ADHD + a complicated relationship with food = a recipe for disaster. Am I right?

If you've ever found yourself forgetting key ingredients at the grocery store or using snacks to calm your brain from its chaotic circus act. If you're nodding along and thinking, "Yep, that's me," then listen up.

In this episode, I'm joined by Brittany Modell, a registered dietitian and certified intuitive eating counselor who knows exactly how overwhelming it can be to juggle all the things, especially when ADHD makes remembering groceries or even meals feel like an Olympic event.

"When someone struggles with something like ADHD, eating disorder recovery can get really, really complicated for a variety of reasons." - Rachelle Heinemann

"Self-compassion is a practice, it's not something you experience once or twice, and all of a sudden you have compassion for yourself." - Brittany Modell

"ADHD looks different for various people." - Brittany Modell

"Food is powerful, but food is not the end-all, be-all... it can play a role, but my brain's not going to change because I ate differently." - Brittany Modell

"This is general information. This is not one size fits all." - Brittany Modell

"Routine is really important, and it's hard because people with ADHD tend to struggle with routine, but they can thrive when they have it." - Brittany Modell

Connect with Brittany Here!

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Flashback to your teenage years.

What a blissful, uncomplicated time... said no one ever. Adolescence can be a confusing time—so confusing, in fact, that most of us can't even make sense of our own teenage years even as adults. Prevention happens during these years, and because of that they are complicated.

But here's the thing: preventing eating disorders, or at least minimizing the chances, is more about fostering self-worth and emotional health than just keeping them off the latest fad diet.

This episode isn't just for parents who feel like they're constantly playing catch-up with their kids' mental health. It's for educators, clinicians, and anyone who's had the absolute pleasure of trying to navigate the tangled web of teenage emotions.

"The words that you say about someone's body matter. They matter so much." - Rachelle Heinemann

"Let's go in with an open mind; we have no idea what a person is like before we get to know them." - Rachelle Heinemann

"Self-compassion is really one of the most powerful sources of coping and resilience that we have, and resilience building is very important for people's mental health." - Marcy Forta

"How people internalize the messages they hear actually makes a very big difference." - Marcy Forta

"The most important thing about talking with your child about social media is that they can feel comfortable to come to you when they hear or see something that is concerning to them, they don't feel like, 'Oh, my mom's going to judge me.'" - Marcy Forta

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Calling moms everywhere: if you have ever found yourself standing in front of the fridge, starving but too tired to decide between a sandwich or just grabbing the entire pint of ice cream, then stick with me, because I'm talking to you.

Mom life is amazing (read: exhausting). But let's be real, it's all about balancing both motherhood and a healthy relationship with food. Spoiler alert: it's not as easy as those Instagram influencers make it look.

"The number one thing you have to do is nourish yourself." - Rachelle Heinemann

"Don't skip any meal or snack ever." - Rachelle Heinemann

"Treat yourself as if it's a normal thing and it's not because you deserve it or you earned it." - Rachelle Heinemann

"Think about the way that we've methodically gone through different parts of the day during a random person's day today, and think about the different intricacies about your life, and your week, and your month, and apply some of these ideas to your life." - Rachelle Heinemann

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Are eating disorders actually a type of addiction?

It's easy to think of eating disorders as, well, a disorder. But when we start to really dive into the nitty gritty, are they actually considered an addiction?

In today's episode, I am joined by Iris Epstein.

Since 2004, Iris Epstein RD, CDCES, CEDS-S, CAI has focused her career on eating disorder awareness, treatment, family coaching, and intervention at her practice in Pomona, New York. Her philosophy is one of compassion along with hard work to break through the determined mindset that takes hold of people with eating disorders. By addressing the medical and malnutrition issues that give eating disorders their strength, we can weaken the grip they have on our clients. Just as there are many causes for eating disorders, it often takes a variety of strategies to treat them. Iris is confident that her team at the Nutrition Improvement Center can help provide a successful path for our clients to resume a healthy and balanced relationship with food and their bodies. Iris recently graduated from the ARISE intervention program where she received her certification in family coaching and intervention work for addiction. She believes that the addiction model has a place in the eating disorder recovery process.

Note: We're celebrating three amazing years of the Understanding Disordered Eating podcast! Just as a reminder, this is the last episode for the next two weeks! We will be back on September 10th. In the meantime, catch up on our older episodes—they're still gems!

"Eating disorders just don't happen fully. It starts sometimes as innocently as having a diet." - Iris Epstein

"When you remove the substance, then their brain feels relief and calm. When it's there, their brains go into more of a depressed mode, an anxious mode." - Iris Epstein

"You have to reestablish good connections with people. And I think that's where the secrecy and everything comes into play." - Iris Epstein

"Eating disorders are a coping mechanism for survival." - Iris Epstein

Connect with Iris Epstein here!

