Wednesdays from 2:00–3:30 p.m. | Beginning October 7, 2026Challenging Food Guilt
A Psychoeducation Group for Children of “Almond Moms”
An in-person group for female-identifying individuals ages 18–25 in Fairfax, Virginia
Hannah Khan,
Group Facilitator
Did You Grow Up Surrounded by Diet Culture?
Maybe food in your home came with a long list of rules. Certain foods were considered “good,” while others were treated as something to avoid, earn, or feel guilty about.
Perhaps weight, appearance, portion sizes, or dieting were frequent topics of conversation. You may have watched a parent constantly restrict what they ate, criticize their body, comment on other people’s bodies, or encourage you to make yourself smaller.
Even when these messages were presented as concern, discipline, or healthy living, they may have significantly affected your relationship with food and your body.
Challenging Food Guilt is a psychoeducation group for young adults who grew up with a parent or caregiver who was heavily influenced by diet culture. The phrase “almond mom” is often used to describe this experience, but the group is not about criticizing or diagnosing parents. It is about understanding how the messages you received may still be affecting you today.
This Group May Be for You If:
❋ You feel guilty after eating certain foods
❋ You regularly label foods as “good,” “bad,” “healthy,” or “unhealthy”
❋ You have difficulty trusting your hunger, fullness, or food preferences
❋ You worry about how your food choices will be judged
❋ You compare your body to other people’s bodies
❋ You grew up hearing frequent comments about weight, dieting, or portion sizes
❋ You want to develop a more flexible and informed way of thinking about food
❋ You are beginning to question beliefs about food and bodies that you learned growing up
“The goal is not to establish another set of rules about how you should eat or feel. Instead, the group will encourage curiosity, flexibility, and a greater understanding of the factors that have influenced your relationship with food.”
What to Expect
Group sessions will be highly educational while providing time for personal reflection and discussion.
Members will explore how diet culture can shape thoughts about food, weight, health, and body diversity. Through guided conversations and structured activities, participants will have opportunities to identify inherited beliefs and challenge thinking that contributes to shame, judgment, or food guilt.
Sessions may include:
❋ Psychoeducation about diet culture and food guilt
❋ Discussion prompts related to food, body image, and family messages
❋ Opportunities to examine judgmental or misguided thinking
❋ Alternative ways of understanding food and body diversity
❋ Guided journaling and personal reflection activities
❋ Optional take-home prompts for reflection between sessions
Meet the Group Facilitator
Hannah is a Resident-in-Counseling at Neutral Ground Counseling Group with experience supporting clients affected by disordered eating.
She has completed training with Judith Matz focused on emotional eating, binge eating, and dieting. Hannah brings a collaborative and nonjudgmental approach to the group, helping participants examine difficult messages while developing alternative ways of thinking about food and their bodies.
Reserve Your Spot
Contact Hannah today to ask questions or express interest in joining Challenging Food Guilt.
The group will use educational prompts and reflective activities to help members examine beliefs about emotional eating, binge eating, dieting, food guilt, and body image. Participants will be encouraged to consider new perspectives without being told that there is one “right” way to eat or exist in their bodies.