Nourished & Free: The Podcast

You keep going back to the food. Not because it's convenient, but because it works.
It quiets and soothes... until the guilt kicks in.
But what if the thing you're actually craving isn't food at all?
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Ben Rein, award-winning neuroscientist, Stanford lecturer, and author of Why Brains Need Friends. 
We talk about: 
Why social connection is a hardwired need just like food and sleep, 
Why our brains have gotten so bad at predicting how good interaction will feel 
Why isolation is wrecking your body and mind. 
The neuroscience of dopamine
Why texting will never satisfy you the way in-person connection does
Why the thing you're  chasing when you reach for food might actually be social connection in disguise.
If you've ever wondered why comfort food feels like the only thing that works OR why socializing sounds exhausting even though you know it'll help, this episode will help you understand what your brain is actually asking for.
JUMP TO:
 00:00 Meet Dr. Ben Rein and why social connection is a basic human need
 02:47 The case for why we crave human interaction
 05:59 How COVID rewired our predictions about socializing
 09:43 The study showing we're wrong about rejection
 12:44 What isolation does to your cortisol, inflammation, and mortality risk
 15:56 Building a "social diet" (yes, just like a food diet)
 18:26 Why dopamine is a learning chemical, not a feel-good one
 21:13 Oxytocin, serotonin, and dopamine: the connection trifecta
 26:03 The staircase of interaction: text vs. call vs. video vs. in person
 29:22 Why it's easier to be cruel online (the virtual disengagement hypothesis)
 34:33 How screen time may be shaping an entire generation
 40:22 Why married couples survive cancer better than some chemo patients
 44:03 Conflict, connection, and why avoiding hard conversations costs you
 47:39 Ben on fatherhood and the perspective shift he didn't expect

RESOURCES MENTIONED:
Ben's website
Why Brains Need Friends book
Follow Ben Rein, Ph.D. on Instagram
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LEARN MORE
🔥 Work with me in Nourished & Free®
👀 Stalk me on Instagram
💻 Watch my FREE training, "Why Can't I Stop Thinking About Food?"

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You did the thing that was supposed to fix it.
The surgery, the weight watchers, the fresh starts.
And for a while, it worked... Until it didn't.
The food noise came back. The urges crept in. The sense of being out of control around food returned… and with it, confusion and shame.
In this episode, I sit down with Kim, a client who underwent weight loss surgery and later found herself struggling with binge eating again. We talk honestly about why this can happen, what surgery changes (and what it doesn’t), and why binge eating is never just about the size of your stomach.
If you’ve ever wondered, “Why didn’t this fix it?” OR "Is that my last resort?", this episode will help you understand what’s really going on and what’s actually required to create lasting peace with food without going under the knife.
JUMP TO:
00:00 Why weight loss surgery didn’t fix the binge eating
03:12 Successful on the outside, secretly struggling with binge eating
07:20 The decision to have bariatric surgery
10:47 When binge eating and food noise came back
16:39 The shame and comfort cycle behind binge eating
21:31 Why bariatric surgery can’t heal your relationship with food
26:43 How Kim stopped binge eating after surgery
29:29 What to know if you’re considering Nourished & Free
Send an anonymous love note, or suggest a future episode!

LEARN MORE
🔥 Work with me in Nourished & Free®
👀 Stalk me on Instagram
💻 Watch my FREE training, "Why Can't I Stop Thinking About Food?"

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⭐️ Loved this episode? Leave a rating on Apple podcasts or Spotify (thank you!)
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You’re successful in every area of life… except food.
You’ve tried the diets. The plans. The rules. The white-knuckling. And now you’re tired.
Part of you wants to stop binge eating. Part of you is terrified of failing again.
In this episode of Nourished & Free, I explains why what you’ve been calling “failure” is actually the most teachable moment in the entire process, and how to make failure your secret weapon.
I'm breaking down:
Why mistakes are necessary for learning
How binge episodes provide powerful insight
Why perfection isn’t the goal (and never was)
How having support during setbacks changes everything
What actually makes clients successful long-term
Good news, fam: You are not broken. Your brain is adaptable. Your patterns are retrainable.
And, your setbacks can become stepping stones... if you let them.
If you’re ready to stop spiraling and start recalibrating, this episode is for you.
TOPICS COVERED 👇🏼
00:00 “What if I’m just broken?” (the spiral you don’t say out loud)
02:36 The “I knew this would Happen” spiral
09:26 Why one slip turns into “I’ll start over Monday”
17:17 Learning from a binge instead of letting it define you
Send an anonymous love note, or suggest a future episode!

LEARN MORE
🔥 Work with me in Nourished & Free®
👀 Stalk me on Instagram
💻 Watch my FREE training, "Why Can't I Stop Thinking About Food?"

