Chatting with Cara - The Relationship with Food Podcast

Cara Meehan - The Mindful Eating Coach
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  • Nutrition
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A podcast for women stuck in the diet cycle, emotional eating and the 'I'll start Monday' patten. If you eat when stressed, overwhelmed or bored and feel guilty every time this show is for you. We talk about food freedom, breaking self-sabotage, and building a sustainable relationship with food without another diet." Find me here - Facebook - Coaching with Cara Instrgram - @coachingwcara Email - cara@coachingwithcara.co.uk If you would like to enquire about my 1-1 coaching then please book yourself a free consultation call in here - https://calendly.com/coachingwcara/call-with-cara

  1. 6d ago

    The supplement drawer that's hiding your relationship with food

    Open your supplement drawer. Go on, actually do it. The magnesium for sleep. The B12 for energy. The green powder that's meant to fix your gut. The menopause one. The one you can't even remember buying. We've all got one and in this episode I explain why it's never really been about the supplements. Every single thing in that drawer started with a feeling. You felt something, you felt bad about it, and you wanted to fix it. That's not you falling for marketing, that's just what happens when diet culture's spent years telling you, your hunger can't be trusted, your fullness can't be trusted, your energy can't be trusted. So you stop listening to yourself. And you start listening to whatever's just popped up in your social media ads instead. So instead of listening to your body, you outsource the answer to whatever's trending on your Instagram ads. This episode isn't about whether supplements work. It's about what's running underneath the reaching for them, and how to start trusting your body enough to hear what it's actually asking for. In this episode I cover - Why the supplement drawer isn't really the problem. Every pill, patch and powder was bought to solve a feeling, not a deficiency. Until you look at what's underneath, you'll keep buying the next one.What diet culture has done to your instincts. Years of being told you can't trust your own hunger or your own tiredness makes it genuinely hard to hear your body when it's telling you something real.The difference between the fast fix and the real fix. A supplement is quick, it's transactional, it asks for your card details. Looking at your sleep, your stress and your relationship with food is slower, but it's the bit that actually works.Why I start with values, not symptoms. One of the first things I do with 1-1 clients is look at what they're actually prioritising in their life, because when you're not living in line with your values, something always feels off.How skipped meals, caffeine and autopilot habits show up as "hormones." Missing lunch, running on caffeine and pushing through tiredness all affect your energy, your clarity and your patience, and it's rarely just your hormones.The real audit I want you to do. Go back to that drawer. Pick up each supplement and ask yourself what problem you were really trying to solve with it, and what pattern is sitting underneath it. So next time you catch yourself reaching for the next bottle, pause. Ask what your body's actually telling you, and whether you're willing to listen this time. If you want help rebuilding that trust between you and your body, that's exactly what The Intuitive Table is built for. It starts Monday 14th September and founding member spots are open now, to save your seat at the table follow here. Connect with Cara - Thanks for joining me today on Chatting with Cara. I hope today's conversation gave you some food for thought! If you're looking to transform this area of your life I'd love to support you, please get in touch with me using the below links. Email - cara@coachingwithcara.co.ukWebsite - www.coachingwithcara.co.ukFacebook - Coaching with CaraInstagram - @coachingwcara Ready to explore how we can work together?Book a free no-obligation consultation call to discover what's possible.Book your call here - https://calendly.com/coachingwcara/call-with-cara Until next time, keep chatting!

  2. Jul 31

    Diets give you rules. This gives you freedom.

