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In this episode, DeAun Nelson, ND and Marci Evans, RD discuss what the science actually says about food and sugar addiction, why the research is more complicated than headlines suggest, and how the language we use around "addictive" foods may be doing more harm than good.They also cover:Why current evidence doesn't support sugar as a chemically addictive substance The important difference between a lived experience and a clinical diagnosis How restriction and food labeling create the very patterns they're meant to prevent What the rodent studies everyone cites actually show — and what they don't Practical approaches for working with clients who feel out of control around food Why willpower isn't the answer, and what actually helpsMarci Evans is a certified eating disorder registered dietitian, intuitive eating counselor, and educator with nearly a decade in private practice.Want to be notified when new episodes are uploaded? Join our email list - fatnaturopathyoutube.subscribepage.io

What does it actually mean for a diet to "work"? In this episode of the Fat Naturopath podcast, Dr. DeAun Nelson is joined by registered dietitian Sumner Brooks to dig into the physiology and psychology behind intentional weight loss, and why the evidence doesn't support it as a long-term health strategy.They walk through two landmark studies: Ancel Keys' 1940s Minnesota Starvation Experiment, which revealed how profoundly caloric restriction affects the body and mind, and the Biggest Loser follow-up study, which showed how extreme weight loss slows resting metabolism in ways that make weight regain nearly inevitable. The conversation covers:Why the calories in/calories out model is incomplete How the body defends its set point range The connection between restriction and binge eating Why "lifestyle changes" can carry the same risks as traditional diets What health markers can actually improve independent of weight How weight cycling affects long-term healthSumner Brooks, RD, brings her background in eating disorder treatment and intuitive eating to offer a clinical perspective on the behaviors we normalize in diet culture, and what needs to change.Want to be notified when new episodes are uploaded? Join our email list - fatnaturopathyoutube.subscribepage.io

In this episode, Dr. DeAun Nelson talks with registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator Megrette Fletcher about what it actually looks like to care for patients with diabetes without making weight the centerpiece of treatment.Megrette brings over 25 years of experience in diabetes education, a background in mindful eating, and a refreshingly direct perspective on why the "just lose weight" approach fails patients, and what to do instead.The conversation covers:DeFronzo's "ominous octet" - the eight core physiological defects in Type 2 diabetes, and why the disease is far more complex than diet culture suggests.Why diabetes is a chronic condition that cannot be cured, including why bariatric surgery is not the exception to that rule.The restriction-binge cycle and its direct impact on blood sugar regulation.What an energy-balanced (non-restrictive) approach to diabetes nutrition actually looks like.How forcing a weight loss conversation causes patients to disengage from diabetes self-management education they're entitled to.The role of mindfulness, self-compassion, and non-food coping strategies in long-term diabetes care.Why asking patients "what's already working?" is one of the most underused tools in diabetes managementMegrette also shares information about her book Diabetes Counseling and Educational Activities: Helping Clients Without Harping on Weight.Want to be notified when new episodes are uploaded? Join our email list - fatnaturopathyoutube.subscribepage.io

What is it actually like to navigate the healthcare system in a fat body? In this episode of the Fat Naturopath podcast, Dr. DeAun Nelson is joined by educator, activist, and consultant Shilo George for an honest, wide-ranging conversation about fat acceptance as a civil rights issue and what medical providers can do right now to offer genuinely better care.Shilo George is Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho, a longtime fat activist, and the founder of Thluch Kom'tax Tamtam Consulting, which works with people of size on self-advocacy and with providers and medical systems on reducing the harm of fat stigma.She brings both professional expertise and lived experience as a super-fat person navigating daily accessibility barriers, compounded oppressions, and a medical system that too often sees only body size.The conversation covers:What fat acceptance and fat activism are, and why they matter for health outcomes.The compounding effect of navigating fatness alongside other marginalized identities.How inaccessible physical and social environments affect mental, social, and physical health.Healthism, neoliberalism, and why "personal responsibility" framing lets systems off the hook.The role of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and how medical providers can inadvertently contribute to harm.Shilo's experience building genuine trust with a provider over time, and what that made possible.The four-page document Shilo gives new providers, and why that kind of patient-led framing shifts the power dynamic in the room.How fat patients are set up to fail by treatments that don't work, and then blamed for the failure.Why delayed care and diagnostic neglect in fat patients is a patient safety issue, not a personal failing.Want to be notified when new episodes are uploaded? Join our email list - fatnaturopathyoutube.subscribepage.io

