Foodist with Darya Rose, Ph.D

Dr. Rhonda Patrick is a scientist who has done extensive research on aging, cancer and nutrition. She has a Ph.D. in biomedical science from the University of Tennessee Health Science center and St. Jude’s children’s research hospital in Memphis Tennessee, a bachelor's of science degree in biochemistry/chemistry from the University of California San Diego and has trained as a Postdoc at the Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute with Dr. Bruce Ames. Her research on the role of insulin signaling in protein misfolding commonly found in neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, was conducted at the prestigious Salk Institute for biological Sciences. Rhonda's podcast and website, both called Found My Fitness, discuss topics such as the role of micronutrient deficiencies in diseases of aging, the benefits of exposing the body to hormetic stressors such as exercise, fasting, sauna use or various forms of cold exposure, and the importance of mindfulness, stress reduction and sleep on health. In this episode we discuss Rhonda's new publication on the role of the APOE4 gene in Alzheimer's Disease, and why eating fish but not taking fish oil DHA supplements help slow the progression of the disease for carriers. We also touch on how we both approach healthy pregnancies and Rhonda's personal nutrition strategies. For complete show notes visit: http://summertomato.com/category/podcast

Bill Marler is a nationally recognized foodborne illness lawyer, an expert in food safety and one of the most influential voices in food policy in the world. His law firm Marler Clark has represented thousands of victims in practically every major foodborne illness outbreak in the United States. In 1993, he represented Brianne Kiner, the young girl that survived the most significant of injuries in the historic Jack in the Box E. coli 0157:H7 outbreak, resulting in a $15.6 million settlement that changed the way we process food in America today. His websites Food Safety News and blog MarlerBlog.com inform millions of readers daily with award-winning reporting on foodborne illnesses. Today, Darya and Bill discuss the latest in food recalls, why eating organic vegetables is just as risky as hamburgers these days, and what we can all do to stay safe. For complete show notes visit http://summertomato.com/category/podcast

James Clear is an author and speaker focused on habits, decision-making, and continuous improvement. His new book Atomic Habits breaks down the four laws of behavior change and explains how striving to get 1% better every day can give you remarkable results. He is a regular speaker at Fortune 500 companies and his work has been used by teams in the NFL, NBA, and MLB. You can follow his work at JamesClear.com. For complete show notes visit summertomato.com

For humans, diets are not sustainable and food is more than just fuel. Dr. Yoni Freedhoff is a family doctor, founder of the Bariatric Medical Institute in Ottawa, Canada, and author of The Diet Fix and the fabulous blog Weighty Matters. Today he sits down with Darya to explain why the key to long-term weight management is enjoying your life. For complete show notes visit summertomato.com

“'This will be my last ice cream ever' is a thought I have had so many times I’m embarrassed by it.” - Paul Late night bingeing is an especially tough habit to break. You repeat the same destructive behavior over and over, knowing it’s wrong, but stopping feels impossible because it doesn’t seem like something you can control. Rationalizing the behavior becomes second nature, and you don’t see a way out. This is Paul’s story. Paul knows his bingeing habit is the reason he is overweight. His late night episodes alone in the kitchen are something he looks forward to, but also wants to stop. It doesn't matter if it’s celery sticks or potato chips, it is the act of being able to eat as much as he wants–with no one around to judge him–that’s such a relief and so rewarding. Sometimes behavior patterns like these can be changed by identifying and avoiding your triggers or finding an alternative outlet for whatever it is your brain is craving. But, those solutions are only useful after you've unraveled why you are using this behavior as a source of relief in the first place. Today I help Paul find his “why” so that he can find peace and enjoy indulgences without regretting or overdoing them. For complete show notes visit http://summertomato.com/category/podcast

Sometimes it can feel as if you are completely alone in your healthstyle struggles. While some problems are fairly commonplace (e.g. How can I fit a workout into my busy workday?), others can feel so uniquely your own that it feels nearly impossible to come up with a solution. In today’s episode I help Ellen tackle a very specific problem, demonstrating the systematic approach I use to breakdown a complex issue and find an answer. On the surface Ellen’s healthstyle is dialed in, and she juggles her family and career in tech like a champ. Unfortunately, several factors have conspired to make it so that she has an objectively unfair cooking arrangement with her husband. Because of it she often feels resentment during dinnertime, which triggers overeating and is ruining a part of her life she deserves to enjoy. Ellen has already tried several strategies to resolve this on her own, but a fix has remained elusive. Today Ellen and I explore her remaining options–a method that involves clarifying the different aspects of the issue that she can and can’t control–and come up with a strategy for her to use moving forward. Ellen’s issue is an example of a problem that is very unique to her situation, but the systematic approach we use to land on a realistic solution can be applied broadly. For complete show notes visit http://www.summertomato.com/category/podcast

"I've felt the option is either cake or not cake. And so then how do you start a habit to NOT do something?" - Mindy Mindy was excited when she found Summer Tomato. The thought of being able to lose weight without counting calories or going on another strict diet was a revelation. Right away she bought a pedometer to make sure she was getting enough steps everyday, stopped counting calories and started focusing on cooking Real Food for herself and her family. But as time passed Mindy wasn’t losing weight with her new healthstyle, she was gaining. Mindy was hoping that giving up dieting would automatically end her cravings for sweets at the end of the day, but it didn't and without trying to restrict herself she started eating more than ever. Now she wonders if it's even possible for her to stop. In fact, when she reached out to us she asked if it would be possible for her to keep her bingeing habit and do something else to lose the extra pounds. In this episode Mindy and I examine her current habits and triggers to help her recognize that there is actually a third path available. One that doesn't require her to give up sweets, but does help her find a healthier alternative to regular bingeing. It's difficult to believe that you can lose weight without restricting your eating if the only thing you've ever done instead is overeat. Finding the solution takes some experimentation, as well as recognizing and reframing your limiting beliefs so you can imagine yourself taking a different path. For complete show notes visit http://www.summertomato.com/category/podcast

