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 cultural “shoulds” that hover over eating, the rebellion that comes from restriction, and the nervous system’s role in making food feel safe or unsafe. Stefanie unpacks why stopping at the first sign of fullness often backfires, and why the experience of eating can be as much about psychology and emotional regulation as it is about physiology.

The episode also weaves in a listener story about body image distress in an unexpected setting, highlighting how struggles with food are rarely isolated—they echo into how we manage overwhelm, shame, and self-perception in everyday life.

The episode asks bigger questions about what we’re really hungry for, how permission changes the eating experience, and what it takes to feel truly satisfied—not just physically, but emotionally too.

binge eating recovery, intuitive eating, somatic practices, body image healing, nervous system regulation, food freedom, eating disorder recovery, fullness vs satisfaction, self-trust with food, emotional eating, diet culture recovery, Life After Diets

Connect with Stefanie:

Website: www.iamstefaniemichele.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/iamstefaniemichele

Substack: www.substack.com/@iamstefaniemichele

Email: [email protected]