In this episode, Dr. DeAun Nelson sits down with Amy Pershing, LMSW, founder of the Body Wise Binge Eating Disorder Recovery Program, co-founder of Pershing Consulting LLC, and author of Binge Eating Disorder: The Journey to Recovery and Beyond, for a wide-ranging conversation about BED, what recovery actually looks like, and why weight-inclusive care matters for this population.Amy brings 30 years of clinical experience to a conversation that challenges the shame narratives so many people with BED carry. They discuss how binge eating disorder became a formal diagnosis, why it's still so under-recognized, and what healthcare providers can do to create safer, more supportive environments for patients of all sizes.Topics covered in this episode:What binge eating disorder is - and what it isn't The connection between BED and trauma, and how food functions as a coping tool Why restriction often drives binge eating How to recognize BED in patients who may not self-identifyWeight-inclusive treatment and why "success" can't mean weight loss Practical steps patients can take to find the right supportWhy advocacy, for providers and patients alike, is part of recoveryContent note: This episode discusses binge eating, mentions Overeaters Anonymous, and includes a few references to specific food quantities used as clinical examples.Want to be notified when new episodes are uploaded? Join our email list - fatnaturopathyoutube.subscribepage.io

In this episode, Dr. DeAun Nelson sits down with Deb Burgard, PhD, FAED - psychologist, activist, one of the founders of the Health at Every Size model, and co-creator of the original bodypositive.com - for a conversation about the history of the fat acceptance movement, failures of diet culture, and what medicine still gets fundamentally wrong about fat bodies.Deb brings decades of perspective to this conversation, from teaching fitness classes for fat women in Oakland in the '80s, to sitting around the table when "Health at Every Size" was named, to doing grand rounds for medical providers today. This is a must-listen for anyone who wants to understand not just the what of weight-inclusive care, but the why, and the history that got us here.Topics covered in this episode:How the fat acceptance movement began How the diet industry regrouped after widespread critique in the '90s and manufactured the "obesity epidemic" narrative The confirmation bias baked into how doctors see fat patientsWhy weight stigma functions like a curse - and what the nocebo effect has to do with it The difference between blaming your body and defending your body Why social support and relationships are the most robust finding in all of public health, and why medicine keeps ignoring it What weight-inclusive care actually looks like in practiceWant to be notified when new episodes are uploaded? Join our email list - fatnaturopathyoutube.subscribepage.io

In this episode, Dr. DeAun Nelson sits down with Fiona Willer, advanced accredited practicing dietitian, university lecturer, PhD candidate, and creator of the Unpacking Weight Science podcast for a deeply substantive conversation about what the weight science research actually shows, and what it doesn't.Fiona brings close to a decade of academic research, years of clinical experience, and a talent for dismantling flawed study design to one of the most information-dense episodes of the podcast. Whether you're a health professional trying to understand the evidence base or a patient trying to make sense of what you've been told, this one is essential listening.Topics covered in this episode:What actually happens to the body after weight loss surgery - gastric sleeve, bypass, and banding - from a nutrition and nourishment perspective Why malnutrition is a near-certain outcome of bariatric surgery, and what that means over decades The "5% weight loss" claim: what those studies actually measured versus what gets reported Why you can't predict someone's diet quality or health from their body size - and what the data actually shows The difference between correlation and causation in weight research, and why it keeps getting ignored Fiona's PhD research findings: what happened to diet quality and mental health when weight control was removed from the equation Why the HAES evidence base is stronger than critics claim The case for size-affirming public health messagingContent note: This episode discusses weight loss surgery frankly, beginning around the 15–20 minute mark and wrapping up around minute 30–35. If that topic is difficult for you, you're welcome to skip ahead.Want to be notified when new episodes are uploaded? Join our email list - fatnaturopathyoutube.subscribepage.io

Missing periods aren't always what they seem, and misdiagnosis is far more common than it should be. In this episode, Dr. Nicola Rinaldi, author of "No Period, Now What?" shares the science of hypothalamic amenorrhea (HA): what causes it, how it's commonly confused with PCOS, and what it actually takes to recover.We cover:What the hypothalamus does and why underfueling shuts it down Why weight is NOT a diagnostic criterion for HA or PCOSThe key hormonal differences between HA and PCOS - and why bloodwork matters more than body size Bone density loss and why the birth control pill isn't the fix providers think it is What "eating enough" actually means (the research may surprise you) Why Clomid and Femara can jumpstart cycles - and when they won't The complex relationship between HA, weight gain, and body imageDr. Rinaldi brings her background in computational biology, her own experience with HA, and years of supporting women through recovery to this conversation. Whether you're a practitioner, someone navigating a missing period, or both.No Period, Now What? — noperiodnowwhat.comNote: Calorie figures are discussed at approximately 12, 14, and 41 minutes in, included because they're clinically relevant to the conversation.Want to be notified when new episodes are uploaded? Join our email list - fatnaturopathyoutube.subscribepage.io

Content note: This episode includes discussion of intermittent fasting, eating disorders, intentional weight loss, and adolescent weight figures (around the 30–40 minute mark). Please take care of yourself as you listen.What happens when an eating disorder researcher helps design a study that puts teenagers on semi-starvation protocols - and the ethics committee approves it anyway?In this episode, I sit down with clinical psychologist and HAES Australia vice president Louise Adams to break down the Fast Track to Health trial: a $1.2 million Australian study subjecting 186 adolescents to less than 600–700 calories a day, three days a week, for an entire year. Louise has been at the forefront of efforts to stop it.We cover:What the Fast Track trial actually involves and who's funding itWhy Louise filed a formal ethics complaint — and what happened when 20,000 people signed her petition The informed consent problem: what parents and kids aren't being told What the pilot study data actually showed (spoiler: not what the researchers are claiming)The troubling meta-analysis being used to justify the trial, and what's buried in it Why adolescents are the most vulnerable population for diet-induced eating disorders The weight stigma baked into the entire research paradigmWant to be notified when new episodes are uploaded? Join our email list - fatnaturopathyoutube.subscribepage.io

What does it actually look like to shift a medical culture that has spent decades telling patients their weight is the problem? Dr. Lesley Williams, eating disorder specialist, family medicine physician, and Health at Every Size advocate, joins the podcast to talk about what it takes to move that needle, one physician group at a time.We cover:How weight stigma actively drives patients away from care — and why that makes them sicker What happens when you introduce HAES to a room full of skeptical physicians (including a bariatric surgeon)Why BMI is a 19th-century astronomer's tool that somehow became the backbone of modern medical assessmentThe pattern of praising disordered eating in larger bodies while treating the same behaviors as dangerous in smaller onesHow introducing weight as a clinical goal can create disordered eating in patients who never had it beforeThe surgical access crisis: why larger patients are routinely denied joint replacements and other procedures — and then sent to get bariatric surgery insteadWhat genuine health equity looks like in practice, from waiting room chairs to referral networksWhy physicians' own defensiveness may be one of the biggest barriers to changelesleywilliamsmd.com | wwmedicalgroup.comWant to be notified when new episodes are uploaded? Join our email list - fatnaturopathyoutube.subscribepage.io

