Change Academy

Latest Episodes:

Special Series: Mindset Reset #3 Dec 28, 2023

Show notes

This is the third installment our special 5-day Mindset Reset and we're talking about balancing our approach to food as a source of both nourishment and pleasure.

As with most of the things we talk about here in the Change Academy (and in the Weighless Program), the real payoff is in the implementation. So, don't just listen. Make sure some rubber is meeting the road.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Weighless Program, from which this series is derived, go to https://weighless.life. We have a new group starting on January 1st and if you could use some support with weight management in the New Year I’d love to have you join us!

Learn more about the Weighless Program

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Special Series: Mindset Reset #2 Dec 27, 2023

Show notes

This is Part 2 of our special 5-part Mindset Reset series–a little bonus series to help us get our mindset tuned up as we head into the New Year. In this reset, we're talking about how we recover from setbacks.

Because this series was originally developed to accompany the Weighless Program, the examples here focus on typical dieting behaviors and mindsets. But even if that’s not what you’re working on, I bet you can translate these insights into whatever you are working on.

Learn more about the Weighless Program

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Special Series: Weighless Mindset Reset # 1 Dec 26, 2023

Show notes

For this last week of the calendar year, we're departing from our usual format to bring you a special 5-day series called the Weighless Mindset Reset.

The New Year is a time when many people resolve to eat healthier. Unfortunately, those resolutions have typically crashed and burned by the second week of January. By taking a little time to tune up our mindset, I think we can greatly improve our chances of converting our New Year resolutions into more lasting behavior change.

This series was originally developed to give people who were interested in the Weighless Program a taste of the kind of work we do in that program. (Mindset of course is only one aspect of that program, but it’s an important one.)

We'll be sharing a new Mindset Reset every day between now and New Year’s Eve. If this series resonates with you and you're ready to take the next step, our next group program begins on January 1st.

Learn more about the Weighless Program

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Is your diet-tracking app helping or hurting? Dec 15, 2023

Show notes

There are apps and devices that help us what we eat, weigh, spend, save, how much water we drink, how many steps we take. But what is all of this tracking doing for us? Are we using these tools and this information to improve our wellbeing or have we succumbed to the tyranny of tracking?

Joining me on the podcast is registered dietitian and workplace wellness consultant Cassie Christopher. Tracking is a a topic that comes up a lot for each of us in the coaching work that we do and in this episode, we explore what tracking offers, where it often goes wrong, and how we can leverage the benefits without it becoming an unhealthy or unhelpful practice.

I’m also excited to share that the Weighless Program is once again accepting new members! The next group begins on January 1st. All the details are at weighless.life/enroll.

Mentioned
Learn more about the Weighless Program
Learn more about Cassie Christopher’s work

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In order to succeed, you must risk failing (again) Dec 05, 2023

Show notes

If anyone is telling you they can guarantee that you will succeed (as long as you follow their method or their strategy or whatever), they are not being upfront with you. Here’s the hard truth: If you want to succeed, you have to be willing to risk failing.

In fact, if there is anything that actually does guarantee success, it’s being willing to fail–repeatedly if necessary.

But let’s not make this harder than it needs to be. In this episode, I (and a bunch of former clients) talk about how to make this easier.

Key Takeaways
- It’s easy to see our past failures as evidence that we can’t succeed. But failure is the foundation for virtually every success.
- We never know ahead of time which attempt will be the one that actually works.
- Instead of asking yourself “What if I fail?, ” ask yourself “What if this works?”
- Your willingness to learn and grow is ultimately more powerful than your determination to reach a certain specific goal or outcome.

Mentioned

Attend Weighless Program Info Session (Dec 14th, 2023)

Molly Watts (Alcohol Minimalist podcast)

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How to build the circle that supports your best work Nov 23, 2023

Show notes

Today, I’m sharing a bit about my circle of support and inviting you to evaluate your own network. Who are you grateful for? Where might your support network need a little building out? Whose support network are you a part of and how do you support them?

Many of us have bigger and more varied support networks than we even realize–or fully take advantage of.

And for those whose networks are a little threadbare, I have some ideas on how to shore those up.

Key Takeaways
- A more effective gratitude practice is to reflect not just on the things that we’re grateful for but the people and circumstances that make them possible.
- There may be people in your support network that you've never actually met. But they've contributed to your growth through their work or example.
- Feeling gratitude is good for you; Expressing gratitude multiplies the good.
- Thinking of ways you can support others is a great way to build your own circle of support.

Acknowledged

Burnout by Emily and Amelia Nagoski
Cultivate Brands
Quick and Dirty Tips network
Cassie Christopher, MS, RDN
Bethy Campbell, PhD
Molly Watts, Alcohol Minimalist podcast
Encore Retreats
Food We Need to Talk with Juna Gjata
Fit is Freedom with Kelly Howard
Tiny Leaps, Big Changes with Gregg Clunis
Ticora Davis, Creator’s Law Firm
Stacey Harris, Uncommonly More
Tara McMullin, What Works
Oliver Burkeman

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Stages of change: what they forget to tell you Nov 14, 2023

Show notes

If you’ve ever taken an introductory psychology class or done some reading on human behavior and development, you’ve probably stumbled across the Transtheoretical Model, better known as the Stages of Change.

