Beyond the Military Podcast: Life Coach for Burned out Women, Military Transition Coach, Career and Productivity Coach for Military and Veteran Women,

Women's History Month: How to stay on track during a military move and avoid excess pounds at your next duty station with Lizzie Merritt

March 02, 2022 Wendi Wray Episode 75
Women's History Month: How to stay on track during a military move and avoid excess pounds at your next duty station with Lizzie Merritt
Beyond the Military Podcast: Life Coach for Burned out Women, Military Transition Coach, Career and Productivity Coach for Military and Veteran Women,
More Info
Beyond the Military Podcast: Life Coach for Burned out Women, Military Transition Coach, Career and Productivity Coach for Military and Veteran Women,
Women's History Month: How to stay on track during a military move and avoid excess pounds at your next duty station with Lizzie Merritt
Mar 02, 2022 Episode 75
Wendi Wray

Hey lady,

If you are changing duty stations or simply making changes in your life and more specifically starting a weight loss journey then this podcast is for you!  

Today we have a guest fellow Navy military spouse and Body Confidence Coach, Lizzie Merritt and she helps busy folks lose weight imperfectly through mindset shifts and hacks that make weight loss attainable for those of us that are NOT perfect all the time. 

I pray this episode blesses you!

Much love, 

Wendi

P.S.If you enjoyed this podcast, I'd love to ask you to follow and leave a quick review. It only takes 30 seconds, but it makes a huge difference to my show. Click here to open Beyond the Military in Apple Podcasts to leave your review.

More about: Lizzie Merritt 

Website | Instagram | Freebie: Weightloss During a Military Move bit.ly/militarymoveweightloss

Join us in the Facebook Faith-led Military Women Community at bit.ly/beyondthemilitarygrp 

More about coaching resources from me:

Website  |  LinkedInInstagram  |  Facebook  

P.S.If you enjoyed this podcast, I'd love to ask you to follow and leave a quick review. It only takes 30 seconds, but it makes a huge difference to my show. Click here to open Beyond the Military in Apple Podcasts to leave your review.

Join us in the Facebook Life + Career Coaching Community at bit.ly/beyondthemilitarygrp

More about coaching resources from me:

Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | Contact Me | Schedule Consult

Show Notes Transcript

Hey lady,

If you are changing duty stations or simply making changes in your life and more specifically starting a weight loss journey then this podcast is for you!  

Today we have a guest fellow Navy military spouse and Body Confidence Coach, Lizzie Merritt and she helps busy folks lose weight imperfectly through mindset shifts and hacks that make weight loss attainable for those of us that are NOT perfect all the time. 

I pray this episode blesses you!

Much love, 

Wendi

P.S.If you enjoyed this podcast, I'd love to ask you to follow and leave a quick review. It only takes 30 seconds, but it makes a huge difference to my show. Click here to open Beyond the Military in Apple Podcasts to leave your review.

More about: Lizzie Merritt 

Website | Instagram | Freebie: Weightloss During a Military Move bit.ly/militarymoveweightloss

Join us in the Facebook Faith-led Military Women Community at bit.ly/beyondthemilitarygrp 

More about coaching resources from me:

Website  |  LinkedInInstagram  |  Facebook  

P.S.If you enjoyed this podcast, I'd love to ask you to follow and leave a quick review. It only takes 30 seconds, but it makes a huge difference to my show. Click here to open Beyond the Military in Apple Podcasts to leave your review.

Join us in the Facebook Life + Career Coaching Community at bit.ly/beyondthemilitarygrp

More about coaching resources from me:

Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | Contact Me | Schedule Consult

Wendi:

Hello ladies. And welcome to episode 75. I pray that you are doing amazing, that you are doing well and that you're enjoying our guests so far. And today we actually have another special guest that I'm sure you'll love. Not only because she is amazing and a coach, but also because she's a military spouse, a Navy military spouse, that's moved over 10 times in the last 14 years. So we all know that the struggle is real here and she's also a certified. Weight loss coach. And most importantly, she's a woman of faith. And here's what I truly loved about Lizzie. From the very beginning. She sent me this long email that at first I was like, oh my gosh, who is emailing me about coming on the podcast. But as soon as I started to see that it was so not only organized, but personable, I honestly said, okay, I'm completely sold. She's. It guests on this podcast? Not only because her email was nice organized, but also because she talked about everything that I know that you all will not only need, but truly desire to keep doing in your lives. And that is understanding. That our body image, our weight is not only a number, but it's just how we look at each other or how we look at ourselves in the mirror. And it's something that we, as women can continue to empower one another. And honestly, that's what this month is all about celebrating women celebrating and empowering women. And also I think truly, truly believe that. Military woman and military spouses need to be celebrated not only every day, but especially during this month. So with that, I would love to introduce you all Lizzy merit. And I'm going to just read off her bio that she offered me real quickly before she actually gets to come on. And this is what Lizzie had to say. What if weight loss is less. About what's on your plate and more about what's between your ears. Lizzie Merritt helps busy folks lose weight and perfectly through mindset shifts and hacks that make weight loss attainable. For those of us that are not perfect all the time. Lizzie welcome. And thank you so much for joining us.

Lizzie:

Thank you, Wendy. It is absolutely a pleasure and a gift to be here. I really appreciate it. Thank you.

Wendi:

Absolutely. And like I said, I just immediately fell in love with everything you have to say. When you asked me about, you know, the topics and, you know, with that, I would love for you to, you know, first start on, you know, what caught you to weight loss and body confidence, because I know that that's something that. A lot of people struggle with a lot of women. Um, but especially in the military, right. Even if you are a spouse, even if you are a family member, that's something that can be challenged.

Lizzie:

Yeah, thank you. Uh, so, uh, I was an athlete in school and once school was over, I, you know, I never really learned how to take care of my self and my health. So just the sports took care of it. And I got a desk job and. Put on weight, got married, had two kids. And suddenly I was like, I don't, I don't know how to do this. I don't know how to take care of myself in a way that makes me feel good. And I did, you know, the yo-yo dieting and try the different diets. Uh, tried the extreme exercise programs. And I remember sitting at my kitchen table. Reading yet another diet book and I just stopped. And I said, this is ridiculous. You know, if diet and exercise are not helping me feel confident and comfortable in my own skin, then there's got to be more to it. And so I spent the next several years, uh, reading and researching the psychology behind weight loss and, um, you know, taking a kind of a step further there's there's, there's the weight loss industry, but when you take it to. How we feel about ourselves and our bodies. Um, you know, having children myself kind of helped me realize like what a miracle this child is, and God looks at us, each one of us, and that same way as like, no matter your shape or your size, you are perfect. And I created you and I love helping people lose weight so they can feel amazing about themselves, but also to get to that place where they can see the incredible, beautiful creation that they are, that God.

Wendi:

I love that. Exactly. And I think that that's really where we lose focus. Right. Because we're, so I'm entitled to this image that we've already kind of, um, imagined or what we used to look like before, you know, a mother. Right. So I think that, you know, when you said that I was thinking, um, when I first got pregnant with my daughter, you know, I was, I was young and before then I remember. Eat, whatever, you know, what's available. I never thought about, or was intentional about eating. And then after I had her, I kind of felt like my hormones, you know, my body just did its thing, but at the same time I was, you know, I was very judgmental. You know, the things that I desired and I was like, why would you want, you know, to eat chocolate, you know, at 9:00 PM, you know, like I would, you know, kinda like beat myself up about wanting something versus just being like, okay, you know, I'll just have it tomorrow. Or, you know, maybe it's just not going to serve me and her. Cause. Um, breastfeed that long because I was already working active duty. So it was hard for me to be like, okay, let me go to the room and do all this stuff that it requires or comes along with breastfeeding. So I think for me, it was more of, I felt like I didn't have like this, um, compelling reason on why I should watch what I was eating. And then on top of that, I was just stressed out all the time. So I was like, of course I want. You know, at a desk job let's, you know, eat some, uh, one of those things Cheez-Its, you know, so easily accessible. But yeah, no, I love that. You said that because you're right. God has created that. You know, he's made us fearfully and wonderfully made. And I think that we just not necessarily forget sometimes. Yeah. It's hard to say yes. It's hard to see it, especially when we're around other people that are eating. I mean, I don't know if you know, your husband does this, but all the guys in the military are constantly just like they have like a snack and it's. They aren't gaining any weight, you know, but for us, it's like, it's the opposite. Yeah. But anyhow, I love, you know, kind of like when you first took a moment and you're like, okay, the dieting industry or the weight loss industry, right. You're like, there's, there has to be a better way. And I love,

