grand talks 03: rebecca alcosser on body neutrality in fitness

a non-diet dietitian on why our weight is the least interesting thing about us

if you’re a longtime instagram follower, rebecca might look familiar to you.

that’s because she’s a fixture (as well as one of my favorite instructors!) at the bar method noho, where i take classes 3x a week. a few years ago, rebecca and i bonded, along with another (former) instructor christie, over our shared capricorn-ness. for a time, we had regular multi-generational dinner dates—reb in her twenties, me in my thirties, christie in her 40s—where we talked about work and workouts and everything in between. a few years ago, when i hosted a “come take bar method with me!” class for my instagram community, rebecca was the one who taught it.

rebecca and i at bar method, may 2022

she is kind, and funny, and wise beyond her years. but my favorite thing about her is how thoughtfully she approaches fitness, especially in relation to body image. in addition to teaching at bar method, rebecca is what’s called a non-diet dietitian (what exactly that means, she explains below!), and she has never once, in the hundreds of classes i’ve taken with her, talked about having to “earn” a meal, or push harder in thigh because summer is coming. in a world of group fitness where such harmful rhetoric abounds, rebecca talks about feeling strong, or going lower (bar method is all about teeny tiny “isometric” movements!). she’ll say things like, “if you want to take the challenge option…” or “can you lift your leg a little bit higher?” but never ever has she said something that has made me feel bad about myself, or bad about my body.

on the contrary, i leave rebecca’s classes—and all of my bar method classes—feeling like a badass.

for issue 03 of grand talks, i asked rebecca to talk to me about body neutrality and fitness.

and her answers were—for lack of a better word—illuminating. especially for someone (me!) who has struggled with both their weight and their feelings around being perceived in relation to it. rebecca’s philosophies around food, diet culture, and fitness are so, so needed. if i could clone her, i would! i really enjoyed reading through what she sent over, and i think you will too. she brings the sass in a few spots, and i am here! for! it!

psst: don’t forget to scroll all the way down for rebecca’s favorite comfort food (it’s the same as mine!), current obsession, and a few more fun things, including a code that’ll get you a free class (!) at bar method noho.

“simply put, your weight is the least interesting thing about you.” - rebecca alcosser

BALANCE. plus an adorable guest appearance from rebecca’s pup ember.

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rebecca alcosser on body neutrality in fitness

you’re a non-diet registered dietitian, which might sound like an oxymoron to the uninitiated. can you tell us a bit about what that means?

yes! i am a non diet registered dietitian. i practice through a non-diet lens, meaning i challenge diet culture beliefs about food. to know what this means, you might also need to know what diet culture is! fair! diet culture is defined as a set of cultural myths around food, weight, and health. it focuses on thinness as an ideal, and labels foods and behaviors around food and movement as either “good” or “bad”. diet culture generally has poor outcomes on a person’s wellbeing, including poor mental and physical health, negative body image, and eating disorders or disordered eating. 

being a non-diet dietitian also means i am weight neutral, simply put, your weight is the very least interesting thing about you.