 PM with a pint of ice cream, wondering why you can follow through on work deadlines and family responsibilities but can't stick to your own health goals. The disconnect isn't about willpower—it's about how you talk to yourself when things don't go according to plan. This week, I'm breaking down how to have actual peace during the holidays with your weight loss goals—not the fake "I'll start in January" peace that's really just procrastination wrapped in...
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230. Enjoy Food Without Overdoing It!
Love Yourself Thin Podcast
You can quit alcohol. You can quit drugs. You can delete the apps and walk away. But you can't quit food—which is exactly why weight loss feels so impossibly hard. You need to eat multiple times a day, every single day, for the rest of your life. So how do you navigate holiday eating without gaining weight or feeling deprived when "just don't eat it" isn't an option? This week, I'm tackling the biggest misconception about food and addiction. Unlike substances you can eliminate completely, food requires a completely different strategy because you can't go cold turkey. You'll discover why your...
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229. Handling Grief While Honoring Loved Ones at the Holidays
Love Yourself Thin Podcast
The picture of your grandmother holding your baby. The lifesaver candies that remind you of Grandpa. The empty chair at Christmas dinner. The holidays magnify grief in ways that send you straight to the kitchen at midnight, eating to fill a void that food can never actually fill. If you've lost someone close to you and the holidays feel impossible—caught between wanting to honor happy memories while drowning in sadness—you're navigating something most people won't talk about. We've been conditioned like Pavlov's dogs to associate food with love, celebration, and connection. When someone...
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228. Managing Holiday Triggers Like a Pro
Love Yourself Thin Podcast
The holidays arrive with the best intentions. You have a vision—homemade gifts, a beautifully decorated home, healthy eating habits maintained through January. Then your husband loses his job. You're told you need a new hip. The test results come back concerning. And suddenly it's 10 PM and you're eating ice cream straight from the container, wondering why you can't just stick to the plan like everyone else seems to. This week, I'm breaking down why the holidays create the perfect storm for emotional eating, overspending, and complete overwhelm. But here's the twist: generic "holiday stress...
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227. How to Break Free From Emotional Eating Patterns
Love Yourself Thin Podcast
Discover why the same thinking patterns that create relationship problems also drive emotional eating. Through the story of Tammy, a program member stuck in a cycle of resentment and people-pleasing, learn how to stop living in other people's imaginary thoughts and start expressing your own needs clearly and kindly. What You'll Learn ✔️The Resentment-Food Connection: Why unexpressed relationship frustration drives emotional eating ✔️Creating "Cases" Against People: How we decide what others think without asking them ✔️The Exhausting Cycle: Resentment → Rebellion →...
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226. Change Your Relationship With Eating and Watch Yourself Transform
Love Yourself Thin Podcast
Discover the fascinating science behind gratitude and how it can literally change your brain chemistry to help you make better food choices. In this episode, Dara explores research from Harvard, UCLA, and other major universities showing how gratitude releases the same feel-good chemicals as comfort food - without the calories. Key Takeaways 🔑Willpower is Limited: Like a cell phone battery, willpower depletes throughout the day 🔑Gratitude Replenishes: Shifts you from depletion to abundance state Three Before Three: Practice gratitude 3 times daily before eating 🔑Savoring...
info_outlineThe holidays arrive with the best intentions. You have a vision—homemade gifts, a beautifully decorated home, healthy eating habits maintained through January. Then your husband loses his job. You're told you need a new hip. The test results come back concerning. And suddenly it's 10 PM and you're eating ice cream straight from the container, wondering why you can't just stick to the plan like everyone else seems to.
This week, I'm breaking down why the holidays create the perfect storm for emotional eating, overspending, and complete overwhelm. But here's the twist: generic "holiday stress hacks" won't solve your problem because you don't know YOUR unique trigger pattern. Most women are following someone else's playbook instead of understanding what actually sends them into the kitchen at 3 PM or keeps them scrolling Pinterest until midnight.
Tune in as I walk you through identifying your personal coping strategies when life throws curveballs (because it will), introduce the game-changing concept of "bare minimum Christmas," and share how one of my clients catered an entire guild party—two days of cooking and serving—without stressing once.
You'll discover why the highs and lows of your holiday experience reveal everything about your emotional regulation, and learn the exact framework for building resiliency so December doesn't derail you every single year.
Want to cut your emotional eating in half this holiday season? Join my Conquer Holiday and Emotional Eating class starting now. You'll get all the modules, office hours to ask questions, and lifetime access for two years. Real tools, real help, real transformation—one Christmas cookie at a time. Check it out here - https://dara-tomasson-coaching.mykajabi.com/emotional-eating-course
What You'll Learn in this Episode:
🎄Why the holidays are a perfect storm for triggers (nostalgia, pressure to perform, family dynamics, and lack of self-trust)
🎄The "straight line vs. reality" of holiday planning and why your highs and lows reveal your emotional regulation
🎄How to identify YOUR unique coping strategies when life doesn't go according to plan
🎄The "bare minimum Christmas" exercise that diffuses overwhelm immediately
🎄Why spreading your joy across 9 life categories (not just relationships or food) creates resilience
🎄How one client transformed from holiday stress to catering a guilt party without any anxiety
🎄The real reason you can't follow through on your plans (spoiler: it's not willpower)
If this episode resonated with you, be sure to follow my YouTube channel for more. And keep up with me on Instagram @dara_tomasson