What I'm Tuning Into [Top Podcasts]

Reflecting on my first corporate job after college, I can vividly recall my co-worker Carol twirling around in a floral dress smiling widely as we all congratulated her on her recent weight loss—the result of taking the diet drug fen-phen.

The celebration didn’t last long, however, as this “miracle drug” was soon banned after research revealed it could cause heart valve damage.

Carol rapidly regained the weight, which sadly left her feeling ashamed and like a failure—something many of us with a history of yo-yo dieting can relate to.

Top Podcasts
Fen-phen, along with SnackWell’s cookies (lived on them!) and the President’s Physical Fitness Test (so humiliating!), are just a few of the topics covered in Maintenance Phase, a new podcast I’m really digging.

In addition to this show, following are a few other podcasts from a diverse range of thought leaders on subjects including diet-culture, fat-positivity, Health at Every Size, Intuitive Eating and more.

It's my hope that their stories, experience, knowledge and wisdom will help support you on your journey toward a more peaceful relationship with food and your body.

>Maintenance Phase
Co-hosted by Aubrey Gordon (Your Fat Friend) and Michael Hobbes (You’re Wrong About), the podcast “debunks the junk science behind health fads, wellness scams and nonsensical nutrition advice.”

As a longtime fan of Aubrey’s work, I’m also super excited about her new book, What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat.

>Fierce Fatty
Fat activist Victoria Welsby “helps plus-size people feel confident in their body so that they can stop giving a f*ck what other people think and live life with freedom and joy.”

Topics range from fat shaming and fat fertility to celebrity weight loss and dating while plus-size.

>Hearing Our Own Voice
A former wellness coach turned writer, speaker and educator, Melissa Toler describes her new show as “an anti-diet, weight-inclusive podcast that centers the stories and experiences of Black health and wellness professionals.”

Episodes include interviews with Black advocates, authors, dietitians, fitness instructors and more.

A Few More…
If you’d like a few more podcast recommendations, check out Food Psych; Body Kindness; Love, Food; Body Image with Bri and Dietitians Unplugged.

I hope you find these resources helpful!

What I'm Consuming [Top Reads]

As I’ve shared before, I constantly have my nose in a book or my ears plugged into a podcast.

I especially have a big appetite for content regarding food and body liberation, like Intuitive Eating and Health at Every Size.

Here are a few recent articles that really resonated with me (and many others!). Perhaps they will with you, too.

Smash the Wellness Industry
“The diet industry is a virus, and viruses are smart. It has survived all these decades by adapting, but it’s as dangerous as ever. In 2019, dieting presents itself as wellness and clean eating, duping modern feminists to participate under the guise of health.”

What Does Intuitive Eating Even Mean?
“If you find that you’re counting things, that’s not intuitive eating,” says [Evelyn Tribole, co-author of Intuitive Eating]. If there’s something called a cheat day, that’s not intuitive eating. If someone’s promising weight loss, that’s not intuitive eating.”

(To learn more about the basics of Intuitive Eating, head on over to here.)

What Happens When You Put a Kid on a Diet
This heartbreaking story is sadly one I’ve heard hundreds of times.

“If you are an adult putting kids on weight loss diets, restricting their eating, or telling them they can’t trust their body, you are an adult who is saying that the risk of a lifetime of struggle—a lifetime of self-hatred, a lifetime of disordered eating, a lifetime of not trusting oneself—is worth the possibility of a brief moment of thinness."

When Did "Fat" Become an Insult?
"For much of history...'excess body fat [was] a symbol of wealth and prosperity as the general population struggled with food shortages and famine, as we can see in Renaissance portraits celebrating full-figured women.”

I’ll be sharing more of my favorite content in the future, so stay tuned…