Food Psych Podcast with Christy Harrison

TV writer and fellow podcaster April K. Quioh joins us to talk about how intersectional feminism and sociology helped her to finally let go of dieting and embrace her body size, why we need to challenge fatphobia and fight for it to be considered a valid form of discrimination, why it’s important to unlearn the diet-culture rules we’ve internalized around food and our bodies, the historical roots...

SEASON 7 FINALE! Fat activist, author, speaker, and podcaster Victoria Welsby returns to the podcast to discuss the intersection of fatphobia and healthism, why all weight-loss advice is a form of weight stigma, the moralization of different health conditions, the role of thin allies in fat activism, and so much more. Plus, in our new “Ask Food Psych” segment, co-host Vincci Tsui answers a listene...

Fat-liberation activist Angelina Moles joins us to discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic perpetuates oppression and trauma, her shift from body positivity to fat liberation, why subtle forms of weight stigma can sometimes be more harmful than overt ones, the trauma of medical fatphobia, and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about how to dismantle the fatphobic belief that having...

Anti-diet writer Kelsey Miller returns to the podcast to share her experiences of pregnancy in a larger body, adjusting to postpartum body changes, being a new mom, navigating the wedding industry as a plus-size bride, and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about eating-disorder recovery while living at home with a parent who pushes diet culture on you. Kelsey Miller is a best...

Eating-disorders therapist and fellow podcaster Asher Pandjiris joins us to discuss chronic illness in the context of body acceptance, the experience of living with an autoimmune disorder, the intersection of eating disorders and trauma, how the “personal responsibility” narrative perpetuates stigma, how being queer and non-binary has affected Asher’s relationship with their body, and so much more...

Anti-diet dietitian Anna Lutz joins us to discuss why it doesn’t make sense to provide both eating-disorder treatment and weight management, the influence of diet culture on parenting, how to provide structure for kids’ eating without creating restriction, managing picky eating, and so much more. Plus, weight-inclusive yoga teacher Rachel Estapa returns to give us an update on her experience of ha...

Coach and educator Ilya Parker of Decolonizing Fitness joins us to discuss moving away from toxic fitness culture toward an intuitive relationship with movement, how diet culture has shape-shifted to hide its racist roots, the experience of being a Black trans person trying to get gender-affirming medical care, toxic masculinity in white trans-masculine culture, and so much more. Plus, Christy ans...

Anti-racism educator and author Monique Melton joins us to discuss why doing anti-racism work is a prerequisite to dismantling diet culture and other systems of oppression, the difficulty of raising Black children in our white-supremacist culture, how to move beyond performative activism and allyship, why anti-racism work is never-ending, and so much more. Monique Melton is an anti-racism educator...

Writer and activist Sonya Renee Taylor joins us to discuss why we need more radical body love in the world, how to deal with weight gain and weight stigma while learning intuitive eating, what mainstream body positivity gets wrong, why understanding oppression and intersecting identities is the key to creating a world that's *truly* body-positive, how to navigate diet culture as a body-accepta...

Sociologist and author Sabrina Strings joins us to discuss her new book, Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia ; the history of how “race science” led to the development of diet culture; the many problems with using weight as a measure of health; how culture influences science; and so much more! Plus, Christy answers a listener question about how to tell the difference between d...

Body-liberation activist Patrilie Hernandez joins us to discuss how COVID-19 is highlighting health disparities in America; why social determinants of health are more important than individual behaviors; how dieting could worsen COVID-19; the role of intuitive eating, Health At Every Size®, and social justice in her eating-disorder recovery and in her career; and so much more. Plus, Christy answer...

Fellow Health At Every Size® dietitian Erica Leon joins us to discuss why people are particularly vulnerable to diet culture as they age, intuitive eating in midlife and menopause, the importance of normalizing body changes throughout the life cycle, how Erica transitioned her work from weight-centric to weight-inclusive, and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about how to pro...

Fat-positive sex and relationship coach and fellow podcast host Dawn Serra returns to the podcast to discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting our relationships with food and highlighting existing social injustices, how diet culture robs us of our ability to embody pleasure, desirability politics and its links to diet culture and oppressive beauty standards, navigating romantic relationships...

Fellow anti-diet dietitian Taylor Chan joins us to discuss “fence-straddling” between intuitive eating and traditional dietetics (and eventually jumping over to the other side), how her desire to be a “good dietitian” pulled her further into diet culture, the privilege inherent in diet culture’s version of nutrition, the nuances that make intuitive eating an inclusive practice, and so much more. P...

Fat-positive fertility coach and author Nicola Salmon joins us to discuss common myths about fertility, food, and weight; how to advocate for your health needs; the real reason why IVF clinics have BMI cutoffs; tips for preparing for pregnancy if you’re in a larger body; and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about how to handle being in charge of family food shopping and prep...

Sociology professor and author Abigail Saguy joins us to discuss the effects of weight stigma, racism, poverty, and other systems of oppression on health; why you can’t “fight weight stigma” while promoting weight management; how supposedly sociocultural interventions often end up targeting individuals; coming out as an act of social change; and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener quest...

Fat activist and writer Juliet James joins us to discuss helpful and unhelpful behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic, weight-loss surgery and its complications, the role of childhood trauma in her eating disorder, fatphobia on the upper end of the weight spectrum, and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about dealing with food cravings during COVID-19. Juliet James is a queer,...

Fellow anti-diet dietitian Veronica Garnett joins us to discuss how weight stigma in dietetics affected her health and career, the emotional effects of restriction, the importance of representation and community in body liberation, how she’s finally realizing her childhood dream of hosting a cooking show, and so much more. Plus, Christy discusses why you don’t need to panic about “healthy eating”...

Fat-positive psychologist and eating-disorder specialist Rachel Millner joins us to discuss how she navigated a changing body while helping clients in eating-disorder recovery, coping with discomfort in a larger body, how the HAES community responded to her weight gain compared to the culture at large, teaching kids how to navigate diet culture and other forms of oppression, and so much more. Plus...

Fellow anti-diet dietitian and author Leslie Schilling joins us to discuss how to support kids in eating intuitively and navigating diet-culture messaging, how privilege can affect different aspects of a person’s life and worldview, how diet culture can show up in our “safe spaces” including schools and churches, the process of writing her book and the changes she hopes to make for the second edit...

Fellow anti-diet dietitian Julia Lévy-Ndejuru joins us to discuss her experience with the Wellness Diet and binge eating disorder, why there’s no such thing as “light restriction,” how pregnancy affected her relationship with her body, how even body-liberation activists can still be triggered by diet culture, and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about whether home-testing ki...

Marketing strategist and copywriter Maggie Frank-Hsu joins us to discuss her eating-disorder experience and recovery, how pregnancy and parenthood changed her relationship with food and her body, how contradicting societal ideals oppress women and femmes, working at a food magazine while struggling with disordered eating, giving yourself permission to live in your truth, and so much more. Plus, Ch...

Fellow anti-diet dietitian and certified intuitive eating counselor Carolina Guízar joins us to discuss why we need to stop vilifying emotional eating, the mental effects of starvation, why fighting diet culture is a form of social justice, the nuances of bringing intuitive eating to Latinx communities, and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about whether certain foods cause a...

Fellow anti-diet dietitian and co-author of Intuitive Eating Elyse Resch returns to the podcast to discuss what to expect in the upcoming 4th edition of Intuitive Eating, how intuitive eating might look different in eating-disorder recovery and food insecurity, eating intuitively at different developmental stages, her new Intuitive Eating Workbook for Teens, how NOT to turn intuitive eating into a...

Fellow anti-diet dietitian and certified intuitive eating counselor Ayana Habtemariam joins us to discuss how she’s bringing intuitive eating to marginalized communities, whether food environments influence health, the oppressive roots of diet culture, paternalistic nutrition policies, and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about how to deal with worries about your partner’s h...