Psychology Of Eating

In this episode, Marc David coaches single mom, Eva, on her challenges with emotional eating. The eldest of 8 siblings, Eva has felt alone since childhood. Her mother was a hard-working single mom herself who was hardly ever at home, so Eva often stepped in to help raise her seven younger brothers. To ease her overwhelm and loneliness, she began comforting herself with food, especially with breads and sweets – a habit she’s continued into adulthood.  Now many years later, Eva still feels many of the same emotions she did as a kid. Whether it’s raising her autistic kids, dealing with the stress of single motherhood, or simply getting thrown off track by everyday challenges, life can just feel like too much, too often. When she’s having a bad day, Eva reverts to her familiar pattern of binging on her favorite foods … a habit that is especially concerning given her bariatric surgery back in 2015. As Marc explores, we all have many different voices living inside of us at once – some of which are often in conflict

Noelle, 58, recently lost her mother after a three year journey being her primary caregiver. During that time, Noelle started binge eating to deal with her emotions and ended up gaining about 30 pounds. Heartbroken over her mother, Noelle is beginning to realize the impact of her grief on her patterns with food, and would like to somehow let go of the unwanted eating habits she developed over the past few years. As you’ll hear in this episode of The Psychology of Eating Podcast, Noelle’s response to the unrelenting grief she’s been experiencing is very common. So many of us turn to food when we’ve experienced loss. While it’s normal and natural to regulate our emotions with food, we know it’s ultimately not the healthiest response.  As this session highlights, part of the solution to what we might call “grief eating” is having empathy and compassion for ourselves. As Marc shares – when we bring self-love to the table, we take the first step to unwinding our eating challenges.  So be sure to tune into this mov

Tiffany, 52, would like to lose about 5 kilos. For many years, she’s worried about what to eat, and believes that if she could only learn to “think like a thin person,” she could stop focusing so much on food. And that would in turn help her to lose weight.  Tiffany also holds a variety of other beliefs around food and body, such as what her ideal weight should be, that weight loss should be effortless, that she should never overeat, and many more. And she’s not alone: all of us hold beliefs about our health, bodies, and our patterns with food. But as Marc David teaches, many of the beliefs we hold end up getting in the way of achieving the goals we hold so dear. Here’s the thing: it’s natural to focus on food when we’re trying to lose weight.  However, what so many people don’t realize is that nutritional changes alone don’t automatically lead to weight loss.  And that’s because weight challenges arise from the level of our thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. In order to create lasting change, we have to do mor

Amy, 48, would like to be more present in her body but multiple life experiences seem to stand in her way. After having mostly recovered from a frightening journey with multiple sclerosis (MS), Amy may have regained her health, but is realizing that her relationship with her body and sexuality is now calling out for healing at a deeper level.  As you’ll hear, Amy’s story with food and body go way back to childhood, when she had the startling experience of rapid puberty-related changes. One day she had the body of a child, and the next, the body of a woman. She began attracting unwanted attention from men, and could tell that all her family and friends were highly uncomfortable with her body. This imprinted a deep sense of shame and a desire to hide her femininity, which has continued on into adulthood.  One of the key concepts highlighted in this session is that “imprint vulnerability,” something that often occurs during the hormonal shifts of puberty. And as Marc shares, this early imprinted experience can b

Marc works with Lori, 57, who has been dieting for nearly 40 years. She’s exhausted from thinking about food and weight constantly, but still feels attached to losing weight. She believes she’d feel more accomplished once she loses the weight, and that how she feels on the inside would finally match the outside.  Lori has lost weight in the past, and initially feels more confident. But somehow that starts to go away, and she gradually falls back into eating her favorite high-fat foods. And that inevitably brings the weight back. At these times, Lori asks herself what triggers her old behaviors so that she can avoid slipping back into the diet cycle yet again, but comes up short on answers. As Marc explains, people carry weight for many different reasons, including medical, metabolic, nutritional, food-related, and emotional. But regardless of the root cause, those of us who have focused on weight loss our entire lives have often never experienced their essential self, free from any weight loss goal. As they e

