The Self Led Woman Podcast: emotional eating and nervous system healing for self-leadership
Aug 16, 2026 · 19 min · 11 segments
You wanted the chocolate. You chose the rice cake instead. And an hour later you were still thinking about the chocolate and probably ate more than you would have if you'd just had it in the first…
Megan DarnellHost
You want chocolate or chips or whatever it is for you that is the thing that you crave.
But instead of just having it, something else kicks in, like a voice that says, but I've been so good today.
Or maybe there's a quick mental calculation of calories or macros or what you've already eaten or what you need to do later to compensate.
You've been doing it for so long that maybe you just automatically reach for something else like the rice cakes or the bliss balls or you decide to make a sweet potato brownie because that's supposed to scratch the itch.
And maybe it does a little in the moment, but then maybe an hour later you're still thinking about the chocolate or you're thinking about the next day and the day after that.
And eventually you'll either eat it, probably more than you would have if you just sort of had the chocolate in the first place, or you'll white-knuckle it and feel vaguely deprived and slightly resentful, like food has entirely too much power over you.
Today I want to talk about what happens, the neuroscience of it, the emotional layer underneath this and what it actually looks like to reach a place where food just doesn't have that kind of grip anymore.
So before we get into the craving or the swap or even the binge, I want to start at the very beginning because I think the problem starts way before you open the fridge.
You want chocolate or chips or whatever it is for you that is the thing that you crave.
But instead of just having it, something else kicks in, like a voice that says, but I've been so good today.
Or maybe there's a quick mental calculation of calories or macros or what you've already eaten or what you need to do later to compensate.
You've been doing it for so long that maybe you just automatically reach for something else like the rice cakes or the bliss balls or you decide to make a sweet potato brownie because that's supposed to scratch the itch.
And maybe it does a little in the moment, but then maybe an hour later you're still thinking about the chocolate or you're thinking about the next day and the day after that.
And eventually you'll either eat it, probably more than you would have if you just sort of had the chocolate in the first place, or you'll white-knuckle it and feel vaguely deprived and slightly resentful, like food has entirely too much power over you.
Today I want to talk about what happens, the neuroscience of it, the emotional layer underneath this and what it actually looks like to reach a place where food just doesn't have that kind of grip anymore.
So before we get into the craving or the swap or even the binge, I want to start at the very beginning because I think the problem starts way before you open the fridge.
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