Beyond the Jab · An online emotional eating support group
Your appetite may have changed. What supports your relationship with food?
Beyond the Jab: Food Freedom Programme is an eight-week online group for emotional eating and your relationship with food, led by a Lancashire-based counsellor and open to anyone in the UK. Together we explore what food has been doing for you emotionally, and build a relationship with it based on choice, not fear, shame or punishment. Curiosity before judgement. Food is not the enemy.
Does any of this sound familiar?
“The appetite changed, but my relationship with food did not.”
“I’m eating less, but I’m not sure I’m eating well.”
“I’m frightened that if I stop the medication, everything will come back.”
“The number on the scale has changed faster than the way I see myself.”
“I still have the same all-or-nothing thoughts I had when I was dieting.”
“I thought losing weight would give me confidence, but self-worth didn’t arrive automatically.”
If any of these sound familiar, this programme is for you. It’s for adults who are taking, or have recently taken, prescribed medication that has changed their appetite. It’s also for anyone whose emotional eating, rigid food rules, body image or self-criticism still need attention.
This isn’t a diet or a weight-loss programme. It explores the part of the story that has nothing to do with appetite.
What the eight weeks cover
Week 1: My food story: how did we get here?
I can understand my history without reducing myself to my weight.
Week 2: Eating my feelings: triggers, needs and emotional regulation
I can notice an urge and become curious about what I need.
Week 3: Overeating, under-eating and the search for control
The goal is not to swing from one extreme to another, but to build flexibility and safety.
Week 4: Diet culture, shame and the inner critic
I do not need shame or punishment to take care of myself.
Week 5: Body image, identity and receiving change
My body can change without my worth depending on the change.
Week 6: Other people: boundaries, comments and relationships
I can protect my progress without defending my body to everyone.
Week 7: Building a life that regulates me
I can build many sources of safety, comfort, connection and control.
Week 8: Food freedom and maintenance: my plan from here
Success isn’t perfect eating. It’s awareness, flexibility, self-trust and recovering after difficult moments.
Every week comes back to four questions. What happened to me? What kept the fire burning? What is happening now? What would freedom from food look and feel like for me?
“Food is not the enemy.”
How the online group works
Length: Eight weeks
Format: A small online group on Zoom, led by me
Sessions: 8 weekly sessions of 90 minutes
Group size: Up to 12 places
Each session: A check-in, a short story to open the theme, therapy-informed learning, a guided exercise, practical strategies for the week, and a grounding close
Between sessions: A participant workbook and short weekly reflections
Your choice: You never have to share your weight, what you eat, medical details or your history with the group. You can pass on any exercise.
Step 1: Register your interest
Leave your name and email, and I’ll send you the programme overview and a short application form.
Step 2: Suitability call
A confidential 20 to 30-minute conversation to check the group is a good and safe fit for you right now.
Step 3: Agreement and welcome pack
You read and sign the group agreement, then receive your dates, workbook and joining details.
Step 4: Your eight weeks
Join the group from week 1. New members don’t normally join after the first session.
Prices and dates
Groups
8 × 90-minute online group sessions, plus your suitability call and workbook.
£96 (that’s £12 a session), or 2 payments of £48
Groups plus one-to-ones
Everything in the groups package, plus 4 one-hour one-to-one sessions with me, one every other week.
£336, or 2 payments of £168. Your four one-to-ones work out at £60 each, instead of my usual £65.
First group: Provisionally Mondays, 7 to 8.30pm (UK time), starting 11 January 2027.
Places: Up to 12. The group runs with at least 8.
How you pay: By bank transfer. Card payments are coming soon.
When you pay: After your suitability call, so nobody pays before we know the group is right for them.
After the programme: An alumni support group starts one week after your eight sessions end, at £8 a session.
