Rachel Millner, Psy.D.

10/30/2025

So grateful to for writing this article about my mission to become a instructor and to for publishing it.
Link to the full article is in my bio.

10/28/2025

Yesterday I posted the video from right before I did my first ride in several weeks after being sick.
I filmed this video after I finished that ride to talk about how it felt to get back to riding after time off.
I am so appreciative of being able to trust my body to tell me when it needed to rest and when it was ready to go back to riding my . And I also know how complicated this can be for many reasons.
I will be coming back gently and not pushing too hard. Just seeing how my body feels and making decisions from there.

10/26/2025

It’s almost Halloween and there is so much rhetoric about Halloween candy and how to “manage” it.
The best way to “manage” Halloween candy, is to not manage it at all. It’s just candy. Unless someone’s allergic, give kids of all body sizes full permission to eat the candy.
And Halloween isn’t just for kids. Make sure you are buying your favorites too. Buy extras if you can so that you have some for after Halloween as well. Personally, I’m stocking up on pumpkin peanut butter cups. The best PB cups of the year, IMO.
There is plenty to be afraid of right now. Halloween candy isn’t one of them.

Image description: there is a Halloween themed background with spider webs, pumpkins and bats with text that says: A few Halloween reminders:
• Candy is nothing to be afraid of Give fat kids the same access to candy that you give thin kids
• Adults need access to Halloween candy too
Let fat kids dress up however they want. If a costume doesn’t come in their size, blame the costume maker and not their body

10/24/2025

The hypocrisy drives me bananas. More weight is protective as we go through perimenopause. So they tell us to wear a weighted vest to build muscle. Instead of just letting our bodies do what they need to do to protect our bones and build muscle.
So, only more weight if it can be taken off? Because recognizing how protective actual weight gain is, requires confronting anti-fat bias and internalized weight stigma.
It’s all a mind f*ck. The rules of diet culture don’t make sense and are constantly changing. It’s not you. It’s diet culture.
I’m sure sales of weighted vests have increased. If you love a weighted vest, great. No judgment of weighted vests happening here.
But let’s a least name the hypocrisy of it all. And that none of it makes sense. And that if we weren’t so afraid of fat, we’d have way more perimenopausal people living their lives in their changing bodies; bodies that are built for this.

This is just educational. Not advice.

10/22/2025

Earlier I saw a conversation in which someone was asking for research to support the statement that weight and health are not the same thing and talking about the difference between causation and correlation.
A lot of people responded with research and data and information to be used with someone who was pushing back on these topics and not believing them.
And the research is so important. And understanding the impact of weight stigma is so important. And knowing that intentional weight loss is not sustainable for the vast majority of people is so important.
And sometimes I want to say stop it! Forget all of it! Because fat people deserve compassionate and ethical care no matter what. Whether fatness causes an illness or not. Whether weight loss is sustainable or not.
And sometimes I think when we get into these conversations and are seeking data to give to people who are still swimming in their own weight stigma, it’s like we are trying to justify our right to exist as fat people.
But we don’t owe anyone an explanation or justification. We exist. Always have. Always will. And we don’t owe anyone anything when it comes to our right to live, and be treated well, in our fat bodies.

10/22/2025

I was at a local urgent care recently and pleasantly surprised at the care that I received. So many simple things that made my experience much more positive than most of my interactions with the healthcare system.
It wasn’t perfect, but nothing is. And I am happy to call out someplace that got it right because, so often (especially in healthcare), they get it wrong.
Thanks to for such a positive experience. I hope all of your locations do as good a job as this one did.
Image description: there are a series slides with a blue background and text that reads: I recently went to a local urgent care and had a positive experience. The things that made it positive are so simple to implement.
If you are a medical provider here are things you can do
*right now* .
that will benefit
all of your patients:
They asked if I was ok with being weighed. When I declined, they said “ok” and moved on. They didn’t ask me to estimate my weight or tell me they needed a number for their EMR. They just moved on to the next thing. One medical tech even said “way to advocate for yourself!”
They asked for consent each time they wanted to do something. Super simple. “Is it ok if we take your
temperature?” instead of “we are going to take your temperature now.” Same amount of time for them. A big difference for the patient.
They had an electronic blood pressure cuff in their intake area. When it read high, they didn’t assume I must have high blood pressure because I’m fat. They asked if it was ok to take it manually and used the correct cuff size.
They gave me a gown that fit my body. I didn’t have to ask for it. They just handed me a gown that worked for my body. They also had a range of chair sizes and types available. When I walked into the waiting room, I just sat in the chair that worked best for me.
If you are a medical provider, start now by:
1. Getting consent. Not just to weigh someone, but for everything you do
2. Don’t make assumptions about people based on body size
3. Have furniture, gowns, equipment, etc. that work for fat bodies

10/17/2025

So infuriating. So violent. So opportunistic. So many lies. So manipulative. So not surprising.
This ad about their new “weight watchers for menopause” showed up on my social media feed yesterday and I am so angry about the whole thing.
Weight watchers (and a long list of other people and companies) are preying on people at a time where there can already be confusion about what’s going on with our bodies and are pathologizing the necessary weight gain that happens during this time.
I’ve said many times how glad I am that more conversations are happening about perimenopause and menopause. They have been ignored for far too long.
What I’m not happy about is how many of these conversations are being held by people and companies selling weight loss.
Weight watchers has claimed they are “innovative.” They claim they are “different” than other weight loss programs. This new program is a reminder of what has always been true, they are about convincing us that our bodies are the problem and that they have the “solution” so that they can profit.
If you want to be a part of conversations about perimenopause and menopause from a weight inclusive lens that will not pathologize your body, check out upcoming menopause summit. It’s the only conversation about these topics that I can confidently recommend.

10/11/2025

There seems to be no end to anti-fat rhetoric. Diet talk is constant. People love to discuss their weight loss. Every other headline seems to be about some “great” new weight loss medication. People love to talk about fatness and how to not be fat.
But none of these people use the word fat. They come up with some other euphemism for it or they use person first language or they tell you that your body is a disease. They are so uncomfortable with the word fat that even if someone uses it neutrally to describe themselves, they squirm.
And then somehow people think that all of us fat people have no clue that we are fat. As if it’s possible to be a fat person in this culture and not know that you’re a fat person in a fat phobic culture.
And because they seem to think we don’t know we are fat, they think it’s their job to tell us. And that they are telling us “for our own good.” Which is interesting when you consider they can’t say the word and they are terrified of becoming like us.
Or they think that somehow their telling us will save us from something we don’t need saving from. But they think they need saving from the possibility of becoming fat, so can’t fathom that fat people can just be fat people living their lives.
If you are considering telling someone they are fat; don’t. If you think you’re telling them “for their own good;” you’re not. If you’re afraid of becoming fat; work on healing your internalized weight stigma and let us live our fullest fat lives in peace.
Image description: there is a pale pink background with text in the middle that says: When you’re fat you have the bizarre experience of being bombarded by messages about how terrible fatness is, while the word fat is avoided, and then people wanting to tell you that you’re fat as if you somehow could’ve missed it and trying to convince you that they are telling you for “your own good” while they try to do everything possible to not look like you.

10/10/2025

It’s and we need to be having more conversations about mental health and reducing stigma around
We also need to have conversations about and reducing about mental illness.
What we don’t need to do is label our reactions to what’s happening in the world right now as mental illness.
We need to name that what is happening around us is pathological. Our reactions to what is happening are not.

10/10/2025

I am entered in Casting Call competition and am so excited about it. There is a very long list of reasons I decided to enter, and I included the top ten in my video.

10/03/2025