Food Psych #259: From Disordered Eating to Radical Belonging with Lindo Bacon, Plus How to Share the Anti-Diet Message with Shelby Gordon
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#259: From Disordered Eating to Radical Belonging w/Lindo Bacon + Anti-Diet Message w/Shelby Gordon
Introduction & Guest Bio:
Author and speaker Lindo Bacon returns to Food Psych® to discuss their new book, Radical Belonging; how their perspective on HAES® has shifted since publishing Health At Every Size; reframing disordered eating as a coping mechanism for trauma; how gender affirmation helped them find body acceptance; and so much more. Plus, Ask Food Psych guest co-host Shelby Gordon answers a listener question about sharing the anti-diet message with people who may be resistant.
Best known for their paradigm-shifting research and advocacy upending the weight discourse, Dr. Lindo Bacon’s inspiring message takes us beyond size, to shaping a culture of empathy, equity and true belonging. Dr. Bacon has mined their deep academic proficiency, wide-ranging clinical expertise and own personal experience to write two best-selling books, Health at Every Size: The Surprising Truth About Your Weight, and the co-authored Body Respect: What Conventional Health Books Get Wrong, Leave Out, or Just Plain Fail to Understand about Weight. Both are credited with transforming the weight discourse and inspiring a hopeful new course for the global body positivity movement. Bacon’s work is inspired by lessons learned through three graduate degrees in health science, including a PhD in physiology, as well as clinical and research experience. A compelling speaker, writer, and storyteller, Dr. Bacon delivers a unique blend of academic expertise, clinical experience, and social justice advocacy, all couched in a raw honesty and compassion that touch and inspire. Find them online at LindoBacon.com.
Shelby Gordon is a retired professional dieter who dedicated over 40 years to mastering her craft. She dieted until her body—literally—refused to go through another day of food restriction, blood testing for ketosis levels, and high intensity interval workouts. Through her divorce from the dieting process she committed to Health at Every Size® and Body Trust®, and got fit through burlesque dancing.
Looking back over her dieting life, most of the providers she'd worked with were not people of color. They certainly were not aware of the nuances of treating a Black woman. Her goal is to fill that gap as a coach. Her coaching practice has taken a distinctive turn as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the killing of George Floyd. She now supports healing professionals and organizations wanting to learn about racism on both a personal level and the resulting impacts on their business/practice. Find her online at FitFlexibleFluid.com.
We Discuss:
How Lindo’s perspective on HAES has shifted since publishing Health At Every Size
Their thoughts on Christy’s book, Anti-Diet
Why they wrote their latest book, Radical Belonging
The parallels between unbelonging and trauma
Resilience and community care
Lindo’s four-step process in writing Radical Belonging
Factors that contribute to trauma
How belonging is connected to body liberation
Reframing disordered eating and self-harm as short-term coping mechanisms, and how that helped in Lindo’s own recovery
Trauma-informed care, and how providers can integrate it into their practice
Learning the skill of sitting with our emotions
The importance of acceptance and compassion in managing difficult emotions and situations
Response-ability and responsibility
Lindo’s own experiences with unbelonging, body acceptance, and finding belonging
How gender affirmation helped them accept their body
The story behind Lindo’s name
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
Lindo’s first Food Psych episode
Body Respect by Lindo Bacon and Lucy Aphramor (Bookshop) (Amazon)
Brené Brown’s work (TW: Brown has spoken about being on diets before and her work is not completely HAES-aligned)
Andréa Ranae Johnson’s work
Ask Food Psych
Listener Question:
“How can I share the anti-diet message as a larger-bodied person when people are pushing back and telling me I’m just looking for confirmation bias?”—Erin
We Discuss:
Tailoring your message to where people are at on their own process
How Shelby identifies people in her “No,” “Maybe,” and “Yes” categories
Practicing phrases that you’ll use for boundary setting
How Shelby’s experiences as a public-relations professional has helped her to set boundaries and share her message
Transitional statements
Resources Mentioned: