Client Interview: How Brittany Lost 18 Pounds Without Dieting

In today’s episode, I’m sitting down with my former client Brittany to talk about her experience inside my coaching program and the transformation she created.

When Brittany first came to me, she described her relationship with food as “noisy.” Her mind was constantly filled with thoughts like “Should I eat this? Shouldn’t I eat that?” and she felt stuck in the familiar all-or-nothing cycle that so many women struggle with. 

Over the course of our work together, Brittany lost 18 pounds, but more importantly, she changed the way she thinks about food, habits, and what’s possible for her life.

In this conversation, we talk about:

• Why she decided to schedule a consultation after listening to the podcast
• The mental chatter around food that kept her stuck for years
• The moment she realized going “off plan” didn’t mean she had failed
• How she broke the all-or-nothing cycle with eating and exercise
• The mindset shifts that helped her create real, sustainable weight loss

Brittany also shares how this work has impacted other areas of her life—from running her business to navigating hard moments like grief.

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s actually like to work with me or whether this work could work for you too, this episode is for you.

Sign up for my Free Live Workshop "Get Control Over Your Eating" here.

Find Brittany's Tea Website here: https://www.lagominfusions.com/

Enrollment is NOW OPEN for my April Modern Change Group Program.  If you are loving the podcast, click HERE get all the details of my program.   It is for women who not only want to lose between 10 and 15 pounds by summer, but also want to finally do it permanently and without dieting.  In my program, you will become a woman who is in control of her eating, mindset, and follow-through.

Transcript

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Steve, welcome to modern body, modern life, the podcast for women who want to feel powerful, healthy, strong and confident, inside and out at every age. On this podcast, we talk about becoming a woman who is fully in control of her eating and movement, so weight loss, strength and energy become permanent. We also talk about something bigger, becoming the woman who takes her deepest desire seriously and goes after more in every area of her life. I'm body and life coach Courtney Gray, and I believe you can get in the best shape of your life at any age, and when you do, it becomes a catalyst for everything else, your relationships, your confidence, your joy, because when you feel like you and your body, all of life gets better. Let's get started. Welcome to the podcast. This is a special podcast because I'm so excited that I have one of my now I can say past clients, because we just finished working together on the podcast today, and her name is Brittany, and I'm just really excited to have a powerful conversation about why you decided to coach with me, about what kind of transformation you felt like you experienced. You know, I know that when you talk about your experience, just like every other client I've had on the podcast, people are going to go, Oh, my God, that's me. Oh my God, that's me. So I'm excited. I know, like, I think I've told you before that, like, I've had people come on consultations and they're like, Oh, I heard Kim talk about this or that that was me, or I heard Jamie or whatever, all my beautiful clients. So I'm really excited to have you today. Brittany, yeah, excited to be here. Okay, so let's dive in. And just like, I know that you were listening to the podcast, and then at some point you were like, I'm scheduling a consultation. So tell me why. Like, tell me what made you go, Ah, right, yeah, I think I had had just at that point I was really, I was looking to start to do something different. And I really just liked the way you talked about weight loss and not being this sort of diet and extreme thing. And I was at that point where I just had just kind of tired of all the usual things. And ironically, you had, like, referenced me on my business, on a podcast, on the one I listened to, and I thought that you need to get your act together and just call her so. And I had done a session with a larger group at a local business group that we both belong to, and so I liked your style. I liked your kind of talking about things, and so I was already familiar with you, but I was just kind of ready to say, like, let's just do it. I just, I was done. I was kind of just done with all the normal weight loss things. And were you you like, were you learning from the podcast? Did you feel like that was working for you a little bit? Because that's what a lot of people come to me, and they're like, You know what I've actually been doing well, using what I'm learning on the podcast. I was learning from the podcast, but I also felt like I just still the mental piece in my head was still tripping me up, and I couldn't, kind of, I was kind of trying to coach myself a little bit, but it wasn't quite I just didn't feel like it was, like long term, sustainable. I just didn't feel like I could kind of totally do it on my own, and so I just wanted to help that, like, deeper level, like I was feeling like, Okay, this is good, some good changes, but it just didn't feel like enough for me personally. Yeah, I hear that a lot. I hear that, so I have to say now we've stopped coaching, and between, I've been listening to the podcast, and I hear them differently now that we've done coaching. Oh, really, I love that. And like, well, I will, I will have a different, like, understanding of some of them that I had already listened to in the past. So I am still getting kind of that continued value. But in a deeper level, it's very interesting. Oh, I love that. And, yeah, I've had people say, like, I will even, I've had people tell me that they'll even go back to the beginning and start, like, binging the podcast, which is, really is the ultimate compliment. But you, when you ask, especially after you work with me, you do hear it in a different way, different way. Yeah, it's very interesting. Tell me, like when you came to me, and I know I could probably look back on our notes and remind myself, but how much weight did you want to lose, and then how much weight did you end up losing so far? Yeah, so my first goal was, had enough. I think it was about 15 pounds or about 20, but probably 20 pounds, I had a number that I was that was 145 that was my initial number that I wanted to get, to say initial because I think, like, four or five sessions in, I kind of laughed at myself and thought, Oh, that was a really safe number. Britney, I love that way I stop you. It's so common. Why do you think you chose a safe number? I chose a safe number because I still had in my head at the beginning. Ing, the thought around I'm I'm not, I'm old. I'm 36 years old, but I'm getting older than I was in my 20s. Just so, you know, everyone who's older