The Body Grievers® Club
Welcome to the 100th episode of the Body Image with Bri podcast! In this special episode, Bri talks about why weight loss can’t solve all of your problems. She shares how a sad moment the day before her birthday revealed the magical thinking she still falls into, and how it connects to the belief that a smaller body would fix everything. Bri gets into body image whack-a-mole, why what she wanted was never really thinness but privilege, the three things that improved her health without weight loss, and where to start when you don’t know how to grieve. Timestamps: 0:30 Sitting in the suck...
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In this episode of The Body GrieversⓇ Club, Bri interviews Kate Zigrang, founder of Viva Voce, a size-inclusive marketplace curating ethical, sustainable, quality brands to make inclusive shopping easier and more joyful. Kate and Bri discuss how anti-fat bias drives the fashion industry’s lack of extended sizing despite most U.S. women wearing above size 14/16 and the purchasing power of plus-size consumers, plus myths about cost, style, and demand. They explore problems like inconsistent sizing, limited in-store access, and the stress of trying clothes on, and how pop-ups create community...
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In this episode of The Body GrieversⓇ Club, Bri shares why she regrets having bariatric surgery, reflecting on undergoing lap band surgery at 19 in 2010 after years of failed weight-loss attempts and undiagnosed Hashimoto’s, PCOS, and thyroid issues. She describes how the promised relief and confidence never arrived, how complications mimicked eating-disorder behaviors, and how shame and fear of regain intensified alongside body dysmorphia. Bri discusses how long-term outcomes and the later obsolescence of lap band surgery shape her skepticism about newer weight-loss “solutions,” and...
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In this episode of The Body GrieversⓇ Club, Bri talks with non-diet nutritionist and cognitive behavioral coach Stephanie Dodier about how many people move from rejecting diet culture into a new “health” identity that still moralizes food as healthy/unhealthy, keeping them stuck in food noise, shame, restriction, and weight cycling. Stephanie explains her “Beyond the Food” methodology, using coaching questions to unpack thoughts, beliefs, and identity, and emphasizes autonomy, self-trust, and “having your own back” through self-compassion and self-care. They discuss grief as a...
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In this episode of The Body GrieversⓇ Club, Bri reframes body trust as secure attachment to the body and explains that body grief is unavoidable because bodies change, get sick, and experience discomfort and loss. She shares a seven-step, trauma-informed acronym—GRIEVER—as a tangible roadmap for shifting body image work from cognitive fixes to somatic practice, emphasizing that there’s no final “arrival,” only learning to tolerate and manage distress safely. Using the example of trying on clothes that don’t fit, she distinguishes physical discomfort from the emotional story,...
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In this episode of The Body GrieversⓇ Club, Bri talks with registered dietician and private practice founder Jenna Werner about body grief, body image, and self-trust after Jenna’s recent breast cancer diagnosis. Jenna shares how a baseline mammogram required before a planned breast augmentation revealed stage zero DCIS that couldn’t be felt, leading to a double mastectomy, reconstruction with expanders, lymph node testing, and ongoing discussions about estrogen-suppressing medication due to recurrence risk. She describes moving through the stages of grief, the loss of feeling...
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In this episode of The Body Grievers® Club, Bri is joined by Dr. Danica Harris, a counseling psychologist turned somatic experiencing practitioner and co-owner of a trauma-informed group therapy practice, to explore how Pilates can support body-based healing, strength, and mobility. They discuss rebuilding a relationship with movement after burnout, chronic pain, hypermobility, and the pandemic, including grief around changing body size, lost privilege, and internalized ableism. Bri and Danica encourage listeners to get curious about what their body needs today—even if it’s rest. ...
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In this episode of The Body GrieversⓇ Club, Bri interviews body image coach and "Body Neutral" author Jessi Kneeland about why body positivity and self-love often feel inaccessible and ignore social context, and how body neutrality focuses on moral neutrality by stripping false, inflated meaning from appearance. Using examples like having a zit, they discuss how body shame spirals come from learned beliefs about worth and failure, and how “health” is frequently used as a socially acceptable cover for body hatred, disordered eating, and orthorexic behaviors. They explore the head-to-heart...
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In this episode of The Body Grievers® Club, Bri challenges the idea that confidence comes simply from “doing the thing,” arguing that without thought awareness and body connection, change won’t stick. She reframes confidence as self-assurance: not the absence of discomfort. Brie shares her history with dieting, bariatric surgery at 19, and the ongoing body image pain that persisted even at a smaller size, leading to a 2015 breaking point to start living her life. She discusses dating fears, fetishization, and values alignment. 03:59 Health And Weight Loss Trap 05:18 Bariatric...
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In this episode of The Body GrieversⓇ Club, Bri interviews Ashantis Jones, a counselor and ASM-certified personal trainer, about healing body image and movement through an intersectional, weight-inclusive lens. Ashantis shares how her eating disorder recovery, later neurodivergence diagnoses (ADHD/autism traits and ARFID), and experience with fibromyalgia shaped her approach to care, emphasizing that diagnoses can be useful but aren’t always required to provide support. They discuss body positivity as a social justice movement, how privilege and systemic oppression—including racism,...
info_outlineIn this episode of The Body GrieversⓇ Club, Bri talks with non-diet nutritionist and cognitive behavioral coach Stephanie Dodier about how many people move from rejecting diet culture into a new “health” identity that still moralizes food as healthy/unhealthy, keeping them stuck in food noise, shame, restriction, and weight cycling. Stephanie explains her “Beyond the Food” methodology, using coaching questions to unpack thoughts, beliefs, and identity, and emphasizes autonomy, self-trust, and “having your own back” through self-compassion and self-care. They discuss grief as a necessary part of radical body acceptance, health diversity, and acceptance in chronic pain, alongside practical movement recovery through lower-dose, supportive choices. The conversation also covers GLP-1s, bariatric surgery, informed consent, weight stigma in medical care, and navigating online fatphobia as fat creators.
02:33 CBT vs Coaching Explained
04:04 Unpacking Food Noise
11:54 Self Trust Over Food Rules
18:06 Health Diversity and Chronic Pain
22:23 GLP 1 Decisions and Informed Consent
28:25 Weight Stigma In Healthcare
33:13 Healing Movement Relationship
34:41 Movement And Chronic Pain
40:19 Fat Entrepreneurship Online
43:51 Handling Hate And Shame
46:48 Preparing For Doctor Visits
EPISODE RESOURCES:
“Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle” by Amelia Nagoski
Weight Loss and Informed Consent Newsletter by Ragen Chastain
WANT MORE OF STEPHANIE?
It’s Beyond The Food Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/its-beyond-the-food-non-diet-health-coaching/id1172102796
Non-Diet Assessment Tool for Health Practitioners
Episode 380: Body Grief & Liberation
WANT MORE OF BRI?
*Instagram: @bodyimagewithbri
*Website: https://bodyimagewithbri.com/
*Bri’s Free Resource: 7-Step Guide to Shift Body Grief to Radical Body Acceptance
https://www.bodyimagewithbri.com/seven-steps