The Problem with Trying to Control Your Body

Chronic dieting is about control.

Control over our bodies and our eating, sure—but really, at a deeper level, control over how people treat us, how many resources we get, and our access to happiness and success.

Because in this fatphobic society, it can really seem like the only way to have those things is to have the "right" body—which only seems to be attainable through dieting and punishing exercise.

It's SO understandable that we'd think those things, given everything we've been told by our culture.

The problem is that they're not true.

Because paradoxically, grasping after control over food and our body size actually makes us feel completely out of control.

That's the subject of this week's episode of Food Psych, with my amazing friend, fellow anti-diet coach, and 3-time podcast guest Isabel Foxen Duke.

Isabel shares why it's part of the human condition to want control, how emotional eating is connected to diet culture, why bingeing is a natural response to deprivation, how to use social media in diet recovery, why she believes it's the duty of every health professional to understand privilege and dismantle oppression, strategies you can use to stop fighting food and your body, and lots more.

Tune in right here to listen to this incredible conversation. It's one of my all-time favorites on the podcast, and I know you'll love it, too!

Speaking of things I know you'll love, Isabel has a free video training series called Stop Fighting Food that gives you a deeper dive into some of the ideas we discussed on the podcast, and it's freakin' awesome.

I'm such a longtime fan of Isabel's work that this year I signed on as an affiliate for her group coaching program, so if you sign up for it then you'll be supporting my work, too. But either way, definitely check out the free training series and of course the podcast, because Isabel is just SO. DAMN. SMART.