It offers some insights into how behavior change happens, why it sometimes doesn’t (or seems like it doesn’t) and how we can better support behavior change efforts–both our own and those of people around us.

But there are some nuances to this that I think deserve a little more exploration and who better to do that with than clinical psychologist and friend of the podcast, Dr. Bethy Campbell?

We have also created an assessment for you to get a read on where you are in relationship to any change you are working on or contemplating, along with a playlist of Change Academy episodes targeting that particular stage of change.

Key Takeaways
- By aligning our helping strategies with the helpee's readiness, we enhance the effectiveness of our support,
- The stages of change are not linear. It's normal to move back and forth as you progress through your behavior change journey.
- Before a change is ever expressed in someone's actions, there's actually a lot of change that has taken place.
- Change is a complex process and may involve being at several different stages of change simultaneously.

Mentioned

LifeRAFT Model , by Dr. Elizabeth Campbell

Attention Attention Action Cycle (Change Academy episode #11)
Assessment: How ready are you?

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If it feels good, it must be bad for me…and other fairy tales Nov 06, 2023

Show notes

Hedonic self-care involves activities that we find pleasurable. A massage or a nap or time spent with dear friends.

Eudaimonic self-care includes those things we do not necessarily because they are pleasurable in the moment, but because they support our goals and objectives. Things like getting our teeth cleaned, or doing meal prep ahead of a busy week, or spending time and money on a therapist or hiring a health coach.

You could easily get the impression that eudaimonic self-care is better or more virtuous than hedonic self-care. But this is not the case. And I don’t want you to forsake hedonic self-care as lesser than.

Key Takeaways

Try to maintain a balance between those things you do because they make you feel good in the moment and those things you do because they contribute to your long term well-being. Both are important to a fulfilling life.
Cramming in a lot of peak experiences doesn’t guarantee that you’ll look back on your life and feel it was well-lived.
One way to waste time is to spend it doing things that don’t really matter. But another way to waste time is to spend it living for an imaginary future.
Whether hedonic or eudaimonic, if it comes at the expense of your mental, physical, or financial wellbeing, it doesn’t qualify as true self-care.

Mentioned

Episode 80: Rescuing Self-care from Consumer Culture

4000 Weeks, by Oliver Burkeman

30 Day Nutrition Upgrade

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Festive food season is approaching. What's your plan? (Extracurricular) Oct 30, 2023

Show notes

Earlier this month, I sat down with Kelly Howard of the Fit is Freedom podcast. You may remember Kelly from a Change Academy episode on how incorporating more fun and adventure can help you be more consistent about your fitness practice.

Kelly invited me back to the Fit is Freedom podcast to share some tips with her listeners on how to enjoy the upcoming the holiday season without throwing all of our healthy habits and progress under the bus. I thought you would be interested in hearing this conversation as well. So, with Kelly’s permission, I’m sharing that episode here with you.

I share a couple of specific strategies that I find useful at this time of year…one is a mindset shift. The other is straight up tactical. We also talk a bit about the 30 Day nutrition upgrade that’s coming up on November 8th—because that program is part of my answer to the question of how to stay on track even with all the disruption and opportunities to indulge that come with the holidays.

If you haven’t yet registered for the 30 Day Nutrition Upgrade, you can do that at changeacademhypodcast.com/upgrade (or just click on the link in the show notes).

Mentioned:

Fit is Freedom podcast

30 Day Nutrition Upgrade (starts November 8th)

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How community and connection build healthier habits Oct 26, 2023

Show notes

In the previous episode, I talked about some of the things that can go wrong when we put corporations in charge of our wellbeing. In this episode, I share an example of what it looks like when it goes right, and how corporate-sponsored wellbeing programs can actually have a very positive impact on individuals and workers as well as on the company’s bottom line.

Lindsey Soroka is a registered dietitian and works as a health promotion specialist for a major national corporation, where she’s in charge of (among other things) engaging the employees in wellness education, services, and programming.

Lindsey and I first worked together when her company brought me in to offer the 30-Day Nutrition Upgrade program to their employees, Afterward, we sat down to talk about what she’s learned about motivating people and why major corporations want to invest in wellbeing programming.

But there are valuable lessons for all of us in this conversation. In particular, I hope you catch the ways in which our efforts to enhance our own wellbeing can ripple out into our families, workplaces, and communities.

Key Takeaways

Companies are in business to be profitable, but the smart ones recognize that in order to thrive as a company, they need a healthy, stable and well-resourced workforce.
If you are feeling burned out or overwhelmed at work, you may not feel like you have the bandwidth to explore your employers’ wellness resources but this is actually the time they may be most valuable (and your employer really does want you to use them).
When trying to establish new behaviors, a short-term commitment can make it feel more doable. But a good short-term challenge will be designed with the long tail in mind.
Doing something as part of a group really helps to foster a sense of wellbeing and connection. And it helps you stick with it.
Reaching out to someone who’s had a positive impact on you not only means the world to them but can also benefit your own mental and physical health. Be on the lookout for opportunities to do that.

Mentioned

30 Day Nutrition Upgrade (starts November 8th)

Contact Monica to discuss corporate wellness programming

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