You Have the Right to Remain Fat with Virgie Tovar

This week, Karin welcomes Virgie Tovar, author, lecturer, and leading expert on weight-based discrimination and body positivity, to the show for, ”You Have the Right to Remain Fat.”

Tune in for a discussion on fat discrimination and oppression from diet culture, dissecting the meaning of fat phobia, weight discrimination facts, the ways body size shapes gender roles and stigma, self-hatred as a barrier to finding self-love, recovering from fat phobia in a culture steeped in stigma, keeping hope of recovery in the face the limitations of society, behind-the-scenes of her 2018 TedX talk, and more!

Begin your healing journey with Karin and her team now!

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It Was Never About the Cake with Teresa Schmitz, ACC

In this episode, Karin welcomes Teresa Schmitz, ACC, coach, blogger, and author to the show for, “It Was Never About the Cake.”

Join Karin and Teresa for a conversation on societal misconceptions of those living in a larger body, the role of internal and external validation, the harm of feeling like one “failed” a diet, why BMI is not an accurate health measurement, simultaneously moving through recovery and menopause, shifting one’s mindset away from traditional eating disorder diagnosis and stereotypes, Teresa’s motivation and process of publishing her first book, “It Was Never About the Cake,” and more!

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Diet’s Don’t Work with Jacqueline Adan

In this episode, Karin welcomes Jacqueline Adan, influencer, self love and mental health advocate to the show for the newest episode of Recovery Bites, “Diet’s Don’t Work.”

Join Karin and Jacqueline for a conversation on the dangers of dieting, especially regarding children, uncovering the deeper issues before fixing behaviors, the harm of weight-loss praise, fighting for fair medical treatment in a larger body, utilizing the “little moments” for full recovery, the problem with societal norms, and much more.

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Tapping into Bulimia Recovery with Dr. Rachel Evans

In this episode, Karin welcomes Dr. Rachel Evans, private therapist specializing in eating disorder recovery to the show for the newest episode of Recovery Bites, “Tapping into Bulimia Recovery”

Join Karin and Rachel for a discussion on mind mapping in recovery, the stigma that can accompany a bulimia nervosa diagnosis, diagnosis shame and how it keeps people from seeking treatment, the Emotional Freedom Technique’s (EFT) use of tapping and pressure points, challenging one’s “need” to use behaviors, how ritualistic behaviors “quiet” external noise, the medical risks of bulimia nervosa, the use of hypnotherapy to tap into one’s subconscious, and more!

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Changing Body Culture with Brianna M. Campos, LPC

In this episode, Karin is joined by Brianna M. Campos, LPC, fat-positive, Health At Every Size provider, mental health counselor, therapist, and body image coach to the show for “Changing Body Culture” our newest episode of Recovery Bites.

Together, Karin and Bri discuss the intersection of one’s relationship to body, food, and movement, the normality of body negativity vs the taboo nature of body positivity, separating the act of overeating and living in a larger body, the Poodle Science theory, the health-focused paradigm of the Health at Every Size® (HAES) approach, addressing weight bias and stigma in individuals living in larger bodies, HAES in the context of a weight neutral, public health approach, the dangers of a $72 billion weight loss industry, fears of living in a fat body, the physical and mental before and after effects of weight loss surgery, and much more!

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Out of the Pantry with Ronni Robinson

 
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Episode 36 - Out of the Pantry with Ronni Robinson

by Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS

IN THIS EPISODE:

In this episode, I am joined by Ronni Robinson, a recovered author with a passion for helping others who are struggling with an eating disorder. Ronni’s first book, Out of the Pantry: A Disordered Eating Journey, offers a brutally honest glimpse into the trials, pervasive thoughts, and heartbreak of a compulsive overeater, and the courage and strength Ronni gained to live a life of food freedom. Ronni is also an active public speaker on the topics of eating disorders and emotionally abusive relationships.


SOME OF THE TOPICS DISCUSSED:

  • No matter how long one has struggled with an eating disorder, it is never too late to recover.

  • Turning to food as a coping mechanism in the absence of unconditional love.

  • Healing your “inner child” as a step towards healing.

