100 episodes

Real people. Real breakthroughs. For more than three decades, Marc David has helped millions discover the true causes of their unwanted eating habits like overeating, binge eating, emotional eating and the inability to lose weight. In this unscripted show, Marc coaches real clients using his unique blend of psychology and nutrition. Whether you want to transform your relationship with food or learn how you can help others, there’s no better place than The Psychology of Eating Podcast, and there’s no better way than hearing the stories of real people.

The Psychology of Eating Podcast Marc David

    • Health & Fitness
    • 4.7 • 531 Ratings

Real people. Real breakthroughs. For more than three decades, Marc David has helped millions discover the true causes of their unwanted eating habits like overeating, binge eating, emotional eating and the inability to lose weight. In this unscripted show, Marc coaches real clients using his unique blend of psychology and nutrition. Whether you want to transform your relationship with food or learn how you can help others, there’s no better place than The Psychology of Eating Podcast, and there’s no better way than hearing the stories of real people.

    Our Beliefs About Carbohydrates: How They Freak Us Out & Make Us Fat – In Session with Marc David

    Our Beliefs About Carbohydrates: How They Freak Us Out & Make Us Fat – In Session with Marc David

    Perhaps more than any other food group, carbohydrates can really freak people out. You might say, carbs are one of the world’s great nutritional “hang-ups.” 
    And a big reason for this is we’ve been told carbohydrates will make us … fat.
    Eat the wrong kinds, too much, and too often, and you’ll be popping the buttons off your jeans in no time. 
    So many of us then try to avoid or limit carbohydrates, but find ourselves struggling to sustain that. 
    Part of what makes carbohydrates so confusing is that we’ve come to believe they’re not only problematic to both our weight and health – but that they’re also somehow OPTIONAL.
    Like we can just skip them and be A-OK.
    👉 But the trouble is, we need carbs. They’re 1 of our 3 key macronutrients – the others being fat and protein – and the body absolutely requires them for its functioning. 
    Which is why examining and releasing our negative beliefs about carbohydrates, weight, and health is so vital. Otherwise, we’re at risk for staying in strife and confusion around carbs, needing them for our body’s well-being but feeling like they’re also somehow bad for us.
    In this episode, Marc David will explore our collective beliefs around carbohydrates, weight and health – and how to put an end to the fears so many of us hold around this food group. 
    You’ll meet 34-year old guest coaching client, Jessica, who holds some confusing beliefs about carbohydrates and their potential negative impact on her health and weight. 
    Jessica has been going through a lot in her personal life, and wants to believe that it can be okay to allow herself to enjoy food as a way of relaxing and letting go. 
    She’d like those foods to include carbs, but the podcasts and experts she listens to say they’re detrimental and she’d be best to avoid them. Plus, she has lost a bunch of weight and doesn’t want to risk gaining it back. Carbs seem to encourage her weight gain.
    The problem is, whenever she’s stricter with carbohydrates – she inevitably boomerangs back, and eats even more. It seems she can never find peace and clarity when it comes to carbs.
    So what the heck is Jessica to do?!
    For Jessica and the rest of us in a similar place, we need to first recognize that carbohydrates are benign. They’re not an evil villain waiting to make you fat and unhappy.
    🔲 Carbohydrates are simply food, here to help you live and be healthy.
    Like any food, carbohydrates are asking you to be in relationship with them. And like any good relationship, you must first be in relationship with you and your body.
    Reading all the books and knowing all the information, that’s helpful. That’s being an educated consumer.
    But at some point, we must release the nutritional noise in our heads, and listen to our own body. Learning how to do this is one of the great challenges we face – a sort of lost art in this increasing digital age. 
    So if you’re like Jessica – a bit fraught over carbs, and whether to welcome them in or ward them off – don’t miss this episode!
    Marc will explore:
    ✅ The common false beliefs we hold around carbs, including that eating carbs causes weight gain.
    ✅ Why and how to find a “middle ground” with carbs.
    ✅ Finding the willingness to experiment with carbohydrates, and learning what works and doesn’t work for your unique body.
    ✅ Noticing negative self-talk and weight hate, and how they can fuel the fear of carbs.
    This session is a great reminder that finding our healthy natural weight means not only eating the right foods, but also thinking the right thoughts and listening thoughtfully to what your body is asking of you.
    ---------------
    Learn more about us at The Institute for the Psychology of Eating: https://psychologyofeating.com/ 
    Ready to call a ceasefire in your battle with eating, and find peace and freedom with food? Learn more about our newest program, The Emotional Eating Breakthrough! https://learn.psyc

