Katie Papo, 108 Yogaville Way, Buckingham, VA (2026)

04/12/2026

Most people say they want to learn to eat for fuel, not pleasure.

I say that’s a great way to guarantee feeling out of control and never satisfied .... no matter how much you eat.

You might be thinking, "Has Katie lost her mind? Pleasure is my whole problem! If food wasn't so pleasurable, I'd be able to stop eating it!"

This can take a minute to wrap your brain around, but hear me out.

Pleasure is not the enemy. Pleasure is actually a fantastic tool that I teach all my clients to use when they're rebuilding their relationship with food.

I just spent three days with 12 lovely souls in my Yoga, Stress, and Food program, which wrapped up today. I’m still reflecting on it.

One theme kept coming up: pleasure.

In yoga, we’re often taught pleasure is not the goal. Pleasure and pain are two sides of the same coin.

Whatever brings you pleasure will eventually bring you pain. Both are fleeting.

Which is definitely true in our material world.

The very same chocolate that brings you pleasure has an equal capacity to bring you pain, depending on how you use it.

Pleasure, for this reason, is actually an EXCELLENT tool when it comes to body listening.

Often we eat in ways that bring us pain and don’t even realize it:

- Not taking the time to sit down

- Shoveling instead of chewing

- Thinking “I shouldn’t be eating this” rather than simply being present and enjoying

- Rushing instead of taking our time

- Ignoring body cues

- Multi-tasking

- Eating to numb

When we aren’t present, we miss the most pleasurable parts of eating. The taste, the texture, the sensations in the body.

And then we’re not satisfied, because even though we ate the food, we missed out on the actual pleasure. Our body ate, but the mind wasn’t there.

But what happens when we actually prioritize pleasure? We invite in more presence.

- We WANT to taste more
- We slow down
- We pay attention to flavors, textures
- We take our time chewing
- No rushing
- Being present

When we’re present, we can FEEL in real time what’s actually pleasurable and what isn’t.

(Notice how I said FEEL not "think." The mind has ideas about what's pleasurable, but it can't actually know in real-time, moment-to-moment without the body's help.

For example, you might love dancing and your mind knows that, but your leg hurts ... so your BODY is actually the one to let you know that even though you like dancing, it won't feel pleasurable now with an injury.)

Here’s another example:

I LOVE walking. So much. But does more walking = more pleasure?

Not necessarily. I might feel great at the start, but if I get a blister halfway through, it doesn’t matter how much I love walking. It won’t be pleasurable anymore.

That’s body listening. That’s using pleasure to make a choice that actually serves you.

Pleasure isn’t something to fear, run from, or shame yourself for wanting. It can be used in a practical way, as a tool, to check in with your body, check in with yourself, and see if your actions are aligned with what you actually want.

Simple question to ask yourself: Am I giving myself pleasure right now, or pain? How could I shift to make this more pleasurable?

I’m not saying everything should be pleasurable. Discomfort has value, and growth is often uncomfortable.

But when it comes to building consistency in your habits when you feel resistance?

We stick with things we actually enjoy. If something feels good, it’s so much easier to keep showing up for it, and to simply enjoy your life more.

A lot of people who haven’t built their pleasure muscle resort to numbing instead.

This was me. I called it pleasure... zoning out, binge eating in front of the TV.

But you can’t actually feel pleasure when you’re numb. Looking back, it was temporary relief from pain or discomfort. Not real pleasure.

Presence is the prerequisite for true pleasure. Numbing will never give you the satisfaction you’re looking for.

Two of my clients are currently in the part of my program where we focus on pleasure.

One of them shared this week how much more pleasure she’s getting from food, from being with people… from everything. Just from showing up more present.

The other had a completely different, but equally powerful realization: almost every activity in her day was a responsibility.

She’s incredibly structured and capable, but she’d never once thought to structure in pleasure. To fill her own cup.

Here’s the thing: if we never experience pleasure, we can’t experience real satisfaction either.

That’s why eating to numb doesn’t bring true pleasure, even if in the beginning we think it does. It might bring temporary relief from discomfort, or some excitement about eating a forbidden food, but it rarely leads to true satisfaction.

Here's the breakdown:

More presence = More pleasure

More pleasure = More satisfaction

More satisfaction = Less craving

How about that! We’ve been trying to take pleasure out of the equation, but it’s what we’ve actually needed the whole time.

