Why Binge Eating Can Return After Weight Loss Surgery (Client Confessional with Kim)

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

Transcript

Michelle Yates (00:00)
If you've ever thought that getting bariatric surgery was the answer for your binge eating or if you could just fix the size of your stomach, then everything with food would finally calm down, this episode is for you. And I'm going to say this straight out the gate. This is not an anti-surgery conversation. This is a pro-truth conversation. Because today I'm going to sit down with a client who did everything she was told was supposed to help, including...

weight loss surgery. She got a sleeve and for a while things were quiet until they weren't. And the binge eating came back. The food noise crept in, the urgency around food returned and with it massive amount of shame, confusion and that heavy question that so many people are afraid to say out loud. Am I just too broken and can't be fixed?

In this episode, we're gonna talk honestly about what for my client Kim and her story, her lived experience, weight loss surgery was able to do and what it wasn't able to do. And what you do when the real struggle isn't about the size of your stomach or the discipline or the motivation or knowing what to eat, the real problem was actually what's happening inside your

We're going to talk about how binge eating resurfaced for her even after having weight loss surgery, what actually was driving her urges and loss of control, the way that her childhood was even playing into this, what finally helped her feel steady and in control around food again has helped her be binge free ever

Whether you struggle with binge eating and you've had weight loss surgery before and the bingeing came back, or you're considering it as a quote unquote last resort, you're going to feel very seen in this one. And I highly recommend you listen to this

Welcome back to Nourished and Free, the podcast where mental health meets physical health, food guilt gets ghosted and toxic wellness advice gets roasted. I'm your host, Michelle Yates, registered dietitian, certified health mindset coach and founder of the Nourished and Free method. Around here, we believe that food should be nourishing, health should be all inclusive and mental sanity around food is a non-negotiable.

If you agree with those statements or you want to agree with those statements, then I highly recommend you subscribe to the show so you don't miss any future episodes.

And of course, don't forget to leave a rating or review so that more people who enjoy these topics and agree with those statements can find the show as well.

I'm so excited for you to hear from our previous client Kim. It's been two and a half years now since she first started working with us and made that decision to finally address what was happening in her brain instead of what was happening on her plate.

Welcome to the show, Kim.

Kim (02:48)
Thank you, I'm so excited to be here.

Michelle Yates (02:50)
So like I said, it's been two and half years since we have worked together. Walk me through before we started working together, what was going on? What did you feel like was your biggest

Kim (03:00)
Yeah, absolutely. So definitely at that time, I would say I was kind of at rock bottom, but there was definitely a long history to get there. And so like my history with my, you know, bad relationship with food and with my body, it goes all the way back to childhood.

And so I remember as a seven-year-old girl, I very vividly remember this, being in a two-piece swimsuit and wondering why my belly had more of a little fold when I sat down than some of the other girls. And then I was like, okay, I'm never wearing a two-piece again. And I am a millennial. And so I grew up in the era of you have to finish your plate, even if you're not hungry. And we were always told, we can't have sweets in the house because you guys are just gonna eat them all. And then we would.

Michelle Yates (03:37)
Mm-hmm.

Kim (03:45)
So then there'd be sweets in the house and that kind of just eating everything because we weren't going to have that again. And even the unhealthy habits of hiding food and eating in secrecy and stashing the wrapper so they wouldn't be found, all of that started from just a really, really young age. And so when you have those habits start out young, over decades, it just got worse and worse and worse.

Michelle Yates (03:46)
Mm hmm.

Mm.

Kim (04:10)
First time I did Weight Watchers, I was 17. That was so long ago. They still had like the paper sliders and you had to hand write all the journal entries. so much work. And even in the meetings, which I've heard you talk about Weight Watchers before, like in your everybody like it's meant to where you keep going back and everyone say like, this is the sixth time I've done Weight Watchers. And so when I say the first time I joined, was 17.

Michelle Yates (04:17)
my gosh.

