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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Saying “no” sometimes means saying “yes”.

Okay, don’t let me misguide you here. What I mean, is that sometimes when you say “no” in one area of your life, you’re often saying “yes” to another. When you say “no” to working overtime, you are saying “yes” to spending time with your family. When you say “no” to going out for drinks on a Friday evening, you might say “yes” to an early morning trip to the Farmer’s Market on Saturday.

In this episode, I’m joined by Eli Weinstein, and we're taking a slight detour from our usual deep dives into food relationships to talk about relationships in general. Because let’s face it, whether you’re the life of the party or the king of introversion, we all have to deal with people.

"When we don't have boundaries, someone else is controlling what comes in and comes out." - Eli Weinstein

"You never have to explain why you have boundaries to people." - Eli Weinstein

"For growth, we need boundaries with relaxation." - Eli Weinstein

"Boundaries keep us safe. Boundaries keep us healthy. And we are in control of who we let in, what we let in, and how we let it in." - Eli Weinstein

Connect with Eli here!

Find him on social media: @eliweinstein_lcsw / @thedudetherapist

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Remember the last time we dipped our toes into the hot world of Ozempic and other GLP meds? Yeah, we barely scratched the surface. The world is absolutely obsessed with GLP medications, and the more we know, the better we can make informed decisions—without all the drama, please.

But honestly, conversations around Ozempic, Wegovy, and other GLP medications can get super heated with not nearly enough facts to back them up.

In this episode, I’m chatting with Dr. Kim Dennis about the science and controversy of GLP medications.

Kim Dennis, MD, is a board-certified psychiatrist, eating disorders specialist and board-certified in addiction medicine. She specializes in treating eating disorders, addiction, trauma, and complex co-occurring psychiatric disorders. Dr. Dennis also brings lived experience to her work as a physician with long-term recovery from ED, addiction, and developmental trauma.

"They never think, well, maybe that treatment isn't tailored to me, or maybe that there's something wrong with that treatment when applied to me." - Dr. Kim Dennis\

"When we hit some slumps, whether it's with relationship food or otherwise, it's so much harder to get ourselves out and actually make progress." - Rachelle Heinemann

"Even if I want to stop, I can't, I can press on the brakes, but they're not helping me at all because my brakes are faulty." - Dr. Kim Dennis

"Bolstering the brakes can help people make decisions about what they want to eat, when they want to eat in ways that they feel like they actually have more autonomy over the car, right?" - Dr. Kim Dennis

“Imagine being a patient that has that co-occurrence coming to your eating disorder team's office and being told one thing and going to your endocrine or your primary care office and being told a completely different message." - Dr. Kim Dennis

"We inadvertently sort of reinforce that or insurance reinforces that by saying, for sure, we're denying your care because you're not making progress, or we're denying your care because you've made too much progress." - Dr. Kim Dennis

Connect with Dr. Kim Dennis Here!

Check out this recent blog from Dr. Kim Dennis

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Ah, summer—the time of year when the sun is blazing, the BBQs are sizzling, and the body image issues are... lurking. If the thought of putting on your swimsuit and being invited to a pool party sends shivers down your spine, you're not alone.

There’s an often misunderstood world of intuitive eating. Sure, it’s all about “all foods fit” and “no food rules,” but let’s get real—sometimes you need a bit of structure, especially when that party-size bag of chips starts whispering your name.

"We do need some rules and one of those rules is the party bag or the serving plate is not your plate." - Rachelle Heinemann

"If you go and get a scoop or two of ice cream when you're out with your friends as your afternoon snack, that's a great way to teach yourself I can have the two scoops of ice cream and then move on and I'm okay." - Rachelle Heinemann

"First of all, still put on the bathing suit." - Rachelle Heinemann

"Fill your plate and eat it.” - Rachelle Heinemann

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You know, parents have an intuition for a reason.

If you ever feel like your child is getting worse or not receiving the right treatment, trust your gut and seek alternatives.

Many listeners have requested episodes focused on parents and families dealing with eating disorders. We usually address the issues from the perspective of those struggling or the clinicians working with them. But families need support too, right?

In our field, we often talk about "lived experience" versus "expert by experience." These are people who have directly dealt with eating disorders, either personally or within their families. Their insights are invaluable, yet they are often underrepresented in the conversation.

"If you feel like your kid is getting sicker, if you feel in your gut that your kid is getting bad treatment and they're only getting worse, find an alternative." - Rachelle Heinemann

"Parents have to be empowered. And the best way to do that is through education. And we believe that nobody should go through this journey by themselves." - Judy Krasna

"The idea isn't control. The idea is restoring someone to health. The idea is making sure that somebody recovers." - Judy Krasna

"If their kid's getting resentful, they're doing the right thing, they're doing a good job." - Judy Krasna

"There's no recovery without weight restoration. It just can't happen." - Judy Krasna

Judy can be reached at judy@feast-ed.org.

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Are you team strict diet or team intuitive eating?

Or maybe, the team thing is kind of ridiculous.

When it comes to nutrition, it often feels like we're stuck between two opposing camps: those who are all about strict diets and scientific nutrition, and those who advocate for intuitive eating. It’s like there’s an invisible line, and folks tend to stick to their side, often mocking the other without really engaging in meaningful dialogue. But reality isn’t that black and white. It’s not just about choosing between nutrition science and having a peaceful relationship with food.

So a bit about Claire. Claire Chewnig is a Registered Dietitian and Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor who's not on board with restrictive diets. She’s the owner and founder of Yours Chewly Nutrition, a virtual private practice where she helps individuals heal from chronic dieting and disordered eating so that they can discover more peace, satisfaction, and trust in their relationships with food + body. Claire is also the RD Advisor for Health-Ade Kombucha where she educates both employees and consumers on all things gut health from an evidence-based, non-diet lens. When she’s not on the clock, you can find her either taking a walk on the beach near her house or glued to her Kindle reading a fiction novel.

"A lot of times when we talk about either nutrition science or intuitive eating or relationship with food, it seems to be boiled down into two camps." - Rachelle Heinemann

"There's the nutrition science world and, you know, the science world. And then there's like this [concept of] intuitive eating, woo woo, spiritual, whatever you want to call it, like free for all going on on the other side. They're two separate worlds. " - Rachelle Heinemann

“The most basic thing that we have to make sure we're doing is eating enough and eating regularly throughout the day. Because if we're not doing that, then focusing on any like specific nutritional concept isn't really going to matter because our body's energy needs have to be met.” - Claire Chewning

“The bottom line is, if you're not getting enough food or your food with your relationship with food is chaotic like this restrict binge situation going on, like we haven't even gone the first step. And so going to step 10 is just kind of out of order and doesn't work.” - Rachelle Heinemann

"It is about so much more than the specific food choices that you're making." - Rachelle Heinemann

Connect with Claire on Instagram - @clairechewning

Connect with Claire on TikTok - @clairechewning

For additional information about how to work with Claire 1:1, join her monthly membership program, or enroll in one of her self-paced online courses, please visit www.clairechewning.com.

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