What I'm Tuning Into [Top Podcasts]

Reflecting on my first corporate job after college, I can vividly recall my co-worker Carol twirling around in a floral dress smiling widely as we all congratulated her on her recent weight loss—the result of taking the diet drug fen-phen.

The celebration didn’t last long, however, as this “miracle drug” was soon banned after research revealed it could cause heart valve damage.

Carol rapidly regained the weight, which sadly left her feeling ashamed and like a failure—something many of us with a history of yo-yo dieting can relate to.

Top Podcasts
Fen-phen, along with SnackWell’s cookies (lived on them!) and the President’s Physical Fitness Test (so humiliating!), are just a few of the topics covered in Maintenance Phase, a new podcast I’m really digging.

In addition to this show, following are a few other podcasts from a diverse range of thought leaders on subjects including diet-culture, fat-positivity, Health at Every Size, Intuitive Eating and more.

It's my hope that their stories, experience, knowledge and wisdom will help support you on your journey toward a more peaceful relationship with food and your body.

>Maintenance Phase
Co-hosted by Aubrey Gordon (Your Fat Friend) and Michael Hobbes (You’re Wrong About), the podcast “debunks the junk science behind health fads, wellness scams and nonsensical nutrition advice.”

As a longtime fan of Aubrey’s work, I’m also super excited about her new book, What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat.

>Fierce Fatty
Fat activist Victoria Welsby “helps plus-size people feel confident in their body so that they can stop giving a f*ck what other people think and live life with freedom and joy.”

Topics range from fat shaming and fat fertility to celebrity weight loss and dating while plus-size.

>Hearing Our Own Voice
A former wellness coach turned writer, speaker and educator, Melissa Toler describes her new show as “an anti-diet, weight-inclusive podcast that centers the stories and experiences of Black health and wellness professionals.”

Episodes include interviews with Black advocates, authors, dietitians, fitness instructors and more.

A Few More…
If you’d like a few more podcast recommendations, check out Food Psych; Body Kindness; Love, Food; Body Image with Bri and Dietitians Unplugged.

I hope you find these resources helpful!

4 Intuitive Eating Tips for a Peaceful Thanksgiving

However your holiday will look this year, if you or someone in your circle has a fraught relationship with food, Thanksgiving can be a challenging time.

Following are four Intuitive Eating tips to help you navigate the holiday (and every day) with greater ease.

1. Fire Your Internal Food Police
Your internal food police are the loud, relentless voices in your head that make you feel bad about your eating.

They try to enforce the unreasonable rules our diet and wellness cultures have created and make you feel guilty and ashamed about your food choices. And, they compel you to take compensatory measures to make up for your “food sins,” like exercising excessively or cleansing post-holiday—unhelpful behaviors that usually backfire.

In order to have a peaceful relationship with food, you must fire your food police by challenging your food rules and beliefs and removing any morality and judgment surrounding food.

Keep in mind that…

• All foods are morally and emotionally equal regardless of their nutritional value. A baked sweet potato is equal to sweet potato pie; eating one or the other doesn’t make you good or bad.

• Making peace with food means giving yourself unconditional permission to eat whatever looks good, tastes good and feels good in your body, without internal judgment or external influence.

• All foods fit in a balanced diet. This includes everything from turkey, stuffing and green-bean casserole to Brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes and mac-and-cheese. (Of course, if you have food allergy or intolerance, this needs to be honored.)

Normal eating includes sometimes eating simply for pleasure and sometimes eating until you're stuffed. Neither one is a crime you have to pay a penance for.

Unless you stole your food or harmed someone to get it, there’s no place for guilt in your eating world.

2. Set Boundaries with External Food Police
Your external food police are people who say things like “Do you really need more mashed potatoes?” or “You’re gonna regret that second slice of pecan pie!”

Regardless of the food cop’s intentions, you have the right to eat whatever you want without having someone negatively comment on, criticize, judge or question your choices.

Whether it’s a family member, partner or friend patrolling your eating, it’s important to set boundaries regarding what comments are inappropriate and unwelcomed. Here are a few comebacks:

• I trust myself to give my body what it needs.

• You mind your own plate and I’ll mind mine.

• I know you mean well, but your comments aren’t helpful.

Head on over to here for more ideas.

3. Say No to Food Pushers
Whether they are trying to express their love, be a gracious host or offload their extra food, food pushers can be tricky to say no to, especially when they’re persistent. However, you’re under no obligation to take food you don’t want, either because you’re full or simply don’t desire it.

