You eat well all day, hold it together, and then lose the plot at night. This episode explains why, and it's not a willpower problem.

I'm talking about the joy deficit. When your daily life has very little genuine pleasure, your brain goes looking for dopamine the fastest way it knows how. Food. In secret. Frantic. Followed by shame.

I break down the neuroscience of why a joyless day creates a biological drive to binge. I talk through the 5 signs you might have a joy deficit right now. I share the client win that changed her life, and I give you one practice to start this week.

Your brain isn't obsessed with food because something is wrong with you. It's obsessed with food because food is the main source of pleasure available to it. Give it more of everything else. Watch what happens.

Resources and Goodies:

Everything lives here:⁠ ⁠https://stan.store/bingefreebestie⁠

If this episode resonated:

Come find me on Instagram⁠ ⁠⁠@bingefreebestie ⁠⁠⁠and let me know.

If you loved this episode, please leave a review and hit subscribe. It genuinely helps more women find this podcast, and that's the whole point. 💜

The Binge Free Bestie Podcast is hosted by Nic, registered counsellor and recovered binge eater. Content shared in this podcast is educational in nature and is not a substitute for individualised therapeutic support.

Ready to say goodbye to the binge-restrict cycle for good?

The Break Up is open for enrolment now for the August 2026 round, and doors close Monday August 3rd.

👉 Join here: https://checkout.bingefreebestie.com/the-break-up

Use code FOUNDINGBESTIE for $500 AUD off as a founding member of this newly elevated round.

Come find me on Instagram @bingefreebestie, or flick me a DM if you've got questions before you dive in.

Can't wait to have you in there 💜

Ready to say goodbye to the binge-restrict cycle for good?

The Break Up is open for enrolment now for the August 2026 round, and doors close Monday August 3rd.

👉 Join here: https://checkout.bingefreebestie.com/the-break-up

Use code FOUNDINGBESTIE for $500 AUD off as a founding member of this newly elevated round.

Come find me on Instagram @bingefreebestie, or flick me a DM if you've got questions before you dive in.

Can't wait to have you in there 💜

Ready to say goodbye to the binge-restrict cycle for good?

The Break Up is open for enrolment now for the August 2026 round, and doors close Monday August 3rd.

👉 Join here: https://checkout.bingefreebestie.com/the-break-up

Use code FOUNDINGBESTIE for $500 AUD off as a founding member of this newly elevated round.

Come find me on Instagram @bingefreebestie, or flick me a DM if you've got questions before you dive in.

Can't wait to have you in there 💜

Ready to say goodbye to the binge-restrict cycle for good?

The Break Up is open for enrolment now for the August 2026 round, and doors close Monday August 3rd.

👉 Join here: https://checkout.bingefreebestie.com/the-break-up

Use code FOUNDINGBESTIE for $500 AUD off as a founding member of this newly elevated round.

Come find me on Instagram @bingefreebestie, or flick me a DM if you've got questions before you dive in.

Can't wait to have you in there 💜

You can do all the inner work and still fall apart at the dinner table because someone commented on your plate, your body, or even their own.

This episode is about the relational side of binge and emotional eating. Your mum who's always on a diet. Your partner who makes comments. The friend who pushes food. The friend who won't eat anything. The people who love you and still make eating so much harder.

In this episode Nic covers:

• Why other people's behaviour around food affects your recovery more than you realise

• The four types of people who show up as triggers (and what's actually going on for them)

• One practical tool for protecting your progress, with real scripted examples you can use straight away

• What to do when someone doesn't respect your limits after you've set them

The people around you are part of the picture. This episode is about what to do with that.

Resources and Goodies:

Everything lives here: ⁠https://linktr.ee/bingefreebestie⁠

If this episode resonated:

Come find me on Instagram ⁠⁠@bingefreebestie ⁠⁠and let me know.

If you loved this episode, please leave a review and hit subscribe. It genuinely helps more women find this podcast, and that's the whole point. 💜

The Binge Free Bestie Podcast is hosted by Nic, registered counsellor and recovered binge eater. Content shared in this podcast is educational in nature and is not a substitute for individualised therapeutic support.

