Healthy Wealthy & Smart 559: Dr. Lisa Folden: Diet Culture and Fat Phobia in Healthcare & Physical Therapy
In this episode, Physical Therapist and Owner of Healthy Phit Therapy & Wellness Consultants, Dr. Lisa Folden, talks about diet culture.
Today, Lisa talks about the pervasive nature of diet culture, how to reconcile diet culture with physical therapy recommendations, and how to support patients who are on their weight loss journey. What is diet culture?
Hear about weight biases and phobias and how to deal with them, the Health At Every Size movement, and get Lisa’s advice to her younger self, all on today’s episode of The Healthy, Wealthy & Smart Podcast.
Key Takeaway
- “Diet culture is this pervasive thought process that we’re born into, that fosters the belief that we’re never enough – we’re never thin enough, we’re never healthy enough, we never got it right.”
- “Diet culture is the constant reminder that something’s wrong - you need to fix it all the time.”
- “Even if weight is causing some of the issue, the reality is, the research shows that weight loss doesn’t really work for most people. 95% of people who lose weight gain it all, plus more, back.”
- “Weight loss is a by-product that some people will experience, and other people will not.”
- “We think in our society that no one should be fat, and if they are fat, it’s because of poor health choices.”
- How to challenge the weight bias:
- Unlearn the idea that people in larger bodies are inherently unhealthy. It’s not going to help you make them feel better, and it’s not true for many people.
- Think about accessibility. Considerations are made for people with various degrees of mobility, so ensuring that there’s appropriate furniture is a consideration for those with larger bodies.
- Reassure patients. Especially when dealing with patients who have dealt with the weight stigma, it’s important to reassure patients that size variation isn’t a problem.
- “I assume that their condition is caused by something other than their weight, and I treat them based on that.”
- “We’re supposed to be different sizes, and we don’t have to lose weight to be healthy. You can be healthy at any size.”
- “Stop telling your patients to lose weight, offer people in larger bodies the same treatment options you offer people in smaller bodies, and don’t shy away from manually and physically examining them because of their body weight.”
- “It’s going to be okay.”
More about Lisa Folden
Dr. Lisa N. Folden is a licensed physical therapist, mom-focused lifestyle coach, and the owner of Healthy Phit Physical Therapy & Wellness Consultants in Charlotte, NC.
As a body positive women’s health expert and health at every size (HAES) ambassador, Dr. Folden assists women seeking a healthier lifestyle by guiding their wellness choices through organization, planning strategies, and holistic goal setting. Dr. Folden is a mom of three, published author, and speaker who understands the complex needs of the modern busy woman. Therefore, she considers helping busy moms find their ‘healthy’ as one of her of top priorities.
Dr. Lisa is a regular contributor to articles on topics related to physical therapy, health, wellness, self-care, motherhood, body positivity, and pregnancy, and has had the distinct honor of being featured in Oprah Magazine, Shape Magazine, Livestrong, Bustle, and several other local & national publications. Additionally, she is a member of the National Association of Black Physical Therapists, the Association of Size Diversity & Health, The Know Women, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and serves as an expert panelist for H.E.R. Health Collective (2021).
Suggested Keywords
Diet Culture, Weight Loss, Body Positivity, Acceptance, Stigma, Body Size, Fitness, PT, Physiotherapy, Symptoms, Healthy, Wealthy, Smart
Resources:
Health At Every Size Community
To learn more, follow Lisa at:
Website: https://www.healthyphit.com
Facebook: Healthy Phit
Twitter: @HealthyPhitPT
Instagram: @healthyphit
Pinterest: @HealthyPhit
YouTube: HealthyPhit PT
Subscribe to Healthy, Wealthy & Smart:
Website: https://podcast.healthywealthysmart.com
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/healthy-wealthy-smart/id532717264
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ELmKwE4mSZXBB8TiQvp73
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/healthywealthysmart
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/healthy-wealthy-smart
iHeart Radio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-healthy-wealthy-smart-27628927
Read the full Transcript Here:
00:02
Hey, Lisa, welcome to the podcast. I'm happy to have you on today.
00:07
Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here.
