Beyond Binge Eating

In this episode, I sit down with Robert Sikes — also known as Keto Savage — a lifetime natural competitive bodybuilder, WNBF pro, the World's Leanest Man, formulator of the Keto Brick, and creator of the Savage System, a coaching program for competitors and everyday people that he runs alongside his wife Crystal.

Robert came up on the traditional bro dieting playbook — six or seven meals a day, high carb, high protein — and it sent him into years of disordered eating. In 2014 he tore up the script and started experimenting with a strict, high-fat ketogenic approach to bodybuilding, building his own contest prep methodology from scratch.

Here's what we cover in the episode:

The bro dieting years — 115 pounds soaking wet in high school, refusing to wear a t-shirt for two years, then 6,000 calories a day of gas station food up to 230 pounds with no coach and no instruction

The first competition, the crash prep he now says he did entirely wrong, and the post-show binge that became the catalyst for years of restricting, binging and purging

How he found keto sideways — through John Kiefer's carb backloading, a protocol that all but sanctions binging at night — and the moment he realized he felt better during the half of the day with no carbohydrates in it

Who really shows up for the Savage System: mostly not competitors, and how many people arrive at keto or carnivore by way of disordered eating without naming it as that

Why, after more than 900 podcast episodes with top biohackers, doctors and researchers, he keeps landing on the least marketable answer there is — morning sun, real food, sleep, movement, and time with the people you love

The protein ceiling nobody's talking about — what happens to his ketones, glucose, sleep and joints after 500 grams at a Brazilian steakhouse, and why he thinks protein has been given a halo

The self-experiments: 18 cans of sardines a day for five days to debunk the viral sardine fast, what his bloodwork showed, and his answer to the sugar diet from the opposite metabolic direction

More info about Dr. Kristina's upcoming carnivore wellness retreat: https://www.MeatandMovement.com

Follow Beyond Binge Eating

Instagram: / https://www.instagram.com/BeyondBingeEating/

Website: https://www.BeyondBingeEating.com

Newsletter: https://beyondbingeeating.com/Newsletter/

Grab your FREE Eat-With-Awareness Bundle to slow down, stay present, and reclaim peace with food: https://beyondbingeeating.com/opt-in/

Keep in touch with Kristina:

https://www.DrKristinaDobyns.com

Connect with Robert here:

Website: ketosavage.com

Coaching: ketobodybuilding.com

Instagram: @ketosavage

YouTube: @ketosavage

X: @ketosavage

Podcast: Savage Perspective Podcast

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

02:24 The bro dieting years

03:42 Eating big, and the crash prep

04:15 20 pounds in 24 hours

04:52 Years in the binge-purge loop

05:57 Restriction vs. structure

06:38 Finding keto through carb backloading

07:57 Why guilt is the real trigger

08:52 What keto did to his bodybuilding

10:08 What are you optimizing for

11:47 The Savage System

12:13 How many clients have food issues

14:49 Coming to keto through disordered eating

15:36 Are there good and bad foods

16:14 The pillars he coaches

17:56 900 episodes, and the basics

19:20 Where to start with body composition

21:26 Testing ketones

21:55 Fat vs. protein

23:24 What Robert eats in a day

24:02 Chasing higher ketones

27:06 Keto and metabolic psychiatry

28:10 Testing the protein floor

29:03 Can you eat too much protein

30:09 His protein heuristic

31:25 Self-experimentation

32:24 Going to the extremes

33:07 The sardine fast experiment

35:14 The sugar diet experiment

37:35 Training splits

38:47 Deadlifts and homesteading

39:46 Why he talks about this openly

40:35 Where to find Robert

Disclaimer: The information on this channel is for educational purposes and is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice or therapy. The views and opinions expressed by podcast guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Kristina Dobyns or Beyond Binge Eating.

In this episode, I sit down with Ellen Bennett — registered dietitian, addiction-informed practitioner, researcher, founder of the Liberate program, and food addict in recovery. Ellen has spent years training as a clinician, and finally conducting groundbreaking research that's challenging everything that the field of eating disorders has taught us about food, moderation, and recovery.

Ellen brings something rare to this space: lived experience grounded in rigorous science. She didn't just survive food addiction — she spent years asking the medical establishment for evidence it even existed, and when they told her there was none, she went back to school, worked on her doctorate, and created that evidence herself.

