#121: From Conforming to Belonging: Your Body is Not Your Forever Project with Savala Nolan

Jun 17

On this incredible episode from October of 2023, Savala Nolan joined us on the Full Plate podcast to talk about belonging versus conforming, understanding the body as our home, and how to walk away from a lifetime of disordered eating.

When it was initially released, I mentioned that I had actually recorded this conversation while I was on my August hiatus from the pod last summer, and that the episode hit me even harder the second time I heard it. Almost a year later, and I can say that it is hitting me just as hard this time around.

Savala is warm, funny, kind, smart as hell, and she will blow your mind open when she explains really hard, complex, and nuanced topics. I’m smiling remembering how much I felt so at home speaking with her, and I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did.

Listen to hear more about…

Growing up with many dualities of race, body size, and class
Being put on a diet starting at age 4
Rebelling and conforming
Our mothers, their diets, and our dieting
The bond of dieting
Our body as our home
Unlearning the language of diet culture
Quitting diets not being a choice for some
The body is inescapable
The cake we all need to have, and eat too

About Savala:

Savala Nolan is the author of the critically acclaimed Don't Let It Get You Down: Essays on Race Gender and the Body. Her writing has been featured in Vogue, The New York Times Book Review, NPR, Time, Harper’s Magazine, and more. She holds a law degree from the University of California at Berkeley, where she lectures on identity and law and directs the Thelton E. Henderson Center for Social Justice. Her second essay collection, Good Woman, is forthcoming from HarperCollins.

Learn more at https://linktr.ee/savalanolan and https://savalanolan.com/

Support the show on Patreon: Enjoying this podcast? Please support the show on Patreon for bonus episodes, community engagement, and access to "Ask Abbie" at Patreon.com/fullplate

Join the Full Plate Patreon right here!

Group program:

Looking for more support and concrete steps to take to heal your relationship with food and your body? Apply for Abbie's next 10-week group program: https://www.abbieattwoodwellness.com/group-coaching

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