Life. Unrestricted.

Latest Episodes:

LU 025: Harriet Brown – "The Body of Truth" reveals what's wrong in today's thin-obsessed world. Jan 11, 2017

Show notes

Download Episode! Lovely radicals, how wonderful to have you back! In today's episode of the "Life. Unrestricted." podcast, I talk to Harriet Brown from Syracuse, New York. She is an award-winning author, a poet, magazine editor and professor at the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, and she writes, researches and teaches about eating disorders and body image. She has written for the New York Times Magazine, Psychology Today and many others. Her experience with having a daughter who suffered from anorexia inspired her to begin working as an advocate for better eating-disorders treatment. She is the author of several books, two of which I'd like to mention: The first is called "Brave Girl Eating" in which she writes about how they, as a family, fought against her daughter Kitty's anorexia. And second, of course, the groundbreaking book called "The Body of Truth – How Science, History, and Culture Drive our Obsession with Weight and What We Can Do about it". The two of us forgot that this was a recorded conversation pretty quickly and I bet you can hear the passion in both our voices in this one. Listen in as Harriet tells us: – Why she felt unattractive and "too big" as a child already – What it was the set the stage for her quest for thinness – What it was that made her say "enough" and "I can't do this anymore" – What happened in her first therapy session – Why she went back and worked with her therapist for 10 years after that, in spite of her initial resistance – What made see the logic behind a weight-neutral approach to health – Why she decided to write books on the subject of a weight-obsessed diet-world – What made her question some interpretations of studies – How she found out how hurtful our society's fear of fat really is – How she found out how exaggerated the connection between weight and health really is – Why it can be very helpful to feel healthy anger when we find out how we have been deceived – Why it is that people are so resistant to this, and why they seem to want to stay stuck in their dieting efforts – Why those evasive three percent of people for whom dieting "supposedly works" are those who are sacrificing everything just to keep that weight off, and why even those people come to sanity (and their natural weight) eventually – How weight-suppression keeps us from living our lives fully and freely – How her daughter Kelly's anorexia opened her eyes to the brutal truths of a diet-fixated culture – What her findings revealed about the tragedy of the BMI, the danger of weight-bias in the medical field, the effects of weight-stigma and the reason why everyone seems to have terrible body image these days – Why it is important to see the toxic mechanisms behind diet-culture and the diet industry and how this can help us stepping out of old beliefs – How to heal negative body image, let go of disordered eating, overcome food fears and end weight-obsession – Why it can be very exhausting and overwhelming to swim upstream in a diet- and thinness obsessed culture – How her life and her relationships and her marriage improved ever since she stopped dieting – What she teaches her students in her body image and weight-stigma lectures – What she wants every woman in the world to know... ... And so much more! Check out Harriet's website and her books: www.harrietbrown.com Please consider supporting the podcast with a donation by becoming a "Patreon"; so that I can keep producing it. Thank you! Here's the link: https://www.patreon.com/lifeunrestricted Please: Do subscribe on iTunes (Apple): https://itunes.apple.com/ch/podcast/life.-unrestricted.-podcast/id1130713233?mt=2 or on Stitcher (Android): http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=93987&refid= ********* Don't forget!********* Make sure to join my tribe and meet some of the most supportive, loving and kind people of all shapes and sizes, including great coaches and leaders! We're right over here at: http://www.lifeunrestricted.org/join/

LU 024: Rebecca Scritchfield – With "Body Kindness" to lasting health and peace of mind. Jan 02, 2017

