

Liv Label Free | Neurodivergent Eating Disorder Recovery
Livia Sara
Want to understand the link between neurodivergence and eating disorders? The Liv Label Free Podcast provides you with insights and strategies for recovery through meaningful conversations and stories of lived experience. Your host, Livia Sara, is an autistic ED warrior that now guides other neurodivergent individuals and their loved ones to a life of freedom. Learn more about Livia on her website livlabelfree.com and follow her on Instagram @livlabelfree!
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 10, 2023 • 37min
Neurodiversity, Eating Disorders, and the LGBTQ+ Community w/ Quinn Haisley
Today I am joined by Quinn Haisley (they/she), a non-binary, queer, and neurodivergent eating disorder dietitian. Quinn started working in the eating disorder field 3 years ago as a registered dietitian in BALANCE eating disorder treatment center, where she has worked at the PHP, IOP, and outpatient level. They started their own private practice, Practice Eros Nutrition, in April 2022 to primarily focus on working with LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent folx after seeing a need for more affirming treatment spaces run by clinicians with lived experience. Quinn is passionate about breaking out of the cookie cutter ED treatment model and bringing social justice into ED recovery. In today’s episode, Quinn and I discuss the overlap between neurodiversity, eating disorders, and the LGBTQ+ community. They answer the following questions:
What is Practice Eros Nutrition?
How can being queer and neurodivergent interplay during an eating disorder?
How can gender dysphoria impact the development of eating disorders?
What are some incorrect assumptions made about queer individuals with eating disorders?
What are some examples of invalidated sexual orientation negatively impacting the recovery process?
How can eating disorder treatment be better tailored for validating queer individuals?
Quinn's words of wisdom for queer-identifying or neurodivergent individuals currently recovering
🧑🍳 Grab your copy of Nourishing Neurodiversity
Connect with Livia: 🍩 INSTAGRAM 🌐 WEBSITE 📚 BOOKS
Connect with Quinn:🍩 Instagram🌐 Website
🏳️🌈 FEDUP Collective📝 Check out the episode transcript

Apr 3, 2023 • 50min
How Treatment Made My Eating Disorder WORSE (as an autistic person with anorexia)
I was only 15 when I was tossed out of the Dutch eating disorder treatment system with the labels “too complex,” “manipulative,” and a “hopeless case.” It wasn’t until I discovered I am autistic that I understood why eating disorder treatment never worked…and in fact, had only made the anorexia worse. In today’s episode of the Liv Label Free podcast, I share my journey growing up undiagnosed autistic, how this led to the development of my eating disorder, and I discuss the dangers of traditional eating disorder treatment for neurodivergent individuals. Of course, I also share what DID work for me to fully recover from an eating disorder while embracing my unique brain, so hopefully you will feel empowered and inspired to do the same!
🧑🍳 Grab your copy of Nourishing Neurodiversity🌈 Buy Rainbow Girl: A Memoir of Autism and Anorexia🌱 Get 20% OFF Midi Bites with code LIV20📝 Check out the episode transcript
Connect with Livia: 🍩 INSTAGRAM 🌐 WEBSITE 📚 BOOKS

Mar 27, 2023 • 11min
Q&A: What If My Autistic Traits Weren’t There Before My Eating Disorder?
It's time for a Q&A! After listening to my episodes on "ED behaviors that are ACTUALLY autistic traits," a fan of the podcast asked me if it's possible to develop "new" autistic traits during an eating disorder. In today's episode, I explain what it means if your autistic traits take on new manifestations and how this knowledge can help you fully recover from disordered eating!
🎙️ Get FREE Audio Training on Autism and Eating Disorders🫶 Schedule a consultation call for 1-1 coaching here
Connect with Livia: 🍩 INSTAGRAM 🌐 WEBSITE 📚 BOOKS
📝 Check out the blog post of this episode

Mar 13, 2023 • 9min
Why Mental Hunger IS Physical Hunger
Do you feel guilty for honoring mental hunger? If so, this powerful reframe will totally blow your mind! I explain why mental hunger is a form of physical hunger and why all forms of extreme hunger are valid.
🫶 Schedule a consultation call for 1-1 coaching here🍩 Enroll in my course, Extremely Hungry to Completely Satisfied
Connect with Livia: 🍩 INSTAGRAM 🌐 WEBSITE 📚 BOOKS
📝 Read the blog post of this episode

Mar 6, 2023 • 47min
Why You Can't Stop Eating w/ Sarah Dosanjh @The_Binge_Eating_Therapist
Do you wonder why you can't stop bingeing even though you WANT to? In today's episode of the Liv Label Free podcast, I speak with Sarah Dosanjh, a psychotherapist and author of the book I Can’t Stop Eating. After her own recovery from binge eating disorder, Sarah has gone on to help others do the same. She runs therapy groups and communities for binge eating recovery, co-hosts the Life After Diets podcast, and creates videos about how to recover from binge eating on her YouTube channel The Binge Eating Therapist. Sarah answers the following questions:
What inspired you to become The Binge Eating Therapist?
How do you believe labels/diet culture influences binge eating?
How can mental restriction lead to binge eating?
What are some examples of mental restriction?
What are some strategies one can implement to feel more peaceful around food, especially if they have unreliable physical hunger cues?
Connect with Sarah:🌐 Website📚 Book🍩 Instagram▶️ YouTube🎙️ Podcast
Connect with Livia: 🍩 INSTAGRAM 🌐 WEBSITE 📚 BOOKS
📝 Read the episode transcript

