Food Psych Podcast with Christy Harrison

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.Advertising 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.Advertising 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.Advertising 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.Advertising 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.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Fellow anti-diet dietitian Taylor Chan joins us to discuss “fence-straddling” between intuitive eating and traditional dietetics (and eventually jumping over to the other side), how her desire to be a “good dietitian” pulled her further into diet culture, the privilege inherent in diet culture’s version of nutrition, the nuances that make intuitive eating an inclusive practice, and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about how to handle loss of appetite during the COVID-19 pandemic. Taylor Chan is a Registered Dietitian and Personal Trainer in Baltimore, Maryland. She brings an Intuitive Eating and Health at Every Size lens to her current role in school food service, and also has a virtual private practice where she helps clients take the fear out of food and eat to support all aspects of their well-being. In her spare time, you can find her hiking, traveling, eating, and creating doodles that dismantle diet culture. Find her online at FoodAndFearless.com. 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.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Fat-positive fertility coach and author Nicola Salmon joins us to discuss common myths about fertility, food, and weight; how to advocate for your health needs; the real reason why IVF clinics have BMI cutoffs; tips for preparing for pregnancy if you’re in a larger body; and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about how to handle being in charge of family food shopping and preparation during COVID-19, while navigating eating-disorder triggers like food scarcity and orthorexic messages. Nicola is a fat-positive and feminist fertility coach and author of Fat and Fertile. She advocates for change in how fat people are treated by the healthcare system when they want to get pregnant and access fertility treatment. Nicola supports fat people who want to get pregnant using her unique FAT+ve fertility framework to find their own version of health without diets, advocate for their bodies, relearn how to trust their body and believe in their ability to get pregnant in their current body. Find her online at NicolaSalmon.co.uk. 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.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Sociology professor and author Abigail Saguy joins us to discuss the effects of weight stigma, racism, poverty, and other systems of oppression on health; why you can’t “fight weight stigma” while promoting weight management; how supposedly sociocultural interventions often end up targeting individuals; coming out as an act of social change; and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about whether being in the highest BMI category really makes people more likely to get or die from COVID-19. Abigail Saguy is a UCLA Professor of Sociology and the author of Come Out, Come Out, Whoever You Are (Oxford, 2020). Find her online at AbigailSaguy.com. 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.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Fat activist and writer Juliet James joins us to discuss helpful and unhelpful behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic, weight-loss surgery and its complications, the role of childhood trauma in her eating disorder, fatphobia on the upper end of the weight spectrum, and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about dealing with food cravings during COVID-19. Juliet James is a queer, bisexual, fat babe who writes about mental health, eating disorders and the social and emotional challenges of being fat in a thin-centric culture. Born in New Jersey, she spent six years living in New York City, where she completed a BA in anthropology at Hunter College. She currently resides with her husband and their dog in the mountains of Colorado. Her hobbies include traveling with her husband, spoiling her dog, reading, music and makeup. You can read her work on Medium, or find her on Instagram and Twitter under the username @IAmJulietJames. Find her online at IAmJulietJames.com. 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.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Fellow anti-diet dietitian Veronica Garnett joins us to discuss how weight stigma in dietetics affected her health and career, the emotional effects of restriction, the importance of representation and community in body liberation, how she’s finally realizing her childhood dream of hosting a cooking show, and so much more. Plus, Christy discusses why you don’t need to panic about “healthy eating” and fitness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Veronica is a Health at Every Size®, fat-positive, and culinary registered dietitian with over 16 years of experience in the food and nutrition field. She provides individual and group culinary, nutrition and dietetics services that are culturally sensitive, weight-inclusive, and grounded in social justice. She is the creator and host of the forthcoming online cooking show, Diasporadical Kitchen, which aims to dismantle fatphobia, diet culture, and other oppressive systems using liberating conversations and highlighting foods from the African Diaspora. Veronica received her bachelor’s degree in nutritional sciences from Howard University, her master’s degree in nutrition education from Columbia University, and most recently, her associate’s degree in culinary arts from Hudson County Community College. In addition to her work as a dietitian and culinarian, Veronica is a plus-sized and body positive model. She is also an avid adventurista. She is the founder of Black Adventuristas, LLC, an organization with a mission to support the well being of Black women by connecting them to one another and adventure experiences in their local communities and beyond! When Veronica is not dietitian-ing, cooking delicious food, jumping out of planes, or walking the runway, she can be found spending quality time with her family, friends, and dogs, Chewy and Pepper. Find her online at VeronicaGarnett.com. 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.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy