A “healthy” diet can turn into a cage so slowly you don’t notice until your world gets smaller. After seeing orthorexia pop up in Scrubs, we pull the camera back and talk about what orthorexia actually looks like in real life, why it’s so easy to praise at first, and why the harm is still real even though orthorexia isn’t an official DSM diagnosis.

We unpack the overlap between orthorexia and anorexia nervosa, including restriction, body image pressure, and the relentless anxiety that comes from rigid food rules. We also dig into the details that make orthorexia feel unique, like the obsession with “clean eating,” ingredient labels, processed food fear, and the way flexibility disappears. Then we talk about the medical side that gets overlooked, including how severe restriction can lead to nutrient deficiencies that sound rare today, like vitamin C deficiency and scurvy.

From there, we get honest about the social media problem: Instagram diets, trend plans, and Skinny Talk content that weaponizes words like intuitive eating to disguise restriction. We share practical ways to protect your brain from search spirals, why we’d rather you talk to a registered dietitian or qualified therapist than Google or ChatGPT, and how recovery gives you your life back, not just “better willpower.” If you’re ready for more grounded, evidence-based support around eating disorder recovery, nutrition, and body image, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a rating and review.

Show notes:

Trigger warning: this show is not medical, nutrition, or mental health treatment and is not a replacement for meeting with a Registered Dietitian, Licensed Mental Health Provider, or any other medical provider. You can find resources for how to find a provider, as well as crisis resources, in the show notes. Listener discretion is advised.

Resource links:

Alliance for Eating Disorders: https://www.allianceforeatingdisorders.com/

ANAD: https://anad.org/

NEDA: https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/

NAMI: https://nami.org/home

Action Alliance: https://theactionalliance.org/

NIH: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/

How to find a provider:

https://map.nationaleatingdisorders.org/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us

https://www.healthprofs.com/us/nutritionists-dietitians?tr=Hdr_Brand

Suicide & crisis awareness hotline: call 988 (available 24/7)

Eating Disorder hotline: call or text 800-931-2237 (Phone line is available Monday-Thursday 11 am-9 pm ET and Friday 11 am-5 pm ET; text line is available Monday-Thursday 3-6 pm ET and Friday 1-5 pm ET)

If you are experiencing a psychiatric or medical emergency, please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.

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Spring break is supposed to feel like a break, yet for so many of us it turns into a countdown of food rules, body checking, and “vacation ready” pressure. We’re talking about travel nutrition and body image in a way that’s realistic, compassionate, and grounded in what actually helps. If you’ve ever tried to restrict before a trip and ended up more bloated, more constipated, more anxious, and more distracted by food, you’re not alone and you’re not broken.

We walk through our go-to travel framework: adequacy, consistency, and variety. Adequacy and consistency keep your energy, digestion, and mood steadier while you’re away, and variety lets you enjoy the whole point of traveling: new foods, cultural experiences, and memories you’ll actually want to keep. We also unpack why eating totally differently on weekends or vacations can be a sign of diet culture and an undernourish-overnourish cycle that makes Mondays feel like punishment.

Then we get practical with body image. We share a simple packing tool we love using with clients: a “fashion show” where you choose outfits for good body image days, in-between days, and hard days, so you’re not problem-solving in a hotel mirror. We also talk planning that supports recovery without turning into control, like looking at menus ahead of time or practicing foods before you go. If you need one takeaway, let it be this: your body is worth the vacation. Subscribe, share this with a friend who’s traveling, and leave a review telling us what helps you feel more present on trips.

Show notes:

Trigger warning: this show is not medical, nutrition, or mental health treatment and is not a replacement for meeting with a Registered Dietitian, Licensed Mental Health Provider, or any other medical provider. You can find resources for how to find a provider, as well as crisis resources, in the show notes. Listener discretion is advised.

Resource links:

Alliance for Eating Disorders: https://www.allianceforeatingdisorders.com/

ANAD: https://anad.org/

NEDA: https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/

NAMI: https://nami.org/home

Action Alliance: https://theactionalliance.org/

NIH: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/

How to find a provider:

https://map.nationaleatingdisorders.org/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us

https://www.healthprofs.com/us/nutritionists-dietitians?tr=Hdr_Brand

Suicide & crisis awareness hotline: call 988 (available 24/7)

Eating Disorder hotline: call or text 800-931-2237 (Phone line is available Monday-Thursday 11 am-9 pm ET and Friday 11 am-5 pm ET; text line is available Monday-Thursday 3-6 pm ET and Friday 1-5 pm ET)

If you are experiencing a psychiatric or medical emergency, please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.

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A bathroom scale can become a judge, a ritual, and a cage and most people suffering from disordered eating learn to hide it well. We sit down with McCall Dempsey, founder of Southern Smash and a National Alliance for Eating Disorders advocate, and Johanna Scoglio, author of *When the Water Still Holds Me* and founder of A Dragonfly’s Dream, to talk about what happens when recovery stops being private and starts becoming community.

We get into Rally For Recovery and why it’s built differently: a morning focused on hope, connection, and real support, with creative grounding activities, trauma-informed yoga, mindful movement, local treatment and clinician resources, and the catharsis of scale smashing. McCall shares how Southern Smash grew out of a 15-year eating disorder battle and how a simple sequence of reflections can help people loosen the grip of diet culture, perfectionism, and body image shame.

We also talk about eating disorders in athletes, the pressure of weigh-ins, and why coaches and leadership can either fuel harm or create safer environments through small, practical language shifts. Johanna brings a harm reduction and mind-body-spirit lens that makes space for complexity, long-term healing, and the truth that recovery isn’t linear. Along the way, we highlight the Alliance’s free clinician-answered referrals to care, therapist-led support groups, and the expansion to support options seven days a week.

Listen, share this with someone who needs a little more hope today, and then subscribe, leave a review, and tell us what part of recovery you want to feel less alone in.

Show notes:

Trigger warning: this show is not medical, nutrition, or mental health treatment and is not a replacement for meeting with a Registered Dietitian, Licensed Mental Health Provider, or any other medical provider. You can find resources for how to find a provider, as well as crisis resources, in the show notes. Listener discretion is advised.

Event link: https://secure.qgiv.com/event/2026raleighrally/

Resource links:

Alliance for Eating Disorders: https://www.allianceforeatingdisorders.com/

For questions about The Alliance’s free referral services, or more information about The Alliance’s other specialized services, please reach out to The Alliance at 866.662.1235 or info@allianceforeatingdisorders.com.

https://www.findedhelp.com/ is the country's largest database of ED providers and treatment centers.

How to find a provider:

https://map.nationaleatingdisorders.org/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us

https://www.healthprofs.com/us/nutritionists-dietitians?tr=Hdr_Brand

Suicide & crisis awareness hotline: call 988 (available 24/7)

Eating Disorder hotline: call or text 800-931-2237 (Phone line is available Monday-Thursday 11 am-9 pm ET and Friday 11 am-5 pm ET; text line is available Monday-Thursday 3-6 pm ET and Friday 1-5 pm ET)

If you are experiencing a psychiatric or medical emergency, please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.

Support the show