Ep 100- Listener Q&A- Saying no to sweets without feeling deprived, allowing cravings, should you count calories?
January 8, 2026
Today we have a super special & FUN episode where I am answering YOUR questions to celebrate 100 episodes of the Become a Confident Eater Podcast!
I answer…
In binge eating recovery, how do you work with cravings instead of fighting them, especially with novelty foods?
How can someone change habits around sweets without restriction or shame?
How do I return to healthy eating habits after getting comfortable in a relationship where I’m always following my partner’s eating and snacking habits?
How did you find motivation that works to stop overeating?
Do you prefer calorie counting, mindful eating, or eating based on macros and why?
Do I eat monkfruit?
Where do I start if I want to eat normally?
Why Evaluating Your Eating Habits Matters
This time of year is often filled with planning and dreaming. New goals. Fresh starts. Motivation. But without reflection, those goals are often vague and disconnected from reality.
Most people say things like:
I want to eat healthier
I want to stop binge eating
I want to be more consistent
The problem is not the desire. The problem is that these goals do not address why things did not work in the first place.
If you do not ask why you binged this year, why consistency faded, or why certain habits felt impossible to maintain, January will feel like Groundhog Day. Same intentions. Same struggles. Same disappointment.
This Is Not a Diet Evaluation
If the idea of evaluating your eating habits makes your stomach drop, you are not alone. Many people associate reflection with dieting and punishment. Thoughts like:
What did I mess up
Where did I fail
What should I not have eaten
That is not what we are doing here.
This is a data-gathering process. You are looking at your year like a scientist, not a critic. You cannot change patterns you do not understand, and shame will only block clarity.
Letting Go of Guilt Around Your Eating Habits
After the holidays, it is common to feel guilt or embarrassment about food. Maybe you told yourself you would not snack after dinner, but once the house was quiet, you found yourself eating chocolate straight from the box without really tasting it.
Then the guilt hit. And once the guilt hit, you kept eating because the day already felt ruined.
Many people take a few moments like that and use them to define their entire year with food. They tell themselves they failed again or that something must be wrong with them.
Where you are right now is not a moral issue. It is not good or bad. It is simply information about your relationship with food. And information is powerful when you know how to use it.
The Right Mindset for Reflection
Shame is not a long-term motivator. It might feel productive in the moment, but it usually leads to giving up, not change.
Approach this process with compassion. Most people have been trying to figure out their eating habits alone for a long time. That is not easy, and it deserves empathy, not criticism.
The Key Questions to Evaluate Your Eating Habits
Below are the core questions that will help you reflect on 2025 in a way that actually leads to change.
When Did Eating Feel Easy This Year
Even if it was brief, there were moments when food felt calm and neutral. Maybe you were traveling. Maybe you had a meal where you ate and moved on without spiraling.
Ask yourself what was different during those times. What were you thinking differently. What pressure was not present. These moments prove that your brain can regulate when it is supported.
Where Did You Grow This Year
Growth often happens before results show up. Maybe you noticed urges sooner. Maybe you stopped turning one binge into a week-long spiral. Maybe you started setting boundaries around food or other people.
These changes matter. They mean you are not stuck, even if you are not where you want to be yet.
What Were Your Predictable Overeating Patterns
Everyone has patterns. Nighttime eating. Sugar after dinner. Skipping meals. Eating when overwhelmed or exhausted.
These patterns are not failures. They are learned survival strategies. When you name them, they stop running your behavior on autopilot.
What Was the Biggest Lie Your Brain Told You About Food
Your brain offers thoughts that feel true but are not. Thoughts like:
I will start tomorrow
I already messed up, so it does not matter
Sugar will calm me down
I cannot handle cravings
Choose one thought that showed up often this year and write out why it is not true. This step alone can weaken the binge cycle.
What Did You Try That Helped or Did Not Help
Look honestly at the strategies you used this year. What supported you, even a little. What did not work, despite your effort.
This is not about blame. It is about deciding whether your current approach can realistically get you different results next year.
If Next Year Looked the Same, What Would the Impact Be
This question brings clarity. If your eating habits stayed the same for another year, how would that affect your health, energy, confidence, and quality of life.
This is not meant to scare you. It is meant to help your brain see why change matters now, not someday.
Take This Work Deeper With the Worksheet
Listening alone does not create change. Reflection requires action.
I created a printable worksheet that walks you through all of these questions, plus a few bonus prompts to help you gain even more clarity about your eating habits and patterns.
Taking 10 to 20 minutes to write your answers can completely shift how you approach food in the new year.
👉 Download the Eating Habits Reflection Worksheet and give yourself the clarity you need to move forward with confidence.
Evaluating your year is not about fixing yourself. It is about learning from yourself. And that is where real change begins.