This week’s conversation zooms in on what Michelle calls “the myth at the heart of them all”: the belief that control equals peace.

She begins by unpacking why control is so seductive. In a chaotic world, rules around food, body, work, or routines promise certainty, safety, and belonging. But as Michelle illustrates, control is like squeezing water in your hands—the tighter the grip, the more it slips away.

Through stories and science, she explores how this plays out:

• Food rules create pressure, which fuels rebellion and the binge–restrict cycle.
• Rigid movement plans collapse the moment life throws a curveball.
• Hustle culture’s perfect routines crumble under real-world stress, leaving shame and “all-or-nothing” thinking.

Michelle explains the biological and psychological costs: restriction triggers hunger hormones and cravings; stress spikes cortisol and dysregulates mood; autonomy violations ignite inner rebellion. The result? Exhaustion, brittleness, shame, and lost self-trust.

But there’s another way: trust. Michelle shares how shifting from control to trust through intuitive eating and flexible rhythms brought her more stability, joy, and freedom than she ever found in rigid discipline. Trust, she reminds us, is not passivity—it’s active listening and responding with compassion instead of rules.

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