In this episode, I sit down with Paige Alexander and Jamie Morgan Reno — authors of Real Food Recovery, and hosts of the Real Food Recovery podcast. Together, they’ve helped those struggling with food, sugar addiction, and binge eating through a holistic, shame-free, and compassionate approach. Here’s what we cover in the episode:

• Why food and sugar addiction are so misunderstood — and why it’s not just about the food

• How ultra-processed ingredients trigger addictive responses in the brain

• The four foundational pillars of the Tree of Life framework: real food, sleep, movement, and spirituality

• How nervous system regulation can dramatically reduce urges, binges, and compulsive eating

• The role of shame in keeping people stuck — and why self-compassion is a recovery superpower

• Why calmness is the opposite of bingeing, and how to cultivate it through daily practices

• How to create a pause between the urge and the behavior, even if impulses feel automatic

• What “inner family work” reveals about the emotional roots of cravings

• How service, connection, and community deepen recovery and help reduce isolation If you’ve ever wondered why you keep returning to certain foods, why cravings feel overwhelming, or why “just try harder” has never worked, this episode will help you understand the emotional, biological, and spiritual layers beneath food addiction — and show you a path forward that actually feels healing.

00:00 – Intro

00:53 – Meet Paige & Jamie

01:43 – Why Sugar Addiction Is Overlooked

02:26 – Are Foods Addictive or Are We Reactive?

05:05 – The Tree of Life Framework

06:33 – Why Recovery Must Be Holistic

10:07 – Shame vs. Self-Compassion

13:12 – Inner Family Work & Emotional Roots

15:36 – Abstinence, Moderation & Personal Choice

18:44 – Calmness as the Opposite of Bingeing

21:00 – Tools to Create Calm

25:41 – The Power of the Pause

27:27 – How to Sit With Cravings

30:19 – Sleep as a Recovery Pillar

34:16 – Sleep Tools & Environmental Setup

36:51 – Service & Community in Recovery

40:04 – Final Takeaways ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Follow Beyond Binge Eating Instagram: / https://www.instagram.com/BeyondBingeEating/ Website: https://www.BeyondBingeEating.com Newsletter: https://beyondbingeeating.com/Newsletter/ Follow and contact Jamie and Paige: https://www.realfoodrecovery4u.com/ Facebook: Real Food Recovery Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realfoodrecovery4u/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RealFoodRecovery --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Grab your FREE Eat-With-Awareness Bundle to slow down, stay present, and reclaim peace with food: https://beyondbingeeating.com/opt-in/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disclaimer: The information on this channel is for educational purposes and is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice or therapy. The views and opinions expressed by podcast guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Kristina Dobyns or Beyond Binge Eating.

In today’s video, we explore how Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP) can transform the way you understand and respond to cravings in food addiction and binge eating recovery.

Originally developed for addictive behaviors, this evidence-based approach offers powerful tools for preventing relapse — not through force or suppression, but through awareness and intentional responding.

One of the biggest tensions in recovery is the question of acceptance vs. action.

If you use sensory strategies like breathwork, grounding, movement, or temperature shifts to regulate your nervous system, are you avoiding the craving — or practicing skillful recovery?

This video explores that question in depth.

What You’ll Learn in This Video:

• What Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention is and how it supports long-term recovery

• How mindfulness interrupts automatic, reactive binge patterns

• The difference between reacting to a craving and responding with awareness

• The role of sensory regulation in managing urges

• Why intention matters more than rigid “rules” about doing recovery the right way

• How acceptance and action can work together in a flexible, sustainable process If you’ve ever felt confused about how to handle cravings — or wondered whether you’re “failing” when you use coping tools — this conversation will help you approach urges with more clarity and self-trust. Recovery is not about perfection.

It’s about awareness, flexibility, and learning how to meet cravings with both presence and skill.

Please like, subscribe, and share this video with anyone who might benefit from it. Also, don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter for more insights, tools, and support on your recovery journey!

0:00 – Intro

0:27 – Years of researching cravings (and coming up short)

1:22 – Discovering Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP)

2:12 – From substance use to binge eating: Why MBRP applies

2:33 – The tone of MBRP: Present-moment awareness and direct inquiry

2:59 – The research behind MBRP and relapse prevention

3:19 – The tension between acceptance and action

3:45 – Sensory strategies: Breathwork, movement, and nervous system regulation

4:09 – The big question: Is changing your state still “acceptance”?

