As a woman growing up in the thick of diet culture, I've developed body image issues and disordered eating behaviours that have been difficult to navigate on my own. But I found a wealth of knowledge, support, and encouragement to embrace intuitive eating [1] and self-love through the wonderful world of podcasts. Here are four of my favourites, along with must-listen-to episodes.
Food Psych Podcast
The Food Pysch podcast [2] is probably the one podcast that impacted my relationship with food and my body the most. Led by Christy Harrison, MPH, RD, CDN, she's all about health at every size, intuitive eating, eating disorder recovery, and rejecting diet culture.
In the first five to 20 minutes of each episode she answers a reader's question to help them navigate a personal issue regarding anything from anti-dieting to body issues. The last 40 to 60 minutes she brings on an expert to discuss topics such as binge eating, healing body dysmorphia, and eating disorder recovery. I love that she always begins the interview saying, "Tell me about your relationship with food growing up." Her podcast has helped me regain trust in my own intuitions about food and exercise and encouraged positive self-talk.
Episodes I love:
- Episode 74: The Truth About Emotional Eating With Isabel Foxen Duke, Anti-Diet Health Coach
- Episode 129: Health at Every Size and Eating Disorder Recovery With Kristie Amadio of Recovered Living
- Episode 149: The Truth About Binge Eating With Amy Pershing, Anti-Diet Therapist and Binge Eating Disorder Expert
Love, Food Podcast
This is the podcast I've been listening to lately, specifically on my morning drives to CrossFit. Led by Julie Duffy Dillon, RDN, the Love, Food podcast [3] is in the form of readers' letters written to food — yes, the readers actually begin with "Dear Food." All the questions are so relatable, and Julie calls on fellow experts to help answer the readers' questions. Some examples are how to be OK with gaining weight with intuitive eating, dealing with feeling embarrassed about having struggles with food, and how to control eating out of anger or sadness; it's so helpful and informative.
This podcast is easy to listen to, and I always feel like I learned a tidbit or tip to help understand my history with dieting and improve my relationship with food.
Episodes I love:
- Episode 122: I Think About Food All Day Long
- Episode 128: I'm Afraid of Relapse While Raising My Kids
- Episode 134: Why Hasn't Intuitive Eating Made Me Thin?
Body Kindness
When beginning my journey exploring intuitive eating, this is the first podcast I found. Body Kindness [4] by certified exercise physiologist Rebecca Scritchfield, RDN, talks about how to be healthy and improve your physical and emotional well-being with kindness and self-love and with zero emphasis on weight loss.
This podcast helped remind me to have compassion toward myself, to quiet that inner self-critiquing voice, and gave me the tools to start breaking free of dieting mentality and the need to change. Her interviews with fellow dietitians and other experts include topics about self-care, sleep, body image, and sex.
Episodes I love:
- Episoide 51: Why Diets Are Bad For Your Brain With Neuroscientist and TED Talk Superstar Sandra Aamodt, PhD in Neuroscience
- Episode 79: Diets Can Kiss My A** With Jess Baker, Author of Landwhale and Things No One Will Tell Fat Girls
- Episoide 92: Talking About Food and Bodies in the Home With Anna Lutz, RDN
The BodyLove Project
The BodyLove Project [5] podcast led by Jessi Haggerty, RDN, CPT — I think it's great that she's both a registered dietitian and a personal trainer. She discusses topics including diet culture, body image and body positivity, and how to get off the diet-binge roller coaster.
Jessi's interviews with experts, including fellow registered dietitians, writers covering intuitive eating, and doctors, let me know that others shared my experiences with food, diet, and body image. Knowing I was not alone in my emotions and habits helped me feel supported in my rejection of diet culture.
Episodes I love:
- Episode 001: Intro to Intuitive Eating
- Episode 048: Caroline Dooner, Founder of the Only "Diet" I'll Stand Behind
- Episode 052: How Diet Culture Impacts Our Body Image With Katherine Zavodni