When Stress Wins for a While, The Dark Place, Learning to Act Myself Out

Stopping Sweets, The Panic Of Letting Go, What Smoking Taught Me, Learning To Cope Without A Crutch

I've made a decision. For now, I've stopped eating sweets completely. And honestly, it's making me a bit twitchy. In this episode I'm talking about why giving up chocolate, biscuits, cakes and all the other sugary comfort foods feels so much bigger than just changing what I eat. I've been comparing it a lot to stopping smoking and changing my relationship with alcohol, and finding a lot of parallels. I'm talking about: * Why I keep reaching for sweet stuff when life feels uncomfortable * The relief I get from eating it * Why I don't think it actually solves anything * The connection between procrastination and comfort eating * What smoking taught me about changing habits * Why I'm scared of letting this one go * The experiment I'm starting and where my head is at right now This is basically a real-time account of me trying to work out whether I can learn to deal with stress, pressure and uncomfortable feelings without reaching for sugary comfort foods.

The Panic Of Letting Go Comfort Eating, Sweets & Facing The Truth

⚠️ Trigger warning: This episode contains discussion of binge eating, self-induced vomiting, disordered eating behaviours, comfort eating and weight struggles. This is a very raw one. I don't have a solution. I don't have a plan. I don't have a neat ending where I've figured everything out. This is basically a real-time account of where my head is at right now. I've reached a point where I don't like what I see in photos and videos anymore, and I'm trying to work out what to do with that. The obvious answer is to lose some weight. The less obvious bit is that losing weight means looking honestly at my relationship with sweets, comfort eating and all the stories I've carried around food for most of my life. And honestly? The thought of changing that makes me feel a bit panicky. In this episode I talk about growing up around overeating, binge eating, using food for comfort, my complicated history with diets, and why I feel like I'm standing at a crossroads with all of this.

Creating Unnecessary Stress, Learning to Come Back Faster, Why AI Has Become Part of My Recovery

Why can something as simple as renewing a driver's licence feel completely overwhelming? In this episode, I talk about how I managed to create far more stress than the situation deserved, why the worrying was harder than the actual task, and what happened when my nervous system finally decided it had had enough. I also share one of the biggest changes I've made over the last year: learning how to come back faster when life knocks me off course. Instead of disappearing for weeks or months, I'm learning to understand what's happening and get back on track without turning every setback into a crisis. And yes, I talk openly about AI, why I still feel reluctant to mention it, the concerns I still have about it, but why the check-ins have become such a powerful tool in helping me understand my habits, my stress, and myself.

Disappearing Again, Missing the People Who Kept It Real, My 100 Day Challenge

A virus knocked me sideways, my routines went out the window, and before I knew it I'd stopped podcasting, stopped posting, and convinced myself I had nothing worth saying. But this episode made me realise something. I recently found myself missing a creator whose videos helped me through some difficult times. Not because he was perfect. Not because he had all the answers. Simply because he documented the journey honestly. And it got me thinking. Maybe we never really know who's quietly listening. Maybe we never know who needs to hear that they're not the only one struggling to get back on track. In this episode I talk about: * Why I keep disappearing when life gets messy * The creator I miss and what he taught me * A conversation that reminded me why I started sharing in the first place * The small influence we all have, whether we realise it or not * My new 100-day challenge to show up consistently

Holiday Booked, Old Triggers Back, Why Mounjaro Can't Ever Be My Solution

We booked a holiday. Egypt. Five stars. Caves hotel. Fred and Wilma style. First proper trip as a couple in over twenty years — basically a very late honeymoon. And within about thirty seconds of booking it, my old brain did exactly what it always does. The panic, the timeline, the "I need to do something." And yes — Mounjaro crossed my mind. Of course it did. It's everywhere. But here's why it will never be my solution. Not now, not for this holiday, maybe not ever. Because I'm not overweight because I'm hungry. Hunger is genuinely the last reason I eat. And no medication fixes what's actually broken underneath. This episode is also an honest update on my streak system — including the chocolate cheesecake day that nearly went off the rails and didn't. And what I'm actually planning to do in Egypt. Spoiler: absolutely nothing differently. If you've ever felt that familiar panic the second something nice gets booked — this one's for you. I'm Petra. Don't come to me for advice.