than 50 is going to be annoying. I get that, but I'm not in my 20s anymore. I'm not in college, and I'm and so I'm everyone always says, you know, at your 30s, you're going to start seeing weight, come on, and it's going to be harder to get off. And so I had this in mentality, you know, I'm just I'm getting older, and so I'm not going to be looking like I was when I was 20. And so the number that I was when I was 20 is probably not realistic. And so that's what I came in with those sort of thoughts around. And then as we started working together, I thought, Oh, that was just so silly. That was not a normal thought. And so, what do I actually want to do? And I then I created a new number, half, like, not even halfway through, I think it was like three or four sessions. I totally revised so that, yeah, that was a really interesting thinking to say, oh, what actually am I looking for instead of, what do I think is possible? Yeah, what do I really want? Well, and that is, it's so common. And I think I even told you that it's so common for women to come in, and they'll come in and they'll say, I want to lose 10 pounds. And then they're like, at like, seven pounds down, and they're like, Actually, I wanted really and it shows their belief. The reason they say that is they're coming from a place of, if I could just lose this, it'll be good enough. Because I don't even really believe I can do it without dieting, right? Because that's my whole program, is without dieting and doing the mental work and growing your habits and growing your capacity, all those things. And there's a bit of a disbelief that it's really possible, and then you start believing it's possible, and you're like, Oh, well, it turns out that if I really can get what I want, then then I'm going to change the number, and it's a it's a beautiful thing. Yeah, that was really exciting. Yeah, that changed the what. At the same time, I started changing the like, kind of morning phrase that I wrote in my protocol, yeah, around just being a body that felt like to me, that felt like me, versus being a body that I'm excited about, like, I just, I changed the language in my head, and then it became a different target of where I wanted to go, Yeah, well, and it's so interesting how you said there's this narrative in society, like, Oh, you're 30 now, you're never going to Be like you are in your 20s. And there's some truth to that. We're not going to be like we are in our 20s, right? But the narrative really should be like, Oh, you're 30, like, you have grown mentally. You have, like, some experience under your belt, right? And then it's like, oh, you turn 50. It's like, then you start going, Oh my gosh. And, and the narrative should be, like, more empowerment, more possibility, more capability. It doesn't mean like, you don't have wrinkles. It doesn't mean, you know, but like, there is a narrative still in society, I see it that the older you get, your body really starts to break down, and you can't physically do as much. And there is so much evidence that that is not true, yeah, but if we think it's true, we buy into it, and then we just, we're like, Well, I just want to do this instead of like, I think I want to start running marathons now that I'm 60. Yeah. So funny. Okay, so how would you I have a bunch of questions for you. So how would you describe your relationship to food before we started working together, it was really the word that comes to mind is noisy. It was very like my head was very noisy around, should I? Should I not have this? This is a healthy food versus not healthy food. Very extremes. It was, it was very like, labeled around extremes and just, yeah, noisy, just a lot, a lot of chatter around, should I have this? And if I was going to have something, it was like, well, I shouldn't be having this, so I wasn't enjoying it. There's just a lot of just those extreme feelings that I just wanted to, like, turn down the the nozzle on then, yeah, oh yeah, totally. I always say that, like, when you're eating cookies or cake and you're or drinking a margarita from a place of shame, it literally does not taste as good. No, yeah. And then I think that's one of the reasons why we overdo it, is because we're not really enjoying it, yeah, less actual satisfaction in it, yeah. So what was the hardest part about trying to manage your weight before, like when you came to me before coaching? I think the hardest part was the, like, the lack of anything addressing my mental chatter around it. I've always, historically been a more slim person, and so as I would see, my weight creep up a little bit, I'd do, you know, kind of a health kick or, you know, like, start a new exercise or something, kind of get it back in track, and and so the the physical assistance on that with regular diets would kind of help keep me in check a little bit, but it never addressed any of the mental space. And then. And you know, as I started seeing over time, like particularly the last five years, my weight just kind of slowly tick up on average overall, that sort of quick fix of the mental or the physical side wasn't working anymore as well. And then the mental piece never worked. And so it just felt like I didn't have a solution for any of it anymore, and that that felt, that felt discouraging, yeah, and didn't you start? Because I started hearing this too, and then people, the narrative again, was like, Well, as you get older, you get bigger, you, it's not possible for you, and it's better if you're a little larger, and it's your metabolism slows down, and so it's so there's this battle, especially right when you're standing there in front of the pretzels, you're like, Oh, I'm supposed to be looking at this way. It's what's just, it's chaos. Yeah, just chaos. It's so sad. We're laughing, but it's so sad, well. And so one of the things I remember you saying to me, and this is so common, is like, you would be really good, and then you would overeat, like you even said, just like hot and cold, on and off, like people say, describe it in so many ways, yeah. So tell me, like, tell me what, how horrible that was, because I know it was horrible. Yeah, I would get so excited about being on a new thing or a new exercise routine, or whatever it was, and to get this little buzz of energy you do, and it would, as soon as I wasn't perfect on it. So let's say my I was gonna run every day, and then I didn't do it one day, I would just completely fall off. And it was, it was these big swings. It was like this, like, I almost, like, think of it as like, massive pendulum of just totally on or just swung all the way back off. And so it felt very extreme. It felt very tiring. So again, there was that like burst of energy at the beginning. It's like a sugar rush. It was like this burst of energy. It truly is dope. Depleted me at the end. And then I would just, yeah, just be like, disappointed that it didn't work out again. Yeah, you were really, I remember there was a few, many times, actually, in the