EP 189. Navigating Weight Loss with ADHD: A Conversation with Jennifer Watts

I just know that it's really helpful to hear other people, other women talk about their stories and their experience having ADHD. And I share in this episode, that's one of the reasons why I finally went to go get tested because I heard two other coaches on podcasts and having conversations in other places where I was able to listen. And they talked about being diagnosed as an adult. They talked about running a business with ADHD and having a neurodivergent brain and all the things, and they normalized the experience. Which gave me the courage to go reach out to go get tested for myself, and the rest is history. So if you think you may have ADHD, you're going to find this episode very, very helpful as it relates to your eating. You're listening to the Stop Dieting Forever podcast, episode 189. What if it were possible to achieve your goal weight and stay there permanently without dieting? Welcome to the Stop Dieting Forever podcast, where you will discover the key components that most diets won't tell you because they want you to keep coming back. Not here. This is your last stop on the weight loss struggle bus. I am your host, Jennifer Dent-Brown, life and weight loss coach, and I am going to show you how to stop dieting forever. Let's jump into today's episode. Sometimes the best connections happen in the DMs. Hey, LuxeLifer, welcome back to the podcast. And if you're new, welcome. I'm happy to have you here. We have a great interview for you this week, but let me just give you a little bit of context of where my guest came from. So my guest today is Jennifer Watts, and she is a weight loss coach for women who have ADHD. I know, right? When I heard that, I was like, oh, that's so fascinating. So she was searching one day for podcasts to listen to, and she stumbled across the episode that I did on anxiety, ADHD, and emotional eating. That's episode 106. I put the link in the show notes in case you missed it. She listened to the episode. She immediately sent me a DM on Instagram. And for those of you who don't know what a DM is, it's a direct message. So she sent me a private message And she told me how much she resonated with an episode, and she said it felt like I was telling her story. And she said she was off to go binge more of my content on the podcast. So we kept in touch on Instagram because we have a few things in common. Jen is a newly certified coach, and she's certified through the same school that I went to, the Life Coach School, and she's a weight loss coach. So fast forward a couple of weeks, Through the power of the internet, I saw that she was looking for podcast guests because she's kicking off a brand new podcast for her business. And y'all know I'm always willing. I've been on, I think, 12 podcasts as a guest so far, and I'm looking to be on more. So if you have a podcast and you're looking for a guest, reach out to me. Um, but she was looking for podcast guests and I raised my hand because I'm always wanting to get in front of more audiences, to tell people about Stop Dieting Forever. So we communicated back and forth on social media and we arranged a time to meet and we had our first live conversation, but we recorded it. And it is this interview that you are about to hear. And I don't even want to say it's an interview. It's just more like a discussion, getting to know you kind of conversation. So you're really literally like a fly on the wall. Of us having our very first in-person conversation, talking about all the things that we have in common: coaching, weight loss, ADHD, being a woman, being a business owner. Jen is an accountant by trade, a CPA. We talked about corporate life. We talked about being diagnosed as adults. So it's just a really, really interesting and enlightening conversation. So if you think you may have ADHD, you're going to find this episode very, very helpful as it relates to your eating. And I just know that it's really helpful to hear other people, other women talk about their stories and their experience having ADHD. And I share in this episode, that's one of the reasons why I finally went to go get tested, because I heard two other coaches, on podcasts and having conversations in other places where I was able to listen. And they talked about being diagnosed as an adult. They talked about running a business with ADHD and having a neurodivergent brain and all the things. And they normalized the experience, which gave me the courage to go reach out, to go get tested for myself. And the rest is history. So enjoy this conversation with Jen and I. If you're interested, you can go check Jen out on Instagram at Jennifer Watts.ca, and I'll put the link and all of her information in the show notes. So you can go high-five Jen and congratulate her on her new podcast and go check out her new podcast as well. Also, before I let you listen to the episode and listen to our conversation, I am filling my private coaching spots right now. So I'm currently filling my private coaching spots for the next couple of months. And if you aren't familiar with one-on-one coaching and how I work with my clients, you can go to jenniferdent.com/privateclients to see how I work with my clients, to see testimonials, and to schedule a free consultation with me for 60 minutes. And in the consultation, you tell me all the things. You tell me all the things you've been struggling with, why you think you haven't been able to lose weight, and I listen to you. We have a very, like, open. This is a very safe space where you can just tell me all of the things, and trust me, nothing surprises me. I have heard it all. And so from that conversation, I'm going to give you a very clear prescription— is what I'm going to call it— on how you can begin your weight loss journey. 3 things I can tell you depending on what you told me, I will give to you that you can begin to implement so you can start your journey to stop dieting forever. So I work with my clients in 3 months. So it's about 12 weekly sessions. And I was on Instagram, as you know, the other day, and I saw this reel. I was trying to find it because I wanted to link it in the show notes so you could go see it, because reels sometimes are hilarious, but when somebody verbally tries to explain it to you, it doesn't make as much sense. But I'm going to try it anyway. It was a guy and he was having that conversation back and forth with himself. And he was like, hey, it's time to get ready for your summer body. And his self looked back at him, was like, summer body? Like, we just finished Christmas. And he was like, it's time to get working on your summer body. And that is the truth. In 3 months, spring will be here. So if weight loss and wanting to lose weight for the last time was on your Christmas list at the end of last year, then you want to go ahead and book a consult with me so we can talk about how you can lose weight for the last time in 2024. And literally, with my private clients, they lose so much more than just weight because we do weight loss coaching, but we do a lot of life coaching too. All right, let's jump into this conversation with Jennifer Watts and myself. Enjoy it. Live Luxe, and I will see you in the next episode. All right, hello, Jennifer Watts.