    You've tried the shakes. The app where you photograph your dinner. The plan where Tuesday's your free day. You've got the t-shirt, well multiple t-shirts. But have you ever tried building a healthy relationship with food? In this episode I talk about why that's the one thing yoyo dieters never try, why it works when nothing else has, and why food freedom starts the moment you stop looking for the next plan. In this episode I cover - ● Why "I've tried everything" usually means "I've tried every diet." There's a subtle difference, and language is everything. Every plan, every app, every clean day and cheat day still isn't the same as learning to trust yourself around food. ● Why diets work.... for a bit. They give you structure, rules, permission. Something to tick off. That's exactly why they're comfortable, and exactly why they don't last. Rules get followed until they can't be followed anymore. ● What building a relationship with food actually looks like. No meal plans, no macros, no being on it or off it. Just learning to tune into your own hunger and fullness, and to stop reaching for food every time you're stressed, bored, or running on empty. ● Why "I'll start Monday" keeps you stuck. All-or-nothing thinking feels productive. It isn't. It's just a different version of the same diet cycle, dressed up to look new. ● The Intuitive Table. A new 8 week small group programme starting 14th September, hosted around one table, every week, at Shropshire Health (Leaton's Malt House Barn) — ten minutes from Shrewsbury, easy parking, done by half ten. No points, no weigh-ins, no starting again on Monday. Just the tools and strategies to finally break the diet cycle, together. £147 for all eight weeks. So if you're done chasing the next diet and ready to try the one thing you haven't - pull up a seat. All the details are here and you can be part of the founding group. https://www.coachingwithcara.co.uk/theintuitivetable Connect with Cara - Thanks for joining me today on Chatting with Cara. I hope today's conversation gave you some food for thought! If you're looking to transform this area of your life I'd love to support you, please get in touch with me using the below links. Email - cara@coachingwithcara.co.ukWebsite - www.coachingwithcara.co.ukFacebook - Coaching with CaraInstagram - @coachingwcara Ready to explore how we can work together? Book a free no obligation consultation call to discover what's possible. Book your call here - https://calendly.com/coachingwcara/call-with-cara Until next time, keep chatting!

  3. Jul 24

    Why you already know what to do (and still don't do it)

    Stop the diet cycle for good? You've tried every diet going. You know your macros, you've read the books, you've got the apps. So why are you still starting again every Monday? In this episode I'm explaining why the diet cycle was never an information problem, it was always a psychology one. I'm taking you back to my sports science degree, my PT days, and a very unexpected lesson from a houseplant, to explain why "just try harder" or "just be more disciplined" was always going to fail, and what actually breaks the cycle for good. This one's part personal story, part behind-the-scenes of how I coach, and it ends with something exciting: I'm opening the doors to my brand new group programme, The Intuitive Table. In this episode I cover - Why more information was never going to fix this. You already know what you're "supposed" to be eating. You've known for years. That's not the problem. The problem is the gap between knowing and doing, and that gap is exactly where "I'll start again Monday" lives. What sports science taught me about self-sabotage. You can know all the theory in the world, but without addressing the psychology behind it, nothing sticks. I saw this constantly with clients in my PT days, brilliant, capable women who didn't need another plan, they needed help understanding why they couldn't stick to the ones they already had. The houseplant story. I googled every piece of plant care advice going and still killed them. What actually worked? Learning to listen to what the plant needed instead of following someone else's rulebook. Your relationship with food works exactly the same way. Why "all or nothing" keeps you stuck. If you can't do it perfectly, you don't do it at all, and one "bad" meal turns into a write-off week. This episode digs into why that pattern isn't a willpower failure, it's a sign you're following rules that were never built for you. Introducing The Intuitive Table. A small weekly group starting in Shrewsbury this September, built for women who are done dieting and ready to actually trust themselves around food again, no wagon to fall off, no Monday to wait for. So if you're fed up of starting again on Monday and ready for this to actually be the last time, head to the show notes to grab your seat. Connect with Cara - Thanks for joining me today on Chatting with Cara. I hope today's conversation gave you some food for thought! If you're fed up of the diet cycle and ready for something different, please get in touch using the links below. Email - cara@coachingwithcara.co.ukWebsite - www.coachingwithcara.co.ukFacebook - Coaching with CaraInstagram - @coachingwcara Ready to explore how we can work together? Book a free no-obligation consultation call to discover what's possible. Book your call here - https://calendly.com/coachingwcara/call-with-cara Until next time, keep chatting!

  4. Jul 17

    Why this generation will be the last to diet.

