Overcoming Binge Eating, IBS & Chronic Pain with Michelle Ho

If you’ve ever struggled with binge eating, food guilt, chronic pain or IBS (or love someone who has) this episode is packed with real talk, practical insight and the reminder that healing is absolutely possible.

More info, resources & ways to connect - https://www.tacosfallapart.com/podcast-live-show/podcast-guests/michelle-ho

In this Mental Health Monday episode, MommaFoxFire sits down with Michelle Ho, a nutritional therapy practitioner and binge eating recovery coach, to talk about what it really takes to overcome binge eating, IBS and chronic pain... without shame, guilt, or toxic food rules.

Michelle kicks things off by explaining what her work looks like and how it differs from a dietitian or nutritionist. She combines nutritional therapy with life coaching to help folks heal their relationships with food and their bodies. She emphasizes the importance of looking at the whole person - digestion, sleep, stress, blood sugar and mental well-being - not just calories or weight loss.

She shares her own story of struggling with binge eating, starting in college. A combination of stress, undernourishment and diet culture set the stage for a cycle of secret binges, guilt and self-criticism. Despite looking “healthy” from the outside and doing all the “right” things (like running daily and eating what she thought was clean) she was actually stuck in an exhausting restrict-binge cycle that got worse the more she tried to control it.

Michelle makes it clear that binge eating isn’t about a lack of willpower. In fact, many people caught in that cycle have too much willpower and keep white-knuckling through extreme diets until their body rebels. She also explains how under-eating - even if it’s “accidental” or framed as being healthy - is a major trigger for binge episodes. A simple question from her own coach at the time (“Do you think maybe eating an orange and drinking coffee all day has something to do with your binging at night?”) completely shifted her perspective.

Throughout the conversation, Michelle breaks down myths about binge eating, emotional eating, and dieting. She shares that it's not about being greedy, lazy or addicted... it’s often about unmet needs, whether those are nutritional, emotional, or physical. Michelle also touches on how diet culture feeds into this cycle by pushing rigid food rules, glorifying restriction and labeling foods (and people) as “good” or “bad.”

IBS and chronic pain were also part of Michelle’s journey, and she explains how those conditions added both urgency and complexity to her recovery. She had to find ways to avoid food triggers for her health conditions without slipping back into a restrictive mindset - something she helps her clients navigate today.

Her approach to recovery is rooted in four key elements: changing the mental narratives around food, nourishing your body fully, facing food triggers in a safe and supportive way, and replacing binge eating with better tools for coping, comfort and joy. She encourages people to stop asking “How little can I eat?” and start asking, “What do I need to thrive?”

This conversation is full of raw honesty, practical tools and real hope for anyone stuck in the cycle of binge eating or trying to heal their relationship with food. Michelle’s message is clear: your body isn’t the enemy, and you don’t need to fight it to feel better.