#88: Weight Loss and the Little Yellow Bowl and Other Hacks

Weight loss hacksAre you super stressed out about weight loss and feel like no matter what you try, you’re always failing? Does losing weight seem so overwhelming or even unreachable for you? Well in today’s episode I have some of my simple hacks that will help you take little steps to making big progress and weight loss. These small tips are ways that we can take care of ourselves in a way that feels loving, kind and helpful. They are simple day to day hacks that don’t take a lot of effort but can make a big impact on your weight loss. Weight Loss for Quilters | Weight Loss and Self-Sabotage  If you are ready to lose weight and change the way you think about hunger, sign up for the lifetime access membership for Love Yourself Thin! Doors are open and you can find all the information by clicking here.

What You’ll Learn from this Episode:

  • My top hacks for weight loss

  • How these hacks can help you start caring for yourself and your body
  • How to take care of yourself in loving ways

Listen to the Full Episode:

Featured on the Show:

  • If you are ready to lose weight and change the way you think, sign up for the lifetime access membership for Love Yourself Thin! Doors are open and you can find all the information by clicking here.
  • Leave me a review in Apple

Full Episode Transcript:

Dara Tomasson Podcast

88. Weight Loss and the Little Yellow Bowl and Other Hacks

Are you super stressed out about weight loss and feel like no matter how many things you try, you’re always failing? Well, today’s episode is all about some hacks that you can do that will help you take little steps to making big progress and weight loss. I’m Dara Tomasson, this is Love Yourself Thin, episode 88, weight Loss, and a Little Yellow Bowl, and other hacks. Hello, this is such a fun episode because I’m always thinking of new ways of sharing weight loss in ways that will help you to feel hopeful and helpful. Now, hope is a wonderful feeling but having that help, having that way to believe, actually believe that you can change is so powerful and I absolutely love that you’re here. I was just looking at my Instagram and there’s a lady from the UK who loves my podcast and she’s coming to my masterclass at the end of the month and I’m gonna meet with her next week, and I’m so excited. It is a thrill to talk to people who have listened to my podcast, they can quote me in different episodes, and that really, really warms my heart because this is why I do this. This is why I plan and strategize and I make, I actually personally make each one of these handouts, and I have this incredible podcast team that I pay every month, and I’m so grateful that I can do that because I know how frustrating weight loss has been. I have struggled with it for my whole adult life and for me now to do the laundry and fold my jeans, there are times where I say, oh my goodness, these are my jeans. Even after this, after four years, I still, I have to like readjust my brain to think, yeah, this is actually me. These are my jeans. This is my body now. And it’s been such a, such a journey. So I love sharing the highlights or wins from clients because they’re just like you. They’re regular. people who have all the struggles and difficulties and challenges but they are showing up for themselves. They are coming to the calls and there are women who can’t come to the calls, but they are making huge progress because they’re watching the replays. They’re watching the modules, they’re doing the worksheets. They are finally giving themselves tools to change and I am so pleased for them. I’m gonna just share, we always do three wins at the beginning of every call. And one of my clients just finally registered herself. She’s becoming a long armed quilter. And it was interesting because she was delaying it, delaying it. And then after she just did it, she dropped like five pounds in a week because that cortisol was just affecting all of it. Another client, she was able to buy a size 16 jeans. She hasn’t worn that size in 15 years. Another client is going to a quilt retreat and she talked to all the other ladies that are going, and they all have made these really healthy plans and they’re getting each other’s back. Another client, she was able to talk to her husband about his health, and he’s kind of given up on himself. And so she had this really difficult conversation saying, Hey, so am I just not gonna worry about you? And, and she just had this very, very difficult conversation, but it was, it’s so empowering. It’s no longer gonna be such a challenge in their marriage. So these are just some of the examples of what happens every week in our, we have three coaching calls a week, so that’s a lot of really good celebrations and it’s helping my clients learn how to rewire their brains. So I’m going to help you with this episode with some hacks. You know, it’s interesting, I’m a weight loss coach, but I don’t talk a lot about like the little nitty gritty details. So today I’m going to share some of the