Cancellations and refunds: If you cancel before the group starts, you’ll get 80% of your fee back. The group needs at least 8 people to run, and if it doesn’t reach 8, everyone gets a full refund. If you stop partway through, I’ll refund 80% of the value of the sessions you haven’t used: £9.60 for each group week and £48 for each one-to-one (worth £12 and £60). Sessions you miss count as used. If you’re paying in two instalments and stop before the second is due, I’ll only ask for it if the sessions you’ve had are worth more than you’ve already paid. Refunds are always worked out on what you’ve actually paid.
Why I run this group
I’m Jodie, the counsellor behind Jodie Jago Therapy. Food was my comfort before I had words for what I felt. I was five or six, eating bowl after bowl of cereal before anyone else was up. I wasn’t hungry. I was brushing feelings away.
I’m not fixed, and I won’t pretend to be. But I know my triggers now, I know what I used to reach for, and I know what makes me tick. I bring that lived experience, years in addiction and recovery services, and my counselling training into every group.
And I watch something powerful happen when people find common ground. That moment someone realises: I’m not the only one. I belong here.
“I’m not the only one. I belong here.”
Register your interest
Be first to hear when dates are confirmed. Leave your details and I’ll send you the programme overview and a short application form. No obligation, and no payment at this stage.
I’ll use your details to contact you about Beyond the Jab. See the privacy notice for how they’re stored.
Free online session
Food, Family and Feelings at Christmas
A free hour for a kinder December. Tuesday 8 December 2026, 7.30 to 8.30pm, on Zoom.
Questions about the group
Is this medical advice?
No. Beyond the Jab is counselling support for your thoughts, feelings and habits around food and your body. I don’t give advice about medication, doses, side effects or diets, and I have no link with any pharmacy, clinic or prescriber. Please speak to your GP, prescriber or pharmacist about medication, and a registered dietitian about what you eat.
What if I’ve stopped the medication?
You’re very welcome. Coming off medication can bring back old feelings and patterns around food, and many people find that’s when support matters most.
Do I need to be taking medication to join?
No. The programme was shaped around people who are taking, or have recently taken, appetite-changing medication, and it’s just as open to anyone whose relationship with food feels like a battle.
Will I lose weight?
This isn’t a weight-loss programme, and no therapeutic programme can promise weight loss, prevent weight regain or remove food thoughts. Progress here means more awareness, flexibility and choice, and a kinder response to yourself after a hard day. Weight numbers, calorie talk and before-and-after comparisons are kept out of the group.
Do I have to share my story or my weight?
No. You choose what you share. Nobody is asked to share their weight, food intake, medical details or history with the group, and you can always pass.
What if I think I might have an eating disorder?
Please tell me on your suitability call. A group isn’t always the right level of support. For some people, specialist eating-disorder assessment needs to come first or run alongside. If so, I’ll help you find the right place, including your GP and Beat. That decision is always about your safety, never a sales conversation.
What happens after the eight weeks?
You’ll leave with your own Food Freedom Plan. If you’d like deeper individual work, we can talk about one-to-one counselling. You can also join the alumni support group, which starts one week after the eight sessions end and costs £8 a session.
Is it confidential?
Yes, within the usual limits of confidentiality, which I’ll explain before we start. Everyone agrees to a group confidentiality agreement. Please join from a private space.
Can I join from anywhere in the UK?
Yes. The group runs online on Zoom, so you can join from anywhere in the UK, including Preston, Ormskirk and West Lancashire.
Is this the same as one-to-one counselling?
No. Beyond the Jab is a small group with a set eight-week structure. If you’d rather talk on your own with me, I also offer one-to-one counselling for emotional eating and your relationship with food, in Preston and online.
Looking after yourself
Beyond the Jab isn’t a crisis or emergency service. If you’re worried about your eating, Beat offers support for eating disorders at beateatingdisorders.org.uk. For questions about medication or your physical health, please speak to your GP, prescriber or pharmacist, or call NHS 111 if it’s urgent. If you’re struggling to cope, you can call Samaritans free on 116 123, day or night. In an emergency, call 999.