Understanding dopamine and eating behaviours:

WORKSHOP RECORDING

from live session on 26th September, 7pm

Do you believe you're addicted to certain foods and find yourself searching for a way to feel less consumed by them?

If you’ve ever felt controlled by your eating habits, wondered why certain foods seem impossible to resist, struggled with making decisions about what to eat, or get overwhelmed by the idea of getting something to eat? This workshop is for you.

Meet Mel

Mel is a neuro-affirming nutritionist, specialising in distressed eating, eating disorder recovery, menopause nutrition, and facilitating body image healing through non-diet nutrition and counseling. Her focus is on assisting people who experience challenges due to eating differences and anxiety related to food and the eating environment; those who struggle with sensory sensitivities, all-consuming thoughts about food, compulsive eating, food aversion or avoidance, repeated burnout, guilt and shame.

What will you gain from this workshop?

  • A deep understanding of dopamine and its role in eating behaviors including cravings and bingeing. And that it's not just about pleasure, but also about the choices we avoid.

  • Learn how your brain calculates the reward value of food and why dopamine - driven behaviours involve both seeking and avoiding behaviours.

  • Insight into the impact of altered dopamine function on your eating - without diet culture poking it’s nose in, gain a realistic view of how dopamine affects your food desires and preferences. And the impact on executive function skills used in meal planning, preparation and cooking.

  • Understand that food isn't addictive - it's how our brains respond to it that creates the illusion of addiction

  • Practical, restriction-free strategies to help support your eating: Build your own Dopamine Menu (with ways to boost and support your dopamine) and walk away with clear neuro-affirming actions to help you manage cravings, impulsivity, and binge eating.

Who will this workshop help?

  • Neurodivergent adults: Especially those who find their relationship with food to be complex and often frustrating.

  • Individuals who have been told - or who feel - they are addicted to food: If you feel stuck in the cycle of cravings and bingeing.

  • Anyone who struggles with cravings, impulsivity, and binge eating: Learn why these behaviors occur and how to manage them effectively.

  • People who find meal planning, food shopping, and cooking overwhelming: Gain clarity and discover ways to work with your brain, not against it.

Workshop Flow:

  1. Introduction: We’ll set the stage with what’s to come and dive into a fun exploration of why your favourite foods make you go mmmm, eeeek or ahhhhh.

  2. Biscuits with Benefits: Understand dopamine's roles in reward, motivation, and pleasure, and how these can influence your eating behaviors

  3. Dopamine Seeking: Explore the connections between dopamine, cravings, compulsive eating. And how avoidance behaviours can also be rewarded.

  4. Strategies for Management: Learn practical strategies to help you support your eating (including food preparation) and find more calm.

  5. Build Your Own Dopamine Hit-List in the form of a Dopamine Menu: a personalised list of ways to get your dopamine "fix" through both food-related and non-food-related activities.

  6. Q&A: Get your questions answered and discuss any challenges you’re facing with your eating habits.