Health at Every Size

So you're one of the maybe first trainings that you did in Australia with Fiona Willer.

So the health at every size, it was the first training that I attended that opened my eyes to the non-diet approach.

So I have to thank you, Fi, for bringing that training into my life because it was one of the real reasons why I wanted to work in eating disorders.

So I didn't know if you're aware of that, but I count it as like one of the top three things that shifted me into working in the eating disorder space.

And what is? Like what is? Even, you know, meditation.

I was listening to a really interesting podcast the other day that talked about how meditation and traditional kind of mindfulness practices can be really unsuitable for people.

So that's one of those things that similar to the non-diet approach, similar to health at every size, you know, all of these, because these are words that aim to capture a description.

And even, you know, Shane, a very dear friend and close colleague of mine, you know, his RAVES framework, he has thought and rethought and rethought and, you know, reframed.

And as usual, she is full of humor and insight, and I know you all are going to love it.

So to introduce her, Ragen Chastain is an internationally recognized thought leader in the fields of self-esteem, body image, health at every size, size acceptance, and corporate wellness.

Regan's depth of knowledge about self-esteem, body image, health, and wellness come from a combination of her personal story of overcoming an eating disorder to become a national dance champion and marathoner, and her training as an ACE certified health coach and researcher.

Her ability to combine humor with hard facts in ways that educate, motivate, and entertain have made her a sought-after speaker on the collegiate conference and corporate circuits.

We're recording actually together in the same room, which is so amazing.

And we're at my house in Portland.

So let's go ahead and start out with just kind of how you got into the size acceptance and also the Health at Every Size world and kind of like how your activism started and all that fun stuff.

Sure.

It's a trend called HAZE, H-E-Z.

H-A-E-S, healthy at every size.

And it's just not true.

It's factually inaccurate.

Okay, so we're welcoming Marci Evans, who is a registered dietitian.

Marci, I want you to tell us a little bit about how you got started in Health at Every Size and your journey as a registered dietitian.

And, you know, any personal information you also want us to know, too.

Sure.

And during my dietetic internship, so you might know this already, but I'll just explain briefly, that to become a dietitian, you do your undergraduate coursework within an accredited program, and then you go on to do your dietetic internship.

And after you do your internship, then you can sit for your licensing boards and become registered.

And so I have a really unusual path because I was actually exposed to intuitive eating, which is related, but similar to, but different from health at every size.

I was exposed to intuitive eating during my dietetic internship.

Welcome to Erin Flores, a registered dietitian, certified body trust provider, and longtime advocate of weight-inclusive non-diet care.

His work is grounded in intuitive eating, health at every size, and a deep belief in approaching food and bodies with curiosity, compassion, and empathy rather than rules, judgment, or shame.

Aaron has spent years working with people struggling with eating disorders, disordered eating, and body image, and he has a particular passion for something we don't talk about nearly enough.

The Body Experiences of Men.

and founder of Body Image with Brie.

She's passionate about all things body image and practices through the lenses of health at every size and intuitive eating.

And she uses a fat-positive approach and combines her clinical skills and lived experience to teach others how to maneuver through their own individual body image exploration.

She specializes in body image education, including her unique framework on body grief.

And it really is that experience of hearing what people's experiences have been and starting to work with people who want to change things about their health, that has shaped my whole approach and my whole belief about how do we help people with their health and well-being.

And, you know, the eating disorder prevention and treatment and working from a health at every size approach is very different, of course, than... what you hear most often, but I really will say it's been my own lived experiences with disordered eating and the experiences of all of the people that I have worked with that have brought me here.

That's amazing.

So excited to have you here, not...

Oh no, I should be terrified.

And we talk a lot about health at every size and just having this framework of it's not what nothing is black and white.

The work that we do as clinicians, we're so lucky that we get to sit with nuance all day and we really see the value in that.

And so how can we bring that approach to watching our children grow up in this day and age where I do think companies want us to believe it's black and white companies want or that's how we spend money if we're afraid and now we're buying only this product or only that product but being a little bit more like messy and knowing that there's beauty in the mess if it looks one way one day that's not the end of the world and how can we find more balance over time