💔 The Ethics of GLP-1s, Prescribed Starvation, & The Liberatory Heartbreak of Fatness with Virgie Tovar

In this episode of Shoulders Down Podcast, Leah takes a deep dive into Orthorexia Nervosa — a form of disordered eating that often hides behind “clean eating,” wellness, and the pursuit of health.Leah shares her personal experience with Orthorexia, explains how healthy eating can cross the line into rigidity and anxiety, and breaks down the symptoms, risk factors, and potential health consequences of an having an obsession with nutrition. She also explores how intuitive eating can support healing and food freedom.You’ll hear about:What orthorexia is and how it differs from general “healthy eating”Common signs and symptoms of orthorexiaHow “clean eating” and wellness culture reinforce restrictionThe physical, mental, and social consequences of orthorexiaHow intuitive eating supports healing from food fear and rigidityNext steps if you resonate with Orthorexia symptomsMentioned in this episode:Webinar / Presentation from Leah’s Dietetic InternshipPodcast Episode: “Did Diet Culture Hijack Your Values?”Podcast Episode: “Five Studies That Will Change the Way You Think About Food”Podcast Episode Featuring Christy Harrison Christy Harrison’s Book: The Wellness TrapPodcast Episode: “10 Principles of Intuitive Eating in 10 Minutes”Podcast Episode: “Intuitive Eating for Beginners”Podcast Episode about Food, Digestion & MetabolismMore From Leah:📚Download your free Intuitive Eating Starter PackApply to The Embodied Method, my 1:1 coaching programJoin my self-paced course, The ReturnSubscribe to Leah's Youtube ChannelSubscribe to my personal SubstackFollow me on Instagram for more intuitive eating content @leahkern.rdVisit my website to learn more about my coaching offeringsSubscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a nugget of intuitive eating inspiration delivered straight from my heart to your inbox each week.Send me a voice message on SpeakpipeEmail me: [email protected]🍽️ Do you wish you could eat  ice cream without feeling out of control? Do you want to care for your health without becoming obsessive? If so, you’ll want to grab our FREE Intuitive Eating Starter Kit here.

In this episode of Shoulders Down Podcast, Leah talks with Dr. Lauren Hartman, a double board-certified pediatrician and adolescent medicine specialist, about why dieting and weight-focused care can be especially harmful for children and teens — and what she’s seeing on the front lines of adolescent eating disorder treatment.Drawing from nearly 20 years of experience across hospital systems, outpatient care, and national leadership roles, Dr. Hartman explains why weight loss is rarely sustainable, how dieting increases eating disorder risk, and why a medicalized focus on weight often misses what young people actually need to thrive.Leah and Dr. Hartman also discuss the rise in eating disorders among adolescents, the role of social media and diet culture, and growing concerns around GLP-1 medications.You’ll hear about:A doctor’s perspective on why dieting and weight loss often backfireWhether eating disorders are on the rise among adolescents — and what’s driving the increaseHow social media and diet culture impact teens’ relationships with food and bodyGLP-1 medications and the risks of prescribing them to young peopleWhat informed consent should include when it comes to weight-loss interventionsHow parents can help protect children from diet culture and weight stigmaMore From Dr. Lauren Hartman: https://www.aspengroveayam.com/More From Leah:📚Download your free Intuitive Eating Starter PackApply to The Embodied Method, my 1:1 coaching programJoin my self-paced course, The ReturnSubscribe to Leah's Youtube ChannelSubscribe to my personal SubstackFollow me on Instagram for more intuitive eating content @leahkern.rdVisit my website to learn more about my coaching offeringsSubscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a nugget of intuitive eating inspiration delivered straight from my heart to your inbox each week.Send me a voice message on SpeakpipeEmail me: [email protected]🍽️ Do you wish you could eat  ice cream without feeling out of control? Do you want to care for your health without becoming obsessive? If so, you’ll want to grab our FREE Intuitive Eating Starter Kit here.