  • Self-preservation at any age.

  • Missing opportunities for connection when one’s mind is consumed with food.

  • The freedom gained from listening to your body.

  • The ways in which a parent with an eating disorder can speak to their children.

  • Taking “what works” from different belief systems to create your own.

  • The process of writing Out of the Pantry: A Disordered Eating Journey.

ABOUT RONNI ROBINSON:

Ronni Robinson is a writer and indoor cycling instructor in the suburbs of Eastern Pennsylvania, where she lives with her husband in their newly minted empty nest, as both kids are off to college.

With a passion for helping others who are struggling with eating disorders, Ronni’s first book, Out of the Pantry: A Disordered Eating Journey, offers a brutally honest glimpse into the trials, pervasive thoughts, and heartbreak of a compulsive overeater, and the courage and strength Ronni gained to live a life of food freedom.

You can find Ronni on the Facebook page “Overcoming Food Nonsense,” where she serves as an administrator. She also does public speaking about eating disorders and emotionally abusive relationships.

Ronni has been freelance writing since freshman year in college (a long time ago) and has appeared in aSweatLife, Ravishly, The Temper, 50 Shades of Aging, Healthy Women, The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Courier-Post, The New Brunswick Home News, and Parents Express magazine. Ronni’s first book, Out of the Pantry: A Disordered Eating Journey, can be found on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.


CONNECT WITH RONNI ROBINSON:

ABOUT KARIN LEWIS:

Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS has been recovered from Anorexia Nervosa for over 20 years and has been specializing in the prevention and treatment of eating disorders since 2005. Karin is the founder of the Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center located in Boston, MA. You can visit Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center online to learn more about Karin and her center’s services. You can also connect with Karin on social media by following @karinlewisedc on Facebook and Instagram.

 

Dismantling Fatphobia with Ragen Chastain

 
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Episode 33 - DISMANTLING FATPHOBIA WITH Ragen Chastain

by Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS

IN THIS EPISODE:

In this episode, I am joined by Ragen Chastain. Ragen is a speaker, writer, and thought leader in the fields of Body Image, Health at Every Size, Weight Stigma, and Corporate Wellness. Ragen's depth and breadth of knowledge come from a combination of her personal story of overcoming an eating disorder, her experience as a national dance champion and marathoner, and her training as an ACE Certified Health Coach, Functional Training Specialist, and researcher. Author of the blog danceswithfat.org, the book Fat: The Owner's Manual, and editor of the anthology The Politics of Size, Ragen is frequently featured as an expert in print, radio, television, and documentary film. Her ability to combine humor with hard facts in ways that educate, motivate, and entertain have makes her a sought-after speaker on the collegiate, conference, and corporate circuits.

SOME OF THE TOPICS DISCUSSED:

  • Ragen’s background including some of the weight stigma she has experienced in her life.

  • Navigating in a society designed to exclude, shame, and oppress people on the basis of shared characteristics or identities.

  • Medical weight stigma in regards to diagnosis, care, and treatment options.

  • Nurturing the parts of self that question authority and challenge the narrative.

  • The ways in which diet culture, dieting, and fatphobia perpetuate eating disorders and can make full recovery feel impossible.

  • The value and need for trust between client and provider.

  • How Ragen’s activism aims to dismantle diet culture and fatphobia in the community so that people of every size have equal opportunity to fully recover.

  • Strategies one can use to stand up for themself and advocate for equal healthcare and how Ragen has educated health practitioners.

  • The dangers of weight-loss interventions and weight loss surgery.

  • Challenging the beliefs that add to the oppression of fat people and moving into thoughts and actions that support body liberation for those of all sizes.

ABOUT RAGEN CHASTAIN:

Ragen Chastain is a Certified Health Coach, trained researcher, three-time National Champion dancer, and two-time marathoner who holds the Guinness World Record for Heaviest Woman to Complete a Marathon. She writes and speaks full-time about Body Image, Health at Every Size, Fitness, Corporate Wellness, and Weight Stigma - including with healthcare and eating disorders community. Ragen is the author of the blogs danceswithfat.org and IronFat, and the book Fat: The Owner's Manual. She has been featured as an expert in media including the Associated Press, the New York Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, FITNESS, Women's Running, and the Chicago Tribune. She is the editor of the two-volume anthology The Politics of Size - Perspectives from the Fat Acceptance Movement, and a former Editorial Board Member of the Fat Studies Journal.

