Advertise on podcast: Food Junkies Podcast

One in four kids now lives with a chronic health condition. Type 2 diabetes in children rose 60% between 2006 and 2019, and conditions like fatty liver disease are showing up earlier than ever. But kids can also heal remarkably fast, sometimes within weeks or months, when the whole family changes together. In this episode, Clarissa sits down with Dr. Patel, pediatrician, lifestyle medicine physician, and founder and medical director of Reset Pediatric Lifestyle Medicine in Ontario. Dr. Patel shares three real family case studies showing kids reversing pre-diabetes, fatty liver, high cholesterol, and elevated blood pressure. The changes behind those results were simple and practical: changing what came into the house, modeling new habits as parents, and replacing screen time with movement. He also talks about why he considers ultra-processed foods and screens the two biggest risky substances facing kids today, and how he helps parents take responsibility without sinking into blame and shame. In this episode, we discuss: What lifestyle medicine is, and how it goes beyond "eat less, move more" The six pillars: nutrition, restorative sleep, movement, stress resilience, avoiding risky substances, and social connection Why ultra-processed food and screens are the most concerning risks for kids today "Behavior change is simple, but not easy," and how to move from knowing to doing How to invite parental responsibility without shame Case 1: A 14-year-old who turned to food after losing his grandmother. His mom stopped bringing treats into the house, for him and for herself. Case 2: An 11-year-old who became the change agent and started pushing his parents toward healthier choices Case 3: An 8-year-old whose family returned to their traditional Ghanaian bean-based dishes and normalized her cholesterol Why eating in front of a screen can raise intake by up to 60%, and the movie theater popcorn effect Three first steps for busy families this week: screen-free family meals, better sleep routines, and one simple substitution A message for overwhelmed parents: you're not too late Learn more about Dr. Patel and Reset Pediatric Lifestyle Medicine: Rikin Patel | Reset Pediatrics Connect with Food Junkies: [email protected] IFACC 2026: The International Food Addiction Children's Conference Protecting Kids from UPF Addiction Starts Now Ultra-processed food addiction doesn't start in adulthood. Prevention can't wait either. On 14 November 2026 (4 PM UK GMT, online), the International Food Addiction and Children's Conference brings together youth ambassadors, researchers, clinicians, and global experts, featuring UNICEF's Fix My Food youth initiative. What you'll get: Real stories from young people leading change The latest science on UPF addiction and early prevention How global food systems shape children's health Practical steps for families, schools, and professionals Your ticket does double duty: all proceeds support Collaboration for Kids and UNICEF's Fix My Food programme. Parents, educators, clinicians, policymakers, advocates: this one's for you. 🎟️ Get your ticket: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1991350856016?aff=oddtdtcreator ℹ️ Learn more: https://www.the-chc.org/fas/ifacc-2026   Disclaimer:  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.

Why do we keep reaching for food we don't even want? In this episode, Dr. Vera Tarman talks with Dr. Thomas Sambrook, lecturer in psychology at the University of East Anglia, about his research on how the brain responds to food cues within milliseconds, and why that response can keep firing long after we're full. Dr. Sambrook holds two PhDs, one in primatology from the University of St Andrews and one in cognitive neuroscience from the University of Plymouth. His work uses computational modeling and brain-tracking methods to study how we learn habits, make decisions, and respond to reward and punishment, most recently with a focus on primary reinforcers like food and pain. In his latest study, hungry participants learned to work for two foods, one sweet and one savory. Halfway through, they ate their fill of just one. They said they no longer wanted that food, but their brains still produced the same strong reward signal when they saw a cue for it. What we consciously want and what the brain does when it sees a cue can be two very different things. For anyone who has said "I don't even want this, so why am I eating it?", this conversation offers a clear, shame-free explanation rooted in biology. In this episode, we explore: Dr. Sambrook's path from primatology to studying reward, habit, and food What makes a behavior a habit, and where habit ends and addiction begins Devaluation insensitivity, and why it may explain eating in the absence of hunger The brain's reward signal firing just as strongly for a food you're full of as for one you still want Why a cue can be as rewarding as the food itself, and the evolutionary