Making Your Message Matter: Crafting Questions That Create Change

A week or so ago I was asked to submit interview questions about my work with mindset, food addiction and weight loss. A thousand questions flooded my mind. And they all screamed their importance.? After decades of gaining and losing over 700 pounds, finally finding freedom through mastering the food-emotion connection, and now helping others do the same - where do I begin?

The challenge isn't just explaining what I do - it's helping people understand why conventional approaches focusing on willpower and diets fail. How do I convey that lasting transformation requires mastering the food-emotion connection rather than just counting calories? How do I explain that our bodies follow our brains, not the other way around?

After much reflection, I developed a strategy for crafting questions that bridge conventional understanding with transformative insights. Here's what I discovered:

Start with What People Think They Know

I began with statistics that validate what many secretly suspect: that it's not just about willpower. When I share that food companies spend $14 billion annually on advertising, with 80% promoting ultra-processed foods, people begin to see why this isn't just about personal responsibility.

Challenge Assumptions Boldly

By leading with the fact that 95% of diets fail within 1-5 years, I open the door to exploring why. This statistic naturally leads to questions about what really works for lasting transformation.

Offer Evidence-Based Alternatives

When discussing my prescriptive writing approach, I include research showing how expressive writing reduces emotional eating by 28%. This helps people understand there are proven alternatives to traditional methods.

Share Personal Experience Strategically

My 40-year journey from confusion to clarity serves as both a credential and a beacon of hope. But I've learned to use my story not just to share what happened, but to illuminate universal truths about the food-emotion connection.

The questions I ultimately submitted explored:

- Industry influence vs. personal willpower

- Real transformation vs. temporary change

- Evidence-based alternatives to conventional approaches

- The universal truth behind personal stories

- The science of emotional eating

When I look at the questions I submitted, each one represents a chapter in my transformation journey, supported by statistics that validate what I learned through experience.

The Food Industry's Hidden Impact

I started with this question because it shifts blame from individual failure to systemic influence: "How has understanding the role of food industry marketing changed your perspective on willpower and personal responsibility?"

Behind this question lies a staggering truth: Food companies spend $14 billion annually on advertising, with 80% promoting ultra-processed foods designed to override natural satiety signals. This isn't random marketing - it's a sophisticated manipulation of our desires and beliefs about food.

Beyond Willpower

The second question challenges the foundation of traditional weight loss approaches: "You challenge the traditional narrative about willpower, self-control, and self-discipline in weight loss. What have you discovered is the real key to lasting transformation?"

This question emerges from both personal experience and hard data: 95% of diets fail within 1-5 years, despite participants' best efforts. After gaining and losing over 700 pounds through willpower-based approaches, I learned that sustainable change requires something deeper.

The Power of Prescriptive Writing

The third question introduces an alternative approach: "Can you explain prescriptive writing and how this powerful tool helps people transform how they manage food?"

Studies show expressive writing can reduce emotional eating episodes by 28% and increase self-awareness by 45%. This isn't just about journaling - it's about uncovering and transforming the stories that drive our food choices.

Lessons in Transformation

This question draws from both personal journey and global context: "Having gained and lost over 700 pounds before finding lasting success, what have been the most crucial insights from your journey?"

With projections showing that over 4 billion people will be overweight or obese by 2035, it's clear our current approaches aren't working. My journey from confusion to clarity offers insights into why traditional methods fail and what really works.

The Emotional Truth

Perhaps the most crucial question addresses the fundamental nature of eating: "You make a fascinating point that all eating is emotional because eating is a behavior. Can you explain why understanding this distinction is crucial for transformation?"

Statistics are revealing: While 75% of people identify as emotional eaters, neuroscience shows that emotional and psychological factors influence 100% of eating behaviors. This understanding transforms how we approach change.

Addressing Intersectionality

The final questions explore how various factors intersect with food and health:

- Cultural and gender expectations (80% of African American women face unique challenges)

- Mental health connections (43% of adults with depression are obese)

- The mindset factor (95% of behavioral changes fail without belief transformation)

Each question serves as a doorway to a deeper understanding of:

- Why traditional approaches fail

- How the food-emotion connection works

- What real transformation requires

- How BRAND NEW principles create lasting change

- Why Mind Over Meals offers a different path

Together, these questions tell a story of transformation that goes beyond diet and exercise to address the root causes of food addiction. They challenge conventional wisdom while offering hope for real, lasting change.

Most importantly, they invite others to question their own assumptions about weight loss and consider a new path to health - one that begins with transforming beliefs rather than just behaviors.

If you are facing similar challenges in communicating transformative work, consider:

1. What beliefs does your audience hold?

2. What statistics might open their minds?

3. How can your personal experience illuminate universal truths?

4. What evidence supports your alternative approach?

5. How can you build bridges between conventional wisdom and new understanding?

Remember: Your goal isn't to explain everything at once. It's to open minds to new possibilities and plant seeds for deeper understanding.

The questions I submitted barely scratch the surface of concepts like BRAND-NEW principles or Mind Over Meals. But they create openings for deeper exploration. They invite people to question assumptions about willpower, consider the role of emotion in eating, and imagine new possibilities for transformation.

True change isn't about what you eat or how you move - it's about understanding and transforming the connection between mind and body, between emotion and action, between belief and behavior.

Ultimately, crafting interview questions becomes an exercise in translation - helping others understand complex truths through accessible language and relatable concepts. It's about meeting people where they are while inviting them to envision where they could be.