Show notes

Download Episode! Happy happy 2017, dear radicals!! Let's DO January differently, shall we? Let's come up with better ideas than those presented in the tired old weight-loss-resolutions. Let's step into a kinder way of relating to ourselves! This week on the "Life. Unrestricted." podcast, you are going to hear another great woman who is changing the game and inspiring the world with her wonderful work on body kindness and Health at Every Size (HAES). It is Rebecca Scritchfield from Washington DC. Rebecca is an expert on the connection between health and happiness and believes the foundation for a long, happy life lies in enjoyable habits. As a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, a well-being coach as well as a health and fitness specialist, Rebecca helps people create a better life with workable, interesting self-care goals through her weight-neutral "Body Kindness" practice. Rebecca is the founder of Capitol Nutrition Group, co-founder of Dietitians for Body Confidence, and her very first book has just come out, it's called "Body Kindness", and I am honored to be holding an advance copy of it in my hands... it is a wonderful, colorful and powerful read; highly recommendable. Rebecca has also been a spokesperson and consultant to some big food brand, and through over 100 media outlets, she has reached millions of people. And today, it will be you she reaches, dear listener. Listen to Rebecca as she tells us: – What her happy childhood memories of "being in a body" look like – What kind of comments and role-modeling made her become self-conscious about her body – How her mother related to food, body and weight – How her good intentions to take care of her body got twisted as her body image got worse – What it was that pushed her over the edge and into some of her darkest times – How her bad body image manifested in her ways of eating and exercising – Why no one recognized her struggle with her body, food and weight – How many women live in pretend-mode and hide their pain behind a mask of "I'm totally fine!" – How we can overcome shame and start sharing what we are struggling with – How we can make the best of our worst experiences – How raising our voice against discrimination and injustice makes all the difference – How it takes all of us to take down diet-culture – Why our internal diet-mentality is so persistent – Why everyone is entitled to their own pace when it comes to healing our false beliefs – What the most important sentence is that you can tell yourself when things get rough and diet-thoughts are taking over our mental space – How not to fall from one coping-mechanism into the next – What she means by "body kindness" – What the PACT-strategy is and how we can apply it – Why we need to learn to sit with uncomfortable feelings instead of believing our Gremlin-voice – Why being learning to be kind to yourself and your body (any sort of personal growth)) is likely to fire up your inner Gremlin and why that's normal and even to be expected – How not to get triggered by every diet-culture message you come across – How her book "Body Kindness" came to be, and who she was really writing it for – What she wants us to remember at this delicate time when so many people "go on diets"... ... And so much more! Check out Rebecca's website and have a look at her brand-new book: www.bodykindnessbook.com Please consider supporting the podcast with a donation by becoming a "Patreon"; so that I can keep producing it. Thank you! Here's the link: https://www.patreon.com/lifeunrestricted

Please: Do subscribe on iTunes (Apple): https://itunes.apple.com/ch/podcast/life.-unrestricted.-podcast/id1130713233?mt=2 or on Stitcher (Android): http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=93987&refid=

********* Don't forget!*********

Make sure to join my tribe and meet some of the most supportive, loving and kind people of all shapes and sizes, including great coaches and leaders! We're right over here at: http://www.lifeunrestricted.org/join/

LU 023: Me, solo – How to become a critical consumer, make better resolutions & 1000 thank-yous. Dec 22, 2016

