Food Psych - Intuitive Eating, Health At Every Size, Positive Body Image, Eating Disorder Recovery, Smashing Diet Culture

Fellow anti-diet dietitian and podcaster Heather Caplan joins us to discuss her experience with orthorexia (aka obsession with “healthy” eating), how to bring joyful movement into eating-disorder recovery, the intersection of pregnancy and diet culture, sports nutrition from an intuitive-eating perspective, and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about how to know if you’re TRULY craving something or just eating it to rebel against diet culture. Heather Caplan is a Washington DC-based dietitian with a virtual private practice. She is founder and director of Weight Inclusive Nutrition and Dietetics (WIND) events, working to reduce and dismantle weight discrimination in healthcare and dietetics. In her practice, she primarily works with active women, disordered eating, and eating disorders, using non-diet and weight-inclusive practices. With fellow dietitian Kelly Jones, Heather hosts an online course (Fit Fueling) for all-level athletes, and fellow dietitians, teaching a combination of spor

Anti Diet Riot Club founder Becky Young joins us to discuss how diet culture intersects with other forms of oppression, how to respond to people who push back against the anti-diet message, why anger is important in eating-disorder recovery, how unconditional permission to eat can free your mind to focus on things other than food, and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about the definition of the term "people in larger bodies." After almost 12 years of dieting, Becky Young gave it up for good in 2016 and founded the Anti Diet Riot Club with the intention to host support groups and meet-ups in London for people wanting to do the same. Now the project has grown into a massive online community and hosts panel discussions, creative workshops, and fashion fairs to empower people struggling with low body image. They recently crowdfunded to build the Anti Diet Riot Bus to take their workshops on the road across the UK. Find her online at AntiDietRiotClub.co.uk. Christy's new book, An

Psychologist, fat activist, and Health At Every Size (HAES)® co-founder Deb Burgard returns! We discuss why HAES and weight management can’t co-exist, the social-justice roots of HAES, how weight stigma intersects with other oppressions, the politics of weight science, and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about how to navigate the food-shaming and fearmongering that’s often present in the world of food justice and environmental conservation. Deb Burgard, PhD, FAED (Fellow of the Academy for Eating Disorders), is a psychologist and activist from the San Francisco Bay Area specializing in concerns about body image, eating, weight stigma, and relationships. She is one of the founders of the Health at Every Size model, the creator in the mid-1990's of the BodyPositive.com website, and the host of the Show Me the Data listserv, building communities where people can find each other and the resources to resist weight stigma, especially in medical and psychological treatment. Her activism i

Evelyn Tribole (co-author of Intuitive Eating) returns to celebrate the launch of Christy’s first book, Anti-Diet: Reclaim Your Time, Money, Well-Being, and Happiness Through Intuitive Eating! Evelyn interviews Christy about the history of diet culture and The Wellness Diet, diet culture’s role in healthcare and the so-called “obesity epidemic,” why food activism is not as progressive as it seems, intuitive eating as the anti-diet approach to eating, and so much more. Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD is an award-winning registered dietitian, specializing in eating disorders and Intuitive Eating, with a private practice in Newport Beach, California. She has written nine books, including the bestsellers Healthy Homestyle Cooking and Intuitive Eating (co-author). Evelyn was the nutrition expert for Good Morning America in 1994-’95, and was a national spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association for 6 years. She was contributing editor for Shape magazine where her monthly column, Recipe Makeovers, appeared for 11 yea

Eating-disorders therapist Stephanie Zone joins us to discuss how diet culture steals our happiness and joy, the physical and emotional effects of restriction and self-blame, why dieting and disordered eating are like being in an abusive relationship, the problem with the narrative that trauma “causes” larger body size, and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about studying nutrition and dietetics while trying to heal from your own disordered eating. Stephanie Zone, PsyD, JD, is a clinical psychologist specializing in eating disorders and trauma, as well as other issues including anxiety and depression. She works with all types of clients at an HMO and in private practice in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is also a professor, workshop leader, and yoga teacher. Stephanie began her career as a lawyer. Her passion for legal aid and social justice fueled a career change to psychology. She wrote her dissertation on feminism and eating disorders, with the theory that feminism might have a prote