beginning, you were very every time you would always say to me, I just want to make sure this is not like, how did you describe it? Many times you were like, I don't want this to be a temporary, temporary, let's just do this for two weeks, or let you know, even when you thought about taking your workouts to the next level, which I that's what my whole program is about, you becoming a person who, like, has better habits, right your own next level. But you were very cautious in this is a good thing. You were very cautious that you didn't want to do anything to get that dopamine rush that was not going to be sustainable. That is, like, my whole program is we're doing this in in a way that's sustainable. And so every time I said, Well, is that really what you want to do? Do we think this is sustainable? Like, tell me about what your thoughts were with all of that. Yeah, I was, I was probably more cautious than I needed to be, but I think I needed to prove to myself that it wasn't I wasn't just jumping all into another fix of something. Yeah. So I got really I was really motivated, and I was thinking, Oh, I've been going to the gym twice a week, doing this, like, really intense workout, and at one point I remember talking with you, saying, I think I could do three times a week, but my initial thought in my head was, Oh, don't overdo it, because then you're gonna not do it one week, and then you're gonna swing back. And that was, that was just the initial thought in my head, because I just automatically assumed it would be the same. And then, I remember we had a call about this, and it was you had said, Well, how do you feel? I was like, Well, I actually just feel like my body's gotten stronger, and I do think I can do it three times a week, and if I don't do it one three times a week, like, that's okay. And so it was just it changed the like, if I kind of slowly built it up, instead of this all or nothing, and constantly going back to, do you want to do this? Like, your reasons for doing it is this, you know, do you want to be the type of woman that goes to orange theory three days a week most of the time? Yeah. And did that feel sustainable? Did it feel like I could like, is that just I'm excited this week, or does that feel like that fits into my schedule? That's what I want to do. Why do you think the so many, so many of us are like this? But why do you think you have this tendency to be like, like the all or none, perfect? Do you are you like a perfect would you say you're a perfectionist? It's funny. I do a little bit. I have become that way. And I think I will, either it won't do it, or I will go all in. So I just, I tend to be pretty extreme with that, and I haven't. I've realized it over the last, you know, five or so years that, like, is in more areas of my life than I realized. Um, so I just tend to, I don't I, yeah, it's, it's unclear why I do that, but I. Do you feel like I kind of go all in or not at all well? And that's part of the work we did together, is you being able to eat how you wanted to eat, and meaning like that that aligned with your goals, even when things were not going well. And so that that's for most people that are on and off, that's the biggest thing I teach them, like how to actually stick to your goals when you're, quote, unquote, off, when things go wrong, when you're like, for you, a big thing I know we've talked about is in our coaching, we've talked about you when you feel depleted, like that's one of your triggers. And so can you tell me about how that got better? You being able to actually eat, like, the way you want to eat, even when things are not great. Yeah, that was a big concern of mine, actually. When we first started, was like, like, I said, like, I was really unplanned at the beginning, so I'm always like that with everything. And so when we started, I was feeling, oh, I can do this. This is no big deal. I wrote my protocol of what I want to eat and do for the day, and I was able to do it. And I was really, really nervous about the first time that I was going to go off land. And the first time I did that was when I was completely depleted from a really busy work week. And it was a big social week for me, which is also a pretty big emotional drainer for me personally. And I just remember at the end of the night feeling like I'm just too tired. I can't I can't coach myself anymore. And I gave in to the second dessert, or whatever it was, and then the next day it felt like, oh, it was not a big deal in a good way. In a good way, it was just not a big deal that it and I just went back to my protocol. And so there was something about the changing like I had, I had done all of the coaching in my head getting to that point, but I did reach this breaking point where I thought, You know what? This is, just the point where I need my body just needs this right now. Yeah, it was okay, and I needed that comfort right now. And that got me to the point the next morning where I thought, that's fine, and I can go back and I can do it, but now that there's nights where I'm emotionally tired and I can coach myself, I can still do that. And so it made it this again. It wasn't this all or nothing, like, if you're tired, you're gonna order takeout for dinner. No, not necessarily. There might be where you get so overtired, and then you can that's fine, like, it's not a big deal to do that every once in a while. So it just again, it felt this, like not all or nothing, like it's gonna I can try and coach myself when I'm at that point, but there might be some times where I get too overwhelmed, and that's there might be some times where you're a normal human and you need to comfort yourself, yes, and that that was a thing that I got in my head that I couldn't do, and then it was either you should or you shouldn't do that. But I thought maybe there's a scenario in which that's okay. And so why don't you have done before? What would you have done before we started coaching together, when you would have gotten really depleted and just energetically, because you're you, you identify as an introvert. Am I right? Yes, yeah, which is so interesting. Total side note, I've never thought of myself as an introvert. I've always thought of myself as an extrovert, but the more and more I coach, meaning like not the more clients I have, the more groups I run, and then I also coach for another coach. So the more hours i log a week coaching other people, I am tiptoeing into being more of an introvert, which I guess, the way, I don't even know what the definition of, but I feel like I need my alone time even more like, I feel a little bit like, is that what you would you say? Yeah, it's funny. I always grew up thinking, well, introverts are just shy, which I was, but then as I got older, I got more outgoing and but then I still had this sort of, it's social interactions. I love them now, yeah, but I can only take so much, and as soon I just feel my battery just like, as soon as it's like it is, as soon as I go to like an event, my battery will just start draining, and then I need alone time or quiet time just to recharge. So exactly how I define it is, yeah, that's how I define it too, because there's nothing shy about me, no, but I understand level, yeah, yes, I am finding almost kind of, like, especially Sundays, because I work a pretty full day on Monday all week. But like, Sundays, I'm very protective on Sundays. So, like, I'm like, okay, if I'm going to do something, I'm going to make sure that I'm not saying yes to too many other things. And that wasn't the case for me years ago. I could say yes to anyone at any time. Yeah, let's do this events, whatever. And I'm like, Oh my gosh, time, yeah, I need some recharge. It Okay, so you like in the past, when you would have felt emotionally drained, and then you would have comforted yourself with food. What would you the next morning? What would that have been instead of you getting back on track? And being like, oh, it turns out I'm a human. Back on track. What would you have done before? I would have just stayed in the kind of extreme swing for a while. Wouldn't be like, forever, but it would be a while. It would have been like, Well, I mean, I had all of that dessert last night. Let's go get egg sandwiches for breakfast, and let's do what you know, I just like, I wouldn't be motivated to do just to get back to my normal plan. Yeah, I would just kind of like, stay in that swing the extreme of like, almost like, rationalizing eating that isn't serving you and doing all that. That is why I think for so many people, that even if people just have 1520, pounds to lose, why, even if they're not gaining, gaining, gaining weight, why they're not losing because they have a moment where they don't do what they said they were going to do, and then they really what it is is they shame themselves. They might feel they might, might not identify with shame, but that's really what it is. They're frustrated with themselves. They're telling themselves a story, that this is what they do, and then they're what that is, is shame. And then you get the fuck it's like, Well, Jesus, if I'm going to be shaming myself like I might as well just eat all the things and not worry about this. And then we have society telling us that we should just enjoy life, that this shouldn't be a problem anyways. So it's like, sounds amazing, until then a week later, you're like, Ah, right. You finally realize that you do really want this. Yeah, there is that, that like, middle ground of, well, I just should enjoy life. Yes, worth it. You only live once. I want the food. It's the calming. I think of that as the like, self soothing from the brain, yeah, and from the from the guilt of having the dessert and saying yes, you just enjoy it life, you know, yeah. And then you see other people enjoying. You're like, See, she's amazing and she's enjoying. It's no problem. Oh, so what did you discover in our time together? And I'm sure this isn't a one word answer, but like, what was actually driving your overeating? Do you think there were two big points in my kind of general day that I think it showed up the most? The first one was snacking during the day, generally in the afternoon, but like sometimes between breakfast and lunch, but more more often, like between lunch and dinner, and I figured out that I was doing it more when I look at my list and I would say, oh, there was a lot on my list that's super overwhelming, or there was, like, a specific thing on my list I was really nervous about, yeah, um, like, reaching out to new customers, or, like things that just make me more anxious, yeah, and I would, I would want to, like, delay or pause those activities, and I would fill that with with food. My, my immediate response in my head would be like, Oh, I'm a little hungry. Maybe I should go have a little snack or, you know, just something to get me away from that list. That was definitely one of them. And practicing being uncomfortable in that anxiety of something, and then starting to kind of go through our coaching of changing your thinking around each of those things that are making you anxious or that has really helped. The other point at which I noticed I get more like snacking or grabbing for its foods or overeating is around evening, there's just a killer for me. I am someone who just likes to keep moving. And so during at the end of the night, we'll sit down watch TV, and my brain immediately says, like, well, what are we going to have? So I had figured out I was like, it was the pause, and it was that, like, not, like my body not doing anything. And like feeling like, I would describe it kind of as bored, but not, not in a way it bored always doesn't quite exactly feel the right word for me, but it feels like, like my body's not doing anything. So I think my body feels bored, and so I feel like I need to kind of keep moving. My go to snack is popcorn. God, I love some popcorn. Yeah, and I will, it's half of it's just the flavor. Half of it, I know for sure, is that motion of eating popcorn. And it's that like my my hand is continually moving. And it's that like motion. And I think my body feels a little less bored. So feeling okay just sitting there and not doing anything, is it really? People don't realize boredom is a big problem, especially now in our society, when we are not bored, if, at the very least, if you think about bored, you will pick up your phone and you'll scroll on something, right? Yeah, and that's the I was trying not to do that either, I know. So you're just Yeah, so do you? So here's a question. Everyone is probably thinking, do you still eat popcorn sometimes? Oh, absolutely, most nights they eat popcorn. I'm so you know what? I've been on a popcorn kick, too. And the reason why this is so impactful for everyone to hear is because there are 1000s of women. That listen to this podcast a week, and they're thinking, but not for me. It that wouldn't I would be the one that would would work with Courtney, and those wouldn't work for me. I'd have to give up everything. And it's just not true in the beginning. Were you worried like I'm going to invest and I'm going to give this time and energy and money and this really isn't going to be possible for me. Oh yeah. I thought it. It sounded different than everything else, but I didn't have the same expect. I didn't have this, like, hopeful expectation. I mean, I hoped for it, but I just in the back of my head, I thought I actually just, I remember telling you this, like, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. Yes. I was just waiting, yeah, has the other shoe dropped yet? Oh yes, yes, and no. So my biggest fear was going off plan. And so I thought, Oh, well, as soon as I go off my protocol for the day, that's it, yeah. And it was just like I said. It was that. It was that evening after that long week of work, and third and it was this big social thing, and I had the extra dessert, and then it was and I had the extra dessert, and I didn't keep