Show notes

"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."—Anaïs Nin. Lovely radicals! My knees are a little wobbly, as I bring to you my end-of-the-year solo-episode of the "Life. Unrestricted." podcast. That's because what I put together, isn't just the usual fluffy-jingly Christmas talk. See, all around me, people are in a buying frenzy, we are all being bombarded by "special offers" and "limited editions" and "gift ideas". And I can't help thinking of this excellent quote—credited to 15 different people, so I wonder if I should make it mine...? Just kidding!—that says: "We are persuaded to buy things we don't need, with money we don't have, to impress people we don't care about." And as if THAT wasn't enough to give me a million ideas for this podcast, we are ALSO being bombarded by the same old, sucked dry, tried-and-failed weight-loss New Year's resolutions. I can't even with this nonsense anymore! It makes me want to poke my eyeballs with a pencil and make monkey noises. This has got to change. So I'm going to talk about it. Yes, I feel vulnerable to let the world know where I stand on some of the matters I will be talking about, but that's a perfect indicator: This is exactly what I have to do. Get ready, dear ones. This episode is packed full of what I know about present-day marketing and how this ties into our world's collective, terrible state of body image. In my opinion, this knowledge is crucial to become more critical as a consumer and better equipped to see behind façades. This episode also contains a truckload of NEW New Year's resolutions to keep you strong on this path towards liberating your wonderful self, and not to fall for the tired old bunch of weight-lossy ones. And lastly, this episode is full of love. Full of gratitude for you showing up, full of respect for your continuous growth, full of awe for our collective support, our community, our sister- and brotherhood, for lack of a less wooo-wooo word. All of what I say today, is based on my interest to see us blossom. One promise: After listening to this, you will be perfectly equipped to step into the New Year with an awake mind, a well-oiled internal bullshit-detector, and a protective shield against the onslaught of body negative messages around you. One warning: Listening to this may cause you to question some beliefs you might have subconsciously been holding on to, and that might feel uncomfortable. One secret: That's a sign of growth! Growth happens out of your comfort zone. See why my knees are shaky? This one is important. If I had one Christmas gift wish, I would love for all the (wo)men in the world to have a chance to listen to this. For they deserve to live life true to themselves. Thank you a million times for being on this journey with me.... You are incredible people, radicals. I love you. Meret. Please consider supporting the podcast with a donation by becoming a "Patreon"; so that I can keep producing it. Thank you! Here's the link: https://www.patreon.com/lifeunrestricted Please: Do subscribe on iTunes (Apple): https://itunes.apple.com/ch/podcast/life.-unrestricted.-podcast/id1130713233?mt=2 or on Stitcher (Android): http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=93987&refid= ********* Don't forget!********* Make sure to join my tribe and meet some of the most supportive, loving and kind people of all shapes and sizes, including great coaches and leaders! We're right over here at: http://www.lifeunrestricted.org/join/

LU 022: Lauren Anton – Reconnect with your body's innate wisdom and let go of societal rules. Dec 13, 2016

Show notes

Download Episode! Hey, lovely radicals. Podcast time! In this episode of the "Life. Unrestricted." podcast, you're going to hear Lauren Anton from Culver City, California. Lauren is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Certified Personal Trainer specializing in eating disorders and sports nutrition. She is the owner of "Arrive: Nutrition, Movement, Life". She has years of experience working at Eating Disorders Treatment facilities, in most levels of care, from Residential Treatment to Intensive Outpatient Treatment. She helps people who struggle with weight, food and exercise. Her goal is to assist her clients in moving away from a punitive experience with food and movement to one of self-compassion and self-care. Her non-diet, Health At Every Size approach allows people to break free from the chains of rules they have set for themselves that don't serve them anymore, and she helps to guide them to an understanding of how their relationship to food, exercise and emotions are influencing each-other and their bodies. Lauren has spoken at numerous national conferences and events on eating disorders and sports nutrition. Today, Lauren will tell us: – What her earliest memory is of relating to bodies – How her mother's restriction of snacks led to her binging on them secretly – Why she forced herself to become an athlete "against" her true inner will – What she sees when she looks at pictures of herself as a teenager, back when she was convinced she was fat – Why many women with anorexia don't "look anorexic" and won't get the help they need as long as doctors rely on something bogus like the BMI – What her advice is for all the parents out there who are dealing with doctors commenting on their child's weight – What kind of experiences and comments made her develop a bad body image – Why her obsession with body and body image was centered around athleticism – How she learned to ignore her body's signals just to be accepted as an athlete – Why focusing on the shapes and sizes of bodies isn't helpful in sports, and what we should be focusing on instead – Why it is important to know and expect that giving up coping mechanisms like dieting or overexercising is going to bring up anxiety – Why people who exercise compulsively or engage in other disordered eating behaviors won't heal if they "wait until they feel ready" – Why she thinks many people have to rock bottom until they allow themselves to change their lifestyle and finally heal – What her own rock bottom was – What kind of questions we can ask ourselves when we are tempted to fall back into old habits of weight-obsessing... ... And so much more! Check out Lauren's (brand new!) website and find out about her coaching business at: www.arrivenutrition.com ********* Don't forget!********* Make sure to join my tribe and meet some of the most supportive, loving and kind people of all shapes and sizes, including great coaches and leaders! We're right over here at: http://www.lifeunrestricted.org/join/ Please consider supporting the podcast with a donation by becoming a "Patreon"; so that I can keep producing it. Thank you! Here's the link: https://www.patreon.com/lifeunrestricted Please: Do subscribe on iTunes (Apple): https://itunes.apple.com/ch/podcast/life.-unrestricted.-podcast/id1130713233?mt=2 or on Stitcher (Android): http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=93987&refid=stpr

