Why is anger an important emotion? The Appetite crew talks about why anger is useful, and how our perception and expression of it is impacted by gender and race. Opal: Food + Body Wisdom Co-Founders Kara Bazzi, LMFT, CEDS and Lexi Giblin, PhD, CEDS let you into a small moment of anger between them, displaying how we often “sanitize” anger. Then, with host Carter Umhau, LMHC, we discuss how Beyoncé’s visual album, “Lemonade” portrays the many facets of anger, and why we think it's so effective. L...
Nov 21, 2019•30 min•Season 1Ep. 76
How does talk about diets and weight impact you? One of the hardest things about recovery from an eating disorder is holding onto a new awareness of your needs, desires, and thoughts around food while out in the “real world.” This is especially difficult during the holiday season. Dr. Lexi Giblin, PhD, CEDS, Kara Bazzi, LMFT, CEDS, and Julie Church, RDN, CEDRD-S, CD, Co-Founders of Opal: Food + Body Wisdom, brainstorm with host Carter Umhau, LMHC about ways to combat the unnecessary commentary. ...
Nov 15, 2019•28 min•Season 1Ep. 75
Is it normal to lose your period when changing up your diet or exercise routine? Nicola Rinaldi, PhD joins the podcast today to discuss her journey to recover her period once it was lost, and offers her wealth of knowledge on hypothalamic amenorrhea (aka the loss of one’s period). Drawing from the research in her book, No Period. Now What?, Nicola joins Carter Umhau, LMHC and Opal Co-Founder Julie Church, RDN, CEDRD-S, CD to explain how even small caloric deficiencies can cause disruptions in me...
Nov 08, 2019•36 min•Season 1Ep. 74
Do you work out to deal with your emotions? There are so many messages out there that exercise will make you happier, healthier, and thinner…but none of these assumptions are a given, especially when movement is your only way to regulate or have a good day. This episode will explore the connection between exercise and emotions—unpacking the much more nuanced reality in order to broaden our understanding from the simplistic “exercise = happiness” equation. Opal: Food + Body Wisdom’s Co-Founder an...
Nov 01, 2019•25 min•Season 1Ep. 73
What’s the difference between being “in recovery” versus being “recovered” from an eating disorder? And is full r ecovery possible? At Opal, we believe that YES—it definitely is! Today Opal Co-Founders Dr. Lexi Giblin, PhD, CEDS, Kara Bazzi, LMFT, CEDS, and Julie Church, RDN, CEDRD-S, CD are talking with host Carter Umhau, LMHC about what the process of recovery looks like, why it’s different than the traditional recovery model (which is based off of substance use addiction), and how to know you...
Oct 25, 2019•29 min•Season 1Ep. 72
What would your personal style look like if you weren’t concerned about size or body image? Hear how Erin Drischler has changed lives through changing the closets of women in recovery from eating disorders. Through The Garment Project—the non-profit she founded—those in recovery are getting a chance to find clothing without having to deal with the often triggering experience of navigating clothing size. Erin talks in this episode with host Carter Umhau, LMHC about how her own recovery story insp...
Oct 17, 2019•29 min•Season 1Ep. 71
Are you ready for a change? We’re exploring what the stages of change are and why acknowledging ambivalence is often the linchpin when it comes to transformation. In a roundtable conversation that touches on self-care, creative habits, routines, and recovery, Opal Co-Founders Dr. Lexi Giblin, PhD, CEDS and Julie Church, RDN, CEDRD-S, CD sit down with host Carter Umhau, LMHC to explore the many things that get in the way of making the changes you desire, and what they’re each doing about it! Conn...
Oct 11, 2019•34 min•Season 1Ep. 70
How are bodies political? The vibrant dietitian and podcast host Aaron Flores, RDN (of Dietitians Unplugged ) joins Opal’s Nutrition Director Julie Church, RDN, CEDRD-S, CD and host Carter Umhau, LMHC to share his feminist perspective on the politics of being in a fat body. Aaron talks about how being fat (as a cis, white man) has given him access to understanding the lack of safety people with more marginalized identities experience being in their bodies. Carter, Aaron, and Julie will explore m...
Oct 03, 2019•37 min•Season 1Ep. 69
What does it take to heal? Obviously there’s a lot to it, but we’d dare to say that COURAGE (in all its forms) is at the heart of it all. Opal Co-Founder and Executive Director Dr. Lexi Giblin PhD, CEDS joins host and therapist Carter Umhau, LMHC to explore the many types of courage and their roles within eating disorder recovery. Lexi and Carter will pull from psychologist Rollo May’s work, which defines courage within four spheres: physical, moral, social, and creative. Links: Rollo May’s book...
Sep 25, 2019•29 min•Season 1Ep. 68
Do you trust your body’s appetite cues? It’s all about internal regulation on the last of this four-part series inspired by Ellyn Satter’s “Eating Competency Skills” and we’re talking body wisdom. Opal Co-Founder and Nutrition Director Julie Church, RDN, CEDRD-S, CD talks with host and therapist Carter Umhau, LMHC about the wisdom your body holds around food and eating. They’ll be exploring the power of honing this skill, which is the heart of intuitive eating. Links: Ellyn Satter Institute Take...
Sep 20, 2019•28 min•Season 1Ep. 67
What habits and routines can support healthy eating? This third of our four-part series on Ellyn Satter’s eating competency skills, offers a look into how to build a healthy context and environment to support your food choices. Opal Co-Founder and Nutrition Director Julie Church, RDN, CEDRD-S, CD talks with host and therapist Carter Umhau, LMHC about grocery shopping, a full pantry, and all that should happen to metaphorically set the table for success. This episode continues to define healthy e...
Sep 10, 2019•22 min•Season 1Ep. 66
What is a healthy attitude around food and eating habits? This second of a four-part series on Ellyn Satter’s eating competency skills, continues to define healthy eating through the question of how to eat, rather than what to eat . Opal Co-Founder and Nutrition Director Julie Church, RDN, CEDRD-S, CD talks with host and therapist Carter Umhau, LMHC about the work of understanding one’s own “eating attitudes.” Julie and Carter will unpack the cultural, familial, and social norms that influence t...
Sep 06, 2019•42 min•Season 1Ep. 65
Do you know how to eat in a healthy way? Most answers to the question of healthy eating actually have more to do with what foods you should be eating, rather than the HOW; Ellyn Satter digs into this, offering adults scaffolding for the how behind building a healthy relationship to food (both for one’s self and for those adults that are parents, modeling healthy eating for their kids). In this first of a four-part series on Satter’s “eating competency skills,” Opal Co-Founder and Nutrition Direc...
Aug 22, 2019•23 min•Season 1Ep. 64
How can we take care of the athlete as a whole person? Often considered a lesser concern, the mental health of the athlete is of key importance—both on and off the field. Jason Durocher, ATC, LAT head athletic trainer, and Monica VanWinkle, MS, RDN, CD sports dietitian—both at Seattle Pacific University athletic department and beyond—join Opal Co-Founder and Director of the Exercise + Sport team Kara Bazzi, LMFT, CEDS and host Carter Umhau, LMHC to help us all reimagine a healthier circle of sup...
Aug 15, 2019•44 min•Season 1Ep. 63
How can yoga help in eating disorder recovery? Opal therapists and yogis Kendra Appe, LMHC, RYT and Lauren Donelson, RYT join T he Appeti te to answer this question. Creators of the “Do No Harm” workshop series at Opal, they also speak to how the Western culture around yoga can inadvertently encourage disordered eating and the exclusivity of bodies beyond the thin, white ideal. Kendra and Lauren will talk about their stories practicing yoga, what body positive yoga looks like, and how yoga has t...
