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

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

• Pre-order my forthcoming book, Anti-Diet: Reclaim Your Time, Money, Well-Being, and Happiness Through Intuitive Eating, and be eligible for exciting bonuses

• Help spread the anti-diet message by subscribing to the podcast

• Sam Dylan Finch’s work

• christyharrison.com/providers

• Shira’s website, blog, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook

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?”