Yes.

So just a little bit of a background here. Jennifer and I found each other on Instagram. I think you messaged me, right? Is that how it—

I did. Like I messaged you when I found your podcast actually.

Mm-hmm.

Was it like a month or two or two ago? I listened to your episode talking about ADHD and I, oh, that's right. I emailed you, messaged you and I was like, thank you for this. It's like you're talking all about me. And then we connected through another Instagram group, I think, somehow. Yeah.

And so here we are, you are an ADHD weight loss coach, right? And I am a health, life, and weight loss coach. And so we just decided it would be fun. You were looking for podcast guests. I'm always looking to be on other people's podcasts so I can talk about what I do in the Stop Dieting Forever movement. And just to connect with other people. And I have ADHD as well, so I was like, let's just have a conversation and see what happens. So this is our— actually our very first time having a face-to-face live conversation, and we decided, hey, let's just record it, see what happens.

But it's funny for me because I feel like I already know you from listening to your podcast.

I know, 'cause I tell all my business, don't I?

Yeah.

Yeah.

That's great.

So I'm curious to know, how did you get into ADHD weight loss or weight loss for people with ADHD? Like it was such a very like specific niche.

Yeah, it's so specific. And to me it's kind of mind-blowing to me that it's not a bigger thing. So I was only recently diagnosed, it's within the last year that I was diagnosed with ADHD and I have struggled with my weight. Off and on, like my, basically since I was 13. And when I got my diagnosis, it was like a light bulb. Like everything made sense as to the connection between the struggles that I had had with trying to lose weight and just the way that the ADHD kind of manifests in me. And I just wanted to shout it from the rooftops to like so many other women who have been in my shoes. To say there's nothing wrong with you. Like, you know, like you just have to approach it differently. And so I'm actually a CPA. That's what my, my real— I want to— shouldn't say real career, my initial career was. And I just thought, I want to help people. And so I just pivoted right into working on my life coach school certification. I have gotten all sorts of nutrition certifications and just I just really passionately want to help women in that position.

Oh, I love that. Give me a little goosebumps. I love that so much. I'm recent— not recently, I guess it's probably been about 2 years now since I was diagnosed officially, and I went through kind of like a depression at first. I don't know if you experienced the same thing as being diagnosed later, but when you realize like Wow, like, I have been struggling all of my life. And there, like, had I known, things could have been so much more different, like, in school, growing up, all the things. Like, this makes so much sense. But then it was like, I feel so badly for my, like, inner child, for my little girl self. And I went through a period of, like, I was just really, really, really sad about it. And I talked to someone else who had been— she's a coach. And she had been diagnosed as an adult, and she was like, it's this thing called masking— was the term that she used— where you just kind of like— well, do you know what it is? You can explain it better than I can, so go ahead, explain it.

Yeah, well, yeah, it's really just you try to accommodate for your differences, or you're, you know, trying to kind of meld yourself into society or the way things are working, and pretend that you're like everybody else. There's not always a recognition that you're doing it, but it is exhausting. And you probably, you know, would have been doing it since you were a little girl, right?

Yeah. And when I think about that, I was like, oh, no wonder I was overeating or eating all the time, especially because I hit my highest weight when I was in corporate, especially when I was working. Like, that was just— that's a whole nother story. My corporate life is just a whole nother thing. But I was under so much pressure, and I put myself under so much pressure. So I was like, oh, no wonder I was like always eating.

Yeah, doesn't it make so much sense in retrospect? And like, when you were talking about it, to me, yeah, it was like a depression and then almost like grief. Like grief for the way your life could have been if you had known. It's not like you want to live in regret about how things went, and I'm super thankful to have the diagnosis now and everything makes so much more sense. But even just what you said there about like your time in corporate, like that, when I look back when I was articling to get my CPA designation, that first couple of years was just intense. And I put on so much weight because it's exhausting. You're spending the whole day like trying to be a certain way, never thinking that you measure up, and you're just emotionally, mentally, physically drained at the end of the day. And for me, I know that was like, you go right to the food to cope with that kind of stuff. And, and you don't know any better. It's just that's the mechanism at the time, and you're just doing the best you can in the situation. But it definitely makes sense looking back.

I had the same thing when I became a— well, yeah, I was, I was a coach, so I was working to leave corporate and become a coach. But I had entered into— it was like 2018, I'd entered into like Life Coach School coaches, and I was like in different programs, and I was really trying to scale my business quickly, and I gained 20 pounds. And at that time, I still didn't know I had ADHD, but it was the same kind of thought process that manifested again because I was working to build this business, and I didn't know— I felt like I had to show up differently. I had to keep up with everybody else. Oh, the compare and despair was terrible. Oh, it was awful. And it's funny because I don't remember, like, consciously eating a lot, but, you know, like, a little bite here, a little bite there, a little snack here, a little handful here. Like, that, that all adds up. And for me, it added up to 20 pounds really quickly.

Yeah. And don't you find too that, like, because you don't really recognize how much you're doing that and how much it's adding up, then you also feel like I'm not doing anything wrong. Like, why is this happening?

Then you're really confused.

Yeah. And then it's so easy to be like mad at yourself and have a lot of shame around it, which is just piling on those emotions on top of everything that you're already experiencing. It's not easy.

