Food Psych #271: From Weight-Loss "Success Story" to Eating-Disorder Recovery Mentor and Fat Activist with Daph Levy

Photographer: Khali MacIntyre

Introduction & Guest Bio:

Anti-diet eating-disorder recovery mentor, fat activist, and video content creator Daph Levy joins us to discuss her journey from being a dieting “success story” and weight-loss camp counselor to pursuing a career in eating-disorder treatment and recovery, privilege within the eating-disorder-treatment field, the feeling of not belonging and dieting to try to fit in, sitting with discomfort in recovery, and so much more.

Daph Levy (she/her) is an anti-diet eating-disorder recovery mentor, fat activist, and video content creator based in Boston, MA. She completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Dietetics, Nutrition & Food Science at the University of Vermont, and her Dietetic Internship from Simmons University. As a person who identifies as queer, fat, and Latina, Daph strives to offer a unique perspective on how to view health and wellbeing. She brings forth her expertise in the area of size diversity and health with conviction and care to the individuals with whom she speaks. Daph draws from her infinite curiosity and advocacy work to listen reflectively in order to best inform how she shares her valuable knowledge from her educational background, clinical training, and lived experiences in her recovery from eating disorders on her YouTube channel and Instagram “dishinwithdaph.” On the channel she dives deep into topics including eating disorder recovery, Health at Every Size, Intuitive Eating, and more. In the near future, Daph hopes to offer one-on-one and group coaching services to support people who struggle with body image and relationship to food. You can support her work by following her on social media platforms and subscribing to her YouTube channel.

We Discuss:

  • How coming from an immigrant family affected Daph’s relationship with food and body growing up

  • The juxtaposition of food as pleasure and food policing that she experienced

  • Dieting as a means of “fitting in”

  • The effects of absolute and relative socioeconomic status and privilege, including Daph and Christy’s personal experiences with this growing up

  • Daph’s experiences going to a weight-loss camp as a teenager and becoming a weight-loss “success story”

  • How she went from working as a weight-loss camp counselor to starting on the path of recovery

  • The normalization of dieting behaviors

  • Daph’s first steps in pursuing a career as an eating-disorder treatment provider

  • Her traumatic dietetic internship experience

  • The role Daph’s partner played in her eating-disorder recovery

  • Daph’s experiences in different levels of eating-disorder treatment

  • Her continued sense of not belonging

  • Privilege within the eating-disorder treatment field

  • Where Daph is now in terms of her career and eating-disorder recovery

  • Acceptance and compassion, and its role in Daph’s recovery

  • Sitting with discomfort and not knowing

Resources Mentioned

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Christy HarrisonFood customs, Immigrant, belonging, fitting in, dieting, privilege, weight-loss camp, eating disorder, eating-disorder treatment, eating-disorder recovery, career, acceptance, compassion, discomfort, Latina, Latinx, BIPOC, LGBTQ2+, queer, anti-diet, S821