105. An Eating Disorder Recovery Story ft. Gabi Mahan; @grow_withgabi

gabi mahan

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Ryann Nicole


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📲 Instagram: @grow_withgabi

🎙 Podcast: The Normalize You Podcast

Gabi’s Book Recommendations

Episode Transcript

Ryann

Hello everybody. Welcome back to the Food Freedom Lab. I am just enamored today to have Gabi here. Gabi is someone that I connected with. I think we connected like, I mean, like two or three years ago, like you were like one of the first people on Instagram that I followed and I was just like, this girl, her energy, her positivity, her story, her everything is just what you need. And so as I was shifting my podcast to bringing on more guests to share their story, I was like, I gotta have Gabi here. I gotta have Gabi here. Not only because, you know, I know her story is incredible, but selfishly because I’ve heard parts of your story here and there, but I’ve never heard the whole thing so I really want to hear it as well. So Gabi, thank you so much for taking the time. I’m so excited to have you here.

Gabi

No, thank you so much for having me. I’m really looking forward to it.

Ryann

So just to go ahead and dive in, will you take us through the beginning, like when things shifted for you, when you started to feel maybe negativity towards your body, started to maybe adjust your food, where that kind of led you, the depths, and then when you decided to change.

Gabi

Yeah, absolutely. Cut me off if it’s too long, because I feel like it’s a long story.

Ryann

No, please, tell us everything.

Gabi

I’ll try to condense it as much as possible. But whenever anybody asks me that, I always kind of, I tell people that I think the first time that I was introduced to the concept of like, your body isn’t good enough, or you need to lose weight, or the way that you’re existing right now is not okay, was when I was about eight and a half, nine years old, and I went to the pediatrician, and I was told that I was overweight slash borderline obese. And I was put on a very stringent diet, and my mom put me through it and everything, because she did the best that she knew with the medical advice that she was given. And I really think that’s the first time that that seed was planted in my head for me to think, oh, a doctor and my mom and these people are saying that I need to change the way that I’m eating and the way that I’m living because it’s dangerous, in quotes, and something bad is going to happen.

But I probably would say I don’t think I fully understood that concept until I was in middle school, probably at the very beginning of middle school, so sixth grade. So what, you’re like 12 or something like that, I think. And I just saw that other girls and other boys look different than I was. I was a little bit chunkier and fuller and nobody really looked like me. And I got made fun of here and there, people would poke fun. And, you know, I definitely was self-conscious of my body. Didn’t really do much about it because I wasn’t that educated with like what diet culture was, what diets were and everything. And then I would say I hit the ground running probably like eighth grade. I started hardcore dieting. I don’t even know what diet I first started in eighth grade, but I know that from the point of like eighth grade through college, I tried every diet under the sun.

Like, you know, restricting my calories, over-exercising, engaging in really maladaptive behaviors and just doing anything to shrink my body and to take up less space. And yeah, it was really toxic. It was exhausting. And I think that I thought it was normal because it’s what’s normalized in our today’s society and our world. Like everybody was dieting. Everybody was trying to be smaller. Like it wasn’t considered in quotes, dangerous. Right. And so nobody told me I was doing anything wrong. So I didn’t, I didn’t see the issue. Right. Nobody was like, Gabi, stop. This is dangerous. People would just applaud me and be happy for me when I lost weight. And they would be concerned in quotes, if I like gained weight or they wouldn’t say anything if I wasn’t thin.

So I just kind of kept chasing that ideal, you know, thin ideal that we see in today’s world. And I would say it probably wasn’t until the end of college, like the very beginning of my graduate degree program, actually, that I had had enough and I hit rock bottom. And I actually remember very vividly, like the day that I called my parents and I was like, I can’t do this anymore. This eating disorder is out of control, like I need help. And I had like scraped the bottom of my car. And then the next day I like scraped the side of my car and it was like a brand new vehicle. I was just so out of my body. And at the time I was working in an internship as a therapist, as part of my grad program. And I remember my employer telling me like, you’re so out of your body, like you’re just not in tune.

You’re not here, like what’s going on. And I was like, you’re absolutely right. I have a raging eating disorder and I haven’t taken care of it. And something’s gotta give, I need to do something because this is not working anymore. And so I made the really, really tough decision to tell my parents like, hey, I thought I had things under control because I had kind of mentioned them that I had issues before I went to college and I saw a therapist for a little bit, but she never told me it was like severe. She just said, oh, it’s not that bad. Like through therapy, it’ll get better. I also think I lied and wasn’t very transparent with the severity of it. But anyways, fast forward back to calling my parents and saying, hey, I don’t have this under control. It’s ruining my life. I don’t, I don’t know what to do anymore. Like I need help.

