Safety and Harm Reduction in Weight-Loss: A Five-Week Supportive Exploration

Hosted by:

Gloria Lucas (she/her)

This virtual non-clinical peer support group provides a space to explore the often contradictory feelings surrounding weight loss and body acceptance.

Sessions are held online and will be recorded and sent to registrants.

Saturday, August 10th, 17th, 24th, 31st & Sept 7th.

2:30 pm PST/ 5:30 pm EST

This intimate program has a limited number of participants.

An authentic, groundbreaking, intersectional support space like no other.

Are you a person with a background in body liberation but have been struggling with weight-loss desires? This supportive, 5-week virtual program is designed for you. Join us for a groundbreaking five-week series, "Exploring Safety and Harm Reduction in Weight-Loss: A Five-Week Supportive Exploration." This program is an experimental community-based specifically designed for individuals who embrace body-positive and body-liberation philosophies but are navigating through weight-loss attempts. It offers a unique opportunity to participate in a mutual-peer support led space where you can share experiences and explore the complexities of desiring body liberation and wanting weight-loss.

Your body, your rules.

Sessions will be recorded and sent to registrants.

Program Details

Each session is crafted to provide a supportive, non-clinical environment where participants can openly discuss and reflect on the emotional and practical challenges of pursuing weight loss when you deeply care about body-liberation. This series is ideal for those who feel isolated by their weight-loss goals due to contradictory societal and personal values regarding body image and health.

Recordings will be sent to registrants.

Sign language interpretation can be made available. Please email 7 days before the first session at npppride@gmail.com

We care about you! Email any assistance you need to npppride@gmail.com

This intimate program has a limited number of participants. All sales are final.

Weekly Topics:

Week 1: Fat Stigma Self-Assessment

Reflect on personal and societal biases and begin to navigate your feelings towards body size and weight loss.

Week 2: Dealing with The Shame of Wanting Weight-Loss - Techniques and discussions to address and reduce shame associated with weight-loss desires.

Week 3: Exploring Exercise and Harm Reduction for Overexercise - Identify safe, enjoyable, and effective exercise practices that align with your quality of life goals.

Week 4: Building a Harm Reduction Weight-Loss Plan Part 1 - Develop the initial components of a personalized weight-loss plan that minimizes harm and maximizes well-being.

Week 5: Building a Harm Reduction Weight-Loss Plan Part 2 - Complete and refine your harm reduction weight-loss strategy, preparing for a safer practice.

This intimate program has a limited number of participants. All sales are final.

But why apply harm reduction to weight-loss?

The truth is that anti-fatness and weight-loss methods can be harmful and, in some cases, deadly. We live in a culture that discriminates against and demoralizes people in higher weight categories. Weight-loss methods often involve extreme dieting, eating disorders, excessive exercise, dangerous diet pills, substance use, and other harmful behaviors that can lead to severe physical and psychological consequences. These methods are frequently marketed as the only path to health and happiness, but they often overlook the complexities of individual health and well-being.

By applying harm reduction to weight-loss, we acknowledge the risks associated with these traditional approaches and strive to mitigate them. Harm reduction focuses on reducing the negative health consequences of weight-loss efforts, promoting safer practices, and supporting individuals in making informed decisions about their bodies. This approach recognizes that health is multifaceted and that stigmatizing people for their weight only perpetuates harm.

Incorporating harm reduction into weight-loss strategies involves educating individuals about the potential dangers of extreme dieting and promoting the most balanced and sustainable practices (as possible.)

Ultimately, harm reduction in the context of weight-loss is about respecting and supporting individuals' autonomy and dignity. It aims to create a culture where people of all sizes are valued and supported in their health journeys, free from discrimination and shame. By shifting the focus from weight to overall health and well-being, harm reduction provides a more compassionate and effective framework for supporting individuals in achieving their health goals.

Harm reduction involves meeting people where they are, embracing contradictions, discomfort, and the nuances in the gray areas.

But weight-loss is not body-positive and anti-fat?

The fat liberation and body-positive movements are essential for creating a world free from body-terrorism and undeniably play a crucial role for all of us.

In an ideal world, everyone would love their bodies, and fatness would be as normal as a sunny day. However, we live in a suffocating culture that prevents people of all sizes from having a neutral stance about their bodies. Size discrimination intersects with race, disability, gender, and class, compounding the effects of prejudice and violence. It is unrealistic and unfair to expect people to maintain a static or a permanent positive body image, especially when certain groups face more violence and discrimination than others.

Body acceptance can take years for individuals to achieve, and support is crucial during the transitional stages. Without safe spaces for honest expression, shame and isolation can intensify, leading to a higher risk of resorting to unsafe weight-loss methods and can increase likelihood of developing eating disorders.

Why not try Health at Every Size (HAES)?

HAES can be transformative for many people and serves as a vital introduction to fat acceptance. However, even within this framework, some individuals still grapple with the desire for weight-loss, often leading to feelings of guilt and failure. The truth is, there is no single model that is effective for everyone or meets everyone's needs.

People have unique experiences, desires, and needs that can impact people’s wishes for modifying their bodies.

HAES was developed by fat and white individuals, and while it offers significant benefits, it doesn't always account for the diverse experiences related to race, gender, disability, regionality, and other intersecting factors. The needs and experiences of marginalized communities often go unaddressed in many health models, including HAES.

Who should participate:

• This program is ideal for individuals with body-positive/liberation backgrounds who are considering or actively pursuing weight loss in a safe and healthy way.
  

• Participants must feel comfortable being recorded during the sessions.
  

Speaker

Gloria Lucas is an eating disorders (ED) awareness educator, writer, public speaker, digital content creator, and founder of one of the leading grassroots ED organizations, Nalgona Positivity Pride. Gloria Lucas was born and raised in Southern California and founded Nalgona Positivity Pride in 2014 at the age of 24. Struggling with an ED and not being able to relate to the conventional narratives of ED she was moved to share her story with the world. Her areas of focus have consisted of eating disorder harm reduction, historical trauma, matriarchal wisdom and indigenous epistemology. Her work has been featured in NPR, Teen Vogue, MTV, Huffpost, Los Angeles Times, and Bitch Magazine. Gloria is a person living with an eating disorder and is currently conducting community-based eating disorder harm reduction research. She is the person behind Seeds from The Flesh and the founder of Mujeres Market. She currently resides in Orange County.

Join Us

Sliding Scale: $250-$450

A sliding scale typically refers to a flexible pricing or fee structure. It allows individuals to pay for services or products based on their income or financial situation. In a sliding scale system, the cost or fee is not fixed; instead, it "slides" or adjusts according to the individual's ability to pay. People with higher incomes may pay more, while those with lower incomes pay less, ensuring that the service or product remains accessible to a broader range of people, regardless of their financial circumstances.

This intimate program has a limited number of participants. All sales are final.