Access every podcast episode of the Body Image Series in one place!
#158: How To Feel Better In Your Body
In this episode I talk about:
- The body image series of podcast episodes I’m going to be doing,
- Why I intertwine the words self-worth and body image,
- The biggest mistake we make when trying to feel better in our body,
- The one question to ask yourself when working on feeling better in your body,
- 7 ways to feel better in your body mentally,
- How to feel better in your body physically,
- Your free worksheet with 5 actions to immediately feel better in your body,
- Plus so much more!
#159: Intuitive Eating & Body Image
In this episode I talk about:
- Why body dissatisfaction drives the diet mentality,
- Why accepting our bodies doesn’t mean giving up,
- 5 ways that body image work will facilitate healing your relationship with food,
- What it means to “trust yourself” around food and how to overcome that hurdle if you feel like you just can’t,
- Your free worksheet – Eat Like A Grown-Ass Adult – 4 prompts to inspire you to live your life without diets,
- Plus so much more!
#160: Believing You Are Good Enough
In this episode I talk about:
- What gets in the way of feeling good enough,
- How our “shoulds” feed the belief that we’re not good enough,
- What is self-worth and why it’s so damn important for you to feel good enough,
- The difference between confidence and self-worth,
- How perfectionism influences our self-worth,
- 8 components to build self-worth,
- Your free worksheet – 10 Powerful Ways To Reinforce That You’re Good Enough,
- Plus so much more!
#161: Detaching From The Thin Ideal
In this episode I talk about:
- Why it’s so hard to break the attachment to the thin ideal,
- Why no one should feel ashamed for wanting to lose weight,
- Why breaking the attachment to the thin ideal is a crucial part of body acceptance work,
- How to identify and work through the fears that keep us hooked on the thin ideal,
- The 5 main fears that keep us hooked on the thin ideal and diet mentality,
- Your free worksheet – Goodbye Diet Culture – 5 prompts to help you break up with diet culture for good,
- Plus so much more!
#162: How To Stop Comparing Yourself to Others
In this episode I talk about:
- Why we compare and why it’s not our fault,
- The main belief that drives us to compare,
- Why comparisons are one of the hardest things to overcome,
- 8 actions to take to stop comparisons,
- Your free worksheet – 6 Ways We’ve Been Conditioned to Compare,
- Plus so much more!
#163: How to Stop Caring About What Other People Think
In this episode I talk about:
- Why we fear judgment and how this is ingrained in us,
- What these fears can teach us about ourselves,
- Why understanding the source of our fear of what others are thinking is integral to healing self-worth,
- 7 ways to overcome fear of judgment,
- Your free worksheet – 5 Ways to Navigate Social Situations When Feeling Self-Conscious,
- Plus so much more!
#175: 4 Body Acceptance Misconceptions
In this episode I talk about:
- How body acceptance doesn’t mean loving every part of your body,
- That body acceptance doesn’t follow the magical thinking of diet culture,
- Learning to be more compassionate with yourself,
- Facing and rejecting the fears that keep us from acceptance,
- Welcoming bad days along with the good ones,
- How when we are owning who we are it is often uncomfortable, but also the most gratifying,
- The importance of choosing yourself and making space for all the different parts of yourself,
- That taking care of yourself looks different to everyone and can change day to day,
- How body acceptance is intertwined with self-care,
- That this is a process and the work is continuous,
- The importance of speaking more compassionately to yourself,
- Why this work is not about eliminating self-doubt completely,
- The resilience that comes out of doing this work,
- Plus so much more!
#180: Where Body Image Comes From
In this episode I talk about:
- How systems of oppression impact body image and how we’re treated in our society,
- What body image is and symptoms of poor body image,
- The importance of knowing that your self-worth isn’t dictated by your appearance or how other people feel about you,
- How our culture has taught us that only certain bodies are worthy,
- Beauty as social currency,
- How feelings of inadequacy don’t disappear if you change your body to be more in line with beauty standards,
- How the desire to fit beauty standards is hardcoded in our DNA,
- How external systems of oppression create internalized oppressions,
- That this is a systemic and cultural issue and it is not your fault,
- How we internalize experiences that make us feel like we’re not good enough and allow them to shape how we feel about our bodies,
- Questions you can use to examine your past and be curious about where your body image came from,
- The importance of tending to your past wounds in order to heal,
- Plus so much more!
