248 What 18 years of dieting taught me about my body (and how I finally found food freedom)

If you've tried intuitive eating, nervous system work, or mindful eating to fix your relationship with food and found it just didn't stick — this episode is for you. This week we're getting into why these approaches, as brilliant as they are, so often fall flat for women who've spent years in diet culture, dealing with emotional eating, and cycling through the stop dieting / start again loop. In this episode:Why intuitive eating feels chaotic rather than liberating for most women The real reason nervous system work and mindfulness don't always translate into day-to-day change around foodWhy regulation tools work on the symptom but often miss what's underneath itThe difference between React mode and Respond mode - and why that distinction changes everythingHow to start building body trust and making more mindful eating choices without throwing away the rules overnightIntuitive eating and nervous system work aren't wrong - they’re just missing a foundation. React to Respond builds that foundation first, so that food freedom becomes something you move towards gradually and safely, rather than something you fall into and hope for the best.Join me for Ditch the Diets — the 3-day Telegram coaching experience where I’ll walk you through the full React to Respond method, with personalised daily coaching to help you move out of the on/off diet cycle and into a calmer, more consistent relationship with food. Starting 23rd June. £33. Find out more and secure your space at lifeeditcoaching.com/ditchthediets

If you're ready to stop dieting but keep getting pulled back in, this episode is for you. Whether you've been asking yourself how to stop emotional eating, whether food freedom and weight loss can coexist, or why your diet isn't working despite your best efforts - the answer might not be what you think. And in this episode, I’m unpacking the one belief quietly keeping you trapped in the diet cycle, and why trying harder is actually the last thing that's going to help.IN THIS EPISODEYou know dieting isn't working. And yet here you are again, making the same promise to yourself. "I'll feel good when I've lost the weight." "I'll relax once I've got back on track." "Just this one last reset, and then I can breathe."That quiet little promise is not just keeping you in the diet cycle - it’s the exact reason you can never find peace with food.We’ll cover:- Why the "I'll feel good when…" belief is the engine behind the diet loop, and why it's so hard to let go of- What actually happens when you stop tying your confidence to the number on the scale- How to eat more mindfully and make healthier choices - not by adding more rules, but by changing where your decisions come fromThe React to Respond method, and how it creates the space between a thought and a spiralWhy food freedom doesn't mean giving up on your goalsJOIN DITCH THE DIETSMy 3-day Telegram coaching experience. Just £33, with 12 spaces available. If you're ready to start applying the React to Respond method to your own life, this is where to begin: lifeeditcoaching.com/ditchthedietsCONNECT WITH ALIXInstagram: @lifeeditwithalixWebsite: lifeeditcoaching.com

You're scrolling Instagram and suddenly - there it is. The beach body pic. The skinny celebrity. Your friend’s sudden weight loss. Body triggers that you’re experiencing every single day.And of course that voice that says “you should be doing that too” - whether it’s weight loss medication, a new diet or that 28-day bikini body challenge.The thing is, body triggers and changing emotions about your body image are unavoidable - it’s how you respond to it that actually counts.In this episode, I'm breaking down the difference between reacting and responding, why your nervous system sees body triggers as threats (fight/flight/freeze), and how to create space between the trigger and your action so YOU'RE in the driver's seat - not your old pattern. Here’s what we’ll talk about:Body triggers are normal it’s your reaction that matters - and how to take yourself away from the “threat” and towards a more empowered approach.Performance vs lived reality - because what you think you see, and what’s actually going on may be two very different things. I’ll share something that happened to me recently that highlighted exactly this.A practical framework for responding instead of spiralling - to set you up to manage body triggers with more ease.NEXT:1. Join me inside The Body You’ll Love Living In to make peace with your body before summer arrives2. Follow me on Instagram3. Share this with a friend who needs to hear it!

Body positivity, body acceptance and learning to love your body in the last few years felt like real progress - not perfect, but better than what we experienced in our teens and twenties. But you can’t have helped noticing that lately - skinny celebrities, impossible beauty standards and even microdosing of weight loss drugs is in.The pendulum has swung - hard and fast - and it feels like we've been transported back to the 90s. So is body positivity over? And what does the return of skinny mean for you?In this episode, I'm breaking down why this shift is happening now (spoiler: it's not just fashion), how beauty standards are designed to be unachievable, and why body acceptance is something we all need more of. If you've been feeling the pull to "get smaller" again, this one will give you a new lens to see it through.What we’ll cover:Why the return of skinny isn't random but strategic - beauty standards are designed to be unachievable and they shift when "normal" people get too close. When body positivity made bigger bodies acceptable, the goalpost moved again. Why body acceptance can be more helpful right now than body positivity - "love your body” doesn't land for a lot of women, while body acceptance just says make peace with where you are now and stop waiting to live your life until you're smaller.Diet culture is a distraction tool that keeps women small - politically, as well as physically - because when they have us obsessed with our bodies, scrolling before/after photos, caught in the diet-binge cycle, we’re not paying as much attention to the systems that are failing usNEXT:1. Join me inside The Body You’ll Love Living In to make peace with your body before summer arrives 2. Follow me on Instagram3. Share this with a friend who needs to hear it!

You love the sun and the warmth - but with it comes that summer “bikini body dread”. What will I look like in a bikini? Can I wear sleeveless tops? Why do I still feel like this even though I swore I'd sort it out last year?In this episode, I'm breaking down why body image anxiety happens at this time of year, what's really driving that panic, and how to be more confident this summer without having to drop a single lb (hint: you don’t have to suddenly “love your body”)I'll also share the "pool praise party" exercise that helps you stop judging other bodies (and your own), and why body acceptance NOW- not after you've lost the weight- is the only way forward.Here’s what we’ll cover:Bikini body dread isn't about your body—it's about your relationship with it. What you think your body says about your worth, discipline, and value and how that’s driving your anxiety.Why you can't hate yourself into confidence. Panic dieting before a holiday won't make you feel good in a bikini if you haven't made peace with your body first.Try the "pool praise party" exercise: When you catch yourself scanning and judging other bodies, pay each person a silent compliment instead. You can't judge other bodies without reinforcing the system that judges yours - this is how you stop playing the game.NEXT:1. Join me inside The Body You’ll Love Living In to make peace with your body before summer arrives2. Follow me on Instagram3. Share this with a friend who needs to hear it!

Grab your space inside the Food Freedom Intensive - my brand new 1:1 coaching container. Just 5 spaces available this month.Find out more hereWhile the idea of no more diets and finally ditching the all or nothing mentality around food can feel exciting in theory - in practice it can feel like there’s nothing but chaos on the other side. So in this episode I’m breaking down what food freedom actually looks like day to day.Not a “perfectly balanced” diet, not losing control, not giving up on yourself but finding genuine neutrality around food and a path to more mindful eating. Where you finally get to listen (and respond) to what your body actually needs.This is the practical companion to last week’s episode (see details below) where I share the exact steps I’d take if I was starting this journey today.Including:Why nervous system work is the foundation that makes this shift possible.How to create space between the emotional eating urge and the reactionHow to start moving away from the diet mindset without having to throw out the whole rulebook overnightNEXT:Listen to Episode 248 - What 18 years of dieting taught me about my body (and how I finally found food freedom)Follow me on instagramShare this with a friend who needs to hear it

Secure one of just 5 spaces this month inside my brand new 1:1 space - The Food Freedom Intensive - find out more hereYou’ve spent years tracking, restricting and dieting - only to find yourself exhausted, still not feeling good enough and right back at square one. Well…same! At least until I decided to tackle my diet mindset, get honest about my all or nothing mentality, lean into body acceptance and finally find food freedom.In this episode I’m sharing my own 18-year journey through diet culture - from the Bridget Jones moment that made me question everything, to the moment in lockdown when I finally realised “I can’t do this any more”.This isn’t a quick fix or 3-step formula. It’s an honest look at why so many of us stay stuck in the binge restrict cycle, why dumping the diet mindset isn’t about food at all and how to stop dieting without the drama (and rediscover your confidence and self esteem).We’ll talk about:How your relationship with food is a direct mirror or your relationship with yourselfWhy food freedom isn’t the same as chaos and how to make healthier, more intuitive choices without the guilt, obsession or all or nothing mindsetBreaking the diet cycle one step at a timeNEXT:Follow me on instagramShare this with someone else who needs to hear it!

In this week's episode, I'm joined by the brilliant Priya Tew — dietitian, eating disorder specialist, and someone who truly gets it because she's lived it. We're diving into the binge restrict cycle: that exhausting pattern of being "on it" one week and completely "off it" the next. If you're on a journey of binge eating recovery, or you're just starting to ask how to heal your relationship with food, this conversation is for you.Priya brings her clinical expertise and her own personal journey together to help us understand why this cycle keeps repeating — and it's not about willpower or discipline. It's about biology, the nervous system, and decades of diet culture we've absorbed without even realising it.We talk about the fear that keeps so many women stuck when it comes to emotional eating — and why that fear is actually making things worse. And Priya shares her approach to nervous system regulation, body neutrality, and the small but powerful daily practices that can start to break this cycle for good. Whether food freedom feels miles away right now, or you're simply tired of the guilt and the all-or-nothing thinking, this episode will meet you where you are.Key TakeawaysThe binge restrict cycle isn't a willpower problem — it's a biological and neurological response driven by restriction, stress, and a nervous system stuck in threat mode.Body neutrality is a realistic middle ground — you don't have to love your body, but self acceptance (rather than constant war) is where real change begins.Nervous system regulation is non-negotiable — whether it's meditation, a walk in the woods, or tending to houseplants, calming your threat brain is a foundational part of binge eating recovery.Regular eating, including "fun foods" every day — reduces the binge eating urge because restriction is what fuels the all-or-nothing thinking in the first place. This is intuitive eating in practice: learning to trust your body again and finding your own version of food freedom.If you've been wondering how to stop emotional eating, the answer starts not with more discipline, but with understanding what your nervous system is actually asking for.CONNECT WITH PRIYAVisit the websiteFollow on instagramPriya's binge proof plate freebie - get it herePriya's binge eating workbook - get it here

Let’s be honest, we all live in a world where worth is measured through the lens of “masculine energy”. In other words, we’ve elevated things like self control and all or nothing thinking as the key to keeping us on track and successful.But what if that approach is simply leaving you more disconnected from yourself, your body and the very consistency that you’re craving?In this episode we’ll explore how we can step away from the all or nothing control that’s making you feel “off your game” and instead how we can step into the under appreciated, but super powerful feminine energy. And then use that to create deeper self belief and self leadership that comes from learning to respond rather than constantly manage yourself.This is about creating a calmer, more grounded way to move through life — one where you can actually hear your own needs and trust them.TakeawaysWhy self control and all or nothing thinking don’t always create the consistency you wantHow masculine and feminine energy shape the way you relate to food, fitness, work and wellbeingA more powerful way to listen to yourself and build deeper self belief through self-leadershipNEXT:Share this episode with a friend who needs to hear itFollow me over on instagramFollow the show so you don’t miss another episode

Join me for The Consistency Codes - a 30 minute masterclass for women who know WHAT they “should” be doing, but still can’t seem to make it stick. Monday 13th April - 7.30pm - 100% FREESECURE YOUR SPACE HEREThe reasons why successful women self sabotage are very rarely random. And if you’ve ever found yourself doing brilliantly for a few weeks and then suddenly slipping back into old habits, I want you to know this: it’s not because you’re lazy or incapable of change.More often, it’s a protective response rooted in identity, familiarity and what your nervous system thinks is safe.In this episode, I unpack why self sabotage can show up just when things start going well, how fear of failure, fear of success and all or nothing thinking keep pulling you off course, and why learning how to be more consistent has far less to do with willpower than you think.If you’ve been wondering how to stop self sabotage and create real, lasting consistency, this will help you see the pattern differently.TakeawaysWhat causes self sabotage and why it often has more to do with your nervous system, identity and safety than lack of motivationHow fear of failure, fear of success and all or nothing thinking can quietly derail behaviour changeA gentler, smarter approach to how to be more consistent and build the kind of success habits that actually lastNEXT:Share this episode with a friend who needs to hear itFollow me over on instagramFollow the show so you don’t miss another episode