It's Not To Late to Heal from Your Buried Pain S5E4

What if the struggle you’ve been fighting isn’t just about food, your weight, or your habits—but something deeper that needs healing?

For many women over 40, the things they’ve pushed down for years start to surface, and the weight they’ve been carrying begins to feel heavier. Maybe you’ve tried every diet, promised yourself you’d do better, or wondered why you keep falling back into the same patterns. What if the question isn’t “What’s wrong with me?” but “What happened to me?”

In this episode of Hope for the Journey, Monica Schmelter sits down with Diana LaCerte, host and executive producer of SoulFit, TV, trauma-informed coach, author, and speaker, to talk about the deeper story behind emotional eating, body image struggles, and the habits that keep so many women feeling stuck.

Drawing on more than 20 years of experience helping women find lasting transformation, Diana introduces the idea of the “weight beneath the weight”—the emotional, spiritual, and relational burdens that can show up in our physical health and everyday choices.

Together, Monica and Diana explore why stress can send us reaching for comfort food, how perimenopause and menopause can change the way we cope, and why old wounds and childhood experiences sometimes show up in unexpected ways during midlife. They also talk about perfectionism, people-pleasing, and the exhausting cycle of trying harder while wondering why lasting change feels so difficult.

But this conversation isn’t about shame, blame, or one more thing you need to fix about yourself. It’s about giving yourself grace, inviting God into the places that still hurt, and discovering that healing is possible—even when the journey takes time.

Diana also shares why community matters, how to recognize the lies we’ve believed about ourselves, and what it looks like to begin speaking life over our bodies and our stories.

If you’ve ever felt frustrated with yourself, wondered why you keep returning to old habits, or sensed that there’s something deeper beneath the struggle, this conversation is for you.

You don’t have to stay stuck in old patterns. God can meet you in the deeper places and lead you toward healing, freedom, and a healthier relationship with yourself.

In This Episode, You’ll Discover

• Why the real struggle may be deeper than what you see on the scale.

• What Diana means by the “weight beneath the weight.”

• Why stress sends us looking for comfort—and why willpower alone doesn’t always work.

• How hormones, menopause, and life transitions can affect our emotions and coping habits.

• How childhood wounds can show up as perfectionism, people-pleasing, and all-or-nothing thinking.

• Why asking “What happened to me?” can open the door to compassion and healing.

• How faith, community, and honest conversations help us move beyond isolation.

• Practical ways to challenge harmful beliefs, speak life over your body, and invite God into the healing process.

“What’s wrong with me?” is often better answered by “What happened?”

“This time, don’t bypass your heart.”

“There is tremendous healing and tremendous freedom in our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health.”

Take the Next Step

Ask Yourself - Body Map Gift from DianaWhat if you stopped beating yourself up for the struggle and started getting curious about the story beneath it?

You are not beyond hope, and you don't have to figure it all out on your own. Invite God into the deeper places, give yourself grace for the journey, and remember that healing can begin one honest step at a time.

Resources:

Diana LaCerte SoulSTRONG Body Map Guide

Monica Schmelter 7 Days of Hope

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