In this episode of Shoulders Down Podcast, Leah talks with therapist and certified intuitive eating counselor, Libby Supan, about her 15 years in Overeaters Anonymous (OA) — and why she ultimately believes the program worsened her eating disorder rather than healed it.Libby shares how OA’s abstinence-based model, the idea of food and sugar addiction, and rigid sponsorship dynamics fueled binge eating, shame, and co-dependency. Together, Leah and Libby unpack the concept of “fat serenity,” the fatphobia embedded in the OA ethos, and why abstinence backfires.Libby also explains how eating disorder treatment and intuitive eating helped her rebuild trust with her body, move away from restriction, and find a more sustainable path to recovery.You’ll hear about:What Overeaters Anonymous (OA) is and how it worksThe link between abstinence, restriction, and binge eatingWhy the Food addiction model is inherently flawedSponsorship, power dynamics, and co-dependency in OA“Fat serenity” & fatphobia in the OA communityHow Libby left OA after 15 years and found true healing Mentioned in the episode:https://leahkernrd.com/are-you-addicted-to-sugar/More From Libby:Website: https://www.libbysupan.com/More From Leah:📚Download your free Intuitive Eating Starter PackApply to The Embodied Method, my 1:1 coaching programJoin my self-paced course, The ReturnSubscribe to Leah's Youtube ChannelSubscribe to my personal SubstackFollow me on Instagram for more intuitive eating content @leahkern.rdVisit my website to learn more about my coaching offeringsSubscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a nugget of intuitive eating inspiration delivered straight from my heart to your inbox each week.Send me a voice message on SpeakpipeEmail me: [email protected]🍽️ Do you wish you could eat  ice cream without feeling out of control? Do you want to care for your health without becoming obsessive? If so, you’ll want to grab our FREE Intuitive Eating Starter Kit here.

In this episode, Leah's reflection on 6 wellness trends that shaped 2025.She covers:The proteinification of everything & whether or not its worth the hypeGLP-1s and the normalization of thinness at all costsIncreased body monitoring— Oura Rings, Glucose Monitors, & Apple Watches— & how this might impact intuitive eating Pilates culture: the matching sets, the "toned but not too muscular" promise,  &  the elitist, weight stigmatizing undertonesThe pros & the cons of our cultural obsession with stepsMentioned in the episode:5 Reasons Why Your Weight Doesn't Determine Your Health episode: https://leahkernrd.com/%F0%9F%91%89-5-reasons-why-your-weight-doesnt-determine-your-health/More From Leah:📚Download your free Intuitive Eating Starter PackApply to The Embodied Method, my 1:1 coaching programJoin my self-paced course, The ReturnSubscribe to Leah's Youtube ChannelSubscribe to my personal SubstackFollow me on Instagram for more intuitive eating content @leahkern.rdVisit my website to learn more about my coaching offeringsSubscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a nugget of intuitive eating inspiration delivered straight from my heart to your inbox each week.Send me a voice message on SpeakpipeEmail me: [email protected]🍽️ Do you wish you could eat  ice cream without feeling out of control? Do you want to care for your health without becoming obsessive? If so, you’ll want to grab our FREE Intuitive Eating Starter Kit here.

In this episode, I sit down with fat activist, author, podcaster, and feminist, Virgie Tovar. We cover:Virgie's experience growing up in a fat family and how that shaped her early relationship with her bodyFat activism vs body positivity & the evolution of these frameworks The intersection of queerness & fatness, & the having your heartbroken by the culture The ethics of GLP-1’s and prescribed starvationGLP-1s as a pump an dump marketing cyclingHow to cope with feeling the pressure of going on a GLP-1 for weight lossLiving a life of integrity vs a life of  apologyMore From Virgie: Virgie's websiteVirgie's SubstackA 5 Stage Model of Fat Identity DevelopmentMore From Leah:📚Download your free Intuitive Eating Starter PackApply to The Embodied Method, my 1:1 coaching programJoin my self-paced course, The ReturnSubscribe to Leah's Youtube ChannelSubscribe to my personal SubstackFollow me on Instagram for more intuitive eating content @leahkern.rdVisit my website to learn more about my coaching offeringsSubscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a nugget of intuitive eating inspiration delivered straight from my heart to your inbox each week.Send me a voice message on SpeakpipeEmail me: [email protected]🍽️ Do you wish you could eat  ice cream without feeling out of control? Do you want to care for your health without becoming obsessive? If so, you’ll want to grab our FREE Intuitive Eating Starter Kit here.

In this episode, Leah is joined by licensed therapist and body image expert, Bri Campos, to talk about picture grief.Learn more from Bri on her website.More from Leah:Download your free Intuitive Eating Starter KitApply to The Embodied Method, my 1:1 coaching programJoin my self-paced course, The ReturnSubscribe to my personal SubstackVisit my website to learn more about my coaching offeringsSubscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a nugget of intuitive eating inspiration delivered  straight from my heart  to your inbox each week.Follow me on Instagram for more intuitive eating content @leahkern.rdEmail me: [email protected]🍽️ Do you wish you could eat  ice cream without feeling out of control? Do you want to care for your health without becoming obsessive? If so, you’ll want to grab our FREE Intuitive Eating Starter Kit here.

