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 the day before her birthday 6:00 Naming the magical thinking 8:00 What she really wanted wasn't thinness. It was privilege. 11:30 Why a smaller body never changed how she felt about her body 15:00 "What if I'm wrong?" Checking in with her convictions 19:00 How do you define health? 19:30 The three things that actually improved her health 26:00 Movement and not being good at things 28:00 How do I grieve? Three places to start 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 *Bri's How to Rewrite Your Body Image Story eBook: https://www.bodyimagewithbri.com/offers/quLcwv48/checkout

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 and allow people to try items in person.    TIMESTAMPS 08:07 Plus Size Myths 10:00 Clothing Desert Reality 11:02 How Viva Voce Works 13:28 Travel and Inaccessibility 20:16 Ethics Versus Fast Fashion 23:06 Buy Less Buy Better 24:23 The 80 20 Closet Rule 25:03 Viva Voce Mission 26:04 Pop Ups Across Cities 28:44 Brand Picks 36:15 How To Shop Viva Voce EPISODE RESOURCES: Episode 85. Unflattering: Clothing Grief with Dacy Gillespie   WANT MORE OF KATE AND VIVA VOCE? https://vivavoce.live/ https://www.instagram.com/vivavoce.live/    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 *Bri's How to Rewrite Your Body Image Story eBook: https://www.bodyimagewithbri.com/offers/quLcwv48/checkout

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 emphasizes that autonomy over body change remains personal. She explains how true relief came through mindset work: letting go of the thin ideal, rebuilding self-esteem, healing relationships with food and movement, seeking weight-neutral medical care, and finding meaning, joy, and community while living fully in the body she has. 03:23 Why I Chose Surgery 07:19 Dysmorphia After Weight Loss 10:43 Complications And Shame 12:55 Looking Back From 2026 14:13 GLP1 And Long Term Doubts 14:58 What I Was Never Told 17:09 My Healing Without Weight Loss 22:14 Ten Steps To Acceptance 28:24 Living Fully Now 31:03 Finding Joy In This Body 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 *Bri's How to Rewrite Your Body Image Story E-Book

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 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  

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, challenges the idea of "bad body image" as an internal fire alarm, and walks through curiosity, critical self-talk, triggers, "sexy permission," validating needs and capacity, embracing pleasure and living now, and realigning to values to bridge the head-to-heart disconnect.    02:16 Why Steps Matter 05:15 Three Key Premises 08:41 Step One Get Curious 12:02 Step Two Reassess Talk 13:47 Step Three Find Triggers 15:22 Step Four Sexy Permission 19:44 Step Five Validate Needs 23:13 Step Six Embrace Joy 27:52 Step Seven Values Alignment 29:19 Body Trust and Wrap Up   EPISODE RESOURCES Get your ebook "How To Rewrite Your Body Image Story" at http://bodyimagewithbri.com/offers/quLcwv48/checkout  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