Fat is a description not a disease with writer, author, activist Ragen Chastain

I feel like I scored big to have Ragen Chastain on the podcast. She is a deep dive researcher, writer, speaker and font of information on fatness and medicine, sports, fitness and society. If you’ve thought it, she's written about it. I can't recommend her newsletter enough. I nearly cancelled our interview so I could take more time to collect my thoughts. Everything I want to talk about, she's there (including her two marathons and champion Dance career- time to NERD OUT ON DANCE AND RUNNING!). It feels like we said so much and only scratched the surface of these important topics: making running and athletics ACTUALLY inclusive, GLP drugs like Ozempic and the sc-fi seemingly magic pill world we're now living in, what does it mean when being a Fat person is classified as a 'lifelong' disease, and so much more. I hope to have Ragen back, if only to keep nerding-out about running and dance. You can find Ragen, Speaker, Writer, Researcher, Board Certified Patient Advocate and her work on IG, monthly Workshops, newsletter here.She is also the Co-author of HAES Health Sheets, Weight-Neutral Healthcare Guidesand does speaking engagements at sizedforsuccess.com as well as being a Fellow at Campaign for Size FreedomHer current Study is Experiences of Weight Stigma and Iatrogenic Harm in the Highest Weight Patients Ragen mentioned several 'back of the pack' running influencers and fat activists: Ilya Parker - Decolonizing Fitness Mirna Valerio - The Mirnavator Martinus Evans - 300 pounds and runningI talked up my Virtual Run Club for being actually beginner/inclusive. And a piece I wrote on fitness being a hobby. Maybe you do eat too much and move too little… so what? And bungled the joke of this very funny clip from Eastbound DownIf you liked this episode please rate review and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. This is a reader supported creative enterprise. Your support makes it possible for me to pay my producer and keep making time to write and share these conversations. Please consider upgrading to paid. Thank you! Work with me in other ways ⬇️ I teach beginner strength and stability via Kettlebells and Pilates as well as several restorative classes and workshops including Anti-Anxiety Cardio and Fascia Release™ . All my programs are designed to gently shift our bodies into balance without the shame or ‘sweat is fat crying’ mentality that infects so much of mainstream fitness. I hope you can find something here that supports you. This February enrollment opens for my once-a-year Coaching Program Nourish Yourself. NY is a seven-week anti-diet coaching program that aims to equip you with the information you need to empower yourself around food and finally let go of anxiety and overwhelm. Get the information and tools you need to make the choices that work for you, your life and your body. FULL INFO HERE. Nourish features Live Virtual one-to-one sessions with Cadence and a LIVE VIRTUAL GROUP COOKING CLASS with former Bon Appetit food and recipe writer (and soon to be cookbook author) Christina Chaey. Sign up for the waitlist here to be first on enrollment. You can also find plenty of free support on my IG HERE I’ve also written about food and nourishment in these posts: Literally Everyone Else Lives on Carbs Guacamole Fulfillment and 7 Decades of Self Denial Busy Body Podcast is produced by Brad Parsons at Train Sound StudioMusic is written by Robert Bryn, performed by the Wild YaksIllustrations and design by Jackie Mendez at Aesthetics_Frames and Me! Get full access to After Class with Cadence at cadencedubusbrooklynstrength.substack.com/subscribe