Life After Diets

We talk a lot about food guilt in eating disorder recovery, but what exactly are we feeling guilty about? The food we ate? The fact that we ate too much? Or what we believe our eating says about the kind of person we are?

In this episode of Life After Diets, we discover that our experiences of guilt during binge eating were surprisingly different. One of us felt responsible for having an eating disorder in the first place, while the other felt angry about a behavior that seemed impossible to control. We share two stories from our binge eating years that reveal how differently guilt and shame can show up, and how our beliefs about responsibility influence both.

We also explore what happens when you intellectually reject food rules but still feel that certain foods are bad. Is it necessary to stop believing that before you can eat without guilt?

Or can recovery include learning to live with judgments and feelings that haven't caught up with what you know?

A conversation about food morality, guilt versus shame, and the possibility of changing your relationship with food without having to change every thought you have about it.

☕️ Support the show and buy us a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/lifeafterdietspodcast

Connect with Stefanie Michele, Binge Eating Coach & Somatic Therapist

Website

Instagram

YouTube

Connect with Sarah Dosanjh, Author & Psychotherapist

Website

Instagram

YouTube

Sarah's book I Can't Stop Eating is available on Amazon

"I think I am an addict, a food junkie."

That's how one listener described their experience of eating a breakfast and lunch, then finding themselves eating biscuits, ice cream, and whatever else was available by 8 PM. They weren't even hungry -- they just couldn't stop.

We had some thoughts.

For starters, there's the question of what we're calling "enough" food these days, especially when we're surrounded by people who seem to get by on a coffee and a handful of almonds. And there's the rather inconvenient fact that our bodies don't necessarily respond to restriction by politely requesting the exact amount of food they've been missing.

But this conversation takes a few turns, because what if you really ARE eating enough? What if you've stopped dieting, you've done the recovery work, and you're still finding yourself pulled toward food in ways you don't understand?

Somehow we ended up discussing the price of spaghetti bolognese in New York, the peculiar comfort of knowing what's for dinner, and how sometimes the urge to eat has surprisingly little to do with food itself.

There's more to investigate here than willpower, and plenty of room for a few a-has along the way.

Connect with Stefanie Michele, Binge Eating Coach & Somatic Therapist

Website

Instagram

YouTube

Connect with Sarah Dosanjh, Author & Psychotherapist

Website

Instagram

YouTube

Sarah's book I Can't Stop Eating is available on Amazon

Why is it sometimes so hard to eat without watching something?

In this episode, Stef and Sarah look at the relationship between food and screens from two very different personal experiences. For Stef, screens used to make it possible to eat without having to listen to the running commentary in her head about what or how much she was eating. Over time, even after restriction eased, the pairing itself had become familiar enough that taking one part away could still feel like a loss.

Sarah's experience was different. Food and television became a way to fill empty evenings and make being alone feel easier, until the combination started to feel less like enjoyment and more like something she had to keep doing.

That leads into a bigger question about what we're actually looking for when we pair food with stimulation. Sometimes it really is just pleasurable. Sometimes it helps us stay regulated. And sometimes it gives us distance from thoughts or feelings we don't want to be alone with.

They also talk about distracted eating, why removing the screen can actually make eating harder for some people, and the difference between being distracted and being disconnected from yourself.

Plus: Mike gets recruited as the control subject with a suspiciously uncomplicated relationship with food, Sarah figures out something about loneliness in real time, and Stef makes an unexpectedly convincing case for red onion.

Connect with Stefanie Michele, Binge Eating Coach & Somatic Therapist

Website

Instagram

YouTube

Connect with Sarah Dosanjh, Author & Psychotherapist

Website

Instagram

YouTube

Sarah's book I Can't Stop Eating is available on Amazon

An announcement from Stef & Sarah about the return of Life After Diets. You can resubscribe!

Support the Show! https://ko-fi.com/lifeafterdietspodcast

In this (for real for real) final episode of Life After Diets, host Stefanie Michele explains how recovery taught her how to understand the call for change. She shares why letting go of the familiar—even when it's scary—is essential for growth, and how that insight is leading her to close this chapter and launch her new show, Full But Not Finished.

The Life After Diets archive will remain here as a resource and you can now find Stefanie Michele on her new show: Full But Not Finished. Subscribe now to listen to the pilot episode!

