Episodes

Today we start a new series for the month of September called "Lies We Believe." The first lie we tackle is the myth that if you just lose weight or get your body to the size you want it to be, you won't stress over body image any more. This is the lie sold to us through every before and after photo in every weight loss ad. This is the lie that most permeates the marketing of diets. And it's one we want to believe because it feels like it would be SO nice to just drop the pounds and have everyth...

Today's show explores the one muscle in our body most of us never think about exercising, our pelvic floor! We talk about how this little set of muscles has all of your organs resting on it and how many of the issues women experience, from peeing a little when you sneeze to frequent bathroom trips, to posture problems or back pain, could all be related to pelvic floor dysfunction! Guess what: It's not about Kegels!! This isn't your typical episode of Compared to Who? but today, I tackle this phy...

Do you wrestle with feelings of disappointment at the end of fun seasons like Summer or the holidays? If so, you may have Chronic Disappointment Disorder (or CDD). It's not a real disease, but Heather has experienced it as if it were. Today, she tackles what to do if you feel disappointed at the end of this season and if you wrestle feelings of sadness or loss as you transition between the seasons. Here's where we go in today's Handling the End of Summer Blues Episode: **How so many of us get ...

Today's show is another Intuitive Eating Coaching Call with Heather's friends Char-Lee Cassel and Erin Todd from the Intuitive Eating for Christian Women Podcast. We tackle Heather's journey with food sensitivities--including how Heather operated for ten years with a belief system that certain foods were making her not feel good based on MRT testing. Heather talks about the different foods she's avoided and what she learned was really making her sick every morning! Here are some of the other to...

How do you tell your man about your body image or food issues? Should you even tell him? What if he doesn't understand? What if he is making them worse and you need to help him correct course? Or, what if he's engaging in behaviors that are making you feel more insecure about your body than ever. Today's episode will tackle all things in this arena including how to tell your man that you struggle with body image and food. If you've never had this conversation with your guy-this episode will give...

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you'd probably call yourself a Christian. You may even say that's our religion. But, when we follow diets, there is a temptation to follow a false religion. In fact, that's why diets sell and why Christians love diets so much--there's a lot of similarities between following a diet and our walk of faith. But, it's important in the end to know which "religion" you are more allegiant to--the religion of diets or Jesus! Today we explore the following topics in...

In today's episode of 7 Minutes of Scripture, we're talking about God's sovereignty and your body and body image! It's tough to tackle one of the biggest, richest, and deepest passages of the Bible in such a short amount of time. But, today, Heather attempts to apply Paul's wisdom about the sovereignty of God to our bodies and body image issues. If you've ever struggled with believing that God made you look the way you do on purpose, or that God can use you, just as you are in your body, for his...

Is your body your friend or your enemy? Are you on the same team or are you always at odds? Do you feel like your body fights you? Or, maybe you've just never liked it...and making peace sounds nearly impossible. No matter where you are at on your body image journey, befriending your body is a helpful part of the process. Today, Heather talks about being kind to your body from several different angles. Here are some of the topics covered in today's Befriending Your Body episode: **We discuss h...

Back-to-school shopping time gives an opportunity for body image issues to flare! Sometimes the issues are our own--we may project our own body image issues onto our kids, fearing they will follow in our footsteps as their size or shape changes. Or, it may be that our children are already expressing dissatisfaction with their bodies--and back-to-school shopping can be a rough time for both parent and child. Today we tackle all things back-to-school shopping, body image, and our children. Here's...

If you feel the urge to find a new diet for the Fall, you're not alone. Back-to-school time triggers us with the lure of a fresh start, new routines, and the promise that maybe this Fall we can find the plan to solve our issues for good! But, is finding a new diet or plan the best way to find body image freedom? Today we talk about this and more. If you really want to start a new diet soon -- this show is for you! What to Do When You Really Want to Start a New Diet Today we talk about what to ...

Are you stuck comparing who you are today to who you were ten, twenty, or more years ago? If so, today's episode is for you. We're going to talk about how to stop comparing yourself to your younger self. We'll explore how we tend to romanticize and idealize those older versions of ourselves. We'll also look at how to reprogram our brains and accept the reality that a changing body is more normal than not as we age. If aging is bogging you down or you can't get over the desire to look how you loo...

Wondering what to do and what not to do on a bad body image day? Here are five tips to help you navigate those days when you wake up and feel "bleh" about your body. If somedays you feel more consumed with your body and the desire to change it feels overwhelming, know you are not alone. We all have bad body image days. Even if you've made great strides towards freedom from obsessing over your body, there are days when the hormones will rage or the bloat will roar and you'll be ready to do somet...

