Fat Girl Book Club Podcast

I need one! I started this podcast in Nov 2019 and I have not taken a break yet, so I'm looking forward to some time to regroup, refocus and reenergize my life and the podcast.

If you want a book fix though, make sure you connect with me on IG because I'll be doing IG lives every Tuesday evening to talk about what I'm reading and ask you what you are reading. You can find me over there

This book is all about people’s stories. The author inserts very tongue-in-cheek comments about the horribleness of diet culture and really makes you think about how our body image effects our sexuality.

I don’t have a s-x life (!) but my desire to have one is definitely hindered because of my body image. I accept my body. I even think it’s cute but I think it’s another level to push past weight stigma and want someone else to appreciate it. Not impossible, just another level of thinking. What are your thoughts on this?

In our episode Lala and I talk about the difference between a fe**sh and attraction. I think this is an important distinction and im really glad we talked about it. What do you think? Does the distinction make a difference?

My latest guest has done a lot. She is absolutely an amazing educator and speaker but what I am obsessed with lately is her podcast - Lala's Bedtime Tales. I am always up for a podcast that has a twist (kinda like this one?) and Lala's Bedtime Tales are original erotic stories read by Lala. It is wonderful. For a really easy way to feel sexy, have a listen but maybe don't do it at work! 😉

This week's podcast topic makes me uncomfortable. I am normally an open book but talking about s_x makes me blush. Luckily I had a total bad-ass on the pod who didn't have trouble talking candidly about the topic. You want to connect to your sexuality...this episode's for you!

Yes 🙌

Body liberation spaces talk about fashion, airlines, media representation and medicine. But it is so layered. Health research and the court system were areas I didn’t realize had been infiltrated so that was 🤯. How about you? Was there an area that you didn’t realize was corrupted by diet culture until recently?

So here is the thing...this is a nuanced discussion and in a shameless self-promoting plug, I'm going to say, "go check out the episode for that discussion!". Then let me know your thoughts. 😃

Short, sweet, to the point. Missing one thing though. Amanda is the host of a podcast called Fat Theory Book Club and you should check it out because I think you'll like it. 😄

This distinction is everything 😍

Yes, yes 👏 the logic here is indisputable 😂

Check out my IG for a list people keep adding to, but what do you think? I mean there is the classic fat, funny friend, the miserable dieting fat girl, the transformed fat girl, the de-sexualized fattie and the fat friend. What are some others?

Ahhh yeah!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

This book was brilliant! The cover makes it look like a jaunt through Movie Lane but it is an academic read that pushes you to think about how fat humans are portrayed and why they are portrayed that way on film.

That is one thing about the book that Haz and I read, it breaks this down. Why do we see fat people and laugh? Sometimes it has to do with the environment that has been created: the choreography, the music, the camera angles, the clothing. The audience is trained to laugh without the character even opening their mouth.

My guest this week on the pod knows books! She is a librarian and a friend so we had a wonderful chat about a book called Fat on Film. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Ooooh this is such a good point. Men don't have it easy either. They definitely don't have as much pressure to be thin but their "perfect body" is still a confining box of not too thin, not too fat.

Listen to more of my discussion with with my friend Haz on this week's edition of the podcast. Check it out on your podcast app of choice.

So for me, this is satisfaction with food. I feel like I'm good in terms of hunger and fullness...or at least I've made a lot of gains. When I first started, I would get so frustrated because I really didn't know what hunger or fullness felt like and then I would leave eating too long or eat past fullness and I just felt like a failure. Giving myself permission to just eat was the key. Now, I get it and my body trusts me a little more.

Just by reading the books I do, my body image has improved and I feel like I notice when a niggly thought comes into my head that is detrimental. I can handle it. It doesn't stop them from coming but I have a toolkit of things I can do to help myself feel marginally better about my body and my space in this world.

The hurdle for me now is getting the food right to satisfy my hunger without doing the "digging in the fridge for the right kind of taste" dance. I'm letting myself eat, now I want to let myself eat in a way that gives me pleasure and contentment. How about you? What principle do you feel you are working on now?

Ummm 😂 that would be me.

Summer reads - https://amzn.to/3C7v1f4 (aff)

When I gave up dieting, I didn't realize this would happen but this ho-hum attitude about food, yep that happens. And I had to grieve it. I will admit it is almost as hard to embrace a new attitude about my food as it was to grieve the fact that I will never be thin.

Ohhh man was I seduced by diets...I fell hook, line and sinker for something that was never going to make me happy. Welcome to my abusive relationship!!!!

The latest guest on the pod is really accomplished and the perfect person to discuss Big Girl by Kelsey Miller because of her experience with Intuitive Eating and as a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor. Check it out wherever you listen to podcasts.

When I started to work on my body image I realized pretty quickly that dieting was a coping mechanism for me. When I feel like my life is out of control...I diet. Doesn't that make a lot of sense though? My job is uncontrollable. My finances are uncontrollable. My love life is uncontrollable. But what I put in my mouth and how much I exercise is totally and completely available for me to dictate. Those behaviours might not be SO bad except I'm doing them both to lower my weight. I don't see success unless I see the scale go down. If you've read the studies on this, lowering your caloric intake and exercising a bunch doesn't mean your weight will go down (the success rate of dieting is extremely low in any study worth its salt - ie long-term, large scale, peer reviewed). By the time I got to the point where my weight was not being lowered, I was in a full scale eating disorder and could not stop if I wanted to. I fully allowed the coping mechanism to numb my emotions and my body cues. Who really wants to live their life without ice cream and without healthy coping mechanisms?

I love this so much!!!

Such a winning idea. 📚

(Source: DavidSven via Twitter)

I need this. 😂

Shire Post Mint

Thoughts?

Off the top of my head the physical space has to consider people in larger bodies so chairs without arms, bigger washroom cubicles, bigger parking spaces etc. Mentally and emotionally the people gathered must have a basic understanding of what it means to live in a larger body so no one has to explain why certain remarks are fatphobic. Boundaries must be clear and consequences enforced.

What do you think?

I really love this quote from Fat Girls in Black Bodies because even if you disagree with someone you can still feel love for them. If you don't feel that love back, it's time to get up. Time to move on. Time to give yourself some self-care. Always show yourself the love that the world doesn't give you because you deserve it and are worthy.

We only have four more episodes left before the show goes on a hiatus! Is there anything you wish would get discussed before the break?

What does it mean to find fat liberation as one of the fattest of the fat? Hear Angel Austin's story on the podcast this week.