#72: The Pressure To Freeze Your Body In Time [Diet Culture & Aging] with Debra Benfield, RDN

Today Debra Benfield, RDN, joins the pod to speak with Abbie about the intersection of diet culture, anti-fatness, and anti-aging. This is one you won't want to miss. Because guess what? We're all aging, and it's a privilege. But diet culture continues to sell us a myriad of ways to "prevent" or hide that natural process. Tune in to hear more about how women in mid-life are particularly susceptible to developing disordered eating and what messaging to be wary of. More topics dicussed: Peri-menopause and menopause diet culture messages How aging creates vulnerability to damaging diet/wellness culture Mid-life marketing and disordered eating advice Belly fat, strength training, and other incessent messaging about aging Ableism, sexism, and agism coinciding How wellness culture capitalizes on our fear of aging and death Wrinkles, botox, and the skin-care industry Fear-mongering around food and disease The impact of stress and restricive eating on longevity What we can do to reclaim our time and energy and power Debra has helped hundreds of women heal their relationship with food and their bodies over her 35-year career as a Registered Dietitian. She specializes in the prevention and treatment of disordered eating, and brings her passion, expertise, and lived experience to the intersection of pro-aging and body liberation work. Deb’s work is rooted in helping clients recognize internalized ageism and end it, dismantle internalized diet culture and fatphobia, see midlife and beyond as a time of Emergence, nourish their bodies to support vitality and aging, and develop a respectful partnership with their bodies. Full Plate is listener-supported (no ads!) so please support the show on Patreon for bonus episodes at Patreon.com/fullplate Patreon is also home to the episode transcripts (which are publicly available to everyone, not just our patrons!). If you’re looking for those, head over to Patreon.  Find the show on Instagram: @fullplate.podcast  Find Abbie on Instagram: @abbieattwoodwellness Find Debra on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/agingbodyliberation/