In this mini-episode, Jessica and Melissa discuss the practice of Inner Inquiry, a method that encourages individuals to connect with their true selves by making choices based on what feels most authentic in the moment.

Melissa shares insights on how this practice can help in intuitive eating, building self-trust, and navigating daily decisions. They emphasize the importance of support in the healing journey and how grounding practices can help you learn how to connect back to yourself. The conversation highlights the joy of celebrating authenticity in personal choices and the transformative power of listening to your body in every aspect of life, from eating to getting dressed.

* Connect with Nope on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicathiefels/

* Connect with your host, Jessica, on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nopethatsnotnormal/

Meet Our Guest, Melissa

Melissa Shafer, LMP, FNTP has more than 2 decades of experience working in the field of well-being. She prioritizes all of her clients being able to be the truest version of themselves possible. She strives to have that reflected in how she supports them with craniosacral massage and in the recommendations she provides her nutritional therapy clients.

With a food-neutral and all-bodies-are-good-bodies approach, she uses various tools to gain information about signs and symptoms the body is expressing and combines that with her clients lived experiences, always being mindful of stress and the nervous system.

This brings a whole-person approach to her nutritional therapy work, allowing people to be the experts of their own bodies and live into their wholeness.

* Website: melissashafer.com

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_melissashafer_/

Watch The Conversation About Inner Inquiry

In this episode, Jessica and Jenn delve into the complexities of diet culture and body image during the transition into menopause and the experience of menopause itself. They dig into the misconceptions surrounding aging, the narratives that often accompany menopause, and the strategies for thriving during this time. Most importantly, they talk about the need for compassion and understanding as a woman experiencing these transitions and how wonderful the other side of menopause actually is!

* Connect with Nope on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicathiefels/

* Connect with your host, Jessica, on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nopethatsnotnormal/

Meet Our Guest, Jenn

Dr. Jenn Salib Huber is a Canadian Registered Dietitian, Naturopathic Doctor, and Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor and she's on a mission to help women manage menopause without diets and food rules. She helps women navigate the physical and emotional changes that happen in perimenopause and menopause, including their search for food freedom and body confidence. Working from a health at every size approach, she teaches women to become intuitive eaters and build body confidence at any stage of midlife. In addition to her 1:1 and small group programs, she's the host of 'The Midlife Feast' podcast and community that helps women "undiet" their lives after 40 so they can nourish a relationship with food that helps them discover the magic of midlife.

* https://www.menopausenutritionist.ca/themidlifefeastcommunity

* https://www.menopausenutritionist.ca/themidlifefeastcommunity

* https://www.instagram.com/menopause.nutritionist

Watch The Conversation About Menopause and Dieting

In this mini-episode, Jessica and Kayla Jessop discuss the concept of fear foods and how this can impact so many aspects of your life—in ways you may not even realize. Kayla introduces a method to categorize foods based on the anxiety they evoke and then explores the importance of challenging fear foods, understanding the motivations behind it, and the benefits of mindful exposure to these foods. The burden of food-related anxiety is real—tune in to start letting it go.

* Connect with Nope on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicathiefels/

* Connect with your host, Jessica, on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nopethatsnotnormal/

Meet Our Guest, Kayla

Kayla Jessop is an Anti-Diet registered dietitian, eating disorder specialist, and approved supervisor. With extensive experience working in various levels of care including PHP, IOP and outpatient groups, she specializes in helping individuals of all ages regain peace with food and body.

She will never tell you to deprive yourself or ban certain foods from your life. Instead, her mission is to help you recognize diet culture and help you rediscover your body's inner wisdom about how to truly nourish yourself. Kayla is passionate about utilizing the latest research to help her clients’ recovery and additionally teaching more clinicians the same. Kayla co-facilitated NYC’s first RO-DBT (Radically Open Dialectical Behavior Therapy) class and is continuing that work in Utah.

In June 2023, Kayla was invited to present at the first annual RO DBT Conference in Chicago on the success of utilizing this modality in eating disorder recovery. She has had the opportunity to curate an amazing team of dietitians who are continuing to develop and use RO DBT in practice as well. Each member of the team brings a unique skillset to the practice and to their clients.

* https://www.kaylajessopnutrition.com/

* https://www.instagram.com/kaylajessopnutrition/

* https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083365267617 https://www.tiktok.com/@kaylajnutrition

* https://www.youtube.com/@Kaylajessopnutrition

* https://www.ro4rd.com/

Watch The Conversation About Fear Foods

In this episode, Jessica and Kelsey discuss the pervasive myths surrounding fitness culture, particularly the unrealistic expectations of perfection. They explore the importance of self-acceptance, flexibility in fitness goals, and the joy of movement. Kelsey shares her personal journey from a competitive athlete to a fitness coach who emphasizes intuitive eating and joyful movement (yes, please!).

You’ll walk away with an understanding of the need for a sustainable approach to fitness that prioritizes mental health and enjoyment over rigid standards and profit-driven motives. (And why that feels SO much better!)

* Connect with Nope on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicathiefels/

* Connect with your host, Jessica, on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nopethatsnotnormal/

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Meet Our Guest, Kelsey

Meet Kelsey Ellis, the ultimate hype woman, armed with her body-positive fitness app and ready to lead you through the wellness journey back home to yourself.