Yeah.

Kim (04:34)
I did it multiple times, usually only lasted a couple months.

Michelle Yates (04:38)
Which is like,

why is that not concerning anybody? Like, ⁓ most people have been here, this is like their sixth time or whatever, like maybe there's something off about this.

Kim (04:41)
Right?

yeah.

Exactly. see. I also had a personal trainer in my early 20s where the diet was boiled chicken and steamed broccoli. The snack was, and I kid you not, it was either a hard boiled egg or I could have 12 almonds. That was my snack that I

Michelle Yates (04:56)
Ew.

Kim (05:09)
Yeah, I'm like, I don't want to eat either of these things, but that's what I was allowed to eat. So all of these times, like I would maybe lose a little bit of weight for a little bit and then gain it back plus And then finally in 2016, I did Weight Watchers again and I lost about 65 to 70 pounds. And I remember everybody being like, wow, Kim, like you're doing so great.

And even like after the fact, like I'd have people go, well, now I remember when you did Weight Watchers that time and you did But what they don't know is that I'd be binging on the weekends because I was having to restrict so much during the week. And they didn't know about the anxiety that was going through my head any time something came up that was outside of my routine, whether it was a holiday or, you know, an outing with family or friends. All these things are supposed to be fun and I'm supposed to look forward to.

Michelle Yates (05:51)
Hmm.

Kim (05:58)
And I was just filled with dread about like, no, I'm going to overeat and how am I supposed to do this? And what if I gained weight? so other people going like, that was a successful time in your life. And I'm thinking like, no, it was And like all the meetings, the only time that it was celebrated is if you lost weight, which it's like, even like maintaining or like if you, you know, gained point two pounds was like,

came to weight and it's like really? It's like, it's water weight, you know? You shouldn't be losing every week anyways and all these different things that like now I know but you know in the moment you know it's like you have the shame and the guilt that goes along with this super restrictive diet and in the holidays expect you to stay on plan. Like I remember them talking about like how to make a crustless pumpkin pie.

Michelle Yates (06:24)
⁓ outrageous. Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Kim (06:44)
and how to fill your plate with basically the diet

Michelle Yates (06:44)
Yeah.

Kim (06:46)
version of everything, you know, and it's like, really? yeah, that, you know, like everything else, kind of gained all the way back plus, and so then that kind of leads to, got to the weight loss surgery timeframe, which was June of 2021. And so by that know, definitely had, you know, been binge eating for a while.

Michelle Yates (07:01)
Mm-hmm. Okay.

Kim (07:08)
like some very rocky history with food and body image. And so I was just like, okay, I've tried every diet out there, you know, and was kind of thinking like, this is the last resource. So, you know, let's cut off 70 % of my stomach. This is gonna work. so when I did it, I was cash paid. So I know some people with insurance, they're required to go to, you know, different counseling and different things like that.

Michelle Yates (07:23)
do it.

Yeah.

Kim (07:37)
Well, as a cash paid patient, doctor was just like, all right, how about next month? Let's get you in. Yeah. Yeah. So I didn't have anything pre-op and it was during COVID too. So I met with him like via Zoom and you know, it's like, all right, let's get you in the books next month. I'm get this my post-op instructions because most people have like this really long, you know, you're going to be in the liquid phase and then the this phase and mine it was

Michelle Yates (07:42)
Really interesting. Okay.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Kim (08:05)
Listen to your body.

Michelle Yates (08:07)
Shut up.

Kim (08:08)
That was my post-op. Now, and he would say, once you can start eating normal foods, maybe do chicken in a bag with some organic vegetables, but he said, listen to your body. That was my post-op instructions.

Michelle Yates (08:08)
Are you kidding me?

Why, hang on, a bag? What is the significance of the bag?

Kim (08:23)
Well, like,

he was like, it's really easy that way. Like, get a whole chicken and just put it in a bag with some vegetables and bake it. you know, yeah, I remember him saying that. Could you not? And then organic, because that's going to make the difference, you know? Yeah.

