Life After Diets

We talk a lot about food guilt in eating disorder recovery, but what exactly are we feeling guilty about? The food we ate? The fact that we ate too much? Or what we believe our eating says about the kind of person we are? In this episode of Life After Diets , we discover that our experiences of guilt during binge eating were surprisingly different. One of us felt responsible for having an eating d...

"I think I am an addict, a food junkie." That's how one listener described their experience of eating a breakfast and lunch, then finding themselves eating biscuits, ice cream, and whatever else was available by 8 PM. They weren't even hungry -- they just couldn't stop. We had some thoughts. For starters, there's the question of what we're calling "enough" food these days, especially when we're su...

Why is it sometimes so hard to eat without watching something? In this episode, Stef and Sarah look at the relationship between food and screens from two very different personal experiences. For Stef, screens used to make it possible to eat without having to listen to the running commentary in her head about what or how much she was eating. Over time, even after restriction eased, the pairing itse...

An announcement from Stef & Sarah about the return of Life After Diets. You can resubscribe! Support the Show! https://ko-fi.com/lifeafterdietspodcast

In this (for real for real) final episode of Life After Diets, host Stefanie Michele explains how recovery taught her how to understand the call for change. She shares why letting go of the familiar—even when it's scary—is essential for growth, and how that insight is leading her to close this chapter and launch her new show, Full But Not Finished . The Life After Diets archive will remain here as...

Travel isn't just about the logistics of getting from one place to another — it's the nervous system spikes, the old body image stories that flare when you're around people from your past, and the challenge of feeding yourself in a group. In this episode, I talk about a recent trip with college friends and the layers that came with it: Flight anxiety and how I work with my body in real time when p...

In this episode of Life After Diets , host Stefanie Michele explores the strange tension of being "full but not finished." Many people know the feeling: the body signals fullness, yet something inside still wants more. What does that reveal about the way we relate to food, our emotions, and ourselves? Rather than reducing the issue to hunger and fullness cues alone, this conversation looks at the...

In this episode, Stefanie revisits the early days of her "all-in" recovery from binge eating and restriction. She shares raw excerpts from personal emails she wrote at the time, capturing the fear, doubt, and body image struggles of letting go of food rules on her 40th birthday. Stefanie reflects on why this attempt at recovery succeeded when so many earlier ones hadn't, and what it really means t...

In this solo episode of Life After Diets , Stefanie Michele takes a deeply personal look at identity — how it forms, how it gets tangled up with food and body image, and how it shifts in the process of recovery. With her co-host Sarah leaving the podcast, Stefanie reflects on what it means to carry the podcast forward on her own and how that mirrors the ways we all renegotiate who we are when fami...

A very special announcement to say that Life After Diets is closing a chapter to open some new ones. As Sarah makes room in her life for new endeavors (if you're in the UK area, be sure to subscribe to her mailing list for future in-person events), Stef will still be a voice in your ear under the Life After Diets name...for now.  To stay in touch with Stef and Sarah, you can use the following link...

Recovery from disordered eating doesn't end the moment bingeing stops — that's often where an entirely new phase begins . In this episode, Stef and Sarah unpack the often-overlooked "middle ground" of recovery — the stage where the chaos of bingeing has quieted, but true peace with food still feels out of reach. Stef describes this phase as a kind of emotional limbo: the urgency is gone, but now t...

Marcus returns as the only guest we've ever invited back to the podcast, and in this conversation, he opens up about his evolving understanding of neurodivergence — particularly through the lens of autism — and how that realization has reshaped his recovery from an eating disorder, his relationships, and his sense of self. With honesty, nuance, and hard-won clarity, Marcus shares what it's been li...

You'd think feeling bad about your body would make you eat less. But often, it does the opposite — and no, you're not broken for that. In this episode, we talk about the counterintuitive link between body image spirals and the urge to binge eat. We share our own experiences of how fear, shame, and catastrophizing can kick off the cycle — sometimes even before any actual restriction happens. From t...