Best known by her followers as “Healthy with Kelsey,” Kelsey is an award-winning, certified fitness trainer based in Vancouver, Canada. With her background as a holistic nutritionist, and anti-diet educator, she helps chronic dieters and exercisers liberate themselves from diet culture, build body confidence, and move their bodies unapologetically with joy! She will empower you to show up fiercely, let go of self-judgment, and discover your curvy confidence!

* Website/App: https://www.healthywithkelsey.app

* Instagram: @healthy_with_kelsey

* TikTok: @healthy_with_kelsey

* YouTube: Healthy With Kelsey

Watch The Conversation About Fitness Culture and Perfection

Welcome back, friends! In this episode, Jessica introduces Season Two of the podcast, focusing on the theme of Disordered Connections and Intersections related to disordered eating and body image struggles. Tune in to hear the run-down of what to expect (Hint: you’re still getting two episodes each week!) and how to join the NOPE Community!

* Connect with Nope on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicathiefels/

* Connect with your host, Jessica, on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nopethatsnotnormal/

In the season finale of 'Nope That's Not Normal', Jessica shares about the ripple effect of healing. In it, she shares about the many resources, modalities, and practices that have impacted her disordered eating journey—but that had seemingly nothing to do with her disordered eating. She talks about mindful self-compassion, the ripple effect of small changes, various therapeutic practices that have supported her, how to rewire negative thought patterns, and the significance of understanding one's past. Ultimately, Jessica encourages listeners to embrace their healing journey, reminding them that it takes time and that every step counts towards a more joyful and authentic life!

• Connect with Nope on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nopethatsnotnormal/
• Connect with your host, Jessica, on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicathiefels/

Links mentioned:

Mindful Self-Compassion Break

Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook

Radical Self Compassion

The Feelings Wheel (from Feelings Found)

The Four Agreements

Adult Children of Alcoholics and Dysfunctional Families

In this episode of 'Nope, That's Not Normal', Jessica and Rae Thomas delve into the complexities of disordered eating, the emotional struggles surrounding food and body image and why feeling the feels is necessary. Rae shares her personal journey with food anxiety, the concept of introspective awareness, the consequences of avoiding emotions, and the significance of therapeutic relationships in the healing process. Remember ya’ll, you have to feel it to heal it—you just do!

• Connect with Nope on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicathiefels/
• Connect with your host, Jessica, on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nopethatsnotnormal/

About Our Guest

Rae Thomas is the Chief Clinical Officer of Feelings Found, a women-owned company creating tangible tools for emotional exploration. Rae also sees clients as a licensed therapist through her private practice. She enjoys long hikes in the mountains and tending to her many house plants.

• Feelingsfound.com
• https://www.instagram.com/feelingsfoundco/
• https://www.tiktok.com/@feelingsfound
• https://www.youtube.com/@feelingsfoundco

In this episode of 'Nope That's Not Normal', Jessica shares super simple habits to support healing and self-compassion—that anyone can do. She emphasizes the importance of mindful moments, empowering mantras, and untangling yourself from your food and body beliefs (that were never yours to begin with!). If you’re looking for some simple tools to support your healing journey—or kick it off—this is the episode for you.

• Connect with Nope on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicathiefels/
• Connect with your host, Jessica, on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nopethatsnotnormal/

In this episode of 'Nope, That's Not Normal,' Jessica and Serena Nangia explore the importance of storytelling and connection in overcoming isolation, the impact of societal pressures, and the need for self-compassion every step of the way!

Serena shares insights from her work with Project HEAL, emphasizing that everyone has a story to tell and that community support is vital for recovery. This much-needed conversation encourages listeners to engage in meaningful discussions about their experiences to change the narrative and be part of the conversation!

• Connect with Nope on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicathiefels/
• Connect with your host, Jessica, on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nopethatsnotnormal/

About Our Guest

Serena Nangia (she/her) is a long-time advocate for eating disorder recovery, host of The Body Activism Podcast, CEO of The Body Activists, and Marketing & Communications Manager for an eating disorder nonprofit called Project HEAL. Serena has spent close to a decade building expertise on body image, eating disorders, and weight stigma. She is storyteller, researcher, and educator inspired by her siblings’ mental health journeys, as well as her own experiences living in a larger body.

• https://www.serenanangia.com/
• https://www.instagram.com/thebodyactivists
• https://www.instagram.com/thebodyactivismpodcast/
• https://www.instagram.com/projectheal/
• https://www.theprojectheal.org/

Mentioned in the show

• https://www.theprojectheal.org/free-eating-disorder-support-groups 

In this episode, Jessica discusses the complexities of body image and disordered eating, emphasizing that the body itself is not the problem but rather the societal pressures and diet culture that influence our perceptions. She highlights the importance of therapy in the healing process, the necessity of personal responsibility in one's healing journey, and the distinction between body love and body neutrality. Along the way, she shares insights from her own experiences, encouraging listeners to build awareness and develop healthier relationships with their bodies and food for long-term healing and peace.

• Connect with Nope on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicathiefels/
• Connect with your host, Jessica, on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nopethatsnotnormal/

Mentioned in the episode:

• https://www.instagram.com/p/DEGkmx9pr2X/
• https://www.instagram.com/p/DDnf10fy8Y8/
• https://www.morethanabody.org/