In this special episode of Talking With Emma, I’m doing something different.
Instead of teaching a tool or exploring a concept, I’m sharing my story — from childhood through midlife — and how my own experiences with food, weight, and the diet, restrict cycle shaped the work I do today.

You’ll hear about:

• How culture and childhood that shaped my beliefs about health, beauty, and worth
• The years I spent trying to “fix” my body — and the cost of that
• The turning points
• Why I now coach through a feminist, non-diet, weight-neutral lens
• And what I’ve learned about rebuilding trust with yourself after decades of food and body noise

This isn’t a highlight reel. It’s the truth behind the work — and why I believe so deeply that your body has never been the problem.

Links & Resources:
🎧 Download the Self Assessment + audio guide. It helps you see how — discover how patriarchal structures have impacted your health and wellbeing.

Curious about working together?
I’m currently taking private clients. Book a no-cost consultation where we’ll talk about your goals and see if I’m the right coach to support you.

Let’s stay connected:
🌐 Emma's Website
📬 Join the Talking with Emma newsletter
📱 Follow on Instagram, and LinkedIn

If you enjoyed this episode, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a review. Let’s help more women stop fixing their bodies and start trusting them.

Women can find themselves struggling when it comes to food and exercise. Not because they don’t know enough. Not because they’re lazy or weak. But because of the cultural mindsets that sneak in and run the show.

In this episode of Talking with Emma, I unpack three of the most common food mindsets that sabotage women’s health goals:

• All-or-nothing thinking — why perfectionism keeps you swinging between being “on track” or spiralling into “I blew it.”
• The “what’s wrong with me?” question — how this one sneaky question fuels confirmation bias and keeps you stuck in self-blame.
• Outcome obsession — why focusing on weight, performance, or results sets you up for discouragement, and why behaviours are the true markers of health.

Links & Resources:
🎧 Download the Self Assessment + audio guide. It helps you see how patriarchal structures have impacted your health and wellbeing, so you can evolve your relationship with food and your health.

Curious about working together?
I’m currently taking private clients. Book a no-cost consultation where we’ll talk about your goals and see if I’m the right coach to support you.

Let’s stay connected:
🌐 Emma's Website
📬 Join the Talking with Emma newsletter
📱 Follow on Instagram, and LinkedIn

If you enjoyed this episode, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a review. Let’s help more women stop fixing their bodies and start trusting them.

This week on Talking with Emma, I’m diving into one of the most emotionally charged topics in the health world: food addiction. But instead of recycling the same old narratives, I’m offering a different lens — one that cuts through the confusion, the shame, and the pseudoscience. We’re pulling apart what people really mean when they say they feel addicted to food — and why that feeling is often more about cultural conditioning, restriction, and stigma than about the food itself.

If you've ever felt like you can’t trust yourself around chocolate or chips, or like food has power over you, this episode is for you. We’ll explore why the research around food addiction is messy and inconclusive, how shame and restriction create the very behaviours we label as addiction, and what you can do to shift the narrative and start healing your relationship with food.

Key Takeaways

• Food addiction isn’t a settled science. The evidence is unclear, and the definitions vary — is it a substance addiction like alcohol, or a process addiction like gambling? The science doesn’t agree.
• “Addictive” foods often reflect restriction + shame. When women say they feel addicted to food, it’s often the result of biological hunger colliding with dieting rules and cultural judgment.
• Restriction fuels the binge cycle. Most studies overlook the impact of restriction, even though it’s a major driver of feeling out of control around food.
• Cultural meaning shapes how we experience food. Pizza isn’t just calories — it’s memories, messages, and morality. The brain responds to all of it, not just the ingredients.
• Eating disorders and “food addiction” scores strongly overlap. This shows how easily we pathologise normal responses to restriction and shame.
• Weight stigma distorts everything. When you’ve been taught your body is a problem, it’s no wonder food feels like a battleground.
• Healing requires unlearning, not more control. Naming cultural scripts, questioning restrictions, and responding to your actual needs is the way out.

Links & Resources:
🎧 Download the Self Assessment + audio guide. It helps you see how — discover how patriarchal structures have impacted your health and wellbeing.

Curious about working together?
I’m currently taking private clients. Book a no-cost consultation where we’ll talk about your goals and see if I’m the right coach to support you.

Let’s stay connected:
🌐 Emma's Website
📬 Join the Talking with Emma newsletter
📱 Follow on Instagram, and LinkedIn

If you enjoyed this episode, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a review. Let’s help more women stop fixing their bodies and start trusting them.