Here's what we cover in the episode:

Ellen's childhood foundation — allergen restrictions that kept her safe, then the moment at age seven when processed foods became accessible, and how her body responded

The progression of her food addiction through adolescence — constant mental preoccupation, hip surgery, weight gain, and the shame that followed her into adulthood

Why commercial diet programs made everything worse — "moderation" meant nothing to her addicted brain, and no one asked why

How she became a dietitian, and why asking doctors for evidence of food addiction changed her life trajectory

The Liberate program: what it is, how it differs from traditional diet and eating disorder programs

Her groundbreaking research findings — 46% reduction in food addiction

severity, 44% reduction in binge eating symptoms, and what that means for the moderation vs. abstinence debate

Why traditional eating disorder treatment got it backwards — and the story of a woman forced to prove she could eat in moderation to be discharged, who found relief through abstinence instead

How abstinence-based approaches can actually reduce binge eating (contrary to everything the field of eating disorders warned us about)

Meeting people where they are — why one-size-fits-all moderation doesn't work for everyone, and why informed choice matters

Her future research plans — nutrient density studies, her dream retreat center for food addiction recovery, and getting Liberate into the NHS

Why finding community matters when your family doesn't understand — and how the growing addiction-informed food community is making space for people walking this path

Come to the Meat & Movement Retreat in Costa Rica!

https://www.MeatandMovement.com

Follow Beyond Binge Eating

Instagram: / https://www.instagram.com/BeyondBingeEating/

Website: https://www.BeyondBingeEating.com

Newsletter: https://beyondbingeeating.com/Newsletter/

Grab your FREE Eat-With-Awareness Bundle to slow down, stay present, and reclaim peace with food: https://beyondbingeeating.com/opt-in/

Keep in touch with Kristina:

https://www.DrKristinaDobyns.com

Connect with Ellen:

https://www.liberatetoday.org

Timestamps:

00:00 | Intro & Guest Introduction

01:10 | Personal Story Begins

01:47 | Childhood: Allergen Restrictions & the Shift at Age 7

02:33 | Weight Gain Progression: A Stone Per Year

03:15 | Hip Surgery & First Diet Attempts

03:45 | The "Unlimited Chips" Diet Trap

04:21 | Low-Fat Diet Failures & Doctor Blame

05:00 | The Stealing Realization (HOOK)

05:17 | Orlistat Medication Side Effects

05:46 | Sugar-Free Chocolate Bus Story

18:00 | Asking for Evidence: The Turning Point

20:14 | What is Liberate Program

20:49 | How Liberate Differs: No Weight Talk, It's About Coping

29:09 | Research Results: 46% Reduction in Food Addiction

30:11 | Research Results: 44% Reduction in Binge Eating

30:56 | The Woman Forced to Prove Moderation

34:03 | Low-Carb Stabilizes Blood Sugar & Mood

37:50 | The Creation and Validation of CRAVED

42:30 | Food Addiction and Type II Diabetes

47:55 | Future Dreams: Retreat Center & NHS Integration

52:54 | How to Connect & Next Steps

Disclaimer: The information on this channel is for educational purposes and is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice or therapy. The views and opinions expressed by podcast guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Kristina Dobyns or Beyond Binge Eating.

You've been told carbs are fine. Carbs are the problem. Eat intuitively. Track everything. Never restrict.

Set firm boundaries. No wonder recovery feels impossible — the advice is contradictory, and everyone sounds sure they're right.

But here's what the research actually shows: different brains respond differently to food.

For some people, moderation works.

For others, certain foods trigger loss of control, persistent cravings, and repeated relapse.

So the real question isn't "what's the right diet?" It's "what works for my brain, my nervous system, my body?"

This episode is about dropping the search for the perfect protocol and learning to pay attention to what actually helps you feel clear, grounded, and free.

