Insatiable with Ali Shapiro, MSOD, CHHC

When I surveyed my newsletter readers back In the April, a common survey response theme was:“I feel uncomfortable in my body and feel ridiculous that I am focused on this when there is so much else that is so much more important to deal with.”I sooo get this. I felt this way about my own weight struggles in the 9/11, U.S. invasion of Iraq-era. And today’s world issues feel much more urgent and complex.Yet what I’ve discovered is that tending to our body discomfort is not ridiculous. With a holistic and root cause resolution approach like Truce with Food, our body discomfort reveals a values gap of what we say matters and what how we are actually living. And this values gap matters deeply right now. Collectively, we understand “normal” isn’t working; “bottom up” changes in how we spend our time, money, and energy matter if we want to create a new, healthier normal. To illustrate what this values-gap driven body discomfort looks like to work through, my Truce with Food clients Charlotta and Margaret Louise are here to share their journey of self-authoring their values for more psychological safety and a radically different relationship to food and themselves.  In today’s episode, we discuss:A deeper understanding of how to embody safety to increase resilience and decrease out of control eating.How systems like capitalism and patriarchy, which value control, unknowingly molded our collective values and the personal values each of us had to change.An alternative definition of valuing discipline (that isn’t about control) to change our food habits and life.The new values that replaced perfectionism, hyper-productivity, “faster, better”, and trying to do everything on our own.How this values revolution evolved the stories that were driving our stress and body discomfort and led to better food choices, a more sacred relationship with our bodies, and more fulfillment.  Mentioned in this EpisodeFree Food as Safety GatheringsTruce with Food 2023The Sparkling Mud@thesparklingmudSend me (Ali) a text message. Connect with Ali & Insatiable: Click here to text Insatiable (for privacy, we only see the last 4 digits of your phone number) and won’t be able to text back. Please don’t delete prepopulated numbers as that identifies your message is meant for us.

A  Truce with Food foundational focus is learning how to effectively respond to the stress that makes you eat. Because we are often reacting to the past when our sense of safety was compromised, which fuels our current stress. For example, I used to binge on sugar during my cancer “scanxiety” season even though it was 15 years later. Because in the past, MRIs did find cancer (and I didn’t know I could ever not turn to food!). Logically I knew I was probably fine. But emotionally I was a wreck. To effectively respond to your stress in the present, in  Truce with Food, we tend to your body's physiology. Specifically, cultivating safety in your nervous system; your nervous system physiology under threat often leads to “Chuck it, F@#$ it” Ubereats, fantasy thoughts like “Diet starts tomorrow”, and binging. Because your body’s physiology informs your “mindset”.  Anyone who knows how crashing blood sugar fuels their anxiety knows this on one level.  To better understand your own nervous system reactions and accompanying food habits, I’ve brought back Stacey Ramsower from Episode 1 of this season. We discuss how our nervous system picks up on stress, often before our brain, and that leads to out of control eating. Stacey is one of the few people I know who understands how the most powerful change involves your physiology and psychology. In today’s episode, we discuss:The difference between your body, brain, and mind when trying to change your relationship to food (hint: most mindset work doesn’t address this and yet, your body communicates to your brain at 4x the speed!)How “Diet starts tomorrow” is a fantasy thought and often a sign you’re in a “Flight” nervous system reactionWhat the Flight and Freeze nervous system reactions feel like inside your bodyThe connection between Binging and the Freeze nervous system reactionTwo powerful practices to try and regulate your nervous system to better deal with your present stress and change your eating habits Mentioned in this EpisodeFree Food as Safety GatheringsTruce with Food 2023https://www.staceyramsower.com/Stacey’s InstagramSend me (Ali) a text message. Connect with Ali & Insatiable: Click here to text Insatiable (for privacy, we only see the last 4 digits of your phone number) and won’t be able to text back. Please don’t delete prepopulated numbers as that identifies your message is meant for us.

