In the Season 2 finale of The Eating Disorder Diaries, Amy looks back on the 10 monthly goals we set together in 2025 and reflects on how they shaped her own ongoing recovery journey. She shares what she learned from each guest expert: from reclaiming joy, healing your relationship with movement, setting social media boundaries, noticing body signals, and using style as a tool for embodiment.

Amy also opens up about her third-trimester life update as she goes through her first pregnancy, and to close out the season offers a grounding reminder of why goal setting works, not just in eating disorder recovery, but in any chapter of growth.

Thank you for listening, for being here, and for being part of this global recovery community.

Connect with me!

Email: theeatingdisorderdiaries@gmail.com

Instagram: @theeatingdisorderdiaries

In the final goal we're setting in 2025, we're using style as a tool in eating disorder recovery.

We're joined by Nicole Garfunkel, founder of Styling Confidential, to discuss how clothing and personal expression can become powerful parts of healing. Together, Amy & Nicole they dive into what it means to take up space again after years of hiding, and how getting dressed can shift from a daily task into a meaningful, grounding ritual.

If you’ve been following along this year, you know Amy loves exploring all the different tools that can support recovery - not just journaling or therapy, but creativity, connection, and embodiment. This conversation is a reminder that healing can show up in so many forms, even in the simple act of putting on clothes that make you feel like you.

In This Episode:

• Nicole’s journey from disordered eating to using fashion as a healing tool
• Why style and clothing matter in recovery
• How getting dressed can become a grounding ritual
• Navigating body changes with compassion and curiosity
• Reconnecting with self-expression after years of hiding
• Managing triggers while shopping or trying on clothes
• Encouragement for anyone who still feels disconnected from their body

Connect with Nicole:
Website: Styling Confidential
Insta: @styling_confidential

Connect with Amy & the podcast:
Insta: @theeatingdisorderdiaries

Email: theeatingdisorderdiaries@gmail.com

This month, our recovery goal is to notice one body signal each day: hunger, fullness, fatigue, or energy - without judgement. It may sound simple, but it’s actually a transformative practice. By gently tuning into these signals, we can start rebuilding trust with our bodies, describe our experiences more clearly to providers, and open the door to healing.

To explore this theme, I sat down with Hui Yang, a physician-scientist and psychiatry resident at Yale. Hui studies the brain circuitry behind eating disorders and brings a rare perspective by combining cutting-edge research with her own lived experiences. She grew up in China, came to the U.S. at 18, and now works at the intersection of neuroscience and compassionate clinical care.

In this conversation, we cover:

• Why body signals feel so dysregulated in eating disorders, and why they’re not “broken.”
• Practical grounding tools Hui recommends to reconnect with hunger, fullness, and energy.
• The three phases of eating (appetitive, consummatory, satiety) and what happens when they’re disrupted.
• The two studies Hui participated in at Acute in Denver, one of the country’s highest-acuity inpatient centers:
  • Understanding the urge to move or exercise in eating disorders.
  • Testing whether nutrient balance during refeeding can improve recovery outcomes.
• Why treatment, though hard, is truly lifesaving and why Hui has hope for the future of eating disorder care.

Connect with Hui:

• Instagram: @let_the_land_lie_fallow
  
  
• Yale Profile: https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/hui-yang-hy439/
  
  
• Email: hui.yang.hy439@yale.edu

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @theeatingdisorderdiaries