Journal Prompts
Season 3
E1: Laurie Santos
Laurie taught us about the "arrival fallacy" (the illusion that once we attain our goal, we will reach lasting happiness) and "hedonic adaptation" (the tendency of humans to quickly return to a relatively stable level of happiness despite major positive events). Write about a time in your life where one of these phenomena happened around food or body goals.
E2: Vishinna Turner
In this episode, Vishinna taught us that creativity can be an incredible way to develop intuition and reconnect to desire - things that diet culture takes from us. What creative practices light you up? If you don't have any right now, try to imagine what those practices might be.
E3: Ginny Jones
In this episode, Ginny taught us that when we work on healing our food trauma we are reparenting ourselves and healing our inner child. What positive and negative lessons did your child self learn about food? How lessons does your adult self want to teach to your inner child? How can you create opportunities for reparenting yourself around food?
E4: Summer Michaud-Skog
In this episode, Summer teaches us that we can turn to nature to see our bodies reflected. Here’s a prompt from Virgie's new book, The Body Positive Journal, that encourages us to imagine ourselves as nature itself: If I were a plant, I’d be… [Click here to for a drawing exercise for your journal]
E5: Alex Locust
In this episode, Alex taught us that every person has needs. Hiding our needs in hopes of receiving love or acceptance is something we've all been taught to do, but what if we all felt worthy enough to name and defend them? Unapologetically write out what your needs are - from emotional to physical. After each need, write a quick line about how you might express this need to another person. Then, print out the "Permission Slip to Exist Exactly As You Are" from Virgie's new book, The Body Positive Journal. Fill it out and post it somewhere as a reminder.
E6: Isabel Foxen Duke
In this episode, Isabel taught us that we have the power to transform how we interact with food. Write your very own Stop Fighting Food manifesto, detailing your vision for a life where no one is afraid of food.
Season 2
E1: Da’Shaun Harrison
How does understanding that fatphobia and diet culture are anti-Blackness affect how you think about your relationship to food and eating?
E2: Dr. Janet Tomiyama
What are your medical self-advocacy needs? Write out your rules for doctor visits!
E3: Francis Lam
Write about a food experience that helped create or affirm a part of your identity.
E4: Dr. Joanne Rondilla
Write about a time you prepared food or shared a recipe with someone important to you.
E5: Dr. Jennifer Brady
Write a love letter to a snack that gives you pure, unadulterated joy!
E6: Angela Trakas
Write about your dream snack-themed vacation!
Season 1
E1: Mia Fauer
I want you to think about one of your food inheritances. Write about food that reminds you of family – chosen or biological, it doesn't matter. What does this dish represent to you? What’s its story? The joy, the tension, where it came from, the good memories and the weird ones, and how it’s shaped who you’ve become.
E2: Bayley Van
Bayley says she had to make some rules with her mom and sister about how they talk about their bodies and about food when she’s around. What are the new rules you’d LOVE to set for your family, or friends, roommates, coworkers about how they talk about food and bodies?
E3: Deb Burgard
What if we all stopped thinking of food as diet? What if movement didn’t just mean exercise? What if food and movement were just things we do for pleasure? For FUN. What would look different in your life if FUN was the goal?
E4: Fresh Roberson
Write a breakup letter to diet culture. Maybe you’re not ready to send it quite yet, but don’t forget to list the reasons you can’t keep letting this freeloading dirtbag take up precious real estate in your mind, body and spirit.
E5: Shay Neary
Shay talked a lot about how food has been a witness to her experience. What foods have been witnesses to your life? Remember, try not to see the food you write about as “good” or “bad.” Focus on the details of the story and leave room to honor what you’ve been through.
E6: Soleil Ho
Write a contract with your inner Rebel Eater. Maybe you have some thoughts about how you’d like to change your relationship to food, but you haven’t put them into practice yet. Maybe you’ve decided to stop using moralizing language around food. Maybe you’ve realized that commenting on your weight isn’t a practice that works anymore. Write these things down.