In this episode, we cover:My story with navigating the holiday season before and after becoming an intuitive eater and healing my body imageCommon hurdles to navigating the holidays as an intuitive eaterSpecific tips for handling loved-ones still entrenched in diet cultureHow to avoid eating past comfortable fullness at the big holiday meal(s)Dealing with the desire to fill the void of unmet needs with food Moving through the sadness that can come up when a delicious celebratory meal is coming to an end. Navigating the situation where you’re being hosted for the holidays and don’t have control over food and mealtimesDownload the FREE Intuitive Eater Holiday Survival Guide📣 Subscribe to our Youtube Channel!Download your free Intuitive Eating Starter KitApply to The Embodied Method, my 1:1 coaching programJoin my self-paced course, The ReturnSubscribe to my personal SubstackVisit my website to learn more about my coaching offeringsSubscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a nugget of intuitive eating inspiration delivered  straight from my heart  to your inbox each week.Follow me on Instagram for more intuitive eating content @leahkern.rdEmail me: [email protected]🍽️ Do you wish you could eat  ice cream without feeling out of control? Do you want to care for your health without becoming obsessive? If so, you’ll want to grab our FREE Intuitive Eating Starter Kit here.

In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Alexis Conason, Licensed Therapist and Certified Eating Disorder Consultant.  We discuss:How Alexis went from studying  Obesity Medicine to weight inclusive medicineWhat the Obesity Medicine research actually points toHow to navigate the tension between validating desire for weight change while also wanting food freedomWhat might really be underneath statements like, “I just felt better when I was X pounds lighter.”How working alongside her husband, another weight-neutral provider, has impacted her workTips for finding a  non-diet, HAES-aligned therapistMore From Alexis:https://drconason.com/https://www.conasonpsychologicalservices.com/aboutBuy her book!More From Leah:📚Download your free Intuitive Eating Starter PackApply to The Embodied Method, my 1:1 coaching programJoin my self-paced course, The ReturnSubscribe to Leah's Youtube ChannelSubscribe to my personal SubstackFollow me on Instagram for more intuitive eating content @leahkern.rdVisit my website to learn more about my coaching offeringsSubscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a nugget of intuitive eating inspiration delivered straight from my heart to your inbox each week.Send me a voice message on SpeakpipeEmail me: [email protected]🍽️ Do you wish you could eat  ice cream without feeling out of control? Do you want to care for your health without becoming obsessive? If so, you’ll want to grab our FREE Intuitive Eating Starter Kit here.

In this episode, we discuss:How diet culture can steal our valuesValues-aligned living, resilience, & confidenceHow to tell if you're acting out of alignment with your valuesAn exercise for figuring out your values Resources Mentioned:Values Exercise: https://d11n7da8rpqbjy.cloudfront.net/leahkernrd/482_1669901562874Confidence_ValuesDrivenLiving_Module2.pdfBrene Brown values list: https://brenebrown.com/resources/dare-to-lead-list-of-values/👉Get on the waitlist for our new 10 steps to food freedom audio courseMore From Leah:📚Download your free Intuitive Eating Starter PackApply to The Embodied Method, my 1:1 coaching programJoin my self-paced course, The ReturnSubscribe to Leah's Youtube ChannelSubscribe to my personal SubstackFollow me on Instagram for more intuitive eating content @leahkern.rdVisit my website to learn more about my coaching offeringsSubscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a nugget of intuitive eating inspiration delivered straight from my heart to your inbox each week.Send me a voice message on SpeakpipeEmail me: [email protected]🍽️ Do you wish you could eat  ice cream without feeling out of control? Do you want to care for your health without becoming obsessive? If so, you’ll want to grab our FREE Intuitive Eating Starter Kit here.

In this episode, Leah shares how diet culture sneaks into the wedding industry—from “bridal bootcamps” to being asked about “weight goals” at dress fittings—and how these pressures can rob us of joy on one of life’s most meaningful days. Through her own wedding dress shopping story and reflections from clients, Leah explores what it actually looks like to reject body shame, hold space for body grief, and choose presence over perfection.More From Leah:📚Download your free Intuitive Eating Starter PackApply to The Embodied Method, my 1:1 coaching programJoin my self-paced course, The ReturnSubscribe to Leah's Youtube ChannelSubscribe to my personal SubstackFollow me on Instagram for more intuitive eating content @leahkern.rdVisit my website to learn more about my coaching offeringsSubscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a nugget of intuitive eating inspiration delivered straight from my heart to your inbox each week.Send me a voice message on SpeakpipeEmail me: [email protected]🍽️ Do you wish you could eat  ice cream without feeling out of control? Do you want to care for your health without becoming obsessive? If so, you’ll want to grab our FREE Intuitive Eating Starter Kit here.