Shoulders Down

In this episode, I respond to and unpack some of the most common comments I received after the viral Jillian Michaels vs. Body Positivity debate video was published.

I’ll be honest: it took me a long time to record this episode. Reading through hostile and misinformed comments is unpleasant. But I ultimately decided this conversation was worth having, because the comments reveal deep misunderstandings about weight, health, and what ethical nutrition care actually looks like.

In this episode, I cover:

• Why I said that I believe its unethical to encourage  weight los ( and how this differs from judging people who choose to pursue weight loss.
• The flawed assumption that a dietitian’s role is to control someone’s body size
• Why weight is not a measure of health
• The criticism I received from fellow dietitians and why this hurt the most

Mentioned in the episode:

• Behind the Scenes of the "Jillian Michaels vs Body Positivity" Debate with Edie Stark
• We Watched The Jillian Michaels Debate Back... And Had Thoughts with Edie Stark
• Unpacking the Viral Jubilee Body Positivity Debate with Marcy Guevara
• You're Not Wrong For Desiring Weight Loss
•  5 Reasons Why Your Weight Doesn't Determine Your Health

🎧 Join the waitlist for my audio course, 10 Steps To Food Freedom. Doors open in early November and waitlisters get an exclusive 30% off discoumt code. 

In this episode of Shoulders Down, Leah reconnects with former client Lizzie Marks for a conversation about what intuitive eating looks like five years later — and how healing your relationship with food can ripple into every area of life.

Lizzie shares how her early intuitive eating journey began with swinging fully away from rigid food rules and exercise habits, and how she eventually found her way toward a more nuanced middle ground with movement, nutrition, and self-trust.

Together, Leah and Lizzie explore how concepts from Internal Family Systems (IFS) and parts work have helped Lizzie navigate the return of old diet thoughts without fear or shame. They also discuss how Lizzie now approaches group fitness, movement, and food choices with more flexibility, nuance, and an ongoing commitment to trusting her intuition around food and body.

You’ll hear about:

• What intuitive eating looks like for Lizzie in the early stages vs. now
• How intuitive eating can impact decision-making in other areas of life
• Reclaiming exercise classes and fitness challenges from diet culture
• Using parts work and IFS to navigate lingering diet thoughts
• Integrating cycle-syncing and how even that requires an intuitive approach
• What Lizzie is focused on as she continues her intuitive eating journey

More From Leah:

• 📚Download your free Intuitive Eating Starter Pack
• Apply to The Embodied Method, my 1:1 coaching program
• Join my self-paced course, The Return
• Subscribe to Leah's Youtube Channel
• Subscribe to my personal Substack
• Follow me on Instagram for more intuitive eating content @leahkern.rd
• Visit my website to learn more about my coaching offerings
• Subscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a nugget of intuitive eating inspiration delivered straight from my heart to your inbox each week.
• Send me a voice message on Speakpipe
• Email me: [email protected]

🎧 Join the waitlist for my audio course, 10 Steps To Food Freedom. Doors open in early November and waitlisters get an exclusive 30% off discoumt code. 

In this episode of Shoulders Down, Leah sits down with Brittany Modell to explore the nuanced relationship between ADHD, body image, and eating behaviors — and how neurodivergence can shape our experience with food in ways that are often misunderstood.

Brittany shares her personal story growing up immersed in diet culture, from early Weight Watchers meetings to navigating a lifelong sense of feeling “out of control” around food. Together, she and Leah unpack how ADHD can intensify food thoughts, disrupt hunger and fullness cues, and complicate traditional approaches to intuitive eating.

This conversation brings much-needed compassion and clarity to the intersection of neurodivergence and anti-diet work — offering a perspective that moves beyond willpower and into understanding.

You’ll hear about:

• How growing up in diet culture shapes early food and body beliefs
• The connection between ADHD and constant thoughts about food
• Why traditional nutrition advice often falls short for neurodivergent people
• How impulsivity, dopamine-seeking, and structure impact eating patterns
• What a more supportive, individualized approach to food can look like

Mentioned in this episode:

• 16 Satisfying Trader Joe’s Snack Ideas From An Intuitive Eating Dietitian
• 🌵7 Unpopular Takes on Intuitive Eating & Body Image

More From Brittany:

• Website: www.brittanymodellrd.com
• Instagram & TikTok: @nofoodfears
• Blog: Why ADHD Makes Body Image More Complicated

More From Leah:

• 📚Download your free Intuitive Eating Starter Pack
• Apply to The Embodied Method, my 1:1 coaching program
• Join my self-paced course, The Return
• Subscribe to Leah's Youtube Channel
• Subscribe to my personal Substack
• Follow me on Instagram for more intuitive eating content @leahkern.rd
• Visit my website to learn more about my coaching offerings
• Subscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a nugget of intuitive eating inspiration delivered straight from my heart to your inbox each week.
• Send me a voice message on Speakpipe
• Email me: [email protected]

🎧 Join the waitlist for my audio course, 10 Steps To Food Freedom. Doors open in early November and waitlisters get an exclusive 30% off discoumt code. 

