How to Break Food Habits Without Restricting | Intuitive Eating & Nervous System Explained
Are you eating out of habit or because your body actually needs something? In this episode of Full But Not Finished, I'm breaking down one of the most common recovery questions I get: how to know when it's a true habit versus a leftover pattern from restriction or stress eating. This isn't another "habit stacking" podcast. We're talking about how nervous system coding, allostatic load, and emotional regulation influence what we call "food habits"—and why as straightforward as "discipline" seems. You'll learn: 0:00 – Why food habits are different from other habits 2:15 – The Dunkin' Donuts story and what it reveals about emotional regulation 7:42 – How willpower really works (and why it's about energy, not strength) 11:05 – The difference between habit, restriction, and nervous system need 15:00 – How to approach food habits without falling back into diet mentality If you've ever said "I don't want to restrict, but I also want to stop doing this thing with food," this episode is for you. About this podcast: I'm Stefanie Michele — a coach who helps people recover from binge eating, food obsession, and body image struggles using a mix of psychology, nervous system science, and real-life context. New episodes every week. Work with Stefanie: https://www.iamstefaniemichele.com Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamstefaniemichele Read my essays on Substack: https://iamstefaniemichele.substack.com
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My Eating Disorder Story: Binge Eating, Restriction, and Orthorexia -- and Recovery
In this episode, Stefanie Michele shares the full story of her ED — from early dieting and body image issues to decades of binging, restriction, and an obsession with healthy, clean eating. She explains how family dynamics, cultural pressure, and the physiology of restriction shaped her relationship with food, and what finally changed in her late thirties that led to recovery at forty. This episode breaks down the psychology of binge eating, the impact of diet culture, and how understanding the body's response to deprivation can open the door to long-term healing. Connect with Stefanie: 🔗 iamstefaniemichele.com 📸 Instagram 📰 Substack ▶️ YouTube
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Food and Family Triggers: A Parts Work Approach
When we're back around family, something ... regressive happens. Old dynamics resurface, our nervous systems fire, and parts of us we thought we'd outgrown suddenly take the wheel. In this episode of Full But Not Finished, I explore how family gatherings activate protective parts of the psyche, and how that shows up in our relationship with food. Drawing from Parts Work (Internal Family Systems therapy), we look at the inner characters that might appear in these moments — the Rebel, Pleaser, Victim, and Educator — and the roles they play in keeping us safe. We also talk about how these parts intersect with food: rebellion that turns into "what the hell" eating, people-pleasing that overrides hunger cues, and the Victim part that seeks comfort when connection feels out of reach. You'll also meet the helpful parts that can bring balance: the Inner Anthropologist who observes without absorbing, the Nervous System Whisperer who tracks overwhelm, the Protector who validates without spiraling, and the Inner Humorist who remembers that laughter regulates, too. 🎧 Listen for insights on: Why family gatherings reactivate old protective parts How food becomes a coping tool in relational stress Somatic tools to regulate before reacting Balancing authenticity and connection Using humor as nervous system balm Work With Stef! Instagram Substack YouTube
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Why Upsizing Your Clothes Isn't a Failure: Body Image, Weight Gain & Self-Acceptance
Struggling with weight gain or needing to size up your clothes? In this episode of Full But Not Finished, Stefanie Michele explores the emotional and psychological side of upsizing — the moment you realize your clothes no longer fit the same, and what that stirs up in a culture obsessed with shrinking. We talk about why sizing up isn't a failure or loss of control but a reflection of healing, safety, and body trust. Whether you're recovering from diet culture, learning intuitive eating, or navigating body changes in midlife or perimenopause, this episode helps you see clothing and body image through a new lens. ✨ What you'll learn in this episode: Why tight clothing can trigger stress responses in your nervous system How "upsizing" can be an act of self-advocacy, not giving up Why cultural stigma makes buying new clothes feel harder than it should How to separate body discomfort from self-judgment Practical ways to feel grounded and comfortable in the body you have today Stefanie shares insight from years of coaching people through binge eating recovery, body image work, and nervous system regulation — reminding us that growth often looks like softness, not control. 🎧 Tune in for a thoughtful conversation about body acceptance, self-compassion, and emotional recovery. Connect with Stefanie! Website Substack Instagram YouTube
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The Body Keeps the Score...But With Food
Have you ever found yourself eating when you weren't hungry—but something in you needed to? This episode explores how the body remembers the trauma of restriction, overexercise, and food insecurity long after the behaviors end. We'll talk about how those old survival codes get reactivated—like feeling an urgent pull to eat after movement, or panic when food feels limited—and why this isn't a lack of willpower, but the body's memory of danger. Learn how to recognize when your nervous system is driving your eating patterns, what it means to respect the body's "flinch," and how to begin rewriting those old hunger stories. Work With Stef Instagram Substack #eatingpsychology #bingeeatingrecovery #bodyimagehealing #intuitiveeating #nervoussystemregulation
Full But Not Finished is for anyone who's tried to "just stop eating when you're full" and realized it's never that simple. Hosted by somatic and intuitive eating coach Stefanie Michele, this podcast dives into the ongoing work of recovery — where fullness doesn't always mean satisfaction, and where food, body image, and self-worth collide.
Each episode unpacks the psychology, nervous system patterns, and cultural conditioning that shape eating behaviors, showing why willpower alone doesn't work and what real regulation looks like. If you've lived the binge–restrict cycle, felt trapped in body image spirals, or wondered why "normal eating" feels out of reach, this is where we make sense of it — not with rules, but with integration, somatic tools, and a more human way forward.
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