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.

In this unapologetically honest and deeply validating conversation, the Food Shrinks crew dives into one of the hottest topics in food addiction recovery: weight as a false measure of success. Why do some professionals in the recovery field still equate smaller bodies with deeper healing? And what happens when people in larger bodies feel excluded—even when they're abstinent and thriving?

Molly, Clarissa, and MP break down the damaging impact of internalized weight stigma, explore why body size is not a clinical marker of recovery, and call out harmful assumptions that show up even in professional spaces. They share real stories from their Sweet Sobriety groups, challenge toxic cultural messaging, and reclaim the right to define recovery on your own terms.

Whether you're in a larger body, a smaller one, or still figuring things out—this episode is a must-listen.

💬 Topics We Cover:

• Why weight is not and has never been a reliable recovery metric
• The harmful myth of the “right-sized” recovery body
• How professionals perpetuate weight stigma (even unintentionally)
• What it means to define your own recovery
• The danger of unprompted weight commentary from practitioners
• Recovery at every size: nuance, metabolism, and lived experience
• Why shame, not weight, is often the real barrier to healing
• The difference between health at every size and health at a lot of sizes
• How to protect your recovery from body-based judgment

🧠 Mic Drop Moments:

“Judging recovery by weight loss is like judging a house fire victim by how quickly they redecorated.”

“You do not owe the world an aesthetically pleasing body.”

“One person doesn’t get to decide what recovery looks like for someone else.”

📬 Have a Question or Topic You Want Us to Cover?

Email us at asktheshrinks@foodshrinks.com
We’d love to hear from you!

💖 Help Us Spread the Word:

If this episode spoke to you, please take 30 seconds to:

• Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube
• Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating or review
• Share it with a friend or recovery group

Every share supports our mission to bring truth without shame to the food addiction recovery world. Thank 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.

In this spontaneous and heart-forward episode, Molly C., Clarissa, and Molly P. crack open the resistance so many of us feel toward group work, and why that resistance might be precisely the sign we need more connection, not less.

Together, the trio explores why group healing matters, how co-regulation works, and what it means to feel seen, safe, and mirrored in community. From AA meetings to clinical groups to retreats full of “I-don’t-do-group” folks turned soul sisters, they share raw stories about belonging, shame, and the life-changing magic of not doing recovery alone.

If you’ve ever thought, “I don’t do groups,” this one’s for you.

What We Talk About in This Episode:
🌀 Why so many people resist group work—and what’s underneath that
🧠 The neuroscience of co-regulation and how groups help our nervous systems
💔 The loneliness epidemic and why isolation fuels addiction
✨ The healing power of being seen, heard, and mirrored
🙅‍♀️ How “my problems aren’t that bad” is a symptom of chronic invalidation
🐀 Rat Park, connection, and the real root of addiction
💬 Group doesn’t have to be perfect to be powerful

Resources & Links:
🔗 Learn more about Sweet Sobriety and upcoming groups: https://www.sweetsobriety.ca/
📬 Get updates and free resources: https://www.sweetsobriety.ca/ and https://mollycarmel.com/
📲 Rate, review, and share this episode—it helps more than you know!

Join the Conversation:
💌 Have a topic you want us to cover? Send us a note at asktheshrinks@foodshrinks.com

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.

The Food Shrinks are back with a spicy, heartfelt conversation about one of the most polarizing tools in the recovery world right now—GLP-1 medications (like Ozempic and Wegovy). In this episode, they tackle the growing buzz (and backlash) around these drugs in eating disorder and food addiction spaces. Are GLP-1s a betrayal of “real” recovery, or can they be a supportive tool for healing?

The hosts spill some behind-the-scenes tea, share their personal and clinical experiences, and ask hard questions: Who gets to decide what recovery looks like? Why is there so much shame around using medication? And what if we stopped gatekeeping tools that might help?

If you're curious about how GLP-1s fit into a trauma-informed, shame-free approach to food addiction recovery, this episode is for you.

In This Episode:
• Why the GLP-1 debate is heating up in the recovery world
• The team’s take on healing vs. weight loss goals
• The difference between fear-based gatekeeping and client-centered care
• What should recovery support look like when trying a new tool
• The power of expanding your window of tolerance
• Why we need to make room for nuance, autonomy, and compassion

Key Quote:
"If a medication helps someone quiet the noise long enough to heal—why wouldn’t we support that?"

Resources & Support:
💻 Check out Sweet Sobriety to learn more about group programs and 1:1 coaching with Molly and Clarissa.
💻 Book a free Consultation with Molly Carmel
📧 Thinking about GLP-1s or bariatric surgery? Schedule a consultation with a coach who gets it.

If this episode resonated with you:
✔️ Subscribe
⭐ Rate & Review
📤 Share it with a friend who's curious about GLP-1s or exploring recovery options

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 compelling episode, the Food Shrinks team tackles one of the most used—and deeply harmful—labels in recovery spaces: “chronic relapser.” With both fire and tenderness, the Shrinks dismantle this shame-based term and offer a new way to understand recurrence through the lens of chronic ambivalence, self-compassion, and trauma-informed care.

You’ll hear why language matters, how shame can block healing, and why we must stop reducing people to their most painful patterns. Instead, the team explores what it means to stay curious, build emotional safety, and make your recovery as big as your disease. Whether you’ve struggled with “starting over” or have judged yourself harshly for returning to food, this episode will offer relief, insight, and a powerful reframe.

🔑 Topics We Cover:

• Why “chronic relapser” is a harmful, moralizing label
• The power of reframing: from chronic relapse to chronic ambivalence
• Understanding recurrence as part of a chronic condition
• The trap of perfectionism and diet culture in recovery
• How confirmation bias reinforces addiction
• When you’ve “tried everything” but nothing sticks
• Recovery as practice—not performance
• Why your recovery must be as big as your disorder
• Meeting recurrence with curiosity, not shame

💬 Quotes Worth Sharing:

“Please don’t say that about my friend.”
“Chronic ambivalence is a sign of your complexity—not your failure.”
“Your addiction doesn’t get a seat at the table if you want to build traction in recovery.”
“One bad moment doesn’t define your recovery. It’s just a single patch in the quilt.”
“You haven’t failed. You’re still practicing. You’re still learning.”

🛎️ Call to Action:

Love what we’re doing on Food Shrinks? Do us a big favor:
📱 Subscribe
⭐ Leave a rating
💬 Drop a comment
🧡 Share with someone who needs to hear this!

Your support helps us grow—and helps others find compassionate, shame-free recovery conversations.

📢 Follow Us:

📽 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FoodShrinks

📱 Instagram: @FoodShrinks

📧 Email: AskTheShrinks@foodshrinks.com

🌐 Website: foodshrinks.com

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 deeply honest and layered conversation, The Food Shrinks—Clarissa Kennedy, Molly Carmel, and Molly Painschab— dive into one of the most misunderstood and rarely talked-about experiences in food addiction recovery: volume of whole foods in food addiction recovery. What begins as a casual check-in quickly becomes a masterclass on the biological, psychological, and emotional roots of overeating.

🔍 What you’ll learn:

🌸Volume addiction might be harder to heal from than sugar and flour because it’s not just about what you eat, but how much and why.
🌸For many, volume eating is a trauma response—a way to regulate a dysregulated nervous system, not just a habit or lack of willpower.
🌸Physiological shifts like stretch-blunted stomachs, serotonin imbalances, and leptin resistance play a massive role in satiety and fullness signals.
🌸There’s no one-size-fits-all solution: healing involves patience, interoceptive awareness, nervous system work, and sometimes nutritional supplementation.
🌸And above all? It's about slowing down, getting curious, and giving ourselves the grace to find our unique path to peace.

Whether you identify with volume struggles or you're just learning about this facet of food addiction, this episode offers deep validation, practical insights, and hope.

🔗 Mentioned:
🌸 Sweet Sobriety Foundations Program
https://sweetsobriety.newzenler.com/courses/sweet-sobriety-foundations
🌸 Breaking Up with Sugar
https://mollycarmel.com/buws/
🌸 Sacred Immersion Retreat (June 20–22 in Stamford, CT)
email molly@mollycarmel.com

📢 Follow Us:
📱 Instagram: @FoodShrinks
📧 Email: AskTheShrinks@foodshrinks.com
🌐 Website: foodshrinks.com

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.