Michelle Yates (08:34)
That's ground-shaking advice. Incredible. That

is wild to me. What type of bariatric surgery did you have?

Kim (08:44)
I had the vertical sleeve gastrectomy and so that's the sleeve. Yeah.

Michelle Yates (08:47)
Okay. Dang. That's

so concerning. And that is actually a really good example of like the sketchy side of bariatrics. I have a colleague who worked in bariatrics and I would hear stories like that where it's like the cash paid clients or patients versus the insurance patients were treated very differently and prioritized. And it was kind of just like, you just get them in.

and there's not much care really happening. It's just like cosmetic procedure at the end of the day. But it's not. That's actually so invasive. You're literally manipulating the GI system. There's so many risks. so that's absolutely insane to me that your post-op instructions were so unhelpful. So dangerous.

Kim (09:30)
yeah.

Yeah. You know how many times I've seen

him since then or talked to him since then?

Michelle Yates (09:41)
Zero. Yeah, that doesn't surprise me. Gosh, that's so sad.

Kim (09:43)
Yeah.

really like overall, it went as well as what you would expect. Like I was losing the weight really drastically. And the weirdest thing too is it was almost kind of like an appetite suppressant too, because I didn't feel like I missed the food. I was like, I'm not even craving it or I'm not really hungry for this either. But that was only temporary, because all of the old past habits, the old mindsets, everything like that, they came back with a vengeance. And so as soon as my body was able to start,

Michelle Yates (09:59)
Hmm.

Yeah.

Kim (10:15)
Tolerating food because I hadn't done any work to heal my mindset or anything like that Like I said as soon as I was able to tolerate food It was it was back to all the old habits plus I would say even worse than what they were Probably from being so restricted for so long with the weight loss surgery

Michelle Yates (10:31)
Yeah.

How long of a timeframe was that when you had the surgery versus when you felt those old habits coming back?

Kim (10:43)
Um, so I had the surgery in June of 2021 and then I think the lowest weight that I got was maybe February of 2022. So that was eight months later or so. And, um, and then already by, I think I maintained my weight for a few months, which I should have still been losing at that point because I was nowhere near my goal weight. Um, and then, mean, already within a few months, like

you know, definitely by the year point, I was definitely already regaining the weight back. So was quick. think I was binge eating yet. I don't think I physically could at that point yet. But I'm trying to

Michelle Yates (11:14)
Hmm, were you binge eating at that point?

Yeah. Yeah.

Kim (11:25)
I know definitely a year and a half later, because I remember these time frames. I was still in school at the time. so I remember my last semester at school would have been a year to a year and a half after surgery. Like said, I don't remember if I was binging then, but then once I moved back to California and got my job, I very vividly remember those six months. So that'd be a year and a half post-op.

Michelle Yates (11:30)
Hmm.

Kim (11:45)
That was also kind of the six months before joining Nourished and Free. There was a lot of inching in that timeframe.

Michelle Yates (11:49)
Mm.

What do you think was like the catalyst of like, okay, we're going back to this behavior even after surgery.

Kim (11:58)
I think for me the big thing has always just been, like I know scarcity is the trigger for me and so it's always been like, well and the shame part of it. So I shouldn't be doing this, the diet's gonna start on Monday. And so what am I gonna do because the diet's gonna start on Monday? I'm gonna eat everything I can right now. And it's always this like kind of perpetual cycle over and over and over again. then I know, like I've heard you even talk about like,

Michelle Yates (12:09)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Kim (12:21)
this with previous clients on the podcast, but then also like while I was in Nourished and Free, like a big thing with with binge eaters is like we'll eat the food, but then we'll feel guilty about it. And so then we'll throw it away. But then even like go as far as like I remember not just throwing the food away, but literally getting something like an air freshener or some kind of like chemical and literally spraying the food. Because if it's like pizza, it's like, oh, if it's right on top of the trash, you know, like that's how bad it gets to where it's like I have to destroy the food because

Michelle Yates (12:47)
Mm-hmm.

Kim (12:51)
if I'm starting over again tomorrow, I can't go back in the trash can and get the food tomorrow, like, because I'm starting over. But it was always that, like, this is the last time I'm starting over. And yeah, that, you know, shame and then, but it's just, nonetheless, cycle.

Michelle Yates (12:54)
Hmm.

Yeah.

What was that like for you to see the weight coming back after doing the thing that was like the last resort?

Kim (13:12)
Definitely a lot of shame. And again, it's the whole thing. It's just a lot of shame and a lot of guilt. And very much feeling like I was broken. Because a lot of people, I would compare myself to others. It's like so many people, don't even have to go this route. And then looking at people, I think the bariatric, if you look online, there's a lot of social media accounts, people who have gone through that. I think now you see it with all the...

Michelle Yates (13:16)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Kim (13:37)
people who are on the GLP ones. And so you get this community of all these people who are going through it together. So I was following all those accounts and it's like all these people who had hit their goal weight and maintained it. And it's like, I'm the failure. then also like my family, like I was very open with it about people. I tend to be an open book. I'm an oversharer. And so then for people to, know, first see me lose all the weight and like, wow, Kim, you look great. And then all of sudden like, you know, people, you know, kind of get to where they're like,

Michelle Yates (13:39)
Yeah.

Kim (14:03)
you know, they kind of shy away from it and you know, ⁓ like it's like the elephant in the room, you know, it's like, yeah, you're, you didn't even hit your goal weight and now you're gaining it all back again. And, and even if they, they didn't say it, you know, cause I mean, most people are like gonna say it, but you know, it's still like, I would think in my head, they're thinking it, they're looking at me going like, look, she failed again. Like once again, you know, so even having weight loss surgery, you get your, your stomach cut out and you still can't lose the weight.

Michelle Yates (14:05)
Hmm.

Yeah.

Why do you think that that ultimately did not help you? mean, you kind of touched on it before, but in your words, like, yeah, what do you think was missing from cutting off your stomach? Like, why did that not help the binge eating?

Kim (14:41)
Well,

because that wasn't the problem. The problem wasn't my body. Like my body was working fine. My problem was my mindset and my old habits and you know, and it stems back from so long. And so I do try to give myself grace. wasn't anything that like, you know, I failed myself or you know, anything like that. But it's these certain things that like needed to work through.

And I will say that before Nourished and Free, I didn't even know it was something that was possible to work through. I thought the only answer was doing something. At the time, it was weight loss surgery. think now a lot of people look to the GLP ones and things like that. And so when you feel like you're broken, but you just don't know what tools there are to fix you, that's what I thought it was. like I said, I was fixing the wrong part. I was trying to fix my body, but what I needed to fix was my

Michelle Yates (15:33)
Hmm. Yeah, that's good. It's like that hopelessness that can come from not knowing that there actually are tools for your struggle because in a way it's kind of like, I mean, sometimes I'm like, you're not broken. But then there's also the argument of like, well, you kind of are though, but that doesn't mean you can't be fixed. And I think there's like, empowerment with that, right? Like, we might have wires getting crossed, but that doesn't mean that you can't uncross them and

unlearn things, relearn new things and have a new autopilot in terms of the way that you act around food and the way that you think about food and even your body too. Do you think with the weight gain, because you brought up like there was shame with that with post bariatric and then the binging started later, do you think that contributed at all where there was shame around the weight gain? So then we ended up turning

to food or was that not a connection there?