“You have to rig the game so you can win, set yourself the lowest minimal bar to do something. That was really the key to my success.” – Sarah It has happened to the best of us. You get a little older, your life changes, you start moving less, maybe have a kid or two, and before you know it the extra pounds have slowly crept on. And when you finally realize something needs to be done about it you find you can't lose it as easily as you used to. This can be a crucial moment in a person’s life. Do I hop on a diet and get back to my target weight right away or do I look at my lifestyle and start thinking long-term? The latter can seem like a daunting task and you may lack confidence in your ability to do it. But that is a mistake. This insight was the key to Sarah's success. Having been raised on whole foods she found Summer Tomato and immediately identified with the philosophy of using Real Food to lose weight. She knew dieting was not the answer. Exercise was a different story. Sarah knew that developing a consistent workout routine would be crucial for her success, but that it would also be her most challenging obstacle to overcome. In this episode Sarah explains the very small yet critical mindset shift she made that enabled her to not only build an exercise routine, but to look forward to it every day. If you hate exercise and have been trying to develop a routine for years without success I invite you to try Sarah’s approach. It’s a game changer. For complete show notes and links visit: http://www.summertomato.com/category/podcast

Getting inspired is easy. A great article, book, or documentary can be incredibly powerful in sparking a desire for a new direction in your life. But no matter how desperately you want to change, internalizing a new philosophy enough to permanently modify your behavior can feel impossible. This is how Anne used to feel when she would read Summer Tomato. After several years of striving to have the "perfect" diet that eventually destroyed her relationship with food, she was ready to embrace joy in eating and prioritize her own happiness (in addition to health). But she would read articles like How to Eat Half a Donut and think that while it sounded amazing, there was no way she could ever do something like that. Clearly I (Darya) was fooling myself into using willpower and not thinking it's really willpower, or was a different breed of human altogether. Normal people don't eat half a donut. Anne had her doubts she was capable of truly leaving her old habits behind, but she kept trying because she knew she couldn't go back to her former restrictive mindset. Today she's called in to proudly share her success story of how she was finally able to build up a set of positive experiences that gave her the confidence and ability to choose foods based on her needs and values, rather than her fears and impulses. She no longer believes that willpower and restriction are necessary for her to control her own behavior, and can easily walk away from an unfinished donut or cupcake if it isn't bringing her the joy she expected. She explains the exact steps she took that led to her transformation and enabled her to finally internalize the foodist mindset she only understood intellectually, but not emotionally, until this year. If you've been struggling to believe you're capable of leaving your restrictive dieting mindset behind for good, Anne's story will give you both the hope and practical advice you need to get there. For complete show notes visit http://www.summertomato.com/category/podcast

“A binge never happens in a peaceful, loving environment. So, if you can create that environment somehow for yourself that's going to be the way.” – Maria Have you tried everything to quit binge eating and nothing seems to work? Are you still on the fence about whether or not practicing mindfulness will actually help your situation? If the answer is yes then today’s episode may change your life. To say that Maria had it tough growing up would be an understatement. The torment she suffered as a child had such a huge impact that it penetrated every facet of her life, resulting in severe depression and a binge eating disorder. One day after a particularly painful binge, Maria came to a crossroads with herself. She knew it was time to get better or her life would end. A series of serendipitous events soon unfolded and she arrived into the world of practicing mindfulness. It was here that her healing process started to begin. Today Maria speaks openly about her journey. She describes how mindfulness changed her mindset, her relationship with her body, and how it brought joy to her life literally for the first time. She also reveals the exact tools she used that made it possible for her to quit bingeing for good. Maria says that her life now amazing. She credits mindfulness for enabling her to finally find peace and create a loving environment that allows her to thrive, one that she's realized she deserved all along. Maria now takes the lessons she has learned and helps people with their binge eating disorders. She is an incredibly strong woman with an extraordinary story. For complete show notes visit: http://www.summertomato.com/category/podcast

Amber has been on and off elimination diets for months. After a long battle with all sorts of painful digestive issues she struggles to pinpoint exactly what she is eating that causes this. She has educated herself well on how these diets work and takes them very seriously. But, after weeks of food restriction, analysis and no results, Amber is frustrated. This frustration not only causes her to lose hope and motivation to continue with the diet, but is now also causing her to binge on junk food. Amber knows deep down she is not a binge eater and that this is a reaction to her months of struggles. She has tried to eat slower and more mindfully, but nothing seems to be working. Having battled with digestive issues myself I offer Amber advice on what has worked for me and help motivate her to get back on track. Together we formulate a plan so that she can get off the elimination diet for good and start enjoying her meals again pain free. For complete show notes visit http://www.summertomato.com/category/podcast

"The way that you look and the way that you see yourself are not one and the same." - Jamie Dana In this episode I talk with Jamie, a health counselor and foodist success story. Jamie and I have similar backgrounds and a lot in common. We both had mothers who raised us on packaged diet foods and jazzercise videos. And we both had powerful “a-ha” moments at the farmers market that changed how we approached our healthstyle forever. Jamie tells her story about how she was able to introduce healthier foods into her and her family’s lives, and the impact it has made on their outlook of the world. Her tips on how she turned her kids into more adventurous eaters and look at food completely differently are invaluable. We also discuss what processed foods do to your brain, how tiny steps lead to huge successes and how living in line with your core values can bring rewards that are so much larger than what you could have ever imagined. Jamie reminds us that eating well is not complicated and that how you feel on the inside changes how you look on the outside. She is now an avid supporter of the farmers market, lives a happy and healthy life and no longer gives dieting a second thought. Prepare to be inspired as you listen to Jamie’s journey of how she was able to find and commit to a healthstyle that both her and her family love. For complete show notes visit: http://www.summertomato.com/category/podcast