Aug 08, 2019•26 min•Season 1Ep. 62
What does it mean to have a healthy diet? At Opal: Food + Body Wisdom, that means attunement, adequacy, and freedom with food. It also means letting memory play a part in our food choices! In this podcast, Opal Co-Founders Julie Church, RDN, CEDRD-S, CD and Kara Bazzi, LMFT, CEDS, and Appetite host Carter Umhau, LMHC share the foods that hold the greatest memories for them (raspberries straight off the bush, peanut butter M&Ms, carrot casserole) and how their relationship to those foods have...
Aug 01, 2019•35 min•Season 1Ep. 61
How are eating disorders a social justice issue? Gloria Lucas, founder of Nalgona Positivity Pride, has a world of wisdom to share in explanation. She joins host and therapist Carter Umhau, LMHC to explore historical trauma and eating disorders. Gloria created Nalgona Positivity Pride--a Xicana-indigenous and body-positive organization—to offer support, education, and mental health resources for people of color struggling with food and body image issues. Today, she offers illustrative bits of he...
Jul 25, 2019•34 min•Season 1Ep. 60
How do you deal with change in life? Former competitive figure skater Chrissy Hughes (and therapist at Opal!) shares about her retirement from skating and what the process taught her about dealing with big life transitions. Chrissy—who joins host Carter Umhau, LMHC and Opal Co-Founder and head of the Exercise + Sport Program, Kara Bazzi, LMFT, CEDS—explores the psychological, social, and physical components that impacted her mental health during that time and how her story with figure skating ca...
Jul 17, 2019•38 min•Season 1Ep. 59
How can nature be a part of your self-care ritual? Lisa Hasselman of Forest Garden Farm on Vashon Island, WA joins Carter Umhau, LMHC to share her story of leaving her job as an attorney and starting a job as a flower farmer on Vashon Island, WA. Lisa’s story speaks to the risk it can be to defy expectations and live a more congruent life and how choosing farming has increased her mental health and sense of well-being. Whether you have farming aspirations or you’re someone that simply wants to g...
Jul 11, 2019•31 min•Season 1Ep. 58
Shilo George talks about the intersections of fatness, queerness, and indigeneity in her story of eating disorder recovery and advocacy. Shilo, a Southern Cheyenne-Arapaho and Scottish international speaker, trainer, and owner of Łush Kumtux Tumtum Consulting, shares her story with host Carter Umhau, LMHC and Opal Co-Founder Julie Church, RDN, CEDRD-S, CD. Her advocacy work and story speak to the need for a deeper conversation around race in the Association for Size Diversity and Health (ASDAH) ...
Jun 27, 2019•40 min•Season 1Ep. 57
Jo Langford, MA joins The Appetite to talk with host Carter Umhau, LMHC about consent. This conversation—which focuses first on helping parents help their teens learn the language of sexual consent and the role of technology within it—contextualizes consent within the work of attunement, empowerment, and embodiment that’s so often pursued in the process of eating disorder recovery. Whether you’re a parent wanting to learn more on behalf of your kids, or a grownup that never got a chance to learn...
Jun 19, 2019•34 min•Season 1Ep. 56
How would you describe your style of exercise or workout? Opal: Food + Body Wisdom’s Co-Founders, Dr, Lexi Giblin, PhD, CEDS, Kara Bazzi, LMFT, CEDS, and Julie Church, RDN, CEDRD-S, CD talk with host Carter Umhau, LMHC about their own styles of movement, how they incorporate it into their lives and why (or why not!) they find themselves moved to move. In a mainstream culture where exercise is glorified for body-shaping and weight loss purposes, this conversation introduces a new way of thinking ...
Jun 13, 2019•31 min•Season 1Ep. 55
What does it look like to pursue movement or working out while recovering from a fraught or disordered relationship to your body? Opal: Food + Body Wisdom Co-Founder Kara Bazzi, LMFT, CEDS and host and therapist Carter Umhau, LMHC sit down to talk about the “grey areas” of movement—where “healthy” behaviors are defined by the nuances and attitudes toward exercise, sport, or movement, not the type of movement in and of itself. Kara and Carter will explore body-shaping, training, and whether or no...
