As we begin to bid farewell to 2021, you might consider what you want your New Year to look like. Many of us will make New Year’s resolutions with that vision in mind, and for most of us, those resolutions are pretty similar. In fact, exercising more, losing weight, and eating healthier are consistently ranked among the top ten New Year’s resolutions. Josh Hillis, author of Lean and Strong: Eating Skills, Psychology, and Workouts, has dedicated his career to fostering healthy exercise and eating habits through psychological principles. On this episode of POTC, Josh and Debbie discuss practice-based, values oriented dieting and exercise strategies that can lead to positive outcomes for both physical and mental health. Listen in to this episode if you find yourself adding exercising more, losing weight, eating healthier, or any mental- or physical-health related resolutions to your list!
Listen and Learn:
- Debbie and Jill discuss flexible guidelines (rather than rigid rules) to avoid guilt and shame around eating and exercise in their personal lives
- The inside scoop on Josh’s upcoming book about emotional eating!
- Josh’s journey from fitness to psychology and how he developed expertise in both
- Practical advice for fostering more flexibility in your fitness journey (and why it’s essential to do so!)
- How practice-based, values oriented dieting and exercise can lead to positive outcomes for your physical and mental health
- The psychology behind emotional eating
- All about eating guidelines (read: NOT rules) and why Josh recommends them
- Josh’s expert definition of a balanced meal
- Evidence-based, expert-approved tips and tricks for integrating mindfulness into your eating habits
- The expert weighs in on exercising when you’re managing a busy schedule
Resources:
- Buy Josh’s book, Lean and Strong: Eating Skills, Psychology, and Workout
- Follow Josh on instagram at @joshuahillis!
- Check out the GMB Fitness’ Eating Skills program
- Grab your copy of all our favorite books at bookshop.org/shop/offtheclockpsych.
- Check out Debbie, Diana, Yael, and Jill’s websites to access their offerings, sign up for their newsletters, buy their books, and more!

About Josh Hillis:
Josh Hillis is the author of two books. His latest book, Lean and Strong: Eating Skills, Psychology, and Workouts won the silver medal for psychology in the Benjamin Franklin Book Awards and was a finalist in the Colorado Book Awards. Josh and his books have been in the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Men’s Health, and The Denver Post. He currently attends MSU Denver and is doing research on psychological flexibility and emotional eating. He won the psychology department’s “promising teacher of the year” award as a TA. Josh has written and edited questions for NASM’s personal trainer certification exam. Josh is the curriculum designer and head coach for GMB Fitness’ Eating Skills program.
Related Episodes:
- Episode 36. Weight Loss Strategies From Acceptance And Commitment Therapy With Jason Lillis
- Episode 151. Intuitive Eating with Evelyn Tribole
- Episode 18. Appetite Awareness Training with Linda Craighead
- Episode 67. The Hungry Brain: Outsmarting Instincts That Make Us Overeat With Stephan Guyenet
- Episode 93. Effective Weight Loss with Evan Forman
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
E-Book PDF (transcript): Open in New Window | Download