OUTWEIGH: Welcome back for Part 2 of the official crossover series of the "What’s God Got To Do With It?" and Outweigh podcasts.
Today, we're diving deep into the intersection of faith, science, food, and body image. This is the big picture conversation -- where these themes overlap, so you can simply understand this connection between neuroscience and faith...and how it can lead to meaningful, lasting transformation in our lives.
Leanne shares (for her) how embracing this dialogue meant confronting her skeptical, science-driven mindset and inviting a God-centered perspective into areas she was previously tackling through her own might, and how this approach completed her story and aligned with her fascination with the brain and nervous system.
She addresses topics like: Why do our brains play tricks on us? Why do we do what we do? Why can't we seem to shake life-long habits?
With references to biblical scripture and modern neuroscience studies, Leanne highlights the transformative power of aligning your thoughts with a higher spiritual perspective.
And of course you are invited to invite God into the conversation, recognizing that true transformation involves cultivating a new identity rooted in faith and understanding the profound connection between mind, body, and spirit...and self-image.
HOST: Leanne Ellington // StresslessEating.com // @leanneellington
To learn more about re-wiring your brain to heal from the all-or-nothing diet mentality for good....but WITHOUT restricting yourself, punishing your body, (and definitely WITHOUT ever having to use words like macros, low-carb, or calorie burn) check out Leanne's FREE Stressless Eating Webinar @ www.StresslessEating.com
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Dr. Lee Warren Episode Part 1: Beyond the Scalpel: A Neurosurgeon's Tale of Loss, Faith, and Hope
Dr. Lee Warren Episode Part 2: From Neuro-Hope to Neuro-Faith: Rewiring the Brain with God as the Surgeon
And here's Leanne's interview on The Dr. Lee Warren Podcast: Break Free from Self-Doubt
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I won't let my body out be outwait everything that
I'm made done, won't spend my life trying to change.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
I'm learning love who I am again. I'm strong, I feel.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Free, I know every part of me it's beautiful.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
And that will.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Always out way if you feel.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
It, but you are, She'll some love to the food.
Why get there? Take good day and did you and
die out way?
Speaker 1 (00:35):
I am so excited as this is the very first
official crossover series of What's God Got to Do with
It in the Outweigh podcast, Because if you've been listening
to me on Outwigh, you know that that podcast is
all about helping women break themselves out of the food
and body prison, end the dieting madness, and take control
of their health for good, but without all that restriction, obsession,
(00:58):
and shame, and without dragging it out for years to
address it. And if you've been listening to me on
What's God Got to Do with It, you know that
we are all about the fusion of where science meets
faith and where faith meets transformation and miracles. So this
is a beautiful opportunity to talk about the crossover of
where science meets food and body image and self image
(01:22):
struggles and where that intersects faith or what's God got
to do with all of that. And that's exactly what
this six part series is all about. So Part one
is really just an introduction where we're simply going to
set up this massive topic. Part two is all about
the big picture of where faith meets science meets food
(01:45):
and body image struggles. In Part three, we go deep
into the self image and identity that you would need
to actually step into the version of you that would
have that health, that would have that relationship with food
in her body, and who would actually be at peace
and feel free, and of course how that fuses with
this faith brain conversation. In Part four, we dive deeper
(02:08):
into what God has to do with what I call
your food brain and disordered eating patterns and filling voids
in your head hard in spirit with food or netflix
or wine or whatever your drug of choice is, and
it's a whole that will never be filled by those things.
In Part five, we dive into the complicated relationship that
(02:29):
women have with their bodies and their body image and
physical pain, which is not talked about enough in my opinion,
and how to heal all of that from a faith
meets science perspective and invite God into the conversation and
then wrapping it up in part six, we get into
the strategy side of things, as in, what does it
(02:49):
look like to use what you've learned about neuroscience and
faith and healing your relationship with food in your body
image to go create a winning game plan that sets
you up to win and one that your brain just
learns so you can go live your life. Food can
be food and you can feel comfortable in your skin
and free from the chains of restricting or punishing your body.
(03:11):
So let's dive on in here's part two.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
So today we are here to talk about the big
picture of.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Where faith meets science meets food and body image so
that we can just really go narrow and deep in
the coming weeks. And so this whole faith brain connection
for me, that meant that on the spiritual side, I
had to meet myself in the skeptical cynical mind because
stepping into a conversation with God around things that I
(03:41):
was previously trying to do through my own might and
will and strictly a science perspective that was so challenging
to me at first, But because of what I shared
last week. It was also so so powerful for me
because A it completed my story and b it met
me in what I already knew about the magic and
way under of the brain and nervous system. And that's
(04:03):
why for the last fifteen years of my life I
have been obsessed with the female self image and brain,
Like what is it that makes us see and perceive
ourselves the way that we do? And why do our
brains play tricks on us? And why do we do
what we do?
Speaker 2 (04:18):
And for me, this just.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Really started with questions like why did I just lose
one hundred pounds and totally make over my body but.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
I still feel fat?
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Or why do I still feel like a crazy sugar addict?
Or why do I still feel unlovable and worthy, undesirable
fill in the blank, and really like, why didn't my
mind and my brain and my self image play catch
up with how my body physically transformed? And that is
really why I became obsessed with researching and understanding the
(04:49):
intricacies of the female brain and self image because you know,
like I shared in my story, I suffered and struggled
with food and my body image and my self image
for decades and the world just kept throwing more diets
at my deeper problems. And this stuff that we're talking
about here, it's not taught in the mainstream and it's
not made readily available to women, And that's why I'm
(05:11):
so purposeful about getting this way of thinking out there.
But I also feel like it's rare that I find
anyone talking about what God has to do with our
own mental, physical, emotional health, let alone our relationship with
food and our body image and how that can be
you know, if you're willing to go there a really
(05:31):
pivotal piece of the puzzle. And so we're going to
talk about where faith meets science in terms of where
your self image and body image lives and how to
influence it through neuroscience and by inviting God into it.
But please just know that we are just scratching the
surface of this massive topic, and there will be another
episode in this series that directly unravels this self image
(05:54):
thread and peels this onion so that you can actually
feel true worthiness down in your bone, like not just
this ambiguous you know, oh, just love yourself the way
you are, kind of you know, fake positivity that a
lot of the world is giving us. I'm talking a
systematic scientific approach to self love and self trust and
actually transforming the way that you see yourself while you
(06:19):
invite God into this conversation, or really in a way
by inviting God into this conversation. But where I want
to start today is essentially an introduction to where faith
and neuroscience actually collide and how you can start influencing it,
and of course how to invite God into that conversation
from day one. And you probably guessed it based on
how many times I've mentioned it, But I actually want
(06:41):
to start with your brain and self image, because as
we talked about last week, how this whole conversation about
food and your body, you know, yes, it's definitely a
brain thing. And the things that have gotten fired and
wired in your brain are because of the thoughts and
the emotions and the actions that are kind of like
this casket effect. And that's what has become habits for you.
(07:03):
Because again, your habits and behaviors are symptoms of a
cause aka your thoughts, which we're going to talk a
lot about today, that's happening upstream in your brain. But
I would also venture to say, or at least just
invite you to try on the possibility that what if
it was also a spiritual thing? Because yes, I think
we're starting to get that the problem is emotional, but
(07:25):
I truly believe that the problem is also spiritual, as in,
it's in your soul and it's in your spirit. And
so that's why I'm saying, like, yes, let's start there.