The first step to ALL of it? Presence.

Being here at the yoga ashram in Yogaville, Virginia has been really special in terms of presence. There’s something about being in a place where everyone around you is meditating and practicing presence together.

My program here is now over, but the ashram is open year-round for your own personal retreat, or other programs, in a serene, supportive yogic environment.

You can pick any dates to visit and give yourself some quiet time. I've given myself a personal retreat here before, and it was amazing.

And as always, if you want to rebuild your relationship with food with peace and pleasure and ease, I'm here to help ... and ready when you are :)

Love, Katie

04/06/2026

Weather is looking perfect for Yoga, Stress, & Food on April 10-12 in Yogaville! All-inclusive for $775. Signup link in bio.

04/05/2026

SNEAK PEEEK! Here's what we are covering in Yoga, Stress, & Food from April 10-12. You're invited to join and work on your relationship with food all weekend with me in a beautiful, tranquil, supportive yoga ashram.

Let me know if you have questions!

Sign up info in bio

03/29/2026

To have a healthy body, we need to speak its language.

But your body doesn't speak in words at all. It speaks in sensations.
Tension. Hunger. Fullness. A tight chest. An exhale of relief.

The problem is most of us are so busy, so in our heads, we can't understand it, let alone feel it fully. We're fluent in thought and illiterate in sensation.

When it comes to food, that disconnect is a make or break.

So much of what drives compulsive eating, emotional eating, the restrict-binge cycle … it lives in that exact gap.

Between what your body is actually telling you and your mind’s thoughts.

Learning to close that gap is how a real, lasting relationship with food gets built.

Not through more rules.
Through listening.

But here's the catch: learning to listen in a noisy room is near impossible.
---
That's why I keep coming back to Yogaville.

When everything slows down …. when you're not rushing to the next thing, when your phone isn't pulling at you, when three organic meals just appear and you didn't have to think about any of it …. something opens up.

You start to notice what's actually going on inside.

That's why I’m inviting you to join me.
This April 10-12, I'm leading Yoga, Stress & Food, a small-group weekend retreat at Satchidananda Ashram in Yogaville, Virginia.

In our four workshops together, we'll work on:

🪷Learning to hear your body
🪷Reshaping thoughts and cravings that have been running the show
🪷Building the kind of foundation that holds when you get home.

You'll also have the full ashram experience!

🪷Three optional meditation sessions a day
🪷Gentle yoga and deep relaxation
🪷Lectures with swamis who've been practicing for 40+ years
🪷Trails to walk in tranquil nature
🪷Three homemade, organic vegetarian meals served daily from the ashram gardens.

Want to learn your body’s language? It's a lot easier to learn a new language when you're immersed in it.
---
If your relationship with food has felt loud, chaotic, or just exhausting … this is a place to get quiet enough to hear something different!

April 10-12 (extended dates avail.)

PS This is my ONLY retreat of 2026. Only a few spots.
Sign up in bio!

03/08/2026

One of the biggest lessons of my life came from asking the question:

What if slowing down helps me get what I want … faster?

What if the clarity I've been chasing only comes through ... stillness?

At first glance, slowing down can feel a lot like falling behind.

But what if there was a place where slowing down was CELEBRATED because of the stillness and clarity it brings? Where slowing down is not only allowed ... but ENCOURAGED!

That place exists. It's called Yogaville.

And from April 10–12, I'm leading a weekend retreat there: Yoga, Stress & Food.

You'll get the full ashram experience: living it, breathing it, being held by it.

And within that, intimate workshops with me designed to help you find more peace and clarity around food than you ever have before.

For many of us, food is our unfinished business.

The guilt after eating … the cravings that feel bigger than you … the mental energy spent thinking about food that you'd give anything to spend on something else.

It's exhausting in a quiet way. And most people accept it as normal.

It doesn't have to be.

Come spend a weekend slowing down … and watch what starts to move. 🌸

- Daily meditation and gentle yoga suitable for everyone.

- Three homemade vegetarian meals every day, made from food grown right on the ashram gardens.

- Talks and teachings from the resident Swamis, monks who have been practicing for decades.

- My workshops are woven throughout, to bring healing and peace to your relationship with food.

- Accommodations and food are included - you just need to get there!

