Welcome to Transformation Talk. Every Thursday for a year, I’ll post an interview with someone who is a force for good in the world. These men and women have either deepened their passion or found their calling after experiencing a loss, trauma or diagnosis.

I want to broaden the conversation around grief and it’s transformative power. My hope is that in their words you’ll find echoes of your story. In their inspired actions, you’ll see yourself and your immense possibility.

*Special Request: The technology of Skype is amazing and imperfect. Please listen with your heart and forgive the occasional blips on the screen.

Today’s interview is with emotional wellness expert and food relationship coach, Shelley Chapman of EatRelateLove. Shelley was so much fun to talk with and shares her journey from compulsive over eater to fabulously healthy “flexitarian” with insight and humor.

More from Shelley:

Do you ever find yourself in the Stuck-Stuffed-Starved™ cycle of eating habits? I’ve been there and I know what it’s like to want to get off that roller coaster. My own challenges with compulsive over eating and emotional eating afford me the luxuries of compassion and relatability, but most important, the capacity to guide you to a fully satisfied emotional space. Through my work, you gain tools for your emotional wellness and freedom from emotional eating! Once upon a time, I was a personal chef, but my interests and skills steered me away from the dinner plate and on to the lifestyle of the woman who prepared the food. Why? Because that woman is eating more than tangible food—she’s eating emotional baggage, guilt, resentment, and other empty calories that create toxic spaces that stifle her overall wellness.

A psychology graduate from Spelman College and Harvard University, Shelley combines psychology, wellness practices and foodie yumminess into her 1-1 sessions, workshops and programs.  To download the first module of her latest program The Body Food Freedom Formula, click here.