BITE BY BITE | Honest Conversations About Eating Disorder Recovery
Bite by Bite is a raw, unfiltered podcast exploring the lived experience of eating disorder recovery and the road toward healing. Hosted by Kait, this podcast offers an inside look at what it’s really like to live with — and recover from — an eating disorder.
Beginning with her own recovery journey in 2015, Kait shares honest, heartfelt reflections on the realities of her illness, the often-overlooked challenges, and the deeply personal process of finding freedom from the eating disorder. Through candid storytelling and vulnerability, she works to break the stigma, challenge harmful narratives around food and body image, and remind listeners they are never alone in their recovery journey.
Whether you’re actively in recovery, supporting a loved one, or seeking to better understand the complexities of eating disorders and mental health, join Kait, and many different podcast guests, for real conversations that inspire hope, foster self-compassion, and offer a reminder that recovery is possible — one bite at a time. 🍒
BITE BY BITE | Honest Conversations About Eating Disorder Recovery
Reclaiming My Voice in Eating Disorder Recovery
Welcome to the Bite by Bite Podcast
In this powerful first episode of the Bite by Bite Podcast, your host, Kait, shares her personal journey through eating disorder recovery, relapse, and finding the courage to heal again.
Kait does not aim to share a polished, perfect narrative but rather open the doors to an honest conversation about the lived experience of navigating life with an eating disorder and recovery. This episode sets the stage for a podcast dedicated to breaking stigma, building community, and speaking openly about the realities of recovery.
Episode Topics:
- Kait shares her why’s (2:18)
- Relapse and the past 2 years (3:03)
- Kait’s thinking starts to shift (4:13)
- The creation of Bite by Bite (5:15)
- Bite by Bite becomes a podcast (6:33)
Connect with Kait
bitebybiterecovery@gmail.com
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Hey there, and welcome to Bite by Bite, the podcast that takes you step by step through the messy, beautiful, and real journey of my struggle with an eating disorder—and my recovery. I’m Kait, and I’m here to share my own experiences, lessons, and the wisdom I’ve gathered along the way.
Here, I share it all - the raw, real, and uncensored—so those who can relate know they’re not alone in the tough moments. And for those of you who haven’t battled an eating disorder, your attention is just as important in helping to educate and break the societal stigma.
Before we dive in, please remember that while I hope my story and reflections can be helpful, this podcast is not a substitute for professional treatment. If you’re struggling or need extra support, please reach out to a qualified mental health professional.
In today’s episode, I’m going to be sharing my WHYs with you all. I had posted a poll on my IG story a few weeks ago and asked you all to help me decide which episode was released first and almost all responses were that you wanted to know my WHY - why am I finally talking out loud now after 10 years? Why am I going public? Why the IG? Why the Pod? Well, I asked and you answered so here it is!
And one more thing—this podcast is explicit, because if I’m going to do something, there’s no way I’m going to leave my personality out of it.
Let’s dive in, one bite at a time
Alright - here we go. MY WHYS.
As I said before, you all wanted to hear my WHYS first.
Why I chose recovery—not just once,but twice now.. And why I decided to start talking about it out loud, on Instagram, on this podcast, in a way that feels both terrifying as fuck and necessary.
There was a time—actually, a lot of times—when I didn’t think recovery was for me. I thought it was for people who were braver than me, or sicker than me, or more “deserving” of help than me. It’s a common thing for people with eating disorders for us to think “we aren’t sick enough.” So, that’s what I thought - I thought I wasn’t sick enough to need to recover.
But the truth is I was sick enough, I was beyond that actually. Eventually I hit a breaking point and the silence started to feel heavier than anything I have ever carried and I slowly started realizing that my eating disorder was turning me into someone I wasn’t, someone I didn’t like.
In coming episodes, you will learn that about 10 years ago I went to a formal eating disorder treatment center. You will also learn that I was not fully recovered when I was discharged and I was only able to “fake it till I make it” for about a year or so before I fully relapsed.
Most people think my relapse was more recent - within the past 2 years. That is not true. My full relapse occurred about 1.5 years after I was discharged. Although I was able to manage it enough where I could manipulate the perception of other people - no one knew I wasn’t fully recovered when I left treatment and no one knew how quick I was back in the thick of it, except me.
