Food Shrinks – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode, The Shrinks dive deep into identifying and managing triggers on the path to recovery, with a special focus on insights from Molly P. We discuss how overwhelming schedules, feeling controlled, and people-pleasing tendencies can drive emotional eating or even binge-eating episodes. Molly reflects on her journey and the importance of recognizing when she's overextending herself, neglecting self-care, or shouldering more than she can bear—all classic triggers in her recovery.

Key takeaways include the value of setting boundaries and prioritizing yourself in the face of external demands. Our panel emphasizes creating space in your schedule for breaks and meals and urges listeners to pause and check in with themselves regularly, even if it’s just for 10 minutes. This small act can help curb stress and prevent overwhelm.

A powerful theme emerges around vulnerability and the need for support in recovery. Whether it's scheduling short breaks, learning to say "no," or asking for help, these are essential skills for protecting one’s mental and emotional health. Remember, self-care doesn’t require perfection—it’s about consistent, small steps that help you thrive. Join us as we explore the daily practices that contribute to a resilient recovery journey.

Watch now on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOnmZOhF9Ts&t=1s Don't forget to like, subscribe, and share with others who might need these insights!

Email: asktheshrinks@foodshrinks.com
Website: www.foodshrinks.com
Instagram: @foodshrinks

The content of our show is educational only. It does not supplement or supersede your healthcare provider's professional relationship and direction. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified mental health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition, substance use disorder, or mental health concern.

In this episode Clarissa shares one of her latest challenges in Food Addiction Recovery. The shrinks dive into a heartfelt and inspiring conversation about resilience and recovery in the face of unexpected health challenges. After Clarissa lost her sense of taste and smell due to long COVID, she found herself navigating a tricky path back to healthy eating and sobriety. She opens up about how these changes impacted her relationship with food, triggering old patterns and even leading to a brief return to use. 

Together, they explore how to keep a balanced food plan, manage fatigue, and find self-compassion through tough times. With supportive insights and practical strategies for maintaining routines when food loses its appeal, this episode is a beacon of hope and encouragement for anyone on a recovery journey. Tune in for a candid chat on the power of not feeling like you have to start over but instead just continuing on your recovery journey, leaning on support systems, and embracing self-care every step of the way.

Email: asktheshrinks@foodshrinks.com

Website: www.foodshrinks.com

Instagram: @foodshrinks

The content of our show is educational only. It does not supplement or supersede your healthcare provider's professional relationship and direction. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified mental health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition, substance use disorder, or mental health concern.

We’re beyond excited to bring you real recovery talk with some of your closest friends. Welcome to Food Shrinks, where your hosts— Molly Carmel, Clarissa Kennedy, and Molly Painschab —serve up candid, compassionate conversations about food addiction, recovery, and finding true freedom with food.

In every episode, we dive deep into the messy, meaningful realities of healing your relationship with food. Drawing from years of clinical experience and personal insight, we share what we’ve learned, what’s worked, and practical tools to guide you along your journey.

This is not just expert advice—it’s real, raw, and honest talk among friends. We know that recovery isn’t always a straight line, and we’re here to embrace that truth. Whether you’re unpacking diet culture, learning to trust yourself with food again, or still figuring out what works best for you, we’ll walk this path together.

Join us for heartfelt conversations, actionable insights, and a space where you feel seen, supported, and empowered.

Email: asktheshrinks@foodshrinks.com

Website: www.foodshrinks.com

Instagram: @foodshrinks

The content of our show is educational only. It does not supplement or supersede your healthcare provider's professional relationship and direction. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified mental health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition, substance use disorder, or mental health concern.

Welcome back to another heartfelt episode of Food Shrinks! This week, we’re diving deep into what triggers us and how they show up in our lives. It’s Molly C.’s turn to share, and her honesty and vulnerability bring so much wisdom to the table.

Molly opens up about navigating big life transitions, like her recent move from North Carolina, back to the Northeast. She shares how underestimated stressors—like moving, saying goodbye, and caring for a sick pet—combined with her “I’m fine” coping mechanism led to a challenging time in her recovery journey.

Key highlights from the episode include:
•Navigating Big Life Changes: How Molly’s move and life upheavals triggered unexpected behaviors and emotions.
•Facing the Scale and Reality: Molly’s candid story of realizing she needed to reset her recovery plan after emotional eating and stress.
•The Importance of Asking for Help: Molly’s decision to hire a coach, reframe her support system, and accept that even with 15 years of abstinence, there’s always room for growth and guidance.
•Humility in Recovery: The humbling experience of needing to revisit basic tools, despite being a leader in the recovery space.
•Reframing Relapse: Why the term “recurrence” is a more compassionate and accurate way to describe returning to disordered behaviors in food addiction recovery.
•Embracing Imperfection: Life isn’t about perfection, even in long-term recovery. Molly discusses how recognizing moments of chaos can lead to profound personal lessons.
•We also explore the importance of maintaining ongoing support, staying curious about your own behaviors, and embracing the idea that recovery isn’t linear—it’s a lifelong process of learning and growing.

Key Takeaways for Listeners:
•Recovery is a daily practice, not a destination.
•It’s okay—and vital—to ask for help when you need it.
•Naming and normalizing struggles can be the most healing act.
•Life’s challenges don’t disappear; learning to navigate them with grace is what matters.

Thank you for tuning in and joining us on this journey. If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who might benefit from hearing it. Don’t forget to rate and review—we love hearing from you!
See you next time, and remember: We’re all in this together. 💜

Email: asktheshrinks@foodshrinks.com 
Website: www.foodshrinks.com 
Instagram: @foodshrinks

The content of our show is educational only. It does not supplement or supersede your healthcare provider's professional relationship and direction. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified mental health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition, substance use disorder, or mental health concern. 

Email: asktheshrinks@foodshrinks.com 
Website: www.foodshrinks.com 
Instagram: @foodshrinks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJz7uP8kmP4

In this candid and deeply personal episode, the Food Shrinks—Molly Carmel, Clarissa Kennedy, and Molly Painschab—dive into the challenging topic of self-abandonment, appeasement, and the consequences of chasing quick fixes. From past experiences with expensive treatment programs to navigating shame and self-doubt, this episode offers valuable insights for anyone struggling to hold on to themselves in moments of uncertainty. The hosts share their missteps, lessons learned, and actionable strategies to help listeners recognize and reclaim their power.

Key Takeaways:

The Cost of Quick Fixes:

🏔️Clarissa reflects on her experience with an overpriced treatment center that promised transformation but delivered minimal value. She highlights the allure of "glitzy solutions" and how they often lead to disappointment.

🏔️Molly Painschab and Molly Carmel share similar stories of misplaced trust in expensive programs, shedding light on the sunk-cost fallacy and the dangers of magical thinking.

SUNK-COST FALLACY: the phenomenon whereby a person is reluctant to abandon a strategy or course of action because they have invested heavily in it, even when it is clear that abandonment would be more beneficial.

Self-Abandonment in the Name of Appeasement:

🏔️The concept of appeasement, or people-pleasing, is explored as a survival mechanism that often leads to self-abandonment.

🏔️The hosts emphasize the importance of identifying and challenging the behaviors that lead to prioritizing others' expectations over personal truth.

The Power of Connection:

🏔️Shame thrives in secrecy. Sharing struggles with trusted individuals can break the cycle of self-doubt and isolation.

🏔️Building a "power circle" of supportive and honest people is essential for navigating challenging situations.

Lessons Learned:

🏔️Trust your intuition. Don't ignore the red flags if a program, relationship, or commitment feels wrong.

🏔️Always evaluate decisions transparently—if you can't explain or defend your choices to a trusted person, reconsider them.

🏔️Remember that true growth and healing come from consistent self-care and inner work, not quick fixes.

Practical Advice:

🏔️Talk to trusted people before committing to significant decisions.

🏔️Don’t let shame silence you. Even a simple text like “I’m not okay” can open the door to support.

🏔️Reclaim your narrative by acknowledging your truth, even in the face of fear or judgment.

Call to Action:

We’d love to hear from you! Please share your experiences, questions, and thoughts with us at asktheshrinks@foodshrinks.com. Your stories inspire us and our listeners.

Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and share this episode with friends and loved ones. Together, we can support each other in navigating the complexities of food, life, and recovery.

Join us next week for another honest, empowering conversation!

Email: asktheshrinks@foodshrinks.com

Website: www.foodshrinks.com

Instagram: @foodshrinks

The content of our show is educational only. It does not supplement or supersede your healthcare provider's professional relationship and direction. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified mental health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition, substance use disorder, or mental health concern.

In this episode, the Food Shrinks—Molly C., Molly P., and Clarissa—gear up to combat the "diet culture vultures" that descend during the New Year season. They discuss empowering listeners to reclaim their role as the solution to their challenges rather than falling victim to shame-based marketing tactics. This conversation is packed with insights into navigating January's pressures with mindfulness, self-compassion, and an emphasis on long-term recovery.

