Bad habits take a long time to form. They can form without you even realising you are forming them. Did you know it takes on average 66 days before a bad habit can be broken? And breaking bad eating habits is unequivocally a damn site harder than forming them.

And this is how I ended up where I am today. Weighing the heaviest I have ever weighed and nearly double the weight I was at the beginning of my pregnancy nearly 16 years ago. Now, I know I am on the body positivity train and off the diet wagon. And I have no issue with that at all. I do not want to conform to someone else’s view of what is and isn’t healthy. Especially faceless strangers online who have nothing better to do than be judgemental and critical of other peoples lives to fit a glaringly obvious hole in their own lives.

Breaking Bad Eating Habits

But. What I do have a problem with is my bad relationship with food. I am your classic binge eater. Gorging on chocolate and junk food all day every day and avoiding the fruit bowl and salad draw as much as possible.

I have often wondered why I can’t just eat like normal people. Why can’t I not binge on junk food and stop eating when I am full. But, life would be boring if we were all the same, right? It just means that I will need to work harder to keep my appetite in check.

As a person who has tried many, many different diets and inevitably jumped off the wagon after mere days, I do not do well with food restrictions of any kind. There seems to be something hard-wired into my brain to tell me otherwise.

That was until I remembered something called Slimpod. A few years ago, I won the chance to receive a free sugar pod to curb my chocolate cravings. I listened to it for a few weeks, and for me, it definitely helped me curb those munchies. Then I got a new phone, the file for the pod was lost, and I forgot all about it until I decided to rejoin the world of Twitter recently.

Can Slimpod Help You to Lose Weight?

Slimpod is an audio file you listen to every single day. Coming in at just under 9 minutes long, it uses gentle persuasion techniques to help you learn to control your cravings and naturally move from eating too much to having a more healthy, balanced diet without any actual dieting.

The gentle persuasion helps you to get your brain on side. Let’s face it, a lot of the time, your brain is what makes you give in to your cravings. Flipping the switch, so to speak, can make or break or break for people who want to lose weight. And taking the focus off losing weight per se, and building more normal food relationships and habits means you can then see weight loss as a benefit of your new eating habits rather than the sole reason to follow the plan.

It makes sense that breaking bad eating habits that have taken hold over many years will need time to break, which won’t happen overnight. Instead, it will be through consistent small changes and motivation every day. And this is where the Slimpod really comes into play. Other pods are also available to listen to during the course, including a sugar pod for those all-important sugar cravings, a fit pod to help ease you back into working out and a chill pod for, yep, you guessed it, helping to relax you.

I have been listening to the Slimpod since the beginning of March. Some days, I feel like there isn’t anything happening. Other days I feel like my whole attitude towards food has changed. Only when I look back can I actually see the changes that are happening and assess if I am really breaking bad eating habits I have or if I am kidding myself.

Breaking Bad Eating Habits Thanks to Slimpod

Diet Pre Slimpod (not every day but most definitely typical)

• Breakfast – Tassimo Caramel Latte, Sausage Sandwiches (4 Sausages and 4 Slices of Buttered Bread)
• Snacks – Chocolate bar or bag of chocolate usually around the 100g size
• Lunch – Sauage Rolls (usually 1 large or 3 standard-sized) or Sandwiches/Microwave pizzas x2
• Snacks – Pack of Wagon Wheels or multiple Muffins or Cakes
• Dinner – Takeaway usually consisting of Salt and Pepper Chicken and chips or Cheeseburger and Chips
• Snacks – More Chocolate or Ice Cream

As you can clearly see, I was consuming a lot of food and many foods that are really unhealthy. It was a vicious circle of overeating and indulging in sugary foods, which I was well of, and I knew this was the reason for my weight gain coupled with being more inactive than I usually am. Something, at some point, had to give.

6 weeks later, I now listen to my Slimpod program every day. At first, it was every night before I went to sleep. After a few weeks, I didn’t think it helped as I was still binging on food, not as much as previously, but still periods of overeating.

I switched it up to listening to my pod of a morning with my coffee, and for me, this is the ideal time. I am noticing changes to my eating and it seems like I am breaking bad eating habits I have. But I am also noticing changes to my mindset and my behaviour. I am also finding my body is slipping naturally into a 16:8 intermittent fasting schedule as I don’t always get hungry first thing in the morning.

• Breakfast – Coffee and piece of fruit if hungry
• Lunch – Sandwich or wrap with salad
• Snacks – small bar of chocolate and or fruit if hungry
• Dinner – Anything that can be eaten with a side of veg and cooked in the air fryer.
• Snacks – Something small if hungry

Lifestyle Changes Listening to the Slimpod

These days, I am finding it so much easier to get up and get moving. I am working out each day, and I no longer think about food all the time or feel ravenous immediately after eating. I am more thoughtful with what I eat, and I have noticed, I want to cook more, and I am ordering fewer takeaways, limiting it to once or twice a week instead of most nights.

I still find myself gravitating towards the treat cupboard and fridge during the day, but I often come away without food. If I do decide to eat in between meals, I am eating less. My life is no longer revolving around food. I have to mention, a known side effect of the medication I take is an increased appetite. I am learning to lean into it and not feel guilty if I need to eat more on certain days. My medication does not cause me to overeat every day, but randomly some days, I am hungrier than other days.

A knock-on effect of this is that I am feeling happier about myself. My eating is no longer causing me guilt. I can accept that sometimes I will overeat and I will eat the wrong thing. But it isn’t the end of the world, and one bad day doesn’t mean I need to feel bad. No foods are off-limits. Nothing is wrong or forbidden, and I am finally feeling better about my relationship with food.

Does Slimpod Work?

For me, for now, this is exactly the result I wanted. Am I losing weight? I have no idea. I do not weigh myself, but I do feel healthier, and any weight loss I experience will be measured in how my clothes fit. Because at first, my eating needed to be under control before making any other changes and initiating any food swaps. And I am most definitely breaking bad eating habits I have formed over the years.

If you are to ask me if Slimpod works, then my answer will always be yes. As the Slimpod team say, trust the process, and the changes will happen. And I am trusting the process 100%.

The Slimpod program is £99 payable over 3 monthly instalments of £33 per month for 3 months. There is currently a 10-day free trial. I have paid for the program myself and I have not been asked to review or place affiliate links to Slimpod.