What takes up space in your mind when food no longer does?   In this live episode with the Life After Diets community, we explore what happens when food obsession fades.  Do we land in a new identity with different thoughts and interests? Or do we find new mental fixations waiting in the wings?   From identity shifts and social anxiety to ego, neurodivergence, and the need for stimulation, we dig...

Ever feel like food is the only way you're allowed to rest? In this episode, we dive into the complicated overlap between rest, productivity, and eating — especially when slowing down feels wrong .  We talk about using food to procrastinate, to collapse, or "let go" … and the cultural guilt that makes true rest so hard to claim.  If you've ever felt anxious doing nothing (unless snacks are involve...

This week, we're talking boundaries—the invisible lines that protect our time, energy, and sanity (when we actually enforce them). Stef and Sarah unpack what boundaries really are (hint: not just saying "no"), how they show up in our bodies, our relationships, and our work—and why so many of us struggle to hold them. From family dynamics to friend drama, people-pleasing traps to food boundaries, t...

In this episode, the hosts introduce their guest Nicola Salmon, a fertility coach with a medical science background who advocates for fat-positive fertility. Nicola shares strategies for navigating the biases in fertility healthcare systems, especially for those in bigger bodies. She discusses her journey, the myths around fertility in fat bodies, and the challenges posed by current medical practi...

In our epic 200th episode, we celebrate nearly four years of non-stop conversations without missing a single week! We dive into listener questions, sharing our (sometimes poignant, sometimes hilarious) insights on binge eating recovery, talking to kids about food, and handling body insecurities. We reveal a little about ourselves with a fun quiz—you'll find out who's the over-packer and who's like...

In episode 199, the hosts introduce and interview Anny Johnson from The Fat Ugly Blog . Anny shares her personal story of recovering from binge eating disorder and discusses the complexities of her journey as a black woman in recovery spaces. Despite technical hiccups during the introduction, Anny remains a captivating guest, shedding light on her experience of achieving her dream job as cabin cre...

In this live-streamed episode, Stef and Sarah explore the nuanced world of cravings — what drives them, how they differ from binge or overeating urges, and why they're often more complicated than they seem. They discuss the physiological and emotional undercurrents behind cravings, from hormonal shifts to nervous system dysregulation, weaving in personal experiences — including Stef's two most mem...

In this episode, Stef and Sarah are talking about body image fluctuations. They kick things off with Stef admitting she's been in a bit of a funk lately, which has her feeling some body image blues. They chat about how our moods can totally mess with how we see our bodies —like when you're tired or anxious, everything feels heavier and more irritating. Stef talks about the importance of recognizin...

In this heartfelt episode, Sarah and Stef explore the concept of self-forgiveness, including that it isn't about excusing harmful behaviors but rather about understanding and acknowledging the underlying causes of our actions.   Sarah emphasizes the role of self-forgiveness in her personal growth, sharing how recognizing our inherent innocence can change the way we address self-blame and guilt. St...

The main topic of the episode addresses the recent cultural emphasis on thinness and the use of weight loss drugs like GLP-1 medications. Stef and Sarah explore the societal pressure for thinness, the resurgence of weight loss as a value, and how it impacts people on a personal level, particularly those in recovery from eating disorders. They delve into their own experiences and observations about...

In this episode, Sarah and Stef explore the topic of why they decided to make this a rare two-part series. Stef sparked the idea due to a client's suggestion to dive deeper into the emotional aspects tied to realizing one can't diet anymore. They chat about their personal experiences and how differently they feel about the inability to diet. Stef shares that she often felt anger, stemming from the...

Sarah and Stef delve into the complex emotions around dieting and the struggles of non-diet living.   To kick things off, Sarah brings up the topic of feeling stuck between wanting to diet and feeling like you can't, even if you wanted to. This sets the stage for a thoughtful discussion about how dieting, and the decision to step away from it, evokes a range of emotions—from failure to empowerment...