It’s Not You

Maybe you think you’re a “food addict”, and that’s it’s all your fault and if you just had more “self-control” and “willpower”… but what if I said, the problem is NOT you?!

If you’re beating yourself up over relentless cravings, thinking it’s your fault or a lack of willpower, stop! Overeating can stem from emotional triggers like loneliness, stress, boredom, or sadness—if this sounds like you, read his article, take my quiz, and get my tips—but if your hunger is a raw, physical pull, it’s likely driven by a rigged food system, bad dietary advice, and biology, not personal failure. This article unpacks the physical reasons women get stuck in this cycle and how to break free to live bold.

Why Do You Overeat? Let Me Count the Ways

Your physical cravings aren’t about weakness—they’re driven by biology and manipulation. Here’s the raw truth:

1. The Food Industry is Playing Dirty

The food industry spends billions researching how to make you crave their products. In the 1980s, cigarette giants like Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds, who bought up brands like Kraft, General Foods, and Nabisco, brought their tobacco tricks to food, crafting hyper-palatable products like Oreos and Kool-Aid to keep you hooked. Other food companies followed suit, adopting these tactics to churn out addictive snacks and drinks. They engineer foods with the perfect mix of fillers, additives, sugars, and artificial flavors to hit your brain’s reward center like a slot machine. It’s no accident you can’t “eat just one” chip or cookie—they’re designed to override your body’s natural signals. The more you eat, the more they profit. Those cravings are a chemical hijack, keeping you hooked.

2. The “Healthy Eating” Myth is BS

You’ve been fed lies about what’s “healthy.” For years, we’ve been told to swap butter for vegetable oils, go “plant-based” to save our hearts, and avoid meat, cholesterol, and saturated fats like the plague. But that’s nonsense. Those “healthy” vegetable oils and margarine? They’re often inflammatory and linked to chronic disease. Plant-based diets alone can leave you nutrient-deficient, craving more to fill the gaps. And meat, cholesterol, and saturated fats? They’re not the enemy—they’re essential for your brain, hormones, and mental clarity, helping curb those relentless sugar cravings. The “healthy” foods we’ve been sold are often driving addiction, wrecking our health, and stealing our energy.

3. The SAD Diet Starves Your Body

The Standard American Diet (SAD) is a disaster. It’s packed with processed carbs, sugars, and fake foods that leave your body screaming for real nutrition. When you eat this way, your body doesn’t get the vitamins, minerals, or healthy fats it needs to function. So, it keeps sending hunger signals, begging for more, even if you’re eating all day. You’re not weak—you’re overfed and undernourished. No matter how much you pile on your plate, those processed foods can’t satisfy your body’s deeper nutritional needs. It’s like trying to fuel a car with sugar syrup—it’ll sputter and stall.

Ready to get your mind blown? Read on

4. Your Cravings Aren’t Even Yours

Brace for a truth bomb most diet experts miss: Those intense physical cravings for sweets, chips, or soda? They might not be yours! If you’ve been eating the SAD diet, your gut has become a playground for pathogenic bacteria, yeasts, and microbes that thrive on sugars and processed carbs. These critters are like tiny parasites, manipulating your brain to demand the foods they need to survive. That 3 PM cookie obsession? It could be those gut bugs throwing a tantrum. You’re battling a biological takeover, not just your own habits.

5. Toxins Are Sabotaging Your Efforts

Here’s another shocker even many diet gurus overlook: Toxins in your fat cells could be why you’re stuck! You’ve heard it a million times: “Just eat less, move more, and you’ll lose weight.” If only it were that simple! If you’ve been eating the SAD diet, no matter how much you sweat at the gym or cut calories, that stubborn fat might not budge. Why? Your body could be holding onto toxins—pesticides, herbicides, and chemicals from processed foods, water, the environment, even your personal care products. These nasties, along with heavy metals, get stored in your fat cells. It’s your body’s way of locking away toxic chemicals to protect your organs from damage. So, while you’re killing it on the treadmill, your body’s like, “Nope, I’d rather keep you fat than let these toxins wreak havoc.” The food industry’s chemical-laden junk doesn’t just fuel cravings—it loads you with poisons that make weight loss a battle. You’re not failing; you’re fighting a rigged system that’s turned your body into a toxin storage unit.

The Real Cost of This Mess

These physical cravings, fueled by the food industry and the SAD diet, aren’t just about food—they’re hijacking your life. They’re:

• Draining your energy, leaving you sluggish and foggy when you should be thriving.
• Disrupting your hormones, throwing off insulin, cortisol, and hunger signals, which fuels cravings and chaos, especially for midlife women.
• Fueling chronic health issues, from weight gain to inflammation to mood swings.
• Stealing your confidence, trapping you in a cycle of self-blame and frustration.
• Robbing your future, keeping you from living the bold, purposeful life you deserve.

How to Start Breaking Free

If your cravings are a physical drive, not emotional, you don’t need more willpower—you need a plan that works with your body. Here are steps from my own journey and what’s helped my clients:

1. Ditch the Processed Junk: Start small by cutting out one processed food (like soda or packaged snacks) that’s loaded with toxins like pesticides and chemicals. Replace it with a nutrient-dense snack like a pastured hard-boiled egg, a slice of organic cheese, or a small mug of homemade meat stock. These real foods pack protein, healthy fats, and nutrients to satisfy your body and support its natural detox, helping fat cells release stored toxins so they lose their job—without feeding gut bugs like sugary snacks do.
2. Embrace Real Fats: Don’t fear butter or fatty cuts of meat. These healthy fats stabilize blood sugar, reduce cravings, and give your brain the fuel it needs to stay sharp.
3. Listen to Your Body: Hunger is a signal, not the enemy. Ask: Is my body begging for nutrients, or are those gut bugs demanding sugar? A nutrient-dense meal can silence the noise. Click here to learn how to tune into your body’s signals and get my Mindful Eating Exercise and Satiety Guide.
4. Reset Your Gut: You can’t outrun a bad gut environment. Focus on whole, unprocessed foods to starve out those sugar-loving microbes and rebuild a healthier balance.
5. Own Your Choices: The food industry wants you to feel powerless, but you’re not. Every bite is a chance to take back control and nourish yourself like the Leading Lady you are.

You Deserve Better—And It Starts Now

Midlife is your time to live wise, wild, and free—not to be chained to cravings or guilt. If your overeating is physical, you’re not the problem—the system is. The food industry, SAD diet, gut critters, and toxins don’t have to run your life. If it’s emotional, my article, quiz and tips will help you uncover those triggers. Either way, I’m here to help you make that shift, one bold step at a time.

Tune in for the Truth

Tune in to Sharise Uncut where I cut the bull and get real about health, life and everything in between, and sign up for my newsletter to grab some fabulous No-BS freebies to help you on your journey to whole health!! Let’s do this!