The Appetite

How does your story with food from childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood impact your current relationship with food? Opal Co-Founder, Julie Church, RDN interviews Jessica Setnick, RDN the creator of the “Healing Your Inner Eater” workshop and workbook which invites individuals to look back in order to move forward in one’s relationship with food. Listen in to Jessica’s passionate story telli...

Listen in to this one-of-a-kind episode of The Appetite as Opal’s co-founders, Lexi Giblin, PhD, and Kara Bazzi, LMFT, sit down with Opal client Koa to explore her experience receiving in-person care at Opal. With honesty and vulnerability, Koa shares how her relationships with fellow clients and Opal staff became a pivotal part of her recovery, ultimately leading to profound and transformative ch...

Join Lexi Giblin, PhD (Opal Co-Founder) for a heartfelt conversation with mother-daughter duo Kara Bazzi, LMFT (Opal Co-Founder and Director of Opal's Exercise+Sport Program) and Sophia, a soon-to-be collegiate athlete. Together, they walk down memory lane to explore the stand out intersections of parenting and running in Sophia's high school career.  With honesty and vulnerability, Kara and...

Eating disorders don’t exist in isolation—they are deeply connected to relationships. From the “why” behind disordered eating and movement patterns to the healing process, relationships have the power to either support or harm recovery.  In today’s episode of The Appetite, Opal’s Co-Founder & Clinical Director, Kara Bazzi, LMFT, sits down with therapist Nikki Wolf, LMHCA, to explore the r...

In this episode, Delancey and Makaila wrestle with the gaze of others as their bodies change in eating disorder recovery. Off the mark, well-intentioned comments from others leave them flooded with shame and confusion.  Delancey wishes others would not perceive her while Makaila is in conflict, on one hand desiring to be "fetishized" and on the other hand, not wanting to be objectified at all...

Join us for a trip down psychedelic lane! Temple Morris, LCSW-C and Dr. Brian Pilecki, PhD throw down their expertise in conversation with Opal Co-Founders, Kara Bazzi, LMFT and Dr. Lexi Giblin, PhD. Temple and Brian put to words what is often experienced as “beyond language” and help us understand the potential therapeutic value of psychedelics in “clarifying what matters” and fostering psycholog...

Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka, and Mary Cain all share something powerful in common: they’ve bravely opened up about their mental health journeys, using their platforms as elite athletes to advocate for change. Their courage is paving the way for a healthier, more supportive sports environment—especially for those facing mental health challenges.  On today’s episode of The Appetite, Kara Bazzi, L...

Phoebe and Asha, friends who are both in eating disorder recovery, join Opal Co-Founders Lexi Giblin, PhD and Kara Bazzi, LMFT in studio for some self-inquiry action. It is Phoebe's last day in higher level of care and she wonders about her guilt related to nostalgia for her time in eating disorder treatment. Phoebe says treatment has been one of the "most connecting experiences of my life" and op...

Even within the male-centric model, women have accomplished incredible feats of athleticism, smashing long-held beliefs about what women can or cannot achieve. Imagine what would happen if everyone had access to better information and guidance” These are the words of Christine Yu, in the introduction of her book “Up to Speed: The Groundbreaking Science of Women Athletes”. In this episode of The Ap...

Dr. Lisa Erlanger returns to the podcast for a conversation with Julie Church, RDN, CD on GLP-1 agonists, medications widely prescribed for weight loss. Through a weight-inclusive lens, Lisa explains GLP-1 agonists history, current use, and side effects with a special attention given to the unique considerations for individuals with current or past eating disorders.  Spoiler alert--- the...

Human stories are a powerful force in influencing the way we see the world and how we can expand or shift our perspective on any given subject matter. Rosalie Fish, a collegiate athlete and activist, has just that- an impactful story as a Native American distance runner who has used her sport to enact social change. Listen in as Kara Bazzi, LMFT, Opal’s Co-Founder and Clinical Director, and Rosali...

Aleta Storch, MS, RDN, LMHC joins Julie Church, RDN to discuss how ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) can lead to different feeding and eating challenges. Her personal story highlights the benefit of understanding how the brain works for everyone, especially those desiring to heal from disordered eating and eating disorders.  Listen in for a sneak peek of a few practical tips fro...

Dr. Lisa Erlanger joins Opal's Nutrition Director Julie Church, RDN to share the evidence and compassion that led her to evolve into a weight-inclusive physician.  Lisa explains how the body is impacted by dieting (aka starvation) and emphasizes the importance of adequate nourishment as a strong focus of weight-inclusive health care practices within eating disorder treatment and beyond.&...

