In today's episode, we interview Dr. Morgan Francis, a Doctor of Clinical Psychology and a Licensed Mental Health Therapist whose mission is to break through the mental health shame game.

In this episode you’ll hear:

• The importance of refraining from commenting on people’s bodies so we can shift our focus from the physical appearance to non appearance related compliments. (2:45)
• What to do if your child or friend comes to you expressing a desire to go on a diet in order to lose weight. (8:26)
• How to appropriately and respectfully set boundaries when you don’t want to talk about weight loss or body image. (14:58)
• The harm of external validation for those with an eating disorder and how to not comment on someone’s body when you notice someone’s weight loss. (25:02)
• We fear being uncomfortable in our body and when we feel discomfort we immediately want to go on a diet to fix something instead of sitting in that discomfort. (29:07)

Connect with Dr. Francis:

Website: https://www.scottsdalepremiercounseling.com/

Email: [email protected]

IG: https://www.instagram.com/drmorganfrancis/

Current free and paid offerings:

Mindful Messages (text messages from Dr. Morgan): https://my.community.com/dr.morgan

Free Download:

10 Ways To Gain Body Confidence https://mailchi.mp/d813eb7236cf/10-ways-to-build-body-confidence

Online Courses

Bye Bye Body Blame

Loving Yourself through Loss

https://drmorganfrancis.teachable.com/courses

Connect with Brittany & Lauren:

Brittany’s IG: @nofoodfears

Brittany’s Website: https://www.brittanymodellrd.com/ 

Lauren’s IG: @loandlemons

Lauren’s Website: https://laurenrd.com/ 

In today's episode, we interview Dr. Natasha Larmie, a weight inclusive GP who is campaigning for an end to weight stigma in the medical profession. 

In this episode you’ll hear: 

• Natasha’s background and her experience dealing with body image issues from a young age as a general practitioner in the UK. (1:16)
• Her dive into the concept of brain health vs mental health and what it means in today’s world navigating COVID-19. (6:12)
• The biological impact of dieting and what our bodies are experiencing when we choose to restrict our food choices. (8:45)
• Why health practitioners prescribe weight loss as the answer to all sorts of health concerns even though research shows diets are unhealthy. (14:44)
• Natasha explains how weight stigma plays a role in health care and the impact of that on someone's mental and physical health. (19:09)
• How to find a Healthy at Every Size doctor and stand up for yourself if the ones available do not have that mindset. (25:42)
• Whether or not it is wise to refer someone to bariatric surgery and different options available to approach weight loss. (36:28)
• Natasha shares how she responds when people question her support of Healthy at Every Size because she’s a doctor. (47:10)

Connect with Natasha: 

Website: www.fatdoctor.co.uk 

Instagram and Facebook @fatdoctoruk 

Twitter @thefatdoctoruk 

Connect with Brittany & Lauren:

Brittany’s IG: @nofoodfears

Brittany’s Website: https://www.brittanymodellrd.com/ 

Lauren’s IG: @loandlemons

Lauren’s Website: https://laurenrd.com/ 

In this episode you’ll hear:

• Brittany and Lauren share their mental health stories and what it was like during childhood, adolescence, adulthood and where they are today. (0:51)
• When Lauren first started to know she had anxiety and what it looked like as a child living with this. (4:52)
• How Princess Diana’s unexpected death caused worry for Brittany because her mother had a physical resemblance to her. (9:20)
• In high school how Lauren’s separation anxiety turned into panic attacks with the pressure of being on high level sports teams. (11:58)
• Four months into freshman year, Lauren started having horrible insomnia and dreading her time at school. (16:39)
• Brittany’s mental health story began at a young age, continued into college and today and how it looked at different stages. (23:44)
• The way Lauren’s therapist helped her navigate exposure therapy and learn new ways to cope in situations. (32:29)
• Different methods each of them are using to manage their anxiety and how it is helping them live life more fully. (35:16)

Connect with Brittany & Lauren:

Brittany’s IG: @nofoodfears

Brittany’s Website: https://www.brittanymodellrd.com/ 

Lauren’s IG: @loandlemons

Lauren’s Website: https://laurenrd.com/ 

In this episode you’ll hear:

• Brittany shares when she first realized she wanted to lose weight and that she spent most of her childhood and adolescence on some type of diet. (1:48)
• In preparation for her bat mitzvah, Brittany went to Weight Watchers for the first time and started seeing a nutritionist. (3:41)
• An important note about body image work and it’s healing relationship with food, because people will like you or not based on personality not body size. (7:13)
• Brittany’s biggest struggle with food was perfectionist eating which led to eliminating foods then entire food groups. (11:21)
• How each one of them were drawn into intuitive eating after years of an unhealthy relationship with food and their body. (17:22)
• When the hosts first met in person at a dietetic internship and the connection they found over discovering intuitive eating. (20:06)
• The struggle to navigate middle and high school as bodies change and those around you look different and mature quicker. (27:07)
• Busting the myth that by eating clean foods and the perfect diet is a cure all and would help alleviate anxiety. (37:24)
• Lauren and Brittany’s breaking point with an unhealthy relationship with food and what it looked like to start making changes. (44:00)

Connect with Brittany & Lauren:

Brittany’s IG: @nofoodfears

Brittany’s Website: https://www.brittanymodellrd.com/ 

Lauren’s IG: @loandlemons

Lauren’s Website: https://laurenrd.com/ 

Welcome to The Food Therapy Podcast, where we talk honestly and openly about mental health, diet culture bs, and food freedom.

We are your co hosts, Brittany Modell, owner of Brittany Modell Nutrition and Wellness, and Lauren Sharpe, owner of Empower Method Nutrition.

We are Food Freedom Registered Dietitians who have struggled with mental health, poor body image and disordered eating behaviors. We are on a mission to dismantle diet culture, normalize conversations around mental health and empower you as you heal your relationship with food and your body.

We created Food Therapy to destigmatize mental health and encourage conversations around body image and having a healthy relationship with food. We get it. We too have struggled with our own mental health and disordered eating. Yes we may have spent 6+ years studying nutrition education, but at the end of the day we’re human too. 

We’re also excited to bring on other health experts to dive deeper into topics such as mental health, body image, nutrition and food freedom. Think of our time together as a blend of a therapy session and having drinks with your best friends. Our goal is for you to walk away from this podcast feeling empowered and supported. We are so excited to welcome you to our community, we look forward to hanging out with you every Sunday!