Chapters

00:00 When Loved Ones Trigger Your Food Recovery

01:30 Healing From Diet Culture Around Other People

03:16 The Mum Who Is Always on a Diet

04:04 How Your Mum’s Diet Talk Shapes Your Food Beliefs

05:37 When Your Partner Comments on What You Eat

07:48 The Friend Who Pushes Food on You

09:37 When Your Friend Barely Eats and It Triggers Comparison

11:52 Practical Strategies for Food and Body Comments

12:26 Why You Can’t Control Other People’s Diet Talk

13:16 What Boundaries Really Mean in Recovery

14:15 Using I Statements to Stop Diet Conversations

15:48 How to Redirect Diet Talk Without Drama

17:04 Having a Direct Conversation About Food Comments 19:18 You Don’t Have to Earn the Right to Protect Your Healing 19:48 When Your Recovery Makes Other People Uncomfortable

21:17 How to Stay in Your Lane Around Diet Culture

22:18 Simple Scripts for Protecting Your Food Freedom

Ever found yourself standing at the pantry with an empty packet and zero memory of opening it? You weren't hungry. You weren't even really thinking. This is part two of the ADHD and binge eating series, and today we're going deep on stim eating, one of the most misunderstood eating patterns for neurospicy and neurodivergent women.

I'm Nic Gaviria, registered counsellor, recovered binge eater, and late-diagnosed ADHD woman. I built The Break Up because I couldn't find anything that actually worked for brains like mine, and now I support women around the world to get free from binge eating and emotional eating for good.

In this episode I cover:

• What stim eating actually is and why it's completely different to emotional eating

• Why ADHD brains specifically reach for chips, sour lollies, fizzy drinks and crunchy textures (the neuroscience is wild)

• Where stim eating shows up most, and why it has nothing to do with hunger or feelings

• My own stim eating story before my ADHD diagnosis

• How my Food Freedom Method addresses this specifically, including what a dopamine menu is and how to build one

• Big news about The Break Up and what I've been building behind the scenes for my ADHD besties

If you caught last week's ADHD 101 episode, this is the follow-on. Go binge that one first if you haven't. More in the series coming.

Resources and Goodies:

Everything lives here: ⁠https://linktr.ee/bingefreebestie⁠

The Break Up Waitlist: https://checkout.bingefreebestie.com/waitlist-sign-up-page

If this episode resonated:

Come find me on Instagram ⁠⁠@bingefreebestie ⁠⁠and let me know.

If you loved this episode, please leave a review and hit subscribe. It genuinely helps more women find this podcast, and that's the whole point. 💜

The Binge Free Bestie Podcast is hosted by Nic, registered counsellor and recovered binge eater. Content shared in this podcast is educational in nature and is not a substitute for individualised therapeutic support.

This one is personal. I just turned 33 and I recently received a late ADHD diagnosis,  and it cracked open a whole new layer of understanding around my own binge eating history. In this episode I'm sharing my story, the research behind the ADHD and binge eating connection, six specific ADHD behaviours that drive disordered eating (with real-life examples), and one practical tool you can start using today. This is our 101, we'll be doing more episodes on this, but if you've ever felt like the standard food advice just doesn't work for your brain, this is your starting point.

In this episode:

• My late ADHD diagnosis and the grief, anger, and pride that came with it

• Why women are chronically underdiagnosed — and what that costs us

• The dopamine connection: why your brain reaches for food

• Six ADHD traits that directly drive binge eating

• Why "just listen to your body" is neurotypical advice

• The Dopamine Check-In: your one tool for today

• Why The Break Up was neurodivergent-friendly before I even knew I was

Resources and Goodies:

Everything lives here: ⁠https://linktr.ee/bingefreebestie⁠

If this episode resonated:

Come find me on Instagram ⁠⁠@bingefreebestie ⁠⁠and let me know.

If you loved this episode, please leave a review and hit subscribe. It genuinely helps more women find this podcast, and that's the whole point. 💜

The Binge Free Bestie Podcast is hosted by Nic, registered counsellor and recovered binge eater. Content shared in this podcast is educational in nature and is not a substitute for individualised therapeutic support.