    • 49 min
    How To (Skillfully) Love Food – In Session with Marc David

    How To (Skillfully) Love Food – In Session with Marc David

    Many of us struggle with emotional eating. And that’s because food is a reliable way to manage our unwanted emotions. Think: Bored. Stressed. Lonely. Angry. Anxious. 
    When we’re experiencing difficult emotions, it’s natural to turn to food. 
    But here’s something that’s also common: some of us label ourselves as emotional eaters, when that’s not actually the case. 
    For some of us, something else altogether is going on:
    We just LOVE food. A lot.
    The truth is, some of us love food so much that we don’t know how to contain ourselves. 
    We overdo it because we love it so much. In the midst of our food love affair, it seems we can lose our ability to manage how much food we eat. 
    So it’s not so much that we have a “problem” with food – instead, we love it so much that we can easily go overboard.
    If this sounds familiar, this episode will really hit home.
    Marc David coaches 35-year old guest client, Romana, who has long assumed that she’s an emotional eater. In an effort to put an end to her ‘emotional eating,’ Romana wonders: how can she only eat when she’s hungry? What does she need to do to control herself? And why does she go against her own wishes when it comes to how much she eats?
    But in the course of their session, Marc helps Romana recognize that her challenge is a bit different from what she imagines it to be. 
    What Romana believes is her “food issue” is actually just a deep love and excitement for food.  
    So how does Romana and the rest of us love food, without overdoing it? 
    By owning, honoring, and embracing that love.
    And also learning that loving food in a good way – in a way that supports our body, mind, and soul – means we must cultivate some real SKILL. The truth is, most of us who struggle with emotional eating and overeating simply haven’t learned key skills around eating and pleasure.
    So in this episode, you’ll hear Marc explore:
    💟 Why embracing our inner Hedonist archetype is hard for so many of us to do – but why it’s so important to overcome emotional eating & overeating.
    💟 How to experience pleasure wisely.
    💟 Learning to “embody” with food – and recognize the signs of “checking out” when eating.
    💟 How to slow down with food and allow your nervous system to register pleasure.
    💟 Transforming excitement with food into fulfillment with food.
    💟 How to ground yourself when you eat.
    This positive and uplifting episode is a powerful reminder that our love for food is both natural and beautiful. Through embracing that love, we can find the nourishment and connection with food that is our human birthright. 
    ---------------
    Learn more about us at The Institute for the Psychology of Eating: https://psychologyofeating.com/ 
    Ready to call a ceasefire in your battle with eating, and find peace and freedom with food? Learn more about our newest program, The Emotional Eating Breakthrough! https://learn.psychologyofeating.com/
    Interested in becoming a certified coach in eating psychology? Then tune in to hear Marc talk about our Mind Body Eating Coach Certification Training, and download a copy of our School Catalog: https://psychologyofeating.com/info-kit/ Learn our powerful, cutting-edge approach, and discover how you can create a unique career helping others find peace and freedom with food.
    Follow us on social: 
    - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Psychologyofeating
    - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IPEfanpage
    - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eatingpsychology/
    - Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/eatingpsych
    #emotionaleating #emotionaleater #overeating #pleasure #hedonist #loveaffair #nourishment #relationshipwithfood #foodpsychology #podcast #marcdavid
     

    • 50 min
    Does Your Body Suffer From Absentee Parent Syndrome? – In Session with Marc David

    Does Your Body Suffer From Absentee Parent Syndrome? – In Session with Marc David