#185: What to do if you still want to lose weight
In this episode I talk about:
- What it means if you still want to lose weight,
- How body image is hard-coded in us from birth,
- How this work is more than just embracing your “flaws,” it’s about cultivating a sense of worthiness outside of your appearance,
- Three things that cause us to feel bad about our bodies and why rejecting these is so important,
- The need to be critical of the cultural influences around us,
- That the longer you stay in the diet cycle, the harder it is to accept your body,
- The game-changing REFRAME that will help you get a lot closer to body neutrality (seriously, my clients love me for this),
- The ONE thing you need to get clear on to help you feel better in your body,
- That we have nothing to lose by being kinder to ourselves,
- Plus so much more!
#186: How NOT to respond to bad body days
In this episode I talk about:
- Potential sources of negative body thoughts and how they’re exacerbated during the pandemic,
- The THREE things we’re typically told to do to change our thoughts and why you should avoid them,
- A way to visualize how your brain evolves to think about self-doubt and self-compassion,
- How our negative thoughts tend to stick more than the positive ones,
- How our inner-critic is an innocent part of us that exists to protect us from threats,
- The TWO things that need to happen in order for our thoughts to change,
- The importance of working with your inner-critic,
- The ONE question to ask yourself to start to work on changing your negative body thoughts, Plus, so much more!
- Plus so much more!
#187: What Body Acceptance Really Means
In this episode I talk about:
- Why we believe body acceptance feels like letting ourselves go,
- That diet-culture wants you to believe you’re a failure and you’re giving up if you opt-out,
- The difference between healthy and unhealthy self-care and why acceptance supports the former,
- Examples of healthy self-care and how it comes from a place of compassion and kindness,
- Examples of unhealthy self-care and how it comes from a place of inadequacy,
- The three main fears to challenge and call-out in order to move to a place where acceptance feels doable,
- How when we hinge our self-worth on the external, we’re never going to feel good enough,
- Two game-changing reframes on acceptance to make it feel totally doable,
- How acceptance is a life-long, daily practice,
- Plus so much more!
#188: When you still have a negative body image
In this episode I talk about:
- How this feeling is incredibly common,
- A useful analogy between becoming a parent and starting on the path to a positive body image,
- TWO things we can do to feel better in our bodies and why one of them is WAY more powerful than the other,
- Where “intellectually getting it” sits within the 4 stages of acceptance and how to bust past that barrier,
- Why you have to be intentional about challenging your negative thoughts,
- That it’s normal to still have bad body days,
- ONE question to visit daily to propel you towards giving less F’s about your body,
- Plus so much more!
#191: Weight Set Point Theory & You
In this episode I talk about:
- What the weight set point theory is,
- How we don’t have as much control over our weight as we’ve been led to believe,
- The factors that can influence our body size and how they’re mostly out of our control,
- How dieting impacts our set point,
- How a HAES approach can help you learn to trust your body,
- Why the idea of a set point can trigger the diet mentality,
- Why we need to disconnect with the idea of a goal weight,
- What to focus on instead of getting to your set point,
- That there is a grieving process involved in moving forward,
- Why our happiness and acceptance can’t be conditional on achieving a certain body size,
- Plus so much more!
#193: Dieting as a Coping Mechanism
In this episode I talk about:
- The concept of “emotional dieting” and “emotional weight fixation,”
- How emotional dieting distracts us from getting at the real issue and keeps us turning to diets for an answer,
- That it’s normal for life to feel out of control sometimes and there’s not always a quick fix or way to control it,
- That we’ve been conditioned to think that our bodies are a problem, so it’s no surprise when that becomes our way of thinking about ourselves or processing emotions,
- Some common triggers for diet fixation,
- The importance of identifying where your sense of fulfilment is not being met in life,
- Why this makes accepting your body so hard,
- How freeing it is to get comfortable experiencing the messiness of being a human being,
- Why the pandemic has been so hard on people’s body image,
- How to separate from these things in order to truly move forward,
- That you should lead with curiosity and know that your body is not the problem,
- Plus, so much more!
#194: Why It’s So Hard to Quit Diet Culture
In this episode I talk about:
- How dieting is like a drug in our culture,
- That there’s an anticipation of this perfect life and perfect body on the radar that keeps us hooked to dieting with a false sense of fulfilment,
- That there’s grief, sadness, and loneliness associated with letting go of dieting,
- Why community support is so important in breaking free of diet culture,
- That the fear of the unknown is at the root of why it’s so hard to let go of dieting,
- That dieting, and the identity as a dieter, is a false sense of security and armor that holds us back from having deeper and more real relationships with the people in our lives,
- How this is an opportunity to find new coping mechanisms that will actually help you process your feelings and feel better about yourself, regardless of your size,
- What life is like without dieting,
- The freedom of eating without guilt,
- How fulfilment is different from happiness,
- That it’s not about having no emotional discomfort, it’s about learning to be with ourselves through the highs and lows,
- Plus so much more!
