Emotional Eating, Willpower and Ozempic: The Psychology of Weight

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Almost every woman who sits down in Lareena Brown's room believes she has failed. She has done every diet there is, and somewhere along the way she decided the problem was her.

Lareena Brown is a clinical psychologist and ANZAED-credentialed eating disorder clinician who works with women on their relationship with food, weight, movement and their bodies. In this conversation she and Dr Shauna Watts unpick what a broken relationship with food actually looks like day to day, why willpower was never the mechanism that failed, and what a weight-neutral approach means in practice.

They also go where most conversations stop: GLP-1 medications, food noise, and the judgement women face for taking them.

If you have spent decades believing you lack discipline, this episode offers a different explanation and one small, specific place to start.

00:00 "People don't fail diets. Diets fail people."

01:47 What a broken relationship with food looks like day to day

03:10 Guilt, shame and a long history of yo-yo dieting

05:28 Willpower is mental energy, not character

06:41 The tyranny of "should", and perfectionism as a moving goalpost

11:07 The midlife collision: hormones, kids, ageing parents, career

13:17 When health advice becomes another full-time job

14:04 A note from Dr Shauna

14:41 What a non-diet, weight-neutral approach actually looks like

17:01 "I don't like exercise" and why that is like saying you don't like colours

20:01 Moving in a larger body: physical discomfort, self-consciousness, stigma

24:18 Strangers, family, and the judgements people feel entitled to make

26:43 Losing your hunger and fullness cues, and how to rebuild them

29:56 The four hungers: stomach, heart, mouth and head

32:26 Uncoupling health from weight: the markers that actually matter

34:43 Skipping meals, drinking your calories, and the night-time overeat

37:58 GLP-1 medications and a weight-neutral approach: can they coexist?

40:54 Why a prescription is not a treatment plan

43:35 Food noise, and the calm that descends when it stops

46:54 "We're not giving people a shot of willpower"

50:25 What the medication does not fix: emotions, eating patterns, trauma

54:11 Is it ever too late? Neuroplasticity and an 80-year-old client

55:33 Start with the easiest thing, not the hardest

56:13 How to work with Lareena, and how to find the right clinician

59:39 Dr Shauna's three takeaways

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shauna-watts-a903a5247

Resources mentioned:

Why Weight Psychology: https://www.whyweightpsychology.com.au

Finding a clinician who works at this intersection connect·ed, the ANZAED directory of credentialed eating disorder clinicians: https://connected.anzaed.org.au

InsideOut Institute Treatment Services Database (search by postcode for psychologists, dietitians, GPs, programs and support groups): https://insideoutinstitute.org.au/treatment-services

Butterfly Foundation: https://butterfly.org.au

Disclaimer: This podcast and any information, advice, opinions or statements within it do not constitute medical, health care or other professional advice. Information is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only.