Podcast appearances and mentions of alexis conason

I'm revisiting my interview with Alexis Conason, clinical psychologist, eating disorder specialist, and author of The Diet-Free Revolution, unpacking everything that the research says about weight loss. Is it possible to lose weight in the long-term? What do you need to do to achieve that? Plus, how learning to eat more mindfully (in a non-diet way) can help you to become a more intuitive eater. Show notes: summerinnanen.com/320   In this episode, we talk about: - That long term weight loss and maintenance is extremely rare, and the industry knows it, - How researchers have used examples of people with eating disorders as lessons for weight loss, - That in the rare instances when people sustain weight loss long term, it's often not in a healthy way, - A study on contestants from The Biggest Loser, and why we never see a follow-up episode of this show, - That health is not determined by weight and that most of what impacts health is out of our control,- How mindfulness can shift the way we see ourselves and how we interact with the world, - Plus so much more!  Get the shownotes: www.summerinnanen.com/320 Get the free 10-Day Body Confidence Makeover with 10 steps to feel better in your body at summerinnanen.com/freebies If you're a professional who has clients or students that struggle with body image, get the Body Image Coaching Roadmap for professionals at summerinnanen.com/roadmap Support the show via Ko-Fi - go to ko-fi.com/summerinnanen and you can make a monthly contribution. For as little as $5 a month, you can help to keep this show on the air for another season and you'll get my mini-course “Conquering Negative Body Talk.

In this episode, we sit down with Alexis Conason, clinical psychologist and certified eating disorder specialist-consultant, to explore the journey from dieting to embracing a weight-inclusive, anti-diet lifestyle. We discuss the profound mental and physical impacts of diet culture, the importance of intuitive and mindful eating, and the societal myths around health and weight. Conason shares her personal transformation and professional insights, offering practical advice on fostering self-compassion and holistic well-being. Whether you're navigating eating disorder recovery or seeking a healthier relationship with your body, this episode provides thoughtful guidance and encouragement to tune into what truly matters.Mentioned in this episode:Try WeShape Freeweshape.com/free Take the QuizClick link to try WeShape free!weshape.com/free Take the Quiz

Happy Satiated Saturday! It has become this norm that we "should" all be trying to lose weight all the time. And because of this, of course, you would want to lose weight. Your body seeks attunement with other bodies. When everyone around you is also trying to lose weight, your body interprets this as the path to safety and connection. Releasing the need to change your body's weight can feel scary and even threatening to your well-being. We need others to survive. If those you rely on connect with you over dieting and losing weight, an association can occur that not dieting is dangerous to your survival.It can take time and practice to question the impulse to change your body's appearance. By practicing this though, you will start to be the person who sends a message to other bodies that safety and belonging can occur simply through being together as we are.In this week's episode, I chat with Dr. Alexis Conason, Clinical Psychologist and Certified Eating Disorder Specialist about: The anti-diet movement and what it isDiet culture trying to co-opt mindful eatingBody image challengesBuilding resiliency against diet cultureThe importance of self compassionNavigating food choices mindfullyWhat eating what you want actually meansAction steps you can take to practice anti-dietingYou can read the transcript to this week's episode ​here​: https://www.stephaniemara.com/blog/what-it-means-to-love-your-body-and-eat-what-you-wantDoors closing to the Somatic Eating® Program on Monday at midnight. JOIN THE SOMATIC EATING® PROGRAM!: https://www.somaticeating.com/With Compassion and Empathy, Stephanie Mara FoxKeep in touch with Alexis:Website: https://drconason.com/ https://www.conasonpsychologicalservices.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theantidietplan/Book: The Diet Free RevolutionSupport the showKeep in touch with Stephanie Mara:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_stephaniemara/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephaniemarafoxWebsite: https://www.stephaniemara.com/https://www.somaticeating.com/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephmara/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@stephaniemarafoxContact: support@stephaniemara.comSupport the show:Become a supporter: https://www.buzzsprout.com/809987/supportMy favorite water filter: https://www.pureeffectfilters.com/#a_aid=somaticeatingReceive 15% off my fave protein powder with code STEPHANIEMARA at checkout here: https://www.equipfoods.com/discount/STEPHANIEMARA?rfsn=7433250.c99684Use my Amazon Affiliate link when shopping on Amazon: https://amzn.to/448IyPl Special thanks to Bendsound for the music in this episode. www.bensound.co...

For this episode, I'm chatting with Dr. Alexis Conason (@theantidietplan on Instagram) about restriction as a mindset and how you can start to move out of that mindset. I'm accepting application into my 3 Month 1:1 Intuitive Eating Coaching Program thru Thurs 7/18. Click here to Apply: https://embwqi24g5i.typeform.com/to/BFFxk7Kq

Eating-disorders psychologist Alexis Conason joins us to discuss her background in “obesity” research, how she came to question the conventional weight paradigm and move to a weight-neutral approach, the industry influence behind the American Medical Association's decision to classify obesity as a disease in 2013, the mental-health effects of bariatric surgery, how to talk about pharmaceutical-industry influence in ways that don't give rise to conspiracy theories or make it seem like we're impugning the entire medical establishment, and more. Then, in the paywalled portion of the interview, we discuss how social media makes it hard to have nuanced conversations about wellness and diet culture, the discourse around GLP-1 drugs, and the trouble with the research underlying weight-loss recommendations. This is a cross-post from our other podcast, Rethinking Wellness. Paid subscribers can hear the full interview, and the first half is available to all listeners. Upgrade to paid for the whole thing! ALEXIS CONASON, PSY.D., CEDS-S, is a clinical psychologist and certified eating disorder specialist-supervisor in private practice in New York City. Her group practice, Conason Psychological Services, specializes in the treatment of binge eating disorder, disordered eating, body image concerns, and psychological issues related to bariatric weight loss surgery. She is the founder of The Anti-Diet Plan, a weight-inclusive online mindful eating program designed to help people stop dieting, eat more attuned with their body, and live more peaceful and pleasurable lives. She is the author of The Diet Free Revolution: 10 Steps to Free Yourself from the Diet Cycle with Mindful Eating and Radical Self-Acceptance (June 2021, North Atlantic Books), available wherever books are sold. Dr. Conason is a fierce advocate for helping people recognize and question the societal norms that encourage feeling not good enough about themselves so they can stop fixating on shrinking their bodies and reclaim the space that they deserve in the world. You can find her on social media @theantidietplan. Check out Christy's three books, Anti-Diet, The Wellness Trap, and The Emotional Eating, Chronic Dieting, Binge Eating & Body Image Workbook for a deeper dive into the topics covered on the pod. If you're ready to break free from diet culture and make peace with food, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course. For more critical thinking and compassionate skepticism about wellness and diet culture, check out Christy's Rethinking Wellness podcast! You can also sign up to get it in your inbox every week at rethinkingwellness.substack.com. Ask a question about diet and wellness culture, disordered-eating recovery, and the anti-diet approach for a chance to have it answered on Rethinking Wellness. You can also subscribe to the Food Psych Weekly newsletter to check out previous answers!

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.comEating-disorders psychologist Alexis Conason joins us to discuss her background in “obesity” research, how she came to question the conventional weight paradigm and move to a weight-neutral approach, the industry influence behind the American Medical Association's decision to classify obesity as a disease in 2013, the mental-health effects of bariatric surgery, how to talk about pharmaceutical-industry influence in ways that don't give rise to conspiracy theories or make it seem like we're impugning the entire medical establishment, and more. Then, in the paywalled portion of the interview, we discuss how social media makes it hard to have nuanced conversations about these issues, the discourse around GLP-1 drugs, and the trouble with the research underlying weight-loss recommendations.Paid subscribers can hear the full interview, and the first half is available to all listeners. To upgrade to paid, go to rethinkingwellness.substack.com. ALEXIS CONASON, PSY.D., CEDS-S, is a clinical psychologist and certified eating disorder specialist-supervisor in private practice in New York City. Her group practice, Conason Psychological Services, specializes in the treatment of binge eating disorder, disordered eating, body image concerns, and psychological issues related to bariatric weight loss surgery. She is the founder of The Anti-Diet Plan, a weight-inclusive online mindful eating program designed to help people stop dieting, eat more attuned with their body, and live more peaceful and pleasurable lives. She is the author of The Diet Free Revolution: 10 Steps to Free Yourself from the Diet Cycle with Mindful Eating and Radical Self-Acceptance (June 2021, North Atlantic Books), available wherever books are sold. Dr. Conason is a fierce advocate for helping people recognize and question the societal norms that encourage feeling not good enough about themselves so they can stop fixating on shrinking their bodies and reclaim the space that they deserve in the world. You can find her on social media @theantidietplan.If you like this conversation, subscribe to hear lots more like it! Support the podcast by becoming a paid subscriber, and unlock great perks like extended interviews, subscriber-only Q&As, full access to our archives, commenting privileges and subscriber threads where you can connect with other listeners, and more. Learn more and sign up at rethinkingwellness.substack.com.Christy's second book, The Wellness Trap, is available wherever books are sold! Order it here, or ask for it in your favorite local bookstore.If you're looking to make peace with food and break free from diet and wellness culture, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course.

Welcome to another episode of the Midlife Feast! Today, we're diving into my favorite topic: intuitive eating and breaking free from the dieting cycle. Joining us is the incredible Dr. Alexis Conason, a US-based psychologist and author of Diet-Free Revolution.We're not just scratching the surface here; we're exploring the behavioral and emotional aspects of intuitive eating. Dr. Conason's approach, woven beautifully with storytelling, offers a fresh perspective that resonates deeply with those on the journey to reclaiming their relationship with food and their bodies.Whether you're a seasoned dieter or just dipping your toes into this paradigm shift, this conversation reminds us that we're not alone. Dr. Conason's insights reassure us that we're not broken, and perhaps most importantly, we're not to blame. To learn more about Dr. Conason and the work she does, be sure to check out her website at www.drconason.com or follow her on IG @theantidietplan or Facebook at @conasonpsyd.Looking for a place to learn more about midlife, menopause nutrition, and intuitive eating? Click here to grab one of my free resources and learn what I've got "on the menu" including my 1:1 and group programs. https://www.menopausenutritionist.ca/links

Welcome to This Is Not About Your Body! This week I'm joined by Dr. Alexis Conason, a New York City based clinical psychologist, certified eating disorder specialist and supervisor, creator of the Anti Diet Mindful Eating Program and author of the book "The Diet-Free Revolution: 10 Steps to Free Yourself from the Diet Cycle with Mindful Eating and Radical Self-Acceptance". Find more from Alexis on her website and Instagram: https://www.drconason.com https://www.instagram.com/theantidietplan - - - - - - My book, "Body Neutral: A Revolutionary Guide to Overcoming Body Image Issues" is OUT NOW! Pick up a copy from your favorite retailer today! I've also released a new course which pairs nicely with the book which you can purchase from my site: The Body Neutrality Blueprint https://www.jessikneeland.com/product-page/BodyNeutralityBlueprint - - - - - - My e-book is out! Grab a copy of Sustainable Movement here: https://www.jessikneeland.com/product-page/sustainable-movement-a-body-neutral-guide-to-health-fitness Intro to the 4 Body Image Avatars: https://youtu.be/SsxQ9qO0-a4 Get my full Body Image Avatar Guide here: https://www.jessikneeland.com/product-page/the-avatar-guide Find more resources here: https://jessikneeland.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessikneeland/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jessikneeland Buy Me A Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dgrRFaBYO

