Rethinking Wellness

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.comChristy answers a listener question about dealing with pregnancy weight gain when you’re working to make peace with food and your body.This episode is for paid subscribers. Listen to a free preview here, and sign up for a paid subscription to hear the full episode!Get full show notes and references here.Christy's second book, The Wellness Trap, is available wherever books are sold! Order it online or ask for it in your favorite local bookstore.If you're looking to make peace with food and break free from diet and wellness culture, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.comCultural critic and author Amanda Hess joins us to discuss her new book, Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age. We talk about the intersection of pregnancy, early parenthood, and technology, her experience using a popular period app to track her pregnancy, how she navigated self-blame and cultural stigma when her baby was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition, and more. Behind the paywall, we get into the pervasiveness of diet culture in pregnancy, the natural-childbirth movement and the role of crunchy wellness influencers in perpetuating myths about what birth should look like, how to challenge ableism and eugenic thinking about childhood disability, and more. Plus, Christy shares some thoughts on her current pregnancy and relationship with technology, diet culture, and comparisons with other bodies.Paid subscribers can hear the full interview, and the first half is available to all listeners. To upgrade to paid, go to rethinkingwellness.substack.com. Amanda Hess is a critic-at-large at the New York Times, where she writes about internet and pop culture. Her first book, Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age, was published in 2025. She is a National Magazine Award winner who has contributed to the New York Times Magazine, ESPN the Magazine, Best American Sportswriting, Best American Magazine Writing, and Slate. Learn more about her work at amandahess.org.If you like this conversation, subscribe to hear lots more like it! Support the podcast by becoming a paid subscriber, and unlock great perks like extended interviews, subscriber-only Q&As, full access to our archives, commenting privileges and subscriber threads where you can connect with other listeners, and more. Learn more and sign up at rethinkingwellness.substack.com.Christy's second book, The Wellness Trap, is available wherever books are sold! Order it here, or ask for it in your favorite local bookstore. If you're looking to make peace with food and break free from diet and wellness culture, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course.Contains affiliate links to Bookshop.org, where I earn a small commission for any purchases made.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.comChristy discusses her experience with IVF and the intersection of infertility and complementary/alternative medicine, including a deep dive into the science on laser acupuncture for fertility. She also shares some personal news.This episode is for paid subscribers. Listen to a free preview here, and sign up for a paid subscription to hear the full episode!Get full show notes and references here.Christy's second book, The Wellness Trap, is available wherever books are sold! Order it online or ask for it in your favorite local bookstore. If you're looking to make peace with food and break free from diet and wellness culture, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.comPhysician and writer Mara Gordon joins us to discuss diet and wellness culture among medical doctors, why she took Ozempic for weight loss (and what made her quit), how she came to practice weight-inclusive care, and lots more. Behind the paywall, we get into why she was initially reluctant to write about weight inclusivity, her perspective on Ozempic and other GLP-1s now (and whether she prescribes them to patients), her upcoming book, and more. Paid subscribers can hear the full interview, and the first half is available to all listeners. To upgrade to paid, go to rethinkingwellness.substack.com. Dr. Mara Gordon is a family physician and writer based in Philadelphia. She is a frequent contributor to NPR and often writes about size-inclusive medicine, fatphobia in health care, and is at work on a book about body justice. She also writes the Substack newsletter "Chief Complaint" at maragordonmd.substack.com. If you like this conversation, subscribe to hear lots more like it! Support the podcast by becoming a paid subscriber, and unlock great perks like extended interviews, subscriber-only Q&As, full access to our archives, commenting privileges and subscriber threads where you can connect with other listeners, and more. Learn more and sign up at rethinkingwellness.substack.com.Christy's second book, The Wellness Trap, is available wherever books are sold! Order it here, or ask for it in your favorite local bookstore. If you're looking to make peace with food and break free from diet and wellness culture, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.comChristy answers an audience question about organic foods, addressing whether organics are better for human health than conventional ones, potential environmental impacts, and important questions to consider if you’re recovering from disordered eating. The full version of this episode is for paid subscribers. Listen to the first question here, and sign up for a paid subscription to hear the rest!Get full show notes and references here.Ask a question of your own for a chance to have it answered in a future episode!Christy's second book, The Wellness Trap, is available wherever books are sold. Order it here, or ask for it in your favorite local bookstore. If you're looking to make peace with food and break free from diet and wellness culture, check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course. 

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.comClinical psychologist and author Jennifer Caspari (You Are More Than Your Body) joins us to discuss how to accept your body when you have a chronic illness, chronic pain, or disability. We talk about her experience living with cerebral palsy, how to practice body neutrality, the importance of emotion-regulation skills, and how to navigate the tension between self-acceptance and not liking the way things are. Behind the paywall, we get into wellness culture’s toxic beliefs about chronic illness and disability, how to dispel the fear that accepting your health conditions means giving up on ever feeling better, how to cope when people offer unsolicited advice, how to set boundaries, and more.  Paid subscribers can hear the full interview, and the first half is available to all listeners. To upgrade to paid, go to rethinkingwellness.substack.com. Jennifer Caspari, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist working at a group practice in Colorado, CBT Denver, specializing in general and health psychology. She is passionate about helping clients live full and meaningful lives, including those living with acute or chronic illness and chronic pain. She lives with cerebral palsy and writes a Psychology Today blog titled Living Well When Your Body Doesn't Cooperate. Dr. Caspari is the creator and instructor of a nationwide chronic pain course with PESI, a national leader in providing continuing education to mental health professionals: 2 Day: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for Chronic Pain: A Start to Finish Training for Clinicians.In her free time, Dr. Caspari enjoys spending time with loved ones, feeling the sun on her face, listening to audiobooks while moving her body, watching cooking and baking shows, and eating delicious food. You can find her on social media @moxie_mindset, and get her book YOU ARE MORE THAN YOUR BODY (Bookshop affiliate link) wherever you buy books.If you like this conversation, subscribe to hear lots more like it! Support the podcast by becoming a paid subscriber, and unlock great perks like extended interviews, subscriber-only Q&As, full access to our archives, commenting privileges and subscriber threads where you can connect with other listeners, and more. Learn more and sign up at rethinkingwellness.substack.com.Christy's second book, The Wellness Trap, is available wherever books are sold! Order it here, or ask for it in your favorite local bookstore. If you're looking to make peace with food and break free from diet and wellness culture, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course.Contains affiliate links to Bookshop.org, where I earn a small commission for any purchases made.

Christy reads a guest post from a former anti-vaxxer who shares one thing that helped change her mind. This episode is for paid subscribers. Listen to a free preview here, and sign up for a paid subscription to hear the full episode!Get full show notes and references here.Christy's second book, The Wellness Trap, is available wherever books are sold! Order it online or ask for it in your favorite local bookstore. If you're looking to make peace with food and break free from diet and wellness culture, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.comEating-disorders dietitian Marci Evans joins us to discuss the current science on “food addiction” (sometimes called “ultraprocessed food addiction”)—and what’s changed since I first interviewed her about this topic for Food Psych back in 2016. We get into how food addiction is defined and measured (and what that definition leaves out), the overlap between disordered eating and high scores on food-addiction scales, how food-addiction discourse perpetuates weight stigma, the nuances behind the research showing that people’s brain scans are different when eating ultraprocessed vs. minimally processed food, and whether it’s really useful to think about food in terms of addiction. In the paid portion, we talk about practical applications: how Marci would help someone who has addictive-like tendencies or thinks of themselves as being addicted to food, what we can learn from this discussion of “food addiction” to help people have a better relationship with food, and more.Paid subscribers can hear the full interview, and the first half is available to all listeners. To upgrade to paid, go to rethinkingwellness.substack.com. Marci identifies as a Food and Body Imager Healer® practicing from a weight inclusive and anti-oppression lens. She has dedicated her career to counseling, supervising, and teaching in the field of eating disorders. She is a Certified Eating Disorder Registered Dietitian and Supervisor and certified Intuitive Eating Counselor. In addition to her group private practice, in 2015 Marci launched an online eating disorders training platform for clinicians. In 2016 she joined the Simmons nutrition department to co-develop a specialized eating disorder internship and teach graduate level courses on nutrition counseling for eating disorders. She loves books more than just about anything. Find her at marcird.com. If you like this conversation, subscribe to hear lots more like it! Support the podcast by becoming a paid subscriber, and unlock great perks like extended interviews, subscriber-only Q&As, full access to our archives, commenting privileges and subscriber threads where you can connect with other listeners, and more. Learn more and sign up at rethinkingwellness.substack.com.Christy's second book, The Wellness Trap, is available wherever books are sold! Order it here, or ask for it in your favorite local bookstore. If you're looking to make peace with food and break free from diet and wellness culture, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.comChristy answers an audience question about wellness podcaster Andrew Huberman and his promotion of intermittent fasting, cold showers, and other dubious wellness practices. This episode was originally published in March 2024.The full version of this episode is for paid subscribers. Listen to the first question here, and sign up for a paid subscription to hear the rest!Get show notes and references here.Ask a question of your own for a chance to have it answered in a future episode!Christy's second book, The Wellness Trap, is available wherever books are sold. Order it here, or ask for it in your favorite local bookstore. If you're looking to make peace with food and break free from diet and wellness culture, check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.comChristy discusses why some wellness influencers advocate avoiding sunscreen, and what the science really says about common UV-protective ingredients, vitamin D production, and more.This episode is for paid subscribers. Listen to a free preview here, and sign up for a paid subscription to hear the full episode!Get full show notes and references here.Christy's second book, The Wellness Trap, is available wherever books are sold! Order it online or ask for it in your favorite local bookstore. If you're looking to make peace with food and break free from diet and wellness culture, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course.