It's not easy. And I don't know if it gets any easier. I think the awareness is what makes it less traumatic.

Uh-huh. 100%. That to me, the awareness is like such a huge piece of even what I talk about with weight loss for women with ADHD or people, anybody who identifies as women, but it's the awareness of all of that stuff in so many areas, like awareness of your hunger cues, which can be challenging for people with ADHD, but also just awareness of your emotions and your thoughts around this stuff. And that's like awareness and acceptance of it is like what's going to help you get past that and be able to make lasting change.

Tell me about the difficulty that people with ADHD— and is it just ADHD people that have trouble with hunger cues, or is it anyone who's neurodivergent?

I think that— I don't know a lot about other areas of neurodiversity, but I suspect it's— it affects more than just people with ADHD. But that's just where my knowledge lies, is with ADHD. But I think it's probably pretty common across the board. But yeah, the struggle with the hunger cues really comes down to interoceptive awareness. So in our brain, how it works with our ability to read our body cues. And so we don't have as much sensitivity, I guess, to being able to tell when our bodies are hungry, when we're satisfied, when we're thirsty, you know, those types of variations there. They're not super obvious. To people with ADHD and potentially other neurodiversities. And it doesn't mean that they don't exist, it's just not as like glaringly obvious as it might be to somebody else. So the awareness, just like you talked about, you really have to develop that awareness so that you can consciously look for those cues because they're there, they're just not as naturally going to come up for you, right?

That's so interesting. I never knew that. I never knew that. I never knew that it was a it would— it's different for people with ADHD to feel the hunger cues. I call them satisfaction levels. Um, so that's very interesting. I am dialed in now to like, I know when I'm hungry, I know the difference between emotional hunger and physical hunger. And maybe that's what it is. Maybe it's like the logical knowledge of like, this is how emotional hunger comes on very quickly. Like physical hunger is more gradual. Maybe it's the logical knowledge of it. I feel like I am in touch. I don't remember struggling with it, but maybe I didn't know I was supposed to struggle with it.

Yeah.

And I just figured it out.

Yeah. Because I know you talk about the different types of hunger, right? Do you talk about that kind of stuff? So yeah, I guess when you have that awareness, it is a little bit easier to kind of pay attention to it enough But for people who don't even know or don't even realize that it's something that they should be paying attention to, it can be a real struggle. And then especially too with people with ADHD who can like get hyperfocused on something, or if they're really in the zone when they're working and then all of a sudden it's 2:00 PM and they haven't eaten yet. And by then, by that point, you're so far gone, you're like in that hangry, ravenous, and you're just gonna eat whatever you can grab.

That's dangerous.

That's the danger zone. It's like the worst place to be, right? Because you're not in that moment gonna be like, what's a balanced meal I can make for myself right now?

You're like, open up the cupboard, stuff in your mouth, like, we can't get in here.

Yeah, so there's so many little factors that you wouldn't really on the surface think about with how your ADHD might present that factor into how you're going to pay attention to those things and be able to like reach your goals when it comes to changing your body or losing weight or anything like that.

That's so fascinating. Yeah. My ability to hyperfocus is great, but sometimes it's not so great. I remember I was working— this is a couple of weeks ago. I was working on— I think I was creating content and it was a weekend and I started early and the day just flew by. And I remember Kevin, my husband, came to the door and he was like, You've been working for 15 hours. I was like, really?

Whoa.

I was like, 15 hours? And I was like, oh, and I was like in the zone. Like I had no intention of stopping. I was like, I got to get this done. I just, it wasn't even like, I got to get this done. I was just so focused. I didn't want to stop. But as soon as he came in and like reminded me of what time it was, all of a sudden it was like, oh, this is bad. You should not have been sitting in front of your computer for 15 hours. And so it just like took me out. Yeah, yeah, I was like, all right, let me finish. Yeah, because I love those moments. Because I don't know about, about you, but sometimes it just takes so long to get focused, to get started. The ramp-up time can take like an hour, 90 minutes to get started on something. So when you're able to focus on something, it's like, yes, don't knock me out of this, please.

And then do you find too with that kind of stuff, like you, you do so much better when you have a timeline or a deadline or, or any kind of pressure for it.

Yeah. I don't know if it's better though, Jen.

Yeah, you're right.

But I get it done. Yeah, I get it done. Yeah.

So what for you were like, how, how did you go about end up getting diagnosed?