LU 018: Evelyn Tribole – How not to fall for the "street version" of Intuitive Eating. Dec 09, 2016

Show notes

Download Episode! Hello, lovely tribe! In today's episode of the "Life. Unrestricted." podcast, I talk to Evelyn Tribole. Yes, THE Evelyn Tribole, the co-author of the groundbreaking bestseller "Intuitive Eating", and author of several other books. Evelyn Tribole is an award-winning registered dietitian with a nutrition counseling practice in Newport Beach, California, specializing in Eating Disorders, Intuitive Eating and celiac disease. Evelyn has a passion for helping people discover a healthy relationship with food, mind and body; whether that be through one-on-one counseling, writing, workshops or media appearances. And, as we know, she is the very pioneer who co-created the process that we now call "Intuitive Eating"" In the 90s, she was the nutrition expert for "Good Morning America", she was the national spokesperson for the "American Dietetic Association" for years and she has been rated as one of the "Best Nutritionists in the Country" by many US magazines. As you can imagine, she has had countless media appearances, and she has achieved the highest honors one could possibly dream of as an expert dietitian. Listen in and hear Evelyn Tribole tell us: – How her relationship to her body was as she grew up – How her mother came expressed her regret about her lifelong dieting efforts – How dieting and eating issues are detrimental to our relationships – Why she realized that "prescribing diets" was the very thing that made people end up worse – How it is that people who keep dieting keep gaining weight – Why we share the belief that diets should not be legal – Why thinking that "dieting is a healthy thing" is dangerous thinking – How it is that we can really improve our health – What she knows to be the source of Binge Eating Disorder (BED) – Why she gets so fired up about toxic messages about "Sugar Addiction" and "Food Addiction" and the absurdity of the comparison of sugar to cocaine – Why she stresses the fact that many "street versions" of Intuitive Eating are plain misunderstood and wrong – What Intuitive Eating really is and what the 10 principles are – Why they stopped mentioning weight and numbers altogether by the third edition of the book "Intuitive Eating" – How she helps her clients to let go of the diet-mentality – Why it is crucial to let go of the internalized "Thin-Dream" in order to gain real freedom – What principles are the hardest for clients to tackle – How Intuitive Eating brings with it self-compassion and self-care – How she applies Intuitive Eating when it comes to eating disorders – Why so many athletes have eating disorders that go unnoticed – How she recognizes problematic behavior around food and exercise – How she helps patients and clients find a healthy relationship to exercise – Why a person's size never tells us anything about their health and the dangers of equating "thin" to "healthy" – What kind of world she is dreaming of... ... And so much more! Check out Evelyn Tribole at: www.evelyntribole.com or www.intuitiveeating.com And here's the link to the book "Intuitive Eating": https://www.amazon.com/Intuitive-Eating-Revolutionary-Program-Works/dp/0312321236 ********* Don't forget!********* Make sure to join my tribe and meet some of the most supportive, loving and kind people of all shapes and sizes, including great coaches and leaders! We're right over here at: http://www.lifeunrestricted.org/join/ Podcasting is expensive, more so than I thought. So if you enjoy and love my podcast, please consider supporting it by becoming a "Patreon"! It would greatly help me to keep those episodes coming to you. Thanks! https://www.patreon.com/lifeunrestricted Please: Do subscribe on iTunes (Apple): https://itunes.apple.com/ch/podcast/life.-unrestricted.-podcast/id1130713233?mt=2 or on Stitcher (Android): http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=93987&refid=stpr