And so what if instead of trying to influence you
know what you're eating or how you're moving your body,
we entered into the conversation of addressing the root of
the problem of what's going on in your mind and
(07:47):
brain but also in your heart and spirit, so that
you can actually go address it from the root. And
if we are talking about addressing it from the roots,
you don't need to be a farmer to know that
if you plant seeds and toxic soil, it is not
going to grow. Okay, In fact, the seeds will most
likely spoil or die. But also you can't force a
(08:10):
tree to grow, right. The tree needs what it needs
to grow. And so yeah, it's important to plant seeds
for creating new habits and new behaviors, but you also
want to make sure that you're planting those seeds and
growing those roots in really nourished and rich soil.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
And so here's what I mean. I call this the
tail of two roots.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
And I will link this graphic in the show notes
for you, but for now, if you're listening and not
looking at the what I'm going to link for you,
I want you to imagine a picture of a big
tree with a big trunk and a big roots system. Okay,
and of course those roots are rooted in soil. But
(08:51):
I want you to picture that one half of the tree.
The soil is unnourished and unhealthy, and the roots are
dry and unhealthy, and there is no fruit growing on
that tree, or maybe there's weeds or just like dead
rotten fruit. And so, coming back to this metaphor of
planting seeds of habits in unhealthy soil, if you are
(09:15):
not happy with your relationship with food and your body,
maybe this is how your body feels, or your health feels,
or your brain and nervous system feels like you're unhealthy
or unnourished. Okay, But then I want you to picture
the other half of the tree, and the other half
has this nourished and nourishing, healthy soil, and it has
(09:35):
nourished and healthy roots and from those roots it's growing
fruit that is alive and abundant and delicious. And I
don't know why I want to sing alive, it's alive.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
But rolling with this metaphor for your health.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Really, it's the fruit that you want to be growing
like you intentionally created it. You grew it, as opposed
to you know, rotten fruit that kind of in certainly
got planted many years ago, okay. And so most people
are just looking at the fruits of the seeds that
got planted a long time ago, and they're feeling really
unhappy with those fruits, and so they try to just
(10:12):
go buy other seeds, buy other seeds, buy other seeds, right,
So aka like another diet, another plant, another program. But
they never examine the roots and the soil that those
seeds are being planted in. And so God even says
this in his word in Matthew seven sixteen through twenty,
and this is the NIV version.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
It says, buy their fruit, you will recognize them.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Likewise,
every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree
bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,
and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree
that does not bear good fruit is cut down and
(10:56):
thrown into the fire. Thus, buy their fruit, you will
recognize them. And so it's like, what are your fruits
telling you? Right, you'll again buy their fruit. You will
recognize the roots. And that's why, Yes, you need a
new system of thinking around food in your body. But
the other side of it is is you've got to
heal the self image and in a way, you need
(11:19):
to become a new version of yourself with new beliefs
and a new identity. In other words, you need to
lay down some new roots so that you can bear
some new fruits.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
But also like.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
If you plant tomatoes right, you've eliminated the guesswork of
what you're gonna harvest. And as Galatians six ' eight
tells us, whatever a man sows, he shall also reap.
And so the message version of that same scripture says,
don't be misled. No one makes a fool of God.
What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who
(11:54):
plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others, ignoring God harvests
a crop of weeds. All he'll have to show for
his life is weeds. But the one who plans in
response to God, letting God's spirit do the growth work
in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.
And so this is where I want to start talking
(12:15):
about the Neurow faith side of your health. And in
a way, I want you to start thinking about taking
care of your mental, emotional, physical health like you brush
your teeth or take a shower, or in this case,
it's just simply watering and nourishing those roots, right, And
it's not something that you sometimes do or don't do,
and it's not a burden or a chore. It's just
(12:36):
part of life that's really like one of the flips
that needs to be switched. And so I know that
in itself might feel like a stretch if you're used
to plans and programs that don't ever allow you to
feel like it's part.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
Of your life.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
And we're going to talk about that specifically in part six,
but just for now, I want to lay down those
seeds in your brain. But the big thing I want
you to take away from today's episode before we get
into the nitty gritty's specifics of this, is when it
comes to what's God got to do with it and
your food and body image freedom, And it's so much
more than food or your body.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Okay, this is your life that we are talking about.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
And that's why you know, as we're having this science
meets faith conversation, it's all under the umbrella of stepping
into a new identity and creating.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
The self image that reflects that.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Like we talked about before, you have to become a
new version of yourself and you have to radically transform
your being.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
And I know that doesn't.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
Sound as sexy as lose twenty pounds and twenty minutes, right,
but that's what really has to happen. Like the version
of you that would live that way and have that
relationship with food and.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Have that body.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
Who is she like, what is she thinking and believing
and feeling and doing? And notice I didn't say what
is she eating? Like, yeah, what she's eating matters, But
it's all downstream from what is she thinking?
Speaker 2 (13:53):
Who is she being? What is she believing?
Speaker 1 (13:55):
Right, It's about the roots and then from that the
roots that come from the roots. And again God says it,
a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad
tree cannot bear good fruit, right, And so how do
we invite God into this conversation? And so over the
coming weeks, every time you hear me talk about inviting
(14:16):
God into your self image, it's simply an invitation to start,
you know, trying to see yourself as God sees you.
And the cool thing is is we don't have to guess, right,
we have His word to refer to. And then every
time you hear me talk about, you know, rewiring or
solidifying your identity, it's about planting roots so deeply embedded
(14:37):
in the nourished soil of what God says about you
and who I believe He has created us all to be,
so that you're no longer carrying around all of this shame,
and you're no longer rooted or defined strictly buy.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
Food or buy your weight.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
And then if that feels like a stretch, because I
totally get that, I've been there, I want to kind
of talk to your logic and reason brain for a moment.
And maybe that scripture that I read earlier resonates on
a soul level. But you know, maybe your logic and
reason brain still feels a little bit hesitant, or maybe
you're weary because all of your past experiences or those
long running beliefs of like this is just who I am,
(15:14):
or you know, a lot of my clients have that
belief of like leanne, I'm way more broken than anybody else, right,
And so I wanted to share with you how this
is literally showing up in modern day brain imaging and neuroscience.
And what am I about to share with you is
really just one example, because there's tons, But if you're
(15:36):
hooked up to an fMRI machine, like essentially a brain scan,
you can literally see neurochemical changes in the brain in
real time. Okay, And my dear friend doctor Lee Warren,
and he's an actual brain surgeon, And I've had conversations
with doctor Lee Warren on both the What's God Got
to Do with It? Podcast and we did an entire
(15:56):
series on Outweigh and I'll link those episodes in the
show notes as well. But we were talking about his
live experiences, like he didn't read this in a book.
He was seeing this in real time every single day
in brain imaging, and he saw in real time what
I'm about to share. So if you saw someone hooked
up to an fMRI machine and tell them to think
(16:17):
about the happiest memory in their life. So maybe it's
the birth of their child or grandchild, or their wedding
day or the day they got that promotion, whatever, Right,
the colors on the screen changed in response to their thinking,
like the brain chemistry was literally changing in real time
based on what they were thinking in that moment, Like
(16:38):
so crazy, right, But then they had them think about
the worst thing that happened or their saddest memory. So
maybe it was the death of a loved one or
trauma or grief or loss or shame or just anything heartbreaking,
and the colors changed again, and the blood flow and
brain chemistry changed in real time based on their thoughts.
(17:02):
And that is Philippians four at work, where God simply
tells us that if you're anxious, you can literally just
change the things.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
That you think about.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
And so the NIV version of Philippians four literally says,
do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God,
and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will
guard your hearts and your minds.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
In Christ Jesus.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
That's literally what we were just talking about, that you
can literally see on a brain.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Scan in real time.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
It goes on to say, Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever
is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent
or praiseworthy.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
Think about such things.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Whatever you have learned or received, or heard from me
or seen in me, put it into practice, and the
God of Peace will be with you. Like to me,
God is literally telling us that if you're anxious about something,
change the things that you think about. Okay, So the
same scripture, the message version, and I think it's really important.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
I think it's cool.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
I love to go through different versions of scripture, but
the message version of the same scripture says, don't fret
or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises
shape your worries into prayers. I love that shape your
worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns before you
know it. A sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together
(18:37):
for good will come and settle you down. It's wonderful
what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of
your life.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
And then it goes on to say.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best
by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious,
the best, not the worst, the beautiful, not the ugly, things.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
To praise, not things to curse.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
Put into practice what you learn from me, what you
heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who
makes everything work together, will work you into his most
excellent harmonies. And I just love that, Like, literally from
anxiety to harmony, and that is literally in our immediate control.
(19:26):
And so again, if you're anxious or sad or mad
or frustrated, I'll add, you know, to feel it in
that moment, like let it move through you, right, Like,
don't ignore the anger, the frustration, all of that. Like,
let it move through you in the moment, but don't
let it take you down a rabbit hole or become
a victim to it. Learn how to become emotionally available
in those moments so that you can process it, let
(19:48):
it move through you, and go on with your life.
And you do that by literally changing the things that
you think about, and by changing the way that you
respond to things rather than act, and by changing who
you are in the face of those thoughts. Because the
thoughts will come, but you have the power to change
the things that you think about.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
Okay, I also want to remind you.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
God also says it again in the following scripture in
two Corinthians ten to five.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
This is the ESV version.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
He says, we destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised
against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive
to obey Christ. So God is literally telling us to
take our thoughts captive and to start thinking about our thinking,
and to again take our thoughts captive. And when you
do that, you literally change the view that you have
(20:39):
of yourself. You change the storyline in that moment, and
as you're learning, you literally change the brain's neurochemistry in
the moment and in the long run, like the default
or the compound effect, I should say, of what happens
when you do that over and over again, It shifts
the default in the long run, Like yes, you can
actually absolutely changed lifelong patterns and habits, even if you've
(21:02):
been this way forever or your whole life.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
You can shift your.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
Brain's neurochemistry and you are never too far gone for that, right,
And if that's not hope.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
I don't know what is.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
I also love the message version of that same scripture
because I love the nuances in this It says the
world is unprincipled. It's a dog eat dog world out there.
The world doesn't fight fair. But we don't live or
fight our battles that way. We never have and never will.
The tools of our trade aren't for marketing or manipulation,
(21:34):
but they are for demolishing that entire, massively corrupt culture.
We use our powerful God tools. I love that powerful
God tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected
against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and
emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ.
(21:56):
Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground
of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.
And with that scripture, I literally picture us clearing the
ground of those old, unhealthy, rotten roots and planting new ones,
laying down new roots. But God, also I want to
remind you tells us to bring our worries to Him,
(22:18):
not to try to do it through our own strength,
not to you know, really be super self reliant.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Onst.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
Peter five seven, says cast All your anxieties on him
because he cares for us. And that's why I keep
saying that, you know, the what you do or don't
do side of things is really downstream from the identity
and self image of the woman that you're living as
each day, every single day. And you know, modern day
neuroscience just backs this up, and then scripture backs that up,
(22:49):
which is so so cool. And again, I know that
might sound overwhelming or daunting if you know food or
your body is something that you've been struggling with for
a long time. But trust me, this is so oh
so imperative because you know, let's just say that you
had all the strategy and habit and brain change stuff
that I talked about a second ago, and let's just
say you have the perfect plan and the perfect steps
(23:10):
to take. You know, who's to say you would actually
show up for yourself and use it and stick with it,
because you know, I could, for example, literally just give
you my stressless eating strategy that I give my clients
and teach you that system of thinking around food.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
In your body.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
But if you don't go address the self image and
the body image and the identity that's causing you to
think and act and feel and behave the way that
you are around food in your body. I'm not trying
to sound you know, pessimistic, but you will always end
up right back where you are, because even if it
feels like it is, like, this.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
Is so not a food problem or a body problem.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
And again I know it feels like it is, but
it's definitely a brain thing. And again, the things that
have gotten fired and wired in your brain are because
of the thoughts and then the emotions that cascade down
from that, and that's what simply has become your habits,
right the behaviors off the back of that become habits.
And so in other words, your habits and behaviors, which
(24:08):
is the one thing that everyone's like le yah does
help me change my habits or like start new habits.
It's like, well, those are symptoms of a cause, aka,
like your thoughts are the cause, and that's happening upstream
in your brain. And as we just learn, you can
literally shift that in a moment. But I also personally believe,
or at least that's what I'm here to, you know,
invite you into the possibility of It's like, what if
(24:30):
this was.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
Also a spiritual thing?
Speaker 1 (24:32):
And that's why we're starting there and inviting God into
this from day one. And so instead of trying to
influence what you're eating or how you're moving your body,
or entering into the conversation of addressing the roots of
the problem of what's going on in your mind and brain,
but also in your heart and spirit, so that you
can address it from the root. And because as we
(24:53):
talked about today, there are two very different root systems
that can take root in our brains and in our spirits.
And here's the reality. It's happening either way. Like one
of those root systems is going to get laid.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
Down, right.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
And again I'm not trying to be pessimistic or doom
and gloom, but like, it's happening either way, right, And
so that's why it's so important that you start at
the roots so that you can produce the fruits that
you want to produce, Like that's.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
What you have the power to control. But that will
never come from a diet, it will never come from
an exercise plan.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
And that's why I'll keep reminding you of kind of
like the old conventional way versus the new way, where
you know, the old way of thinking is strictly a
body conversation, or it's you know and eat less, move
more conversation where you know, as we're talking about today,
the new way and really the permanent way and the
way of ease and flow and lifelong freedom. It is
(25:46):
a science meets faith conversation, and it's those old beliefs
staying rooted in you and carrying you down the same
dead end roads of you know, restriction or punishment or
persuasion or obsession or stress or just feeling out of control.
And it's new beliefs where you die to that old
identity and step into a new identity with new beliefs,
(26:10):
and you actually address those old non serving beliefs about
yourself and about food and all the beliefs that you
have about yourself that you've been carrying around, and you
step into that whole new identity that has that new
relationship with food in her body. Right and again I
might sound like a broken record, but sorry, not sorry, right,
because it's from that place that's what replaces the old
(26:32):
behaviors and habits and plant seeds for new ones to
take root.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
Okay, but again it's.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
Now coming from that new root system that you're starting
to plant right now, and that's what this science meets
faith conversation is all about.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
So starting next.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
Week, we're going to dive deep into and even get
a little geeky where you know, we're gonna be talking
about the neurow faith side of your self image, and
really it's just your beliefs about yourself and your perception
of yourself and the goggles that you're seeing yourself through
that then become the narrator in your mind and the
voice of your self talk, and then that becomes the
(27:12):
story that you're walking around with as true even if
it's not true, or let's just say it definitely doesn't
have to be true, and that's where you can transform it.