I had an inkling for years that I probably had ADHD and my nephews have it like diagnosed, but they're boys. And then in our— we have like a family joke. My brother has it. My dad is like undiagnosed, but it's very clear that, you know, he has ADHD. And I remember being— I was working in corporate. I think this might have been the time where I was working with Deloitte. I was also studying to the Health Institute of Integrative Nutrition. So I was also doing— I don't remember exactly what the moment was, but I remember sitting at my desk and I remember scrolling, like Googling, how do I know if I have ADHD? And I took one of those little online tests or whatever, and it was like, you need further diagnosis, like you need to go see a professional. And at that point I just stopped. I like, I froze and I stopped because at that point in my life, mental health wasn't a thing. Nobody was talking about mental health, especially in the Black community. And nobody in my family talks about it. I didn't even know who— I was like, what does that even mean? A professional? I was like, who do I even go see? Like, I don't even know who— who do I talk to about this? And so I just had like a slam the laptop kind of moment and just brushed it aside. So that was my first inclination of like, okay, something's different. And then when I got married and my husband's an entrepreneur too, And he works from home and his working style is so drastically different from mine. And I was just like, I'm just, I was so fascinated because it just showed me the contrast of like how he processes things and gets things done and how I don't do that. And another clue that tipped me off was when I was working in corporate, you know, we used to share our screens a lot and like, I always had trouble in Excel. And it's so funny that you are a CPA because I was like, ugh, not me, not this brain. But we'd like share our screens and have to like show our colleagues what we're doing or whatever, like show them something. And I remember watching like my other colleagues and they would like zip around the computer screen. I'm like, God, I can't, I can't think that fast. Like my brain doesn't process that fast. And first I was like, oh, Maybe it's because I'm just older than them. And then I was like, no, I think it's because my brain just doesn't function in that way. And then I just got— I got to a point where I was really just stressed out. I was tired as a full-time coach and business, like building a business. And I just hit a point where I was just like, something up here is just not working. And I think I heard, oh, there were some other coaches that came out saying like that they were recently diagnosed with ADHD and I was like, all right, let me like go down this path and see what, what this is. And did some research, got a referral for a therapist, went to go see him. Bad experience. It's like, did not go back to see him. And then I found someone else online and she was a psychotherapist and she was very kind. And we did the whole assessment thing and she was like, yeah. You definitely have ADHD. I mean, at some point I was like crying. It was a whole thing. But she was like, yeah, you definitely have ADHD.

Yeah, that sounds so much like me because even my son had been diagnosed. He's 11 now, but he was 7 at the time. I think he was 7 and I didn't know anything about it before that. And it was kind of a shock. And even doing like research and stuff to try to do what we could to help him, And so once I read all that stuff, I was like, oh, this makes so much sense for the struggles that he had been having. But it still never dawned on me that it was something that I was experiencing because it's so different in women. And all of the literature and all the research and everything that I came across was all on like basically boys. Like you just think of like this little boy bouncing off the walls.

Exactly.

And it's just not like that. So much of it, for me anyways, I know I don't want to like generalize, but it's a lot of it was like internal, right? Like internal hyperactivity and that type of stuff. So yeah, I was kind of the same. Like, it was— I realized finally, well, I had been seeing a therapist who had said like, did you ever get tested? Because usually when, you know, a child is diagnosed, then it's likelihood, like you said, like it's like genetic and stuff. And so Nobody ever asked me. I think it was just presumed that it came from my husband's side. But yeah, so then, yeah, I went out and sought the diagnosis and I was the same as you, like, in that, that session. It was just tears because everything made sense. And yeah, yeah, it's pretty crazy.

It really is. Well, and it's on now that I'm, I guess maybe because I'm in the algorithm on Instagram, I get all the ADHD stuff. I feel like, you know, there's so much more information out there, but I'm like, yeah, probably because I'm following people, or, you know, I've been looking at stuff with, with ADHD in it. So tell me, like, how do you reach your clients? I'm just curious.

It's kind of tough because they, like, it's for so many women. Like, when I talk to people, they're like, kind of blown away when they realize the connection. And so it's tough to find people and say, like, if they're not aware of the connection and the problem there. So I'm mostly just on Instagram, and it's just a matter of, like, putting that out there— did you know?— and, and allowing people to see that connection. And then they're like, oh my goodness, it's like you're inside my brain. And then just ending up to speak to people And then it just kind of goes from there because so many women that I talk to who think that there's just something wrong with them and that's why they have not been able to make other programs work for them. And I think making that connection just brings so much relief. And then having an opportunity to work with somebody who understands where they're coming from. I think that's so much of it is they really want to feel like they're being heard and listened to and that somebody can actually appreciate what they're feeling. Because I think there's a lot of this sense that like, you're just not trying hard enough, or you're just like, you just don't want it enough. And, and that's why you can't stick to it for more than like 2 weeks or something like that. Yeah. So that's mostly how that happens with, with me is just talking to women and making that connection and then them wanting to work with somebody who truly understands them. But I do have to say that like programs like yours, like obviously I haven't been in your program, but I love your stuff. And I think the approach that you take, the Stop Dieting Forever, that whole approach is so good for people that think like, well, think like us, right? I mean, we're not all exactly the same, but there's so much emotional understanding as well as like Yeah, just the thought work that goes into it is so huge for, for seeing any kind of success with that. So I mean, I can understand how a program like yours would also be like amazing for women with ADHD.

It is. It's so funny because I do some, some of my clients, I'm like, have you been tested?

Do you find that you do that now?

You're like, oh yeah, I noticed, right? It's like, first I noticed the traits, like the way that they think, and I'm like, oh, sounds like me. It sounds— yeah, sounds like my brain. I don't normally say that out loud to people, but it crosses my mind, and I don't want to be the one like, you need to go get tested, because that's not— I don't feel like that's my place as a coach. But it does give me an advantage because I understand the thought process that's happening when they're not doing the work, when they have trouble sitting down to focus on doing their self-coaching, like I understand what's happening, so I'm like, oh yeah, that was totally me. Totally me. Do you find that your clients know that they're diagnosed? Are they? Because there's so many people who don't know that they have ADHD.

There's a lot of people that are just— have just presumed that they do. Also because it's not— I mean, even like your experience with the first person that you spoke to, the first doctor that you spoke to, like, it's not super easy to get a diagnosis for a lot of people, especially for women. And so a lot of people are just operating under the presumption that they have it and they don't have like an official diagnosis, which is— I mean, to me that doesn't really matter. Like, I think it's all the same.