LU 019: Aaron Flores – Are you sick of dieting and ready to break the vicious cycle? Dec 09, 2016

Show notes

Download Episode! In today's episode of the "Life. Unrestricted." podcast, I talk to Aaron Flores from Calabasas, California. Aaron is a registered dietitian nutritionist who specializes in Intuitive Eating and Health At Every Size (HAES). As he describes on his website, he promotes a non-diet, weight neutral approach to changing behaviors that lead to improved health. He says "If you feel like you've tried every diet, your weight has yo-yo'ed for years and you are ready to stop fighting your body and learn to love food again, then I am the dietitian for you." I've had Aaron in my ears for a while now, because he is the man that hosts one of my favorite podcasts, namely Dietitians Unplugged, with the fabulous Glenys Oyston, whom I introduced you to in episode 12 of the "Life. Unrestricted." podcast. So it is high time you meet the other half of that wonderful podcast. And you will! Listen to Aaron talk about: – How he came up with his Star Wars analogy for Intuitive Eating and Health At Every Size versus diet-culture – How he experienced his body as a boy – How he and his family related to food – Why he'll never forget his first trip to the dietitian with his mother – What the dietitian told him to do and why that set him up for the diet-binge-cycle – How he judged his body as an adolescent – How he ended up dieting for years and why he stopped – How diets fail all people, and why people still think "they failed" at the diet – What made him decide to become a registered dietitian – What he thought of Intuitive Eating and Health At Every Size when we first heard it – Why he clung to the idea of weight-loss for as long as he did – How his transition into Intuitive Eating went for him – How he is working on accepting his own body – Why his transition into Intuitive Eating made him eventually leave his job and open his own practice – What he has learned from his whole transformation – What made see the logic behind a weight-neutral approach to health – Why learning about Intuitive Eating and Health At Every Size is a lot like the movie "The Matrix" – How he handles his own judgmental side towards people, diets and bodies – Why he calls himself a feminist man and how he recognizes his privilege as a white male – How he wants to raise his boys – Why he is so grateful for his wife... ... And so much more! Check out Aaron's work, as well as the link to his podcast with Glenys Oyston here: www.bvmrd.com ********* Don't forget!********* Make sure to join my tribe and meet some of the most supportive, loving and kind people of all shapes and sizes, including great coaches and leaders! We're right over here at: http://www.lifeunrestricted.org/join/ Podcasting is expensive, more so than I thought. So if you enjoy and love my podcast, please consider supporting it by becoming a "Patreon"! It would greatly help me to keep those episodes coming to you. Thanks! https://www.patreon.com/lifeunrestricted Please: Do subscribe on iTunes (Apple): https://itunes.apple.com/ch/podcast/life.-unrestricted.-podcast/id1130713233?mt=2 or on Stitcher (Android): http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=93987&refid=stpr

LU 021: Christy Harrison – Codependency, trauma, and healing our eating issues. Dec 06, 2016

Show notes

Download Episode!

Hey, sweet radicals, here we go again: Podcast!