In the coming weeks, we're also going to be talking
about the neuro faith side of things when it comes
to your coping mechanisms.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
So whether that's food.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
Or social media or dating apps or alcohol or whatever
your drug of choice is, it's a very similar mechanism
in the brain.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
And again there is no shame in any of those things.
By the way, we all have our own.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
But this is just another part that has old, dead
roots that need to be addressed, and yes, you can
transform them. Even if it doesn't always feel like it
does or like you can. And we can't talk about
your body without also talking about the neuro faith side
of pain and your physical body in aition to your
body image, which you know when it comes to the
(28:02):
physical side of things, as you'll learn, if you are
in pain, getting yourself out of pain, and by the way,
body image, shame is a form of pain in the
brain too, so don't forget that. But the first step
is getting yourself out of pain. And it's really the
survive side of things, I should say, whereas you know,
the contrast to that, like weight loss or transforming your physique,
(28:23):
that's the thrive side of things, like you don't need
it to survive, right, But as you'll learn, you've got
to give your.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
Brain what it requires first. So if you are in.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
Acute or chronic pain, and again shame is a form
of pain, you've got to get yourself out of that
pain first, and then we can talk about the thrive
or like the desire based stuff like your weight or
optimal health or whatever.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Right.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
So that's the neuro faith side of things around your
body and your body image. But then also as I mentioned,
I truly believe you need a new system of thinking
around food and your body, because you know, if you're
using food as a form of restriction or deprivation or obsession,
or you know, kind of this false sense of control,
or maybe it's the opposite for you, maybe you're overeating
(29:05):
or binging or emotionally eating, or just feel out of
control of food, and that same punishment cycle, by the way,
can take place with your body and exercise too, But
most people go down the whole you know, eat less,
move more road as their go to and and let's
be honest, that doesn't just not help, it makes the
problem worse. And even if you can stick to it briefly,
old habits just come back with a vengeance. So how
(29:29):
do you transform that? Well that's the onion that we're
going to continue to unpeel next week, because you know,
nowadays everyone and their mom is talking about, you know,
ditching the diets and food freedom. But the only problem
with that, those questions or those statements is like, well,
how do you do that?
Speaker 2 (29:45):
Right?
Speaker 1 (29:45):
Like, how do you suddenly stop doing what you've been
doing for decades or the only thing you've ever known?
And how do you suddenly stop you know, shaming yourself
or hating on yourself or criticizing yourself, if it's all
your brain knows how to do.
Speaker 2 (29:59):
And how do you suddenly just.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
Stop dieting if you've been on the roller coaster a
long time and you're terrified you'll go off the deep
end and gain a bunch of weight if you're not
on something? And then how do you invite God into
this conversation and invite him to walk alongside you? And
so I'm going to walk you through that recipe if
you want to call it that, over the next coming weeks,
but I'll give you a hint before we end today.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
In a way, it's kind of like a small but
really important disclaimer.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Remember how I said that you need to essentially become
a new person and in a way create a new
identity in Christ. Well, that's why I just want to
shine a light on this and say that if you
take nothing else away from this episode, but this one thing,
take this away, okay, And it's to stop looking for
the solution here as I'm pointing to my body or
(30:47):
my stomach or my hips, okay, because the solution lives
in your brain, in your heart. And yes, I'm inviting
you into the possibility that it lives in your spirit.
And you've heard me talk about this a lot before,
or on either of the podcasts that you found me on,
you'll know that I talk.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
About this idea of the weight of the weight a lot.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
And what I mean by that is that when you've
been stuck in the food and body struggle for years
or decades, you know, or sometimes it's a lifetime, it's
like there's these heavy chains of thoughts and beliefs that
you've been carrying around in your brain and heart and
spirit for as long as you can remember. And those heavy,
rusty chains are what's really so heavy, And the weight
(31:27):
on your body isn't the real weight. The real weight
is all of this other stuff, like the chains of
beliefs and behaviors and shame that you've been carrying around
with you. And there is no shame in this whatsoever.
It's what I learned, and it's what all of my
clients learn too. But until you break the chains, you'll
keep walking around with them and they'll keep getting heavier.
(31:51):
And if you're anything like I was, you kind of
become desensitized to them, and they feel normal because they're
disguised as being you know, air quotes, health conscious or watching.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
What you eat. But they are not normal and they
are not healthy.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
They are chains that bog down your head and your
heart and your spirit and in turn your body. And
they're chains that do not have to be there. And
so we're having these important conversations today because again, you
don't want to be carrying them around with you anymore.
But again, it's probably been happening so long it's kind
of become normal. And so let's break those chains so
(32:26):
that we can ditch that weight. The weight of the weight,
And that's what we're going to cover in the coming weeks. Okay,
because this is where I start with all of my clients,
and I know that if I'm being a good steward
of your time and energy and spiritual life, then these
are the messages.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
That I know in my heart you really need to get.
Speaker 1 (32:43):
And then one last thing before we wrap, I want
to just share one last scripture about this idea of
becoming a new creation, and it's from Clausans three eight
through ten, and it reads, but now you must put
them all away, anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obsord talk
from your mouth, do not lie to one another, seeing
(33:04):
that you have put off the old self with its practices,
and have put on the new self, which is being
renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. And
I love that part, especially renewed in knowledge, which you're
gaining right now, after the image of its creator, which
is God, your father, who sees you so beautifully, and
(33:26):
I truly believe is dying for you to see yourself
through his eyes. The message version of that same scripture says,
you're done with that old life. It's like a filthy
set of ill fitting clothes you've stripped off and put
in the fire.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
Now you're dressed in a new wardrobe.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
Every item of your new life is custom made by
the Creator with his label on it. And that sums
up exactly what I mean by recreating your self, image
and identity, and renewing your mind.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
By rewiring your brain.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
But this time, just like this says custom made by
the Creator with his label on it. So I can't
wait to talk about that more in depth next week.
And so this is by for now, and we will
pick off where we left off.
Speaker 2 (34:12):
Then bye.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
That's it for today's episode of the What's God Got
to Do? With It and the Outweigh podcast crossover. Thanks
for tuning in, and if you want to learn more
about the work that I do or catch either of
the podcasts on a regular basis, there's a couple of
ways you can do that. First off, if you want
to learn how to turn off the part of your brain.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
That's obsessed with food or obsessed with.
Speaker 1 (34:39):
Your weight and rewire your own brain for peace and freedom,
then head on over to Stresslessseeating dot com and sign
up to watch the Stressless Eating sneak preview, where I've
literally peeled the curtain and walked you through the exact
strategy I teach my clients to heal themselves from the
all or nothing diet mentality for good, but without restricting themselves,
(35:01):
punishing their bodies, and definitely without ever having to use
words like macros, low carb or calorie burn. It's there
for you to access over at Stressless Eating dot com
and if you're listening to this series over on What's
God Got to Do with It? I also co host
the Outweigh podcast with radio personality Amy Brown, where we
help women break themselves out of the food and body prison,
(35:24):
end the dieting madness and take control of their health
for good, but without all that restriction, obsession and shame,
and without dragging it out for years.