Key Takeaways:
🔥"You're Not the Problem" Mantra: Shift the narrative—you're not the problem; you're the solution.
🔥Avoiding Shame-Based Marketing: Recognize when urgency or fear tactics are being used to manipulate you. YOUR healing is not for sale; recovery isn’t about dependency on a single program or coach.
🔥The Power of Mindful Choices: Making decisions from a grounded place, rather than in states of shame, fear, or urgency, leads to sustainable recovery.
🔥Understanding the Brain and Nervous System: Trauma responses like fight, flight, and appease can cloud judgment. Regular self-care practices, such as mindfulness and peer support, help regulate these responses.
🔥Recovery is Personal: Growth requires evolving tools and practices. What worked years ago might not be what you need today. Stay curious about your changing needs.

Listener Challenge:
As you face the tidal wave of New Year’s diet marketing, ask yourself:
🔥"Does this program enhance me as the solution?"
🔥"Am I buying this out of fear or empowerment?"
🔥"What do I truly want for myself this year?"

Molly C.'s Pro Tip:
"If it’s urgent, it’s not wisdom." Take your time and trust your inner guidance.

Quotes from the Episode:
🔥"Your healing is not for sale." – Clarissa
🔥"Their urgency is not your emergency." – Clarissa
🔥"When we make decisions in a dysregulated state, we lose the thread." – Molly C.

Connect with the Food Shrinks:
Have questions or stories about navigating diet culture vultures? Share them with us!
📧 Email: asktheshrinks@foodshrinks.com
We’ll incorporate your stories and questions into upcoming episodes and YouTube content. Let’s face the January frenzy together—empowered and awake!

Subscribe & Share:
Love this episode? Don’t forget to like, comment, and share with friends. See you next week!
Email: asktheshrinks@foodshrinks.com 
Website: www.foodshrinks.com 
Instagram: @foodshrinks

In this heartfelt and thought-provoking episode, your hosts, Molly Painschab, Molly Carmel, and Clarissa Kennedy, dive into the topic of 12-step programs and their role in food addiction recovery. This conversation explores their diverse experiences with 12-step recovery, its benefits, challenges, and alternatives, offering valuable insights for anyone navigating their own path to healing.

Key Takeaways from the Episode

🩷Personal Experiences with 12-Step: Molly Carmel shares her transformative journey through OA (Overeaters Anonymous), from initial skepticism to finding a foundation for her spirituality and emotional recovery. Meanwhile, Clarissa Kennedy reflects on how her experience with AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) differed, highlighting challenges like shame and fear-mongering but also discussing how she found support in alternative recovery programs like Women for Sobriety and Monument.

🩷The Power of Community: All three hosts agree on the vital importance of community in recovery, whether through 12-step programs or other support networks. They emphasize the value of finding what works best for each individual.

🩷Trusting Yourself in Recovery: This episode tackles balancing outside advice with self-trust. The hosts discuss the importance of listening to your inner wisdom while navigating the complexities of recovery programs.

🩷Finding the Right Fit: Whether exploring different meetings, seeking out supportive sponsors, or finding alternative programs, the hosts encourage listeners to stay curious and keep searching until they find the right recovery environment.

🩷Practical Advice for Recovery: From learning tolerance and humility to understanding the neurobiology of addiction, this episode is packed with actionable advice for those in any stage of their recovery journey.

Episode Highlights

🩷Molly Carmel’s candid story of reluctantly joining OA and how it became the foundation for her spiritual and emotional recovery.

🩷Clarissa’s experience of leaving AA and finding healing in alternative programs felt more compassionate and empowering.

🩷The hosts’ discussion on the pitfalls of diet culture infiltrating food-based recovery groups and the importance of rejecting shame-based approaches.

🩷Practical advice for interviewing sponsors, navigating challenging recovery environments, and staying open to new possibilities.

We want to hear from you! Share your thoughts on this episode, and let us know what topics you'd like us to cover next. 

Please email us at asktheshrinks@foodshrinks.com. We’re here to support you on your recovery journey.

🩷Stay Connected
Follow The Food Shrinks for more insights, personal stories, and expert advice on food addiction recovery. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review—it helps us reach more listeners like you!

Resources Mentioned
🩷Overeaters Anonymous (OA)
🩷Women for Sobriety
🩷Monument: An online recovery community for alcohol addiction
🩷Sweet Sobriety: A supportive community for food addiction recovery

Tune in, stay curious, and remember—you’re not alone on this journey. Let’s recover together!

Email: asktheshrinks@foodshrinks.com 
Website: www.foodshrinks.com 
Instagram: @foodshrinks

The content of our show is educational only. It does not supplement or supersede your healthcare provider's professional relationship and direction. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified mental health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition, substance use disorder, or mental health concern.