Kim (16:28)
would say yeah because it was always like my comfort. So the shame was discomfort and how do I deal with comfort is to get that comfort from food. the correlation that stands out to

Michelle Yates (16:41)
Yeah, Something that I do remember you saying actually, when you were, I it was your last month, nourished and free, you were like, and this is maybe jumping ahead a little bit, but you were like, I downloaded a dating app and I haven't had one in so long. That was like so much fun to hear about. So I am curious about with relationships and just putting yourself out there, what was that like in this season of your life?

Kim (16:54)
You

Yeah, definitely. it changed. I will say it's evolved even since then because I remember what was different while I was going through Nourished and Free because we did spend a lot of time on our body image. And so I was like, you know what? I'm going to put myself out there and put full body pictures of myself. And this is who I am. And I think I wasn't online for that.

Michelle Yates (17:25)
Yeah.

Kim (17:30)
long but it wasn't because of that. It was more just the process in general. was just like, I hate online dating. And so like I said, the process has evolved since then and nourishing free actually, like it really kicked off a lot of kind of personal growth in my life. And so

dating has been one of them. so since then, I've actually have signed up for courses where people actually talk about, know, here's how to do it effectively and, know, just different things like how to weed out people who aren't actually looking for a relationship. you know, so there are certain things now where, you know, because I'm back online, which is recent, but I'll ask, you know, weed out questions, which is something I learned from a course. And if they either give like a couple word answer or they don't.

Michelle Yates (17:59)
love that.

Kim (18:12)
you know, answer anything or ask anything back, you know, so they're not engaging the conversation. It's just automatic, like, I'm not going to waste my time with you. And in the past, like, I would have gotten a lot of anxiety about like, well, why don't they care? Or, you know, even going on a first date, you know, like, what if they don't text me back? And, and now just like, meh, I'm going to see if they're a good fit for me. And yeah, it started with being comfortable enough to, you know,

Michelle Yates (18:19)
Yeah.

Hmm.

Kim (18:36)
put my whole self out there and put my body out there and that part started with Nourished and Free. But then since then, like I said, Nourished and Free has opened up this whole other world of what other ways can I grow. And so that's changed the process for me in general about how to go into online dating and go at it like I'm in control and I don't need to have anxiety about these things that if they're not worried about it, I'm not worried about it.

Michelle Yates (18:56)
Yeah.

Yeah, I love that. That's awesome. So what was the thought process of signing up for Nourished Gen Free, especially when you're coming from a place of trying everything, including weight loss surgery?

Kim (19:16)
So I remember when I saw the advertisement, I, one, it was unlike anything I'd ever seen. You know, of course now I think my for you, like my algorithm, you know, it's like, oh, you're interested in this. So I see, you know, kind of more things like that. But at the time I was just like, it was, was brand new. And I remember distinctly, I was like, I feel like this was made for me. Like every single thing that you had said, I was just like, oh my goodness.

Michelle Yates (19:28)
Yeah.

Hmm.

Kim (19:43)
you know, is she stalking me or something? Like what is going on? It was so, it was new and it was refreshing. like I mentioned earlier, like I knew there was a problem, but I was looking for the solution in different, in the wrong ways. And so then it was so refreshing to kind of go like, wait, there's a different way to heal here? so then from there I was intrigued and I was like, okay, well I want to learn more.

And I remember, like a mini recording or something like that that I'd watched where it kind of goes into a little bit more detail, you know, to kind of see if it's the right fit for you. And so I did that. And again, like every single thing, I felt like it was just speaking directly to me. And the biggest thing is,

Michelle Yates (20:15)
Yes, it was probably the mini course.

Kim (20:25)
because I had tried everything before or felt like I tried every diet there is out there. And they say the definition of insanity is trying things over and over again and expecting different results. It was finally like, I know that I want to heal from this. And I didn't even know that that was possible before. And so it's like, I believe that this is the direction to go.

and it could be just a completely different way to try things, but that's what I need to do is something that's completely different. And I also knew part of was, you know, just taking diet completely off the table, which was scary for me because like that was always, you know, like, I don't know about but kind of that trust going into it. Every single thing I've done before didn't work. And this this is something that's different. And I need to change.

