Does this sound familiar? You're crushing it all week long with your healthy habits, feeling motivated and on track. Then Friday night rolls around and suddenly it's like a switch flips. By Sunday evening, you're promising yourself you'll "start fresh on Monday" while polishing off that leftover pizza. If you've ever felt trapped in the cycle of weekday wins followed by weekend wreckage, you're definitely not alone.

Join Holly and Jim as they tackle one of the most common patterns that derail weight management success: weekend sabotage. This isn't about making your weekends boring or perfect – it's about finally breaking free from the exhausting cycle of restriction and rebellion that keeps so many people stuck. You'll discover why weekends feel so different from weekdays, what's really happening in your mind when you flip that "screw it" switch, and most importantly, how to create weekends that support your goals while still being genuinely enjoyable.

Whether you're in active weight loss or working on maintenance, this episode will help you transform your weekends from your biggest obstacle into a powerful part of your success story.

• Why we're naturally wired as "creatures of routine" and how weekends disrupt our automatic patterns
• The dangerous mindset shift that turns weekends into a "break from healthy living"
• Real math behind weekend damage – how two days can undo five days of progress
• The difference between being "consistently flexible" versus rigidly perfect
• How successful weight maintainers from the National Weight Control Registry handle weekends differently
• The three mind states (victim, victor, voyager) and how each one approaches weekend challenges
• Why treating weekends as a "reward" for weekday restriction backfires
• Practical tools for planning weekends with intentional flexibility
• The power of weekend "non-negotiables" that keep you grounded
• How to use weekday momentum to fuel (not earn) better weekends
• What a truly healthy weekend looks like in real life
• Whether you should weigh yourself after indulgent weekends
• How to handle family dynamics that seem to sabotage your weekend habits

• Weight Loss And… Episode 76: https://weightlossand.com/why-mind-state-is-the-key-to-weight-loss-maintenance

Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing everything from how we shop to how we work—but can it actually help you lose weight and keep it off? While AI coaches promise 24/7 support and personalized guidance, the technology is still in its infancy with plenty of pitfalls to navigate.

Join Holly and Jim as they explore the exciting frontier of AI in weight management with Dr. Diana Thomas, a mathematician turned obesity researcher who stands at the forefront of this technological revolution. Dr. Thomas is a professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point and leads the Artificial Intelligence Data Engineering and Machine Learning Center for the Nutrition for Precision Health Consortium. You'll discover both the incredible potential and important limitations of using AI as your weight loss companion.

From meal planning to motivation, AI tools are already showing promise in helping people achieve their goals. But as Diana warns, we're still in "act one, scene one" of this technological story. Learn how to harness AI's power while avoiding its traps, and why the most important skill you'll need isn't technical—it's knowing how to ask the right questions.

• The personal weight loss journey that led a pure mathematician to become an AI obesity researcher
• Why AI coaches are available 24/7 but human coaches aren't (and what this means for your success)
• The dangerous mistake ChatGPT makes about weight loss that could derail your progress
• How AI can transform your kitchen ingredients into personalized meal plans in seconds
• The "sniff check" technique that protects you from AI's biggest weakness
• What happens when you ask AI to design your workout routine using just a photo
• Why AI might be too agreeable—and how one company fixed this problem
• The surprising privacy experiment that reveals what AI really does with your personal information
• How to tell if a weight loss app claiming to use AI is actually helpful or just marketing hype
• The simple way to start using AI for weight management (hint: it's probably already on your phone)

• ChatGPT (free version available at openai.com)
• Simple - AI-powered weight loss and health coaching (https://simple.life/)
• Mindmasters book by Sandra Matz

You can have the perfect meal plan, unwavering motivation, and the best intentions in the world—but if your grocery cart is filled with the wrong foods, the weight loss game might already be over before you even get home. The truth is, grocery shopping is the front line of behavior change, and most people are making critical mistakes that sabotage their success without even realizing it.

Join Holly and Jim as they welcome registered dietitian Kelly Berg, who runs the metabolic kitchen at UAB's Department of Nutrition Sciences. Kelly has helped hundreds of people transform their shopping habits with smart strategies that make weight loss easier, not harder. She's about to reveal the grocery store tactics that food manufacturers don't want you to know about—and the simple shifts that can revolutionize your entire approach to healthy eating.

Get ready to discover why your weekly grocery trip could be the most powerful weight loss tool you're not using properly, and how to turn every shopping experience into a strategic victory for your health goals.

• The #1 grocery shopping mistake that derails weight loss before you even leave the store
• Why Kelly calls grocery shopping "the front line of behavior change"
• The two P's strategy that simplifies healthy meal planning instantly
• How grocery stores are strategically designed to manipulate your purchases (and how to fight back)
• The nutrition label hack that exposes fake "healthy" marketing claims
• Why frozen vegetables might actually be more nutritious than fresh ones
• The truth about "made with whole grain" vs. truly whole grain products
• Kelly's favorite plant-based proteins that work for any budget
• How to turn grocery shopping with kids into a fun scavenger hunt
• The "what the hell effect" and how to plan for treats without derailing progress
• Virtual grocery shopping: the hidden pros and cons you need to know
• Why sticking to the store perimeter isn't always the best advice anymore

• MyPlate.gov
• EatRight.org
• diabetes.org
• heart.org