hacks that help me and my clients to have more success. And so there is a worksheet that goes along with this one. And I have a little space for you to put your favorite part of the podcast, and I, I have to tell you the brain science of this. So when you slow your brain down enough to put a pen in your hand and actually write down what’s happening, then it really starts creating more change for you. So it is really powerful, to, that’s why people talk about gratitude journals and about thought downloads. And even if you went to therapy, writing a letter to somebody and then just burning it, you never have to even give it to them. But it’s just that slowing down and looking at things. And then I am gonna have you write three negative thoughts that you say to yourself on a constant basis. And then write down some more kind thoughts. So that is the worksheet for you there. And if you have any problems with finding the worksheets, please feel free to message [email protected] and we will help you. No problem. All right, so the reason we have the yellow bowl, this was such a huge shift for me and one of the problems that we have with weight loss is the way that we grew up. So when you think about our parents’ generation or our grandparents’ generation, depending on where you fall, what year you were born. But when I think about my grandparents, both my grandpas didn’t actually have to go fight in the war. My one grandpa had flat feet, so the boots wouldn’t work for him. And my other grandpa was a rancher and a farmer, and he had 11 sections of land. And so he was deemed necessary to stay home and to produce food and meat. And so, in fact is a funny story when my one grandpa was told that he didn’t have to go to the war, he and my grandma went into town and they bought her this fancy, what’s it called? Like a stole, I think it’s the, like a fur collar. And it was this big celebration and my other grandpa his responsibility was he collected a certain number of metal, a weight of metal every month or something, so they they use that metal to build machinery, tanks, all those kinds of things for war. All right, so the reason I’m talking about the history of that is that there was a lot of scarcity and even my great-grandparents both of my sides, they came to Canada and they basically built their towns. They built the streets, they built the baseball diamonds, they built all of that. They started from scratch, so there was not a lot of extras ever. So when you think about the way to take care of people is to bring them food and to make sure that they are safe and that they have enough, and now that like sugar was an easier demand and so a lot of families just would provide a dessert at the end of the day, just as a way of saying, I am taking care of my family. I have more than I need. I can really take care of them. They’re not gonna struggle. They’re not going to suffer. They’re not gonna go to bed hungry. And I’m not saying that people didn’t, but there is definitely, there was a movement of having those extra treats because they could. Because so many of them as children went with lack. So having said that, our bodies are kind of wired to want that sugar at the end of the day to kind of, as a symbol of the day is over, we can now rest and call it good. It was kind of a conclusion of the day, and I’m not saying that we had dessert every day growing up, but we definitely had dessert and it was a symbol of celebration. It was a symbol of you’ve done well. It’s an acknowledgement and so it makes sense that we would want to finish off our day with something sweet and it’s a really difficult habit to break, and I am not an exception to that. So having, you know, some chocolate chips or having a little bit of ice cream or having a cookie or popcorn or some caramel with apples it’s just, this was a very strong need for me and so I decided that I wasn’t going to cut myself off cold turkey because I am not a fan of deprivation. I’m not a fan of willpower. That doesn’t feel loving and it doesn’t feel kind, and it really kind of leaves a, a yucky taste in your mouth. You know what I mean? So I came up with this really fun idea. My friend was moving and I told her I would take a bunch of stuff to the thrift store for her as a help. And she had these adorable yellow bowls. They’re so cute. And they’re small and adorable. And I thought, okay, I can just put a treat in here. And so I would do that. And then I thought, well, what treat could I put in here that would actually feel good in my body? So one of the, the things that I loved to have is, I still do is a three berry mix from Costco. It’s blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries. And I would put those in my little yellow bowl and then I would pour cream over them and the cream would freeze instantly on it. And then I would put on some toasted coconut, unsweetened toasted coconut, and if you fry it up, you toast it, it brings out the flavor even that much more. So that’s another fun hack. And then it seemed really fancy because then I’m having this little