Understanding Disordered Eating: For anyone whose relationship with food feels harder than it should

In this episode, I'm talking about why so many attempts to change your relationship with food seem to fizzle out, even when you're motivated and genuinely want things to be different. Because constantly starting over doesn't mean you're lazy, uncommitted, or missing some magical piece of information. We're digging into the deeper reasons certain behaviors stick around, what they may actually be do...

In this episode, I'm talking about a question that sounds simple but can feel surprisingly hard to answer: What are you actually hungry for? Not in the physical sense, but underneath all of the eating, the urges, the restlessness, and the feeling that something is missing. We're exploring why so many of us learned to disconnect from our wants and needs, how food became the safest and most reliable...

When feelings, needs, and wants don't have a place to go, they don't simply disappear. They often find another outlet. For many people, food becomes the place where hurt, anger, disappointment, stress, and resentment get expressed without ever being spoken out loud. In this episode, I'm exploring why disordered eating behaviors can feel so difficult to let go of and why they often provide very rea...

This episode is all about that feeling and why it can become so emotionally powerful. We're digging into the connection between food control and everything happening underneath the surface that often has nothing to do with food at all. Anxiety. Uncertainty. Stress. Feeling emotionally stuck. Feeling like there are things you can't say, can't ask for, or can't fully admit to yourself. Sometimes con...

In this episode, the conversation gets into the sneaky side of restriction. The kind that hides inside wellness culture, clean eating, safe choices, food guilt, and the constant running commentary in your head about what you should or should not eat. And honestly? A lot of it feels so normal that you do not even realize it's happening. There's also a really important conversation about why binge e...

In this episode of Understanding Disordered Eating, I'm digging into one of the most misunderstood parts of binge eating: why dieting and restriction so often lead directly to the exact thing you're trying to avoid. And no, it's not because you "lack willpower." That story has been recycled enough already. We're talking about the restriction cycle; the physical and psychological deprivation that q...

There's a very specific kind of panic that happens when someone says, "Just listen to your hunger." Because in theory? It sounds so simple. Eat when you're hungry. Stop when you're full. Trust your body. Very calming Pinterest quote energy. And then real life happens. In this episode, I'm breaking down why that happens. We're talking about how years of restriction, dieting, food rules, and trying...

Guys. We just hit Episode 200!!  Whether you've been here since the beginning or you just found this podcast five minutes ago, I'm really glad you're here. This space has grown in ways I never expected, and it only works because you keep showing up and actually doing this work alongside me. In this episode, we're shifting the focus away from motivation and onto three capacities that actually deter...

In last week's episode, we talked all about people pleasing. The kind where you say yes before you've even processed what was asked, and then immediately start doing mental gymnastics trying to figure out how you're going to follow through on something you didn't even want to agree to. We're getting into how to stop the automatic yes without swinging to the other extreme, how to say no without tur...

In this episode, we're pulling back the curtain on what's actually happening underneath the surface. The suppressed needs. The tension. The resentment that builds while everything looks completely fine on the outside. And why your eating disorder might be stepping in to regulate what you're not expressing. Tweetable Quotes " So many people struggling with eating disorders also struggle with chroni...

In this episode, we're slowing that moment down and looking at what is actually happening beneath it. Because those urges are not random, and they are not a sign that you are failing. They are signals. We're getting into why your brain reaches for old behaviors, what you are really needing in those moments, and how to create just enough space to respond differently without relying on willpower alo...

There's a very specific kind of high that comes from validation. Someone compliments you, someone reassures you, someone notices you… And for a second, everything just settles. You feel calmer. More certain. A little more solid in yourself. And then it fades. So naturally, your brain goes, "Okay, cool, let's do that again." You check your phone. You reread the message. You replay the compliment. Y...

If you've ever found yourself stuck between needing people and wanting to prove you don't, between wanting things and immediately judging yourself for it, or between wanting to be seen and wanting to disappear entirely… this episode might feel a little too familiar. In this episode of Understanding Disordered Eating, I'm stepping away from behaviors, diagnoses, and symptom checklists, and talking...

If you've ever done all the "right" body image work, challenged the thoughts, said the affirmations, stared into the mirror like you were told to, and still felt exactly the same… this episode is for you. And honestly? You're not broken. You're probably just being asked to do body image work that was never deep enough to begin with. Today's conversation comes from a place of deep respect for clien...

"Eating disorders are about control." It's one of those phrases that gets repeated so often it starts to sound like an unquestionable truth. But when you sit with it for more than a few seconds, it gets messy fast. Because if eating disorders are "about control," then recovery is often framed as the opposite: letting go of control. And that's where a lot of people understandably get stuck. That ad...

Let's be honest: if eating disorder recovery were just about wanting it enough, none of us would be here. You'd read one book, listen to one podcast, have one "aha" moment… and boom, cured. But that's not how this works, and if you've tried to shortcut your way through recovery before, this episode is probably going to feel a little too familiar. Tweetable Quotes "If we're working toward feeling s...

Have you ever hit that point where you're doing recovery "right" and instead of relief, you feel like absolute garbage? Like… you gave up the behaviors, you're eating regularly, you're showing up to sessions, and somehow everything inside you feels louder, messier, and harder to deal with than before. This episode is about that part. The part no one really warns you about. The phase where recovery...

If you've ever been told that you need to "heal the root" of your eating disorder, but no one ever really explained what that actually means, this episode is for you. Maybe you've done the meal plans. The behavior tracking. The symptom management. And yet… something still feels unresolved. Fragile. Like the eating disorder quiets down for a while, only to resurface later in a different form. In th...

In this episode of Understanding Disordered Eating, I'm joined by Jack Heinemann for a live, supervision-style conversation that explores what's often happening beneath the surface when therapists feel stuck. Rather than focusing on what to say or do next, we slow the work down and examine how unconscious relational patterns quietly organize the therapy relationship itself, shaping both the client...

Have you ever felt like you're living in a completely different reality than everyone around you? Like you're doing the hard, slow work of healing your relationship with food while the rest of the world seems to be shrinking overnight and talking about it nonstop? Feeling angry, jealous or left out is common, and you aren't alone if you're feeling this way too. Right now, weight loss medications a...

You know when someone says, "Oh, that's normal", but something in your body clearly doesn't feel right? Maybe you've lost your period and brushed it off because you exercise a lot. Maybe a doctor waved it away. Maybe you've been praised for your discipline, your control, your "healthy" lifestyle, even while your body has been quietly asking for more. In this episode, we're having an honest, deeply...

January has a way of making everything feel louder. The pressure to start over, "fix yourself", and come back "better" than before. If you've ever felt that quiet panic underneath all the New Year motivation, this episode is for you. Instead of making a New Year's Resolution, we're making an anti-resolution.  Tweetable Quotes "When we're under pressure, it's kind of impossible to make deliberate d...

For so many of us, nighttime feels like stepping into a different version of ourselves. One that feels "fine" all day, but starts to unravel the moment the sun goes down. One who can't stop thinking about snacks, who wanders into the kitchen on autopilot, who feels out of control around food in ways that never show up at noon. It can feel confusing, frustrating, even shameful. Listen to the full e...

Struggling to find motivation in recovery, or trying to make sense of what keeps people pushing through something as painful as an eating disorder, opens a door to a much deeper conversation. This episode steps right through that door. In this episode, we welcome back a longtime favorite guest: Dr. Jeffrey DeSarbo, a neuropsychiatrist and internationally known educator whose work sits at the inter...

Whether you're supporting others or navigating your own process, this episode offers language and perspective to help you sit with the messiness rather than fear it. In this episode, we slow down to explore why ambivalence exists, what it reveals about our experiences, and why it's a doorway rather than a roadblock. We unpack the deeper meaning behind body goals, what thinness represents, the safe...