A Letter from Marc
Dear Friends,
Marc David here. I hope this letter finds you well.
I’m writing with an important personal update.
After more than twenty years, the Institute for the Psychology of Eating will be closing at the end of 2026.
This is a significant moment for me, and one I’ve spent a great deal of time reflecting on. The Institute has been one of the great privileges of my life. While many factors went into this decision, most of all it feels like the natural completion of a remarkable chapter, and an invitation to discover what wants to come next.
Early on in life, I set out to help people better understand what was at the root of their challenges with food and body. I had been exploring some version of this work since my late teens, guided by a deeply felt sense that there had to be a wiser and more humane way to understand our relationship with eating, weight, health, and personal transformation.
So many people were struggling quietly with weight, food worry, emotional eating, body image, and the feeling that they somehow needed to be fixed. I wanted to offer a different possibility: that our eating challenges could be great teachers. That we could approach them with curiosity and compassion, and discover what they might have to teach us about ourselves, our lives, and how life is calling us to grow.
That inspiration became the Institute. And what grew from it has far surpassed my dreams.
Over the last two decades, this work has reached millions of people around the world. We’ve trained many thousands of professionals from over 100 countries, and connected with countless others who sought a more peaceful and nourishing relationship with food and body. So many of you have woven this work into your personal lives, your professional practices, your families, and your communities.
Conversations that once felt outside the mainstream—about the mind-body connection, embodiment, the nervous system, and self-compassion—have become part of a much wider understanding of health and healing. I feel honored that the Institute helped contribute to that shift, and deeply grateful to everyone who brought these ideas to life in their own way.
I have so many extraordinary memories: our live events in Colorado, heartfelt online classes and conferences, the intimate conversations of our podcast, and the stories so many of you have shared about your own journeys. I’ve met amazing human beings and witnessed such courage, tenderness, and transformation. It’s all given me a deeper faith in humanity. Above all else, it’s been magical.
I also want to share a little about why I’m making this change.
The last several years have brought considerable personal change for me, which caused me to do a lot of the same kind of work I advocate: going inside to reflect and soul search about my life, my work, and where life seems to be calling me next. I have needed to listen more closely about what truly matters most to me and how I wish to spend my time and energy moving forward.
Through this process, I’ve arrived at a place of greater clarity, renewal, and gratitude.
Running the Institute has been deeply rewarding. It has also required an enormous amount of energy, leadership, and operational responsibility. I now know that the time has come for me to step away from operating a school and return more fully to the parts of my work that feel most essential: writing, mentoring, coaching, teaching, consulting, and exploring the deeper questions of human life.
There is something humbling about listening to the very wisdom we’ve encouraged others to honor. Life asks us to grow. Sometimes that means building something we believe in with everything we have. And sometimes it means recognizing when a beloved chapter has reached its completion, and making room for what’s ready to emerge.
I’m excited to discover what’s possible as I return to the heart of my work with greater simplicity, freedom, and presence.
My work is expanding more directly into the spiritual journey, personal growth, embodiment, healing, meaning, and creativity. These themes have been with me since I was a young man. As I step into my elder years, they feel more alive and inspiring than ever, and I feel called to speak about them more directly.
There are several books I’m excited to bring forward in the coming years. I’m also allowing new programs and offerings to take shape in their own time. Teaching has always been part of my spiritual DNA, so there will be more to come. For now, I’m enjoying being in “expansive mode,” and letting my soul and psyche breathe into what’s next.
I’m also offering limited one-on-one coaching and professional mentoring. My personal coaching focuses on transformation, navigating life transitions and difficult times, and reconnecting with authenticity, personal power, and the magic of life. My mentoring work supports difference makers who want to deepen their mission, refine their message, move through inner obstacles, and bring their greatest gifts into the world.
My new home is MarcDavid.com.
That’s where I’ll share my writing, new teachings, future offerings, and the continuing evolution of this work. I’d love for you to join my email list there so we can stay connected as this next chapter unfolds.
Before I close, I want to offer a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has been part of the Institute’s story. To our students and graduates, our readers and listeners, and everyone who has shared this work with someone they love: thank you for your trust, your questions, your curiosity, and your willingness to bring more compassion to this very human part of life.
And to our past and present staff: so much of what we accomplished was made possible by your talent, dedication, and extraordinary care for our community. I will always be deeply grateful to you.
One of the greatest hopes of any teacher is that the work eventually becomes larger than the teacher and larger than the organization that first carried it. That has happened here. This body of work has a life of its own in the people who practice it, share it, and continue to evolve it in their special way.
If my work has touched you in any way, I feel honored and blessed to have been part of your journey. Thank you for being part of mine. I hope our paths continue to cross, and I would love to welcome you into this next chapter.
With love, gratitude, and my warmest wishes,
Marc David
November 2026