    For those of us who struggle with weight, are in a battle with food, or who have ongoing anxiety around eating, it’s no secret that these unwanted food and body challenges can have a myriad of possible causes.
    Well, one of the more overlooked causes is something that many of us experienced when we were young:
    ➡️ Having an absentee parent.
    This can mean:
    👉 A parent who was never there, or was seldom there, or who came into and out of life in an erratic way.
    👉 A parent who was around, but was emotionally absent and didn’t really show up for us in a meaningful way. 
    👉 Spending time in foster care, or being under the care of different relatives or friends because our parents were somehow unable to consistently parent us.
    So how can having an absentee parent impact our relationship with food, body and weight?
    When a child has an absentee parent, they experience that absence as a lack of love.
    The child thinks, “If my mother or father isn’t communicating love and acceptance in a way that really lands for me, then something must be truly wrong with me. So I have to do something to be more lovable.”
    The child might become a people pleaser, or become obsessed with winning approval. And for many young people, they eventually turn to their body to win that approval.
    “If I can weigh the right amount and eat the right food and have the ideal body, then I will be lovable.”
    And so begins a life of dieting, food restriction, binge eating, emotional eating, and a constant battle with food. 💔
    This is exactly what Marc David’s guest coaching client, Maxine, has been experiencing for decades – and that she explores with Marc in this episode of The Psychology of Eating Podcast.
    Maxine, age 58, was placed in foster care for 5 years at a young age. She loved her mother deeply, and couldn’t understand why her mother gave her away. She wondered how she could possibly be lovable if her own mother gave her away?
    How does a child make sense of their world when the person who brought them into it has abandoned them?
    That’s what Maxine has been grappling with throughout her adulthood, even as she’s raised 4 amazing kids of her own. 
    What Maxine hasn’t quite connected is how her mother’s abandonment has affected her relentless battle with food – including daily binge eating, weight, food anxiety, and harsh judgment towards her body. 
    So how ARE they connected? Is there something Maxine can uncover in the relationship with her mother that will shine light on why she’s struggled with food and body for so long? 
    And if so, how can Maxine begin to find healing from absentee parenting syndrome – and allow that to transform her relationship with herself and her body?
    Episode highlights:
    🌟 How our relationship – or lack thereof – with our parents can mirror our relationship with food and body.
    🌟 The ways that absentee parent syndrome can cause us to reject and abandon ourselves later in life.
    🌟 How to spark self-love when we never got that from our parents.
    🌟 Healing our relationship with our parents when they’re no longer alive.
    🌟 Why letting go of “longing for” a different body is so important to maturing into our Royal Archetype, and how we can begin to embrace ourselves, as we are.
    For those of us whose parents were not able to be there for us, Marc has an important message – and one we hope you won’t miss!
    Be sure to tune into this heartwarming, life-affirming episode…
    ---------------
    Learn more about us at The Institute for the Psychology of Eating: https://psychologyofeating.com/ 
    Ready to call a ceasefire in your battle with eating, and find peace and freedom with food? Learn more about our newest program, The Emotional Eating Breakthrough! https://learn.psychologyofeating.com/
    Interested in becoming a certified coach in eating psychology? Then tune in to hear Marc talk about our Mind Body Eating Coach Certification Trai

    • 50 min
    The Soul’s Call to Release Our Health Anxieties – In Session with Marc David

