In the second half of my ANEW Insight Podcast conversation with eating-disorder specialist and HAES practitioner Robyn Goldberg, we explore one of today’s most urgent and misunderstood intersections of medicine and mental health: the rise of GLP-1 medications—Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, Zepbound—and their impact on eating behaviors, body image, and nutrition.
While these drugs can be life-saving for people with Type 2 diabetes or severe obesity, their mainstream use as quick weight-loss aids has created a new kind of vulnerability: malnutrition masked as success. Below, we unpack what’s really happening to the body, brain, and gut when hunger disappears—and how to heal.
When Hunger Vanishes: GLP-1 Side Effects and Silent Malnutrition
In clinics and online communities, stories are emerging of people who can barely eat—sometimes consuming fewer than 800 calories a day—yet celebrate shrinking numbers on a scale.
Robyn warns that beneath the appetite loss lies serious nutrient deficiency: fatigue, tremors, constipation, and even muscle wasting. Some patients report hair loss, kidney stones, stomach paralysis, and recently, temporary vision loss.
“People tell me, ‘I’ll risk the medical issues because I can’t bear to regain weight.’ That breaks my heart,” Robyn says.
The body interprets extreme restriction as famine, not fitness.
Metabolism slows, hormones misfire, and the nervous system enters survival mode. This mirrors the pattern of traditional dieting—and the same weight-cycling rebound that so often follows.
Weight Cycling, Diet Culture, and the Roots of Weight Gain
Contrary to popular belief, most long-term weight gain originates from repeated dieting, not lack of discipline.
Each attempt to shrink the body trains the metabolism to store more fat when eating resumes—a biological insurance policy against perceived starvation.
As Robyn explains, “You can weight-cycle on salads or on burgers—it’s not what you eat but why you eat.”
Social comparison, shame, and the illusion of control drive the cycle, reinforced by celebrity thinness and wellness marketing.
When the body’s set point is repeatedly violated, hormonal chaos follows—especially when diets emphasize high-protein, low-carb extremes that suppress GLP-1 naturally and disrupt gut diversity.
Processed Foods, Pleasure Pathways, and the Science of Cravings
Both Robyn and I emphasize that food should never be moralized—but modern food engineering has tilted the playing field.
Ultra-processed foods are designed to trigger dopamine “bliss points” that override satiety, similar to how gambling or social media hijack attention.
That doesn’t mean eliminating them entirely. It means re-training awareness through mindful eating—pausing to notice texture, aroma, and emotional cues.
When pleasure is reclaimed from rigidity, the brain learns safety around food again—a foundation for true metabolic healing.
Learn more about rebuilding body trust in my book Deprogram Diet Culture and the companion online course, where I teach the neuroscience behind satiety, cravings, and nervous-system regulation.
Nutrition on GLP-1s: How to Nourish When Appetite Is Gone
For those using GLP-1 medications under medical supervision, the challenge becomes eating enough to function.
Even bedridden, the human body requires baseline energy to power the heart, brain, liver, and immune system. When intake dips below that threshold, muscle loss and cognitive fog set in.
Robyn rarely counts calories with clients. Instead, she reframes nourishment as a physiological necessity, not a moral negotiation:
“Your body doesn’t know if you’re dieting or surviving famine—it just slows everything down to protect you.”
The first step toward repair is gentle exposure—reintroducing small, frequent meals, prioritizing protein for tissue repair, complex carbohydrates for energy, and fats for hormonal balance.
Progress may be slow, but consistency signals safety to the body’s stress systems, allowing metabolism to recover.
The Gray Market: Risks of Compounded and Off-Label Injections
Beyond clinics, a booming underground market of compounded GLP-1s has emerged—injectables sold online or through unregulated pharmacies. Many contain unpredictable dosages or adulterated substances.
Robyn notes reports of patients receiving insulin instead of semaglutide, resulting in coma and hospitalization.
This desperation reflects how far diet culture pushes people toward risk. When social worth is equated with thinness, even medical danger feels justified.
As I tell clients, no aesthetic goal is worth compromising your organs. Always source medication through licensed providers and pair it with professional nutritional supervision.
