Why Letting Go of Weight and Size Goals Feels So Threatening

Why Letting Go of Weight and Size Goals Feels So Threatening

For many people, the idea of letting go of weight or size goals doesn’t feel liberating. It feels frightening. Even when dieting has caused harm. Even when food feels exhausting. Even when they no longer want their body to be a project. This fear is often misunderstood - by professionals...

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When Weight Becomes a Measure of Worth

When Weight Becomes a Measure of Worth

A client shared her discomfort with her bigger belly. I asked if she’d be willing to put a hand on her belly and speak to it directly. She nodded, placed her palm gently over it, and after a long breath said: “I wish you weren’t there. I wish you were smaller and flatter because I feel uncomfortable...

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New Year, Same You: Rejecting Diet Culture Hype

New Year, Same You: Rejecting Diet Culture Hype

A new year is often welcomed in with lists, resolutions, and promises to ourselves - most of which revolve around changing our bodies. Lose weight. Eat “better.” Exercise more. Be more disciplined. Pause for a moment. Take a deep breath. Here’s a radical thought: you don’t need to change...

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When Science Challenges the Story: What Katherine Flegal’s Research Teaches Us About Weight and Health

When Science Challenges the Story: What Katherine Flegal’s Research Teaches Us About Weight and Health

This week I received an email from Lucy Aphramor - who is an incredible human - dietitian, food and body justice warrior, and poet among other attributes. In it, Lucy reminded me of an article I’d been thinking about a week or two ago and wondering where I’d filed it as I wanted to reread it. It...

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When Fat Activists Choose Weight Loss: What It Means for the Rest of Us

When Fat Activists Choose Weight Loss: What It Means for the Rest of Us

A client said something in a session this week that I want to talk about. She has been a fat activist for years. She’s grounded, political, outspoken. She's deeply connected to her values. But several difficult things in her personal life coincided, and she found herself spending money she could ill-afford...

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But I Still Want to Be Healthy

But I Still Want to Be Healthy

“I understand that dieting doesn’t work. I’m tired of obsessing over my weight. I want peace with food and my body… But I still want to be healthy.” I hear this often - and I get it. Because for so many people, the desire to be healthy isn’t just about weight. It’s about wanting...

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