This is the second episode in a series of episodes I plan on doing with current and former clients. The feedback from the first episode with Dory was so powerful, and I heard you loud and clear: You want to hear from more folks in the messy middle. 

Today I speak with the wonderful Shelby, a client who was part of my group program last fall, a nd someone I care deeply about.

We talk through her story, including what sparked body image concerns as a child, how food became fraught with anxiety and obsession, the impact of chronic illness on body dissatisfaction, how diet culture makes us feel like our bodies are broken, and how we can learn to stop hiding and instead decide to take up space in this world.

Specific topics discussed:

• How body image is impacted by culture and lack of diversity
• Damaging diet culture messages during pregnancy
• Body changes postpartum
• How wellness culture preys on chronic illness
• The harm of body compliments
• Realizing it's not about health, it's about thinness
• How chronic illness impacts body image and embodiment
• Not letting your body hold you back from living your life

Full Plate is listener-supported (no ads!) so please support the show on Patreon for bonus episodes at Patreon.com/fullplate

 

Patreon is also home to the episode transcripts (which are publicly available to everyone, not just our patrons!). If you’re looking for those, head over to Patreon. 

 

Find the show on Instagram: @fullplate.podcast 

Find Abbie on Instagram: @abbieattwoodwellness

More on Abbie's group coaching program: https://www.abbieattwoodwellness.com/group-coaching 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit abbieattwoodwellness.substack.com/subscribe

Today's episode is a grab-bag of topics! Abbie answers two listener questions -- one about whether protein bars are "diet culture", and the other about the "Almond Moms" trend. She also talks about social media in the context of mental health, sharing her own relationship with Instagram (posting, scrolling, and engaging), and some tips on how to create a safe space in your own feed.

Topics discussed:

• Abbie's relationship with Instagram
• Following accounts that support your mental health
• Are protein bars "diet culture"?
• The hyper-fixation on protein in diet culture
• How to approach foods you ate a lot of throughout disordered eating and dieting
• Having aversions to "safe" foods
• How to know whether your food preferences are based in a restrictive mentality
• What is an "Almond Mom"?
• Having parents who have their own disordered relationship with food
• Generational dieting trauma and passing down body shame

 

Full Plate is listener-supported (no ads!) so please support the show on Patreon for bonus episodes at Patreon.com/fullplate

 

Patreon is also home to the episode transcripts (which are publicly available to everyone, not just our patrons!). If you’re looking for those, head over to Patreon. 

 

Find the show on Instagram: @fullplate.podcast 

 

Find Abbie on Instagram: @abbieattwoodwellness 

 

Learn more about working with Abbie: https://www.abbieattwoodwellness.com/ 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit abbieattwoodwellness.substack.com/subscribe

The amazing and brilliant Dr. Rachel Millner is on the pod to talk about what's on her plate (literally, and figuratively!), her own journey with an eating disorder as a clinician, and to share wisdom and insights into parenting in our thin-obsessed culture. We also get into the American Academy of Pediatrics' guidelnes and how they will harm the mental and physical health of this generation of children, as well as future generations. 

Topics discussed:

• Raising children from a HAES / weigh-inclusive perspective
• Weight stigma in childhood from parents and doctors
• Rachel’s relationship with food growing up, and how it differed from her siblings
• Growing up without body trust
• “Atypical anorexia” as a diagnosis of weight bias and anti-fatness
• The harm of complimenting weight-loss
• Knowing you have an eating disorder and not wanting to recover
• What it takes to recover when you don’t feel committed to healing
• The AAP guidelines on higher weight children, and the damage it will do to the health and wellbeing of kids
• Marginalized communities, anti-fatness, and anti-blackness
• Fighting back against weight stigma in the doctor’s office
• Dealing with diet culture in schools and with teachers
• Addressing your own anti-fat bias on the path to healing

 

Rachel Millner, Psy.D. (she/her) is a psychologist, supervisor, and fat activist in private practice in Pennsylvania. Rachel has been working with those with eating disorders, disordered eating, and those wanting to heal their relationship with food and body since 2005. Rachel provides fat positive therapy that is rooted in social justice, body trust (r), and fat liberation.  In addition to her clinical work, Rachel frequently gives talks on topics such as eating disorders in higher weight people, providers struggling with eating disorders, and providing fat positive therapy. Rachel has been interviewed for numerous publications about eating disorders and has been interviewed on many podcasts about her work. More on Rachel: https://www.rachelmillnertherapy.com/

 

Full Plate is listener-supported (no ads!) so please support the show on Patreon for bonus episodes at Patreon.com/fullplate

 

Patreon is also home to the episode transcripts (which are publicly available to everyone, not just our patrons!). If you’re looking for those, head over to Patreon. 