Michelle Yates (21:00)
Mm-hmm.

Kim (21:13)
What if I go all in with this and it could change my life? And so that was my thought process.

Michelle Yates (21:20)
What In the end, what did it? I mean... That's good. That's good.

Kim (21:24)
yeah, 100%. Yeah, absolutely.

Michelle Yates (21:29)
So, yeah, that's a lot of... I can understand the feeling of like, this is scary to change what I've been focusing on. Because change is always scary, especially when it's what you're used to. It feels safe in a way because it's familiar, something that's unfamiliar feels unsafe. But I'm glad that you took that step because it...

ultimately be ended up being what you needed. Talk me through with taking weight loss off the table. What was that process like for you to not be focusing on like, okay, I just got to get this weight off. How do you feel like that supported you?

Kim (22:10)
I feel like it was necessary in this process because again, that's what I had always done was the focus was always on weight loss, but were two big parts of Nourished and Free. One, your relationship with food and then two, how you look at your body. And if both of them are kind of looking at, you know, a different kind of end goal than, you know, what the program actually sets out to, then it's, you know, couldn't be fully, you know, into it. And so by taking...

that off the table, I was able to go through the program and actually focus on what the lessons were and what they were trying to teach you and what needed to be uncovered, which I think is gonna be a little different for everybody. But like I said, for me, going all the way back to that little seven-year-old girl looking at the rolls in her stomach and that 17-year-old sitting in our first Weight Watcher meeting. And so

going through the program, but trying to heal all those different scars and kind of relearn everything. But that's what the focus needed to be on, not in five years, what's my body gonna look like or what's my diet gonna look like or how do I need to, like, that's not what the focus needed to be on. It needed to focus on what actually needed to heal.

Michelle Yates (23:18)
Yeah. Yeah, I love that. What was like a weird win or what's the word I'm looking for? Victory, I guess, that you were like, my gosh, I would have never been able to do this before. And it might sound weird to somebody else, but to me, it's the most exciting thing.

Kim (23:36)
I have so many and actually I wrote a list. have a list of like there were ones during the program but then I have ones that even now that I would not have like yeah. So during the program I mean one the biggest one overall that is just not being not binging. I still remember I think it was I mean early on like even like a form filled out you know when was the last time you binged or how often do you binged or how long has it been it's just like

Michelle Yates (23:38)
All fun.

Oh yay, yay, I can't wait to hear.

Kim (24:03)
my last meal because it was just every day and it was constant. And so to get to a point where it's just like, wait, it's been a day, it's been a week, it's been a month, you it's been several months. Like that was And that's something that's still, I've maintained to this day. so, yeah. And so now two and half years later, so like I said, I wrote a list. So some of the since Nourished and Free,

Michelle Yates (24:20)
So awesome.

Kim (24:28)
all the pictures I get taken rather than being the one who's always behind the camera. No, I don't like how I look. And because, I don't know, especially with my niece and nephew and stuff like that, I want to look back and not just go, I was there, but I'm not in the picture. That was a big one. So at work, we have a candy dish. And a while there, I moved desks, and that's always where the candy dish was. And so it stayed on my desk. And even now, I have a jar of &Ms.

Michelle Yates (24:32)
Mm-hmm.

Kim (24:54)
You know how people always say like, put the cookies on a shelf so you won't look at them. people always say like, I can never do that because I just want to be able to control myself with Nourished and Free. It kind of teaches you, well, why? Why do you have to remove yourself from that? And I don't have to anymore. And so not only does the candy jar sit at my desk at work and it's like a communal one that someone else fills. And if I'm feeling like I want a piece of candy, I grab one and it's not a big deal. But I'm not.

I don't feel out of control on it. don't even think about it. I'm like, yeah, it's just what it is. It's like I have a pencil drawer on my desk at work too. It's just, you know, it is what it is. I mean, yeah, you need a pencil, you need a piece of candy, I got it all. This is one, this is a weird one. So I feel like I'm a cookie hoarder.

