Hearing Our Own Voice

Dec 08 2020 44
Hearing Our Own Voice Podcast artwork

Hearing Our Own Voice is an anti-diet, weight inclusive podcast that centers Black stories and experiences. I have conversations with Black health and wellness professionals and fat activists who have taken a weight-inclusive approach to their work. My goal is to uncover the lies and myths that get sold to us, but more importantly I want us to explore how we can filter out the cultural noise and begin to hear our own voice .

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Episode 6 Black, Fat Joy is a Form of Resistance with Amanda Gilliam

Dec 08 2020 31 mins  
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 space

Episode 5 The Radical Idea of Nutrition Services for Everyone with Veronica Garnett, MS, RD

Nov 15 2020 45 mins  
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

Bonus Episode: Reflecting on the anti-diet, weight-inclusive approach

Nov 01 2020 6 mins  
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 commun

Episode 4 The Pursuit of THIN: More Harm Than Good? with Ayana Habtemariam, MSW, RDN

Oct 18 2020 30 mins  
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.

Episode 3 Fit is NOT a Body Type with Courtney Marshall

Oct 08 2020 31 mins  
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 curr

Episode 2 Fat Girls in Black Bodies with Joy Cox

Sep 30 2020 36 mins  
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

Episode 1 Welcome to Hearing Our Own Voice

Sep 27 2020 3 mins  
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 themsel