Yeah, I remember I got coached by an ADHD coach and that was before I got diagnosed, and I was like, I just want to know. And she was like, why? Why do you want to know? I was like, I just want to know. I just want to know.

Yeah, well, I think a lot of people too, they feel like those that out there that don't really understand ADHD, and they, they see it as kind of like an excuse, like you're just, oh, you just want accommodations, or you're just making excuses for your stuff, which is so not true. But I think that's why a lot of people feel better with the actual diagnosis, because I don't know, they feel like they need some kind of legitimacy or something, which they don't. But I mean, I can understand why a lot of people feel that way, for sure. Yeah. Yeah, and I just want to say too, like, with your, with your program, like, we as, what, like, people with ADHD are way overrepresented in the people that are struggling with their weight or overweight. Like, I think it's only like 3 to 5% of the population that has ADHD, but it's like, of the percentages of people that struggle with their weight, it's a lot higher, like, of the percentage of them that are ADHD. I've seen various different studies and there's not like set numbers, but I would guess that there's a lot of people in your program that either have ADHD and maybe don't even know it. But I mean, it just, it makes so much sense with the way that our brains work and the way that we might, I don't know, just handle food and life and that kind of stuff. That's how we end up being sort of overrepresented in that.

In that way. Yeah, I feel like if I didn't have coaching, like the tools that I have now, I think it would be really, really— life would still be very, really difficult. I'm just thinking about like some of my clients and how they just struggle to do like the self-coaching, or maybe just to sit down and like, you know, or be consistent in doing that. I was like, yeah, I struggled with that too. And I'm just thinking, like, what was the difference for me? Like, when did it click? Because now I'm like, I got to do my self-coaching. Like, I have to emotionally balance. I kind of tell my husband, I was like, OK, I got to get my brain back online. Like, I have to align my brain every morning. Granted, there is a ramp-up period. I cannot sit down with a pen and a piece of paper and be like, OK, and just start writing out my thoughts and, like, doing the brain dump and all the things. It takes me— I got to do all my— I got to— piddle, do all the stuff like, oh, let me do this real quick, or let me, let me fix it, let me wipe my desk off. Like, it's just the whole thing. But at some point, because I really struggle with self-coaching in the beginning, but at some point I think the benefit of doing the self-coaching was greater than me not doing it at all, if that makes sense.

Yeah. And there, I think it's so normal for the resistance to that kind of stuff too. I'm thinking of one client that was really, really resistant to— so, I'm just not a journaler, I'm not the kind of person that does that type of stuff— and was insistent. And I said, what if you just told yourself you could do it for 1 minute? Like, just 1 minute.

I tell my clients, I give them 2. 2 minutes.

It was so funny because she just She was resistant for so long, and I'm like, don't pressure yourself, but I think you could really, really benefit from this. So she finally one day did it. She said, I will do one minute, I'll give you one minute, and that's it. And she, she did it digital— digitally, which is a little different than I would do it, but she sent me this whole, like, basically like a manifesto of like, I figured it out. And she, she went longer than her minute and like really But just like, once you can get past that barrier and really go inside and see like what's going on, it's, it's pretty amazing.

But it is amazing.

That stuff, the self-coaching is, I think it's so critical.

It's, it really is. And I used to be so terrible at it, so terrible at it, but I knew I was like, listen, the people who I admire and am aspiring to, they do this all the time. They talk about it all the time. And I was like, clearly this is something that I need to figure out. And so I was just focused, right? That hyperfocus of like, I got to figure this out. I got to figure this out.

Yeah. Yeah, it's pretty amazing. My first, like, sort of foray into, like, the life coaching stuff, I had— somebody had mentioned Brooke Castillo's podcast. This was years ago, and I listened to that and I just couldn't wrap my mind around the whole, like, you know, your thoughts creating your feelings, creating all of that stuff. It was just sort of mind-blowing to me. And from there I had like started following another coach that like a life coach, a weight loss coach. And it just like all kind of clicked for me. And this is pre-diagnosis, but I don't think that there's any way I could have seen any kind of weight loss success if any of that stuff wasn't factored in at all. I think it's just, and not just for people with ADHD, but for everybody, it's just such a big part of it.

Mm-hmm. Especially for emotional eaters.

Huh?

Yeah, absolutely. That's the holy grail for emotional eaters. I'm like, y'all need to understand what you're thinking and what you're feeling because that's the only reason why you're eating. Until you understand that, that's the only time you're going to be able to make decisions that actually will align with your weight loss goal.

100%. Yeah. And maybe you could stick to some rigid plan and not even consider your thoughts. I don't know how long you would last. No. You might knuckle your way through that, but guess what?

Listen, I did it for decades.

Me too.

I was on every diet. And see that ability to hyperfocus of like, "Oh, new diet? Let me like nice and do all the things, like go on the message boards, read the entire book." Like whatever that diet said I needed to do, I did it.

And you were going to be the best at it.

And I was going to be the best at it. Like, hyper-focused for a good 2, 3, 4 weeks, maybe 6, depending on, like, how much support I had. And if that weight didn't come off like this, I'm like, on to the next thing. I quit. Go find something else to be excited about. And, you know, thinking, oh, something new, something— this one's going to work. It's crazy.

It is crazy.

Now that I think about it, it's so crazy. But there's so many women that are doing the exact same thing. And so that's my mission on this planet, is like, yeah, that diet roller coaster, get you off.

