Today’s episode kicks off a four-week series Michelle recorded before heading to Morocco—so your feed stays nourished while she’s away. She starts by naming a trap many of us fell into this month: believing that if we just grit our teeth and push harder, everything will fall into place. That belief is intoxicating because it promises control, but in practice it leaves us exhausted, irritable, and convinced the problem is our character—rather than our capacity.

We zoom out to the bigger picture: how diet culture, fitness culture, and hustle culture all glorify discipline. Michelle shares how this showed up for her (from “no eating after 7 p.m.” to six-day workout rules) and how the inevitable pendulum swing—restriction, then rebellion—fed shame and eroded confidence beyond food into work, relationships, and daily life.

From there, she breaks down the science in plain language. Willpower functions like a battery: decisions, stress, and energy output drain it across the day, which is why 9 p.m. cookies feel harder to navigate than 9 a.m. ones. More importantly, when your nervous system is in survival mode (hello, big emotions, illness, or an ER shift full of high-stakes calls), your “chimp brain” is focused on keeping you alive, not on helping you stick to a plan. Trying to muscle through from that state isn’t a character flaw—it’s biology working exactly as designed.

The middle of the episode gets wonderfully practical. Michelle contrasts rigid rules with living rhythms—sleep, meals, movement—that bend without breaking. She shares how choosing “audio only” last week (skipping the usual YouTube/blog/Substack blitz) honoured her capacity and kept the podcast streak alive. You’ll also hear how she and Rob set up systems and a supportive environment (like regular fridge/pantry resets) so the path of least resistance becomes the nourishing one.

We close with five shifts to try this week, framed as invitations rather than prescriptions: meet yourself with compassionate curiosity (“What’s making this hard right now?”), tend your nervous system before you task-master yourself, build flexible rhythms instead of brittle rules, let your environment do the heavy lifting, and practise self-trust—listening in and responding—so behaviour change feels collaborative, not combative.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why “just try harder” is a broken strategy for long-term change, even when it briefly “works.”
• How decision fatigue and stress physiology deplete willpower across the day.
• Why your brain prioritizes safety over discipline when you’re overwhelmed—and how to work with that, not against it.
• The difference between rules and rhythms, and how rhythms reduce all-or-nothing thinking.
• Five concrete ways to replace willpower with trust-based support.

Series roadmap (what’s coming next):

Part 2 (Ep. 223): The Myth of Food Addiction — a science-grounded rethink of why certain foods feel so charged.

Part 3 (Ep. 224): The Myth that Thin = Healthy — what the evidence actually shows, and how stigma harms health.

Part 4 (Ep. 225): The Myth of Control — why gripping tighter creates rebellion, and what trust makes possible.

Links & resources mentioned:

Michelle references her “chimp brain” shorthand for the survival-focused part of the brain and the idea of willpower as a finite battery—both used here as accessible metaphors to explain stress physiology and decision fatigue.

Programs & support from Michelle: Nourish Yourself: Body+Mind

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If this episode helped you rethink willpower, follow/subscribe so you don’t miss the rest of the series. Share it with a friend who’s stuck in the “try harder” loop, and if you have a minute, leave a quick rating or review—it helps more people find Thrive Beyond Size.