Lizzie:

I love to dive into something you talked about, about the, um, almost the judgment you had around yourself of like, why should I want to be eating chocolate at nine o'clock and that. Where the diet industry misses the mark. It's like, you know, a diet is like someone telling the to captain of the Titanic, you know, you know, it just avoid the ice on the surface and you'll be fine. There's so much more under those simple rules of just, you know, eat more vegetables and exercise more. And. The, it says emotions, et cetera, judgment that we put on stuff on ourselves. And there's, there's so much more to it that, you know, we, we make ourselves feel wrong because we can't follow the simple rules. Well, the rules are very incomplete because they don't address all those emotions and the things that we talk the way we talk to ourselves and so forth. Sorry for jumping in there.

Wendi:

No, that was perfect because it actually leads into this next question that I have here for you. And it's. Why is coaching so important when it comes to weight loss? Like why has that become, you know, the thing when it comes to not only, um, I think you mentioned like the yo-yo diet or the yo-yo weight loss, so what, why is coaching or how has that been successful for you and your clients?

Lizzie:

Yeah, well, there's the diet culture makes us feel so alone. Um, W we, we make it, our ourselves feel wrong when we can't follow the rules. And because I like these are simple rules, what's the problem. Um, but again, like there's so much more to it, you know, the, the diet culture doesn't address, uh, when you're tired and at the end of the day, and that, you know, the chemicals in your brain are absolutely. Different than they were at first thing in the morning. That's why at four o'clock in the afternoon, it's easy to dive into a bag of chips when you know, you've worked great all day or when the weekend is kind of a mess. Um, you know, diets, don't talk about that. And so that's why coaching can help, but because. First it helps you realize it's not your fault, that there's so much more of that iceberg under the surface that you can't see. It's not that there's something wrong with you. It's that you've never been taught it. And, uh, coaching also helps you, you know, with special things, particularly that relate to the military, like, you know, emotional eating when your spouse is deployed or turning to food, when you're stressed about an upcoming move. Or like I said, if you've been great all day and then it's 4 37, and I just need to eat the entire pantry. Yeah,

Wendi:

yeah. Exactly. I mean, I love the whole aspect, you know, when you talk about the emotional side, because I mean, if you've been listening to my episode, you know, the last, even five episodes, I talk about the emotional part of everything that we do. Right. And I think, you know, I use, and, you know, we all go through a different certification program. We all use different tools. And I think one of the tools. All of us coaches have in common is when we can identify the root cause. Right? Like the cause of the problem and, you know, Many of us don't really understand what the cause is. We just want to fix it. And we immediately go into like, let's do something about it. Let's go to the gym, let's get on this calorie diet that most of the time and what I believe doesn't really work because you're constantly trying to, like you said, follow these rules, but at the same time, we forget that what, you know, what's the cause of me going to the pantry. Right. And then for me, what I like to teach my clients is that. What are our emotions are caused by is by our thinking, right? So what is it that is causing that discomfort, that frustration, that stress, that overwhelm. And I think that, you know, when we can slowly walk ourselves to it, we have to not only be conscious, but we have to be willing to be uncomfortable too. And I think that that's one of the reasons why, you know, I don't think I've, I've told you this Lizzie before. I actually hired a weight loss coach when I was in the military, when I was at Fort drum, I'm in New York, which by the way, um, even now in the month of March, it's still snowing there. So when I tell you from, I got there in October and from November all the way through like end of March, it was snow. Heavily snow. And it wasn't just like right here in Charlotte, North Carolina, I mean, we shut down for like less than an inch of snow. And six feet of snow is completely normal to them. And you know, January, February months, so you get like one good hour of sun sunlight and the rest of the time is gloomy. And you know, that does something to your psyche because now. You are completely, you know, not only overwhelmed, already frustrated stress, but now you go outside or you consider to even look at some sunlight and you're like, oh my gosh. Now I really feel depressed. And so for me, it was like, okay, I'm gaining all this weight. And now I feel like I can't fit in my uniform. What's going on. And I was listening to the podcast and, you know, hired a life coach and completely changed my life because I needed that economy. I needed that ability. I needed someone to help me see what was going on in my mind, because again, that's what was creating all these negative emotions, this discomfort. And we don't like to be uncomfortable humans. Don't like to be uncomfortable, especially when. You have other things that you want to focus on, right? We're like we have a mission to get done. We have projects to get done. We have people to lead and when you're feeling uncomfortable, you're like, I don't want to feel uncomfortable. Let me go get some, you know, Cheetos or, you know, some m&ms, which, you know, nothing wrong with that. Right. But when we do it unconsciously and we do it so many times at the wrong time, I think that's a, we kind of get in trouble with.

Lizzie:

It's so interesting that you mentioned that I completely agree that, you know, having the willingness to pause and, and, and be uncomfortable in your feelings for a moment, sounds a little scary, but it can be, it can be, it can change so many things. I was just talking to a client about the difference between physical hunger and emotional hunger, that physical hunger. Yeah, it's your body, you in these calories, you know, if you had an apple that was satisfied and emotional hunger is, is all just as real. It's not that it's like, pretend it's still real hunger, but it's not your body. It is your brain. That is, you know, as you know, humans seek pleasure, avoid pain, and your brain is experiencing some kind of difficult emotion, which could be anything. It could be boredom, it could be stress, it could be fatigue and. The brain is looking for a way to relieve that difficult feeling. And over time it's learned that food is a reliable source of dopamine, which is kind of a feel good. And so the brain sends up a signal. I know let's go eat to avoid feeling bored or avoid feeling tired or stressed. And so we're on our way to the pantry. And if you can just take a second and pause and feel that feeling of, oh, I'm bored and was actually going to help me with that as like sit and rest for a minute or, you know, go look at kittens on the internet, or if I'm feeling stressed, I need to, you know, talk about this with somebody. Food is not going to be the solve the solution. To the root causes you were talking about before. So it's just that courage to pause a minute and feel what you're really feeling versus kind of covering it up with the food.

Wendi:

Yes. 100%. And you know, I love that you say that, um, you know, we don't like to be bored, right? Like that's one of the things that my, my clients struggle with too. They're like, well, We are so wired. Right. Even, even as the military families. Right. Because my husband was actually a military brat. Um, he was pretty much in the military since he remembers, since he was little, but he's always, you know, he was trained to, to just always be busy with something like, there's always something to do. You should never just sit there. You know, you can watch TV, but you're still constantly. Thinking about the next thing. Right. And it's just how we've been wired. So it's hard. I think for us, especially as women, when our brains are kind of also designated to, you know, be focused on others, you know, how can we serve someone else? Meaning, you know, cleaning the house, doing laundry, dishwashing, cooking, taking care of everyone else. And nothing wrong with that. But I think that when we don't allow ourselves to be bored or number one thing, our go-to is food. And I don't know if you know this, but, um, I, I can't remember where exactly I was reading this, but the number one truck out there is sugar. And so with that, you know, it's like, it's like, wow, like how is this even happening? Right. Like our minds immediately go to. What is out there that it's going to, you know, give me that quick dopamine hit that immediate false pleasure, because that's really what we're looking for. Right. Instead of, you know, what's actually going to serve me and it's going to be well for me, like I do that all the time. Like I'm guilty of this, so, right. Um, you know, I immediately go out of my office and I'm like, okay, It looks great. 15 minutes to kind of spare and, you know, do whatever I want. And I immediately think about what should I, what am I going to eat for lunch? What am I going to do this? You know? And it's just immediate, but then I have to tell myself, okay. Nope. I only have 15 minutes, so clearly I can't make anything and eat in 15 minutes. So I'm just going to go ahead and focus on the next thing. We'll probably be more water, hydrate myself to get ready for the next event, especially if it's a coaching call, because I believe that we all need to be completely focused and intentional with our conversation. Right. Because I think the more that we're able to do that and listen, and be there, I think the better we can help with. And so, you know, with that lazy, I know you've not only worked with, um, other military spouses, um, other women, what is one thing that you've noticed that, you know, they struggle with or that you have helped them with and maybe possibly even help, you know, one of the ladies listening in today?

