Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dr. Lisa Folden. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Dr. Lisa, appreciate you joining us today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

As a healthcare professional, I always subscribed to a very typical understanding of health & wellness. But in my late thirties, everything I thought I ever knew about health came crashing down…in a good way.

I had recently stopped breastfeeding my third and final child and noticed that I began gaining weight. Immediately I became fearful of becoming larger because I naturally associated weight gain with worsening health. To be clear: my health status had not worsened, I was simply gaining weight (likely in response to the lack of calorie burning from no longer nursing).

As a result, I began a strict regimen of exercise 7 days/week and eating from small portion containers to control my food intake and lose some weight. Within 6 months, I lost about 20 lbs and started receiving all the compliments I desperately wanted as a mom of three. It felt good to hear people say things about my body looking “too good” to have birthed three children.

After about 9-12 months of consistency, I decided that I wasn’t going to be able to keep up with that forever, so I reduced my exercising to 4 days/week and began eating my food from a standard plate and just being more “mindful” of my choices. Well, within three months, I gained back every pound I’d lost (plus 5 more) and I felt horrible.

I couldn’t believe that as a health, fitness & wellness professional, I couldn’t figure out how to lose weight & keep it off! So I started researching and haphazardly stumbled upon a book entitled “Health at Every Size” by Dr. Linda/o Bacon. I began reading and learned that my efforts at successfully dieting weren’t failing because of ME, but because of the diets! I effectively learned why diets don’t work and the science behind the diet cycle, bingeing and body size/weight.

I continued reading and learning and finally decided to change my entire approach to both my personal life and my business. I adopted a lifestyle of intuitive eating, joyful movement and body respect and begin to share those principles with my clients.

Now, I operate a weight-inclusive physical therapy practice that is a safe space for all bodies and I provide outpatient care for clients recovering from eating disorders.. Additionally, I coach clients to better health from an anti-diet perspective by encouraging body positivity or neutrality, breaking up with diet culture and radical self-love and acceptance.

That one moment changed the trance of my entire business and really, my life.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I was born and raised in Detroit, MI…the oldest of six children to a single mom. Life was never easy but I always had a desire to dream and achieve. So that’s what I did. I worked hard in school and was able to attend one of Detroit’s premiere high schools (Renaissance). There, I learned what it meant to be committed to the plan and process for greatness. I had an interest in becoming a pediatrician but changed my mind after I was unable to connect with my own pediatrician at 16. I went on the brand new internet (at the time) and found the term “physical therapist” after searching for a connection between sports and medicine. I graduated with excellent grades and secured a full academic scholarship to Grand Valley State University in Allendale, MI.

College was a culture shock, but a very necessary one. I became familiar navigating professional settings that I had not previously been exposed to. I completed undergrad and continued at Grand Valley where I became the first Black woman to earn a Doctorate in Physical Therapy in 2007. Following graduation I got married and worked one year in Michigan before relocating to Charlotte, NC.

After six years of professional experience as a physical therapist working in hospitals, school systems, outpatient clinics, long-term acute care settings, skilled nursing, assisted living and home care, I decided to open my private practice. Healthy Phit Physical Therapy & Wellness Consultants was born September 2013 and is now a fully operational clinic in which I work full time. My practice focuses primarily on adults with muscular or neurological injuries and and those recovering from eating disorders. However, in addition to helping patients recover from injuries, I offer coaching services targeted to women who have trouble prioritizing their own health and wellness.

As a wife and mom of three, I understand the complexities of life during motherhood so it is my personal goal to help other women create a sustainable and healthy lifestyle for themselves from which their families will also benefit. I hold a certification as a Behavior Change Specialist from the National Academy of Sports Medicine that I utilize for this role.

My focus as a health coach has become as much of a passion as physical therapy, mostly because of the non-traditional way in which I practice. I believe that fitness and health will look different for each of us and to that end, my practice is very much anti-diet and all about weight acceptance. I do not encourage or facilitate weight loss as I believe in the Health at Every Size (HAES®) movement and am a member of the Association for Size Diversity and Health (ASDAH). I know that health can be achieved at any size and that higher body weights do not always correlate with worsening health. I am also very much aware of the heavy influence that diet culture (and with that, weight stigma and fat bias) has on our healthcare system and society as a whole, so I realize that to some, my opinions are radical. Despite this, I continue to encourage positive health behaviors without regard to body weight or size because the unbiased research proves that those habits matter most in the long run.

Coaching other women has breathed fresh air into my practice and honestly, into my life in general. As someone who has often had to struggle…I left out some details about my life up until this point, but let me just mention that I’ve experienced financial challenges and hardships, lots of death and grief, many sleepless nights, discrimination and imposter syndrome and so many other negative forces hell bent on slowing me down and stopping me altogether. But here I am, still standing, still trying, still working and still resting. Therefore, it is my goal to help other women (and anyone who chooses to work with me) recognize their power and their worth before making any big changes to themselves. I want them to see what and who they are before adding to or taking away. We can spend our entire lives on the hamster wheel of life trying to make more, do more, live more, be more and sadly, weigh less, without ever respecting who we already are and what we’ve already done. And in my opinion, that is a sad way to live.

I find great joy in helping others and also in learning from others. I would argue that some of my greatest accomplishments have come from slowing down, sitting still and taking a breath. And these are tools I have only gained within the past few years. When you are so used to juggling a million things, multi-tasking all day and working so hard that you forget to come up for air, these lessons are life changing. I turned 40 last year and I am proud to say that I am still learning, about myself and about the world. And I feel honored to be able to help others in any capacity. Thankful, grateful and blessed…all understatements, but the best I can do to explain it all.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

Yes, absolutely. Physical therapy has been beyond fulfilling. Helping people recover and learn their own strength has been one of the most rewarding parts of my life.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

The books that have shaped my personal and business philosophies include: 1. The Four Agreements
2. Profit First
3. Health at Every Size
4. Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Anti-Diet Approach
5. Fearing The Black Body
6. Body of Truth

Contact Info:

• Website: www.HealthyPhit.com
• Instagram: www.Instagram.com/HealthyPhit
• Facebook: www.Facebook.com/HealthyPhitPT
• Twitter: www.Twitter.com/HealthyPhitPT
• Youtube: YouTube.com/HealthyPhit

Image Credits
Cordelia Ansah Wyeth Augustine