4:23 – Dr. Sarah Bowen on intention and awareness

4:49 – The micro-pause: Choosing response over reactivity

5:11 – Moving beyond the binary of acceptance vs fixing

5:19 – An iterative model: Regulation + mindfulness working together

5:44 – Craving in Buddhism: Waves that rise and fall

6:06 – Where I stand now: Staying in the exploration

6:25 – Invitation to free consultation & upcoming group

6:48 – Like, subscribe & newsletter

Please like, subscribe, and share this video with anyone who might benefit from it. Also, don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter for more insights, tools, and support on your recovery journey!

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Follow Beyond Binge Eating Instagram: / https://www.instagram.com/BeyondBingeEating/ Website: https://www.BeyondBingeEating.com Newsletter: https://beyondbingeeating.com/Newsletter/

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Grab your FREE Eat-With-Awareness Bundle to slow down, stay present, and reclaim peace with food: https://beyondbingeeating.com/opt-in/

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Have you ever felt like you just couldn’t stop chewing even when you were already full?

In today’s video, we explore the nervous system science behind persistent chewing and why it may have far less to do with willpower than you think. Drawing from neuroanatomy and the science of sensory regulation, I explain how your jaw muscles send powerful calming signals directly to your brainstem and why your body may rely on chewing as a way to self-soothe.

Understanding this can reduce shame and open the door to new, supportive strategies that don’t revolve around more food.

What You’ll Learn in This Video:

• Why it can feel physically hard to stop chewing

• The role of the jaw muscles (masseter) in nervous system regulation

• How chewing provides direct proprioceptive input to the brainstem

• Why this behavior may be about regulation, not hunger

• Alternative ways to give your body calming sensory input If you’ve ever struggled with chewing, crunching, or snacking past fullness and wondered “Why can’t I stop?”

This video offers a compassionate, science-based explanation.

Your body isn’t broken. It’s communicating.

0:00 – Intro

0:24 – Why is it so hard to stop chewing?

0:31 – It’s not willpower: the nervous system explanation

0:37 – Jaw muscles (masseter) as powerful proprioceptors

0:45 – Direct signals to the brainstem (no spinal cord detour)

0:53 – How chewing regulates breathing, tone, and calm

1:00 – Maybe it’s not about food

1:06 – The role of proprioception in chewing

1:11 – “I’m trying to calm down”: what your body may be saying

1:14 – Finding alternative ways to regulate

1:20 – Examples: squeezing, wall push-ups, gym

1:29 – Your body isn’t broken — it’s communicating

1:36 – Viewer question: What can you do instead of chewing?

1:43 – Outro

Please like, subscribe, and share this video with anyone who might benefit from it. Also, don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter for more insights, tools, and support on your recovery journey!

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Follow Beyond Binge Eating Instagram: / https://www.instagram.com/BeyondBingeEating/ Website: https://www.BeyondBingeEating.com Newsletter: https://beyondbingeeating.com/Newsletter/

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Grab your FREE Eat-With-Awareness Bundle to slow down, stay present, and reclaim peace with food: https://beyondbingeeating.com/opt-in/

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Disclaimer: The information on this channel is for educational purposes and is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice or therapy. The views and opinions expressed by podcast guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Kristina Dobyns or Beyond Binge Eating.

Have you ever set strong intentions to avoid a binge, only to later feel like your awareness disappeared or you went on autopilot? In today’s video, we explore dissociation and its connection to binge eating.

Dissociation can feel like being in a fog, feeling disconnected from your body, or losing awareness during urges or binge episodes. Understanding this experience can help explain why recovery can sometimes feel confusing and why willpower alone often isn’t enough.

What You’ll Learn in This Video:

• What dissociation can feel like and how it shows up during binge eating

• The research linking dissociation and eating disorders

• Why awareness and intentions can suddenly disappear during urges

• Why studying dissociation is challenging and still evolving in research

• Emerging insights on grounding strategies that may help reconnect awareness If you’ve ever felt confused about why binge episodes can feel automatic or out of your control, this video is for you.

Understanding dissociation can help reduce shame and support a more informed, compassionate recovery journey. Please like, subscribe, and share this video with anyone who might benefit from it.

Also, don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter for more insights, tools, and support on your recovery journey!

0:00 – Intro

0:18 – What dissociation can feel like (fog, disconnection, autopilot) 0:29 – Visual and sensory symptoms (tunnel vision, feeling unreal, spacing out)

0:48 – How dissociation impacted binge eating intentions

1:10 – Discovering dissociation through therapy and research

1:27 – The research linking dissociation and binge eating

1:47 – Competing theories: Does binge eating cause dissociation or vice versa?

2:01 – Dissociation as an episodic experience around binge episodes

2:20 – Why dissociation is difficult to study scientifically

2:40 – The relationship between mindfulness and dissociation

3:20 – New research: Dissociation as reduced sensory input to the brain

3:49 – Grounding and reconnecting to the present moment

4:00 – Pungent foods as a potential grounding strategy

4:23 – Examples of sensory grounding foods

4:35 – Important caution for binge eating recovery

4:45 – Alternative non-food sensory grounding strategies

5:53 – Please subscribe

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Follow Beyond Binge Eating Instagram: / https://www.instagram.com/BeyondBingeEating/ Website: https://www.BeyondBingeEating.com Newsletter: https://beyondbingeeating.com/Newsletter/

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Grab your FREE Eat-With-Awareness Bundle to slow down, stay present, and reclaim peace with food: https://beyondbingeeating.com/opt-in/

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Disclaimer: The information on this channel is for educational purposes and is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice or therapy.

Many people believe that the longer they stay in recovery, the easier cravings should become. But what if cravings sometimes get stronger weeks or months later?

In today’s video, we explore the neuroscience behind something called the incubation of cravings, a phenomenon that explains why trigger-driven urges can intensify over time, even while overall progress is happening. Understanding this can help remove shame, reduce discouragement, and support a more realistic and sustainable recovery journey.

What You’ll Learn in This Video:

• The difference between baseline cravings and cue-induced cravings

• Why cravings may peak weeks or months into recovery

• How environmental, emotional, and unconscious triggers influence urges

• Why stronger cravings are NOT a sign that recovery is failing

• Research-backed insights on long-term recovery and relapse prevention

If you’ve ever felt discouraged because cravings returned later in your recovery, this video is for you. Recovery is not linear, and understanding how cravings evolve over time can help you approach healing with more compassion and clarity.

Please like, subscribe, and share this video with anyone who might benefit from it. Also, don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter for more insights, tools, and support on your recovery journey!

0:00 – Intro

0:29 – What is the “Incubation of Cravings”?

0:41 – Why cravings can increase during recovery

1:19 – Baseline cravings vs. Cue-induced cravings

1:55 – When cravings typically peak in recovery

2:22 – Why relapse risk can increase later (and why it’s not about willpower)

2:53 – The science behind food cravings and brain changes

3:21 – Why stronger cravings don’t mean recovery is failing

3:40 – What research shows helps reduce incubated cravings

4:10 – The truth about recovery being non-linear

4:30 – Encouragement and key takeaway

4:39 – Please like and subscribe

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Follow Beyond Binge Eating

Instagram: / https://www.instagram.com/BeyondBingeEating/

Website: https://www.BeyondBingeEating.com

Newsletter: https://beyondbingeeating.com/Newsletter/

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Grab your FREE Eat-With-Awareness Bundle to slow down, stay present, and reclaim peace with food: https://beyondbingeeating.com/opt-in/

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Disclaimer: The information on this channel is for educational purposes and is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice or therapy. The views and opinions expressed by podcast guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Kristina Dobyns or Beyond Binge Eating.

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Laura Buchanan — a double board-certified physician in Family and Obesity Medicine, Certified Metabolic Health Practitioner, and founding board member of the Society of Metabolic Health Practitioners.

Dr. Buchanan is at the forefront of a growing movement in medicine—one that prioritizes metabolic health, prevention, and lifestyle as the foundation for healing.

Through her telemedicine practice TOWARD Health, she’s helping patients reverse chronic disease, reduce food addiction symptoms, and rebuild a healthy relationship with food.

Her team’s recent 2025 study found that 61% of participants improved binge eating symptoms and 46% reduced food addiction symptoms—results that show how targeted nutrition, coaching, and real-time biofeedback can transform health from the inside out.

Here’s what we cover in the episode:

• How Dr. Buchanan’s frustration with traditional medical training led her to focus on metabolic and lifestyle medicine

• The 6 components of the TOWARD Health model—and why it’s changing how doctors treat food addiction and obesity

• Why traditional “eat less, move more” advice doesn’t work for most people

• The power of low-carb, whole-food nutrition in restoring metabolic balance and curbing cravings

• The role of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) in understanding your body’s real-time response to food

• The difference between harm reduction vs. abstinence in food addiction recovery—and how to know which approach fits you best

• The emerging field of metabolic psychiatry, and how nutrition may soon become a key treatment for anxiety, depression, and binge eating

If you’ve ever wondered why you can’t “just stop eating” certain foods or why cravings return even after diets, this episode will help you understand the metabolic roots of food addiction—and show you a science-backed path to lasting recovery.

Disclaimer: The information on this channel is for educational purposes and is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice or therapy.

In this episode, I sit down with Nicole Laurent, LMHC—a licensed mental health counselor and leading voice in metabolic psychiatry—to explore how ketogenic therapy is helping people heal from mental illness, food addiction, and emotional dysregulation by addressing the brain’s underlying metabolic health.

Here’s what we cover in the episode:

• Nicole’s journey from traditional talk therapy, CBT, and EMDR, to becoming a pioneer in metabolic psychiatry

• How impaired glucose metabolism affects brain function, mood, and emotional regulation

• Why ketones can provide the brain with a cleaner, more stable energy source for healing

• The emerging science behind ketogenic therapy for depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and binge eating disorder

• Why common fears around saturated fat and cholesterol are outdated and often harmful to recovery

• How ketogenic therapy can support long-term remission in mental health conditions once considered “treatment-resistant”

• The future of mental health care—and why nutrition and metabolism must become part of the conversation

Nicole blends deep clinical experience with cutting-edge neuroscience to reveal how nutrition can literally change the brain. This conversation is a must-watch for anyone curious about the connection between diet and mental health, or those searching for new hope beyond medication and symptom management.

00:00 – intro

01:22 – Nicole’s journey into metabolic psychiatry

01:59 – Transition from traditional therapy to brain-based nutritional approaches

03:05 – How impaired glucose metabolism affects brain function and mood

05:12 – Why psychiatric medications often worsen metabolic health

07:02 – The science of ketogenic therapy for depression, bipolar, and schizophrenia

09:26 – Why ketones offer the brain a cleaner, more stable energy source

11:41 – Case studies: when metabolic therapy leads to psychiatric remission

16:00 – Ketogenic metabolic therapies as transdiagnostic

18:12 – Ketogenic therapy for binge eating disorder and food addiction

21:36 – How diet can stabilize mood and emotional regulation

27:30 – Does Keto make eating issues worse?

29:54 – How clinicians can integrate metabolic psychiatry in practice

32:18 – The future of mental health: nutrition, metabolism

34:47 – Final insights and where to learn more about Nicole’s work

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Contact and learn more about Nicole: www.mentalhealthketo.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/nlaurent/

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Follow Beyond Binge Eating Instagram: / https://www.instagram.com/BeyondBingeEating/ Website: https://www.BeyondBingeEating.com Newsletter: https://beyondbingeeating.com/Newsletter/

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Grab your FREE Eat-With-Awareness Bundle to slow down, stay present, and reclaim peace with food: https://beyondbingeeating.com/opt-in/

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Disclaimer: The information on this channel is for educational purposes and is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice or therapy. The views and opinions expressed by podcast guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Kristina Dobyns or Beyond Binge Eating.

Binge eating disorder (BED) is the most common eating disorder, yet it’s often misunderstood. It’s not just about eating large amounts of food—it can also be about the loss of control, secrecy, and emotional aftermath that come with it.

In today’s video, I’ll walk you through 5 signs of BED so you can better understand whether what you’re going through fits the pattern—and what steps you might consider next.

What You’ll Learn in This Video:

• The difference between overeating and binge eating disorder

• Why eating when not hungry can be driven by emotions, not physical need

• How urgency and speed around food can be a red flag

• Why secrecy and eating alone often point to shame, not just habit

• The emotional aftermath of binges—guilt, distress, and hopelessness—and how this fuels the cycle

If you’ve ever felt trapped in a cycle of eating, regret, and shame, this video is for you. The good news is that binge eating disorder is treatable—and recovery is possible.

Please like, subscribe, and share this video with anyone who might benefit from it. Also, don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter for more insights and support on your recovery journey!

0:00 – Intro

0:47 – Sign #1

1:21 – Sign #2

1:48 – Sign #3

2:13 – Sign #4

2:41 – Sign #5

3:13 – The Good news

3:27 – Watch next: “Why binge when not hungry?”

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Follow Beyond Binge Eating

Instagram: / https://www.instagram.com/BeyondBingeEating/

Website: https://www.BeyondBingeEating.com

Newsletter: https://beyondbingeeating.com/Newsletter/

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Grab your FREE Eat-With-Awareness Bundle to slow down, stay present, and reclaim peace with food: https://beyondbingeeating.com/opt-in/

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Disclaimer: The information on this channel is for educational purposes and is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice or therapy. The views and opinions expressed by podcast guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Kristina Dobyns or Beyond Binge Eating.