The Mindful Dietitian

I'm back and this time there's no fluff. Just 10-15 minutes of a topic that I want to rave on about.  This first one's about the mess and the meaning.  

Help! My kid has been sent home with a serve of diet culture! If you recognise this, either as a parent, or as a health professional, you'll love this episode with Gwen Kostal from Dietitians 4 Teachers. Educators, we love you! And we would love to work with you to make our schools and education settings a safer place for more kids.   In this episode, Gwen shares her career trajectory, the intention behind D4T; Dietitians 4 Teachers, how no educator intends to cause harm, what we can offer teachers as we begin to work shoulder-to-shoulder, questions dietitians can reflect on when wanting to work in schools, questions we can ask teachers to learn more about their needs and concerns, an introduction to a helpful change management framework, ‘Best Practice' for giving school talks and presentations and how we as dietitians can best support our student clients when they are in the classroom/school setting. Here Fi and Gwen chat about; Gwen's trajectory from primary care dietetics into problem solving and the intention behind @Dietitians4Teachers. The importance of working beside teachers and educators and why Gwen's work is grounded in support and validation.  How no educator intends to cause harm, acknowledging the impacts of diet culture on educators and the trouble with ‘health' and ‘healthy eating' being assumed knowledge in the classroom. The permission giving statement we can offer teachers and educators in the first instance to reduce shame and defensiveness and the ways in which we can begin to partner and work shoulder-to-shoulder. Important reflective questions we can ask ourselves as dietitians when we have a desire/interest to work in schools. How change work must start with humans and what we must offer teachers to empower change within the classroom/school. The vital questions we can ask teachers when it comes to resources and offerings and how we can encourage resistance and rejection when using existing curriculum and lessons. Change Management Framework's and an introduction to an effective method; ‘What? So What? Now What? Gwen gently guides us through ‘Best Practice' for initiating and providing school presentations/talks. How dietitians can best support their school student clients when they notice concerns within the school/classroom settings.    Connect with Gwen: Instagram Website Linktree Email

Grace Wong on inclusive, flexible feeding modalities and how we can bring a more reflective spirit to our work. In this episode, Grace discusses the ARFID (Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder) umbrella diagnosis and its shortcomings, Responsive Feeding Therapy (RFT); how it was developed. who was part of its curation and its rationale, what each of the 5 interrelated values offers, why moving away from manualised approaches can help more people and how dietitians can use their supervision space well.   In conclusion, Fi and Grace each share how they both engage in their own reflective work.  Here Fi and Grace chat about; What Grace has been up to since her last chat with Fi on TMD podcast (2017). Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID); Grace explains what the DSM-V diagnosis is, along with its main strength and its shortcomings.  Responsive Feeding Therapy (RFT); Grace introduces us to the curated framework developed in collaboration with Dr Katja Rowell, Dr Jo Cormack, and Heidi Moreland and the rationale behind its development. The 5 interrelated values at the core of RFT; Grace provides us with context as to why RFT has been developed in this way. Grace steps us through each value;  Autonomy; why this is first and foremost and how autonomy creates safety. Relationship; the harm which can occur when feeding is taken outside of relationships.  Internal motivation; how it helps behaviour change to be more sustainable and helpful long-term. Individualised care: how centring our client story can guide us as practitioners Competence; how this works and is weaved in with RFT Moving away from a one-way model and manualised approach; why not being manualised is the best approach for a whole lot of people.  How dietitians can use their supervision space well and how we can unpack in supervision to not get in our clients way. Reflective work; Fi and Grace both share examples of how they carry out their own reflections and how its okay to do this work individually, collaboratively and in supervision.   More about Grace:  Grace Wong MSc, RD, CEDS-S is a registered dietitian specializing in feeding and eating disorders.  She works with all ages and provides medical nutrition therapy from a weight inclusive lens.  Grace is experienced in working with a broad range of eating challenges along with complex co-existing conditions including medical conditions, developmental concerns, mental health concerns, addictions, and trauma.  Besides her clinical practice, she provides training and supervision for health professionals in Canada and overseas. Connect with Grace: Facebook Email

Naureen Hunani on how the diversity of the human brain, and shifting from shame, to affirmation.   In this episode, Naureen discusses Neurodiversity, Neurodivergence and The Neurodiversity Movement/Paradigm and how they differ from each other, how generalising and stereotypes are unhelpful, why we need to consider all underlying challenges for neurodivergent people when it comes to food, eating and their body, the power of social media and expertise by lived experience for the neurodivergent community, what screening can look like and how dominate autonomic responses can show up for neurodivergent children.   Here Fi and Naureen chat about; ‘A week in the Life of Naureen'; what it encompasses and how Naureen has honoured herself and her own neurodivergence through the type of work she engages in.  Neurodiversity, Neurodivergence and The Neurodiversity Movement/Paradigm; Naureen steps us through each term and how they differentiate. The importance of not applying generalisations and stereotypes when working with neurodivergent people. What can show up for neurodivergent people which can impact their capacity around food, eating and their body. Why it's imperative to look at and consider all the underlying challenges that neurodivergent people face when it comes to living in a body and living in a world where their bodies are constantly violated. How social media has been a powerful tool for the neurodivergent community and why we need to centre and elevate expertise by lived experience. Patterns of food related trauma that can show up for neurodivergent people. What screening looks like and the importance of understanding that these behaviours can often show up before a diagnosis.  Flight, Fright, Freeze and Fawn; how these responses can show up for neurodivergent children and why more therapies need to centre consent. More about the courses Naureen has developed and where you can find them!   About Naureen:  Naureen Hunani is a Neurodivergent registered dietitian with over 15 years of experience. In her private practice, she treats children and families struggling with various feeding challenges through a trauma-informed and anti-oppressive approach.  She is particularly interested in the intersection of neurodivergence and feeding differences. Naureen is the founder of RDs for Neurodiversity, an online education platform for RDs and helping professionals.  She has had the privilege of sharing her knowledge and expertise at multiple national and international conferences. She is passionate about supporting pro-justice, HAES®-aligned professionals who are striving to build liberatory practices.   Connect with Naureen: Facebook Instagram Website Email

Supporting today's young people to stay connected with food, eating and their body by building parental confidence.   Links from the episode: How To Raise an Intuitive Eater; Raising the next Generation with Food and Body Confidence EDRDPRO   About Sumner: SUMNER BROOKS, MPH, RDN, LD, CEDRD is a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) and certified eating disorder specialist (CEDRD) based in Portland, Oregon who has been working with clients on all levels of the disordered eating spectrum for 15 years. Sumner is a mom and has put her knowledge, intuition and parenting skills of Intuitive Eating to the test of real life. She is also the founder of an online training platform for weight-inclusive eating disorder professionals geared toward dietitians, called EDRD Pro.   

Signe Darpinian on life in the diet culture horror of the 1980's and supporting parents to raise teens who feel good in their bodies.   In this episode, Signe Darpinian shares how her sequence of co-authored books came to be, her experienced collaborating with Wendy Stirling and Dr Shelley Aggarwal and  beauty of bringing all your experiences to the table, the diet culture horror film that was the 1980's and the challenges for Gen X parents raising teens, how witnessing has impact, the benefits of boundaries and finding your starting place and Singe's share the collective hope for parents who read the ‘Raising Body Positive Teens' book. Here Fi and Signe chat about; 'No Weigh' and ‘Raising Body Positive Teens'; the books co-authored by Signe and how this sequence of books came to be. Collaborating with our generous community and the beauty in ‘knowing what you know and knowing what you don't know'. Signe's love for prankings. Diet culture horror of the 1980's; Signe and Fi share their recollection of growing up in this era and how witnessing has impact. The complex and multi-layered challenges for Gen X parents, who were teens themselves in the 80's. The hope for parents who read ‘Raising Body Positive Teens', who are wanting to do the work and for things to be different.  How the pandemic has raised the flag for the important of self-trust and finding our baseline to which we can come back to. The Benefits of Boundaries (Chapter 9 of ‘Raising Body Positive Teens');What are boundaries? Signe and Fi step us through the starting place for boundaries. Why can boundaries feel so bad? More about Signe:  Signe Darpinian is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and a Certified Eating Disorders Specialist. She is the host of Therapy Rocks! a personal growth podcast, and co-author of No Weigh! as well as forthcoming book Raising Body Positive Teens: A Parent's Guide to Diet-free Living, Exercise and Body Image, both with Jessica Kingsley Publishers in London. Connect with Signe: Website Book Podcast

Virgie Tovar on how we lose our sense of body belonging, then how we can make our way back.   In this episode, Virgie shares what fat phobia and diet culture is and how they are linked, the many ways healthcare professionals can bring themselves and others closer to body justice, how people lose belonging of their bodies, the first thing we need to do in the unravelling of fat phobia and diet culture and meaningful lessons from her own journey back to her body.   As mentioned in the podcast: Fatphobia and Diet Culture With Virgie Tovar‬ on The Laverne Cox Show Study about restriction, hunger, long term decisions – Glasgow Scotland *did you find this Fi? Dr Cat Pausé, PhD MPH (she/her) Anti-Fat Attitudes Test (AFA) More about Virgie:  Virgie Tovar holds a Master's degree in Sexuality Studies with a focus on the intersections of body size, race and gender. She is a contributor for Forbes where she covers the plus-size market and how to end weight discrimination at work. She started the hashtag campaign #LoseHateNotWeight and in 2018 gave a TedX talk on the origins of the campaign. Tovar is the author of You Have the Right to Remain Fat (Feminist Press August 2018) and The Self-Love Revolution: Radical Body Positivity for Girls of Color (New Harbinger Publications 2020). She is the host of the podcast, Rebel Eaters Club. Connect with Natasha: Website Instagram Books Podcast

Dr Natasha Larmie (aka "The Fat Doctor") on getting serious about the harms of anti-fat bias in healthcare.   In this episode, Natasha shares her arrival onto the Instagram scene, what the weight stigma research shows, the difference between implicit and explicit biases and how they impact clients and patients, what’s really happening when a doctor prescribes ‘weight loss’, the makings of the ‘Healthcare Professionals Against Weight Stigma Group’ and how you can begin to contribute to the collective dismantling of weight stigma.   As mentioned in the podcast: Impact of weight bias and stigma on quality of care and outcomes for patients with obesity. S. M. Phelan, D. J. Burgess, M. W. Yeazel, W. L. Hellerstedt, J. M. Griffin, M. van Ryn  Healthcare Professionals Against Weight Stigma Group (UK based)  Amanda Lee @mandapaints – Amanda shares her personal lived experience with weight stigma in healthcare More about Natasha:  I'm a weight inclusive GP with over 20 years medical experience who is campaigning against weight stigma in healthcare. I've been fat for most of my adult life, and I'm only now beginning to realise just how much of an impact anti-fat bias has had on my physical and mental health. In coming to this realisation and embarking on a lifelong learning journey, I began exploring the issues surrounding weight-based discrimination and how they impact the health of my patients. My mission is to educate the healthcare profession and empower the fat community to rid the world of weight stigma – Dr Natasha Larmey. Connect with Natasha: Website Instagram Linkedin Facebook Twitter