What You'll Learn:

– Why there's no universal recovery template (and why that's actually good news)

– How highly palatable foods hijack the brain's reward system

– The difference between deprivation and clarity

– How to use your own body's signals — energy, cravings, mental noise — as your compass

– What it looks like when recovery starts giving your life back

📩 Want more recovery support in your inbox? Sign up for the Beyond Binge Eating newsletter: https://beyondbingeeating.com/Newsletter/

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Follow Beyond Binge Eating Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/BeyondBingeEating/ Website: https://www.BeyondBingeEating.com Newsletter: https://beyondbingeeating.com/Newsletter/

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grab your FREE Eat-With-Awareness Bundle to slow down, stay present, and reclaim peace with food: https://beyondbingeeating.com/opt-in/

Timestamps

0:00 – The myth of the one right recovery plan

0:42 – Recovery is a process, not a formula

0:55 – Conflicting advice and the voices in your head

1:25 – How highly palatable foods activate the brain's reward system

1:56 – Finding what works: carbs, keto, plant-based, animal-based

2:21 – Sweeteners, dairy, and individual triggers

2:47 – Paying attention to your body's real signals

3:23 – When the noise around food starts to quiet

3:51 – Your recovery gives your life back

4:28 – Listen to your body — your path becomes clear

In this episode, I sit down with Cristie from Meating Wellness — a fifth-grade teacher, certified health coach, and creator of the Meating Wellness YouTube channel and community.

Cristie spent 35 years trapped in a binge-restrict cycle, trying every diet from her teenage years through age 47. Then in 2020, she accidentally discovered carnivore through a random Facebook group comment and one Doctor Berry video — and ended up documenting a transformation that changed not just her life, but her family's.

Cristie brings a rare perspective to the carnivore conversation: she's not an early adopter who saw the future. She's an accidental experiment. A teacher who's watching metabolic dysfunction show up in 10-year-olds.

A mom whose teenage son's behavior transformed in weeks on a meat-based diet. And someone honest enough to say she's still learning, still experimenting, and building a sustainable life — not a perfect one.

Her story is about what it actually costs to break free from diet culture, and what becomes possible on the other side.

Here's what we cover in the episode:

Cristie's 35-year binge-restrict cycle — from teenage diet culture messaging ("fat makes you fat, thin is in") all the way through age 47

How she accidentally found carnivore in 2020 — a Facebook lurker who saw one comment about Doctor Berry and fell down the rabbit hole that changed everything

The difference between knowing about keto and actually understanding it — and why lack of ideology sometimes works better than perfect knowledge

Her journey from keto to carnivore to her current way of eating — and how the details were the real treatment

What happened to her youngest son when she started cooking meat-based meals — behavioral transformation, self-directed hygiene, stability in weeks

Her older son's zero interest in carnivore — and why she's at peace with modeling instead of pushing

Building Meating Wellness as a private community and health coaching practice — asynchronous coaching for busy people

The mindset shift that made it all sustainable

Why the accidental path sometimes teaches you more than the planned one

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Come to the Meat & Movement Retreat in Costa Rica!

https://www.MeatandMovement.com

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Follow Beyond Binge Eating

Instagram: / https://www.instagram.com/BeyondBingeEating/

Website: https://www.BeyondBingeEating.com

Newsletter: https://beyondbingeeating.com/Newsletter/

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grab your FREE Eat-With-Awareness Bundle to slow down, stay present, and reclaim peace with food: https://beyondbingeeating.com/opt-in/

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Keep in touch with Kristina:

https://www.DrKristinaDobyns.com

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Connect with Cristie here:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MeatingWellness

Website: https://www.meatingwellness.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meatingwellness

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meatingwellness

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Disclaimer: The information on this channel is for educational purposes and is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice or therapy. The views and opinions expressed by podcast guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Kristina Dobyns or Beyond Binge Eating.

00:00 — Intro & Guest Introduction

00:01:14 — Cristie's Accidental Carnivore Story Hook

00:02:06 — The 35-Year Binge-Restrict Cycle (late 80s to age 47)

00:02:41 — Deciding on Keto (Age 47, 2020)

00:04:15 — The Facebook Group & Doctor Berry Discovery

00:04:39 — First YouTube Video That Changed Everything

00:10:00 — First Health Changes & Mental Shifts

00:30:00 — Deep Dive Into Carnivore Protocol & Experiments

00:45:00 — Family Dynamics & Oldest Son's Resistance

00:50:14 — Youngest Son's Behavioral Transformation (the highlight)

00:52:38 — What Youngest Son's Diet Looks Like Now

00:53:48 — Teaching Perspective on Kids' Metabolic Health

00:55:22 — Meating Wellness Community & Health Coaching Offer

00:56:44 — Asynchronous Coaching Model Explanation

00:57:00 — Closing & How to Connect

In this episode, I sit down with Charlene Anderson — carnivore coach, official Steak and Butter Gal-certified coach, retro model, and owner-designer of the Etsy shop Handmade Retro Top Shop. Charlene has been eating a carnivore diet since 1998 — decades before it had a name, a community, or a hashtag — and she's used it to fight over 100 health issues, the four biggest being Lyme disease, amenorrhea, degenerative disc disease, and trichotillomania, along with binging and purging.