One of the hardest things about making your healthy habits stick is finding ways to do them when you are very tired, stressed or busy. Randi is a school teacher, which means that in the summertime she has more free time to focus on her healthstyle. During that time, she enjoys making delicious and healthy meals for herself and her family. However, when school is back in session she no longer has the luxury of a full day to plan her meals, which leaves her feeling stressed about what she is going to make for dinner each night. This pressure causes her to avoid cooking altogether, substituting snacks for a proper meal on the weeknights.   As a breast cancer survivor Randi’s health is of the utmost importance to her. She knows that cooking nutritious meals each week is necessary to maintain her weight and stay in good health. Luckily for Randi she has all of the tools she needs in order to achieve her cooking goal. By acknowledging some of her limiting beliefs and finding ways to work around them we come up with a strategy that enables her to cook healthy meals year-round. For complete show notes visit: http://www.summertomato.com/category/podcast

Losing a parent is one of the toughest things you can go through in life. Getting yourself back on track can feel impossible for a long time. Bonnie was just getting her healthstyle together when her mom passed away. She was eating right, cut way back on sugar and was enjoying regular trips to the gym. Although she was able to maintain her healthy eating habits, her exercise routine has been completely derailed. The idea of feeling strong and looking fit no longer motivates her, and her mental state almost a year later makes it hard for her to bring herself to even put on her sneakers. Bonnie yearns to get back into the gym knowing that it would help her sleep better, relieve stress and make her feel like her old self again, but cannot figure out how to rekindle the habit. Reframing some of Bonnie’s limiting beliefs and coming up with an idea for a new approach to exercise enables Bonnie to shift her perspective, inspiring her to get moving once again. For complete show notes visit http://www.summertomato.com/category/podcast

Leora enjoys learning about nutrition and discovering new healthy ingredients to try out. After years of study she has become very knowledgeable about what it takes to have a great healthstyle. However, over the past few years Leora has become aware that what starts out as an innocent hobby often turns into a coping mechanism for managing stress. When life gets hard Leora turns to the health blogs in search for a way to regain a sense of control. Trying out a new diet that promises optimal health makes her feel like her life is back in order. The problem is that the diet ends up causing her to not feel well and no longer enjoy her meals. She eventually goes back to her already excellent healthstyle feeling regretful for ever going on the diet in the first place. What is frustrating to Leora is that she is aware that she is using dieting as a distraction from stress, but cannot seem to stop herself from doing it. We discover that in order for Leora to quit dieting for good she needs to find other comforting ways to feel more in control when triggered by stress. Together we develop a strategy based off her own values and insights to get out of this habit pattern and release her dieting mindset for good. For complete show notes visit http://www.summertomato.com/category/podcast

Despite enjoying her healthy habits, Chrissy often finds herself exhausted in the evenings and not motivated to cook dinner, even when she has ingredients already prepped. She reached out asking for strategies to curb this habit, since it can lead to a downward spiral of ordering takeout for weeks at a time. Sometimes an issue like this is a result of failing strategies, but for Chrissy it runs deeper. Her problem is that she doesn’t sleep well at night, and as a result is too tired to maintain her healthy habits later in the day. There is no amount of strategy or experimentation that will fix this for her. She needs to focus on getting enough rest. Together Chrissy and I discuss why it’s essential that she refocus her efforts on getting enough sleep, since it is foundational for the rest of her habits. This requires addressing some of her fears and limiting beliefs around sleep, as well as some practical sleep hygiene habits. For complete show notes visit http://summertomato.com/category/podcast

We have all been there. You walk into the break room at work or get to an event and there it is, a table full of free (and not-so-healthy) treats that are yours for the taking. For Kristen these moments trigger her into what she calls “opportunistic eating,” mindlessly eating food that would normally not appeal to her just because it is there. Kristen knows that this behavior is preventing her from dropping the last few pounds she would like to lose. She’s also missing out on enjoying better quality treats in the rest of her life because she has “blown her calories” on eating free junk food at work. She feels she is undermining her personal values of both good health and enjoying delicious food because of this habit.   Together Kristen and I we come up with strategies that can help her bring awareness to her behavior and get in touch with her core values so that she can make better choices when tempted. For complete show notes visit http://www.summertomato.com/category/podcast

Monica has a demanding job with hours that are continuously changing. She is responsible for producing original ideas at a moment's notice, which is very intellectually demanding. Although she enjoys her work, the stress of the job causes her to snack constantly whether she is hungry or not. It doesn’t help that her job is copywriting for fast food and snack companies and there are always plenty of treats around for her to indulge in whenever good ideas are not flowing. Monica knows that she needs to deal with work anxiety in a healthier way. In general, she has a very healthy lifestyle. At home she eats mindfully, has a regular exercise routine and cooks healthy foods. However, when she gets to work she compares it to a “black hole” where she disappears into “non-healthstyle land.” The overeating at work caused by stress ends up making her tired, hurting her stomach and does not align with her values. Together we come up with ideas for how Monica can resolve her anxiety using her mind instead of food. For complete show notes visit http://www.summertomato.com/category/podcast

After successfully losing over seventy pounds on a meal replacement diet Cara has reached her ideal weight and is feeling great. But now she faces a new challenge: weight maintenance. Knowing that diets rarely work long-term and that she needs a more sustainable approach to her healthstyle she is ready to tackle the hard work. In Cara’s case, that means getting over one of her biggest fears. Cara hates cooking, but knows that learning how to prepare her own food is necessary in order for her to maintain her weight loss. After putting it off her entire life, she says she is now “trying to focus on how to make the hard work doable.” Together we explore the story Cara has built up in her mind over the years regarding food preparation. Having struggled with this topic myself, I share how I got over my own fear of cooking and suggest ways she can approach it in a much less intimidating way, find inspiration and even get excited about it. For complete show notes visit http://www.summertomato.com/category/podcast

Once or twice a week Allison and her husband decide to order take-out for dinner. They find fun reasons to celebrate, often making a night out of it by renting a movie and having a couple drinks to go along with the food delivery. It is a good time and sharing these moments together brings a lot of joy to their relationship. Theoretically there is nothing unhealthy about this behavior. But for Allison and her husband the problem is the amount of food that is ordered and how much of it is consumed. It is not uncommon for them to order two extra large pizzas and eat one each. Allison knows the amount of food she and her husband are consuming on these nights is not healthy and has seen a fluctuation in their weights. To compensate for the extra calories she often turns to dieting tactics and maintains a very intense exercise routine. She and her husband have tried cooking at home to compensate for their binges and have even planted a garden to inspire them to eat more vegetables, but eventually their willpower gives out and the co-bingeing ritual repeats. Allison wants to change this unhealthy behavior, but she cannot seem to stop herself from doing it. Throughout the episode Allison and I investigate why she is over ordering take-out and discover that she has many limiting beliefs around what she considers to be healthy behavior. It becomes clear that these limiting beliefs have created blind spots for her, which are preventing her from seeing a solution. For complete show notes visit http://www.summertomato.com/category/podcast

A couple of times a month Polly is expected to go out for drinks with her coworkers. This is part of the company culture and a great opportunity to bond with her team. Plus, she really enjoys it and finds it to be an overall rewarding experience. The problem is that at these events Polly finds herself drinking three to four times more alcohol than she normally would. This frustrates her because it is out of character and not aligned with her healthstyle values. In her normal life Polly has no problem stopping after one or two drinks and the rest of her healthstyle is very strong. She eats mindfully, cooks every day, exercises, and gets plenty of sleep. Polly has tried to talk herself into drinking less at work events without success. As soon as she arrives anxiety and excitement kick in and she feels the urge to match her coworkers drink for drink, making sure no one’s glass is ever empty. While all over-indulgence habits are hard to break, binge drinking is particularly tough since alcohol inhibits your ability to make good decisions. It is important to remember in these cases that small actions can lead to big results over time and to have patience with yourself when you aren’t perfect. In this episode, Polly and I discover what her triggers are and I share with her some tricks that have helped me drink less in social situations. We also develop strategies she can use to alter her behavior through trial and error, instead of setting strict rules to follow. This encourages her to approach her situation with a new and more realistic outlook. For complete show notes visit http://www.summertomato.com/category/podcast

Aline struggles with the types of issues many women deal with during midlife. She’s going through menopause, has gained weight and can’t seem to drop those last 10-15 pounds. She eats relatively healthy and exercises regularly, but the tricks she used to lose weight in her thirties no longer work in her late forties. While it is tempting to credit hormones for the extra weight she is carrying, there is more going on for Aline at this stage in her life than just a slowing metabolism. She's also experienced a slowing of her work life and her children are older and need less of her attention. Aline has noticed that she often turns to food to fill in the gaps left by these changes. As a mother, Aline prioritizes her family and wants to be a good role model. She wants her kids to see that it is important to practice self-care and knows that feeling guilty for doing things that bring her joy does not set a good example. Yet she feels conflicted because she believes she needs to compensate for her changing hormones with an even stricter diet. This dynamic along with a few other subconscious limiting beliefs have left her feeling stuck and unsure how to improve her healthstyle at this stage of life. For complete show notes visit http://summertomato.com

A fundamental principle of being a foodist is that you shouldn't restrict yourself from eating foods that you love. One of the wonderful aspects of eating is that it is pleasurable, and this is an entirely valid reason to choose to eat something. New and aspiring foodists love this idea, but often find it difficult to balance the values of eating for pleasure and eating for health. Exactly how often is it "okay" to choose foods for pleasure? How much of them can you "enjoy"? And how do you stop yourself from overdoing it once you've started? Katie is grappling with these issues, and can't help but feel that she doesn't have enough self-control to stop herself from overeating junk foods, despite her love of healthy foods as well. Together we discuss how she can develop the ability to choose indulgences that are more valuable to her and stop eating when she's truly satisfied, rather than way past that point. For complete show notes visit http://summertomato.co

You can probably name several barriers in your life that feel like they are preventing you from getting healthy or achieving your goals, but the biggest ones are always mental. Confidence in particular has an insidious ability to undermine your motivation, making it feel like nothing you can do actually matters since no matter what you try you'll always be stuck in the same place. Logically you may know that if you don't try or do something different it isn't likely things will change, but when all your actions feel futile this knowledge has little power to help. Lack of confidence keeps you feeling stuck and overwhelmed, and it is one of the most common symptoms of someone who has tried for years to lose weight or get healthy without lasting success. It's like a Catch-22, you can't succeed with action. And you can't take action without the confidence that comes from success. Or is that too a limiting belief? In this episode, Leslie tells the story of how several small wins in her life built up trust in her process and confidence in her ability to overcome healthstyle obstacles. This meant shedding several limiting beliefs she had about what it means to feel confident, as well as what success really looks like. Leslie's story covers several decades of obstacles, including both failures and successes, as well as what being healthy means for her today. Her story is wonderful illustration of what it means to build confidence and trust your process when it comes to health. For complete show notes visit http://summertomato.com

Becky is normally a healthy eater and exercises regularly. She isn't overweight, but would love to lose a few pounds. She also knows that if she stopped her periodic binges the weight would likely take care of itself. Becky has also read Foodist and Summer Tomato, and knows that dieting isn't a good strategy and that she has a tendency to moralize her food choices in a way that undermines her efforts. Yet she doesn't know how to stop and continues trying to use willpower to both change her beliefs and stop her bingeing, which clearly is not working. She often finds herself bingeing at night after going out with her husband and friends, consuming thousands of calories at a time and feeling horrible the next day. Knowing that your beliefs are counterproductive isn't enough to change them, and willpower isn't the answer. Reshaping your beliefs is difficult and you can hear in Becky's voice how hard it is for her internalize the idea that pleasure is a valid reason to eat. Her experience to date has only shown her that she loses control around these foods and feels bad afterward, so it is almost impossible for her to see at this stage how a middle ground is possible. In this episode I help Becky recognize the fundamental limitations of her approach and develop a strategy to start to unravel her rigid belief that she should only eat for fuel and nutrition. There are multiple issues she needs to work on, but she'll have a much greater chance at success with this new approach. For complete show notes visit: http://summertomato.com