Feb 27, 2023 • 30min
3 MORE "ED Behaviors" that are ACTUALLY Autistic Traits!
A while back, I shared an episode titled 3 "ED Behaviors" that are ACTUALLY Autistic Traits. That episode is by far the MOST DOWNLOADED episode of the Liv Label Free Podcast! Today, I am sharing 3 MORE "ED Behaviors" that are ACTUALLY Autistic Traits so you can learn to embrace your autism rather than fight it.
👉 Part 1 of the "ED Behaviors" That Are Actually Autistic Traits Series🌈 Buy Rainbow Girl: A Memoir of Autism and Anorexia🎙️ Get FREE Audio Training on Autism and Eating Disorders🫶 Schedule a consultation call for 1-1 coaching here
Connect with Livia: 🍩 INSTAGRAM 🌐 WEBSITE 📚 BOOKS
📝 Check out the blog post of this episode

Feb 20, 2023 • 16min
Nourishing Neurodiversity is HERE! Reading the introduction of my cookbook :)
My cookbook is HERE! Nourishing Neurodiversity connects holistic nutrition with personal preferences to yield recipes that are allergen-free, sensory-friendly, support your gut, and improve executive functioning! Although I do not follow a specific diet, all of the recipes in Nourishing Neurodiversity are vegan, gluten-free, soy free, AND nut free. The needs of neurodivergent individuals are often ignored in the neurotypical world we live in, which is why Nourishing Neurodiversity strives to accommodate all lifestyles and preferences. In today's episode of the podcast, I explain why I wrote my cookbook and do a LIVE reading of the introduction :)
🧑🍳 Grab your copy of Nourishing Neurodiversity
Connect with Livia:🍩 INSTAGRAM🌐 WEBSITE 📚 BOOKS

Feb 13, 2023 • 49min
The Truth About ARFID w/ Lauren Sharifi @arfid.dietitian
What is ARFID and how is it different from other eating disorders? In today's episode of the Liv Label Free Podcast, Livia chats with Lauren Sharifi, a registered dietitian-nutritionist based in Massachusetts. Lauren owns a virtual private practice where she specializes in ARFID (Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder) and works one-on-one with parents, teens, and adults. She also runs a monthly support group for adults with ARFID. Lauren takes a neurodivergent-affirming, trauma-informed, and responsive-feeding approach to make eating and nourishment more accessible for individuals with ARFID and ARFID-like traits. In this episode, Lauren answers the following questions:
What is ARFID?
What’s the difference between ARFID and Anorexia?
What are common causes/triggers for developing ARFID?
How do autism and ARFID overlap?
What are common misconceptions about ARFID?
How is ARFID being treated?
How can parents and caregivers support people with ARFID?
Connect with Lauren:🌐 WEBSITE🍕 INSTAGRAM
Connect with Livia: 🍩 INSTAGRAM 🌐 WEBSITE 📚 BOOKS
🌱 Thank you Veggies Made Great for sponsoring this episode. Find their products in stores near you at www.veggiesmadegreat.com.📝 Read the transcript of this episode

Jan 30, 2023 • 25min
Insomnia in Autism and Anorexia
Is insomnia making you go INSANE? You're not alone! As an autistic person that has struggled with an eating disorder, I know first-hand how frustrating it can be to not only lay awake for hours on end, but to feel trapped in the anxious thoughts that continuously flood your mind. In this episode, I share scientific research behind why autistic people as well as those with co-morbid eating disorders struggle with sleep, and what you can do to get a good night's rest!
🌈 Buy Rainbow Girl: A Memoir of Autism and Anorexia🎙️ Get FREE Audio Training on Autism and Eating Disorders🫶 Schedule a consultation call for 1-1 coaching here
Connect with Livia: 🍩 INSTAGRAM 🌐 WEBSITE 📚 BOOKS
📝 Read the blog post of this episode (with sources)

Jan 23, 2023 • 23min
Why ALL IN RECOVERY didn't work for me (and what to do instead)
Do you feel stuck in eating disorder recovery? Do you feel like you’ve tried everything, yet nothing is working? If you want to discover how to get out of quasi recovery and lead a life of freedom, this episode is for you! I explain why all in recovery is preventing you from full freedom and what to do instead.
🌈 Buy Rainbow Girl: A Memoir of Autism and Anorexia🎧 Claim your free audiobook on Audible🍩 Enroll in my course, Extremely Hungry to Completely Satisfied🫶 Schedule a consultation call for 1-1 coaching here
Connect with Livia: 🍩 INSTAGRAM 🌐 WEBSITE 📚 BOOKS
📝 Read the blog post of this episode