eating after that, I thought, oh, that's what I I'm eating because I was just overtired. And I didn't go, it didn't go extreme. I did more than I wanted, but not extreme. Yeah, I woke up the next day and was fine. And that, ironically, the the what I thought was messing up, or would be, you know, the other shoe dropping was just this sort of like, oh, okay, and I'm going to move on, and I'm going to keep doing it. You know what I love about that? It's like, you're like, Yeah, it's like, the shoe dropped, and, you know what I did? I I picked the shoe up, back on, and I kept walking away. Yes, so good. But when you think about going on a diet, and you think about total restriction, and then finally giving in and having something, a lot of diets are like, You need to start over. Like when I was on hole 30, and I remember being out to sushi with one of my boys, and I was on hole 30, and it was going great. I was losing weight, you know, and a lot of my urges went away because, you know, you get rid of that sugar out of your body. My herbs went away. And I remember on hole 30, and I was sitting there, and he's like, he got edamame, and I was, I had a few edamames, and then all sudden, I realized, I'm like, oh shit. Because I think if I'm, if I remember correctly, with with whole 30, you can't there's something about edamame. Is it a bean? Whatever it is, you're not supposed to have that food group. And technically, if you go off, you're supposed to start over. And I was like, I'm 17 mentally killing that like that makes no sense at all. It's like, what a shaming thing for me to be like, You fucked up. How dare you? And I'm like, Oh no, we're not starting over. Oh, well, I did the same thing as you. I just picked up the shoe. She's gonna be all right. People, we're gonna be all right. That's when I realized it was different. I thought, oh, okay, this is not such a big deal. And that, like it was the, that's the turning down of the volume. That was just like, oh, okay, this is really different. Yeah, yeah. Well, that's why, in the beginning of coaching together, I tell people you are going to mess this up. You're either not going to do the workbook one day, or you're going to make a plan and you're not going to follow through, and you're going to come and tell me, and I'm going to be like, fabulous. What did we learn? Right? And when you shame yourself after messing up, quote, unquote, you don't give your space, you don't give yourself space to learn anything, because you're just shaming yourself, as opposed to like, oh, I because one of the things you knew this coming into me, but one of the things you said is, I didn't realize when I am drained that needs to be like, mentally fist up, like, Okay. And now you're at a point where, when you do an event, you know you're going to be drained after so now you're like, planning ahead. Yeah, I remember one of our calls I said, next week is going to be killer for me. I'm traveling. I'm going on a girls trip. I'm doing and and we talked about, okay, well, how are we going to plan like? We just like and it made it so much better. And I still messed up. Well, messed up, but I still had more than I had planned to in that process, and it was still fine. And I think, if I remember correctly, I think you ended up lose, still losing weight that week, even though you messed up too. That's the beautiful thing too, is, is that people come on a call and they'll be like, okay, messed up, and this is what it did. I'm like, Oh, I had, did we lose any weight? Oh, yeah, I'm down on another pound and two, two or something. How much weight have you lost so far? Because I know you still have weight you want to lose? How much weight? Yes, I am down 18 pounds. Amazing. Yeah, I'm almost at my initial safe goal. So good, so good. And you're wearing a cute, yellow, bright spring dress I know, which just I was actually just looking through my closet. There's a whole bunch of dresses that I had last summer. Yeah, it couldn't wear and I just kept them. That's what we do, and I can wear them this summer. I'm so excited now you get to go shopping in your own damn closet. Yes, it's great, amazing. So good. God, it feels so good. Okay, when we first started coaching together, what doubts do? Did you have, like, Were there certain things you're like, oh, I don't know about this. I was really nervous about, I know you had talked about tracking. I had heard that in your podcast, and you at the beginning, and I was really nervous about tracking. I had done, like, tracking in an app, tracking in an app, yep, tracking, like, macros of what I've been eating, and I there was very had been in the past, very triggering for me around overeating, and so that made me really nervous. Can you describe for everyone what? What you mean by that? Like, what about that made you nervous to actually go in and log all your food? Tell me I remember doing tracking with Weight Watchers and with just, like, calorie counting, sort of things. And I would be really, really good because I would hit the number, I'd be really again, perfectionist of I did that exact number, couldn't go under, couldn't go over, yeah, and then as soon as I didn't hit that number exactly I would, it would just kind of trigger this like, well, that's off plan. That's swing, and I'm giving up. Yeah. And so that, to me, felt very diety all of the things I'd kind of tried in the past. And so that was one of the things in particular that I said at the beginning I didn't want to do. I had also said, like, I didn't want to do any no food, none, none of this, no, no. Like, I can't put, like, a no list of food, like, a total restriction, yeah, total restriction of anything, any of those sort of, like, more, like concrete, very, like rules, restrictive things I was, I was always just very concerned about. So that's that kind of felt the tracking of food fell into that category for me. Yeah, yeah. I was a little nervous about Yeah. And then how did it go? Because we just, for everyone listening is like, we track, probably for like, four days to a week in the middle of working with me, yeah? So this isn't like a program where I have people track all the time, because I just don't think that's necessary, and it's exhausting. Tracking is not fun. When I finally said, Okay, Brittany, I think it's time for us to track what, tell me what. Tell me what that was like, because you did it, and I'm very proud of you. Yes, my initial response was, oh, I don't know if I want to do that, but you then we talked about it, and you say, Okay, well, let's do it. It's from a curiosity perspective, and it was from a data collection perspective. And I come from a science background, so I love some good data. So I was all in for that. Do you remember why I just, I thought, I thought it was a good time for you to do it. I was feeling like my weight loss was slowing down a little bit. It was kind of mid, I think it was about mid, maybe three quarters of the way through, yeah, and it felt like it