Marc works with 30-year-old Kiersten who would like to let go of the fear and shame she feels around her weight, and feel more confident in her own skin. After being diagnosed with hypothyroidism in high school, Kiersten was placed on thyroid supplementation that helped her lose about 60 pounds – but since then, it’s been an up and down roller coaster. She’s experienced times where she was able to lose weight, trying things like a keto diet, working with a weight loss coach, and being on a strict exercise regimen. But after experiencing some personal hardships a few years ago, she gained all her weight back. Now the heaviest she’s ever been with about 100 pounds she’d like to lose, Kiersten is wondering where to go from here. Equally, she’s trying to figure out how she can quiet the voice of self-criticism, and see herself and her journey in a kind and loving way – something more important than ever to Kiersten as she seeks to heal the abuse she experienced as a child. Tune into this powerful and potent episo

In this episode, Marc works with 41-year old Lisa who is battling body image challenges. She frequently judges her body, and often compares herself to others. She’d like to lose about 10 pounds, but more than anything she just wants to be free of body judgment. She knows she can find a happier and more peaceful relationship with herself, she just doesn’t quite know how. As they explore in her coaching session, Lisa learned early on as an 8-year old soccer player. She remembers noticing other girls’ legs, comparing hers to theirs, and wondering if hers were “right.” A lot of life has been lived since then - she’s grown up, been married, gotten divorced, switched careers, and is now in a wonderful new relationship with a man who loves her appearance. But she still finds that old familiar voice of comparison and judgment present at different times. As you’ll hear, Marc coaches Lisa and the rest of us who are challenged with body image to embrace self-awareness before trying to get to the holy grail of self-accep

Many of us who are into health and wellness learn to be discerning in our choices around food and nutrition. And that’s a great thing. But sometimes, we can start to worry and overanalyze our food choices. Taken to its extreme, that can lead to orthorexia, a type of eating disorder characterized by an obsession around making healthy food choices.    In this episode of The Psychology of Eating Podcast, you’ll meet Caitlin, 26, who would like to let go of worrying so much about what to eat. For a period of time, Caitlin was experiencing health challenges and wanted to understand which foods would make her feel better. But after watching numerous documentaries on the dark side of food production and manufacturing, she grew in her words “paranoid and freaked out” about some of the foods she had been eating. Eager to free herself from these worries and learn how to live a simple, healthy life, Caitlin turns to the Institute’s lead teacher and host of the podcast, Marc David, for help.   Don’t miss this highly

Tareshvari (Tish) from Australia joins Marc David for this episode of The Psychology of Eating Podcast. Tish, 59, finds herself in a place of deep nutritional confusion. She was trained as a health coach, which she thought would help her find clarity about what to eat — but it only seemed to create more uncertainty about what foods are truly best for her health and well-being. The experts she follows in the health and nutrition space all seem to contradict each other, and so does the research. Listen into this powerful episode to learn how you can get out of nutritional confusion and find the eating style that works for your unique body.   Key Insights:   There’s a lot of conflicting information about food, eating, and weight loss. Knowing how to choose what’s right for your unique body can be understandably confusing.   The science of nutrition is still in its nascent stages, which is one of the reasons there’s so much conflicting information.    An important distinction for all of us is t

In this episode of The Psychology of Eating Podcast, guest coaching client Diana works with eating psychology teacher, Marc David. Diana, 57, has been trying for at least 16 years to lose about 40 pounds to no avail. Told that she has metabolic resistance, her latest functional medicine doctor has told her she may never be able to lose the weight. With several autoimmune conditions and having gone into early menopause, Diana is confused about what’s going on with her body and whether weight loss in the cards for her.   In her eating psychology coaching session with Marc, they explore some of the key underlying causes that may be behind her weight loss resistance, including hormonal imbalance, prediabetes, and possible heavy metal toxicity.    Key Insights:    Examining all potential underlying causes for metabolic resistance is key, and working with a naturopath or functional medicine practitioner is recommended   Why low calorie diets can cause weight loss resistance   If we’re living a healthy l

