The Diet-Free Revolution with Alexis Conason, PsyD, CEDS-S
In this episode, we will be unpacking Alexis’s Diet Free Revolution. We talk about incorporating mindfulness (insert eyeball if you feel like it, we’ll talk directly to you soon) and compassion and why they are so important. We’ll talk about some major problems with diet culture, society’s obsession with wellness and thinness, and how you can break free from the ridiculous standards.
Alexis Conason, PsyD, CEDS-S, is a clinical psychologist and certified eating disorder specialist in private practice in New York City. She is the owner of Conason Psychological Services, a Health At Every Size ®-informed group therapy practice specializing in the treatment of binge eating disorder, disordered eating, and body image. She is the founder of The Anti-Diet Plan, a weight-inclusive online mindful eating program and is the author of The Diet-Free Revolution: 10 Steps to Free Yourself from the Diet-Cycle with Mindful Eating and Radical Self-Acceptance (North Atlantic Books, 2021). She was previously a research associate at the New York Nutrition Obesity Research Center in affiliation with Columbia University. Her research has been published in peer-reviewed journals, she is a frequent speaker at conferences, and she has been featured widely as an expert on the topics of mindful eating, body image, and diet culture in the media.
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Show Notes
0:01-2:38 Intro: Diet-Free Revolution
Introducing to you our guest speaker
2:39- 7:02 Why Diets Don’t Work?
Why don’t diets work?
Research that backs up the idea on why diets don’t work
Our bodies go into crisis mode when we try to restrict ourselves
Diets are the way to get healthy, and sometimes it’s hard to shift gears
7:03-11:40 If Diets Don’t Work, How Do You Get Healthy?
Start disentangle weight from health
Internalized weight bias can add increased risk for metabolic syndrome
We can impact our health by making changes that are entirely independent of losing weight and dieting
When we think of health, we often narrow it to diet, exercise, and losing weight which is entirely false because health goes beyond that
Health includes physical, emotional and mental well-being
Some healthy steps that work that are not related to weight loss
11:41- 22:10 What Determines Our Health?
Factors in determining our health
Why do genetics and wealth impact our health?
How could mindfulness help have a healthier lifestyle?
Mindfulness can sometimes happen in the context of chaos, and that’s okay
Meditation practice is linked to mindfulness
What is Hunger-Fullness physiologically, and how do we respond to it to better our relationship with food?
22:11- 36:41 Communicating and Listening to Our Bodies Through Food
Why do we feel disconnected from our bodies?
We can use mindfulness to tune in with our bodies more
The use of hunger and fullness scale to connect more to your body
Your body has cues for some reason
The trends in nutrition change overtime
Tuning in to our body is more reliable
Enjoying your food and connecting to it in a more profound way
Emotional eating isn’t necessarily a bad thing
Food isn’t a one size fit solution for our emotional needs
Recognizing our emotions instead of using food as a coping mechanism
36:42-42:50 Body Positivity and Body Acceptance
Judgment vs. Observation
Acceptance is a core piece of mindfulness
Accepting our body and recognizing how messed up the world around us is, and changing the systems of weight bias
Body positivity is an outgrowth of the body acceptance movement
Our body is an instrument, not an ornament
42:51-43:49 Outro
Connect with Dr. Conason
Resources Mentioned:
Tweetable Quotes
“ I think the way that we connect emotionally is through stories. And stories about people.” -Dr. Alexis Conason
“Our bodies were designed to stay alive and survive; part of that is keeping a stable body weight.” - Dr. Alexis Conason
“If you care about people’s health, let’s work at changing capitalism.” - Dr. Alexis Conason
More From Rachelle
Hey there! I’m Rachelle, the host of the Understanding Disordered Eating Podcast. As a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, I work with clients to make sense of life’s messy emotional experiences.
I believe in the power of deep work and its positive impact on your life in the long term. Learn more about how we can work together here.
You can connect with me on Instagram, through my website or email me directly clicking the links below.
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