Every Body | Reclaiming Body Talk

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Ep. 19: Deadly Consequences of Fat Stigma at the Doctor's Office - Laura Fraser Nov 02, 2017

Show notes

Deadly Consequences of Fat Stigma at the Doctor's Office with Laura Fraser

Science Daily reported earlier this year that in a study of over 300 autopsy reports, obese patients were 1.65 times more likely than others to have significant undiagnosed medical conditions such as endocarditis, ischemic bowel disease or lung carcinoma. This week's featured guest is Laura Fraser. Laura is a journalist and author of Losing It, an investigative piece entailing her experience going under cover to take a deeper look at how the diet industry creates and exploits our weight worries (LauraFraser.com). A reformed dieter and ex-bulimic, Laura's already impassioned work strikes a deeper chord with the passing of her sister, Jan, last year to a cancer that was ignored by doctors and misdiagnosed as mere excessive weight. Laura takes me through the history of unrealistic body expectations for women as we explore her research and the relationship between big pharmaceutical companies and the mainstream diet industry."

"I wrote that book to just drive a tank through the diet industry. Its the only industry that's built on failure."

- Laura Fraser

This Week on the Every Body Podcast:

A look at Laura Fraser's early life which led to her struggle with bulimia.
How her own research helped shed some light on the truth about different body types and what positive health actually means.
Her findings in Losing It which debunk the myths the diet industry is trying to shove down our throats.
The misuse of the BMI and how mainstream researchers manipulate its categories to propel their products.
The story behind Laura's sister whose misdiagnosed cancer led to her premature death last year.

Additional Resources:

Original article about Jan, Laura's sister
Food for the Heart article from Eating Well Magazine
Losing It in the Anti-Dieting Age NY Times article by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
Laura Fraser Website

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BONUS - Follow up with Lucy Aphramor Oct 30, 2017

Show notes

This episode is a follow up to Episode 14 with Lucy Aphramor. I asked if you had questions for her and some wonderful questions were posted on Instagram. Here are some of the answers. Enjoy!

Questions answered in this Bonus episode:

jilllepire Is it ever okay to try to change your physical body while being body positive? If so, how does one do that without being sucked into diet mindset?

wee_foodies I'd love to hear more from her around the evidence base on the biological impact of weight stigma and ways to challenge the "tackling obesity" conversation in public health.

wanderingdjinn Does Lucy have a script for confronting one's parents about the damage they've done by commenting on one's weight and appearance almost daily, starting at a very young age? I've let go of a lot of my anger towards them and I'm in a better place, but I worry that they're continuing to make weight-related comments to my much younger cousins, and will start on my nieces in a couple of years, if they haven't already. I really feel I should speak up to protect them, at the very least by no longer hiding all the self-destructive things I've done as a result of the self-loathing for which they planted the seeds. My fear, of course, is that they won't believe me, will insist they were in the right, and that I was/am just being too sensitive.

fatbodypeace Will those poems in print somewhere?

littletulipsco l'd like to know how Lucy thinks we can build our self compassion in really practical ways (like a list that I can follow!) And also if it's okay to want to lose weight. It feels like if you were fully accepting of your body you *shouldn't* want to change it. But I was at a kindful eating workshop with Lucy and she was all about questioning *should* self talk. Does that make sense? Thankyou!

Ep. 18: Eating Disorder Recovery & Yoga for All - Dianne Bondy Oct 23, 2017

Show notes

EB018 Eating Disorder Recovery and Yoga For All with Dianne Bondy

Dianne Bondy is a yoga teacher and the founder of an online Yoga studio called Yogasteya, where she welcomes everyone. Going through her own recovery journey from eating disorder, she has now become a social justice activist and one of the leading voices promoting representation in Yoga.

Dianne joins me today to tell the story of her eating disorder and recovery. She also shares how the distorted medical community perceived and handled her disorder a few decades ago.

We also talk about her long love of yoga and how it's help her heal her relationship to her body.

"What my yoga has taught me is my awareness of my body, my body as a vehicle of my own divinity and a way to enjoy my life."

– Dianne Bondy

This Week on the Every Body Podcast:

How Dianne was introduced to yoga
Her relationship with her body growing up
The society's body preference during the 70s and the 80s
What led her to develop a severe eating disorder
How the medical society ineffectively dealt with eating disorder
How she got back to yoga
What triggered her mission to create a cultural change that yoga is for ALL
Her classes for bigger bodies and bodies with different abilities
What made her visible in the online world and how it has affected society

Connect with Dianne Bondy:

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Ep. 17: Healing Your Relationship With Food Through Storytelling - Dr. Anita Johnston Oct 06, 2017

Show notes

EB017 Healing Your Relationship with Food Through Storytelling with Dr. Anita Johnston

Anita Johnston, Ph.D., is a Depth Psychologist and author of Eating in the Light of the Moon, which has been published in six languages. She is the co-creator of the online course, Light of the Moon Café, which is an interactive "workbook" and women's support circle for Eating in the Light of the Moon.