sweetness in my bowl. Another treat that I would put in my little yellow bowl. I would whip up the cream. And don’t put any sugar in it. And then I would sometimes put cocoa powder, no sugar in it. And I would put that on the berries. Another thing that I would do with the whipping cream and the cocoa is I would blend up some cream cheese and then you fold the cream cheese into the whipping cream, and that’s delicious. You can also do that and put it in the freezer so it gets really cold, and it’s similar-ish to a frosty that you would get at Wendy’s or as some sort of ice cream. And then you can also, because I’m a big fan of coconut, you could sprinkle some toasted coconut on the chocolate. So these are just two or three different things that I have done that helped me to not feel deprived to help me not have to have willpower, but allowed me to give myself that same action of I’m taking care of myself. This is a closure of the day, and everything’s gonna be okay, yet I’m eating something that feels good in my body. Another thing that I’ve done is if it’s past seven o’clock, then I tend not to eat. In fact, now my rule is pretty much six o’clock. So after six it’s very difficult for me to eat after that because it just doesn’t feel very good. And then if I didn’t have a treat or the little yellow bowl and it was past a certain time, another hack that I have is just, I have a huge variety of herbal tea, so many, and so I would just make myself a herbal tea. And if I wanted, I could put in some whipping cream on top of that, and that would just feel really fancy and it was creamy and delicious. Because cream doesn’t really, like fat doesn’t spike your insulin. So that is a great hack for you. Now I have some more hacks here and I wanted to share them because, the more that you can, I call it like a toolbox, and the more that you can put these tools in your arsenal, right? Of approaching life, of changing the way that you are, the more success you’re gonna have. So the one is moderation. So if you are having a hard time not eating flour or sugar, which by the way, in my program you can have flour and sugar, we just tend to plan it 24 hours in advance and we plan it from our prefrontal cortex. So let’s say you’re having a moment where you are eating something you hadn’t planned on, then just eat maybe four bites instead of finishing it all. or leaving a few bites left and just allowing them to be there and just having that moderation, that’s a really helpful tool because now you’re not having to beat yourself up. You don’t have to be unkind to yourself. You can just say, oh, I’m just gonna have this in moderation. I’m just gonna have some of these bites and I’m not gonna worry about that. Another one is stocked fridge. I remember listening at the very beginning of learning about life coaching tools and I was listening to Jody Moore’s podcast or maybe it was in her program, and she said, if I gave you a million dollars to make sure you had all the food in your house that you needed for a year, that would be really good for your body would you do it? And I was like, of course I would. A million dollars? That would be amazing. And so I have taken that on, of making sure that I always have food in my fridge that’s gonna work for me, that if I’m traveling I will bring almonds with me. I will bring food that I know will work well for me. I bring herbal tea bags with me. I will have, make sure I have a good water bottle, so I make sure that I take care of myself so I never find myself in a position where I feel deprived or upset. Another thing that I’ve done that’s been a real game changer for me is I go outside to exercise, like just to go for a walk, but I don’t have to always put on exercise clothes. And in fact, last Saturday I had a bunch of appointments, we’re renting out our rental suite and doing Airbnb so I needed to switch up the laundry and meet with a couple of potential renters and I didn’t really know exactly how long everything was gonna take, so I didn’t really wanna wear exercise clothes. So I just wore my stretchy jeans and I had my running shoes and I thought, okay, if I have this hour of time, then I can go and I can go for my run. And I did, and it was very awkward because I’m running in jeans and I have this, I had this kind of a fluffy sweater and I had to take it off and it didn’t really fit around my waist very well, so I just kind of carried it and I did a six K run. But it’s, that’s a hack that I have just allowed myself of you can just move your body and you don’t have to wear exercise clothes. You can just, just go for it. And so that’s been really fun. Another one is drawing the line of the way you talk to yourself. So this is on the worksheet. I want you to write down the three negative thoughts you say to yourself like, I’m not good enough. What’s wrong with me? When would I ever be able to figure this out if I haven’t figured it out so far? Like, what? Those are the kinds of thoughts… and if you say those thoughts, I want you to draw the line that you will never say that to yourself