Recover with God: Eating Disorder Recovery Stories, Body Image, Disordered Eating, Christian Women Jayme Muller

On the 15th and final episode of season 1, host Jayme Muller is joined by her two younger sisters — Danae and Jenessa — to hear their side of her story during her struggle with dieting and disordered eating that turned into a full-blown eating disorder.

Listen to Jayme and her sisters chat about:


The power of positive thinking
Being a role model to others & your own children
How Jayme's sisters felt when they found out she struggled with bulimia
Feeling angry and dealing with other emotions around a loved one's struggles
The importance of listening without judgment to support someone in recovery
Not feeling worthy or good enough
The truth that family & friends aren't responsible for someone else's recovery
How to support a friend or family member as a Christian
Surprising things that might not help someone recover
Why telling someone what or how to eat is not helpful
The power of asking for help
Overcoming comparison thoughts
The reality that recovery from an eating disorder is both physical & mental



SEASON 2 ANNOUNCEMENT:


The Recover with God Podcast will return later in 2024.
Subscribe or follow the podcast to be notified of any new episodes!
In the meantime, be sure to catch up on the previous episodes of season 1, if you haven't yet.
And please know that ratings and reviews are appreciated, to help others find this podcast, too.





More about the host — Jayme Muller:



Jayme is a Christian author, blogger, speaker, and now podcast host who lives in Knoxville, Tennessee with her husband and their Old English Bulldog.



Outside of writing and podcasting, Jayme's passions include traveling, hiking, extreme adventures (like skydiving and bungee jumping), and living with zeal, because every day is a gift!



Jayme's debut book — also titled Recover with God — is a devotional available on Amazon here. (Note: this is an Amazon affiliate link.)



You can also read Jayme's blog here: adventureandthegirl.com



Reach out to Jayme on Instagram @hopeandthegirl (everyday encouragement) and @adventureandthegirl (everyday life).



And finally, here is Jayme's favorite Bible verse, Mark 9:24: "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"

On episode 14, Tori and I chat about:


How living with zeal is not about perfection


Tori’s story of eating disorder and mental health struggles


Choosing recovery and finding hope


How God doesn’t give up on us


Focusing on God’s truth and fighting lies with Bible verses


Finding identity outside of an ED and in who God made us to be


Managing OCD with food and body image struggles


Facing food fears and taking small steps in recovery


Supporting someone with an eating disorder by listening and not talking about weight or food



Tori is a blogger, author, fellow believer, and ED survivor. She started Grow with Tori — her Instagram account and her blog — to share her story and encourage others who are struggling with an eating disorder or mental health.

Check out Tori’s blog — Grow with Tori — here: https://www.growithtori.com/

Be sure to follow Tori on Instagram: @growithtori

And TikTok: @growithtori

And shop Tori’s journals here — with a sneak peek at what’s inside: https://www.growithtori.com/shop-journals

And here is the website Tori mentioned in the episode as an excellent resource for family and friends of someone struggling: https://www.feast-ed.org/

On episode 13 with Zach Lloyd, we chat about:


How suffering leads to zeal


Zach’s story of rejection, seeking acceptance from the world, addiction, depression, stress eating, and making exercise and body image an idol


Finding peace with food and exercise by shifting your mindset and motivation


How God works behind the scenes


Fighting the enemy’s lies and attacks


Letting go of shame


Choosing joy in suffering like the Apostle Paul in the Bible


Not labeling yourself by your struggles


How Zach helps clients create sustainability as an anti-diet coach


Advice for anyone who believes they will always struggle with body image, disordered eating, addiction, or an eating disorder


Advice on how to help a friend or family member who is struggling



Zach Lloyd is a Sustainable Anti-Diet Coach. He gives credit to God’s Grace, basketball, and heavy weights in saving him from nearly losing his life to drug abuse. He’s been coaching for over a decade building skill sets in every area associated with physical and mental fitness. He is driven to help others find meaning and fulfillment in suffering through fitness.