Charlene brings something rare to this space: nearly three decades of lived carnivore experience that began out of pure necessity, not trend. Her story starts almost at birth — weaned off breast milk at three months, reacting to every formula, then a childhood of recurring strep throat, constant antibiotics, asthma attacks, and allergy shots, all inside a family steeped in conventional medicine that never felt right to her. It's a story of what it actually costs to heal — financially, socially, and emotionally — and what a life rebuilt on the other side can look like.

Here's what we cover in the episode:

• Charlene's childhood health foundation — formula reactions at three weeks old, a doctor grandfather with an overflowing medicine cabinet, preventative antibiotics every winter, and severe allergies to almost everything
• The day in second grade when trichotillomania began — pulling out every eyelash and eyebrow by the end of story time — and how it followed her through school, college, and working life for decades
• How she and her husband Joe finally landed on a way of eating that quieted her conditions — and what changed
• The real cost of healing: downsizing from a big house to a 360-square-foot condo, keeping one car, and being among the last to get a cell phone so they could afford to eat the way their bodies needed
• Losing family members who stood against their lifestyle — and why Charlene urges anyone without family support to find community among the many types of carnivore and animal-based groups
• How deconstructing clothes with zero sewing machine experience turned into a handmade retro clothing business — from first eBay listings to movie producers, calendar shoots, and professional models wearing her designs
• Why her Rosie the Riveter-style hair wraps became her signature product — something anyone of any age, size, or gender can wear
• Returning to roller skating after decades away — the wobbles, the falls, the weekly videos set to a song that matches the feel of the week, and the joy of losing all track of time

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Follow Beyond Binge Eating

Instagram: / https://www.instagram.com/BeyondBingeEating/

Website: https://www.BeyondBingeEating.com

Newsletter: https://beyondbingeeating.com/Newsletter/

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grab your FREE Eat-With-Awareness Bundle to slow down, stay present, and reclaim peace with food: https://beyondbingeeating.com/opt-in/

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Keep in touch with Kristina:

https://www.DrKristinaDobyns.com

Connect with Charlene:

Instagram: @charlene_anderson_andersen

YouTube: @charlene_anderson

Etsy: Handmade Retro Top Shop

Timestamps:

00:00 – Find Your Carnivore Community

00:58 – Meet Charlene Anderson

02:23 – A Rough Start: Formula & Antibiotics

03:37 – Second Grade: Trichotillomania Begins

04:40 – Asthma, Allergies & Hated Shots

05:50 – Teen Years: Acne, Back Pain, Fatigue

07:04 – Summer Camps & a Tick Bite?

09:01 – College: Periods Stop, Darkness Sets In

09:58 – Chemicals, Stress & Meeting Joe

12:32 – The Meds That Triggered Binging

15:58 – Steak & Eggs: Old Hollywood's Secret

18:07 – Allergy Shots That Paralyzed Her

20:13 – The Lyme Disease Diagnosis

21:03 – Healing Hurts First

22:27 – Egg Yolks Bring Her Period Back

24:20 – Binging & Purging Before the Wedding

26:32 – August 1998: Going Full Carnivore

27:10 – Six Years to Find Ribeye

30:26 – Her Exact Protocol Today

34:42 – Meat Storage Secrets

37:38 – Meal Timing & Family Rhythm

39:35 – Losing Family, Finding Community

41:02 – Failures Are Trophies

43:55 – Building Handmade Retro Top Shop

49:22 – Roller Skating Joy

52:08 – Where to Find Charlene

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disclaimer: The information on this channel is for educational purposes and is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice or therapy. The views and opinions expressed by podcast guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Kristina Dobyns or Beyond Binge Eating.