Rebuilding GLP-1 Naturally: Food, Rhythm, and the Microbiome
The good news: the body already produces GLP-1, GIP, and PYY—hormones that regulate fullness, glucose, and digestion. We can support their natural rhythm through food timing, fiber, and stress reduction.
Science shows that:
- Eating breakfast, especially including intact starches (oats, beans, cooled rice), enhances GLP-1 secretion and stabilizes blood sugar.
- Fermented foods (yogurt, kimchi, kefir) and plant diversity feed gut bacteria that signal satiety.
- Adequate sleep and circadian-aligned meals improve insulin and GLP-1 balance.
- Limiting artificial sweeteners like sucralose and xylitol helps restore true taste perception and prevents craving dysregulation.
As Robyn reminds listeners, “Caffeine isn’t water—and fake sugar shifts how your body senses fullness.”
Real food, variety, and hydration remain the most accessible medicine.
From Medication to Mindset: Preventing Disordered Eating on GLP-1s
Even individuals without a history of eating disorders can develop restrictive or avoidant eating while on these drugs. Chronic nausea, food aversions, or anxiety around eating can quickly evolve into obsessive control.
The key is psychological safety.
Patients must learn to reconnect with hunger signals—even faint ones—and to re-associate eating with calm rather than guilt.
This may require therapy, body-based mindfulness, or guided support through an intuitive-eating framework.
“If you’re canceling dinners because there’s ‘nothing you can eat,’ it’s time to reassess,” Robyn explains.
At ANEW Insight, we integrate nutrition psychology and somatic awareness to help clients restore that internal compass.
ARFID, Sensory Eating, and the Role of Exposure Therapy
Robyn and I also discuss ARFID—Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder—a condition characterized by extreme selectivity around texture, smell, or fear of certain foods.
Though not caused by GLP-1s, medication-related nausea can amplify existing sensitivities.
Treatment often begins with micro-exposures: handling food, smelling it, or practicing tolerance before tasting. For children and adults alike, gradual desensitization rebuilds safety and curiosity.
Because ARFID often overlaps with anxiety or neurodiversity, a multidisciplinary approach—dietitian, therapist, and physician—is most effective.
The Bigger Picture: Genetic Diversity and Body Respect
Perhaps the most grounding insight of our conversation is that bodies are not meant to be identical.
“Don’t ask a chihuahua to look like a Great Dane,” Robyn laughs. Genetics, hormones, and environment determine natural weight range far more than willpower.
As I share in Deprogram Diet Culture, sustainable health begins when we stop waging war on biology and start cultivating trust.
When nutrition, psychology, and self-compassion converge, healing becomes inevitable—and dieting becomes obsolete.
Key Takeaways
- GLP-1 misuse can cause malnutrition and mimic the effects of chronic dieting.
- Weight cycling is more damaging than weight itself—focus on stability, not restriction.
- Gut diversity and real food naturally enhance satiety hormones.
- Artificial sweeteners and skipped meals disrupt metabolic signals.
- Mindset change is essential: the goal is nourishment, not numerical control.
- Body diversity is real. Respecting genetics is the first step to sustainable health.
Continue the Conversation
🎧 Listen to Part 2 of the ANEW Insight Podcast featuring this in-depth discussion with Robyn Goldberg.
📘 Read Deprogram Diet Culture to learn how dieting rewires your metabolism and how to rebuild body trust.
🎓 Explore the Deprogram Diet Culture Course for a step-by-step framework on rejecting diet mentality and healing your relationship with food.
Here is the full transcript:
Dr. Supatra Tovar: [00:00:00] Welcome back we’re back for the second half of our interview with amazing registered dietitian certified eating disorder specialist, intuitive eating counselor HAES practitioner Robyn Goldberg. Robyn gave us some really invaluable insight into her extensive background and eating disorder treatment philosophy.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: I cannot wARFID to pick her brain some more. Welcome back, Robyn.
