We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ragen Chastain a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ragen , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

I had been fat my entire life and had spent years yo-yo dieting. I was out of school and working in a corporate job but my educational background was in research methods and statistics. I decided to do a literature review of weight loss studies to find the intentional weight loss method that had the highest efficacy. To my complete shock and initial disbelief, what I found was that there wasn’t a single study where more than a tiny fraction of people achieved significant, long-term weight loss. At the time I didn’t know that there was a whole community that had been talking about this since before I was born. It started an exploration of the research that has led me to become an expert in the intersections of weight science, weight stigma, and healthcare practice. It also led me to completely change my career to become a speaker, writer, and researcher in the space. Now I have a dream job (albeit one I wish didn’t have to exist) of educating healthcare providers about research-based best practices for higher-weight patients, educating higher-weight people about navigating weight stigma in healthcare, and becoming the Legal Fellow for the Campaign for Size Freedom, the goal of which is to pass legal protections against size discrimination. Had I not decided that I wanted to look into the research around weight loss for myself I would probably still be in my corporate job, yo-yo dieting.,

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

After being horrifically fat-shamed by a judge at a ballroom dance competition I started a blog called DancesWithFat in 2009. At the time I didn’t know that there had been a thriving fat activist community since long before I was born, I was just coming to the realization that the way that I was treated as a fat person was a form of oppression and I wanted to write about my journey with that. As I started to do that I started to write not just about my own experience with weight stigma but also about the research around weight and health. My blogging led to requests to speak and write professionally. In 2012, through a combination of hard work, luck, and privilege, I was able to leave my career as a business consultant and became a full-time speaker and writer for corporate, college, and healthcare audiences. As I worked more with analysis of the research I developed a niche at the intersections of weight science, weight stigma, health, and healthcare practice. That led me to start the Weight and Healthcare newsletter on Substack and narrowed my focus. I’m known for my ability to analyze and explain complex research and concepts in ways that are easily understandable to diverse audiences, and my ability to blend humor and hard facts in ways that make my speaking captivating and deeply educational. I’m honored to be part of the community of people doing this work.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

When COVID hit my speaking career came to a screeching halt. Initially, the next three months of speaking gigs were canceled immediately, and month after month the talks kept canceling. Obviously this is exactly what should have happened, but it was still a hard stop to my income. It took about six months for virtual talks to become common. During quarantine, I started offering monthly pay-what-you-can-afford workshops via Zoom and created my Substack newsletter Weight and Healthcare. Even as events begin to happen in person, my monthly online workshops, remote talks, and the newsletter have become staples of my work.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

First of all, we always have to acknowledge the impact that our privilege has. While I’m marginalized as a fat person, a queer person, and a woman, I also have significant privilege, including as a white, cisgender, currently able-bodied, and neurotypical person. The advantages of that cannot be discounted. Beyond that, for me, my success has been based on consistent production of work. In the early days when most of my work was through my blog, there was a period of years during which I blogged seven days a week. I also consistently posted on social media. Currently, I publish two pieces a week on my substack newsletter as well as a subscriber discussion and monthly AMA. For me that consistency has been the key.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://weightandhealthcare.substack.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ragenchastain/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ragenchastain/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ragenchastain/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/danceswithfat
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSurR_Z18fzg4580ZrMguvQ
• Other: Speaking Site: www.SizedForSuccess.com

Image Credits
Primary Headshot is by Lindley Ashline Meda Picture (I’m to the left of the podium, podium has a sign that says MEDA) by Debra Rose Other pictures don’t require photo credit