145. Increasing Distress Tolerance: The Skill That Makes Weight Loss (and Healthy Habits) Finally Stick

Why do you order pizza, pour a glass of wine, or reach for chocolate or chips when you’re not actually hungry?

It may not be about willpower. And it may not even be about food.

In this episode, Lisa Oldson, MD explains how distress tolerance, your ability to sit with uncomfortable emotions without immediately trying to escape them, may be the missing link in sustainable weight loss and healthy habit change.

Drawing from research in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dr. Oldson walks you through how increasing psychological flexibility can reduce impulsive eating, late-night snacking, emotional eating, and even binge behaviors.

You’ll learn:

• What distress tolerance really is (and what it’s not)
• Why cravings are often about emotional discomfort, not hunger
• How urge surfing works to reduce impulsive eating
• A simple 5-minute daily practice to build emotional endurance
• How to use TIP skills to calm your nervous system during intense cravings
• Why delaying a binge by even 5 minutes is meaningful progress
• What real improvement looks like (hint: not perfection)

If you feel like you “know what to do” but struggle to actually do it, this episode will help you understand why, and give you practical tools to finally make healthy habits stick.

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This episode was produced by The Podcast Teacher: www.ThePodcastTeacher.com.