She needed help with everyday chores, constantly thought about food, and felt trapped in a cycle of guilt, binge eating, and starting over. Her doctor recommended a GLP-1 medication, but Kristen decided she wanted to invest in building lifelong habits and improving her relationship with food.

Fast forward one year...

Kristen is down nearly 60 pounds, completed her first 5K, goes to the gym regularly, and says she has a running list of all the everyday things she can do now that she once took for granted.

In this emotional conversation, Kristen sits down with her dietitian, Sam, and Pivot founder Danielle to share what really changed over the last year. They discuss food noise, binge eating, mindset shifts, sustainable habits, and why this journey became about so much more than the number on the scale.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Kristen's life before coaching and the moment she knew she needed help
• What food noise and binge eating felt like
• The mindset shifts that changed her relationship with food
• Why she chose Pivot over a GLP-1 medication
• How she lost her first 40 pounds in less than six months
• The non-scale victories that mattered more than weight loss
• Advice for anyone who's waiting for the "perfect time" to start

If you don't recognize yourself or feel like you've been trying to lose weight "for as long as you can remember," this episode is for you.

That statement sparked this entire episode.

As dietitians, we hear this all the time—so Sam and I decided to put it to the test.

We each followed a fully planned, measured 1200-calorie day to see what it actually feels like—physically and mentally.

What we found wasn’t just hunger.

It was constant food thoughts, a scarcity mindset before the day even started, and already thinking about what to eat next before the day was even over.

In this episode, we break down:

• Why 1200 calories is nearly impossible to hit consistently without strict planning
• What it actually feels like to eat that little (physically + mentally)
• How “food noise” increases when you’re under-eating
• The “last supper” and “I earned this” mindset that leads to overeating
• Why volume eating only goes so far
• How this cycle keeps people stuck (restrict → overeat → repeat)

We also share exactly what we ate, how we felt throughout the day, and why eating as much as possible (while still in a deficit) is key for sustainable fat loss.

If you’ve ever felt stuck, frustrated, or like “nothing is working”… this episode will give you a whole new perspective.

Host:
Danielle Rancourt, MS, RD, CSSD, LD
Founder, CEO & Lead Dietitian, Pivot Nutrition Coaching

Connect with Dani:
https://www.instagram.com/dani_the_rd/

https://pivotnutritioncoaching.com/

Co-Host:
Samantha Ferguson, MS, RD
https://www.instagram.com/dietitian_samferg/