This week, on the "Life. Unrestricted." podcast, it's my pleasure to bring to you a fellow podcaster and size-acceptance fighter... It is the wonderful Christy Harrison from New York. Christy is an intuitive eating coach and anti-diet registered dietitian who helps people make peace with food. She offers online intuitive eating courses and individual nutrition therapy for people who want to heal their difficult relationship to food. Her work is based on Health At Every size and is coming from a body positive perspective, which is wonderful. Being a journalist as well, she has written for numerous magazines and websites, including Refinery29, Gourmet, The Food Network and others. She is also hosting a podcast that has had a great influence on me and my courage to recover from restriction, binging and overexercising. Christy and I chatted on a Sunday, evening for me, morning for her, so both of us in chill mode. Listen to Christy as she tells us: – How her relationship to food and body was when she grew up – What kind of experiences planted a seed in her mind that her body wasn't good-looking enough – How her mother related to food, body and weight – Why her more serious eating difficulties didn't start early in life, but only when she was in college – What experience it was that made her decide to change her body, go on diets and restrict her food – Why her mother didn't recognize her eating behaviors and her struggle with bulimia – How she justified her behaviors around food and why it took her a long time to step out of denial – How not having the right therapist and physician negatively influenced her behavior – Why her codependency, of all things, turned out to be a saving grace in regards to taking the necessary steps toward recovery – How she subsequently healed her relationship to food and how self-compassion was critical – How early attachment issues often manifest in eating disorders and codependency – How therapy helped her heal her relationship to food, eating, and her sense of self-worth – How she helps her clients who want to give up lifelong dieting, disordered eating or eating disorders – How she helps people find to a weight-neutral approach to health – Why taking charge of our social media feed is so important and can be so healing – Why she thinks Health At Every Size (HAES) is the only way to truly heal our relationship with food and our weight – Why self-compassion and patience are pivotal in healing our body image and how we relate to food and weight... ... And so much more! Check out Christy's website: www.christyharrison.com Here's the link to her podcast called "Food Psych": https://itunes.apple.com/ch/podcast/food-psych-podcast-about-intuitive/id700512884?mt=2 ********* Don't forget!********* Make sure to join my tribe and meet some of the most supportive, loving and kind people of all shapes and sizes, including great coaches and leaders! We're right over here at: http://www.lifeunrestricted.org/join/ Please consider supporting the podcast with a donation by becoming a "Patreon"; so that I can keep producing it. Thank you! Here's the link: https://www.patreon.com/lifeunrestricted Please: Do subscribe on iTunes (Apple): https://itunes.apple.com/ch/podcast/life.-unrestricted.-podcast/id1130713233?mt=2 or on Stitcher (Android): http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=93987&refid=stpr

LU 020: Dr. Anita Johnston – "In the Light of the Moon" we transform our relationship with food. Nov 29, 2016

Show notes

Download Episode! Lovely radical! Welcome to another beautiful ear-journey. In today's episode of the "Life. Unrestricted." podcast, I'm talking to Dr. Anita Johnston from Colorado/Hawaii. She is a clinical psychologist, certified eating disorder specialist and storyteller who has been working with women struggling with eating and weight for over 30 years. She is the Clinical Director of the 'Ai Pono Eating Disorder Programs in Honolulu and the recently opened 'Ai Pono Maui residential facility on the Island of Maui, Hawaii. She is Senior Advisor & Clinical Consultant to Focus Treatment Centers in Chattanooga, Memphis, and Knoxville, Tennessee as well as Consultant to EATFED in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia. She is the author of "Eating in the Light of the Moon", which has been published in six languages. As an international speaker, Dr. Anita Johnston talks about the effects of the preoccupation with dieting and weight that keep millions of women around the world obsessed and all too often unsuccessfully attempting to control their struggles. Her most recent project is an interactive online e-course and women's support circle called the "Light of the Moon Café". Listen to Anita tell us: – Why she is still baffled that she herself didn't develop an eating disorder when she was young – Why she thinks having a sensitive, intuitive nature is making women prone to having eating issues and a negative body image – How she became interested in women's issues – How she became aware of the prevalent obsession with weight-loss, diet and body that women are caught up in – Why she is so passionate about her work treating eating disorders – Why she chose metaphors for her bestseller "Eating in the Light of the Moon" – What made her come up with the beautiful metaphors for her book – Why women's eating issues have everything to do with patriarchy – How women can learn to appreciate and cherish their emotional intensity and intuitive skills – Why assertive communication is one of the most important skills to learn – How we can reframe what we have come to believe about women, bodies and food for decades – Why diet-culture hurts women's souls so much, and how we can grow a certain amount of resiliency against it – Why having a supporting community of women is the antidote against the oppressive tendencies of diet-culture and patriarchy – How she deals with it when diet-culture (magazines, media, commercials) start affecting her inner contentment and how she re-appreciates her body – Why it is so important to learn to recognize and identify our internalized diet-mentality voice – How we can strengthen our inner voice of compassion to grow strong enough disobey the oppressive and punishing rules of the internalized diet-mentality and the external diet-culture messages –Why women's bodies and women's sexuality have continuously been objectified, judged and shamed – What the purpose of her online platform called "Light of the Moon Café" is and what it offers – Why her treatment center and programs on Hawaii are called 'Ai Pono... ... And so much more! If you are interested in Dr. Anita Johnston's work, check out her website: http://www.dranitajohnston.com Also, check out the "Light of the Moon Café": http://www.lightofthemooncafe.com/ Here's the link to the 'Ai Pono healing center (Hawaii): http://www.aipono.com/ ********* Don't forget!********* Make sure to join my tribe and meet some of the most supportive, loving and kind people of all shapes and sizes, including great coaches and leaders! We're right over here at: http://www.lifeunrestricted.org/join Podcasting is expensive, more so than I thought. So if you enjoy and love my podcast, please consider supporting it by becoming a "Patreon"! It would greatly help me to keep those episodes coming to you. Thanks! https://www.patreon.com/lifeunrestricted Please: Do subscribe on iTunes (Apple): https://itunes.apple.com/ch/podcast/life.-unrestricted.-podcast/id1130713233?mt=2 or on Stitcher (Android): http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=93987&refid=stpr