How many times have you thought: why do I self-sabotage with food? If those answers haven’t gotten you very far, I have a much better question for you.“How does my eating protect me?” is a question that will take you far and deep. To guide us with this question and path to your answers, I have the wise Sil Reynolds to talk food, protection strategies, and the root vulnerability in our stories that our food habits are trying, perhaps begging you, to pay attention to.   In this expansive, soul food conversation, we discuss:Sil’s struggle with food and her journey to heal her Motherline to find a sense of home in her body and psyche.The role of the archetypal feminine and emotional attunement in our food and body image struggles, including the symbolism in emotionally eating sweet carbohydratesHow perfectionism is a safety strategy, not a personality type and why we keep trying to be “Good”, even when it feels so bad.How body image isn’t really about the body and a powerful question to ask when you feel fat to shift your mindset by getting to the root of the issueAbout Sil ReynoldsSil brings 40 years experience to her work as a coach and a teacher: experience as a nurse practitioner, psychotherapist, workshop leader, author, and a Mothering & Daughtering coach.She graduated from Brown University where she majored in Women’s Studies. She graduated from Marion Woodman’s BodySoul Rhythms training in dreamwork, archetypal psychology, and the art and science of listening to the wisdom of the body. Sil explains that “Marion Woodman’s work reflects a unique Jungian lineage focuses on bringing the archetypal Divine Feminine into our embodied, earthly lives. Her lineage is my lineage, it is my spiritual motherline, and it has been my lifeline during difficult times.” Mentioned in this EpisodeFood as Safety Gatherings with Ali: Gather with like-minded health rebels who hate small talk to learn how to apply the Insatiable Season 13 podcasts to your life. Ali will teach, provide coaching exercise, tools and coach a few participants stress eating so you can get to the root of your stress eating and work through it. No white knuckling required. Sil ReynoldsSend me (Ali) a text message. Connect with Ali & Insatiable: Click here to text Insatiable (for privacy, we only see the last 4 digits of your phone number) and won’t be able to text back. Please don’t delete prepopulated numbers as that identifies your message is meant for us.

The Wellness culture we see as we scroll through Instagram or listen to in our earbuds on various wellness podcasts often casts itself as the opposite of Western Medicine. And yet, both industries overlap via the same value system of Puritans and Protestantism. From “clean eating” to failed functional medicine protocols because “client’s aren’t disciplined enough”, Protestantism and Puritanism are alive and well in both industries. This wouldn’t be a problem except these guiding principles aren’t actually how the body works. As a result, while both industries have different offerings, both limit us because of their blindspots created by these religious values and beliefs. In today’s episode with one of my favorite writers, Dr. Anne Helen Petersen, we discuss:  A background of what Protestantism and Puritanism are and how they’ve influenced diet and wellness culture and the deeper meaning implied in hashtags #blessed, #highvibes, and #nolowvibesHow Protestantism and Puritanism especially influenced fat phobia and the 80s and 90s body ideal of what Anne calls “aspirational containment”.How wellness influencers and celebrities like Peloton instructors have given us secular outlets to satiate the needs that religion provides.How Anne shifted and continues to shift her relationship to exercise and work by incorporating this value that is considered “bad” in Puritanism yet supports the body to thrive.Anne’s process of first intellectualizing how problematic these religious values are in relation to exercise, the body, and work and then actually making the changes to embody new values that support her feeling great and athletic in her body, now in her 40s.  About Anne Helen PetersonAnne is an American writer and journalist. She received her Ph.D in Media Studies, where she did her dissertation on Celebrity Culture…we will get into why here in the episode.She worked as a Senior Culture Writer for BuzzFeed until August 2020, when she began writing full-time for her newsletter "Culture Study" on Substack. I know many of you read it. It’s so so good. Her most recent book “Out of Office” is about the future of work. And she has two new podcasts of her own: Work Appropriate and Townsizing, which is about people living in small towns. Mentioned in this episode:Free Food as Safety Gatherings with Ali: Gather with like-minded health rebels who hate small talk to learn how to apply the Insatiable Season 13 podcasts to your life. Ali will teach, provide coaching exercise, tools and coach a few participants stress eating so you can get to the root of your stress eating and work through it. No white knuckling required.  Culture Study with Anne Helen Petersen The Millennial Vernacular of Fat Phobia The Quiet Glory of Aging Into AthleticismSend me (Ali) a text message. Connect with Ali & Insatiable: Click here to text Insatiable (for privacy, we only see the last 4 digits of your phone number) and won’t be able to text back. Please don’t delete prepopulated numbers as that identifies your message is meant for us.

“How can I stop stress eating? is a frequent question I get asked. In today’s episode, I share a more powerful question that’s necessary to ask - “What’s eating you?” - to get back in control of food. No white knuckling required.I share my own current story work related to my burn-out that caused my body to fall apart (and keep 30 pounds of post-pregnancy weight on), answer some listener questions, and offer some client examples for you to get crystal clear on your own stress eating.  In this solo episode, I share:The 3 phases of awareness you need to resolve your stress eatingThe “elephant in the room” causing your out of control and out of alignment with your goals eatingThe role our stories play in stress eatingHow story work gets misunderstood and misinterpreted, creating more tools, work, and “feeling bad for feeling bad” that leads to lackluster results.Two powerful coaching questions to get you started on resolving your stress eating today. Mentioned in this Episodehttp://alishapiro.com/food-as-safetySend me (Ali) a text message. Connect with Ali & Insatiable: Click here to text Insatiable (for privacy, we only see the last 4 digits of your phone number) and won’t be able to text back. Please don’t delete prepopulated numbers as that identifies your message is meant for us.

