Everywhere we go, we’re surrounded by diet culture, the cultural forces that cause us to feel bad about our bodies and want to shrink them into acceptability. Diet culture causes poor body image, encourages eating disorders and makes $71 billion in profit for the diet industry every year.
More and more often, people are pushing back against systems like these that arrange bodies in a hierarchy and call some of them “better” than others. Being anti-diet or recovering from dieting can be a lonely place, though, especially when everyone around you seems to still be jumping into every fad diet out there. Though diet culture encourages us to be vicious and toxic towards our own bodies and other people’s as well, it’s also an important bonding mechanism in our society. What are people supposed to do when they feel left out (or shut out) by diet talk?
As we move forward in our body acceptance journeys, support from people like us — along with experts to show us the way — is vital. Online support groups of every kind have sprung up to meet this need for community and support. (Many in-person and local support groups have as well, but due to the current COVID-19 situation, those have been put on hold.) These groups include:
- Health at Every Size (HAES) and intuitive eating groups
- Meal support groups for eating disorder recovery
- Anti-diet, body positive and fat positive book clubs
- Eating disorder recovery support groups and group therapy that welcome people in larger bodies
- Fat-friendly fashion, fitness and hobby groups
- Diet-free support groups for people with chronic illnesses and medical conditions
Here’s a list of over 95 support groups, programs, resources and courses that do not allow diet talk. Though each group listed is HAES-aligned, body positive and/or fat positive, I haven’t attended/scrutinized them all and am not responsible for their content.
Online HAES Support Groups & Programs
- All Bodies Are Good Bodies
- Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating Support Community from Michelle May
- Aqua Fatties!
- Bariatric/WLS – We Are A No “Diet” Zone, Using Intuitive & Mindful Eating!
- Big Fit Girl by Louise Green
- Body Image Remix from Summer Innanen
- Body Kindness Insiders from Rebecca Scritchfield
- Body Positive Diet-Free Peloton Group
- Caring for Our Fat Bodies
- Decoding Food and Body Talk Counseling Skills for RD’s and Coaches from Tracy Brown
- Diet-free Talk for Diabetes/Insulin Issues
- Ditch the Diet – Intuitive Eating and Body Image Support
- Fat Acceptance Cloud
- Fat and Fertile: Fertility support for fat people everywhere
- Fatlandia
- Fat Positive PCOS Resource & Support Group
- Fat-Positive Sleep Apnea
- Fat Positive Vegans
- Fat Professionals
- Fat Women of Color Collective from Ivy Felicia
- Find Peace with Your Body from The Real Life RD
- Fit Fatties
- Food Psych Podcast Listener Discussion
- Going Deeper Than Diets from Charis Stiles
- HAES Care for Diabetes from Rebecca Scritchfield and Glenys Oyston
- HAES sanity for Lipoedema & Chronic Conditions
- Health At Every Size® (HAES)
- Intuitive Eating & Body Image Healing for Latinxs from Carolina Guizar and Melissa Catherine
- Intuitive Eating Essentials Group Program from Erica Leon
- Intuitive Eating: Radical Acceptance
- Intuitive Eating Support For Fatties
- Intuitive Eating Support Group from Tracy Brown
- Knee Friendly Fitness, Please! With Cinder Ernst
- Lift the Shame: A Free Online Support Group for Mothers in Eating Disorder Recovery from Crystal Karges
- Manger en Harmonie from Marilou Morin
- Non-Clinical Peer Support from Nutriri
- Non-Dieting Diabetics
- Online HAES Eating Disorder Support Group from Aleta Storch and Lauren Donelson
- Peaceful Eating Community from Tracy Brown
- Peace is Possible from Dana Barron
- PELOTON HAES and Anti-Diet community
- Portland Metro HAES Resources & Support
- Radical Fat Acceptance: Small To Super
- Radical Thriving: Inclusive Health & Fitness
- Redefining Health & Wellness from Shohreh Davoodi
- Rock the Road Coaching Program from Ragen Chastain and Jeanette DePatie
- Saying “No!” to WLS!
