The Full Plate Podcast with Abbie Attwood, MS

How do kids learn about bodies and food before anyone even talks about it? Zoë Bisbing, psychotherapist and eating disorder specialist, joins me to unpack the invisible lessons our kids absorb—and how parents can respond to “hard body moments” without shame or overcorrection.
We talk about:
* Zoë’s journey from inpatient eating disorder treatment to prevention work—and how becoming a parent reshaped her lens.
* What kids are really learning about bodies, food, and morality.
* How to respond when a child expresses body distress.
* Why tolerating “body grief” builds resilience and reduces eating disorder risk.
* Why shutting down “I feel fat” with reassurance can accidentally close the door to connection.
* What to actually say when your child brings you a hard body moment.
* How “fix-it” energy can communicate fear—and what it looks like to tolerate discomfort instead.
* Why prevention isn’t about perfection, but about creating an emotional climate where kids aren’t alone in their pain.
* The surprisingly joyful role of simple pleasures—like toaster strudels—in fostering flexible eating.
This episode isn't just for parents. We were all children once, impacted by diet culture in our family and beyond. So this is for anyone who wants to create a home where bodies and food are safe, not shameful.
Support the show: Enjoying this podcast? Please support the show on Substack for bonus episodes, community engagement, and access to "Ask Abbie" at abbieattwoodwellness.substack.com/subscribe
 
Apply for Abbie’s Group Membership:
Already been at this anti-diet culture thing for a while, but want community and continued learning? Apply for Abbie's monthly membership: https://www.abbieattwoodwellness.com/circle-monthly-group
Find the show on Instagram: @fullplate.podcast
Find Abbie on Instagram: @abbieattwoodwellness
For more from Zoë:
https://www.instagram.com/mybodypositivehome/
https://www.bodypositivehome.com/about
https://bodypositivehome.substack.com/

Podcast Cover Photography by Anya McInroy
Podcast Editing by Brian Walters
This podcast is ad-free and support comes from your support on Substack. Subscribe HERE.


This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit abbieattwoodwellness.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit abbieattwoodwellness.substack.com

Zoë Rom is a journalist, elite runner, and advocate for nuanced storytelling in sports media. Kylee Van Horn is a dietitian working directly with athletes. They join me to share their insights on how diet culture and running culture intersect. We explore nutrition myths, challenge unrealistic body ideals, and talk about what it means for athletes to foster a healthier, science-backed relationship with movement and food.
Tune in for more on:
* How diet culture shows up in running and endurance sports
* The role of media in reinforcing harmful body standards for athletes
* Why nutrition myths—especially around carbohydrates—are so persistent
* The particular brand of disordered eating in runners
* How the attention economy rewards extremes over nuance
* The pressure athletes face with appearance and body composition
* Why humor is such a powerful part of recovery and healing
* What it means to ask deeper questions about our beliefs around food, health, and performance
* The importance of representing diverse bodies in athletics
I hope you enjoy this one! It’s full of stories, science, and a little humor along the way—including why, yes, pizza really is the hero we all deserve.
Support the show: Enjoying this podcast? Please support the show on Substack for bonus episodes, community engagement, and access to "Ask Abbie" at abbieattwoodwellness.substack.com/subscribe
 
Apply for Abbie’s Group Membership:
Already been at this anti-diet culture thing for a while, but want community and continued learning? Apply for Abbie's monthly membership: https://www.abbieattwoodwellness.com/circle-monthly-group
 
Social media:
Find the show on Instagram: @fullplate.podcast
Find Abbie on Instagram: @abbieattwoodwellness
Find Zoë and Kylee: https://www.yourdietsuckspodcast.com/
 
Podcast Cover Photography by Anya McInroy
Podcast Editing by Brian Walters
This podcast is ad-free and support comes from your support on Substack. Subscribe HERE.

Therapists Ashley Wilfore and Sarah Louer know what it's like to have dieting and body shame passed down to you like a family heirloom. We discuss what it means to experience intergenerational trauma, how disordered eating and body hatred get inherited and perpetuated through family values and behaviors, and what it's like to grow up surrounded by diet culture in your home. Ashley and Sarah and speak with honesty, compassion, and humor about their experiences letting go of the pursuit of thinness, and trying to raise their own children while being cycle-breakers.
Tune in to hear more about:
- What’s on their plates (hint: foods to eat when you're sick, and an ode to eggplant...)
- A clinical and personal definition of “intergenerational trauma”
- Being impacted by generational passing down of dieting and body shame
- How the idea that starving yourself is power has been believed by their family members who were otherwise independent-minded and strong 
- Specific moments and vivid memories from childhood that form beliefs today
- Overhearing the women they looked up to talking about their own bodies
- The moments they realized they couldn’t keep dieting and over-exercising 
- The intentional decisions they made as mothers when it comes to food and body talk
- How they handle their parents' anti-fat bias today

Support the show: Enjoying this podcast? Please support the show on Substack for bonus episodes, community engagement, and access to "Ask Abbie" at abbieattwoodwellness.substack.com/subscribe
 
