Food Shrinks

We end as we lived: real, funny, and unfiltered. In our finale, we model how to end something good in a healthy way. We talk about capacity, courage, and why saying "yes" to the next season sometimes means lovingly saying "no" to the current one. We reflect on what this show grew in each of us, share what's next (retreats, Liberation Modules, new podcasts, and programs), and leave you with resourc...

This week, the Food Shrinks are just plain tired—and they're talking about it. Not the kind of tired that a nap or a sleep hygiene checklist can fix, but the deeper exhaustion that comes from constantly giving, performing, and being "on." Together, Molly, Clarissa, and Molly explore: • The tug-of-war between push harder and please rest • Why rest can feel unsafe or "lazy" to a dysregulated nervous...

Today, we answer a listener who writes: "I'm grieving the foods I don't eat anymore—social stuff and celebrations are hard." The Food Shrinks open that door wider: grief in recovery isn't just about food—it's also the lost years, missed moments, and identities we're shedding. With humor and honesty, they explore how to honor grief without letting it become the story that drags you back. What We Ta...

In this deeply relatable episode, the Food Shrinks— tackle one of recovery's most persistent companions: the belief that we are not enough… or sometimes too much. From early childhood conditioning to nervous system dysregulation, the trio explores how these painful stories take root, how they drive people-pleasing and perfectionism, and why they so often lead us to use food for comfort or control....

The crew normalizes why sugar becomes the go-to "tool" for anxiety, boredom, and stress—and offers harm-reduction pathways that build capacity without shame. You'll hear personal recovery pivots (like treating your recovery as seriously as your addiction), crowd-out strategies, micro-delays for cravings, and how to use community even if you don't feel like it. This is practical hope: tiny, doable...

In this episode of Food Shrinks, Molly Carmel, Clarissa Kennedy, and Molly Painschab sit down to unpack what it really takes to live—and thrive—in recovery while on the move. From European conferences to beach vacations, cross-country trips, and jam-packed social calendars, the Shrinks share how they balance life on the road with staying grounded in their recovery. What We Talk About • Recovery on...

In this candid Food Shrinks conversation, Molly Carmel, Clarissa Kennedy, and Molly Painschab explore why being in community—whether recovery groups, professional networks, or even family—can sometimes feel activating instead of supportive. From comparing recoveries to feeling others' pain too deeply, the shrinks share personal stories and professional insights on how envy, shame, and frustration...

In this episode of Food Shrinks, Molly Carmel, Clarissa Kennedy, and Molly Painschab unpack the obsession with "Day One" in recovery. Why do so many of us cling to Mondays, fresh starts, and counting days—only to feel devastated when we "slip"? The shrinks share their personal stories, professional perspectives, and hard-won insights on why chasing Day One can become its own addictive cycle. They...

In this episode of Food Shrinks, Molly Carmel, Clarissa Kennedy, and Molly Painschab tackle two heartfelt listener emails about food, weight, and grandchildren. The questions: How do I navigate my fear that my grandkids will inherit my struggles with food addiction? And how do I talk to my grandkids about food without shaming or harming them? 💬 Topics we cover: • Why "hands off the body" is one o...

In this episode of Food Shrinks, Molly Carmel, Clarissa Kennedy, and Molly Painschab open up about the everyday struggles of saying no, setting boundaries, and navigating the fawn response. With humor, honesty, and lived experience, the trio explores how people-pleasing, guilt, and self-abandonment show up in both personal and professional spaces—and how these patterns often connect to food, stres...

In this raw and courageous conversation, Molly C, Molly P, and Clarissa shine a light on one of the most hidden and stigmatized struggles in eating disorder recovery: laxative abuse. What begins as a listener request turns into a deeply personal and honest discussion about secrecy, shame, and the painful realities of this often-overlooked behavior. Clarissa shares her lived experience of recovery—...

What happens when getting sick stirs up shame, fear, and old recovery patterns? In this vulnerable and heartfelt episode, Molly, Molly, and Clarissa open up about how illness collides with productivity, worthiness, and the deep-seated belief that saying "no" makes us unlovable. From midnight panic at a friend's house to pushing through vacations with fevers, the Food Shrinks get honest about how h...