LU 017: Sonya Renee Taylor – The brilliant mind behind "The Body Is Not An Apology". Oct 31, 2016

Show notes

Download Episode! Hi, sweet radicals! This week, the "Life. Unrestricted." podcast brings to you the wonderful Sonya Renee Taylor from California. Sonya Renee is the Founder and – as she calls it – Radical Executive Officer of "The Body Is Not An Apology", an international movement and organization committed to radical self-love and body empowerment as the foundational tool for social justice and global transformation. Sonya holds a BA in Sociology and a Masters degree in Organizational Management. Her work as an award-winning Performance Poet, Activist and transformational leader continues to have global reach. Sonya is a former National and International poetry slam champion, author, educator and activist who has mesmerized audiences across the world. Believing in the power of art as a vehicle for social change, Sonya has been widely recognized for her work as a change agent and has won heaps of awards and honors, and Bustle Magazine has named her one of the 12 "Women who paved the way for body positivity". Sonya's work has been seen and heard on practically EVERY news outlet in America. Sonya is a fierce advocate and activist for intersectional global justice. Listen in as Sonya Renee tells us: – What sort of messages she heard about women's bodies when she grew up – What the most important messages are that made her believe in her abilities and power – How she experienced privilege and oppression – Why she believes body-shame and tendencies of self-hate are learned and can be unlearned – What body-empowerment entails and why it really is about all areas of social justice, be it ableism, racism, classism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, weight-discrimination or any other form – Why weight-stigma is adding a toxic layer that affects those most that are already being discriminated against – How her great movement called "The Body Is Not An Apology" came about – Why she feels so grateful for all the contributors for showing her their perspective – Why "The Body Is Not An Apology" is for everybody – How her idea of self-love is different than the fuzzy ideas we often hear; why she calls it "radical self-love" – How her 30-day self-love challenge called RUHCUS helped her overcome her biggest shame – Why it is that some form of body shame is likely to seep back in and how we can deal with it to maintain body-peace – Why it is critical to learn about the mechanism of the diet- and beauty-industry to see just how much power we are giving away by buying into the lies we are being told every day – What would happen when women over night stopped believing those lies and stopped buying all those products – What radical self-love realistically looks like and why it has a massive impact on the world around us – Why we can never create a peaceful world unless we make peace within ourselves – What she does on those days that she finds it hard to love herself – Why it is important to see that we would only set ourselves up for failure if we want to do this journey towards body love perfectly – Why she encourages all of us to do "what WE want" and not "what we think others want us to do" – What she would change immediately were she to rule the world... ... And so much more! Check out Sonya Renee Taylor here: www.sonya-renee.com and her platform "The Body Is Not An Apology" here: www.thebodyisnotanapology.com ********* Don't forget!********* Podcasting is expensive, more so than I thought. So if you enjoy and love my podcast, please consider supporting it by becoming a "Patreon"! It would greatly help me to keep those episodes coming to you. Thanks! https://www.patreon.com/lifeunrestricted Make sure to join my tribe and meet some of the most supportive, loving and kind people of all shapes and sizes, including great coaches and leaders! We're right over here at: http://www.lifeunrestricted.org/join/ Please: Do subscribe on iTunes (Apple): https://itunes.apple.com/ch/podcast/life.-unrestricted.-podcast/id1130713233?mt=2 or on Stitcher (Android): http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=93987&refid=stpr

