The Body Grievers® Club

Join me for hotseat coaching with my guest Meghan. Meghan had gotten a Peloton bike in order to be part of the culture and get back into joyful movement. She has run into problems with the way she fits on the bike and the way it functions, plus the guilt of having bought this expensive bike that’s been gathering dust.Listen in as we unpack internalized fatphobia, societal pressures, guilt, and boundaries.Check out my resources, course, and membership community “The Body Grievers Club” at https://bodyimagewithbri.com/A Podcast Launch Bestie production

CONTENT NOTE: In this episode we will discuss emotional abuse from an older partner.Welcome Vinny Welsby to the Body Grievers Club podcast. Vinny is a fatphobia activist, educator, and diversity trainer. They dealt with many body image issues growing up, such as poverty and not having enough food, having a fat body and not feeling like they should eat because of it, living in a homeless shelter, and abuse from a much older boyfriend. Finny saw a message online that it was okay to be fat, and there was no turning back.We’ll have a good discussion about body grief, hope, Santa, pronouns, and multiple marginalizations.Vinny Welsby (they/them) is a world-leading expert on dismantling fatphobia and diet-culture, TEDx speaker, and best-selling author. They went from being homeless, abused with self-esteem that was achingly low into the courageous fat activist and change maker they are today. Victoria helps people fall in love with themselves and is dedicated to shifting the way society views fat bodies.You can connect with Vinny and find their book, TEDx talk, podcast, and social links on https://fiercefatty.com/Check out my resources, course, and membership community “The Body Grievers Club” at https://bodyimagewithbri.com/A Podcast Launch Bestie production

I’m ECSTATIC to welcome Tiff Roe to the podcast today. Tiff found me on IG back when I was brand new and shared my series on eating disorders versus disordered eating, and my audience exploded.Today we’re going to talk about the clinical definition of grief. Whereas bereavement is the experience of losing a loved one to death and mourning is the cultural expression of what’s going on, grief itself is the intense physical and psychological distress we experience in response to loss.Collectively, we are all experiencing pandemic grief and the effects of life as we knew it being ripped away.Listen in as we talk about all things body image, inner child wounds, unconditional love, and diet culture.Connect with Tiffany @heytiffanyroe and online at https://tiffanyroe.com/Check out my resources, course, and membership community “The Body Grievers Club” at https://bodyimagewithbri.com/A Podcast Launch Bestie production

CONTENT NOTE: In this episode I will speak about medical abuse.In this episode, we’re going to challenge that inner critic narrative. After I shared on IG about a doctor’s appointment in which we saw a significant increase in my health values after making only 2 changes: reducing the stress in my life, and knowing that at my appointment we wouldn’t talk about my weight. Even though this was a huge win for me, I found myself in a panic attack. My body had been ready for a fight that didn’t happen because of the years of medical trauma that I’ve experienced.When we experience trauma, we essentially experience it twice: in the body, then in the brain. Our logical mind can convince us that we’re not in that same danger anymore, but the body still remembers.In this episode, I’ll walk you through some of the process that I went through with my EDMR therapist to heal some of the wounds I’ve held for so long.If you listened to the episode you know that this code is very important: BODYGRIEVERSCLUBCheck out the link in my bio for my current offeringsCheck out my resources, course, and membership community “The Body Grievers Club” at https://bodyimagewithbri.com/A Podcast Launch Bestie production

Join me for a hotseat coaching with my client Kelsey. Kelsey was diagnosed with PCOS when she was 22 and because of weight stigma with her doctor, was unable to get any testing done until she lost weight. She has since been diagnosed with Type II diabetes and still doesn’t fully feel that she deserves quality healthcare while she lives in a larger body.During this hotseat coaching session, we’ll work through some beliefs that are holding her back from accepting herself and her body.Check out my resources, course, and membership community “The Body Grievers Club” at https://bodyimagewithbri.com/A Podcast Launch Bestie production

I’m so excited to welcome Ragen Chastain to the conversation. Ragen is a fat queer activist, speaker, and writer. Today we’ll go in depth about fatphobia in medical care, including: Medical professionals practicing stereotypes instead of medicine The basis of fatphobia in the oppression of black and indigenous bodies Why BMI is bullshit How implicit bias can become explicit bias How to talk to doctors about diagnoses and treatmentsWeight stigma is not your fault, even if it has become your problem.Download printable self-advocacy cards here: https://haeshealthsheets.com/resources/Connect with Ragen: https://danceswithfat.org/Subscribe here: https://weightandhealthcare.substack.com/Check out my resources, course, and membership community “The Body Grievers Club” at https://bodyimagewithbri.com/A Podcast Launch Bestie production

Charles and I have been friends for years. He was an instructor at a gym that I was a member at, and we hit it off right away. Charles ran his own gym for a few years called, “The Happiest Gym On Earth,” where everyone was welcomed and accepted regardless of body shape and size.As a coach with a larger body in the fitness space, he has had to fight a lot harder to be heard. He deals with backhanded compliments and microaggressions because of his body size and what that means as a fitness instructor.Charles recommends finding joyful movement that: feels good for your body and brings you fulfillment on an emotional level.Connect with Charles on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teamwagon/Check out my resources, course, and membership community “The Body Grievers Club” at https://bodyimagewithbri.com/A Podcast Launch Bestie production

Today’s guest is Steph Gaudreau, who is a strength nutrition specialist and lifting coach helping women lift weights, get stronger, and experience the life-changing magic of focusing on what you can do instead of only focusing on what you look like.Today we’ll chat about her transition away from restrictive diet culture and how that experience frames her work today. Her experience with Paleo and the restrictions that went with it led her to learn how intuitive eating really is better for your body, especially when it comes to fitness goals.In the wellness space, a lot of it is oversimplified into “just eat this way.” With that comes the moralization of how well you’re able to do that, and if you don’t follow the program perfectly at all times that makes you less of a person. There’s also a disregard for marginalized peoples - the vast majority of industry “leaders” are cishet white dudes.We have a long way to go when it comes to examining our internal and external biases about who can and can’t be a health or nutrition expert.Connect with Steph on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steph_gaudreau/Online: https://www.stephgaudreau.com/strength-nutrition-unlocked/Check out my resources, course, and membership community “The Body Grievers Club” at https://bodyimagewithbri.com/A Podcast Launch Bestie production

The 5 stages of grief are commonly known, so in this episode i’m going to discuss how this relates to my Body Grief Method.Body grief is the loss or losses accompanied by the conscious choice to stop attempting to change one’s body size. Moving through the 5 stages of grief is much the same: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. The acceptance stage doesn’t mean loving every curve and dimple, it just means the absence of distress.Peace requires discomfort. We know peace because we know discomfort.The steps of the Body Grief Method: Building awareness around how we talk to ourselves, how we talk about our bodies, and how we interpret the world of bodies. Active unlearning, which requires us in the moment to choose differently. Over time, the wound of grief still exists, but it’s more familiar. Everything takes time. In community, you don’t have to feel alone.Check out my resources, course, and membership community “The Body Grievers Club” at https://bodyimagewithbri.com/A Podcast Launch Bestie production

I hesitate to use the word “war,” but when I think of my own journey with my body, that’s what it felt like. It felt like a war I couldn’t win. Diet culture sells us a vision, but the game is rigged. There is no end to the road.Some things folks have shared with me about grieving their bodies: Believing their bodies need to look a certain way Fitting into the world Ability to get medical advice that isn’t fatphobicPart of ending the war on our body is to deprogram from diet culture. Society tells us that having fat is bad and immoral, while having a small body is preferable. In reality, malnutrition can literally kill you. Weight loss and gain should be amoral, without judgment.The way to get all the way on the body positive boat is unconditional positive regard.What does body love mean to you? For example, the ability to accept and love your body how it is. This goes totally against diet culture’s emphasis on loving how your body looks.I can promise you that if you can let go of what you’ve always done, if you’re willing to let go of the praise for your “effort,” that makes space for grief. In order to heal, you need to sit in the suck. Grieve what you’re going to be losing in order to allow your life to change for the better.Check out my resources, course, and membership community “The Body Grievers Club” at https://bodyimagewithbri.com/A Podcast Launch Bestie production