was just slowing down. And so I had mentioned I'm still losing weight, but I I'm trying to think ahead to when I'm gonna need to pull back a little bit. How do I go about doing that in a non diet way. And so that's where the conversation, I think, started for us on that. And when I first started, you say, Okay, let's track so I was like, Okay, let's do it, because I could tell there was resistance. But yeah, I really was grateful that you, like so many my other clients, just trusted me. You know, because I said this, we're doing this from Curiosity. This does not, it doesn't have to be perfect. You do need to put everything in there during the day, but we're just going to look at it and go, Oh, interesting. Yeah, yeah. In the first day I did it, I did put everything in and I actually didn't meet, like, hit all of the calories I think I was, I don't know, was over on some, like, fats, but not other things. But I overall calories, I still had some left for the day. And my initial thought in my head was, oh, I can have more things I'm going to do. I going to fill to this number, yeah. And then I just, I freaked out that night. I was like, I was like, I don't want to do this. It's just bringing you back to the that same thoughts, yeah, and I think we, I didn't track that week, and then we talked about it, and the next week was like, Okay, let's try it again, like, a different way in tracking, like retrospectively, for three days, and I had just written down everything. And so then I tracked it so that I could find out what those days were. What you mean is, you wrote down all your food, and then after a few days, put it in, put it in, so good respectively. And I think that was a good, that was a good, like midpoint for me, like a starting point for me, had those in this like, very automatic thoughts of what have to hit, the number on the calories, which is people, it's so common, they either, either I have to hit my calories. And a lot of so many people do Weight Watchers, and they're like, Oh, I've got a point left. And then they're rummaging through their pantry, oh, I can have half of this cookie because I have a point left. And so it really is an amazing like, just. Mental process to go through. Wait a minute, I quote, unquote, have a point left, or I have 200 calories, or whatever it is. Am I fucking hungry? Right? It's like, Am I hungry? Not even part of the discussion in my head, yeah. It's like, Does my body, do I actually, you know, what time is it? If it's if it's six o'clock and I have points left, or whatever left, and I'm a little hungry, that's different. But if it's 930 what are we doing here, right? Okay, so go on, no, but that's exactly the conversation in my head from doing that for years. Yeah. So, so, yeah. So I did, so then I just tracked, kind of like the the three days before, and then looked at that and had, like, was really good data insights. So then I was that was the kind of proof of, oh, this can actually be valuable from a data perspective. And figuring, oh, it's really interesting that, like, most of my calories I'm consuming dinner and dessert. Do I want to be doing that. And I brought up a lot of things that now I've started kind of shifting some of my calories more earlier in the day and just changing based on, you know, the data of what I saw. And now I will, like, the other day, I put in spaking a new recipe, and I just put it in to see, oh, how, like, what does this actually look like from the macros of is this good for protein and fats and, you know, kind of what's the overall calorie? Does that make sense for, like, a breakfast or something? Yeah, and I will do one off things where I'll just put them into to get the data about it don't feel like I need to do the whole day, or don't feel like but to now I'm more comfortable just using it as a data tool. But I needed that bridge. I couldn't my head just was so trained in the original eat to the points watchers sort of program, yeah, but I love it, because I think that this is something you'll eventually go back to every once in a while, like, I remember, I read a really great article a few weeks ago about Fiverr, and I'm like, oh, you know, and fibers. I eat a lot of vegetables, and so I'm, it's never something I've ever worked about. I like poop regularly. Let's, let's just get in there. Brittany, let's get in there. Talk about all of it, right? So it's like, oh, but I'm like, oh, I should, I wonder if I'm getting enough fiber. So I tracked my food for two days, and I am. But it's like, going be to be able to track, and to be able to track with no shame, and to not be like, Oh, I'm actually doing this or this, or a lot of women, I think stay people, but I think especially women, stay in this confusion of like, well, I don't know how many calories are supposed to be getting. I don't know how much protein. And this person says this, and this person says that. And if I mean, we're at an information age where if you're going to have to have some expert tell you exactly what you're going to do, this can be really hard, because there's so much conflicting evidence. I just started taking creatine, and because it's one of the most studied supplements of all the supplements, from what I've heard, although someone else might say no, but I started taking it, and then it's so funny, my phone must have heard me tell someone I was taking it, because then the next day, all of a sudden, on Instagram, I'm getting people saying, You shouldn't be taking creatine. Your Workouts are going to be so much better. It's just, my god, yeah, it's pretty wild, overwhelming. It's wild. Okay, so you are we? You and I just finished our last coaching call this last week. How are you feeling right now? About, like, because it's very normal for a lot of my people to be like, Oh my God, I need Courtney, you know. But like, how are you feeling? Yeah, I've put in a little like, interim plan for myself. I still, during our normal Wednesday times, like, on my calendar to do a, like, a self coaching check in, amazing. I want to keep the structure of that kind of weekly check in, and then I have a room, like, just going through until I hit my goal weight. And then I'm trying to, like, pair off a lot, like, I'm trying to temper down a little bit, but I was a little nervous at first it just saying, like, oh gosh, I'm not going to have that little like, accountability with you. But I also have just been, like, binge listening to all the podcasts, and it's been so great just having that in the weekly Tuesday it's perfect. I get my little weekly Tuesday podcast, and then I do my Wednesday check in with myself. So that's been feeling really good to have that that kind of continued. It's almost like continued top of mind on this topic overall. Every week's a different, you know, topic, of course, you cover, but it just it keeps it like fresh of mind that this is an important thing I want to think about, and this is important thing in my life. Important thing in my life, and I