On today's episode of Diet Starts Tomorrow, we are so thrilled to welcome Remy back from her travels for a very special episode where she and Emily get to interview a power couple within the weight-inclusive medical field, endocrinologist Dr. Gregory Dodell and psychologist and published author Dr. Alexis Conason. Dr. Dodell first explains what endocrinology is (hormones!) and then walks us through his journey to weight-inclusive care. Dr. Conason reviews the research behind the issues with intentional weight loss, and they both get into a fascinating discussion about all the ways this research is flawed. And yes, we get into the weeds on Ozempic! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Alexis Conason joins me to talk about how everyone's process can look a bit different when it comes to body acceptance or body positivity,  and just because you might not want to wear revealing clothes or get nude at the beach, that doesn't mean you're not succeeding! Dr. Alexis Conason Mindful eating program - The Anti-Diet Plan: http://www.theantidietplan.comWebsite: http://www.drconason.comBook: The Diet Free Revolution  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theantidietplan/?hl=enMarcus KainBook a Call: https://form.jotform.com/220624481844052Website: https://www.mkaincoaching.comInstagram: https://instagram.com/mkaincoaching?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=The Beat Binge Eating Essentials Pack: https://www.mkaincoaching.com/beat-binge-eating-essentials-pack

How can you tell if intuitive and mindful eating is being misconstrued in the diet culture narrative? What does it mean to eat mindfully? Why are people obsessed with weight loss? In this podcast episode, I speak about about intuitive and mindful eating with expert, Dr. Alexis Conason. We reflect on how you can apply mindfulness to eating, and how to navigate your relationship with your body and eating. Sign up for the FREE e-course to understand your eating disorder and embark on the road to recovery. SHOW NOTES: Click here Follow me on Instagram @behind_the_bite_podcast Visit the website: www.behindthebitepodcast.com

How can you tell if intuitive and mindful eating is being misconstrued in the diet culture narrative? What does it mean to eat mindfully? Why are people obsessed with weight loss? In this podcast episode, I speak about about intuitive and mindful eating with expert, Dr. Alexis Conason. We reflect on how you can apply mindfulness to eating, and how to navigate your relationship with your body and eating. Sign up for the FREE e-course to understand your eating disorder and embark on the road to recovery. SHOW NOTES: Click here Follow me on Instagram @behind_the_bite_podcast Visit the website: www.behindthebitepodcast.com

In this week's episode, Bonnie is joined by Dr. Alexis Conason, a clinical psychologist and certified eating disorder specialist.  In today's episode Bonnie & Dr. Alexis Conason will discuss:  What we wish the public knew about “weight management” and “obesity research” What happens to one's brain when they diet Why diets don't work for most people Tips to practice mindfulness with your thoughts What positive body image really means and so much more!  Connect with Dr. Alexis:  Instagram: @theantidietplan Website: www.drconason.com  Book: The Diet Free Revolution by Dr. Alexis Conason Tired of quick fix diets that leave you more guilt ridden, obsessed and out of control with food in the long run and ready to create a lifelong, healthy & sustainable relationship with food? Take the first steps today by taking my free quiz here.  Have you been listening to the podcast for a while & have found benefit from it? Leave an honest rating & review on Apple podcasts here. 

We've got a wonderful guest for you in this episode! Dr. Alexis Conason joins us to talk about how she found the anti-diet approach after beginning her career in the weight-centric model, the ways she uses mindfulness with her clients as a form of healing from diet culture, and how self-acceptance plays such a central role in our relationship to food and body image. She also busts some myths about weight and health. We loved this conversation and know that you will too! Alexis Conason, Psy.D., CEDS-S, is a clinical psychologist and certified eating disorder specialist in private practice in New York City. She is the owner of Conason Psychological Services, a weight-inclusive therapy practice specializing in the treatment of binge eating disorder, disordered eating, and body image. She is the founder of The Anti-Diet Plan, an online mindful eating program and is the author of "The Diet-Free Revolution: 10 Steps to Free Yourself from the Diet-Cycle with Mindful Eating" and "Radical Self-Acceptance" (North Atlantic Books, 2021). Her research has been published in peer-reviewed journals, she is a frequent speaker at conferences, and she has been featured widely as an expert on the topics of mindful eating, body image, and diet culture in the media.  You can find Alexis on social media @theantidietplan We've cited this research before, but it might be a helpful resource for anyone interested in digging deeper into the problems with weight-loss as an intervention, including how physical activity can improve health markers regardless of weight: Weight Science: Evaluating the Evidence for a Paradigm Shift We are a listener-supported show (no ads!) so please support us on Patreon for bonus episodes at Patreon.com/fullplate Patreon is also where we publicly host transcripts for each episode, so if you're looking for those, head over to our Patreon. Find the show and hosts on Instagram @fullplate.podcast Diane is  @dianesanfilippo and Abbie is @abbieattwoodwellness 

On this week's episode we are joined by Dr. Alexis Conason. We dive into diet culture, societal norms, what it really means to be body positive, fat phobia, diet culture red flags on social media, and so much more. Alexis Conason, PsyD, CEDS-S, is a clinical psychologist and certified eating disorderspecialist in private practice in New York City. She is the owner of ConasonPsychological Services, a Health At Every Size ®-informed group therapy practicespecializing in the treatment of binge eating disorder, disordered eating, and bodyimage. She is the founder of The Anti-Diet Plan, a weight-inclusive online mindful eatingprogram and is the author of The Diet-Free Revolution: 10 Steps to Free Yourself fromthe Diet-Cycle with Mindful Eating and Radical Self-Acceptance (North Atlantic Books,2021). She was previously a research associate at the New York Nutrition ObesityResearch Center in affiliation with Columbia University. Her research has beenpublished in peer-reviewed journals, she is a frequent speaker at conferences, and shehas been featured widely as an expert on the topics of mindful eating, body image, anddiet culture in the media. You can find her on social media @theantidietplan. A lifelong New Yorker, Conason lives in Manhattan with her husband and twodaughters. She loves all things related to food including cooking, food shopping,watching food shows on TV, and of course eating! But most rewarding is helping herclients transform their relationship with food and experience the joys of eating. She is afierce advocate for helping people recognize and question the societal norms thatencourage their feeling not good enough about themselves so they can stop fixating onshrinking their bodies and reclaim the space that they deserve in the world.Dr. Conason's Website: https://www.theantidietplan.com/Dr. Conason's Instagram: @theantidietplanBadass Basic Bitch Instagram: @badassbasicbitch

Alexis Conason, is a clinical psychologist and certified eating disorder specialist in private practice in New York City. She is the owner of Conason Psychological Services, a Health At Every Size ®-informed group therapy practice specializing in the treatment of binge eating disorder, disordered eating, and body image. Alexis is a fierce advocate for helping people recognize and question the societal norms that encourage their feeling not good enough about themselves so they can stop fixating on shrinking their bodies and reclaim the space that they deserve in the world. In this episode we talk about exposing your partner to HAES, why “What I Eat In a Day” content is problematic, and what really is mindful eating. Find her on IG @theantidietplan

Keila Dolle is an actress, filmmaker, comedian, and podcast host. Keila's mission is to create projects that have a social impact. Keila is a fixture in the LA comedy scene - she hosted and produced The Scramble, a brunch variety show for 3.5 years. In 2019, Keila co-hosted the comedy podcast Kings Of Influence, caught the podcast bug, and launched her own show called Crying Behind Sunglasses. Keila's experiences with anxiety and panic disorder, as well as growing up with a brother who has autism, led to a lifelong passion for psychology and mental health. Keila and I talk about her childhood, growing up with an autistic brother, the loss of her biological father, coping with anxiety and panic disorder, and how therapy and meditation have seen her through it all. “To anyone who deals with a loved one who is an addict, you can't save them from themselves, that is a decision they have to make on their own.” - Keila Dolle Links: Christie's Website Christie's Instagram: @sasssays Keila's Website Keila's Podcast Keila's Instagram: @keiladolle When It's Time to Let Go - Keila's Solo Pod Ep Keila's Pod Ep with Andi Poland Insight Timer App Previous Sass Says Show Mentioned: Ep 16 Dr. Alexis Conason

Humans were not meant to try diet after diet with no success. We were actually never meant to diet at all, it's a huge money maker for the diet culture leaders!Dr. Conason is a Clinical Psychologist and a Certified Eating Disorder specialist, and author of The Diet-Free Revolution. We will be discussing:1. But isn't it unhealthy to be fat? 2. Does mindful eating really mean eat whatever you want? 3. How can I accept my body if I don't like the way that my body looks?4. How is today's body positivity movement helping or hurting us?5. Why seeking medical care in bigger bodies can be nearly impossibleFind more on Dr. Conason Insta: theantidietplanWebsite: https://www.theantidietplan.com

Episode 69. Frustrated with emotional eating and not sure where to turn? Have you tried all the things, all the diets, all the "lifestyle" change programs only to worry that you "self-sabotage" by emotional eating? Do you feel like if you could just "stop emotional eating" then all would be writh in the world? Well, today we will touch on what's keeping you stuck, and my top favorite books to help pull you out of the ineffective (and incredibly draining cycle). Today I'm doing a review of my very favorite books to improve your relationship with food and stop binge eating. In fact, binge eating is actually the best term to use instead of emotional eating. Because guess what? Food is emotional and we should have an emotional relationship to food. But I know you want to feel more in control, so that's what we are covering today. Are you ready!? Let's dive in. What to Expect In This Episode The top 6 books I recommend most to help you improve your relationship with food and stop emotional eating or binge eatingGuidance on which books are best for which type of person. Do you like science? I've got a book for you. Or maybe you are more of a story person? Don't worry, there's a great recommendation for each of you.When to know if self help books aren't enough Taking that First Step Have you been caught in the binge-diet cycle, or felt like an emotional eating your whole life or for many years? You might be understandably skeptical that a book could help with such a lifelong problem, and you may be right... However, buying one of these books and reading it may in fact but the first crucial step on a path of healing. Here me out. The Way We Are Doing Things Isn't Working The standard approach to weight management and even treatment of binge eating disorder or emotional eating is not working for the VAST majority of people. Top Books to Improve Your Relationship With Food 6. The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown 5. The Joy Choice and/or No Sweat by Michelle Segar, PhD, MPH - List to my conversation with Dr. Segar here! 4. Health at Every Size by Lindo Bacon, PhD 3. Decolonizing Wellness by Dalia Kinsey, RD, LD 2. The Diet-Free Revolution by Alexis Conason, PsyD and/or The Mindfulness-Based Eating Solution by Lynn Rossy, PhD - Listen to my conversation with Dr. Conason here! 1. Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch How to Know When Books Aren't Enough You continue to doubt the process, whether it's working, and if you are on the right path.You are reading the information, but not implementing it. And you still feel out of control and are still emotional eating.You still feel a tremendous amount of shame about your struggles.If you have a significant eating disorder (e.g., really are struggling to eat more food throughout the day, have very engrained thoughts about your body, are bingeing/purging or excessively exercising or doing other things to get rid of calories) please call the National Eating Disorders Helpline here. Remember that eating disorders can and do occurs in all body sizes. Options for Next Steps If you are finding that books aren't enough, or you are just wanting more support and to make progress faster, look into finding more support. Friend level support. Find a friend (or two) to do a book club with. Read one of the above books and meet regularly to discuss it and how you will apply it.Find a Health at Every Size aligned dietitian and/or therapist (counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist). If you can't find someone with their specific training, consider finding a therapist who might be willing to learn with you as a first step. Support Independent Bookstores Near You! Did you know that that if nothing slows their momentum, Amazon will have almost 80% of the book market by the end of 2025? Look, I love the convenience of Amazon, but I've got a super cool way that you can support local bookstores and my blog and podcast si...

