Too Much on Her Plate with Dr. Melissa McCreery: Emotional Eating Help for Smart, High-Achieving Women

This is the first of what I hope will be an ongoing series of episodes of the Too Much on Her Plate podcast dedicated to answering listener questions. If you’ve got a question you’d like me to address in a future episode, be sure to join my (free) Freedom from Emotional Eating and Overeating group on Facebook and share your question! Today’s question is from Jodi who wants to know how to break the...

Today we’re getting right to the point. Because too many women are expending too much effort, and are still going in circles with overeating and emotional eating and their weight. In this episode I’ve got some straight talk for you if what you’re doing isn’t working - about why this is, and what changes will help.  In this episode: Relationships with food and eating are complicated - and then some...

How do you avoid emotional eating when you’re busy and have a lot going on? This episode is about getting practical. I have a handful of strategies that you can use during busy, stressful times to short-circuit or avoid emotional eating patterns. In this episode: How not to overeat when you have too much to do How to keep practical strategies doable  Places where perfectionism might be tripping yo...

Freedom feels expansive. Freedom is something you can relax into. Freedom - the idea of it - probably doesn’t come with a time limit. When I talk to women about their overeating and emotional eating, they aren’t seeking short-term changes. What they’re craving is freedom. Lasting freedom from overeating. Willpower plus tough love plus deprivation plus self-blame will never equal feelings of peace...

“Being good” or “being on track” doesn’t build a strong, lasting, solid relationship between you and food. You deserve better - SO much better. This episode is about untangling the deprivation tendencies that may be a part of your current relationship with food and exploring what it takes to create lasting change and a feeling of freedom from overeating, freedom from deprivation, and freedom from...

I don’t diet. I don’t restrict myself. A long time ago, I made a promise to myself: I can eat what I want, when I want. It’s been key to how I created peace with food and freedom from overeating in my own life. And a week before I recorded this episode, I felt that changing.  In this episode, I’ll explain more about why this led to deprivation thinking, what I’m doing about it. In this episode: Th...

Self-care (or the lack of it) and overeating go hand in hand. Upgrading your self-care game doesn’t require a life overhaul or two weeks of vacation. In fact, these beliefs make it even harder to give yourself the attention you need and deserve. Tune in to this episode for three ways to readjust your thinking about self-care and your approach to fitting it in - consider this a cheat sheet for snea...

This bonus episode is designed to answer your questions about the free workshop series I’m offering. Please share this episode and this invitation with other smart, busy women who want to create peace with food and freedom from overeating. If you're a smart woman who secretly wonders whether it's really possible to change your overeating or emotional eating habits, the Freedom from Overe...

Some of the most non-helpful advice for ending overeating is to “eat only when you’re hungry, and stop eating when you’re full.” It’s not helpful because it’s usually delivered with no explanation of how to execute this plan.  In this episode, I’m covering how to get better at eating when you’re hungry and stopping when you’re full by learning how to identify your hunger and fullness and how to li...

Sometimes the advice we give ourselves in the midst of our day isn’t the most helpful. Neither is our self-talk or our tendency to react to the situation or feelings rather than create a thoughtful response. We know a lot about ourselves and what works best for us, but in the thick of things, our choices don’t always reflect this. In this episode: Shifting your perspective with your Future Self Yo...

Stress tends to trigger automatic responses and old patterns of thinking and behaving. It can be confusing to know how to begin rewiring these habits. Although there’s no one strategy that fits everyone, in this episode I’m sharing ten strategies you can use (and modify) to break stress eating patterns. In this episode: Why not knowing what to do (or your mind going blank) can be a positive step i...

No one wants to feel restricted or deprived on vacation, but it can be discouraging to come back from an incredible trip feeling bloated, and like you lost track of the habits and ways of thinking that were working so well for you.  In this episode, I cover: Why your attitude about eating on vacation might reveal helpful information about why your relationship with food isn't optimal in the r...

