EP 252: "I Hate My Stomach, Now What?" Real Talk + 7 Tools for Your Food Freedom Journey🩷

"Lindsey, I hate my stomach. I can't stop thinking about it. It's ruining my day, my mood, my recovery. What do I do?"

If your stomach is your biggest trigger in recovery - if you can't stop looking at it, obsessing over whether it looks bigger, spiraling every time you see your reflection - this episode is for you, girlfriend.

Host Lindsey Nichol gets real about stomach hate in recovery and shares something her client needed to hear today: "I may not love my stomach every day, but if I'm being honest? I didn't love my stomach every day when I was in the trenches of my eating disorder either."

So here's the question: Which hard do you want?

Hard #1: Hating your stomach while you're restricting, obsessing, body checking, over-exercising, and missing your life.

Hard #2: Sometimes not loving your stomach, but being FREE. Living your life. Eating with family. Being present. Having energy.

Both are hard. But only one leads to freedom.

In this episode, Lindsey shares her own stomach struggles - how she used to search for evidence it was "blowing up," how it would send her into spirals of restriction and over-exercise, and what she does NOW on the days when she doesn't love her stomach. Plus, she gives you 7 practical tools you can use on your hardest days.

This is real talk with practical help. No toxic positivity. No "just love yourself." Just honest truth and actionable tools for when your stomach triggers you.

In This Episode, You'll Hear:

Lindsey's Stomach Story: The Disorder Days

• How she was super conscious of her stomach feeling or looking bigger
• Searching for evidence it was "blowing up" - every mirror, reflection, window
• The spirals: restriction, over-exercise, mood switches
• Feeling out of control and reacting - being short or avoidant with loved ones
• How stomach hate controlled her entire day, every day

The Truth Bomb: Choose Your Hard

• Hard #1: Hating your stomach while trapped in the eating disorder
• Hard #2: Sometimes not loving your stomach but being FREE
• The reality: Even at her lowest weight, Lindsey STILL didn't love her stomach
• The question: What other options do you have?
• Why you have to choose which hard you want to live with

Why the Stomach Specifically?

• Why the stomach is such an easy target for self-criticism
• How society and social media have trained us to hate our stomachs
• Why the stomach becomes the "safe" target instead of dealing with real feelings
• The truth: Restriction makes stomach issues WORSE (digestion, bloating)
• Reality check: Stomachs are SUPPOSED to change throughout the day
• Aren't stomachs supposed to be FULL? That's their job

What Lindsey Does NOW on Hard Days

• Wears baggy clothes, not restrictive clothing
• Avoids opportunities to stare in the mirror and body check
• Reminds herself of the truth: stomachs are allowed to change
• Thinks about her little girl self who never cared about her stomach
• Remembers being pregnant and LOVING watching her stomach grow
• Accepts that not loving her stomach doesn't mean she's failed

The Shift That Changed Everything

• The realization: She was NEVER going to like her stomach at any size or weight
• Her stomach wasn't the problem - it was a tool for self-sabotage
• Used stomach hate when feeling out of control or "not enough"
• The only way through was acceptance and perspective shift
• Understanding that stomach hate is usually about something else entirely

7 Tools for Your Hardest Days

1. Stop the Body Checking - Walk away from mirrors, put on baggy clothes
2. Ask the Real Question - What am I really feeling? What am I avoiding?
3. Function Over Form - Your stomach digests food, that's its job
4. Remember Your Little Girl Self - You didn't care about your stomach as a kid
5. Choose Your Hard - Trapped and hating it OR free and sometimes not loving it
6. Wear Comfortable Clothes - Stop punishing yourself with restrictive clothing
7. Talk Back to the Voice - "My stomach is allowed to change and that's okay"

Key Takeaways:

✨ You didn't love your stomach in the disorder either - so what are you really choosing?

✨ There are two hards: choose yours - trapped with stomach hate OR free with occasional stomach discomfort

✨ Your stomach is not the problem - it's a symptom, a distraction from real feelings

✨ Restriction makes stomach issues WORSE - bloating, digestion problems increase with restriction

✨ Stomachs are supposed to change - throughout the day, after meals, when sitting vs standing

✨ The stomach is an easy target - easier to hate your stomach than deal with underlying fears

✨ You'll never be satisfied at any size - if stomach hate is really about control and self-sabotage

✨ Body checking makes it worse - the more you look, the more you spiral

✨ Function over form - your stomach's job is to digest food, not be flat 24/7

✨ Little girl you didn't care - the goal isn't loving your stomach, it's living without it controlling you

✨ You don't have to love it to live - freedom doesn't require stomach love, just stomach acceptance

Powerful Quotes from This Episode:

