Links + Thoughts
Another edition of things I've read and thoughts I've had that you might enjoy reading about, too
Links:
Every single person on this planet deserves to wear clothes that fit both their body and their personality. Here’s an extensive list that only includes brands that offer sizing up to 4x and above.
Never one to defend the current administration, but can we get a bit more creative with our critiques? There are a lot of good reasons to dislike a person or the policies they enact without bringing their body into it.
An interview with the writer-director of The Substance. A commentary on the male gaze, expectations of aging women, and feeling enough in beauty culture. I can’t say we agree on every point, but it was refreshing to read from someone outside the typical body positivity space. From Fargeat:
“From a very young age. I had a dual relationship with the images presented to me about what a beautiful girl is, like Barbie: delicate, thin, blonde. I was fascinated by that. I had curly hair. I had glasses. I wished I could be the pretty girl, but I was more of a tomboy. I was raised with a mother who was terrified that, when I was walking home alone at night, I could be assaulted. It really drove me crazy because all I wanted was to be free. And to feel that I had those limitations where I needed to be cautious, that my brother didn’t have, created a massive feeling of injustice.”
Fat is delightful, delicious, and nutritious. Enjoying our fats is a beautiful thing, but, as with most joys in the world, diet culture has robbed us of enjoying our fats in the way we deserve. Eat fat. Eat a variety of fats. A hyperfocus on one source of fat is where things get problematic. The seed oil discussion is honestly one big eyeroll from me. We have been studying fats for a long, long time and are very well aware that poly- and monounsaturated fats do good things for our bodies. I still eat butter. I dabble with coconut oil on occasion. The vast majority of fat in my diet is from plant-based oils because that is what the data tells us works for our bodies and our health. *A note on the 2nd link: of course, they can’t just list the risk/benefit of certain foods; they need to throw in 10 different food judgments into the mix. And WTF from the researcher who tried to malign bread at the last minute. Leave bread out of this. Bread is also a good part of a diet with lots of variety. The TLDR of the article is that seed and vegetable oils were associated with positive health outcomes. People who ate more vegetable-based oils and fewer animal-based fats tended to live longer and have a lower risk of disease.
A depressing article about all the ways modeling agencies have given up even a shred of an attempt at body diversity on the runway. Protect your peace and skip this one if you need a glimmer of hope today.
A great blog post from our friends at Project Heal, with information on restrict-binge cycles, food insecurity and eating disorders, and why food addiction isn’t a real thing. PSA: We don’t get addicted to things that are required for our survival.
A mother’s perspective on how she is parenting her own daughter differently after her recovery from AN as a young teen. A quote from Tarpley:
“So how do we reckon with this? Part of it comes down to challenging the ways that we overvalue appearance. As parents, we can model good behaviors and do our best to ensure that our words align with our actions. If our child hears us say that weight doesn’t matter but then sees us weighing ourselves twice daily, we send a confusing message.”
You guys, you can’t just eat as little as possible and exercise as much as possible and not have negative health outcomes. Spread the news to your local gym bros.
It turns out, the stronger, more tolerant (to pain) version of myself exists on the other side of every F bomb.
A quick and dirty breakdown of the tolls dieting can take on mental health.
Oona Hanson does an amazing job of breaking down what to do if weight stigma ends up in the pediatrician’s office. A great piece for parents and caregivers to look into before your next pediatrician’s appointment. Honestly, if you’re an adult who wants to feel more empowered at the doctor, this might be for you too!
Never forget that the ever-changing beauty and body standards are designed that way to make sure that people can perpetually make money off of your insecurities: your need for new clothes, new body, or a new face.
One study found a correlation between eating alone and a person’s level of happiness. Even 1 meal per week eaten with others greatly increases the rates of happiness. Oh, what is that? An opportunity for shameless self-promotion?? Don’t mind if I do! The next Getting Full group will be:
May 13th at 11:30 AM Central Time
It will be a guided Mindful Meal – we’ll walk through a mindfulness meditation while eating and have some time to debrief at the end.
Thoughts:
I’ve been on a podcast interview kick in the past month or so. I’ll share where you can listen once release dates have been shared with me, but if anyone is looking for podcast guests or has a favorite podcast you think I should be on, please let me know! I love to have different outlets for talking about all things food, bodies, and diet culture.
I bought a bag of sweet potatoes thinking I would use them for a dish last week, but I never got around to using them. I’m thinking of making something out of my norm - a sweet potato muffin or bread? Stay tuned to hear how this goes. I am not a proficient baker.
Circling back to meal support, here are the top reasons to join us for the guided mindful meal on May 13th -
Dedicated time to connect to your mind and body is hard to come by. .This gives you a full hour to reconnect with yourself.
Mindfulness as a diet is the most common methodology when I see other people running these sorts of groups. Getting Full is going to shift your perspective to mindfulness as a skill and tool.
No matter where you are on your journey with intuitive eating, building comfortability in eating is going to support your growth as a human.
Most of us had these skills as little kids, but diet culture strips us of these skills over time. Mindfulness practices can give us the tools and materials to start re-engaging with our innate intuition.
Joining us for Getting Full is as simple as upgrading your subscription. An upgraded subscription costs $8/month, or you can pay upfront for the year and get 2 months free. An upgraded subscription gets you:
Bonus essays and videos on top of the four monthly free posts
Access to the full archive and all Full Life Resources developed by my practice.
Access to the Getting Full support group each month
Happy Monday, everyone! Take care of yourselves. Eat yummy food. You deserve all the good things.
Gretchen