Speaker 2 (35:33):
To address it.
Speaker 1 (35:34):
It's called Outweigh and you can find it wherever podcasts
are streamed. And if you're listening to this crossover series
on Outweigh, check out my other podcast called What's God
Got to Do With It? Where I talk about all
this self image and body image stuff but from the
perspective of where brain, science, intersex faith.
Speaker 2 (35:54):
It's called What's God Got to Do With It?
Speaker 1 (35:56):
And you can access it on iHeart or wherever you
get your podcasts.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
So that's it for.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
This episode of the What's God Got to Do With It?
And the outwagh podcast crossover series. I'm your host, Leanne Ellington,
and I'm so grateful to walk alongside you on this
beautiful journey. So thank you so much for listening, and
I hope you got whatever you needed.
Speaker 2 (36:14):
To get from it. Bye for now.
I won't let my body out be outwait everything that
I'm made done, won't spend my life trying to change.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
I'm learning love who I am again. I'm strong, I feel.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Free, I know every part of me it's beautiful.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
And that will.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Always out way if you feel.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
It, but you are, She'll some love to the food.
Why get there? Take good day and did you and
die out way?
Speaker 1 (00:35):
I am so excited as this is the very first
official crossover series of What's God Got to Do with
It in the Outweigh podcast, Because if you've been listening
to me on Outwigh, you know that that podcast is
all about helping women break themselves out of the food
and body prison, end the dieting madness, and take control
of their health for good, but without all that restriction, obsession,
(00:58):
and shame, and without dragging it out for years to
address it. And if you've been listening to me on
What's God Got to Do with It, you know that
we are all about the fusion of where science meets
faith and where faith meets transformation and miracles. So this
is a beautiful opportunity to talk about the crossover of
where science meets food and body image and self image
(01:22):
struggles and where that intersects faith or what's God got
to do with all of that. And that's exactly what
this six part series is all about. So Part one
is really just an introduction where we're simply going to
set up this massive topic. Part two is all about
the big picture of where faith meets science meets food
(01:45):
and body image struggles. In Part three, we go deep
into the self image and identity that you would need
to actually step into the version of you that would
have that health, that would have that relationship with food
in her body, and who would actually be at peace
and feel free, and of course how that fuses with
this faith brain conversation. In Part four, we dive deeper
(02:08):
into what God has to do with what I call
your food brain and disordered eating patterns and filling voids
in your head hard in spirit with food or netflix
or wine or whatever your drug of choice is, and
it's a whole that will never be filled by those things.
In Part five, we dive into the complicated relationship that
(02:29):
women have with their bodies and their body image and
physical pain, which is not talked about enough in my opinion,
and how to heal all of that from a faith
meets science perspective and invite God into the conversation and
then wrapping it up in part six, we get into
the strategy side of things, as in, what does it
(02:49):
look like to use what you've learned about neuroscience and
faith and healing your relationship with food in your body
image to go create a winning game plan that sets
you up to win and one that your brain just
learns so you can go live your life. Food can
be food and you can feel comfortable in your skin
and free from the chains of restricting or punishing your body.
(03:11):
So let's dive on in here's part two.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
So today we are here to talk about the big
picture of.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Where faith meets science meets food and body image so
that we can just really go narrow and deep in
the coming weeks. And so this whole faith brain connection
for me, that meant that on the spiritual side, I
had to meet myself in the skeptical cynical mind because
stepping into a conversation with God around things that I
(03:41):
was previously trying to do through my own might and
will and strictly a science perspective that was so challenging
to me at first, But because of what I shared
last week. It was also so so powerful for me
because A it completed my story and b it met
me in what I already knew about the magic and
way under of the brain and nervous system. And that's
(04:03):
why for the last fifteen years of my life I
have been obsessed with the female self image and brain,
Like what is it that makes us see and perceive
ourselves the way that we do? And why do our
brains play tricks on us? And why do we do
what we do?
Speaker 2 (04:18):
And for me, this just.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Really started with questions like why did I just lose
one hundred pounds and totally make over my body but.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
I still feel fat?
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Or why do I still feel like a crazy sugar addict?
Or why do I still feel unlovable and worthy, undesirable
fill in the blank, and really like, why didn't my
mind and my brain and my self image play catch
up with how my body physically transformed? And that is
really why I became obsessed with researching and understanding the
(04:49):
intricacies of the female brain and self image because you know,
like I shared in my story, I suffered and struggled
with food and my body image and my self image
for decades and the world just kept throwing more diets
at my deeper problems. And this stuff that we're talking
about here, it's not taught in the mainstream and it's
not made readily available to women, And that's why I'm
(05:11):
so purposeful about getting this way of thinking out there.
But I also feel like it's rare that I find
anyone talking about what God has to do with our
own mental, physical, emotional health, let alone our relationship with
food and our body image and how that can be
you know, if you're willing to go there a really
(05:31):
pivotal piece of the puzzle. And so we're going to
talk about where faith meets science in terms of where
your self image and body image lives and how to
influence it through neuroscience and by inviting God into it.
But please just know that we are just scratching the
surface of this massive topic, and there will be another
episode in this series that directly unravels this self image
(05:54):
thread and peels this onion so that you can actually
feel true worthiness down in your bone, like not just
this ambiguous you know, oh, just love yourself the way
you are, kind of you know, fake positivity that a
lot of the world is giving us. I'm talking a
systematic scientific approach to self love and self trust and
actually transforming the way that you see yourself while you
(06:19):
invite God into this conversation, or really in a way
by inviting God into this conversation. But where I want
to start today is essentially an introduction to where faith
and neuroscience actually collide and how you can start influencing it,
and of course how to invite God into that conversation
from day one. And you probably guessed it based on
how many times I've mentioned it, But I actually want
(06:41):
to start with your brain and self image, because as
we talked about last week, how this whole conversation about
food and your body, you know, yes, it's definitely a
brain thing. And the things that have gotten fired and
wired in your brain are because of the thoughts and
the emotions and the actions that are kind of like
this casket effect. And that's what has become habits for you.
(07:03):
Because again, your habits and behaviors are symptoms of a
cause aka your thoughts, which we're going to talk a
lot about today, that's happening upstream in your brain. But
I would also venture to say, or at least just
invite you to try on the possibility that what if
it was also a spiritual thing? Because yes, I think
we're starting to get that the problem is emotional, but
(07:25):
I truly believe that the problem is also spiritual, as in,
it's in your soul and it's in your spirit. And
so that's why I'm saying, like, yes, let's start there.
And so what if instead of trying to influence you
know what you're eating or how you're moving your body,
we entered into the conversation of addressing the root of
the problem of what's going on in your mind and
(07:47):
brain but also in your heart and spirit, so that
you can actually go address it from the root. And
if we are talking about addressing it from the roots,
you don't need to be a farmer to know that
if you plant seeds and toxic soil, it is not
going to grow. Okay, In fact, the seeds will most
likely spoil or die. But also you can't force a
(08:10):
tree to grow, right. The tree needs what it needs
to grow. And so yeah, it's important to plant seeds
for creating new habits and new behaviors, but you also
want to make sure that you're planting those seeds and
growing those roots in really nourished and rich soil.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
And so here's what I mean. I call this the
tail of two roots.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
And I will link this graphic in the show notes
for you, but for now, if you're listening and not
looking at the what I'm going to link for you,
I want you to imagine a picture of a big
tree with a big trunk and a big roots system. Okay,
and of course those roots are rooted in soil. But
(08:51):
I want you to picture that one half of the tree.