My mom being the super mom that she is, called like all specialists in Houston and was like, okay I’m going to get ahold of like the top specialist for eating disorders. I’m going to figure it out. Like I have a friend, a mom friend that like knows people. And, you know, the next day she calls me and she was like, I have an appointment with Dr. Edward Tyson in Houston and he specializes in eating disorders. He’s done it for 30 plus years and he is going to do a full evaluation on you. X date, which was like a week, I think from that call. So I had to fly from California where I was doing my master’s program down to Houston to do this evaluation. It was a summertime, so I didn’t miss any school so that was good, but I was freaking out because I was scared that somebody was going to look me dead in the eye and say, you need to slow down. You’re going to risk your life at this point and what you’re doing is not working and you need to take a break from life and go to a treatment center.

I was so fearful that that was going to be the answer and of course I went, got my evaluation and that’s exactly what was told to me. Like, you need to take a break, a medical leave of absence from your graduate program, and you need to come to Houston and get partial hospitalization treatment or some sort of level of treatment for your eating disorder. Because if you don’t, this is going to take away your life, and you’re going to be like this miserable forever. And I was freaking out, I was panicking. And you know, I just like, I can’t do that. Like I’m on a track, you know, I did undergrad, I did my master’s and Miss Perfectionist over here that I was just like, I have to finish.

And, you know, through support, familial support, friendship, and getting feedback from my really awesome mentors, they were like, you got, you have to go. Like, you’re not gonna be happy. You’re not gonna be able to be a therapist if you don’t heal your own wounds. And so I did, I took a break. I took six months off of my graduate program, came to Houston, I got partial hospitalization, and then I went to IOP, and then I did, then I did OP, and I think I was in, I did full on recovery at an outpatient level of care and a higher level of care for like a total of like eight months. And then I actually transferred to the online version of my master’s program to maintain my recovery.

And yeah, and then it stuck and I’m so grateful for it because I know that’s not the case for a lot of people. I know a lot of people have to go through numerous rounds of treatment, but I think it had just taken 10 plus years of my life at that point that I was like, I just don’t want this. Like, please never, ever again. Like, I think the thought of relapse was so far from my mind when I was in it, at least towards the end that it stuck. And yeah, I feel really grateful for it because I’m so passionate about eating disorder recovery and eating disorder awareness and being able to share my story and share tips and tricks and, you know, just be vulnerable with other people.

Ryann

Oh, a hundred percent. Thank you so much for sharing that. I would love if you feel comfortable to hear a little bit more about your experience in inpatient, because I know that I have so many people reach out to me that are like, this is my recommendation and I’m so scared and I don’t want to do it. And not knowing what to expect. I feel like when a lot of people talk about inpatient, like the things that you hear about inpatient, like the people that are talking about it, it’s usually those that have had a negative experience. So I would just love to hear from you, like what it was like for you and how it helped and what your experience was like.

Gabi

So I was in partial hospitalization program. So for anybody listening that doesn’t know the different levels of care, you have the highest level of care, which is inpatient. That’s when you’re in a hospital, the likelihood of you needing a feeding tube is pretty high. After that is residential. So you live in a house with other individuals that are going through recovery and you’re monitored 24 seven, but you’re not as severe to be in a hospital. Under that is PHP, partial hospitalization, meaning you go somewhere all day and it’s not a hospital. It’s actually like, think of a therapy office with like tons of suites and couches and talk therapy here, group sessions there, meal time kind of thing.

And you go there all day and then you sleep at home. And so that’s what I did. That’s what was recommended for where I was at with my eating disorder. And now that I work as a therapist specializing in it, and so many people have gone to it, and then me, myself going through it, I think that treatment isn’t for everyone. I’ve learned this in my profession. And I used to be like, no, if it’s recommended, you have to go. It is for your number one. Your health is number one. You have to listen to what’s being told. But having gone through it myself, I can understand why it doesn’t work for everybody. It’s a very structured program. It can feel very black and white.

There’s not a lot of wiggle room in the eating disorder world, I would say. It’s very strict on the way you talk about food and the way you talk about your body and things you can or can’t say, right? And so sometimes those rules can feel like, ah, I can’t be vulnerable. Or like, if I say too much, then I’m triggering somebody else. Right. And I understand why those rules are put in place. It makes total sense. At the end of the day, you have to respect the milieu and the people that are there. You don’t want to trigger anybody, but I think there are, you know, different rules and different structure that may not work for everybody. I was in a place where I was like, I’m a structure kind of gal. Let’s go. I will take this on full force. And so I think it worked for me because I was able to advocate for myself. I was able to really pour myself into it and take as much as I could from the program.

But I also think I was able to be like, okay, this doesn’t really work for me, but that’s okay. And I can figure out a different kind of path that works for me. So I would say 85% of what was offered to me really worked. And then I would say the other percentage, small percentage, I kind of finessed and figured out what path worked for me with my outpatient therapist. So, you know, I will say I’ve had people say I went and it was just so focused on weight restoration and gaining weight. And it was so weight focused that I didn’t love it.

Totally understandable. I think there’s some treatment centers that are very weight focused. And I mean, understandably so, because they’re fighting for your life, right? Especially if like your vitals aren’t doing well, things like that. So I would always suggest anybody that’s thinking about going to a high-levels care to like call to ask questions, any questions or concerns you might have, just ask those detailed questions so that you can get the truthful answers. I also think asking people that have been through it themselves. I think what it comes down to when anybody asks me like, should I do this? I think that commitment is a big piece of it. If you are an outpatient at the moment, right, and you’re like, my motivation is not there, my commitment’s not there, I can’t do this on my own, I can try in quotes, but like the likelihood of that happening is not high, you should go to a higher level of care.

And that’s why I went there, because I had the motivation, but I was like, I don’t, I need help. This has been going on for a long time. I need some sort of way to feel very committed to this process, right? But then there’s other people that come to me and they’re like, no, I want this full force, but I don’t have the financial capability to go to high level of care, or I just, it’s not feasible for my life. I’m a mom with three kids. I can’t do that. Totally understandable. And they’re in a place where they’re like, tell me what I need to do and I will do it. So that to me means, okay, you can recover at an outpatient level of care. So I really think it all has to do with a variety of factors including like your motivation, your commitment, where you are in life, your financial, you know, resources and capacities. Like I just think looking at those factors help you make a better informed decision.

Ryann

Totally. I so appreciate you sharing that because I feel like that’s something that, I mean, Google doesn’t tell you, like, unless you’ve gone to therapy before, you’ve grown up in a therapeutic family, like, how do you know? How do you know what to choose? How do you know what to look for? So I appreciate you differentiating between that. When you went and obviously, you know, throughout recovery, body changes happen. How did you navigate that? And how did you kind of create peace throughout body changes?

Gabi

That was so hard. That was the hardest part, I think of the entire journey, because I was on exercise restriction. So I couldn’t exercise for like three months, which is horrible. I was like, what, how could you take this away from me? I’m going to gain so much weight. It’s going to be horrible. But it was honestly the best thing they could have done for me because my intention behind exercise was so negative. It was just to lose weight and burn calories. It wasn’t to feel stronger, empowered in my body and to celebrate what my body is capable of. Right. Which in my opinion is the right intention behind moving your body. It was really hard because I gained weight. I felt uncomfortable.

None of my clothes fit, all I would wear was like Nike shorts and big t-shirts and I would probably have a breakdown like every other day. And I say this to be honest with whoever is listening because I’m not going to sugarcoat it and tell you that it was easy breezy and I totally was fine, you know, like it sucks, it’s really freaking hard, it’s super hard. And I think if you just listen to your treatment team or just listen and take faith in the process, you’re going to be okay. And I can say that because I’ve been through it. And I think, you know, as hard as it was, I had those breakdowns and I was like, okay, Gabi, this sucks. It’s not where I wanna be. Like, I feel so uncomfortable and icky in my body, but I have to keep going because there’s a lot of great behavioral changes that are happening, right?

And at the end of the day, that’s what I was here for, for behavioral change, not to be so focused on what my body looks like. And I also think something to put into perspective for people is like, when your body is malnourished or you’ve gone through a binge eating disorder, or just any kind of eating disorder, your relationship with food is so out of whack, your body doesn’t trust you. So it’s going to put on weight when you’re recovering. The likelihood of you putting on weight is pretty high. It doesn’t always happen, but it’s likely to happen. But the beauty is that once your body learns it can trust you, everything evens out. Your body hits a set point in it and you’re fine. And so I think for me, I just leaned into journaling. I leaned into crying and just like those cathartic cries that I needed every other day to just be like, this freaking sucks. Like I just needed that validation. I think that really helped me.