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How do we challenge cultural norms when society has a strong perception of how things "should" be?

Cultural and environmental factors undeniably influence our understanding and experience of our relationship with food and our bodies. But, let's reconsider them. This is an opportunity to examine how our personal, professional, and political actions can drive meaningful change.

This exploration blends personal experiences with broader societal observations, encouraging us to reflect on how culture shapes our views on body image. The insights from this conversation are both enlightening and empowering, prompting us to think about how we, as individuals and as a society, can combat pervasive negativity and work towards a future of body positivity, equality, and genuine connection.

In this episode, I'm joined by Michael Levine. Together, we explore life skills that go far beyond just getting by. These skills challenge the norms that society loves to impose—norms that make us question our worth based on how we look or how we measure up to others. Spoiler alert: these norms are garbage, and we're here to dissect them.

Michael P. Levine, Ph.D., is an Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, where he taught from 1979 through 2012. In the field of eating disorders, his commitment to research, writing, and advocacy focuses on the intersection between sociocultural risk factors, prevention, and community psychology. He has authored three books and three prevention curriculum guides, and he has co-edited three books on prevention. In 2015, as co-editor with his long-time collaborator and colleague Dr. Linda Smolak, he published a two-volume Handbook of Eating Disorders (Wiley & Sons Publishing). In 2021 he and Dr. Smolak published a new, extensively revised, and expanded edition of their 2006 book The Prevention of Eating Problems and Eating Disorders (Routledge/Taylor & Francis). In addition, Dr. Levine has authored or co-authored approximately 115 articles, book chapters, and book reviews, and he has presented his work throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, England, Spain, Austria, and Australia. Dr. Levine is a Fellow of the Academy for Eating Disorders (AED), which has awarded him their Meehan-Hartley Award for Leadership in Public Awareness and Advocacy (2006), and their Research-Practice Partnership Award (2008).

Note: We're celebrating three amazing years of the Understanding Disordered Eating podcast! Just as a reminder, we're taking a two-week break at the end of August. We'll be back with fresh content after Labor Day weekend, on September 10th. In the meantime, catch up on our older episodes—they're still gems!

"These are life skills which are going to work on the personal level, the professional level, and the political level." - Michael Levine

"A sense of hope that the same kinds of massive transformations that have taken place in our culture can take place, and in fact are starting to take place, when it comes to the issues of body image, of equity, of control." - Michael Levine

"I really do see a world also where the exploitation of bodies, particularly female bodies, but bodies is not a multi-trillion-dollar industry." - Michael Levine

"It's going to require citizens and professionals from multiple disciplines, thinking about really complex matters. And I fall back to the fact that I believe we can do this." - Michael Levine

Michael Levine's Book: Prevention of Eating Disorders

Michael Levine's Book: Paradigm clash in the field of eating disorders

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The idea of eating disorder treatment can feel very overwhelming.

If you aren't sure where to start, then this episode is for you. Think of it as your crash course—because who doesn't love a good cliff notes version?

When it comes to eating disorder treatment, building an outpatient team (if we've excluded higher level of care for now) is probably the most important factor; the indispensable trio of a therapist, dietitian, and doctor.

Note: We're celebrating three amazing years of the Understanding Disordered Eating podcast! Just as a reminder, we're taking a two-week break at the end of August. We'll be back with fresh content after Labor Day weekend, on September 10th. In the meantime, catch up on our older episodes—they're still gems!

"None of us here are okay with the unknown." - Rachelle Heinemann

"It's really important to share everything with your team. And I know that there are lots of parts of this that feel really embarrassing." - Rachelle Heinemann

"You absolutely can. You just have to get through this hump. You got this." - Rachelle Heinemann

"It's important to have some sort of family involved, especially the family that you currently have a relationship with." - Rachelle Heinemann

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How many old wives' tales have you heard about nutrition and fertility?

More importantly, how often have doctors told you that intentional weight loss will miraculously improve your IVF outcomes? If you're even slightly "overweight" and experiencing fertility issues, it's common for doctors to subtly (or not so subtly) suggest you "lose a little weight" as a solution.

In this episode, I'm joined by Rachelle LaCroix Mallik. We'll take a deep dive into the limitations of studies claiming that weight loss boosts health. Spoiler alert: these studies often miss the mark by not considering other crucial factors like specific eating habits, physical activity, and improved glucose metabolism. Imagine that!

Rachelle (Rachel) LaCroix (LaCwa) Mallik (Mal-ick), MA, RD, LDN. She is a dietitian and founder of The Food Therapist, a virtual private practice specializing in nutrition counseling and education for reproductive health. Rachelle supports clients who are trying to conceive, pregnant, postpartum, breastfeeding or managing conditions like PCOS and endometriosis with a weight-inclusive approach that focuses on nourishment rather than restriction.