 

Find the show on Instagram: @fullplate.podcast 

Find Abbie on Instagram: @abbieattwoodwellness

Learn more about working with Abbie: https://www.abbieattwoodwellness.com/ 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit abbieattwoodwellness.substack.com/subscribe

Christy Harrison, RD MPH CEDS, joins Abbie on the pod to talk all things wellness culture. This conversation is such an important one, as they explore how the diet culture contrived version of wellness preys on those with medical conditions, is steeped in healthism, and perpetuates misinformation about pseudo-scientific diagnoses. Christy's second book, "The Wellness Trap", just released last week, so you'll also get to her more of the BTS on her book launch and writing process in this episode, too!

Topics discussed:

• Our love affair with chips of all kinds
• Christy's experience launching her second book in a different stage of life and as a new mom
• Creating boundaries and protecting your mental and emotional well-being on social media
• Wellness misinformation during pregnancy and postpartum
• Debunking dubious diagnoses: "adrenal fatigue", "candida overgrowth", and "leaky gut"
• How our consumption of social media influences our experience of diet and wellness culture
• The spread of misinformation and disinformation about health conditions
• How fearing food harms our health and wellbeing
• Chronic illness and wellness culture
• Finding trustworthy sources of information
• How diets cherry-pick insignificant studies or cite studies that don't support their claims
• The meaning behind Christy's new book cover and new podcast art

Christy Harrison, MPH, RD, CEDS is a journalist, registered dietitian, and certified intuitive eating counselor. She’s the author of The Wellness Trap: Break Free from Diet Culture, Disinformation, and Dubious Diagnoses and Find Your True Well-Being (coming in April 2023) and Anti-Diet: Reclaim Your Time, Money, Well-Being, and Happiness Through Intuitive Eating.  

Christy is also the coauthor, with psychotherapist Judith Matz, of The Making Peace with Food Card Deck.

Christy is the producer and host of two podcasts, Rethinking Wellness and Food Psych, which have helped tens of thousands of listeners around the world think critically about diet and wellness culture and develop more peaceful relationships with food. In addition to her media work, Christy offers online courses and private intuitive eating coaching to help people all over the world make peace with food and their bodies.

Full Plate is listener-supported (no ads!) so please support the show on Patreon for bonus episodes at Patreon.com/fullplate

Patreon is also home to the episode transcripts (which are publicly available to everyone, not just our patrons!). If you’re looking for those, head over to Patreon. 

Find the show on Instagram: @fullplate.podcast 

Find Abbie on Instagram: @abbieattwoodwellness

Apply for Abbie's summer group coaching cohort: https://www.abbieattwoodwellness.com/group-coaching 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit abbieattwoodwellness.substack.com/subscribe

You won't want to miss this incredibly healing conversation. Dr. Anita Johnston joins Abbie to discuss the magic of metaphors and story-telling in ED recovery, and how we can return home to our authentic selves to find freedom. They discuss why highly intuitive and deeply feeling people tend to be most vulnerable to eating disorders, and how to use those gifts as superpowers in recovery.

Topics covered:

• How being highly sensitive impacts disordered eating and healing
• The safety and security that EDs can provide
• Anita's childhood in Guam and how that shaped her experience with food, body, and herself
• Our illusion of control in having an eating disorder
• Storytelling and metaphor in ED treatment
• Language of recovery and healing
• Disordered eating thoughts and behaviors as a coping mechanism and distraction
• Following our joy and authenticity to freedom from diet culture
• Emotional literacy and boundaries
• Why those who suffer from EDs are the ones that the world needs most
• Mothering energy and how to provide that to ourselves

Anita Johnston, Ph.D., CEDS is a clinical psychologist and certified eating disorder specialist and supervisor, working in the field of women’s issues and eating disorders for over 35 years. She is the author of the best selling book, Eating in the Light of the Moon and co-creator of the Light of the Moon Cafe, a series of online interactive courses and women’s support circles, and Soul Hunger workshops. She is currently the Clinical Director of Ai Pono Hawaii eating disorder programs with out-patient programs on Oahu and the Big Island of Hawaii, and an ocean-front residential program on Maui.

