Meghan Cichy, RDN, CD

11/17/2022

Today I said goodbye to the last of 95% of my patients.

It has been a really tough few weeks saying goodbye to so many wonderful people who I have been privileged to work with. Such a mixed experience of pride in how hard they have worked and sadness that our time together has ended.

It will be an odd experience to sit down to the computer and sign in as a policy analyst at the department of health rather than signing into a Telehealth session and asking what feels important to talk about today.

But it feels like the right place for me to see how I can make an impact rooted in fat liberation and move upstream to more systems level work.

Look out public health, I’m here.

10/21/2022

Just ordered another batch of period un**es. If you were wanting to try them I suggest ModiBodi. They go up to a 6XL (48.43 waist and 56.3-58.27 hip).

Time to ditch your regular wasteful sanitary items and say hello to comfortable menstrual panties! Find your favorite style online now.

10/19/2022

I have shared this news with my patients and local provider community and now I think it is time to share it with you all as well.

There is both excitement and grief in this news.

As you may know, I started my Master of Public Health degree in March of 2022 in order to deepen my knowledge, skills, and ability to address systems level issues in public health, particularly how it relates to eating disorders and weight stigma.

I was recently offered an opportunity to join the Washington State Department of Health as a Senior Policy Advisor. This is a position that aligns with my values and will allow me to do hands-on, systems level work in Washington. This is my excitement.

While this is a wonderful opportunity that I have accepted, it also means that my private practice patient load will have to decrease significantly. This is my grief.

I will officially transition into this new role on November 16th. ::deep breaths::

I want to acknowledge a few of the people who have been massive supporters in these recent transitions. I am eternally grateful and would not be here without you! Thank you .msrd .rd @ fattymph 💗

06/24/2022

with .repost
・・・
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, allowing states to ban abortion, taking away millions of people’s rights to make decisions about their bodies and their healthcare. What are the health impacts of restricting access to abortion? UW School of Public Health researchers Taylor Riley, Daniel Enquobahrie & Aaron Katz share the inequitable effects as well as resources for individuals and people in public health spaces. See their full interview at bit.ly/3mTyJ3b or link in bio.

05/17/2022

"For over 60 years, doctors and researchers have likely harmed and killed millions of fat people through their insistence on social and scientific mandates for thinness and that ob*sity is a disease requiring intervention, despite the existence of evidence that says this is wrong."

Excerpt from Mikey Mercedes recent article in the Fat Issue of Pipe Wrench Mag:

"Providers didn’t all miss the day where med students were taught not to be cruel to fat people. Medical fatphobia is medicine’s status quo."

05/17/2022

Check out Ragen Chastain - Public Page resources on emergency contraception for fat folks!

This is the Weight and Healthcare newsletter! If you like what you are reading, please consider subscribing and/or sharing to help support additional writing! With the leaked draft of the Supreme Court opinion suggesting that they will be attacking reproductive freedom, there has been a great deal o...

04/27/2022

Access to diagnosis is so important and grateful is helping to close this access gap! Spread the word.

with
・・・
The official press release announcing our new Clinical Assessment Program is live! Read it at the link in our bio.

Quotes from Graphics:
“Far too many people—especially those with marginalized identities—can’t access eating disorder treatment due systemic barriers. Millions of people fall through the cracks of a mental healthcare system that was not designed for us. This program will finally offer free assessments and referrals for these people who need and deserve care who might not otherwise be able to access it.”
- Safiya McHale, LMSW, Clinical Assessment Program Manager, Project HEAL

"We are thrilled to launch this critically-needed program to address the misdiagnosis and inadequate screenings currently seen in the industry. We have tragically seen first hand how many people struggle with disordered eating but don’t understand their diagnosis or have any idea what treatment options are appropriate and available.”
- Ashlee Knight, Sr. Program Director, Project HEAL

03/25/2022

with
・・・
This post is being published with the help of a third party. The following caption is from Mikey:

I would like for the comments section of this post to be a space where fat people who do or create things can advertise themselves.

If you are thin, you may not comment unless you’re replying to connect with a fat person who has already commented.

People who violate these boundaries on my comments section will be blocked. No exceptions.

If you are a thin person who would like to start a discussion about this post on your own page, feel free to screengrab it and repost or use a reposting service. No, I am not okay with you restating what I wrote on your own specific branding. Either use the graphics I made or don’t post about this. No exceptions.

Nothing listed in these slides is new or original or hasn’t been said by someone at some point. These are the same things we’ve been screaming for “allies” to do since forever. Either do them or just get the f**k out. Enough is enough.

03/20/2022

The venn diagram is a circle.

, , the thin white women “allies” of , and all have a history and a present of engaging in harmful behavior.

*They* are all examples of harmful, manipulative, and oppressive systems in action on the institutional, community, and individual level.

*But it is important to note that the “they” is also “we” and “us” and “I”*

And while I am still sorting all this out… here’s some of my reflections so far.

In talking this through with others in my community and in reflecting more personally as each new rapid response arises, it feels more and more clear that folks with more privileged identities work fast, organize, and respond when they have nothing to lose in their advocacy efforts.

Many multi-privileged folks in the HAES community have already divested from AND. There is little professional risk in not being a member or in speaking out against the harmful actions of the organization.

The response to ANDs anti-fat guidelines was rapid and coordinated. As it should be.

The response to IAEDP has been different. Many still feel like the best approach to addressing the racisim, anti-fat bias, and transphobia within the organization is change from within. This belief remains strong despite a long history that shows that approach fails with IAEDP and other similar organizations.

Speaking out against one of the two dominant professional organizations in the eating disorder care community that gatekeeps the professional certification that “gives authority” within eating disorder care is a risk. It’s also a financial risk to throw away all the money folks have spent ($8k or more) on the certification by either stopping the pursuit of it or by not renewing it.

There has been no ground swell of coordinated efforts to push back on IAEDP across the HAES or ED community. People are not ready to accept this risk. It’s too much to lose and our allyship does not extend to that degree of personal risk. This is not as it should be.

The response of multi-privileged folks in HAES and ED communities to reports of harm from Lindo Bacon has been… interesting. It has felt like a mixture of responses to AND and IAEDP.

People acknowledge the harm and recognize the unacceptable behavior and most are sharing that out loud. But the response was still one of surprise and little to no organizing to support the call for accountability more tangibly. Folks were waiting to be told what to do or choosing to be quite as opposed to vocal.

Part of this waiting seems like it is because we missed the parts of the message that reminded us that this is bigger than Lindo. We preferred to separate ourselves and our own pattern of harm from the pattern of Lindo. Not ready to take the risk of seeing Lindo’s actions in us and coming to terms with how this is ultimately not just a Lindo problem, but an us problem - a community problem that requires community action and change. People are not ready to accept the risk of being wrong, of doing harm, and of staying in the work and in community to make amends and do better. This is not as it should be.

But “they” are “we” and “us” and “I”.

We can’t address the harms of individuals, of communities, and of institutions without also addressing the harms of us and of I.

We have to do this work together and we have to do this work at all levels (individual, community, institutional). We have to stay in this and in community and not distance ourselves. We have to be accountable to our role in this and engage in actions to repair and change.

and thought me this.msrd and .rd taught me this
and taught me this.

And I’m still learning this. I always will be.

What are you learning? How are you acting? How are you engaging your community towards change?