Episodes

Did you know that your body image issues and cleaning your house like a crazy person may be connected? If you've ever turned into a cleaning Gestapo before company came over or if you've ever stressed way too much over how your house looked, you may be surprised to find out that there's a body image connection. Getting free to be yourself in your body may help you become a little more chill when it comes to cleaning your house before guests stop by. If you've ever cleaned the house to make it lo...

Today Heather digs into the concept of addiction--but not in a way you might expect. Heather isn't talking about drugs or alcohol or other things that you expect people to be addicted to. Instead, she talks about being addicted to body change--of chasing idols of body image and beauty through controlling and manipulating her body size and shape. Heather breaks down some amazing teaching from Dr. Tim Keller on the topic of addictions and idolatry and she applies this teaching to our issues with f...

Host Heather Creekmore teaches through 1 Timothy 4:1-10 and looks at the ways scripture instructs us to think about our food, pleasure, contentment, and even exercise. This passage includes instruction about how we think about and relate to food and our bodies and even exercise. As she examines these scriptures you’ll see the two concepts that Paul wanted to communicate to the young pastor Timothy and the concepts God still wants us to understand today are godliness and contentment. Listen and b...

In today's "Ask Me Anything" episode Heather tackles two listener questions: 1) What do I say when a friend loses weight (and everyone else is complimenting her)? 2) Why is it bad to put myself down? I'd never say anything mean about someone else's body, so what's the problem with criticizing mine and saying that I don't like the way I look? Heather tackles both of these questions from the perspective of what the Bible asks of us, that is: speaking the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). She giv...

Today's thought-provoking new episode may challenge the way you think about judgment and body image. Host Heather Creekmore delves into the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7, exploring how our tendency to judge others based on their bodies might not align with biblical principles. Heather emphasizes the impact of the judgments we make about others on our own body image struggles and the importance of recognizing our own idols of the heart as part of the impetus for judging others. Heather even t...

December is full of episodes and articles telling you how to "stay healthy" during the holidays by avoiding holiday treats or exercising more . . . but today Heather encourages you with easy, tangible ways you can feel healthier during the holiday season that have nothing to do with restricting food or stressing over your weight. In today's episode, Heather talks about the keys to being able to truly enjoy the holidays, feeling the meaning and significance of the Christmas season. Body image an...

Today Heather gives a preview of her brand new book, The 40-Day Body Image Workbook: Help for Christian Women Who've Tried Everything. In this episode, Heather shares the inspiration behind her book and reveals some of its key features. Heather highlights the importance of body image freedom and provides insights on why it is crucial to break free from the chains of diet culture. In this episode, she takes listeners through each week of the workbook, offering a glimpse into the discussions surr...

Today Heather continues a conversation with Kirsten Schmidt, a certified eating disorder recovery coach, and the pair dive deeper into the topic of cravings and our relationship with food. Heather and Kirsten explore the common behavior of suppressing emotions and cravings and how we often misconstrue self-control as maintaining a thin body. We discuss the importance of self-control being about following Jesus and loving others, rather than purely focused on our physical appearance. Mindful eat...

Heather Creekmore interviews Kirsten Schmidt, a health coach who shares her personal story of disordered eating and how she found healing. They discuss the misconceptions and societal messaging surrounding cravings, and the importance of listening to our bodies' signals. Kirsten also provides insights into the impact of chronic stress and anxiety on our overall health and the role of cravings in indicating nutrient deficiencies. This episode is a must-listen if you've ever felt guilty or frustra...

Heather Creekmore is joined by Erin Todd and Char-Lee Cassel from the Intuitive Eating for Christian Women podcast for a holiday intuitive eating coaching call. The discussion delves into the principles of intuitive eating, including unconditional permission to eat and habituation with foods, as well as the impact of mental restriction and scarcity around food during the holidays. Heather shares her journey to food freedom and her recent experiences with intuitive eating, while Erin and Char pro...

Podcast host and author, Michelle Rayburn shares her powerful journey out of Diet Culture and into intuitive eating that may have been inspired by reading Heather's first book, "Compared to Who?" In this episode, Michelle discusses her struggles with body image and food, reflecting on the shame and pressure she felt for over 40 years. Michelle and Heather highlight the importance of addressing body image work before focusing on food changes. Michelle also delves into her personal journey with in...

Today Heather continues her conversation with Jessie Cruickshank about Generation Z, their anxieties, the differences in the way they want to relate and the ways the learn, and how to help them with body image issues. Here are some key take aways from today's episode: Jessie explained how the, "Heart seeks belonging, brain seeks identity, spirit seeks truth. The rest of us isn't that interested in truth. But self loathing fractures the psyche." Jessie encourages each of us with the reality of ...