In this raw, unfiltered episode of Food Shrinks , Molly Carmel, Clarissa Kennedy, and Molly Painschab dive deep into the experience of chronic invalidation—how it shapes us in childhood, follows us into adulthood, and can even show up in professional settings where we expect safety and support. The conversation starts with a reflection on how easy it is to compare our insides to others' outsides w...

In this powerful listener-inspired episode, Molly Carmel, Clarissa Kennedy, and Molly Painschab dive deep into one of the most confusing questions in recovery: Is it food addiction, or am I just addicted to dieting? This compassionate and nuanced conversation explores how perfectionism, purity culture, trauma, and diet dogma can cloud our recovery journey—and how to find the middle way that truly...

In this raw and revealing episode, the Shrinks dive deep into the complexities of family dynamics, emotional regression, and how recovery shows up when you're trapped on a cruise ship with people who know your buttons—and how to press them. From boundary-setting in the Yukon to confronting childhood roles that no longer fit, this conversation touches on grief, growth, and the power of self-care in...

In this honest, heart-centered conversation, Molly P and Molly C tackle one of the most sensitive and frequently tiptoed-around topics in recovery spaces: weight loss. After receiving an email from a listener asking why they don't speak more directly about it, the Mollys dive in—with nuance, humility, and a whole lot of truth. Together, they explore: The difference between structure and restrictio...

In this soulful and vulnerable episode of Food Shrinks, Molly C and Molly P sit down for a heartfelt conversation about spirituality, what it means, how it manifests in recovery, and why it has become the cornerstone of their healing. With Clarissa off on vacation (an Alaska cruise, anyone?), the Mollys dive deep into how spirituality is not about finding answers, but about the willingness to see...

The Food Shrinks open up about their personal journeys with self-compassion—from eye rolls and resistance to finding voices that finally felt true. They explore how trauma, neurodivergence, addiction, and childhood conditioning make self-compassion feel foreign, even threatening. With humor, honesty, and lived experience, they share how they've begun to chip away at old patterns of self-hate and e...

In this heartfelt and hilarious episode, the Shrinks dive into one of the most relatable recovery challenges: the gap between knowing what to do and actually doing it . Whether it's flossing your teeth, sticking to a food plan, or showing up for yourself with compassion, the struggle is real—and it's not about laziness or failure. It's about nervous system responses, shame scripts, feelings phobia...

In this raw and reflective episode, Molly C, Clarissa, and Molly P dive into the messy, beautiful work of staying with the hard stuff, especially when it would feel easier to bolt. Inspired by Molly C's bougie pup Danny and his enforced recovery rest, the team explores the emotional equivalent of "week four": the moment when things feel better, but the healing isn't finished, and the temptation to...

Hey Food Shrinkies — it's Molly C, Clarissa, and Molly P, diving even deeper into the conversation we thought we wrapped up last week. Spoiler: We weren't done. Not even close. Last week, we cracked open the Pandora's box of body image in recovery — and this week, we're standing in the storm. Clarissa shares what surfaced for her after playing it "safe" last episode and comes back with fire, truth...

In this unfiltered, vulnerable episode of Food Shrinks , Molly, Clarissa, and MC hit record on what was meant to be a private post-game debrief—and ended up diving into one of the most tender, tangled topics in recovery: body image. Following last week's episode on the industry's obsession with weight, this conversation becomes personal. Like, really personal. From sharing fears about thinness and...

In this unapologetically honest and deeply validating conversation, the Food Shrinks crew dives into one of the hottest topics in food addiction recovery: weight as a false measure of success . Why do some professionals in the recovery field still equate smaller bodies with deeper healing? And what happens when people in larger bodies feel excluded—even when they're abstinent and thriving? Molly,...

In this spontaneous and heart-forward episode, Molly C., Clarissa, and Molly P. crack open the resistance so many of us feel toward group work, and why that resistance might be precisely the sign we need more connection, not less. Together, the trio explores why group healing matters, how co-regulation works, and what it means to feel seen, safe, and mirrored in community. From AA meetings to clin...

The Food Shrinks are back with a spicy, heartfelt conversation about one of the most polarizing tools in the recovery world right now—GLP-1 medications (like Ozempic and Wegovy). In this episode, they tackle the growing buzz (and backlash) around these drugs in eating disorder and food addiction spaces. Are GLP-1s a betrayal of "real" recovery, or can they be a supportive tool for healing? The hos...