reasons for that Whether advertising and cues could override the "food noise" reduction from GLP-1 medications Why fast, cue-driven responses beat slow, deliberate decisions Incubation of craving, and why it may be a separate route from cue-driven behavior Individual differences in cue reactivity, including possible links to ADHD Why willpower-based "keep it in the cupboard and just resist" approaches tend to fail Policy parallels with tobacco: limiting the advertising and visibility of ultra-processed foods Key takeaways: You can't control the brain's first response to a cue. That response is automatic and inherited from millions of years of evolution. It is not a character flaw. Practice cue hygiene. Remove trigger foods from your environment and limit exposure where you can. In recovery language, this is people, places, and things. Replace the habit; don't just fight it. When a cue hits, redirect the action. Keep a satisfying, healthy alternative within reach, such as an orange that keeps your hands busy. Eat without multitasking. Eating while distracted trains automatic eating. When you eat, just eat. Let go of the shame. Watching yourself eat something you don't want is the old reward machinery at work, not a personal failing. 🔗 Connect with Dr. Sambrook: Thomas Sambrook - University of East Anglia 🔗 Connect with the Food Junkies Podcast: Find us on Apple Music, Spotify, and any other platform where you listen to podcasts. ✉️Email us: [email protected] 💜 Looking for support with sugar and ultra-processed food addiction? Sweet Sobriety offers live recovery groups, coaching, and the Foundations Program: Sweet Sobriety: Foundations PREVIEW - https://sweetsobriety.newzenler.com/courses/sweet-sobriety-foundations-course-preview Sweet Sobriety: Foundations – https://sweetsobriety.newzenler.com/courses/sweet-sobriety-foundations Sweet Sobriety: Liberation PREVIEW - https://sweetsobriety.newzenler.com/courses/sweet-sobriety-liberation-preview Sweet Sobriety: Liberation - https://sweetsobriety.newzenler.com/courses/sweet-sobriety-liberation Hosts: Dr. Vera Tarman, Clarissa Kennedy & Molly Painschab ⚠️ Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical, psychological, or nutritional advice. If you are struggling with an eating disorder, addiction, or trauma, please reach out to a qualified healthcare provider. Content includes discussion of sexual assault, bullying, and disordered eating. Viewer discretion is advised.

What if your cravings aren't the problem, but a message? In this episode of the Food Junkies Podcast, we sit down with Luis Mojica, somatic practitioner, nutritionist, and founder of Holistic Life Navigation, to explore how food, trauma, and the nervous system are deeply connected. Luis shares his powerful personal story: growing up intersex, surviving bullying and sexual assault in silence, and turning to food as his only "witness" during 20+ years of binge eating. He describes how a $20 guitar became his first somatic experience, and how that moment sparked a lifelong path into psychology, nutrition, and Somatic Experiencing. We talk about his framework of stimulants, depressants, and balancers, a way of understanding food by how it changes your state rather than whether it's "good" or "bad." We also explore why people in recovery often shift to overeating whole foods, and why shame may be harder to metabolize than any food on the planet. 🎧 In this episode, we discuss: - How unresolved trauma and a dysregulated nervous system can drive food addiction - Why addiction is an attempt to find safety outside of yourself - Stimulants, depressants, and balancers: what they are and how to spot yours - "Volume eating" of whole foods and why it can still be a survival response - How restrictive eating can be a way to escape the body - Why a calm, open body can feel unsafe at first, and how to titrate safety - Conscious choice vs. compulsion: where pleasure fits in recovery - The biology of shame and why it fuels the craving cycle - Active pendulation: a one-minute nervous system practice you can do anywhere - The "roots of your cravings" practice: a gentle way to meet the need beneath the urge - Why food may be the most overlooked tool for nervous system regulation 🔗 Connect with Luis Mojica: Website: https://holisticlifenavigation.com 🔗 Connect with the Food Junkies Podcast: Find us on Apple Music, Spotify, and any other platform where you listen to podcasts. ✉️Email us: [email protected] 💜 Looking for support with sugar and ultra-processed food addiction? Sweet Sobriety offers live recovery groups, coaching, and the Foundations Program: Sweet Sobriety: Foundations – https://sweetsobriety.newzenler.com/courses/sweet-sobriety-foundations Sweet Sobriety: Liberation - https://sweetsobriety.newzenler.com/courses/sweet-sobriety-liberation Hosts: Dr. Vera Tarman, Clarissa Kennedy & Molly Painschab ⚠️ Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical, psychological, or nutritional advice. If you are struggling with an eating disorder, addiction, or trauma, please reach out to a qualified healthcare provider. Content includes discussion of sexual assault, bullying, and disordered eating. Viewer discretion is advised. #FoodAddiction #FoodJunkiesPodcast #SomaticHealing #NervousSystemRegulation #FoodAddictionRecovery #UPFUD #TraumaHealing #BingeEating #EmotionalEating #HolisticLifeNavigation

