Rita Black: How many times have you lost weight only to gain it back? And then rinse and repeat, and rinse and repeat, that same cycle all over and over again, getting even more frustrated. That was Sarah, my guest on the Thin Thinking Podcast today. In our interview, Sarah shares how shifting her mindset was the key to taking off 30 pounds and now shifting into maintenance. If you’re curious about that vulnerable and sometimes scary transition into maintaining your weight and how different and yet similar it is to weight release, then this episode is the episode for you. Sarah shares some great inspiration and information that you’ll find useful on your own weight mastery journey, and I am excited to dive in with you.

Rita Black: Did you know that our struggle with weight doesn’t start with the food on your plate or get fixed in the gym? 80% of our weight struggle is mental. That’s right. The key to unlocking long-term weight release and management begins in your mind. Hi there, I’m Rita Black. I’m a clinical hypnotherapist weight loss expert, bestselling author, and the creator of the Shift Weight Mastery Process. And not only have I helped thousands of people over the past 20 years achieve long-term weight mastery, I am also a former weight struggler, carb addict and binge eater. And after two decades of failed diets and fad weight loss programs, I lost 40 pounds with the help of hypnosis. Not only did I release all that weight, I have kept it off for 25 years. Enter the Thin Thinking Podcast where you too will learn how to remove the mental roadblocks that keep you struggling. I’ll give you the thin thinking tools, skills and insights to help you develop the mindset you need, not only to achieve your ideal weight, but to stay there long term and live your best life.

Rita Black: Hey everybody, and hello and thank you all who wished me a happy birthday after last week’s episode. You were so thoughtful. 59 actually feels really good, and I am creating a big vision for 60. So watch out. Speaking of creating a vision, I would love you to join me for my live free masterclass. It’s called How to Break Through the Weight Struggle Cycle so that You Can Lose Weight Permanently. And in it, we’re gonna just take a deep dive into really key fundamental ways that you can start melting those subconscious beliefs and habits that keep you struggling. And we’re also gonna be doing some weight loss hypnosis, so please join us. The links are in the show notes.

Rita Black: I cannot wait for you to meet my guest, Sarah Haugen, who has released 30 pounds since starting her shift process and now has been maintaining for months. She’s a busy mother of two little ones with a full-time job, and the great thing is that she learned to put herself first and commit. She is now in maintenance mode and shares some very interesting insights that she has had about this sometimes vulnerable, yet empowering transition. So please join me in welcoming Sarah to the Thin Thinking Podcast.

Rita Black: Hello. Welcome, Sarah to the Thin Thinking Podcast. Thank you so much for being here today.

Sarah Haugen: Thanks for having me.

Rita Black: I’ve been telling our listeners a little bit about you and your journey but I’m sure they would like to know more about your history. Like how did you start, you know, struggling? When did you start struggling with your weight? Did you always struggle or did you start at a certain age?

Sarah Haugen: Yeah. When I think about my weight struggle, what, where I start are teenage years and having a lot of teenage emotions. Some things were going on in my family, and I discovered emotional eating when I was a teenager. So secret eating was something I took on, gosh, when I was 12 or 13, just kind of sneaking food to my bedroom and kind of associated that with you know, feeling better dealing with those emotions. Then I started working at a grocery store and I discovered like, oh, you can buy cake. So that was kind of dangerous. But you know, I I just always kind of thought I could start a diet at any time or lose the weight. I just need to figure that out. And so I just kind of always felt, you know, felt bigger because of some of those eating habits.

Sarah Haugen: And then I was thinking back by my freshman year in college, I was a size 18 and that just was bigger than I wanted to be. And so I just kind of was like, okay, I need to figure this out. And so the first kind of diet that I went on I discovered South Beach. I think my mom had the book. And so I just thought, okay, I just need to read this book and lose the weight. And I did! I followed it to a T, lost a chunk of weight and kept it off for probably 10 days. And then very quickly, you know, started back into former eating habits. Never really solved the emotional eating part of something that I’ve always struggled with. And so, you know, from there I always say I’ve gained and lost the same 20 pounds for 20 years, and that’s, you know, kind of where I ended up prior to finding the shift.

