The 4Cs Podcast

Are you living a life you "should" live and constantly feeling like a failure? If you cannot pivot in your season of life right now then we need to talk. DM me " COACHING" @coachmarinahardiman on instagram! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yesterday I turned 39, and it made me stop and think about what the first six months of this year have actually given me. For years, I measured my progress by one thing: the scales. Every birthday, every holiday and every Monday became another opportunity to promise myself that this time would be different. I spent years losing weight, feeling good for a while, losing motivation and starting all o...

In this episode, I sit down with fellow coach and former teacher Suzie to talk about the side of teaching that rarely gets discussed. We explore why teachers often make incredible coaches, how years spent educating, supporting and understanding others shape the way we work today, and the transferable skills that followed us out of the classroom and into coaching. But we also dive into the hidden c...

Does it feel like life is moving faster than it used to? One minute it’s Monday. The next it’s Friday. School terms disappear, summers vanish, and before you know it another year has passed. In this episode, I explore why so many of us feel like we’re constantly rushing through life and why I don’t think the problem is time itself. I share my thoughts on how modern life has changed the way we live...

Every June, thousands of women make the same promise. This summer will be different. They’ll finally focus on themselves, get back into a routine, lose the weight they’ve been carrying, improve their energy, and return in September feeling like a different person. And every September, many find themselves having the exact same conversation they had the year before. In this episode, I explore the c...

You think you can't finish anything. You can. In this final episode of The Real Reason series, Marina breaks down what is actually happening every time you start a diet, a programme, a plan, a challenge and abandon it three weeks in. Why the women who run businesses, raise families and hold everyone else's life together cannot see one eight-week plan through to the end. Why no amount of better sta...

You tell yourself you don't have time to plan. You don't. You have a capacity problem disguised as a time problem, and it is costing you a lot more than the takeaway on Thursday night. In this episode I am breaking down why your week keeps falling apart in the exact same place every single time, why every meal plan and tracking app and twenty-eight day reset has stopped working three weeks in, and...

You think you have a food problem. You don't. You have a switch-off problem, and food has become the only way you have ever learned to stop. In this episode, I break down the pattern almost every busy professional woman is stuck in but no one is naming. Why you can be disciplined in every other area of your life and still lose control of food the moment you sit down in the evening. Why every plan...

You’ve tried to change before. You’ve made plans, set goals, promised yourself this time would be different. And yet, you keep ending up back in the same place. In this episode, Marina is joined by Shauna from Smaointe Therapy to go deeper into the patterns that sit underneath that cycle. This is not a conversation about calories, motivation, or finding the perfect plan. It’s about the behaviours,...

This episode isn’t about six races, a medal, or a highlight moment at the end. It’s about the shift that happened long before any start line. Ciara didn’t start this journey with perfect habits or endless motivation. She was in the same place so many women find themselves , knowing what to do, but not doing it consistently, stuck in a cycle of trying, stopping, and starting again. We break down wh...

You don’t want your daughter seeing you diet. But what is she seeing instead? In this episode of the Real Reason series, myself and Tanya unpack the gap between what women believe they’re protecting their children from and the behaviours that are already being modelled every day. From inconsistent eating patterns and guilt around food, to constant “starting again Monday,” this conversation challen...

The Real Reason the Calorie Deficit Isn't Working You're doing the maths. You're eating less, moving more, tracking everything and the scale still isn't moving. So what's actually going on? In this episode, I break down the real reason your calorie deficit isn't working and it has nothing to do with willpower, miscounting, or not trying hard enough. I cover why a deficit on paper doesn't always tr...

I didn't follow the plan. I skipped runs, missed weeks, and went into Prague undertrained, at least on paper. But somewhere along the way, I got strong. And on race day, that strength became everything. In this raw, unfiltered recap of the Prague Half Marathon, I'm breaking down exactly what happened, from a training block that went sideways, to a race that somehow came together when it mattered m...

In this episode, I break down something that most women completely misread about themselves, the belief that they are out of control when it comes to food, consistency, and following through. I used to think the exact same thing. I thought I lacked discipline, that I couldn’t stick to anything, and that something in me just kept sabotaging my progress. But when I look back now, I can see that none...

In this episode, I’m breaking down one of the most common things women tell me when they’re stuck, that they’re too busy to focus on themselves. I get it, because I lived that way for years. Working full-time, feeling constantly behind, trying to fit health into a life that had no space for it, and blaming myself when I couldn’t keep anything going. But what I’ve learned, both from my own journey...

For years, I used the scale as a practical tool to move between fat loss and maintenance without obsessively tracking food. It gave me feedback, not panic. But during my ultra marathon season, when my weight shifted slightly in line with my life and training, I realised something deeper, the scale only stays neutral until it starts brushing up against identity. In this episode, I talk honestly abo...

Who am I when nobody is watching? That question has shaped this entire episode. Over the year and past two months specifically, I’ve realised that the version of me that determines my results is not the one you see publicly. It’s not the one on race day. It’s not the one posting workouts. It’s not the one coaching confidently. It’s the one in my own kitchen. The one deciding what to eat when there...

In this episode, I go back to the beginning. Not to weight loss. Not to discipline. But to identity. I talk about being labelled, being laughed at, feeling slightly out of place, and how those small moments followed me into adulthood without me realising it. I share how people-pleasing, comparison, and the need to prove myself quietly shaped my relationship with food, control, and my body. This is...

In this episode, I talk about the point most people avoid once they become aware of their patterns. The moment where understanding stops feeling empowering and starts feeling uncomfortable, because it asks something of you. I explore why so many women stay stuck even when they know exactly what’s going on, why insight can quietly become a form of avoidance, and how waiting for the “right time” kee...

Around 80 % of people quit their New Year goals by February , and I see this happen every single year, not because people don’t care or aren’t capable, but because January is built on unrealistic expectations, borrowed motivation, and a version of ourselves that hasn’t been supported yet. In this bonus episode, I talk through why January motivation fades so quickly, why so many people fall off onc...

In this episode, I unpack something that most women never question: the idea that consistency automatically means you’re doing something right. I talk about how self-abandonment doesn’t always look like chaos or giving up. Often, it hides inside discipline, routines, and “trying your best.” I explore why so many capable, high-functioning women stay stuck even though they are consistent, motivated,...

In this episode, I share the story behind how I became a coach, not through certifications or career choices, but through a lifetime of movement, sport, comparison, and learning how to survive by staying disciplined. From being the child who couldn’t sit still, to finding belonging in sport, to years of coaching in camps, gyms, schools, and later through teaching, this episode explores how coachin...

This episode is the final part of The Becoming Series , and it’s where everything comes together. After exploring identity, self-trust, why we give up on ourselves, and what 2025 actually taught me, this episode is about how I’m carrying those lessons forward into 2026. I share how my approach to goal setting has completely changed. Instead of setting goals from urgency, comparison, or pressure, I...

This episode is a full, honest reflection on what 2025 actually asked of me, not just physically or professionally, but emotionally and mentally. From running long distances while building a business, to showing up consistently online, to navigating body image, boundaries, doubt, and growth, this year changed how I define success. In this episode, I talk about the cost of consistency, the identity...

In this episode, I talk about the part of change that most women quietly struggle with but rarely name: the moment they give up on themselves. Not dramatically, not intentionally, but subtly, when progress starts to feel uncomfortable and old patterns creep back in. Building on the conversations around identity and self-trust from Episodes 1 and 2, I explore why giving up is rarely about laziness...