Debra Benfield, CEDRD, RYT

01/12/2026

A question from a recent book talk stayed with me.

Quietly, she stood and asked “How can I support my mother and grandmother who are mired in anti-aging and diet culture?”

As a first-time author just stepping into this book talk thing, I didn’t anticipate how deeply the questions and stories shared during signing would move me, or how much grief, love, and longing would live inside them.

I wrote about what it means to walk toward body liberation while loving those who raised us.

About choosing a different way without abandoning the people we love.

And the quiet sadness of realizing our healing doesn’t travel backward in time.

If this lives in you too, I hope you’ll check it out.

Link in bio to the full post-

https://open.substack.com/pub/debrabenfield/p/the-book-talk-question-i-carried?r=16vgx&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=overlay

And if you read it, I’d love to know what it stirred in you.

01/07/2026

All the tabs, all the feels!

They tell you that when your book comes out right before the holidays, you should wait to plan events.
Let the season pass.
Let January arrive.

So this week?
This feels like the true beginning of the Unapologetic Aging book launch.

These tabs mark the places I’ll be reading from, lingering, and talking about-together, with you.

📍Tonight, 1/7 at 6:30 in Winston-Salem, NC

📍Friday, 1/9 at 6:00 in Raleigh, NC

📍Asheville- coming soon (date TBD)

If you’re part of a bookstore, community space, or book club, and you’re interested in hosting a conversation about aging, body image, and body liberation (virtually or IRL), I’d love to hear from you.

Let’s keep this conversation going.

I’m so glad you’re here!

So much Love,
Deb💕

01/05/2026

What if 2026 became the year we stopped apologizing for our aging bodies?

Not “aging gracefully.”

Not trying harder to erase change.

But living in partnership with our bodies, as they are.

After watching Come See Me in the Good Light and hearing Andrea Gibson say,
“We will all say goodbye to our bodies,”
I couldn’t stop thinking about this question:
How do we want our relationship with our bodies to go, knowing we will one day say goodbye?

I’m imagining a different cultural story.

One where Unapologetic Aging is the new black,
where nourishment replaces control,
rest replaces earning,
and presence replaces perfection.

I wrote more about what this could look like, and what it would take, in today’s Substack.
✨ Link to read the full post

https://open.substack.com/pub/debrabenfield/p/what-if-we-made-unapologetic-aging?r=16vgx&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=overlay

📘 And if this resonates and you want more, my book Unapologetic Aging: How to Mend and Nourish Your Relationship with Your Body is available wherever books are sold.

And if you’ve read my book and it has been meaningful to you, reviews help others find their way here too.

Let’s make 2026 different.
Together. 🖤

I’m so glad you’re here!

Much love,
Deb

01/01/2026

A New Year Invitation

As the new year begins, I’m noticing how differently we’re each meeting it.

Some with intentions, some with tenderness, some with a deep exhale rather than a list of resolutions.

If you’ve written a recent post about your New Year’s Wishes for your body, your work, your life, or your community, I’d love for you to share it here.

👇🏼Please drop it in the comments and add a sentence about what called you to write it.

♥️as you read what others share, let’s lift one another up with a like, a reply or sharing someone’s work so it reaches a wider circle.

Let’s gather a constellation of hopes, intentions, questions and reflections.

No “New Year, New You” required.

Thank you for being here and Peaceful New Year wishes!

✌🏼Deb

12/29/2025

12/23/2025

The holidays can be loud and a time of noisy body shame.

I created a gentle invitation to take five minutes and offer your body one more drop of kindness.

No fixing.
No trying to get it right.
Just a soft pause to ground, connect, and let your nervous system and body criticism settle.

I’ve shared this practice over on my Substack, and made it free for everyone.

And if this hits the spot, my book Unapologetic Aging: How to Mend and Nourish Your Relationship with Your Body, holds many practices like this offered simply as companions, wherever you might need them.

Link to my Substack and my book are in my bio.

Joy, Peace and much Love,
Deb

12/22/2025

Wow, what a week it has been.

Seeing Unapologetic Aging in your hands, reading your reviews, and watching this book move out into the world felt deeply moving and a little surreal.

This book exists because of community.

Thank you for showing up, sharing, and helping challenge ageism and diet culture in ways both big and small.

If you’re local, I would love to see you. Book talks are coming soon-

📍Winston-Salem, NC on January 7th at 6:30

📍Raleigh, NC on January 9th at 6:00

📍Asheville, NC date and time TBD

And if you’ve started or read the book, reviews on
Amazon
storygraph
make a real difference.

Looking ahead to 2026, I’d love to keep gathering around this work.

If you’re interested in hosting a book event, or inviting me to join your book club virtually, drop a comment or send a DM.

More details in my post on . Links in my bio

Joy, Peace and so much gratitude,
Deb

12/22/2025

May your light shine ever brighter.

12/17/2025

What if body liberation is the legacy we leave?

Not a smaller body.
Not a body that passes for younger.
Not a life spent managing, fixing, or apologizing for our imperfect, and very human, body.

The final chapter of my book Unapologetic Aging is an invitation to imagine something different:
A legacy where our children, grandchildren, clients, and communities inherit less body shame, less fear, and more permission to live fully and with pleasure in their bodies as they age.

Every time we question diet culture.
Every time we soften toward our changing bodies.
Every time we choose satisfying nourishment,
rest, and respecting our bodies over punishing-
We interrupt a lineage of body control and containment.

That matters and has an impact more than you realize.

If this message resonates, I hope you’ll read the book, share it with those in your lineage and community, and help these ideas ripple out and take root.

Link to order is in my bio.

As always, thank you for being here.
Love,
Deb💕

12/17/2025

In "Unapologetic Aging," registered dietitian nutritionist Deb Benfield explores how diet and wellness culture is deeply entangled with anti-aging culture.