Robyn Goldberg: Thank you.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: So we are in the age of Ozempic. The song pops up into everyone’s head, I am sure. I am really disturbed in a lot of ways. I mean, I think that these medications are very useful for people who absolutely need them, but I’m starting to see a lot of misuse.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: I have been a part of several groups on Facebook where people talk about their [00:01:00] journeys with these weight loss medications and I see a lot of issues and problems when it comes to eating disorders and disordered eating around these medications. So I really wanted to focus on this so that maybe we can find ways that we can help people navigate
Dr. Supatra Tovar: through what we’re seeing with these medications, but if you can give kind of a general overview of what you might be seeing in your practice or what you might be seeing, kind of just, anecdotally through the news, what’s happening?
Robyn Goldberg: So what’s happening in my office is I’m seeing people that are younger. And younger on these medications and that are having side effects that are not even discussed. Kidney stones, like reoccurring kidney stones. I know we’ve read a lot about stomach paralysis now. The latest blindness, which could be temporary.
Robyn Goldberg: Like that scares me out of [00:02:00] everything. ’cause I’m almost legally blind,
Robyn Goldberg: Since I was a kid. So I’m always with like, my vision, my glasses, my contacts. It’s, but you know, the big thing with all of these, the GLPs and non GLPs, is malnutrition.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: Yes.
Robyn Goldberg: So that I would say, I mean everything is, not ideal that’s happening with it, but malnutrition where you’re consuming way less than what your body needs. And you’re finding, I’m really tired. I can’t stand in the shower. I’m having tremors, I’m constipated. I feel like I’m a hundred. My bodies have aches and pains. Like, like you described, I think they can serve a great purpose. You have type two diabetes to be able to reduce the A1C. I know many people that are living on them indefinitely.
Robyn Goldberg: Like, oh, I’m [00:03:00] going on a vacation. I have a high school reunion to be able to shed quote unquote a few pounds. And I was actually discussing with someone the other day was who who is a provider actually, and who is on the medication and was telling me that, she has all these medical issues that have come up.
Robyn Goldberg: And I said, well. I don’t think you would wanna be on this forever. You can’t be. And she was like, Robyn, it is worth for me having all these medical issues because I do not wanna find out what it would be like to have my body rebound and regain that weight back and then some. It saddens me because. Yes. they might feel more confident internally, but also not talking about like chunks of hair are falling out. I’m finding that I don’t feel relieved when I’m [00:04:00] taking a poop. I’m not really going to the bath. I mean, it’s sort of like just the intake is less for many people than what a newborn is consuming.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: Yes, I had. Yes. I had a client that, thankfully she went off of it very quickly, but she was maybe getting like 800 calories in a day. She had the same issues. She was weak. She was irritable. She couldn’t think straight. It was just awful. And I think it’s really difficult because you’re feeling this way, but you’re not
Dr. Supatra Tovar: hungry. And that is very scary because your body wants to be telling you that it needs nutrition. And that’s what a lot of these hunger hormones will be doing for you. They’re telling you need nutrition, but people who say that they, are in larger bodies or they have type two diabetes and they do need this [00:05:00] medication they’ve gotten to that place more often than not because of their diet. So let’s start there. What usually leads people to gain unwanted weight? In terms of nutrition? What are the culprits usually?
Robyn Goldberg: Weight cycling
Dr. Supatra Tovar: Yes.
Robyn Goldberg: is number one. You could weight cycle eating salads, you could weight cycle eating burgers. I was just talking with someone yesterday. It’s not always what they’re eating, but why they’re eating
Dr. Supatra Tovar: Yes.
Robyn Goldberg: And I think for many that have gone down that path, time and time again, they like, I always use example, Oprah Winfrey. You can have all the chefs, trainers, dietitians. People at your fingertips, but if you’re not willing to change your thought process, it’s all going to be temporary. [00:06:00] And that’s the piece too. Like our bodies changes as we age. They’re not meant to remain the same. We get a little grayer, we have a little more cellulite, we get more wrinkle.