Marc David coaches 43-year-old clinical nutritionist, Jenny, who would like lose twenty pounds. At 14, Jenny moved to the United States from Russia, and almost immediately gained weight, which she attributes to the stress of relocating to a new country. Since then, Jenny has always been able to lose weight, but during times of stress, puts it right back on again.    As many health professionals can attest, Jenny feels a certain pressure to conform to ideas of what a nutritionist or dietitian should look like. But her real concern is the potential long-term health consequences of holding additional weight, particularly as she enters menopause in the coming years … a time when many women can experience unwanted weight gain. Jenny shares that feeling satiated or “full” is usually her signal that she’s eaten enough food. But over the last few years, it’s been harder to reach that feeling of fullness … causing her to overeat.    In this episode, Marc explores: The role of stress in our metabolism; Refr

Rhonda, age 53, has dreams of becoming an actress, traveling the world, kayaking, scuba diving, and finding her life partner. But one thing has been holding her back: her weight. Rhonda would like to lose about 100 pounds, weight she slowly gained over the years but has been unable to lose since quitting smoking four years ago.   In her coaching session with eating psychology expert Marc David, Rhonda shares that she frequently binge eats as a way to deal with stress, loneliness, and boredom. She has a robust career, managing twenty people in her position, but many of Rhonda’s dreams remain unfulfilled. With a lust for life, love, and drama, Rhonda’s inner life simply doesn’t match her outer life … and she’s ready for a big change.   As Marc explores, so often we’ll wait to live out our dreams and become the “real” us until we’ve achieved our weight loss goals. But that has too many of us waiting our entire lives, whether we have 10 pounds or 100 to lose. Instead of losing weight, we lose the opportunity

In this episode of The Psychology of Eating Podcast, eating psychology teacher Marc David coaches 32-year-old Audrey from France, who currently lives in the UK. Audrey is seeking to redefine her relationship with stress, a state she frequently finds herself in despite making massive progress overcoming a history of trauma, and anorexia and bulimia. Audrey is acutely aware of how she responds to stress, which is to disconnect from her feelings and body, and in her words, “numb out.” They explore how trauma and eating disorders can themselves become a source of stress, as well as practical strategies for living a more relaxed and balance life.    ---------------   Learn more about us at The Institute for the Psychology of Eating: https://psychologyofeating.com/    Watch our special masterclass on the Mind Body Eating Coach Certification Training to learn more about how you can positively transform your own relationship with food while helping others do the same. Tune into The Ultimate Health Co

Gabriela, age 25, moved from Bulgaria to the US several years ago, and started noticing that food was becoming a challenge. Back in her home country, she never really put much thought into food. But when she moved to the States, someone pointed out that she had some extra weight, and Gabriela became bothered by the comment. She started a new routine of going to the gym, and restricting her food intake, but quickly found herself starting to binge eat. The pandemic hit, she broke up with her boyfriend, and her thoughts turned to consuming food … lots of it! She would eat massive amounts of food to relieve the stress, grief, and loneliness of her life.   After realizing that her eating challenges were getting worse, Gabriela began therapy, and looked for other solutions, including the Institute’s 8-week public program “Transform Your Relationship with Food.” Gabriela is now well on her way to healing her challenges with binge and emotional eating, but still can’t help feel like a bit of a food criminal when

Founder of the Institute for the Psychology of Eating, Marc David speaks to esteemed filmmaker of the “Transcendence” docuseries and the documentary, “Hungry for Change,” James Colquhoun. Like many of us passionate about health and wellness, James’ journey into healthy living began after a life-changing and tragic event. His father developed multiple medical conditions, and did what most people do: go to their doctor and start taking various medications. As his father’s health continued to decline, James became determined to figure out how to use nutrition and holistic health to reverse his dad’s medical diagnoses.    After reading book after book, beginning with the classic, Diet for a New America by John Robbins, James and his partner Laurentine learned everything they could about health and nutrition. And as he became more informed, James gradually convinced his father to let go of the medications that seemed to only worsen his conditions and lead to terrible side effects.    And the result? Hi

