For women who’ve quit sugar but still find themselves zoning out, grabbing food, or stuck on autopilot, this is your next step.
Conscious Bites: Mindful Eating in Abstinence-Based Recovery
A high touch, 6-week experiential program for women in recovery who are still binging and are ready to break the shame spiral, rebuild trust with food, and feel truly free.
Learn to eat with presence, navigate urges without panic, and reconnect to your body without falling back on willpower alone.
Imagine This...
You’re eating your meals with clarity and calm—not checking out, not scrolling, not spiraling.
You recognize cravings early and respond with grounded awareness.
You move through your day connected to your body, with tools that actually work for you.
You feel abstinent and alive—present, powerful, and deeply supported.
This isn’t a fantasy. This is what happens when you bring embodied awareness into your abstinent recovery.
If You’re Here, You Probably...
✨ Eat sugar-free, low-carb, or animal-based
🌀 Still get hit with occasional binges or compulsive urges
🔍 Are curious about mindful eating—but don’t want moderation vibes
❤️ Crave a deeper, somatic recovery path that respects your abstinence
You’re in the right place.
Conscious Bites bridges the gap between mindful eating and abstinent recovery—without the fluff, the raisins, or the gaslighting.
Introducing: Conscious Bites: Mindful Eating in Abstinence-Based Recovery
This program introduces research-based tools and mindfulness practices that help you develop awareness as you eat, supporting wise and beneficial choices with compassion and clarity. Unlike other mindful eating programs that conflate mindful eating with intuitive eating or eating everything in moderation, this approach is specifically designed for abstainers—people who thrive by eliminating ultra-processed foods and/or setting clear boundaries around eating.
In this transformative 6-week experience, you will:
- Practice mindful eating (for those who want to learn mindful eating without being told to eat a raisin or half a frikkin’ cookie.)
- Build real-life skills for staying present—even when cravings hit
- Play with body-based tools to soothe, settle, and stay abstinent
- Explore somatic self-compassion (because self-recrimination is not the vibe)
- Create a sustainable rhythm of recovery rooted in structure and self-trust
This is not just information. It’s transformation.
What You’ll Learn (and Practice!)
Each week combines live Zoom sessions, integration practices, journaling prompts, and community connection—all designed to help you somatically embody mindful eating and deepen your abstinent recovery.
Week 1 – Eating With Awareness: The Abstainer’s Approach
Lay the foundation for embodied mindfulness tailored for abstainers. Learn how to ground yourself in the present moment while eating, and explore what it means to eat with awareness in a way that aligns with your recovery.
Week 2 – Lifestyle & Structural Factors That Support Abstinence
Explore the rhythms and rituals that scaffold your abstinent life. You’ll reflect on your environment, routines, food lists, and practical supports to reduce decision fatigue and enhance consistency.
Week 3 – Understanding Cravings: The Science & Strategies
Learn the neuroscience behind food cravings and why some urges feel so overpowering. We’ll practice tools like urge surfing, somatic regulation, and thought reframing to help you stay grounded during triggering moments.
Week 4 – Embodied Abstinence: Body Awareness in Daily Life
Take your mindfulness beyond the plate. Through movement, sensory rituals, and interoception practices, you’ll deepen your connection to the body and turn ordinary tasks into opportunities for embodied recovery.
Week 5 – Self-Compassion & The Recovery Mindset
Develop a mindset that blends structure and kindness. You’ll learn how to recover from slips with neutrality, practice self-compassion without collapse, and reframe all-or-nothing thoughts to build resilience.
Week 6 – Sustaining Recovery with Presence and Power
Integrate what you’ve learned into a sustainable abstinent lifestyle. You’ll clarify your support systems, deepen your embodiment, and create a recovery plan rooted in presence, power, and personal alignment.
Each week includes:
- In-Class Lecture – Practical tips, recovery insights, and reflection topics to spark discussion, deepen understanding, and support mindful abstinent living.
- In-Class Meditation/Experiential Exercise – Hands-on practice to embody presence, calm the nervous system, and regulate in real-time.
- Time for Sharing – Supportive discussion Supportive discussion to build connection, normalize your experience, and anchor new insights.
- Integration Assignments – Worksheets, exercises, or reflection prompts to deepen awareness and apply the tools in daily life.
Meet Your Guide: Dr. Kristina Dobyns
Hi, I’m Dr. Kristina.
I’m an abstainer in recovery who has experienced the profound transformation that comes from mindful eating—on my own terms. I’m also a professional in the recovery space, deeply knowledgeable about structure, discipline, and diverse approaches to eating.
I hold a PhD in psychology, a master’s in exercise science, and certification as a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner. Additionally, I’m trained in Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness, Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention, Mindful Self-Compassion, and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, among other evidence-based approaches.
This program is unlike anything that exists because it’s designed specifically for abstainers. Rooted in a food addiction framework, it upholds a commitment to real, nourishing foods—we do not use or encourage ultra-processed foods during exercises or at any point in the program.
Mindful awareness changes everything. Let’s practice together in a way that truly supports you.
Here’s What Others Are Saying:
"Dr. Kristina’s course was truly transformative for me. Each week built beautifully on the last, starting with the simple but powerful practice of eating with awareness, and moving into the deeper layers of cravings, body awareness, and self-compassion.
What stood out most was how practical and embodied the tools were. I didn’t just learn about the science of cravings or the importance of routines; I practiced grounding myself in the moment, surfed urges instead of fearing them, and noticed how everyday rituals can become part of my recovery.