00:11
Yeah. And today we're going to be talking about diet culture, in health care, and specifically in physical therapy, which is not something that I've ever spoken about on this podcast. And so I'm really happy to have you on to talk about this. And I remember speaking with Dr. Lisa van who's, and we were talking about biases in health care. And she said, one of the more accepted biases in health care is against overweight people. Yes. And so I'm happy to have you on and dive into that a little bit deeper. And so let's, let's talk about first diet, diet culture, you know, its impact on our not just our physical health, but also our mental health as well. So why don't we first start with what do you feel diet culture is? Let's define that.
01:13
Sure. So it's nuanced, of course, but essentially, diet culture is it's this pervasive thought process that we're kind of born into, that fosters the belief that we're never like enough, we're never thin enough, we're never healthy enough, you know, we've never gotten it right. And so it feeds into, you know, this multibillion dollar industry that says, you know, buy this tea, by this waist trainer, by this weight loss program by this because you always need to be getting smaller, shrinking yourself, doing something to change yourself, because, you know, you couldn't be healthy, you know, there's no way you're healthy, especially if you happen to be someone who was born into or developed into a larger body, there's no way you're healthy. So diet culture is sort of the constant reminder to you that something's wrong. You need to fix it all the time. And it's a deep part of our healthcare system. It's a deep part of, you know, like Hollywood and television, things we watch every day. So it's it seeps in without anybody really knowing that it's happening. And it's so common and so accepted, that we just look at it as you know, health, like a lot of things that are really diet culture, a lot of us would just look at as Oh, that's health, that's fitness. And it's and it's not, because it's actually corruptive. And it, it breaks us down. And it's not good for our mental health or for our physical health. It results in a lot of weight cycling and bingeing and restrictive in disordered eating. And so, you know, it's really bad. I mean, that I don't call a whole lot of things good or bad, but diet culture is one that I kind of just categorize is bad and unnecessary,
02:53
really. And so looking at that through the lens of a physical therapist, how do you reconcile that culture with what we do as physical therapists, because so often, if someone is, let's say, an example, someone is coming to us with osteoarthritis hips, knees, one of the recommendations is weight, weight loss of whatever that weight loss is, I don't think the recommendation is to be a size zero or two. But that recommendation is weight loss. So how do you? How do you kind of blend these two this diet culture, which knows very bad, but yet, in certain populations, it can be helpful to take off some weight to unload those joints. So how do you reconcile with that as a PT?
03:40
Yeah, that's a great question. And it's obviously something I've had to kind of deal with head on as a physical therapist still treating in the clinic. You know, like I said, in the standard outpatient practice. So here's the thing, there's physics, right? physics exists, when there's more pressure, you know, from gravity and weight, you can feel more pain. Like that's, that's a fact. But there's also, you know, this idea that we all have different sort of thresholds for our pain. And, you know, you know, like, I know, you can look at someone's, you know, x rays to people, and they can have identical things happening there, you know, at the structural level, and have completely opposite symptoms, one with severe symptoms and one with none. So, when I address the issues of pain that could be could be contributed to from weight, I just, I approach my patients from the lens that even if weight is causing some of the issue, the reality is the research shows that what weight loss doesn't really work for most people. 95% of people who lose weight, gained it all plus more back within one to two to three years, and they don't really have research beyond the five year point because nobody typically makes retains it. So the reality is, even if if you know if that is the suggestion, that's kind of what we've been taught as physical therapists, I know that it doesn't work. So I'm not helping my patients by saying, hey, you really should lose some weight. So I approach it from the lens of I'm going to treat them as if this osteoarthritis, this this issue, whatever they're dealing with, has nothing to do with their weight, and everything to do with all of the other possibilities in my toolbox as a physical therapist. So are we dealing with, you know, restricted, you know, soft tissue, tight muscles, you know, imbalances, muscle imbalances, are we dealing with, you know, just lack of flexibility and other things, can I do some manual therapy that can help, like, what other things can I do, because even if weight is a contributing factor, me telling them to lose weight is in the long run, not going to help them because for like I said, most people aren't going to maintain that weight loss any way, or if they ever achieve it in the first place. And it can be so daunting, when people in larger bodies go to health care professionals, and no matter what is going on with them, if they are in a larger body. The suggestion is weight loss literally across the board, not just you know, in our profession with, you know, things regarding the joints and osteoarthritis, you know, other things like that. It's literally everything, I'm having stomach pain, lose weight, I'm, you know, they literally here for everything. And so I just don't want to be a part of that. And I don't think I don't think that it helps our clients to get better in the long run.