Lizzie:

Sure. So. You know, as, as you said in the beginning, we all struggle with weight loss to one degree and body image and so forth. Um, for military families, uh, military members and dependents that only face those normal challenges of yo-yo dieting and emotional eating, self sabotage and so forth. But we also have those additional. Significant life stressors of deployments change in duty station, maybe not living where you choose often away from family having to pick up your whole life and start over again. And like, well, how am I gonna make new friends? Um, and so it can be a lonely, stressful experience, and it's easy to turn to chocolate therapy late at night when you're missing your loved one. Or you're not sure when orders can come in. And so the things that. Particularly enjoy helping anybody, but particularly military families is helping them address that emotional side of it is okay to be feeling sad, to be feeling stress, to be feeling, you know, earlier you mentioned, particularly as women, we are caretakers. And so there is always something to be done. Whether I can cook a meal, I can do some laundry. I can show up at my child's. Sir, you know, recital and we put ourselves last. And so it is almost against our nature to slow down and take that time to feel the feelings just as you said. And so it's so much easier to turn to chocolate. Um, and so the work that I enjoy doing is, uh, helping. Military personnel and their families recognize that their feelings are, are okay, they're valid. You don't have to cover them up with the food. And also how to handle when you do want to turn to food and like, okay, you did let's, let's do this in perfectly. The only way to lose weight is imperfectly and to make mistakes like that is absolutely the way to go because imperfect consistency, beats perfect failure.

Wendi:

Yeah, I love that because I mean, we're, we're just not meant to be perfect. Right. And I think that that is where, you know, the, um, discipline of seeking God also helps. Right. Because, you know, I don't think we can ever do anything alone. I mean, we sometimes want to, we are, um, you know, I always go back to like me and kind of. My clients, you know, tell me with, you know, when, when they're struggling kind of like, I, I want to ask for help, but then there's this other part of me that I'm like, no, I can do this on my own because I've done X, Y, Z before. So I know I can do it, or, you know, there's nothing that's impossible for me. Right. But then when we really are honest and we question, you know, most of the things that. I thought we couldn't go through right when we experienced this breakthrough, at least for me, there's always been somebody else other than just myself, you know, either, you know, it's been God through prayer, this one best friend, right. That's always been there for me or possibly my husband, or even sometimes, um, strangers that just helped me through, you know, members of the church. So again, I think. When we're okay to seek for help in a way that we know it's going to help us, not only emotionally, but also mentally or mentally and emotionally. I think that that is, you know, the best thing that we could do for ourselves because we can't understand. How to even show or allow our emotions. Right. Because it's kind of like, well, how do we do that? When we're an environment where we're told not to, right. It's kind of like, we're supposed to be, you know, these leaders that don't get upset or. Aren't sad. Right. They don't have anything going on in their lives. Um, I mean, we all do, right. I mean, life is always happening, even if it's not within your immediate family, like, you know, for you, not sure if it was, you know, something that happened, you know, with your husband's appointment or your kids at school. It could have been your mom, it could have been your sister. Someone is always requiring our attention or, you know, sharing with us their struggles. And I think that that's sometimes that we overlook it at that information. Right. And we just kind of hold it in and we want to be, you know, the, not necessarily the superhero, but we want to be that, that like what we call battle, buddy, that partner that's going to help. Go through it, but when it comes time for us, or like, we don't have time for that,

