When Food Feels Hard

Dr Sarah Cooke
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  • Nutrition
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If you struggle with emotional or binge eating and feel stuck in cycles of restriction, guilt, and starting over, this podcast is for you. You’ll learn why binge eating isn’t a willpower issue, how to break free from the binge–restrict cycle, and how to approach food with compassion instead of control. This podcast is for anyone ready to leave diet culture behind and build a healthier, more peaceful relationship with food.

  1. 2d ago

    Client stories this week: control, perfectionism and things keeping you stuck

    Are you actually recovering from binge eating and emotional eating, or have you just found new ways to control food? You might have stopped dieting, but are you still monitoring your portions, counting your steps, avoiding certain foods or trying to make sure every meal is as healthy as possible? In this episode, we're exploring how seemingly positive habits can sometimes become new ways of maintaining control, and why this can keep you stuck in the same cycle of food guilt, restriction and binge eating. We'll look at the fear behind letting go of food rules, why trusting yourself around food can feel so uncomfortable, and three practical ways to start loosening the control that might be holding you back. To book a free, no pressure chat to learn more about my 1-2-1 program, click here: https://drsarahcookenutrition.as.me/?appointmentType=47479976

  2. Oct 19

    When You’re Doing Everything “Right” But You’re Still Stuck

    You’re eating regularly. You’re trying to eat balanced meals. You’re learning about emotional eating. You’re working on your relationship with food. And yet… you’re still stuck. You’re still thinking about food all the time. You’re still bingeing occasionally. You’re still feeling anxious when you eat certain foods. You’re still feeling like you need to compensate when you’ve eaten ‘too much’. So what’s going on? Sometimes the problem isn’t that you’re not doing enough. It’s that some of the things you’re doing right are still helping you feel safe and in control We break down how diet rules often get swapped to “recovery rules” and how to get curious about what these rules are providing, and how to shift away from these to a more intuitive approach to eating. We discuss how rules can create safety and a sense of certainty that will feel familiar in recovery, and how to progress out of the “messy middle”. To book a free, no pressure chat about working with me, click below: https://drsarahcookenutrition.as.me/?appointmentType=47479976

  3. Oct 12

    Is Monitoring Your Weight Really Keeping You in Control?

    “If I know what I weigh, I can keep things under control.” Maybe you weigh yourself every morning. Maybe you check your weight after a holiday, weekend, meal out or period of eating more. Maybe you tell yourself you’re not obsessed with the number — you just like to “keep an eye on it.” But what if the thing you believe is keeping you in control is actually making it much harder to heal your relationship with food? Because if your food choices, exercise, mood and sense of whether you’ve “done well” are constantly being influenced by a number on the scales, do you really have food and body freedom? This episode discusses the false sense of control weighing brings, the use of it as feedback, how it can offer temporary reassurance, how it keeps the “diet voice” alive and addresses the fear of letting this sense of control go and what is underlying it. We also go through practical steps to help change this pattern. To book a free, no pressure chat about working with me 1-2-1, click below https://drsarahcookenutrition.as.me/?appointmentType=47479976

  4. Oct 5

    What if You Never Started Another Diet?

    What if you never started another diet? In this episode, we explore the fear underneath giving up dieting, what you might actually gain from stepping away from the diet cycle, and why stopping dieting isn't giving up — it's choosing to build a different relationship with food, your body and yourself. To book a free no-pressure chat to learn more about working with me, click below: https://drsarahcookenutrition.as.me/?appointmentType=47479976

  5. Sep 28

    Why “I'll Just Have One” Doesn’t Work

    Why does telling yourself “I’ll just have one” sometimes make you want even more? In this episode, we’re exploring the difference between choice and restriction, and why rules around food can create more urgency and food obsession. We’ll look at the “f**k it” effect, all-or-nothing thinking, and how giving yourself genuine permission can help you make choices around food without fear or guilt. Because food freedom isn’t about always eating more — it’s about being able to choose what you want without a rule making the decision for you. To book a free no-pressure chat to discuss working together, click below: https://drsarahcookenutrition.as.me/?appointmentType=47479976

  6. Sep 21

    What’s Really Behind Your Night-Time Eating?

