Dr. NEO

09/06/2025

I’ve been a therapist for 20 years now and one thing that has been consistent throughout that time, is that more people talk about hating their belly than any other body part.
And I know that a frequent way that weight stigma shows up in the eating disorder field is clients being told not to worry because “when you’re weight restoring fat goes to your belly first and then redistributes.” As if the fat staying on their belly would be the worst thing.
And I’m witnessing more conversations about perimenopause and menopause online, which would be great if there wasn’t so much weight stigma in them. So much focus on how to avoid gaining “belly fat” and why “belly fat” is the “bad” kind of fat.
And, of course, the idea that somehow the bellies of people who have been pregnant are supposed to go back to whatever size they were before they were pregnant.
Not to mention all of the shape wear out there. The “control tops” and the “belly reducing” and the “make sure you don’t have a visible belly outline.”
It’s exhausting and it’s no wonder so much time is spent on disliking our bellies.
And in the absence of anti-fat bias we wouldn’t be having these conversations at all. We would just know that bellies come in different sizes, they change throughout our lifetime, and they don’t need to be hidden.
It wouldn’t matter if your belly was fatter because of weight restoration or menopause or because you just happen to be someone with a fat belly that’s getting fatter.
Outside of anti-fat bias, we wouldn’t be having conversations about our bellies (aside from how beautiful they are) at all.
Image description: there is a collage of photos of my belly in the background with text overlaying it that says:
Maybe it’s not “baby weight,” or
“menopause weight gain,” or “weight restoration goes to your belly first,” or
“internal organs”, or “visceral vs subcutaneous fat,” or any other euphemism we use to describe bellies.
Maybe it’s just that bellies are meant to have fat and some bellies have more than others and that changes throughout our lifetime. And in the absence of anti-fat bias, maybe we wouldn’t be having conversations about “belly fat” at all.

09/05/2025

09/05/2025

What does 'Healthy Eating" even mean??
It's subjective.
It's complicated.
It's individual.

Food is not a moral issue.
You are not good or bad based on what you eat.

All my dieting years, I was mad at MYSELF for not 'getting it right'. How could I, there is no ONE way to eat 'healthy'. And still I blamed myself, my body, my 'lack of willpower'...

You are not the problem! The over abundance of information/MISinformation is. The fatphobia in dietetics is. The medical gaslighting of it being 'our fault' is.

09/05/2025

You don’t owe anyone weight loss to get medical care.
Let’s say it louder for the people in the back:
You. Deserve. Care. NOW.
Not 50 pounds from now.
—Dr. Katelyn

Stop Telling Me to Lose Weight: Rethinking Health and Wellness for Plus Size Bodies https://thecurvyfashionista.com/weight-stigma-in-healthcare/

09/05/2025

09/05/2025

09/05/2025

08/28/2025

The debate over whether it’s “okay” to pursue intentional weight loss if it’s done in a healthy, sustainable way is an argument built on a false premise.
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It assumes there’s a proven, safe, and sustainable way for most people to lose weight and keep it off long term — when in reality, research shows that’s the exception, not the rule.
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Even approaches often marketed as “sustainable” show frequent regain, and repeated weight loss attempts (weight cycling) are linked with increased risks for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and disordered eating.
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And here’s the other piece: We all have body autonomy. You get to make decisions about your own body — whether that’s pursuing intentional weight loss or following a weight inclusive approach — as long as you’re not harming anyone else. So debating whether it’s “okay” or “not okay” is kind of moot anyway.
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Health is not measured by the size of your body. Your worth is not defined by your weight.
Let’s retire this myth once and for all.
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💬 Have you heard this argument before? What’s your response?

08/23/2025

Hi, I am asking for some assistance. I am working on a book about the effects of weight stigma on trauma treatment (with two other therapists). I'm looking for a few brief examples of problematic or troublesome comments that therapists have said to clients that are weight stigmatizing. Please direct-message me if you have something to share. No real names will be used. TIA.
Turtle video to boost signal.

08/20/2025

We don’t need to “overcome” our bodies. We live in them. We find ways to be in relationship with them.
The rhetoric from the weight loss industry would have us believing we somehow have to “overcome” our bodies. “Overcome” our fatness. “Overcome” our “slow metabolism.” “Overcome” our “sweet tooth.”
We are supposed to “overcome” body changes and illness and the need for rest and hunger. It’s all such BS. We were never meant to “overcome” our bodies.
My job is not to “overcome” my fatness even though the culture wants me to believe that it is. I don’t need to “overcome” my body, because my body is not a problem. You do not need to “overcome” your body because your body is not a problem.
There is plenty we “overcome” in life including the messages from the weight loss industry and diet culture. But our bodies are not something to “overcome.”
Image description: there is a teal and orange background with text that says: a body is not something to overcome