The soil is unnourished and unhealthy, and the roots are
dry and unhealthy, and there is no fruit growing on
that tree, or maybe there's weeds or just like dead
rotten fruit. And so, coming back to this metaphor of
planting seeds of habits in unhealthy soil, if you are
(09:15):
not happy with your relationship with food and your body,
maybe this is how your body feels, or your health feels,
or your brain and nervous system feels like you're unhealthy
or unnourished. Okay, But then I want you to picture
the other half of the tree, and the other half
has this nourished and nourishing, healthy soil, and it has
(09:35):
nourished and healthy roots and from those roots it's growing
fruit that is alive and abundant and delicious. And I
don't know why I want to sing alive, it's alive.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
But rolling with this metaphor for your health.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Really, it's the fruit that you want to be growing
like you intentionally created it. You grew it, as opposed
to you know, rotten fruit that kind of in certainly
got planted many years ago, okay. And so most people
are just looking at the fruits of the seeds that
got planted a long time ago, and they're feeling really
unhappy with those fruits, and so they try to just
(10:12):
go buy other seeds, buy other seeds, buy other seeds, right,
So aka like another diet, another plant, another program. But
they never examine the roots and the soil that those
seeds are being planted in. And so God even says
this in his word in Matthew seven sixteen through twenty,
and this is the NIV version.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
It says, buy their fruit, you will recognize them.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Likewise,
every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree
bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,
and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree
that does not bear good fruit is cut down and
(10:56):
thrown into the fire. Thus, buy their fruit, you will
recognize them. And so it's like, what are your fruits
telling you? Right, you'll again buy their fruit. You will
recognize the roots. And that's why, Yes, you need a
new system of thinking around food in your body. But
the other side of it is is you've got to
heal the self image and in a way, you need
(11:19):
to become a new version of yourself with new beliefs
and a new identity. In other words, you need to
lay down some new roots so that you can bear
some new fruits.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
But also like.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
If you plant tomatoes right, you've eliminated the guesswork of
what you're gonna harvest. And as Galatians six ' eight
tells us, whatever a man sows, he shall also reap.
And so the message version of that same scripture says,
don't be misled. No one makes a fool of God.
What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who
(11:54):
plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others, ignoring God harvests
a crop of weeds. All he'll have to show for
his life is weeds. But the one who plans in
response to God, letting God's spirit do the growth work
in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.
And so this is where I want to start talking
(12:15):
about the Neurow faith side of your health. And in
a way, I want you to start thinking about taking
care of your mental, emotional, physical health like you brush
your teeth or take a shower, or in this case,
it's just simply watering and nourishing those roots, right, And
it's not something that you sometimes do or don't do,
and it's not a burden or a chore. It's just
(12:36):
part of life that's really like one of the flips
that needs to be switched. And so I know that
in itself might feel like a stretch if you're used
to plans and programs that don't ever allow you to
feel like it's part.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
Of your life.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
And we're going to talk about that specifically in part six,
but just for now, I want to lay down those
seeds in your brain. But the big thing I want
you to take away from today's episode before we get
into the nitty gritty's specifics of this, is when it
comes to what's God got to do with it and
your food and body image freedom, And it's so much
more than food or your body.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Okay, this is your life that we are talking about.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
And that's why you know, as we're having this science
meets faith conversation, it's all under the umbrella of stepping
into a new identity and creating.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
The self image that reflects that.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Like we talked about before, you have to become a
new version of yourself and you have to radically transform
your being.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
And I know that doesn't.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
Sound as sexy as lose twenty pounds and twenty minutes, right,
but that's what really has to happen. Like the version
of you that would live that way and have that
relationship with food and.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Have that body.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
Who is she like, what is she thinking and believing
and feeling and doing? And notice I didn't say what
is she eating? Like, yeah, what she's eating matters, But
it's all downstream from what is she thinking?
Speaker 2 (13:53):
Who is she being? What is she believing?
Speaker 1 (13:55):
Right, It's about the roots and then from that the
roots that come from the roots. And again God says it,
a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad
tree cannot bear good fruit, right, And so how do
we invite God into this conversation? And so over the
coming weeks, every time you hear me talk about inviting
(14:16):
God into your self image, it's simply an invitation to start,
you know, trying to see yourself as God sees you.
And the cool thing is is we don't have to guess, right,
we have His word to refer to. And then every
time you hear me talk about, you know, rewiring or
solidifying your identity, it's about planting roots so deeply embedded
(14:37):
in the nourished soil of what God says about you
and who I believe He has created us all to be,
so that you're no longer carrying around all of this shame,
and you're no longer rooted or defined strictly buy.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
Food or buy your weight.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
And then if that feels like a stretch, because I
totally get that, I've been there, I want to kind
of talk to your logic and reason brain for a moment.
And maybe that scripture that I read earlier resonates on
a soul level. But you know, maybe your logic and
reason brain still feels a little bit hesitant, or maybe
you're weary because all of your past experiences or those
long running beliefs of like this is just who I am,
(15:14):
or you know, a lot of my clients have that
belief of like leanne, I'm way more broken than anybody else, right,
And so I wanted to share with you how this
is literally showing up in modern day brain imaging and neuroscience.
And what am I about to share with you is
really just one example, because there's tons, But if you're
(15:36):
hooked up to an fMRI machine, like essentially a brain scan,
you can literally see neurochemical changes in the brain in
real time. Okay, And my dear friend doctor Lee Warren,
and he's an actual brain surgeon, And I've had conversations
with doctor Lee Warren on both the What's God Got
to Do with It? Podcast and we did an entire
(15:56):
series on Outweigh and I'll link those episodes in the
show notes as well. But we were talking about his
live experiences, like he didn't read this in a book.
He was seeing this in real time every single day
in brain imaging, and he saw in real time what
I'm about to share. So if you saw someone hooked
up to an fMRI machine and tell them to think
(16:17):
about the happiest memory in their life. So maybe it's
the birth of their child or grandchild, or their wedding
day or the day they got that promotion, whatever, Right,
the colors on the screen changed in response to their thinking,
like the brain chemistry was literally changing in real time
based on what they were thinking in that moment, Like
(16:38):
so crazy, right, But then they had them think about
the worst thing that happened or their saddest memory. So
maybe it was the death of a loved one or
trauma or grief or loss or shame or just anything heartbreaking,
and the colors changed again, and the blood flow and
brain chemistry changed in real time based on their thoughts.
(17:02):
And that is Philippians four at work, where God simply
tells us that if you're anxious, you can literally just
change the things.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
That you think about.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
And so the NIV version of Philippians four literally says,
do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God,
and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will
guard your hearts and your minds.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
In Christ Jesus.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
That's literally what we were just talking about, that you
can literally see on a brain.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Scan in real time.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
It goes on to say, Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever
is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent
or praiseworthy.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
Think about such things.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Whatever you have learned or received, or heard from me
or seen in me, put it into practice, and the
God of Peace will be with you. Like to me,
God is literally telling us that if you're anxious about something,
change the things that you think about. Okay, So the
same scripture, the message version, and I think it's really important.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
I think it's cool.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
I love to go through different versions of scripture, but
the message version of the same scripture says, don't fret
or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises
shape your worries into prayers. I love that shape your
worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns before you
know it. A sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together
(18:37):
for good will come and settle you down. It's wonderful
what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of
your life.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
And then it goes on to say.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best
by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious,
the best, not the worst, the beautiful, not the ugly, things.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
To praise, not things to curse.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
Put into practice what you learn from me, what you
heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who
makes everything work together, will work you into his most
excellent harmonies. And I just love that, Like, literally from
anxiety to harmony, and that is literally in our immediate control.