Felicia joined CJ today for an incredibly open and honest conversation about recovery, resilience, and the complicated role food played throughout her life. Her story is heartbreaking at times, but it is also filled with strength, perseverance, and hope. For years, food remained intertwined with the recovery she was searching for, keeping her from experiencing the freedom she truly wanted. Felicia shares how she kept moving forward, continued learning, and discovered new ways to care for herself. The contrast between the life she once lived and the energetic, hopeful life she lives today makes her story deeply compelling and inspiring. If you're considering personalized assistance, CJ, a Certified Addiction Professional specializing in Food Addiction, is here for one-on-one coaching. Reach out to CJ at [email protected]  Interested in sharing your recovery story on our show? We'd love to hear from you! Please email [email protected] 1

Molly and Clarissa sit down for another Clinician's Corner to dig into shadow work — what Carl Jung meant by it, why it's not just a "woo-woo" concept, and why it belongs in food addiction recovery. They talk about the parts of ourselves we learn to hide (anger, desire, ambition, even joy), how those exiled parts often drive the very behaviors we're trying to recover from, and how projection, envy, and even compliments can point us straight to what we've buried. This episode previews the Shadow Work module inside Liberation, Sweet Sobriety's brand-new 10-module program launching this fall. WHAT WE COVER Why Molly built a shadow work module into Liberation, and how it connects to the Shame module covered in a previous episode Carl Jung's quote — "Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life, and you will call it fate" and what it means in practice The iceberg metaphor: the curated 10% we show the world vs. the 90% underneath driving our behavior Where the shadow comes from (genetics loads the gun, environment pulls the trigger) and why this isn't about blaming parents How substance use, food behaviors, and other compulsive patterns often exist to manage and suppress shadow parts Recovery work doesn't make the shadow disappear — and why it can get louder, becoming a high-risk time for return to use Projection: how "accusations are often confessions," and why the people who irritate us most can be mirrors The Golden Shadow — the positive traits (confidence, joy, ambition) we also learn to suppress or deny Why receiving compliments can feel unbearable, and what that has to do with shadow work Envy and jealousy reframed as information rather than something shameful Individuation and integration — Jung's idea that the goal isn't to eliminate these parts, but to become a whole person who can hold all of them How return to use fits into this: not a moral failure, but sometimes a shadow part that hasn't been integrated A personal moment on privilege, shame, and how rejecting a part of ourselves can limit our ability to help others What to expect from the Shadow Work module inside Liberation LIBERATION — SWEET SOBRIETY'S NEW PROGRAM Liberation is the next step after Foundations — a deeper 10-module program covering shadow work, shame, anger, guilt, the inner critic, ADHD and the nervous system, trauma, highly sensitive people, and more. You do not need to have completed Foundations first. Modules release the week of September 21. Live sessions begin October 15 at 1:00–2:30 PM Eastern. Starting price: $400 USD for this first round (early participants help shape the program, same as the first Foundations cohort) Learn more and join us: https://sweetsobriety.newzenler.com/courses/sweet-sobriety-liberation RESOURCES & LINKS Catch our earlier episode on Shame: https://open.spotify.com/episode/44sTxYKeVv7r01wtSKkYtm?si=7557f537d5314ebd Sweet Sobriety Foundations Program: https://sweetsobriety.newzenler.com/courses/sweet-sobriety-foundations Sweet Sobriety website: https://www.sweetsobriety.ca/ Have a topic you want us to cover? Email us: [email protected] POLAND 2027: https://fundacjabraciarodzen.pl/products/international-advanced-training-programme?variant=56860764078458 ABOUT FOOD JUNKIES PODCAST Food Junkies is hosted by Dr. Vera Tarman, Clarissa Kennedy, and Molly Painschab, exploring food addiction, ultra-processed food use disorder, and recovery from a clinical, compassionate, and lived-experience perspective. Subscribe for new episodes and hit the bell so you don't miss our Clinician's Corner series. Our show is for educational purposes 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.