Rachelle has been working in reproductive health for 18 years, starting as an IVF patient coordinator at the Weill Cornell Center for Reproductive Medicine, and is a mom to two young children.

Rachelle is a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, including the Women's Health Dietetic Practice Group. She is also an active member of the Nutrition Special Interest Group of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). Rachelle serves as the reproductive nutrition content expert for the Nutrition Care Manual. She has presented for the Chicago Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and at the ASRM Scientific Congress, and advocates for the role of nutrition and dietitians in multidisciplinary reproductive healthcare.

Note: We're celebrating three amazing years of the Understanding Disordered Eating podcast! Just as a reminder, we're taking a two-week break at the end of August. We'll be back with fresh content after Labor Day weekend, on September 10th. In the meantime, catch up on our older episodes—they're still gems!

"Intentional weight loss doesn't necessarily improve your IVF outcomes." - Rachelle LaCroix Mallik

"If any of the information that you are consuming, whether it's on this podcast or outside, especially in regards to fertility, if it makes you stressed and anxious, it is not for you." - Rachelle Heinemann

"We all have to eat, so let's use nutrition to really work for us and help us feel as good as we can along that journey." - Rachelle LaCroix Mallik

"Nutrition may have an impact on both natural conception as well as fertility treatment outcomes." - Rachelle LaCroix Mallik

Connect with Rachelle here: http://www.rachellemallik.com

Find Rachelle on Instagram! @rachellemallik

Learn more about her Fertility Foundations nutrition course here

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Have you ever noticed how sometimes substance use and eating disorders are intertwined? It turns out, these issues like to hang out together more often than not, complicating treatment and recovery. So, why do we keep these so separate in our conversations?

There's this illusion that some people can juggle their substance use with such precision. Spoiler alert: it's not as glamorous as it sounds.

In this episode, I'm joined by Sydney Greene, a Registered Dietitian specializing in behavioral health nutrition.

"Write out all the times you remember drinking. What was the outcome of that?" - Sydney Greene

"I never thought that I had an issue. I thought I was just a young person partying in New York City and everything was fine. And then it really quickly became not so fine." - Sydney Greene

"Treatment is so complicated." - Rachelle Heinemann

"I see disorders as something that's protective in many ways, but then it becomes totally maladaptive and harmful. And then we find alcohol or weed or opioids or something like that, and it does the same thing." - Sydney Greene

"There's a tiger in a cage and you have to go and let the tiger out three times a day and put the tiger back in. Whereas for alcohol, you don't." - Sydney Greene

"I'm going to say when someone has both an eating disorder and substance use issues, we just can't follow some of the cookie cutter suggestions." - Sydney Greene

Connect with Sydney here: https://www.sydneygreenehealth.com/

Find her on Instagram!: @greenehealth

Resource Library: https://www.sydneygreenehealth.com/resources (Offering 50% off for my food and mood training for therapists. Use code PODCAST)

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Recovery is overwhelming.

If it feels like trying to solve a Rubik's cube blindfolded, you're not alone. But guess what? There's one (okay, maybe two, but let's not split hairs) thing that's crucial for recovery to happen. Just one. And that is: eating adequately and consistently. It's the magic bullet that helps decrease food obsessions, restores physical health, boosts focus and memory, and—drumroll, please—improves your mood almost immediately.

"When you are eating consistently and enough for your body, the food obsessions decrease significantly." - Rachelle Heinemann

"If you're not feeding yourself adequately across the board, your focus will be off." - Rachelle Heinemann

"There really does need to be one thing that you focus on, and that is going to be eating adequately and consistently." - Rachelle Heinemann

"Eating consistently means eating every two to four hours throughout the day. And it ends up being five to six times a day." - Rachelle Heinemann

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"This intuitive eating thing is BS, I tried it and it didn't work."

Sound familiar? Trust me, you're not alone. Today we're talking about another hot topic that's been buzzing all over social media, popping up in emails and filling my DMs. \

That's right, we're talking about critical thinking in the realm of anti-diet messaging.

"I love the fact that intuitive eating and anti-diet messaging is out there and becoming a little bit more accepted." - Rachelle Heinemann

"If you don't feel like you can trust yourself around food, then having pints of ice cream in your freezer will not feel safe." - Rachelle Heinemann

"The most important thing [you can do] to develop structure is to eat consistently and eat enough." - Rachelle Heinemann

"If you are not currently having breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and two to three snacks a day, throw the intuitive eating book in the back of your closet and don't take it out until you are doing that." - Rachelle Heinemann

"Healing one's relationship with food will not heal all for every single person." - Rachelle Heinemann

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