LU 016: Dr. Maria Paredes – Reframing and healing your relationship with your body. Oct 24, 2016

Show notes

Download Episode! Hello, dear body acceptance radicals! In today's episode of the "Life. Unrestricted." podcast, I'm talking to Dr. Maria Paredes from Greensboro, North Carolina. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified Eating Disorders Specialist who describes herself as a five-star listener, heart healer, courage instiller, lover of ALL bodies, self-compassion coach, voice amplifier, companion to those in pain and a believer in hope. She holds a Bachelor degree in psychology, a Masters degree in school counseling, as well a a doctoral degree in counseling and counselor education. She helps people who are stuck in the diet-binge-cycle as well as those who want to feel more comfortable in their own skin, make peace with food and with their bodies. She offers individual and group counseling, clinical supervision, workshops, and talks at schools, workplaces and different communities. Listen to Maria tell us: – How she grew up without constant diet-talk, weight-obsessing or body-shaming – What made her get into her field of work – How she helps her clients with different therapy methods like Dialectic Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Relational-Cultural Therapy (RCT) – Why she doesn't demonize any behaviors around food and how she finds out what the behavior represents – How she lets people re-relate to behaviors like binge-eating – Why she is against "forcing" people to let go of their coping mechanism and what she does instead – How she helps parents not to pass on the difficult relationship they have to food and body to their children – What she says about her "butt" when she looks in the mirror (hint: it's gooooood!) – How we can utilized Social Media to our benefit when it comes to un-learn toxic ideas about weight, body, food and shape – Why she fully supports the Health At Every Size (HAES) principles and Intuitive Eating – How she introduces these concepts to her clients – How she helps overcome their internalized shame and fat-phobic beliefs – What helped her become aware of the weight- and fat-stigma in our world – How she helps her clients educate themselves about diet-culture and the capitalistic machinery behind it, and how this helps us stepping out of old beliefs – Why she thinks the path to real body and food liberation are MUCH harder to do than going along with the mainstream dogma and constant dieting – How she started to appreciate her own body – Why we will always be stuck in a weight-obsessed mentality (and spend precious amounts of energy and time trying to "fix" our bodies) unless we address internalized fat-phobia – Why it is so important to surround ourselves with people and images of people of all shapes and sizes to end our inner fat-phobic beliefs – What makes the HAES movement so incredibly beautiful, warm and welcoming... ... And so much more! If you are interested in working with Dr. Maria Paredes or finding out more about what she does, check out her website: http://www.threebirdscounseling.com Also, check out her Facebook site called "Body Politics with Dr. Paredes": https://m.facebook.com/BodyPoliticsWithDrParedes/?__mref=message_bubble ********* Don't forget!********* Make sure to join my tribe and meet some of the most supportive, loving and kind people of all shapes and sizes, including great coaches and leaders! We're right over here at: http://www.lifeunrestricted.org/join Podcasting is expensive, more so than I thought. So if you enjoy and love my podcast, please consider supporting it by becoming a "Patreon"! It would greatly help me to keep those episodes coming to you. Thanks! https://www.patreon.com/lifeunrestricted Please: Do subscribe on iTunes (Apple): https://itunes.apple.com/ch/podcast/life.-unrestricted.-podcast/id1130713233?mt=2 or on Stitcher (Android): http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=93987&refid=stpr http://www.lifeunrestricted.org/join

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected