The Fat Doctor Podcast

Send us a textMedical autonomy is supposedly a fundamental pillar of healthcare - the right to make informed decisions about your own body without coercion. But as I discovered in a conversation with my husband Junior, a fat dentist, this principle simply doesn't apply when you're fat. In this episode, I expose how the medical profession systematically denies autonomy to fat patients, exploring the difference between theoretical rights and practical agency, and why doctors can get away with withholding treatment until you lose weight. I also introduce The Weigh Forward - my new service to help fat patients fight back against medical discrimination through formal complaints and advocacy. Got a question for the next podcast? Let me know! Connect With Me WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: Get a free script when you sign up THE WEIGHTING ROOM: A community where authenticity thrives and every voice matters The CONSULTING ROOM: Get answers to all your medical questions via DM or Voice Note PLUS access to my entire library of paid resources CONSULTATION: For the ultimate transformation in your healthcare journe THE WEIGH FORWARD: For people who are being denied surgery because of their weight FREE GUIDES:Evidence-based, not diet nonsense Find me on Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

Send us a textRiley's doctor recommended bariatric surgery as the solution to their health concerns, but when Riley came to me for advice, I realized they hadn't been told about the real risks. From anastomosis leaks with 15% mortality rates to spontaneous bowel perforations years later, the complications of weight loss surgery extend far beyond what most patients are counseled about. In this episode, I walk through the evidence-based risks that every patient deserves to know before making this life-altering decision, because informed consent requires the whole truth. If you or someone you know is considering weight loss surgery, then be sure to send them a link to this episode!References:Lim, Robert et al. “Early and late complications of bariatric operation.” Trauma surgery & acute care open vol. 3,1 e000219. 9 Oct. 2018Silva, Ana Flávia da et al. “Risk factors for the development of surgical site infection in bariatric surgery: an integrative review of literature.” Revista latino-americana de enfermagem vol. 31 (2023)Complications of bariatric surgery: presentation and emergency management--a review.” Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England vol. 91,4 (2009): 280-6.Benotti, Peter et al. “Risk factors associated with mortality after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery.” Annals of surgery vol. 259,1 (2014): 123-30. Coupaye, Muriel et al. “Evaluation of incidence of cholelithiasis after bariatric surgery in subjects treated or not treated with ursodeoxycholic acid.” Surgery for obesity and related diseases : official journal of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery vol. 13,4 (2017): 681-685 Husain, Syed et al. “Small-bowel obstruction after laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass: etiology, diagnosis, and management.” Archives of surgery (Chicago, Ill. : 1960) vol. 142,10 (2007): 988-93 Seeras K, Acho RJ, Lopez PP. Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Chronic Complications. [Updated 2023 Jun 5]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519489/Got a question for the next podcast? Let me know! Connect With Me WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: Get a free script when you sign up THE WEIGHTING ROOM: A community where authenticity thrives and every voice matters The CONSULTING ROOM: Get answers to all your medical questions via DM or Voice Note PLUS access to my entire library of paid resources CONSULTATION: For the ultimate transformation in your healthcare journe THE WEIGH FORWARD: For people who are being denied surgery because of their weight FREE GUIDES:Evidence-based, not diet nonsense Find me on Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

Send us a text Health and weight are two completely separate things that we've been taught to view as synonymous. While society insists that being fat is inherently unhealthy, the evidence tells a different story. In this episode, I break down why genetics, not lifestyle choices, primarily determine our weight, how weight stigma actually causes poor health outcomes, and why fat people often have better medical outcomes than thin people. I challenge the fundamental assumption that body size equals health status and explain why perpetuating this myth isn't just wrong—it's literally killing people. Got a question for the next podcast? Let me know! Connect With Me WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: Get a free script when you sign up THE WEIGHTING ROOM: A community where authenticity thrives and every voice matters The CONSULTING ROOM: Get answers to all your medical questions via DM or Voice Note PLUS access to my entire library of paid resources CONSULTATION: For the ultimate transformation in your healthcare journe THE WEIGH FORWARD: For people who are being denied surgery because of their weight FREE GUIDES:Evidence-based, not diet nonsense Find me on Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

Send us a textDuring my supposed break, I wrote a 45-page booklet called "Jenny Needs a New Knee, But She's Too Fat to Get One"—complete with 29 clinical references proving that denying joint replacements based on weight is medically unjustified and harmful. Coz that's what people do during their time off, right?Instead of moving on to the next project like I always do, I'm trying something different and terrifying: staying put. In this vulnerable episode, I explore my lifelong pattern of pivoting when things get uncomfortable, the childhood trauma that drives my need to run, and why I'm fighting every instinct to abandon this work when fat patients desperately need advocates willing to stick around for the long haul. Check out the eBook Jenny Needs a New Knee, But She's Too Fat to Get OneGot a question for the next podcast? Let me know! Connect With Me WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: Get a free script when you sign up THE WEIGHTING ROOM: A community where authenticity thrives and every voice matters The CONSULTING ROOM: Get answers to all your medical questions via DM or Voice Note PLUS access to my entire library of paid resources CONSULTATION: For the ultimate transformation in your healthcare journe THE WEIGH FORWARD: For people who are being denied surgery because of their weight FREE GUIDES:Evidence-based, not diet nonsense Find me on Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

Send us a text A third of NHS areas are denying hip and knee replacements based on BMI alone—not for medical reasons, but purely to save money. In this episode, I expose how the medical establishment openly admits these discriminatory policies lack evidence while pushing profitable weight loss interventions instead. Meanwhile, actual surgeons and researchers confirm what we've known all along: this is financial discrimination masquerading as healthcare. Have you been denied a knee replacement because of your BMI? Get your free, customizable template here. The Newspaper article by Rebecca Thomas is "Obese patients denied knee and hip replacements to slash NHS costs"The Journal Article is: Pavlovic, Natalie et al. “The effect of body mass index and preoperative weight loss in people with obesity on postoperative outcomes to 6 months following total hip or knee arthroplasty: a retrospective study.” Arthroplasty (London, England) vol. 5,1 48. 1 Oct. 2023 Got a question for the next podcast? Let me know! Connect With Me WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: Get a free script when you sign up THE WEIGHTING ROOM: A community where authenticity thrives and every voice matters The CONSULTING ROOM: Get answers to all your medical questions via DM or Voice Note PLUS access to my entire library of paid resources CONSULTATION: For the ultimate transformation in your healthcare journe THE WEIGH FORWARD: For people who are being denied surgery because of their weight FREE GUIDES:Evidence-based, not diet nonsense Find me on Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

Send us a textComing out as fat is harder than coming out as transgender, at least in our experience. When performer and cabaret artist Ross Anderson-Doherty refused to pursue weight loss as medical treatment, their healthcare became a weapon of punishment rather than care. In this raw conversation, we explore how medical fatphobia intersects with transphobia, classism, and ableism to create devastating trauma that nearly destroyed one person's will to live. Ross's journey from medical neglect to triumphant revenge reveals the urgent need to recognize healthcare discrimination as the trauma it truly is.  You can catch Ross performing at the Cabaret Supper Club in Belfast. Be sure to follow them on Tik Tok and Instagram - you’d be a fool not to! Got a question for the next podcast? Let me know! Connect With Me WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: Get a free script when you sign up THE WEIGHTING ROOM: A community where authenticity thrives and every voice matters The CONSULTING ROOM: Get answers to all your medical questions via DM or Voice Note PLUS access to my entire library of paid resources CONSULTATION: For the ultimate transformation in your healthcare journe THE WEIGH FORWARD: For people who are being denied surgery because of their weight FREE GUIDES:Evidence-based, not diet nonsense Find me on Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

Send us a textMedical weight stigma creates dangerous catch-22 situations for patients seeking care. In this episode, I share Cameron's story of developing gallstones after weight loss surgery, only to be denied treatment because their BMI was "still too high." In this episode, I expose how rapid weight loss can trigger gallstone formation and how medical professionals often ignore evidence-based care when treating higher weight patients. I challenge the "lose weight to get treatment" narrative while offering practical advocacy strategies for navigating a biased healthcare system. Today’s journal article was Gregori, Matteo et al. “Day case laparoscopic cholecystectomy: Safety and feasibility in obese patients.” International journal of surgery (London, England) vol. 49 (2018)For free resources on the management of galbladder disease head to noweigh.org And don't forget to check out my masterclass on gallstones Got a question for the next podcast? Let me know! Connect With Me WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: Get a free script when you sign up THE WEIGHTING ROOM: A community where authenticity thrives and every voice matters The CONSULTING ROOM: Get answers to all your medical questions via DM or Voice Note PLUS access to my entire library of paid resources CONSULTATION: For the ultimate transformation in your healthcare journe THE WEIGH FORWARD: For people who are being denied surgery because of their weight FREE GUIDES:Evidence-based, not diet nonsense Find me on Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

Send us a textThe obsession with calculating the "cost of ob*sity" to society reflects our troubling tendency to commodify human life and health. In this rather ragey and explosive episode, I expose how a widely-cited figure of £98 billion was manufactured by pharmaceutical interests to sell weight loss drugs. I challenge the notion that we "owe" society a debt of health and explore how weight stigma, not weight itself, drives depression and poor health outcomes. Through a rather provocative thought experiment, I reveal the absurdity of reducing human experience to economic calculations and argue that tackling stigma, not eradicating fatness, is the real path forward. Today's journal article was:  Stevens, Serena D et al. “Adult and childhood weight influence body image and depression through weight stigmatization.” Journal of health psychology vol. 22,8 (2017): 1084-1093. doi:10.1177/1359105315624749 Got a question for the next podcast? Let me know! Connect With Me WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: Get a free script when you sign up THE WEIGHTING ROOM: A community where authenticity thrives and every voice matters The CONSULTING ROOM: Get answers to all your medical questions via DM or Voice Note PLUS access to my entire library of paid resources CONSULTATION: For the ultimate transformation in your healthcare journe THE WEIGH FORWARD: For people who are being denied surgery because of their weight FREE GUIDES:Evidence-based, not diet nonsense Find me on Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

Send us a text Medical trauma is more than an abstract concept—it's a physical reality that impacts millions of people daily. In this episode, I share my transformative experience at a gender identity clinic, contrasting it with previous healthcare encounters that left me hypervigilant, tense, and bracing for judgment. I explore how our bodies physically store medical trauma—in our gut, our muscles, our posture, and even our skin—creating patterns that repeat with each new medical encounter. For fat people and those with other marginalized identities, this trauma compounds exponentially. This episode invites listeners to recognize medical trauma's physical manifestations while questioning a healthcare system that continues to perpetuate harm despite decades of evidence. Got a question for the next podcast? Let me know! Connect With Me WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: Get a free script when you sign up THE WEIGHTING ROOM: A community where authenticity thrives and every voice matters The CONSULTING ROOM: Get answers to all your medical questions via DM or Voice Note PLUS access to my entire library of paid resources CONSULTATION: For the ultimate transformation in your healthcare journe THE WEIGH FORWARD: For people who are being denied surgery because of their weight FREE GUIDES:Evidence-based, not diet nonsense Find me on Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

Send us a textIn this episode of The Fat Doctor Podcast, I'm joined by Elle Bower Johnston, a  breathworker, rest teacher, and somatic trauma resolution practitioner who describes herself as a "body witch." Our conversation explores the intersection of trauma, embodiment, and healing beyond traditional therapy.Elle explains trauma as "when our body-mind experiences something that it can't digest in the moment - either too much too fast, or not enough over too long." While our protective mechanisms (fight, flight, freeze, and fawn) are natural responses to threats, trauma occurs when these responses get stuck and can't complete.We discuss how systems of oppression create ongoing trauma, particularly for marginalized bodies accessing healthcare. Elle shares how our bodies develop protective mechanisms that may have been necessary for survival, but can become limiting patterns later in life.The conversation moves beyond cognitive understanding to explore embodied healing. As Elle notes, "You can't think your way through" trauma - we need approaches that engage the multifaceted aspects of our bodies: physical, emotional, energetic, and relational.In a world disconnected through capitalism and colonialism, Elle suggests that rest isn't just about lying down or taking a bath - it's about reconnecting with something larger than ourselves. This might be as simple as noticing the seasons changing or feeling gravity's pull on your body. These small moments of connection become pathways to true rest and healing.This episode invites listeners to honor the wisdom in their protective responses while exploring gentle ways to expand beyond them, finding rest and embodiment in a world that often disconnects us from our bodies and each other.You can learn more about Elle through her website. Got a question for the next podcast? Let me know! Connect With Me WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: Get a free script when you sign up THE WEIGHTING ROOM: A community where authenticity thrives and every voice matters The CONSULTING ROOM: Get answers to all your medical questions via DM or Voice Note PLUS access to my entire library of paid resources CONSULTATION: For the ultimate transformation in your healthcare journe THE WEIGH FORWARD: For people who are being denied surgery because of their weight FREE GUIDES:Evidence-based, not diet nonsense Find me on Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.