313. What’s Still Missing From the “Emotional Eating” Conversation with Dr. Deborah MacNamara [Best Of]

Happy New Year, Insatiable listeners! Welcome to 2026.

Today I’m resharing my conversation with parenting expert Dr. Deborah MacNamara, where we explore how food connects to our deep need for belonging, how feeling significant plays into belonging and food choices, as well as the many ways we can heal our relationships with food, fullness, and needing other people.

If you want to make real changes with your or your loved ones eating, this episode just might help you make life-changing connections that have been elusive for years and be focused in the right direction for 2026.

Tune in, then make sure to check out my new website trucewithfood.com. 

We discuss:

• The difference between attachment and belonging
• What Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is missing
• How to focus on receptivity in relationships with our kids
• Why food is often the place our relationship dynamics play out
• The surprising connection between food, fullness, and vulnerability
• Self-soothing vs satiation
• Why feelings are different than emotions
• The problematic invasiveness of “work mode”
• Experimenting with being “needy” so we can learn to depend on others

More about our guest: Dr. Deborah MacNamara is the author of two books, Nourished: Connection, food and caring for our kids (and everyone else we love), and Rest, Play, Grow: Making sense of preschoolers (or anyone who acts like one). She is on Faculty at the Neufeld Institute and the Director of Kid’s Best Bet counselling.

Connect with Dr. Deborah MacNamara:

• Website
• Books
• Facebook
• Instagram

Mentioned in this episode:

• Dr. Gordon Neufeld & Dr. Gabor Maté
• The Religion of Wellness Culture with Anne Helen Petersen (Episode 252)

Send me (Ali) a text message.

🧭 If you're tired of knowing what works but not being able to make it stick, try my free food stage finder. There are four distinct stages in how we relate to food, and a few questions will reveal yours along with next steps. Visit: trucewithfood.com/find-your-food-stage