She has been working in the field of women's issues and disordered eating for over 35 years and is currently the Clinical Director of 'Ai Pono Hawaii which has a residential treatment program in Maui, and outpatient eating disorder programs in Honolulu and the Big Island of Hawaii.

Dr. Johnston provides individual consultations online, and conducts Soul Hunger workshops and professional trainings around the world, using metaphor and storytelling, along with her training as a clinical psychologist, to address the complex issues that underlie struggles with eating and body image.

"In order to heal her disordered eating, a woman must embrace the darkness that precedes the renewal."

– Dr. Anita Johnston

This Week on the Every Body Podcast:

A story with a metaphor on body image
How metaphors and storytelling affect your brain
The biggest changes Dr. Johnston has seen in 35 years working with eating disorders
Why she works with metaphors and myth
How to figure out the symbolic meaning of your food cravings
The phases of the feminine principle and archetypal energies available to everyone

Food & Metaphor Guide: http://lightofthemooncafe.com

Connect with Dr. Anita Johnston:

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Ep. 16: Fat Shaming Linked to Greater Health Risks - Dr. Rebecca Pearl Sep 23, 2017

Show notes

Fat Shaming Linked to Greater Health Risks with Dr. Rebecca Pearl

Dr. Rebecca Pearl is a clinical psychologist and an assistant professor of Psychology at the Department of Psychiatry at Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. Her research revolves around weight bias and stigma, how it affects the overall health of a person, and the possible solutions and interventions to this concern.

Dr. Pearl joins me today to share the effects of fat shaming and weight bias internalization to a person's physical and psychological health. As she identifies some of the causes of this bias, Dr. Pearl also shares their findings on how to counter this weight stigma and how the concept of dialectical behavior therapy, or DBT, can play a significant role in promoting change in an individual's thinking and behavior towards his or her weight and overall health.

"More and more research is highlighting the negative effects of weight stigma on health. There still seems to be this misconception that stigma is necessary or even helpful to motivate people to change their health behaviors and that is not the case."

– Dr. Rebecca Pearl

This Week on the Every Body Podcast:

Examples of weight stigma and discrimination in political and public health campaigns
Relationship between weight bias internalization and cardiometabolic syndrome
The key to understanding a person's health picture
Why she uses BMI in her research and studies
Why "obesity" is a controversial term
Promising results of an 8-week intervention program she created to combat internalize fat stigma
More information on the study

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Ep. 15: Freedom from Food & Body Struggles - Carmen Cool Sep 08, 2017

Show notes

EB015 Freedom from Food and Body Struggles with Carmen Cool

Body-centered psychotherapist and certified Hakomi practioner, Carmen Cool helps people end the cycle of dieting and overeating, once and for all. Along the way, she helps them unravel their body stories and learn to trust their bodies and themselves.

Her own journey to recovery, partnered with her sister's death of an eating disorder, makes her even more passionate about her work and a zealous advocate for Health at Every Size.

Carmen joins me today to discuss the nonprofit organization she founded where she partnered with teenagers as they help and address the body struggles in schools, communities, and other circles of influence. She also shares how active engagement in activism helps in her client's healing process and how taking the change on a societal level helps achieve true freedom from the diet culture.

"I don't think you can recover from an eating disorder and try to lose weight at the same time."

– Carmen Cool

This Week on the Every Body Podcast:

Uniqueness in Carmen's approach
Founding of the Boulder Youth Body Alliance
The mentality that led her, her sister, and others to eating disorders
How she was introduced to the ideas and concept of Health at Every Size
The spark that ignited the fire in her to pursue freedom from food
Explaining how "weight stigma" was really the cause of her sister's death
Why she chose to specialize in binge eating and overeating
Defining "Health at Every Size" and why the model was developed
The Hakomi method
What impacts people the most as they go through recovery

Poisonous myths that need to be busted

How to Change the Norms on Body Weight:

Look at and understand your own biases.

Ask yourself, "How do they operate?"

Ask yourself, "How do they get in the way of me seeing others clearly?"

Ask yourself, "What do I need to do to unlearn my biases?"

Resources Mentioned:

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Ep. 14: Radical Dietician - Lucy Aphramor Aug 17, 2017

Show notes

EB014 The Radical Dietician - Lucy Aphramor

Lucy Aphramor is the Radical Dietician and the Naked Dietician. She believes we must fundamentally change the way we talk about health. In her Well Now approach, social justice and equality become the center and beginning of every conversation about health. For example, how can we talk about food and exercise without talking about access? Her approach integrates social factors, pays attention to trauma, and supports people to improve their overall wellbeing. The Well Now approach has effectively helped people of all shapes and sizes manage health conditions such as heart disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), high blood pressure and so much more. Additionally, she has effectively helped hundreds of people overcome body shame, eating disorders, and depression by staying committed to promoting respect, dignity, and equality for all.

Lucy was the figurehead at the Health at Every Size movement and is co-author of the book Body Respect with Linda Bacon.

She joins me today to discuss her current model - Well Now - and what has inspired her to become a dietician. She shares her insights on how the stress of prejudice can play a role in health, how she brought the Health at Any Size approach to the National Health Service, and the impact historical trauma can have on health and so much more. This episode also uses clips from Lucy's poetry performance, The Naked Dietician.

"Telling your story to a caring witness has a metabolic impact... that switches off the stress response."

- Lucy Aphramor

This Week on the Every Body Podcast:

The importance of looking at all parts of a person's story struggling to overcome an eating disorder
Studies that show that our health behaviors are between 5% to 25% of the difference in health inequalities
Why finding a way to bring social justice into the healthcare system is important
How changing the language around weight loss and weight correction can impact body positivity and self-esteem challenges around the world
How thinking about well-being from a justice, power, and historical trauma lens can impact the way we think about health
How Well Now helps people get away from the binary mindset about what's healthy and what's not healthy

Conversations that need to be happening in our society
Where she believes intervention needs to start

Connect with Lucy Aphramor:

Well-Founded
Body Respect: What Conventional Health Books Get Wrong, Leave Out, and Just Plain Fail to Understand about Weight book by Lucy Aphramor and Linda Bacon
Poetry Work

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Ep. 13: Release Food & Weight Obsession - Hilary Kinavey & Dana Sturtevant Aug 03, 2017

Show notes

EB013 Release Food and Weight Obsession with Hilary Kinavey and Dana Sturtevant of Be Nourished

Hilary Kinavey, MS, Licensed Professional Counselor and Dana Sturtevant, MS, Registered Dietician are the founders of Be Nourished, founded on the idea that people are born with remarkable instincts to love and care for their bodies. They believe "Body Trust® is a birthright. Our passion is helping people lose the weight of body shame to create the change they seek from a deeper place."

With Hilary's counseling expertise and Dana's insightful dietitian skills, we talk about some current events like celebrity diet culture, and a disturbing new research study. We also discuss the importance of pleasure and embodiment. Part of the work they do in the world is helping people reconnect to their bodies, both in the pleasure of movement and eating.

"Be aware of what triggers the dieting mind."

~Be Nourished

This Week on the Every Body Podcast:

Dangers of research studies that connect weight loss and eating disorders
Knowing the differences between body acceptance, healing, and self-care
How the culture of fat stigma affects weight bias
Learning the difference between being healthy and being nourished
The importance of movement as a way of loving your body

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Ep. 12: Fat and Health - DeAun Nelson Jul 19, 2017

Show notes

EB012 Fat and Health with DeAun Nelson

DeAun Nelson a Naturopathic Doctor who practices at Watershed Wellness in Portland, Oregon. She specializes in taking a weight neutral approach to health. Even at a young age, DeAun intuitively knew that health and weight were two distinct things and she has carried these convictions to her medical practice. She understands that one can be healthy and fat and wants to share her scientific knowledge and Health At Every Size approach with others.

We discuss the mental stigmas associated with fat stigma, from the size of airplane seats to how some medical professionals discriminate against people who are heavier. Dr. Nelson is an advocate for the Health at Every Size movement (HAES), and how it has a profound effect on the physical and mental health of many patients.

"Over the years, I have gotten better at acknowledging that I can take up as much space as I need." – DeAun Nelson

This Week on the Every Body Podcast:

The shift of wanting to diet to acceptance, and focusing on health
Being fat in a world built for thin people
Benefits of having a variety of seating accommodations when flying
Southwest Airlines "Customer of Size" policy
Being healthy at any size
How habits affect health and not weight
The effects of stress on the body
Addressing knee problems without weight loss
Helping patients affected by medical bias against overweight people
American Medical Association classifying obesity as a disease

Resources Mentioned:

Health at Every Size Community

Connect with Deaun Nelson:

Watershed Wellness
Watershed Wellness on Facebook

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Ep. 11: Intuitive Eating Expert - Evelyn Tribole Jul 06, 2017

Show notes

Today's guest is registered dietician, author, speaker, and nutrition expert, Evelyn Tribole. She has written nine books with the latest book she co-authored with Elyse Resch called Intuitive Eating Workbook: Ten Principles for Nourishing a Healthy Relationship with Food. Evelyn's expertise and passion caught the attention of many and has had hundreds of interviews on TV and in print. She also had her own monthly column in Shape Magazine that went ran for 11 years.

Evelyn joins me today to discuss intuitive eating - what it is, how it's radically different than dieting, and where to start if you want to understand the principles. Evelyn also sheds light on the differences among health, fullness, and satisfaction and how you can change your mindset so you can be more in tune to the messages your body is sending.

"Intuitive eating is a mind-body approach where you're listening to the messages of your body." - Evelyn Tribole

This Week on the Every Body Podcast:

What inspired Evelyn to research, write, and co-author the book Intuitive Eating
What makes the act of "listening to the body" difficult for this generation
Explaining the phenomenon called "Last Supper Eating" and its effects
The necessary paradigm shift about being healthy regardless of size
Misinformation about food addiction and sugar addiction
Evelyn's views on programs like Overeaters Anonymous
Where Evelyn hopes to see future research

Where to Begin with Intuitive Eating