The Hunger Trap Podcast

Dr. Dori Steinberg spent the bulk of her career researching obesity and weight control interventions. Then she had an awakening and realized: her long-time eating disorder was informing her work and that instead of helping people (as she intended), she was harming them. Dr. Steinberg talks to Diana and Lisa about her painful recovery, hiding her ED in nutrition studies, and her new role as director of research at Equip.

Lisa and Diana go back to the future with special guest Luigi Pedalino at the wheel of the DeLorean to revisit how weight, body image, and eating disorders were handled on the sitcoms and commercials of yesteryear.

Lisa and Diana catch up with a career paramedic from a major metropolitan area to discuss weight stigma in Emergency Medical Services (EMS), the challenges EMTs and paramedics face on a day-to-day basis while caring for patients, limitations in terms of knowledge and equipment provided to help those in larger bodies, and the best ways to advocate for yourself or a loved one during a medical emergency.

Lisa and Diana chat with Kate Stephens, a licensed clinical professional counselor at Empowering You LLC, about the connection between trauma, eating disorders, and how we can sometimes find comfort in maladaptive practices to avoid pain, suffering, and re-traumatization.

In honor of All Hallows Eve Lisa and Diana take a break from the horrors of eating disorders and diet culture to scare themselves with body horror films and sexy Halloween costumes. Diana gives Lisa the lowdown on different horror genres, Lisa dissects the sexy Halloween costume phenomenon, and they chat about "Jennifer's Body" and "Excess Flesh" (contains spoilers).

Lisa and Diana chat with Nora about her journey towards a healthy attitude around weight and body image while managing type 2 diabetes, binge eating disorder, and ADHD.

Diana and Lisa talk to Dr. Gregory Dodell of Central Park Endocrinology in New York City about how weight cycling (yo-yo dieting) can negatively affect your metabolism and health, putting you more at risk for diseases like type 2 diabetes. Dr. Dodell also gets to the bottom of why many doctors continue to prescribe weight loss at any cost.

This week Lisa and Diana reconnect with Dr. Roberto Olivardia to learn about the connection between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and eating disorders, and the unique implications for treatment that result from having this double diagnosis. Dr. Olivardia also shares his personal experiences about what it is like to have ADHD and work with it to lead a productive and fulfilling life.

Eating disorder treatment has come a long way since the 1990s. Family-based treatment is now considered one of the most successful options — but it involves turning over complete control and care to guardians, which is often in direct conflict with a patient's desire for control. Diana and Lisa caught up with JD Ouellette, the Director of Mentorship at a new virtual eating disorder treatment startup, Equip. In her role at Equip, JD leads a team of Family and Peer Mentors who provide expertise by experience alongside medical practitioners, dietitians, and therapists in the successful Family Based Treatment (FBT) method. JD also shares her personal story of helping her daughter recover from anorexia.

Diana and Lisa speak to Allison, a guest who recovered from Atypical Anorexia, to reveal how this diagnosis differs from low-BMI anorexia and how weight stigma, faulty media depictions of bone-thin anorexics, and doctors are preventing more people from getting help from this dangerous disorder. Diana shares an emotional revelation about her own disorder and the word "Atypical" is called into question (in other words: it's bullshit).