• "I may not love my stomach every day, but if I'm being honest? I didn't love my stomach every day when I was in the trenches of my eating disorder either"
• "Your stomach is a huge pain point in recovery. I get it. I've been there. It's real, it's valid, and it's one of the hardest parts"
• "I would search - like literally SEARCH - for evidence that it was blowing up"
• "My mood would switch on a dime. I'd feel totally out of control"
• "Your stomach doesn't have to control you. It doesn't have to dictate your mood, your choices, or your day"
• "Both are hard. But which hard do you want?"
• "Even at my lowest weight, I STILL didn't love my stomach. Even then. Even at my sickest"
• "So what other options do you have? Stay in the disorder and hate your stomach, or recover and sometimes not love it but have your LIFE back"
• "The stomach is easy for us to tear ourselves apart over"
• "Restriction makes stomach issues WORSE. When you're not eating enough, your digestion slows down. You get more bloated"
• "Aren't stomachs supposed to be full? That's their job. To hold food. To digest. To nourish you"
• "I was never going to like my stomach. No matter my size. No matter my weight"
• "Hating my stomach wasn't actually about my stomach. It was just a part of me that I used to self-sabotage when I felt out of control or not enough"
• "When you hate your stomach, ask yourself: What am I really afraid of right now?"
• "99% of the time, it's not actually your stomach"
• "You don't have to love your stomach to live your life. You don't have to love your stomach to recover"
• "Your stomach is not the enemy. Your stomach is just a stomach. It's allowed to exist. It's allowed to change. It's allowed to be full"
• "Choose your hard, girlfriend. Choose freedom"

The 7 Tools Explained: Tool #1: Stop the Body Checking

When you feel the urge to look in the mirror, pull your shirt tight, or analyze your stomach - STOP. Literally stop. Walk away. Do something else. Put on baggy clothes. The more you body check, the worse the obsession gets.

Tool #2: Ask the Real Question

Stop asking "Why does my stomach look like this?" and start asking "What am I really feeling right now? What am I avoiding?" Get to the root. Your stomach is almost never the actual problem.

Common real feelings underneath stomach hate:

• Feeling out of control in some area of life
• Fear about something coming up
• Feeling "not enough" in comparison to others
• Anxiety about a situation
• Avoiding deeper emotional work

Tool #3: Function Over Form

Remind yourself: Your stomach digests food. It nourishes you. It expands when you eat because that's its JOB. It's not supposed to be flat 24/7. That's not realistic, healthy, or even possible.

Tool #4: Remember Your Little Girl Self

You didn't care about your stomach as a kid. You just lived. You played. You ate. You didn't analyze your body. THAT is the goal - not loving your stomach every day, just LIVING without it controlling you.

Also remember: When you were pregnant (if applicable), you LOVED watching your stomach grow. You celebrated what your body could do. Why do you hate it now?

Tool #5: Choose Your Hard

On the hard days, say this out loud: "I can hate my stomach and be trapped in restriction, obsession, and isolation - OR I can sometimes not love my stomach but be FREE to live my life. Which hard do I want?"

Tool #6: Wear Comfortable Clothes

Stop punishing yourself with restrictive clothing. Stop wearing things that make you hyper-aware of your stomach all day. Wear what feels good. Your comfort matters more than how your stomach looks. Baggy clothes aren't "giving up" - they're choosing peace.

Tool #7: Talk Back to the Voice

When that critical voice says "Your stomach is too big," you talk back with truth:

• "My stomach is allowed to change"
• "My stomach is doing its job"
• "My stomach does not define my worth"
• "I didn't love my stomach at my lowest weight either, so this isn't about size"
• "Stomachs are supposed to be full"

Questions to Reflect On:

About Your Stomach Hate:

• When did you first start hating your stomach?
• What do you do when you hate your stomach? (body check, restrict, over-exercise, avoid people?)
• Does hating your stomach actually solve anything?
• Did you love your stomach at your lowest weight? (Be honest)

About the Real Feelings:

• What are you REALLY feeling when you hate your stomach?
• What are you avoiding by focusing on your stomach?
• When does stomach hate show up most? (after meals, stressful situations, comparison moments?)
• What would happen if you couldn't focus on your stomach anymore - what would you have to deal with?

About Your Choices:

• Which hard do you want: trapped and hating it OR free and sometimes not loving it?
• What is stomach hate costing you? (relationships, experiences, peace, presence?)
• What would change if your stomach wasn't your focus anymore?
• Are you ready to stop letting your stomach control your life?

About Your Little Girl Self:

• When was the last time you thought about your body the way you did as a little girl?
• What would little-girl-you think about how much time you spend hating your stomach?
• What did you do with your time before stomach hate consumed you?