Lizzie:

that resonates with me so deeply. And I will raise my hand as I am the one who wanted to be the superhero and I still do it. But in particularly as a military spouse, you know, your, your husband goes away and you're like, okay, everything is on me. And if somebody gets sick, I gotta handle it. If washer breaks, it's mine. I, if I'm moving to handle the finances, I'm handling everything. And so I know that I personally took on the persona of like, whatever the problem is, it's my problem. And I got to handle it and it there's, there's sort of the natural tendency to not ask for help, but that added, I need to have it buttoned up because he's away and he can't help me right now. And I remember learning this lesson so profiling. One deployment when I got sick, uh, it, the coal that turned into a sinus infection that turned into the flu was just like three weeks long. It just wouldn't go away. And I thought I was getting better. And then like I woke up Saturday morning and just felt miserable. And my parents were too far away and I called up my in-laws and they were, you know, a significant drive, but close enough. And I just said, I need help. I just need somebody to watch the kids so I can go to the emergency clinic. And they saved the day and it was so profound for me to realize not only. Is it okay to ask for help, but they felt amazing to be able to come in and help. And so asking for help is actually a gift to someone else

Wendi:

as well. I love that asking for help is a gift for someone else as well. I love that. And it's true, right? Like we, as humans, we want to feel as if people need us, it's just our nature. Right. Right. Like, oh, you need my help. Yes. I'll help you. Right. But I think. In our minds when it comes to us or like, no, one's going to want to, you know, no one's going to have this dopamine hit of, oh, I'm going to help Wendy, or I'm going to help her do X, Y, Z. But I, I mean, you, you hit on it, Lizzie. I think that, um, you know, if you are struggling right now, right. If you're a military spouse or even a military woman, dual military, because I was dual military as well. And I think that we. At least for me, I felt like I fell in that part as well as a military spouse. But then I was like, no, but I'm also a service member, but then I'm like, but he's not here because he's in training. I also do need help. And I was completely blessed to be in an area where my in-laws were. So, I mean, my struggles compared to other dual military families were nowhere near. Yes. I can only imagine, you know, if right now you're possibly, you know, getting sick or, you know, with COVID and with everything going on right now, you know, it's okay for you to feel. As if you're not operating, right? So if you need to call a sibling, you need to make a phone call to a friend to the neighbor. You know, you just have to do it because at the end of the day, you're not helping anyone, right? Like maybe your kids need help and you can't help them if you aren't doing well. So Lizzie, thank you for highlighting that. And. Now, why would you say, or what would you say is different from your program than any other coaches? Because we all know there are so many coaches out there and, you know, that's, that's a great thing because we all need help somewhere. But at the same time, what makes your program different than another weight loss? Sure.

Lizzie:

Um, if I real quick, I'd love to circle back to something you said about like your, your struggles were not necessarily at the same compared to others. And I definitely did that same thing of like, whatever I'm struggling with. Well, it could be worse. I shouldn't complain. And one thing I learned over time was, and my husband needed to help me with this was, you know, nobody wins the heart award. Everybody's experience is hard in different ways. And just because somebody might have quote unquote, have it worse doesn't mean whatever you're experiencing, isn't challenging and isn't worth asking for help around. Um, and to circle to your next question, um, I, I totally agree that. You know, I'm much less interested in telling somebody here's what to eat or here's how to work out, because there's plenty of that out there. I'm more interested in helping you through, why do you sabotage your progress after three weeks? Or how do you handle sugar cravings at nine o'clock at night or, and, you know, the unique things that each individual person struggles with and, um, how to stop dieting and learn to actually. Their lives in a way that they can eat what they want and actually enjoy the healthy food and enjoy the way they weigh and appreciate their bodies for the miracle that they are.