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Mark Hardison — occupational therapist, researcher, and co-developer of the ROADE Program — a community-based, mindfulness-driven intervention for individuals with disordered eating, funded by the American Occupational Therapy Foundation.

With a background that bridges psychology, occupational therapy, and clinical research, Dr. Hardison brings a perspective rarely heard in eating disorder recovery spaces: that healing has to show up in the daily rhythms of your life, not just in the therapy room.

Here's what we cover in the episode:

What occupational therapy actually is — and why its focus on daily function makes it a natural fit for eating disorder recovery

Why the sensory system plays a critical and often overlooked role in healing — and how occupational therapists are uniquely trained to work with it

The ROADE Program — how it was built, what it involves, and what its early results are already showing Why mindfulness belongs in even the most physically-focused therapy settings — and how Dr. Hardison brought it into hand therapy before ever working in mental health

How OT and mental health counseling complement rather than compete with each other — and what each brings to an interdisciplinary recovery team

What it means to reclaim self-care as a healing occupation — something personal, sustainable, and genuinely yours

If you've ever felt like something was missing from your recovery, struggled to translate therapy insights into daily life, or simply never considered what occupational therapy could offer in this context — this conversation will open a door you didn't know was there.

Follow Beyond Binge Eating Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/BeyondBingeEating/

Website: https://www.BeyondBingeEating.com Newsletter: https://beyondbingeeating.com/Newsletter/

Contact Mark Hardison here: [email protected]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grab your FREE Eat-With-Awareness Bundle to slow down, stay present, and reclaim peace with food: https://beyondbingeeating.com/opt-in/

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

00:00 – Intro

00:26 – Meet Dr. Mark Hardison 01:44 – From Psychology Major to Occupational Therapist

02:57 – Bringing Mindfulness Into Hand Therapy

04:49 – How the ROADE Program Was Born

07:41 – Embodiment & the OT Framework

08:32 – Running Away From Emotion vs. Leaning In

09:37 – Inside a ROADE Program Session

12:23 – Why Start With Body Scan

14:45 – What Is Interoception & Why It Matters

15:51 – How Eating Disorders Disconnect You From Your Body

16:18 – Being in Your Body With Compassion

19:47 – What OT Brings to an Eating Disorder Team

21:42 – Reclaiming Self-Care as a Healing Occupation

22:10 – Sensory Integration: OT's Unique Edge

23:42 – ROADE Program Results So Far

25:00 – What's Next & How to Get Involved 26:49 – Where to Find Dr. Hardison

Disclaimer: The information on this channel is for educational purposes and is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice or therapy. The views and opinions expressed by podcast guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Kristina Dobyns or Beyond Binge Eating.

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Jen Unwin — clinical psychologist, co-founder of Food Addiction Solutions, and part of the team that published the first-ever treatment study in the field of food addiction.

Jen brings something rare to the recovery space: a 32-year NHS career, expertise in the science of hope in chronic illness, her own lifelong personal struggle with sugar addiction — one she couldn't see clearly until nearly 50, despite being an expert in human behavior. Her approach is rooted not in willpower but in understanding food addiction as a real, treatable condition — and in asking the solution-focused questions that rebuild hope from the ground up.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Follow Beyond Binge Eating

Instagram: / https://www.instagram.com/BeyondBingeEating/

Website: https://www.BeyondBingeEating.com

Newsletter: https://beyondbingeeating.com/Newsletter/

Grab your FREE Eat-With-Awareness Bundle to slow down, stay present, and reclaim peace with food: https://beyondbingeeating.com/opt-in/

Keep in touch with Kristina:

https://www.DrKristinaDobyns.com

Come to our keto-carnivore retreat!

https://www.MeatandMovement.com

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

📚 CONNECT WITH DR. JEN UNWIN

🐦 X (Twitter): https://x.com/drjenunwin

📖 Fork in the Road (all proceeds support Food Addiction Solutions): https://amzn.eu/d/0c2sxYsp

🔬 Food Addiction Solutions (FAS) — support the campaign to get food addiction recognized: https://www.the-chc.org/FAS

📄 RESEARCH

Toward Consensus: An International Expert Consensus Statement on Ultra-Processed Food Addiction (Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2025): https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1542905/full

TRAINING

Healthcare Professional Training

https://www.the-chc.org/healthcare-professional-training#training-details

📅 UPCOMING EVENTS

🇵🇱 Low Carb & Food Addiction Conference — Poland, September 18–19, 2026

https://fundacjabraciarodzen.pl/products/international-advanced-training-programme?variant=56860764078458

The International Food Addiction Children’s Conference - Nov 14, 2026

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-international-food-addiction-childrens-conference-ifacc-2026-tickets-1991350856016?aff=oddtdtcreator

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro

01:22 – Meet Dr. Jennifer Unwin

04:15 – A Career Built on Hope

06:01 – Psychology in Physical Health Settings

09:17 – Her Doctoral Study: Who Recovers Best?

