Binge Dieting Podcast Betsy Thurston/weight Loss/intuitive Eating/binge Eating/healthy Eating/dietitian/eating Disorder/holis

In this episode I share a conversation with chef Tina McDermott who shares her best tips for quick and easy recipes and grab and go food ideas. We also talk about supplements, digestive issues, GMOs and organic items, and weight loss.  The specifics about food and recipes starts at about ten minutes into the podcast. 

In this podcast I share a conversation with Dr. Carolyn Ross, who specializes in the treatment of eating disorders and emotional eating. We talk about many things, including the brain, supplements, trauma, therapy, the inner critic and judgment and forgiveness. 

In this podcast Dr. Amy Johnson talks about her approach to helping people who struggle with anxiety or with all extreme or unwanted habits.  Amy looks at life from the big picture, and her model is very different from most models of change available today.  Betsy uses the model of Internal Family Systems Therapy, and the conversation explored the differences in these two ways of working with people.  This conversation brings up people who have had many different experiences that were difficult, such as feeling invalidated, experiencing stress from the physical effects of sugar, and feeling worry or shame over the body.  In this interesting conversation Amy's approach was unusual and refreshing; she constantly zoomed her lens way out to the bigger picture. 

Intuitive eating is the practice of looking inward and noticing body sensations so you can more accurately choose which foods and which portion sizes would be best in that moment.  It also involves noticing thoughts, habits, and emotions that might be present as you reach for the food--especially those which might have nothing to do with physical hunger or satiety.  Intuitive eating is a practice of honoring the wisdom of the body and trusting that you will feel best when you can learn to delay or minimize the habits and impulses to eat for the “wrong” reasons. These include eating to avoid feeling bored, lonely, sad, angry, or scared, or to rebel against restrictive diet rules. Most people who live with a diet mentality feel compelled to take an extravagant break from the boring and limiting rules. It’s fun to be bad! It is difficult to eat intuitively when you hate your body, or when you hate the parts of you that feel compelled to eat for reasons other than hunger. Intentionally focusing on the skill of se

In this conversation with Nancy McKay, Betsy and Nancy talk about her recovery from alcohol dependence and self criticism.  A lot of ideas are presented in this podcast, from noticing thought, living in your "truth" versus pretending, anger, feeling your feelings, and finding freedom. Listeners who might use food or alcohol in excess, or who live a life that doesn't feel authentic or fulfilling will benefit from hearing her story.  Nancy is a life coach with a "special twist". She uses equine therapy for clients who come to her ranch in Colorado. Listen to the full episode to hear her full story! 

In this conversation with Julie Allen, she talks about her journey from inpatient treatment to a life without the extreme behaviors that went along with her  eating disorder. Julie talks about OCD and anxiety, about what got her to wake up and find the courage to stop obsessively worrying about her body and her calorie intake, about weighing herself, about  intuitive eating, and about clothing and dressing in a way that feels comfortable and which allows for days when her body feels heavier than normal. At the end Julie also talks about her approach to food and eating as she parents very young children.  This conversation will be helpful to those who struggle with disordered eating or those who have a more extreme pattern of eating issues which are best helped by inpatient care.  Julie now owns a women's clothing boutique which caters to all sizes of bodies, and donates a portion of all sales to help those who need eating disorder treatment but can't afford it. She is the founder of the Mary Rose Foundation,

Manifesting is a popular term these days, and it is the process of making your dreams a reality.  Manifesting doesn't always work though, and that's why it is best to break the goal into small pieces at first. It's also key that you spend some time feeling the emotional blocks that might be in the way first.              

Going on a diet usually requires rigid and even punishing rules around food. When dieting we deprive ourselves, and then beat ourselves up when we make the smallest mistakes. If your body has too much weight on it then it’s true, it makes sense to take in fewer calories in a day or a week in order to make that happen. The problem is that the diet mentality is short lived and stressful and everyone reverts back to eating to soothe or for other emotional reasons. The happy medium is to find a way to set a boundary with food without dieting.  In this episode, I show you how to do just that. When we look past our constant need to be in control, we can better assess whether we are truly hungry or using food to numb and avoid. I encourage you to take a step back and get honest with yourself in the moment of eating about what you’re feeling or believing. If it’s not true physical hunger, what’s the worst thing that could happen if you put the fork down? What if you can just be with what’s there without the food? If

Do you often find yourself overeating, especially when you are stressed? If you answered yes, then there are probably other things in your mind contributing to this behavior. It’s not obvious. The subconscious mind is unbelievably complex.  I think most dietitians, including me, would agree that you want to honor your cravings to some degree. Intuitive eating teaches us the value of listening for internal physical cues of hunger and fullness and attempting to eat what the body wants. However, intuitive eating is very tricky. You can easily be confused and think that just because you have an urge for a cookie you should honor that urge every time.  In this episode, I discuss how you can learn how to identify when the urge is coming from an emotional need rather than a physical need to not feel deprived. In this way you can begin to teach the mind a new way of responding to your cravings. You can learn how to teach yourself how to retrain your brain to stop your cravings and impulsive eating habits. Your brain

Do you want to lose weight and change your relationship with food? We're so used to thinking that the ideal body type is thin, but it's not. “Ideal” is outdated. It’s subjective. The world is changing, and we are all waking up to the truth that you are so much more than the body which carries you through life. Yes of course we all want to look a certain way, and it’s not a bad thing to attempt to remember to choose healthy foods and slow down the speed of our eating and pay attention at the moment we put food in our mouth. It’s not a bad thing to want to lose some weight at times. It’s a very good thing to exercise and to drink enough water and get enough sleep. The problem is that we take this too far and overfocus on our bodies, and then we become anxious and preoccupied. We retreat into our minds and notice every little change in our flesh or the tightness of our clothes, and only when our weight is down or we don’t feel bloated or heavy can we have a good day. When we get this attached to our weight our i

In our journey toward mindful eating, we usually encounter a form of self-sabotage that says, “Why bother?” This little voice urges us to eat even if we’re not hungry or even if we know it’s too much food or it’s harmful to our body. The voice might also say that the situation’s hopeless or the mountain is too high for us to climb. So how can we navigate this part of us that convinces us to stop caring? In this episode, I show you a simple but powerful trick to calm down that “why bother?” voice in your head. I teach you how to take a bird’s eye view of the situation. Whatever intense sensation or emotion you’re feeling right now is not permanent. You don't need to give in to the compulsions of the momentary urge. All you need to do is wait. I also talk about how you can examine these thoughts more closely. Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode:  Learn to recognize that “why bother?” part of you.  Understand that all emotions, thoughts, and sensations are temporary. Discover how be

Have you ever built up good eating habits, only to return to old ones later on? It hurts when it happens. You might feel disappointment, frustration, sadness, guilt — but it’s okay to feel these things. They’re all normal emotions to have. It’s also normal to falter occasionally. In this episode, I discuss why we often self-sabotage when changing our eating habits. No, it doesn’t speak about your worth or ability. You may be looking in the wrong place entirely. Changing habits is a long journey made of small steps, and it’s going to have obstacles and challenges along the way. It’s more important to remember that you can choose how to act and react. Take these challenges as gifts and opportunities.   Before I recap the show notes I want to alert listeners that I started a class last March 9, 2021 and you can still sign up to catch up with our lessons.  Yes, my CLASS started last March 9 and you can still enroll! This transformative class includes a lot of weekly content, as well as Zoom sessions from 7:30 to

Do you remember how heavy it was to carry your backpack to school? In the same way, your mind has an unseen bag, holding the feelings and weighted expectations you put on your shoulders every day. These emotions and thoughts add enormous weight to our “backpack” that can have real, material consequences in our life.  In this episode, I teach you an exercise where we look inside our mental and emotional backpacks and notice which heavy rocks you might have that represent your emotional weight. I go over the most common “rocks” in the way of happiness among the clients that I typically work with. Once we recognize them, we can start letting them go — one rock at a time.   Before I recap the show notes I want to alert listeners that I have a class starting March 9, 2021 and that you can sign up now to begin receiving class materials and get a head start.  Yes, my 10-week CLASS starts March 9! This transformative class will include a lot of weekly content, as well as 5 Zoom sessions from 7:30 to 9 pm Eastern tim

Do you find yourself stuck in a loop of overthinking thoughts about what you should be eating or what you shouldn’t be eating or what you want to be eating later in the day? Do you also get stuck ruminating on thoughts about your body?  Our mind sends us innocent little thoughts over and over - scientists guess that we might think 80,000 thoughts in a day. But when these thoughts connect to our self worth or to our buried beliefs that we are not enough, we get hooked.  We ruminate, we try to fix, we panic, we plan, we come up with excuses, and now one innocent little thought has become a hundred or even a thousand thoughts all along the same theme. The mind also loves to think in terms of worst-case scenarios, because then it thinks it is keeping you safe. The mind often believes that if you can just obsess a bit more you will think your way out of the life and death situation of the moment.   Ha! It’s sort of hilarious actually.  If this sounds like you, well how’s that working for you? The overthinking mind

Betsy Thurston MPH RD talks about the mind and its relentless overthinking, which leads to behaviors that don't serve us well. The brain at any moment is just doing what all brains do, which is trying to help us.   In this podcast she talks about the polyvagal theory and how your nervous system is designed to help you, even as it can trap you into unwanted states of being.  By understanding the brain and the nature of thought you can learn to relax your attachment to unwanted behaviors.  

We need food to feed our physical hunger, but at times we eat only to feel better emotionally.   In this episode, I will help you understand addiction from the perspective of an addict and will discuss concepts from some authors in the spiritual and recovery movement. I will share some of my clients' insights on Overeaters Anonymous (O.A.) and will also talk about O.A.'s fundamentals. Like any 12 step program, the solution is a spiritual one. I am now offering a 10-week virtual class! The class will include pre-recorded videos, audio recordings, handouts, membership in a Facebook community.  In this class, I will teach you how to access your own innate spiritual guidance so you can learn how to correct problems with eating. This is not related to a 12 step program, but will combine spiritual concepts with science. I am so confident that it will help you that I offer a money back guarantee!  If you would prefer more individualized help rather then the class, contact me so we can schedule a private virtual ses

Our society values thinness very highly. We see it in the media, major industries, and in our culture. Thus, we internalize the need to be thin and work towards achieving that throughout our lives. But how far will you sacrifice your happiness to be thin? We tend to forget that we are more than how we think our body looks because of these false stereotypes. In this episode, I discuss the core of the belief systems that drive binge eating and chronic dieting issues and debunk the concept that thinness brings happiness. Make sure to tune in to the full episode to keep your perspective in check about wanting to be thin. My discussion will help you take the first step in taking back your power to create balance in your mind. I am now offering a 10-week virtual class Give yourself a gift by enrolling in this transformative 10-week class. It will include pre-recorded videos, audio recordings, handouts, and membership in a Facebook community. It is packed with content and comes with a money back guarantee! You can’

If you’re struggling with binge eating, you’ve thought at least once that recovery is not possible. You fall short of your goals, and you think that’s it. You can’t possibly reach the other side anymore because of this one slip-up. But sometimes, your body has a mind of its own and may not act in a way that aligns with your goals. But once you free yourself of this obsessive thinking, you’ll discover that the hard days are part of the healing process and you need to trust it.  In this episode, I discuss how a lack of trust is one of the biggest blocks to success. I share tips on how to appreciate your food habits and restore your trust in your body and the recovery process.  Tune in to this episode if you want to learn how to challenge your thinking and live a happier, more hopeful life.  I am now offering a virtual 10-week CLASS! The transformative class will include pre-recorded videos, audio recordings, handouts, membership in a Facebook community. It is packed with content. You can’t take this class and

Who doesn’t make excuses? From skipping the gym to overeating when we’re full, we can eke out any and all excuses about why we can’t stick to our health goals. Most of the time, we do this subconsciously. In fact, the excuses come from little parts inside of us that have a need. They seem like excuses but in fact when we come up with an excuse it means a part of us is scared or trying to protect us in some way.  It takes conscious effort to break our habit of making excuses. We need to listen to the excuses with curiosity and compassion so we can get the excuses to change perhaps.  In this episode, I discuss why we become prone to making excuses. I also talk about getting rid of triggers that cause us to stray away from our diets. Lastly, I share a terrific tool that can help you reign in your tendency to make excuses and sabotage yourself from achieving your goals. Before you tune in to the full episode, I want you to know about my class! Join my virtual 10-week Class! I love this class. It has SO much info

Do you often get stuck in the thought that you are so different and you don’t fit in anywhere — at home, in school, or in the neighborhood? Is that feeling forcing you to be who you are not, affecting how and when you eat?  If yes, you are not alone because so many people are stuck in that thought too. In this episode, I discuss how you can deal with the feeling of being an outsider and its effects on the way you eat. I also talk about how to reframe your thoughts to become more friendly to yourself. Tune in to the full episode and learn more about how reframing works and how it will benefit you. I am now offering a virtual 10-week CLASS! The transformative class will include pre-recorded videos, audio recordings, handouts, and membership in a Facebook community. You can take this course at your own pace, so if you are very busy one week you can put it on hold. I am so confident that this class can help you that it comes with a money back guarantee! Enrollment is ongoing!  If you would prefer more individual