Rachel Larkey on her recent research investigating barriers to HAES(R)-aligned Dietetic practice.   In this episode, Rachel shares how her thesis evolved into a research paper recently published in journal of critical dietetics, she shares the three key barriers identified by dietitians when introducing IE and HAES approaches with clients in the community setting and how they showed up, how autonomy can help facilitate the use of IE and HAES in community practice and other ways forward for dietitians working in this space.   As mentioned in the podcast & additional links suggested by Rachel: HAES dietitians in Community and Public Health Nutrition (Private Facebook Group) “Intuitive Eating and Health At Every Size in community settings – a dietitian’s perspective of practice barriers” research paper.  “These are some cool scholarships and groups/orgs that I recommend to my patients frequently, and they could do with some love” LK Nutrition Scholarship Fund  Loveland Therapy Fund Nalgona Positivity Pride More about Rachel:  Rachel Larkey, MS, RD, CDN, CLC is a dietitian and certified intuitive eating counselor. She currently works full time at a federally qualified healthcare center in New York and sees a limited amount of private clients virtually. She is dedicated to exploring ways to adapt HAES-based care and Intuitive Eating to the needs of public health and community nutrition spaces. Connect with Rachel: Website – currently under construction and coming soon! Instagram Linkedin Facebook group

Wendy Sterling on using the practical Plate by Plate Approach to support people in healing from an Eating Disorder.   In this episode, Wendy steps us through her career as an Eating Disorder Dietitian and she shares more about historical exclusion of dietitians from the Family-Based Treatment (FBT) model, how the plate-by-plate aims to support FBT and empower parents, practical ways the plate-by-plate approach can be introduced (along with some real talk here!)  and how we can move forward and past any difficulties that may arise. We also hear what the plate model aims to do, why it has the ability to heal one’s relationship with food and some new and very exciting news!   As mentioned in the podcast: Family-Based Treatment (FBT) Model (also referred to as the Maudsley method) How to Nourish Your Child Through an Eating Disorder: A Simple, Plate-by-Plate Approach to Rebuilding a Healthy Relationship with Food (Book) by Casey Crosbie and Wendy Sterling No Weigh! A Teen’s Guide to Positive Body Image, Food, and Emotional Wisdom (Book) by Signe Darpinian, Wendy Sterling, and Shelley Aggarwal More about Wendy:  Wendy Sterling, MS, RD, CSSD, CEDRD-S is a Certified Eating Disorders Registered Dietitian Supervisor through IAEDP, and a Board-Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics. She is the Team Nutritionist of the Oakland Athletics, and was the former nutritionist for the NY Jets, and Golden State Warriors. She is the owner of Sterling Nutrition, a nutrition private practice in the Bay Area, and utilizes a non-diet, Health at Every Size® approach. She is the co-author of “How to Nourish Your Child Through an Eating Disorder.”  She and her co-author Casey Crosbie, RD, CEDRDS created the innovative approach to refeeding called the “Plate-by-Plate Approach®,” a no-numbers, visual approach, which has been featured in the Journal of Nutrition and Dietetics. She is also the co-author off “No Weigh! A Teens Guide to Body Image, Food, and Emotional Wisdom.” She and her co-authors have an upcoming book, due out late 2021, for parents who want to help their teens with body satisfaction and their relationship to food.  Wendy received her B.S. in dietetics/nutritional sciences from Cornell University. She earned her Master’s Degree in Nutrition Education at Teacher’s College at Columbia University where she also completed her dietetic internship.   Connect with Wendy: Website Facebook Twitter Connect with the Plate-by-Plate Approach Resources: Website Facebook Instagram

Judith Matz on uncovering the sneakiness of diet culture, how it shows up in healthcare and how we can move forward.   In this episode, Judith shares more about her inspiring and long career, how her first book ‘Beyond the Shadow of a Diet evolved and how it helped her find community, how this work has changed over time, the process of learning and unlearning and the cruciality of the ongoing learning/work, the many sneaky faces of diet culture, more about the Body Positive Card Deck created by Judith and Amy Pershing and Judith’s hope for the future of HAES and anti-diet work.   As mentioned in the podcast: Beyond the Shadow of a Diet, 2nd Edition (Book), by Judith Matz, LCSW and Dr Ellen Frankel, PhD. The Diet Survivors Handbook, by Judith Matz, LCSW Body Positive Card Deck by Judith Matz, LCSW and Amy Pershing, LMSW, ACSW, CCTP-II Jess Campbell, HAES student doctor and Nutritionist.  Dr Natasha Larmie, The Fat Doctor. Dr Joshua Wolrich MBBS MRCS, NHS Surgical Doctor (HAES). Dr Lisa Erlanger, MD Dr Lesley Williams, MD, Author, Physician, Advocate About Judith: Judith Matz, LCSW is a nationally recognized speaker on the topics of diet culture, binge eating, emotional eating, body image, and weight stigma. She is co-author of The Body Positivity Card Deck, The Diet Survivor’s Handbook and Beyond a Shadow of a Diet, and author of the children's book, Amanda's Big Dream. Judith's work has been featured in the media including NPR, New York Times and Psychotherapy Networker, and she has a private practice in the Chicago area. Judith offers a popular full day training (live webinar or digital) for mental health/health professionals: Emotional Eating, Chronic Dieting, Bingeing and Body Image: What Every Clinician Needs to Know through PESI, Inc. Connect with Judith: Website Instagram Books Facebook Training

The mic is turned for this one, hosted by Christy Harrison for a discussion about Fi's book "Vitamin A to Z; Your BS-free Guide to Wellbeing"   In this episode, the tables are flipped on Fi and she is interviewed by Christy Harrison about her newly released book, Vitamin A to Z – Your BS-free guide to wellbeing. Fi shares how her book came to fruition, her intention and hope for her book, how the stages of change transtheoretical model was considered and then she delves more into some of the chapters to include Vitamin M = Mindfulness, Vitamin H = Health (redefined) and Vitamin V = Values.           As mentioned in the podcast: Vitamin A to Z – Your BS-free guide to wellbeing, by Fiona Sutherland, RD, The Mindful Dietitian ANTI-DIET; Reclaim Your Time, Money, Well-Being, and Happiness Through Intuitive Eating, by Christy Harrison, MPH, RD. Stages of Change Transtheoretical Model by Prochaska and Diclemente Radical Belonging; How to Survive and Thrive in an unjust world (while transforming it for the better), by Lindo Bacon, PhD.  More about Christy:  Christy Harrison, MPH, RD, CDN is an anti-diet registered dietitian nutritionist, certified intuitive eating counselor, and author of the book Anti-Diet: Reclaim Your Time, Money, Well-Being, and Happiness Through Intuitive Eating (Little, Brown Spark 2019). She offers online courses and private intuitive eating coaching to help people all over the world make peace with food and their bodies. Since 2013 Christy has hosted Food Psych, a weekly podcast exploring people’s relationships with food and paths to body liberation. It is now one of Apple’s top 100 health podcasts, reaching tens of thousands of listeners worldwide each week.  Christy began her career in 2003 as a journalist covering food, nutrition, and health, and she’s written for publications including The New York Times, SELF, BuzzFeed, WIRED, Refinery29, Gourmet, Slate, The Food Network, and many others. Learn more about Christy and her work at christyharrison.com. Connect with Christy: Website Instagram Podcast Facebook

Whitney Trotter on Trafficking, Trauma and coming back to our bodies in Anti Diet work.   In this episode, Whitney shares her goals for 2021 and more about her specialisation as a Human Trafficking Activist to include what defines human trafficking, the most important factors for us to understanding about human trafficking and how we can begin to screen our clients. She also shares more on trauma-informed care in practice and how we can address and prioritise grief in anti-diet work. As mentioned in the podcast: RestoreCorps, anti-trafficking organisation co-founded by Whitney Trotter. Body Image: The Missing Piece of Body Healing, by Fiona Sutherland and Marci Evans Courses & Webinars by Whitney Trotter (coming soon) WIND Spring 2021 Symposium Dianne Bondy – Yoga is for Everyone! More about Whitney:  Whitney Trotter: (she/her) is dually licensed as a Registered Dietitian, Nurse, and yoga instructor. Whitney has over nine years of experience working as a registered dietitian serving in the HIV/AIDS community as well as working in the eating disorder field. Whitney also previously worked at a Level One Pediatric Trauma center, as a pediatric emergency room nurse. In addition to working as a RDN and RN ,Whitney served as a member of her county's Rape Crisis Center as a member of their Sexual Assault Response Team. Her work at the Rape Crisis Center equipped her to co-found an anti-trafficking organization Restore Corps, where she now provides medical training to the community focusing on human trafficking response. Whitney is the founder/owner of Bluff City Health, a practice dedicated to embodiment, social justice and eating disorders. Connect with Whitney: Website Instagram

Unapologetic Eating with Alissa Rumsey   In this episode, Alissa shares her journey from dietitian to author, what it was like writing a book during 2020, how the title of her book ‘Unapologetic Eating’ came to be, she also warmly invites us into her book by stepping us through the main sections; ‘Fixing’, ‘Allowing’, ‘Feeling’ and ‘Growing’ and she also shares her wish for what she hopes the book will leave people with.  Links: www.alissarumsey.com instagram.com/alissarumseyRD   From this episode: Order Unapologetic Eating: www.alissarumsey.com/book Kelly Diels - We Are The Culture Makers About Alissa: Alissa Rumsey, MS, RD, CDN, CSCS is a registered dietitian, nutrition therapist, certified intuitive eating counselor, and the author of Unapologetic Eating: Make Peace With Food and Transform Your Life. Alissa is passionate about advocating for women to reclaim the space to eat and live unapologetically. She is the founder of Alissa Rumsey Nutrition and Wellness, a weight-inclusive nutrition practice that offers virtual counseling and online programs to help people liberate themselves from dieting, cultivate a peaceful relationship to food and their bodies, and live a more authentic, connected life. Her expertise has been featured in hundreds of media outlets and she speaks regularly at events, online trainings, and conferences around the country. She calls New York City home and spends her free time exploring the city’s food scene and searching for patches of green space to sunbathe in. 

Rebecca McConville on breaking down stereotypes and stigma in sport.   In this episode, Rebecca shares her experience from college athlete to sport dietitian and gives us a comprehensive insight into Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) to include how it came to be, the current gaps and room for improvements, an introduction into assessing and screening for RED-S, and the main myths surround the condition. She also shares how we can overcome hesitations from coaches and athletes when it comes to bringing a dietitian onboard and the importance of sports clinicians coming together to create a safer environment for athletes.  Here Fi and Rebecca speak about: First meeting each other within the sport dietetic sector and what Becca has currently been up to Becca’s experience as a college athlete, to landing her first job as a dietitian and then finding the IE / HAES / non-diet movement. Relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S); What RED-S is? How RED-S came to be and how it has evolved – whilst paying homage to the important work of those who have come before us! Where there are gaps, room for improvements and the need for further research.  An intro to assessing and screening; what to look out for and how people are presenting. The main myths, stigma and stereotypes surrounding RED-S. What the main hesitations are of bringing dietitians into sporting cultures and ways we can help overcome concerns and get involved.   The problematic behaviour of not speaking about and overlooking disordered eating and eating disorders in sports and how we must work towards creating safer environments for athletes. How you can learn to support and impower your athletes by joining Becca’s clinician training program – find out more here! As mentioned in the podcast: RED-S: The Female Athlete Triad, Roberta Trattner Sherman PhD, Ron A. Thompson, PhD https://doi.org/10.1177/10598405040200040301 Roberta Sherman, PhD, FAED, CEDS, Consulting Psychologist and Co-Founder of The Victory Program Kathryn Ackerman, MD, MPH, Physician, Sports Medicine Division; Director, Female Athlete Program Ron A. Thompson, PhD, FAED, CEDS, Consulting Psychologist and Co-Founder of The Victory Program The Mindful Dietitian Podcast Episode 43 with Nicola Rinaldi Dr Claire-Marie Roberts InPower Masterclass on RED-S by Becca McConville Finding your Sweet Spot by Rebecca McConville More about Rebecca:  Becca McConville MS, RD, LDN, CSSD, CEDRD-S is a board certified sports specialist and eating disorder dietitian.  In addition to Becca’s private practice, she has served as a consultant to the University of Missouri Kansas City Athletics, Kansas City Ballet, local colleges and previously worked with the Kansas City Chiefs. Becca is also the author of Finding your Sweet Spot: How to Avoid RED-S (Relative Energy Deficit in Sport) by Optimizing Your Energy Balance and the InPower masterclass on RED-S. She is a co-host of a podcast called PHIT for a Queen devoted to female athletes. Co-author with sports psychologist Dr. Mel Streno on a workbook devoted to transition out of sport soon to be released-Spring 2021. Connect with Rebecca: Website Instagram Twitter