Financial Stress Eating: How Money Anxiety Hijacks Your Body

You're not eating because you're hungry. You're eating because your nervous system thinks you're about to starve.

This episode is about financial stress eating. Specifically, why money anxiety sends your body straight into survival mode and makes food feel completely out of control.

If you've ever noticed that a bad bank statement leads to a binge, don't worry you're not losing it and you're not out of control. Your body is doing something ancient. Something it was literally built to do. The problem is, it can't tell the difference between a famine and an overdraft.

In today's episode, I explain the biology behind why financial stress triggers overeating. I'll walk you through what's happening in your nervous system when money gets tight. I'll tell you why willpower is completely irrelevant here. And I'll give you a few real, practical tools you can use next time the urge hits after opening your banking app.

Resources and Goodies:

Everything lives here: ⁠https://linktr.ee/bingefreebestie⁠

If this episode resonated:

Come find me on Instagram ⁠⁠@bingefreebestie ⁠⁠and let me know.

If you loved this episode, please leave a review and hit subscribe. It genuinely helps more women find this podcast, and that's the whole point. 💜

The Binge Free Bestie Podcast is hosted by Nic, registered counsellor and recovered binge eater. Content shared in this podcast is educational in nature and is not a substitute for individualised therapeutic support.

Chapters:

00:00 Why Money Anxiety Triggers Binge Eating

02:24 The Money Stress And Binge Eating Cycle

03:46 Why Financial Stress Hits Differently

04:42 Scarcity, Survival Mode And Food Urges

05:38 What Cortisol Does To Your Appetite

06:57 My Personal Story With Binge Eating And Debt

07:40 Secret Credit Cards, Binge Hauls And Shame

08:18 Diet Culture, Weight Loss Surgery And Financial Damage

09:28 How Financial Stress And Binges Feed Each Other

10:03 Why Your Brain Goes Offline During A Binge

11:07 Recovery Is Bigger Than Food Freedom

12:39 From Binge Eating Debt To Buying My First Home

13:56 Scarcity Mindset And Feeling Out Of Control

15:15 Why Money Worry Makes Eating Harder To Regulate

16:09 Why Willpower Is Not The Answer

17:46 The Reality Of Cost Of Living Stress

18:48 Why Food Feels Like Safety

19:26 How To Interrupt The Binge Shame Spiral

20:38 Why Restriction Makes Money Stress Eating Worse

21:29 Non-Food Ways To Signal Safety

22:18 Money Stress, Survival Mode And Self-Compassion

23:18 Outro

You had a streak going. You felt good. Then you binged. And your brain immediately called it self-sabotage.

That word is doing you real harm. This episode is about why.

A question came in from Deborah inside the Bestie Squad asking why she feels great during a streak of no bingeing, and then it all falls apart. I'd bet most of you know exactly what that feels like. So I'm answering it properly.

This isn't a willpower thing. This isn't a self-control thing. There are specific mechanics driving that cycle, and once you can see them, you can't unsee them.

Resources and Goodies:

Everything lives here: ⁠https://linktr.ee/bingefreebestie⁠

If this episode resonated:

Come find me on Instagram ⁠⁠@bingefreebestie ⁠⁠and let me know.

If you loved this episode, please leave a review and hit subscribe. It genuinely helps more women find this podcast, and that's the whole point. 💜

The Binge Free Bestie Podcast is hosted by Nic, registered counsellor and recovered binge eater. Content shared in this podcast is educational in nature and is not a substitute for individualised therapeutic support.

00:00 Introduction

02:27 Why Do I Binge After A Good Streak?

04:06 Why You’re Not Actually Self-Sabotaging

05:11 The Binge Cycle: Restriction, Trigger, Shame, Repeat

05:50 Sneaky Food Restriction That Can Lead To Binge Eating

07:18 The “Fuck It” Moment & All-Or-Nothing Thinking

09:43 Why Binges Aren’t Always About Food

11:40 The Binge Analysis Tool: What To Ask After A Binge

13:25 Recap: What Your Binge Cycle Is Really Telling You

14:19 Reframing Self-Sabotage As A Cycle You Can Understand

15:13 Join The Bestie Squad