Visit Zach’s website for more details on his coaching and resources here: https://zachlloydcoaching.com/



You can also get his free End Calorie Counting Toolkit here: https://bit.ly/EndCalCounting 



Follow Zach on Instagram: @zachlloydcoaching

Subscribe to Zach’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ZachLloydCoaching

On episode 12, host Jayme Muller goes solo again to share an exclusive excerpt from her devotional book, also titled Recover with God.

Jayme reads both the introduction to the book — which includes a summary of her own eating disorder recovery story — and chapter 10: "The Temptation is Real."

Jayme's book is available for purchase on Amazon as both a paperback and ebook. Click here to get it on Amazon. (Note: this is an Amazon affiliate link.)

Recover with God (the book that came before the podcast) was born from Jayme's own struggle to connect with God during her ED struggle. She learned along the journey to recovery that God wants a relationship with us IN our mess, not after we "fix" it — and she is passionate to share that message with everyone who needs it like she once did.



Verses referenced in this episode:


1 Corinthians 10:13 (ERV) "The only temptations that you have are the same temptations that all people have. But you can trust God. He will not let you be tempted more than you can bear. But when you are tempted, God will also give you a way to escape that temptation. Then you will be able to endure it."
James 1:14-15 (ERV) "You are tempted by the evil things you want. Your own desire leads you away and traps you. Your desire grows inside you until it results in sin. Then the sin grows bigger and bigger and finally ends in death."
Matthew 26:41 (ERV) "Stay awake and pray for strength against temptation. Your spirit wants to do what is right, but your body is weak."
Suggested reading: James 1

On episode 11 with Liesel, we dive into:


Embracing every day of life as a gift


Liesel’s eating disorder recovery story


The influence of diet culture on eating disorders


Feeling out of control with food


Understanding that healing is a slow and steady process


God’s guidance in recovery


The importance of having professional, ED-focused support


The “all foods fit” approach to eating


Practical tips to address diet culture in the church


Helpful tips for friends and family


Avoiding unhelpful comments on food and body size


The services Liesel offers to clients



Liesel Maddox, a Registered Dietitian Nutritionistx who specializes in eating disorder nutrition treatment, intuitive eating, and food freedom through online coaching. She is also a believer who recovered from her own battle with an eating disorder, and she is now passionate to help other Christian women who are struggling.

Visit Liesel’s website here https://www.lieselmaddoxnutrition.com/ to learn more about all of the nutrition services she offers—including one-on-one and group support—and her blog.

Follow Liesel on Instagram @dietitian.liesel 

On this 10th episode of the Recover with God Podcast, host Jayme Muller goes solo again.

This time, you’ll hear Jayme talk about marketing tactics and ad strategies that impact weight loss, diet culture, disordered eating, and even eating disorders. The topics include:


How marketing strategies target: your fear of not being loved or accepted, your longing to fit in, your current struggles with body image or your appearance, your deepest emotions


Why God tells us to take care of our bodies


What it means to honor God with your body


Diet trends, marketing buzzwords, and phrases to beware of in ads and on product packaging


How certain words like “natural” and “healthy” are regulated on food labels


Why you should be aware and even wary of what you see on ads and product packaging


Trusting God’s Word instead of society and marketing campaigns that tell you how you should look



Bible verses referenced in this episode:


Proverbs 14:30 (NLT) “A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; but jealousy is like cancer in the bones.”


Romans 12:1-2 (NLT) “[1] I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. [2] Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”


1 Corinthians 6:20 (ERV) “God paid a very high price to make you his. So honor God with your body.”


1 Timothy 4:8 (NLT) “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.”


1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (NLT) “[16] You should know that you yourselves are God’s temple. God’s Spirit lives in you. [17] If you destroy God’s temple, God will destroy you, because God’s temple is holy. You yourselves are God’s temple.”


1 Corinthians 10:31 (NLT) “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”



Sources I referenced in this episode:


Statistics on how often diets fail


Information on orthorexia


US Department of Agriculture website, sharing the truth about the use of the word “natural” on food labels

Details on the term “superfood” from the ⁠Harvard School of Public Health⁠


⁠How the FDA regulates the word “healthy”⁠ on food labels