RCS 1: how to navigate new year’s wellness messaging in eating disorder recovery

Welcome to the Recovery Companion Series. 👋

Join Kait and Eric Pothen, eating disorder recovery coach, for a new monthly series designed to help listeners navigate eating disorder recovery feel less alone.

As the new year gets closer, Kait and Eric sit down to talk about how loud diet culture and wellness messaging become this time of year and how hard that can be, especially if you’re in recovery or trying to heal your relationship with food and your body. They reflect on the post-holiday swirl of emotions, the pressure to “start over,” and the impact of the growing conversation around GLP-1 medications. This episode centers recovery over rules, intention over punishment, and reminds listeners that healing is not about becoming someone new. It’s about coming home to yourself. If the new year feels complicated or tender, this conversation offers reassurance that you’re allowed to go slow, change your mind, and take care of yourself exactly as you are.

Episode takeaways:

• Diet culture thrives on insecurities and flaws.

• The 'new year, new me' mindset can be harmful.

• GLP-1 medications have amplified diet culture messaging.

• Recovery involves making conscious, intentional choices.

• Media literacy is essential in navigating wellness messages.

• Setting intentions for the new year should align with personal values.

• Community support is vital in recovery journeys.

• Celebrating personal strengths is important for self-acceptance.

• It's okay to change intentions as you evolve.

• Be gentle with yourself; you are enough just as you are.

Series Cohost: Eric Pothen is a Certified Eating Disorder Recovery Coach who guides individuals toward freedom, connection, and self-compassion in their relationships with food and body. His coaching is deeply rooted in his own lived experience with an eating disorder, allowing him to show up for clients with empathy, honesty, and the belief that recovery is possible for everyone. Especially for men and LGBTQ+ folks who rarely see themselves represented in the conversation.

Eric advocates nationally for eating disorder awareness through his roles on the Peer Council for the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) and the Community Advisory Committee for the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD).

He is the founder of Embrace Wear, a mission-driven apparel brand designed to spark conversations and promote self-acceptance, and the host of Embracing You, a podcast that amplifies stories of healing, identity, and self-love.

Eric is currently pursuing his degree in Counseling at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota, working toward becoming an eating disorder therapist for men and members of the LGBTQ+ communities

Connect with Kait

📸 @bitebybiterecovery

🔗 bitebybiterecovery.org

Connect with Eric

📸 @ericpothen

🔗 Eric’s website

🎙️ Embracing You

👕 Embrace Wear