Body-liberation activist Patrilie Hernandez joins us to discuss how COVID-19 is highlighting health disparities in America; why social determinants of health are more important than individual behaviors; how dieting could worsen COVID-19; the role of intuitive eating, Health At Every Size®, and social justice in her eating-disorder recovery and in her career; and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about cravings for sweets during the pandemic. 

Patrilie (she/they) is a nutrition and health specialist with over 12 years of professional experience in education, advocacy and policy-making revolving around food, nutrition, and health. After being diagnosed with an eating disorder in 2017, Patrilie has focused on recovering and healing from diet culture, fatphobia, disordered eating, and negative body image. She uses her own journey towards Body Liberation to turn the local health and nutrition community on its head (disrupt the status quo) and advocate for a weight-neutral paradigm in health and educational settings. Find them online at EmbodyLib.com.

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp online counseling. If you’re looking for convenient and affordable mental-health support, go to betterhelp.com/christy and get your first week free.

We Discuss:

• Patrilie’s relationship with food growing up

• How body changes in puberty caused her relationship with food to shift

• The various factors that contributed to her eating disorder

• How disordered eating behaviors are normalized in Latinx communities

• Patrilie’s experience with bipolar disorder and mental health care

• Her experiences spreading the Wellness Diet early in her career

• The role of intuitive eating, Health At Every Size®, and social justice in her eating-disorder recovery and in her career

• How COVID-19 is highlighting disparities in healthcare access in America

• Patrilie’s advocacy work during the COVID-19 pandemic

• Capitalism and the American healthcare system

• Social determinants of health, and how they play the greatest role in overall well-being

• Why focusing on individual health behaviors in marginalized communities does more harm than good

• How data about H1N1 is being twisted into fatphobic messaging during COVID-19

• How dieting could worsen COVID-19

• The #NoBodyIsDisposable campaign

• The EmbodyLib community

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

• "Covid-19 Does Not Discriminate by Body Weight" (Christy’s op-ed for Wired)

• #NoBodyIsDisposable

• DC Mutual Aid

• Patrilie’s website, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter

• This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp online counseling. If you’re looking for convenient and affordable mental-health support, go to betterhelp.com/christy and get your first week free.

Listener Question of the Week

What can a person do if they are noticing that they are mentally restricting sweets during the COVID-19 pandemic? Why is it normal to experience more stress in these later stages of the pandemic? Why is it normal to have increased cravings during COVID-19? What are some signs that a person might be mentally restricting food? What are some other forms of restriction that may be happening when a person is mentally restricting food?