The rest of your time is filled with quiet walks in nature, journaling, reading, meeting like-minded people, or enjoying your solitude.

And if you want to arrive early or stay a few extra days, you're welcome! You can even extend your dates for extra time away if you want.

All-inclusive, April 10–12 in Yogaville, Virginia. If it's calling you, come! Details and registration in comments.

03/05/2026

On April 10–12, I'm leading a weekend retreat at the Satchidananda Ashram – Yogaville in Virginia: Yoga, Stress & Food.

Yogaville is one of those places that's hard to describe until you've been there. Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains, completely removed from the rush of everyday life.

There's a beautiful meditation hall shaped like a lotus flower. Gardens that grow the food served at every meal. Gentle yoga every day.
.. Monks and Swamis who have been practicing yoga and meditation for decades, leading classes and sharing teachings throughout your stay.

Woven through all of it, you'll spend time with me, in small group sessions and workshops, going deeper into your relationship with food.

What I'll be teaching is what has changed everything for me and countless others- Going from compulsive to calm around food.

Ten years ago I was constantly trying to control my food, then binge eating, and spending about 70% of my mental energy every day battling cravings and worrying about food.

Now it's a non-issue. Not because I follow strict rules or a special diet … but because I learned how to have a relationship with food that feels genuinely healthy and peaceful. That's what I want to give you.

If you're in the Virginia area, can make the drive, or just want a really beautiful reason to take a long weekend away, I'd love for you to be there and support your vision for your own relationship with food.

All the details are in the comments.
......

PS. Even if you can't make it for my program, I genuinely recommend checking out Yogaville for your own tranquil getaway. I spent some time there last year and it was simply wonderful.

The meditations, the yoga classes, the talks by the monks… The homemade, healthy food. The library full of spiritual books. The hiking trails and the nature all around you. Peace and quiet.

You can go to Yogaville any time you want— or join another program they offer.

But if you do want to come when I'm there, I’d love to have you!
April 10–12 are the dates. Check comments for details.

12/30/2025

There's one exercise I return to every single year.

It's given me more clarity and progress than any other exercise I've ever done. And to tell you the truth, it's a big reason I'm not still stuck in the same patterns I was in 10 years ago.

I just recorded a podcast episode walking you through the exercise .... first, with food, and then, with another area of your life, of your choice.

This exercise helps you:

- Get crystal clear on what really matters to you
- Start overcoming the exact struggle you're going through right now
- Stop wasting time and energy on what doesn't move you forward

It takes about 10 minutes. But the clarity it gives you is something to carry with you ALL year.

Many people are going to enter 2026 with a list of goals. But if you want to get clear on the ONE thing that matters most ... the ONE thing that will improve everything else ... this is the episode for you.

Tune in and listen now: The Single Most Important Exercise I Do Every Year

(Binge Eating to Food Freedom podcast link in bio!)

12/05/2025

You know that feeling. You know you're full. But there's still food on your plate ... and walking away feels impossible.

Or maybe you put the leftovers away, but now they're calling to you from the fridge.

This isn't about willpower. And it's not because you "love food too much."

There's a specific reason this happens — and once you understand it, you can actually change it.
In this week's episode, I break down:

~ Why finishing everything feels so urgent (even when you're stuffed)

~ The scarcity pattern that makes leftovers "call to you"

~ How to genuinely feel satisfied with less, without feeling deprived

This is one of those shifts that feels impossible ...until you learn how your unconscious patterns actually work.

11/25/2025

What's the whole point of Black Friday?

To spend LESS money, right?

So why do we walk out having spent MORE?

We plan to buy one thing on sale. We leave with a cart full of things we didn't even know we wanted. We spend way more than we would have on a regular day.

The intention was less. The result is more.

It's the exact same thing that happens with food.

We decide to eat less. We make rules, start diets, tell ourselves "no cookies after today."

The intention is to eat LESS. But we end up eating MORE.

We binge. We overeat. We clear out the pantry before Monday.

Same pattern. Same result.

Here's what's really happening: scarcity.

On Black Friday, stores create artificial scarcity. "SALE ENDS TONIGHT." "ONLY 3 LEFT." "DOORBUSTERS UNTIL 6AM."

With food, we create our own scarcity. "No sugar starting Monday." "I can't keep cookies in the house." "This is my last cheat day."

And scarcity does something predictable every single time: it creates urgency and panic.

The imbalanced Black Friday shopper isn't calmly choosing what she needs. She's grabbing everything because "it might not be here tomorrow."

She buys things she doesn't actually value, just because they're on sale. She leaves exhausted, overwhelmed, with bags full of things she was excited for at first, but will probably regret.

Sunday night before your Monday diet? Same thing. You're standing in your kitchen eating everything you're about to forbid yourself. Not because you're actually enjoying it, but because it won't be "allowed" tomorrow. You go to bed stuffed, guilty, promising yourself you'll be stricter next time.

The balanced Black Friday shopper knows what she truly needs and values. If it happens to be on sale, great. If not, she buys it anyway because it matters to her. No panic. No urgency. No regret. Just intentional choices that feel good.

The balanced eater does the same with food. She knows cookies are always available, so she has a couple when she genuinely wants them.

She stops when she's satisfied — not because she's using willpower, but because there's no urgency. The cookies aren't going anywhere. She can have more tomorrow if she wants. So she has what feels good right now, and moves on with her evening.

See the difference? It's not about the quantity. It's about the internal state.

This is why restriction never works long-term. It creates the scarcity that drives overconsumption.

We don't need more rules. We need to shift from scarcity to genuine abundance.

And here's what I know from both my own experience and a decade of working with clients: when you truly shift to abundance, the overconsumption stops on its own. Not through willpower. Through peace.

My client Hannah had trigger foods she couldn't keep in the house for 25 years. Now she messages me things like: "There's cake in my fridge and I keep forgetting it's there. This feels like a miracle."

It certainly feels like a miracle. But it's what happens when food stops feeling urgent.

This is exactly what we do in Feel the Shift.

It's a 10-day immersive program where I personally guide you to retrain your mind and your nervous system around food.

Every day, you'll get specific practices to shift from that panicked, compulsive energy to genuine calm. You'll learn exactly how to approach trigger foods, binge urges, and any food situation in a way that builds trust with yourself instead of more fear.

And because I know you're someone who goes all-in when you commit to something, I'll be there daily to catch your blind spots, answer your questions, and give you the exact guided adjustments you need.

You'll also get lifetime access to the entire program so you can revisit it whenever you want.

And I want your whole experience to be calm.
This is why I don't create fake urgency or flash sales. If we want a calm relationship with food, the whole process needs to be calm … including how and when you join.

So pick a time when you can really prioritize yourself. When you don't have as much on your plate and can give this work the attention it deserves. The holidays are chaotic for most people — maybe early December or January feels better. Or maybe you want to go into the holidays feeling more at peace with food, and now is the perfect time.

If you want to reserve your spot for a set of dates within the next couple of months (January typically fills up), read more about Feel the Shift (link in comments) so you can reserve your ideal dates.

Because the goal isn't just to get through the holidays without binging. The goal is to free up all that mental energy you're spending on food, so you can actually be present for what matters. Your family. Your work. Your life.

That's what real food freedom gives you.

Love,
Katie

PS No new podcast episode this week because of the holiday, but I'll be back next week!

PPS Feel the Shift link in comments!

11/16/2025

When I talk about how restriction fuels binge eating, I often hear:
"But that's not me. I don't diet. I don't count calories."

And I get it. Because I used to think the same thing.
But here's what most of us don't realize:

Restriction isn't just about formal diets. It's about the energy behind how we relate to food.

Examples:

If we believe we're sugar addicts and that sugar is the one thing we can't control ourselves around — that's restriction.

If there's a food we "can't keep in the house" because we'll eat it all — that's restriction.

If we eat something and immediately feel guilty or tell ourselves we'll be "better" tomorrow — that's restriction.

The belief that we can't have something, that it's dangerous for us, that we're different from other people around this food — that belief alone creates scarcity in our nervous system.

And scarcity is what drives the compulsion.

It doesn't matter if we're not on a formal diet. Our brain responds to mental restriction the same way it responds to physical restriction. It thinks: "This thing is scarce. I need to get it while I can."

That's why we feel so out of control.

And here's what's key: Mental restriction is actually MORE powerful than diet rules.

Because it's not written on a meal plan we can throw away. It's ingrained in our thought patterns. It's wired into our nervous system. It's become part of how we see ourselves and certain foods.

So if we're thinking "this doesn't apply to me because I don't diet" … it's actually the opposite. This applies to us even more!

Because now the restriction has gone deeper than rules. It's become muscle memory. Our bodies and minds are in constant food scarcity mode … even if we’re eating A LOT!

But here's the thing about scarcity: we can't just remove it. We have to replace it.

If we want to train out the scarcity pattern, we need to actively train in its opposite. And the opposite of scarcity is abundance.

But here's where most people get it wrong ...

When I say abundance, I don't mean "just eat a lot of the foods you've been restricting." That's still focused on the food itself.

Remember: Restriction is about the energy. So abundance is about the energy too.

But abundance with food doesn't mean eating crazy amounts of food all the time. (That idea of abundance only stems from someone who's been in scarcity. It's the rebellion talking!!)

Real abundance (from someone who isn’t deprived) is much calmer.

It's when we can take or leave a food. We enjoy it fully while we're eating it, and then we don't think about it anymore. We don't need more of it. We're not obsessing over when we'll have it again.

Think about the people around us who eat cookies, chips, cake — the same foods we struggle with — but they just ... stop. They have some, they enjoy it, they move on.

They're not more disciplined. They're not trying harder. They're just not in scarcity.

That's what's available to us too. Not through more control, but through shifting out of that mental restriction pattern altogether.

In Feel the Shift, I'll guide you personally for 10 days to recognize where restriction is hiding in your thinking and how to move into genuine abundance — not reckless eating, but true food peace. You'll keep the entire program to refer back to anytime.

This is my foundational program where you learn to go from compulsive to calm around food, and I coach you every step of the way.

For more info, check out the link in my bio or send me a message to receive more info.

11/11/2025

To eat when you're hungry and stop when you're full is one of the most natural things in the world.

How can we come back home to this simple, peaceful way of eating?

Today's podcast episode is for anyone who's said:

- "I can’t feel hunger and fullness signals anymore"

- “I can’t remember what it’s like to be connected to my body signals.”

- "Even if I feel my body signals, my mind overrides them.”

Listen now! Available on the Binge Eating to Food Freedom Podcast, on your favorite podcast app.

11/09/2025

I saw a post arguing that abstinence from "addictive foods" is the only solution. That trying to eat sugar ‘in moderation’ is like telling an alcoholic to just have one drink.

On the surface, this makes sense. Clean. Simple. Black and white.

But here's what I know from working with clients for the past decade: abstinence from food doesn't work the way abstinence from drugs or alcohol does.

We need food to survive. Not alcohol. This creates a fundamental difference in how our brains and bodies respond to restriction.

I get why abstinence is appealing: clean rules feel safer than trusting yourself.

But even if you decide to be abstinent from sugar, where's the line? Does bread with a trace of sugar count? That protein bar? The restaurant salad dressing?

You end up hyper-vigilant. Always one accidental bite away from "relapsing."

I tried this for years. 30-day no-sugar challenges. Strict elimination.

What happened? I'd accidentally mess up, the floodgates would open, and I'd binge worse than before.

The abstinence model kept me just as obsessed. Even at my best, I just changed which foods I was obsessing over.

So I created a different goal: NOT to avoid sugar forever, but to become someone who didn't NEED to avoid it.

The shift wasn't in the food. It was in my nervous system's response to it.

Back when I was eating four candy bars in one sitting, I believed sugar had power over me. But what actually had power was my nervous system's triggered response.

Once I learned to shift my nervous system, sugar stopped calling to me from the pantry. I could have cookies in the house and forget they were there.

And when I did want something sweet? A few bites, genuinely satisfied, move on. No willpower. Just peace.

I've watched clients who struggled for 20, 30 years do the same. They can now have chocolate in their homes and forget it's there.

The food didn't change. Their nervous system's response did.

This is why abstinence doesn't work. Nervous system retraining does.

This is the foundation of what I teach in FEEL THE SHIFT, a 10-day immersion where I work with you 1:1 to retrain your nervous system around the foods you fear most.

Want to learn more? Link in bio or send me a DM for more info.

Katie Papo

04/12/2026

04/06/2026

04/05/2026

03/29/2026

03/08/2026

03/05/2026

12/30/2025

12/05/2025

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