In this raw and reflective episode, Molly C, Clarissa, and Molly P dive into the messy, beautiful work of staying with the hard stuff, especially when it would feel easier to bolt. Inspired by Molly C’s bougie pup Danny and his enforced recovery rest, the team explores the emotional equivalent of “week four”: the moment when things feel better, but the healing isn’t finished, and the temptation to return to old habits is loudest.

💡 Topics We Explore:

• Why the hardest part of healing often comes right before the miracle
• Recovery drop-offs and the fear of facing distress
• Faith, impulsivity, and why divine timing is maddening (and necessary)
• Learning to tolerate emotional pain without numbing
• The spiritual act of doing it anyway—even when it’s not pretty
• Practicing patience and staying present, one breath or brick at a time
• Why community and connection are non-negotiable in recovery

💬 Favorite Hot Takes:

• “You don’t have to do it pretty. You just have to do it.”
• “The goal of distress tolerance isn’t to feel better. It’s to not feel worse.”
• “Maybe you’re not seeing the whole quilt—and maybe that’s okay.”
• “Feeling sad and not numbing it? That’s a miracle.”

🛠️ Practical Wisdom:

• Daily grounding for emotional overwhelm
• Using decision balance sheets in recovery
• Letting go of judgment to increase distress tolerance
• How to be someone’s Day 42 companion

💌 Mentioned in This Episode:

• The Love Letter, Molly C’s weekly newsletter
• Sweet Sobriety and the Foundations Program
• Recovery slogans that still hit (hello, “Don’t quit before the miracle”)

💖 Closing Reminder:
You are part of the quilt, even when it doesn’t make sense. Keep showing up. The miracle might be one breath away.

📬 Questions or feedback?
Email us anytime at asktheshrinks@foodshrinks.com

🫶 Love the pod?
Subscribe, rate us 5 stars, share with your people, and stay for the magic.

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.

Hey Food Shrinkies — it's Molly C, Clarissa, and Molly P, diving even deeper into the conversation we thought we wrapped up last week. Spoiler: We weren’t done. Not even close.

Last week, we cracked open the Pandora’s box of body image in recovery — and this week, we’re standing in the storm. Clarissa shares what surfaced for her after playing it “safe” last episode and comes back with fire, truth, and an angry love letter to the body image bullying that’s haunted her for decades. Molly joins with her own mix of sorrow and advocacy, and together, we ask: How do we live with our bodies when the world taught us to live against them?

In this unfiltered, fiercely honest follow-up, we talk about:

• The “body noise” that’s louder than the food noise
• Why anger — not sadness — is sometimes the real breakthrough
• Saunas, baths, and the quiet terror of being alone in your skin
• Body grief, eating disorder residue, and the illusion of “thin = loved”
• Releasing the fantasy of full freedom and embracing the messy middle
• Body serenity: is it real? is it possible? is it even the point?
• The shame of being a professional who still struggles
• How diet culture gaslights our worth and confuses our healing
• And the Buddhist practice of Tonglen — breathing in the collective pain, breathing out compassion

This isn’t a “how-to” episode. It’s a “me too” episode.

Because we don’t have to be done with this to be worthy. We don’t have to win the war to reclaim our skin. We just have to keep talking. Keep telling the truth. Keep holding each other in the struggle.

💌 Got a question or want to share your own body story? Email us at AskTheShrinks@FoodShrinks.com — we read every word.

✨ And if this episode moved you, please:

• Subscribe wherever you listen
• Rate & Review (it only takes 3 minutes!)
• Share it with someone who needs to know they’re not alone

Together, we breathe through the noise. Together, we reclaim the body as home.

We love you. We’re with you. Always.

#FoodShrinksPodcast #BodyImageRecovery #SweetSobriety #RecoveryIsMessy #BodyGrief #TraumaInformedHealing #EatingDisorderRecovery #SoberCurious #EmbodimentMatters

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 unfiltered, vulnerable episode of Food Shrinks, Molly, Clarissa, and MC hit record on what was meant to be a private post-game debrief—and ended up diving into one of the most tender, tangled topics in recovery: body image. Following last week's episode on the industry’s obsession with weight, this conversation becomes personal. Like, really personal.

From sharing fears about thinness and relapses into compulsive behaviors, to naming the grief, anger, and cultural betrayal that can come with inhabiting a body that doesn’t match the world’s expectations, the trio explores what it means to care about your body without being consumed by it.

Molly drops a mic-worthy soliloquy that will stay with you long after the episode ends. This one is full of discomfort, truth-telling, and a whole lot of love.

💡 Themes We Explore:

• Can we ethically care about our weight in recovery?
• The myth of “body image” when real changes happen in the body
• Navigating shame, identity, and belonging in various-sized bodies
• Why the relentless pursuit of thinness is a trap—and what freedom looks like instead
• What’s adaptive vs. maladaptive care when it comes to our appearance?

📣 Call to Action:
This episode is a gift from our hearts—if it resonated with you, please share it with someone who needs to hear they’re not alone. Hit subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen to your podcasts. Your support means the world.

💌 Email us! asktheshrinks@foodshrinks.com

🔗https://www.sweetsobriety.ca/

🔗https://mollycarmel.com/

❤️ You're not crazy. You're not alone. You're on Food Shrinks—and we love you.

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.