Hearing Our Own Voice

Amanda Gilliam is a super heavyweight masters weightlifter and the creator of Big Girl Barbell, a fat positive, body positive community for athletes and strength sports. In this episode, Amanda and I discuss the connection between fat phobia and anti-Black racism. She also talks about how she  learned to reject the harmful messages sold to us in traditional health and wellness spaces, and why she considers herself to be fat positive. 

Veronica Garnett is a Health at Every Size®, fat positive, and culinary registered dietitian with over 17 years of experience in the food and nutrition field. For most of her career, Veronica has worked with marginalized and vulnerable populations, particularly Black & Latinx & LGBTQIA+ folks living with food insecurity, substance abuse and mental health issues, as well as chronic illnesses such as HIV/AIDS, heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, kidney disease, and eating disorders. Currently, in her virtual private practice and consulting business, she supports plus-sized/larger-bodied/fat folks in developing a healthy relationship with food and their bodies. She also supports professionals in providing multiculturally competent, weight-inclusive, and social justice-informed care. In this episode, Veronica talks about her personal and professional experiences with food, weight, and body image. She shares how she was able to unlearn the things she learned in her training as a dietitian and what fuels the amazing work she does now in her private practice and consulting business.  You can find more about her at veronicagarnett.com.

In this bonus episode, Melissa reflects on the conversations with the first 3 guests: Dr. Joy Cox, Courtney Marshall, and Ayana Habtemariam. There were 3 major themes that stood out: the importance of curating the media we consume; the care and compassion in an anti-diet, weight-inclusive approach; and the power we have to make significant changes in our individual lives and communities.

Ayana Habtemariam MSW, RD, LDN, is a nutrition therapist, certified Intuitive Eating counselor, and macro social worker based in Arlington, Va. She is the owner of Truly Real Nutrition, LLC, a private nutrition practice where she empowers clients to give up dieting in exchange for trusting their bodies and breaking free from food rules that result in feelings of failure and shame. She encourages her clients to embrace the beauty, power, and connection that their food traditions, personal experiences, and values add to their lives. She provides nutrition therapy for clients with disordered eating and those who are recovering from an eating disorder.   She is committed to increasing awareness of weight inclusive philosophies in Black communities and believes that weight-centric approaches to health and wellness only serve to exacerbate body image issues, stress, and anxiety which contribute to increased rates of chronic diseases often seen in Black communities.   In this episode, Ayana talks about why and how she's taken a more weight-inclusive approach to her work and the resistance she faces from clients and fellow practitioners. She talks about how the pursuit of thinness and fitness is dangerous to our physical and mental well-being, and recounts her own journey of unlearning. You can find her online at: https://www.trulyrealnutrition.com/  

Courtney is an English instructor and Associate Dean of Advising at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, NH.  She's been teaching exercise classes since 2015 and creates affirming fitness spaces that center the experiences of fat people.  She's certified/licensed in many fitness programs including Spinning, Silver Sneakers, AEA (aquatics), and her personal favorite, Zumba and is currently writing a book Ain't I An Athlete? which reads racialized stereotypes of Black women's strength as integral to the development of American fitness culture.  In this episode, I talk to Courtney about the things she finds frustrating in the fitness industry. We also discuss the ways that fat phobia and healthism shows up within the Black community, and why it's important to create spaces where fat Black folks can speak up and lead. Courtney also shares how she infuses fun and play into exercise. 

Dr. Joy Cox is a body justice advocate who uses her skill set in research and leadership to foster social change through the promotion of fat acceptance, diversity and inclusion. With 37 years living as a fat, Black cisgender woman and 7+ years of professional experience under her belt, Dr. Cox draws on her own experiences and academic skill set to amplify the voices of those most marginalized in society, bringing attention to matters of intersectionality addressing race, body size, accessibility, and "health." She is also the author of the book "Fat Girls in Black Bodies", which is out and available now. She is the voice of an overcomer, looking to propel others into a place of freedom designed by their desires. Dr. Cox ;is a mover and shaker, undeterred by obstacles and fueled by hope.  In this interview, we talk about her experiences with fat phobia from family members as a little girl and the journey to unlearn it. We also talk about the unrealistic beauty and health standards in our culture and the impact that it can have on Black women.

Hearing Our Own Voice is a podcast hosted by Melissa Toler, a writer, speaker, and former health and wellness coach. Melissa speaks to Black health and wellness professionals about their weight-inclusive, anti-diet approaches to health. The conversations are centered around their journeys of unlearning harmful messages about bodies and reclaiming and redefining wellness for themselves and their communities. Welcome to Hearing Our Own Voice.