Ever wondered whether stepping on the scale supports or sabotages your food recovery? This week on Food Shrinks, we're tackling this tricky topic head-on! Today, the Shrinks discuss the complexities of weighing oneself during recovery, the potential triggers, and the importance of tailoring recovery to individual needs.

Key discussions include:
🔥The dangers of focusing on weight loss over recovery.
🔥How scales can act as triggers and distractions for those in recovery.
🔥The power of spiritual and emotional growth in stabilizing recovery.
🔥Understanding recovery non-negotiables for long-term success.

Takeaways:
🔥Recovery over weight loss: Focusing solely on weight can undermine recovery. Prioritize healing and stability.
🔥The role of the scale: Weighing oneself can be helpful but must be approached with caution, neutrality, and clear intent.
🔥Patience with weight stalls: A stall in weight loss may require patience, medical intervention, or acceptance—it’s a journey, not a race.
🔥Tailored recovery: Every individual's journey is unique; avoid cookie-cutter solutions and work with an experienced practitioner.
🔥Self-care is key: Regular routines, mindfulness, and support systems are essential to maintaining recovery and mental health.
🔥Recovery non-negotiables: Identify daily practices that keep you grounded and focused on long-term healing.

We want to hear from you! Do you weigh yourself as part of your recovery, or have you let go of the scale? Please share your thoughts, questions, and recovery stories with us at asktheshrinks@foodshrinks.com. Your feedback inspires our future episodes!

📩 Connect with us: Do you have ideas for future topics? Please send us an email or comment on our social platforms. Let’s continue the conversation together!

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review. Please stay connected for more honest conversations about recovery, tools, and hope.

Email: asktheshrinks@foodshrinks.com 
Website: www.foodshrinks.com 
Instagram: @foodshrinks
You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EURgLlAddwE

The content of our show is educational only. It does not supplement or supersede your healthcare provider's professional relationship and direction. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified mental health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition, substance use disorder, or mental health concern.

⚠️Please forgive the poor internet connection in this episode!

In today’s episode, the Shrinks go off-script to discuss a topic that lit a fire in Molly C.’s heart last night while scrolling Instagram. This raw and authentic conversation unpacks the challenges, complexities, and nuances of navigating advice in the recovery and coaching space—especially when it comes to weight loss, bariatric surgery, and GLP-1 medications.

Molly C. shares her visceral reaction to a controversial Instagram post suggesting that people should only consider medical interventions after “getting straight with God.” From there, the discussion evolves into exploring the fine line between empowerment and victim-blaming, the ethical responsibility of coaches and counselors, and the dangers of relying solely on personal experience without professional training.

Key Topics Discussed:

✴The importance of integrating spirituality, science, and evidence-based care in recovery journeys.

✴ People face vulnerabilities when seeking support and how predatory marketing can exploit that.

✴How to discern if a coach or counselor is qualified to provide the help you need—questions to ask and red flags to watch for. 

✴Why it’s okay (and essential) to fire a professional who isn’t serving your best interests.

✴The power of GLP-1 medications and bariatric surgery as tools for recovery and the myths and stigma surrounding them.

✴The broader cultural implications of moralizing health interventions and the importance of meeting people where they are.

Takeaways for Listeners:

✴There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to recovery. Every journey is unique, and the right tools vary for everyone.

✴It’s vital to find practitioners who are trained, compassionate, and genuinely invested in your healing—not in keeping you sick.

✴Be wary of shame-based messaging that suggests you’re not “doing enough” or “faithful enough” to heal.

✴Your recovery is valid, whether it includes medical interventions, spiritual growth, or a mix of both.

✴Always hold onto hope—healing is possible, and you deserve the best care and support available.

Listener Challenge: We’d love to hear your thoughts on this conversation! Have you experienced shame-based coaching? How do you choose the proper support in your recovery journey? Please share your insights and stories with us at asktheshrinks@foodshrinks.com.

Resources Mentioned:

✴Questions to Ask a Coach or Counselor Before Working with Them (from a previous Food Junkies episode) https://www.foodjunkiespodcast.com/episodes/episode-151-molly-painschab-clarissa-kennedy-bethany-mazereeuw-what-to-look-for-in-a-counsellor

✴Dr. Rhona Epstein: A trusted Christian food addiction counselor with decades of experience. https://drrhona.com/

Follow Us: If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review. Please stay connected for more honest conversations about recovery, tools, and hope.

Email: asktheshrinks@foodshrinks.com

Website: www.foodshrinks.com

Instagram: @foodshrinks

The content of our show is educational only. It does not supplement or supersede your healthcare provider's professional relationship and direction. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified mental health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition, substance use disorder, or mental health concern.