Sometimes it feels like you have everything figured out except for this one, baffling problem that seems to defy all logic. For Nina, her healthstyle has always been rather straightforward. She enjoys eating healthy, she understands the value of indulgences, and can easily adjust her behavior to align with her values in almost every circumstance. Almost. Nina reached out to me because she can't understand why she binges on junk food during her babysitting job, despite knowing it's a bad decision and not worth it. She has tried a few things to stop, and had a bit of success, but still doesn't feel like she has control over her behavior in this one, specific circumstance. As is often the case when a very specific context becomes a trigger for an intractable habit, Nina can lucidly describe her issue and the circumstances that cause it to arise. She knows she'll regret her actions, she knows Cheetos and Cinnamon Toast Crunch aren't special on a random Thursday afternoon, and she knows it'll impact her ability to enjoy herself after she leaves. What she can't figure out is why she continues to act in a way she doesn't like, despite this self-awareness. For Nina, solving this mystery requires reframing an old habit in a new light. Even though the circumstances have changed for her as an adult, she is acting out an old behavior she developed as a child. As a result, she lacks the perspective necessary to recognize a solution that is right under her nose. Together Nina and I come up with a simple way for her to hit pause on the autopilot caused by the babysitting trigger and pull herself back into the present moment so she can make a more rational and value-based choice in behavior. For complete show notes visit http://summertomato.com

Adrienne has been dieting since she was 18 years old, but it wasn't until she was in her 40s that she got into bodybuilding. Body building is incredibly strict when it comes to food intake, with several months at a time being very intense. For Adrienne this led to an extreme obsession over food. She would spend day and night thinking about the burger she would eat for her weekly cheat meal and was always thinking about the next thing should would be allowed to eat in three hours. As she realized that her hobby was negatively affecting both her mental health and her personal relationships, she decided to stop training. Yet this wasn't enough to completely break her food obsession. In this episode Adrienne shares how she slowly learned to get back in touch with her body and reform her relationship with food. Anyone who has had experience with intense dieting or especially body building will certainly relate. For complete show notes visit http://summertomato.com

Laura works at a hospital and sees people suffering daily from chronic diseases she knows are caused by unhealthy food choices. Diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and cancer are all fates she'd like to avoid, but still her love of sweets calls to her. In Laura's mind, foods fall into categories of "good" and "bad," "healthy" and "unhealthy." She knows that moralizing her foods this way makes her crave sweets even more, and that when she does give in she experiences the What-the-hell Effect and overeats them. But because of her job, it's hard for her to stop thinking of sweets as "bad" and vegetables as "good." Not moralizing your food is easier said than done. One huge reason for this is that it feels true that veggies are good for you and junk food is bad you. How can you stop thinking this way when you actually believe it? Food moralizing is very common, and undoing it takes more than willpower. In this episode I walk Laura through the steps necessary to get past the moralizing mentality and into one that is more helpful for her long-term health goals. For complete show notes visit http://summertomato.com

Reshanda had a very stressful job that ultimately led her to develop a binge eating habit and gain a significant amount of weight. The weight gain naturally led her to try to correct it with dieting, which instead led instead to more bingeing. In her work to find the solution to her bingeing and weight gain, Reshanda stumbled upon Summer Tomato and started addressing her habits and psychology. As an active part of the community here and on Facebook, I've watched her develop new habits over the years from learning to cook in Foodist Kitchen to mindful eating in the Mindful Meal Challenge. Today Reshanda shares her story of how she overcame bingeing, lost 28 lbs, and more importantly learned how to develop the self-compassion, mindfulness and skill set she needed to live a fulfilling life that isn't dictated by stress and avoidance. Her story is incredibly powerful and full of wisdom and insights into how to develop the psychological tools to build a sustainable and life-affirming healthstyle. It's an incredible story that shows the power of self-reflection to solve even the deepest and most intractable problems. For complete show notes visit http://summertomato.com

Like many of us, Tara has been struggling to lose weight for over a decade. She'd tried lots of different strategies on and off over the years, and had made progress. But it wasn't until the beginning of this year that two things really clicked into place. First, she started the Mindful Meal Challenge to learn to eat mindfully, which helped her notice she was putting more food on her plate than she needed to feel satisfied. The second is that she started becoming more deliberate in her meal and exercise planning, which she calls her healthstyle planning. Tara has a very busy and erratic schedule. She has an international team and has to attend virtual meetings at odd hours throughout the week. She also travels a lot and has events in the evening that often pull her away from home and out of her kitchen. More often than not these obstacles led her to rely on takeout and other convenience foods that were preventing her from reaching her goals. To get around this, Tara spends a few minutes on Saturday mapping out her week and planning for the times she knows she'll be able to eat at home and exercise. On Sundays she goes grocery shopping and does enough food prep to get her through the week, including some back up meals for the freezer for the inevitable night that gets away from her. Simply cooking at home instead of relying on takeout can result in a huge difference in calorie intake that likely accounts for a large part of Tara successfully losing 12 lbs in two months (most of which, she noted, came off in the first month). Tara and I also discuss how the planning leads to better decisions after dinner as well, specifically regarding alcohol and desserts. Tara has a great system of building healthstyle habits by tracking the way she feels after different behaviors, and letting that be the guide for her future actions. She uses this knowledge to manage her energy levels that she needs to maintain for her busy life, and make sure her treats and social engagements don't undo all her hard work. One of my favorite experiments she did was solve a mysterious headache issue by having a gin and tonic each night for a week. For complete show notes visit http://summertomato.com

Ashley says she's lucky that she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia at the age of 30. It's a diagnosis that isn't always easy to get, but at a young age Ashley felt she still had a lot of options to try to treat her illness without medication. After consulting with her doctor, Ashley decided to adopt a low-inflammation diet (lots of vegetables and fruits, no fried foods and minimal processed foods), along with a low impact exercise regimen of yoga and walking 10,000 steps per day. In this instance, Ashley's history of dieting may have actually been helpful, since she found it relatively easy to overhaul her healthstyle to make these changes, and it only took about three months for her symptoms to start improving dramatically. An added bonus is that Ashley's new habits have helped her deal with stress and emotional issues she has struggled with on and off throughout her life, and she's been able to stay off of antidepressants for four years. This is a fun conversation and we go into a lot of details about her morning routine, eating habits and favorite meals. Ashley was also kind enough to share with us a few of her favorite recipes below. For complete show notes visit http://summertomato.com

"It's like 1000% or nothing at all." ~Rachelle Rachelle was in a snowboarding accident when she was 15 years old that cost her the use of both of her legs. After 18 years of battling both illness and body image issues, she is finally in a place where she is healthy and has a better relationship with food, and she's ready to feel strong and fit again. She'd also love to lose 20 lbs. Rachelle believes that being in a wheelchair makes getting enough exercise too difficult and time consuming to be practical for her busy life. She's juggling both a family and a career as a lawyer, so it's clear that both time and physical limitations create barriers for her workout habits. After a little digging in our conversation though, it starts to become clear that Rachelle's psychological barriers are the main obstacle. All her life Rachelle has been ambitious. Her previous attempts at getting fit involved intense exercise programs with personal trainers and sports like boxing––things that take a ton of time, energy and resources. She knows that with her career and family activities like this cause her to burn out, but when she compares herself to her husband who has lost 20 lbs in three months she believes she needs to be doing intense training like this in order to see results. Together Rachelle and I work to reframe her goals in a way that makes them compatible with her work and family life, while still allowing her to lose weight. We discuss specific mental exercises she can do to help maintain this perspective (often the hardest part) and give her the cognitive flexibility to be more creative in finding new ways to be active. For complete show notes visit http://summertomato.com

With her first pregnancy, Sarah felt a lot of pressure from her doctor to restrict her eating to avoid weight gain and other adverse consequences to her baby. However, she found that abiding by these rules was virtually impossible for her, given how her body responded to hunger and fatigue while she was pregnant. This led to both extra stress and shame. Even though she was warned she might have gained too much weight, Sarah found that losing weight and making better food choices was much easier after the baby was born. So when her second pregnancy came around, she decided to take a less strict approach. This mindset shift enable Sarah to reclaim her ability to manage her own health (and sanity) on her own terms and at her own pace. While this may sound small, it is an incredibly empowering act that snowballs into a successful healthstyle. When guilt and shame are motivators and you feel like you can never do enough, most people will respond by doing less for their own self-care, not more. Sarah's approach bypasses this shame cycle and enabled her to lose her baby weight in a way she could manage. Sarah also has some Jedi mindtricks for getting her kids to eat what she serves them, along with some great tips and tricks for keeping her own healthstyle on track. For complete show notes visit http://summertomato.com

Nicole loves to run, and has recently upped her training to include half and full marathons. While she has never run with the goal of weight loss, she has noticed that when she trains for longer races she has a tendency to gain unwanted fat around her midsection that she isn't happy about. Nicole's hypothesis is that the extra fat is a result of the additional refined carbohydrates (e.g. bread and pasta) that she eats during training periods. She said that she has tried to fuel her workouts with foods that contain fewer carbs, but that she notices a negative impact on her performance. After some investigating of her training and eating habits, Nicole and I conclude that this theory is inaccurate and that most likely culprit isn't the pre-workout carbs but the post-workout hunger and subconscious overeating that results from intense training. Extensive training both increases the body's calorie demands and hunger, while weakening willpower and normal social constraints on overeating. The end result is a subconscious tendency to eat more calories than you actually need to refuel and subsequent weight gain. Achieving balance in this case is uniquely challenging. This leads to a detailed discussion of the optimal ways to fuel her workouts and plan her post-training meals and snacks so that she doesn't inadvertently eat more than she needs to recover and feel satisfied. For complete show notes visit http://summertomato.com

Jason is an old friend of my husband's who also happens to be the editor of this podcast. Since he's started listening the show he's become more and more health conscious, and when I launched the Mindful Meal Challenge he decided to give mindful eating a try. Jason is a perfect test subject for mindful eating, because as he was already trying to get his healthstyle in a better place he already has a set menu for breakfast and lunch. This means that what he was eating didn't change, so any change in his eating habits can be directly attributed to mindfulness. He found that his morning three egg omelet was in fact larger than he needed to be satisfied, so he has now cut back. He also found that even though he found himself consuming less for breakfast, he wasn't as hungry when lunch and dinner came around. Simply by eating one Mindful Meal per day in the morning, Jason lost 4 lbs in the first week of the challenge. Although he is still trying to figure out the best healthstyle for himself moving forward (which I help him troubleshoot in this episode as well), mindful eating is now a major part of his weight control strategy. For complete show notes visit http://summertomato.com

Peg had a regular habit of drinking a couple glasses of wine every night and felt like it was a problem, like something that she needed. Not only did this habit impact her general wellbeing and ability to be at her best for herself and her work, she also knew this wasn't the person she wanted to be. At the same time, Peg knew that she couldn't just stop drinking all at once. So she decided to try slowly, a method that worked for her in the past to overcome bulimia. Kaizen is the Japanese principle of making continuous small, incremental improvement. For Peg, addressing her problems slowly removed the fear of the idea of stopping completely, which she knew she wasn't ready for. Starting with one small change––not drinking for one night, not purging for a few hours––gave her the courage and empowerment to continue. Her deepest motivation was to ultimately become the person she knew she wanted to be, and kaizen was her method to get there. For complete show notes visit http://summertomato.com

Amy has been working on her healthstyle for over a year. Slowly she has changed her eating, exercise, sleep and mindfulness habits, and she finally feels like she's in control of her health. Now she's waiting for the other shoe to drop. Amy is a natural worrier, always ready for something to come along that negates all the hard work she's done. She knows this is a tendency of hers, yet it's hard not to feel like there's some truth behind her fears since even successful diets have always left her in a worse place. Her question for me today is what: does success look like from here now that everything is great? This is an educational episode whether you're a seasoned foodist or a newbie finding your path, since it will give you an idea of what the endgame looks like. Your brain judges success by what it expects it to look like. One great way to know this is by listening to someone who is already there. For complete show notes visit http://summertomato.com

Rachel knew that having a baby would make it harder to maintain her healthstyle. But it's now been 18 months and she still hasn't found a way to regularly make the best choices and ends up eating out 2-3 nights per week. Her issue is that her old healthstyle––which she loved––required an amount of time and energy that simply aren't realistic for her anymore. She and her husband love to cook elaborate meals, but trying to fit it into their new baby life just isn't working. We also identify a few other invisible barriers that are blocking Rachel from fully utilizing her tiny New York kitchen. Subtle barriers can derail any well-intentioned healthstyle, but when you're exhausted and every single part of your life feels new and overwhelming, identifying and eliminating those barriers is extra hard. Together, Rachel and I come up with a few ways to simply her meals and make weekday cooking more practical. For complete show notes visit http://summertomato.com

Graham started his foodist journey back in 2013 when he borrowed a galley copy of Foodist I had given to a friend. He had just decided to try and start getting healthy and by eating more Real Food, cutting back on processed foods, and being more active he proceeded to lose 40 lbs in a couple of months. Four years later Graham is now down 60 lbs from his original weight, defying the odds of a dieting industry that has a 95% failure rate. Today we talk about how he got started and how is journey has progressed to allow him to maintain a foodist lifestyle for good. I interviewed Graham back in 2013 when he first got started, so this is a follow up to that success story and a look into what long-term weight loss maintenance looks like. For complete show notes and links visit http://summertomato.com

Over the past nine months Agata has had some success in being healthier, but is disappointed that she hasn't lost much weight. She started slowly by being more active and noticed she had more energy and looked more toned. Despite the benefits she felt, her wedding was approaching and she still hoped to lose some more weight. Agata decided to focus more on her diet, although she didn't want to be too strict, so she started eating more vegetables and cut down on processed foods. She enjoyed this and didn't feel deprived, and proceeded to lose 5 more pounds. Her wedding came and went, and she was happy, but she's still wondering why she hasn't had more success with weight loss. She called to ask me, "Am I doing something wrong?" Agata's impatience with weight loss is something I hear often from new foodists, particularly those with a history of dieting who expect rapid weight loss. In this episode I help Agata reframe her disappointment with her results as what it is––success with room to improve––and help her identify new target habits to build on the progress she's made so far. For complete show notes visit http://summertomato.com

After a move from Chicago to California, Mary found herself slowly gaining weight to the tune of 1 lb every 3 months. After awhile she was dismayed to find she was up 15 lbs, and wanted to find the reason. She tried several things to cut back a bit on calories without any luck. Her last resort was her evening routine of drinking several glasses of wine, a habit that's proving more difficult to break than any of the others. This worries Mary for a few reasons. Obviously she wants to lose the weight and feel back in control of her healthstyle. But we all know alcohol is an addictive substance, so part of her fear is that this may be related to why she hasn't been able to cut back. Alcohol is a difficult habit to work with, and as a wine lover myself I can definitely relate. Mary had done a few experiments and is fairly confident she isn't dependent on the substance. Together we come up with some strategies for her to cut back enough to feel more in control and potentially lose the weight. For complete show notes visit http://summertomato.com

Jane is a wellness coach and has a deep and technical knowledge of nutrition, so by nature she eats super healthy and enjoys it. She also suffers from Celiac disease and has many other food sensitivities, so has to restrict her foods even more to avoid serious health problems. Her biggest issue is that because she knows so much about nutrition she feels guilty eating anything that contains starch, because of a lingering five pounds she'd like to lose. This tendency to moralize her food choices as "good" or "bad" causes her to second guess even some of her healthy choices and she feels terribly guilty eating some of the foods she loves (like oatmeal and sweet potatoes), even though they are nutritious Real Foods. So even when Jane "indulges" it is hard for her to truly enjoy it. For those five pounds, Jane has been suffering like this for eleven years. Together we dissect where her perfectionist streak is coming from and come up with a strategy for moving on. I also offer her a few ideas on solving her "last five pounds" issue that don't involve skipping out on the few foods she really loves. For complete show notes visit http://summertomato.com

"It's been the easiest 33 lbs I've ever lost." ~Angela Angela just discovered Foodist a few months ago after a lifetime of being overweight and chronic dieting. By changing the way she approaches food and health, she's been able to lose 33 lbs in what she calls the easiest weight loss of her life. Despite her success, Angela still has progress to make and is trying to figure out some of the more subtle aspects of her healthstyle. Today she asks a question that every foodist must grapple with at some point along their journey, which is how to know if an urge to eat (or skip a workout or other healthstyle behavior) is coming from a place of physical need or some other impulse that should be resisted? This question is particularly difficult for people who have spent a lot of time dieting, since by its very nature dieting teaches you to ignore your body's basic signals and use willpower to stick to your plan. As Angela explains, it can be very difficult to trust the different voices in your head that are pushing you to care for yourself, especially if you believe they were what caused you to be overweight in the first place. There are several things to consider when you're learning to answer this question for yourself, including what situations are the most important to get right, how to learn from your mistakes when you get it wrong and how not stress out when you find yourself in a position of uncertainty. For complete show notes visit http://summertomato.com