again. And if you do you are going to cut yourself off and say, Nope, we’re not doing that anymore. Just like if you were with your neighbor or your grandchild or your child and they were gonna go on the road, you’re like, Nope, we don’t do that. We don’t walk on the road because cars could come and you don’t yell and scream and say, you dummy. What’s wrong with you? How many times have I told you that you can’t walk on the road? You say, oh no, we don’t do that. That’s dangerous. You can get really hurt. And it’s just a matter of fact, this is what, we don’t do that anymore, it that’s very dangerous. Just like fire. Oh, nope, we stay away from the fire. Do you see how, what a difference that tone is. So that’s what I want you to do. And then I want you to write down some thoughts that are kind about yourself. So, hey, I like the way that you brush your teeth. I like the way that you wear clean clothes mostly. I like that you shower often. I like that you brush your hair. I like that you ate some celery or whatever, like something kind about yourself. Here are some more hacks. Change the words of I have to make dinner to, I get to make dinner. Take some classes. I’m interested in learning rug hooking and I have a retreat coming up in September and one of my clients who’s coming, she is really into rug hooking, so I’m gonna ask her if she could prepare a little kit for me so we can sit together and she can show me how to do that. Also, I have clients now who are becoming pattern designers. They’re making their life more interesting. The other client I shared, she’s starting a long arm business. She’s doing things that she really wants to do. Another hack is to shave your legs. And this is what I find, it’s so interesting, each member has their own journey. They’re all unique and different, and one of the things that comes up, which is so interesting to me, is that they start shaving their legs more often. They start putting cream on their bodies more often. They start taking care of themselves more often. They go to bed earlier. They start having this form of self-care that’s not just going and getting their nails done. They’re actually caring for their body, they’re appreciating their body. And then the last hack that I’m gonna share for this episode is feeling fancy. So when you feel fancy, what do you do? You take care of it. You take care of yourself, you take care of the things around you. So you can go and get your own version of the Yellow Bowl. You can get, some, maybe some fun glasses that you can drink your water from. It’s funny, I, I’m a big fan of these mason jars and I feel fancy because every day I use a lemon in my water, and most days I use ginger, fresh ginger and lemon. And that feels fancy to me. That feels like I am worth taking care of. If a doctor had told, would tell me something about taking care of my kids, that I needed to do something for them specifically for their own selves, I would for sure do it for them. I would take that time and energy to help them, and so I want you to do the same. This has been a really fun episode to share, and as you can see, I don’t spend a lot of time and even those weight loss hacks, I’m not talking about measuring food and calculating and doing those kinds of things. I’m talking about how do we take care of ourselves in a way that feels loving and kind and helpful. That is the approach. And it’s interesting one of my Instagram conversations, she was talking about willpower and the importance of feeling like she needed to have willpower in her weight loss journey. She said, I still struggle with losing weight through self-discipline. And then it feels too hard and overwhelming. And my response was, losing weight with self-discipline is like shoveling during a snowstorm. It’s not effective or sustainable. What do you think about losing weight with self-love, compassion, and kindness. She says, I love it, but it feels too vague. I get it. It seemed really vague to me too. It seems like froo froo and I dunno if you’ve, I’m six feet tall. I’m not a froo froo kind of girl. I’m actually very practical, pragmatic, but the more that I care about myself, the more I take care of myself, just like the more I take care of my children the more care, the more attention, the more consideration, it’s just a natural effect of when you love someone so much, you just want the best for them and you wanna take care of them. And it doesn’t mean you go and rescue them. It’s actually helping them to trusting them and helping them to make decisions, and then learning how to overcome those struggles. I’m just gonna share one more story before I close off. So I’m gonna share a story about my oldest son, who is now 20, and when he was in grade six, he took the bus and they had to take the city bus and the city bus, I might have shared the story, I’m not sure. It dropped him off at the wrong place and I was really stressing out because he was late coming home. And so I started getting all the kids dressed cause it was really, it was cold. This is when we lived in Red Deer and