Robyn Goldberg: It’s just what it is. So to expect that you’re going to look as you did five years ago, 10 years ago is unrealistic. But I think too, when a person has gotten to the point that they’ve dieted and tried so many things time and time again, maybe it’s commercials like you’re saying this morning when I was on the Peloton hearing the Ozempic commercial, it’s happens, but I think too, there’s a pressure from maybe their provider. Like, okay, you’ve tried for X amount of time, or they’re getting, opinions from their children, their spouses, and also even just there’s this like envy.
Robyn Goldberg: I’m listening to a client’s like, oh yeah, I was with these moms and we’re all talking about [00:07:00] food and everybody’s on a GLP but me, I think maybe I should go on one too. There’s that FOMO of it too. So I think different circumstances that get the person to essentially like drink the Kool-Aid.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: Absolutely. I would definitely say dieting, weight cycling and. Seriously if a high protein, super duper high animal protein low carb diet was the key to weight loss, everybody, most everybody would be skinny by now. We have a lot of really, really controversial dietary advice that may provide some relief in the short term, but really aren’t effective in the long term.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: So you see people going on these very strict, high protein, low carb diets that are unsustainable and that’s what creates the weight cycling. In addition, you have so many other influences like ultra processed foods. I’m a person who doesn’t like to vilify foods. I [00:08:00] think that all foods fit.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: We have a spectrum of foods, but when you look at the engineering of ultra processed foods, they hijack your hedonic centers and it makes it very difficult for you to stop eating once you’ve started eating those foods, you have diet, culture influences, people really kind of looking. At the ideal celebrity and trying to emulate that all of these can lead to that weight cycling of weight loss, more weight gain, weight loss, and subsequent weight gain.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: Go ahead.
Robyn Goldberg: I also just wanted to say not all foods work for each person, because I know for many of us that are non diet approach clinicians, we would come from this unquote all foods fit model. Not all foods work for each person. And I think instead of like blaming or villainizing a specific food or food group, there’s, many reasons.
Robyn Goldberg: Maybe a person has a [00:09:00] history of trauma and they’re eating is a way to soothe and protect themselves. Maybe they have a metabolic condition, maybe they’re on different psychotropic medications that we don’t know what’s going on with someone.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: Yes, absolutely. And that’s actually why I went into get my clinical psychology doctorate after I got my master’s in nutrition because I really wanted to delve into all of those other factors that lead people down the road towards disordered eating or eating disorders. So. What do we do for people who are on these medications and they’re maybe getting 800 to like a thousand calories a day?
Dr. Supatra Tovar: How would you help somebody increase their nutritional uptake so that they’re not experiencing like that like extreme anxiety, panic, fatigue, all of those really negative effects?
Robyn Goldberg: I think it’s [00:10:00] explaining to them just the fundamentals of the, just if you were bedridden, and I rarely speak about calories in my practice, but I can say, I talk about if you were bedridden, just what our bodies need to be able to have your brain function, your heart, your liver, your kidneys, and really understanding that’s without taking into consideration their activity, a stress factor,
Robyn Goldberg: if they have, COVID, if they have a cold, if they’re, going through chemotherapy and how under nourishing themself is actually doing more harm than good and slowing their metabolism down. So your body doesn’t know if you’re in this, place of famine or if I’m quote unquote on a diet.
Robyn Goldberg: And each time it’s like, I always like to quote Evelyn Tripoli, the co-author of Intuitive Eating. She has a great quote that, dieting is like getting a haircut. What does that mean? I get a haircut, I schedule my appointment a month later. How come? Because my hair’s growing back and then some, and [00:11:00] that’s literally what happens.
Robyn Goldberg: The more that we restrict and the more that we diet, and then that weight cycling happens, that weight comes back at an accelerated level.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: Exactly. So we give them that education and then what if they’re just not able to eat more?
Robyn Goldberg: Well, I think oftentimes too, it’s finding options that a person feels like they could be open to trying. But I think with this, it really comes down to them establishing trust and a rapport with me, with you, whomever they’re sitting with. It’s not a 1, 2, 3 model. I mean, might be talking about this for multiple weeks. But I think too, it’s for them really being able to put any kind of like body shift on the back burner, because if they’re finding they’re having a problem existing in day-to-day life, to me that’s the pressing [00:12:00] issue that they would want to address as opposed to putting on, a different pair of jeans.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: Oh yes, absolutely. I, I. We’ll concur with that for sure. We’re also seeing, and this is shifting a little bit, because a lot of these compounding pharmacies are either having to close or they’re having to alter their formulations because the shortage is no longer there. I see on a lot of these Facebook groups, people very confused about the shots that they’re getting from these compounding pharmacies.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: They’re coming in like weird colors. They don’t really understand what’s in them. How do we help people navigate through all of that mess?
