You think your struggle with food is about willpower. Or that your body image issues are just about confidence. But what if the real cost isn’t on the scale, but it’s actually in your spirit?

In this powerful opening to the Spiritual Brain Surgery takeover series, guest host Leanne Ellington pulls back the curtain on what food and body obsession is really stealing from you. From missed moments with your kids to constant inner criticism and spiritual disconnection, she exposes how fixation around food and your body hijacks your peace, your presence, and your identity.

But this isn’t just about the pain. It’s about the pathway to healing. Leanne reveals how your brain was designed by God to heal, and introduces the science behind how that healing actually happens—through identity rewiring, spiritual renewal, and working WITH your brain instead of against it.

This episode will help you:

• Understand how food and body obsession hijacks your God-given peace, rewires your brain for fear and shame, and drains your spiritual bandwidth
• Finally put words to the invisible war you’ve been fighting—between your faith and your fixation, your logic and your longings See why white-knuckling through cravings or repeating “I love my body” in the mirror won’t work if your nervous system still feels unsafe—and what to do instead to rewire it at the root
• See why white-knuckling through cravings or repeating “I love my body” in the mirror won’t work if your nervous system still feels unsafe—and what to do instead to rewire it at the root

Because God doesn’t just want your body free. He wants you free.

Resources and Links

• Previous Spiritual Brain Surgery Guest Host Series: Leanne Ellington's Path to Healing and Hope, Part 1
• Previous Spiritual Brain Surgery Guest Host Series: Leanne Ellington on Science and Faith, Part 2
• Watch Leanne's on-demand workshop.
• Listen to Outweigh Podcast.
• Listen to What's God Got To Do With It? Podcast.

• (00:05) - Introduction to Spiritual Brain Surgery Podcast
• (01:36) - The Spiritual Cost of Food and Body Fixation
• (04:35) - Exploring Ozempic and Brain Function
• (05:37) - Understanding Body Image and Self-Worth
• (08:00) - The Impact of Food Fixation on Spirituality
• (12:08) - The Science of the Anterior Cingulate Cortex
• (14:42) - Healing Beyond Discipline and Willpower
• (16:57) - The Power of Renewing Your Mind
• (19:26) - Naming the Bondage of Food Obsession
• (21:30) - Steps to Awareness in Healing
• (24:29) - Inviting God into the Healing Process
• (27:11) - Repetition and Truth in Rewiring the Brain
• (30:05) - Regulation: Calming the Nervous System
• (31:15) - Integration of Science and Faith
• (34:30) - Reclaiming Your Spiritual Bandwidth
• (37:44) - Conclusion and Invitation for Further Healing

In this episode of Tuesdays with Tata on Spiritual Brain Surgery, we take a look at Jesus's role as our high priest.

Tata goes through the book of Hebrews and shows us that in Jesus, we have a priest who knows what we're going through, and thus understands us. Whatever you're facing, this episode will give you confidence that you have a friend you can trust to help you deal with it.

Resources and Links:
📖 My book, 2021 ECPA Memoir/Biography of the Year, ⁠⁠I've Seen the End of You

🎙️ ⁠Subscribe to The Dr. Lee Warren Podcast⁠ for weekly strategies to change your brain and life.

📖 Grab my book ⁠Hope Is the First Dose⁠.

• (00:05) - Introduction to Spiritual Brain Surgery
• (02:23) - Case for Christ in Hebrews
• (19:25) - Learning Obedience Through Suffering
• (28:49) - Comfort in Times of Suffering
• (31:27) - The Presence of Our High Priest
• (41:36) - A Prayer for the Hurting
• (42:43) - Reflections on Suffering and Healing
• (44:15) - Upcoming Episodes and Conclusion

Mattie Jackson Smith's World Was Shattered
(Bringing you this bonus episode in preparation for a brand new conversation with Mattie that will drop Friday on The Dr. Lee Warren Podcast)

Just shy of her one-year anniversary with her husband Ben, a seemingly small accident left her widowed and wondering where God was. Her story is full of grief, pain, and loss, but lands on hope and a future full of God's kept promises. Her book Lemons on Friday is one of the best books on finding your way through grief I've ever read, and Mattie is on the podcast today to give you hope!

Mattie's podcast is incredible: In Joy Life
(Click here to listen to my appearance on her show)
Mattie's book is available everywhere books are sold.

• (00:06) - Introduction to Maddie Jackson-Smith
• (02:07) - The Importance of Faith in Hard Times
• (08:05) - Maddie's Journey Through Grief
• (14:09) - The Struggles of Doubt and Anger
• (19:34) - Identity and Acceptance in Loss
• (24:38) - A Turning Point: Hands Up, Hands Off
• (30:44) - Finding Redemption and New Joy
• (32:55) - Advice for Those in Fresh Grief