Thrive At Any Weight

A psychotherapist of 30 years, Nancy Ellis-Ordway explains how she helps people get off the weight loss roller coaster, make peace with food and their bodies, and improve their health to find happiness and a better quality of life. Widespread publicity about "the war on obesity" has led to pervasive anxiety, distress, and shame about eating, says psychotherapist Nancy Ellis-Ordway. Many people feel at war with their bodies rather than at home, in large part because of weight stigma and the unrelenting pursuit of thinness in America. This book offers a detailed approach for change, with a particular focus on "the message we give ourselves" when we eat, exercise, and interact with other people. This process incorporates operating from an internal locus of control as a way to improve self-esteem. Elllis-Ordway, in contrast to the "diet mentality" that is full of restrictions, first has clients focus on building self-esteem and growing a desire for self-care. She teaches clients to develop an ability to "listen to their own bodies" for guidance to eat for physical and mental health. The better we listen to and fulfill our body's needs, she explains, the better our self-esteem and health becomes, and the more we believe we are "worth it" and are able to meet our objectives.

Nancy Ellis-Ordway, PhD, LCSW (she/her) is a psychotherapist with more than 35 years' experience, specializing in treating eating disorders, body image issues, stress, anxiety, depression, and relationship issues. She has a private practice in Jefferson City, MO.In addition to a master of social work degree from Washington University and a PhD in health education and promotion from the University of Missouri, she completed the Advanced Psychodynamic Psychotherapy training program at the St. Louise Psychoanalytic Institute.She has written chapters for five books and authored Thrive At Any Weight: Eating to Nourish Body, Soul, and Self-Esteem (2019). She is the coeditor of Weight Bias in Health Education: Critical Perspectives for Pedagogy and Practice (2021) and the coauthor of "Weight Stigma as a Violation of the NASW Code of Ethics: A Call to Action" in The Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics (2022).

Foreword by Harriet Brown Preface Chapter 1 Where Are We, and How Did We Get Here? Chapter 2 The Science of Weight and Health Chapter 3 Finding Peace Chapter 4 Eating 2.0: Upgrading Your Relationship with Food Chapter 5 Healing the Self-Hate Injuries, Reclaiming Body Joy Chapter 6 Dealing with the World: Weight Stigma, Part 1 Chapter 7 Social Justice: Weight Stigma, Part 2 Chapter 8 Going to the Doctor (and Other Adventures in Medical Care) Chapter 9 But What about the Children? Chapter 10 What Now? Chapter 11 Final Thoughts Notes Bibliography Index