Have you ever thought about your birth?  If you’re like most people, you probably haven’t. And yet, as Stacey shares, according to Ayverveda’s Sankyha philosophy, 25% of who we are comes from our conception and birth. This makes safety and food intimately connected and tangled from before we even make our Earth-side entrance. In order to understand food’s connection to safety, we are starting at the beginning. Specifically, our beginnings as we began growing in the womb and then officially made our Earth side entrance. In this heart-felt, deep conversation, we discuss:Stacey’s tumultuous relationship with food and what she discovered was at the root of her restriction and then binging-purging symptoms. The role our gestation and support our Mother’s do or don’t receive contributes to our sense of safety, according to Ayurveda’s Sankyha philosophy.How food provides a sense of literal structure to our bodies and thus safety. And if we don’t get the structure or felt presence of being “seen, held, and known” in relationships, we turn to food for safety. How early stage eating influences what we were “told” about what and how much is available to us. While mainstream emotional eating advice says we binge or overeat in reaction to restriction, we discuss there’s also overeating in anticipation of not having enough food or other forms of safety. Why we eat during transitions like work to home or Friday night to weekend and how birth as our first official transition can leave an imprint on how we experience transitions today. And some tips for making transitions easier today so we don’t need food. How Stacey’s healing journey to develop a broader sense of safety beyond food led to her first ever awe inspiring pregnancies post-meeting her birth mother. Stacey Ramsower is an Ayurvedic Lifestyle Coach, Holistic Perinatal Consultant, Somatic Sex Educator, and mother. She supports women through their transformation to Motherhood through ritual practices, hands on work, and private coaching. Stacey is currently pursuing a doctorate in clinical psychology. She lives in Tucson, AZ with her husband and two kids. Mentioned in this Episode:https://www.staceyramsower.com/Stacey’s InstagramFree Truce with Food Mini-Course  JOIN US AT THE FREE FOOD AS SAFETY GATHERINGS? Do you want to apply the Insatiable Season 13 episodes to your life? Would you love to keep the conversation going with other intrepid health rebels who hate small talk? Join us for a free, Food as Safety gathering, where you can take the first step in your own Truce with Food by working through your current stress eating. Register below for these three, FREE virtual yet intimate gatherings on November 9, December 7, and January 4. Send me (Ali) a text message. Connect with Ali & Insatiable: Click here to text Insatiable (for privacy, we only see the last 4 digits of your phone number) and won’t be able to text back. Please don’t delete prepopulated numbers as that identifies your message is meant for us.

The past few years have tested each of us.  We’ve been immersed in Grief. Loss. Relationship fissures. Children’s developmental concerns. Money stress. And these individual challenges are nesting dolls of the escalating war on women’s bodies, caretaking, and the Earth. With this, it’s not surprising that stress and stress eating are at an all-time high.In the American Psychological Association's pandemic anniversary surveys, COVID-19-related stress was associated with unhealthy weight gains and increased drinking. While there were jokes about the initial “COVID 19”, close to 58% of respondents reported experiencing persistent, undesired weight changes and unhealthy behaviors. And many reported worse mental health, lower physical activity, disturbed sleep, and increased reliance on unhealthy habits.If safety is a primal need and stress is inevitable….Listen to the full trailer for more. Send me (Ali) a text message. Connect with Ali & Insatiable: Click here to text Insatiable (for privacy, we only see the last 4 digits of your phone number) and won’t be able to text back. Please don’t delete prepopulated numbers as that identifies your message is meant for us.

