Food Psych #216: The Life Thief, Part 2: How Diet Culture Steals Your Money and Thwarts Eating-Disorder Recovery with Shira Rosenbluth
Eating-disorder therapist and style blogger Shira Rosenbluth joins us to discuss how diet culture steals our money through the high cost and low effectiveness of eating-disorder treatment, why she decided to share her story as a therapist recovering from an eating disorder, fatphobia in eating-disorder treatment centers and its effect on recovery, eating disorders as a form of trauma, and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about how meal preparation can fit in with intuitive eating.
Shira Rosenbluth, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker in New York City. She has a passion for helping people feel their best in their body at any size and specializes in the treatment of disordered eating, eating disorders, and body-image dissatisfaction using a weight-neutral approach. She’s also the author of TheShiraRose.com, a popular body positive style blog that’s been featured in Verily Magazine, The Everygirl, Glam, and laurenconrad.com. You can find her on Instagram, @theshirarose. Find her online at ShiraRosenbluthLCSW.com.
We Discuss:
How Shira doesn’t recall any positive food memories growing up
When her eating disorder started and her barriers to treatment
How fatphobia affects eating-disorder diagnosis and treatment
Shira’s experience of thin privilege while she was deep in her eating disorder
Why she became an eating-disorder therapist
Why the concept of “full recovery” from an eating disorder can be problematic
Working as a therapist while recovering from an eating disorder
What initially kept her from sharing her story, and why she ultimately decided to share
Disordered eating and body-image struggles in the healthcare field
Problems in eating-disorder treatment centers
Eating disorders as a form of trauma
Self-compassion, and its role in eating-disorder recovery
What has helped Shira in her recovery
Meal plans, and how they can hinder recovery
How eating-disorder professionals and centers can provide better care
The astronomical cost of eating-disorder treatment
The privilege necessary to access eating-disorder treatment
Resources Mentioned
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Listener Question of the Week
How can you eat intuitively while also planning and/or preparing meals ahead of time? Is intuitive eating about eating exactly what you’re craving at any given moment? What are the most important principles of intuitive eating? How has diet culture co-opted meal planning and prepping? How can we meal plan in a way that doesn’t feel “diet-y?”