In midlife, women are often handed diets disguised as wellness. What we really need is gentleness, not more rules.
Aging is the most universal human experience, and yet diet and wellness culture would have us treat it like a disease to be cured.
The message is relentless: stay young, stay thin, stay “timeless.” But under all that noise is the truth we rarely hear: we’re supposed to age. It means we’re still here. And that’s a privilege.
Which brings me to this week’s re-released, listener-favorite episode.
Debra Benfield, RDN, joins me for a conversation that sits right at the intersection of diet culture, anti-fatness, and anti-aging.
Together we talk about how these forces converge in midlife—often making women particularly vulnerable to disordered eating and harmful messaging at exactly the stage when we deserve peace, rest, and joy.
Some of the things we get into…
Perimenopause and menopause diet culture messages
Why aging creates heightened vulnerability to diet and wellness culture
The impact of stress and restrictive eating on longevity
Mid-life marketing of disordered eating advice
Wrinkles, Botox, and the skin-care industry
The tyranny of the “belly fat” narrative
How wellness culture capitalizes on our fear of aging and death
Whether strength training is part of the anti-aging conversation
The ways ableism, sexism, and agism collide in media
How to navigate fear-mongering messages about food, weight, and health
What we can do to reclaim our time and energy and power
This is an episode about reclaiming our power and time from the industries profiting off our insecurities. About saying no to being sold “youth in a bottle” and yes to embracing the fullness of who we are—wrinkles, softness, wisdom, and all.
P.S. I’d love to hear from you:
How do you notice anti-aging messages showing up in your life? Do you feel more pressure in midlife than before? Reply and let me know—I always read your notes.
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