Robyn Goldberg: I mean, there’s a whole underground world to this. I think it’s the gray market is what it’s called. And [00:13:00] I mean people that are purchasing these medications, not from their providers off label. Where it’s affordable. And I think honestly it’s just gonna get worse and worse. And you know this as well as I do, you can’t help someone get to their bottom. Maybe their bottom is something scary happens to them. Maybe, they’re having an allergic reaction, they’re having a medical issue, but it’s everyone’s on their own journey and has to get to a point where it’s like, this is not the place for me, and especially when you’re getting it from another country or a random website, people go through these extreme measures to try to fall into what, society, states is, an ideal body shape or size. And it’s
Dr. Supatra Tovar: Yes.
Robyn Goldberg: I always like to describe, you wouldn’t ask a chihuahua to look like a great Dane, just like [00:14:00] genetically, in the
Dr. Supatra Tovar: Even if I feel like a great Dane, they can’t look like one.
Robyn Goldberg: Yeah, well look, you wouldn’t ask, there’s like, twin studies that show this like, can eat the same thing and there’s no guarantee that you’re gonna look like this other person it’s just like our genetics are what, override so much of this.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: Absolutely. So I would say. Try to obtain your medication from your doctor, if at all possible, and be very wary of these compounding pharmacies. We just don’t really know. I mean, there’ve been reports of people getting insulin instead of the medication, and going into a coma and having really adverse outcomes.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: So we have to be really careful about where we’re getting our medications and it certainly says a lot about the pressure that comes from diet culture if people are willing to kind of take that chance and not really know what they’re, getting in terms of their [00:15:00] medication. A lot of people also don’t know and really don’t understand the medication itself, and they don’t understand that we actually.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: Make these hormones naturally in our body, GLP, GIP, PYY, can you help people understand how to maybe boost these hormones in their body naturally? Like what foods are effective for that and what kinds of lifestyle interventions may help to boost that?
Robyn Goldberg: Well, to just respond differently to your question, I always like to explain to clients part of having a body is that you will have cravings. That is normal, there are times that you will have a bigger hunger, a bigger appetite. Other times you have a lesser hunger, a lesser appetite, and we trust our body will make up the difference for it at the next meal.
Robyn Goldberg: So I just wanted to start off with that. [00:16:00] Similarly to what you were referring to before. I am someone that really does not say like, oh, eat this because this will happen. It seems very diet culture, but kind of like we were talking about before, for example, being able to have like real food, like, oh, I’m gonna have in the morning my, my eggs and my toast and fruit, like I’m having real food versus, I’m grabbing a shake or a bar or freeze dried fake food. I mean, essentially like having real food I think is important with helping with the production of these hormones. And the other thing too is not skipping meals, not going long durations without eating. And I can’t emphasize enough that like caffeine is not water.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: What [00:17:00] Robyn?
Robyn Goldberg: All these drinks that are with your Splenda, xylitol, stevia, like it’s altering first of all, your taste, your satiety level, needing something to be sweeter and sweeter. I mean, you’re like biochemically shifting how your body would just organically respond.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: Okay.
Robyn Goldberg: So I’m not saying not to drink them, but also to be real where it’s like, okay, I’m having water.
Robyn Goldberg: And you might say, well, I don’t like water Robyn. It’s bland, it’s boring. Well, I could put, lemon, lime, I, oh, what if I’m putting crystal light, I’m putting my xylitol sweetener. It’s because how they’ve trained themselves. So that’s like another problem that I see with people that are so dependent on any food or beverage, putting these fake sweeteners on, and [00:18:00] that to me is an issue too.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: Absolutely. And I’ve been doing a little bit more deep diving on just how our body produces GLP one and starches are actually a big proponent in increasing our GLP production as well as eating at certain times of the day. And a lot of people, especially when they’re dieting, they don’t eat breakfast.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: That’s the one meal that they will skip. And that’s actually when you can boost GLP production the most is by eating in the morning, eating a breakfast, and usually something starchy also.
