Vulnerability is courage in you, and weakness in me

Do you ever read what others write online and think, "Wow that's brave, but I could never do that."

If so, I have been where you are.

Back in 2009, I was deep in my binge eating disorder shame spiral. No one knew how much I was struggling. And I wanted to keep it that way.

I was going to solve this dang problem myself if it was the last thing I did.

And then, once I solved it, then maybe I'd share my story.

Ready to Break the Binge Eating Cycle for Good?

Ready to stop avoiding and break the binge eating cycle for good?

The first step is to disrupt the cycle.

My free practical guide has 23 positive ideas for things to do instead of eating. Don't worry, you wont find the standard diet culture BS advice (take a walk, have some water!)

Take the first step to finally stop binge eating and grab my free practical guide today!

Grab my free guide to disrupt the cycle of emotional and binge eating today!

The Power of One Woman's Story

I started listening to podcasts in 2008 when I was living in Philadelphia going to grad school.

I would walk to and from campus every day, often with one of my beloved podcasts playing in my headphones.

Podcast listening wasn't as convenient as it is today. I had to download the podcasts from my desktop computer to iTunes, and then plug in my iPod and transfer the episodes to it.

It was not a fast process.

But I had a sense there was something for me to gain from this one woman's story and I just knew I had to keep listening.

I Had All the Tools, or So I Thought

I had access to all the tools and resources related to evidence-based approaches to eating disorders and weight management.

Literally, that's what I came to Drexel to study.

I led groups for NIH funded weight management trials comparing standard behavioral treatments to more innovative treatments. I read and researched the psychology and biology of eating behavior every day.

I worked with some of the very top leaders in the eating disorder and weight management fields.

"Maybe I'm Not Broken..."

With access to all these resources, want to know what helped me the most during this time?

Listening to Renee Stephens' podcast where she shared her story of having binge eating disorder, eating food out of the trash, and eventually achieving peace and freedom in her relationship with food.

Her struggle made me feel a tiny bit less like a total hypocrite and a fraud.

It took away a tiny bit of my shame. And gave me hope.

Are We Really Helping People?

This was also the time when I really started to question things.

I wasn't seeing any clients or group members make incredible transformations and achieving long-term peace in their relationship with food.

Maybe it wasn't me, or the clients, or the research participants that were the ones who were broken at all.

Maybe the system was.

"It will always be a struggle for you."

One of the things you often hear about in the eating disorder and weight management worlds is that if you have and eating disorder, or struggle with your weight, you will probably always struggle.

But don't worry... you can "learn to manage it."

How inspiring .

It is even possible to not struggle for the rest of your life?

I remember hearing Renee say things I had never heard before, like:

There's a positive intention behind every behavior, meaning you are trying to get something good for yourself when you are eating (e.g., freedom from pain, boredom, comfort, etc.)Ask yourself "how will eating this make me feel over time?" It is possible to feel relaxed around food and at peace with your bodyHow do you want to feel in your body?

Glimmers of Hope and Empowerment

Although at this point in my journey when I was listening to Renee's story, I was still in diet mentality in many ways. However, I found it really helpful to ask myself some of t...