Body Kindness

What does your body liberation have to do with voting this year? Everything. Everything is on the line this election, up and down the ballot. Jaclyn Friedman, author of Unscrewed, helps me link body kindness to climate change, economic justice, healthcare, and more. Don’t settle for fauxpowerment. In this lively episode chat, Jaclyn shares many ways anyone can get fired up to vote or help others get fired up... with joy and connection. Follow her 3 steps to positive well-being this election season: Look after yourself and make sure you’re safe and secure. Look out for each other. (Your post-it people) Look for opportunities for fun. And also... if you can do more, do it. Register to vote. Fill out your mail in ballot. Get it in the drop off box ASAP. Check in on friends. Reach out to people you know with texts, emails, or postcards. Offer to help. --- Links Mentioned: How to contact your U.S. Senator Learn about progressive candidates Jaclyn recommends @jaclynf on Twitter - her DMs are open if you have an

If you can’t find a community where you belong, make one. That’s what my guest Dr Joy Cox is doing with her latest book Fat Girls in Black Bodies, podcast, and new app Jabbie. Everything Joy does centers inclusivity and fat Black excellence. Joy is a funny person and her work is dead serious backed up with facts and stats that will make you recoil. If you believe everyone deserves to belong, this episode is for you. --- Links and Resources Mentioned: Book launch party on Instagram - 9/29 at 7 pm ET with Ivy Felicia and Joy Cox Jabbie app Advisory Board for the Association of Size Diversity and Health --- Win a copy of Fat Women in Black Bodies! Subscribe to the Body Kindness podcast and leave a comment on the show notes blog post as your official entry. There are 5 copies up for grabs. US residents only. See the show notes for full details - https://www.bodykindnessbook.com/158 --- About Dr Joy Cox Dr. Joy Cox is a body justice advocate using her skill set in research and leadership to foster social change

Let’s talk trauma and racism. I found today’s guest, Francesca Marguerite Maximé, from her podcast called Re-Rooted on the Ram Das Be Here Now network. She interviewed Dick Schwartz, the creator of Internal Family Systems (IFS) about his “racist parts” and I was all in on their discussion. Side note to spell out the Body Kindness connections in case it’s helpful before I go on: Connection is one of the three core pillars for practicing Body Kindness. The book and dominant “anti-diet” / “body positivity” message mostly centers the idea of connection to one’s own body -- noticing and sensing what is happening in the present moment, feeling your “feels” and then thinking about what you need to care for yourself. This theme plays out in mindfulness, meditation, intuitive eating, and pretty much anything you do to care for yourself. Connection is also about others… being part of something greater than yourself, forging connections in your community, the power of belonging to a group (this is all of part 4 of the B

Most American kids are officially back to school in some way shape or form. As if we didn’t have enough to worry about, now we have COVID and our kids well-being to contend with this year. I’m bringing back a personal and fan favorite all about stress and anxiety in girls. Lisa D’Amour is a clinical psychologist, columnist and author and in this episode we discuss her New York Times bestselling book Under Pressure: Confronting the Epidemic of Stress and Anxiety in Girls. We discuss what's normal and actually beneficial for teen girls when it comes to stress and anxiety, when you should worry, as well as the options available for talking with girls and young women to reduce their stress and anxiety on everything from embracing their bodies, dating to setting boundaries. We also get into an important conversation on microaggressions and racism -- pressures from our culture girls can't control, but we as parents and helping professionals can help all girls get through. This episode was first aired in February 20

In today’s episode I talk with Kelly Jensen about her new book for young adults called Body Talk, which covers the themes of ability and disability, body positivity, fat positivity, tattoos, language, and much more. Tune in for essay readings and a nuanced conversation about intentions vs. impact of the body positivity movement today and where we may be doing more harm than good. Here’s a few items we cover: How yoga has helped her and her yoga students with mental health, self compassion, and non-judgment. Themes and helpful lessons on body politics from her latest book Body Talk, and how to use this book as a parent of a 12+ person. Patricia Elzie’s essay on the problematic nature of policing people’s feelings in the body positivity movement. Questions about where we may do more harm than good when it comes to helping people practice self-acceptance. Why we need to listen to people with lived experience at multiple intersections about what they’re seeing from those of us who hold multiple privileges. Abou

A diagnosis of IBS can be a real pain in the a**! Seriously, IBS impacts 25-45 million people in the U.S. alone. The treatments for IBS aren’t really that great. The low FODMAP protocol may not even work in about half the people who try them. Worse, if you dare consult “Dr. Google” you’ll find there is conflicting and extreme advice out there that can really throw you off mentally. Today’s guest, bestselling author and gut health dietitian Kate Scarlata, explains why you shouldn’t rely on random food elimination for your IBS and she shares what to do instead. Here’s a few items we cover: The links between IBS and anxiety. The fundamentals of the low FODMAPs diet as a treatment approach for IBS, and the reality that it may not work in about half the people who try it. Why “FODMAP Gentle” is a more flexible approach that can be better for people with anxiety and concerns about possible food-related IBS symptoms. Disordered eating and IBS connections. Did you know 23-24% of people with GI conditions meet crite

Intuitive Eating is out with a 4th edition and the co-authors Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch are on the show to discuss what you can expect in the newest edition and we answer listener questions about struggles with intuitive eating. We discussed:  The new alignment of Intuitive Eating with “anti-diet” approach. Changes to the specific principles (spoiler alert: they changed one principle to honor your feelings with KINDNESS), and I love this change. It’s even more aligned with the Body Kindness philosophy now.  Why co-opting Intuitive Eating for weight loss (looking at you, NOOM) is wrong.  Why self-compassion is so difficult and essential for learning Intuitive Eating.  The beautiful neurobiology of interoceptive awareness to self-connect and how food is part of our connection to others as well.  Common emotional triggers for soothing with food, and what to do if this bothers you.  Listener questions around shame, gentle nutrition, IBS and more.  Evelyn and Elyse’s previous appearances Podcast 132: Intui

Most “picky eating” in kids and adults is just that -- pickiness. But others can deal with social emotional issues and malnourishment (at any size). Joining me to discuss “supertasters” and challenges with picky eating, Rebecca Thomas, RDN. She is a dietitian and Body Kindness helping pro mentee of mine. She’s a pro at ARFID, disordered eating, and eating disorders. Tune in to get a HAES-informed perspective on support for food-related sensory issues.  Here’s a few items we cover: The spectrum of picky eating, extreme picky eating and the eating disorder ARFID. The real fear parents feel when their child is facing malnourishment. The medical weight stigma surrounding picky eating and lack of concern when kids and adults are higher weight. People of all sizes have a risk of malnourishment when they struggle with eating patterns. How helping professionals can screen for ARFID and refer to specialists. What you can expect in seeking support, including food exposures, meditations, and help with anxiety, depressi

In Part 2 of White Supremacy in Yoga series, we discuss the harms and the fixes, including what you can do as a yoga teacher, teacher trainer, student, or person who cares about anti-racism work. This includes reading books, having conversations, and taking meaningful actions.  Here’s just a taste of what we discuss:  Cultural appropriation of ayurveda.  Diet culture and racism in yoga.  How bad teachers can mess up the yoga experience. Systemic and structural White Supremacy in yoga and why we need an overhaul, a power shift in diversity, equity, and inclusion from within wellness organizations. Call to action with 4 simple steps (listed below). Body Kindness is a practice of personal and collective well-being. We can do this. Tune in to learn more and most important, take action. Janessa is asking White people to read White Fragility, My Grandmother’s Hands… and I’m sure other books would make her list, but she wants you to follow up with action. Janessa Mondestin’s “call in”  Get educated on what perva

Join me in conversation with Dr. Sabrina Strings, author of Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia. She also is a certified yoga teacher and advocate for inclusivity in yoga. We discuss our experiences  with yoga and hope for systemic change. She shares a personal story on racism and body part fetishizing (Michelle Obama arms) she encountered in yoga classes when she was really seeking refuge for grad school stress. Strings was made to feel like she didn’t belong.  She explains why yoga is much more than the commercialized Asana and why her recent yoga experience made her stop going to studios at all, including fat phobia and ableism. She shares her research on the lightening of the yoga journal covers to become more White, contorted, and back branded women’s bodies. Dr. Strings’ Research Mentioned Strings, Sabrina & Headen, Irene & Spencer, Breauna. (2019). Yoga as a technology of femininity: Disciplining white women, disappearing people of color in Yoga Journal. Fat Studies. 8.

This episode was first aired June 2019. Sabrina Strings, PhD is the author of the book Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia. In the first part of this interview, we discuss how she was able to connect racism with fat phobia, control of women’s bodies historically and through today’s diet culture, and how medicine’s use of the BMI metric is problematic and harmful. Dr. Strings shares why weight loss should not be part of the health equation and instead we should be seeking access to safe, nutritious food for all people at every size. In the second part, we discuss why only white women’s bodies were subjects of control in historical fat phobia. Dr. Strings shares the history of the BMI development and its flaws. We share personal stories for how BMI and weight bias in medicine harms people today. Dr. Strings also shares how she was discouraged from even writing this book. About Dr. StringsSabrina Strings is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Irvine. She was

Ijeoma Oluo's So You Want to Talk About Race is a great starting point for listening, learning and taking meaningful action.  I also recommend White Fragility by Beverly DiAngelo to any white person who wants to do better at creating change.    So You Want to Talk About Race (Seal Press) she breaks down the barriers and explains, in simple terms and with lively examples, key concepts of privilege, intersectionality, microagressions, cultural appropriation, and more. In our podcast chat, Ijeoma helps us embrace the connections between body positivity, the anti-diet movement, and race and class issues that aren’t often discussed in these important spaces. Regarding intersectionality, she says “It’s the nature of privilege to prioritize the people at the top, whose needs are almost met. Intersectionality says that you pause and say ‘my needs are not the only needs’. Including the needs of less privileged people helps more people, not just a select few at the top.” She says “we live in a country that upholds th

Bernie Salazar guests with an update on how he is changing the conversation with his primary care doctors. He’s better at boundaries and aiming to keep the focus on medical needs, but the doctors still clearly struggle to understand what it means to provide weight inclusive medical care. He shares his labs with me again because he still wants my “input” (read: validation) that he is justified in his full commitment to practicing Body Kindness and never dieting again. We hope you find this conversation and links below helpful. They are some of our best resources you may need for doctors visits. (Content Note: We recorded 12/19 but delayed the launch planned for early March due to COVID-19 chaos.) Here’s a summary of what we discussed:  I went to this new doctor visit with more confidence. I shared what I was looking for in a Dr./Patient relationship. I was honest about where I felt I was.  I am so tired of being talked at instead of having constructive conversations with medical doctors. I realize nothing wil

May is mental health awareness month and I’m focused on shows that can help you create a better life and support your well-being.  This [COVID-19] Mother’s Day, women are still providing $10.8 trillion dollars a year of invisible, unpaid labor.  My guest this week Eve Rodsky says it’s unsustainable and she used her Harvard degree in organizational management to develop a structure for families to redistribute all it takes to make families work. Fair Play is a bestselling book and card game Eve developed over 7 years of working with families so that collaborative conversations and planning can take place to benefit every family member.   I want to share with other women and families a way forward to improve the “family system”.  I’m sharing this as a beginner, someone who has read Eve Rodsky’s Fair Play and who is scared to bring it up, but I’m doing it as my Mother’s Day gift to myself.  I’ll be honest, I’m not looking forward to spending more time on my family operations, but after recording this podcast, I

My three guests today speak from the heart about their experiences during COVID-19 as patient advocate (Lara Loverro) and healthcare workers (Shannon Hughes and Katy Gaston). We discuss the meaning of compassion “to suffer together” and how the personal and collective traumas we’re experiencing challenge us to reframe our value, how and why we practice Body Kindness for resilience and personal growth. Here’s a glimpse of what what we discussed: Human kindness and how altruism and compassion give people the biological drive to help. Gratitude to healthcare workers, Shannon Hayes a physician assistant and dietitian and Katy Gatson, a clinical registered dietitian specializing in respiratory issues. How we can best show our gratitude and support to healthcare workers and advocate for our needs as families and communities. The story behind the healthcare workers counter-protests throughout the U.S. About Lara Lara Loverro is holistic health and lifestyle coach. She works with individuals to help them reconnect

Has your fertility or medical care been delayed or disrupted due to COVID-19? My guest today is Nicola Salmon, author of Fat and Fertile. We discuss how her work as a fat positive fertility coach has changed dramatically in the face of COVID-19. You’ll learn how she is helping people through and it just may help you grieve the losses you’re feeling at this time, fertility or not. Plus she shares insight on her own self-care practices as a higher weight person feeling vulnerable (thank you, crappy weight stigma misinformation and nasty memes). Nicola shares her unwavering commitment to her emotional well-being during quarantine through gentle self-care practices. About Nicola Nicola Salmon is a fat-positive and feminist fertility coach and author of “Fat and Fertile”. She advocates for change in how fat people are treated whilst accessing help with their fertility. 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,

My guest is Lara Loverro, a health coach, certified intuitive eating counselor, and she’s a professional mentee of mine. Importantly, Lara is a resident of New York and her mother is COVID-19 positive (over two weeks on a ventilator). Her teen son is struggling with anxiety related to the trauma. Lara shares how she and her family are coping and her recommendations for coping with anxiety.  About Lara Lara Loverro is holistic health and lifestyle coach. She works with individuals to help them reconnect with food, their bodies and their lives. She is a Certified Health Coach, Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, Certified Eating Disorder Recovery Coach and Certified Personal Trainer. Website | Instagram | Facebook: Recovery from Disordered Eating and Diet Culture with Lara Coping with Anxiety Self-Care Checklist  Create a simple daily routine and schedule to follow (this can help minimize overthinking and hustle mindset when you aren’t doing enough). Limit media consumption (most all news, but especially CO

Practicing Body Kindness during COVID-19 is all about resilience skills as we navigate this collective trauma. While some people are finding “humor” in memes or chats about social distancing-related weight gain or the supposed “quarantine 15,” these messages are fatphobic and harmful to people struggling with mental health and body image. Nicola Haggett our ideas for setting boundaries, creating self-care plans, and well-being enhancement that can help you cope with fears. About Nicola Nicola Haggett (she/her) is a Body Liberation Mentor and Intuitive Eating Coach. She helps you to heal your relationship with food, unlearn body shame, and live your fullest life right now in the body you're in. Nicola describes herself as fat (a word she has happily reclaimed), and does her best work with folks who are also in higher weight bodies. She believes that it's possible to nourish, care for, and build trust with your body, despite living in a culture that tells you that you need to shrink to fit in. Website | Instagr

These times are truly unprecedented. For the past month I have been allowing myself to be human, showing up for my family, my clients (many hospital workers, displaced students, and parents turned home schoolers, many with disordered eating and anxiety exacerbated by the social distancing required).   I have been asking Body Kindness book readers and podcast listeners about ways (if anything) I can uniquely contribute to our collective well-being during this pandemic. Mostly, everyone needed permission for things to change, and time to adjust. We are still in this phase of the journey. It’s ok to be here. (We need all the self compassion we can muster now)   Many questions have been posed to me in my free Body Kindness Facebook group and I want to share them with anyone who needs it. Over the next few weeks I’ll be emailing questions, responses, and useful resources for people who are interested in the ways the practice of body kindness can help ground you, lift you up, connect you to others, and avoid burnou

Let’s talk about eating disorders that are born from culture and hidden in plain sight. My guest to share her personal story is Gloria Oladipo, a 20-year-old Black woman who developed an eating disorder in elementary school that went undiagnosed for over a decade. A student at Cornell University, Gloria also works as a freelance writer and has been published in Teen Vogue, Healthline, Wear Your Voice, Bitch Media, Bustle, and other publications. Here’s a short summary of what we discussed and other resources you may find helpful in the topic of eating disorders: Stories of marginalized identities with eating disorders are common, but they are treated like they are rare. Well-intended health information is bred in teachers and school communities and it’s harmful to almost all kids by perpetuating weight bias, body shame, and teaching disordered behaviors with food and movement. Why it took so long for a grown up (a college therapist) to affirm Gloria’s body and encourage eating disorder treatment. The “sad re