The Culture Of It All!

This bonus episode is a cozy, honest end-of-year conversation about visibility, overwhelm, and what I’m choosing to carry — and leave behind — as we move into 2026. I reflect on the past year of creating The Culture Of It All : from stepping into visibility on TikTok, to finding community, to navigating the emotional toll of being outspoken in a fat body online. I talk candidly about the tension b...

The holidays can be a lot — especially when diet culture, visibility, and body talk are turned all the way up. In this bonus episode, I share a gentle, honest reflection on overwhelm, being visible in a fat body, navigating online criticism, and why it’s okay to shut down conversations about your body, health, or food. We talk about: Holiday overwhelm & diet culture fatigue Visibility spirals and...

This is our final full episode of 2025, and what a year it has been. In this episode, I’m reflecting on what it truly meant for me to live at full volume this year: in my work, in my body, in my creativity, and in community with all of you. I want to take a moment to say THANK YOU for following my work, subscribing, reading and listening to The Culture Of It All. This work couldn’t exist without t...

This week we’re talking about something so many folks in larger bodies have experienced: what happens when you find yourself trying to dress a body you’ve spent most of your life trying to shrink? If you’ve ever: ✨ held onto “some day” clothes ✨ bought outfits for the fantasy body (not the body you live in) ✨ felt disconnected from your own style ✨ or realised you’ve never dressed without sham...

This week, we’re talking about soft rebellion — the kind of quiet, grounded resistance that comes from slowing down, listening to your body, and refusing to perform hustle cultures version of “success.” A topic that didn’t quite make it into Full Volume , but at this time of year is so deeply important to discuss. This one weaves rest, cyclical living, post-pandemic shifts, unlearning hustle cultu...

This week, we’re talking about something diet culture never wanted you to learn: body trust. Diet culture teaches us that our bodies are problems to solve. Fatphobia teaches us that distrust is our fault. And for many of us — especially those of us in larger bodies — that lack of trust is reinforced through stigma, restriction, medical bias, and years of being told we’re “too much.” The Culture Of...

In this episode, Melanie discusses the politics of plus size fashion, reflecting on her personal journey as a fashion enthusiast who also lives her life in a fat body. She explores the discrimination within the industry, the challenges fat folks can face when finding clothes and discovering their own style. Melanie shares tools and reframed language that she uses to heal her body image, breaking f...

After a much needed break, Melanie returns to The Culture of It All with a new sound, new energy, and a heartfelt reminder that you were never too much. In this episode, she shares what inspired her new digital zine Full Volume — a fat, nostalgic, rebellious love letter to those who grew up not seeing their bodies represented in the glossy pages of their favourite teen mags. Melanie unpacks the ev...

As we wrap up this season of The Culture Of It All , we’re rewinding to an episode that holds a very special place in my heart — Fat Positive Fall . In this cozy, reflective replay, I share how autumn feels like coming home to myself and how this season has often marked a time of clarity, creativity, and joy in my fat body. I talk about what it means to pursue joy, how I’m learning to shift away f...

In this episode, I’m reflecting on an old podcast episode I recorded back in 2020, before I had the language or tools to really understand diet culture and fat liberation. I’m sharing clips from that original episode and responding to what I got right, what I hadn’t yet learned, and how my relationship with body image and fat acceptance has evolved since then. This work isn’t linear, but growth is...

Self-care isn’t just for thin, white, able-bodied people—but it’s often marketed that way. In this episode, I’m exploring what weight-neutral self-care really looks like for those of us in larger bodies. I talk about how self-care spaces exclude fat folks, how wellness culture co-opts our care, and why self-care doesn’t need to be aesthetic to be valid. I also share my personal self-care menu—and...

In episode 33 of The Culture Of It All, we're digging into the diet industry's favorite disguise: health. But when "health" is actually code for thinness, who really benefits? And who gets left behind? I’m asking honest questions about trust, marketing, and the hidden shame of being sold weight loss in the name of self-care. If you've ever wondered whether that wellness product is helpful or harmf...