This week on Race for the Ring, Mindie is joined by licensed psychologist, certified eating disorder specialist, creator of The Anti-Diet Plan, and author of The Diet-Free Revolution: 10 Steps to Free Yourself from the Diet Cycle with Mindful Eating and Radical Self-Acceptance, Alexis Conason!In this episode, Mindie and Alexis talk about eating disorders affecting self-confidence and self-love. Alexis shares how she helps people with eating disorders establish mindful eating habits and dives into what that looks like in comparison to intuitive eating. Listen closely as Alexis tells her tips on how to build a healthy and effective lifestyle, join the diet-free revolution, and practice self-acceptance so that you can love yourself for the beautiful person that you are! Follow Alexis Conason:Website: https://www.theantidietplan.com/IG: https://www.instagram.com/theantidietplan/Twitter: https://twitter.com/theantidietplanFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/theantidietplan/ Mindie BarnettWebsite: https://mbandassociatespr.com/ Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

Like flies at a picnic, weight loss app Noom's relentless advertising is crawling all over our online spaces. AND they're SHAMELESSLY co-opting our powerful anti-diet movement! AND they're claiming that 'psychology' is the key to 'long term weight loss!' AND they're selling a particularly shitty diet! AND they're targeting vulnerable people including those with eating disorders! HOW VERY DARE THEY! I'm so incandescent with fury that I've coined a new term: NOOM-RAGE!! Join me on the latest ep of the All Fired Up podcast with my equally outraged guest Dr Alexis Conason @theantidietplan. She is also EXTREMELY NOT HAPPY. Grab a stiff drink (or a nice cuppatea) & gird your loins as we EVISCERATE this DISGUSTING company in a rip-snorter of an episode! Did someone say class action lawsuit??

Like flies at a picnic, weight loss app Noom's relentless advertising is crawling all over our online spaces. AND they're SHAMELESSLY co-opting our powerful anti-diet movement! AND they're claiming that 'psychology' is the key to 'long term weight loss!' AND they're selling a particularly shitty diet! AND they're targeting vulnerable people including those with eating disorders! HOW VERY DARE THEY! I'm so incandescent with fury that I've coined a new term: NOOM-RAGE!! Join me on the latest ep of the All Fired Up podcast with my equally outraged guest Dr Alexis Conason @theantidietplan. She is also EXTREMELY NOT HAPPY. Grab a stiff drink (or a nice cuppatea) & gird your loins as we EVISCERATE this DISGUSTING company in a rip-snorter of an episode! Did someone say class action lawsuit??

In this episode, we will be unpacking Alexis's Diet Free Revolution. We talk about incorporating mindfulness (insert eyeball if you feel like it, we'll talk directly to you soon) and compassion and why they are so important. We'll talk about some major problems with diet culture, society's obsession with wellness and thinness, and how you can break free from the ridiculous standards. Alexis Conason, PsyD, CEDS-S, is a clinical psychologist and certified eating disorder specialist in private practice in New York City. She is the owner of Conason Psychological Services, a Health At Every Size ®-informed group therapy practice specializing in the treatment of binge eating disorder, disordered eating, and body image. She is the founder of The Anti-Diet Plan, a weight-inclusive online mindful eating program and is the author of The Diet-Free Revolution: 10 Steps to Free Yourself from the Diet-Cycle with Mindful Eating and Radical Self-Acceptance (North Atlantic Books, 2021). She was previously a research associate at the New York Nutrition Obesity Research Center in affiliation with Columbia University. Her research has been published in peer-reviewed journals, she is a frequent speaker at conferences, and she has been featured widely as an expert on the topics of mindful eating, body image, and diet culture in the media.   0:01-2:38 Intro Introducing to you our guest speaker   2:39- 7:02 Why Diets Don't Work? Talks about her book and how she wrote Why don't diets work? Research that backs up the idea on why diets don't work Our bodies go into crisis mode when we try to restrict ourselves  Diets are the way to get healthy, and sometimes it's hard to shift gears   7:03-11:40 If Diets Don't Work, How Do You Get Healthy? Start disentangle weight from health Internalized weight bias can add increased risk for metabolic syndrome  We can impact our health by making changes that are entirely independent of losing weight and dieting When we think of health, we often narrow it to diet, exercise, and losing weight which is entirely false because health goes beyond that Health includes physical, emotional and mental well-being  Some healthy steps that work that are not related to weight loss 11:41- 22:10 What Determines Our Health? Factors in determining our health Why do genetics and wealth impact our health? How could mindfulness help have a healthier lifestyle? Mindfulness can sometimes happen in the context of chaos, and that's okay Meditation practice is linked to mindfulness  What is Hunger-Fullness physiologically, and how do we respond to it to better our relationship with food?   22:11- 36:41 Communicating and Listening to Our Bodies Through Food Why do we feel disconnected from our bodies? We can use mindfulness to tune in with our bodies more The use of hunger and fullness scale to connect more to your body Your body has cues for some reason The trends in nutrition change overtime  Tuning in to our body is more reliable  Enjoying your food and connecting to it in a more profound way Emotional eating isn't necessarily a bad thing Food isn't a one size fit solution for our emotional needs Recognizing our emotions instead of using food as a coping mechanism   36:42-42:50 Body Positivity and Body Acceptance  Judgment vs. Observation  Acceptance is a core piece of mindfulness  Accepting our body and recognizing how messed up the world around us is, and changing the systems of weight biased Body positivity is an outgrowth of the body acceptance movement Our body is an instrument, not an ornament  42:51-43:49 Outro Connect with Dr. Conason   Resources Mentioned: The Diet-Free Revolution: 10 Steps to Free Yourself from the Diet Cycle with Mindful Eating and Radical Self-AcceptanceBook by Alexis Conason, Psy.D. The Anti Diet Plan Website Dr. Alexis Conason's Website Conason Psychological Services Website Dr. Alexis Conason on Instagram    Tweetable Quotes: “ I think the way that we connect emotionally is through stories. And stories about people.” -Dr. Alexis Conason “Our bodies were designed to stay alive and survive; part of that is keeping a stable body weight.” - Dr. Alexis Conason   “If you care about people's health, let's work at changing capitalism.” - Dr. Alexis Conason   LEAVE A REVIEW + help someone who may need this podcast by sharing this episode.   You can connect with me, Rachelle Heinemann on Instagram, through my website www.rachelleheinemann.com, or email me directly at rachelle@rachelleheinemann.com.  

I'm interviewing Alexis Conason, clinical psychologist, eating disorder specialist, and author of The Diet-Free Revolution, unpacking everything that the research says about weight loss. Is it possible to lose weight in the long-term? What do you need to do to achieve that? Plus, how learning to eat more mindfully (in a non-diet way) can help you to become a more intuitive eater. Show notes: summerinnanen.com/218 In this episode, we talk about: - That long term weight loss and maintenance is extremely rare, and the industry knows it, - How researchers have used examples of people with eating disorders as lessons for weight loss, - That in the rare instances when people sustain weight loss long term, it's often not in a healthy way, - A study on contestants from The Biggest Loser, and why we never see a follow-up episode of this show, - That health is not determined by weight and that most of what impacts health is out of our control, - How mindfulness can shift the way we see ourselves and how we interact with the world, Plus so much more! Get the shownotes:  summerinnanen.com/218

"Diets don't work—and it's not your fault. As a culture, we're told (and tell ourselves) that if we just lost the weight—tried a little harder, had a little more willpower, or deprived ourselves for a little bit longer—we'd be happier, healthier, and more desirable. But it's just not true." I loved this conversation with Dr. Alexis Conason, who sheds light on diet culture to help us understand some of the myths that we have been taught about weight, health, value, and self-worth. The Diet-Free Revolution debunks the myths we've been sold about food, nutrition, health, and weight loss and offers an antidote to the pain and suffering caused by yo-yo diets, untenable food regimens, and quick-fixes. Clinical psychologist and eating disorder specialist Alexis Conason shows that finding health, happiness, and real nourishment is about more than changing what, how, or when we eat: it's about radically shifting our relationship with food by healing our relationship to ourselves. She helps us discover what really nourishes us while teaching us how we can listen to and love our bodies. Enriched with case studies, meditations, stories, lessons, and activities—her 10-step program is a revelation! In this episode, she tells us about her journey with dieting and the revelation that diets don't work and that the whole industry is aware of this. Learn about her book The Diet-Free Revolution and its impact on people, especially women. Reframing dieting and diet “failure” as pervasive aspects of our culture—not individual failures—The Diet-Free Revolution offers an empowering roadmap to healing, self-acceptance, and radical new ways of relating to and loving our bodies She shares her WHY in helping women bust the myth about their bodies being “the problem” Why mindful eating is key to a weight-inclusive framework What motivated her to create her online mindful eating course with The Anti-Diet Plan She also shares the number one thing that people can do if they want to heal their relationship with food, including: Challenge your assumptions about weight and health Find fullness and manage emotional eating Embrace your “yum” and tune into taste with mindful eating Trust your body to be your guide Dr. Alexis Conason is a clinical psychologist and certified eating disorder specialist in private practice in New York City. She is the author of The Diet-Free Revolution: 10 Steps to Free Yourself from the Diet Cycle with Mindful Eating and Radical Self-Acceptance (North Atlantic Books, 2021). Alexis is the founder of The Anti-Diet Plan, a weight-inclusive online mindful eating program available worldwide. She was previously a research associate at the New York Nutrition Obesity Research Center affiliated with Columbia University. Her research has been published in peer-reviewed journals, she is a frequent speaker at conferences, and she has been featured widely as an expert on the topics of mindful eating, body image, and diet culture in the media. A lifelong New Yorker, Conason lives in Manhattan with her husband and two daughters. She loves all things related to food, including cooking, grocery shopping, watching food shows, and of course, eating! But most rewarding is helping her clients transform their relationship with food and experience the joys of eating. She is a fierce advocate for helping people recognize and question the societal norms that encourage their feeling not good enough about themselves to stop fixating on shrinking their bodies and reclaim the space they deserve in the world. You can find her on social media @theantidietplan.

