Food Psych Podcast with Christy Harrison

Fitness and wellness historian Natalia Mehlman Petrzela joins Christy to discuss her new book, Fit Nation ; the historical shifts that made fitness go from being viewed as a narcissistic practice to being seen as a good thing across the political spectrum; why so many people are disillusioned with our medical system and looking for answers and validation in the alternative medicine space; how peop...

Christy answers audience questions about how to deal with diet culture in the workplace, whether “lifestyle medicine” is compatible with an anti-diet approach, and whether she thinks diet foods should be forbidden. If you're ready to break free from diet culture once and for all, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course . Pre-order Christy's second book, The...

Christy answers an audience question about how elimination diets can do damage to your mental and physical well-being, and how/whether to tell a doctor who put you on an elimination diet that it was harmful. If you're ready to break free from diet culture once and for all, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course . Pre-order Christy's second book, The Wellne...

We consider whether labeling some foods as “fun”—and limiting their consumption—is compatible with intuitive eating and diet-culture recovery. If you're ready to break free from diet culture once and for all, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course . Pre-order Christy's second book, The Wellness Trap , for its April 2023 release! Christy's first book, A...

Christy offers 5 tips for dealing with diet evangelists and diet-culture messaging this time of year. If you're ready to break free from diet culture once and for all, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course . Pre-order Christy's second book, The Wellness Trap , for its April 2023 release! Christy's first book, Anti-Diet , is available wherever you get...

Christy answers an audience question about processed foods, unpacking flawed research and common assumptions about how the food environment interacts with our ability to trust our cravings and internal cues. If you're ready to break free from diet culture once and for all, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course . Pre-order Christy's second book, The Wellne...

We discuss how to avoid falling prey to wellness-culture pressures this holiday season, especially when you’ve had an identity as “the healthy one” in your family. If you're ready to break free from diet culture once and for all, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course . Pre-order Christy's second book, The Wellness Trap , for its April 2023 release! Christ...

What was once called “clean eating” is now being rebranded as “anti-inflammatory.” This week we unpack the evidence behind this wellness-culture trend—and discuss what to do if it’s harmed your relationship with food. Subscribe to our newsletter, Food Psych Weekly  for weekly Q&As and more. If you're ready to break free from diet culture once and for all, come check out Christy's Intui...

Why we need both consistency and flexibility in meal times—and in recovery from disordered eating. Subscribe to our newsletter, Food Psych Weekly  for weekly Q&As and more. If you're ready to break free from diet culture once and for all, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course . Christy's first book, Anti-Diet , is available wherever you get your books...

We discuss why even if you think you’re eating “plenty of calories,” you might still be taking in too little energy—and what to do about it. Subscribe to our newsletter, Food Psych Weekly  for weekly Q&As and more. If you're ready to break free from diet culture once and for all, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course . Christy's first book, Anti-Diet...

We discuss how to deal with diet culture at the holiday table (and beyond), and how to help kids navigate diet talk from extended family. Subscribe to our newsletter, Food Psych Weekly  for weekly Q&As and more. If you're ready to break free from diet culture once and for all, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course . Christy's first book, Anti-Diet , i...

Christy answers an audience question about whether you really need a “hormone-balancing” diet to deal with hormonal changes. Subscribe to our newsletter, Food Psych Weekly  for weekly Q&As and more. If you're ready to break free from diet culture once and for all, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course . Christy's first book, Anti-Diet , is available w...

Is there such a thing as “semi-intuitive eating” for people who feel out of control with certain foods? And can a diet that tells you to cut calories and avoid “bad” foods ever really be aligned with intuitive eating? We discuss. Subscribe to our newsletter, Food Psych Weekly  for weekly Q&As and more. If you're ready to break free from diet culture once and for all, come check out Christy...

We discuss how—and what—to eat between meals as you recover from dieting and other forms of disordered eating. Subscribe to our newsletter, Food Psych Weekly  for weekly Q&As and more. If you're ready to break free from diet culture once and for all, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course . Christy's first book, Anti-Diet , is available wherever you ge...

Christy answers an audience question about how to manage acid reflux without dieting or eliminating foods, and without jeopardizing your recovery from disordered eating. Subscribe to our newsletter, Food Psych Weekly  for weekly Q&As and more. If you're ready to break free from diet culture once and for all, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course . Christy...

We discuss what the science actually says about dairy and acne, why most diet research is so shoddy, why cutting out foods isn’t the panacea that wellness culture makes it out to be, and some non-diet options for dealing with acne. Subscribe to our newsletter, Food Psych Weekly  for weekly Q&As and more. If you're ready to break free from diet culture once and for all, come check out Chris...

Christy answers an audience question about whether tracking what you eat is helpful or harmful. We discuss the ways it can unintentionally support diet culture, some things to consider in relating to wellness-diet foods, and how to tell if your food journaling is disordered or intuitive. Subscribe to our newsletter, Food Psych Weekly  for weekly Q&As and more. If you're ready to break free...

We discuss whether food-sensitivity tests are accurate, the potential damage they can cause to your relationship with food, and what to do if you think you might be reacting to something in your diet. Subscribe to our newsletter, Food Psych Weekly  for weekly Q&As and more. If you're ready to break free from diet culture once and for all, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Funda...

Christy answers an audience question about how to challenge wellness-diet rules and find more pleasure in home-cooked meals. If you struggle to enjoy cooking because of diet-culture restrictions, this episode is for you. Subscribe to our newsletter, Food Psych Weekly  for weekly Q&As and more. If you're ready to break free from diet culture once and for all, come check out Christy's In...

We discuss why a restrictive “candida diet” is unnecessary, why the concept of “candida overgrowth” as packaged and sold by wellness culture is largely pseudoscience, how this dubious diagnosis gained traction, and evidence-based ways to treat frequent yeast infections. Subscribe to our newsletter, Food Psych Weekly  for weekly Q&As and more. If you're ready to break free from diet culture...

We discuss a popular 12-step group that purports to help people recover from eating issues, and whether it actually causes more harm than good. Christy explains why so-called "overeating" is often driven by restriction and deprivation, and why using an abstinence model can make it worse. Subscribe to our newsletter, Food Psych Weekly  for weekly Q&As and more. If you're ready to br...

Christy answers an audience question about how much brain space you “should” devote to thoughts of food. We discuss how and why disordered eating dramatically increases the amount of time you spend thinking about food, how diet culture simultaneously stigmatizes food-related thoughts, and how you might reframe your thinking about this issue in a more compassionate way. Subscribe to our newsletter,...

Christy answers an audience question about whether most people really need to go gluten-free—and how to tell when cutting out gluten is actually a disordered-eating behavior. When diet and wellness culture are constantly pushing gluten-free diets for one reason or another, most people have probably considered cutting out gluten at some point. In this episode we’ll discuss why it’s not likely to he...

Christy answers an audience question about what disordered thoughts mean about your recovery. We also discuss how to handle the messages floating around online that frame recovery in black-and-white ways that ultimately aren’t super helpful for true healing, the role of social media and other algorithmic technologies in amplifying and incentivizing those messages, and how you might respond when yo...

Christy answers an audience question about “leaky gut syndrome,” what to do if you’re diagnosed with it, and what the evidence really says. Whether you’re considering a diet for this supposed condition (or know someone who is) or working to heal from the effects of one, this episode offers some important food for thought. Subscribe to our newsletter, Food Psych Weekly  for weekly Q&As and more...