Shelbey came to me wondering why she has the habit of overeating when she's alone and supposed to be studying. She sits down to eat and turns on the TV, planning to finish dinner and then hit the books. But instead she usually keeps eating through the entire show until she feel so sicks she can't do anything at all. To her credit Shelbey has already thought through possible psychological reasons she's doing this, but hasn't come up with any answers. She's a very hard working woman who is always pushing herself for self-improvement. She's a good student, exercises regularly, and meditates often. What she never does is give herself permission to relax. One of the symptoms of being too productive is having anxiety about down time. All humans need to relax and recharge both physically and mentally, but highly productive people often feel guilty and anxious about taking these much needed breaks. If this goes on for too long it can lead to avoidance behaviors like overeating. It can be difficult to acknowledge that rest is needed, but Shelbey and I come up with a plan for her to recognize her anxiety and give her the space to unwind. For complete show notes visit http://summertomato.com/

Serena had always enjoyed cooking dinner and it was a Home Court Habit she highly valued. Then when her schedule got a little crazy her cooking habit fell by the wayside. While struggles like this are pretty normal when life gets busy, what stumped Serena was that her cooking habit never resumed even when her schedule got back to normal. Often what stops you from maintaining a healthy habit is that you view it as a chore rather than as something you enjoy, but this wasn't the case for Serena. She truly did love to cook and felt very strongly about all the ways it positively impacted her life that were now missing. It took some digging, but Serena and I ultimately discovered that she had lost one of her Supporting Habits––meal prepping––that gave her the edge she needed to maintain a regular cooking habit. It turns out that meal prepping is the difference between whether making dinner is easy when she gets home from work or feels like a big project she doesn't have the energy for. We then took a look at her current schedule and found a way to fit meal prepping back into her week so she could start cooking again. This episode takes you through how to go about identifying and reinstating Supporting Habits that are necessary for maintaining your Home Court Habits and long-term health. For complete show notes visit http://summertomato.com

Overall Libby is happy with her healthstyle. She stopped dieting, focused on Real Food, and cut out most of the processed foods (sugars and refined grains) from her daily habits. Her energy is up, her body is happy, and the chronic headaches she's suffered from for years have abated. While she feels great from these changes, Libby has only lost one pound over the last couple of months and in her perfect world she would lose another 5-10 pounds. This brings up an interesting question: Is it okay to keep trying to lose weight even if you're already pretty healthy? How can you accept yourself as you are and continue to strive for improvement? Many people making the move from dieting for external reasons to embracing health to align with your own personal values come up against this issue. From a behavior perspective the actions you take to achieve health and those you use to restrictively diet can look very similar. The subtley is in how you frame your values, goals and actions in your own mind that makes the difference. It's a tight rope to walk and there is a lot of nuance in the process. I believe it is possible to accept yourself as you are and still strive to optimize for your goals and values. In this episode Libby and I discuss the importance of psychology in this process, as well as the practical strategies she can use to continue to work toward her goals. Once you listen to the show I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments. For complete show notes visit http://summertomato.com

After years of yo-yo dieting, Ashley had finally got off the dieting rollercoaster after discovering Summer Tomato and Foodist. She learned to embrace the foodist lifestyle and joyfully lost weight without dieting. Things were great. Ashley's new habits were working great until she had a shift in her work life that enabled her to work from home. While she loves her new freedom and flexibility in her day, some of her more structured habits like lunch and snacks have fallen back into disarray. Together we discuss what has changed in her routines and come up with some strategies she can use to retake control of her choices. For complete show notes visit http://summertomato.com

"With the hustle and bustle of working and being a mom and trying to fulfill all these duties I completely lost myself." - Rebecca Although she had never been completely happy with her physique, after having three children within five years Rebecca found herself over 100 lbs heavier than she was before starting a family. It wasn't until she ran into a friend who had lost 100 lbs of baby weight after working with a personal trainer that she changed her mindset and decided she needed to start investing in her own wellbeing again. Over a period of 8 months Rebecca embraced a new self-care routine of fitness and nutrition and lost all of the weight. The road wasn't perfectly smooth, and she struggled with some of the struggles that come with dieting including some binge eating. Ultimately though, she was able to find balance in her nutrition, stop bingeing and truly enjoy her healthstyle for the benefits it brings her. For complete show notes visit http://summertomato.com

Elizabeth wishes she could form a more regular exercise habit, but every time she tries she finds herself lacking in motivation. While she describes herself as "not inactive" she wishes she did more "proper exercise" a few days a week. Sometimes she is able to put together a good streak, but inevitably her efforts are undermined by feeling she isn't up to the task. If she feels uncomfortable with her body or finds her workouts too hard, she starts to feel like a failure. This perfectionist streak causes her to negatively judge herself to a point where exercise becomes an unpleasant rather than uplifting experience. As a result she finds herself avoiding exercise completely. Together we discuss strategies to get out of the judgment loop and back into enjoying being active for its own sake. For complete show notes visit http://summertomato.com

Keli has a great healthstyle, but there are a few lingering bad habits she'd like to break. After lunch and after dinner, she finds herself reaching for more (often not-so-healthy) food even though she is no longer hungry and it makes her feel sick afterward. While she doesn't have any particular health or weight loss goals, it bothers her that she maintains this habit even though it is something she doesn't like. Together we investigate what is triggering her to keep eating and develop strategies to help her choose different activities after meals. For complete show notes visit http://summertomato.com

Over the years Saba has learned to eat healthy by cutting down on processed foods. But her new healthstyle has caused her to forego nearly all the foods she loved as a child since she has moralized them as "bad and unhealthy." Now she uses her "good behavior" to justify overeating "healthier" snacks like nuts, even though she eats so much she feels sick afterward. It's a cycle she would like to break. Saba's issue combines both food moralizing and emotional eating, which makes both issues more complex and difficult to unravel. Together we come up with a plan for her to move forward. For complete show notes visit http://summertomato.com