Episode #76: Uncovering the Truth with Noom, the “Obesity Epidemic” and White Feminism with Virginia Sole-Smith

Virginia Sole-Smith woke up to the impact of diet culture when her daughter had a significant health crisis that drove her to not eat when she was 2 months old because she didn’t feel safe. This was the catalyst for Virginia to examine her own relationship with food and to decide that she needed to make food joyful and her home a safe space for her family. 

On the podcast, Virginia and I discussed what it’s like to not believe we’re dieting, but are.  Virginia talked about the Noom app, which is essentially a diet for smart people in different packaging. She wrote an informative and insightful article here.

We talked about the so-called obesity epidemic and how the Body Mass Index, politics and the pharmaceutical industry have played a pivotal role in how we look at obesity. And we talked about white feminism and its origins with equal pay and abortion rights. 

Connect with Virginia on Instagram and Twitter @v_solesmith

Virginia Sole-Smith is the author of The Eating Instinct: Food Culture, Body Image and Guilt in America and the forthcoming Fat Kid Phobia.

Check out Burnt Toast, which explores questions (and some answers) around diet culture, fatphobia, health and parenting.



Episode #75: Raising an Intuitive Eater with Sumner Brooks

Sumner Brooks, RD is educating and empowering parents to raise intuitive eaters, even when they’ve had a tumultuous relationship with food and their own body. 

On the podcast, Sumner shares the starting point for parents raising an intuitive eater is creating a paradigm of health based on personal values and teaching children how to relate to their bodies, which includes considering all of the other ways their bodies are impacted by their choices (food isn’t the primary one, it’s just one of them). 

Sumner also emphasizes that raising an intuitive eater isn’t about being a perfect parent, it’s allowing parents to heal where they are. 

We also talked about how our children can be our greatest teachers around food and our body and how parents can not be happy with their own bodies, and still encourage their children to be happy with theirs. 

Sumner shared that when parents are worried about their child's health and weight, it’s important to understand the significant health issues behind dieting and weight cycling. 

Social media handles: @IntuitiveEatingRD @edrdpro

Sumner is the co-author of How to Raise an Intuitive Eater that is available now for preorder and comes out on January 4, 2022. 

Episode #74: Healing Pain and Embracing Your Body’s Wisdom with Dr. Kimberly Higney

Dr. Kimberly Higney, a chiropractor specializing in natural hormonal health, personally knows what it’s like to turn her attention away from her body’s wisdom and what it’s like to honor it. In this conversation, Dr. Kimberly drops some amazing truth bombs that will land in your heart and fill you with relief. 

Dr. Kimberly and I talked about practicing self-compassion when understanding that we have patterns that served us at one point in our lives and those patterns may no longer serve us. We talked about what it’s like to number all emotions, not just the unwanted ones, and how to be with our body when we are in pain. Dr. Kimberly offers some advice on how to find nourishment in all areas of our lives, including what information we receive. We also discussed fear and love, and how to be curious when considering our choices. 

Dr. Kimberly is the owner of Cardea on the Seacoast of New Hampshire. 

Follow Dr. Kimberly on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/cardea_seacoast/