Apply for Abbie’s Group Membership:
Already been at this anti-diet culture thing for a while, but want community and continued learning? Apply for Abbie's monthly membership: https://www.abbieattwoodwellness.com/circle-monthly-group
Social media:
Find the show on Instagram: @fullplate.podcast
Find Abbie on Instagram: @abbieattwoodwellness 
Podcast Cover Photography by Anya McInroy
Podcast Editing by Brian Walters
This podcast is ad-free and support comes from your support on Substack. Subscribe HERE.
More About Ashley:
Ashley is a wife, a mom of two boys and a clinician. She has her master's in science in forensic psychology and is working on her second advanced degree in social work. She specializes in working with people with IDD and complex needs, but really enjoys talking and working with people who have experienced family trauma and supporting others to break out of social norms.
More About Sarah:
Sarah is a 54-year-old mother of four living in Vermont, working in New York. She's a licensed clinical social worker, an avid traveler, foodie, and a recovering disorder dieter. She's passionate about human rights for all, and a rectal cancer survivor. She loves Costa Rica, the ocean, and craft cocktails.


This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit abbieattwoodwellness.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit abbieattwoodwellness.substack.com

Abbie sits down with Meg Bowman, a nutritionist who works at the intersection of mental health, trauma, and nutrition, to explore how our lived experiences—especially chronic illness and trauma—shape our relationship with food and our bodies.
Meg shares her own story of being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, how it led her to a career change from PR to nutrition, and what she’s learned from working with clients who live with trauma, mental health conditions, and digestive issues. This is a conversation that unpacks the deeply human side of nourishment—why it’s not just about what we eat, but about how safe we feel while eating.
More of what you’ll hear:
* How trauma and chronic stress affect digestion and inflammation
* Why nervous system regulation is an essential (and underrated) part of nutrition
* The difference between physical and psychological restriction
* How self-blame and shame can trigger survival responses in the body (and make eating so hard!)
* The illusion of control that dieting and food rules can offer—and why it’s really about safety
* What “messages of safety” look like in real life (hint: regular, balanced meals count!)
* Why so many primary care visits are actually related to stress and trauma
* How to approach food when living with chronic illness without falling into restriction
Meg also shares her refreshing, realistic take on healing—one that doesn’t romanticize “perfect eating,” but instead honors the nervous system, lived experience, and the body’s need for both nourishment and compassion.
More about Meg and her book: https://www.megbowmannutrition.com/body-on-trauma-book
Support the show: Enjoying this podcast? Please support the show on Substack for bonus episodes, community engagement, and access to "Ask Abbie" at abbieattwoodwellness.substack.com/subscribe
 
Apply for Abbie’s Group Membership:
Already been at this anti-diet culture thing for a while, but want community and continued learning? Apply for Abbie's monthly membership: https://www.abbieattwoodwellness.com/circle-monthly-group
 
Social media:
Find the show on Instagram: @fullplate.podcast
Find Abbie on Instagram: @abbieattwoodwellness
 
Podcast Cover Photography by Anya McInroy
Podcast Editing by Brian Walters
This podcast is ad-free and support comes from your support on Substack. Subscribe HERE.

Abbie is joined by Christyna Johnson, a registered dietitian whose work sits at the intersection of nourishment and social justice (a perfect fit for Full Plate, as you all know).
They unpack the way systems have weaponized hunger. And why that matters so much at a time where extreme thinness is being celebrated, hunger suppression is being normalized, and health is feeling more like a performance than ever.
Tune in for more on:
* Hunger as a tool of control—historically, politically, and culturally* Growing up with limited food variety, dieting, and respectability politics* Diet culture as a cult (yes, it’s fascinating)* Why appetite suppression is being framed as “health”* GLP-1 medications, food noise, and informed consent* Epigenetics, famine, dieting, and intergenerational impact* The difference between the performance of health and actual well-being* Pleasure, nourishment, and why enjoying food matters* Why younger generations give us real reasons to hope
This episode is honest, funny, gentle, and deeply unsettling in the best way. It invites us to ask bigger questions:
Who benefits when we’re disconnected from our bodies? And what becomes possible when nourishment takes up less brain space—so we can look up and care for one another?
Make sure you’re following Christyna on Instagram. And check out her book, 100 Food Affirmations, right here.
Support the show: Enjoying this podcast? Please support the show on Substack for bonus episodes, community engagement, and access to "Ask Abbie" at abbieattwoodwellness.substack.com/subscribe
Apply for Abbie’s Group Membership:
Already been at this anti-diet culture thing for a while, but want community and continued learning? Apply for Abbie's monthly membership: https://www.abbieattwoodwellness.com/circle-monthly-group
Find the show on Instagram: @fullplate.podcastFind Abbie on Instagram: @abbieattwoodwellness
Podcast Cover Photography by Anya McInroy
Podcast Editing by Brian Walters
This podcast is ad-free and support comes from your support on Substack. Subscribe HERE.


This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit abbieattwoodwellness.substack.com/subscribe