(19:26):
And so again, if you're anxious or sad or mad
or frustrated, I'll add, you know, to feel it in
that moment, like let it move through you, right, Like,
don't ignore the anger, the frustration, all of that. Like,
let it move through you in the moment, but don't
let it take you down a rabbit hole or become
a victim to it. Learn how to become emotionally available
in those moments so that you can process it, let
(19:48):
it move through you, and go on with your life.
And you do that by literally changing the things that
you think about, and by changing the way that you
respond to things rather than act, and by changing who
you are in the face of those thoughts. Because the
thoughts will come, but you have the power to change
the things that you think about.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
Okay, I also want to remind you.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
God also says it again in the following scripture in
two Corinthians ten to five.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
This is the ESV version.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
He says, we destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised
against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive
to obey Christ. So God is literally telling us to
take our thoughts captive and to start thinking about our thinking,
and to again take our thoughts captive. And when you
do that, you literally change the view that you have
(20:39):
of yourself. You change the storyline in that moment, and
as you're learning, you literally change the brain's neurochemistry in
the moment and in the long run, like the default
or the compound effect, I should say, of what happens
when you do that over and over again, It shifts
the default in the long run, Like yes, you can
actually absolutely changed lifelong patterns and habits, even if you've
(21:02):
been this way forever or your whole life.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
You can shift your.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
Brain's neurochemistry and you are never too far gone for that, right,
And if that's not hope.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
I don't know what is.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
I also love the message version of that same scripture
because I love the nuances in this It says the
world is unprincipled. It's a dog eat dog world out there.
The world doesn't fight fair. But we don't live or
fight our battles that way. We never have and never will.
The tools of our trade aren't for marketing or manipulation,
(21:34):
but they are for demolishing that entire, massively corrupt culture.
We use our powerful God tools. I love that powerful
God tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected
against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and
emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ.
(21:56):
Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground
of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.
And with that scripture, I literally picture us clearing the
ground of those old, unhealthy, rotten roots and planting new ones,
laying down new roots. But God, also I want to
remind you tells us to bring our worries to Him,
(22:18):
not to try to do it through our own strength,
not to you know, really be super self reliant.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Onst.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
Peter five seven, says cast All your anxieties on him
because he cares for us. And that's why I keep
saying that, you know, the what you do or don't
do side of things is really downstream from the identity
and self image of the woman that you're living as
each day, every single day. And you know, modern day
neuroscience just backs this up, and then scripture backs that up,
(22:49):
which is so so cool. And again, I know that
might sound overwhelming or daunting if you know food or
your body is something that you've been struggling with for
a long time. But trust me, this is so oh
so imperative because you know, let's just say that you
had all the strategy and habit and brain change stuff
that I talked about a second ago, and let's just
say you have the perfect plan and the perfect steps
(23:10):
to take. You know, who's to say you would actually
show up for yourself and use it and stick with it,
because you know, I could, for example, literally just give
you my stressless eating strategy that I give my clients
and teach you that system of thinking around food.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
In your body.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
But if you don't go address the self image and
the body image and the identity that's causing you to
think and act and feel and behave the way that
you are around food in your body. I'm not trying
to sound you know, pessimistic, but you will always end
up right back where you are, because even if it
feels like it is, like, this.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
Is so not a food problem or a body problem.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
And again I know it feels like it is, but
it's definitely a brain thing. And again, the things that
have gotten fired and wired in your brain are because
of the thoughts and then the emotions that cascade down
from that, and that's what simply has become your habits,
right the behaviors off the back of that become habits.
And so in other words, your habits and behaviors, which
(24:08):
is the one thing that everyone's like le yah does
help me change my habits or like start new habits.
It's like, well, those are symptoms of a cause, aka,
like your thoughts are the cause, and that's happening upstream
in your brain. And as we just learn, you can
literally shift that in a moment. But I also personally believe,
or at least that's what I'm here to, you know,
invite you into the possibility of It's like, what if
(24:30):
this was.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
Also a spiritual thing?
Speaker 1 (24:32):
And that's why we're starting there and inviting God into
this from day one. And so instead of trying to
influence what you're eating or how you're moving your body,
or entering into the conversation of addressing the roots of
the problem of what's going on in your mind and brain,
but also in your heart and spirit, so that you
can address it from the root. And because as we
(24:53):
talked about today, there are two very different root systems
that can take root in our brains and in our spirits.
And here's the reality. It's happening either way. Like one
of those root systems is going to get laid.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
Down, right.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
And again I'm not trying to be pessimistic or doom
and gloom, but like, it's happening either way, right, And
so that's why it's so important that you start at
the roots so that you can produce the fruits that
you want to produce, Like that's.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
What you have the power to control. But that will
never come from a diet, it will never come from
an exercise plan.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
And that's why I'll keep reminding you of kind of
like the old conventional way versus the new way, where
you know, the old way of thinking is strictly a
body conversation, or it's you know and eat less, move
more conversation where you know, as we're talking about today,
the new way and really the permanent way and the
way of ease and flow and lifelong freedom. It is
(25:46):
a science meets faith conversation, and it's those old beliefs
staying rooted in you and carrying you down the same
dead end roads of you know, restriction or punishment or
persuasion or obsession or stress or just feeling out of control.
And it's new beliefs where you die to that old
identity and step into a new identity with new beliefs,
(26:10):
and you actually address those old non serving beliefs about
yourself and about food and all the beliefs that you
have about yourself that you've been carrying around, and you
step into that whole new identity that has that new
relationship with food in her body. Right and again I
might sound like a broken record, but sorry, not sorry, right,
because it's from that place that's what replaces the old
(26:32):
behaviors and habits and plant seeds for new ones to
take root.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
Okay, but again it's.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
Now coming from that new root system that you're starting
to plant right now, and that's what this science meets
faith conversation is all about.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
So starting next.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
Week, we're going to dive deep into and even get
a little geeky where you know, we're gonna be talking
about the neurow faith side of your self image, and
really it's just your beliefs about yourself and your perception
of yourself and the goggles that you're seeing yourself through
that then become the narrator in your mind and the
voice of your self talk, and then that becomes the
(27:12):
story that you're walking around with as true even if
it's not true, or let's just say it definitely doesn't
have to be true, and that's where you can transform it.
In the coming weeks, we're also going to be talking
about the neuro faith side of things when it comes
to your coping mechanisms.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
So whether that's food.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
Or social media or dating apps or alcohol or whatever
your drug of choice is, it's a very similar mechanism
in the brain.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
And again there is no shame in any of those things.