In this episode, Kirsten shares her career trajectory to becoming an anti-diet content marketer and dietitian, how can find our target audience and engage and connect with them, understanding the beauty of imperfect content marketing, how testing and tracking our content engagement can help us do better, why we don’t have to be on all the platforms to be efficient and effective content marketers, how we can thoughtfully integrate social justice ideas into our content, the concept of values priming and how we can connect with others through intrinsic values.   Here Fi and Kirsten speak about: Kirsten’s career pathway; from working as a journalist for 20+ years, to returning to study to become a dietitian, to establishing herself as an anti-diet content marketer and dietitian.  How we can begin to start finding our target audience – a key part for anybody looking to get strategic in their marketing work! Beginning to communicate foundational ideas and embracing imperfection when testing out new things.   Engagement; what it really means to ‘engage’ and how we can connect genuinely and meaningfully with our target audience. The importance of having a consistent anti-diet message. Why testing, monitoring and tracking how others respond to our content online allows us to shift and be flexible and do better work and how go-to topics and things like content calendars and content planning can help us feel less overwhelmed. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Pinterest and your business website / blog – there are so many! Kirsten gives her insight into how you know which platforms you should be using! Plot reveal; you don’t have to be on them all (PHEW). More on embracing imperfection in our content marketing and tips for people who feel anxious about getting up close and familiar with imperfection and their own personal blooper reel. How we can be thoughtful about integrating social justice ideas into our content creation.  The concept of ‘Values Priming’ and how we can connect with the intrinsic values of other people, genuinely and strategically, in our marketing.    As mentioned in the podcast: The Transtheoretical Model or Stages of Change Model by Prochaska & DiClemente. Body Liberation Photos with Lindley Ashline   More about Kirsten: Fi to input Kirsten is a wearer of many hats. Anti diet dietitian. Anti diet content marketer. Digital projects manager for an eating disorder organisation. What ties all of these roles together is her deep sense of purpose to bring down diet culture and help folks heal their relationship with food and body.  Kirsten’s anti diet work started during her dietetics studies (2015-2019) and as a former journalist and with a 15+ year career in marketing and communications, Kirsten used her writing background to gain work experience creating content for several Non Diet Dietitians in Australia, New Zealand and the UK.  Regardless of which hat Kirsten is wearing, she is determined to make a meaningful contribution towards dismantling diet culture and creating connected, inclusive communities.   Connect with Kirsten: Website Instagram

In this episode, Safeena and Gurneet share what justice means to them, how privilege can manifest in health care, ‘calling in’ Dietitians of Canada, their hopes for greater diversity within the profession, the extension of Diversify Dietetics USA into Canada, the need for new HAES and Weight-Inclusive frameworks to ensure consideration of race, ethnicity and culture and how we can begin to make our practice more inclusive – right now! On this important episode of The Mindful Dietitian, Fi chats to Safeena Jabar and Gurneet K. Dhami, Dietetic Students and RD’s-to-be based in Canada, we hear; What justice means to Gurneet; from what it is to fit in, to the lack of diversity in dietetics and questioning; why are these conversations being centred now? What justice means to Safeena; from being asked the hard questions, to her lived experience, and understanding; that with our personal privileges, comes power. Gurneet and Safenna step us through the origins, definitions and meaning behind the term; white privilege, and ways privilege can manifest in health care.  ‘Calling in’ Dietitians of Canada; Safeena and Gurneet share how their cowritten statement to Dietitians Canada came about and the current developments brought about by it.  Their hopes for how the statement might start a shift towards racial and ethnical diversity within the dietetic profession. How in response to the statement, extensions of diverse groups and communities have been built and why we need to power groups and movements that are already happening, rather than reinventing the wheel. HAES and Weight Inclusive Practice and the ways in which we are not including race and culture into the framework; Safeena shares her experience finding HAES and weight inclusive practice and her difficulty and discomfort in trying to reconcile HAES with her culture identity. She also shares how a new HAES framework can become more inclusive and applicable to all different types of people. Gurneet shares her experience learning about HAES, the challenge of putting it into practice (as it stands) with a consideration for culture and race and why we need to understand all the intersections at play. She also shares the need to meet clients where they are at to ensure client-centred care and why we need to continue to have these messy and mucky conversations. In finishing up, Safeena and Gurneet graciously offer us additional ways in which we can begin to enhance our practice to ensure it is truly inclusive. As mentioned in the podcast: Safeena Jabar - IGTV unpacking privilege Dietitians of Canada Diversify Dietetics  Diversify Dietetics Canada Chapter Book: White Fragility - Why it's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo Safura Syed, MSc. Applied Human Nutrition (c) and Dietetic Intern Kimberlé Crenshaw, Civil rights advocate  Stephanie Yeboah, author, content creator, lifestyle and fashion blogger  Hunter Shackelford  Sonya Renee Taylor  Sabrina Strings, author of fearing the black body The Rosy Nutritionist, by Rosie Mensah Nutrition Positive, by Julia Lévy-Ndejuru  Exercises to work through our privilege: Flower power exercise:  http://lgbtq2stoolkit.learningcommunity.ca/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/flower-power-exercise.pdf Peggy McIntosh - White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack https://www.racialequitytools.org/resourcefiles/mcintosh.pdf Peggy McIntosh - Extending the Knapsack: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02703149.2015.1059195 Checking Your Privilege with the Social Determinants of Health: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CAx8TC6AKaR/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Social Location Wheel Exercise: https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/inclusive-teaching/sample-activities/social-identity-wheel/   Weight inclusive RDs that are incorporating justice into their practice: Vincci Tsui (vinccird): http://vinccitsui.com/ Grace Wong: https://www.facebook.com/gracewongrd/ Rosie Mensah (@therosienutritionist): https://therosienutritionist.com/ Jessica Wilson (@jessicawilson.msrd): www.jessicawilsonmsrd.com Christyna Johnson (@encouragingdietitian)     About Safeena Jabar: Safeena Jabar is a dietetic intern completing her Master’s degree in Nutrition Communication at Ryerson University in Toronto. After a turbulent time navigating nutrition information in her adolescence, Safeena committed to becoming a Registered Dietitian in order to gain a deeper, scientific understanding of nutrition and the body. She aims to provide a safe space for clients to discuss their goals and concerns while dispelling common myths. She is passionate about working with people to improve and maintain their wellness from an anti-diet, Health At Every Size®-informed approach. Safeena has a special interest in the impact of food on wellbeing based on her knowledge of complex historical and institutional factors that have shaped our food landscape. Health and social inequities persist through these systems, so Safeena is advocating for change through educating and empowering her fellow health care practitioners, local communities, and national organizations to ensure a future where all people have equitable access to appropriate healthcare.   About Gurneet Kaur Dhami Gurneet Kaur Dhami is a South Asian, Sikh woman travelling between Toronto to Halifax, where she is completing an MSc in Applied Human Nutrition at Mount Saint Vincent University. Her emerging thesis work focuses on the experiences of racialized dietitians navigating dietetics using Critical Race Theory. Gurneet is both a researcher and social activist, as she partakes in food justice work by working on food security projects and being involved in the student food movement. As a youth leader she hopes to further dialogue on race, reconciliation and equity beyond our kitchens t

Professor Margit Berman on acceptance-oriented approaches in weight inclusive practice.   About Margit: Margit I. Berman has a Ph.D. in counseling and social psychology from the University of Minnesota. She is currently Program Director and Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology at Augsburg University and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. She is the author of A Clinician’s Guide to Acceptance-Based Approaches for Weight Concerns: The Accept Yourself! Framework (Routledge, 2018) and A Workbook of Acceptance-Based Approaches for Weight Concerns: The Accept Yourself! Framework (Routledge, 2018). She was a recipient of the 2015 Hitchcock Foundation Scholars Career Development award for her research and development of the Accept Yourself! intervention for women with obesity and depression. She is past chair of the Society for Counseling Psychology’s Section for the Promotion of Psychotherapy Science, and is on the editorial boards of The Counseling Psychologist and the Journal of Counseling Psychology. She is a feminist, cognitive-behavioral therapist who trains clinicians in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and self-acceptance based interventions throughout the U.S.

Chevese Turner & Amy Pershing on the power of advocacy, much over-due community call-ins and making sense of Binge Eating Disorder.   In this episode, Amy and Chevese share their lived experiences with an eating disorder and how it has influenced and enhanced their work. We discuss the pervasive myths, assumptions, stigmatisations and biases surrounding Binge Eating Disorder (BED), what it was like starting a non-for-profit organisation and having BED recognised in the DSM-5. Amy talks about why and how making sense of BED can support healing, more about the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model and how Health At Every Size (HAES) (R) can change and define ones practice. On this episode, you’ll hear; Chevese’s experience and observations of the myths, assumptions, stigmatisations and biases surrounding Binge Eating Disorder - see Chapter 4 of their book "Binge Eating Disorder; The Journey to Recovery and Beyond" The pervasive & disturbing fat phobic attitudes of the eating disorder community; why it unfortunately reflects the illness and how some of the community need help to come along, in order to not cause harm.  Amy’s own personal lived experience with an eating disorder and what she heard when entering treatment for the first time. Why making sense of Binge Eating Disorder supports healing and recovery – see Chapter 2 of their book. More about the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model that can be used withing eating disorder treatment  How IFS can support healing and recovery through creating a safe space so clients and practitioners can go ‘within’ - safely – see Chapter 3 of their book.  Chevese’s lived experience; from being born a political advocate, to obtaining her political science degree, working as an advocate in the health care space and continuing her own treatment for her eating disorder. How Chevese she came to be an advocate for Binge Eating Disorder (BED) and her journey to start a non-for-profit organisation.  The critical point of having BED recognised in the DSM-5 and the needed validation and utility it provided. Health at Every Size: how the framework has solidified Amy’s personal and professional work and how it has changed and defined her practice and work with clients. As mentioned in the podcast: Binge Eating Disorder: The Journey to Recovery and Beyond, Book by Amy Pershing and Chevese Turner Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–5) Chapter 4 of Binge Eating Disorder Book by Amy and Chevese; The Epic Myths About Your Body That Keep You Stuck (and How to Give Them Up) Chapter 2 of Binge Eating Disorder Book by Amy and Chevese; How BED Happens and Why it Makes Sense: Moving Forward by Healing the Past Chapter 3 of Binge Eating Disorder Book by Amy and Chevese; Taking Your POWER Back Health at Every Size  Book by Dr Lindo Bacon, PhD Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program that Works, Book by Elyse Resch and Evelyn Tribole     Connect with Amy: Website: The Body Wise Program  The Body Wise Program on Facebook  The Body Wise Program on Twitter   Connect with Chevese: Instagram Facebook    