want to keep it going. So, yeah, that's been, I've been trying to kind of keep some structure going a little bit. Yeah, I think that's wonderful. I mean, I journal and coach myself every single day. In fact, I just reached out to one of my best friends, who I consider my co. Coach, and I said to her, Hey, I would love to schedule a time for you so you can coach me. So it's like the work never ends. And I don't mean that in a bad way, in a good way, in terms of you, you know, constantly getting to your own next level and your own, you know, next brilliance and exciting part of your life, yeah. How has this affected other areas of your life, because that's one of my favorite things about this work. And you've heard me say it before, Brittany you. But also everyone listening is, this is so much more than just weight loss. It's weight loss. It's so much more than you looking so cute in your summer dress. So tell me, like, how it's affected other areas. Yeah, I in listening to the podcast, like, before we started working together, I know you had you that was like, you're freezing around. It was like, it's will impact every area of your life. And I thought, Okay, well, that's like, you know, maybe it'll like, help a little bit with, you know, business, or with some like, you know, it maybe it'll kind of like, expand a little bit. But I've been shocked both like, my my business standpoint, I actually went through yesterday and did a whole thought model that we talked about it and coached on, and I was really, really concerned around reaching out to new customers. It's just not in my again, I'm an introvert. I'm not a natural kind of salesperson. And that's the, that's the thoughts in my head, like, I'm not good at this. And so I did the whole kind of thought process, and I have a whole new thought about it, and I am jazzed about reaching out to people. Oh, that's so awesome. So excited just to see that same skill applied elsewhere. And it was fantastic. And then, on the personal side I've had, you know, I had a loss of my dog this year that was really, really difficult. And part of that grieving process the first couple days, my husband and I actually used a lot of the tools that we talked about, the one that and I hear it in your when I hear it in my head, I hear it in your voice, which is wonderful. How do you want to think about this on purpose? Yeah, and one of the most challenging things for us was walking back in the door after coming home. And you'd always, you always greet your your animal. I'm sure anyone who's got an animal listening is like, knows that feeling you walk in, you say, Oh, hey, Charlie. And that was that really difficult moment for us. We sat at dinner and we said, how do we want to think about this on purpose? And I told him about it, and we talked about how we wanted to walk in the door and remember him, because it's not going to go away, that that automatic feeling is not going to go away. No, same sort of thing. I'm thinking, Okay, I'm sitting on the couch, and I want the popcorn, the automatic thoughts not going to go away, but how do I want to feel about this? And I wanted to feel like a sweet little reminder of him and so, and it was, you know, it wasn't an instantaneous thing, but it's gotten so much easier. And every time I walk in the door, I still in my head think, Hey, Charlie, and it's a nice little reminder of them. And so it's a it was just this. There's been so many moments where I've used the tools in other areas besides weight loss. And it is remarkable the change of mentality, how quickly changing a thought will just completely changed the rest of what happens, how you go about the process, and how you approach it. It's that's been the piece to me that has been life changing. And I love that you just said that. And so I love how in the beginning you're like, Oh, that'll be a nice little bonus, if this helps other areas of my life, and now you're like, that was life changing. And thank you for being so vulnerable and sharing that. And I remember the week you lost your beautiful dog. I had another client lose her dog same week, and I remember getting emotional and going into my husband, and he's like, what's wrong? And I go, it's fine. I said, I have two clients that just lost their dogs. And I mean, I was like, and we had just had to put our cat down to like, right around the same time, and it was just like, so sad. And I said, but I'm so glad this happened to them now that they're working with me, because I think for a lot of people that when something like this happens, we that's what we turn to food. Mean, talk about, like, a big, the biggest trigger ever. It's like, you turn to food when, when life, quote, unquote, gets hard, but you can learn to actually do life better and still, like, still care about the way you look and feel, even though you have something hard going on. Yeah, it was, it was a really interesting experience to go through it and say, Oh, this is how I responded. And in I was actually, I knew it was coming, and so we had kind of talked about it the call before actually thought, you know, and I thought I had immediately thought, Oh, I'm gonna turn to food. I'm gonna have a comfort. And I was so surprised that I didn't I was initially, it did not, yeah, it was really surprised. And I and it made me think, Oh, well, how am I actually feeling, and how it just. The the actually turning to food or not turning to food became like a moment of coaching for myself in my head. And then, of course, the next week, then I was thinking, Oh, well, I'm I don't turn to food with grief. And then I did, yeah, we've changed. And that surprised me again. And then it was, it was just more to kind of talk through and understand my brain a little bit better. Yeah. How do you feel in your body and with your self trust today? That's a big question, I know. Yeah, I feel very confident in being able to keep it going. I was very nervous about that when we first started. It It feels like I've grown skills, like I have things now, that I can, that I just approach things differently. It's just, it's not like I've gotten into the habit of doing something. It's just I've literally changed the way I think about it. And that just feels like, you I can't go back from that. Yeah, it's not like something like, I'll just get out of the habit of doing again. It's just I've learned something new, and I will never not know it. That gives me confidence, like I didn't have that before. So that feels really, really good. When I wrote all these notes out, like, to oh, here's some questions that I might be asking you. I wrote on here, 17 pounds, and then I love you. Come on, you're 18, because that's this week. I'm done another pound. I love it. It's like it matters, but it doesn't, but it does. Okay. So a few more questions for you. I know I've kept you, I've kept you along. We could just like, so does this change what you think is possible for you in the future? Because that's the biggest thing for me, is