Sarah Haugen: So in addition to South Beach, I’d also tried weight Watchers a number of times, had different success with that. So, you know, and different kind of diets along, paying attention to like whole food plant-based. I liked that for a while and liked how healthy I felt on that, but then always kind of went back. So really it’s, I knew what to do, I knew kind of what to eat. It was really that emotional piece that is the string throughout kind of my weight struggle journey and kind of what I never really figured out for myself. I was always looking for kind of that silver bullet that would all of a sudden fix my mind and make it so I didn’t look to food.

Rita Black: Did you, I know you have two children and they’re twins and and girls and they’re five, so sweet. Did, when you were pregnant, when you gave birth and then, you know, for the five years now following prior to starting to shift, did that pose more of a challenge for you? Because I know you work full-time too, so you’re a busy, busy person.

Sarah Haugen: Yeah. Prior to becoming pregnant I was in following a pretty good diet had lost some weight, wanted my body to be kind of ready for pregnancy, so was feeling good going into that. And then found out I was pregnant with twins and was given permission by my doctor to gain 60 pounds. And that was just not a good prescription for someone who has struggled with overeating and emotional eating because pregnancy is an emotional time. So throughout my pregnancy, while I felt good and I felt healthy, I never did end up gaining that full 60 pounds, but I think like 50. But I mean, I was eating dessert for breakfast, lunch and dinner. My sweet tooth was outta control, but I was going on walks and drinking water and so, you know, felt healthy. But it was interesting to be kind of given that prescription to it’s okay to gain a bunch of weight where, you know, you’ve tried not to gain weight. So that, but I mean, that was a generally pretty healthy time in my life.

Rita Black: Yeah. How about the, once you had these two twins? I mean, these twins, and then caring for them and then caring for yourself and managing your weight, because I know we have parents of young kids who are struggling with time and everything too. Was that more of a struggle for you, or was that not too, did you feel like in the scope of your struggling with weight, it was just pretty much the same?

Sarah Haugen: Yeah, I mean, having two kids in a busy job and you know, it’s a lot to put yourself first in any of that and prioritize your weight loss or, you know, healthy mindset. I was able to, I’m trying to think, so when I had my kids I lost that weight that I put on really quickly and was able to keep that off. And then when I was done breastfeeding, that’s when the weight really started to come back on. And then we had the pandemic and I lost a bunch of weight during the pandemic by exercising, you’re not eating out, you’re not being social, right? So again, that kind of, I was back on that journey of gaining and losing that same 20 pounds throughout that time. But yeah, I mean, having kids, there’s kind of two things at play for me.

Sarah Haugen: One is not feeling like you have the time you know, time to exercise, time to meal plan, time to have a clear mind at the grocery store. Those kinds of things are all at play. But then also there’s a mindless eating piece that’s a big part of having kids around and their snacks and the things that they want to eat you know, are my trigger foods too. I love mac and cheese and goldfish and all those kinds of things. So, you know, those are around. So I have to figure out kind of how to be in that world. And you know, so that mindless eating is also kind of a boredom piece too. You’re, you know, you’re home with kids and you’re kind of looking for something to do, looking for something to kind of excite your brain.

Sarah Haugen: Well, sweets and mac and cheese kind of do that for me. Yeah. So, you know, kind of not only having that food around, but just kind of navigating who I was as a mom and how I was going to kind of fill the day was a big part of kind of how kids added another challenge. I I just felt like I was less in control of that. And I mean, yes, boredom and mindless eating, but also having kids is stressful. And I mean, I even felt this last night. If I’m feeling overwhelmed by parenting or stressful, I mean, my first intention is like, what can I eat? And so I’m aware of that now, but it’s, that doesn’t solve it. But again, I mean that again, that emotional string kind of going throughout my whole journey, emotional eating you know, I see that that’s a way that I deal with stress too. So yeah, that’s kind of the emotional rollercoaster that you go on and finding other ways to solve that beyond food.

Rita Black: Well, so now how did you find, because I don’t even even know the answer to this. How did you find the shift and hypnosis? Like what, how did that come across your path?

Sarah Haugen: Yeah, I had a friend who had quit smoking with hypnosis, and I kind of was intrigued by that. And I thought, gosh, if I could quit anything, it’d be emotional eating or overeating or whatever I called it at the time. And so I just kind of started doing some Googling, you know, is that a thing? Can you get hypnotized to eat less, basically. And I actually found a local woman in my area who did that. And so I had a consult with her and kind of talked about my history and she identified, you know, emotional eating as a struggle of mine and said, yeah, let’s have a couple sessions. And so I did and really liked it. And over the course of maybe two months, weight was kind of melting off, but I had those three sessions and that was it.

Sarah Haugen: It wasn’t like something you maintained. And so just one episode of traveling and I was pretty quickly back into old habits and wasn’t really given great tools to keep working with. It was more okay, I had my three sessions and then it’s like, oh, shoot, I lost it, you know? So then I was doing kind of more research, seeing, you know, are there more resources out there? Because I enjoyed the hypnosis sessions and I found your podcast. And so started listening to that and learning about you and your journey. And then it started following you on Instagram and you had a shift coming up. So I thought, here’s my chance. You know? I wasn’t a hundred percent committed. The timing wasn’t right. You know, there are all these things coming up, but it was like, Nope, I’ve gotta do this. I’ll get motivated by doing it. And so that was this past fall.

Rita Black: Oh, wow. Well, okay, cool. And what was, so you had enjoyed hypnosis, what did, and then, you know, you did the 30 day shift process, you did the live version where I was leading it. What happened in the process? Like what was helpful for you with, you know, like, I know you had done hypnosis before, but what was helpful about the actual process and the 30 days for you?

Sarah Haugen: Yeah. Well, I mean, with the hypnosis, hypnosis was just different than I thought it was going to be. You know? I think I’m remembering like a childhood carnival where there was a hypnotist there and they, you know, make you quack like a duck or something like that. It’s not that obviously. So I was like, I kind of thought it would be a one and done like three sessions and I would be, you know, cured or whatever. So, but I mean, what I’ve really enjoyed about the hypnosis is just how relaxing it is and the vision work and just kind of walking through my mind and kind of figuring some things out. There also with kids, I mean, it has kind of become a moment of self-care that I do this at night and it, you know, relaxes me to sleep. And then in the morning, the time for the morning meditation as well, there’s been times where my kids run in my room on a Saturday morning and I say, I’ll be with you in 10 minutes. I need to do my meditation. So even that is just a way, different way to start your day. And it doesn’t always work, but, you know. But when you talk process, are you talking the 30 day shift process?

Rita Black: Yeah. I guess I know like one of the things that we cover is skills. Like you had said you didn’t get skills when you had worked with the other hypnotist, and that this was a way to, like the nine skills of weight mastery. Did you find those helpful because that kind of creates a more of a platform for you to be empowered, for you to be the one in control?

Sarah Haugen: Yeah, definitely. I mean, as far as skills that are helpful, yeah. So to pair the mind work and the hypnosis with the skills, that was kind of the leg of the stool I was missing. So yeah, the skills not even like the really practical things like tracking and that kind of stuff, but the shift breath, that skill is life changing for me. Not only when it comes to food, but with my kids. I mean, I’m stressed, I’m overwhelmed, take a breath, you know, and I was kind of preaching that to them and myself even before finding the shift process. But it’s kind of true in all instances. You know, take a second, think about what you’re feeling, what’s gonna happen. That’s just, that’s been just really powerful for me as far as skills, so that’s like, that’s the big one that comes to mind. But yeah, tracking helps too, and how that gets you just into a science mindset. I’ve done other programs where, you know, you’re tracking and I think I’ve made it a day or two tracking on other programs, and so clearly something is clicking to make me continue to track, but now I’m at 260 days, I think I saw this morning of tracking, and that’s just amazing.

Rita Black: Yeah, I think the distinction between tracking, because I think a lot of people hear tracking and they’re like deprivation, dieting. The way we use tracking with the shift is to get cognitively correct. We are, and we think of it as a science rather than dieting. I don’t like that term dieting. It’s more, it empowers you to know, one, how much your body burns a day and the food you’re putting in it so that you are at choice. People are always surprised because tracking has such a bad reputation, but when they start to use it in this more cognitively correct way, it actually calms them down, gives them power, and allows them to really release weight at a rate they decide, which is something, I mean, did you find that was true with your journey of releasing 30 pounds and now starting to keep it off?

Sarah Haugen: Yeah, definitely. I mean, tracking is like the one thing I wouldn’t give up because there is that, a knowledge is power piece. So not only throughout release, I could see, you know, kind of do some of the math on, okay, if I, you know, this is what my calories look like, that puts me at this many calories for the week, that kind of thing. And now that I’m in maintenance, it really empowers me to see, you know, okay, so I did go a thousand calories over this week. That’s not even a pound, but I’m not quite loving that. I wanna, you know, think about that differently. So, okay, next week I’m gonna go on an extra run. And, you know, so you even just start to make it real as opposed to just, oh, I screwed up, kind of thinking.

Rita Black: What Sarah’s talking about is inner communication. Really, what the tracking allows is that extra step of really assessing and getting clear on things, and so that you have a respectful conversation with yourself. Like, well, we have some choices. What are we gonna do? Or even setting yourself up for success for the week if you’re traveling, knowing that, okay, well maybe I’m not gonna be in weight release mode, I’m gonna just maintain and having that ability to do that and eat more and not fear, okay, is this gonna make me gain or lose? Because I think when we aren’t aware, all we have is we’re being good or bad, we’re on or off. And that is where the brain gets trip wired into that all or nothing on or off mindset. So tracking when you’re using it correctly allows you that extra step to connect with yourself and communicate powerfully so that you can move through the moment, see, oh, you know what, I’m really not that off and I can just keep going and stay consistent. Because it really, it’s one of those skills that is all these studies equate it with long-term success, and the reason is how you use your brain differently when you’re doing it.

Rita Black: So with regards to maintenance, I mean, what, I know that you said that this is the lightest weight you’ve been ever, and that this is the longest you’ve maintained. You know? Walk us through that and walk us through how it’s been. And you can talk about the good and you can talk about the bad. Like, you know, what is, because I think people are always surprised by maintenance. You know? They, we always think of like, I can’t wait to like reach my ideal weight, but then we get there and we’re like, holy crap, what do I do now? Because we’re not used to it.

Sarah Haugen: Yeah. I mean, I think even that ideal weight has been an interesting journey for me because I started the shift not really knowing where I would level out, honestly. I was like, if I lose 10 pounds, I’d be thrilled. So I lost the 10 and then kept going and then kept going and then hit weights. That had been my goal. Weights on previous diets or, you know, and then kept going. And so it’s kind of where it’s leveled out is I was really, so I didn’t quite know I was in maintenance until I kind of hit there. And I like how my clothes are fitting, getting dressed is fun in the morning. I feel good in a bathing suit, feeling good in shorts. Those kinds of things are like, yep, those were all my goals. And so now where I’m at is, okay, this is, this feels like sustainable, maintenance to me.

Sarah Haugen: I mean, maybe there’ll be a future day where I say, gosh, I’d love to be down 10 more pounds and really, you know, kick into release mode, but, it’s for now, I’m good where I’m at. So yeah, I’m moving into more of a maintenance mindset, has just been interesting because I’m working a new muscle every day to kind of stay here and continue to work the skills, but in a little bit of a different way. You know? Incorporating some things back into my life that I didn’t, you know, do during release mode and being okay with that. But I’ve been a very all or nothing black or white thinker when it comes to weight release or maintenance. And so now I just really have to remind myself, you know, if I have that half a piece of cake or whatever, you know, that’s okay. Track it, move on. You know? You didn’t screw up anything there. And so just continuing to not be nervous about how I’m moving through the world and trusting myself has been yeah, a muscle. A muscle. I keep working every day.

Rita Black: Yeah. And I think a lot of what you’re saying makes a lot of sense. So often, I mean, I’m sure a lot of our listeners have lost weight and gotten to that ideal weight, and then there is just kind of this shift in your mind where you start, I think you were telling me before we turned on the record button like that, you know, the next day you might be eating something that would like then trigger you to want to eat more. And really why we focus on the nine skills is these skills are lifelong skills. It isn’t just about being on a diet, it is really about developing yourself and not just developing yourself as a weight loss person, but really developing all these mind skills, self-care skills, environmental skills that are really just about life. So I appreciate your walking people through, and it is, it’s maintenance is a mindset in and of itself.

Rita Black: I think the diet industry feeds us this idea, like we get to our ideal weight and we float off into the butterfly, you know, float off as a butterfly or unicorn, and then we’re in the happy ever after, but we’re still living in our brain and we’re still living in our body, and we now need to learn how to negotiate that. So I was, I was telling Sarah, because she’s going through her first summer as a weight maintainer, I said, yeah, you’re going through and you’re learning all of these new skills of managing the summer, like barbecues and travel, and those are things that we need to learn both as a weight releaser, but then as a weight maintainer. And I said, you will go through the fall and it will be this, you know, I know you’ve gone through the spring already, so it’s, it’s such a, but if you can frame it to yourself as the, oh, this is a new journey and I’m hitting new milestones.

Rita Black: Because once, the biggest problem I think, and maybe you can speak to this, Sarah, is that when we stop releasing the weight, we stop getting that dopamine hit on the scale and we have to start looking, we have to start creating that in other areas of our life. And people get, you know, bored. Boredom is one of the biggest killers of weight maintenance because they’re like, well, this, you know, nothing fun’s happening on the scale. So, you know, it’s, we start to move away from it and then it falls apart. So you know what, you know, in that place, in that, like the scale’s not moving anymore. How has that been for you?

Sarah Haugen: Yeah, so the scale isn’t moving and neither is my weight release chart. It’s just now like a heartbeat up and down, up and down. So yeah. You aren’t getting that kind of instant gratification of you know, oh, I’m working these skills and I’m seeing these results. I think the results that I’m looking at, and it’s less obvious, but just kind of what’s becoming natural and what do I need to continue to work on. I mean, need to continue to work on most of it, but you know, I think that’s where yeah, just what kind of do I need to repeat every day to kind of live this, this maintenance journey? And a lot of that is just continuing to work the skills. But yeah, I guess I haven’t really figured out kind of where, where to get that other, that dopamine hit. But, you know, we talk about vision and mindset, and so what is my maintenance vision as opposed to what was my weight release vision? I think a weight release vision is a lot, can be a lot more exciting in some ways because yes, I have this goal I’m getting to, and your, my maintenance vision is a little more abstract or maybe a harder to picture in some ways. So I’m working on building that vision and making that vision stronger so that that continues to pull me through the process as well.

Rita Black: Right. I think one thing that, I was talking to somebody else about this yesterday, another client, which was it’s, there’s the weight piece, but then there’s the freedom from the struggle piece. And that freedom is one of the things that we can always focus on like that, that we’re free. And, and I love also that you’re like, oh, I love getting dressed in the morning, you know, and not worrying about like, are these clothes gonna fit me? Or if we were talking about before we turned on record, you know, setting a great example, you know, what a great example you’re setting for your daughters as far as just like modeling self-care, healthy eating, you know, then they are growing up with a really, a mom who’s, you know, a leader in a way leading them through the minefield of weight and which is such a huge minefield, especially for the girls.

Sarah Haugen: Yeah. I mean, one of my visions I’ve thought about is I’ve seen parents who are kind of running alongside their kids who are biking, and I thought that I wanna be that mom for my kids. And so that’s, you know, that’s a motivator to exercise, to go running. But my girls are now at a point where they see me do exercises at home, or they’ve even seen me like just walking in play. I try to get 10,000 steps every day, and some days that’s a real struggle. And so I’m walking in place while they’re, you know, watching TV or whatever, and Mom, what are you doing? Well, I’m exercising. Why do you exercise? It feels good for my brain and my body, you know, and so like, they’re exercise is just part of what we do in our home, which is great. And so yeah, like that. So I see the relation between that kind of long-term vision and then what I’m kind of teaching day-to-day too.

Rita Black: Right. And it sounds like what you’ve created as well, just for me to highlight for our listeners, is that you’ve created a structure that’s repeatable for you, you know? And I do think that as you go through your first year of maintenance, your structure, we were talking about that as you go through different seasons as you go, that may change and flow. But it’s, and understanding that there’s a flexibility to this as well. Like, you just went traveling and that’s gonna be a completely different structure or a different mindset than when you’re at home and you’re, you’ve got all of your tools around you.

Sarah Haugen: Yeah.

Rita Black: Do you have, so this has been really, really helpful. Do you have any suggestions for anyone just, you know, who’s like, what’s the first step I should take with moving forward on a more powerful journey than just dieting on scale?

Sarah Haugen: Yeah. I mean, a few things come to mind that have just been really impactful for my journey, and it speaks to, you know, when I found the shift 30 day process, I had a bunch of limiting beliefs about why now wasn’t the time. And oh, I don’t know, I’m not quite motivated enough or, you know, I’ve always just kind of waited for motivation to strike and then but there’s really no perfect time to start. Life is always going to be happening, right? I found great success with just starting and momentum kind of comes from there. So, you know, if, if you’re waiting for the perfect time to start, or I can’t start before a holiday or I can’t start because a wedding is coming up or I can’t start because a trip is coming up, you will always be not starting.

Sarah Haugen: And so figuring out how to navigate through those situations is a huge part of releasing and maintaining weight. So that’s just maybe kind of the first thing that comes to mind. And, but then with that is the another big piece of this for me has been what you call, you know, moving in the direction of, as opposed to being perfect. So when you start, you know, you think I gotta be perfect or I’m, I’ve screwed it up, right? Or all or nothing thinking. And so the, I’m moving in that, that’s, I realize that’s kind of where I was by even, you know, listening to a hypnosis or thinking about, you know, my mindset. I’m moving in the direction of releasing weight, I’m moving in the direction of maintaining weight as opposed to being perfect on, on a diet or on a system that may or may not work for me.

Sarah Haugen: That those two are kind of related. And I guess just the final thing that comes to mind is I’ve, my whole life been just waiting for a silver bullet of like, I gotta find the program or the one hypnosis that, you know, solves everything for me. And it’s just so much bigger than that. You’re, you’re shifting your complete mindset. And that doesn’t happen in one day, in one month, in one year. You know, it’s a lifelong journey. And so I think whenever I’ve started on a, a more formal like diet program and I’ve thought, God is this, my life is this, and, and now I’m like, oh, this could be my life, this like, in a positive way. So it’s shifting that mindset of you get to work this for the rest of your life as opposed to have to as well.

Rita Black: I love that! That is so powerful. And I think that’s absolutely true is that when you start showing up for yourself with a more powerful inner speaking too, it changes how you see yourself, how you see your life, and it ultimately, you know, people do come to that realization, which is, there’s always that overwhelm of like, oh my gosh, this is a lifelong journey. And then it’s like, oh, great, this is something I like. I get to feel good and communicate powerfully with myself for the rest of my life. Well, that works for me. But I think, yeah, you’re absolutely right. That silver bullet idea just really takes so much power away from us. And you know, really we are the silver bullet. We are the answer we’re looking for or not something outside of us. So once you realize that, and sorry, using yourself and believing in yourself, that’s where the magic really happens.

Rita Black: So thank you Sarah, for being here today. I really appreciate all you’ve contributed and I hope you have a wonderful rest of your summer. And thank you for being here on the Thin Thinking Podcast.

Sarah Haugen: Thank you. It was great to be here.

Rita Black: Thank you, Sarah, for joining me and sharing your story. It was very inspiring and thank you listeners for being with me today. And just a reminder to head to the show notes to sign up for my free online masterclass coming up soon, How to Break Through the Weight Struggle Cycle so that You Can Lose Weight Consistently and Permanently. It’s on September 19th, and we are going to take a deep dive into the fundamental ways you can start shifting out of the subconscious beliefs that keep you struggling. And don’t forget, there’s gonna be some hypnosis too. So have a great week. I know that the key and probably the only key to unlocking the door of the weight struggle is inside you. So keep listening and find it. I will be with you next week.

Rita Black: You wanna dive deeper into the mindset of long-term weight release, head on over to www.shiftweightmastery.com. That’s wwwshiftweightmastery.com, where you’ll find numerous tools and resources to help you unlock your mind for permanent weight release tips, strategies, and more. And be sure to check the show notes to learn more about my book From Fat to Thin Thinking. Unlock Your Mind for Permanent Weight Loss.