How do you actually change a core belief about yourself, especially one you've held for so long that it feels like a fact? Whether it's about your body, your relationship with food, or what makes you worthy of acceptance, some beliefs are so deeply ingrained that we don't even recognize them as beliefs.

In this episode of Full But Not Finished, I'm answering a listener's question about how to change core beliefs, using a recent body image moment of my own to explore what that process looks like.

I had just pulled into my driveway when I looked down at my stomach while unbuckling my seatbelt and felt an immediate flash of disgust. I was hungry and about to go inside to eat, and that moment brought up an old association between how my body looked and what I should do about it. But what interested me was how differently I responded to that feeling than I would have years ago.

Using this experience, I walk through how I've changed some of my most deeply held beliefs, including where they came from, why I held onto them, and what helped me begin to see things differently.

We will also explore how to question beliefs that seem undeniably true, including what to do when there's some evidence supporting them. How do we begin developing beliefs that better reflect what we know and what we want to change?

If you've ever wondered why it's so difficult to change, this episode offers a practical way to begin examining what might be keeping you in the hamster wheel.

MORE FROM STEF:

Stefanie Michele is a certified coach and somatic practitioner who helps people understand the psychological, emotional, and nervous-system patterns underneath binge eating, food control, body image anxiety, and feeling trapped in the relationship with their bodies.

1:1 Coaching with Stefanie
https://www.iamstefaniemichele.com/application

Full But Not Finished on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/@iamstefaniemichele

Website
https://www.iamstefaniemichele.com

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/iamstefaniemichele

Why can another woman's weight loss make you feel jealous, insecure, or suddenly compelled to change your own body? And why do some women feel inspired by other women's success while others feel threatened or competitive?

In this episode of Full But Not Finished, I'm answering a listener question about feeling threatened when other women lose weight. We explore the psychology of female competition, social comparison, internalized sexism, and how we learn to associate our appearance with our worth.

I talk about why some women respond to comparison with inspiration while others experience jealousy or insecurity, how childhood experiences and sibling dynamics can shape those responses, and my own history of feeling like my appearance was the one thing I had to protect.

We also look at why these feelings can persist even when we intellectually disagree with them, how competition becomes tied to identity and self-worth, and how to work with jealousy without adding another layer of shame.

I close with a simple somatic practice to help you reconnect with yourself when comparison takes over.

Full But Not Finished is a podcast about binge eating recovery, body image, nervous system regulation, and the complicated experience of being human.

MORE FROM STEFANIE MICHELE

Stefanie Michele is a certified coach and somatic practitioner who helps people understand the psychological, emotional, and nervous-system patterns underneath binge eating, food control, body image anxiety, and feeling trapped in the relationship with their bodies.

1:1 Coaching with Stefanie
https://www.iamstefaniemichele.com/coaching

Full But Not Finished on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/@iamstefaniemichele

Website
https://www.iamstefaniemichele.com

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/iamstefaniemichele

You can know that dieting isn't working and still be terrified to stop. You can recognize that you're burned out and still feel compelled to keep producing. You can understand that controlling your body isn't making you happier and still believe that letting go would be a terrible mistake.

So what are we actually afraid of losing?

In this episode of Full But Not Finished, Kristina Bruce returns for one of our unscripted seasonal conversations, this time exploring the psychology of control, the fear of change, and why certain patterns can be so hard to let go of.

From binge eating recovery and body acceptance to burnout and our fear of making mistakes, we examine what makes change so difficult even when we understand that it's exactly what we need.

We explore the difference between experiencing an uncomfortable emotion and becoming consumed by what we believe it means about us, including a practical way to begin separating ourselves from those stories.

It's a conversation for anyone who's tired of trying so hard but isn't quite sure how to stop.

MORE FROM STEFANIE MICHELE

Stefanie Michele is a certified coach and somatic practitioner who helps people understand the psychological, emotional, and nervous-system patterns underneath binge eating, food control, body image anxiety, and feeling trapped in the relationship with their bodies.

1:1 Coaching with Stefanie
https://www.iamstefaniemichele.com/coaching

Full But Not Finished on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/@iamstefaniemichele

Website
https://www.iamstefaniemichele.com

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/iamstefaniemichele

MORE FROM KRISTINA BRUCE

Kristina Bruce is a body image coach and the founder of Unlearning Beautiful. She helps people stop obsessing about their bodies and develop greater peace, trust, and freedom.

Free Guide to Body Peace
https://www.kristinabruce.com/guide

1:1 Body Peace Coaching
https://www.kristinabruce.com/private-coaching

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/kristinabrucecoach