    Remember when everyone smoked indoors? When you'd come home from a night out absolutely reeking of it and nobody batted an eyelid? That was normal. Until it wasn't. In this episode, I draw a comparison between the smoking ban of 2007 and where I believe diet culture is heading and why I think we're right at the start of a generational shift that is going to change everything. This one is high-level. We're not going deep today. We're zooming out, looking at the bigger picture, and getting excited about what's coming. Because something is coming. And I need you on board. In this episode I cover - Why smoking is the perfect analogy for diet culture. It was everywhere, it was normalised, it was even sold as aspirational. Then one law changed how socially acceptable it was forever. The incidence of lung cancer dropped. Hospitality workers got healthier. A generation grew up thinking smoking inside was unthinkable. That's exactly what I believe is going to happen with diet culture. What the wild west of dieting actually looked like. The laxative teas, the Atkins diet, the all-or-nothing cycles. Looking back now it feels extreme, because it was. And the next generation is not going to repeat it. Why intuitive eating is the paradigm shift we've been waiting for. The language is already changing. Food noise is entering the mainstream conversation. The 15 and 20 year olds coming up now are tuning in to their bodies rather than tuning in to diet plans. That is a big deal. Why you don't want to be left behind. Early adopters of any cultural shift carry it forward. When you change your relationship with food, it's not just you who changes, it's your whole ecosystem. Your family. Your friends. The next generation watching what you do. What's coming in September. Something very special for the early adopters. The people who are done with Monday starts and ready for a different way. More on that very soon. If this episode gave you that yes, there has to be a different way feeling, I want to hear from you. Send me a DM on Instagram or Facebook with the word excited and I'll send you the details about The Intuitive Table, and how to save your seat before it fills up. This is for the early adopters. The people who are ready now. Don't wait. Or you can click here for more information, to enquire and save your seat. And if you're ready to do the deeper one-to-one work, book yourself a free no-obligation consultation call using the link below. We'll talk about where you are, where you want to be, and I'll give you the roadmap to get there. If you love the show, hit subscribe so new episodes land in your library every Friday. And please do leave a review,it helps others find Chatting with Cara and builds this community one listener at a time. Connect with Cara - Email: cara@coachingwithcara.co.uk Website: www.coachingwithcara.co.uk Facebook: Coaching with Cara Instagram: @coachingwcara The Intuitive Table Ready to explore how we can work together? Book a FREE no-obligation consultation call to discover what's possible. Book your call here. Until next time, keep chatting!

  5. Jul 10

    Take your seat at The Intuitive Table

    That Sunday night feeling, you know the one. You're already planning Monday, already writing the meal plan in your head, already telling yourself “this time it'll be different”. But somewhere in the back of your mind, that voice is going -  “it never is”. If you've been in the diet cycle for years and I’m going to say it maybe even decades, this episode is for you. Because the problem isn't your willpower, your determination, or your discipline. You don't need more of any of those things. What you actually need is a different relationship with food. And in this episode, I'm talking about exactly what that looks like and why it changes everything. In this episode I talk about - Why the "I'll start Monday" cycle keeps repeating and why it's got nothing to do with being lazy or weak. You're just tired of starting and stopping, and there's a very good reason it keeps happening. What I kept hearing from women in the gym when I was a PT, my clients weren't coming to me with fitness problems. They were coming to me with life problems. Stress eating, skipping meals, emotional hunger vs physical hunger and realising that more rules and more restriction wasn't the answer. Why information isn't the issue. You've read the books, downloaded the apps, followed all the accounts. Having too much information is actually part of the problem. What actually changes things is changing your relationship with food, not adding more diet rules on top. What sustainable results actually look like. When my clients stopped relying on willpower and started tuning into what their body actually needed, the results were real and they stayed. No more all-or-nothing thinking, no more guilt after eating, no more waiting until Monday. What The Intuitive Table is and why I created it, a small weekly in-person group in Shrewsbury where you'll learn intuitive eating and mindful eating practices, implement them into your real life, and do it alongside women who get it. Because community is everything and I wanted to bring that back (without the weigh-ins). Ready to take your seat? The Intuitive Table starts in September and spaces are limited. If this episode spoke to you, register your interest using the link in the show notes and you'll be the first to hear everything. Register your interest here Connect with Cara -  Thanks for joining me today on Chatting with Cara. I hope today's episode gave you some food for thought! If you're ready to break the diet cycle for good, I'd love to support you. Email - cara@coachingwithcara.co.uk Website - www.coachingwithcara.co.uk Facebook - Coaching with Cara I nstagram - @coachingwcara Ready to explore how we can work together? Book a free no-obligation consultation call to discover what's possible. Book your call here - https://calendly.com/coachingwcara/call-with-cara Until next time, keep chatting!