Dr. DeAun Nelson interviews Dr. Michelle May, family physician, recovered yo-yo dieter, and founder of the Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating Programs, to talk about what actually happens when we stop fighting our bodies and start listening to them.Michelle shares how her own experience with chronic dieting led her to develop the Mindful Eating Cycle — a framework that helps people move away from food rules and toward genuine self-awareness around eating. They cover a lot of ground in this conversation, including why restriction so often backfires, what binge-eating disorder looks like (and how often it goes unrecognized), and how mindful eating applies even when you have a health condition like diabetes.They also get into movement - how diet culture turns exercise into punishment, and how to find your way back to actually enjoying how you move your body. In this episode:How Michelle made the shift from "non-diet weight management" to a fully weight-neutral stanceThe Mindful Eating Cycle and the three questions that guide the "what do I eat" decision Why binge-eating disorder is underdiagnosed — and what a 10-week study found about its connection to restrictionThe difference between balance and harmony when it comes to health behaviors Why mindful eating can become its own kind of diet (and how to avoid that trap)Dr. May's books and programs can be found at amihungry.com. Her Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat series includes editions focused on diabetes and binge eating - if you're looking for the diabetes edition, make sure you grab the one marked "updated" on the cover.Theme music by Gaelyn Davis. Show art by Stacy Bias.Want to be notified when new episodes are uploaded? Join our email list - fatnaturopathyoutube.subscribepage.io

In this episode, Dr. DeAun Nelson breaks down healthism - what it is, where it comes from, and how it shapes the way we treat people in larger bodies, both in medical settings and in everyday life.She draws on Robert Crawford's original definition from 1980 and Lucy Aphramor's more expansive one, which names what Crawford left out: that poverty, oppression, privilege, and environment all shape our health in ways individuals simply cannot control. When healthism ignores that reality, the result is victim blaming, increased health inequities, and a system that judges people's worth by their bodies.Dr. Nelson also gets into nutritionism - the idea that food's value lives entirely in its nutrients - and how that thinking can tip into orthorexia, food anxiety, and the kind of obsession that actually undermines health rather than supporting it.In this episode:What healthism is and why it's more than just caring about your healthThe "good fatty / bad fatty" dichotomy introduced by Kate Harding - and why it matters clinically Why body size tells you nothing about a person's health behaviorsHow performing health becomes a survival strategy for people in larger bodiesPatient autonomy, motivational interviewing, and why "eat healthy and lose weight" is not a treatment planWhat medical offices can do right now to become more accessible to patients of all sizesTheme music by Gaelyn Davis. Show art by Stacy Bias.Want to be notified when new episodes are uploaded? Join our email list - fatnaturopathyoutube.subscribepage.io

Dr. DeAun Nelson sits down with Dr. Jennifer Gaudiani - internist, certified eating disorder specialist, and founder of the Gaudiani Clinic - to talk about what medicine keeps getting wrong about eating disorders, and what it looks like to finally get it right.Dr. Gaudiani's work starts from a premise that most medical training doesn't: eating disorders show up in all body sizes, all genders, all ages, and all ethnicities.The thin, white, visibly malnourished patient is the significant minority. Everyone else is being missed, or worse, being handed the very behaviors that are making them sick.They get into what starvation actually does to the body (regardless of size), why normal labs don't rule out serious illness, how physicians are inadvertently prescribing eating disorder behaviors to patients in larger bodies, and what happens when you apply HAES principles in a medical setting. In this episode:What the "cave person brain" does when it detects inadequate food intake, and why diet culture triggers the same response as an eating disorderThe physical signs of malnutrition that show up across all body types: cold hands, slowed digestion, fatigue, heart rate changes, and loss of sex hormonesAtypical anorexia nervosa, the "biased DSM-5 label," and why percentage of weight lost matters more than presenting BMIWhat 100% HAES response rates look like in Dr. Gaudiani's patients with diabetes, hypertension, and metabolic conditionsHow practitioners can bear witness when they can't fix everything, and why that matters for provider burnout tooDr. Gaudiani's book Sick Enough: A Guide to the Medical Complications of Eating Disorders is available through Routledge.The Gaudiani Clinic offers in-person and nationwide telemedicine care at gaudianiclinic.comTheme music by Gaelyn Davis. Show art by Stacy Bias.Want to be notified when new episodes are uploaded? Join our email list - fatnaturopathyoutube.subscribepage.io