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| Image courtesy of the Stock Exchange |
I'll preface this review by stating something that will probably be obvious from my profile - I'm a little weird. I spent most of my adult life as an Eclectic Pagan (right down to the pentacle tat over my heart chakra) - I'm not actually sure if that identity label still applies to me now, but I haven't found a better one yet, so I'll hang onto it for the moment. I do, however, still have a strong belief in the interconnectedness of mind, body and spirt; and I still use the word "energy" in a way that makes my friend, who has a doctorate in physics (the orthodox kind of physics, NOT the new age kind, and yeah, they're different), visibly twitch.
All of which explains why the whole concept of the Inside Out Weight Loss podcasts by Renee Stephens works so well for me. Caveat Emptor - your mileage may well vary.
THE BIG CONCEPT: PODCAST OVERVIEW
Inside Out Weight Loss (IOWL) is a very different kind of podcast to many of those I've found on iTunes (my primary podcast source). It's about weight loss and fitness, yes, but it almost never talks about food or exercise. And before you roll your eyes, that's not because the host, Renee Stephens, thinks they're not important; but as she so frequently says, there are plenty of other podcasts out there that cover nutrition, diet plans, ways to move your body, and the physical aspects of losing weight. What's missing - although some podcasts do touch on this, none seem to focus on it - is something that looks at the inner journey.
Here's the rationale. Most of us who've tried to lose weight over and over aren't missing information. We *know* what to do - we know what's good for our bodies and what isn't. We just don't do it. Merely throwing more information at ourselves means we just have more information we don't do anything with. Inside Out Weight Loss, on the other hand, starts from the inside. Episode by episode, it helps us to explore the reasons we overeat (or eat badly) and underexercise in the first place, and then gives us practical tools - often involving NLP and/or hypnosis techniques - to make inner changes.
THE DETAILS: LENGTH, STRUCTURE AND COST
Most podcasts are about 20-25 minutes long, split in two with an ad for something (usually one of the products on Renee's site) in the middle. As of writing this review, all podcasts - including those in the archives - are completely free.
HOW LONG I'VE BEEN LISTENING
Probably about a year now. This is one that I expect to stick with because I really do get a lot out of it. I try to listen to each episode as it comes out, and I've taken to going back through the archives and listening to the early episodes as well, since they have a lot of good information in them, and they make great companions when I'm walking or driving.
WHAT I LIKE ABOUT IT
First up, I like the whole concept of IOWL. As someone who believes that mind, body and spirit are all bound up together, I don't see nearly enough podcasts that work from - or even acknowledge - this viewpoint. Most of them are way too caught up in how to do particular exercises, or which diet plan works best for what result. Secondly, I like that - for me at least - despite being about inner work, Renee rarely goes off into what I call "affirmation-land". Change in IOWL is actually about doing inner work and letting the changes flow through to behaviour in the outer world. I'ts not about telling yourself everything is perfect when it's clearly not, or writing affirmations on your mirror and expecting changes to somehow magically happen.
I should also mention that I like Renee herself, as a host. She comes off as a warm, caring, sincere person with a great sense of energy to her voice; and she's not afraid to talk about her own screwups or historical issues (and oh yeah, she has them) to illustrate some of her points. At times, her energy can almost seem too much to me, but that's probably just a culture clash with me being a Kiwi, since I've had the same feeling from other American podcasters as well.
WHAT I'M NOT SO KEEN ON
The only real criticism I have of these podcasts is a minor niggle - the structure doesn't work for me. I know from a marketing psychology viewpoint exactly why they're structured as they are, and I know Renee is running a business and don't begrudge her that. That said, I find that dropping me out of the flow of the podcast to tell me about one of the products and then trying to just pick up where we left off feels... jarring - especially in an otherwise relaxing podcast - and so far, it hasn't convinced me to try any of the products.
WHERE YOU CAN CHECK IT OUT
IOWL is available over on iTunes - in fact, it was the top result to come up when I did a search on "weight loss and fitness podcasts", which says something. Or, if you don't have iTunes, you can find the podcasts (all the way back to Episode 0) over on her website at Personal Life Media.com.
So, what (if any) podcasts do you listen to regularly?
