Food Psych #270: Big News About the Pod, Plus Weight Stigma, Money in Diet Culture, and the Evolution of Health At Every Size with Nancy Ellis-Ordway
Introduction & Guest Bio:
Health At Every Size® therapist Nancy Ellis-Ordway joins us to discuss weight stigma in education, healthcare, and beyond; why individual health behaviors are less important than they’re made out to be; the evolution of HAES® over time; the role of money and industry in perpetuating diet culture; and so much more. Plus, Christy shares some big news about her next project and the future of the podcast.
Nancy Ellis-Ordway, LCSW, PhD, is a psychotherapist with thirty years' experience, specializing in treating eating disorders, body image issues, stress, anxiety, depression and relationship issues. She offers individual, couple, and family therapy through her private practice in Jefferson City, MO. In addition to a Master of Social Work degree from Washington University, she has completed the Advanced Psychodynamic Psychotherapy training program at the St. Louis Psychoanalytic Institute. She has written chapters for four books, as well as numerous articles for professional and general publications. Her book, Thrive At Any Weight; Eating to Nourish Body, Soul and Self Esteem was published in 2019. She also teaches classes for professional continuing education. She has a Ph.D. in Health Education and Promotion from the University of Missouri. Find her online at neomsw.com.
We Discuss:
Similarities in food customs across cultures
The role of food in establishing identity
How Nancy became interested in food, therapy, and eating-disorder treatment
How beauty ideals and our collective relationship with food have shifted over time
The roots of the “freshman weight gain” belief
How Nancy started seeing disordered eating as a societal issue connected to weight stigma
Her involvement with the Health At Every Size® movement in its early years
The trademarking of HAES® and Food Psych® to protect those terms from being co-opted by diet culture
How weight stigma and the Health At Every Size movement have changed over time
How a focus on weight and individual responsibility distracts from addressing more important systemic issues
What happens when social policy is made without involving people with lived experience
Nancy’s experiences pushing back against weight stigma while pursuing her graduate degrees
Weight stigma in healthcare and education
The role of money and industry in perpetuating weight stigma and diet culture
Fen-Phen and Redux
Christy’s experiences reporting on food and health before she became a dietitian
Nancy’s perspective on how HAES® has evolved in recent years
Her book, Thrive At Any Weight; Eating to Nourish Body, Soul and Self Esteem
The benefits of virtual healthcare
Refusing to be weighed at the doctor’s office
Resources Mentioned
Some of the links below are affiliate links. Affiliates or not, we only recommend products and services that align with our values.
Submit your questions for a chance to have them answered on the podcast
My online course, Intuitive Eating Fundamentals
My book, Anti-Diet: Reclaim Your Time, Money, Well-Being, and Happiness Through Intuitive Eating
Help spread the anti-diet message by subscribing to the podcast
Deb Burgard’s work, and her Food Psych episodes #117 and #220
Lindo Bacon’s work, and their Food Psych episodes #42 and #259
Judith Matz’s work, and her Food Psych episodes #151 and #256
Thrive At Any Weight; Eating to Nourish Body, Soul and Self Esteem by Nancy Ellis-Ordway (Bookshop) (Amazon)
Jon Robison’s work
Dispensing with the Truth by Alicia Mundy (Amazon)
"Covid-19 Does Not Discriminate by Body Weight" (Christy’s op-ed for Wired)