    The Soul’s Call to Release Our Health Anxieties – In Session with Marc David

    Ever hear the phrase “health is wealth?” 
    For many people, we don’t quite recognize how valuable our health is until we find illness or injury knocking.
    Enjoying robust health is truly the foundation of a happy, fulfilled, and connected life.
    But it’s also true that worrying about our health, or being vigilant about every aspect of our diet and lifestyle, can actually take us in the opposite direction of vitality – as Marc David explores with 53-year old Daniela. 
    Daniela’s health anxieties – like many people – were born at a young age. 
    As a child, Daniela had always thought she was pretty – gorgeous, even. But at the age of 15, her father told her she was overweight, and in that single instant, her whole world flipped. She began to have constant intrusive thoughts that she was fat, and that something was wrong with her – something that she just had to figure out how to fix.
    Now almost 40 years later, Daniela has endured a series of serious health challenges: a pituitary tumor, thyroid dysfunction, knee surgery, and more. 
    The more health challenges that develop, the more she worries. 
    And her doctors do little to alleviate her concerns – with all their talk of visceral fat, and cholesterol, and how important it is to lose weight.
    Daniela’s life feels like it’s constricting around her. 
    She’s tired of the decades of yo-yo dieting. She just wants to eat food that nourishes her, be at a moderate weight, and enjoy a healthy life. 
    But she can’t escape the feeling that her body is against her. 
    So in this session, Marc helps Daniela see her story and her relationship with her body from a different perspective: that of her soul.
    Because it’s Daniela’s soul that is calling out for a different kind of life: one where she can stop fighting herself and instead embrace the precious life she has the opportunity to live. 
    If you’re like Daniela, caught in worries about whether your health and weight is on the right track, be sure to tune into this episode! 
    You’ll hear:
    ✅ A much-needed wake up call for why it’s time to surrender and let go.
    ✅ 5 key steps Marc shares for how we can release our health anxieties.
    ✅ How our metabolic capacity is connected to our personal power. 
    ✅ A soulful exploration of our collective beliefs around weight and lovability.
    ---------------
    Learn more about us at The Institute for the Psychology of Eating: https://psychologyofeating.com/ 
    Ready to call a ceasefire in your battle with eating, and find peace and freedom with food? Learn more about our newest program, The Emotional Eating Breakthrough! https://learn.psychologyofeating.com/
    Interested in becoming a certified coach in eating psychology? Then tune in to hear Marc talk about our Mind Body Eating Coach Certification Training, and download a copy of our School Catalog: https://psychologyofeating.com/info-kit/ Learn our powerful, cutting-edge approach, and discover how you can create a unique career helping others find peace and freedom with food.
    Follow us on social: 
    - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Psychologyofeating
    - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IPEfanpage
    - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eatingpsychology/
    - Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/eatingpsych
    #weight #health #healthanxiety #spiritualgrowth #personalgrowth #eatingpsychology #foodpsychology #mindbodynutrition #marcdavid

    • 59 min
    Why You Gain Weight After Losing It & What To Do – In Session with Marc David

    Why You Gain Weight After Losing It & What To Do – In Session with Marc David

    A surprising fact about the weight loss universe is that despite so many built-in difficulties, plenty of people have success. So often, we DO actually lose the weight, we hit our target number - or come close to it, we celebrate, we feel good, we fit into our clothes, and life is finally great. We did it.
    But then, something happens.
    Somehow, the weight we lost finds its way back home. 
    Our efforts worked, but only for a brief time.
    If this sounds at all familiar to you, you’ve probably asked the question, “Why does the weight come back on? And what can I do to ensure that this unwanted result never happens again?”
    This is exactly what you’ll find answers to in this episode.
    Marc works with Liz, age 54, a mother of four who’s looking to lose about 40 pounds. The good news is, Liz has lost the weight before. The bad news is, it came back. 
    So on the one hand, Liz knows what to do, but on the other hand, she knows that what she does doesn’t last.
    Marc helps Liz see that the weight comes back on for one very common reason:
    She FORCED her body into weight loss.
    If we have to go to extremes to lose weight, if we need to artificially push the body, deny it any pleasure, demand that it go hungry, follow a super strict diet, and devote all of our mental, emotional and physical energy into weight loss - then, well… we’re going to rebound.
    In fact, it’s predictable.
    So, the key to making sure that the weight we lose doesn’t come back on is to make sure that the WAY we lose it isn’t forced. 
    Tune in as Marc helps Liz see that success with sustainable weight loss means:
    ✅ Practicing mindful eating rather than willful eating.
    ✅ Listening to her body rather than overriding it.
    ✅ Finding the middle ground with food instead of being “all or nothing.”
    ✅ And nourishing her body rather than punishing it.  
    If you’re interested in the kind of weight loss that’s more relaxed and truly lifelong, then you won’t want to miss this session!
    ---------------
    Learn more about us at The Institute for the Psychology of Eating: https://psychologyofeating.com/ 
    Ready to call a ceasefire in your battle with eating, and find peace and freedom with food? Learn more about our newest program, The Emotional Eating Breakthrough! https://learn.psychologyofeating.com/
    Interested in becoming a certified coach in eating psychology? Then tune in to hear Marc talk about our Mind Body Eating Coach Certification Training, and download a copy of our School Catalog: https://psychologyofeating.com/info-kit/ Learn our powerful, cutting-edge approach, and discover how you can create a unique career helping others find peace and freedom with food.
    Follow us on social: 
    - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Psychologyofeating
    - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IPEfanpage
    - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eatingpsychology/
    - Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/eatingpsych
    #weight #weightlossjourney #chronicdieting #foodfreedom #mindfuleating #eatingpsychology #foodpsychology #holisticnutrition #marcdavid