Why do older women show the highest rates of food addiction, while older men are more likely to meet criteria for alcohol and tobacco use disorder — and why does that gap flip when it comes to weight? In Episode 292, we sit down with Lucy Loch, a doctoral candidate in Psychology at the University of Michigan, to unpack her research on food addiction in older adults and what it reveals about decades of diet culture, marketing, and an under-screened generation. Lucy studies the life course development of addictive-like eating — how early-life experiences and exposure to ultra-processed foods shape appetite, self-regulation, and long-term health outcomes. She's supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, works under Dr. Ashley Gearhardt at the University of Michigan, and her research has appeared in Addiction, Current Obesity Reports, and Physiology & Behavior. In this conversation, we dig into her recent study from the National Poll on Healthy Aging: why older women meet criteria for food addiction at higher rates than older men, why overweight men in the study were 19x more likely to meet criteria (compared to 11x for women), what a small but striking finding on underweight older adults might mean, and why isolation and food addiction may feed each other in a bidirectional loop. We also talk about why food addiction is so often invisible in geriatric medicine, what it would take to get it screened for the way depression and falls already are, and what decades of "low-fat," heavily marketed diet products may have set up for the women who trusted them. This one is for anyone who works with older adults, anyone who's ever been told "just eat healthier," and anyone who's still unlearning the idea that this comes down to willpower. About our guest: Lucy Loch is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on the life course development of addictive-like eating, examining how early life experiences and exposure to ultra-processed foods influence appetite, self-regulation, and risk for later-life health outcomes. She is supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and works to uncover why certain foods and life experiences may make some individuals more susceptible to overeating. Her work has appeared in journals including Addiction, Current Obesity Reports, and Physiology & Behavior. POLAND 2027: https://fundacjabraciarodzen.pl/products/international-advanced-training-programme?variant=56860764078458 Connect With Us Subscribe to Food Junkies Podcast for new episodes Email us at [email protected]   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, CJ sits down with April for a thoughtful, reflective conversation about recovery. April brings a quiet intentionality to the way she understands healing, growth, and the ongoing work of becoming. Her perspective is introspective, honest, and at times existential, inviting us to slow down and consider what recovery truly asks of us. This conversation has a different rhythm—less about quick answers and more about meaningful questions, self-awareness, and the space between where we have been and who we are becoming. April's calm presence reminds us that recovery can be both deeply personal and profoundly transformative. If you're considering personalized assistance, CJ, a Certified Addiction Professional specializing in Food Addiction, is here for one-on-one coaching. Reach out to CJ at [email protected]  Interested in sharing your recovery story on our show? We'd love to hear from you! Please email [email protected]

Can changing what you eat treat depression, anxiety, and even psychosis more effectively than medication alone? In this episode of Food Junkies, Dr. Vera Tarman sits down with Dr. Matt Bernstein, MD, psychiatrist and CEO of Accord, to unpack the emerging field of metabolic psychiatry — and what it means for people recovering from food addiction. Dr. Bernstein trained at Columbia, Penn, and the MGH-McLean Psychiatry Program before shifting from traditional hospital-based psychiatric care toward lifestyle-based interventions: nutrition, sleep, light, and movement. He now serves on the advisory board of Metabolic Mind and helped organize the first public conference on metabolic psychiatry in 2023. In this conversation, Dr. Bernstein and Dr. Tarman explore how brain energy metabolism — not just neurotransmitters — may be a root driver of conditions like depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's, and why ketogenic and low-carbohydrate approaches are showing early but compelling results for food cravings, food noise, and psychiatric symptom relief. In This Episode, You'll Learn: Why Dr. Bernstein moved away from conventional psychiatric medication models toward metabolic approaches How brain insulin resistance can contribute to depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia The role of mitochondria, oxidative stress, and the gut-brain axis in mental illness How ketones act as an alternative brain fuel — and why that matters for insulin-resistant neurons The connection between brain insulin resistance and Alzheimer's risk decades before symptoms appear How ketogenic and low-carb diets naturally reduce food cravings and "food noise" for people with food addiction What a day in the Accord immersive metabolic psychiatry program actually looks like Why combining diet, exercise, circadian rhythm alignment, and mind-body practices produces faster results than any single intervention alone How GLP-1 medications compare to ketogenic diets for reducing food noise and cravings — and where each may fall short The risks of rapid or unsupported psychiatric medication tapering, and why "hyperbolic tapering" matters What to watch for (and troubleshoot) if a ketogenic diet isn't producing results after several weeks Guest Dr. Matt Bernstein, MD is a psychiatrist and CEO of Accord, an immersive metabolic psychiatry program near Boston. He is a leading voice in metabolic psychiatry, sits on the advisory board of Metabolic Mind, and helped organize the first public conference dedicated to the field in 2023. Connect with Dr. Matt Bernstein & Accord Website: https://accordmh.com/   Releasing What's Not Ours: Healing Food & Body Struggles Through IFS with Vanessa Kredler 👉Learn more here: https://sweetsobriety.newzenler.com/courses/releasing-whats-not-ours   Connect with Food Junkies 🎧 Subscribe for new episodes 🌐 Learn more about food addiction recovery at https://www.sweetsobriety.ca/ 📩 Have a guest suggestion or topic request? Send it our way: [email protected]   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.

Fatigue. Brain fog. Cravings that never quit no matter how "good" you're eating. In this episode of Food Junkies, Dr. Vera Tarman sits down with Dr. Carolyn Dean — MD, naturopath, and author of more than 50 books including The Magnesium Miracle — to unpack a piece of the addiction and recovery puzzle that rarely gets airtime: magnesium deficiency and its tangled relationship with yeast overgrowth, sugar metabolism, and chronic cravings. Dr. Dean has spent over five decades in integrative and functional medicine, and in this conversation she lays out her theory that a huge share of chronic symptoms — anxiety, insomnia, heart palpitations, muscle tension, even conditions mistaken for neurological disease — trace back to a mineral most conventional labs never test properly. She also digs into candida overgrowth, why restrictive diets like keto and carnivore may be working for reasons people don't realize, and why sugar cravings might be your gut asking for something other than sugar. This episode isn't a replacement for individualized medical or clinical treatment, and it isn't an endorsement of any product mentioned. As always, we encourage listeners to bring these questions to their own care team. In this episode, you'll learn: Why magnesium is required to produce ATP — the energy currency of every cell — and what happens when your body can't get enough The difference between a magnesium compound and a bioavailable magnesium ion, and why so many supplements underdeliver How soil depletion and modern agriculture have quietly lowered magnesium in the food supply over the past century The link Dr. Dean draws between candida/yeast overgrowth, leaky gut, and persistent sugar cravings Why she believes some people on restrictive diets (keto, carnivore, paleo) may be managing yeast overgrowth without realizing it The connection between sugar metabolism, vitamin C, and cardiovascular health Her recommended starting point for anyone wanting to address deficiency: diet, timing, and sequencing of supplementation About Our Guest Dr. Carolyn Dean, MD, ND is a physician and naturopath with over 50 years of experience in integrative and functional medicine. A graduate of Dalhousie University's medical school, she is the author of more than 50 books, including The Magnesium Miracle, Detox Your Body, and multiple works on sugar toxicity and mineral deficiency. Her clinical focus centers on magnesium, mineral absorption, and yeast overgrowth as root contributors to chronic fatigue, cravings, and metabolic dysfunction. Learn more: drcarolyndean.com Her product site: rnareset.com About Vanessa Kredler's Upcoming IFS Workshop: 👉Releasing What's Not Ours: Healing Food & Body Struggles Through IFS Not every struggle with food and body belongs to you. Some of it was handed down — a mother's dieting, a culture's obsession with thinness, a family that never said "I love you" out loud but said "eat" instead. In this 3-part live series, clinical counsellor Vanessa Kredler — a PACFA-registered therapist, certified food addiction professional (INFACT), and Level 2-trained IFS practitioner — draws on her work in addiction, complex trauma, and intergenerational trauma to help you untangle what's actually yours from what you inherited. Using Internal Family Systems, you'll learn to recognize the legacy and cultural burdens shaping your relationship with food, understand why parts of you hold onto them, and take part in a guided practice to begin letting them go — with the same compassionate, trauma-informed approach Vanessa brings to her own clinical work (and, as she'll tell you, her own recovered life). 