I was getting the kids dressed to go in the van so we could go and look for him and the kids were just about out the door. We were just about to get in the van to go look for him. And he came in the door and as soon as he walked in the door, he just kind of started to cry because he was like, oh, I made it. And I said, oh, what happened? And we were so worried and I was gonna go look for you. He said, yeah, the bus driver dropped me off in the wrong place and I didn’t know what to do, but I just thought I’ve gotta, I gotta figure this out. I can figure this out. And you know, we teach our kids to pray and so to ask God to help him, but he said he would just go and he would look in a corner and then he would try to remember if that looked familiar. And eventually he made his way back. And I was just talking to him about this last week because now he’s at a new change in his life. He’s on a mission for our church and he’s coming home in a few months, and so he’s having to make all these decisions about university, they really feel like really big life decisions because can impact his future about, you know, the kind of job that he has, the kind of money he can make, the way he can provide for a family, the kind of wife that he’s going to, you know, marry and these are really big, big, heavy, they can feel very heavy. And I said, do you remember when you did that really hard thing and he said, yeah. And I said how has that changed you? And we, discussed about how it taught him that he can do hard things and that he can figure things out and that he’s gonna be okay. And I want to just encourage all of you that as you step on the scale and as you look at your body, as you go through your day, I want you to just have a lot of compassion and kindness about what’s going on for you because you never woke up in the morning and said, guess what? I know, I know what’s a good idea. I’m gonna just put on a bunch of weight and feel really uncomfortable, and I’m going to like, it’s gonna be great. I’m gonna do that and it’s gonna be… no. None of us ever decided that we were going to sabotage ourselves and to treat ourselves badly. But when you don’t have the tools to learn how to overcome that, that struggle, then you’re going to continue to go down that road of struggle. And that’s where I come in. That’s where my job as a coach is to help you see those thought patterns and see where you struggle. So just like I watch my sons playing basketball and my daughter, she played too. You know, they have a coach that takes them off the court and says, Hey, I noticed you did this you gotta do it different. You can’t keep doing that. They’re gonna get you every time. And the coach can see that. But when you’re in the game and you’re trying your best, and you’re, you’re scared or you’re stressed or you’re tired or you’re, you’re upset because that person hit you or whatever. You don’t have that peace of mind, and that is where I come in. I am a coach to help you change, and I have a very special program called the 90 Day workbook, and it takes the five steps of permanent weight loss into very small little steps. And we’re starting to do that together on April 10th. And I wanna invite you to be a part of that and every day you will get a three to five minute video explaining that little, little piece of information that over time the more information you get and little tiny bits, the more you’re going to change permanently. And so you never have to worry about putting the weight back on because you’re going to have those tools and you’re gonna have the support to be able to make that change. I am so grateful that you’re listening to this podcast. I’m feeling very humbled by the women that reach out to me and share what they’re learning because they’re hearing these things. And I will never forget listening to my very first introduction to weight loss, coaching and mental, all this life coaching business with my brain. It was like I was, I only ever saw in black and white. And then I was able to see in color and I had so many more possibilities in front of me. And I think about what I have created over the last four years, now five years. I started listening to these podcasts in the summer of 2018. And it’s amazing how, how my life has changed and what I’ve been able to accomplish and how the ripple effects of the work that I do not only have rippled to my marriage, my children, my extended family, my community service, my clients. It really is very humbling to me. So I’d love to hear from you. I’d love to hear what your takeaways were from this episode, and I love being able to connect with you. So please reach out to me. Let’s book a call together. We can have a conversation about what’s really going on for you, and then I can give you some free coaching and then we can take a look at if Love Yourself Thin is the right fit for you. And it’s not a pressure sales at all. It’s actually very, it’ll bring you a lot of relief. All right, you take care and have an amazing day. Bye-bye.
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