  6. Jul 3

    The Diet Graveyard: Where did all those diets actually go?

    Slimfast. The Special K Challenge. Skinny teas. The Dukan Diet. If you're wincing right now, this episode is literally for you. Today I'm taking you on a nostalgic trip through the diet graveyard, all the diets and products that had their moment and quietly disappeared. And more importantly, what that actually tells us about the diet cycle, and how to finally break it. This isn't about shame. It's about recognition. Because every diet you ever tried? That was you showing up for yourself. Wanting something to change. And that matters. The diet graveyard in full. From Atkins and Lighter Life to activated charcoal, flat tummy lollipops and skinny teas, where have they all gone? They've gone because they didn't work. And if they didn't work, the problem was never you. Why every diet you've tried actually says something good about you. Each time you started again, a part of you was searching for something real. That's not weakness. That's hope. And it's something to be proud of. What all these diets had in common. Rigid rules. No wiggle room. No thinking required. Just follow the plan and when the plan ran out, so did the results. None of them taught you to trust yourself. That's the bit that's always been missing. What food freedom actually feels like. Imagine going to a buffet and just... eating. No tracking. No writing the day off. No starting again on Monday. That's not a fantasy, it's what's possible when you stop outsourcing your decisions and start listening to yourself again. A real client story. She'd done every diet on this list. She still knew the syn value of a banana. And slowly, without me ever telling her to stop tracking, she stopped needing to. Because she started trusting herself instead. That's what the work actually looks like. Why you shouldn't be able to do this on your own. You wouldn't fix your own boiler. You wouldn't set your own broken arm. If you've spent years being told your body is wrong, your instincts are wrong, your hunger is wrong, that takes some unpicking. That's exactly what coaching is for. Book your FREE 30-minute call with me and tell me every diet you've ever done. I love it.  And then I'll show you exactly how I can help you build a healthy relationship with food without another plan, another product, or another Monday start date. Book your call here  https://calendly.com/coachingwcara/call-with-cara Connect with Cara — Thanks for joining me today on Chatting with Cara. Hope this one gave you something to think about! If you're ready to break the diet cycle and build a healthy relationship with food, I'd love to chat. Email - cara@coachingwithcara.co.uk  Website - www.coachingwithcara.co.uk  Facebook - Coaching with Cara  Instagram - @coachingwcara Ready to explore how we can work together? Book a FREE no-obligation consultation call to discover what's possible. Book your call here - https://calendly.com/coachingwcara/call-with-cara Until next time, keep chatting! PS - Enquire about taking your seat at The Intuitive Table here.