This summer has been exceptionally warm and this time of year always reminds me of the unexpected lessons I’ve learned since ditching diets and divesting from diet culture. The Culture Of It All! Podcast is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. The lessons that had nothing to do with food or movement, and everything t...

As I write this, it’s currently a gloomy summer day. The damp tension is in the air, a promise of thunderstorms and cooler temperatures just outside my office window. And whilst I impatiently wait for the real thing, I have a ‘Summer Storm’ soundscape playing on Insight Timer. Gloomy weather is my vibe. My soul craves cosiness, even in the warmer months and over the past few years I’ve discovered...

In this episode of The Culture For All, Melanie Knights discusses her journey of body acceptance and self-advocacy, particularly during the summer months. She explores the negative impacts of diet culture on body image, shares personal experiences with body discomfort, and emphasizes the importance of body respect and appreciation. The conversation highlights the need for self-advocacy in public s...

Welcome to episode 31 of The Culture Of It All! this week we’re exploring the term ‘food noise’. Since 2022, as weight loss jabs have become a casual part of conversation, so has the term ‘food noise’, but what does it mean? What is food noise, and why do some people not experience it? In this episode I’ll be sharing my thoughts about the term, how food noise develops, and ways we can quieten the...

Fatness is not a choice, for anyone. Period. This is something I hear myself repeating in almost every video I make on social media, whether I’m talking about diet culture, body image or other fat issues. Inevitably, when I speak up, someone enters my comments criticising me, my body, my assumed eating habits and lifestyle. The assumption is always the same: everyone is fat for the same reason, th...

In this episode, we’re delving into the complexities of diet culture, discussing the 3 red flags associated with every single diet, and the manipulative tactics of the diet industry. We’ll address the importance of understanding personal preferences in eating and the subjective nature of what constitutes “healthy eating”. I encourage you to practice discernment with your food choices and to recogn...

In this episode, Melanie shares her personal journey towards body neutrality and fat acceptance, exploring the negative impact which dieting had on her physical, emotional and mental health from a young age. She reflects on her childhood, and the struggles of being a teen and trying to fit in and conform to certain stereotypes. She discusses the challenges she experienced when starting a business,...

I knew, from the moment I got pregnant I didn’t want my kid to have the same body image issues I’d spent a lifetime experiencing. To be honest, when I got pregnant and even in the first few years of parenting, I believed that I didn’t want them to have the same perceived “weight issues” as me, but the truth is I wanted them to be thin. That felt like the only solution at the time, because it was t...

In last week's episode, I shared that fatphobia has always stemmed from the belief that weight is mostly controlled by diet and exercise. It’s why we’ve been subjected to decades of diet programs, products and books focused on calories in and calories out. It has also perpetuated the narrative that if you “try hard enough” you can also be thin, or manage your weight. With the rise in use of GLP-1s...

Fatphobia is on the rise, so today, we’re going to talk about it. Fatphobia, or anti-fatness, is the often socially acceptable form of discrimination and negative attitudes towards folks in fat bodies. This includes stereotypes and misconceptions that fat folks are less disciplined or lack self-control compared to their smaller bodied peers. Fatphobia is not just name calling or bullying someone f...

Back in episode 01 we took a look at diet culture, but to be honest, my experience of diet culture, the diet industry, and understanding of how the two work together has evolved in the last year. I’ve learned a lot more. I've experienced a lot more. And I feel a helluva lot more confident in talking about it with you today. So in this episode, I'm going to be answering the questions: What is diet...

Welcome to season 4 of The Culture Of It All! I know, I left you hanging… for a flipping month no less 🫣 but I’m back, somewhat refreshed and more fired up than I have been in months. Two months of being fat and loud about it on TikTok, well, let’s just say: there are good, bad and unhinged stories to share. A quick note before I get into the episode… You might notice a few little changes. I spru...

Trying something new, or at least new for this format — video! You’ll have to go ahead and let me know in the poll below what you think of having a video option for each episode… This special bonus episode is a casual fat chat about the past week - fat shaming, a viral TikTok video and my new hair - and I’m reading you a blog post I wrote back in January as an introduction to Confessions Of A Fat...