Michelle Yates (25:26)
The candy is equivalent to pencils at this point. That's amazing.

Kim (25:42)
It's like, I've kind of gone the opposite where I would never have cookies in my house because like I would just eat the whole thing. It was just a thing. Like I don't have them. Whereas now I love cookies. So I have, I pretty much have a cookie after like breakfast and lunch every day. Like, you know, that's my sweet treat and I love it. And so like there was s'mores Oreos that was like the limited time one and I got a bag of it and I was like, oh, these are delicious.

Michelle Yates (26:00)
Yeah.

Kim (26:08)
So then I bought 10 more bags because I was like, it's limited time. so, you know, I still Exactly. there's still parts of my past still creeping up, but those would not have lasted, you know, a few years ago. Whereas now they're going to expire before I can eat them And a Girl Scout. Exactly. Girl Scout cookies. We had a.

Michelle Yates (26:12)
Yeah, obviously, scarcity.

Yeah. You're like, these are limited time because they have an expiration date.

Kim (26:32)
one of my coworkers or daughter came through and I think I got like seven boxes of those because I'm like, hey, it's just a limited time, you know, that they come through each year. so exactly. So like I said, I'm a cookie hoarder. I admit it. But I mean, like the fact that I can have them, you know, sitting in my shelf, you know, and for the most part, kind of collecting dust and expiring. But then I enjoy them. I'll have a cookie after lunch and a cookie after dinner. And I'm like, is not something that would have

Michelle Yates (26:38)
Supporting, you're supporting a good cause Kim.

Yeah.

Kim (27:01)
been able to happen a few years Another one, I had my favorite tortilla chips that I bought once and I was always, even if I was like dieting, if I had my favorite thing, I'd have to like eat it every single day until it was gone. But I found it, I think like a couple months ago, I was like cleaning out my cabinets and I was like, yeah, I forgot about these and I had to throw them away because they were stale and I was just like, well, that would have never happened before.

Michelle Yates (27:25)
Awesome.

Kim (27:25)
So here's another big one too. And this is something I think that other people who binge eat can probably relate to. There's like this feeling of like a fear of not being full enough. Like I remember times like driving through multiple drive-throughs or if there was like an event where I knew that they were gonna have a meal, then sometimes like sneaking a meal before I went, you but it was always this feeling of like, I'm not gonna be full enough, you know, from whatever it is.

And then when I would binge, like, I mean, it was eating until physically ill. And whereas now I hate the feeling of being overly full. And so even times like, I remember a few months ago, I had a sandwich, like a tri-tip sandwich with like my mom and sister. And I was, you we were talking and chit chatting and, and, you know, ate past the feeling of feeling full. Cause you know, it happens because I'm eating too fast and stuff.

Michelle Yates (28:02)
Hmm.

Yeah, you're distracted.

Yeah.

Kim (28:15)
Yeah, and

then afterwards I remember as like walking around and like holding my stomach and I was just like, I don't like this. Like I was so full, like I could physically feel it. And like, I'm like, I don't like that feeling anymore. Like something I used to like seek and crave and be afraid I want to get to that point. And now I'm just like, I don't want to get there. Like I don't like feeling like that.

Michelle Yates (28:26)
Hmm.

Hmm.

That's so interesting. It's like the reward systems in your brain have literally changed because you went from wanting and liking, which are two separate things, feeling to now not wanting or liking that feeling, which is so cool. Very, cool.

Kim (28:42)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah. Yeah.

Michelle Yates (28:53)
well, what would you say to somebody who especially if they've done bariatric surgery, and they're struggling with that feeling of like, my gosh, I've done everything and still the weight comes back, the binging comes back, my relationship with food is a wreck. And they're considering doing nourished and free or

Yeah, really diving into a different approach. What would, kind of encouragement or guess words of advice would you give to them?