Content warning: In this episode, we're going to be discussing eating disorders and diets. There's also a brief mention of sexual assault. If those aren't topics you're ready to listen to, skip this one and come back.Speaker, lawyer and writer Savala Nolan was put on her first diet at four years old. That means someone who thought they were protecting her from the world instead taught her that the world would not be friendly to her body. That's an idea that so many human beings internalize early in life - kids are smart and they're always watching.She shared a look at some of the ways she tried to change her her body and shame her body into submission in an early version of an essay that ended up in her book Don't Let It Get You Down.We're wrapping up our month-long deep dive into diet culture on our podcast #WeGotGoals with a conversation featuring Savala Nolan. In her book, she shares perspectives on intersectionality as a woman who has a mixed-race identity, who came from poverty, but also experienced wealth, who has lived in both a thin body and a fat body. And she shares openly the ways that the prism of identity shapes and shades the world and how she's learned from dating, working, going through a traumatic labor and delivery, and raising a daughter. And she shares how she inevitably quit dieting too.This interview with Nolan represents a point that's important to make in a conversation about diet culture: that the driving force behind diet culture is fatphobia, and, as Nolan argues with solid historical evidence in a piece for Health, fatphobia is rooted in racism.That theme also shines through in her book, which I ready from cover-to-cover over a weekend. Three essays in particular speak to diet culture in Don't Let It Get You Down, titled "The Body Endures," "Fat in Ways White Girls Don't Understand," and "Little Satin Bomber Jacket."The book and our interview get into topics on poverty, race, diet-culture and fatphobia and if my hearty recommendation of the book isn't enough, you don't have to take my word for it.The New York Times Book Review calls it “[A] standout collection...a brutal, beautifully rendered narrative.” The San Francisco Chronicle said is "[Written with] unflinching honesty that is both revelatory and unsettling” “A vibrant and thoughtful collection.” —Roxane GayResources: Buy her book Don't Let It Get You Down wherever you get your booksUse this handy discussion guide for the book Don't Let It Get You DownSavala mentions this importance of the social determinants of health, here's a look at thoseWe discuss the difference between body neutrality and body positivityReady the piece in Health we discussed, "The reason my disordered eating went unnoticed by almost everyone"This piece in Vogue appears in the book as well, with a few additional details as Savala gained access to archives "Say Their Names: Breonna Taylor, My Great-Great-Grandmother, and Me"This piece in TIME also appears in the book and is deeply sad, "My Father's Life Was Shaped by Racism. So Was His Death"Other episodes in this deep dive on Diet Culture: Dr. Lindo Bacon shares the research that led to Heath At Every SizeJudith Matz explains more on the psychology of your body on a dietDr. Alexis Conason on living diet-freeSome FAQsWhat's a diet? Any time you make a change in how you eat for the purpose of weight loss.What is diet culture? A belief that thinness is a moral virtue and thinness is health. Therefore, it's worth doing anything to achieve that status and when you get to that status, you'll be happier and healthier.What exactly is obesity? And should you use that word when talking about someone else's weight? In short, it's complicated, based on the BMI *which has its own problems* and no. Here's more research on the words we use and weight stigma.Why did we choose to use the word “fat”? The word fat is being reclaimed by many – especially those within the fat acceptance movement. To some, this word is loaded and will remain loaded; we want to honor that and we understand that. If we could address everyone on a 1:1 basis, we would use your words of choice (like Dr. Conason talks through). More on the word fat.

Today I'm joined by Unyime Oguta. Unyime is a speaker, certified Intuitive Eating Counsellor and non-diet nutrition coach. As a mom of 3, she's passionate about teaching women how to leverage the power of their minds to let go of food fears and obsession, so that they can thrive and feel empowered to honor their needs and transform their lives with ease and confidence. We talk about self-care, stress, boundaries, taking care of our bodies, and Unyime's “mommy time”. We discuss societal pressures around motherhood, food, and our bodies as well as emotional and intuitive eating. And last but certainly not least, Unyime helps me continue my personal journey with food and body freedom in real time.  “Could you create an environment where your emotional and physical response to your child eating a bar of candy is the same as your child eating two sticks of carrots?” - Unyime Oguta Links: Christie's Website: https://www.sasssays.com  Christie's Instagram: @sasssays Unyime's Website: https://www.oliveandbliss.ca/ Unyime on Instagram: @oliveandblisswellness  Unyime's Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-thriving-mum-podcast/id1540673480  Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch: https://read.macmillan.com/lp/intuitive-eating-4th-edition/  Intuitive Eating - The Workbook by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch: https://www.amazon.com/Intuitive-Eating-Workbook-Principles-Relationship/dp/1626256225 Unyime on Katelyn Parsons' Podcast: https://katelynparsons.com/podcast/unyime  Previous Sass Says Shows Mentioned: Ep 16 Dr. Alexis Conason: https://sasssays.com/podcast/16-dr-alexis-conason-dismantling-diet-culture-with-the-author-of-the-diet-free-revolution/ Ep 25 Katelyn Parsons: https://sasssays.com/podcast/25-katelyn-parsons-uncover-your-relationship-with-food-body-image-and-diet-culture/

Welcome to Burnt Toast! This is the podcast about about diet culture, fatphobia, parenting, and health. I’m Virginia Sole-Smith.Today’s conversation is with Gregory Dodell, MD, a weight-inclusive endocrinologist in New York City, better known as @everything_endocrine or “that one good diabetes doctor!” on Instagram. I know so many of you have questions about weight and diabetes, and a newsletter essay on these issues is forthcoming! But in the meantime, I’m delighted to bring you this conversation with Dr. Dodell, which challenges so many of our assumptions about carbs, weight and diabetes risk. If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe, rate and review us in your podcast player! And subscribe to the Burnt Toast newsletter for episode transcripts, reported essays, and more. (Here’s a 20% discount if you’d like to go paid!)VirginiaI am delighted today to be chatting with Dr. Gregory Dodell, who is an endocrinologist in New York City. Welcome!GregThanks for having me on.VirginiaI’m really excited to have you here. I think I get a question about diabetes about once a week. It comes up in a lot of different ways, from parents, from people worried about their own health or a parent’s health. It also comes up a lot from trolls, right? It’s the argument that they think you can’t fight back on. We’ll be having this very nuanced conversation about the relationship between weight and health and why it’s so important to separate weight from health, and someone will throw in, “But what about diabetes?” It feels like this third rail. Like, okay, people can be healthy at any size, but maybe not with diabetes. So, why don’t we start there? Why is diabetes so inextricably linked to weight and our collective understanding of this condition?GregYeah, it’s tough to tease out. It’s tough to answer, just because of what we hear in the media and what a lot of doctors probably say in the office. The first thing is, it’s really important to realize that correlation and causation are not the same things. There’s 40 some-odd things that impact blood sugar, just like there are many, many, many things that determine body weight. You can’t just say one causes the other when you look at weight and diabetes. There’s people across the size spectrum that have diabetes. I see people in my office across the BMI spectrum—of course, BMI is not a useful indicator of health—but just to put it in context. Not everyone who has a higher BMI has diabetes and there are many people with a “normal” BMI that have diabetes. A lot of the research doesn’t control for things like weight stigma, access to healthy food, stress levels, sleep—real behaviors that impact these things. So that’s really what I would say: Let’s focus on the behaviors. Let’s really look at the research critically, like a lot of people in the field are thankfully starting to do, to tease out the relationship and see. There may not be anything there and there may be something there. Even if there is, we need to treat people and focus on behaviors and things that we can do to improve health. Focusing on weight as a main marker of health just isn’t working.VirginiaRight, because we don’t have effective and safe ways for most people to lose weight. So prescribing that and zeroing in on that as the entire treatment plan is underserving people. And I’m glad you highlighted the stigma piece, too, because I think that’s difficult to tease out for folks. It’s not like researchers are acknowledging this bias as they’re doing the studies. Because this has been so baked into our culture for so long, a lot of researchers who are studying these questions are starting from the premise that there’s a causal relationship without the data to support that. GregRight. When you start with a research study and a protocol, you have to look at all the factors that impact all the different variables. I think, if you come into a study with a preconceived notion that weight is what’s gonna cause this, and you’re not controlling for other variables, it’s not a good study. Every research paper, or a lot of them, start outs by acknowledging we’re in this epidemic of people gaining weight. It’s an assumed thing, leading into this conclusion without really looking at all the other variables.VirginiaIt also means that if they are able to document any weight loss in the study, and they see that people’s numbers got better, they’ll say, well, the weight loss caused that improvement, without asking what else changed for people? Did they change behaviors? And what if it’s the behaviors that cause the improvement?GregTotally. And there is that great review paper that just came out that was like 250 reference articles documenting very clearly that independent of weight loss, increases in activity improve health and diabetes and cardiovascular function, all those things. So that has to be taken into account.VirginiaSo, obviously, you are somewhat unusual in your field, because you are taking a weight-inclusive approach to diabetes management and prevention. That is not the typical encounter that people have in an endocrinologist’s office. What does that look like for your patients? What are you doing differently from your colleagues?GregYeah, I’m not sure that I’m doing anything differently with regard to how I treat diabetes. I’m using blood sugar and other data points to treat overall health. I just take weight out of the equation. People may lose weight with behavior changes and with medications. They also may gain weight. If someone has uncontrolled diabetes and their blood sugar is really high and we work together with behaviors and medication to help control the blood sugar, they may start retaining muscle and gaining muscle and holding on to calories. Because what happens is if the blood sugar is really high, your body starts burning muscle and fat to create energy. So the weight may change in either direction. I think that’s why focusing on weight is not really that helpful. We should focus on the behaviors and we should focus on blood sugar and cholesterol and blood pressure, things like that. VirginiaAre patients surprised when you don’t focus on weight?GregTotally. I do get referrals from people that just know that that’s my approach. But I have a lot of patients that come in not knowing that. And when I say, “Well, I’m not going to focus on your weight, I’m going to focus on these other variables, and these behaviors and use the medication accordingly,” I think people are pleasantly surprised. Some of them just don’t say anything. They’re just surprised and maybe speechless. A lot of people come in saying, “I know, I need to lose weight. I’m working on it,” just because that’s what they’re expecting me to say.VirginiaThey’re used to doctors starting there. GregThe patients that are speechless when I say that—I wonder if they walk out shaking their head, like, “Who is this guy? He’s not gonna tell me to lose weight?” Like, in a bad way? Or if they’re like, “Wow, that was kind of interesting.” I don’t know.VirginiaYeah, I bet for a lot of them it’s pretty refreshing if they’re used to going to the doctor and having weight be this problem to solve. I mean, speaking from personal experience, whenever I find a doctor who doesn’t do that it’s a real ray of sunshine in my life. Of course, it does run so counter to people’s expectations, it can also be a little unsettlingGregYeah. Because obviously a lot of people want to lose weight. Statistics are out there, like 70% of women and 50% of men. They may be looking to the doctor to help them accomplish that objective. So it may be counter to their expectations and also desires.VirginiaWas this something you gradually started doing over the course of your years in practice? Talk a little bit about your evolution on this because I’m assuming this wasn’t how you learned it in medical school? GregNo. You know my wife, Alexis Conason at the Anti-Diet Plan. We had very similar trainings, we actually trained in the same hospital right out of our doctoral programs. She was in the bariatric surgery world and then went into private practice and started hearing from her clients all the stigma, avoiding doctors, and all this stuff. And thankfully  she came across this HAES movement and started learning about and slowly  telling me about it. It took me a while just because, I’ll admit, I’m just so entrenched in my training and what I’m reading from the medical community, it was really hard to break free from that. Like she would joke years ago and be like, “I think you’re almost there, but you’re not 100% HAES. I’m not sure I can send people to you.” But then I read her book, one of the first drafts, and I was like, “Whoa.” Like, I got it. I had that epiphany. I read it and the research studies, and I was like, “Okay, I can do this.”VirginiaThat’s awesome. So now we just need you to get all the other doctors to be on the same page with us.GregYeah, maybe I’m overly optimistic, but across the communities of medical professionals everyone is acknowledging that weight stigma is very problematic. There’s a big conference going on this week and stigma is a huge part of it. You know, people first language, all this kind of stuff. The problem is they are still thinking in terms of needing to help these people with their disease, versus not focusing on that. Let’s focus on behaviors because people are and can be possibly healthy across the size spectrum. So using different language is nice. And yes, trying not to stigmatize people is obviously a good goal, but let’s just take it out of the equation and then you definitely won’t stigmatize any.VirginiaRight. You need to recognize that you can say you don’t want to stigmatize people, but if you are still saying that their body size is wrong and needs to change, then you are inherently perpetuating stigma. There’s a tension there. I’ve seen that shift as well. Ten years ago, when I was interviewing doctors, they had never even heard of weight stigma. And that’s definitely shifted. But yeah, there’s still there’s still a little a little more pushing we have to do. The other stuff that comes up for folks around diabetes that I’m sure you hear all the time is the food anxieties, the feeling that diabetes means you can’t ever eat carbohydrates. Or even if you’re at risk for diabetes, that you shouldn’t eat carbohydrates. So can you drill into that relationship a little bit for us between carbs and blood sugar? How do you think about this?GregI think it’s very problematic to tell people you can’t eat a major food group. I have a couple patients out of thousands who can just not eat carbs but it’s unlikely and it’s not sustainable. I think the yo-yo dieting, the weight cycling, all those things are more problematic in the long term. The way I approach it is by saying what a lot of very good dietitians say, which is: Have the carbs but paired with proteins and fats, and that will help the absorption. And also, from an intuitive eating standpoint, check in with yourself after you have those things, a couple hours later, how do you feel? How’s your blood sugar? How do you feel when your sugar is high? And really key in and if you’re not feeling well, or you’re tired, or you’re more thirsty when your blood sugar is high, then that’s something to kind of take notice of and really have that conversation with yourself. So that’s my approach. Certainly people that are on insulin for type one diabetes, or even type two diabetes, can use medications to fit into your nutritional eating pattern and activity. We’re fortunate enough to have medications that we can use, so that you don’t have to change your life in order to manage diabetes, and you don’t have to sacrifice quality of life to do so and to be healthy.VirginiaThat’s an interesting shift. There’s often a mindset of, you have to be doing everything you can to avoid or minimize medication use, even if that means restricting your life in major ways, right? Because somehow it’s a failure, if you just can’t eat quote perfectly enough and avoid the need for medication. So, I like that you’re clearly taking a lot of the shame out of it and prioritizing people’s lifestyles along with their health.Greg,It goes hand in hand, right? So if someone’s really stressed because they’re at a party, and everyone else is having cupcakes, or pizza, and they’re like, “Oh, I can’t eat this, because my blood sugar is gonna go high” or, “The doctor said I can’t do that.” That creates stress, which, will probably also increase blood sugar. And then later on most likely this restrictive thing is going to be like, go and have the cupcake or pizza and maybe more. So, I would say, if it’s in front of you, try it, see if you’re enjoying it. And we can adjust the medication. I don’t want you to feel the stress around living your life and feeling that you can’t have or do something.VirginiaThat’s a very important mindset shift for us to make around this. I think one of the really tough things with type two diabetes in particular, is that people feel this sense of failure, that the sense of like, “I did this,” particularly folks in larger bodies. I did this because I couldn’t lose the weight. And there’s that whole cultural narrative of blaming people for this condition. So yeah, I don’t know if you want to speak to that a little bit because I think that’s a lot of what needs to get undone here.GregTotally, yes.  So much of type two diabetes, or a big proportion of it, is genetic. Then there are other variables that cause blood sugar to go up, whether it’s stress, not getting enough sleep, certain medications raise blood sugar, so there’s a lot of different variables. It’s clearly not just what someone’s eating, or how much they’re moving, or how little they’re moving. There are a lot of things in life and with regard to health that we can’t control. And if it does happen, let’s figure out how to work together to control it and make sure that the quality of life is good, and that the health is as good as it possibly can be.VirginiaWe need to take it out of this sense of personal failure, which just speaks to this idea that we have to earn the right to health care. That only good people deserve these things is such a problematic concept, and really goes against what health care is supposed to do.GregRight, and there’s a huge overlap between diabetes and depression and anxiety. I think taking the shame out of it is a good first step. Acknowledge that a lot of this may have nothing to do with what you did or should have done. Okay, we’re in the present moment, let’s treat it the best we can. What happened in the past, whatever it is, It’s not your fault. It’s genetic. Blame whoever, doesn’t really matter. Like, let’s just take care of it.VirginiaAs you’re talking about behavior changes, which can be a really important tool for managing diabetes and health in general, I think we should talk about the fact that there’s a risk there of that becoming shame-based as well. Doctors prescribing very unrealistic goals for people in terms of the behavior changes they want made. Like, if you’re depressed, it’s hard to exercise regularly. Even if it would be helpful, there’s just these different barriers in people’s lives to achieving the kind of behaviors that doctors might be looking for. So I’m curious how you approach that with your patients to get over the shame. GregSo much about exercise has been linked with negative feelings, doing it just to lose weight—like “no pain, no gain.” With regard to movement, just saying, “What do you like to do?” Do you like to dance? Do you think you could try a yoga class or a spin class? Or, hey, could you just walk for five minutes? Let’s come up with something a little bit above and beyond what you’re doing now, something that you’re gonna enjoy and that’s gonna feel good. So that’s one thing I try to talk about. And then, being realistic and talking about what the access to food is. If someone’s working two jobs, you know they work all day, and they don’t have time for lunch. Just trying to figure out their life is as an individual. Because making population based recommendations, when we all live very different lives, it’s just not realistic. Saying, Oh, you need to diet and exercise, that just means nothing.VirginiaRight. And it can just make people feel very defeated. I remember when I was pretty newly postpartum, maybe six months after my second daughter was born, the doctor I was seeing at the time was pretty weight-focused. She was like, “Well, when my kids were that little, I would walk for an hour a day with them strapped in the stroller.” And I just remember this sense of failure because I knew I couldn’t achieve that. I was like, “Well, my older child has school, and I’m working, and my baby’s not sleeping through the night, and I’m really too tired to walk.” There was such a different way that we could have approached that conversation. If she had started with, “Well, what do you like? What is your time like?” As opposed to, “Why aren’t you doing this thing that worked for me?” Which was frustrating.GregYeah, and I don’t know if that’s training—like if we should be better at motivational interviewing—or if it’s just the structure of the system, that we’re so short on time, It’s easy to be like, “Oh you should diet and exercise.” We’re just clicking away on our little box of the electronic medical record. There’s so many assumptions that are made about people’s lives and not taking the time or having the time to dissect what’s going on in someone’s day-to-day life that’s impacting their health, or could be impacting their health.VirginiaAbsolutely. So the last thing I wanted to talk about is kids. I know you treat adults, but diabetes concerns come up so much for parents. If they have a family history of diabetes or if they have a kid in a bigger body, it’s often one of the first things the pediatrician starts talking to them about. It’s very tied to all this rhetoric about the “childhood obesity epidemic.” What’s your advice for parents? How should they be thinking about this issue if it’s a concern in their family?GregFocusing on making sure the child is getting good sources of nutrition, whatever that may mean, fruits and vegetables, things like that. Coming from a standpoint of not a restrictive eating pattern, but trying to add in certain foods that we know are healthy. Not having things that are off limits or limiting things because in the long run that can be detrimental. Just trying to find ways, the same way with adults, to move, sleep, stress management, all those kinds of things. Focusing on weight specifically with kids is very, very problematic. I’ve had people message me on on Instagram who have diabetes, and they tell me stories of when they went to the pediatrician that they held up like a regular soda on a diet soda and said, “Regular soda? You’re never gonna drink this again.” And threw it in the trash. Seven years old and then goes on to like a 20 year eating disorder. So I think it’s very, very important to not focus on body weight with kids. Just getting kids to find behaviors that we know will serve them long term is important. Body shaming them is probably the worst thing that you could do for a kid.VirginiaI mean, it’s striking me that the advice you’re giving is what I would hope that any parents would be doing: Encouraging exposure to vegetables and finding movement you love. The problem really comes when we only talk about these things because we’re worried about your body size or because we’re worried about your disease risk. That’s underserving all kids. And it’s likely to make the child who is getting that message feel really stigmatized and shamed, as opposed to this just being a part of life for them.GregWhatever their body size is, everyone could benefit from these healthy behaviors. And that should be the same approach with kids.Butter For Your Burnt ToastVirginiaAlright, so we wrap up the episode by giving some recommendations of things we are loving. This can be a book, product you’re loving, an experience you’ve had recently,  any recommendation you’ve got for us.GregI’ll shamelessly just say I love Alexis Conason’s book, Diet Free Revolution. I can’t say without blushing because I feel ridiculous, but whatever.VirginiaThat’s a great recommendation! And of course, you’re always allowed to promote your wife’s book.My recommendation is a podcast my four year old is obsessed with called Julie’s Library, which is Julie Andrews reading kids books. It’s quite magical, if you grew up as a Mary Poppins fan, as I did. They apparently made 20 episodes in 2020, but I completely missed it then. But we’ve just found it and my four year old is in love with it. Julie brings on really wonderful children’s authors like Jacqueline Woodsonq to read their books and chat. It’s a very Mr. Rogers vibe. It’s very low key, very soothing. And I’m finding it’s helping us a lot when she gets home from school because, I don’t know about you, but my kids come home from school in horrible moods, and everybody’s grouchy and screaming. It’s my least favorite part of the day, to be honest. That transition out of schoolwork mode into family mode is very fraught. We put on this podcast and she eats her snack and listens. She’s like, “I need Julie, don’t I?” It just kind of chills her out and I want to recommend it. Anywhere you get your podcasts, there’s 21 episodes. I hope they make more. When you look at the reviews, there’s all these parents being like, “Please, Julie make more episodes.” It’s kind of like preschool or hypnosis. It’s really great.GregSo awesome. Perfect. We all need it.VirginiaWell, Dr. Dodell, tell listeners where they can find more of your work. I will link to your Instagram because people need to see you dancing on Fridays.GregOh my goodness, yeah. So I’m @everything_endocrine on Instagram. Twitter, I don’t use that much, but I am on there at @DodellMD. And my practice website is Central Park Endocrinology.VirginiaAwesome. Well, thank you so much for being here. This was a great conversation.The Burnt Toast Podcast is produced and hosted by me, Virginia Sole-Smith. You can follow me on Instagram or Twitter.Burnt Toast transcripts and essays are edited and formatted by Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus, an Instagram account where you can buy and sell plus size clothing.The Burnt Toast logo is by Deanna Lowe.Our theme music is by Jeff Bailey and Chris Maxwell.Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.Thanks for listening and for supporting independent anti diet journalism! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.com/subscribe

