Welcome

Episode description:

In this episode of Peace Meal, dietitian Gretchen Wallace joins us to explore how we can protect the next generation’s relationship with food. Together, we unpack why body image struggles in adolescence shouldn’t be dismissed as a harmless phase—and why the fact that these struggles are common doesn’t mean they’re acceptable or something young people should simply have to endure.

Gretchen sheds light on the environmental influences that shape kids’ views of food and bodies, from developmentally inappropriate health class curricula to the highly curated world of social media. She challenges the idea that nutrition should feel like a math problem, offering a more compassionate, body-trusting framework instead.

With warmth and wisdom, Gretchen outlines a hopeful, practical roadmap for families—one that emphasizes supportive boundaries, curiosity, and compassion as the foundation for lasting food freedom.

Episode description:

It happens like clockwork: a new year arrives, and with it, renewed pressures to shrink, sculpt, or “fix” ourselves. According to the Pew Research Center, nearly 80% of people who set New Year’s resolutions focus on changing their bodies, eating habits, or fitness routines.

For those living with an eating disorder, working to protect their recovery, or simply feeling worn down by body talk over the holidays, this seasonal flood of body-focused messaging can feel particularly destabilizing. In this episode, Dr. Jillian Lampert shares how to move through this season with greater awareness and support—and what actually helps when eating disorder thoughts get stirred up.

**Content warning: This is one person’s story; everyone will have unique experiences in recovery and beyond. Some stories may mention eating disorder thoughts, behaviors, and symptoms. Please use your discretion when reading and speak with your support system as needed.

A graduate of the University of Miami’s College of Engineering, Abbey Griffith (she/her/hers) is an Eating Disorder Recoveree, N.A.S.M. Certified Personal Trainer, and Certified Body Positive Facilitator. She owns Clarity Fitness, Georgia’s first body-positive, weight-inclusive, eating disorder-informed fitness studio, and has devoted her life to helping people of all ages, shapes, and sizes find a wellness routine they truly enjoy. Abbey sees the dangers that come from an obsession with fitness and nutrition, and believes it’s time for us to see our bodies in a positive, empowered way — regardless of the number on the scale.

Like many of us out there, I am sad to say that I grew up absolutely hating my body. Diet culture found me young and convinced me that smaller meant better, more lovable, more attractive, more worthy, and I desperately wanted all of the above. In a misguided attempt to try to mitigate some of these feelings, I began personal training sessions at a local fitness studio. Fortunately for me, my trainers were kind, funny, and made movement feel like hanging out with a friend. They’re a big reason I became a trainer myself.

**Content warning: This is one person’s story; everyone will have unique experiences in recovery and beyond. Some stories may mention eating disorder thoughts, behaviors, and symptoms. Please use your discretion when reading and speak with your support system as needed.

Molly Morrison is a future physician, runner, and self-proclaimed journal enthusiast who is in ongoing recovery from anorexia and continues to choose healing each day. When she’s not writing or running, she’s probably curating a new recipe in the kitchen, laughing with her sisters, or planning her upcoming travels.

This is a story of a time in my life when I stopped feeling, thinking, and existing fully as a human being. It is also a story of how I found myself again.

For years, I underate and exercised my body into the ground. I thought that being “healthy” and “disciplined” would make me more lovable—not just to others, but to myself. Those thoughts came from everywhere: cultural standards, my social media feed, and comparison to others. I started to believe that the smaller I became, the more worth I had.

There was nothing logical about my eating disorder, but at the time, it felt like the only thing giving me order and direction. I knew something was wrong—when I snapped at people I loved, when my body was giving me clear warning signs—but anorexia’s voice still drowned out my own.

Episode description:

Coming home for the holidays when an eating disorder is in the mix can be deeply complicated—for the person navigating it, and for the people who love them.

In this episode of Between Bites, Dr. Jillian Lampert reflects on her own experience returning home from college while struggling with an eating disorder, and offers clear, compassionate guidance for young adults facing similar homecomings. Whether the eating disorder is known, hidden, or somewhere in between, Jillian shares tangible strategies to help make this season feel more manageable. With deep care, she holds space for anyone who might be quietly struggling—and for those who want to help, or say something, but aren’t sure how.

For many adults, eating has never felt straightforward.

Certain textures or smells might make you tense up before you even take a bite. Maybe you once choked or got sick after eating something unfamiliar, and food hasn’t felt safe since. Or perhaps you rarely feel hungry at all; eating just feels like something you have to get through.

Over time, you’ve found ways to cope: sticking to a short list of safe foods, keeping meals predictable, checking menus ahead of time, or bringing food you know you can tolerate. These strategies help you get through the day, but they can also be exhausting.

The holidays—from Halloween through Thanksgiving and the December celebrations—can be one of the most challenging times for individuals and families navigating eating disorders. While many focus on celebrations, those struggling may face heightened stress around food-centered entertainment, meals, disrupted routines, and social pressures. It’s common to wonder, “Is this really the right time for treatment?”

As someone who struggled with an eating disorder as a teenager and young adult, and as a clinician working with people with eating disorders for three decades now, I find myself thinking, “Yes! Now is the right time”, because often there never is “the right time” given all of life’s conflicting responsibilities.

Episode description:

In this episode of Peace Meal, we’re joined by two North Carolina-based Emily Program clinicians, Mem Wood and Elysse Thebner Miller, to talk all things Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder, or ARFID.

Mem and Elysse unpack what makes ARFID different from ordinary food preferences, why it can emerge at any age, and how symptoms may affect nutrition, growth, medical stability, and daily life. They describe the three ARFID subtypes, share what treatment actually looks like, and highlight signs that often indicate it’s time to seek support.

This episode also introduces The Emily Program’s new specialized residential and inpatient programming for adults with ARFID in the Raleigh–Durham area—the only dedicated adult program of its kind nationwide.