I can’t express how much this podcast has meant to me, and truly to so many sides of me—the mom unlearning that food is one of the ways I must show love for my kid whose sensory processing differences leave room for only 5% fat Fage yogurt and non-squishy chocolate cookies; the millennial seeking to divest herself from diet culture and actually internalize that health is possible for everyone but its performance is owed to absolutely nobody (and health and worthiness aren’t synonymous!); the cis woman who wants to understand her actual body and not the version of a body she’s been shamed into distrusting or trying to change. This podcast speaks to all these threads and so, so many more. I appreciate Virginia’s insights so much, and the guests she features couldn’t be of higher caliber. Cheers for existing, Burnt Toast! I recommend y’all to literally everyone who will listen! 😘

From a mid-forties mom, this is so relatable and such important discussion. Plus the shoes recs are on-point. Thanks!

Thank you, Virginia, for your insightful takes on difficult topics. And thanks for stopping me from buying a Nood!! Love you keep up the good work.

Really appreciate this show and the important discussions that take place

The best place to start.

Should be required listening!

I am so glad I have found this podcast through another eye opening podcast. I have never embraced who I really am and have felt ashamed till recently. Thank you for what you all do.

Thanks to this podcast I’ve been able to stop the endless search for a whole grain bread that my child will eat, let him have white bread, see that this did not affect his health, and move on with my life. Thank you!!

It’s a joy to listen and to be a part of this community. Thank you so much!

Not just for parents, not just for marginalized bodies. Great info presented in a fun and interesting way.

I don’t have kids and I’m not fat but I love this podcast! Virginia handles so many topics that affect us all- from body, food, exercise, kids, clothes, lifestyle, social issues- with kindness and unflinching dedication to trying to be better. She makes me want to be better. I’m thankful for the past year of burnt toast and looking forward to (hopefully) many more! (also if you love the show, there’s bonus episodes on patreon- go check them out!!)

These two woman, both of whom have ZERO credentials or education in ANY health setting (doctors, nutrition, mental health) like to speak on these important topics like experts. THEY ARE NOT. if you’re listening solely for comical entertainment then go for it, bc that’s all it is. Fat and body acceptance are so important, but their topics start bleeding over into health related topics they have no business addressing them. They are two white highly privileged women

I’m so grateful for this podcast and all of Virginia Sole-Smith’s work! She makes my life better.

I have found this podcast to be so helpful for my own food journey, even though I don’t have kids!

I tell anyone I can about this podcast. So smart, so important, and so fun to listen to. As a mom of two boys, and as a 46-yr-old straight-sized woman who had begun to doubt a lot of the diet industry lies and damaging standards I’d previously bought into, it’s so freeing and satisfying to listen to voices that don’t uphold the status quo, and to discover ways to raise my boys with the message that all bodies are good bodies and that food is fun and that hunger is normal and that they can trust their bodies. I am doing it imperfectly. But I am trying. And this podcast is indispensable to my parenting journey at this point.

Virginia sand Corrine bring a fresh perspective to the anti-diet conversion that I really appreciate. This podcast (and the newsletter of the same name) have made me a better thinker and an all-around more whole person.

Listening to Burnt Toast has been such a great addition to the other fat liberation podcasts I listen to regularly. I do not have children but I am a fat chiropractor who takes care of people of all ages and love helping dismantle diet culture on the regular with them. She has so many insightful conversations and I look forward to listening each week. The newsletter is also so well written.

As an almost 60 year old woman who literally could count on one hand the years I remember feeling anything close to peace with my body(even when I would have been considered “thin”), finding the podcast is amazing! Virginia and guests share important truths, science-backed research and so very much life and encouragement. For the first time in my life I can look at myself in the mirror after a shower and say aloud, “That’s a good body”. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Careful research and reporting make both this podcast and Virginia’s book, Fat Talk, an absolute revelation in the face of anti-fat bias, thin white privilege, the patriarchy, and racism. This subject is complex and more than just about health. Anyone who is satisfied in resting on their laurels when it comes to their opinions on the research surrounding the “obesity epidemic” is, well, lazy. Top notch conversations and eye-opening reporting brings me back every week. A must-listen.

Oh, how I wish I’d found Virginia’s work when my kids were younger—life would have been a LOT easier. I’m so glad I found her now, though, as I’ve decided to give diet culture the middle finger and embrace the body middle age has given me. Thank you, Virginia, guests, Corinne, and the whole Burnt Toast crew!