Weight-stigma and eating-disorders researcher Kendrin Sonneville joins us to discuss how diet culture steals our well-being by perpetuating fatphobia, why even seemingly subtle forms of weight stigma can lead to poorer health, the role of science in the paradigm shift toward Health At Every Size®, why weight stigma is more than just a health issue, and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about intuitive eating and fears around weight loss. Kendrin Sonneville, ScD, RD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Dr. Sonneville also holds an adjunct appointment at Harvard Medical School and is a Collaborating Mentor for the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders (STRIPED) at Boston Children's Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Sonneville is a registered dietitian, behavioral scientist, and public health researcher whose research focuses on the preventio

Eating-disorder therapist and style blogger Shira Rosenbluth joins us to discuss how diet culture steals our money through the high cost and low effectiveness of eating-disorder treatment, why she decided to share her story as a therapist recovering from an eating disorder, fatphobia in eating-disorder treatment centers and its effect on recovery, eating disorders as a form of trauma, and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about how meal preparation can fit in with intuitive eating. Shira Rosenbluth, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker in New York City. She has a passion for helping people feel their best in their body at any size and specializes in the treatment of disordered eating, eating disorders, and body-image dissatisfaction using a weight-neutral approach. She’s also the author of TheShiraRose.com, a popular body-positive style blog that’s been featured in Verily Magazine, The Everygirl, Glam, and laurenconrad.com. You can find her on Instagram @theshirarose, and on her bl

Fellow anti-diet dietitian and podcaster Kirsten Ackerman joins us to discuss how diet culture steals our time and energy, why intuitive eating is the default mode (and how diet culture robs us of that innate skill set), how to recognize true self-care versus diet culture’s version, why there’s so much unchecked privilege in weight-loss marketing, and so much more! Plus, Christy answers a listener question about how to avoid falling into restrictive eating and diet-culture thinking when you have a genuine medical condition like celiac disease. Kirsten Ackerman is a Fat-Positive Registered Dietitian and Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor. She practices from a Health at Every Size® approach and works with clients to help them heal their relationship to food and body in order to support them in living full and meaningful lives. Find her online at TheIntuitive-RD.com. Pre-order Christy's forthcoming book, Anti-Diet, and get some sweet bonuses by submitting your proof of purchase at christyharrison.com/bookb

Fellow anti-diet dietitian and friend of the pod Kimmie Singh joins us to discuss her experiences being diagnosed and living with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), fatphobia and racism in healthcare and dietetics training, how reframing beauty ideals helped in her eating-disorder recovery, why eating-disorder providers need to talk to their clients about fatphobia, and so much more! Plus, Christy answers a listener question about how to get schools to stop teaching disordered-eating behaviors to kids. Kimmie Singh is a fat Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist based in New York City. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Physics from St. John’s University, her Master of Science in Nutrition at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and her Dietetic Internship from The City University of New York-Hunter College. Kimmie is an associate at LK Nutrition, a Health at Every Size private practice that supports people to heal their relationships with food and body. Kimmie specializes in Polycystic Ovarian S

Fellow anti-diet dietitian Christyna Johnson joins us to discuss adapting intuitive eating for different cultures and life situations, how microaggressions can contribute to eating-disorder behaviors and poor health, fatphobia and Eurocentrism in dietetics and clinical nutrition, how diet culture has warped the way we view and manage chronic illness, and so much more! Plus, Christy answers a listener question about emotional eating and why distinguishing between “mental hunger” and physical hunger can be such a minefield. Christyna Johnson is a registered dietitian in Dallas, Texas. She has a private practice helping individuals cultivate a healthy relationship with food and body. In her free time she’s becoming an urban gardener. Find her online at EncouragingDietitian.com. Pre-order Christy's forthcoming book, Anti-Diet, and get some sweet bonuses by submitting your proof of purchase at christyharrison.com/bookbonus! Grab Christy's free guide, 7 simple strategies for finding peace and freedom with f

Fellow anti-diet dietitian and certified intuitive eating counselor Alissa Rumsey shares her experience with intuitive eating personally and professionally, how adopting a Health At Every Size® approach shifted her work with food companies, how stopping exercise helped her examine her relationship with movement and with her body, what she learned when she stopped wearing makeup, and so much more! Alissa Rumsey MS, RD, CDN, CSCS is a New York City-based registered dietitian and Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor who is passionate about empowering women to reclaim the space to eat and live unapologetically. She is the founder of Alissa Rumsey Nutrition and Wellness, a weight-inclusive private practice that specializes in intuitive eating, body acceptance and disordered eating recovery. Her philosophy is rooted in the anti-diet and Health at Every Size (HAES®) framework, as she believes true health comes from nurturing behaviors to enhance physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. Through her virtual one-on-on

Anti-diet nutritionist and Certified Body Trust® Provider Meg Bradbury joins us with her daughter Carson to discuss how Meg’s orthorexia affected their relationships with food and with each other, why Meg decided to share her recovery journey on social media, how the restrict-binge cycle can show up in children, how The Wellness Diet affects people of different identities, and so much more! Plus, Christy answers a listener question about Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, gluten, and “leaky gut syndrome.” Meg Bradbury (she/her) is certified as a holistic anti-diet nutritionist, Body Trust® Provider, Accessible Yoga™ Teacher, and registered Yoga Alliance™ yoga and meditation teacher. Meg is in private practice working with individuals, groups, and families, advocating for body acceptance, eating disorder/disordered eating/body shame recovery, freedom with food, joyful movement, and stillness/breathwork. Meg’s work is guided by the principles of Intuitive Eating, Health at Every Size®, and the Ellyn Satter Institute thro

Fat activist and Comfy Fat founder J Aprileo joins us to discuss how to find comfort in a larger body without weight loss; how improving accessibility for fat people can benefit people of all sizes; how fatphobia shows up in progressive spaces and in healthcare; the intersections of gender identity, body size, and body acceptance; learning to embrace their nonbinary identity without shrinking their body; and so much more! Plus, Christy answers a listener question about how to deal with plantar fasciitis (and why weight loss is NOT the answer). J is a nonbinary freelance writer and the founder of Comfy Fat, a site dedicated to sharing resources for plus-size people, trans advocacy, and the intersections of size and gender. J creates content not only to help make the world a little more accessible for fat folks, but also to try and just be the representation they wish they'd had growing up. They live in the midwest with their partner Corissa of Fat Girl Flow, two lovely pups, and one very independent calico

Fellow anti-diet dietitian Amee Severson joins us to discuss why intuitive eating is NOT a weight-loss plan, her experiences as a fat dietitian, how she moved from the weight-management paradigm to Health At Every Size®, the social-justice side of HAES and intuitive eating, how social media can be helpful and harmful in recovering from diet culture, and so much more! Plus, Christy answers a listener question about what to do if your hunger cues are absent. Amee Severson is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist in Bellingham WA whose work focuses on body positivity, fat acceptance, and intuitive eating through a social-justice lens. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Food and Nutrition from Montana State University, is completing her Master's in Professional Practice in Dietetics from Iowa State University, is a dietitian registered in the State of Washington, and is currently working toward becoming a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor and a Certified Body Trust Provider. Find her online at ProsperNutri

Body image researcher, writer, and linguist Maxine Ali joins us to discuss why wellness culture is really about privilege, not health; racial objectification and how it contributes to feelings of disembodiment; how to recognize when diet culture is co-opting non-diet language; the power of language in changing the discourse on health and wellness, and so much more! Maxine Ali is a linguist and body image researcher, with a BA (1st Class Hons) in English Language and Linguistics, and a MSc in Medical Humanities from King’s College London. Maxine’s research interest is how the language of health impacts body image, self-concept and identity. Having begun her career as a health journalist at the height of London’s wellness boom, Maxine experienced first-hand the perils of diet culture and its destructive physical and psychological effects. In 2017, she left her job as a wellness editor to obtain an MSc in Medical Humanities, examining the role of disembodying language in female experiences of eating disorders, o

