Almost 2 years ago I released a 2 part podcast on Wegovy and so I think it’s time for an update! Is it true that semaglutide shows reduced cardiac event risk? What have been people’s experiences? Is everyone on it now and have we “cured” fatness?? Let's dive in!
Michael Pollan, Organic Food and Determinants of Health
Should we be listening to the seemingly reasonable advice from food journalist Michael Pollan who says “Eat food, but not too much.” How much power does what we eat and how we move our bodies have on our health? What about organic food?? Today I answer a juicy listener question, some join me!
6 Ways Hating My Fat Body Almost Ruined My Life
6 Ways Hating My Fat Body Almost Ruined My Life
💭 I would restrict my food to lose weight and subsequently developed two restrictive eating disorders. From the moment I opened my eyes in the morning I thought of food and what I would soon be “allowed” to eat for breakfast and then counted down the moments until lunch. This behaviour was praised because I was fat.
😢 A gigantic portion of my mental energy was spent on thinking about how I looked and working out how to disguise my fatness from others. I got to events late or not at all after changing outfits multiple times only to feel terrible in them all.
👙 I was afraid of looking silly or unattractive. I would hide myself figuratively and literally. I didn’t want to be in pictures or be seen in a swimsuit for example. I missed out on so many joyful moments and was erased from memories because I didn’t want to be perceived as my genuine self: a fat person.
❤️🩹 I accepted terrible behaviour from others. I was abused, homeless, and had awful jobs and surface-level friendships. I tolerated dismal romantic partners, one who said he wasn’t as attracted to me as I gained a few pounds and another who mocked my body. Anti-fat bias taught me I wasn’t worth more because I was fat.
🗣️ I bonded by gossiping. I wasn’t exactly fun to be around - all I wanted to talk about was dieting and gossiping about other people's bodies who didn’t adhere to beauty standards that I thought were acceptable. After unlearning anti-fat bias I realized the only thing I had in common with these friends was shared bias and low self-esteem.
🏆 My life goals revolved around weight loss or attempting to attain beauty through thinness. I dreamed about the day that I would be “thin enough” to wear a bikini or a certain clothes size. Other life aspirations were secondary - thinness was the ultimate life goal.
⭐️ It wasn’t my fault I was taught anti-fat bias (and tried to navigate it the best I could at the time), but it was my job to unlearn it.
❓Do these experiences sound familiar to you? How has focusing on your body size and dieting affected your life?
✅ Unlearning anti-fat bias changed my life dramatically. And I will be teaching how I unlearned all that BS in an upcoming workshop.
How to Unlearn Weight Bias (and Be at Peace With Your Body and Other Bodies): https://fiercefatty.my.canva.site/how-to-unlearn-weight-bias-and-be-at-peace-with-your-body-and-others
P.S. For a 50% off price that contributes towards economic justice use code SPECIAL50
Oprah Leaves WW Board After Using Weight Loss Drugs
Seemingly there are non-stop stories and notifications of celebrities and influencers being on a new “weight loss journey” after starting on weight loss drugs. Now, Oprah is among that cohort and it has had an impact on her relationship with WeightWatchers. But hang on a minute, doesn’t WW sell weight loss drugs? Let’s dig into it! Bonus: I also share my favourite purchases under $100 that have positively impacted my life!
AITA for telling my DIL she wasn’t invited due to her weight
Have you ever read the “Am I The Asshole” questions on Reddit? If you don’t know what AITA is: People ask the internet if they were in the right or wrong about a situation that happened in their life. Well, these questions are a source of endless entertainment for me! I brought my friend Summer Innanen from Eat The Rules podcast to get her verdict on four AITA posts that I picked out around weight and diets. Some of these AITA question askers are grade A donkeys and also there are some grey areas where things are less clear. TW: anti-fatness, ableism, gender A-Hole behaviour.
Dealing With Anti-Fat Family During the Holidays
Woah nelly, can family be trying or what? Especially if you’re the only one talking up about bad behaviour and feel like the black sheep or are being told you’re “tooooo sensitive”. If we want to (or have to) spend time with family, having some tactics in our back pockets is a great idea. Sharing your stories, an analogy with a donley and different word tracks in this episode will help you join family celebrations with a little more ease.
Fat Liberation Gone Too Far? Misconceptions and Mistakes
Some folks can come in contact with fat liberation and turn away shaking their heads at the things that we believe. The thing is, often what they understand about fat liberation is incorrect, a misunderstanding or just plain false. First I talk about the core tenets of anti-fat beliefs and then I debunk the misconceptions that people have shared on the internet. Big TW for this episode as I am talking about actual anti-fat beliefs and the content of those beliefs so there is talk of anti-fatness and ableism throughout.
How to Feel More Confident in Your Body
How the heck do you feel more confident in your body anyway? In this episode, I go through step by step the actions to take. Get ready to make some notes, or not, I ain’t the boss of you. Plus, the story of someone making me cry in Starbucks last week after shaming my beverage choice, fun! Also, there’s an update on the Wegovy saga at the beginning so skip to 21.38 mins if you don’t want to hear that.
When a Loved One Diets and Hates Their Fat Body: Listener Questions
Listener questions! Questions include: My mum blames her poor health on her weight and won’t listen when I tell her about anti-fat bias, what should I do? Help, I have just been diagnosed with diabetes! Is it actually unhealthy to be fat?
I Want to Lose Weight! Coming to Terms With an Anti-fat World: Listener Questions
Listener questions part 2! Questions include: Help! I want to lose weight, but not for aesthetic reasons anymore but because the world is inaccessible. How do I cope? How to find a doctor who is fat positive? Is it true that biology dictates that fat people are less attractive to others?
Lisa Marie Presley Died From Weight Loss Surgery: Legends That Fatphobia Stole Part 2
With the news of the cause of death for Lisa Marie Presley recently I thought it was time to expand the list of famous people who have died at the hands of fat hate or diet culture. The first part is episode 145, but you don’t need to listen to that before this episode. I am talking about famous people who had overwhelming pressure to be thin and died trying or their life was damaged because of that. It’s a pretty tough episode so please skip if you need to. TW: Fat hate/diet culture leading to death.
6 Things You Could Be Doing That Supports Anti-Fatness (And Can Ruin Body Confidence)
I hate my fat body and I don't know whhhyyyy! Have you ever thought this? If so, you need to check out this episode where I share the 6 things you could be doing inadvertently that perpetuated anti-fatness and could harm your body confidence.
Is The AMA Saying BMI Should Be Scrapped!?
The American Medical Association released a press statement saying that the use of BMI is problematic. Is this good news?? The AMA famously went against their own expert advice to classify fatness as a disease with the BMI as the way to diagnose the disease so what’s with this turn about? Does it mean that the BMI will be no more or is this just more sneaky weight loss industry lobbying which will cause more harm?
The Psychology of Hunger
Today we are looking at the Warsaw Ghetto Hunger Study, the Children of HungerWinter and the Minnesota Starvation Experiment to answer the question what does hunger do to our mental and physical wellbeing? Massive trigger warning: mention of calories, types of food, starvation, eating disorders, self-harm, murder, the holocaust and death. Although most are brief mentions and not going into details.
The Science of Protecting Ourselves From Anti-Fat Bias
Anti-fatness is everywhere, yuck! Do you know what weight bigotry does to our brains and bodies? If not you’ll hear all about it in this episode. More importantly, you will also hear about what the science tells us about how to survive this sh*t show. It’s good news, you’re probably doing a lot of the good stuff already!
The Full NEDA Controversy Explained
NEDA (National Eating Disorders Association) have been in hot water what seems like recently, but actually they have been disappointing people for a while now. If you have seen posts on social media and aren’t sure what the whole story is I have you covered today. I am talking about NEDAs anti-fatness, the firing of fat lib senior leader, a disastrous AAP guidelines response, the terrible experience of fat community members, alleged union-busting, the harmful chatbot Tessa, calling community members liars and ignoring them and finally questions around conflict of interest. PHEW! Buckle up, we are in for a ride! Correction: In the episode, I said Chevese Turner was CEO of NEDA but she was actually Chief Strategy & Policy Officer.
Will Getting Plastic Surgery Mean I Am Anti-fat? Listener Questions!
We have listener questions today! From plastic surgery worries to new type 2 diabetes diagnoses. From being genderqueer and fat to reclaiming the word fat in conversations. Let’s hear from you :)
I Am Terrified People Are Judging Me!
So many of us are anxious about people negatively judging our appearance and body size. And let’s be real; people DO judge us and that sucks! So should we hide away and never venture out for fear of that judgement? Do people who seem to not give AF really not give AF or are they only pretending? How can we support ourselves to live with judgement from others? ALSO bonus info: I share every single cost of running a business, that business being mine! From the cost of contractors to Facebook ads and everything in between. If that doesn’t interest you skip to 27 mins in for the fat stuff.
What Would You Say to Someone Who Claimed You Are Promoting “Ob*sity”?
Today we have listener questions! What do you say to someone who claims you are promoting fatness? What things can you do to be a helpful fat ally and what things aren’t so great? Where can I find fat trans and nonbinary masculine representation? What to say when someone comments on your unintentional weight loss due to illness? I’ve got all these covered in this episode!
Hustle Culture vs Anti-Fat Culture
How do anti-fat culture and hustle culture share characteristics? How intertwined are they exactly? And what about the links to white supremacy culture? I am a recover(ed/ing) hustle culture enthusiast and long-removed anti-fat culture supporter and have observed firsthand the harms of both and how eerily similar they actually are. TW: anti-fat, classist, ableist, and healthist attitudes shared in the show.