Amee Severson on Trauma Informed care and raising Intuitive Eaters In this episode, Amee makes a very exciting announcement (which might just involve a book and a partnership with the amazing Sumner Brooks!!), how she found her voice (which includes crossing paths with body positive leading advocate; Lindo Bacon), every dietitians responsibility when working with human beings, more on the weaponizing of words, how dietitians are so much more than ‘food managers’, what trauma informed care really is and how to have thoughtful and empathic conversations with fat / larger bodied clients and self-care on social media.   Here Fi and Amee speak about: What Amee has been up to; from working online at home to finishing her final semester of grad school and becoming a body trust provider. Amee’s new and exciting project with Sumner Brooks and how it evolved; YES, you heard right! It’s an intuitive eating book for kids (geared towards parents and caregivers)!  How Amee and Sumner are working to ensure the book is inclusive, HAES aligned and informed by social justice.  Amee’s personal growth and evolution; how she found her place and how she found her voice – and it includes an informative car ride with the inspiring Lindo Bacon! Every dietitian’s responsibility when working with human beings.  The weaponizing of words and how the words we use really, really matter! Understanding how our role is so much more than ‘food managers’ and ‘just listening’ to clients. The essential need for ongoing unlearning and relearning.  Trauma-informed care; what it really means and what it isn’t.    How smaller bodied dietitians can be alongside, and have truly thoughtful and empathic conversations with fat / larger bodied clients. Self-care on socials; Amee shares how she cares for herself whilst communicating on social media and how you can too!   As mentioned in the podcast: Sumner Brooks, MPH, RD, LD – you can also hear Fi and Sumner chat on Ep. 6 of The Mindful Dietitian podcast, find it here! Ellyn Satter Institute – Division of Responsibility  Lindo Bacon, PhD, Author, Researcher and Advocate   More about Amee: Amee is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) in private practice in Bellingham, Washington and has also worked with students at Western Washington University. Amee’s work with individuals focuses on repairing relationships with food and body for all of her clients. She found this work after recovering from an eating disorder herself. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Food and Nutrition from Montana State University, is completing her Master’s of Professional Practice from Iowa State University. She is a dietitian registered in the State of Washington, and has received training under the Original Intuitive Eating Pro’s Elyse Resch and Evelyn Tribole. She is undergoing  certification as a Body Trust Provider. Amee has written articles for Healthline, Greatist, and the Scientific American blog.

Lisa Pearl on deeply and critically examining the ways in which we consider body image and embodiment.   In this episode, Lisa shares her well-established career trajectory and motive for staying in this work for over 30 years, she discusses how body image, embodiment and ED / body image treatment has changed over time, why social justice for body liberation is essential – now more than ever, she shares a different way we can comprehend embodiment, the challenges and barriers to experiencing our authentic self / obtaining authentic spaces; especially for those in minority groups, why we need diversity in dietetics and how we can make it happen, why we must amplify voices and people of colour today and consistently, and the direction she would like to see the future of dietetics head.     Here Fi and Lisa speak about: First meeting at Fi & Marci’s body image workshop almost 3 years ago and Fi’s initial shock of seeing Lisa’s name on the attendance list as an esteemed colleague!  Lisa’s long-standing career as an eating disorder specialist; Lisa shares her core motive for staying in this work for so long. Lisa’s observations of how body image and body embodiment has evolved and matured over time, to include her experience; Fighting against the goliaths of the 80’s diet industry.  First hearing about and connecting with NAAFA: the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, who introduced her to the embodiment work of HAES.  And the great opportunities and positive impact brought about from a presentation she gave during her master’s education. ED and body image treatment; the advancements, declines and regressions. Social justice and body liberation;  Embodiment; Lisa provides us with a new way in which we can truly understand embodiment. The challenges and barriers of experiencing our authentic selves and spaces, particularly for those in minority groups.  The importance of acknowledging our privilege and the essential skills that providers in this field need. Why we must have more diversity to foster safe spaces for minority groups and how we can start making it happen. Amplifying people and voices of colour – why we must do it NOW and consistently. Lisa’s vision for the future of dietetics, particularly the structure and content of dietetic education and her wish for all dietitians. As mentioned in the podcast: Fat Is A Feminist Issue, the book by Susie Orbach  NAAFA: the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance. Diversify Dietetics #amplifymelanatedvoices on Instagram by Jessica Wilson, MS. RD @jessicawilson.msrd & Alishia McCullough, @blackandembodied New grad program at Simmons Counselling and Nutrition Centre 360; the team and supervision opportunities. About Lisa: Lisa Pearl is a licensed clinical nutritionist and eating disorder specialist.  She is the founder of the Counseling and Nutrition Center 360, LLC. She is also the co-founder of the first graduate certificate and internship program at Simmons University for the study of eating disorders. In addition to teaching at Simmons, Lisa maintains her clinical practice, provides group and individual supervision for other clinicians, and teaches a mindful movement practice.    Find out more: Website

Dismantling Diet Culture and Oppressive Systems with Christy Harrison, author of Anti Diet and host of Food Psych Podcast.   In this episode, Christy shares the unexpected ways her book Anti Diet (Published 2019) have become relevant, how diet culture stops us from participating in life and in revolutions, why and how we can move away from the binary and binary thinking, the importance of understanding how we orient in the world, the inner process of doing the work, using our Interoceptive Awareness as our guide when doing anti-oppression work, what we need to think about before extending anti-diet messaging to other areas of oppression and a lesson in Cultural Appropriation (sign up to the full course by Monique Melton here!)   More about what Fi and Christy speak about: How Christy was one of Fi’s very first guests on The Mindful Dietitian Podcast and how she is someone she looks too and learns from consistently in this space.  What Christy has been up to; focussing on social justice angles and roots of diet culture and getting her book deal and writing and publishing Anti-Diet.  COVID-19 and the current anti-racism movement in America; how unexpected aspects of the Anti-Diet book have become relevant. The definition of diet culture and how diet culture takes us away from our purpose and disconnects us from what is going on in the larger world. Moving away from the binary and binary thinking and dismantling systems of oppression and injustice through looking for the third option. How we orient in the world, towards ourselves and towards others and how this can translate across different communities. The inner process of doing the work; learning, dismantling, wrestling and letting go and what we need to consider and remind ourselves whilst doing the unseen work. Using interoceptive awareness as a guide in anti-diet, anti-racism and anti-oppression work. For people who are already involved and practising anti-diet messaging, the work that needs to be done before thinking about and extending these messages out to other areas of oppression.    A lesson on Cultural Appropriation (part of Monique Melton’s course, find more information here) and why white folks MUST work on appreciation without appropriation. As mentioned in the podcast: Anti-Diet Book by Christy Harrison Sabrina Strings, author of Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia  Lucy Aphramor – Dietitian & Poet Andréa Ranae Johnson  Ijeoma Oluo, author of So You Want to Talk About Race Ibram Kendi, author of How to Be Anti Racist Robin DiAngelo author of White Fragility  Monique Melton, Anti-Racism Educator. More about Christy:    Christy Harrison, MPH, RD, CDN is an anti-diet registered dietitian nutritionist, certified intuitive eating counselor, and author of the book Anti-Diet: Reclaim Your Time, Money, Well-Being, and Happiness Through Intuitive Eating (Little, Brown Spark 2019). She offers online courses and private intuitive eating coaching to help people all over the world make peace with food and their bodies. Since 2013 Christy has hosted Food Psych, a weekly podcast exploring people’s relationships with food and paths to body liberation. It is now one of Apple’s top 100 health podcasts, reaching tens of thousands of listeners worldwide each week.    Christy began her career in 2003 as a journalist covering food, nutrition, and health, and she’s written for publications including The New York Times, SELF, BuzzFeed, WIRED, Refinery29, Gourmet, Slate, The Food Network, and many others. Learn more about Christy and her work at christyharrison.com.     Find out more: Website Instagram Podcast Facebook

    In this episode, Cristel shares her lived experience and how it lead her onto the path to becoming a dietitian, how she found healing through therapy, the core elements that supported her to find food and body peace, how she navigated weight stigma within her family dynamic, whether you should be sharing your lived experience as a health care professional and how it can be done professionally so to support and understand your client, how she found her place within dietetics (as an entrepreneurial superstar!) and how you can too through accepting that you are valuable and needed in this profession - just as you are! Here Fi and Cristel speak about: How they came to be connected, what it's like working in Canada from a weight inclusive framework and Cristel’s dream for dietitians. Cristel’s work within her business; NutriFoodie, her work with clients and in education. Lived experience, the path to dietetics and finding her ‘why’; Cristel shares her experience with disordered eating, dieting, weight stigma and healing through therapy. The 3 core elements that contributed to Cristel finding food and body peace. Navigating weight stigma within the family dynamic. Sharing your lived experience in health care / dietetic care; Why your lived experience matters (and doesn’t make you less professional!) and how sharing it can help you connect with and understand your client. Ways in which you may be projecting your story and how you can avoid it.  How to side-step the power struggle between yourself and your client, along with a beautiful ‘planting’ metaphor to support self-reflection. Being a powerhouse in the entrepreneurial space; how Cristel found her place   As mentioned in the podcast: The Mindful Dietitian Newsletter – sign up here! Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach Marie Forleo – the intentional awkward pause video More about Cristel: Cristel is NutriFoodie's dietitian & founder. She is passionate about helping people give up chronic dieting & weight cycling to cultivate a positive and peaceful relationship with their bodies and food through group & one-on-one nutrition counseling & food coaching. Cristel believes our relationship (with one another, community, food, and body) rises above number counting and idealistic (and unrealistic) expectations around food, eating and body image or size. We all deserve to respect this body we're in, and we all have the right to eat and enjoy food, too. All services are offered virtually in British Columbia, Canada.  Find out more: Website Blog Instagram Facebook

Nicola Salmon on advocacy, fat positive healthcare & engaging in important conversations. In this episode, Nicola shares her journey to becoming a fat positive advocate and coach including her experience with PCOS, dieting, PTSD, conceiving naturally and finding the HAES & IE movement, what it was like training as an acupuncturist and naturopath, the obstacles and difficulties she faced being the first in the fat fertility space and her motivation to continue, why we need to reduce individual labour in healthcare and start conversations for our clients, what dietitians need to know when working with people in larger bodies asking for fertility support / treatment and how we can start helpful and thoughtful conversations if they are seeking weight loss. Here Fi and Nicola speak about:   Nicola’s journey to becoming a fat positive fertility coach and advocate; Her lived experience with PCOS and experiencing diet cultures firm grasp. A traumatic event which lead her to train as an acupuncturist and specialise in fertility acupuncture.  Experiencing a natural conception in a larger body and finding HAES / IE / non-diet.  Nicola’s experience as a student training in acupuncture and naturopathy, the skills she obtained and how it introduced new ideas around food and body.  Being the first in the fat fertility space; Nicola’s motivation to do this work and her ability to push through the obstacles and difficulties for her clients.   Individual labour in the healthcare systems; its burdening impacts and why we need to start conversations with other health care professionals and specialists for our clients. What dietitians need to know when working with people asking for fertility support / treatment, especially for those in larger bodies. The most helpful and do-no-harm approach to starting a conversation with a larger bodied client who is seeking weight loss for fertility. More about Nicola’s book ‘Fat & Fertile’ and how you can get in touch!   As mentioned in the podcast: Big Birtha’s UK Episode 25: Weight Loss is Not a Fertility Time Machine by Fiona Willer, Unpacking Weight Science Podcast More about Nicola:  Nicola 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, advocate for their bodies, relearn how to trust their body and believe in their ability to get pregnant in their current body. Find out more: Website Instagram Book Twitter