Do you have a nutrition-linked health condition? Then you won’t want to miss this week’s episode of The Psychology of Eating Podcast, where you’ll hear the story of 44-year old Aldona from the Netherlands.   Ten years ago, Aldona was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, a diagnosis that affects an estimated 20 million people in the U.S. alone. When she was newly diagnosed, Aldona tried to heal her condition with high-quality foods. She has tried many diet approaches, like Paleo, and has done strict elimination diets in an attempt to see which foods might be most problematic.   Unfortunately, none of her attempts have improved her Hashimoto’s. And now, to complicate things, Aldona has developed Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), which she attributes to the stress of trying to manage her Hashimoto’s. Never having experienced digestive issues or food intolerances before, Aldona has become stressed out and very confused about what to eat. In her words, she no longer trusts her instincts about which foods are

Jen has had challenges around weight since she was 12 years of age. Now a 40-year-old mother of four, she wishes the weight would just melt off effortlessly. Jen has lost weight using Jenny Craig and similar approaches, but the weight always seems to come back. A graduate of The Institute’s Mind Body Eating Coach Certification Training, Jen now looks back at her past weight loss efforts and realizes so much of it has been driven by weight hate. She wants to find a more sustainable approach, one where self-attack is not in the driver’s seat.    As she works with Marc David, Jen unlocks some of the key psychological roots behind her struggles with weight and body image. What unfolds is a moving conversation on feeling misunderstood and how that can drive us to self-harm, tending to our inner child’s needs, honoring the inner rebel who hates dieting, and how to bring self-forgiveness into our lives and relationship with food and body.   ---------------   Learn more about us at The Institute for the Psyc

In this episode of The Psychology of Eating Podcast, eating psychology expert Marc David speaks with 60-year-old Kathy who’s afraid of losing control with food. She has been in a binge-restrict cycle since she was 15 years old, and recently suffered a heart attack - for which she knows she needs to change her unwanted eating habits. In the three years since her heart attack, she’s lost 84 pounds, but still finds herself in fear that she’ll sabotage herself with food. Looking to create a more balanced relationship with eating, Kathy turns to Marc David for help.   ---------------   Learn more about us at The Institute for the Psychology of Eating: https://psychologyofeating.com/    Explore a career as Mind Body Eating Coach specializing in Eating Psychology & Mind Body Nutrition by signing up for our free ebook series: https://lp.psychologyofeating.com/eating-psychology-video-series/   Follow us on social:  - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IPEfanpage - Instagram: https://www.instagram.

In this episode, we meet Jenny, 42, who is ready for a serious relationship after many years of monogamy. But she feels very self-conscious about her body, so much so that it feels almost impossible to open up to new love. Jenny’s last relationship ended in her late 20s, and ever since, she’s thrown herself into work and tried to ignore both the deep desire for a romantic relationship, and the poor body image that has prevented her from finding it.   In her eating psychology coaching session, Jenny works with founder of the Institute for the Psychology of Eating, Marc David. As Jenny shares, she’s avoided dating out of fear that she’ll be rejected, telling herself that she’ll be better able to date once she’s happier with her body.    As Marc reflects, so many of us assume that others hold the same judgments of ourselves and our bodies that we do. But very rarely is this actually the case.    Others usually observe what’s good about us: the beauty in our curves, the special way we smile, or the twinkle i

In this episode, Marc David, founder of the Institute for the Psychology of Eating, speaks with 38-year-old Juliana who has faced challenges around body weight and image since she was mocked for being a “chubby” kid. Originally from Brazil, Juliana now lives in Bonn Germany, where she finds the cultural attitudes on weight and body image are significantly different.    Despite there being a decidedly less stringent idea of beauty in Germany, Juliana is finding it hard to let go of beauty concepts she grew up with in Brazil. She often worries about food and whether she’s getting the whole experience of eating “right” - whether that’s eating the “right” foods or eating the “right” amount of calories each day.    Marc coaches Juliana and the rest of us trying to lose weight to see that, while weight loss is a fine goal for many, it becomes problematic when it becomes paramount to everything else in our life. When weight loss is more important than almost anything else, it’s very likely we hold the to