Wendi:

I love it. Yeah. And like you said, you're more focused on like the mental and emotional aspect of it. And I think that that's where we all need to kind of go into, because that is the root cause of, you know, acquire. We're taking action on things that we don't want to do, right. Like overeat or even just eat what we're not hungry. Right. Like you said, I love, um, I think you said the, when you're hungry and what was the other part? Emotional hunger,

Lizzie:

physical hunger, and

Wendi:

emotional, physical and emotional hunger. Absolutely. I love that. All right. Well, thank you so much, Lizzie. I loved everything you shared with us. And is there anything else that you would love to share with our listeners when it comes time for.

Lizzie:

Sure. Um, if I may, I'd love to kind of address a quick tip and then a follow on if you want to learn more. Um, so one thing, one thing that I hear a lot with my clients is, uh, I do great all day until four o'clock, five o'clock and then I just, I just can't handle it anymore. I just blow the rest of the day and I feel so demoralized by the end of the day. And there's an, a totally natural, understandable reason why it's harder to make good choices when you're tired. So the subconscious mind and you know, the more kind of evolutionarily primitive part of our brain is designed to keep you alive. It does not care that you're satisfied or happy with your weight or your life. It just wants to keep you alive. And so any kind of change is labeled as a threat. And so when the subconscious mind reads threat and wants to get you back to normal match your normal eating patterns. So if you've been on a diet. That is change. And the subconscious mind is like, whoa, warning bells. And that's that's what's going on here. Let's get back to normal because normal kept us alive. And when you're tired, after a long day, you're, you're a conscious mind, the prefrontal cortex, which uses up a lot of energy reserves in the brain. There's literally less energy, less kind of caloric energy available to your prefrontal cortex, where you make your conscious decisions. And so. You're going to your, your brain reverts back to the subconscious reasoning. And so when you're tired, that's when you're going to make your more impulsive short-term goal-oriented decisions. Like I want a whole bag of chips in this moment, and I don't care about my diet because your subconscious mind is kind of taking over when there's less energy available to, uh, make this cautious. So what to do about it when you know, that's coming, you know, four o'clock happens every day, a plan, a specific snack that, you know, you'll enjoy. You know, you look forward to it's maybe a little bit healthier than the bag of chips. You could have gone to impulsively plan it ahead of time at eight o'clock in the morning, whatever it is, nine o'clock in the morning. No. All right. When I get home from work or at that time of day, when I tend to eat the whole house, I'm going to plan for this snack and make us something good that you will like and decided advanced the serving size. You want portion it out. Um, and know how much is enough you to know when you are. And that is your quick tip to know, to look forward to, and then I'll hold you over to dinner and the reasoning why it's so hard to make those decisions in the moment. And if you'd like to learn more and kind of delve deeper, I created a little bit of a mini workbook on how to handle weight loss with a military move. And you can find that at bit.ly so bit.ly/militarymoveweightloss

Wendi:

love it. Thank you so much, Lizzie. I not only appreciate you making this specifically for listeners, but also for sharing that, because again, making decisions ahead of time is everything right? It's everything that I kind of not only teach and coach on, but the better we can redirect our mind ahead of time, the more successful we're going to be with the follow through. And I think that that's where, you know, we want to be in eventually. Take those consistent steps, even when progress isn't even made. Right? Because like you mentioned, at the very beginning, it's going to be imperfect. And I think that that's, you know, what we need to continue to understand and really practice because no one is perfect, but all right, Lizzie, thank you so much for all of the information. It was a pleasure actually meeting you today, for those of you that. I can actually see Lizzie here on the screen. And for more information on her, everything will be in the show notes. Again, if you not only loved everything she said, and it resonated with you and you want to learn more, please head over to bit.ly/militarymoveweightloss all right, you guys have a beautiful rest of your week. Bye.