 Heather Caplan on adjusting expectations in times of uncertainty & important messages for her past self.   In this episode, Heather shares more about her RD Real Talk podcast, her experience running a private practice through maternity leave and motherhood and how these lessons may convey during COVID-19, more about starting WIND; the Weight Inclusive Nutrition and Dietetics movement, the words of wisdom she would offer herself 3-5 years ago, how the weight inclusive space supports self-reflection, why we need to acknowledge the work that has come before us and how The Iceberg Analogy aligns within this community.   Here Fi and Heather speak about: Heather’s podcast; RD Real Talk, and how it has evolved over time.  Navigating maternity leave and motherhood whilst running a private practice, and how we can take on or consider some of these aspects during COVID-19.  The Weight Inclusive Nutrition and Dietetics (WIND) movement; What it is and how it came to fruition.  The original intention for WIND and how the idea has evolved to what it is today. The words, lessons and advice Heather would offer herself 3 or 5 years ago; and how this insight can support health practitioners who are currently studying and/or working in weight centric spaces or those who might be new to the HAES / non-diet / weight inclusive paradigm.   How being a part of this community can open us up for self-reflection and help us to investigate social conditioning and personal patterns which can get in the way. The importance of acknowledging the decades of work that has come before us.  Using the Iceberg Analogy within the HAES / weight inclusive community to understand visibility, the need for ongoing learning (and unlearning), the power of a beginners mind and so much more.   As mentioned in the podcast: Real Talk RD Podcast with Marcy Evans Weight Inclusive Nutrition and Dietetics (WIND)   Weight Inclusive Nutrition and Dietetics Webinar: A Deeper Look at Health at Every Size® with Kimmy Singh The Mindful Dietitian Podcast with Kimmy Singh More about Heather:    Find out more: Website Podcast Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest

Nikki Estep on how Emotion Focussed Family Therapy (EFFT) provides a powerful modality for defusing shame and blame, and promoting food and body healing in Eating Disorder Treatment. In this episode, Nikki shares how she began working in this space and her experience moving to private practice, she introduces us to Emotion Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) as a therapeutic approach for dietitians in eating disorder treatment; she walks us through the EFFT modules, demonstrates how the model addresses self-blame, shame and avoidance and shows us how it may sound in practice, she shares how EFFT has the ability to address clinician blocks and what she has learnt about herself through practicing this family inclusive approach.  Here Fi and Nikki speak about: How Nikki began working with adolescents in the eating disorder treatment space and her evolution into private practice.  An introduction to EFFT; Emotion Focused Family Therapy: How Nikki first heard about it as a therapeutic approach, What the approach aims to do, How the model provides a shift in ED treatment. What EFFT sounds like in practice and how it activates the limbic system.  The EFFT modules; Nikki walks us through them and explains how Janet Treasure’s animal models are incorporated. Nikki also demonstrates how EFFT addresses self-blame, shame and avoidance for the young person / client, for the parents and within the family system. Clinician blocks; how the model provides an opportunity to address blocks for clinicians, which can then be taken to supervision.  What Nikki has learnt about herself and her work with others through using EFFT as a therapeutic approach in dietetics.     As mentioned in the podcast: Resource: The Why of Parental and Caregiver Involvement in the Treatment of Mental Health Issues - EFFT Janet Treasures Animal Models explained (hey Fi – I found this online but you may have a better resource!) Animal Models: Disorders of Eating Behaviour and Body Composition, Janet Treasure Mental Health Foundations – EFFT resources and training More about Dr. Adele Lafrance   About Nikki:   Find out more: Website Facebook Instagram

From Surviving to Thriving; Body Inclusive Cancer Care with Tamar Rothenberg   Tamar shares how she connects, collaborates and supports her local dietetic community in LA, becoming an oncology specialist and working with thrivers, why this work is so important to her, mixed messages and weight stigma in the oncology space, how dietitians can help navigate intersecting ideas and address their clients fears around food, how radical acceptance and body trust can support thrivers long-term and how we can work to ensure weight inclusive care in oncology spaces. Here Fi and Tamar speak about:   Living in LA; collaborating and connecting with her local dietetic community and how they support each other.     How Tamar became an oncology specialist (oncology nutrition), her work with thrivers and why this work means so much to her. The mixed messages encountered in the oncology space and how they are being interpreted by people in treatment / post-treatment. Weight stigma, from experience and observation, at screening / pre-treatment, in active treatment and post-treatment.  Navigating the intersecting idea that “I should be grateful that there is now no evidence of cancer” BUT “I feel angry / pissed AND I don’t feel well or at home in my body”. How dietitians can address client fears around food in helpful ways when going through treatment / post-treatment and the power of validation and acknowledgement in this space. How different worlds can collide in healing. Why radical acceptance, body connection and body trust can support thrivers long-term. The importance of understanding and accepting that what might be helpful for one client, may not be helpful for another.  The most important core messages we need to share with our colleagues to ensure weight inclusive care in oncology spaces. As mentioned in the podcast: Women Rowing North: Navigating Life’s Currents and Flourishing As We Age by Mary Pipher More about Tamar:  Tamar Rothenberg, MS, RDN, specializes in nutrition for breast cancer thrivers in her private practice in Los Angeles. She has a Certificate of Training in Vegetarian Nutrition. She cuts through confusing nutrition information and uses intuitive eating, body trust, and plant foods to get your power back. She’s an adjunct professor of nutrition at Touro College and University. Most recently, she co-authored the study, Coping with Cancer in the Kitchen.   Website: https://www.tamarrothenbergrd.com Instagram: https://Instagram.com/breastcancer.nutritionist FB: https://www.facebook.com/tamarrothenbergRD/  

Laura Thomas on the process of de-experting, unlearning and weight inclusive MNT for Dietitians and Nutritionists.    In this episode, Laura shares about her book; Just Eat It, to include getting the idea off the ground, the writing and publishing processes and evolving since publication, also the frameworks and principles that dietitians and nutritionists may find difficult when first moving to the non-diet / HAES & IE paradigm from the traditional weight-centric models and how they can overcome them and developing Weight-Inclusive guides for health professionals and clients; more about them and where you can find them. Here Fi and Laura discuss:   Flipping the tables on Laura for a round of "Quick-Fire Action" (a fun, introductory activity which Laura uses to begin her Don’t Salt My Game Podcast) Laura’s Book, Just Eat It; How the book came to be written. The writing and publishing process. And changing and evolving as a health professional and human-being over time.   What dietitians and nutritionists may find difficult when first starting to adopt non-diet / HAES / intuitive eating frameworks and principles and practices that can help;  The importance of de-experting and unlearning and using person-centred care to flick the ‘fixing’ instinct and uncover our client’s values. Slowing down the intuitive eating principles and starting where it makes sense for the client.  Why it might be helpful to establish a tool kit of coping skills for clients before commencing IE and where acceptance and commitment therapy fits in the process. Weight-Inclusive Guides for dietitians, nutritionists and clients produced by the London Centre for Intuitive Eating; their aim, putting them into practice and where you can find them.  As mentioned in the podcast: Just Eat It: How Intuitive Eating Can Help You Get Your Shit Together Around Food – The Book – by Laura Thomas, PhD, RNutr Carl R Rogers – Client-Centred Therapy London Centre for Intuitive Eating – Weight-Inclusive Guides Meghan Cichy, RD – HAES MNT Handouts More about Laura: Laura established LCIE in 2017 to help support clients who have a difficult relationship with food and their body. She has a passion for delivering inclusive, trauma informed, and person-centred care for all bodies. She draws upon different therapeutic and counselling skills to support her clients in their recovery from disordered eating, chronic dieting, and body dissatisfaction. She also incorporates different health care frameworks into her work, such as Health and Every Size Ⓡ, Intuitive Eating, and Body Image Healing. Much of her work focusses on advocacy and reducing weight-based discrimination within the nutrition profession. Laura takes a collaborative approach to working with clients, recognising that they are the experts of their own bodies and experiences. Her advice and recommendations are not didactic, rather she helps guide and support clients to reconnect with their bodies.  In January 2019, Laura published her 1st book with Bluebird Books: Just Eat It: How Intuitive Eating Can Help You Get Your Shit Together Around Food.   Find out more: Podcast Book Website Instagram Twitter Pinterest London Centre for Intuitive Eating

Victoria Welsby on how we can be better humans and health professionals by interrogating our own biases & fat phobia. Buckle in for the real talk!   Victoria shares why the word fat has been reclaimed in the body positive and fat positive communities, using the word fat; who gets too, when it might be used and its impact, how we can be better humans and health professionals by removing certain words from our vocabulary, ways we can call in other health professionals, interrogating our own biases and avoiding the shame spiral, seeking support as a professional / activist in the non-diet, body positive / fat positive spaces, Victoria’s book ‘Fierce Fatty’ and other must read books for 2020 and so much more! Here Fi and Victoria speak about: Launching onto the scene in a big way and sharing insight into her life as a guest on the Chrissy Harrison Food Psych Podcast – an important listen, find it here! Reclamation of the word fat;Why the body positive and fat positive communities have reclaimed it. Who gets to use it, when it might be used and its life-changing-life-saving impact. The ‘o’ words NO health professional (or anyone) should use and why removing these words from your vocabulary (and brain) is incredible! Ways we can call-in health professionals that are still using the ‘o’ words i.e. do you want to be on the right side of history?? Why making the effort to interrogate our own bias really matters and why we need to avoid getting caught in the shame spiral.   Seeking support as a feminist / doctor / dietitian / health professional / fat activist / body positive activist in this paradigm.  What we can look out for as signals that we need to do some work as non-diet dietitians and why you should claim the ‘Fat Positive and Anti-Diet Dietitian’ title. Must read books for 2020, which of course includes Victoria’s new book (YES!!) and why she evolved to become the Fierce Fatty (from BAMPOWLIFE).   As mentioned in the podcast: Food Psych #162: Self-esteem and diet recovery with Victoria Welsby.  Health At Every Size by Lindo Bacon Who Are You Calling Fat? BBC documentary trailer I Am Fat - How to Be Confident and Love Your Body at Any Size, Victoria Welsby, TEDxStanleyPark. Fierce Fatty Podcast Fierce Fatty, Love Your Body and Live Like The Queen You Already Are – the book More about Victoria: Fi to input. Find out more: Website Instagram Podcast Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest

At this unprecedented time of chaos and uncertainty, we seek connection and care in ways that may feel really difficult. As health practitioners, we too can be caught up in what these events mean for us, our families, communities and the world. Here, Marci and I have an important conversation about what “self care” really means - perhaps in even unconventional ways - and how we can become more attuned, receptive, grounded and creative when tough moments, days and times arise. About Marci: Marci is a Food and Body Image Healer®. She has dedicated her career to counseling, supervising, and teaching in the field of eating disorders. She is a Certified Eating Disorder Registered Dietitian and Supervisor, certified Intuitive Eating Counselor and Certified ACSM personal trainer. In addition to her group private practice and three adjunct teaching positions, Marci launched an online eating disorders training for dietitians in 2015 and co-directs a specialized eating disorder internship at Simmons College. She volunteers for a number of national eating disorder organizations including the iaedp certification committee and is serving as an eating disorder resource professional for The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.  She has spoken locally and nationally at numerous conferences and media outlets. She loves social media so tweet her @marciRD, follow her on Facebook and Instagram, and check out her blog at www.marciRD.com/blog. Marci's Online Courses        

