Step off the Scale: Break Free From Dieting
Are you tired of feeling like your worth is defined by the number on the scale?
Step Off the Scale is the podcast that helps you break free from diet culture and food guilt—for good. Hosted by Ashlee Wright, a registered dietitian and nutrition coach with over 14 years of experience, this show empowers women to build a healthier, more joyful relationship with food.
If you’re ready to stop obsessing over food and start living freely, you’re in the right place.
This podcast will deliver practical tips and mindset shifts to help you ditch dieting, heal your relationship with food, and embrace intuitive eating. Ashlee challenges toxic wellness trends, busts nutrition myths, and shares strategies you can actually use in your busy, real-life routine.
This show will answer common questions like:
How can I stop emotional eating?
What does food freedom mean, and how do I achieve it?
How do I overcome diet culture and its effects?
How can I improve my body image and self-esteem?
Is intuitive eating suitable for everyone?
What are the principles of intuitive eating?
How does stress affect my eating habits?
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, content creator, coach, or busy woman trying to balance it all—this podcast provides valuable insights to help you build lasting healthy habits without restriction or shame.
Subscribe now to step off the scale and into the life you were meant to live - free, nourished, and empowered.
Step off the Scale: Break Free From Dieting
4. The Secret to Quieting Your Inner Critic? Ask Yourself This
Today, we’re diving into something that matters more than any diet or exercise plan - how you talk to yourself. Your inner dialogue shapes your relationship with your body, your worth, and how you move through life. Here’s what we’re covering:
- Your self-talk matters. It impacts your motivation, happiness, and mental health.
- As you age, your perception of yourself changes. I look at myself so differently now than I did in my 20s, and it’s a game-changer.
- Negative self-talk holds you back. Ask yourself: "Would I say this to someone I love?" If not, reframe it!
- Reframing your thoughts: Notice the thought, challenge its truth, and replace it with a positive affirmation.
- Other tools: Mindfulness, meditation, and gratitude journaling can help you shift your mindset and build self-compassion.
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Download the Top 10 Dieting Mistakes Keeping You Stuck
Welcome to Step Off the Scale, the podcast where we are redefining health and happiness beyond the numbers. I am your host, ashley Wright, a dietician for over a decade, mom of two and craft beer lover. Together, we'll say goodbye to restrictive diets and learn simple strategies to help you actually enjoy your food again, without guilt. Now let's dive in together without guilt. Now let's dive in together. Well, hello there and welcome back to another episode of Step Off the Scale. I am so thrilled that you're here with me today and I wanted to tell you about a little something before we get into today's episode, so you can now text me right from this episode. So if you look in the show notes below, you'll see a little link there and if you click it it sends a text right to me. So if you have some feedback, things you want to share with me, I would be so excited to hear from you. So today I really wanted to talk to you about something that is just on my heart every single day as I'm talking to my clients and, honestly, I think it's one of the most important pieces of the puzzle when it comes to building a healthy relationship with food, but, more importantly, a healthier relationship with yourself, and that is your inner dialogue. But before we get into that, I want to share something else with you. After being a dietitian for the past 14 years, I've realized something that's really important. I could give you all the nutrition tips in the world. I could talk to you about carbs, proteins, fats, tracking, macros, exercise, all these things that we've been told that we need to focus on right. But here's the thing those are not the most important things. Like seriously, the foundation of everything that I teach comes down to something that is way deeper. It's about your relationship with food, yes, but also about how you talk to yourself, how you view yourself, your body and your self-worth, and that is way more important than any number on the damn scale, and today we're going to talk about that, because that is really the key to everything else.
Speaker 1:Let me tell you a little story about myself. When I was in my 20s, I was so hard on myself about my body. I would obsess over every little thing. I'd look in the mirror and think, oh gosh, I don't look like these other girls walking around in their stretchy pants and UGG boots. I went to Penn State for college and there was a zillion of us. That's like 40,000 students on campus, so there were a lot of girls to compare yourself to, of course, and it was so easy to get stuck in that trap and, looking back, I honestly think, like what the heck did I even have to worry about? You know, I was young, I was healthy, I had a body that was just fine, you know. But I was my harshest critic, and I think that is the case for so many of us, and I think it's just totally time for that to change.