In today's "Hot Coaching Tips" episode, Heather talks fitness trackers, Apple Watch, and all the other little exercise bullies that we wear on our person. We talk about the good, the bad, and the unexpected when it comes to these tracking devices. Do you have to have your watch on to get "credit" every time you walk? Do you never leave home without your tracker? Take a listen today and see how this coaching episode can help you. Are Fitness Trackers Bad for Your Health? Here's what we talk abou...

Most of us who diet or try fitness/wellness plans aren't looking to be on a plan forever. We just want to rest. We just want to be normal with food. But what does that even look like? Are you so far from feeling peaceful and "normal" around food, that you can't even conceive of how that would look? That's what we're talking about in today's "Hot Coaching Tips" episode. Here are some points we cover as we discuss: What Does it Mean to Be Normal With Food? Why it's important to understand what e...

In today's Intuitive Eating coaching call, Heather talks to her coaches, Erin Todd and Char-Lee Cassel from the Intuitive Eating for Christian Women podcast about how she's spent so many years trying not to eat and how unfamiliar it is to have that permission. Today we start by looking at scripture. In Proverbs 13:25 the Bible talks about eating until their hearts are content. Then in Proverbs 14:1, the next verse in the Bible, scripture references a woman using her own hands to tear down her h...

What does it mean to really let go of our ideals? Are you grieving the ideal life that you hoped to have, but don't? Do dreams of "happily ever after" keep us stuck wishing and hoping that our lives were different than they are? How can we let go of our ideal life in order to fully embrace and enjoy the life we actually have? We talk about these issues and more on today's episode. Here's Where We Go in Today's Show: Grieving the Loss of the Ideal Life Check out Paul Tripp's Instagram post here...

Thinspiration or Fitspiration has been around since I was a kid, only it didn't have such a cool name. But, I learned that cutting pictures out of magazines of women whom I aspired to look like would help me, somehow, look more like them. I read I should put these pictures on the refrigerator and that would help me not eat. I should put them on my mirror so I could look at these images, every day, and be reminded of my goal--to have that kind of body. It may sound innocent, but friends, fitspir...

This month Heather gives "hot" coaching tips to help you get body image freedom. Today's topic is black-and-white thinking. Sometimes it's called "All or Nothing thinking." But the trap those of us who fall into body image issues fall into is believing that the choice is in between caring about your body or not caring about your body. This is a false dichotomy. The choice isn't to steward or not steward our bodies, the choice is to believe that we can surrender our body image to the Lord. Gettin...

Do we want to be hot or holy? Your answer may be: Both! But the pursuit of a hotter body and the pursuit of looking more like Jesus can sometimes be competing interests. Of course, our pursuit of beauty isn't something to be ashamed of. We've been programmed to believe that our value is based on our appearance or connected to how we look. It takes a lot of faith and trust in God to break free from the world's economy of beauty. On today's show, we talk about how shifting our greatest pursuit to ...

How can I encourage my single friend who desires marriage? What do I say (or not say) to my single friends? Today, Jennifer Hand and I talk about her journey as a forty-year-old single woman. We talk about all the assumptions we make around our friends who are single or in any other situations that are "different" from our cultural norms. "Look what you can do if you're single." "It's a good thing you're single so you can serve God." Jenn's heard all the cringe-worthy but well-meaning sentiments...

You'll be encouraged by today's conversation on the topic of overcoming fear to say "Yes" to what God asks of us! Heather's guest today, Jennifer Hand, is Executive Director of Coming Alive ministries and a missionary who travels the world to minister to people who have just endured a natural disaster. Jenn talks about how she learned to put her "Yes" out there and surrender to God to walk out in faith. Jenn also talks about her journey as a single woman and how she's learned to trust God for he...

Understanding your adoption in Christ can impact your identity in an amazing way. In today's 7 Minutes of Scripture episode we explore the passage in Ephesians 1 where Paul explains that we are adopted sons and daughters of God through Jesus. Heather tells the story of how adoption should bring us incredible security in who we are, how we've been created, and what the King has in store for us. If you've ever felt like you weren't enough, or a "less than" listen to today's episode which will enco...

Heather just got back from her first vacation as an "Intuitive Eater," and she learned a lot about herself and her food habits. Today, Heather talks to Erin Todd and Char-Lee Cassel of the Intuitive Eating for Christian Women podcast. Heather's coaches take her on an unexpected journey talking about food, body, family, approval, disappointments and so much more. Here Are Some Places We Go in our Discussion of Intuitive Eating on Vacation: How eating breakfast changed things on vacation for Heat...

Did you know that your body image issues and cleaning your house like a crazy person may be connected? If you've ever turned into a cleaning Gestapo before company came over or if you've ever stressed way too much over how your house looked, you may be surprised to find out that there's a body image connection. Getting free to be yourself in your body may help you become a little more chill when it comes to cleaning your house before guests stop by. If you've ever cleaned the house to make it lo...