Kristina has a way of blending structure with kindness that made the process feel doable, even when I hit challenges. I finished the course not only with new strategies but also with a greater sense of presence, self-compassion, and confidence in sustaining my abstinent lifestyle."
Is This Course Right for You?
- You’ll love this course if you…
- Want to explore mindfulness-based strategies for real-time regulation
- Feel aligned with an abstinent approach
- Are curious about deeper embodiment tools
- Value personal responsibility, structure, and long-term recovery
- Crave greater freedom through education, experimentation, and self-empowerment
- Are willing to do integration practices like journaling, meditations, movement, and worksheets
- Want to be part of a supportive, abstinence-oriented community that gets what you’re going through
- This may not be a good fit if you…
- Are looking for talk therapy-style processing of childhood trauma
- Prefer a “moderation” model or believe "all foods fit" is your approach
- Are currently restricting or struggling with active bulimia or exercise bulimia
- Want a passive program or quick fix
- Are unwilling to explore new ways of being or take ownership of your healing
- Just want to listen in without participating or applying what you learn
- Prefer to go it alone
FAQs
How long is it?
6 weeks. Each week includes a live call, practices, community prompts, and more.
Can I upgrade to private support?
Yes—WhatsApp support and 1:1 coaching are both available.
Do I have to show up live?
Nope! You’ll get the recordings and can follow along in your own time. You’ll also benefit from the integration tools and community.
Is this therapy?
No. It’s a psychoeducational and practice-based group course that complements therapy but isn’t a substitute for it.
What if I’m not sure it’s right for me?
Email me at [email protected] or book a no-pressure call.
How Is This Different from Other Mindful Eating Programs?
Somehow, mindful eating has become synonymous with intuitive eating and that true food freedom means eating all foods in moderation.
Not here, buddy.
As someone who has personally struggled with food addiction and binge eating disorder and found lasting recovery by embracing abstinence, I know firsthand the power of structure. Ignoring the noise from “moderators” and instead honoring my own abstainer nature has been life-changing. Embracing structure isn’t disordered and eliminating ultra-processed foods isn’t deprivation—these are acts of self-care. Yet, mainstream narratives often dismiss abstainers as rigid or disordered while promoting a one-size-fits-all model of healing. But what if the real problem is trying to force everyone into the same mold?
What Does Abstinence Mean in This Context?
In the world of food addiction, abstinence means staying away from ultra-processed foods and specific trigger foods that fuel compulsive eating behaviors. While this concept is widely accepted in substance use recovery, many people unfamiliar with food addiction may not understand how it applies here.
Author Gretchen Rubin helped popularize the term abstainer in her book Better than Before, describing how some people find freedom through firm boundaries rather than constant attempts at moderation. For abstainers, the decision to eliminate certain foods isn’t about restriction—it’s about liberation.
Why This Program Exists
I’ve been through it all—therapy, programs, registered dietitians, residential treatment. Every time, I was told to eat all foods in moderation. Eat the ice cream daily, eat the chocolate and candy bars every day, just a little bit. But that approach wasn’t just unhelpful—I just kept on bingeing—it made me feel like something was fundamentally wrong with me.
I vividly remember participating in mindful eating exercises that involved eating foods such as a “single” cookie. But instead of feeling liberated, I found myself escaping during the lunch break to buy binge foods, leading to an all-day spiral.
Why is mindful eating often framed around chocolate, cookies, and chips?
Why is intuitive eating positioned as the gold standard of embodiment, while eating with structure, weighing food, or abstaining from sugar is seen as rigid or disordered?
You deserve better. There are many paths to food freedom, and if you identify as a binge eater, sugar addict, or abstainer, you deserve a mindful eating approach that respects and supports your needs.
What You’ll Gain from This Program
This experiential program is built on mindfulness-based tools that have been proven to reduce binge episodes, curb cravings, and support overall well-being (including weight loss, if that’s your goal). But unlike traditional mindful eating courses, you will never be asked to practice with cookies, chocolate, or any specific food.
Also- importantly- I will never imply that intuitive eating or moderation-based eating is the ultimate goal. Unlike other mindful eating frameworks, this program does not assume that “food freedom” means eating intuitively or eating all foods in moderation. I deeply respect people doing things their own way and will not insist that I know what is best for you.
Instead, I invite you to experience mindful eating on your terms, choosing foods that align with your personal boundaries. This is about empowerment, not pressure.
This is mindful eating, reimagined for abstainers. Empowering, embodied, and entirely your own.
Let’s Review Everything You’re Getting:
- 6 weeks of live classes with Dr. Kristina, former binge eater, and food addict in recovery, founder of Beyond Binge Eating, and creator of Conscious Bites
- Recordings of all the classes, available for three months after the program ends
- A private community with others who really get it
- Resources to support your journey
- This is the ONLY mindful eating course created SPECIFICALLY for abstainers & food addicts
Ready to Deepen your Recovery?
You’ve already done the hard part—ditching sugar, walking away from ultra-processed foods, and committing to health and well-being.
Now it’s time to bring your presence to the plate.
You don’t need another lecture on willpower.
You don’t need a moderation plan that ignores your truth.
You need structure that supports you and skills that stick.
That’s what Conscious Bites is here for.
This is mindful eating—reimagined for abstainers.
And you don’t have to do it alone.
If you’re ready to embody your recovery and reclaim your relationship with food—on your terms, in your body…
✨ Let’s do this. ✨