Mm-hmm. I'm so curious about your program. So I know you have your Stop Dieting Forever program, and then you have, you have something else that you're doing now, don't you, that's coming out Yeah, yeah.

So it's a one-time thing. I have a new curriculum that I am teaching. I've been teaching my weight loss process for, I don't know, a couple of years. I've been coaching since 2014. I think Stop Dieting Forever came around 2016. But the first time I ever presented in the way that I teach it now was like 2019. So most of this year, I've been just understanding weight loss in a completely in a completely different way. I've been getting like these, like new concepts have been coming out of me and new tools and worksheets and things that like really help my clients. And so I've been piecemealing it, like sharing some of it in our group coaching call, or like my private clients would use my worksheets. Like, what do you think about this? And they were like, oh my God, this is amazing. And I'm very, I'm a very process-oriented person. And so, it felt very disjointed to me the way that I was delivering all the new stuff. And then it didn't jive with, like, what's already in the program. So, I had this divine download recently, or this weekend, and I was like, oh, I should do a 30-day boot camp because I used to do these 30-day boot camps. Right now, inside of my program, we're doing a 30-day Habit All Holiday Challenge. So, we like the 30 days. Our brains, we can hold on like, okay, I can focus on something for 30 days. And so I decided, I was like, why not just teach this new, what I'm calling Food Framework, in a 30-day container starting at the beginning of January? I was like, that's genius. If we can start off the new year understanding our feelings, objections, overcoming obstacles, and making damn good decisions. That's what FOOD stands for.

I love that. I know, I love that. And I think you're so right with the 30 days. This is one thing that I teach too, is like, you know, especially for people who have a lot of weight to lose, when you think about that as a whole and you have that, it's so far away and our brains just don't work that way to make the connection. And so having like a, like a, like a timeframe like that, it's like, I could do that. Like, I can commit to that and I can get a lot done in 30 days.

Yeah. And I'm just going to teach all the things in 30 days. You're going to learn how your brain works. You're going to learn why you have been overeating. It's going to make so much sense to you. And this is when my clients start losing weight very quickly in the beginning because they're like, oh my God, like, this is why that I can't— this is the reason why I can't stop eating in the evening. This is the reason why I'm like constantly eating off of my kid's plate. Mm-hmm. And they just— some habits, they just stop like that. And so, I call it a boot camp because it is like exercising your brain. It's like we're working out these muscles in your brain that you have never used before. And once you understand the principles, once you understand the process, once you understand your brain and you start to get that brain-body connection in 30 days, yeah. And then we can work on the weight loss afterwards. And so, after this 30-day boot camp, people will be invited to join Stop Dieting Forever, which is my weight loss with lifetime access weight loss program.

That's amazing.

So I'm excited about it. Thanks for asking. Food Focus.

I just thought about it. I was like, very intrigued. Yeah.

Oh, you should, Jen, you should join us.

Uh-huh. Maybe I will join us.

Yeah. And just, you know, I have coaches, weight loss coaches all the time that I coach just get some new information.

So yeah, I totally believe coaches need coaches. Everybody needs coaches. And I love, I love learning from other people too, so I will probably be in there.

Yay! That'll be fun. It's always fun to have coaches in there. I love coaching my coaches. Y'all come to the coaching call, I'm like, oh my coaches, like, stop thinking, like, just be a client. Stop thinking like a coach and be a client. It's okay.

Yeah, for sure.

So you work with your clients one-on-one?

Yes. I've only been in this space for a little while, so currently I'm doing one-on-one coaching. I do like work in like a 12-week framework with people. And I do hope to start doing a group program because I think especially for people with ADHD, like the support and the community and the accountability of working in a group would be really, really amazing. So that's my goal for 2024. Is to develop like a group program. Okay, yeah, yeah.

I like to do both. I like— I don't know, I just— I like the intimacy of like still coaching one-on-one, and you know, you have your like— your clients get those breakthrough moments. You can go deeper with the one-on-one clients. I love my group too, and I love just being able to teach some new things and like This is what we're doing. And I love just being able to add to the curriculum. They're all like getting excited about this 30-day food focus boot camp that we're doing. So it's fun to do both. So make sure you keep your one-on-ones.

Yeah.

Or keep a handful, you know, as you build your group.

Yeah. I don't think I'll ever want to let go of the one-on-ones. I love it. But so is that what you do? You do both one-on-one as well as the group?

Yeah, I usually keep 5 to 10 one-on-one clients, just depending on like where I am in the development cycle of content, like how much time do I have to dedicate. But yeah, I always keep my one-on-ones. That's awesome.

Tell me about your, your Stop Dieting Forever program. That's what it's called, right? The, your main group program. How does that work?

Okay, be specific. Like what exactly Because I can go through the whole, like, what exactly.

Yeah. So I guess I'm wondering, what would you say are, like, the core principles behind your coaching, maybe compared to somebody else?