11:01 – Hope as a Measurable Trait

13:30 – The 3 Components of Hope

14:42 – "What Are You Hoping For?"

16:12 – Solution-Focused Brief Therapy

17:01 – Asking "What's Already Working?"

18:12 – The 0-to-10 Scale

19:12 – "What Would a Four Look Like?"

20:39 – Correcting the Brain's Negative Drift

22:10 – Jennifer's Story: A Childhood Sweet Tooth

23:25 – Family Tragedy & Comfort Eating

24:45 – Overweight at School & Diet Culture

26:03 – Swinging Between Extremes

26:31 – The Shame of "Should Know Better"

26:50 – Discovering Low Carb at 48

27:52 – The Eureka Moment: Sugar Addiction

28:44 – Abstinence Is the Treatment

29:02 – Retiring from the NHS & Training with Bitten

31:04 – Drug-Free Diabetes Remission with David

32:26 – A Life Mission: Recognition

33:22 – Why Your Doctor Has Nowhere to Send You

34:36 – The Recent Wins, Explained

35:49 – The 2022 WHO Application

36:50 – The Four Reasons They Said No

38:10 – Building the Expert Consensus

39:05 – 37 of 40 Experts Agree

39:40 – Naming It: Ultra-Processed Food Use Disorder

41:03 – Distinct from Eating Disorders & Obesity

41:33 – Abstinence as the Mainstay of Treatment

42:15 – The Hammer-and-Nail Problem

42:56 – The First-Ever Treatment Study

44:39 – 62% in Remission at One Year

46:25 – The IFACC Conferences & Children's Event

47:36 – WHO Update: No News Is Good News

48:58 – How Dr. Jen Eats Today

50:44 – Glucose & Ketone Monitoring

52:28 – Raising Their Own Lamb

54:14 – Exercise, Knitting & the "Addict Brain"

Disclaimer: The information on this channel is for educational purposes and is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice or therapy. The views and opinions expressed by podcast guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Kristina Dobyns or Beyond Binge Eating.

In this episode, I sit down with Stephanie Mara Fox — somatic nutritional counselor, mentor, PhD student, and the creator of Somatic Eating, a body-oriented, sensation-focused approach to healing the relationship with food.

With a master's in somatic psychology and over a decade of practice, Stephanie has guided women coaches and wellness professionals around the world out of binge eating, emotional eating, chronic dieting, and body image struggles.

She brings a perspective rarely voiced in recovery spaces: that binge eating was never really a food problem — it's a survival response, and the body, far from being the enemy, was always on your team, trying to do something on your behalf.

Here's what we cover in the episode:

Why the body communicates like a baby — through sensations, urges, and impulses rather than language — and what it means to keep showing up for it with curiosity instead of judgment Stephanie's path from severe digestive issues and an IBS diagnosis in her early 20s to discovering, in her somatic psychology master's, that the binge-restrict cycle was a trauma response her talk therapy could name but never shift

Why binge eating doesn't have just one intention — sometimes it's there to numb and contain, but sometimes it's the body's way of mobilizing out of collapse, depression, and freeze

The session that changed everything — lying on the floor, breathing into the ground — and the under-discussed truth that safety often has to come from outside us (co-regulation) before we can ever offer it to ourselves

Why so many somatic tools from social media fail — they're all self-regulation — and how food itself often acts as a co-regulator the body genuinely relies on

Why recovery isn't linear: how Stephanie's binge eating actually returned during her training, and why there was never one single "thing that worked"

Why the goal at the start isn't to decrease binge eating but to increase embodiment — and how riding the edge of "unsafe but safe enough" slowly widens your window of tolerance