Medical doctor and Health At Every Size advocate Louise Metz joins us to discuss why weight management has no place in evidence-based medicine, how our current medical system can get in the way of providing compassionate care, why it’s actually not necessary for doctors to weigh their patients, how physicians can shift their practice to be more weight-inclusive, and so much more! Plus, Christy answers a listener question about dealing with digestive symptoms. Louise Metz is an Internal Medicine Physician who has expertise in the medical management of eating disorders and gender-related health care. She is the owner and founder of Mosaic Comprehensive Care, a medical practice in Chapel Hill, NC offering primary care and specialty care that is inclusive and affirming of all bodies. After receiving an undergraduate degree in Biology and Women’s Studies at Duke University, she attended medical school at the University of North Carolina. She completed her internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the Univer

Plus-size-yoga teacher and wellness coach Rachel Estapa returns to discuss why mindfulness is a tool rather than a be-all-end-all, how seeking validation on social media mirrors seeking weight-loss praise, how to balance vulnerability and boundary-setting when sharing your lived experiences, the role of forgiveness in healing from diet culture, and so much more! Plus, Christy answers a listener question about how health and wellness professionals can handle concerns about potential clients getting “scared off” by the anti-diet approach. Rachel Estapa, founder and CEO of More to Love, is passionate about empowering people to love and appreciate their bodies. Her own path to body acceptance began many years ago. After yo-yo dieting throughout her teenage years and into adulthood, Rachel took stock of her life and realized she wasn’t happy. Even when she reached her “goal weight,” she felt something was missing. That’s when she decided she would stop trying to change her body and instead she would focus on lovin

Certified eating-disorders dietitian Lindsay Krasna joins us to discuss disordered eating among athletes, why eating disorders are less of a pathology and more of a reaction to diet culture, the role of thin privilege and economic privilege in people’s relationships with food, why healthcare providers should stop assuming that people have limited knowledge around food and body issues, and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about whether people without celiac disease ever need to go gluten-free. Lindsay Krasna is a Registered Dietitian, Certified Eating Disorders Dietitian (CEDRD), and accredited professional supervisor through the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (IAEDP). She is the founder of LK Nutrition, a non-diet, body-inclusive nutrition counseling private practice in New York City, specializing in the treatment of eating disorders, disordered eating and body-image concerns. Lindsay is passionate about helping her clients cultivate more peaceful relationshi

Fellow anti-diet dietitian Aaron Flores returns to discuss unrealistic expectations placed on men and their bodies, why we need to "smash the weightriarchy," the relationship between gym culture and diet culture, how pornography influences the way men learn about masculinity, tips for bringing your male loved ones into your process of diet-culture recovery, why providers need support to heal their own eating issues, and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about whether joining fitness competitions can ever be helpful in eating-disorder recovery. Aaron Flores is a registered dietitian nutritionist based out of Los Angeles, California. With over 10 years of experience, Aaron has worked with eating disorders in a variety of settings. He currently works part-time at Center for Discovery and part-time in his private practice in Calabasas, CA. He is a Certified Body Trust® provider, and his main areas of focus are Intuitive Eating and Health at Every Size®. In his work, Aaron helps indiv

Anti-diet activist and marketing pro Kaila Prins joins us this week to break down the role of marketing in diet culture, the complex ways we consume triggering material, the importance of embracing social justice in the body positivity movement, how she transitioned from her own eating-disorder recovery to thinking critically about diet culture, the ways in which our personal brand can quickly overtake our personhood, the dangers of working as a coach when you’re still going through your own recovery, and much more! PLUS, Christy answers a listener question about how intuitive eating can help with feelings of overeating as opposed to restriction. This episode originally aired on October 16, 2017. Kaila Prins is a multifaceted, multi-passionate explorer or culture, performance, body image, and marketing. In other words: she has no idea what to call herself, because she does a lot. After recovering from orthorexia, anorexia, and an exercise addiction, Kaila began a career in marketing while moonlighting as a bo