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.

Especially if you have a complicated relationship with food, body image, or control, resolutions can feel less like hope and more like a trap dressed up as self-improvement. We talk honestly about why resolutions feel so tempting, how shame and pressure sneak into food- and body-based goals, and why that “clean slate” fantasy rarely delivers what it promises. 

Let’s be clear: nothing about this makes you weak, broken, or lacking willpower. In fact, what happens at night is almost always a signal; a physiological one, an emotional one, or both. Sometimes it’s as simple as your body saying, “Hey, I didn’t get enough today,” even if you didn’t feel hungry at the time. Sometimes it’s the residue of all the structure, pressure, and performance mode of the day finally melting away…and taking your guard down with it. And sometimes, the quiet of the evening is the only space where the loneliness, exhaustion, or unmet needs you pushed aside earlier finally surface.

In this episode, we welcome back a longtime favorite guest: Dr. Jeffrey DeSarbo, a neuropsychiatrist and internationally known educator whose work sits at the intersection of brain science, mental health, and eating disorder treatment. If you've heard his previous episodes, you already know that he has a profound ability to make complex neuroscience feel not just understandable, but actionable. This time, he brings something new, something that might seem unexpected coming from a neuroscientist: the science of a bucket list. And no, not the Hollywood version. Not skydiving. Not “visit Paris.” Something far more foundational.

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.

If you’ve ever wondered why PCOS feels so confusing, why the symptoms don’t line up, why the advice is contradictory, why the solutions feel like guesswork, you’re not imagining it. PCOS is one of the most misunderstood conditions out there, and the internet has not helped. Everywhere you turn, there’s another promise to “balance your hormones,” another restrictive plan, another fear-based warning about what will happen if you don’t get it “right.”

Healing isn’t supposed to be perfect or linear, and when we stumble, it doesn’t mean we’ve failed. It’s a moment, one that can actually offer us valuable information about what still needs care, attention, and compassion.

In this week’s episode, we’re unpacking what it actually means to feel “normal” around food, and why that word can be both confusing and powerful. Because when most of us say we want to feel normal, what we really mean is that we want freedom. Freedom from guilt. Freedom from rules. Freedom to trust ourselves again. We’ll talk about how to rebuild that trust, how structure can be the surprising foundation for flexibility, and why connecting with your body, and with other people, is such a vital part of the healing process.

The holidays are a time of joy, connection, and celebration. But they can also stir up difficult emotions, memories, and patterns, especially if you’ve experienced trauma or struggled with disordered eating. In this episode, we’re diving into the complex and often misunderstood relationship between eating disorders and trauma.

You’re in a meeting, at school, or out with friends, and instead of focusing on what’s in front of you, all you can think about is what you’ll eat next, what you shouldn’t have eaten, or what you’ll allow yourself later. That constant mental chatter, what many call food noise, can be exhausting.

In this episode, I break down what treatment can look like when someone is struggling in the “middle” of the spectrum. Not in a medical crisis, but still needing real support to heal their relationship with food. We’ll explore the three core pillars of treatment (what I call the “three-legged stool”), the role each professional plays, and why collaboration across the team matters so much.

In this episode of Understanding Disordered Eating, I’m joined by my good friend and colleague, Sydney Green, MS, RD, to unpack the truth about body image: what it really means, how it shows up in daily life, and why it’s so intertwined with our relationship to food. 

But when it comes to actually healing, when it comes to understanding the deep, messy, human experience of struggling with food and body image, a checklist of symptoms isn't going to cut it. Many often question whether they’re “sick enough” or feel like their struggles don’t fit into a neat little box. So let’s talk about it. This week, we’re diving into why eating disorders are way more complex than the labels we slap on them—and why real recovery requires thinking outside the diagnosis.

In this episode, we’re diving headfirst into practical tools to deal with dissociation —the kind of techniques that are handy to have when you feel like your brain and body feel like they’re speaking two different languages.

In this episode, I’m talking about how the media’s (and beyond) portrayal is not only wildly inaccurate but also dangerously misleading. That “sick enough” myth? It’s real. And let’s be honest, it’s all kinds of messed up. I’m unraveling the reason why those 19-year-old, emaciated models aren’t the majority, and how most people don’t fit neatly into a category. 

We’re diving into the whirlwind of women’s health across the lifespan, from puberty (hello, acne and mood swings) to pregnancy (goodbye, all those shoes that are now too small) and beyond. Spoiler alert: expecting your body to stay the same through all this? Delusional. This isn’t just about biology. It’s about expectations. Why are we so hard on our bodies for doing what they’re literally designed to do?

Confidence isn’t about magically feeling good 24/7. It’s about learning how to trust yourself, even when you feel like a mess. We’ll be unpacking the "5 C's of Confidence" — Compassion, Curiosity, Courage, Connection, and, of course, Confidence — and showing you how to turn anxiety-fueled meltdowns into moments of growth.

In this episode, I’m diving into what actually builds confidence: relationships. Real ones. Consistent, validating, non-judgy, "I-got-you" type of relationship. The kind that reminds you you’re worthy, even when you’re sporting your least flattering sweatpants. 

There’s an often misunderstood world of intuitive eating. Sure, it’s all about “all foods fit” and “no food rules,” but let’s get real—sometimes you need a bit of structure, especially when that party-size bag of chips starts whispering your name.

We often get stuck in the food and body image loop when discussing eating disorders. But let's be real, it's so much more than that! Our relationship with food and our bodies spills over into every aspect of our lives, especially anything that connects with our desires, including our sexual desires and intimacy.