    Do you feel like you can manage your eating all day… and then the evening comes and suddenly you can’t stop thinking about food? You might tell yourself you have no willpower, that you’re an emotional eater, or that you just need to learn how to control yourself around food. But what if there’s something else going on? In this episode, we’re looking at what’s reallybehind night-time eating — from not eating enough during the day and psychological restriction, to the “I’ve been good all day” mentality, perfectionism, emotional exhaustion and finally having some time for yourself. We’ll explore why the urge to eat can feel so much stronger in the evening, why trying harder to control it can actually make things worse, and how the “f**k it” or permission-slip mentality can keep you stuck in a cycle of restriction, overeating and guilt. I’ll also give you some practical questions to ask yourself when you find yourself standing in the kitchen at 9pm wondering, “Why am I doing this again?” Because night-time eating isn’t necessarily something you need to “fix”. It’s information. And sometimes, the answer to what’s happening at 9pm starts with looking at what happened at 9am, 12pm, 3pm and 6pm— and everything in between. To book a free, no-pressure chat with me about my 1-2-1 program, click below: https://drsarahcookenutrition.as.me/?appointmentType=47479976

  7. Sep 14

    The “F**k it” button: Why You Binge When You Feel You’ve Blown It

    Have you ever eaten something you’d planned not to eat and suddenly thought, “F**k it — I’ve already blown it, so I may as well carry on”? That moment can feel like the switch has been flipped. One biscuit becomes the whole packet. One unplanned meal becomes a full day of eating. And afterwards, guilt and the urge to “make up for it” often lead straight back into restriction. In this episode, I explore the “F it” button and why it isn’t simply about a lack of willpower or self-control. We look at how restriction, food rules, perfectionism, all-or-nothing thinking and the diet voice create the perfect conditions for bingeing. You’ll learn: Why the “F it” thought often appears after breaking a food rule.How restriction can create urgency, scarcity and a need to eat everything now.Why the permission slip to binge is often the other side of the restriction coin.How perfectionism keeps you stuck in the “on track” or “off track” cycle.What to say to yourself when the “F it” button gets pressed.How to move away from compensation, guilt and starting again tomorrow.Why true food freedom comes from being able to eat imperfectly without turning it into a crisis.If you’re tired of feeling like one food choice has ruined everything, this episode will help you understand what’s really going on — and how to begin responding differently. To book a free, no-pressure chat about my 1-2-1 program, click below: https://drsarahcookenutrition.as.me/?appointmentType=47479976

  8. Sep 7

    “They’ve lost weight, they look amazing…”

    Have you ever seen someone who has lost weight and immediately thought, “they’ve lost weight they look amazing… maybe I should lose weight too?” You might not even realise it, but that thought can be your diet voice sneaking back in. In this episode, we’re talking about why someone else’s weight loss can trigger body dissatisfaction, comparison and the urge to start dieting again — even when you’ve worked really hard to move away from dieting and binge eating. We’ll explore why we’ve been conditioned to believe that smaller automatically means better, why weight loss is so often interpreted as success, and how one seemingly innocent thought can quickly turn into restriction, food obsession, cravings, overeating and bingeing. But this isn’t about pretending you can’t notice that someone has lost weight or that you have to convince yourself they don’t look different. Instead, it’s about becoming curious about what that thought means for you and what it makes you want to do next. We’ll look at: ​How to recognise when your diet voice has been activated​Why comparison can pull you back into the diet-binge cycle​The hidden assumptions behind “they look amazing”​Why you don’t actually know what someone else’s weight loss means for their health, happiness or relationship with food​How to challenge the belief that their body changing means yours needs to​What to do when you suddenly feel the urge to diet, restrict, exercise or lose weight​How to have a diet thought without automatically acting on it​Why true food freedom isn’t about never having these thoughts — it’s about not letting them dictate your behaviourThe goal isn’t to replace every uncomfortable thought with “I love my body.” It’s to get better at recognising the diet voice, questioning what it’s telling you and choosing whether you actually want to listen. Because someone else’s body changing doesn’t mean yours needs to. And sometimes freedom is simply being able to think, “There’s my diet voice,” and carry on with your life. Book a free, no pressure chat here: https://drsarahcookenutrition.as.me/?appointmentType=47479976

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About

If you struggle with emotional or binge eating and feel stuck in cycles of restriction, guilt, and starting over, this podcast is for you. You’ll learn why binge eating isn’t a willpower issue, how to break free from the binge–restrict cycle, and how to approach food with compassion instead of control. This podcast is for anyone ready to leave diet culture behind and build a healthier, more peaceful relationship with food.

Information

  • Creator
    Dr Sarah Cooke
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    46
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Dr Sarah Cooke
  • Show Website
    When Food Feels Hard

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