👉Link: https://sweetsobriety.newzenler.com/courses/releasing-whats-not-ours About Food Junkies Food Junkies is a podcast about food addiction, hosted by Dr. Vera Tarman, Clarissa Kennedy, and Molly Painschab — clinicians, researchers, and advocates working to bring visibility, science, and community support to ultra-processed food use disorder (UPFUD). New episodes feature conversations with leading researchers, clinicians, and people in recovery. Subscribe for new episodes, and find us wherever you listen to podcasts. 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 of Food Junkies, Dr. Vera Tarman and Clarissa Kennedy sit down with Brian Baumal, a registered psychotherapist based in Toronto and owner of Aliva Psychotherapy, where he specializes in weight management, eating disorders, food addiction, and psychological support for bariatric surgery patients. Brian trained at the Gestalt Institute of Toronto and has been a licensed member of the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario since 2015. He's also a food addict in long-term recovery, having lost 100 pounds and kept it off for over 14 years. Brian shares the moment that changed his understanding of food addiction forever — an intense, addictive reaction to a piece of chocolate at a holiday party that made him realize this was on an entirely different scale than an ordinary craving. From there, the conversation dives deep into perfectionism: how shame and diet culture create an idealized, unrealistic self-image; the difference between adaptive perfectionism (using structure and tools in service of recovery) and toxic or maladaptive perfectionism (an all-or-nothing mindset that treats any slip as total failure); and how perfectionism can quietly become a "runaway train," redirecting obsessive focus from food onto weight, exercise, or other behaviors. Brian also explains how he uses a Gestalt therapy lens — treating what shows up in the room between therapist and client as the material for the work itself — to help clients build individualized, flexible recovery plans instead of rigid, punishment-driven rules. The group discusses distinguishing an addictive relapse from a psychological or shame-based slip, the role of relapse plans and "gathering data" after a slip, and why using tools (scales, timers, structure) isn't a sign of weakness but a sustainable part of long-term recovery. The episode closes with Brian's reflections on chairing the Sugar and Food Addiction Professionals Network, a free Facebook community of nearly 200 food addiction professionals offering training, research updates, and access to leading voices in the field. Topics Covered Brian's personal food addiction story and his "aha moment" with chocolate at a holiday party What Gestalt therapy is and how it approaches defense mechanisms relationally How shame and diet culture create unrealistic, idealized self-images Adaptive vs. maladaptive (toxic) perfectionism in recovery Perfectionism as a "runaway train" — when focus shifts from food to weight, exercise, or other behaviors Distinguishing an addictive relapse from a shame-driven psychological slip Building individualized, flexible abstinence and relapse plans Using tools (scales, timers, structure) without turning them into self-punishment Vulnerability factors: trauma, family food dynamics, anxious or over-controlled personality styles Adaptive perfectionism as flexibility, not the absence of high standards The Sugar and Food Addiction Professionals Network on Facebook Connect with Brian Baumal Website: Aliva Psychotherapy — https://alivapsychotherapy.com/ WORKSHOP LINKS: 🚨Curious why cravings hit harder some days than others? Viktoria Hamma's two-part Circadian Rhythms & Red Light Therapy workshop breaks down the biology behind your body's internal clock and shows you exactly how morning light, meal timing, and red light therapy can work with your recovery instead of against it. Grab your spot for Part 1: https://sweetsobriety.newzenler.com/courses/circadian-rhythm-and-red-light-therapy-educations And Part 2: https://sweetsobriety.newzenler.com/courses/circadian-rhythms-red-light-therapy-part-2-understanding-your-body-s-internal-clock   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.