What can Dietitians, and Dietetics, learn from the world of Therapy with Sarah Peck, NZRD Sarah shares the decision behind her transition from dietetics to psychotherapy, experiencing burn out and finding the non-diet community, feeling disconnected with her story and body and finding opportunities to reconnect and disentangle, how the dietetic pathway / study could be improved with therapeutic elements, why we need to actively seek out feedback from marginalised folks and communities in our work (and some helpful examples), how we can ask for feedback respectfully, navigating weight stigma within university content as a student and the power of the student voice.  Here Fi and Sarah speak about: Becoming fast friends and some fun adventures they have shared together.  Sarah’s transition from dietetics to psychotherapy; The decision behind the move – the nudges and natural progression.  Burning out in a weight centric framework and finding the non-diet community and weight inclusive paradigms.   Feeling disconnected with her own story and body and the importance of finding opportunities to reconnect and disentangle ourselves. Her experience as a therapeutic student studying in New Zealand. The core, therapeutic elements that should be included in all dietetic pathways/study; Reflexivity; what it is and how it can help us to consistently show up for our clients.   Social Justice; seeing dietetics and health models through the social justice lens so we can leave behind assumptions, change the narrative and accept and embrace complexities. The importance of inclusion and actively seeking out feedback from people who experience marginalisation when our work as dietitians impacts them and how we can ask for this support respectfully – Sarah gives us some real-life examples! Question and Answer time – Sarah and Fi provide some helpful advice to a student dietitian in response to a recent Instagram post on weight stigma and speaking up as a student – see it here! Power dynamics at university and the power of the student voice. As mentioned in the podcast: Dr Isaac Warbrick 8th Annual Weight Stigma Conference 2020, Auckland, NZ. Fi’s Instagram post on weight stigma and question from student. More about Sarah:  Sarah is a human first but also happens to be a weight inclusive NZRD training to be a psychotherapist. She lives in Auckland, New Zealand with her family. Sydney, Australia is her second home, where she lived for many years, studied dietetics and had her three daughters. Sarah has spent her dietetic career so far working in private practice and specialising in eating disorder recovery. She has a keen interest in how chronic health conditions impact relationships with self, body and food in both childhood and adulthood, fuelled by her own lived experience of a chronic health condition, raising two daughters with coeliac disease and the gifts of wisdom shared by her clients. Outside of private practice she has been passionate about working with organisations that support adolescents and young people with cancer and teacher education around age appropriate nutrition and health messaging for children Find out more: Body Balance Nutrition NZ  

Andrea La Marre on the complexity of defining recoveries in biased systems of care. In this episode, Andrea shares her interesting pathway to become an academic, speaker and activist, the impact of problematic systems in eating disorder treatment, how we can be better health professionals through self-monitoring, when it’s helpful to speak up and when it is not, why we need to work from a social justice-culturally appropriate-trauma-based care lens, the complexities involved in defining ‘recovery’, ‘recovery’ as a healthcare professional, why using plurals in recoveries can extend our understanding and so much more. Here, we discuss:  Sneaking Andrea onto The Mindful Dietitian podcast as a non-dietitian! - Watch this space as the podcast is switched up for 2020 to include guests with lived experiences and knowledge that is essential to our work as inclusive, client centred, non-diet dietitians!  Andrea’s interesting pathway from acknowledging her own privilege in accessing eating disorder treatment, to completing her a masters and PhD in eating disorder recoveries, to her work as a lecturer, researcher, speaker, activist, and filmmaker. The problematic systems which lie within in eating disorder treatment, hindering access and inclusiveness.  How ongoing self-monitoring and tuning into our biases can help us become better health professionals.  When is it helpful to speak about our own experiences and when is it not, and why lifting the voices and experiences of those most marginalised doesn’t make ours less valid. The importance of working from a social justice, culturally appropriate, trauma-based care lens to improve societal systems for all. The call to be always ‘helping’ people, complexities involved in defining ‘recovery’ and ‘recovery’ / ‘recoveries’ as a healthcare professional. The papers and work Andrea is currently jiving on. Using plurals to understand the multiply, non-singular and non-linear pathways of recoveries and how it can also apply to other communities and experiences. Attending and presenting at the International Conference on Eating Disorders - ICED 2020 Sydney (ANZAED and AED) in June.   As mentioned in the podcast: Published work of Dr Andrea LaMarre International Conference on Eating Disorders - ICED 2020 Sydney (ANZAED and AED)   More about Andrea: Andrea LaMarre is a researcher, writer, speaker, and aspiring filmmaker from Canada living in Auckland, New Zealand. She currently works at Massey University as a lecturer in critical health psychology. She obtained her PhD in 2018 at the University of Guelph, where she used qualitative and arts-based approaches to explore eating disorders recoveries from the perspectives of people in recovery and their chosen supporters. In her spare time, she watches really bad TV, reads young adult fiction, and spends entirely too much time on Twitter. She can also be found hiking with her husband or attending too many conferences   Connect with Andrea Twitter Instagram Website  

Kimmie Singh on the history of HAES and the importance of effective allyship in body liberation work.   Kimmie shares her background as a fat dietitian and fat activist, what it was like for her navigating the traditional weight-centric education route as a HAES informed student, what Allyship is and how you can be a good ally, the history of the HAES movement, tips for speaking up and how to communicate thoughtfully in this paradigm, her vision for the future of dietetics and how she has evolved to become The Body Positive Dietitian.  Here Fi and Kimmie speak about: First meeting and then crossing paths at the Weight-Inclusive Nutrition & Dietetics (WIND) Symposium, where Kimmie was a key-note speaker! Kimmie’s background; what makes her special and her intention to create awareness around body diversity and fat activism in the health care profession. Kimmie’ experience as a HAES informed student as she went through the traditional nutrition and dietetic education route. Allyship; what it is and how you can be a good ally by considerately stepping aside and being thoughtful of safety. The history of the HAES movement. Tips for speaking up as a student and not expecting the person in the marginalised body to do it for you. Being brave in your branding and what this means for those in marginalised bodies. Thoughtful communication: how to discuss bodies without pathologizing and centring weight. Kimmie’s vision for the future of dietetics; de-experting and getting uncomfortable. The future for Kimmie and evolving to become The Body Positive Dietitian.   As mentioned in the podcast: The history of HAES from the ASDAH blog; Part 1 - Introduction Part 2 - 1970’s & 1980’s Part 3 – The early 1990’s Part 4 – The mid-to-late 1990’s Part 5 – The late 1990’s   More about Kimmie: Kimmie Singh is a fat Registered Dietitian based in New York City. She completed her Master of Science in Nutrition at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and her Dietetic Internship from The City University of New York-Hunter College. Kimmie is an associate at LK Nutrition, a Health at Every Size private practice that supports clients who are trying to heal their relationship with food and body. She also presents and consults on weight stigma in dietetics and dietetics training. Kimmie is a believer in kindness, compassion, and the power of advocacy. Learn more about Kimmie at www.bodypositivedietitian.com or on instagram @bodypositive_dietitian.  Connect with Kimmie Website Instagram Twitter Facebook LinkedIn

Leslie Schilling on the pervasive culture of under-fuelling in sports and performance & raising kids who can call out diet culture!   Here, Fi & Leslie talk about: Life, work and play in Las Vegas – keep up with Leslie’s weekend adventures on Instagram; “there is so much to do in Vegas off the strip!” What it’s like working with athletes, performers and artists in Las Vegas, particularly the performers from Cirque du Soleil! How Leslie supports her culturally diverse clients to adapt to life in the US and navigate diet culture through their interesting and demanding schedules. The culture and promotion of under fuelling in sports. How to help clients push back against under fuelling and the response from clients when they are given permission to eat. Tips on how to screen for under fuelling and restriction when working with athletes / performers – find out the important questions to ask! Interoceptive and somatic awareness, encouraging nutrition intuition and finding a common ground with coaches. How under fuelling can become an entrenched behaviour unintentionally and innocently, not just through disordered eating The culture that keeps us underfeed and what the salmon would do? (hint* swim upstream and dodge the diet culture BS!) The famous Lunch Box Card inspired by Dr. Katja Rowell and The Responsive Feeding Therapy Conference to take place in May 2020.   As mentioned in the podcast: Born to Eat book by Leslie Schilling Las Vegas Cirque du Soleil IOC consensus statement on relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S): 2018 update The Mary Cain Story The Feeding Doctor – Dr Katja Rowell Responsive Feeding Therapy Conference May 2020   More about Leslie: Leslie Schilling, MA, RDN, CEDRD-S owns a Las Vegas-based coaching practice, specializing in nutrition counseling for families, those of all ages with disordered eating concerns, and professional athletes and performers. In addition to running her practice, Leslie serves as a performance nutrition consultant for Cirque du Soleil® and an eating disorder specialist and supervisory consultant for eating disorder treatment centers in Nevada. With her warm, compassionate, and entertaining personality, Leslie been featured in media outlets like Women’s Health, Self, Pregnancy Magazine, The Yoga Journal, Bicycling, BuzzFeed, the Huffington Post, US News & World Report, and on HGTV. When she’s not spending time with her family, you can find her spreading non-diet messages to her clients and speaking platforms across the nation. Leslie is passionate about educating ministry, military, health, medical, and fitness professionals about the harms of typical dieting behaviors. You may know Leslie best as the creator of the Born To Eat® approach and co-author of the award-winning book, Born To Eat.   Connect with Leslie Website Instagram Twitter Facebook Pinterest

Jenna Hollenstein on compassion and witnessing the evolution of Dietetic practice, asking "is this a tipping point?" Jenna shares witnessing a new mood, observations of the current tipping point, the importance of compassion as we evolve as clinicians and as we witness the evolution of others, what compassion is and isn’t and how we embrace it, mindfulness and meditation; the notion of acceptance, making connections and a new training opportunity available for dietitians.  Here Fi and Jenna speak about: Living in NYC; its overstimulating nature and rich diversity with many opportunities for observation. Attending the 2019 FNCE; ‘The Superbowl for American Dietitians’ and its significantly different presence. The current tipping point within the dietetic community and profession - the hunger for IE and HAES exposure from students and dietitians early on in their careers. Why its important to enact self-compassion and not turn to self-aggression as we evolve and change. The misconceptions of self-compassion;  What it really is and what it isn’t. The need to balance feminine and masculine qualities. How we can embrace self-compassion through this environmental shift by being conscious and aware of our evolution and the evolution of others.  Compassion VS Idiot Compassion; understanding the complexities of the human experience and the need to call out / call in – and knowing it’s not easy!  Mindfulness in practice through connections and the notion of acceptance. Teaching the Open Heart Project Meditation Instructor Training with Susan Piver and a new meditation instructor course just for dietitians – watch this space!   As mentioned in the podcast: FNCE 2019: 247. Intuitive Eating: What Every Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Needs to Know Dr Kristin Neff – Self Compassion Open Heart Project Meditation Instructor Training with Susan Piver   Find Jenna: Website Instagram Twitter Facebook YouTube LinkedIn   More about Jenna: Jenna Hollenstein, MS, RDN, CDN, is a non-diet dietitian who helps people struggling with chronic dieting, disordered eating, and eating disorders. She uses a combination of Intuitive Eating, mindfulness techniques, and meditation to help her clients move toward greater peace, health, and wellness. Jenna’s private practice is located in New York City where she consults with clients in person and virtually. Jenna is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) and a Certified Dietitian Nutritionist (CDN) in New York State. She has a Bachelors degree in Nutrition from Penn State, a Masters degree in Nutrition from Tufts University, is a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor and an Open Heart Project meditation guide. In 2018, Jenna joined the board of The Center for Mindful Eating. Jenna teaches at mindfulness retreats in the United States and France. She has been featured in U.S. News & World Report, Health, Mindful, Vogue, Elle, Glamour, and Fox News. Jenna is the author of Understanding Dietary Supplements, a handy guide to the evaluation and use of vitamins, minerals, herbs, and botanicals for both consumers and clinicians, and the memoir Drinking to Distraction. Her third book, Eat to Love: A Mindful Guide to Transforming Your Relationship with Food, Body, and Life, was published in January, 2019.

Julie Duffy Dillon on the power of language, holding space & inclusive care.   Julie Duffy Dillon shares her journey to creating the ‘Love Food’ podcast and more about its unique format, her experience with supervision and its vital place in working and being with clients, transitioning from a weight centric to weight inclusive practice, supporting clients with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and the importance of language and gender inclusive care in this paradigm.   Here, Julie & Fi discuss: Julie’s guest appearances on several podcasts discussing polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and how her own podcast ‘Love, Food’ came about. The unique format of Julie’s ‘Love,Food’ podcast and how it honours lived experiences; helping clients not to feel alone, whilst providing insight to dietitians.  The importance of holding space for clients; “the capacity to do so is not something most dietitians are prepared for on graduating, though its fundamental to healing”.  Supervision; how it can act as a catalyst towards growth and development and identifying burn out. Supervision’s ability to provide space back to the practitioner; “holding space for others, means we need space too, with someone who gets it!”. Transitioning from a weight centric practice to weight neutral; fence sitting and navigating an environment which favours burn out. PCOS; The harm of weight centric care and its impact access to fertility treatment. Why client centred care is crucial in PCOS to reduce harm. A research and care model rooted in fat phobia and weight stigma. Why language matters; the importance of providing gender inclusive care as a HAES practitioner. The need for ongoing learning and supervision in gendered language / care and the important work of Vaughn Darst.     As mentioned in the podcast: Dietitians unplugged interview with Julie Duffy Dillon Food Psych 199# - PCOS and Food Peace with Julie Duffy Dillon Food Love Podcast – Chevese Turner on PCOS and Food Peace Don’t Salt My Game – People with PCOS can totally eat birthday cake with Julie Duffy Dillon RD Real Talk - How to Deny Diet Culture and Make Peace With Food with Julie Duffy Dillon Nutrition Matters -Why Women with PCOS don’t need to torture themselves with Julie Duffy Dillon  Vaughn Darst, MS RD, of All Gender Nutrition   More about Julie: Julie Duffy Dillon is a Fat Positive Registered Dietitian, Eating Disorder Specialist, and Food Behavior Expert partnering with people on their Food Peace journey. She is trained as a mental health counselor and supervises dietitians and other health professionals to use weight inclusive and attuned eating strategies. Julie is the host of the Love Food Podcast and sees clients in her North Carolina private practice. Check out her weight inclusive PCOS course for dietitians at www.PCOSandFoodPeace.com/Dietitians. Find Julie: Website Instagram Love, Food Podcast Twitter Facebook Pinterest

Meghan Cichy on HAES-aligned Medical Nutrition Therapy & Fat Positive Dietetic practice Here Fi & Meghan speak about: The establishment of Creating Peace with Food, and multi-disciplinary Rooted Heart Healthcare, sharing space with other like-minded providers. How guiding values can form the core of a healthcare team Why providing a safe space for clients is so important What does being a “Fat Positive” provider mean? The importance of authentic allyship so that we can offer care and services that are body-affirming Practical tips to move in a more affirming practice direction How to elevate the experience and perspective of those with lived experience The development of the Health At Every Size (R)-aligned MNT resources (see links below to download!)   Find out more: Instagram and Facebook: @creatingpeacewithfood Facebook: @meghancichyrdn www.creatingpeacewithfood.com www.rooted-heart.com   As mentioned in Podcast: Google Drive for HAES & MNT Handouts Body Trust Summit (March 2020) Becoming Eating Disorder Aware Training Series (Jan 2020)   More about Meghan: Meghan (she/her) is passionate about working with her clients from a weight neutral, Health at Every Size ® perspective and believes in self-compassion as a foundation for re-building trust, connection, and confidence with ones own body. Meghan is a traditionally trained dietitian, however, her philosophical approach to nutrition counseling is anything but. She focuses on centering her clients as an expert in their own explorations and healing process, and supports her clients in building connection and confidence in their own innate intuition. Meghan believes that all bodies, regardless of size, shape, color, ability, age, or gender identity deserve access to respectful and high quality care. Her work with clients incorporates weight neutral approaches to self care utilizing a Health at Every Size approach. She works with her clients to support them in defining health for themselves and dismantling the idea that health is a moral obligation. Meghan also recognizes that her clients needs are vast and diverse. She takes the time to consider the big picture of her clients’ lives and lived experience in order to best support her clients in their food and body healing work. She utilizes a flexible approach to food and eating grounded in reconnecting to hunger, fullness, appetite, satiety, and pleasure. Meghan is a Certified Eating Disorder Registered Dietitian (CEDRD) and is currently working towards her Body Trust certification. She enjoys working with clients who are interested in healing and strengthening their relationship with food and their body. Because Meghan recognizes that everyone comes to this work at a different point on the body liberation continuum she is eager to meet her clients where they are and enjoys walking the path along side them. Meghan’s personal life aligns with her professional life as she finds great joy in supporting her preschooler and infant in discovering the wonder of their body and pleasure in their eating. Her recreational reading leads her to deeper dives into social justice and anti-oppression work, and she finds joy in spending time in the outdoors and engaging in group movement like hiking and soccer.

"Data Driven meets Client-Centered" with Fiona Sutherland & guest Fiona Willer (aka "Fi-Squared) In this episode, Fiona Willer joins Fi again for another "Fi-squared" episode and speak about: The essentials of weight science, and what every Dietitian needs to know about understanding research The problematic nature of Paediatric weight-focussed research, including lack of long-term follow up. The discrepancies between the way Dietitians identify their practice and their level of knowledge in weight-inclusive approaches. Fi’s favourite episode from her “Unpacking Weight Science” Podcast and what you can expect from signing up! If Fi was designing her own Dietetic program…..and her wishes for the profession Upcoming training in 2020   Fiona's Unpacking Weight Science Course Follow Fiona on Instagram or Twitter   More about Fiona: Fiona Willer is an Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian who combines academic research, university lecturing and public speaking with creating professional development resources and training for health professionals through her business, Health Not Diets. Her research areas are dietetic private practice benchmarking, inter-professional learning and the integration of weight neutral lifestyle approaches (including Health at Every Size® and the Non-Diet Approach) into the practice of health professionals, particularly dietitians. Creator of the innovative Unpacking Weight Science professional development podcast, Fiona has great enthusiasm for both interrogating weight research and overusing food and eating metaphors in everyday life.  

Annie Goldsmith on integrating Acceptance & Commitment Therapy in Dietetic Practice. Annie and Fi talk about: Annie's passion for Health At Every Size (R) and background in Brain & Cognitive Sciences Working with groups & supporting an environment of collective healing The gift of our experiences being witnessed and held in groups Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) - what is it? Useful intersections of ACT & Dietetic practice Skills & tools core to the ACT hexaflex How ACT can be helpful to support longer-term recovery from diet culture and eating disorders The important place of values in ACT    Links mentioned in this podcast: https://www.actmindfully.com.au/ More About Annie: Annie Goldsmith is a Registered Dietitian and owner of Second Breakfast Nutrition, a private practice in Charlotte North Carolina. Annie specializes in working with clients recovering from eating disorders, disordered eating, chronic dieting, and body image struggles. She is also co-owner of The Art of Intentional Eating, where she facilitates courses, support groups, and size inclusive yoga classes grounded in the HAES and IE philosophies. She is passionate about offering non-diet, weight inclusive care and grateful for the opportunity to hold space for those on their recovery journeys   Find Annie here: www.anniegoldsmithrd.com and www.artofintentionaleating.com

Deb Benfield on slowing down, the intersection of yoga & self reflective work, and honouring the ageing body.   Here Deb and Fi speak about: How connecting with therapists, and getting supervision felt so important Yoga teacher training with Anna Guest Jelley & significant teachers The intersection of yoga & Dietetic practice Developing the language of interoception, and bringing this into Dietetic practice Why we need to slow down the "hunger-fullness" conversation, and how it can unintentionally lead to shame The somatic process The importance of slowing down, being attentive & curious to enhance safety Safety builds trust, to  Spend time building "the base" How we might unintentionally perpetuate the very constructs we are aiming to dismantle Doing our own work, softening into our own experience, staying curious Centering your client & their experience Honouring the ageing body without medicalising or pathologising Choosing an appropriate yoga class - for you, and your clients! Supervision as a powerful tool for improving our capacity & enhancing wellbeing   More about Deb: Nutrition Therapist, Freedom Fighter, Recovery Coach and Yoga Teacher on a mission for all to know All Bodies are Good Bodies. I am passionate about partnering with my clients and students to: • Develop ease around food, eating and body image Reclaim the PLEASURE of eating again! • Choose foods that allow a balance of joy, satisfaction and well-being. • Compassionately cultivate a way of eating that is both embodied and intentional. • Nourish yourself so that you will feel vital and have the energy for all of the ways you play! Owner and Lead Nutritionist at Body in Mind Nutrition/Debra Benfield Counsulting-Offering Nutritional Therapy and Coaching for individuals, couples and families, Professional Supervision for therapists, Dietitians, and Coaches, Embodied Eating Groups and Workshops, Body Liberation Yoga Classes and Workshops, and Worksite Wellness Programs with a Health at Every Size perspective. Currently an active member of the Eating Disorder Treatment Team at Wake Forest University. Founder of the Winston-Salem Eating Disorder Coalition. Website:  http://www.bodyinmindnutrition.com/     Links mentioned in this podcast: https://michaelstoneteaching.com/ Yoga in Dead Podcast https://www.yogaisdeadpodcast.com/ Michelle Cassandra Johnson - Skill in Action (book) https://www.michellecjohnson.com/skill-in-action-book

Anna Lutz RD on protective nutrition education in schools & bringing embodied work into practice. In this episode Anna shares: Why the area of Protective Nutrition Education became her passion. How Protective Nutrition education can protect against internalised weight stigma and eating disorders. How well-intentioned education interventions in schools can be doing our children harm and what we can do as Dietitians to minimise this. Why we need to take into account a child’s level of development when we are planning nutrition education, just like educators do for any other area of learning. How prioritising food experiences, exploration and diversity in both food cultures and body appearance are so important when teaching children about food. Why parents and educators are just as important to educate about nutrition as children. How Anna uses Sensory Motor Psychotherapy and how it can be a useful tool for Dietitians working in the Eating Disorders space. Anna explains the Window of Tolerance model and how this can be useful to understand the underpinnings of eating disorders, particularly with a background of trauma. Connect with Anna: www.sunnysideupnutrition.com Instagram @annalutzrd   More about Anna: Anna is a nutrition therapist with Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy in Raleigh, NC.  She specializes in eating disorders and pediatric/family nutrition and provides supervision to dietitians locally and virtually. Anna received her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Duke University and Master of Public Health in Nutrition from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a Certified Eating Disorders Registered Dietitian (CEDRD) and an Approved Supervisor both through the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (iaedp). Anna previously worked at Duke Student Health on their eating disorders treatment team and at Children’s National Medical Center, providing outpatient care for people with eating disorders. Anna enjoys providing training, workshops, and supervision for dietitians and other health professionals about eating disorders and weight-inclusive care. She also writes about simple cooking and nutrition, free of weight and diet-talk, at Sunny Side Up Nutrition (www.sunnysideupnutrition.com).  

Meg McClintock on boundaries, boundaries, boundaries! Setting, and maintaining boundaries is so important, and as becomes apparent in this episode, there are many ways we need to be aware of how boundaries can support us, and our communities to take care of ourselves from a place of respect and care. Here, Meg shares: How living in a smaller community shifted her ideas about boundaries How she decides what to share, and what not to share via social media Why she so passionate about safety in Nutrition Education in schools And more!   Connect with Meg: Insta @cn_meg www.choosenutrition.com.au Choose Nutrition on Facebook   More about Meg: Meg is an APD with over 16 years experience in the field. She spent the first part of her career in hospital based clinical dietetics where she developed her love for clinical reasoning, evidence based practice and multidisciplinary care. Meg started her private practice, Choose Nutrition, in 2011 and as she searched for the latest evidence in the area of weight concern, an area she hadn't needed to focus on within the hospital context, she came across the non-diet approach, intuitive eating and HAES. Almost immediately this paradigm made sense of her discomfort with weight centric dietetics  and provided, not just an alternative framework for her dietetic practice but, the missing piece of the puzzle, an understanding of weight stigma and it's harmful influence on research, on traditional dietetic practice and in the lives of the individuals who come to dietitians for help. Meg loves working with school students and teachers to support the provision of safe, eating disorder informed nutrition education is a HAES Australia advisory group member and has delivered guest lectures on HAES and the non-diet approach for dietetic students on HAES and the non- diet approach.

Evelyn Tribole on addressing misconceptions, doing what’s effective & what the heck is the “Semmelweis Reflex?”   Connect with Evelyn: www.evelyntribole.com Instagram @evelyntribole   More about Evelyn: Evelyn Tribole, MS, RDN, CEDRD-S is the author of 9 books, with a nutrition counseling practice in Newport Beach, California. She is co-author of the best-selling Intuitive Eating, a mind-body self-care eating process with 10 principles, which has given rise to over 90 studies to date showing benefit. Evelyn enjoys public speaking and training health professionals on how to help their clients cultivate a healthy relationship with food, mind, and body through the process of Intuitive Eating. To date there are over 800 Certified Intuitive Eating Counselors in 22 countries. She was the nutrition expert for Good Morning America, and a national spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics for six years. Evelyn is often sought by the media for her expertise, and has appeared in hundreds of interviews, including CNN, NBC’s Today Show, MSNBC, Fox News, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and People magazine. Evelyn qualified for the Olympic Trials in the first ever women’s marathon in 1984. Although she no longer competes, she is a wicked ping-pong player and avid hiker. Her favorite food is chocolate, when it can be savored slowly. She is currently a meditation student of Dan Brown, PhD, Harvard Medical School.

Nicola Rinaldi on why we need to talk about (missing) periods.   Buy "No Period Now What?" http://www.noperiodnowwhat.com/book Work with Nicola: http://www.noperiodnowwhat.com/consulting About Nicola:   Nico has a PhD in computational biology from MIT. After graduating she worked for a biotechnology company while pursuing her dreams of a family, which were thwarted by a diagnosis of hypothalamic amenorrhea (no periods). Eighteen months of trying to conceive followed. She spent hours on research, using the knowledge gained to work on recovery. Concurrently, she tried the medical route to pregnancy, with multiple doctor visits, injections, and ultrasounds resulting only in failure. Ultimately, she was able to achieve a natural pregnancy. Since that time, Nicola has shared her knowledge of the path to recovery, helping hundreds of others achieve their dreams of womanhood and pregnancy. She has spent the last three years as a stay-at-home mom, with her three boys, Antony, Timmy, and Cameron, while writing this comprehensive guide to recovery.  

Prof Paula Quatromoni on athletes & disordered eating, bridging the research-practice gap and the importance of early identification.    

Tom Scully on navigating masculinity norms & gender narratives in dietetics and more deeply understanding cultural competence. ​ Here Tom and Fi discuss: Relocating to Geelong from Melbourne His journey to dietetics, finding the non-diet/HAES approach and starting a private practice. Working with men in fertility health; the importance of reducing shame and holding a safe space for sharing. Navigating masculinity norms with clients. Narratives and gender in dietetics. What our profession understands about cultural competence, what it doesn’t and how we can improve. What’s holding us back as dietitians/professionals in this space? How dietetic education could be improved overall and how we can set up conversations with students. How we can begin to speak out more and push back.   Connect with Tom: Instagram Website Twitter Facebook Pinterest

Lucy Aphramor on disrupting narratives, how relationships with food can serve as a vehicle for deeper work, & redefining the default for "good Dietitian."   What interrupts our access to our body story – what is permissible and accessible? How can we provide a space where “I am OK” is available? Relational ways of connecting using a variety of frameworks using metaphors and stories Assumptions that are made through the dominant medical framework The importance of validation & enquiry When people discover it for themselves, then I help theorise it How we can support people to understand their own story The “health” narrative is so powerful that people will erase their own story Supporting people to take their own story seriously Food, eating and body are the vehicle for the deep work…. Being guided by values Being able to sit with our own discomfort, stepping away from “fixing” What defines a “good Dietitian” If “fixing people” and “telling people what to do” is a strong part of our professional identity, and if I want to be a “good Dietitian” then that will be our default….. Acting with integrity and acknowledging when we’ve got it wrong Self compassion is for everyone, including us! How Lucy weaves in self compassion Disconnection stops compassion from flourishing What does "The Magic Biscuit" say to you? Honouring story as a powerful way of connecting Visibility, and taking risk Walking away is always a walking towards..... The practice of taking choices...... Creating three examples as a way to move away from the binary Lucy's dream Dietetic course!! Expand the definition of what it means to be a Dietitian, "do" Dietetics How we can understand how trauma shows up - and why it's pivotal    Link to The Magic Biscuit More About Lucy: www.lucyaphramor.com

Jennifer McGurk on doubt, transitions and building a successful, sustainable HAES-aligned business. Here Jennifer shares:   Connecting with Fi at the Body Image Workshop in New York; the importance of community and finding her NYC crew.   The journey to the HAES/non-diet approach through a parallel process. Experiencing doubt as a “traditional” dietitian; how this feels and looks and learning from one’s mistakes. Advice to practitioners navigating the transition between ‘diet culture/weight centric’ model to a HAES/non-diet approach. The key elements to building a sustainable business through a HAES/non-diet model; passion, networking and boundaries! ‘Fence sitting’; an opportunity to educate and grow the community Working with a co-therapist and recognising ‘the best therapist lives in the same diet culture world we live in’. Messaging; acknowledging you can always change your message, elevating the voices of others, the importance of staying true to ourselves/our brand and navigating the messages of others.   Connect with Jennifer: Instagram Website Twitter Facebook   About Jennifer: Jennifer is a Certified Eating Disorders Registered Dietitian and the Director of ‘Eat With Knowledge’. Through a Non-Diet/HAES lens, Jennifer combines her knowledge in medical nutrition therapy, psychology, and physiology to help clients understand their eating behaviours, and gain the insight needed to make positive changes for their health. As part of her nutritional counselling role Jennifer has also developed an online course to further support her clients; ‘Feel Fabulous About Food’. In addition to her work with her clients, Jennifer is also very passionate about supporting Dietitians, Clinicians and other Wellness Professionals through clinical supervision and as a business coach where she assists practitioners who have the desire to start and build their own businesses. Her entrepreneur passion has lead her create an online masterclass; Pursuing Private Practice Masterclass E-course and to author two books; Pursuing Private Practice: 10 Steps to Start Your Own Business and Pursuing Private Practice: 10 Steps to Grow Your Own Business. In addition, Jennifer is a frequent guest in the media, a professional presenter and she is also involved with the International Federation of Eating Disorder Dietitians, the National Eating Disorders Association, and the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (iaedp).

Tiffany Haug on the importance of representation in our culture, dealing with our own body privilege and supporting our clients to explore feelings around food addiction. Here Tiffany shares: Growing up in Japan and her lived experience with an eating disorder. The importance of representation in our culture. Practical tips on how we can support our clients if we have body privilege (eg. if we identify as smaller-bodied, white, female, cis-gender) Acknowledging our position of privilege. Avoiding assumptions. And setting boundaries to main energy levels. Her special interest in food addiction and the importance of; Client validation. Building client self-efficacy. Using diet-culture for good. And a practical strategy we can try with our clients. Connect with Tiffany via: Instagram Website Twitter Facebook   More About Tiffany: Tiffany Haug, MS, RDN, EDOC is a Master's level Dietitian in San Diego who specializes in helping individuals with Eating Disorders make peace with food and their bodies. Tiffany knows that working through recovery can be incredibly hard. Being herself recovered for almost a decade, she is incredibly honored to now be able to give back by supporting her clients along this challenging, but so-very-worth-it journey. In addition to being an Outpatient Eating Disorder Dietitian at a group practice dedicated to exclusively treating eating disorders, Tiffany serves as the Education Chair for the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (IAEDP) San Diego Chapter and also works as a Dietitian at Center for Discovery in Del Mar, CA.  

Lori Short-Zamudio on navigating Non Diet with a chronic disease, the messiness of "diet stew" and the importance of finding your people.... Here Lori shares:  Meeting Fiona at Body Image workshop in Boston and the importance of bringing the HAES/non-diet community together. Creating the Nourished Circle community space and retreat and partnering with Registered Dietitian and friend Kori Kostka. How finding your tribe can make you stronger and braver when working in this space. Navigating through ‘Diet Stew’ by setting boundaries. Emphasising language and expression; acknowledging how words impact others and the difference ‘expressed’ and ‘received’ words. Her lived experience with Crohn's disease; witnessing diet culture, letting go of ‘dietitian rules’, therapeutic diets and intuitive eating, self-compassion and grieving food. Her key tips for working with clients experiencing chronic disease.  Diet culture and chronic disease; how the intersect, empowering clients to trust themselves and how practitioner ‘fat phobia’ influences treatment and care. Body image work – is lifelong work; recognising opportunities for growth and development. Find out more from Lori’s related blog post here!   Connect with Lori: Instagram Website Twitter Facebook   More About Lori: Lori Short-Zamudio is a Registered Dietitian with over 1 years experience working with clients with eating disorders, Type 13 diabetes and various GI issues.  Over this time Lori has shaped her work to have a Health at Every Size focus and works to assist clients in restoring their relationship with food and exercise.  Lori also works with individuals to become more body positive in their daily lives.  Lori teaches at the College level at a large school in the Toronto area and lives with her family in the town she grew up in.  You can often find Lori spending time with her 2 kids, running around town (literally running for stress management) or drinking coffee.  Recently Lori has teamed up with the like-minded Kori Kostka to form Nourished Circle a podcast about HAES, living your non diet values and whatever all else pops in their head.  For Lori's writing jump over to her blog at unapologeticallymerd.com