- Sober(ish) Support Group for Women from Annina Schmid
- Support Group for PoC with Eating Problems from Nalgona Positivity Pride
- Support in Recovery from Center for Discovery
- The Lion’s Way from Stacey Olcott (or email [email protected])
- Unfxck Your Body Image: For Those In Eating Disorder Recovery from Stephanie Waitt
- Weight-Neutral PCOS/Endo Support
- Wise Bodies from Bee Stepp
- Women’s Intuitive Eating Support Group from Liz Bisarya-Hooghkirk
Online HAES Courses, Classes & Workshops
- Aerobics Classes from Fat Kid Dance Party
- Body Image Reboot from Alissa Rumsey
- Body Trust E-Course from Be Nourished
- Connecting In Body Liberation from Paula D. Atkinson
- Food and Body Ease from Nutriri
- Food Freedom, Body Peace from nutriFoodie
- Fundamentals for Individuals from The Body Positive
- Fundamentals for Treatment Providers from The Body Positive
- Intuitive Eating Group Coaching & Support from Satori Madrone
- Intuitive Eating Support Group from Alissa Rumsey
- Méthode Manger en Harmonie basée sur l’alimentation intuitive from Marilou Morin (Quebec French)
- Non-Diet Diabetes Management from Aleta Storch and Lauren Donelson
- Nourish Your Knowledge: A space for future dietitians, students and new health professionals to explore concepts of intuitive eating, Health at Every Size® and weight inclusive care
- Promoting Body Trust in Your Work from Be Nourished
- Self Love Workshop from Bevin Branlandingham
- The Anti-Diet Plan with Dr. Alexis Conason
- The Snack Pack from Shohreh Davoodi
Local, In-Person HAES Support Groups and Programs
Multi-Country
Fat Girls Hiking (Various locations across the US, Canada and UK)
Canada
Alberta
- Edmonton: 14 Week Body Trust Group
- Edmonton: Fatties of YEG
Ontario
- Ottawa: Intuitive Eating and Body Acceptance Fundamentals from Danielle Lithwick
- Toronto: Sober(ish) Support Group for Women
United States
- Unlikely Hikers (Various locations around the US)
- Hiking Club with Polly Hawver (accessible hiking, Pacific Northwest)
California
- Beverly Hills: Support in Recovery from Center for Discovery
- Del Mar: Support in Recovery from Center for Discovery
- Glendale: Support in Recovery from Center for Discovery
- Los Alamitos: Support in Recovery from Center for Discovery
- Newport Beach: Support in Recovery from Center for Discovery
- Pleasanton: Support in Recovery from Center for Discovery
- San Jose: Dieting Detox from Kathleen Bishop
- Southbay: Support in Recovery from Center for Discovery
- Woodland Hills: Support in Recovery from Center for Discovery
Connecticut
- Bridgewater: Support in Recovery from Center for Discovery
- Greenwich: Support in Recovery from Center for Discovery
- New Haven: Support in Recovery from Center for Discovery
Florida
- Orlando: Support in Recovery from Center for Discovery
- Palm Beach Gardens: Support in Recovery from Center for Discovery
- Tampa: Support in Recovery from Center for Discovery
Georgia
- Atlanta: Atlanta fatties!
- Atlanta: Interpersonal eating disorder recovery process groups from Jill Lewis, email [email protected]
Idaho
- Boise: Boise Rad Fat Collective from Amy Pence Brown
- Boise: RADCAMP for Teens from Amy Pence Brown
- Boise: Be Rad! Be You! A Body Image Workshop for Girls from Amy Pence Brown
- Boise: RADCAMP for Women from Amy Pence Brown
Illinois
Des Plaines: Support in Recovery from Center for Discovery
Maryland
Baltimore: Positive Bodies Baltimore Peer support group
Massachusetts
- Boston: No Diet Book Club
- Roslindale: Body Positive Support Group
Missouri
Kansas City: Kansas City Body Liberation
New Jersey
Paramus: Support in Recovery from Center for Discovery
New York
New York City: Creating A Connection with Lauren Fabrizio, email [email protected]
North Carolina
- Durham: Brave Bodies Lunch Bunch
- Durham: Circles of Support: Community and Education for Those Who Love Someone with an Eating Disorder
- Triad area: Triad Bopo Club
Ohio
Columbus: Fat Babes of Columbus
Oregon
- PNW: Pacific Northwest Fattitude (PNW Fatties), covering Seattle, Portland and British Columbia
- Portland: Big Fat Fun PDX
- Portland: Chub Hub PDX
- Portland: Faturday Hang
- Portland: Portland Metro HAES Resources & Support (online)
- Portland: Support in Recovery from Center for Discovery
Texas
- Austin: HAES Support Group from Kathy Kimbrough, email [email protected]
- Austin: Support in Recovery from Center for Discovery
- Dallas: Support in Recovery from Center for Discovery
- Houston: Support in Recovery from Center for Discovery
Virginia
- Alexandria: Support in Recovery from Center for Discovery
- Vienna: Nourished Mind at Peace Book Club
Washington State
- Bellevue: Support in Recovery from Center for Discovery
- PNW: Pacific Northwest Fattitude (PNW Fatties), covering Seattle, Portland and British Columbia
- Seattle: Body Liberation Book Club
- Seattle: SeaFATtlelites
- Tacoma: Liberating Jasper support groups (Building Body Trust, Attuned Eating, Eating Disorder Community Group, LGBTQ+ ED Community Group, Superfat Community Group, Calming the Inner Storm, Monthly Meal Planning, LGBTQ+ Youth Community Group, Provider Support Groups)
- Tacoma: Support in Recovery from Center for Discovery
This resource guide was created on land belonging to the Duwamish tribe. I support my current local tribal council monthly and you can too: www.realrentduwamish.org.
Hi! I’m Lindley.
I’m a photographer, author, cat mom, subscription box creator, and fat activist.
I help people reclaim their bodies through photography. I capture images of people of all sizes, ethnicities and genders, not just the ones whose bodies are likely to be seen in magazines and advertisements.
I also really enjoy putting together resources like this — so much that I do it every week!
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Hi there! I'm Lindley (she/her, pronounced LIN-lee). I create artwork that celebrates the unique beauty of bodies that fall outside conventional "beauty" standards at Body Liberation Photography. I'm also the creator of Body Liberation Stock, which provides body-positive stock photos for commercial use, and the Body Love Shop, a curated central resource for body-friendly artwork and products. Find all my work at http://www.bodyliberationphotos.com.