Who This Episode Is For:

This episode is essential listening if you:

• Hate your stomach and it's ruining your recovery
• Can't stop body checking your stomach throughout the day
• Search for "evidence" your stomach is getting bigger
• Spiral into restriction or over-exercise when you hate your stomach
• Let your stomach dictate your mood, choices, and entire day
• Feel triggered by your stomach after every meal
• Compare your stomach to everyone else's
• Thought you'd love your stomach in recovery but you don't
• Feel like your stomach is the one body part you can't accept
• Need real talk and practical tools, not toxic positivity
• Are stuck between hating your stomach in the disorder vs. sometimes not loving it in freedom
• Need permission to not love your stomach but live your life anyway

Important Truths About Stomachs in Recovery:

Stomachs Change Throughout the Day:

• Flatter in the morning
• Fuller after meals
• Different when sitting vs. standing
• Bloated sometimes (especially in recovery)
• This is NORMAL and HEALTHY

Restriction Makes It Worse:

• Slows digestion
• Increases bloating
• Creates more discomfort
• Makes you MORE obsessed with your stomach

Stomach Hate Is Usually About Something Else:

• Control issues
• Fear and anxiety
• Feeling "not enough"
• Comparison to others
• Avoiding deeper feelings

You Didn't Love It at Your Lowest Weight Either:

• If you still hated your stomach at your sickest, size isn't the issue
• Stomach hate is a symptom, not the problem
• No amount of restriction will make you love it

Function Over Form:

• Your stomach's job is to digest food
• It's supposed to expand after eating
• It's supposed to be FULL
• Flat stomachs 24/7 are not realistic or healthy

What Lindsey Does Now (Practical Examples):

Morning Routine:

• Puts on comfortable, baggy clothes first thing
• Avoids standing in front of mirror analyzing
• Brushes teeth, does hair, moves on
• Doesn't give herself opportunity to spiral

After Meals:

• Expects stomach to be fuller - that's its job
• Reminds herself: "Stomachs are supposed to be full"
• Doesn't body check or analyze
• Focuses on how she FEELS, not how she LOOKS

On Triggering Days:

• Acknowledges: "I don't love my stomach today and that's okay"
• Asks: "What am I really feeling? What's really bothering me?"
• Remembers: "I didn't love it in the disorder either - choose your hard"
• Takes action on the real feeling instead of obsessing about stomach

Clothing Choices:

• Wears what feels comfortable, not what's restrictive
• Doesn't punish herself with tight clothes
• Chooses outfits that let her focus on living, not analyzing

The "Choose Your Hard" Framework:

Hard Option #1: Hating Your Stomach While Trapped

• Constant body checking
• Restriction and over-exercise
• Mood swings and irritability
• Avoiding loved ones
• Missing life experiences
• Obsessive thoughts
• Still hating your stomach anyway

Hard Option #2: Sometimes Not Loving It But Being Free

• Eating meals with family
• Having energy for life
• Being present in moments
• Not spending hours body checking
• Living without constant obsession
• Having relationships
• Experiencing joy
• Still sometimes not loving your stomach

The Question: Which hard do you want?

The Truth: You're going to have hard days with your stomach either way. At least in recovery, you get your LIFE back.

Ready for Support?

Option 1: The Recovery Collective Join Lindsey's group coaching program where you'll get:

• Community support from women who understand
• Weekly guidance and tools
• Accountability for hard days
• Strategies for stomach triggers and body image struggles

Option 2: One-on-One Personalized Coaching work directly with Lindsey for:

• Custom plan for YOUR triggers and challenges
• Weekly support and accountability
• Tools specific to your recovery journey
• Personal guidance through the hardest moments

Learn more about both options at www.herbestself.co

You don't have to navigate stomach hate alone. Let's walk through this together.

Connect with Lindsey

• Website: www.herbestself.co 
• Private Facebook Community: Her Best Self Society www.herbestselfsociety.com 
• 1:1 Client Applications: HBS Co. Recovery Coaching - Client Application - Google Forms

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About the Host

Lindsey Nichol is a former competitive figure skater turned God-led entrepreneur, boy mom, and digital CEO. She understands how core beliefs formed in childhood can create and maintain eating disorder patterns, and she's passionate about helping women identify and transform these beliefs to find lasting freedom.

If this episode helped you feel hopeful again and remember your worth isn't found in your body or on your plate, please share it with someone who needs to hear this message. Your support helps more women break the chains of limiting beliefs.

*While I am a certified health coach, anorexia survivor & eating disorder recovery coach, I do not intend the use of this message to serve as medical advice. Please refer to the disclaimer here in the show & be sure to contact a licensed clinical provider if you are struggling with an eating disorder.