Content warning: on this episode in in this post we're going to be discussing eating disorders, eating disorder recovery, and diets. If those aren't topics you're ready to listen to, skip this one and come back.This is our third week of our deep dive into the topic on diet culture on our podcast #WeGotGoals and we're getting to the question that started it all with Dr. Alexis Conason: what should we do instead of diet (more on the flaw in that question shortly).But first, Dr. Conason is a clinical psychologist and certified eating disorder specialist in private practice in New York City. She's a sought-after speaker, a researcher who has published in peer-reviewed journals, and is widely viewed as an expert on the topics of mindful eating, body image, and diet culture in the media. She's also the founder of The Anti-Diet Plan, a weight-inclusive online mindful eating program and is the author of The Diet-Free Revolution: 10 Steps to Free Yourself from the Diet-Cycle with Mindful Eating and Radical Self-Acceptance.The book is an incredible resource for those looking to rebuild a relationship with food and their bodies that's rooted in a trust that your body is built to tell you what it needs. Diets teach you to rely on an external plan or lifestyle for your meals, leading you to ask questions like, "If I shouldn't diet, what should I eat?" And it was midway through the interview with Dr. Conason when I realize that the question itself is rooted in diet culture.As a reminder, diet culture and its overarching idea that if we fit a certain body type we'll be happy and diets are the way to get there. And because of that, we muting our bodies' signals to eat less in hopes of shrinking. Many of us spend so much of our lives on diets and feeling dissatisfied with our bodies, that nearly ninety percent of women report body dissatisfaction, Dr. Conason shared.And this whole thing is a vicious cycle, body dissatisfaction is linked to things like depression and eating disorders.In our interview, we talk through the 10-step process in her book Diet-Free Revolution that helps to get back in touch with the cues your body intelligently has built into it like hunger, cravings, and fullness. We also dive into how her start in obesity research led her to dedicate her life to anti-diet work instead of putting people on diets.  Resources: The Anti-Diet Plan, which also includes some free resources and details who should and should not take on this planThe Diet-Free Revolution bookMore on fasting and stress in womenEvidence that diets don't work More on body dissatisfaction from researchers at the University of Wisconsin, who also examine how race and gender play a rolePast episodes in this deep dive into diet culture: Dr. Lindo Bacon shares the research that led to Heath At Every SizeJudith Matz explains more on the psychology of your body on a dietSome FAQsWhat's a diet? Any time you make a change in how you eat for the purpose of weight loss.What is diet culture? A belief that thinness is a moral virtue and thinness is health. Therefore, it's worth doing anything to achieve that status and when you get to that status, you'll be happier and healthier.What exactly is obesity? And should you use that word when talking about someone else's weight? In short, it's complicated, based on the BMI *which has its own problems* and no. Here's more research on the words we use and weight stigma.Why did we choose to use the word "fat"? The word fat is being reclaimed by many - especially those within the fat acceptance movement. To some, this word is loaded and will remain loaded, we want to honor that and we understand that. If we could address everyone on a 1:1 basis, we would use your words of choice (like Dr. Conason talks through). More on the word fat. 

Lisa and Diana chat about mindful eating, the perils of diet culture, and breaking free from its chains with Dr. Alexis Conason, a licensed psychologist, certified eating disorder specialist-supervisor, and author of The Diet-Free Revolution: 10 Steps to Free Yourself from the Diet Cycle with Mindful Eating and Radical Self-Acceptance.

Just a quick content warning: on this episode and in this post, we're going to be discussing eating disorders and diets. If that's not a topic you're ready to listen to, skip this one and come back. We get it.We're in our second week of our deep dive into diet culture on our podcast, #WeGotGoals. And this week, we're speaking to Judith Matz, LCSW, ACSW. In terms of our deep dive, think of this episode as an intro to what diet culture is and a 101 on how to get out of it.Judith Matz is a therapist and nationally recognized speaker on the topics of diet culture, binge eating, emotional eating, body image, and weight stigma. She has her own journey with dieting and she shares on the episode how she inevitably broke up with her scale and made a professional choice to dedicate her professional life to undoing what diets have done to human beings.Matz is the co-author of the books The Diet Survivor's Handbook and Beyond a Shadow of a Diet. She also co-created two card decks that are meant to make an anti-diet and body positive lifestyle more accessible - The Making Peace with Food card deck and the Body Positivity card deck. We looked to her for her expertise in diets and diet culture for us. Read that as, I asked the stupid questions so you don't have to.You'll hear her define a diet as “Any time you make a change in how you eat for the purpose of weight loss.” I've been reading anti-diet books in public this month as I prepare for these interviews, and I've heard from a lot of people about their systems that aren't diets - they're more like do's and don'ts. According to Matz, your system is a diet if you're doing it to lose weight. And you'll also hear her define diet culture, which might as well be, “well, it's in the air you breathe,” but for the purpose of this conversation, it's “a belief that thinness is a moral virtue and thinness is health. Therefore, it's worth doing anything to achieve that status and when you get to that status, you'll be happier and healthier.”So, as we dive deeper, I'm convinced that diet culture is basically the matrix - our minds are so occupied with the illusion in front of us that if we just lose weight, we'll have the life of our dreams. We're so occupied, in fact, that we're willing to ignore the fact that you'll hear from several experts this month on diets and diet culture. Diets simply do not work.As Matz puts it, there's only a 3-5% chance that a diet will work - and there isn't a single program or plan that has the research to support sustained weight loss over 2-5 years. Resources:Judith Matz has a private practice in the Chicago area, which you can learn more about at www.judithmatz.com Follow Matz on Instagram @judmatzMatz's book The Diet Survivor's handbook is a good place to start if you're breaking out of diets - she reminds you that you haven't failed at diets - they've failed you.Matz goes through her Making Peace with Food card deck in our conversationYou'll hear Matz mention the book Sick Enough by Jennifer L. Gaudiani in reference to eating disorder recoveryPast episodes in this month's deep dive:A Deep Dive into Diet Culture with Dr. Lindo Bacon, pioneer in the HAES movementHere are some of the frequently asked questions I've heard since talking about this project as well as some resources (you'll also hear other experts speak to these this month):What's a diet? Any time you make a change in how you eat for the purpose of weight loss.What is diet culture? A belief that thinness is a moral virtue and thinness is health. Therefore, it's worth doing anything to achieve that status and when you get to that status, you'll be happier and healthier.What exactly is obesity? And should you use that word when talking about someone else's weight? In short, it's complicated, based on the BMI *which has its own problems* and no. Here's more research on the words we use and weight stigma.How do we know what our set point is? Ugh, it's complicated. But, you'l hear Dr. Bacon speak about how a body behaves when below it. (see the Keys' study “During the semi-starvation phase [about 1,500 calories a day] the changes were dramatic. Beyond the gaunt appearance of the men, there were significant decreases in their strength and stamina, body temperature, heart rate and sex drive. The psychological effects were significant as well. Hunger made the men obsessed with food. They would dream and fantasize about food, read and talk about food and savor the two meals a day they were given.”) How are we supposed to eat? That is literally the question that started this all and you'll hear more specific answers to this question throughout the month (From both Judith Matz and Dr. Alexis Conason, who you'll hear from next week), but when I spoke with Dr. Conason, it was clear that the question itself was rooted in diet culture. Damn it. Our bodies have cues that we'll speak to in the coming weeks that we've conditioned ourselves to ignore.

Today I'm joined by Katelyn Parsons, entrepreneur, speaker, certified Intuitive Eating and Body Image coach, as well as the host of Body Truth podcast. After years of struggling with bulimia and disordered eating, Katelyn not only found recovery but recognized a crucial missing link in the wellness industry: empowerment and individual sustainability around health. Katelyn has helped countless creative leaders transform their relationship with food and body image through an integrative, evidence-based process so that they can move through each day feeling more present, empowered, and comfortable in their skin, without worrying about what to eat. Today Katelyn walks me through her personal and professional journey, the impact of social media and pop culture, diet culture, kids and intuitive eating, fatphobia, and so much more. “We are all born intuitive eaters. We are all born with this intuitive relationship with food and this intuitive trust with our bodies.” - Katelyn Parsons Links: Christie's Website: https://www.sasssays.com  Christie's Instagram: @sasssays Katelyn's Website: https://www.katelynparsons.com/  Katelyn's Instagram: @katelyn.parsons Katelyn's Podcast: https://katelynparsons.com/podcast  Intuitive Eating: https://www.intuitiveeating.org/10-principles-of-intuitive-eating/ H.A.E.S.: https://haescommunity.com/  Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch: https://read.macmillan.com/lp/intuitive-eating-4th-edition/  Intuitive Eating - The Workbook by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch: https://www.amazon.com/Intuitive-Eating-Workbook-Principles-Relationship/dp/1626256225 Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle: https://www.burnoutbook.net/ Previous Sass Says Shows Mentioned: Ep 16 Dr. Alexis Conason: https://sasssays.com/podcast/16-dr-alexis-conason-dismantling-diet-culture-with-the-author-of-the-diet-free-revolution/ Ep 22 Deana Panza: https://sasssays.com/podcast/22-deana-panza-start-saying-no-and-reconnect-to-your-authentic-self/

Episode 53. Today I have the pleasure of talking with Stefanie Michele. We are coming in hot in 2022. Seriously. If you missed last week's episode with Dr. Alexis Conason, please go back and check it out. This week's one is also incredible, and frankly so is next week's. If you know me, you know I am not a social media fan. Perhaps because I am quite bad at it. Strong emotional writing isn't necessarily my strength. In fact, I have an incredible intern who is now officially a Psychology of Wellness team member who writes a lot of copy for me. I can write, but I have this tendency to focus on data and facts in a way that isn't always compelling. Well, I said it at the end of this interview and I'll say it here now, Stefanie Michele has a gift. She is able to break down concepts related to the experience of binge eating and the binge restrict cycle in a way that is unique and speaks to the very human and real experience of this shame filled cycle. It also struck me, somewhat while talking to her, that she is such a cool example of what I often talk about. That is, we need more women to get out of the ineffective dieting cycle asap so that they can show up in their lives in a courageous and connected way. Share their unique gifts with the world so we can start solving some of the world's very real and pressing problems. Stefanie has 25K+ followers on IG at the time of recording and you can find her at @Iamstefaniemichele. She offers great free insights into binge eating recovery on there. Think of the domino effect of one person getting out of the cycle, and how many more people that one person can impact. Interview Highlights and What to Expect Stefanie's journey of being in the binge-restrict cycle for 25 years, and how a moment in her kitchen helped her turn the corner towards true recoveryWhy years of treatment for an eating disorder didn't work for herThe 5 questions to ask yourself if you can relate to this statement, "I'm allowing all foods but I'm still bingeing, is this right?"What it means to "stay with your body" and how it can help youHow a creative outlet may help accelerate your recovery Who is Stefanie Michele? Stefanie is a coach and a writer, a wife and a friend and a mother, a reader, a thinker, a runner, and a chocolate-chip mint ice cream lover. But a little history: My disordered eating began when I was 15 years old dealing with adolescent strife and hormonal shifts. For the rest of my teens, 20's, and well into my 30's, I struggled with bulimia, binge-eating disorder, and orthorexia. The binge-restrict cycle was THE focus of my life for over 20 years and something from which I never, ever thought I would recover. I thought I was broken. Somehow during that time, I got married, had 3 girls, and led a pretty normal looking life. There were times I even felt normal — when I was with my friends, snuggling with my babies, or engrossed in a book. But most of the time, I felt ashamed, angry, and completely out of control. I hated my body and lived in fear of gaining weight. Just before my 40th birthday, I made the decision to challenge diet culture and enlisted the support of a coach to work through my body image, which went hand in hand with food recovery. I did the work, and the work worked. When I tell you that I'm excited to help you, I freaking mean it. I have laid in bed for days, canceled plans, avoided mirrors, and detached from my authentic self just like you have, and I know there is a different way. You can change your life, and start changing the way women in this world are valued and seen. Want To Support Local Bookstores Near You? Buy your books from Bookshop! Support local bookstores near you and this blog and podcast and help prevent Amazon from completely squashing the local book market. Are You New Here? Welcome! I'm so glad to have you. You might be wondering what this blog and podcast are all about.