Jun 06, 2019•36 min•Season 1Ep. 54
If you’ve had a pet at some point in your life, you may be aware of the inherently therapeutic presence of that animal in your life. But what happens when a pet spends most of their days in an eating disorder clinic? Zoe, Opal’s therapy dog, joins her owner (and Opal Co-Founder and Executive Director) Dr. Lexi Giblin, PhD, CEDS and host Carter Umhau, LMHC to showcase the amazing empathy and support she offers as pet therapy to those needing support and soothing. Links: Unbridled Counseling: http...
May 29, 2019•23 min•Season 1Ep. 53
Emotional eating is never just about the food. Opal Co-Founder and Nutrition Director Julie Church, RDN, CEDRD-S, CD and therapist and host Carter Umhau, LMHC discuss the differences between binge eating, compulsive eating, and emotional eating. Julie contextualizes overeating within the realm of normal eating and full permission with food, and Carter shares some of her own journey, honing in on the ways to address the emotional work that accompanies moving toward more mindful eating. Connect wi...
May 22, 2019•32 min•Season 1Ep. 52
Sugar. It’s loved, it’s feared, and apparently it’s in everything. In pop culture, this often leads to it being demonized. At Opal: Food + Body Wisdom, we’re debunking sugar myths, normalizing sugar, and talking about how sugar can be a part of any and everyone’s attuned eating style. Host Carter Umhau, LMHC sits down with Opal Co-Founder and Nutrition Director Julie Church, RDN, CEDRD-S, CD to discuss the sweet stuff. Connect with Opal: www.opalfoodandbody.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com...
May 16, 2019•35 min•Season 1Ep. 51
After ditching the diets, have you ever wondered what “normal eating” actually looks like? The truth is that attuned eating looks differently from person to person. So on this episode, the Opal Co-Founders (Lexi Giblin, PhD, CEDS, Kara Bazzi, LMFT, CEDS, and Julie Church, RD, CEDRD-S, CD) talk with host Carter Umhau, LMHC about their own eating styles, debunking the myth that there is a “normal.” Ellyn Satter Eating Competency Inventory: https://www.ellynsatterinstitute.org/ecsi-2-0/ Benefits of...
May 09, 2019•36 min•Season 1Ep. 50
In what ways do you use indirect communication to make your thoughts, needs, or feelings known? Opal Co-Founders Kara Bazzi, LMFT, CEDS and Julie Church, RDN, CEDRD, and host Carter Umhau, LMHC explore the nuances of direct and indirect communication through a Radically Open DBT lens. They each reflect on how socialization has impacted their communication style, and speak from their expertises around how eating disorders themselves are a form of indirect communication. Links: Connect with Opal: ...
May 01, 2019•37 min•Season 1Ep. 49
Behind the scenes, Opal Co-Founders Kara Bazzi, LMFT, CEDS and Dr. Lexi Giblin, PhD, CEDS, have been hosting workshops for young girls to start them early on learning body wisdom and developing a healthier relationship to their body image. One of Kara’s daughters--and a participant in the workshop--joins us today to share her impression on the key tenets of the workshop, ranging from identity, to genetics, to nutrition. Links to books mentioned: Healthy Bodies, by Kathy Kater https://www.amazon....
Apr 25, 2019•34 min•Season 1Ep. 48
Filmmaker Elizabeth Ayiku joins host Carter Umhau, LMHC to talk about her upcoming feature film, Me Little Me. Elizabeth’s own struggles with an eating disorder and her difficulties pursuing recovery as a black woman in a flawed treatment world are both the inspiration for the film and at the center of this conversation. Listen in to learn about the filmmaking process and Elizabeth’s vision for expanding the face of eating disorders in Hollywood. Key words: filmmaker, eating disorders, treatment...
Apr 18, 2019•36 min•Season 1Ep. 47