06:28
Yeah, and it, might it add one more thing to this person's plate, so to speak to maybe, then they will say, Well, I'm not even gonna go back to this PT. Yeah, is there a way to meet people where they're at, and through exercise and other modalities, if they were to lose some weight great, not make that the singular focus?
06:54
Absolutely. And that and that's just what it is. Because, you know, adopting new health behaviors is good for everybody, whether you lose weight or not. And you know, just just just increasing the synovial fluid in the joint from, you know, more activity can be great, you know, so weight loss really is a byproduct that some people will experience and other people will not. And, and coming to terms with that has been a journey for me as a professional, and then in my own personal life and my own, you know, struggles from the past with weight loss and diet culture, but it's really freeing, and it helps people eat, I can just this year alone, I've had at least four clients, all of them were women, but they all had the same story, like severe trauma, from interacting with other healthcare professionals, like figuring out something's going on with them, and then being told, like, Oh, yeah, you just got to get that weight off, you just got to keep that weight up, and just kind of hearing it over and over again. And so coming to me was like a, sort of a breath of fresh air for them. It's like, you're the first person, it's like, not telling me I need to lose weight. And it's like cash. Like, I couldn't imagine that being the discussion. Every time I go to the doctor, every time something's bothering me, you know, as if to say, thin people, and people in larger bodies don't experience some of the exact same diagnoses and issues, you know, if weight were the problem, then that would be the situation then people and, and fat people would not have the same diagnosis. And we know that's not true. So yeah, you're right, it adds a whole nother layer of trauma that they have to deal with.
08:28
Yeah. And, and sticking with that theme, let's go into some of the the biases. So the weight bias, fat phobia and healthcare, we could talk about PT in general, like I said, and speaking with Dr. van Who's she sort of said, Hey, listen, this is apparently one of the accepted biases that you can have, you know, so let's talk more about that. Go ahead. I'll give the mic over to you and just kind of what's the situation on the ground here?
08:58
Yeah. And, and she's, she's right with that. It's like, it's like the legal bias. It's like it's okay. And, and even people, what's disheartening to me is interacting with people in larger bodies, they often will just accept it, because it is the norm. And they begin to believe that inherently something is wrong with them. They haven't figured out the magic formula, they're not doing something right. And so there's something wrong with their body. And they're almost Okay, in a sense being discriminated against or dealing with the biases because it's just so much a part of what we do. So it you know, it shows up in everything, like literally from the time you're born. You know, I had a great discussion on my Instagram with some people we were talking about, I did a summer body challenge. So I had everyone like, put on a sports bra and black bottoms and just show it and be proud of your body and we said it was the Being confident and proud of my body this summer and always, you know, not feeling like I gotta lose weight, two summers coming, you know, warmer weather doesn't mean I have to get to the gym and lose some weight or cut back on my calories. And a recurring theme in those conversations was just this idea that like, it starts at home, like my mom, you know, said, Oh, you're putting on a little weight, or you're getting a little chubby, or it's, it's this pass down fat phobia, it's like, do whatever you do, don't get fat. And it's like, oh, my gosh, we, we think we literally think in our society that no one should be fat. And if they are fat, it is because of poor health choices. So we create this hierarchy, where I'm better than you, I must make better health choices in you, because I am thinner, and you are fatter. And it just couldn't be farther from the truth. Because, you know, we, a lot of us like to believe we have a whole lot of control over the size, shape and weight of our bodies. But so much of that is genetic, you know, so much of that has a genetic component, we only have so much control. And even within the window of our control, without going into disordered eating patterns, it's still a very small, you know, amount of change that you can expect to see. So, you know, we hear it from our parents, we hear it at home, we see it on television, you know, when you get on a plane, and the seats are barely big enough for an average adult, you know what I mean? Like, barely, like we're squeezed in there. So imagine that humiliation, you know, as someone in a larger body having to either buy two seats or figure out how to squeeze into that seat. You see it in doctors offices, there's small seats and doctor's offices, even though we treat a huge variation of people in their body sizes, the lobby looks like everybody should be the same, you know. And so those are, you know, things that I want to see changed and considerations I want to see being made, especially in healthcare, because, you know, we we have the privilege of working with people, you know, from largely diverse communities, especially as it relates to their size. So, at the very least, that should be a comfortable experience, you know, you're going to your doctor should be a comfortable experience, you're going to your physical therapist, it should be a comfortable experience. So yeah, there's more I could say, but
12:36
I have a question for you that. So as a physical therapist, so let's say you're talking to you're talking to a group of pts about this, what advice do you have, that they can put into action to challenge these biases, and to make their spaces more inclusive?
12:55
Yes, that's a great question. So the first thing is to start within, and just avoid all of those assumptions that we like to make. So just you know, unlearning, that's where it starts like unlearning this idea that people in larger bodies are inherently unhealthy, or have inherently made bad decisions. Because one, it's not going to help you get them better, or make them feel better. And to it's not true for a lot of people. So getting rid of those, those preconceived notions about what someone in a larger body, you know, has going on, or what kind of health status they have. Also, if you're in a setting, where you have the privilege of sort of, you know, making decisions about the clinic setup, you know, thinking about the furniture, thinking about, you know, having things that are accessible, we think about this, and we're talking about people, you know, with varying levels of ability, if they're in a wheelchair or on crutches, you know, we think about making sure the doorways are wide and this and that, and height, adjustable seating and things of that nature, we should do the same thing for people in larger bodies, people come in different shapes and sizes, and we should do as much as we can within our power, you know, to accommodate them. The other thing is, especially when we're dealing with people who have dealt with the weight, stigma and all that trauma, we need to reassure them, we need to let them know like my patients are literally floored when I tell them like there's nothing wrong with you. You know what I mean? Like we have to abandon this thin ideal, like everybody is not gonna be thin, no matter how hard we work, no matter how hard they work, no matter how many calories we cut, everyone in the world will never be thin, nor do we need to be. It's okay to have variations in size. I truly believe in the concept of Health at Every Size, which is an excellent book by Dr. Linda bacon. But you know those things so I'm learning, reassuring your clients, you know, avoiding the assumptions. You know, there are people in large bodies that can do just as much as you can do or more, you know, but then when you do encounter someone in a larger body that is having trouble because of You know, their mobility issues or their body size, you need to be quick with the modifications, you know, we're good at that, like that. That's what pts do. So you know, give them the opportunity to try it full out. And if they can't, or you see them struggling, jump right in with a modification and you reassure them and you let them know there's nothing wrong with this, like exercise movement is for every body. And if you can't do it this way, well, guess what? I got another way you can do it, oh, that didn't work, I got another way you can do it. Or let's try this one. instead. It's, it's okay. And people need that reassurance. Because in the healthcare setting, especially if they've had that trauma, they're so nervous and so uncomfortable. And again, they feel like there's something wrong, you know, with them. And so, you know, we learn this in PT school, we treat the whole person, you know, we don't see a person and this is a knee, no, we're treating the entire person and all of that all of their preconceived notions, all of their trauma, all of their hardships that comes with them into the clinic. And so we have to figure out a way to work with them, ease their you know, their minds and give them the tools that they need to get better. And so I typically, I take weight out of the equation, I just, I assume that their condition is being caused by something other than their weight, and I treat them based on that
16:14
period. Now, here's the question, how about if you have a patient or client coming to you, who they want to lose weight, or they're in the middle of this weight loss journey, and they're committed to it, because they want to feel better? for themselves? Not for anything else. But you know, we're coming off of a really difficult year where a lot of people might have gained weight over COVID. And so how do you or how would you suggest PT support the patients that are coming to you, they're saying, Hey, listen, I, I'm on this journey, this is what I'm doing. I'm moving, I'm exercising, I'm eating better? How can you give them a little extra support? With out perhaps leading them into an extreme version of that?
17:04
Yeah, what I find in those cases, your role is more of a, I don't want to say a silent partner, but you're there for the supporting piece of it. But the goal is to not. Okay, I'll say it this way, I respect body autonomy. So essentially, I know the research, I don't think that, you know, chasing weight loss is a great idea, really, for anyone, despite COVID I know, people are like I gave the quarantine 15. I'm like, Listen, you're alive. That is such a blessing with the year we've had, you know, the year plus we've had at this point, so but I respect body autonomy. So if you believe like, this is not a weight I'm comfortable with I'm not, I don't feel good, I don't think I look good, I want to do something different, then by all means, go about, you know, the process that you feel comfortable doing, I am going to be here to support you by way of giving you evidence based solutions. So if you tell me, Hey, I'm doing this, you know, 30 day detox, I'm only going to be drinking lemon water. And shakes, I'm going to tell you, I don't think that's a great idea. And here's why. But ultimately, you are an adult. So you get to make all of these choices for yourself. Before I became you know, haze or Health at Every Size aligned and anti diet, I did, I did all kinds of things. And I would not have taken kindly to someone telling me, oh, you're wrong, you need to stop it. So people need to have the freedom to do what they want. And I just as a therapist, I just want to be there. And in my role as a health coach, I want to be there to support them, but provide them with the evidence that's out there. And then, you know, as they go through their process, I'm happy to fine tune, I love to give people workouts, you know, that's, that's what we do is PT. So yeah, I can give you some workouts. If you talk to me about like, I feel really weak in my glutes, I want to be able to do this or I want to be able to benchpress or daily, oh, I've got you, I can give you a great program, you can work on it, you know, we can follow up with me. But whenever you're talking about extreme dieting, and crazy restrictions and weighing yourself incessantly and you know, tracking your movement on your Fitbit all day, I'm gonna kind of bow out and give you the, you know, the freedom to do what you choose. But just let you know that I don't think that's going to really support your goals
19:26
overall. Yeah, and, you know, it's the same as as if we would talk about a return to sport after an injury. So we can help guide the patient through their rehab process. And when we get to that decision making point, it's a shared decision making point where it's you, the client, maybe it's a spouse, a child, a partner, the doctor, whomever might also be within that decision making framework, and exactly what you just said, You're giving the best evidence based information. You can to that patient, and then that patient can make an informed decision on what they can do next, or what feels good, what is the best decision for them? So I just want the PTS out there listening to understand that this is not unlike any other shared decision making that we would do. And it's not a you do what I tell you to do. Because we're biased against people who are fat. Yeah. Because you're overweight, you clearly can't make a good decision. Right? which is not the case. And it's maybe they need information to make a better informed decision, just like someone coming in after an ankle sprain or an injury or low back pain.
20:43
Yeah. And you know, and that that's a great point that you bring up because you're right, it comes up with injuries, people will Google it. And listen, I love Google, no disrespect to Google, I google things all the time. Know when somebody is coming in, and they're dealing with some type of injury or medical condition. And they're going solely based off Google. It's like, Yes, we have a responsibility as a trained professional to say, Hey, here's what I think you should really know. But ultimately, you're right, they they're going to have to make the call. You can't you know, get someone better in physical therapy, just you know, when they come to you, it has to be their follow through at home and their decision making. So that you're absolutely right. That's a great analogy, for sure.
21:27
Yeah. And now, you said this a couple times. But I just want you to talk a little bit more about the Health at Every Size movement. You mentioned it a few times tell the listeners exactly what that is, and what its significance is to diet culture.
21:43
So the health and every size movement is it was sort of tagged by Dr. Linda bacon. I don't really know the lifespan, how long it's been around, I don't think it's been before, like the 90s. But it's essentially a movement that believes in body respect, and body positivity or best body neutrality, and respecting and understanding that we're supposed to be different sizes. And we don't have to lose weight to be healthy, you can literally be healthy at any size. So it's it's really the antithesis to diet culture. It's everything that diet culture is not it's not a movement that is rooted in, you know, being sedentary and eating McDonald's every day. But it is a movement that's rooted in people making their own individual health choices, and and creating health habits that improve their health without any focus on weight loss. So the Health at Every Size movement sort of omits the idea of like, let me check my way, let me weigh in this week. Let me let me measure this week, let me see where I am. It's it kind of throws all of that out of the window. And so the book is actually Health at Every Size by Dr. Linda bacon, that was sort of my introduction to it. And it's been life changing for me again, personally and professionally. So I recommend it to essentially everyone.
23:03
Nice. And because I think oftentimes when people look at someone who's overweight, they think, oh, they must have heart disease. They must be a diabetic, they must have this, but you can have normal labs and be overweight. Yeah, yeah. So and I think that is one of the biggest biases not just in healthcare, but in society in general.
23:27
It is it is. And that is the premise behind Health at Every Size is recognizing that you can't look at someone's physical body and know what their health status is. And we're just so used to making those assumptions and it's so counterproductive to true health and it's so damaging, you know, to people, you know, I personally know people and my own personal story. I'm only 411 I know we've never met in person, but I'm very short.
23:55
A short and you come across way taller.
24:02
It's the hair.
24:04
The hair gives you an added oranges.
24:07
I am short. I've always been short. But genetically, my family my mom's side of the family, they're more like apples shape. So they carry weight in the stomach. They're usually just you know, they got big solid legs. My dad's family was a little bit more Hourglass OR pear shaped so very lower, larger lower bodies. And so literally my entire life here and I have never, ever, ever ever not been overweight. Ever according to BMI which is a whole nother topic but I believe it's trash. So I have always my entire life they considered in an overweight category. I have never had high blood pressure, high cholesterol. AB issues doing any physical activity I used to run once upon a time I ran 25 K's I've never had an actual health issue, but I have always been considered over weight, and that stigma because that you know, value was created by a mathematician, you know, that really even said that it wasn't supposed to be used to like actually measure health into BMI, the BMI. But because of that, being sort of what our healthcare system is run on in our insurance markets, kind of, you know, utilize for everything. I have never, for my whole life, I felt like something was wrong. It's like, I'm not running enough, I must be eating too much. Let me stop having carbs. Let me switch to this diet. Let me and that is it. You know, it's not just my story. That's a lot of people's stories, especially here in this country. And it's like, if we could just stop for one minute, and ignore the weight and ignore the BMI, and just focus on health activities, health behaviors that make you feel good. If it's walking for you, if it's running, if it's skating, if it's dancing, if it's height, whatever it is, for you know, joyful movement, that's kind of you know, that's a part of the Health at Every Size, mantra, it's like joyful movement. Eating when you're full stop eating when you're hungry, stopping when you're full, trying different foods and just living a life and, and managing the other aspects of your health, like your mental health, your emotional health, your spiritual health, if we could just focus on that, instead of the scale, or the measuring tape, BMI, we will be so much healthier. So so so much healthier. So yeah, I, like I said, I could talk about BMI forever, but I just I really, I love what health and every size stands for because it, it's really about valuing body diversity, that's what it is. Because the bottom line is, we're not all going to be the same size, we're not all going to be thin, we're all going to have different dimensions, and our bodies will change over the course of our lives, age, stress, hormonal things, pregnancy, you know, all kinds of stuff. And so we have to get more comfortable with that fact. And not try to create this, you know, there's the whole snap back movement with pregnancy, like, have a baby lose the weight. It's like, wait a minute, let's just be you know, let's adjust to motherhood and whatnot. Um, so yeah,
27:08
yeah, it's it. I can't even get into the BMI. Because I cringe when I when people start talking about their BMI is and what it should be. I mean, for my height for BMI. I am right now, like a tick away from being overweight. And I would if you saw me, you wouldn't think oh, she's overweight. But according to the BMI, I'm like, a tick away. And for me to be in that sweet spot. I would look emaciated. Yeah, exactly. You know, so, like, 100 pounds. Let's like, stop with the BMI stuff. You know, and, and I just had all my labs and I could not be healthier. Absolutely. So there you go. But yeah, I'm with you on the BMI. We could talk. We can go on about that for a while, but we won't. So let's talk about, you know, we talked a little bit about what, what can physical therapists do to look at their own bias and fat phobia in health care? Is there any Do you have any other tips for health care providers out there, when it comes to their bias and phobias?
28:30
Yeah, I would say, you know, in addition to what we talked about earlier, and then on learning practice, you know, we have to just stop telling people to lose weight, it's counterproductive, it's not effective. And again, most people aren't able to even do that consistently and maintain it. And then we have to offer the same treatment options we would offer offer someone who was thin, like it, you know, we just have to treat them with some, you know, equality or you know, equitably, and giving them the same options. And then I know in physical therapy, this has come up before and that's one of the sort of issues that the fat acceptance community has expressed in dealing with with healthcare professionals, is they are less likely to be examined to be physically examined, because of their body fat. And I get that, you know, when you go to physical therapy school, and we learn all these manual techniques, oh, it's much harder to try to palpate things, you know, when there's more adipose tissue, of course, but that doesn't mean you don't do it. You know, so my advice is to do it, it might be uncomfortable, it might be awkward, it might be challenging, but guess what, you grow as a professional and then you at the very least give that patient the the decency and the respect of trying what you know best to do, you know, in that you know, situation. So, um, you know, just being being supportive and not being demeaning that playing into the weight biases. And first really acknowledging that you have them that that's that's the first part because a lot of people don't think that they have until they're put in a situation where they have to face them head on. So recognize them. And then stop telling your patients to lose weight offer people in larger bodies, the same treatment options. You offer people in smaller bodies, and then don't shy away from manually and physically examining them because of their body weight.
30:19
Yeah, great advice. And hopefully people listening to this podcast will take that advice to heart. Now, where can people find you on social media websites? All the good stuff? If they want to reach out to you they want to work with you. Where can they find you?
30:37
Yes, well, my favorite social media is Instagram. I'm pretty much on everything. But if you really want to reach me, you can find me on Instagram and I'm at healthy fit. And that's h EA l th y pH it. I'm also again on YouTube and everything else. But I live there. I'm on the peanut app, which is kind of new. If you're a mom, and you want to have talks about body positivity and changes to your body through motherhood. I'm on that app. You can find me there Dr. Lisa folden. And then my website is www dot healthy fit that calm.
31:10
Awesome. What is this the peanut app? Yeah, this
31:15
is really cool. It's like club friends, but it's for moms. And so they have tons of discussions on there. But um, I was requested by the I think the creators to serve as like a professional and do talks on things in the health realm. So yeah, so I go on there every, every other Friday, and I host talks on things related to body positivity, Fitness, Health, Exercise, things like that.
31:38
Fabulous. Congratulations. It's awesome. Thank you. Now last question. It's out when I asked everyone is knowing where you are now in your life and in your career? What advice would you give to your younger self? Maybe like fresh out of PT school?
31:53
Oh, yes. Oh, fresh out of PT school that changes things, let's see, or high school or undergrad or whatever you want somewhere in there. I think you know what I think the best advice I would give to myself is it's going to be okay. That's really it. Because I was one of those like type A planners, like let me figure everything out. And I just remember being stressed all the time, like wanting my life to work out a certain way. And so it would have been nice. If you know, my older self this Lisa could reach back to that Lisa and just pat her on the back and say it's gonna be okay, honey, you're going to be fine. You can calm down. I just Yeah, that would that probably would have helped me relax a bit more during that process, you know, going through PT school and like, I felt, I just felt this heavy, you know, weight on my shoulders to like, get through and pull through and be great. And so if I could say anything to myself, it would be to just you know, relax. It's going to be okay. Enjoy the ride. You know, for sure.
32:51
Yeah. It's a very common piece of advice from a lot of people on this podcast. Obviously not hard to believe. Right. Right. Right. Lisa, thank you so much for coming on the podcast. It was a great discussion. And, you know, my hope is that people will take away from this all of the great tips to really examine your biases, and just start treating everybody like the people they are. Absolutely. Thank
33:18
you so much for having me.
33:20
Anytime. Anytime. You want to come back. You are welcome. And everyone. Thanks so much for listening. Have a great couple of days and stay healthy, wealthy and smart.