#204: Prioritizing Self Care
In this episode I talk about:
- The meme I posted on Instagram that inspired this episode,
- How not putting ourselves first reinforces that we’re not good enough,
- Examples of when I’ve put my own needs last,
- How we glorify exhaustion, especially of women, in social media,
- The hustle of trying to achieve the “female ideal,”
- How the “shoulds” that live in the back of our minds stop us from putting ourselves first,
- Four reasons we tolerate putting ourselves last,
- That we can still support the people in our lives, while also putting our needs first,
- Four reframes and two questions to ask yourself to help start to put your needs first,
- Plus so much more!
#213: Rant on “love your body” & “body positivity” messaging
In this episode I talk about:
- How “love your body” and “body positivity” are an entry point into this world of body image work,
- How my clients often react negatively to this language and why the pressure for body positivity can result in doubling down on shame,
- That while these messages lack nuance, they’re still way better than the old messaging,
- What I found when looking up these phrases’ hashtags, how they’ve been co-opted, and some of the better hashtags to follow that haven’t been co-opted in the same way,
- Why we need more representation without explanation or justification,
- That prettiness is not your power,
- How body neutrality takes the focus away from the need to feel a certain way about your body,
- That it’s normal to want the dopamine hit of good feelings, which often relies on external things,
- That we often imagine looking at ourselves and judging ourselves through the male-gaze and society’s beauty standards,
- Why the notion of feeling body neutral can be unexciting,
- The freedom of not caring how you look and the impact it can have on your life,
- Plus so much more!
#214: All about Body Neutrality
In this episode I talk about:
- How I discovered the term “body neutrality,”
- That how you feel about your body isn’t static,
- How I like to reframe body neutrality as a way to get more joy out of life,
- That it doesn’t mean not liking how you look, but that doesn’t define who you are as a person,
- That this evolution isn’t linear and it’s very subtle,
- That you’ll still have bad days, but you won’t be projecting those bad feelings onto your body, which allows you to identify the actual issue,
- How it allows you to make decisions based on what’s best for you, instead of the best way to lose weight,
- That everyone’s journey is different and that we have to meet ourselves where we’re at,
- That the core of this work is knowing who you are and your value outside of how you look,
- The importance of challenging the beliefs you have and developing beliefs that support unconditional support and love for yourself,
- That fear will always be there, but you can learn to move through it,
- How embodiment and body neutrality go together,
- Plus so much more!
#259: How to know if you have a healthy body image
In this episode I talk about:
- What it means to have a positive body image,
- How self-worth is at the core of body image,
- Why it’s important to be able to measure it,
- Some of the signs and symptoms I look for in assessing body image,
- How it shows up in different areas of our life,
- Your free copy of my Body Image Benchmark Quiz,
- Plus, so much more!
#260: 10 Examples of Body Neutrality
In this episode I talk about:
- My overall definition of body neutrality,
- Two questions I ask to determine body neutrality,
- How it’s really hard to be neutral about your body in a culture that has body hierarchies,
- Why it’s important to know that your body is not the problem, the culture is the problem,
- That body neutrality refers to your own perception of your body,
- Why I like body neutrality as a starting point,
- Ten specific examples of body neutrality,
- That’s it’s about reducing the emotional charge of negative thoughts, not getting rid of them all,
- That you can care and tend to your whole self in a better way when you’re not letting your body size dictate what you do,
- Plus, so much more!
#261: Feeling Stuck with Body Acceptance? 5 Reasons why…
In this episode I talk about:
- How the culture we live in can make body acceptance a challenge,
- What being stuck with body acceptance can look like,
- My Body Image Benchmark Assessment Quiz that will help you see where you’re at,
- How dieting is addictive and a coping mechanism,
- That we’ve been conditioned to believe we should be able to control weight,
- The importance of community in this work,
- That you can feel a sense of loss or inadequacy when you begin this journey,
- The difference between intellectually getting it and being intentional about putting it into action,
- Plus, so much more!
#262: 7 Ways Perfectionism Hinders Body Acceptance
In this episode I talk about:
- What perfectionism is,
- What the diet cycle looks like,
- Why aiming for no bad days and loving your body is an unrealistic expectation,
- How fear leads people to put off doing this work,
- The unrealistic standard we all measure ourselves against,
- The importance of focusing on behaviours instead of outcomes,
- That this work is not linear,
- Plus, so much more!