Kim (29:18)
So I would say one, looking at everything that they've done before and where they currently are with their relationship with food and with their body and looking at how that affects their life. That was a big part of the program is looking at how is it affecting your life? How much are you thinking about this? What is it preventing you from being able to spend your time thinking about? And that wasn't something that I would have thought about. I knew like, okay, I keep doing this over and over again.

Michelle Yates (29:31)
Mm.

Yeah.

Kim (29:43)
I knew it was a problem, but I wasn't thinking about like, where is this taking from, you know, other areas of my life? And so I would say if that's negatively affecting your life, then I would 100 % recommend, you know, looking into joining because it does give the tools and the environment to make lifelong and positive changes that you just don't get from diet programs or from weight loss surgery. It's just unlike anything else and...

You know, not only having the resources of you and Danielle, but the girls. That was one thing that, oh, I love that part of the program. I know there have been, I want to say like four other girls from my cohort who have been on the podcast and a lot of them, like we're all following each other on social media and like you just really like, cause everybody is vulnerable and you know that it's an environment where, you know, like you get that trust where

Michelle Yates (30:18)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm, yeah.

Yeah.

Kim (30:38)
you can say anything and you're not gonna be judged and finally in that space where you can heal. And so like, so for people where, they're looking at their life and it's not, it's negatively affecting their life and not how they want it to be, then absolutely inertia free is the way to go. And I know you've asked people before, what would you say if somebody was kind of skeptical about joining, which...

Michelle Yates (30:44)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Kim (31:01)
Which I understand, like, you know, it is a time investment and it's a financial investment. And then last week we talked about earlier, it's a scary thing to think about taking dieting off the table. But I would really kind of look at like, how has that served you in the past? And, you know, where, you know, would you be where you are now if that had worked? And then also for people who like to do their due diligence, which it's not me, I'm a die-ped first kind of person, but I know a lot of people are.

The good thing is like the podcast, there's so many alumni that you've had on there. And so it's like you can, if somebody is skeptical about it, they can go through and listen to all these people who have actually gone through the program and everybody has a different story. But the thing that we all have in common is that we've come through it with sustainable habits and things that we've learned that we're going to keep up for the rest of our

Michelle Yates (31:30)
Yeah.

It's been so fun to like, just see you live your life without having to deal with this anymore. And even just hearing you say like sustainable habits from where you came from is really, really cool.

Kim (32:01)
It's something I never thought would be possible before, near a shipwreck, ever.

Michelle Yates (32:03)
then.

And to be fair, I mean, you were the one that dove in and you were like, okay, we're gonna do this. Like there's I'm glad that I could provide the container in the environment for you to grow. But also, so much of that was you putting in the work and being like, I am done with all of this crap. And it's time to work on

my mindset and my relationship with food and that is uncomfortable. But I feel like you are always up for the challenge and like, okay, this is what we're doing. Like, we're gonna we're gonna dive in to seven year old Kim and 17 year old the Weight Watcher meetings like, we're gonna process that and figure out what has stuck over the years and what do I need to address and really come to terms with I guess so yeah.

Kim (32:44)
you

I think it's, just an amazing program and it's unlike anything else. And, would a hundred percent recommend it to, you know, anybody who knows that they, want something better in their life.

Michelle Yates (33:05)
Thank you so much for being here, Kim. It was so good to see you. Yes, if anybody is interested in learning more about Nourished and Free and working with us and retraining your brain so that you don't have the urge to binge anymore and you can finally be free from it for good, I'll put the link in the show notes to learn more and you can go apply there.

Kim (33:08)
Thank you for having me.

Michelle Yates (33:28)
But yeah, like Kim said, there are tons of episodes on the podcast with previous members and also just lots of random episodes on the podcast that are fun too, that are completely unrelated. So feel free to dig through the rest of the show and hear more stories. Thank you so much, Kim.