Today's show is a must-listen if you have children, nieces, nephews, grandchildren or folks in your ministry who are a part of Gen Z categorized as those between the ages of 12 and 26. Heather's guest, Jessie Cruickshank, has been studying the older set of this generation since they were in middle school. She has a Master's degree from Harvard in experiential education and has studied how our brains work and learn best. Here's where we go today: Generation Z looks different: More than 50% are ...

Today Heather answers three listener questions related to body image and self-worth. These questions were taken from the Facebook group "Body Image for Christian Women" (Join anytime and look for opportunities to submit your questions!) Heather's first question today tackles the issue of when you "arrive" on your body image journey, if you finally stop hating your body. The listener asks if there's a certain point you reach when you either decide that you love your body or decide that your body...

This thought-provoking episode of "Compared to Who?" explains the connections between being a good "steward" of our money and the stewardship of our bodies. Looking at Matthew 6, Heather answers a listener's question: How can I know what it means to be a good steward of my body when it's so easy to believe diet culture's definition of health and stewardship? Here are three key takeaways from the episode: 1️⃣ We can learn to focus on eternal investments: The passage in Matthew 6 reminds us that...

"The behaviors and information were the problem, my body was trying to help!" Christie Dondero Bettwy Heather Creekmore is joined today by Christie Dondero Bettwy, the executive director of Rock Recovery, an organization dedicated to helping those struggling with eating disorders. Heather and Christie dive deep into their personal experiences with eating disorders, sharing their journeys from struggling to recognizing and seeking help. They discuss the barriers that individuals without financia...

Heather talks with Dr. Aimie Apiagan, MD, MS, MPH, a medical doctor who has committed her life's work to studying how trauma impacts our physical bodies. In today's show, Dr. Aimie shares her own experiences with trauma, revealing patterns of disordered eating and the connection between trauma and how our bodies respond. Dr. Aimie offers a helpful and understandable definition for trauma as experiences that overwhelm us. She discusses how often we store these experiences away for future review y...

Today Heather has a fascinating discussion with Tamara Rosier, PhD about the connections between ADHD and body image issues and eating disorders. Heather explores this topic as an extension of personal research she's been doing about her own undetected ADHD type symptoms and traits. Dr. Rosier walks Heather through several ways that ADHD connects and may contribute to body image issues and eating disorders including: *How the ADHD (neurodivergent) brain operates from the limbic system instead o...

Today Heather is back with speaker, author, and coach, Laura Acuna to talk about the role spiritual maturity plays in healing body image issues. Laura and Heather talk about how hard and necessary it is to separate the lies we hear from the truth of scripture. They talk about how scary it can feel to trust God with our bodies and how it's okay to tell the Lord when we feel afraid to let go. Laura also talks about "little girl thinking" on how recognizing how much little girl thinking she had ha...

ather interviews Laura Acuna an author, speaker, and coach who helps women find freedom from body and food shame. Laura shares her story, how she gained one hundred pounds as a middle schooler, and how she battled weight and food shame for decades before God took her on a path to freedom. Some of the highlights from today's show include: Laura's description of the "profile" of a woman who battles with food. Laura's candid retelling of the hard parts of her body image and food journey. How La...

One of the biggest obstacles women who are battling body image face is the pressure from society to meet a standard of health that is evidenced by one's appearance. Today, Heather takes a deep dive into all things "health." This is part one of an hour-long talk available through the Body Image Freedom Framework Course or available to contributors to the Compared to Who? show. For more information on the course or to donate to Compared to Who? visit: www.improvebodyimage.com or donate directly he...

Today Heather chats with the hosts of the Intuitive Eating for Christian Women Podcast, Erin Todd and Char Lee Haze, about food tracking, trying to track food for weight loss, and how this concept aligns with Intuitive Eating. Heather talks about feeling more stable in her body now than she did when she was thinner, but how she wrestles this desire to incorporate some of the principles she learned in her dieting days to help her organize her eating today. Is there a place for planning and trac...

"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." Do you have Philippians 4:13 memorized or on a Christian t-shirt. Have you recited it before the big test or the big game? Have you used it to be your weight loss or fitness goal motivation verse? If you have, no shame or blame here. But, today Heather tackles what Philippians 4:13 is really trying to teach us. It's a message in contentment. It's a passage that reveals our struggle with covetousness, and it's a verse that encourage us ...

Today, Heather continues her conversation with eating disorder expert and registered dietitian Amy Carlson. Amy and Heather delicately address some "Christianized" messages around binge eating and dieting. Amy shares how she helps women who are struggling with certain foods to have a "with God" experience with their food in order to find freedom from shame. One of Amy's main points for today is that food is not the real enemy. In fact, we have a real enemy and he always tempts us to choose our...