Robyn Goldberg: it’s called Breaking the Fast.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: Exactly. And it really, it doesn’t have to be like 8:00 AM in the morning. I mean, if people are not hungry, I think it’s very important that they’re listening to their body and that they’re eating.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: But you can kind of alter and shift your circadian rhythms, especially if you decide not to eat in the morning when you’re hungry. And [00:19:00] I think that’s really important for people to understand that, and we don’t tell them what to eat. But certainly when you look at the science whole natural foods help that production the best, help your digestion the best, help, alter and fundamentally change your gut microbiome.
Robyn Goldberg: I was just gonna say, your microbiome. Exactly. ’cause especially as we age, it changes because we’re not having enough variety, diversity. So you might find, oh, I’m guessing I’m bloated. It’s like we wanna have different food choices to help maximize our digestion and any type of GI feeling that we would experience.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: Exactly. So I think that’s a way that we can help people navigate if they are on these medications, is really giving them the education that they may need as far as what foods will, help their gut microbiome, the best help boost their own [00:20:00] GLP, especially if they’re people that don’t want to be on this for life.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: A lot of people, they may go on that thinking, I’m on the magic pill. I can stay on it for life. But they might not be able to sustain that either financially or physiologically. And so. If they have eaten a certain dietary pattern before and say it’s containing a lot more of these artificial sweeteners, a lot of ultra processed foods, maybe they’re more really heavy into animal protein, they’re gonna have a different gut microbiome.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: And if they don’t change that while they’re on the medication itself and they go off of it and they go back to that same dietary pattern. The same results will happen, and I think just understanding that these are not magic pills or magic injections is the key. Would you agree?
Robyn Goldberg: 150%. I think so many people I speak with providers and clients before they [00:21:00] come to me is like, I don’t need to make changes with my nutrition. I’m on, this injectable. But it’s like you have to be able to change, not just your mind. I mean, choices, like you said too.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: Yes. What are the potentials for those who don’t have disordered eating or eating disorders when they go on these medications to actually develop disordered eating or eating disorders? And how does that kind of transition into something like that?
Robyn Goldberg: I wanna make sure I understood your question. So you were asking for someone that goes on a medication that does not have an eating disorder, what could potentially happen?
Dr. Supatra Tovar: Yes.
Robyn Goldberg: Well, I think many might be averse to different foods. It’s like, oh, it just has turned me off. They have specific preferences or many people I’ve seen, they have chronic nausea and they’re just eating whatever they can consume.
Robyn Goldberg: So they’ve developed different, biases [00:22:00] regarding various foods too. And, somewhere along the way they’re, not getting all the vitamins and minerals, let alone calories that they’re needing too. And they’re becoming fearful. Well, maybe not in the beginning, fearful, but it can turn into it of these different foods because they feel like that’s making them have a queasy stomach. It’s, contributing to them not being interested in eating or they’re lacking social plans and they’re canceling because like, ah, there’s not gonna be anything on the menu I can eat. They’re not open to being curious around food.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: Yes. So how do you help clients that may either have a eating disorder and then have it, be exacerbated on this medication or somebody that’s developed it while on this medication? How do you help people navigate out of that?
Robyn Goldberg: I think first and foremost, and with some of these people I’ve heard them say, oh, my doctor has now changed me to Zepbound. And, oh, [00:23:00] okay I’m not nauseous, but no, I don’t need to work in X, Y, and Z in my diet and I find it’s important for me to explain the reasons it would be helpful to be able to work X, Y, and Z.
Robyn Goldberg: Like as you were speaking before about carbohydrates with boosting, GLP production. I’ll say, well, you know what, you do need carbohydrates for energy. We don’t obtain energy from protein and from fat. And if we could get all the vitamins and minerals we needed from one specific food or food group, there wouldn’t be a wide array of food choices out there.
Robyn Goldberg: So again, explaining.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: Yes. Well, you, I do want to touch on, we were gonna talk about picky eating and that also, is something that can develop when you’re on these medications. But how do you help people say with ARFID and explain for people what, if they don’t know what ARFID is, or if they become a picky eater on this medication, what are some strategies that they can employ to help widen their food choices?
Robyn Goldberg: [00:24:00] So ARFID is avoidant, restrictive food intake disorder it’s known as the unquote picky eater. It was recognized in the DSM February of 2023. And it’s not pertaining to weight. It could be texture, sensory, perhaps they’ve had some sort of trauma or incident with a various food or food group. And I think those that are on these different medications, I have not personally, as someone who’s developed ARFID from being on it, they maybe were picky eaters before going on it or even seeing, kids, tweens, adults that have ARFID, I mean, really the way that I help them, there’s a lot of exposure therapy. It could be starting out and just walking down the, bread aisle of the store. Maybe it’s not even, touching the bread or was listening to a client the other day and he was [00:25:00] like, okay, Robyn, I, held the cauliflower in the house and I was chatting with the cauliflower. I was like, fantastic. So I think the first thing is really being able to rate like what their level of fear and openness is to, trying any of these foods or even just like being in the environment or space of it versus, it’s not about sneaking a food in to your diet.
Robyn Goldberg: It’s being able to be like, what would it be like, once I can get to this point of like taking a little bite, maybe let’s talk about how it’s prepared or what you could put on it. So yeah it’s definitely a very lengthy journey to get to that point. But I think also, there’s many adults I see that have had ARFID for many years before it was diagnosed, as opposed to with kids that are have more recent diagnoses.
Robyn Goldberg: Where I think the longer we do something, the more entrenched we are in those behaviors and habits.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: Yes, and I believe [00:26:00] too, ARFID can be a little bit more prevalent in the autism spectrum population as well because of the sensory issues. It’s heartening to know that, to see that you haven’t necessarily seen ARFID developing out of the use of these weight loss medications, but certainly if they were picky before
Dr. Supatra Tovar: it’s gonna be exacerbated when they’re on these medications. Robyn, there’s so much I didn’t get to ask you. It’s like crazy. I’m looking at my questions, I’m like, oh my gosh. I have to have you back on. But before we close out the second half, please tell people how they can find you. Please tell people how they can get your book, and also tell us a little about your podcast.
Robyn Goldberg: Thank you. My website is askaboutfood.com. I have on there information about me and my private practice. I am in person as well as virtual. I have links on my book on there. My book [00:27:00] comes in audio, ebook, paperback, I have a free online course for parents, partners and caregivers that have a loved one struggling called Your Recovery Resource.
Robyn Goldberg: It was developed over COVID with my colleague Becca Clegg, who’s an eating disorder therapist in Atlanta. And it was developed for I would say the family or caregiver is the most important team members and oftentimes the forgotten team members. And we have 35 modules of videos and handouts. And then I have my podcast the Eating Disorder Trap podcast, which now drops every other Monday, just coming up on five years of it. And each episode’s 15 to 25 minutes. I have all types of individuals on in our field, some not in the field, but have a lot of wisdom that I thought was important to be able to share. And I always like to kind of [00:28:00] come in from my angle about disordered eating and or eating disorders, and it’s on every platform where podcasts can be found.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: I love it. I love it. And we are definitely gonna have to have you back on to talk more because you and I are really aligned in the way that we approach eating disorders and disordered eating, and it’s so lovely to have a kindred spirit in the same city. I love this, and we will certainly have to meet up
Dr. Supatra Tovar: in person sometime soon. But I’m so grateful for your wisdom. You are really, at the top of your field and it is such an honor to have you on this podcast. So thank you so much for joining me.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: I
Robyn Goldberg: appreciate the invitation. Thank you Supatra.
Dr. Supatra Tovar: Yay. And thank you everyone for joining me on the ANEW Insight podcast. I’m really looking forward to my next exciting interview, and I hope you join me next time.
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