If a simple “No, thank you” doesn’t work, try responding with:

• It looks so yummy but I’m full; I’d love to take some home or get your recipe.

• I’d really love to eat more, but couldn’t possibly swallow another bite without feeling uncomfortably full.

• I know I usually say yes, however, I’m trying to honor the messages my body is sending me, and right now, it's telling me it's full! I’m sure you can respect this.

4. Squash the Diet and Weight Talk
“I’m being so bad! Today is definitely my cheat day!"

“This is a calorie bomb! We'll need to burn this off tomorrow!”

"I can't believe how many carbs I'm eating. I'm going to pay for this!"

During the Thanksgiving feast, it’s not uncommon to hear remarks like these. Nor is it uncommon for such remarks to trigger feelings of anxiety, guilt and shame.

Set an intention before the festivities to not participate in diet and weight talk. Instead, switch the topic to books, movies, sports or the reason for the season—gratitude.

I hope these tips help you have a more peaceful and relaxed relationship with food, both on Thanksgiving Day and every day of the year.

What are Your Attunement Disruptors?

People are often surprised that I don’t tell my clients what to eat, when to eat, or how much to eat. I don't because I don’t have a clue what their body needs and wants at any given time. They are the expert of their body, not me!

My role is to help my clients connect with their body’s innate wisdom and trust it to guide them to the most nourishing, satisfying and supportive choices for their unique being. Part of this process includes exploring their attunement disruptors.

Attunement Disruptors
Attunement disruptors are obstacles that interfere with your ability to clearly hear—and appropriately respond to—the messages your body is sending you, including its sensations of hunger, fullness and satisfaction.

Here are a few common attunement disruptors:

• Dieting: When you’re dieting—no matter what the plan or program is called—you prioritize a set of external rules over your internal cues.
  
  For example, ignoring your body’s hunger signals because you’ve reached your calorie, point or macro allotment for the day; disregarding your fullness cues and overeating because you aren’t allowing yourself to eat again for many hours; or avoiding a desired food because it’s off-limits.
  
  

• Food Rules: Even if you’re not on a diet, you may still have a diet mentality and be adhering to a set of food rules, such as no eating after 7 p.m., no snacking, no seconds or no carbs. Your food rules dictate your eating decisions instead of your body’s needs and desires.
  
  

• Distracted Dining: Eating while multitasking (e.g., TV watching, emailing, texting, gaming, driving, etc.) inhibits your ability to tune into your body’s fullness cues.
  
  Distracted eating can also leave you feeling unsatisfied when your food is gone. Even if you're full, you may find yourself understandably seeking more food in search of satisfaction as satisfaction is an essential component of the eating experience.
  
  

• Eating Habits: Ingrained habits, like distracted dining, breakfast skipping, inflexible meal times and a clean-your-plate mentality, can cause you to override your body’s cues.
  
  

• Chaotic Lifestyle: If your days are intense, chaotic or overscheduled, perhaps due to juggling constant work and/or caregiving demands, your busyness may prevent you from hearing and honoring your body’s needs.
  
  

• Performative Eating: You’re disconnected from your body when you change how you eat when eating with others, such as not eating what or how much you actually want.
  
  You might do this to meet social or cultural expectations, please other people, project a certain image, or avoid potential judgment or criticism, which is completely understandable if you’ve been food policed in the past.
  
  

• Inadequate Self-Care: Not prioritizing foundational self-care practices, such as restorative sleep, joyful movement, stress relief and screen-free time, makes it difficult to hear and respond to messages from your body.

Start Small, Be Flexible
Addressing your obstacles to body attunement can take time, especially if your inner wisdom is clouded by a dieting mentality, food rules, weight stigma, fatphobia and other deeply embedded beliefs and behaviors, such as always putting other people’s needs before your own.

I encourage you to take small steps and to focus on what would feel the most helpful and satisfying to you.

It’s also important to be flexible in your approach otherwise you may find yourself creating a set of rigid rules that make you feel bad and guilty when you break them, such as “I can only eat when I feel hungry” or “I’m not allowed to eat in front of a screen.”

Sometimes, your work schedule may require you to eat at a specific time or while catching up on email. Or, you may want to enjoy a pizza while watching a movie, which can be a really pleasurable experience!

Being mindful of your attunement disruptors most of the time will help you reconnect with your body and become more aware of and responsive to its messages, needs and desires. As a result, you will cultivate a more trusting, intuitive and peaceful relationship with food and your body.