“I never thought I could be a fitness professional because my body wasn’t ‘perfect’ enough.”
This personal experience, and others like it, came through the participant comments at canfitpro’s recent Online FitPro event. The session was Breaking Body Biases to Empower Inclusive Fitness in support of canfitpro’s ongoing commitment to body diversity and weight neutral fitness education.
Because the session was incredibly collaborative between both panelists and attendees alike, we wanted to share the resources and takeaways discussed – so that you can benefit even if you weren’t with us at the event.
This resource list will help unpack how body weight bias influences the fitness industry. You’ll learn top strategies on how to coach clients with a body-positive or body-neutral approach to fitness, connecting them to more meaningful and realistic goals than weight loss.
As leaders in the fitness community, we can work together to eliminate toxic fitness and diet culture. Join us in celebrating and supporting body diversity!
BOOKS
Anti-Diet by Christy Harrison
Big Fit Girl by Louise Green
Body Kindness by Rebecca Scritchfield
Body Talk: 37 Voices Explore our Radical Anatomy edited by Kelly Jensen
Body Positive Power by Meghan Jayne Crabbe
Body Respect: What Conventional Health Books Get Wrong, Leave Out, and Just Plain Fail to Understand about Weight by Linda Bacon and Lucy Aphramor
Embrace Yourself by Taryn Brumfitt
Fearing the Black Body by Sabrina Strings
Fitness for Everyone by Louise Green
Health at Every Size: The Surprising Truth about your Weight by Linda Bacon
Lessons from the Fat-O-Sphere by Kate Harding and Marianne Kirby
Loving What Is by Byron Katie
Overcoming Bias by Tiffany Jana & Matthew Freeman
Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach
Radical Belonging by Lindo Bacon
The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf
The Body Is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor
The Elephant in the Gym by Gillian Goerzen
The F*ck it Diet by Caroline Dooner
The Joy of Movement by Kelly McGonigal
The Perfection Detox by Petra Kolber
The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer
The Way Of Rest: Finding The Courage To Hold Everything In Love by Jeff Foster
Train Happy by Tally Rye
Strong Women Lift Each Other Up by Molly Galbraith
Yoga for Everyone by Dianne Bondy
FILMS
Embrace feat. Taryn Brumfitt
Killing Us Softly feat. Jean Kilbourne
PODCASTS
Breaking Body Biases with Christine DeFilippis
Food Psych with Christy Harrison
Break the Diet Cycle with Dalina Soto and Melissa Landry
Eat the Rules with Summer Innanen
Train Happy Podcast with Tally Rye
Hearing Our Own Voice with Melissa Toler
Nourishing Women Podcast with Victoria Myers
Body Kindness with Rebecca Scritchfield
The Petra Podcast with Petra Kolber