A leading activist and thought leader in the Health at Every Size and Size Acceptance movements, Ragen is an internationally sought after speaker, having brought her captivating combination of humor and hard facts to stages including CalTech, Dartmouth, Amherst, Google Headquarters, the Multi-Service Eating Disorders (MEDA) National Conference, and a European Speaking Tour. She co-founded (with fellow activist Jeanette DePatie) the Fat Activism Conference, and the Fit Fatties Forum - an online community for people of all sizes who want to discuss fitness from a weight-neutral perspective, that currently has over 4,500 members. She led the campaign that raised over $20,000 in 8 days and put up 6 billboards and 10 bus shelter ads in Atlanta to counter a billboard campaign that fat-shamed children, and the Skinny Minnie petition which garnered over 140,000 signatures and resulted in substantial changes to a promotion by Barney's and Disney.

Ragen currently lives in Los Angeles with her partner and their two adorable dogs and is training for her first (and only!) Iron-distance triathlon.


CONNECT WITH RAGEN CHASTAIN:

ABOUT KARIN LEWIS:

Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS has been recovered from Anorexia Nervosa for over 20 years and has been specializing in the prevention and treatment of eating disorders since 2005. Karin is the founder of the Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center located in Boston, MA. You can visit Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center online to learn more about Karin and her center’s services. You can also connect with Karin on social media by following @karinlewisedc on Facebook and Instagram.

 

A Spoonful of Sugar Makes the Oppression Go Down with Lindo Bacon, PhD

 
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Episode 31 - A Spoonful of Sugar Makes the Oppression Go Down with Lindo Bacon, PhD

by Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS

IN THIS EPISODE:

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Lindo Bacon, a researcher and former professor, having taught courses in social justice, health, weight and nutrition for nearly two decades. Bacon holds a PhD in physiology with a specialty in nutrition, and Masters degrees in psychology and exercise metabolism. Bacon has mined their deep academic proficiency, their clinical expertise, and their personal experience to write two bestselling books, Health at Every Size: The Surprising Truth About Your Weight, and the co-authored Body Respect: What Conventional Health Books Get Wrong, Leave Out, or Just Plain Fail to Understand about Weight both of which are credited with transforming the weight discourse and inspiring a hopeful new course for the global body positivity movement. In their forthcoming book, Radical Belonging: How to Survive and Thrive in an Unjust World (While Transforming it for the Better), Bacon takes their inspiring message beyond size, to shaping a culture of empathy, equity and true belonging. A compelling speaker and storyteller, Bacon delivers a unique blend of academic expertise, clinical experience, and social justice advocacy, all couched in a raw honesty and compassion that touch and inspire.

SOME OF THE TOPICS DISCUSSED:

  • The dangers of government and healthcare professionals using weight stigma for health promotion.

  • Weight stigma is one of many body-based oppressions.

  • The problem is in injustice, not individuals.

  • Alienation from one’s body isn’t a result of personal failing; it’s a result of culture failing people.

  • For marginalized people, a focus on self-love can be a spoonful of sugar that makes the oppression go down.

  • The “school to prison pipeline” theory.

  • Being “othered” and the body shame it spurs is not “just” a feeling.

  • What happens when we try to fit into the expectations that society thrusts on us.

  • The challenges stemming from oppression, moving beyond self-love, and into belonging.

  • The beauty of connection, community, belonging, and truly “seeing” on another allows self-love to carry us to healing.

  • The belief that recovery means accepting humanity and taking care of yourself in it.

  • Lindo’s experience writing Radical Belonging: How to Survive and Thrive in an Unjust World (While Transforming it for the Better).

ABOUT LINDO BACON:

Dr. Lindo Bacon is fostering a global transformation – away from our obsession with body weight and to body respect. Their mission is to provide the critical thought, inspiring vision, and practical strategies needed to empower individuals, organizations, and institutions to respect all bodies and support compassionate self-care.