Thoughts and beliefs are powerful and they don’t upgrade themselves. How do you determine if your thoughts and beliefs are stealing your power? How do you make changes if this is the case? Tune in to this episode - I have some answers for you. In this episode: How you can unintentionally get in the way of your best-laid plans to stop overeating Getting clear on current beliefs and self-perceptions...

When you’re breaking patterns of emotional eating or working to stop overeating, self-sabotage shows up in a variety of ways. Sometimes it’s incredibly subtle or sneaky. In this episode, I’m discussing two forms of self-sabotage you might not have identified because they’re easy to miss.  In this episode: The problem of focusing on what you want to change but not having a clear vision of where you...

What do you do when life hits you a curve ball and you lose your footing? What’s the next step if you don’t feel motivated to do all the things you know you “should” do? How do you get yourself back into the groove with what works and brings you results? That’s what you’ll learn in this episode of the Too Much on Her Plate Podcast. In this episode: The process of change and what to look for if it...

Can you imagine what would change if you eliminated the pattern of “blowing it” and then throwing in the towel and overeating because “you’re already off track”? There’s a mindset adjustment that can help with this. In this episode: The simple thought pattern that can put you on an emotional eating hamster wheel (and keep you there) How to keep “falling off track” from becoming a downward spiral ...

In today’s episode I have a very different perspective on self-sabotage and how you can actually leverage your self-saboteur to create better, more lasting changes in overeating and emotional eating habits. In this episode: Deprivation approaches to self-sabotage and why they don’t work The power tool question that you can use to get unstuck and to create better results in just about any situation...

Losing weight is not the same as breaking overeating habits permanently. Most women know the yo-yo weight loss cycle all too well, and so many smart women struggle with how to create consistent lasting habits related to eating. In this episode, I’m sharing why this is and the simplest way to create easier, more lasting results.  In this episode: How your natural (human) approach to changing your e...

Are you frustrated and feeling like you aren't seeing results in your journey to overcome overeating and emotional eating? This episode is for you.  In this episode: Why you might be getting better results than you think The risk of quitting on yourself too early (when things are actually working) How not to miss signs of progress Real-life coaching examples of results you may be missing and...

Mindset and the idea of managing “it” have become ideas that get tossed around quite frequently. Who doesn’t want a “winning mindset” - especially when you also want to stop emotional eating or end overeating habits once and for all? But like so many concepts, the idea of shifting your mindset can feel vague or impossible. What does it really mean?  In this episode What it really means to manage y...

When you want to change emotional eating habits or stop overeating, motivation can feel like another difficult part of the equation - something you have to stay on top of, that feels somewhat out of your control, and that can drastically impact your results. In this episode How focusing on negative thoughts and behaviors can drain motivation and energy The benefits of shifting your mindset around...

There’s nothing wrong with a food craving. The difficulty comes when you’re in a cycle of emotional eating or overeating and it feels like cravings have more power than you do. I’m betting you’ve heard more than enough advice about using willpower and determination to stare down the bag of chips that’s calling your name. Self-control and “healthy substitutions” only go so far. In this episode The...

Overload, overwhelm, and overeating travel in a pack. In fact, they can become so tangled up it can be difficult to know how to extricate yourself. In this episode, I’m exploring the relationship between overwhelm and emotional eating, and sharing practical solutions for high-achieving women to take control and feel better. In this episode: How to take ownership of your overwhelm to break the cycl...

If you’re someone who wants to break the habit of comfort eating at night - or someone who partly wants to break the habit and partly doesn’t want to give it up - this episode is for you. In this episode: Why overeating and comfort eating at night are so common for smart, busy women What your brain wants to do vs. what will help you stop comfort eating at night 5 steps to stop comfort eating at ni...

If you’re a woman who’s tried to change her eating habits or her weight, you’ve probably heard more than your share of advice (including the unsolicited, unhelpful kind).  A key step for taking your power back - and creating a better relationship with food - is detoxing the bad weight loss advice. In this episode I’m sharing more about why a detox is so important, some of the confusing baggage you...