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⭐️ Loved this episode? Leave a rating on Apple podcasts or Spotify (thank you!)
🏷️ Show me you're listening by tagging me on socials! @yatesnutrition

If you’ve lost weight before, but it came back... this episode is for you.
Let's break down why weight loss often becomes the common denominator behind dieting burnout, binge–restrict cycles, and feeling out of control around food. Not because weight loss is bad, but because making it the main focus quietly changes how your brain and body respond to food.
I'll talk through how obsessing over the outcome (the scale) clouds judgment, increases pressure, and actually makes consistency harder. You’ll learn why the scale is delayed, ambiguous feedback, and why using it as a daily pass/fail test often backfires and has the opposite effect you're wanting.
This episode walks you through what changes when weight loss stops being the driver, how food decisions get quieter, and why rebuilding trust and safety with food leads to more ease, self-control, and long-term change (with or without weight loss).
If you hate that you say, "It worked, I got the weight off... but then it came back", then this episode offers a mindset shift that could change everything.
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
Nourished & Free® Group Coaching Program - learn more/apply here

JUMP TO:
00:00 Why weight loss keeps turning into a losing–regaining cycle
 01:39 How the scale quietly starts running your life
 04:01 The pressure that makes food feel loud and exhausting
 06:24 The credit score analogy that explains why this feels so hard
 09:25 Why the scale is terrible daily feedback (and messes with your head)
 10:40 When weight starts feeling like a measure of your worth
 13:38 What changes when weight loss isn’t the main focus anymore
 15:37 “But i still want to lose weight…” let’s talk about that
 17:05 The foundation that actually quiets food noise
 19:16 What it feels like when food stops being the main character
 20:54 The question that changes how you move forward
Send an anonymous love note, or suggest a future episode!

LEARN MORE
🔥 Work with me in Nourished & Free®
👀 Stalk me on Instagram
💻 Watch my FREE training, "Why Can't I Stop Thinking About Food?"

SHOW SOME LOVE
⭐️ Loved this episode? Leave a rating on Apple podcasts or Spotify (thank you!)
🏷️ Show me you're listening by tagging me on socials! @yatesnutrition

What happens after you stop a GLP-1? If you're like Heather, you might see 30 of the 45lbs you lost come back, food noise return, and ask yourself repeatedly "Why can't I just eat like a NORMAL person?"
This episode is for anyone who:
Lost weight on a GLP-1
Came off it hoping to “maintain naturally”
And then watched the food noise, binge urges, and weight creep back in
Heather joins me to share her story of:
Life before GLP-1s
How she felt on the medication
And the emotional whiplash that happened when she stopped
Plus... what she did to stop food noise without going back on the GLP-1.
We talk about the part no one prepares you for:

 👉 GLP-1s can change appetite, but they don’t teach you how to eat, trust yourself, or break all-or-nothing patterns.

BECOME MY NEXT SUCCESS STORY: Nourished & Free®

TOPICS COVERED:
Heather’s relationship with food before GLP-1s
What it felt like when food noise disappeared on the medication
Why the weight and urges came back after stopping
The emotional toll of regain (and the shame no one talks about)
Perfectionism, all-or-nothing thinking, and binge cycles
Why “just eat normally” isn’t actually helpful advice
How alcohol quietly fueled binge eating
What finally helped Heather feel calm around food again
The difference between willpower and effortless self-control
Why this work isn’t about another plan, diet, or rule set
JUMP TO:
00:00 She stopped a GLP-1… and the food noise came back
02:50 How dieting, work, and motherhood shaped her relationship with food
05:40 What GLP-1s fixed and what they didn’t
08:29 Off the medication: “why can’t I just eat normally?”
11:45 The moment she realized another diet wouldn’t help
13:55 The real issue wasn’t food
16:00 Weight regain, shame, and the emotional fallout
17:12 Perfectionism, all-or-nothing thinking, and binge cycles
18:30 Facing holidays and trigger foods without spiraling
22:48 Uncovering the beliefs driving food noise
23:19 Alcohol and late-night binges
29:05 What eating like a “normal person” looks like now
30:12 What she’d say to anyone coming off a GLP-1 for fixing food noise naturally and learning how to eat normally
Send an anonymous love note, or suggest a future episode!

LEARN MORE
🔥 Work with me in Nourished & Free®
👀 Stalk me on Instagram
💻 Watch my FREE training, "Why Can't I Stop Thinking About Food?"

SHOW SOME LOVE
⭐️ Loved this episode? Leave a rating on Apple podcasts or Spotify (thank you!)
🏷️ Show me you're listening by tagging me on socials! @yatesnutrition