Wedding season can make even the most grounded person start negotiating with their body. Suddenly it’s not just a dress, it’s photos, comments, fittings, “just until the wedding” rules, and the fear that you’ll spend a once-in-a-lifetime day thinking about how you look instead of what you feel.

We get into the real pressure points: the subtle way families talk about weight, the way dress shopping can bring up anxiety when you don’t have the “movie moment,” and the ways fatphobia shows up in bridal spaces online. We also unpack why strangers feel entitled to comment on bodies, and how to stop letting that noise become your inner voice. Along the way, we share our own wedding memories and the tiny moments that could have spiraled but didn’t, because presence mattered more than perfection.

You’ll leave with practical body image tools for weddings, prom, and any special event: eat before you try things on, move in the outfit so you know you can live in it, plan for comfort so you’re not distracted all night, and separate logistics from self-judgment. If you’re navigating an eating disorder history, diet culture triggers, or just the nonstop pressure to “look your best,” this conversation is your reminder that your body is not the project.

Subscribe, leave a rating and review, and share this with someone heading into wedding season. What part of the process messes with your body image the most?

Show notes:

Trigger warning: this show is not medical, nutrition, or mental health treatment and is not a replacement for meeting with a Registered Dietitian, Licensed Mental Health Provider, or any other medical provider. You can find resources for how to find a provider, as well as crisis resources, in the show notes. Listener discretion is advised.

Resource links:

Alliance for Eating Disorders: https://www.allianceforeatingdisorders.com/

ANAD: https://anad.org/

NEDA: https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/

NAMI: https://nami.org/home

Action Alliance: https://theactionalliance.org/

NIH: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/

How to find a provider:

https://map.nationaleatingdisorders.org/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us

https://www.healthprofs.com/us/nutritionists-dietitians?tr=Hdr_Brand

Suicide & crisis awareness hotline: call 988 (available 24/7)

Eating Disorder hotline: call or text 800-931-2237 (Phone line is available Monday-Thursday 11 am-9 pm ET and Friday 11 am-5 pm ET; text line is available Monday-Thursday 3-6 pm ET and Friday 1-5 pm ET)

If you are experiencing a psychiatric or medical emergency, please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.

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He sells out Madison Square Garden, walks off stage, opens Instagram, and the first thought that hits is disgust about his body. That single moment in Noah Kahan’s Netflix documentary “Out Of Body” captures something we see constantly in our work: you can reach the goal you dreamed about and still feel hijacked by body dysmorphia, perfectionism, and a brain that won’t let you rest.

We recap the documentary through a mental health and body image lens, pulling out the scenes that made us tear up and the lines we can’t stop thinking about. We talk family trauma and the grief of the conversations you never have, the radical acceptance that comes with not being able to choose your parents or rewrite the past, and the strange whiplash of going from career-high moments to regular life the very next morning. We also connect the dots between safety, nervous system regulation, and creativity, and why returning to a place that feels grounding can change everything.

A big focus is men’s body image and disordered eating. Noah names body dysmorphia, shame, and a restrict binge cycle, while also admitting he didn’t know what his “place” was in talking about it. We unpack why so many men struggle in silence, how social media and photos can become a compulsive body-checking trap, and how the “life thief” can steal weddings, milestones, and joy by pulling you out of the moment.

If you’ve ever thought, “Why can’t I just be happy after something good happens?”, this conversation will land. Subscribe for more episodes on body image and mental health, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review with the scene or quote that hit you hardest.

Show notes:

Trigger warning: this show is not medical, nutrition, or mental health treatment and is not a replacement for meeting with a Registered Dietitian, Licensed Mental Health Provider, or any other medical provider. You can find resources for how to find a provider, as well as crisis resources, in the show notes. Listener discretion is advised.

Resource links:

Alliance for Eating Disorders: https://www.allianceforeatingdisorders.com/

ANAD: https://anad.org/

NEDA: https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/

NAMI: https://nami.org/home

Action Alliance: https://theactionalliance.org/

NIH: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/

How to find a provider:

https://map.nationaleatingdisorders.org/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us

https://www.healthprofs.com/us/nutritionists-dietitians?tr=Hdr_Brand

Suicide & crisis awareness hotline: call 988 (available 24/7)

Eating Disorder hotline: call or text 800-931-2237 (Phone line is available Monday-Thursday 11 am-9 pm ET and Friday 11 am-5 pm ET; text line is available Monday-Thursday 3-6 pm ET and Friday 1-5 pm ET)

If you are experiencing a psychiatric or medical emergency, please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.

Support the show

A diagnosis can explain what you’re going through, but it should never get to decide who you are. We’re joined by Brianna Mainprize, a registered psychotherapist from Ontario, Canada, whose work in eating disorder recovery is grounded in both clinical experience and her own healing journey. Together, we dig into the moment many people quietly hit: when “I have anxiety” turns into “I am anxiety,” or when “I struggle with an eating disorder” starts to feel like the only identity that fits.

We talk about the signs your mental health label is swallowing your sense of self, including language shifts, life decisions that get filtered through the diagnosis, and social reinforcement from diet culture, social media, sports, and perfectionism. We also unpack why letting go can feel terrifying even when the struggle is painful, because the brain often chooses familiar chaos over unfamiliar peace.

You’ll hear practical tools you can use right away, like Brianna’s Identity Pie Chart exercise to map the parts of you that exist now, the parts you’ve lost, and the parts you want to build. We also explore how to support a child, partner, or friend without reinforcing the illness, why curiosity beats judgment, and how shame blocks connection and recovery. For long-term eating disorder patterns, Brianna shares a powerful strategy: separating yourself from the eating disorder voice by naming it, so you can notice thoughts without automatically obeying them.

If you’re working on body image, eating disorder treatment, anxiety, OCD tendencies, or perfectionism, this conversation brings you back to the bigger goal: building an identity rooted in values, interests, and relationships. Subscribe to Nourish And Empower, share this with someone who needs hope, and leave a review telling us what part of your identity you want to reclaim.

Show notes:

Trigger warning: this show is not medical, nutrition, or mental health treatment and is not a replacement for meeting with a Registered Dietitian, Licensed Mental Health Provider, or any other medical provider. You can find resources for how to find a provider, as well as crisis resources, in the show notes. Listener discretion is advised.

Resource links:

Alliance for Eating Disorders: https://www.allianceforeatingdisorders.com/

ANAD: https://anad.org/

NEDA: https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/

NAMI: https://nami.org/home

Action Alliance: https://theactionalliance.org/

NIH: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/

How to find a provider:

https://map.nationaleatingdisorders.org/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us

https://www.healthprofs.com/us/nutritionists-dietitians?tr=Hdr_Brand

Suicide & crisis awareness hotline: call 988 (available 24/7)

Eating Disorder hotline: call or text 800-931-2237 (Phone line is available Monday-Thursday 11 am-9 pm ET and Friday 11 am-5 pm ET; text line is available Monday-Thursday 3-6 pm ET and Friday 1-5 pm ET)

If you are experiencing a psychiatric or medical emergency, please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.

Support the show