This post is sponsored by Ovasitol.
Hey there Voice Finder,
Three things before we get started:
1️⃣ Join the Find Your Food Voice book discussion! Order the book if you haven’t yet and chapter 8 discussion post coming Friday July 11.
2️⃣ Feeling hopeless with the current political climate? Me too. But we can all resist by eating enough. Check out my recent essay on ways we can resist together.
3️⃣ Anytime you click that heart on this email and especially when you share it—you are helping me and my team. TIA!
Let’s get to this week’s podcast episode!
This post is sponsored by Ovasitol.
This episode’s letter to Food:
Dear Food,
The high school version of me would have been the last person on this Earth to ever believe that my relationship with you would end up causing me so much heartache and pain.
I was fine until college. Backtracking to childhood, I always loved you. I was a foodie, never overthought and wasn't obsessed with the idea of what I would eat next. Food was wonderful, especially "treats" or "junk-food" type items that I didn't get to eat often. I know there were times when my eyes were bigger than my stomach, but maybe this is a thing that many young kids also experience?
High school was normal. I was active playing a sport that I loved, busy with school, and spending time with family and friends. Senior year, I found myself with more freedom than ever. A lot of it was spent watching tv or cooking and eating with friends.
Then came college. After a particularly sad and confusing breakup with a boy and betrayal by a friend, my college friend group disintegrated. In retrospect, I think I may have retreated into TV and snacks, and there was no one to tell me to do differently. Then, during Thanksgiving break, I realized that I had been too free with you, food, and my "cute little body" was quickly becoming something I was ashamed of and disgusted by.
I'd never had anything but a small body and lived in a family of small people. I decided I would pay more attention to what and how much I was eating. I figured this would help get myself under control. And from the moment I became aware of your presence and your power in my life, things really have never been the same since.
Fast forward through five months of increasingly difficult and dreadful exercise regimens and an increasingly restricted intake of food, I left school early to move home and enter outpatient treatment.
My junior year, I finally transferred into XYZ college. I was ecstatic, but the restriction started almost right away. This time, though, my body was far more resistant to restriction, and it was increasingly difficult to not give in and binge. I returned home after only 3 months, and didn't return to school until the next summer.
Now, my 4th year of college is almost over. That means I've been binging for a year now. It's hard to believe that I ever was able to restrict at all, because binging is such an everyday part of my life now. Over these past years, I have had consistent therapy, and have also met with dietitians, but it seems like nothing is able to help me. In fact, the binging seems like it's getting worse and worse – in the past two months alone, I have gained X pounds.
I think I've lost hope in ever being normal with food or body image. I feel so abnormal and wrong. In recovery, binging was always my biggest fear, and now it's my constant reality. I have all the tools and resources I should need to help myself and change, but I'm still doing this.
How did we get this far?!
Love,
Secretly Broken
This post is sponsored by Ovasitol—
my favorite Inositol supplement that I use too!
Balance blood sugar. Decrease cravings. Increase energy.
In this episode of Find Your Food Voice, Katy Harvey RDN and I discuss the complexities of binge eating, particularly in the context of betrayal, heartbreak, and significant life transitions. We explored the common feelings of isolation and shame that accompany these struggles, emphasizing the importance of understanding the biological and emotional factors at play. Our conversation highlights the impact of diet trauma, the cycle of restriction and bingeing, and the necessity of creating a supportive environment for healing. We encourage you to recognize your tough experiences, name your diet trauma, and take actionable steps towards recovery, including establishing regular eating patterns and fostering self-care practices.
This episode’s listening guide
00:14 Understanding Common Struggles with Bingeing
03:38 The Impact of Life Transitions on Eating Habits
06:12 The Cycle of Restriction and Bingeing
10:58 Healing from Diet Trauma
14:43 The Importance of Regular Eating Patterns
19:52 Navigating Health Conversations Around Bingeing
24:48 Creating a Supportive Nest Time
Be sure to listen to the end of the episode to catch Food’s letter back to Secretly Broken.
Links Mentioned:
Find Your Food Voice book
Julie on Katy’s podcast PCOS and Managing Your Health Without Dieting: https://katyharvey.net/podcast185/
Katy Harvey on IG @Katy.Harvey
Katy Harvey’s podcast: Rebuilding Trust with Your Body
That’s all for now. Thank you for supporting the show and contributing to the Find Your Food Voice movement 💜 I am OOO Friday so saving my next book discussion post—Chapter 8—for Friday July 11th. Mark your calendar for noon Monday for the next UnDiet Monday video training live on Substack.
Warmly,
Julie
p.s. Did you miss my last UnDiet Monday mini session. Take a peek here:
PCOS Health—What you should have been told when diagnosed
Which tools help, making sense of weight loss recommendations, and how to know if health is improving.
p.p.s. Wonder how you can work with me?
Want to work with me?
Read my book out now!
Find Your Food Voice was written for you if you have a messy relationship with food and don’t want to diet. Many of the stories in the book are folks with PCOS. You can get a copy where ever books are sold or here.
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