Content warning: in this post and on this episode, we're going to be discussing eating disorders and diets. If that's not a topic you're ready to listen to, skip this one and come back. We get it.Dr. Lindo Bacon, whose pronouns are they/them, wasn't an easy interview to get. They're a force in the emerging research that supports the health at every size (HAES) movement and in the movement to end fat stigma. They also authored the books "Health at Every Size," and "Radical Belonging," as well as co-authoring "Body Respect." Dr. Bacon also required a little convincing as to why a media outlet called "aSweatLife" cared about being a part of the conversation on diet culture. And that concern wasn't without merit.For years, we've avoided talk of diets on aSweatLife - sure, you'll see a reference here or there to a name-brand diet - but we've said for years that we don't want to tell you what to eat or not eat.Indulge me for a minute here - I spent the first 18 years of my life in Minnesota. If you've heard of "Minnesota nice" the concept would be more aptly named, "Minnesota avoidance." My people don't talk about things that are uncomfortable and will even go so far as to lie to retail associates. "I'll be back later for this," we say holding up an item of clothing we tried on and hated. Everyone knows you're not coming back.So as we were approaching our 6th year of the podcast, #WeGotGoals, we decided as a team to talk about the things we've avoided or that we truly just want to learn more about, starting with diet culture.In not participating in the conversation about diets, we weren't doing any work to undo their negative impact.That brings us to the start of our deep dive on diet culture over the month of January. We chose this month to tackle this topic because we know the messages you're being inundated with right now - yesterday, I lost count of how many commercials offered me a chance to lose weight or get my money back. Over the month, we're featuring four experts who each have a unique point of view in the diet culture space - therapists, researchers, experts in eating disorder recovery, and those with lived experience.And we're starting with Dr. Bacon because they have the education and background to support the fact that over a person's lifetime, diets simply do not work, which you'll hear all about in the episode. You'll also hear about the emotional effects of dieting that their work validated.Dr. Bacon is a curious human, pursuing several degrees to understand their body and the relationship between the size of a body and health. They went to graduate school for psychology, pursued another graduate degree in Exercise Physiology, and finally landed on a PhD in physiology from the University of California, Davis. That's where they did their research that led to the book "Health at Every Size." Their peer reviewed research found this: "Concern has arisen that this weight focused paradigm is not only ineffective at producing thinner, healthier bodies, but also damaging, contributing to food and body preoccupation, repeated cycles of weight loss and regain, distraction from other personal health goals and wider health determinants, reduced self-esteem, eating disorders, other health decrement, and weight stigmatization and discrimination [6–8]."Needless to say, they know their stuff and they are an expert in not only the negative impact of dieting, but also, the medical stigma that those living in larger bodies face, as well as the identities that intersect with weight, like socioeconomic status, gender, and race.Resources: Dr. Bacon's website has a litany of resources on fat stigma, HAES, as well as resources for those working in health and fitness.The Maintenance phase podcast episode I reference titled "Is Fat Bad for You" is an excellent listen if you want to know more about the challenge of doing science-based anti-diet research.Research by Dr. Bacon and team that resulted from the research they conducted around HAES: Weight Science: Evaluating the Evidence for a Paradigm Shift.The Keys' study that we reference (if you've taken intro psychology, you've probably read about it), in which 36 men starved themselves for research at the University of Minnesota.You'll hear us reference the theory of a body's set point (on this episode and throughout the month) here's more on thatOn the episode, we chose to use the word, "fat" you'll hear that throughout the episode. We made that choice because of the fat acceptance movement, which you can learn a lot about through this podcast from NPR.Why is the fat acceptance movement a thing? It's basically a movement to change the world for those experiencing anti-fat bias, which you can read more about from Harvard Business Review (why HBR? Because anti-fat bias prevents people from getting jobs).Here are some of the frequently asked questions I've heard since talking about this project as well as some resources (you'll also hear other experts speak to these this month):What exactly is obesity? And should you use that word when talking about someone else's weight? In short, it's complicated, based on the BMI *which has its own problems* and no. Here's more on how the Mayo Clinic talks about it.How do we know what our set point is? Ugh, it's complicated. But, you'l hear Dr. Bacon speak about how a body behaves when below it. (see the Keys' study "During the semi-starvation phase [about 1,500 calories a day] the changes were dramatic. Beyond the gaunt appearance of the men, there were significant decreases in their strength and stamina, body temperature, heart rate and sex drive. The psychological effects were significant as well. Hunger made the men obsessed with food. They would dream and fantasize about food, read and talk about food and savor the two meals a day they were given.") How are we supposed to eat? That is literally the question that started this all and you'll hear more specific answers to this question throughout the month (From both Judith Matz and Dr. Alexis Conason), but when I spoke with Dr. Conason, it was clear that the question itself was rooted in diet culture. Damn it. Our bodies have cues that we'll speak to in the coming weeks that we've conditioned ourselves to ignore. 

Episode 52. Today I had the immense pleasure of talking with Dr. Alexis Conason! I feel like I sort of met a Health at Every Size® movement celeb, is anyone with me? Alexis Conason, PsyD, CEDS-S, is a clinical psychologist and eating disorder specialist in private practice in New York City. She is the founder of The Anti-Diet Plan, a weight-inclusive online mindful eating program. She was previously a research associate at the New York Nutrition Obesity Research Center in affiliation with Columbia University. Her research has been published in peer-reviewed journals, she is a frequent speaker at conferences, and she has been featured widely as an expert on the topics of mindful eating, body image, and diet culture in the media. You can find her on social media @theantidietplan.  A lifelong New Yorker, Conason lives in Manhattan with her husband and two daughters. She loves all things related to food including cooking, food shopping, watching food shows on TV, and of course eating! But most rewarding is helping her clients transform their relationship with food and experience the joys of eating. She is a fierce advocate for helping people recognize and question the societal norms that encourage their feeling not good enough about themselves so they can stop fixating on shrinking their bodies and reclaim the space that they deserve in the world.   Check out Dr. Conason's new book! The Diet Free Revolution Dr. Conason's website: https://drconason.com/ In this interview, we cover: Dr. Conason's personal history with the ineffective diet cycleDr. Conason's professional transition from obesity research to Health at Every Size® and mindful eating workWhy she chose to focus so much on mindfulness and mindful eating versus intuitive eatingHer thoughts on how weight inclusive work merges with the weight loss surgery worldHow we are doing as a field and where she's like to see it improveWays to incorporate mindfulness that are simple and easy Want To Support Local Bookstores Near You? Buy your books from Bookshop! Support local bookstores near you and this blog and podcast and help prevent Amazon from completely squashing the local book market. Are You New Here? Welcome! I'm so glad to have you. You might be wondering what this blog and podcast are all about. We relate everything in this podcast back to motivation, but not the hustle and grind kind. Truly sustainable motivation that keeps you feeling energetic and engaged in your life for the long haul. We talk about why “I'm just not motivated” is a myth, and why the TYPE of motivation you have is so important to fully understand. If you are ready to learn about motivation and respecting your body in an effective way so that you can live a life you truly love, you are in the right place. Check out the Foundational Episodes of the Motivation Made Easy Podcast here! Introduction: What is this podcast all about?Episode 1: Want to Get & Stay Motivated? A Crash Course on Motivation, Weight Loss, and HealthEpisode 2: How Dieting Steals Our MotivationEpisode 3: How To Get Motivated To Improve Your Health (Motivation 101)Episode 4: How to Transform Health Fears Into Forward Progress Do you ever worry that you are wasting your life? I definitely did. In fact, I wrote that in my journal many years ago when I was in the middle of the diet-binge roller coaster ride. I woke up every day thinking about food, my body, and what I would eat that day to “be healthy”The notebooks I had filled with calories and points could fill up a spare bedroomSocial events and vacations immediately prompted the thought “they will notice I gained weight” or “I need to lose weight by then”Deep down I knew I wasn't living life the way I wanted to, but I didn't know how to pull myself out of it. If this is you, I want you to imagine what it would feel like to feel empowered in your body and proud of your choices on a consistent basis. I promise you,

Today I'm joined by Dr. Alexis Conason, clinical psychologist and certified eating disorder specialist-supervisor in private practice in New York City. Dr. Conason is the founder of The Anti-Diet Plan, a weight-inclusive online mindful eating program designed to help people stop dieting, eat more attuned with their body, and live more peaceful and pleasurable lives. She is the author of The Diet Free Revolution: 10 Steps to Free Yourself from the Diet Cycle with Mindful Eating and Radical Self-Acceptance. Today we talk about diet culture, where it comes from, and how it is harmful. We talk about mindful eating, eating disorders, disordered eating, and weight stigma. Dr. Conason shares her advice for creating a meditation mindfulness practice and how to show ourselves compassion. “The problem is not your body, the problem is our culture.” - Dr. Alexis Conason Links: Christie's Website: https://www.sasssays.com  Christie's Instagram: @sasssays Dr. Conason's Website: https://drconason.com/ Dr. Conason's Instagram: @theantidietplan Dr. Conason's Book: https://drconason.com/the-book/ Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle: https://www.burnoutbook.net/ Full Catastrophe Living (Revised Edition): Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness: https://www.amazon.com/Full-Catastrophe-Living-Revised-Illness/dp/0345536932

We veered away from sports for a very special episode on diet culture. Nicole is solo - Natalie had a family emergency - as we welcome psychologist, author, and founder of The Anti-Diet Plan, Alexis Conason! Diet culture has been a driving force in society for decades and it's time we talk about it more openly and get to the root of why, and more importantly how, to stop it.

The Diet-Free Revolution is a different way to approach food and our bodies that lets go of the oppression of dieting and restricting and embraces self-compassion. Dr. Alexis Conason is my guest on In Her Voice this week, and she shares her thoughts as the author of the new book, The Diet-Free Revolution, with us on a new paradigm of health. I'd love to connect with you on Instagram to keep this conversation going! You can find me at www.instagram.com/kellyjcovert. Connect with Alexis: Website: www.drconason.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/theantidietplan Instagram: www.instagram.com/theantidietplan The Diet-Free Revolution Book: https://amzn.to/3DCQ3j5

In this latest episode I chat with NYC-based psychologist, Alexis Conason, about her approach to living diet-free that she writes about in her book, The Diet Free Revolution.  Alexis specializes in eating disorders in her private practice and is also the founder of The Anti-Diet Plan, a weight-inclusive online mindful eating program.  In this episode we chat about: the 10 steps outlined in her book to help free yourself from the diet on, diet off-cycle;  goals she sets with her clients that have nothing to do with weight;  how diet culture is punishing; what we can do to be more compassionate to ourselves and our bodies when we are less than thrilled with our body shape and size; how we can bring acceptance into our lives; using meditation as a coping strategy (and no, it doesn't need to be a perfect practice!); and more ... !! Check out this episode to gain more insight and clarity on how you can slowly pull yourself away from dieting.  Mentioned in this episode:  The Diet-Free Revolution The Anti-Diet Plan * * * * * Grab my free workbook: 5 Steps to Ditch Diets!! ***** If you love the show, please leave a rating and review on Apple podcasts! Please go to iTunes and leave a rating and review!! ***** Would you like to work with me 1:1? You can schedule a  complimentary 20-minute Zoom with me to let me know what you are struggling with and determine if I am a good fit for you!  

