In this episode, I'm joined by Marcus Kain Murray of Strong Not Starving for a conversation about strength training that goes beyond reps, programming, and pushing harder.

We talk about what changes when training becomes something you practice instead of something you perform for approval. Marcus gets into why a workout can feel hard and still be the wrong kind of hard, how the fitness industry sells exhaustion as progress, and why pulling back is sometimes what actually helps you get stronger.

We also talk about effort, intensity, rest periods, and what it means to challenge yourself without turning exercise into another place where you have to override yourself. If you tend to either overdo it or avoid it, this conversation gives a different way to think about strength, recovery, and consistency.

This is a strength-based episode, but the lens is bigger than fitness. It's about building strength without making training the boss of your life.

Marcus is the founder of Strong Not Starving. He is a trainer, StrongFirst certified instructor, and coach with 20 years of experience in the fitness industry. His work brings together strength training, nutrition coaching, disordered eating informed fitness, stress management and recovery, sleep, and relationship coaching.

Find Marcus here:
https://strongnotstarving.com/

More from Stef:

Binge Eating to Intuitive Eating (BE2IE) Self-Study Course
iamstefaniemichele.com/iamstefaniemichelecourse.com

Substack (essays on body image, appetite, and the nervous system)
iamstefaniemichele.substack.com

Instagram (daily thoughts + short-form content)
instagram.com/iamstefaniemichele

More from Stef:

Binge Eating to Intuitive Eating (BE2IE) Self-Study Course
iamstefaniemichele.com/iamstefaniemichelecourse.com

What happens when a food restriction is not coming from diet culture, but from an actual health need?

In this episode of Full But Not Finished, I'm answering a listener question about giving up gluten for an autoimmune condition, feeling better physically, and then suddenly feeling the old psychological pull of restriction, scarcity, rebellion, and white-knuckling come back.

We talk about the difference between a true health accommodation and a food rule, why even medically appropriate restrictions can still register as scarcity, and what gets in the way of staying connected to food freedom when your body genuinely needs something different.

I also get into food morality, perfectionism, satisfaction, autonomy, and why your psychology may rebel against a protocol that starts to feel like obedience, even when your health matters.

This episode is for anyone trying to care for their body without falling back into old binge/restrict cycles, orthorexic thinking, or the belief that food freedom means never having boundaries around food.

Topics covered: medical food restriction, gluten, autoimmune conditions, intuitive eating, food freedom, food morality, orthorexia, binge restrict cycle, scarcity mindset, health accommodations, and restriction recovery.

Substack (essays on body image, appetite, and the nervous system)
iamstefaniemichele.substack.com

Instagram (daily thoughts + short-form content)
instagram.com/iamstefaniemichele

In this episode, I'm joined by Minea for a conversation about food recovery, body image, control, and what happens when you understand the concepts but still don't feel safe enough to let go.

This is not a neat success story, and that is exactly why I wanted to share it.

Minea talks about growing up as a child who loved food, the moment her body began to feel like something other people could judge, the early pull toward control, and the confusing shift into feeling out of control around food after years of trying to stay in control.

We also talk about shame, identity, perfectionism, productivity, attachment, fear of weight change, and the hard-to-name place where someone can have deep self-awareness and still feel caught between what they understand and what they feel able to do.

This conversation may not be right for everyone, especially if you are currently feeling pulled toward control or struggling to feel steady in your own food and body work. Please take care of yourself while listening.

For the person who has ever thought, "I understand all of this, so why am I still here?" — this episode is for you.

More from Stef:

Binge Eating to Intuitive Eating (BE2IE) Self-Study Course
iamstefaniemichele.com/iamstefaniemichelecourse.com

Substack (essays on body image, appetite, and the nervous system)
iamstefaniemichele.substack.com

Instagram (daily thoughts + short-form content)
instagram.com/iamstefaniemichele

Topics include binge eating after restriction, eating disorder recovery, body image, weight gain fear, perfectionism, shame, compulsive exercise, nervous system regulation, intuitive eating, attachment, resistance, and the reality of being in the middle of healing