Health Beyond Weight

Valentine's Day has a way of making us feel like love is something we have to earn. Be attractive enough. Desirable enough. Thin enough. Enough enough. Get the hair right, the outfit right, the body right — and then, maybe, you'll be worthy of love. Sound familiar? Because that's not romance....

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...