If you’ve ever wondered why stress pulls you back into old habits or why perfectionism and people pleasing feel so hard to shake, this episode is for you. Together, we’re diving into practical, Christ-centered insights that make sense of your behaviors and open the door to freedom.
This is also the start of Season 7 of The Old School Food Freedom Podcast!
We’re thrilled to welcome you back or introduce you to the show for the first time! And we’re excited to have a repeat guest, Travis Stewart, who’s back by popular demand. Travis is a licensed professional counselor with over three decades of thoughtfully integrating Christian faith, psychology, and personal growth.
In this first part of a 2-part conversation, Travis is guiding us through an easy way to understand ourselves, our struggles, and why we have the behaviors and habits that we do.
Here’s whatwe cover:
What inspired the Three Chairs Framework
What“parts work” therapy is and how it helps us understand ourselves
Where things get complicated around needs, attachment, and childhood wounds
The difference between affirmation and blessing(and why we need both!)
How experiences from infancy shape lifelong relational patterns
What the“false self” is, and why even well-meaning actions aren’t always rooted in trust
The survival strategies we use to feel safe and manage shame or disappointment
How perfectionism, people-pleasing, and managing others’ opinions are all signs of the false self at work
Why processing emotions and shame are vital steps on the road to food freedom
Whether we all eventually reach the“wise, trusting beloved self”—and what keeps us stuck
What to expect in Part 2 of this conversation!
A gentle reminder: grace upon grace upon grace.
There is no shame intended. And if you feel shame at any point, that’s not coming from Chrissy or Travis, and that is certainly not from the Lord. That’s coming from the enemy. There is conviction, and that’s the Lord gently showing you something that maybe needs to change for your good…for your freedom!
Be sure not to miss the next episode, where we dig into understanding your core needs, processing big emotions, and responding to life from a place of grace rather than survival mode.
What stood out to you from Travis’s“Three Chairs” insight? Do you recognize your own strategies or unmet needs in this story? We’d love to hear your thoughts, so please drop us an email at admin@findingbalance.com, send us a voice message via SpeakPipe, or send us a text. You can also subscribe for more practical episodes coming your way.
“Core needs, like being heard, understood, and blessed, never go away. They’re part of how God designed us, from childhood through adulthood.” – Travis Stewart
More About Travis Stewart
Travis Stewart has spent over three decades thoughtfully integrating Christian faith, psychology, and personal growth in his work as a counselor, teacher, and speaker. At Covenant Seminary, he helps advance the seminary’s mission to equip leaders for the broader church.
Travis is a member of the board of directors for Charis Eating Disorder Care, a Christian nonprofit treatment center dedicated to holistic healing for those with eating disorders. With a background as a licensed professional counselor since 2005, Travis brings a relational and creative approach to his work. Rooted in helping others understand their stories in light of God’s redemptive grace and developing a deeper, honest trust of God. His work has largely focused on eating disorders, body image, and spiritual formation.
Travis was the visionary behind FINDINGbalance’s Hungry for Hope Conference, a pioneering faith-based event for those impacted by eating disorders. An engaging and thoughtful communicator, Travis has been invited to speak at institutions such as Pepperdine University, Baylor University, and Washington University, and has taught as a visiting instructor at Covenant Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, where he lives with his wife, Susan. Together they have two adult children, a son-in-law, and a grandson. For fun, Travis loves golfing, art, and taking a deep delight in anything his grandson says or does.
Lasting Freedom Online Course: A Christ-centered, non-diet course to work through false beliefs about food and weight so you can live free from disordered eating and body image issues.
The content in this podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prescribe a particular course of action. If you have, or suspect you may have, an eating disorder, please consult your healthcare provider. If you desire to receive faith-based care, visit ChristianTreatmentFinder.com to browse professionals with a Kingdom campaign against eating disorders.