Bacon holds graduate degrees in physiology, psychology, and exercise metabolism with a specialty in nutrition. A professor and researcher, for almost two decades Bacon has taught courses in social justice, health, weight and nutrition; they have also conducted federally funded studies on health and weight and published in top scientific journals.

Bacon is co-author of the paradigm-shifting Body Respect: What Conventional Health Books Get Wrong, Leave Out, or Just Fail to Understand about Weight. They also wrote the iconic and bestselling Health at Every Size: The Surprising Truth about Your Weight. In their forthcoming book, Radical Belonging: How to Survive and Thrive in an Unjust World (While Transforming it for the Better), Bacon takes their inspiring message beyond size, to shaping a culture of empathy, equity and true belonging.

Bacon’s advocacy for body respect has generated a large following on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, health and nutrition listservs and specialty blogs, and the international lecture circuit. Bacon is committed to centralizing the ways in which power, privilege and disadvantage complicate our experience of our bodies. Health professionals – as well as people on their own personal journeys to body appreciation – call Lindo’s work “life-changing” and “transformative,” providing the tools and confidence for personal change and inspiring others. A compelling speaker, writer and storyteller, Bacon delivers a unique blend of academic expertise, clinical experience, and social justice advocacy, all couched in a raw honesty and compassion that touch and inspire.

CONNECT WITH LINDO BACON:

ABOUT KARIN LEWIS:

Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS has been recovered from Anorexia Nervosa for over 20 years and has been specializing in the prevention and treatment of eating disorders since 2005. Karin is the founder of the Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center located in Boston, MA. You can visit Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center online to learn more about Karin and her center’s services. You can also connect with Karin on social media by following @karinlewisedc on Facebook and Instagram.

 

Smashing the Stigma with Aaron Flores, RDN

 
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Episode 26 - Smashing the Stigma with Aaron Flores, RDN

by Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS

IN THIS EPISODE:

In this episode, I am joined by Aaron Flores, a registered dietitian nutritionist based out of Los Angeles, California. Aaron came to this work after seeing the damage done by a focus on weight loss and diet culture. With over 10 years of experience, he has worked with eating disorders in a multitude of settings. Aaron currently works part-time at Center for Discovery and part-time in his private practice in Calabasas, CA. Aaron specializes in Intuitive Eating, Health at Every Size®, and helping clients reclaim Body Trust®. His goal is to help individuals leave behind the world of diets and body shame and instead embrace their relationship with food and their body with curiosity, self-compassion, and empathy. Along with his work with eating disorders, Aaron co-hosts the podcast, Dietitians Unplugged.


SOME OF THE TOPICS DISCUSSED:

  • How the silence of individuals of all bodies speaks volumes.

  • The harm of not being recognized, due to weight stigma.

  • The debilitating, cyclical effects of dieting.

  • The importance of accessible, weight inclusive care for all bodies, especially in treatment center settings.

  • How a lack of diagnosis and substandard medical care is harming individuals in larger bodies.

  • How transparency and open dialogue is imperative within the eating disorder community and supporting organizations.

  • The reality that individuals in larger bodies are being prescribed that which we are diagnosing in smaller bodies.


ABOUT AARON FLORES:

Aaron Flores is a registered dietitian nutritionist based out of Los Angeles, California. With over 10 years of experience, Aaron has worked with eating disorders in a variety of settings. A large part of his career was spent working at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System where he helped develop and launch one of the first Binge Eating Disorder programs to help Veterans struggling with this disorder. Since leaving the VA, Aaron has continued to work in the eating disorder community helping run groups and providing individual counseling to adolescents and adults. He currently works part-time at Center for Discovery as Senior Coordinator for Weight-Inclusive Care and part-time in his private practice in Calabasas, CA. Aaron is a Certified Body Trust® provider, and his main areas of focus are Intuitive Eating and Health at Every Size®.

