Food Psych Podcast with Christy Harrison

Anti-diet writer Kelsey Miller returns to the podcast to share her experiences of pregnancy in a larger body, adjusting to postpartum body changes, being a new mom, navigating the wedding industry as a plus-size bride, and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about eating-disorder recovery while living at home with a parent who pushes diet culture on you. Kelsey Miller is a bestselling author and speaker based in Brooklyn, New York. While on staff at Refinery29, she created and wrote the award-winning Anti-Diet Project, one of the site's most popular franchises. In her role as Senior Features Writer, she covered a broad spectrum of topics, including popular culture, current events, body positivity and anti-diet culture, fitness, advice, and "weird history." Kelsey is the author of the memoir Big Girl (Grand Central Publishing, 2016) and I'll Be There For You (Hanover Square Press, 2018), a pop-culture study on Friends. Kelsey and her work have been featured in The New York Times, Glamour, Vulture, Women's Health, Cup of Jo, Entertainment Weekly, Refinery29, People, Good Housekeeping, The Hairpin, Literary Hub, Ladies' Home Journal, SundanceNOW, The Rumpus, Bustle, and more. Find her online at KelseyMiller.com. Christy's book, Anti-Diet, is available wherever you get your books. Order online at christyharrison.com/book, or at local bookstores across North America, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Grab Christy's free guide, 7 simple strategies for finding peace and freedom with food, for some ideas of how to get started on the anti-diet path. If you're ready to break free from diet culture once and for all, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course. Ask your own question about intuitive eating, Health at Every Size, or eating disorder recovery at christyharrison.com/questions. For full show notes and a transcript of this episode, go to christyharrison.com/foodpsych.Our Sponsors:* Join Armoire and get up to 50% off your first month: https://armoire.style/PSYCHAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Eating-disorders therapist and fellow podcaster Asher Pandjiris joins us to discuss chronic illness in the context of body acceptance, the experience of living with an autoimmune disorder, the intersection of eating disorders and trauma, how the “personal responsibility” narrative perpetuates stigma, how being queer and non-binary has affected Asher’s relationship with their body, and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about whether trying to let go of restrictions in order to heal from diet culture means that you can’t follow Kosher customs. Asher Pandjiris is a psychotherapist and host of the Living in this Queer Body Podcast. Asher is a queer, white, non-binary (she/they pronouns) parent. Asher is also someone living with auto-immune based chronic health issues. They served as the Program Director at Balance Eating Disorder Treatment Center and have years of experience working with issues related to trauma and its impact on the body. Asher has published on the topics of intergenerational trauma transmission, the treatment of eating disorders, sexual assault in the music industry and gender dysphoria. Most recently, Asher published "Tenuous Embodiment: In Queer Communities, Disordered Eating Has Complex Roots" for Bitch Magazine. Find her online at LivingInThisQueerBody.com. Christy's book, Anti-Diet, is available wherever you get your books. Order online at christyharrison.com/book, or at local bookstores across North America, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Grab Christy's free guide, 7 simple strategies for finding peace and freedom with food, for some ideas of how to get started on the anti-diet path. If you're ready to break free from diet culture once and for all, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course. Ask your own question about intuitive eating, Health at Every Size, or eating disorder recovery at christyharrison.com/questions. For full show notes and a transcript of this episode, go to christyharrison.com/foodpsych.Our Sponsors:* Join Armoire and get up to 50% off your first month: https://armoire.style/PSYCHAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Anti-diet dietitian Anna Lutz joins us to discuss why it doesn’t make sense to provide both eating-disorder treatment and weight management, the influence of diet culture on parenting, how to provide structure for kids’ eating without creating restriction, managing picky eating, and so much more. Plus, weight-inclusive yoga teacher Rachel Estapa returns to give us an update on her experience of having and recovering from COVID-19 in a larger body. Anna Lutz is an Anti-Diet Registered Dietitian in Raleigh, NC with Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy. She specializes in eating disorders and pediatric/family nutrition and sees clients locally and virtually. In addition to her clinical work, she writes about nutrition and family feeding, free of diet culture, at Sunny Side Up Nutrition along with Elizabeth Davenport. Anna received her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Duke University and Master of Public Health in Nutrition from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a Certified Eating Disorders Registered Dietitian (CEDRD) and an Approved Supervisor, both through the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (iaedp). Anna provides trainings, workshops and clinical supervision to other clinicians on eating disorders, family feeding, and weight-inclusive healthcare. Find her online at SunnySideUpNutrition.com and LutzAndAlexander.com. 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 loving the body she has. Find her online at MoreToLoveYoga.com. Christy's book, Anti-Diet, is available wherever you get your books. Order online at christyharrison.com/book, or at local bookstores across North America, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Grab Christy's free guide, 7 simple strategies for finding peace and freedom with food, for some ideas of how to get started on the anti-diet path. If you're ready to break free from diet culture once and for all, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course. Ask your own question about intuitive eating, Health at Every Size, or eating disorder recovery at christyharrison.com/questions. For full show notes and a transcript of this episode, go to christyharrison.com/foodpsych.Our Sponsors:* Join Armoire and get up to 50% off your first month: https://armoire.style/PSYCHAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Coach and educator Ilya Parker of Decolonizing Fitness joins us to discuss moving away from toxic fitness culture toward an intuitive relationship with movement, how diet culture has shape-shifted to hide its racist roots, the experience of being a Black trans person trying to get gender-affirming medical care, toxic masculinity in white trans-masculine culture, and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about how health and mental-health providers with various forms of privilege can work to help create a weight-inclusive world without perpetuating systems of oppression.   Ilya (pronouns he/they) is a grassroots organizer and educator whose work centers gender, racial, and healing justice. He is also a Physical Therapist Assistant and Medical Exercise Coach. Ilya decided to merge their love for restorative based movement practices and community advocacy to create Decolonizing Fitness, LLC which is a social justice platform that provides affirming fitness services, community education and apparel in support of body diversity. Find him online at DecolonizingFitness.com.   Christy's book, Anti-Diet, is available wherever you get your books. Order online at christyharrison.com/book, or at local bookstores across North America, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Grab Christy's free guide, 7 simple strategies for finding peace and freedom with food, for some ideas of how to get started on the anti-diet path.   If you're ready to break free from diet culture once and for all, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course.   Ask your own question about intuitive eating, Health at Every Size, or eating disorder recovery at christyharrison.com/questions.   For full show notes and a transcript of this episode, go to christyharrison.com/foodpsych.Our Sponsors:* Join Armoire and get up to 50% off your first month: https://armoire.style/PSYCHAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Anti-racism educator and author Monique Melton joins us to discuss why doing anti-racism work is a prerequisite to dismantling diet culture and other systems of oppression, the difficulty of raising Black children in our white-supremacist culture, how to move beyond performative activism and allyship, why anti-racism work is never-ending, and so much more. Monique Melton is an anti-racism educator, published author, international speaker, and host of the Shine Brighter Together podcast. She is also the founder of Shine Brighter Together, which is a community dedicated to healthy relationships & diverse unity. She travels the world speaking at conferences and events on topics related to anti-racism, personal growth, diversity, and relationships. She’s been published in magazines, featured in blogs and podcasts, and has touched the lives of people all over the world. She is a natural big-bold dreamer and a deeply rooted woman of faith. She is a proud Navy wife to her high-school sweetheart, and she is a loving mother to two little ones. She has a BA in social science with an emphasis in sociology & psychology and two years of graduate school education in Clinical Counseling from Johns Hopkins University. She believes it's not all about your comfort, but it's about your growth. Find her online at MoniqueMelton.com. For full show notes and a transcript of this episode, go to christyharrison.com/243.Our Sponsors:* Join Armoire and get up to 50% off your first month: https://armoire.style/PSYCHAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Writer and activist Sonya Renee Taylor joins us to discuss why we need more radical body love in the world, how to deal with weight gain and weight stigma while learning intuitive eating, what mainstream body positivity gets wrong, why understanding oppression and intersecting identities is the key to creating a world that's *truly* body-positive, how to navigate diet culture as a body-acceptance activist, how to begin to untangle internalized oppression, and lots more. (This interview originally aired on July 17, 2017.) Plus, in a new 2020 introduction, Christy offers a list of anti-racism resources for people who are looking to learn more. Sonya Renee Taylor is the Founder and Radical Executive Officer of The Body is Not An Apology, a digital media and education company committed to radical self-love and body empowerment as the foundational tool for social justice and global transformation. TBINAA.com reaches over 1 million people each month in 140 countries with their articles and content focused on the intersection of bodies, personal transformation and social justice. Sonya is also an International award winning Performance Poet, Activist, speaker, and transformational leader whose work continues to have global reach. She has appeared across the US, New Zealand, Australia, England, Scotland, Sweden, Germany, Canada and the Netherlands. Sonya and her work has been seen, heard and read on HBO, BET, MTV, TV One, NPR, PBS, CNN, Oxygen Network, The New York Times, New York Magazine, MSNBC.com, Today.com, Huffington Post, Vogue Australia, Shape.com, Ms. Magazine and many more. She has shared stages with such luminaries as Carrie Mae Weems, Theaster Gates, Harry Belafonte, Dr. Cornell West, Hilary Rodham Clinton, the late Amiri Baraka and numerous others. Sonya continues to perform, speak and facilitate workshops globally. Find her online at sonyareneetaylor.com and thebodyisnotanapology.com. For full show notes and a transcript of this episode, go to https://christyharrison.com/242.Our Sponsors:* Join Armoire and get up to 50% off your first month: https://armoire.style/PSYCHAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Sociologist and author Sabrina Strings joins us to discuss her new book, Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia; the history of how “race science” led to the development of diet culture; the many problems with using weight as a measure of health; how culture influences science; and so much more! Plus, Christy answers a listener question about how to tell the difference between diet-culture rules and intuitive observations about foods that help us feel our best. This episode was originally published May 20, 2019. Sabrina Strings is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Irvine, and a former Berkeley Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Sociology and the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley. Her work has appeared in the Journal of Women in Culture and Society, The Feminist Wire, and Feminist Media Studies. Find her online at uci.academia.edu/SabrinaStrings. Get full show notes and a full transcript of this episode at christyharrison.com/196.Our Sponsors:* Join Armoire and get up to 50% off your first month: https://armoire.style/PSYCHAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Body-liberation activist Patrilie Hernandez joins us to discuss how COVID-19 is highlighting health disparities in America; why social determinants of health are more important than individual behaviors; how dieting could worsen COVID-19; the role of intuitive eating, Health At Every Size®, and social justice in her eating-disorder recovery and in her career; and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about cravings for sweets during the pandemic. Patrilie (she/they) is a nutrition and health specialist with over 12 years of professional experience in education, advocacy and policy-making revolving around food, nutrition, and health. After being diagnosed with an eating disorder in 2017, Patrilie has focused on recovering and healing from diet culture, fatphobia, disordered eating, and negative body image. She uses her own journey towards Body Liberation to turn the local health and nutrition community on its head (disrupt the status quo) and advocate for a weight-neutral paradigm in health and educational settings. Find them online at EmbodyLib.com. This episode is brought to you by Betterhelp online counseling. Go to betterhelp.com/christy for a 7-day free trial to connect with a great therapist from the comfort and safety of home. Christy's new book, Anti-Diet, is available wherever you get your books! Order online at christyharrison.com/book, or at local bookstores across North America, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Grab Christy's free guide, 7 simple strategies for finding peace and freedom with food, to get started on the anti-diet path. If you're ready to break free from diet culture once and for all, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course. Ask your own question about intuitive eating, Health at Every Size, or eating disorder recovery at christyharrison.com/questions. For full show notes and a transcript of this episode, go to christyharrison.com/foodpsych.Our Sponsors:* Join Armoire and get up to 50% off your first month: https://armoire.style/PSYCHAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Fellow Health At Every Size® dietitian Erica Leon joins us to discuss why people are particularly vulnerable to diet culture as they age, intuitive eating in midlife and menopause, the importance of normalizing body changes throughout the life cycle, how Erica transitioned her work from weight-centric to weight-inclusive, and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about how to process the constant headlines coming out about COVID-19 and weight. Erica Leon MS, RDN, CDN, CEDRD, is a New York-based Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Certified Eating Disorders Registered Dietitian and Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor. Her specialty area of practice is nutrition therapy for the treatment and prevention of eating disorders. She works with adults, families, teens and children using a Health at Every Size®, non-diet and weight-neutral approach to help chronic dieters and those recovering from disordered eating to ultimately make peace with food and their bodies. Erica’s more-than-30-year nutrition career has been quite varied. She has worked in hospitals, taught nutrition at the college level and worked in sales, public relations and marketing for a wide range of nutrition products. Ultimately, combining her skills and interests, Erica established a private nutrition practice in 1998. Her specialty work in eating-disorder treatment soon followed. Erica has written professional articles on nutrition, is a frequent speaker on topics such as eating disorder prevention and childhood weight concerns and belongs to many professional organizations including the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals, and the Academy of Eating Disorders. Find her online at EricaLeon.com. This episode is brought to you by Betterhelp online counseling. Go to betterhelp.com/christy for a 7-day free trial to connect with a great therapist from the comfort and safety of home. Christy's new book, Anti-Diet, is available wherever you get your books! Order online at christyharrison.com/book, or at local bookstores across North America, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Grab Christy's free guide, 7 simple strategies for finding peace and freedom with food, to get started on the anti-diet path. If you're ready to break free from diet culture once and for all, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course. Ask your own question about intuitive eating, Health at Every Size, or eating disorder recovery at christyharrison.com/questions. For full show notes and a transcript of this episode, go to christyharrison.com/foodpsych.Our Sponsors:* Join Armoire and get up to 50% off your first month: https://armoire.style/PSYCHAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Fat-positive sex and relationship coach and fellow podcast host Dawn Serra returns to the podcast to discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting our relationships with food and highlighting existing social injustices, how diet culture robs us of our ability to embody pleasure, desirability politics and its links to diet culture and oppressive beauty standards, navigating romantic relationships while in recovery, and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about how to tell whether your eating and exercise are intuitive or compulsive amid COVID-19 stress. Dawn Serra has dedicated her life to unraveling the cultural stories that impact our relationship to our pleasure, our bodies, and our lives. Dawn is considered a leader in the field of sexuality and relationships, with a focus in pleasure for people recovering from eating disorders and those in fat bodies. She is a therapeutic sex & relationship coach, a Certified Body Trust® Provider, speaker, podcaster, facilitator, consultant, and entrepreneur. Host of the weekly feminist podcast, Sex Gets Real, and creator of the free annual online conference, Explore More Summit, Dawn has interviewed dozens of thought leaders from around the world. As a white, cis, middle class, queer, fat, survivor, Dawn's work is a fiercely compassionate invitation for each of us to deepen our relationships with our bodies and our pleasure as an antidote to the trauma, disconnection, and isolation so many of us feel. Your pleasure matters. Your body is wise. Dawn's work is all about creating spaces and places for you to explore what that means on your terms. Find her online at DawnSerra.com. This episode is brought to you by Betterhelp online counseling. Go to betterhelp.com/christy for a 7-day free trial to connect with a great therapist from the comfort and safety of home. Christy's new book, Anti-Diet, is available wherever you get your books! Order online at christyharrison.com/book, or at local bookstores across North America, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Grab Christy's free guide, 7 simple strategies for finding peace and freedom with food, to get started on the anti-diet path. If you're ready to break free from diet culture once and for all, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course. Ask your own question about intuitive eating, Health at Every Size, or eating disorder recovery at christyharrison.com/questions. For full show notes and a transcript of this episode, go to christyharrison.com/foodpsych.Our Sponsors:* Join Armoire and get up to 50% off your first month: https://armoire.style/PSYCHAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy