A Therapist On Why Diets Keep Stalling: Interview with Brian Baumal, Psychotherapist

Do you ever look around and it seems like other people can be way more free with their food choices, or their portion sizes, and it doesn't seem to affect them at all?  If you have a body that holds weight more easily, or a brain that's really focused on food, some days that just feels unfair — and it can start to feel like there's something wrong with you.  In this episode I talk about why that feeling is legitimate, why it's worth dealing with instead of just carrying it around with you, and five things that help — including what happens when you try to change your eating from a place of being mad at your body, and why "I wish I could just eat normally" isn't a fair comparison to hold yourself to.

For years I looked for the one "right way" to fix my eating — the perfect diet, the magic amount of willpower, the finish line where I could finally relax.  Turns out most of what I believed about weight loss and my stress eating wasn't just wrong. It was making the whole journey harder. In this episode I walk through five myths (plus a bonus one) that keep so many of us stuck, exhausted, and convinced we're failing — and what to believe instead so your eating actually gets easier.  If you've been trying harder and harder and wondering why it's still not working, this one's for you.  

"If it's in my house, I'll eat the whole thing. So I just don't buy it." Ice cream, chips, cookies, the good chocolate — whatever yours is, you've been handling it by keeping it out. And that works fine… until the food shows up at work, or at a party, or at your friend's place, or on the dessert menu.  Because you can keep it out of your house but you can't keep it out of your life. This came from a question on a live Q&A call with my Thrive Academy for Overeating members. I'm walking you through the actual skill — how to be around that food without fighting it, and how it eventually stops being interesting at all. Chips were one of my biggest foods. They never lasted. Now there are half-open bags in my cupboard going stale because I forgot about them. I know that sounds impossible right now. I promise you it isn't. Listen to the full episode today to learn how.  

You know how you're always the one taking the photo? Never in it. You tell yourself you'll get in the pictures once you lose the weight, or fit the clothes, or just feel a little better about your body. Here's the hard truth: there's no magic day when it gets easier. If you don't do the body image work, your brain will still find something to pick apart — even after you lose weight. In this episode, I'm giving you a pep talk about getting in the photos of your own life. We'll talk about why summer makes body judgment louder, why the memory matters way more than the stomach roll, and why your body is worthy of being in the picture right now. If you've spent years hiding from the camera, this one's for you.  

For years I assumed I'd lose weight over the summer. Warm weather, fresh food, more time off — it just felt like lighter eating should happen on its own. It took me way too long to notice the truth: summer was actually the hardest time of year for me, and I usually gained. If that's you too, this episode is for you. I walk through the four things that quietly make summer eating harder — disrupted schedules, camping and lake time, vacations, and the never-ending parties and barbecues — and exactly how to handle each one so you can still enjoy your summer without feeling out of control. You'll walk away knowing why your brain keeps telling you "it'll just be fine," why that's usually a lie, and how a little planning (not perfection) lets you eat food you love and still feel good at the end of the day. Perfect for any woman physician who's tired of summer running away from her.  

You set the goal: get the weight off before the long weekend, before the conference, before you see those people again. And you're great at it… for a couple weeks. Then you get sick, or your kid gets sick, or you have a week from hell — and one off day turns into "well, I blew it, I'm done." In this episode I sit down with registered psychotherapist Brian Baumal to talk about why that keeps happening, and why it has almost nothing to do with willpower. We get into the quiet shame hiding underneath the rush, why slowing way down actually works better, and a surprisingly simple place to start that has nothing to do with changing what you eat. If you've ever thought "it's just a fact that I always fail at this" — this one's for you.  You can find Brian at alivapsychotherapy.com.  

You overate last night, so today you tell yourself you'll be "extra careful." A light salad. Maybe skip lunch. It sounds smart. It sounds like the responsible thing to do. But that little plan to make up for it? It sets up your next overeating episode. In this episode I break down the binge-restrict cycle — the hidden loop that keeps almost everyone stuck. I'll show you why trying to stop yourself right before you eat almost never works, why beating yourself up after only makes it worse, and the easiest place to step out of the cycle (it's probably not where you think).  If you've been working so hard and still feel out of control around food, this one's for you.

Do you think about food almost all day — what you ate, what you shouldn't have, what you really want, how to finally fix it?  I didn't realize how much space food was taking up in my brain until I started to get a handle on it.  In this episode I walk through five reasons your brain won't stop thinking about food — and a couple of them you've probably never heard before — plus the practical things that actually quieted it down for me, including one slightly ridiculous trick that worked.  If you're tired of food running in the background of every quiet moment, this one's for you.

Ever come home from a vacation feeling like you have to spend the next two weeks undoing it? I get it. In this episode I'm talking with Dr. Krystal Sodaitis, host of the Luxury Cruising podcast, about how to make cruise vacations actually work — for your wallet, your family, and your eating. Krystal shares her best tips for booking the right room, finding deals without going generic, and using a travel agent to save money and stress. And we get into how she keeps cruise eating from turning into a week-long buffet bender (without feeling restricted or missing out). If you've ever wanted to try cruising — or if vacations have a way of throwing all your work out the window — this one's for you. Find Krystal at luxurycruising.net or wherever you listen to podcasts.

You know that pattern. You decide a food is off limits. You white-knuckle through the first few days. Then you cave — and somehow eat way more of it than you would have if you'd just let yourself have some in the first place. In this episode, I'm flipping the script on that whole approach. Your desires around food are valid. The crunch, the saltiness, the convenience, the spontaneity, the way it feels like a little break in your day — those are real needs, and pretending they're not is why every diet eventually falls apart. I'll walk you through the exact questions to ask about a food you keep going back to, and why finding alternatives that truly hit the spot — not consolation-prize versions — is the piece that makes healthy eating actually sustainable. If you've tried every version of restriction and keep ending up in the same place, this one's for you.