If you’ve been dieting for many years, you know it can get to be a little “much.” Chronic dieting can leave us frustrated, exhausted, and exasperated. Why does something so simple – weight loss – have to be so hard?  Millions of people around the world are realizing that they’re just plain tired of dieting. So much so that an increasing number of people are deciding to take a break from weight loss altogether.   But taking a diet break doesn’t alleviate the very real fear that many of us experience: that the second we stop dieting, we’re going to gain weight.   In this episode, Marc David works with Stephanie, 47, who has taken a 1-year break from weight loss – but has gained a stone (about 14 pounds) during that time, and is afraid she’ll only gain more.   Nevertheless, she’s given herself this time to move away from “weight loss at all costs” to approaching her weight from a mindset perspective, and doing all the reading and learning she can from self-help experts like Dr. Kristin Neff and Brene Brown.   As Stephanie shares, she’s at an inflection point. She’s been dieting since she was a teenager, often with the help of slimming clubs that are popular in the U.K. She became so disenchanted by her experience in the weight loss world, that she knows she can’t go back.   She believes that her spiritual path lies in trusting her body and accepting it the way it is – but three decades of dieting have lodged deep-seated fears around weight gain.   Stephanie asks, “What can I do to overcome the conditioned fear of weight gain?”  Regardless of where we’re at with our weight, this is one of the very best questions we can ask of ourselves. Because the truth is, we may want to lose weight … but deep down, we’re wanting to love and accept ourselves even more.  Episode highlights:  ✅ Why finding the right foundation for ourselves as a person – one based on our true value instead of our weight – is so important. ✅ Why it’s unrealistic to think you’ll 100% accept yourself one day – and why allowing yourself to be imperfect can help you heal and grow.  ✅ How our collective judgment around weight clouds the notion of what it means to be truly healthy. ✅ Why BMI science is outdated, and can contribute to our weight gain fears.  ✅ The interplay between “self” and “self-improvement” and why we need to sometimes let go and allow ourselves to simply “be.”   ---------------  Learn more about us at The Institute for the Psychology of Eating: https://psychologyofeating.com/   Ready to call a ceasefire in your battle with eating, and find peace and freedom with food? Learn more about our newest program, The Emotional Eating Breakthrough! https://learn.psychologyofeating.com/  Interested in becoming a certified coach in eating psychology? Then tune in to hear Marc talk about our Mind Body Eating Coach Certification Training, and download a copy of our School Catalog: https://psychologyofeating.com/info-kit/ Learn our powerful, cutting-edge approach, and discover how you can create a unique career helping others find peace and freedom with food.  Follow us on social:  - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Psychologyofeating - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IPEfanpage - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eatingpsychology/ - Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/eatingpsych #dietbreak #antidiet #dieting #weight #relationshipwithfood #selfimprovement #selftrust #selfacceptance #eatingpsychology #holisticnutrition #marcdavid #podcast