You know, that's a good question. That's a really good question. I don't follow a lot of weight loss coaches, just because I want my ideas to be my ideas. I want my concepts to be my concepts. And I want my, my solutions to support my clients and not like a version of someone else and what they're doing. So I'm a health coach too. So I'm certified as a health coach. What I teach is bio-individuality. Bio-individuality means that there's no one cookie-cutter way that everyone is going to lose weight, even though we keep trying and throwing our money at these different diets thinking, oh, this is the one that's going to work. But, you know, keto may work for you, but it may not work for this person over here. So we just— first thing I do is help my clients undiet their brain, which means, like, you forget everything you think you know about weight loss, and you're going to learn how your body loses weight. Your body loses weight because of what you're telling yourself in your brain. So we first look at— I help them create what I'm now calling an energy eating plan. And this helps with the undieting of like, oh, this is good food, this is bad food. Oh, I can't eat this, or this— I shouldn't eat this, and feeling guilty. We just remove all of the labels. All food is neutral. You have to determine how it reacts in your body. So in the energy eating plan, they decide and understand how different foods show up and give them different sense sensations in their body 60, 90 minutes later. So this really— I love this. My client who just discovered pasta carbonara is on her energy foods list, which, you know, people like, oh, that's not an energy food. But we talk through it and she was like, I, I can eat pasta. Like, I can eat pasta carbonara, which is like cream and bacon. And I mean, Italians say it differently, pasta. It's a very like, it's a lot cheese. It's a heavy dish that a regular dietitian or nutritionist may look at and say, oh, that's terrible. But I was like, how do you feel after you eat it? She's like, I had it the other day. And she was like, I felt satisfied. I was like, did you feel tired? She's like, no. Did you feel sluggish? No. Did you have brain fog? She's like, no. It's okay, let's put it on your energy foods lesson. Like, it's like, we're not going to make this a problem because everyone else told you that pasta is a problem. But if you go to Italy, pasta is not a problem. If you go to another country, it's not a problem. So you need to understand what foods work for you and your body. And then we work on that 90 days at a time. So they create a 90-day eating plan, energy eating plan. We work the process, we track your weight. At the end of 90 days, we see where we are and then we tweak. Where can we make changes? We're like moving food around, like, okay, does this go here? Does this go here? And then while we have the plan and we're working on our emotions and understanding really when are you physically hungry and when are you emotionally hungry? All right. Talk about, you know, the 5 different types of hunger. 4 of them are emotional types of hunger. One of them needs to be fed by food. The rest is like, you need to find out what else you need and it's not food. Because food is not going to fix this. And so that's like the bulk of the work is understanding. Like my one client today, I coached her and she was like, "I had a brownie." She just recovered from the flu. And she was like, "I knew my weight was going to go up as soon as I started eating again," because she wasn't eating as much when she was sick. And she was worried about that the whole time. So now she's feeling better and she had a brownie. And I was like, "Okay, you had a brownie." She's freaking out. I was like, where is it on your plan? I was like, does it fall under like, is it an energy food? Is it a fun food? Like, is it a no food? Like, where is it? It's on her no foods because she's got a chronic disease. She's got eczema. Like, okay, why do we go for the brownie? And that's where we kind of started to dissect. She's like, well, I really wanted it. Well, why did you really want it? And we had to dissect it. And that came from this fear of regaining weight when she got better from her— recovered from the flu. And she was like, it was almost like a self-fulfilling prophecy. She was worried about this for weeks. And I was like, why don't you just come to your coach and say, hey, I'm worried about eating again. I don't want to gain weight. But the worry caused her to eat the brownie. And I told her, I was like, you know how we know this was an emotional eat? I said, because you weren't like looking to have chicken and broccoli stir-fry. You weren't looking to have like a kale salad from Trader Joe's. Like, you were locked and loaded on the brownie. And that's how we know it was an emotional— an emotional hunger is what I'm trying to say, versus a physical hunger.

Yeah, I think that's, that's so amazing. Like, to help people to work through and develop that awareness is so huge, as well as the autonomy that they're gonna gain from the bio-individuality that you talk about. I totally agree with you, and I think that's one of the biggest components of what I teach is planning things and developing things in the way that's individual to you, to how your brain works, as well as how your body works. How do you react to things? Just like you said. I love that.

I think that's important, and we don't have enough coaches to do that because we have so much information coming to us from all over the place about what we should eat, what we shouldn't eat, what's bad for us, what's good for us. Like, I was on a networking call last night and I did a little 3-minute speech and told people who I am and what I do and how I help people. And we were broke out into these smaller groups and people were like, oh my God, I can't believe, like, you said that. I'm so happy to hear you, that you were talking about, you know, your health is your wealth. But they were like, "There's so much information. I don't even know, like, what to pay attention to when it comes to weight loss." So they're like, "I just don't do anything." We just get paralyzed, hey?

If we followed all the rules, we wouldn't eat anything because nothing lines up. And I think what is so amazing about what you said and the way that you teach that, or the way that you work through that with your clients, is that the foods are not good and bad, like you said. It's if you— your body doesn't receive it well or it doesn't make you feel a certain way, then maybe you choose out of love for yourself and caring for yourself and wanting to, you know, feel a little bit differently. You'll choose not to eat that food. But there might be something else that somebody else would be considering to be not good for you, like a carbonara or whatever that makes you feel like that energy. And so, yeah, you are in the driver's seat of that and it's not, you know, external sources telling you this is good and bad and having, you know, messed up rules about things.

I think that's wonderful because every rule that you find of like what you should do, there's another rule or study or somebody said you shouldn't do, right? Right. It's the opposite. And that's why we're so confused and we don't know what to do. But yeah, the foods too, they change, right? They change the way they react in your body. They change over time depending on like your age, your hormones, just things change. Like I developed a sensitivity to almonds. And garlic, which I never had before. And it's just one of those things, it's like, oh, that's interesting. But once you understand, once you're so dialed into like how you feel and how food fuels your energy or zaps your energy, you can make these changes on the fly. It's like just, just what you do.