  7. Jun 26

    How I went from 1,300 calorie spreadsheets to food freedom

    I tried one of those "eat what you want and lose weight" programs. The spreadsheet landed in my inbox, the calories came out at 1,300, and I thought, there is absolutely no way. In this episode I share the full story: what that eight-week program actually looked like, why it set me up to fail, and the moment that changed the way I coach forever. This one's personal. It's story time, grab a brew. In this episode I cover - Why I signed up to a calorie-tracking program as a newly qualified PT. I was told to absorb everything, learn from the best. So I paid £125 for an eight-week fat loss program run by well-respected coaches and got emailed a spreadsheet. No call, no conversation, just numbers. What 1,300 calories actually looks like. Spoiler: eggs on toast for lunch and eggs on toast for dinner. Not exactly the "eat what you want" marketing they promised. I was training, I was active, and I was struggling while watching other people in the group drop four, five, six pounds. Why women in their 30s and 40s keep falling off the wagon and it's not a willpower problem. The women who came to me as a PT weren't asking to lose a stone in a week. They wanted to feel strong, carry the shopping in one go, eat the same meal as their family. The diet cycle wasn't failing them, it was never built for them. How I found intuitive eating and why it changed everything. I went down the rabbit holes, I read the handbook, I started implementing it with the women in front of me. And they stopped overeating. Not because I told them to because they finally learned to listen to themselves. Why I stopped tracking calories with clients entirely. In 2023 I made the decision: no more calorie goals, no more rigid rules, no more setting people up to fail. Food guidelines over food rules. Education over restriction. And yes, weight loss still happens. As a byproduct, when the relationship with food is solid. The message I got this morning that says it all. A client, six weeks in, chronic dieter her whole life, bought a cake, ate half, put the rest away for today. Said she couldn't believe it worked. I could. Those eight-week spreadsheet programs are still out there. Still promising you can eat what you want. You deserve more than that and there is another way. Connect with Cara — Thanks for joining me today on Chatting with Cara. Hope this one gave you something to think about! If you're ready to break the diet cycle and build a healthy relationship with food, I'd love to chat. Email - cara@coachingwithcara.co.uk  Website - www.coachingwithcara.co.uk  Facebook - Coaching with Cara  Instagram - @coachingwcara Ready to explore how we can work together? Book a FREE no-obligation consultation call to discover what's possible. Book your call here - https://calendly.com/coachingwcara/call-with-cara Until next time, keep chatting!

  8. Jun 12

    Episode 100. My Story |  How I Got Here

    100 episodes. I know. I genuinely can't believe I'm saying that. I wanted to do something different for this one. No notes (yes I do plan the podcasts), no framework, no big strategy episode. Just me, in my stepdaughter's bedroom hiding from the noise, telling you my life story. Because the more you know me, the more everything else I talk about actually lands.  And I think that's worth doing at 100, don't you? So this one is all about how a sporty kid with a PE teacher as a Mum ended up becoming a relationship with food coach. It all makes sense when you hear it. In this episode I talk about - Growing up surrounded by sport. Every sport, all the time. Netball, hockey, tennis, football with the boys at break time. My mum was a PE teacher and a total legend on the court. Sport was just what we did and I absolutely loved it. Going from PT to proper conversations. When I was personal training at the Body Barn, the women weren't getting their best results from the hour on the gym floor. They were getting them from the chats we were having about everything else, the stress, the boredom eating, the picking at kids' leftovers. Watching the yo-yo diet cycle up close. The same women dropping off after four weeks, coming back, dropping off again. All or nothing, every time. I just kept thinking, how do I help them find the middle bit? Why I made the switch to relationship with food coaching. It stopped being about the squats. It became about helping women stop overeating at night when they didn't want to, stop emotionally eating, stop feeling rubbish about food. Because then everything just got better for them, I saw real tangible results for them. Where I'm at now. Self-employed, coaching women 1-1, teaching Pilates, raising Luca, and doing my 100th episode from a bedroom. Living the dream, basically. Thanks for being here. Really. Without you listening every week I wouldn't still be doing this.  So thank you. Connect with Cara -  Thanks for joining me today on Chatting with Cara. I hope today's conversation gave you some food for thought! If you're looking to transform this area of your life I'd love to support you, please get in touch with me using the below links. Email -  cara@coachingwithcara.co.uk Website - www.coachingwithcara.co.uk Facebook - Coaching with Cara Instagram - @Coachingwcara Ready to explore how we can work together?  Book a free no-obligation consultation call to discover what's possible. Book your call here - https://calendly.com/coachingwcara/call-with-cara Until next time, keep chatting!

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A podcast for women stuck in the diet cycle, emotional eating and the 'I'll start Monday' patten. If you eat when stressed, overwhelmed or bored and feel guilty every time this show is for you. We talk about food freedom, breaking self-sabotage, and building a sustainable relationship with food without another diet." Find me here - Facebook - Coaching with Cara Instrgram - @coachingwcara Email - cara@coachingwithcara.co.uk If you would like to enquire about my 1-1 coaching then please book yourself a free consultation call in here - https://calendly.com/coachingwcara/call-with-cara

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