Kim Gould is the creator of Autonomy Movement, a body-positive, size-inclusive and weight neutral fitness space which is on a mission to increase access to fitness for all. A former barre instructor and licensed marriage and family therapist specializing in eating disorders and body image issues, Kim has seen first hand the overlaps between body image, disordered eating, and movement.

Honor Your Body's Needs

Autonomy Fitness is a space free from diet culture and exercise as punishment and combines the movement process with mental health self-care to improve your relationship with movement and your body. Kim wants you to feel good in your body, become okay with making mistakes and embrace your autonomy to do what you want when you want with your body.

An amazing, impactful and necessary space, Kim is here today to address weight stigma, intuitive eating and movement and help you honor your body’s needs instead of trying to fit into our society’s obsession with wellness culture.

We live in a society where thinner is better, and Kim is determined to bust those myths and stop the false truths that you are being fed about your body. Are you ready to say goodbye to a pervasive diet culture and embrace your body at whatever stage you are at? Share what you find refreshing about Autonomy and Kim’s mission in the comment on the episode page.

In This Episode

• Understanding how diet culture influences you and your mental health (10:15)
• Highlighting subtle ways that diet culture shows up in the wellness world (27:24)
• Learn why the language you use around your body and diet is so impactful (28:50)
• Addressing the rampant privilege and marginalization in the wellness space (32:15)
• Ways that you can improve your relationship with movement and food (43:45)
• How to become okay with being at your set point instead of altering yourself (49:10)

Quotes

“The word that originally stood out to me as one of my favorite therapy words, like how do I develop my sense of self as a person and a professional, is what guided me to open Austin’s first size-inclusive body-positive fitness studio.” (13:43)

“If I were just any old gym, and I didn’t know what I knew about how destructive yo-yo dieting and compulsive exercising is to the body, it would be really great to just sort of blast everywhere I went. But with Autonomy what I think is really hard and really important is that every time I am marketing Autonomy I am having to clearly explain our values.” (24:10)

“There is still another way to be living that is infinitely more compassionate. How much more does your world open up and expand when you give yourself permission to eat and more and exist in a way that actually is really intuitive to the body?” (37:32)

“There is nobody that is better than the next. Our bodies are the least interesting thing about us, especially because they are so dynamic, they are always going to keep changing.” (42:55)

“I believe in body diversity 110%... and there is no such thing as a body that has more worth than another.” (48:00)

Links

Autonomy Movement

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