Perimenopause, "Belly Fat," and Carb-Phobia: How Wellness Culture Targets Women in Midlife with Deb Benfield, RDN

In midlife, women are often handed diets disguised as wellness. More ways to stay young, stay thin, stay "timeless."

Debra Benfield, RDN, joins me for a conversation that sits right at the intersection of diet culture, anti-fatness, and anti-aging. Together we talk about how these forces converge in midlife—often making women particularly vulnerable to disordered eating and harmful messaging at exactly the stage when we deserve peace, rest, and joy.

Some of the things we get into…

* Perimenopause and menopause diet culture messages

* Why aging creates heightened vulnerability to diet and wellness culture

* The impact of stress and restrictive eating on longevity

* Mid-life marketing of disordered eating advice

* Wrinkles, Botox, and the skin-care industry

* The tyranny of the “belly fat” narrative

* How wellness culture capitalizes on our fear of aging and death

* Whether strength training is part of the anti-aging conversation

* The ways ableism, sexism, and agism collide in media

* How to navigate fear-mongering messages about food, weight, and health

* What we can do to reclaim our time and energy and power

This is an episode about reclaiming our power and time from the industries profiting off our insecurities. About saying no to being sold “youth in a bottle” and yes to embracing the fullness of who we are—wrinkles, softness, wisdom, and all.

Debra has helped hundreds of women heal their relationship with food and their bodies over her 35-year career as a Registered Dietitian. She specializes in the prevention and treatment of disordered eating, and brings her passion, expertise, and lived experience to the intersection of pro-aging and body liberation work. Deb’s work is rooted in helping clients recognize internalized ageism and end it, dismantle internalized diet culture and fatphobia, see midlife and beyond as a time of Emergence, nourish their bodies to support vitality and aging, and develop a respectful partnership with their bodies.

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Podcast Cover Photography by Anya McInroy

Podcast Editing by Brian Walters

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