Dr. Alexis Conason, Psy.D., CEDS-S is a clinical psychologist and certified eating disorder specialist-supervisor in private practice in New York City. On today's episode with Dr. Conason we're digging into HAES myths, emotional eating, and mindful eating with chronic health conditions. We're also discussing evidence-based guidelines and weight inclusive care. Our Recommendations this week! Evive...Read More »

In this episode of ‘The Fat Doctor Podcast', Dr. Natasha Larmie is joined by clinical psychologist and certified eating disorder specialist-supervisor Alexis Conason, PSY.D.Together Natasha and Alexis intimately discuss the following:What influenced Alexis to write her new book  ‘The Diet Free Revolution: 10 Steps to Free Yourself from the Diet Cycle with Mindful Eating and Radical Self-Acceptance'.What a ‘diet cycle' is and why it's not sustainable.Intuitive eating and how it differs from restrictive diets.Disordered eating and how weight can influence the type of care and diagnosis you receive. How trauma can affect both self love and eating habits. Thank you for listening! Are you interested in watching extended versions of these podcasts and supporting The Fat Doctor Podcast? Then why not join her on Patreon. You can also become part of her Facebook Group Friends of the Fat Doctor or check out her website for more including social media.Resources and links mentioned in this episode:Dr. Conason's book ‘The Diet Free Revolution: 10 Steps to Free Yourself from the Diet Cycle with Mindful Eating and Radical Self-Acceptance' is available to buy here and at other book retailers. You can connect with Dr. Conason on Instagram @theantidietplan.More about the show:How would you react if someone told you that most of what we are taught to believe about healthy bodies is a lie? How would you feel if that person was a medical doctor with over 20 years experience treating patients and seeing the harm caused by all this misinformation?In her podcast, Dr Natasha Larmie,  an experienced General Practitioner and self-styled Fat Doctor, examines and challenges 'health' as we know it through passionate, unfiltered conversations with guest experts, colleagues and friends.She tackles the various ways in which weight stigma and anti-fat bias impact both individuals and society as a whole.  From the classroom to the boardroom, the doctors office to the local pub,  weight-based discrimination is everywhere. Is it any wonder that it has such an impact on our health? Whether you're a person affected by weight stigma, a healthcare professional, a concerned parent or an ally who shares our view that people in larger bodies deserve better, Dr. Larmie and the team at 'The Fat Doctor Podcast' welcomes you into the inner circle.More about Alexis Conason, PSY.D.:ALEXIS CONASON, PSY.D., CEDS-S, is a clinical psychologist and certified eating disorder specialist-supervisor in private practice in New York City. Her group practice, Conason Psychological Services, specializes in the treatment of binge eating disorder, disordered eating, body image concerns, and psychological issues related to bariatric weight loss surgery.  She is the founder of The Anti-Diet Plan, a weight-inclusive online mindful eating program designed to help people stop dieting, eat more attuned with their body, and live more peaceful and pleasurable lives. She is the author of The Diet Free Revolution: 10 Steps to Free Yourself from the Diet Cycle with Mindful Eating and Radical Self-Acceptance (June 2021, North Atlantic Books), available wherever books are sold. Dr. Conason is a fierce advocate for helping people recognize and question the societal norms that encourage feeling not good enough about themselves so they can stop fixating on shrinking their bodies and reclaim the space that they deserve in the world. You can find her on social media @theantidietplan.

In this episode we'll be exploring two skills to help you break free from dieting with my wonderful guest Alexis Conason, Licensed Psychologist and Certified Eating Disorders Specialist.The skills of mindfulness and self-compassion.Specifically:what mindfulness is and isn'thow mindfulness is the foundation to moving beyond negative thoughts about food and bodythe support mindfulness brings in body connection moving away from dietingwhere to begin with a mindfulness practice and make it stick!what self-compassion is and it's power in food and body peaceexploring practice and not perfectAll links and notes here

Why We Love Dr. Conason: Alexis Conason, PSY.D., CEDS-S, is a clinical psychologist and certified eating disorder specialist-supervisor in private practice in New York City. Her group practice, Conason Psychological Services, specializes in the treatment of binge eating disorder, disordered eating, body image concerns, and psychological issues related to bariatric weight loss surgery.   She is the founder of The Anti-Diet Plan, a weight-inclusive online mindful eating program designed to help people stop dieting, eat more attuned with their body, and live more peaceful and pleasurable lives. She is the author of the forthcoming book The Diet Free Revolution: 10 Steps to Free Yourself from the Diet Cycle with Mindful Eating and Radical Self-Acceptance (June 2021, North Atlantic Books), available for preorder now.  Dr. Conason is a fierce advocate for helping people recognize and question the societal norms that encourage feeling not good enough about themselves so they can stop fixating on shrinking their bodies and reclaim the space that they deserve in the world. You can find her on social media @theantidietplan. On the Pod, We Discuss: Her own progress from dieter and weight loss specialist to anti-diet practitioner  The multifaceted determinants of health Why mindfulness is so critical to healing your relationship with food  How to quickly and easily integrate that practice into your daily life  How mindfulness translates into healing our relationship with food and body  Why processing grief is a big part of moving through to the other side of dieting  Why examining what we’re getting from dieting, or hoping to get out of weight loss is key to shifting your relationship with food  What your internal GPS is and how to start to access it  And much more Helpful Links: Giveaway! To be entered to win a copy of Dr. Conason's new book, leave the podcast a review and send us a screenshot (email us hello@wellnesslately.com or DM us on Instagram @wellness_lately) by June 2, 2021 Get the book, The Diet Free Revolution: 10 Steps to Free Yourself from the Diet Cycle with Mindful Eating and Radical Self-Acceptance Learn about her 6-week mindful eating course Get her free 5-day mindful eating intro course  Visit Dr. Conason's website Follow Dr. Alexis Conason on Instagram Our interview with her husband, Dr.  Gregory Dodell Watch our free masterclass to learn 5 Simple Shifts to End Binge Eating  Join our private Facebook group Set up a free breakthrough session to see if our coaching program is a good fit for you Learn more about our personalized Intuitive Eating coaching program

In this week’s episode Hannah and Ali talk all things the diet-free revolution. They are joined by clinical psychologist and Certified Eating Disorder Specialist-Supervisor Alexis Conason. Alexis gave Hannah and Ali a sneak peak at her new book “The Diet-Free Revolution: 10 steps to free yourself from the diet cycle with mindful eating and radical self acceptance” and once they read it they knew she was the PERFECT person to answer these listener questions: How do you manage feelings of guilt and shame that come up when you allow yourself to eat foods you enjoy? How do I know the differences between food preferences and disordered eating beliefs? How can I implement mindfulness strategies with eating when I’ve always used busyness to avoid food? How can meditation improve your relationship with food? We spend a lot of time identifying the problems within diet culture and the negative impact on our relationships with food and our bodies but what we don’t always talk about are the next steps. In this episode Hannah, Ali and Alexis will give you a how-to guide for getting started on breaking free from the grip of diet culture and living a life of food freedom. Make sure to head over to the @eatcakepod Instagram account Monday-Friday at 3pm PST for a live support "Snack Time & Chill"- a chance for a supported snack at a physical distance, to ask your nutrition questions and have some laughs along the way. How to find Alexis Conason: On Instagram @theantidietplan https://drconason.com/ Pre-Order June 29:  “The Diet-Free Revolution: 10 steps to free yourself from the diet cycle with mindful eating and radical self acceptance” available on Amazon, Penguin Random House and more. If you enjoyed the episode, be sure to take a screenshot and share it out on Instagram and tag @eatcakepod. We will be sure to share your comments and big takeaways on Instagram Stories as well. Also, once you've subscribed make sure to give us a review on iTunes (or Google Play, Stitcher, Android, TuneIn, Spotify).  You can find Hannah & Ali on Instagram @eatcakepod, on Facebook @Let Us Eat Cake Podcast, listen to episodes on https://eatcakepod.home.blog and email your questions to eatcakepod@gmail.com The information presented in this podcast does not replace the individual nutrition recommendations from your health care providers. Visit https://www.dietitians.ca/Your-Health/Find-A-Dietitian/ to find a specialized dietitian in your area.

Alexis Conason is an NYC-based psychologist, author of The Diet-Free Revolution, and creator of the Anti-Diet mindful eating course. After her own decades of endless dieting, she became a trailblazer in fighting weight stigma and creating awareness around the pervasiveness of diet culture. Here, Rivki and Alexis discuss foundational concepts to integrate a healthier perspective in our own lives.

Ryan is back and we have a lot to talk about. We unpack GLAAD’s inaugural Social Media Safety Index with CEO and President Sarah Kate Ellis. Also, what is The Diet Free Revolution - the author Alexis Conason joins us. Plus, It’s AAPI heritage month and mental health awareness month , so we wanted to continuing to look at mental health through an inter-sectional lens; licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Jeanie Chang joins us for the conversation.    Thank you for listening!  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Gregory Dodell grew up in Los Angeles. He went to Albany Medical College and did both internal medicine residency and Endocrinology fellowship at St. Luke's Roosevelt (affiliated with Columbia University). He is currently in private practice at Central Park Endocrinology in New York City. Some things we discuss in this episode include -Practicing as a doctor through the lens of Health at Every Size (HAES) -The harm of weight stigma -The inefficacy of diets -How medical offices and professionals could help decrease weight stigma -The concept that “weight is not a choice” and the factors that influence weight -Internal hormone sensors -Advocating for ourselves at medical appointments You can find Gregory both dancing and sharing incredibly valuable information on his Instagram account @everything_endocrine Gregory is married to Alexis Conason, PsyD who can be found on Instagram @theantidietplan. Her book “The Diet Free Revolution” is available for pre-order now (available in June)! Note: We also talk about Dr. Joshua Wolrich's new book “Food Isn't Medicine” quite a bit in this episode. You can follow him @drjoshuawolrich on Instagram and grab a copy of his book to learn more about some of the topics we shared. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Why We Love Dr. Dodell: Dr. Gregory Dodell is a board-certified endocrinologist. He received his medical degree from Albany Medical College. He completed his internal medicine and endocrinology Fellowship at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center, affiliated with Columbia University. He is in private practice at Central Park Endocrinology, PC. On the Pod, We Discuss: Why he was drawn to step up and use his privilege and position of authority as a white male doctor to speak out against diet culture and weight stigma and why his speciality as an endocrinologist uniquely positions him to fight these systems of oppression  His uniquely HAES-aligned household and his forthcoming wife’s book  Why counseling patients to lose weight isn’t useful on more than one front  How he sees weight stigma show up in the medical community and the harm he sees it causing his patients and those who reach out to him online How people can try to take care of themselves without dieting when they have certain health concerns How he tries to treat the whole person and not just the numbers  The number one commonly overlooked factor in lifestyle when it comes to our health  How some health challenges simply have components outside of a patient's control and why it’s challenging when the world tries to convince them otherwise What he sees as the ideal future for compassionate health care  And so much more Helpful Links: Connect with Dr. Gregory Dodell on Instagram @everything_endocrine Dr. Dodell's private practice, Central Park Endocrinology Alexis Conason, PsyD (his wife), @theantidietplan The Diet Free Revolution by Alexis Conason, PsyD Watch our free masterclass to learn 5 Simple Shifts to End Binge Eating  Join our private Facebook group Set up a free breakthrough session to chat with one of us Check out our personalized Intuitive Eating Coaching program