In his work, Aaron helps individuals learn how to make peace with food and develop body-positive behaviors. His work has been featured during Weight Stigma Awareness Week, in blogs for the National Eating Disorder Information Centre and National Eating Disorder Association. Aaron is a frequent speaker and has presented at the 2016 and 2017 Binge Eating Disorder Awareness Annual Conference, the 2018 and 2019 International Conference on Eating Disorders, and the 2018 Association for Size Diversity and Health Conference. Along with his work with eating disorders, he also is a co-host of the podcast, Dietitians Unplugged.

CONNECT WITH AARON FLORES:

ABOUT KARIN LEWIS:

Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS has been recovered from Anorexia Nervosa for over 20 years and has been specializing in the prevention and treatment of eating disorders since 2005. Karin is the founder of the Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center located in Boston, MA. You can visit Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center online to learn more about Karin and her center’s services. You can also connect with Karin on social media by following @karinlewisedc on Facebook and Instagram.

 

Challenging the Narrative of Weight Stigma with Chevese Turner

 
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Episode 17 - Challenging the Narrative of Weight Stigma with Chevese Turner

by Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS

IN THIS EPISODE:

In this episode, I am joined by Chevese Turner, leader in the Binge Eating Disorder (BED) and Health at Every Size® communities and co-author of Binge Eating Disorder: Recovery and Beyond. Chevese is the founder and former CEO of the Binge Eating Disorder Association (BEDA), and currently holds the position of Chief Policy & Strategy Officer at the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), after the 2018 merger of the two organizations. Chevese is a nationally recognized activist who passionately shares her journey with an eating disorder, body dissatisfaction, and the insidious effects of bullying & weight stigma on those living in larger bodies. With extensive experience in the field of eating disorders, Turner’s areas of advocacy include higher weight eating disorders, BED, weight bias and stigma, body image, Health at Every Size®, and body-based bullying.

SOME OF THE TOPICS DISCUSSED:

  • Dealing with personal weight biases.

  • The cycle of restriction in binge eating disorder.

  • Medical harm created by the “lose weight” mentality.

  • Access and barriers to treatment for those in larger bodies.

  • Finding community for those who are typically “unseen.”

  • The steps to provide informed care for people struggling with BED.


ABOUT CHEVESE TURNER:

Chevese Turner is the founder and former CEO of the Binge Eating Disorder Association (BEDA), which merged with the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) in 2018. As part of NEDA’s executive leadership team, she develops the organization’s key policy initiatives and strategy and directs its partnerships, programming, and communications programs.

Turner has extensive experience in the eating disorders community as an advocate for those with binge eating disorder (BED) and issues around higher weight eating disorders. She is passionate about changing the conversation around weight and body size and is dedicated to moving beyond the current dominant weight-focused paradigm to one that is weight inclusive and promotes well-being free from weight stigma and body discrimination. Turner carries these messages to audiences around the US and abroad in schools, healthcare settings, trade organizations, associations, professional conferences, corporations, and governmental agencies. She is the co-author of the recently published book: Binge Eating Disorder: The Journey to Recovery & Beyond and contributes regularly to podcasts and the media.

Turner attended Temple University in Philadelphia where she received a BA in Political Science. Her professional background includes public policy and government relations, non-profit management, programming, strategy, and communications.

Binge Eating Disorder: The Journey to Recovery and Beyond, co-written by a clinician and an advocate who have personally struggled with BED, illuminates the experience of BED from the patient perspective while also exploring the disorder’s etiological roots and addressing the components of treatment that are necessary for long-term recovery. Accessible for both treatment providers and patients alike, this unique volume aims to explore BED treatment and recovery from both sides of the process while also providing a resource for structuring treatment and building effective interventions. This practical roadmap to understanding, resilience, and lasting change will be useful for anyone working clinically with or close to individuals suffering from BED, as well as those on the recovery journey.

CONNECT WITH CHEVESE TURNER:

ABOUT KARIN LEWIS:

Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS has been recovered from Anorexia Nervosa for over 20 years and has been specializing in the prevention and treatment of eating disorders since 2005. Karin is the founder of the Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center located in Boston, MA. You can visit Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center online to learn more about Karin and her center’s services. You can also connect with Karin on social media by following her on Facebook and Instagram.

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