Speaker 1:So now we're going to circle back almost 20 years. Now I'm almost 40. I have two kids, I still have that postpartum body and I'm definitely a few sizes up from that crazy 20-something-year-old girl who was comparing herself to everybody else. And guess what? I feel so much better in my own skin now than I ever did back then. I look at myself differently, and why? Because I've learned something that is just so critical. It's not about what my body looks like, but it's about how I view myself and how I talk to myself, and that is exactly what I'm going to share with you today. This is one critically important piece of the puzzle that has completely transformed the way that I feel about myself and my body, and this is something that I instill on all of the clients that I feel about myself and my body, and this is something that I instill on all of the clients that I work with. So today we're going to talk about internal dialogue, and that's the way that you talk to yourself every single day. So I have a simple question that I want you to ask yourself when those negative thoughts pop up, and then we're going to learn how to reframe them to support the healthiest relationship with yourself. By the end of this episode, you'll be equipped with the tools that you need to change the narrative and start feeling empowered, no matter where you're at on your journey. Now, I know we're not all going to be perfect with this right. We're still going to have those days where we're just shitting on ourselves, and that's a normal human response. We all tend to do that. We live with ourselves day in and day out, but the more that we can start to implement these things, the better we're going to feel over time. Remember, we're never going to be perfect, but we can certainly get a hell of a lot better.
Speaker 1:First, I want to break things down a little bit, so I want to talk about understanding negative self-talk. So negative self-talk is a little voice inside your head that constantly criticizes, doubts or belittles you. It's that voice that tells you I'm not good enough, I'm not doing enough, I'll never measure up, oh my gosh, I can't do this, I can't do that, and oh my gosh, it's so exhausting. Right, but here's the thing when you constantly engage in these types of thoughts, it takes a toll on your motivation, your self-worth and your overall mental health, and over time, this kind of thinking can lead to a whole lot of feelings of just feeling overwhelmed. It can contribute to anxiety. Of course, I deal with that myself and it just becomes like this snowball effect. It starts small, like these little things that come in their mind, and then, like our brains are really good at running flipping wild, and then it just affects how we show up in our day to day life. So think about it.
Speaker 1:How often do you have thoughts like this? After you say like, make a mistake at work, you're like, oh gosh, I'm so incompetent, I'll never get this right. No, okay, valley girl's coming out in me now. Or you're scrolling through social media and you're like everyone else's life looks perfect. Why can't I get it together. It looks like their toddler's listening. Why the hell is mine not listening? Those are questions I ask myself, because my three-year-old gives me a run for my money, right?
Speaker 1:Or have you ever felt like you know, when you face this setback? You know like you've changed your eating habits, you've been exercising every day, you've done all these things, and then you have a birthday or a holiday or a Tuesday or something gets in your way that didn't go as you planned and you think, oh, I'm never going to reach my goals, I'm always failing that frigging word failing. I hate it, because we're never failing. We are just learning and we are getting knowledge, moving forward, taking the good, leaving the rest behind. So these thoughts just sneak up on us right, and, without even realizing it, we start to believe them. But here's the thing I want you to stop for a second and ask yourself this question Would you say any of this to someone that you love?
Speaker 1:Would you talk to your best friend like that? Would you talk to your daughter like that? Your mom, you're not going to say to your daughter oh well, honey, you're never going to reach your goals. I guess you're just going to fail Right, like, come on now. So we got to live with ourselves all day, every day. So why are we talking to ourselves this way? You know it's something that we need to work on changing and it's just so incredibly important. I cannot stress it enough.
Speaker 1:So, now that you know this question to ask yourself, you know, think of, like the person that you love the most in the world, like your best friend that you've known for like 20 years, you know, or it's maybe a colleague who you are super close with Think about when you start saying crappy things to yourself. Think about that person. Imagine them in front of you and say would I say that to this person looking at me right now? And if the answer is no, then we need to reframe. So now we're going to go into the reframing technique, okay? So if the answer is no to that question, right where you say no, I would not say that to my best friend, I would not say that to my awesome coworker, right? So when we ask these questions, then we need to go into our reframing and that's where we become aware of what's going on in our mind. And then we check in with ourselves to see if it aligns of how you treat someone that you love. So this is how we're gonna work through this and reframe it.
Speaker 1:So the first thing I want you to do is notice the thought. This is the first step to awareness. Just start noticing when these negative thoughts pop up, and a great way to do this is to keep a journal or make a note on your phone, and every time that you catch yourself thinking something negative, I just want you to notice it. This is not to berate yourself about it. This is just to be like hmm, I'm noticing this thought, I'm noticing these things that I'm thinking about.
Speaker 1:Step two the next thing you need to do is challenge that thought. Ask yourself is this thought really true? Do I have any actual evidence for this, or is it just an assumption? Is there actual proof? And a lot of the time, there is no freaking proof at all. These negative thoughts are just stories that we've been telling ourselves and they are not rooted in reality at all. So once we start to think about that challenge like well, how? No, this isn't actually true, why am I even thinking this? Now, we can flip things around and replace it with a positive affirmation.
Speaker 1:So if you catch yourself thinking I'm a failure, reframe it and then say I'm learning and every step that I take is progress. Or instead of I can't do this, change it to. I am more than capable and I've done hard things before. We all have right. So by practicing this reframing, you're not just trying to change your thoughts, you're changing your whole mindset. This leads to improved emotional well-being, better self-esteem and a more positive outlook on life. It's simple and it's just this incredibly powerful shift that we can do every single day. You can implement this right now. Okay, so just start to gather that information, just observe the thought, maybe jot it down, challenge it and reframe it. That's all I want you to do today. If you catch yourself with one thought and do that, then you've won. Okay.
Speaker 1:Now I want to also tell you about some other strategies that we can use to cultivate that positive self-talk. So one strategy that can really help is mindfulness and meditation. Now, meditation is something that I've been practicing myself for I don't even know a year, year and a half, probably at this point. I'm not perfect at it. I don't do it every day. I have every intention to, but you know the best laid plans, right, meditation and mindfulness and breathing is something that can really help us, even if you just take a second and take a actual full, deep breath. I mean, how often do we actually do that? We're always running so quickly. But if we take those few moments to do some deep breathing and we take some time to meditate, even if it's just a couple minutes, that can really help you to stay present and detach from those negative thoughts. So it doesn't take a whole lot of time and you can keep it really easy.
Speaker 1:The second thing that we can do is gratitude journaling. Now, this is something that at the end of the day, when you're getting ready for bed, just have a little notebook on your nightstand and write down a few things that you're grateful for, or write down three things that went really well for you today. It's so easy to focus on all the stuff that we feel like we're not doing well that we forget about all the good things that we did. You know, if you're like dang, my toddler didn't have a temper tantrum today, or I actually cooked a homemade meal today, or I was able to just feed my family today, right, those are things that we need to celebrate and we often forget about all the things that we're doing well. So over time. This will also help you to build a more positive internal dialogue.
Speaker 1:The other thing that we can do is seek support. You know, whether that's talking things through with a friend or a therapist, whatever you need, there is no shame in doing any of that at all. I've talked to a therapist many times myself throughout my life, and it's always good to get somebody else's opinion, somebody else that's on the outside right. You're stuck in your own brain all the time, so we need to get things out of our mind and talk through them, you know, and we can get it out of our brain by writing it down or talking about it, but just know that help is always available to you, right? There's always somebody that we can reach out to, and if you need somebody to reach out, to reach out to me. I'm happy to talk to you about a lot of these things, as I am just on this big mission in my life to help women stop being so hard on themselves and stop being so obsessive over the scale and their bodies and just embrace their life and be happier and feel healthy and confident in their own self. That is truly what I'm all about.
Speaker 1:So a couple things that I want you to keep in mind is remember that your relationship with yourself is everything. It affects your health, your happiness and your ability to move through life with ease. It's not always going to be super easy, but it can be easier. Right, by questioning and reframing those negative thoughts, you're nurturing a compassionate and empowering internal dialogue with yourself. So for this next week, I want you to practice this reframing technique. Notice when you have the negative thought and ask yourself would I say this to someone I love? If the answer is no, which I'm sure it is right Then replace it with something positive, and you might be surprised at how big of a difference that this one little question can make.
Speaker 1:So remember, the way that you speak to yourself matters. It sets the tone for everything else in your life, and I'd love to hear how you're reframing your thoughts, how this helped you. I would love to know how it went for you. Come and find me on Instagram. You can find me at Ashley the Dietitian. You can DM me. I would be so thrilled to hear from you. You can go ahead and send me a text by clicking that button here below in the show notes.
Speaker 1:I love you, I'm so grateful for you and please be kind to yourself today, because you deserve it so much.
Speaker 1:And if this episode resonated with you, please leave a review and share it with a friend who might benefit from this message that I've shared with you today.
Speaker 1:Let's spread the love and the positive energy, and I can't wait to see you next time on Step Off the Scale. Thank you so much for spending your time with me today on Step Off the Scale. I know that life can be crazy busy and I truly appreciate you taking the time to be here with me today. And just a quick reminder that your worth is not defined by a number on the scale and you don't need to follow restrictive diet rules to feel good in your body. You deserve to feel freedom, confidence and a life where eating feels easy again. If today's episode resonated with you, I'd love for you to subscribe, leave a review or share it with a friend who needs to hear it. Your support means the world to me and it helps this message reach more women who are ready to break free from diet culture and live a happier life in their own body. Take good care of yourself and I'll see you next time.