By the way, we all have our own.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
But this is just another part that has old, dead
roots that need to be addressed, and yes, you can
transform them. Even if it doesn't always feel like it
does or like you can. And we can't talk about
your body without also talking about the neuro faith side
of pain and your physical body in aition to your
body image, which you know when it comes to the
(28:02):
physical side of things, as you'll learn, if you are
in pain, getting yourself out of pain, and by the way,
body image, shame is a form of pain in the
brain too, so don't forget that. But the first step
is getting yourself out of pain. And it's really the
survive side of things, I should say, whereas you know,
the contrast to that, like weight loss or transforming your physique,
(28:23):
that's the thrive side of things, like you don't need
it to survive, right, But as you'll learn, you've got
to give your.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
Brain what it requires first. So if you are in.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
Acute or chronic pain, and again shame is a form
of pain, you've got to get yourself out of that
pain first, and then we can talk about the thrive
or like the desire based stuff like your weight or
optimal health or whatever.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Right.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
So that's the neuro faith side of things around your
body and your body image. But then also as I mentioned,
I truly believe you need a new system of thinking
around food and your body, because you know, if you're
using food as a form of restriction or deprivation or obsession,
or you know, kind of this false sense of control,
or maybe it's the opposite for you, maybe you're overeating
(29:05):
or binging or emotionally eating, or just feel out of
control of food, and that same punishment cycle, by the way,
can take place with your body and exercise too, But
most people go down the whole you know, eat less,
move more road as their go to and and let's
be honest, that doesn't just not help, it makes the
problem worse. And even if you can stick to it briefly,
old habits just come back with a vengeance. So how
(29:29):
do you transform that? Well that's the onion that we're
going to continue to unpeel next week, because you know,
nowadays everyone and their mom is talking about, you know,
ditching the diets and food freedom. But the only problem
with that, those questions or those statements is like, well,
how do you do that?
Speaker 2 (29:45):
Right?
Speaker 1 (29:45):
Like, how do you suddenly stop doing what you've been
doing for decades or the only thing you've ever known?
And how do you suddenly stop you know, shaming yourself
or hating on yourself or criticizing yourself, if it's all
your brain knows how to do.
Speaker 2 (29:59):
And how do you suddenly just.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
Stop dieting if you've been on the roller coaster a
long time and you're terrified you'll go off the deep
end and gain a bunch of weight if you're not
on something? And then how do you invite God into
this conversation and invite him to walk alongside you? And
so I'm going to walk you through that recipe if
you want to call it that, over the next coming weeks,
but I'll give you a hint before we end today.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
In a way, it's kind of like a small but
really important disclaimer.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Remember how I said that you need to essentially become
a new person and in a way create a new
identity in Christ. Well, that's why I just want to
shine a light on this and say that if you
take nothing else away from this episode, but this one thing,
take this away, okay, And it's to stop looking for
the solution here as I'm pointing to my body or
(30:47):
my stomach or my hips, okay, because the solution lives
in your brain, in your heart. And yes, I'm inviting
you into the possibility that it lives in your spirit.
And you've heard me talk about this a lot before,
or on either of the podcasts that you found me on,
you'll know that I talk.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
About this idea of the weight of the weight a lot.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
And what I mean by that is that when you've
been stuck in the food and body struggle for years
or decades, you know, or sometimes it's a lifetime, it's
like there's these heavy chains of thoughts and beliefs that
you've been carrying around in your brain and heart and
spirit for as long as you can remember. And those heavy,
rusty chains are what's really so heavy, And the weight
(31:27):
on your body isn't the real weight. The real weight
is all of this other stuff, like the chains of
beliefs and behaviors and shame that you've been carrying around
with you. And there is no shame in this whatsoever.
It's what I learned, and it's what all of my
clients learn too. But until you break the chains, you'll
keep walking around with them and they'll keep getting heavier.
(31:51):
And if you're anything like I was, you kind of
become desensitized to them, and they feel normal because they're
disguised as being you know, air quotes, health conscious or watching.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
What you eat. But they are not normal and they
are not healthy.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
They are chains that bog down your head and your
heart and your spirit and in turn your body. And
they're chains that do not have to be there. And
so we're having these important conversations today because again, you
don't want to be carrying them around with you anymore.
But again, it's probably been happening so long it's kind
of become normal. And so let's break those chains so
(32:26):
that we can ditch that weight. The weight of the weight,
And that's what we're going to cover in the coming weeks. Okay,
because this is where I start with all of my clients,
and I know that if I'm being a good steward
of your time and energy and spiritual life, then these
are the messages.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
That I know in my heart you really need to get.
Speaker 1 (32:43):
And then one last thing before we wrap, I want
to just share one last scripture about this idea of
becoming a new creation, and it's from Clausans three eight
through ten, and it reads, but now you must put
them all away, anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obsord talk
from your mouth, do not lie to one another, seeing
(33:04):
that you have put off the old self with its practices,
and have put on the new self, which is being
renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. And
I love that part, especially renewed in knowledge, which you're
gaining right now, after the image of its creator, which
is God, your father, who sees you so beautifully, and
(33:26):
I truly believe is dying for you to see yourself
through his eyes. The message version of that same scripture says,
you're done with that old life. It's like a filthy
set of ill fitting clothes you've stripped off and put
in the fire.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
Now you're dressed in a new wardrobe.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
Every item of your new life is custom made by
the Creator with his label on it. And that sums
up exactly what I mean by recreating your self, image
and identity, and renewing your mind.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
By rewiring your brain.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
But this time, just like this says custom made by
the Creator with his label on it. So I can't
wait to talk about that more in depth next week.
And so this is by for now, and we will
pick off where we left off.
Speaker 2 (34:12):
Then bye.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
That's it for today's episode of the What's God Got
to Do? With It and the Outweigh podcast crossover. Thanks
for tuning in, and if you want to learn more
about the work that I do or catch either of
the podcasts on a regular basis, there's a couple of
ways you can do that. First off, if you want
to learn how to turn off the part of your brain.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
That's obsessed with food or obsessed with.
Speaker 1 (34:39):
Your weight and rewire your own brain for peace and freedom,
then head on over to Stresslessseeating dot com and sign
up to watch the Stressless Eating sneak preview, where I've
literally peeled the curtain and walked you through the exact
strategy I teach my clients to heal themselves from the
all or nothing diet mentality for good, but without restricting themselves,
(35:01):
punishing their bodies, and definitely without ever having to use
words like macros, low carb or calorie burn. It's there
for you to access over at Stressless Eating dot com
and if you're listening to this series over on What's
God Got to Do with It? I also co host
the Outweigh podcast with radio personality Amy Brown, where we
help women break themselves out of the food and body prison,
(35:24):
end the dieting madness and take control of their health
for good, but without all that restriction, obsession and shame,
and without dragging it out for years.
Speaker 2 (35:33):
To address it.
Speaker 1 (35:34):
It's called Outweigh and you can find it wherever podcasts
are streamed. And if you're listening to this crossover series
on Outweigh, check out my other podcast called What's God
Got to Do With It? Where I talk about all
this self image and body image stuff but from the
perspective of where brain, science, intersex faith.
Speaker 2 (35:54):
It's called What's God Got to Do With It?
Speaker 1 (35:56):
And you can access it on iHeart or wherever you
get your podcasts.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
So that's it for.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
This episode of the What's God Got to Do With It?
And the outwagh podcast crossover series. I'm your host, Leanne Ellington,
and I'm so grateful to walk alongside you on this
beautiful journey. So thank you so much for listening, and
I hope you got whatever you needed.
Speaker 2 (36:14):
To get from it. Bye for now.
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