And that's amazing too, because they're developing that awareness. Especially people with ADHD who maybe don't naturally have it, but working through a process like yours, they're going to sort of beef up that muscle and be able to pay attention to those things. I love that.

It's a muscle. It is a muscle. It definitely is a muscle. And that's why I was like, we're taking y'all to the boot camp. We're taking your brains.

Yes, there you go. Work it out.

Oh, that's awesome.

And so when does that program start? The 30th?

January 8th. Yeah, I love that. So it's— I'm enrolling now through January 8th, and it's going to run through like February 5th, I think. And I teach— I'll teach every day, Monday through Friday. I think I have enough topics for like 15 days or whatever, whatever the math— whatever the math is. You probably can do the math faster than me. Yeah, there's a Facebook group so you can get your questions answered every day during the live calls, and I'm going to record everything, and that'll be part of the new curriculum inside Stop Stop Dieting Forever. So once you finish, you can still like go back and learn and keep watching the materials over and over and over and over again because Stop Dieting Forever is lifetime access.

That's amazing. That's really good.

Yeah.

And as things change, like, are you always adding— yeah, you're adding in new materials and, and that type of thing in the program?

Yeah, Jen, I have so much content. In fact, today we were coaching on holiday cocktails. So we're doing this in our 30-day challenge now inside of our group. We're doing what I call a deep dive into common holiday obstacles, like eating obstacles. And so today, we're getting everybody's thoughts on, like, OK, holiday cocktails, wine, eggnog, winter sangria, whatever your thing is. Like, how do you— what are your thoughts about them as it relates to your weight loss goal? I don't even know. I don't know how we got on this topic, but at some point during the call, it was a group coaching call, people were like sharing their favorite cocktail recipes in, in the chat. And I'm like, this is so much fun because I don't want y'all to be afraid to drink, but I want you to make the decision of like what you said with love. I love that you said that, of how you want to feel. After you have a cocktail. And then, and you're going to decide, is it going to be one cocktail or is it going to be four cocktails? You get to decide. So that just reminded me, and I was like, oh, you know what, guys? I was like, I think I have this freebie that I did years ago with like healthy holiday cocktails. I was like, let me see if I can find it. Sure enough, I like searched in my documents and I found it.

It.

So I'm gonna post it in the group. So to answer your question, yes, I'm always adding new stuff.

That's awesome.

Into the program.

Yeah, that's great. It sounds really amazing.

It is. It's my baby. It's my baby. And I went through so many different iterations of like— it was a membership once. It first, it was lifetime access, and then I changed it, and then it was like a membership, and then it was like 6 months, and then I just decided I wanted to do what was best for my clients. And I just know every other weight loss program in the world that I know of and have done, like, is month to month. And once you stop paying, you stop your access. You don't get any more support. And then that's when, you know, you potentially will regain the weight because you don't have that support as you transition. And the other thing is I didn't want my clients to have to keep making a decision every single month, like, am I going to pay for this again? They're already feeling stressed about their weight. They're already feeling the pressure. I got to lose this weight. And I didn't want them to have to make that decision every single month. So I was like, you know what? We're going back to lifetime access. And you take as long as you need to. You have all of the support you need.

I don't think that there's very many people that take that approach. That's really great. Because that is—

that's just another— I'm just going to tell you. Don't do that.

Yeah, like, yeah, maybe, yeah, from your perspective, because it's like, where's the constant money flow from that? But I think that's really great. And then is— so there's the community aspect in there as well, like people are connected with each other in there.

And we're on Facebook right now. I have dreams one day of leaving the Facebook community, but it works. I mean, but I do have a number of people who are not on social media, so they miss out on the Facebook conversations and coaching that's happening in there. I just recommend— I was like, just create a fake profile. I had one client do that so you don't miss out on it. But there's some people are like, nope, social media is like a no.

So yeah, no, that's a choice I guess they can make.

Yeah, yeah. But that's my baby. That's, that's my joy. That's my love. And that's what I, you know, I'm hoping to— or looking to grow in 2024.

That sounds great. And so it's only open for enrollment in certain periods of the year?

Yeah.

Yeah.

So right now we're going to do the Food Focus 30-day— I actually have to think about that. So the people who enroll in Food Focus will be offered an opportunity to join Stop Dieting Forever. Then I think I'll probably— that will be in February, so I'll probably do another just general open launch like I normally do, probably in March. Yeah. I got to think through that. So thank you for asking that question.

Yeah, for sure. So where can people find you?

Well, you can find me at jenniferdent.com. That's my home on the internet. And while you're there, you can sign up for my weekly newsletter called Food Freedom. My home on, on Instagram is, I think where you messaged me and found me, it was @jenniferdentbrown. And I'm on LinkedIn. I'm also on YouTube. I say that kind of like jokingly, like my podcast links to YouTube, but I, you know, we're working on the whole video thing and I'm on Facebook too. But if you go to JenniferDent.com, you can find all of my links and my podcast is called Stop Dieting Forever.

And it's great. I've listened to it. Just go listen to it. You'll really enjoy it.

Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you.

Yes, well, it was great talking to you today, Jen.

It was great talking to you as well. Our first conversation when we just recorded live for the world to hear.

Yeah.

And good luck with the podcast.

Oh, thank you.

If you like today's episode of the Stop Dieting Forever podcast and you want to learn more about creating a lifestyle instead of following a diet to lose weight permanently, be sure to visit JenniferDent.com. There you'll learn more about my unique weight loss process and how it can work for you. Go to JenniferDent.com to discover what you can do to stop dieting forever.