I remember going shit, if I can overcome this, like it just opens up. So do you feel like it's changed what's possible for the future? For you? Yes, 100% I thought the other day, when I was going I was listening to one of your podcasts. It was like, good, not great. Nominal one. It's not listen to it. You should definitely listen to that one, because I got to the point where I'm feeling, I'm feeling good, and I'm feeling like, you know, I was at the point I'm basically at my weight, my safe weight, but that feels good, but I want to do great, and so I'm, I am looking forward to, like, having bigger goals than I originally had, like, I started by thinking, Well, I'm never going to look like what I did in my 20s. But I think like, Well, no, I can't. And also I wasn't very strong then i i can be stronger than I was then. Like, I can't be better than I was then. So that it just is changing the my thinking on what's possible. I love it. You're like, No, I was actually not that strong. I could you so good strength is so important as we age, too. So I love that. Yeah, okay, so if someone who's listening to this podcast is considering, because right now, an enrollment is open for, I have a group starting in April for the modern change program. But if someone is considering like and they're stuck in the similar patterns to you, which so many people are. What would you tell them? I would tell them think about a year from now and a year ago, you think, within the last year, how many kind of resets, how many new approaches, different things you tried, and do you want to do that again for the next year? Because you could do a, you know, whole 30 or a, you know, new exercise routine that, like you see huge results right away. You just drop the pounds. And that sounds exciting, but how many times you want to do that in a year? First? Maybe a slower burn? You know, when I looked at I tried to map out kind of where, where I'd like to be, and I think it's going to be somewhere around, like maybe September, October, if I keep kind of the results. And my initial thought for that was like, Whoa, that is a long time. But then I thought, Well, I mean, it's one, it's really not but two, it'll feel much more sustainable, much more approachable. I'm not going to be going this up and down. I just kind of keep this slow cruise. It changes absolutely the way you think forever. But just from the experience perspective, if I think about that, like, up and down and up and down over the last year, and do I want to keep doing that? No, it just, it's, it's so much more enjoyable the process. Like, I got a blast working with you and doing that. Oh, I'm so it's just, it's a more enjoyable process. So, yeah, it might not have that you're dropping five pounds in the first week, but it's that's a different experience, yeah, because just think about kind of how you want long term, where you want to be an actual year. One of the things I always love thinking about is there's going to be discomfort either way. If you look like, when you and I started you looking towards October, you're like, oh, wow, that's a long time. And you're like, Okay, it's going to be hard between now and October. It's going to be hard living in the body I'm living in now. Because I, I remember one of the things we haven't talked about, but one of the things you said is, I would, you'd be like, I look at myself in pictures, and I'm like, That's not me, right? There's that's hard. It's hard going into your closet and you can't fit into a lot of your clothes. Like, that's hard. Or you can go, or I'm going to do a program that's going to benefit every area of my life. The weight loss is going to be a little slower because I'm going to do it sustainably, and I'm going to still be able to eat popcorn, but it's going to be hard doing this mental work. Both are hard, but in the end, it's a no to me, it's a no brainer. Yes, absolutely. I mean, it feels like there's not a going through feels like there's not a decision point. You should just, yeah, just try it. You'll thank yourself. Well, so Brittany, I want you to tell us for a second about your business, because I know that you and I live in the same town, so I can get your key whenever I want it. But tell people, because I know people all over the world listen this podcast and you do, you do sell online, right? I do sell online, yeah, just within the US, within the US. Tell us about it, yeah. So I make tea and I do tea events. So I make, I sell at the farmers market here in Chico, and then I do tea events all over, all over California. So I'll do tea tastings and blending classes. I just absolutely love having fun, different experiences with people with tea. It's just the best job ever. Friends. She's having an event on Sunday, and I'm going, and I can't wait. I just, I'm like, so much. Tell me all about the tea. Let me blend all the things I'm so tell us what the name of your company is and your website. So if they're like, I love tea. I want some. They can border Yes, I'm LEGGO infusions, L, A, G, O, N, infusions.com, and that's my company, and I'm doing, yeah, I do all sorts of fun tea events. Actually, what I'm really excited about is doing new like corporate events this year, and this has been inspired by our work together. It's like, I can do a whole new approach of things and go into I've done a couple different companies where I've gone in and we've done, like, a wellness team learning class, and just That's one, yeah. So this work has made me think, like, oh, there's just so many other areas I can get into. So again, it's helped us everywhere I love it. Well, you know what? Companies are always looking for fun things to do for their employees. That is such a great idea. Yeah, okay, well, I'm going to link your website in the show notes. And I also wanted to, before I let you go, I want to remind everybody that there is my free workshop coming up this week. So you this. This podcast will be on Tuesday, and so then you have, like, two more days to sign up. It's the get control of your eating workshop. It's I'm going to be teaching it live from my student, my pipes can say, my studio, my office, and it's like my most popular workshop ever. So if you, if you're listening, like yes to everything, Brittany just said, I mean, the obvious next step is just to come to this free workshop. And it's going to be about 90 minutes. I'm going to, I'm a fast talker, so I'm giving myself 90 minutes so I can slow my talking down. I keep that's one of the things I'm all I need to slow down. Sometimes I talk so fast my stomach hurts, I know. So I'm gonna go 90 minutes and there'll be a replay if you can't come alive. But Brittany, thank you so much for coming on the podcast. Oh, it was delight. This was wonderful. Have a wonderful Tuesday. Everyone for information on how we can work together. Head to modern body, modern life.com. To schedule a consultation with me. I'm currently coaching women privately, and I offer group coaching programs you.