    • 53 min
    Finding Calm In The Nutritional Storm – In Session with Marc David

    Finding Calm In The Nutritional Storm – In Session with Marc David

    When it comes to nutrition and health, there can be a lot to worry about: 
    ✴️ How do I control my desires and avoid the foods that are bad for me? 
    ✴️ How can I eat to successfully lose weight? 
    ✴️ How do I stop sabotaging myself? 
    ✴️ And can I stick to a good nutritional program for the sake of my health? 
    If you find yourself having multiple worries around food, weight or health, you’re not alone. So many of us sincerely want to get things “right.”
    But it can often seem like an impossible task. Our worries tend to get the best of us. They persist, and they’re happy to follow us everywhere. 
    Ultimately, our job is to learn how to find inner peace and calm in the nutritional storm.
    And that’s exactly what you’ll learn about in this episode.
    Tune in as Marc David works with Kesia, a mother of five who has multiple food and body concerns on her mind. Marc helps Kesia begin to let go of worry by showing her the very place where those worries are coming from:
    ➡️ Her beliefs. 
    Kesia knows quite a bit about nutrition and health. She’s an acupuncturist who’s committed to helping others. And like so many of us who’ve learned a thing or two about what to eat, Kesia has some hard and fast rules:
    ✅ She believes that gluten and dairy should be avoided.
    ✅ She’s convinced that she must lose 5 kilos so she can be healthy.
    ✅ She’s certain that she needs to follow her own food rules perfectly.
    ✅ She wants her children to eat the same way she does.
    ✅ And she tells herself that her diet must guarantee her good health.
    The challenge is though, life isn’t always so neat and tidy. Kesia finds herself eating gluten and dairy as “reward” foods. She knows her kids will rebel if she eliminates these foods. And she finds herself worrying about her own long term health.
    The good news is, Kesia – and the rest of us – don’t have to be plagued by nutritional beliefs that cause us to worry and fret. 
    As you’ll hear, Marc helps Kesia unravel her beliefs one-by-one, while helping all of us understand how we can apply his strategies to our own life. 
    So be sure to tune into this episode, where Marc empowers all of us to discover how to create a nourishing relationship with food – minus the worrying, obsessing, and perfectionism! 
    ---------------
    Learn more about us at The Institute for the Psychology of Eating: https://psychologyofeating.com/ 
    Ready to call a ceasefire in your battle with eating, and find peace and freedom with food? Learn more about our newest program, The Emotional Eating Breakthrough! https://learn.psychologyofeating.com/
    Interested in becoming a certified coach in eating psychology? Then tune in to hear Marc talk about our Mind Body Eating Coach Certification Training, and download a copy of our School Catalog: https://psychologyofeating.com/info-kit/ Learn our powerful, cutting-edge approach, and discover how you can create a unique career helping others find peace and freedom with food.
    Follow us on social: 
    - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Psychologyofeating
    - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IPEfanpage
    - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eatingpsychology/
    - Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/eatingpsych
    #nutrition #nutritionist #healthyeating #healthyhabits #healthylifestyle #anxiety #perfectionism #selfsabotage #eatingpsychology #foodpsychology #psychologyofeating #marcdavid

    • 53 min

Customer Reviews

4.7 out of 5
531 Ratings

531 Ratings

Sweetsoonergirl85 ,

Such Wisdom

I really enjoy listening to Marc David on this podcast. Such profound wisdom that targets the heart. I have battled disordered eating (from chronic dieting) and have been reminded in so many ways that the issue is typically way deeper than just the food. I have especially learned that as I've been diagnosed with celiac disease. Being totally gluten free can feel restrictive at times.

I would love to hear a podcast episode on navigating through celiac disease and having to radically change up one's diet with a history of chronic dieting. It's a grieving process having to give up certain foods for good.

K3strel520 ,

Feels like he’s talking to me!

When I listened to his discussions about how food habits often reflect the broader life uncertainties, it resonated deeply with me. It was a reminder that self compassion and understanding our emotional needs can significantly shift our relationship with food from one of conflict to one of nurturing.

K*M*T ,

Always insightful

I always gain new insights when I tune in. Marc does such a good job peeling back the layers to get to the heart of the issue.

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