And then once I was able to discharge and I was able to move my body again, naturally some of that extra kind of cushion weights that I put on naturally went away. I’m not saying I lost a ton of weight, but my body naturally settled where it needed to because if you just think about this, logically, when you’re not moving your body and you’re eating all these fear foods and all these foods that you’re trying to face and be like, I’m not scared of these foods and I can eat them and I don’t have guilt or shame around them all the time, you’re gonna gain weight and that’s okay. But then once you resume back to normal life and you’ve learned how to intertwine those foods along with nutrient dense foods and you’re also moving your body, you’re naturally going to shed a little bit of weight and your body’s going to settle right where it needs to.

Ryann

Yeah, I always say, you know, your weight’s gonna settle to where it’s meant to settle when you’re living in a way that makes you feel your best physically and mentally. And I think that mentally component is so overlooked. And I know there’s this fear that it’s like, oh my god, it’s not gonna stop. But like our body wants to be at a place where we feel good. And so I think that that is so important to share because it can feel so scary as things are shifting. But I love how you say, you know, I knew I had to keep pushing forward. And I think that that’s kind of the hump that we have to go over where it’s like, this is the, this is the wall I have to jump. Am I going to go back or am I going to move forward? Am I going to try something different? Am I going to break through? And, you know, I know for me, at least I was like, I have to give it a chance. Like I have to give it a chance. And if I hate it, guess what? I can go back. I can go back. I can absolutely go back to old toxic behaviors if I choose to at the end of this, but I owe it to myself to really give it a shot.

Gabi

Absolutely.

Ryann

I, as a therapist as well, would love to know when you decided this was the path that you were going down, like, did you have any idea that it was gonna turn into this? Or like, why did you decide to be a therapist?

Gabi

Yeah, so it’s interesting, because for the longest time, I always knew I wanted to be a therapist. I think that’s very rare, but I knew when I was like probably in middle school to early high school, I knew that I wanted to be a therapist because my parents got divorced at a young age, I got put into therapy, and I just like remember being like, I wanna be what she does, like the therapist sitting across. I was like, I want to do what you do. Like, it’s so cool. You get to talk to people and be vulnerable and connect with others. So I knew I wanted to do that. I had no idea that I wanted to specialize in eating disorders. And what’s really ironic is that when I was in treatment, I was like, there’s no way in hell.

I’m going to specialize in eating disorders. I was like, I’m so tired of talking about my feelings around food and body. I refuse to do this as a profession. But then I think once I recovered and I was out of it on the other side, I finished my master’s program. I was like, man, but I’m really good at this. Like I connect well with people. I get what they’re going through because I’ve been through it. And I think I can use this to my advantage and like really help others heal. And yeah, I gave it a shot and I just realized like, wow, this is really awesome to be able to connect with others and like just share a glimpse of hope and to show them like, hey, like I was in your position once too, and I promise you you can do it. Like you are going to get through this.

Ryann

That is so interesting. I love to hear that. And that’s so cool that you knew at such a young age. And I agree. Like I when I was deciding and I had went to a eating disorder conference and I was like, I don’t think that I can do this. They talked about food all weekend long. Like I spent seven years like thinking I don’t want to. And then, you know, it all falls into place. When you went into treatment and recovery, how did your parents do with that in the sense of did they have to take on like learning of their own? Did they do any learning of their own or how did they support you throughout that?

Gabi

Yeah, so when I was in treatment, once a week we had like family night. And so family members were allowed to come and sit in, in two groups. Normally one was a psychoeducational group and the dieticians let it, and they would talk about like different food stuff. And then there was like a process group and then we would have a meal together. So that was a really great way for parents and family members and supportive members of any individual to learn more about the eating disorder and the world that they lived in and like what we were going through on a day-to-day basis. And I also am one of those people that I have no problem telling my parents what I need and like asking them for support. So I really did step it up and I was like, hey, I would like you to read this or like, let’s sit down and have dinner and I can answer any questions that you have or like, here, you can join my therapy session or you can join my dietetic session.

And so I definitely like gave them the resources and answered any questions they had. And they also always like asked me, but I would say if I had to ask my parents today, especially my dad, my dad said, like, I learned so much from going to those family nights. Like I had no idea, like, this was something that you were struggling with to this degree. Like I didn’t know people lost their lives over this like you know and so I think he really got it was a like a full circle moment for him because he also saw other parents there and like he just he said he felt very um supported in that environment. He didn’t feel judged at all for asking what he thought to be in quote stupid questions. So yeah.