How to slow a binge down to micro-moments — the hand on the fridge door, the feet on the floor — to land back in the body when everything wants to flee it

Why sometimes you don't calm down, you match the energy — and how self-compassion after a binge ("I didn't do anything wrong") is what actually breaks the cycle Where to find Stephanie's work, her Somatic Eating approach, and her Satiated Podcast

If you've ever felt at war with your body, tried every somatic tool only to end up at the kitchen anyway, or suspected that willpower was never the missing piece — this conversation is worth your time.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Follow Beyond Binge Eating Instagram: / https://www.instagram.com/BeyondBingeEating/ Website: https://www.BeyondBingeEating.com Newsletter: https://beyondbingeeating.com/Newsletter/ Connect with Stephanie here: https://www.stephaniemara.com https://www.somaticeating.com https://www.instagram.com/_stephaniemara/ https://www.facebook.com/stephaniemarafox

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grab your FREE Eat-With-Awareness Bundle to slow down, stay present, and reclaim peace with food: https://beyondbingeeating.com/opt-in/

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Disclaimer: The information on this channel is for educational purposes and is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice or therapy. The views and opinions expressed by podcast guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Kristina Dobyns or Beyond Binge Eating.

In this episode, I sit down with Julie Mann — certified life coach, founder of Julie Mann Coaching, and a retired 30-year New York City public school educator who spent 40+ years in her own struggle with binge eating and disordered eating before finding her way out.

Julie brings something rare to the recovery space: the lived experience of someone who has been deep in the struggle, combined with the precision of a master teacher who knows exactly how to bring others with her.

Her approach is rooted not in rules or restriction, but in mindfulness, neuroplasticity, and the slow, patient work of changing the brain.

Here's what we cover in the episode:

Why binge eating consumes 98% of your mental bandwidth — and what becomes possible when you finally stop spending it there Julie's turning point: losing her husband to cancer at 42, becoming a single mom overnight, and how profound grief cracked open a decade-long journey into mindfulness, neuroplasticity, and real healing

How a simple hourly phone reminder to breathe became the foundation of everything she now teaches — and why the nervous system has to come first before any other tool can reach you

How she brought mindfulness and positive neuroplasticity into NYC public school classrooms for immigrant students — and why teaching it to others accelerated her own recovery Why binge eating doesn't have just one cause — and why treating it as a willpower failure keeps people locked in shame instead of opening the door to actual change

The difference between destructive discomfort (bingeing, scrolling, numbing) and productive discomfort — and why everything you want is on the other side of an urge, and everything you don't want is on the other side of a binge

Why urges are opportunities to change your brain, not emergencies to survive — and how greeting them with curiosity instead of dread shifts everything "Tools, not rules" — why a flexible menu of strategies beats a rigid protocol every time, and how Julie's Rewire and Rise community puts that into daily practice

The lessons she has practiced in launching her own business, and the parallels she has noticed between this and the journey of binge eating recovery.

00:00 – Opening

01:20 – Meet Julie Mann

01:41 – Her Story

04:11 – Losing Her Husband & Diving Deeper into Mindfulness

08:22 – Recovering & Becoming "The Brain Over Binge Coach"

09:39 – Building a New Business

11:15 – Meet "Murray": The Lower Brain That Fears Growth

12:36 – Productive Discomfort: Why Recovery & Business Feel the Same

14:19 – Self-Compassion & Turning Mistakes into Learning Moments

17:15 – Owning Your Choice: Internal Leadership in Recovery & Business

19:41 – Nervous System Regulation for Entrepreneurs & Recovery

21:18 – Why You Can't Heal (or Build a Business) Alone

23:14 – Connection as the Antidote to Isolation

25:44 – Moving Toward Something Real, Not Just Away From Pain

27:01 – Inside Rewire and Rise: Julie's New Coaching Program

30:15 – Productive Discomfort / Distress Tolerance

31:07 – The Two Paths: Destructive vs. Productive Discomfort

34:19 – Somatic Tools + Mindfulness Working Together

34:44 – Where to Find Julie Mann

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Follow Beyond Binge Eating Instagram: / https://www.instagram.com/BeyondBingeEating/ Website: https://www.BeyondBingeEating.com Newsletter: https://beyondbingeeating.com/Newsletter/

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grab your FREE Eat-With-Awareness Bundle to slow down, stay present, and reclaim peace with food: https://beyondbingeeating.com/opt-in/

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Keep in touch with Kristina: https://www.DrKristinaDobyns.com More info about Dr. Kristina's upcoming carnivore wellness retreat: https://www.MeatandMovement.com

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Connect with Julie here: Main website: https://juliemanncoaching.com “I can do hard things” Free module: https://juliemanncoaching.myflodesk.com/bbejune26

Disclaimer: The information on this channel is for educational purposes and is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice or therapy. The views and opinions expressed by podcast guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Kristina Dobyns or Beyond Binge Eating.

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Ann Saffi Biasetti — transpersonal psychologist, somatic psychotherapist, certified yoga therapist, mindfulness teacher, and author of Befriending Your Body.

Ann has spent more than 35 years in clinical practice walking people through disordered eating recovery, and her new book, Your Body Never Meant You Any Harm (releasing July 21), distills two decades of thinking into a framework that quietly challenges much of how the field still operates.

She brings a perspective rarely voiced in eating disorder recovery spaces: that real healing doesn't happen when we think our way back into our bodies — it happens when we stop treating the body as something to be fixed or fought with, and start meeting it as the partner it was always trying to be.

Here's what we cover in the episode: Ann's path from sensory-sensitive child to somatic clinician — and the high school yoga class that gave her, for the first time, a way to be in her body without judgment

How an autoimmune diagnosis at 30 sent her back to the mat, and the moment she realized no therapy she'd ever done had taught her what one hour of practice had Why she let go of teaching active vinyasa classes after 17 years — and what real somatic healing requires that flow practices don't have time for

The difference between mind forgiveness ("I did something wrong to my body") and body forgiveness ("neither of us asked for this") — and why that subtle shift reframes the entire recovery process

The autoimmune diagnosis Ann received while writing this book, the shame of being "the expert" who was also unwell, and how self-compassion changed what she did with it

How to separate the mind's reactivity (memory, prediction, self-criticism) from the body's actual sensation in the present moment — the skill almost no traditional therapy teaches directly Why self-compassion isn't a soft add-on to recovery — it's the load-bearing wall that keeps the critical mind from dragging you back into disconnection

The "muddy water regrets" of chronic illness, and why the embodied path doesn't bypass grief — it makes room for it Where to find her work, her eight-week Befriending Your Body program, and the practitioner certification pathway that grew out of it If you've ever felt at war with your body, suspected that thinking harder about recovery wasn't the missing piece, or wondered why self-compassion keeps getting recommended in eating disorder spaces but rarely actually taught — this conversation is worth your time. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Follow Beyond Binge Eating Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/BeyondBingeEating/

Website: https://www.BeyondBingeEating.com

Newsletter: https://beyondbingeeating.com/Newsletter/

Connect with Ann Saffi Biasetti here:

www.befriendingyourbodyprogram.com

www.anembodiedlife.com

https://www.shambhala.com/authors/a-f/ann-saffi-biasetti/your-body-never-meant-you-any-harm-9781645474418.html

00:00 – Opening

00:52 – Meet Dr. Ann Saffi Biasetti: 35 Years in Somatic Psychotherapy

04:19 – First Yoga Class at an All-Girls Catholic High School

06:20 – Autoimmune at 30 & the Yoga That Became Medicinal

08:10 – "No Therapy Ever Helped Me With That"

13:51 – From PhD Research to Befriending Your Body

15:20 – "You Don't Look Like a Yoga Teacher"

19:41 – Mind Forgiveness vs. Body Forgiveness

22:35 – "Your Body Never Asked for This Either"

26:12 – Eating Disorders & Chronic Pain: The Same Sense of Betrayal

32:52 – Autoimmune & Shame

38:13 – The Shift From Striving Mode to "I Got You"

43:49 – Why She Won't Chase Down a Prescriptive Diet

45:43 – New Book: Your Body Never Meant You Any Harm (July 21st)

46:00 – Where to Find Ann

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grab your FREE Eat-With-Awareness Bundle to slow down, stay present, and reclaim peace with food: https://beyondbingeeating.com/opt-in/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Disclaimer: The information on this channel is for educational purposes and is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice or therapy. The views and opinions expressed by podcast guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Kristina Dobyns or Beyond Binge Eating.