What the Body Image Movement Gets Right — And Where It Falls Short
I finally saw Embrace by Taryn Brumfitt and left feeling grateful — grateful that I’m free. The film does important work. But it operates from within the same model that creates the pain in the first place. Here’s what the Body Image Movement gets right and what it’s still missing.
Why Holiday Eating Tips Don’t Work — And What Actually Does
Every holiday season brings the same tired tips — use a small plate, eat a salad first, avoid the dessert table. They all come from the same broken model. Here’s what Coca Cola’s epic 2013 marketing failure taught me about why those tips never work — and what actually creates peace around holiday food.
The Real Power You Have Over Diet Culture — And How to Use It
Three conversations in one week — all about feeling powerless against corporations, marketers and unrealistic beauty standards. But here’s what we keep forgetting: we are the ones with the real power. Here’s how to use it.
Why Your Workout Isn’t Actually Where the Magic Happens
Joseph Pilates promised a whole new body in thirty sessions. And he was right — just not for the reason most people think. The power of exercise isn’t in the hour you spend working out. It’s in what that hour teaches you about living in your body the other 161 hours of the week.
Why Renaming Diet and Exercise Doesn’t Actually Change Anything
“No problem can be solved by the same level of consciousness that created it.” Einstein said that — and it perfectly describes why calling your diet a “lifestyle change” or your workout “enjoyable movement” doesn’t actually heal anything. Real transformation requires changing the underlying paradigm, not just the vocabulary.
Why “It’s Not About the Food” Is Only Half True
“It’s not about the food — it’s about the unresolved emotional stuff.” That’s pop psychology 101 for emotional eating. And it’s half right. Here’s the half nobody talks about — and why eating disorder treatment programs accidentally keep people stuck by making it about the food all over again.
Why Pushing Harder Is the Reason Your Body Isn’t Changing
I don’t believe in magic. And I don’t believe in the diet and exercise model either. But I do believe in something I learned from teaching Pilates — that the real transformation happens not when you push harder, but when you relax into what’s actually there. Here’s what that means for your body and your life.
What Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning Taught Me About Body Image
Someone once told me my book reminded them of Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning. I had to reread it to understand what they meant. What I found was that Frankl and I — a holocaust survivor and a woman who survived an eating disorder — were essentially saying the same things about suffering, meaning, and the freedom that comes from changing yourself when you cannot change the situation.
Are You Putting Your Faith in a Diet Culture Fantasy?
Faith and fantasy can look identical from the outside. Both keep us going despite the odds. But one grounds us in reality and the other keeps us stuck. Here’s how I finally understood the difference — and why it changes everything about how we relate to our bodies.
What If You Treated Your Body Like a Friend Instead of an Enemy?
Your body and I have something in common — we both want you to want us. Not because of a flashy headline or a before-and-after photo. Because of a real relationship. Here’s why starting with “not hostile” might be enough to change everything.