CJ welcomes Lara, a former professional soccer player from Iceland, for a powerful and deeply honest conversation about food addiction and recovery. Lara began struggling with food at a very young age and recognized early that it was beginning to take over her life, even while competing as an elite athlete. She speaks with remarkable transparency about her experiences, their impact on her, and the path she has taken toward healing. Lara's willingness to share is so profound that she even wrote a book about her journey. CJ found her story fascinating and truly loved talking with her. If you're considering personalized assistance, CJ, a Certified Addiction Professional specializing in Food Addiction, is here for one-on-one coaching. Reach out to CJ at [email protected]  Interested in sharing your recovery story on our show? We'd love to hear from you! Please email [email protected]

📢 A quick announcement from the Food Junkies team: For the first time, we're moving to a new release schedule — new episodes every other week, still featuring one Recovery Story each month. We'll share more about this decision in our next Clinician's Corner. Whether you've been with us from the beginning or just found us, thank you. This is also the perfect time to dive into our archive of hundreds of conversations with experts, clinicians, researchers, and people with lived experience. Our next episode launches on July 17th. About Today's Guest Dr. Susan Peirce Thompson is a cognitive psychologist with expertise in the psychology of eating and the founder and CEO of Bright Line Eating, a global program for abstinence-based recovery from ultra-processed food addiction and long-term weight management. She is an adjunct associate professor in Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the University of Rochester and the author of Bright Line Eating, ReZoom, On This Bright Day, The Official Bright Line Eating Cookbook, and her newest book, Maintain. In 2025, Susan published a study in Frontiers in Psychiatry reporting six-year outcomes from the Bright Line Eating program that suggest an abstinence-based food addiction recovery approach can support clinically meaningful, long-term weight loss. In This Episode Vera and Clarissa sit down with Susan to unpack her research, her personal recovery story, and the deeper psychology of maintenance. Topics include: Susan's journey from drug addiction to food addiction recovery — and why she found the food harder to quit How Bright Line Eating began, and why so many people won't walk into a 12-step room The honest story behind ReZoom: Susan's own break-and-resume cycles while leading a recovery movement The six-year follow-up study: methodology, sample, limitations, and what the numbers actually show How outcomes compare to published GLP-1 (semaglutide) data at long-term follow-up Why simply learning about the addictiveness of sugar and flour may "inoculate" people against further weight gain The four Bright Lines: sugar, flour, meals, quantities Who did best at six years — and the surprising role of morning accountability calls GLP-1 medications in food addiction recovery: Susan's "pro-choice" stance, the promise, the unknowns, and why we shouldn't pathologize medication for a brain-based disease The tension between weight loss outcomes and addiction symptom recovery — and protecting listeners in larger bodies who are doing everything "right" Lipedema: the under-recognized condition affecting an estimated 11% of women that doesn't respond to dietary intervention The three identity shifts in Maintain: becoming devoted, resourced, and liberated Grief work: why letting go of foods (and food-centered traditions) is a real loss that deserves real mourning Finish-line anxiety and the fear of liberation — who am I without the food and weight struggle? Willpower, habit stacking, and designing a life that works even on your worst day What's next for Susan: an alternative memoir about the dopamine-dominant brain Connect with Susan Peirce Thompson Website: https://brightlineeating.com Books: Bright Line Eating, ReZoom, On This Bright Day, The Official Bright Line Eating Cookbook, and Maintain The Food Junkies Podcast Hosted by Dr. Vera Tarman, Clarissa Kennedy, and Molly Painschab — real conversations about food addiction, recovery, and the science that supports both. ✉️email us at [email protected]  Circadian Rythms and Food Addiction Workshop with Viktoria Hamma 🔗Part 1: https://sweetsobriety.newzenler.com/courses/circadian-rhythm-and-red-light-therapy-educations 🔗Part 2: https://sweetsobriety.newzenler.com/courses/circadian-rhythms-red-light-therapy-part-2-understanding-your-body-s-internal-clock 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, Dr. Vera Tarman sits down with world-renowned nephrologist, researcher, and New York Times bestselling author Dr. Jason Fung to explore one of the most pressing questions in the food addiction community: Is fasting safe for the food addict? Dr. Fung's latest book, The Hunger Code: Resetting Your Body's Fat Thermostat in the Age of Ultra-Processed Food, challenges the calorie-centric model of obesity and offers a deeper, more honest look at why we eat the way we do — and what it actually takes to change. In this episode, you'll hear: Why the calories in/calories out model fails — and what the hormonal model of obesity actually means The three types of hunger driving overeating: homeostatic, hedonic, and conditioned hunger — and why the social and emotional components may account for 90% of our eating behavior How ultra-processed foods are engineered to hijack the brain's reward system — and why that matters for food addicts The difference between fasting and starvation — and why the mindset behind fasting changes everything The dangers of using fasting as a punishment after a binge — and how to use it safely and intentionally instead Why a low-carb, higher-fat diet makes fasting more sustainable for people coming out of binge cycles Dr. Fung's honest take on GLP-1 medications like Ozempic — the benefits, the limitations, and why they're not the whole answer What Japan and Italy get right about eating culture that the U.S. has lost Why public policy — not just personal willpower — must be part of the solution to ultra-processed food addiction   About Dr. Jason Fung: Dr. Jason Fung is a Toronto-based nephrologist and one of the world's leading experts on therapeutic fasting and low-carb nutrition. He is the bestselling author of The Obesity Code, The Diabetes Code, The Cancer Code, and his newest release, The Hunger Code. He is also the co-founder of The Fasting Method, a coaching program helping people reverse obesity and type 2 diabetes through hormonal and lifestyle approaches. 🔗 Learn more at thefastingmethod.com The Food Junkies Podcast is hosted by Dr. Vera Tarman, Molly Painschab, and Clarissa Kennedy — dedicated to exploring the science, stories, and solutions behind ultra-processed food use disorder. 🎙️ Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen to podcasts. ✉️ Email us at [email protected] 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.

CJ is joined today by Keren, a vibrant young woman whose passion for recovery and love of life shine through in everything she does. With an infectious enthusiasm and deep gratitude for her journey, Keren is dedicated to sharing her experience, strength, and hope with others who may be struggling. Her commitment to helping people has even inspired her to launch her own YouTube channel, where she openly documents her recovery journey and encourages others to keep going. Full of energy, honesty, and heart, Keren brings a refreshing perspective to the conversation and reminds us all that recovery can be filled with purpose, joy, connection, and hope. If you're considering personalized assistance, CJ, a Certified Addiction Professional specializing in Food Addiction, is here for one-on-one coaching. Reach out to CJ at [email protected]  Interested in sharing your recovery story on our show? We'd love to hear from you! Please email [email protected]

What if the voice urging you to binge isn't really you — and you could learn to talk back to it? This week, Dr. Vera Tarman sits down with psychologist and bestselling author Dr. Glenn Livingston, whose unconventional path from Fortune 500 food industry consultant to food compulsion researcher led him to develop one of the most distinctive frameworks in recovery: Never Binge Again. Glenn shares how his own 80-pound weight loss journey — and nearly 2,000 clients later — shaped a method built on structured food rules, cognitive refutation, and understanding the neuroscience of cravings extinction. In This Episode: Why Glenn left lucrative food industry work and what he saw from the inside about how hyperpalatable foods are engineered The "inner pig" framework — and why separating from the voice that drives bingeing is the foundation of his approach How his self-funded study of 40,000 people shaped his thinking (and why the results surprised him) The four food rule categories: Never, Always, Conditional, and Unrestricted Why 1 in 3 people genuinely need abstinence — and how to tell if you're one of them The extinction burst: why cravings often get worse before they disappear (and why this is actually good news) The "screw it, just do it" response — what causes it and how to address it with self-regulation Commit with perfection, forgive with dignity — how to handle slips without derailing recovery Abstinence vs. moderation: where Glenn agrees with food addiction models, and where his philosophy diverges His take on GLP-1 medications and how they fit into the bigger picture The difference between his original Never Binge Again and his newer book Defeat Your Cravings Resources Mentioned: 📘 Defeat Your Cravings — free at defeatyourcravings.com 🎙️ Glenn's podcast on binge eating and food addiction recovery 90-day coaching program with Glenn (details at defeatyourcravings.com) Connect with Food Junkies: 🌐 foodjunkiespodcast.com 📱 Email us at [email protected] If this episode resonated with you, please leave a review and share it with someone who needs to hear it. 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.