Ryann

I think that that piece is so huge. My treatment program had a family component as well and that was so helpful in educating them because I mean it’s a learning process for us but it’s a learning process for them as well in regards to how do you support and how do you talk and how do you unlearn like the diet culture that’s in your mind that we’re not having in this household anymore.

Gabi

Yeah, absolutely.

Ryann

Throughout your journey, in the beginning, because you said like you struggled with this for 10 years, were there any times like throughout that period where somebody was like, Gabby, you should get help or Gabby, we’re worried about you or anytime that you realized or thought like, hey, what I’m doing with food is maybe becoming a problem? Or was it not until like that master’s moment that everything just kind of like click?

Gabi

I would say probably like my freshman year of college, I remember my dad being like, wow, Gabi, like you lost a lot of weight. And that was because I went on some crazy juice cleanse and lost a lot of weight very quickly. And he noticed it and he was like, man, you’re looking small, like don’t get smaller on me, you know, but I think I was so deep in my eating sort of that was like, love that he’s complimenting me. Like, I feel so great. Like I must I look, I must look so good.

Ryann

Right.

Gabi

And then, you know, maybe there was other times here, there would people would be like, Hey, like, you know, don’t get too small on us or like, you know, things like that. But no one ever said what you’re doing is dangerous. How are you doing mental health wise? You know, no one ever really checked in on me. And I don’t blame them because I just don’t think they knew because I hit it really well. Other than like seeing the weight drop and like go up and down on my physical body. I didn’t really ever talk about it with anybody. And I also think they just didn’t know what questions to ask. And they didn’t know that these things existed. Like my parents had never really heard of an eating disorder until I had one.

Ryann

Yeah. So did you grow up in a family where food was pretty normal?

Gabi

So that’s a tricky, tricky answer to your question because once I got put on that diet, there was a lot of, it was tug of war between my parents because my parents got divorced shortly after that. And so like when I would go to my dad’s, he was like, eat whatever you want. I don’t care. This is stupid. You shouldn’t be on a diet. And then my mom held me strict to the diet.

Ryann

Right.

Gabi

So it was like yo-yoing back and forth with food rules and like what I was allowed to eat. And it was like, when we’re at dad’s house, we don’t tell mom we have ice cream with dinner. And when we’re at, you know, it was just horrible. Like it was just so bad for like a little kid to be like pulled back and forth that way with regards to food and development of the relationship with food. And then, you know, I continued dieting, whatever, whatever. But then I would say when my parents got divorced and I became older and I was like in my teen years when I was in high school. My dad has always had a really healthy relationship with food. He’s never made any comments about, oh, you’re eating too much, you’re eating, you know, whatever.

He’s just always been very a big intuitive eater, I would say. My mom, on the other hand, I adore her and I love her, but a little bit of disordered eating in that family for sure. And just diet talk or like, this is healthier, or like choose this option or like count how many you can have based on the serving size on the back of the packet and it was complicated. I think I came from a mixed household of like one family member was like very open and didn’t really care and was just like eat whatever you want, live your life. And the other one was like very athlete diet focused with regards to like eat healthy, like it’s super good for you. You should always eat healthy.

Ryann

I can’t imagine as a young kid, like the messages and the stories that you get from that when you’re getting that push and pull, oh my gosh.

Gabi

Yeah, a lot.

Ryann

Wow, throughout the whole process and especially the work that you do now, is there any skills or books or activities or practices that you are like, these are like my top, like if you do anything, like do this or read this or learn this?

Gabi

Oh man, that’s a really good question. I know this sounds cheesy and very simple and it sounds like an answer that any therapist would give, but I never journaled until I started recovery. And I literally still have journals from every day in recovery. I started a journal the very first day that I started and I would copy and paste pages from worksheets we did into the journal so that I could go back and look at all my progress. So I would say for anyone who’s going through an eating disorder recovery journey, documenting your progress and all the work that you’ve put in is so helpful for whenever you feel like you’re having a really crappy day and you’re like, this is not worth it.

Go back and look how hard you’ve worked and how, how much you’ve changed in your mentality and in your behaviors, because that is going to keep motivating you and pushing you forward. So I would say journaling for sure was really big for me. I did a lot of the reading, like intuitive eating, how’s that every size book. I read the book shrill. I don’t know if you guys, if you’ve heard of it, but it’s a really good book. I would actually recommend people to read Shrill. There’s actually a series on it on Hulu as well. Incredible book. It’s about this woman that lives in a fat body and she has died in her whole life. And she like doesn’t go out on dates, doesn’t take the job offer, like doesn’t do the things in life that make her happy because she feels like she’s too big to do those things.

And it’s such a beautiful book because she finds her voice and she finds herself and she’s like, screw this, screw society. Like my fat body and I are beautiful and I’m going to get that job and I’m going to date that guy and I’m going to do all the things that I’ve stopped myself from doing. That was a really empowering book. I really liked it.

Ryann

Oh, I love that.

Gabi

Yeah, that was a really good book. And then I’ve always listened to podcasts too. I started getting into podcasts shortly after I discharged from recovery of just like a way to like keep listening to really positive messages and you know clinicians and people that were like very well versed in health at every size and intuitive eating, things like that.

Ryann

For anybody who is in the depths right now, maybe is in the same kind of experience where they’re about to go for an evaluation and they have this thought like, oh my gosh, what are they gonna recommend? Are they recommending inpatient or full-blown treatment? What words would you have for them?

Gabi

I would say, take a couple deep breaths and remind yourself that whatever you were doing before wasn’t working. So you literally have absolutely nothing to lose. That was something I kept reminding myself of like, okay, they’re gonna give me this answer, they’re gonna tell me what I need. And although it’s probably going to be scary, you’ve tried everything, Gabi, and it has not worked. You literally have nothing to lose. Like give this a shot. Cause this could be the golden ticket. Like this could help you truly recover. And so I would say just be open, be patient and just be open to looking at from looking at it from a different lens, like people and professionals are there to help you and support you. And they, they’re looking out for your best interests.

And so just give it a shot because like you said, Ryann, like if you are like, screw this, this is not for me. And I want to go back to old behaviors. They’re there. You can go back to them. No one’s saying you have to choose recovery, but I would say just give it a shot because if everything you’ve done in the past hasn’t worked, sounds like you need a new plan, right?

Ryann

Definitely. And I mean, I’ve said it before, but I have yet to meet one person that has been through recovery, like truly been through recovery, healed their relationship with food and has said, no, this is worse.

Gabi

Yeah.

Ryann

So I think for me, like I wish somebody told me that earlier, but keeping that in my mind is really helpful as well. Going off of that, in honor of the Food Freedom Lab, Gabi, what does food freedom mean for you?

Gabi

Food freedom means like authenticity. It means connection. And I would use those two words because I’m a foodie at heart. And for the longest time, I was so ashamed to say that I was a foodie because if I was a foodie, I was obsessed with food. And I liked food way too much. And now I embrace it and I love food and it’s delicious and it’s nourishing. And I have no shame in admitting that. And then I would say connection because I love sharing awesome, delicious, new foods with like my friends and family.

Ryann

I love that so much. Oh my gosh. Gabi, if listeners want to connect with you, chat with you more, learn from you, where can they find you?

Gabi

So you can find me on Instagram at grow with underscore Gabi. And then you can always shoot me an email at hello at Gabi may hand.org. And then all my info is really through my Instagram handle, you’ll find anything that you need there.

Ryann

Yay, I’ll have those links below in the show notes. Thank you so much for coming on, taking the time, sharing your story. It means so much and you’re just incredibly inspiring and so wise and it’s just really cool to continue to have all of these connections and positive people to share this message.

Gabi

Thank you so much, I really appreciate it. I had an awesome time chatting with you.

Ryann

Yay.

Disclaimer: If you have or suspect that you have an eating disorder, please contact a qualified health care professional immediately. If you are located in the United States and are experiencing a medical or health emergency, please call 911 or call for appropriate emergency medical help. 

Ryann Nicole

Licensed Therapist, Certified Nutritionist, and Virtual Wellness Coach

Ryann is a licensed therapist and virtual wellness coach who has assisted individuals worldwide in establishing a healthier relationship with food and their bodies.

Are You Ready to Heal Your Relationship With Food? 

I understand—it can be overwhelming to figure out where to begin. Let's simplify things and have you start right here:

Why Am I Overeating?

First Steps To Stop Binge Eating 

The Food Freedom Lab Podcast

FREE QUIZ

FREE GUIDE

Podcast

the food freedom lab podcast

Ryann is a licensed therapist and virtual wellness coach who has assisted individuals worldwide in establishing a healthier relationship with food and their bodies.