FOOD, BODY IMAGE, AND THE WHOLE DIET-AND-EXERCISE DRAMA
There’s a lot more to our struggles with food and our bodies than calories, willpower, or trying harder.
Here, I explore the assumptions behind the traditional diet-and-exercise model, why so many familiar solutions keep us stuck, and what changes when we approach food, exercise, and our bodies from a completely different perspective.
Some posts are personal. Some challenge conventional wisdom. And some might make you laugh.
Browse the articles below. Start wherever you're curious.
“You Earned It” — How Casual Small Talk Reveals Diet Culture’s Deepest Lie
A cashier saw my workout clothes and told me I'd "earned" my Diet Coke. He meant it as a compliment. But that one throwaway comment reveals everything wrong with how our culture thinks about food, exercise, and our bodies.
It’s Not Your Weight That’s the Problem — It’s How You Relate to It
From a diet and exercise perspective, you're supposed to face your weight problem head on and solve it. But what if the way you're relating to the problem is actually the problem? A story about a blind jazz pianist changed how I think about this entirely.
Why Before and After Weight Loss Photos Are Meaningless
Someone emailed me saying she'd trust my program more if I had before and after photos. As an actress who has been paid to appear in ads for products I've never used — I have some thoughts on that. Here's what those pictures are actually proving.
Why the Weight Loss “Gap” Between Where You Are and Where You Want to Be Is Keeping You Stuck
A woman commented on one of my videos saying she was tired of trying and ready to give up. Her pain was right there in her own words — and it perfectly illustrated something I call "the pain is in the gap." Here's what that means and why it changes everything.
Why There Are No Right Answers When It Comes to Your Body
My college calculus professor once told me something that terrified me so much I immediately changed majors. Years later it became the foundation of everything I teach about food, weight, and wellness. Here's what he said.
Why the Law of Attraction Crowd Hates What I Teach About Weight Loss
When my book came out I braced myself for pushback from the diet and exercise world. Instead my harshest critics came from somewhere I never expected — the Law of Attraction community. Here's why, and what it reveals about why so many women stay stuck.