In this episode of Thrive Beyond Size, I share a very personal story about a rough week that ended with severe food poisoning—and the unexpected clarity it gave me about body trust, intuitive eating, and how our bodies communicate with us.

• Why intuitive eating feels “easy” when your body is screaming—and harder when it’s whispering
• How illness stripped away food rules, self-doubt, and overthinking
• The difference between loud body signals (like food poisoning or burnout) and subtle daily cues
• Why diet culture teaches us to ignore hunger, fullness, satisfaction, and discomfort
• How burnout, anxiety, panic, injury, grief, and stress often represent the body escalating its message
• Why loud body signals aren’t punishments, but protective responses
• How ignoring whispers often leads to screams
• What loud moments can teach us about clarity, trust, and embodiment
• Why intuitive eating lives in everyday attunement—not dramatic crises

• When has your body spoken very loudly to you in the past?
• What was it trying to tell you in those moments?
• What do you think your body needed that you may not have been ready to hear?
• What might your body be whispering to you right now about food, rest, pace, or care?
• What would it feel like to take those whispers seriously?

Your body doesn’t need to scream to deserve your attention.
Intuitive eating is the practice of listening—again and again—before it has to.

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What if the most valuable part isn’t the most obvious one?

In this episode of Thrive Beyond Size, Michelle shares a series of small synchronicities that led her to reflect on Earl Grey tea—and the surprising fact that its signature flavour comes not from the fruit itself, but from the oil in the peel of bergamot.

From there, she explores how this metaphor applies to so many areas of our lives.

Michelle unpacks how diet culture and dominant wellness narratives train us to focus on what’s visible, measurable, and socially rewarded—while ignoring the quieter, subtler layers that actually make nourishment possible.

In this episode, you’ll hear reflections on:

• Why we’re conditioned to value outcomes, control, and appearance
• How diet culture strips eating down to function while discarding pleasure, satisfaction, and safety
• The “peel” of eating: sensory experience, connection, comfort, and meaning
• How body distress often comes from focusing only on appearance rather than body wisdom
• Why the nervous system may be the most overlooked layer of all
• How safety and regulation create the foundation for sustainable change
• A gentle invitation to get curious about what you may have been taught to ignore

This is not an episode about fixing yourself or doing more. It’s an invitation to widen the lens, soften your focus, and explore what becomes possible when you stop discarding the peel.

As always, take what resonates, leave what doesn’t, and approach yourself with curiosity and compassion.

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In this episode, Michelle explores what happens when you don’t know the next step—and why that experience is far more human (and helpful) than we’ve been taught to believe.

She discusses:

• Why not knowing feels so uncomfortable—and where that discomfort comes from
• How diet culture and hustle culture both promise certainty and control
• The nervous system’s role in urgency, overthinking, and premature decisions
• Why uncertainty is often information, not danger
• How the urge for clarity can show up with food, body image, relationships, and work
• The difference between aligned action and action driven by discomfort
• Why some seasons are meant for pausing, integration, and listening—not fixing
• How body trust requires slowing down and tuning into subtle signals
• What it really means to “stay present” instead of forcing answers

Michelle also shares a powerful reflection prompt to help you notice where you might be pressuring yourself to know more than you do right now—and what might shift if you allowed yourself to simply not know, just for today.

Reflection prompt from the episode:

Where in your life are you pressuring yourself to know more than you actually do right now?
And what might shift if you allowed yourself to not know—just for today?

As always, thank you for being here and for allowing this to be a space where certainty isn’t required and being human is enough.

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