Over the past 2 years I found myself deep in the trenches. Not as deep as I was 10 years ago but I was well on my way there wide open in the fast lane.
Looking back, I now know that even though I did commit to recovery back then, I didn’t take it as seriously as I should have or as I do now. I simply thought If I showed up to treatment for the amount of time they told me to, I would be healed. I would be fixed. The ED would be no longer. If I checked off all of the boxes, as if treatment was a to-do list, I would be all set.
Unfortunately, that was not the case.
Over the past 2 years, I slowly started to shift my thinking—I don’t even know exactly when— but I started to wonder what would happen if I told the truth about it. Not the polished, before-and-after version. But the messy middle. The part where I’m trying and stumbling and figuring it out as I go. The part where I admit the ED is not gone and I did in fact relapse.
Two years ago I reconnected with my nutritionist and therapist and started doing the work again - the work that wasn't fully finished from the first time around.
As I slowly got myself into a better place, a happier place, I started feeling this pull, this urge, that I needed and wanted to talk about it. It started off as an itch - I knew I had things to say and talk about but I wasn’t sure how. I was also intimidated because I have SO MUCH to say that I feared I wasn’t going to be able to organize it in a way that would make sense to others.
I decided to be patient. I decided that when the itch came or when a new
idea came along with a thread of thoughts I would start writing them out or recording them. I knew that when I was ready I would know.
So one day I made an IG account - Bite by Bite recovery - an ironic play on words given what I’m recovering from. I get by with dark humor.
At first it started out to just get my thoughts out, to hold me accountable, and to dig deeper into what was really going on with myself and my eating disorder.
Then I started getting an audience, I started having people, both of which I knew and did not, reach out to me and say how relatable it was, or how proud they were of me for being so vulnerable. It meant alot because it made me realize that this is something more common than we think. That telling my story is powerful. That I can actually turn my eating disorder into something positive, maybe?
Then one day there was one message that really pushed me to decide that I wanted to do more. Someone had messaged me and expressed their gratitude for finally finding someone who talks about an eating disorder in a way that, not only they can relate to, but in a way that highlights the underlying struggles and battles that one with an ED faces every day. In a way that touches on all of the things and isn’t directly tied to food since that is what society tends to think that's what eating disorders are all about. Someone who isn’t a professional and speaks about the lived experience in a way that isn’t neat and tidy. This person thanked me for putting the things they have been thinking and feeling into words that other people could hopefully understand.
That’s where this podcast came from. Not because I have answers, but because I have a story. And I know how much it matters to hear someone say, “I get it,” “I’ve been there,” or “yeah, it fucking sucks but I can relate and we’re in it together.”
It comes down to 3 reasons why I’m publicly sharing my shit:
- To heal myself by no longer being silent
- To spread awareness of what eating disorders actually are and how they manifest, and
- To reach at least one person who can relate and let them know they are seen, heard, and that there is at least one more person in this world who just gets it - at least one more person in this world who also has a lifetime pass to the shitshow.
To everyone listening, you should know -
This isn’t a recovery manual. It’s just me, using my voice to share the raw truth about how my eating disorder served me and kept me stuck. I’ll share things most people would have never known otherwise, probably even my family (sorry Dad), and invite guests to share their own stories.
I’m speaking out to heal myself, raise awareness, give others a voice, and, most importantly, help at least one person feel a little less alone.
That’s the why and the heart of Bite by Bite. I’m glad you’re here.
Thank you so much for joining me for this episode of Bite by Bite. I’m so grateful to be able to share this space with you, and I hope today’s conversation brought you some insight into what is driving me on this journey.
During the next episode, I will take you through the timeline of my ED from my perspective and lived experience as I look back on the previous years, all the way through the present day.
Remember, no matter what you’re healing from; healing isn’t perfect, and every step you take does matter.
If you enjoyed this episode, consider sharing it with someone who might need it, leaving a review or subscribing on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode. And if you want to connect more, you can find me on Instagram at @bitebybiterecovery—I’d love to hear your thoughts, your stories, or just to say hi.
Until next time, let’s keep taking life Bite by Bite. See ya!