In this special Insatiable podcast episode, I celebrate a major milestone: 30 years as a cancer survivor. I’ll share how what resolved my acne, depression, IBS, infertility, and out of control eating was learning how to redefine health beyond losing weight and learning to trust in my body feeling satisfied, not sacrificing and suffering. And how this new orientation led to transformational health results I didn’t even know were possible. Including sustainable weight loss, a Truce with Food, and a relationship of awe and gratitude for my body.  Ali shares:Why knowing the difference between Authorities and Experts is essential for transformational results. Especially if like me, as the first generation of childhood cancer survivors, there’s very little research to go on for your own body challenges.How I got out of the insanity of “I know sugar feeds on cancer” yet would binge on it during “scanxiety” season. If you struggle with health issues that are exacerbated by eating things you know you shouldn’t, this mindset shift helps.How mainstream goal setting, predicated on “You are not your story! Day 1 starts today”” sabotages us exactly like "Diet starts tomorrow" and a different approach to goal setting that resolves our root-causes and works in our real lives. The root cause of my bingeing and weight loss obsession that cancer deepened but wasn’t any more destructive than diets. And a simple practice for you to get to the root of your destructive eating habits.What I now believe about how weight is or isn’t related to health. And then I answer listener questions, which includeWhat role does diet play in your life as a survivor? Have you put your cancer in the rear view mirror, or does it still occupy your thoughts?Residual worries and things you have to be concerned about that others don’t?How can friends be supportive?  Mentioned in this episode:SMART Goals: How they Sabotage Eating and Exercise Goals and What Works for Deeper Coaching Impact on August 23 at 12 pm.   In this workshop for Coaches, Therapists, and Other Health Professionals, we will cover:The emerging research on why eating and exercise are in a unique change category and how this changes the client goals and coaching for deep impact.The protective role of bad habits and why this understanding is essential for sustainable change (i.e. compliance), including the idea that a client has to “Tony Robbins” their way out of their bad food and health habits.Why more tools that stay on the surface aren't the answer and how an evidence-based, root-cause resolution of a client’s resistance to change creates elegant solutions so they aren't failing at one more thing“Complexity fitness” and its role in empowering clients by ending the sabotaging, all or-nothing mindset. Send me (Ali) a text message. Connect with Ali & Insatiable: Click here to text Insatiable (for privacy, we only see the last 4 digits of your phone number) and won’t be able to text back. Please don’t delete prepopulated numbers as that identifies your message is meant for us.

Confidence is foundational to satiation or as Andrea defines satiation, fulfillment. Too often, we think confidence comes from weight loss, in a bottle promising beauty or is something we are born with. The good news is confidence is a skill-set and involves as Andrea Owen says in her new book, Make Some Noise, unlearning how we’ve been socialized to think about confidence and what it means to be a “good” woman.  In this episode, we discuss:The 3 confidence mythsHow realizing her confidence was weight-dependent led Andrea to break-up with diet cultureThe root of Andrea’s eating disorder (hint: it wasn’t about food)Reckoning with the complexity of thin, youth and beauty privilege and fat-phobia when beauty is currency and power (and how maybe we are giving into the patriarchy in the name of beauty and when is that OK?)How the Kavanagh hearings led Andrea to examine her own anger and socialization around being an “angry woman”.Interested in Truce with Food, where we challenge the socialization around our hunger and bodies capabilities that make us feel out of control around food? Registration is open now. Taste a free sample with the Truce with Food Masterclass: I Want to Want to Eat Healthy Send me (Ali) a text message. Connect with Ali & Insatiable: Click here to text Insatiable (for privacy, we only see the last 4 digits of your phone number) and won’t be able to text back. Please don’t delete prepopulated numbers as that identifies your message is meant for us.

We live in a world that teaches us to battle our bodies. Fight your hunger. Battle your weight. The war on mental health. This omnipresent battle narrative makes it appear natural and the only choice is to battle our bodies.Is there another way? Yes. In fact, there are lots of other ways. My client Kristin Leslie joins us to discuss how challenging her self-doubt story, which included normalizing distrusting her body and voice, led to one of the peak experiences of her life in a home birth she never originally envisioned. This is a story most deeply about unlearning normal, including who you think you are.  In this inspiring episode, we discuss:1. How Kristin not talking until age four was a driving force in battling herself. Diets aggravated this battle but weren’t the original issue. 2. How the media and stories about fearing birth originally influenced Kristin to assume she’d have a hospital birth (with her legs in stir-ups).  3. The three keys that enabled her to see other birth options aside from “normal” and that can serve any of us looking for more satisfying choices outside of black and white thinking.  4. How Kristin incrementally challenged her body doubt versus self-trust being one big epiphany of “this is the answer”. This was key when COVID hit and all her birth plans went side-ways.  5. Navigating that we do and don’t have control over our bodies and how we can take charge of our stories to no longer feel powerless over food. Interested in Truce with Food, where we take charge of the stories that make us feel powerless over food? Registration is open now. Check out this free sample of the Truce with Food Masterclass: I Want to Want to Eat Healthy Send me (Ali) a text message. Connect with Ali & Insatiable: Click here to text Insatiable (for privacy, we only see the last 4 digits of your phone number) and won’t be able to text back. Please don’t delete prepopulated numbers as that identifies your message is meant for us.