In this episode of Shoulders Down, Leah sits down with Karly Borden, founder of The Public Run Club, to explore what it really looks like to rebuild a relationship with running after disordered eating.

Karly shares her personal story of navigating eating disorder recovery and the often-overlooked challenge of returning to exercise in a way that feels safe, grounded, and self-trust-driven. Together, they unpack the tension between discipline and intuition, and why so many people feel stuck in the “murky middle” of movement — not fully disordered, but not fully free either.

Leah and Karly also dive into Karly’s Intuitive Athlete Cycle, a powerful framework for approaching movement in a sustainable, non-extractive way that honors the body’s natural rhythms rather than forcing constant progress.

You’ll hear about:

• Karly’s personal journey with running, disordered eating, and recovery
• Why movement is often the missing piece in eating disorder recovery
• The difference between extractive vs. regenerative movement
• How to approach fitness goals without slipping into disordered patterns
• Karly’s Intuitive Athlete Cycle and how it supports sustainable movement
• Practical tools for tuning into your body before, during, and after exercise

Mentioned in the Episode:

• 🎢 My Story (unfiltered, the whole saga)
• 🏃‍♀️ Disordered Eating in the Running Community with Serena Marie

More from Karly:

• Website: https://www.thepublicrunclub.com
• Instagram: @thepublicrunclub
• Kind and Consistent Jump Start Waitlist: https://thepublicrunclub.com/kcjs

More From Leah:

• 📚Download your free Intuitive Eating Starter Pack
• Apply to The Embodied Method, my 1:1 coaching program
• Join my self-paced course, The Return
• Subscribe to Leah's Youtube Channel
• Subscribe to my personal Substack
• Follow me on Instagram for more intuitive eating content @leahkern.rd
• Visit my website to learn more about my coaching offerings
• Subscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a nugget of intuitive eating inspiration delivered straight from my heart to your inbox each week.
• Send me a voice message on Speakpipe
• Email me: [email protected]

📚 Sources 📚

• On the body as a site of self-trust: Inspired by Caldwell, C., & Leighton, L. B. (Eds.). (2018). Oppression and the Body: Roots, Resistance, and Resolutions. North Atlantic Books.
• On the hypothetical gaze, body-object, and eating disorders emerging in puberty: McBride, H. L. (2019). “Embodiment and Body Image: Relating and Exploring Constructs.” In H. L. McBride & J. L. Kwee (Eds.), Embodiment and Eating Disorders: Theory, Research, Prevention and Treatment. Routledge.

🎧 Join the waitlist for my audio course, 10 Steps To Food Freedom. Doors open in early November and waitlisters get an exclusive 30% off discoumt code. 

In this episode of Shoulders Down, Leah sits down with certified eating disorder specialist Sydney Greene, to explore the overlap between disordered eating and substance use.

Sydney shares her personal story of growing up around addiction, developing orthorexia, and later navigating sobriety — only to find her compulsive behaviors shifting toward exercise, clean eating, and wellness. Leah and Sydney unpack how addiction and disordered eating often co-occur, why recovery isn’t always linear, and how socially praised behaviors can mask deeper struggles.

Together, they discuss the concept of transfer addiction, how one compulsive behavior can replace another, and why healing requires addressing the underlying unmet needs — not just the behavior itself.

⚠️ Content Warning ⚠️

This episode includes discussion of substance use, addiction, suicidal thoughts, and grief. Listener discretion is advised.

You’ll hear about:

• Sydney’s personal story with substance use and disordered eating
• What “transfer addiction” means and how it shows up in recovery
• Why sobriety can sometimes intensify disordered eating behaviors
• Why intuitive eating may not be appropriate early in addiction recovery
• The overlap between orthorexia, compulsive exercise, and addiction

Mentioned in this episode:

• 🥗 Orthorexia: When “Healthy" Eating Becomes Dangerous
• 🧗‍♀️Wellness Culture in Mountain Towns with Katie Campbell
• 🥛 Proteinification, Pilates, Glucose Monitors & The Wellness Trends That Shaped 2025
• 💰Are You Binge Spending? Where Budget Culture Meets Diet Culture with Rachel Duncan 

More From Sydney

• Website: sydneygreenehealth.com
• Instagram: @greenehealth

More From Leah:

• 📚Download your free Intuitive Eating Starter Pack
• Apply to The Embodied Method, my 1:1 coaching program
• Join my self-paced course, The Return
• Subscribe to Leah's Youtube Channel
• Subscribe to my personal Substack
• Follow me on Instagram for more intuitive eating content @leahkern.rd
• Visit my website to learn more about my coaching offerings
• Subscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a nugget of intuitive eating inspiration delivered straight from my heart to your inbox each week.
• Send me a voice message on Speakpipe
• Email me: [email protected]

🎧 Join the waitlist for my audio course, 10 Steps To Food Freedom. Doors open in early November and waitlisters get an exclusive 30% off discoumt code. 