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@iamstefaniemichele

Travel isn't just about the logistics of getting from one place to another — it's the nervous system spikes, the old body image stories that flare when you're around people from your past, and the challenge of feeding yourself in a group.

In this episode, I talk about a recent trip with college friends and the layers that came with it:

• Flight anxiety and how I work with my body in real time when panic hits mid-air

• The anticipatory dread before seeing old friends (and why it often feels worse than the reality)

• Navigating group meals without abandoning your own needs

• The strange crash that happens when you come home and how to soften that landing

• What it takes to speak up when diet culture sneaks into social situations

If you've ever come back from a trip feeling heavy, disconnected, or like you lost your footing with food, you're not alone. This conversation unpacks why travel brings all of this to the surface and how to move through it without betraying yourself.

Connect with Stefanie:

Website: www.iamstefaniemichele.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/iamstefaniemichele

Substack: www.substack.com/@iamstefaniemichele

Email: [email protected]

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]

In this episode, Stefanie revisits the early days of her "all-in" recovery from binge eating and restriction. She shares raw excerpts from personal emails she wrote at the time, capturing the fear, doubt, and body image struggles of letting go of food rules on her 40th birthday.

Stefanie reflects on why this attempt at recovery succeeded when so many earlier ones hadn't, and what it really means to be ready for change.

She also answers a listener question about the most sensible advice clients resist, explaining why nervous system safety and readiness matter more than logic when it comes to eating regularly or buying clothes that fit.

If you've ever wondered what "all-in" looks like from the inside—or why advice can sound simple but feel impossible—this episode will meet you there.

BINGE EATING TO INTUITIVE EATING COURSE : Starts September 29 2025

Connect with Stefanie:

Website: www.iamstefaniemichele.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/iamstefaniemichele

Substack: www.substack.com/@iamstefaniemichele

Email: [email protected]

In this solo episode of Life After Diets, Stefanie Michele takes a deeply personal look at identity — how it forms, how it gets tangled up with food and body image, and how it shifts in the process of recovery. With her co-host Sarah leaving the podcast, Stefanie reflects on what it means to carry the podcast forward on her own and how that mirrors the ways we all renegotiate who we are when familiar roles change.

She shares vulnerable stories from her teenage years, including moments when dieting and comparison became tied to her sense of belonging, and how those early identities carried forward into adulthood. Stefanie unpacks the pull of societal validation — being seen as the "fit one," the "healthy one," or even the "struggling one" — and how these labels can feel both protective and limiting.

The episode also explores the everyday challenges of navigating diet culture, from handling casual food and body talk to setting boundaries that protect your well-being. Stefanie discusses practical ways to self-soothe, create space for uncomfortable emotions, and question the narratives that no longer serve you.

More than a story of food or recovery, this conversation is about identity itself: the parts of us we protect, the roles we cling to, and the freedom that comes with exploring new ways of being.

Connect with Stefanie:

Website: www.iamstefaniemichele.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/iamstefaniemichele

Substack: www.substack.com/@iamstefaniemichele

Email: [email protected]

A very special announcement to say that Life After Diets is closing a chapter to open some new ones.

As Sarah makes room in her life for new endeavors (if you're in the UK area, be sure to subscribe to her mailing list for future in-person events), Stef will still be a voice in your ear under the Life After Diets name...for now.

To stay in touch with Stef and Sarah, you can use the following links:

Connect with Stefanie Michele, Binge Eating & Body Image Coach; Somatic Therapist

Website – www.iamstefaniemichele.com

Instagram – www.instagram.com/iamstefaniemichele

Substack - www.substack.com/@iamstefaniemichele

Connect with Sarah Dosanjh, Author & Psychotherapist

Website – www.thebingeeatingtherapist.com

Instagram – www.instagram.com/the_binge_eating_therapist

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/c/TheBingeEatingTherapist

Sarah's book I Can't Stop Eating is available on Amazon

We sincerely appreciate everyone who has been a part of the Life After Diets community, whether that meant listening in your car on the way to work, playing an episode while out on a walk, or having us on in the background as you moved through the everyday routines of your life.

However you found us, however often you tuned in, we don't take it lightly.

It has meant so much to know that our voices have traveled alongside you, that the conversations we've had together have been part of your own reflections and your own stories.

We created this podcast hoping it would feel like company. A place to come back to when you needed it. Knowing that so many of you did just that has been a gift beyond what we imagined.

Thank you for inviting us into your time and your world. xx