Dr. Lexi Giblin, PhD and Kara Bazzi, LMFT, Opal Co-Founders, sit down with Poppy and Lily to do a self-inquiry double click on these two particular experiences of shame management.  Poppy shares an encounter with shame and disgust where her response is to “mask everything and puff up” while wanting her “old body back.”  A “deep, profound worthlessness” prompts an urge for Lily to work ha...

Fitness, movement and sport spaces continue to be saturated with diet culture rhetoric and belief systems that disrupt our innate connection, wisdom and joy to movement and our bodies. Diet culture is rooted in social justice issues where movement and sport spaces are not inclusive of all bodies and walks of life, particularly those who are most marginalized. Yet the story doesn’t stop here. More...

If you are new to self-inquiry, start here!! This is your go-to episode when you need a quick self-inquiry tutorial, refresher or a little help coaxing you into the self-inquiry mood.  Dr. Lexi Giblin, PhD, orients you to the key components and process of self-inquiry.  With these basics in hand, you can more fully take in The Appetite's Self-Inqui...

Take a deep breath and bend your ears towards Cozette and Marrow as they bravely explore the psychological forces at play in their eating disorder recoveries. Dr. Lexi Giblin, PhD and Kara Bazzi, LMFT, Opal Co-Founders, join Cozette and Marrow in their quest to use self-inquiry to learn from unwanted emotion. Shame is a starting point for both self-inquirers but the learning takes them t...

Feeding and eating is a realm of family life that changes as kids get older, which is easy for some parents and more difficult for others.  What does empowerment and leadership look like as teens eat more socially and have more time away from the home? How can parents be a healthy part of a teen's relationship with food? In this episode two of Opal's Co-Founders, Julie Church, RDN, CD an...

And the Self Inquiry Series is off and running!  In this first self-inquiry episode, Dr. Lexi Giblin, PhD opens by giving us the 411 on RO DBT's self-inquiry process and then we turn to Sally and Andrea's live self-inquiry. Kara Bazzi, Opal Co-Founder, and the group pose questions to try to open up new learning for Sally and Andrea. Sally struggles with parenting guilt and wanting to do it "r...

Has your life become all about setting and achieving goals? When you encounter problems in life, is your solution to do more, work harder, and put another goal in place only to turn around and repeat this cycle when the next problem presents itself? Listen to this episode of The Appetite where Opal Co-Founders, Lexi Giblin, PhD and Kara Bazzi, LMFT discuss how this compulsive striving ap...

Listen in as Opal’s Director of the Exercise + Sport program, Kara Bazzi, and Opal’s Movement Coach, Caitlin Jacobsen have a conversation about “Good for a Girl”, a newly released book written by former professional runner, coach and author, Lauren Fleshman. "Good for A Girl" is a memoir (and part manifesto) which follows Lauren's distance running career to the upper echelons of elite levels of sp...

We are launching a new Self-Inquiry Series, within The Appetite podcast, where we will take the style of Opal’s Self-Inquiry Group to the podcast airways.  We are looking for folks interested in doing private journal self-inquiry work followed by receiving questions from the podcast group - just like in Opal’s Self-Inquiry Group (but recorded). Participants can call in to the show or join us...

"My story is a running journey, but at its heart, it's a story for anyone who has experienced the harm and powerlessness that comes from not fitting into society's expectations, anyone who has ever existed in the margins. It is a story of finding and creating your place and space." Listen into this episode of The Appetite where Alison Désir- runner, activist, disruptor- reflects and expands on par...

Connie Sobczak of The Body Positive gives us this wise nugget: "Aging is something we get to do, if we are lucky." Julie Church, Opal's Co-Founder and Nutrition Director, discusses with Connie the many considerations that arise as we age, covering the topics of appearance, body image, health, and self-care.  Listen here for invitations to gratitude, non-judgement, and consciousness that can s...

Are you a "perfectionist" who is exhausted and tired of hustling for your worth? Or perhaps you have entered perfectionism recovery but remain in a long term battle with compulsive perfectionistic striving? Either way, this podcast is just the ticket for you! Take a listen to Lexi Giblin, PhD, Maggie Ritnour, LMHC, LCAT, ATR-BC, RYT, CEDS and Noni Vaughn-Pollard, NDTR, MHC-LP chat about the differ...