In this episode of Shoulders Down, Leah sits down with plus-size style expert and reality TV producer Marcy Guevara-Prete to reflect on their experience participating in a viral Jubilee debate with fitness personality Jillian Michaels.

Leah and Marcy unpack what it was like to engage in a highly charged, public conversation about body positivity, health, and weight — and how lived experience, media framing, and personal values shaped their perspectives in the moment and afterward.

Marcy shares her journey from lifelong dieting to body acceptance and fat liberation, her nuanced perspective on health and movement, and the unexpected ways the debate impacted her own relationship with her body.

⚠️ Content Warning ⚠️

This episode includes discussion of weight stigma, diet culture, disordered eating, trauma, and intentional weight loss. It also includes nuanced and potentially conflicting perspectives on body positivity and health that may feel activating for some listeners. Please listen with care and take what serves you.

You’ll hear about:

• What it was like to participate in the Jubilee debate with Jillian Michaels
• How reality-style media formats shape conversations about body and health
• The role of lived experience vs. scientific “evidence” in discussions of weight
• Why shame, fear, and guilt are not sustainable motivators for change
• The tension between diet culture and finding a personal middle ground

Mentioned in this Episode:

• Surrounded Debate with Jillian Michaels (watch with caution)
• Is Body Positivity Disempowering? Follow-up ft Jillian Michaels and Marcy (watch with caution)
• 🍫 Can You Be Addicted To Food?
• 🌙 Fat & Beautiful: Unpacking Thin Privilege & Anti-Fat Bias with Debbie Saroufim
• National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA)

More From Marcy:

• Instagram: @themarcyminute
• Website: http://www.marcyguevara.com/
• Boutique: Perfect 10 Plus (Los Angeles)
• Mobile Boutique: The Plus Bus

More From Leah:

• 📚Download your free Intuitive Eating Starter Pack
• Apply to The Embodied Method, my 1:1 coaching program
• Join my self-paced course, The Return
• Subscribe to Leah's Youtube Channel
• Subscribe to my personal Substack
• Follow me on Instagram for more intuitive eating content @leahkern.rd
• Visit my website to learn more about my coaching offerings
• Subscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a nugget of intuitive eating inspiration delivered straight from my heart to your inbox each week.
• Send me a voice message on Speakpipe
• Email me: [email protected]

🎧 Join the waitlist for my audio course, 10 Steps To Food Freedom. Doors open in early November and waitlisters get an exclusive 30% off discoumt code. 

In this episode of Shoulders Down, Leah sits down with therapist Edie Stark, LCSW, to discuss their thoughts on the final edit of the Jillian Michaels x Body Positivity debate. 

Leah and Edie reflect on what they thought of the edit, how it felt to watch the video back (after experiencing it in real time a few months ago), and what frustrated them about the final video.

Mentioned in this episode:

• First episode reflecting with Edie (before we saw the final edit)
• Watch the Debate Here! 

More From Edie Stark:

• Instagram: @ediestarktherapy
• Therapy Practice: Stark Therapy Group
• Consulting & Media: ediestark.com

More From Leah:

• 📚Download your free Intuitive Eating Starter Pack
• Apply to The Embodied Method, my 1:1 coaching program
• Join my self-paced course, The Return
• Subscribe to Leah's Youtube Channel
• Subscribe to my personal Substack
• Follow me on Instagram for more intuitive eating content @leahkern.rd
• Visit my website to learn more about my coaching offerings
• Subscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a nugget of intuitive eating inspiration delivered straight from my heart to your inbox each week.
• Send me a voice message on Speakpipe
• Email me: [email protected]

🎧 Join the waitlist for my audio course, 10 Steps To Food Freedom. Doors open in early November and waitlisters get an exclusive 30% off discoumt code. 

In this episode of Shoulders Down, Leah sits down with therapist Edie Stark, LCSW, to unpack their experience participating in a debate with fitness personality Jillian Michaels on the popular YouTube channel Jubilee.

Leah and Edie reflect on what it was like to step into a highly produced debate environment discussing body positivity, weight stigma, and health claims — and how the format of viral media can shape the conversation in ways that prioritize spectacle over nuance.

Together, they discuss the challenges of debating weight stigma in a reality-TV style setting, the misconceptions about body positivity and Health at Every Size®, and why conversations about weight and health must account for systemic factors like stigma, access to care, and social determinants of health.