#263: Why Self-Compassion is So Hard
In this episode I talk about:
- That it’s very common to struggle with self-compassion,
- Where it shows up in the work I do with my clients,
- That compassion is like a muscle that needs to be used,
- That our brain likes negative thoughts,
- How our nervous system plays into this,
- That self-compassion is not a pep talk,
- How your inner-critic impacts self-compassion,
- Plus, so much more!
#279: When You Fear Weight Gain
In this episode I talk about:
- The importance of aiming for unconditional acceptance,
- How losing weight can often amplify this fear,
- This fear’s root in anti-fat bias and anti-Blackness,
- The issue of accessibility and how our culture is the problem,
- How fear can make our lives smaller,
- That moving past fear involves taking gradual steps moving outside of your comfort zone,
- The importance of unpacking your belief system and challenging it,
- 2 game-changing reframes to help you move past this fear,
- Plus, 4 things we have to be doing on an ongoing basis to undo this conditioning,
- Plus so much more!
#280: Dealing with Weight Changes
In this episode I talk about:
- Some of the reasons that dealing with weight changes can be really tough,
- That body changes are normal,
- That it’s common to go onto investigation and problem-solving mode and the problem with that,
- The distress of losing access to things because of body changes and that our culture is the problem,
- The dangers of skipping over processing your feelings and grief,
- The importance of unpacking beliefs,
- That self-compassion is integral and it is not the same as positive self-talk,
- Why we need to intentionally expose ourselves to a variety of bodies,
- That avoiding discomfort doesn’t make it go away,
- What it means to see yourself as a whole human,
- That acceptance gives you time, energy, and freedom back,
- Plus, so much more!
#282: Similarities Between Anti-Aging Culture & Diet Culture
In this episode I talk about:
- How aging concerns spans generations,
- That ageism is rampant in our culture and seems to have piggy-backed off the same dynamics of diet culture,
- The surprising stats on the growth of the anti-aging industry,
- My own experience with skin care and anti-aging products and procedures,
- That they both stem from and profit off of oppressive systems,
- How anti-aging upholds anti-fatness, sexism, classism, and ableism,
- That once you’re invested, you have to keep investing,
- The ways in which they both steal a lot of time, energy, and money,
- How participating in these cultures chips away at your self-worth,
- A question to ask yourself to bring awareness to where anti-aging is impacting your decisions,
- Plus so much more!
#283: Dealing with Aging Body Changes
In this episode I talk about:
- Where I’m at with my own aging body changes,
- That many of the principles I use around weight change also apply to aging,
- How much more pervasive anti-aging pressure is now,
- That it’s normal to experience weight changes as you age,
- How we often neglect thinking about aging when doing body image work,
- How my 3-phase framework for dealing with weight change applies here as well,
- Some of the things you may find yourself mourning as your body changes with age,
- That we need to look at what we believe and what’s feeding those beliefs,
- The importance of normalizing aging through finding variety in aging role models,
- That aging is looked at differently across cultures,
- How to reframe this as an opportunity to discover yourself,
- That looking for community in different social circles is a critical part of the process,
- Plus so much more!
#285: Help! I have a friend who “watches their weight”
In this episode I talk about:
- My tendency when I find myself in these situations,
- Why my rage is directed at society, not the other person,
- That it’s important to remind yourself how dieting worked out for you in the long run before,
- The relief I feel in knowing that weight loss isn’t an option for me,
- How seeing someone who is “succeeding” with their diet can make you second guess what you know,
- That the weight loss industry is designed to make us question ourselves,
- Why weight loss doesn’t actually increase self-worth,
- How calling out your assumptions can help put things into perspective,
- That dieting is usually not in alignment with our values,
- The importance of finding community,
- Plus so much more!
#294: Perimenopause and Body Image
In this episode I talk about:
- An update on my Masters of Counselling,
- What perimenopause is,
- What influences body image in perimenopause,
- How a history of dieting can put you in a more vulnerable position as your body changes with age,
- That weight gain is common in perimenopause and that there are many factors that contribute to it,
- The other stressors that impact body image during this time,
- How depression shows up during perimenopause, and how it differs from other times,
- Why this time in life can also be liberating,
- The interlocking relationship between youth and beauty,
- The importance of unpacking our beliefs around aging,
- The importance of resilience and how to strengthen it,
- Plus so much more!
#295: Aging, Body Image and Sexuality
In this episode I talk about: