Brian Baumal: Why Giving Up Sugar Is NOT Disordered EatingBrian Baumal: Why Giving Up Sugar Is NOT Disordered Eating
The Kick Sugar Coach Podcast
Psychotherapist Brian Baumal talks with Florence Christophers about the overlap between food addiction and eating disorders, and why quitting sugar is not automatically disordered eating. Their conversation highlights nuance around abstinence, body image, and what genuine food recovery might look like for different people.
1:00:30•9 Apr 2026
Is Quitting Sugar Disordered, or Food Freedom? Brian Baumal Weighs In
Episode Overview
- Cutting out sugar or carbs is a behaviour that may appear in eating disorders, but it is not, by itself, an eating disorder diagnosis.
- When food addiction and disordered eating coexist, Brian usually treats the addictive patterns first, then works on body image and restrictive thinking.
- Trigger foods are identified by both acute overeating and their impact on ongoing “food noise” and cravings over days, weeks, and months.
- Body image wounds often start in childhood, and validating past shame is a key step before redefining what someone genuinely wants for their body.
- Brian’s own move to a carbohydrate-free way of eating reduced his pain and cravings, which he sees as proof that abstinence can enhance quality of life.
“If you ever hear abstinence is an eating disorder, question it.”
What drives someone to seek a life without sugar? This conversation between host Florence Christophers and Toronto-based psychotherapist Brian Baumal looks at that question from every angle, especially for people stuck between food addiction and disordered eating. Brian is one of the few therapists who specialises in weight management, eating disorders, and food addiction together.
He shares cases from his practice where purging and restriction looked like classic bulimia on paper, but the thoughts behind the behaviour pointed instead to food addiction. As he puts it, some people are “just doing their best to manage” an addictive relationship with food, but keep being told they have a traditional eating disorder.
He explains his general rule when both are present: treat the food addiction first, then address disordered eating thoughts, body image, and perfectionism with great care. You’ll hear how he identifies trigger foods, tracks “food noise” over three days, three weeks, and three months, and why slip-ups can sometimes give useful feedback rather than automatic failure.
The episode also spends time on the emotional core of this work: shame-filled childhood memories, painful body image, and the belief that happiness only comes after weight loss. Brian talks about helping clients ask themselves, “Am I happy with where I am right now?” without recreating old hurts. Towards the end, he shares his own shift to an abstinent, low-carb way of eating after years of moderation, crediting it with dramatically reduced pain and clearer cravings.
Crucially, he’s clear that cutting carbs is “not an eating disorder” by itself, just one behaviour that must be understood in context. If you’ve ever wondered whether quitting sugar is healing or harmful, this honest, nuanced chat might help you ask better questions about your own relationship with food.
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