You’ll hear about:

• What it was like to participate in a debate with Jillian Michaels
• Why debating weight and health in a reality-TV format creates major limitations
• Common misconceptions about the body positivity movement
• How weight stigma and systemic factors impact health outcomes
• Why shame and blame are ineffective tools for supporting behavior change
• What Leah and Edie hope viewers take away from the debate

Mentioned in this episode:

• Watch the Debate Here! 
• National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA)
• The Plus Bus

More From Edie Stark:

• Instagram: @ediestarktherapy
• Therapy Practice: Stark Therapy Group
• Consulting & Media: ediestark.com

More From Leah:

• 📚Download your free Intuitive Eating Starter Pack
• Apply to The Embodied Method, my 1:1 coaching program
• Join my self-paced course, The Return
• Subscribe to Leah's Youtube Channel
• Subscribe to my personal Substack
• Follow me on Instagram for more intuitive eating content @leahkern.rd
• Visit my website to learn more about my coaching offerings
• Subscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a nugget of intuitive eating inspiration delivered straight from my heart to your inbox each week.
• Send me a voice message on Speakpipe
• Email me: [email protected]

🎧 Join the waitlist for my audio course, 10 Steps To Food Freedom. Doors open in early November and waitlisters get an exclusive 30% off discoumt code. 

Is the backlash against ultra-processed foods really about health… or is it about control? In this episode of Shoulders Down, Leah and Laura Thomas, PhD, explore the growing moral panic around ultra-processed foods — and what’s really driving the conversation.

Laura explains why much of the research linking ultra-processed foods (UPFs) to poor health outcomes is observational, and how these headlines often oversimplify complex public health data. The conversation goes beyond nutrition science to examine how food narratives are shaped by gender roles, class privilege, and today’s political climate.

Together, Leah and Laura explore the connection between trad wife culture, GLP-1 use, beauty standards, and what Laura calls “body fascism” — unpacking the bigger cultural forces driving today’s conversations about food and bodies.

You’ll hear about:

• What ultra-processed foods (UPFs) actually are — and why the definition is murky
• Social determinants of health and the invisible labor of “food work”
• How the push to “cook from scratch” can reinforce gender roles and class privilege
• Trad wife culture, the rise of GLP-1s, and the body politics of it all
• Why this cultural moment is bigger than diet culture

Mentioned in this episode:

• Lessons from the Fatosphere by Kate Harding & Marianne Kirby
• Fearing the Black Body by Sabrina Strings

More From Laura Thomas:

• Newsletter: https://canihaveanothersnack.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurathomasphd
• Laura Thomas’ books: 
  • Just Eat It
  • How to Just Eat It

More From Leah:

• 📚Download your free Intuitive Eating Starter Pack
• Apply to The Embodied Method, my 1:1 coaching program
• Join my self-paced course, The Return
• Subscribe to Leah's Youtube Channel
• Subscribe to my personal Substack
• Follow me on Instagram for more intuitive eating content @leahkern.rd
• Visit my website to learn more about my coaching offerings
• Subscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a nugget of intuitive eating inspiration delivered straight from my heart to your inbox each week.
• Send me a voice message on Speakpipe

🎧 Join the waitlist for my audio course, 10 Steps To Food Freedom. Doors open in early November and waitlisters get an exclusive 30% off discoumt code. 

In this episode of Shoulders Down, Leah talks with Jamie (returning guest and close friend) about navigating wedding planning as a plus-size bride — without pursuing weight loss.

Rather than changing her body for her wedding day, Jamie shares how she made intentional accommodations to support comfort, confidence, and presence. Together, Leah and Jamie explore wedding culture pressures, how to prioritize feeling like yourself, and practical advice for planning a wedding in a larger body.

You’ll hear about:

• Why major life events often trigger body image anxiety
• Choosing accommodations instead of trying to change your body
• Navigating photos, expectations, and “picture shock”
• Letting go of appearance perfection and focusing on meaning
• Helpful strategies for feeling more comfortable and present in your body

Mentioned in Episode:

• 💛 Lived Experience with Ozempic—Jamie's Story & An Overview of The Facts
• Emma Arletta (YouTube Creator referenced)

More From Leah:

• 📚Download your free Intuitive Eating Starter Pack
• Apply to The Embodied Method, my 1:1 coaching program
• Join my self-paced course, The Return
• Subscribe to Leah's Youtube Channel
• Subscribe to my personal Substack
• Follow me on Instagram for more intuitive eating content @leahkern.rd
• Visit my website to learn more about my coaching offerings
• Subscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a nugget of intuitive eating inspiration delivered straight from my heart to your inbox each week.
• Send me a voice message on Speakpipe
• Email me: [email protected]

🎧 Join the waitlist for my audio course, 10 Steps To Food Freedom. Doors open in early November and waitlisters get an exclusive 30% off discoumt code.