I love Virginia and Colleen and the insight they bring to so many important topics! And I am so thankful for tools to raise my daughter to love her body! #indulgencegospel4life

This podcast is my butter! I love so much about Virginia and all of the guests, but the highlight for me has to be the butter at the end. Corrine’s recommendation for leggings on Girlfriend Collective helped me end a years long search for a sports bra. I trust all of their recommendations and so value this podcast 💜

So I am “skinny fat”- size 14-16 and 41 years old and I honestly love my body. And it always felt wrong to do so- cheat days and fad diets and “wanting to loose 5 lbs” never quite resonated with me. It was like I knew that there was a better way out there but never before finding Virginia’s podcast did I find someone who really celebrates all sizes and shares usable resources and language in how to talk about weight and different sized bodies with kids. Also she is fighting the stigma that people in fat bodies are facing at the doctors office and in the health industry! Thank you for being the voice I have always wanted to believe was out there!

I’m 56. I was raised to think that my worth was tied to my looks and weight. Your interviews and your expertise have given me respite from diet culture and fat phobia that are SO PREVALENT in media and day-to-day interactions with family and friends. I’m grateful to have a space to join and hear messages that are dismantling years of conditioning. Thank you for all you’re doing to challenge diet culture and fat bias. It must be exhausting sometimes, but you’re a pioneer. To challenge such an entrenched bias takes a lot of guts, persistence and compassion. I’m deeply grateful.

I know I will not raise my children perfectly but one thing I am determined not to do is pass on the body issues that have shaped so much of my life and every week this podcast makes me feel more and more sure that I can give my kids a chance to be safe in their bodies and maybe learn to be safe in my own.

Completely unrelated Watergate satire aside, every one of us in this American culture has been affected, directly or indirectly, by generations of messages demanding of (primarily cis) women (and others) that their bodies are not really their own. Having commodified and sexualized every detail of the bodies of roughly half the population—from shape to size to skin, muscle tone, flexibility, sturdiness, daintiness, height, build, posture, hair color and texture, eye size, shape and color, facial expression and an endless list of constantly evaluated and judged physical attributes—the particularly heinous oppression for money and control that is diet culture has caused harm to you or to people you love. It is heartbreaking. And it must stop. Learn why and how in this wide-ranging and inclusive home to quality journalism, as Virginia Sole-Smith and other writers and researchers interrogate with empathy the damage being done to children and adults alike by our culture's obsession with selling "solutions" to non-problems. As important as deconstructing these sticky and deeply embedded truths, this is a space where hope is fostered, solutions are offered, and wisdom is shared. If these issues resonate, you will find warm, authentic community and never want to leave.

Virginia is an incredible host and has an amazing capacity to synthesize really nuanced topics with clarity and in a way that makes you just want to keep listening! Absolutely required listening for parents + recommended listening for everyone else!

Impressive variety of guests, topics, and thought provoking questions about our culture. Love it!

Oh wait, that’s everyone! This podcast is so important and I look forward to it every week. There’s a powerful combination of care and research that makes it stand out. And I always look forward to the episodes with Corinne!

This podcast is so important, well-researched, well-presented, and fun to listen to. I learn something new every episode. I have been working on my own diet culture/body positivity journey since the 1970s and love listening to Virginia and her guests.

I wish I had had adults like Virginia Sole-Smith in my life when I was a child. This podcast is so edifying for me as someone who works with kids and how to help them to not feel how I felt.

Virginia does an amazing job of unpacking this important topic. She brings research, amazing communication skills, humor and a connection and trust within the fat community to make the most interesting and educational episodes. I particularly love the butter section at the end of each episode where they talk about something good they have learned or tried recently. I always walk away with new information, compassion for myself and others and a desire to help her change the world. Thank goodness for Virginia and the work she does!

If you actually listen to (and read) what the host of this podcast and her guests are saying and writing it may change the way you think about bodies, biases, and more. The podcast is sometimes serious and sometimes just fun—and always excellent.

Virginia, Corinne and their guests promote well-rounded lives full of great food, joyful movement, and pursuit of hobbies, all free from the labels and limitations that society places on bigger bodies. You are not defined by the number on the scale, and they remind listeners of this fact in every episode.

Thank you for helping me understand fatphobia and how much money the economy makes off of shaming women. Your research evidence is convincing and thorough ( as a librarian, I love to see the evidence - if any commenters gripe, they have not done the research it is clear) - disordered eating leads to more ill health than intuitive eating. Brilliant and true. “A plump wife and a full barn never did any man harm” is an old saying that the folks who troll you should remember!

"Thinness is "white supremacy". That's about the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Somebody should tell her the "card" has expired.

This podcast and the work of Virginia and her team is such important work! Can’t wait to dive into Fat Talk and continue learning and growing.

At a time when our society is spiraling into an crisis, and kids are literally getting sick and dying, this lady is advocating encouraging unhealthy habits. What can I say? I guess with doctor Oz out of the picture we needed a new pseudo-medical expert quack.

Are you sick of right wingers having all the fun floating pseudoscience and making wild claims that fly in the face of medical professionals? Well now the left has its very own version! For anyone who heard this person on Fresh Air and thought “Hey, is this person a doctor? Did NPR fact check this? Is having a scale in the doctors office REALLY the biggest threat to health over an actual obesity epidemic?” The answer to all 3 is NO! This is total nonsense and it’s a hoot! You’ll have as much fun as Fresh Air’s guest host Tonya M did in not pushing back whatsoever and pretending like she’s not a journalist. So kick your feet up, turn off ALL critical thinking skills and enjoy!

I’m learning so much!

This podcast Is wonderfully empowering for all people who want to understand and stand up against fat phobia in its many forms. I was put on my first diet at age 7 and my journey is like so many others that were told their body is wrong and they are undesirable because of their own failings at weight control. Now that I have my own young children, I am helping them develop healthy relationships with food and their bodies. Not easy when even the AAP is advocating harmful practices for children because of fat bias. Recently, my 5 year old daughter made the observation that I am fat. I lied and told her I love my body. I’m trying to teach her that all bodies are beautiful and all people have value. Maybe someday I’ll believe it too. Thank you Virginia for helping me break the cycle of fat phobia and body shame.

I got here like I assume many others did, by clicking recommendations I assume came from listening to all of Maintenance Phase and similar podcasts. It is really nice to hear more of the content I’m interested in but geared towards parents. Fatphobia, eating, aging, health, and everything else become so much more complicated when you have and raise children and I appreciate someone addressing these issues from a parent’s perspective. I also think she handles complicated and sometimes really difficult issues with a grace and lightheartedness that’s not extremely common on Podcasts. It makes it possible for me to learn about these topics first thing in the morning and not be depressed for the rest of the day, which I really appreciate.

I don’t have kids yet, but I don’t want them to grow up with the body struggles I had. I love listening to this podcast to get ideas for how to talk to my future kids, and also to help myself unlearn problematic views before I become a parent. The podcast is also so fun, and all the topics are handled beautifully. Thank you for this amazing resource that is also a blast! I recommend the podcast to all my friends. :)

I’ve been gaining a bit of weight lately, and along with all of the diet culture influenced thoughts and feelings that’s bringing up, for the first time in my life there’s a voice in my head questioning them, asking “what if gaining weight is ok, and not something I need to tear myself down over?” I would not even be asking that question if it weren’t for this podcast. If you want a healthier relationship with your body and to understand an important part of making a better world - undoing fat phobia- this podcast is for tou.

I love this podcast! I highly recommend giving it a listen if you’re trying to escape diet culture or just want learn more about having a body. Some good parenting nuggets as well but I would listen even if I wasn’t a parent. Virginia is a treat for the ears and the soul.

I can’t tell you how much this podcast has helped me. Virginia shows up for all of us trying to navigate a healthy attitude towards all bodies and all peoples. She humbly takes on difficult topics and shares her knowledge freely. If you need clothing tips, she’s got them. If you need to know you’re not the only one struggling with the pressures to be in perfect in a society that only values the few, she’s got you there too!

Virginia shares a whole person view on anti diet coupled with the realities of parenting. Love her voice in my anti diet journey.

No thanks.

As a new parent I had no idea how stressful feeding a child could be. I’m grateful for Burnt Toast and the massive perspective shift it’s given me both in regards to my own eating and food related habits and assumptions (which change significantly after kids!) and my kids’. It’s helped challenge my assumptions on “good” and “bad” foods, and exposed diet culture in ways I never would have interrogated myself. I always feel a little sense of relief after listening to an episode. Highly recommend!

The recent podcast “budgeting is diet culture…” is so grossly inaccurate and misguided. They decry money tracking and then say be more mindful of spending. Budgeting is NOT diet culture. It’s not bad. It’s a helpful tool for achieving financial stability. This is the absolute worst advice I have ever heard.