Full Plate is listener-supported (no ads!) so please support the show on Patreon for bonus episodes at Patreon.com/fullplate

Patreon is also home to the episode transcripts (which are publicly available to everyone, not just our patrons!). If you’re looking for those, head over to Patreon. 

Find the show on Instagram: @fullplate.podcast 

Find Abbie on Instagram: @abbieattwoodwellness 

Abbie’s website: www.abbieattwoodwellness.com

Light of the Moon Cafe: https://lightofthemooncafe.com/

Anita's website: https://dranitajohnston.com/

Find Anita on Instagram: @dranitajohnston

 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit abbieattwoodwellness.substack.com/subscribe

We're REALLY getting into it today with this one. Hunger, as a broad topic, is something that I continue to receive the most questions on. We will likely have a part two to this episode in the future, so stay tuned!

FAQs covered:

• What even is hunger? What is the physiology and psychology behind it?
• What are the signs of hunger that we might be ignoring?
• Why do we lose our hunger, or become disconnected from the hunger cues themselves?
• What happens to our appetite and hunger as a result of dieting, accidental under-eating, and / or disordered eating?
• How can we approach eating when hunger is absent?
• Abbie's analogy for rebuilding trust with our body and hunger
• What do we do to get our hunger cues back?
• Abbie's go-to meals for when hunger feels confusing

Full Plate is listener-supported (no ads!) so please support the show on Patreon for bonus episodes at Patreon.com/fullplate

Patreon is also home to the episode transcripts (which are publicly available to everyone, not just our patrons!). If you’re looking for those, head over to Patreon.

Find the show on Instagram: @fullplate.podcast

Find Abbie on Instagram: @abbieattwoodwellness 

Learn more group coaching with Abbie: https://www.abbieattwoodwellness.com/group-coaching 

 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit abbieattwoodwellness.substack.com/subscribe

Abbie chats with Dr. Kim Daniels, a licensed clinical psychologist and emotional eating coach, about the biospychosocial components of eating disorders, the diagnosis of binge eating, and how so many factors come together to create our relationship with food and our bodies.

Topics discussed:

• What’s on Kim’s plate right now as a mother, and her current favorite snack
• Kim's relationship with food and her body as a child
• How our experience of puberty impacts body image
• Working in bariatric surgery prior to finding the weight-inclusive approach
• Binge eating as a diagnosis
• Assumptions in ED treatment
• The hurdles of transitioning into anti-diet work
• The problem with emotional eating and the restrict-binge cycle
• Internal Family Systems (IFS) as a model for healing our relationship with body and food 
• Using self-compassion in understanding our parts
• How to begin using IFS without overwhelm

Dr. Kim Daniels is an emotional eating coach with a degree in clinical psychology. She is also trained in Internal Family Systems (IFS) and is a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor.

Full Plate is listener-supported (no ads!) so please support the show on Patreon for bonus episodes at Patreon.com/fullplate

Patreon is also home to the episode transcripts (which are publicly available to everyone, not just our patrons!). If you’re looking for those, head over to Patreon. 

Find the show on Instagram: @fullplate.podcast 

Find Abbie on Instagram: @abbieattwoodwellness 

More info on Abbie's monthly "advanced!" group: https://www.abbieattwoodwellness.com/circle-monthly-group

Abbie’s website: www.abbieattwoodwellness.com 

Find Kim on IG: @kimdanielspsyd

Kim's website: https://www.drkimdaniels.com/

Upcoming webinar series with Kim: https://bit.ly/eewebinarseries

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit abbieattwoodwellness.substack.com/subscribe

You're in for a treat with this one! Sharon Maxwell (@heysharonmaxwell) joins the pod to chat with Abbie about her experience recovering in a fat body, the cost of delayed eating disorder treatment, weight stigma in recovery, and so much more. Sharon is incredible. She speaks bravely and openly about her ED, her recovery, and the things that both harmed and helped her become the person she is today. You'll want to follow her on IG if you're not already!

Some of the topics discussed:

• Restaurants and leftovers in eating disorder recovery
• Reclaiming space, energy, and mental capacity through recovery
• Experiencing medical weight stigma as a young child, and how it leads to avoidance or delay of care
• Growing up in a religious cult and how that influenced her body image and relationship with food
• The harms of delayed eating disorder treatment
• Binge eating and anorexia being assigned to body sizes
• The difference between thin and fat folks with eating disorders
• Weight bias in eating disorder treatment centers
• The fat activism that has to take place at every level of eating disorder support
• Partial recovery and fat-phobia
• Where Sharon is in her recovery in this moment and how she is approaching it

Sharon Maxwell (She/Her) is a mental health advocate and fat activist. She works as a weight inclusive consultant, providing education to treatment centers and healthcare providers on the immense harms of weight stigma. Due to her lived experience facing weight stigma, Sharon provides unique insight and offers practical tools to make treatment centers and healthcare settings safe and accessible for fat folks. Sharon is passionate about breaking down the stigma around eating disorders and working to eradicate societal anti-fat bias. When she’s not studying or engaged in her activism work, Sharon can be found exploring San Diego with her dog and her best friend.

Links mentioned:

"You Don't Look Anorexic" in New York Times Magazine

Connect with Sharon on IG: @heysharonmaxwell

Learn more about Sharon: https://www.heysharonmaxwell.com/

Find Abbie on IG: @abbieattwoodwellness

Abbie's website: www.abbieattwoodwellness.com

Follow Full Plate Pod on IG: @fullplate.podcast

Support the show on Patreon: Patreon.com/fullplate

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit abbieattwoodwellness.substack.com/subscribe

Abbie's husband, Jeb, is back on the pod again! They discuss how to support a partner (or friend, loved one, family member) through their recovery. This episode is focused on recovery from chronic dieting and disordered eating, but we also talk a lot about recovery from addiction, given that it Jeb's background. 

Topics discussed:

• What is "recovery", and how can we think about "full" recovery?
• How Abbie feels about the language of "recovery" and "recovered"
• Ways Abbie and Jeb have supported one another's healing
• Communication and boundaries in recovery
• Asking for support and expressing your needs
• Commenting on food and bodies
• How to show up imperfectly for your loved one
• How to work through and honor the evolution of healing in a partnership
• Being okay with not understanding everything
• Feeling helpless as the supporter of someone else's healing

Full Plate is listener-supported (no ads!) so please support the show on Patreon for bonus episodes at Patreon.com/fullplate

Patreon is also home to the episode transcripts (which are publicly available to everyone, not just our patrons!). If you’re looking for those, head over to Patreon.

Find the show on Instagram: @fullplate.podcast

Find Abbie on Instagram: @abbieattwoodwellness

Abbie’s website: www.abbieattwoodwellness.com

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit abbieattwoodwellness.substack.com/subscribe

Oh my, this is a GOOD ONE, fam. Chrissy King joins the pod to talk about her journey through and away from the harms of diet and fitness culture. And of course, her NEW book, The Body Liberation Project, which you should order and read immediately.

Topics discussed:

• Chrissy's experience with dieting and her body image growing up
• Getting wrapped up in fitness culture and the pursuit of thinness
• The connection between racism, the patriarchy, the beauty standard, and diet culture
• Macro counting and psychological distress
• The difference between body positivity and body liberation
• Chrissy's rock bottom moment with dieting, and how she moved forward
• The impact of restriction and deprivation on our mental, emotional, and physical health
• How diet culture effects our relationships
• Processing grief in healing out relationship with our body
• Cultivating joy in our lives without the distraction of dieting
• Why self-love isn't enough 
• Lack of inclusivity and diversity in wellness culture
• Chrissy's advice for taking one small step towards body liberation

About Chrissy: Chrissy King is a writer, speaker, educator, and former strength coach with a passion for creating a diverse and inclusive wellness industry.  She empowers individuals to stop shrinking, start taking up space, and use their energy to create their specific magic in the world. With degrees in Social Welfare and Justice and Sociology from Marquette University, Chrissy merges her passion for fitness to inspire members of the wellness industry to create spaces that allow individuals from all backgrounds to seen feel, welcomed, affirmed, and celebrated.

Full Plate is listener-supported (no ads!) so please support the show on Patreon for bonus episodes at Patreon.com/fullplate

Patreon is also home to the episode transcripts (which are publicly available to everyone, not just our patrons!). If you’re looking for those, head over to Patreon.

Find Chrissy on IG: @iamchrissyking

Order Chrissy's book: https://chrissyking.com/book/

Apply for group coaching with Abbie: https://www.abbieattwoodwellness.com/group-coaching

Find the show on Instagram: @fullplate.podcast

Find Abbie on Instagram: @abbieattwoodwellness

Abbie’s website: www.abbieattwoodwellness.com

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit abbieattwoodwellness.substack.com/subscribe