Welcome Kathleen Meehan to the Whole View! This week, Stacy and Kathleen discuss anti fad dieting, Noom, and regaining connection to our bodies. Kathleen shares her experience as a dietician to help bridge the gap between diets and reframing out our relationship with food.
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Key Takeaways
Introductions
- Kathleen’s philosophy is anti-diet, fat positive, and weight inclusive. She believes body liberation should be accessible to all and incorporates the principles of Intuitive Eating and Health at Every Size.
- Located in Los Angeles, Kathleen (she/her) has New England roots, an undergraduate nutrition degree, and a Master’s of Science from Boston University in Nutritional Sciences. She has practiced as an RD in Boston, Houston and Dallas, and is licensed in many states across the country!
- Kathleen now partners with clients virtually, and is passionate about weaving evidence-based science with lived experience. Together, you will explore what it means to heal your relationship with food and body!
- Part of what drew Kathleen to becoming a dietician was that she’s always loved food. Culturally, her family celebrates with food, and it’s always been a big staple.
No Noom New Years
- One thing Kathleen would always hear throughout her schooling was how they were against fad dieting. Despite being in the diet space, she was trained to be anti-fad diet, and there is a right way to “do” weight loss. There’s a safe, healthy way for lose weight. And that the approach that she was taught.
- Kathleen spends way too much time thinking about Noom. Part of why she believes Noom can get away with what they do is because they’re saying that age old phrase, “you’re not gonna fad diet anymore.”
- Noom says it’s will be this reasonable weight loss approach that’s sustainable and non-restrictive. Kathleen believes they really believe they’re really doing something different, and that means it something. But when you get down into the fine print, Noom is just like any other fad diet.
- Kathleen approaches her practice knowing everyone is different and everyone deserves respectful care. If we have one set of standards that we apply to everyone (like Noom does), we are going to be doing harm.
- Kathleen believes dieting and chronic dieting can be a form of trauma because it’s a form of restriction and disconnection.
Topics Discussed
- If you’re on a gentle diet to lose weight for your health, you might be trying to convince yourself what you’re doing is not harmful. But for many people, it still feels very harmful because our bodies remembers any passed trauma we’ve put it through, such as restricting and fad dieting.
- We are all trying to achieve some sort of beauty standard that’s unattainable. Even if you achieve your goal thinness, you don’t have enough curves. There’s always something about the beauty standard that’s unattainable.
- It’s important to point out that acknowledgement of these things doesn’t mean we have to entirely abandon the pursuit of healthy weight loss. Kathleen believes we have to consider the pursuit of health behaviors, healthism, the social determinants of health, and recognize the ways in which capitalism is at play. A lot of this is very intermingled.
- Kathleen encourages consistent eating a one of the first actionable goals with many of her clients. Can we explore barriers that exist to eating consistently throughout the day? Because, regardless of size, all bodies deserve consistent fuel.
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References & Products
- Kathleen’s Noom “isn’t a diet” Instagram Story
- Poodle Science, Dr. Deb Burgard
- TWV Ep 021 Part 1 and Part 2, Fat Camp with Kelsey Snelling
Sponsors
- ButcherBox.com/WHOLEVIEW
- $10 off and FREE New Year Bundle (14 oz pork tenderloin, 2 lbs of ground turkey, and 4 top sirloin steaks)
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Note: Stacy and her guests are not medical professionals. This podcast is for general educational purposes and NOT intended to diagnose, advise, or treat any physical or mental illness. We always recommend you consult a licensed service provider.
