Alexis Conason, Psy.D.

Alexis Conason, Psy.D. Clinical psychologist, researcher, and founder of The Anti-Diet Plan. Radically changing the way we think about food, health, and our bodies. Post.

Alexis Conason, Psy.D. is a licensed psychologist in private practice in the Midtown East neighborhood of New York City. Her practice specializes in the treatment of overeating disorders, body image, sexual functioning, and psychological issues related to weight loss surgery. She is a Research Associate at The New York Obesity Nutrition Research Center (NYONRC) at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital in affiliation with Columbia University. She earned her doctorate degree in clinical psychology from Long Island University, C.W. Following completion of her doctorate, Dr. Conason completed post-doctoral training at The Karen Horney Clinic and the NYONRC. She also earned a certificate in Eating Disorders, Compulsions, and Addictions from the William Alanson White Institute and a certificate in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy from the American Institute for Psychoanalysis. Dr. Conason’s research has been published in peer-reviewed academic journals and she has presented at numerous scientific conferences. She is on the editorial board of Frontiers in Eating Behavior and has served as a peer reviewer for numerous scientific journals, including Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases and Obesity Surgery. She serves on the Board of the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals-NY Chapter as their Research Chair and serves as the Advocacy and Outreach subcommittee chair of the Bariatric Surgery Section of The Obesity Society. She is an adjunct clinical supervisor at the Ferkauf School of Graduate Psychology. She is the author of the “Eating Mindfully” blog hosted by Psychology Today http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/eating-mindfully. She has been featured in the popular press including The Wall Street Journal/ Market Watch, Men's Health, Ladies' Home Journal, USA Today, The Huffington Post, Weight Watchers, Reuters, ABC News, Prevention, WebMD, EveryDay Health, US News & World Report Health Day, and Fox News.For more information, please visit www.drconason.com

For decades, corporations like Victoria’s Secret and Abercrombie & Fitch helped define what “sexy” and “desirable” meant...
02/19/2026

For decades, corporations like Victoria’s Secret and Abercrombie & Fitch helped define what “sexy” and “desirable” meant.

They told us we needed to be thin, youthful, and sexually available in order to be valued.

In the 90s, the marketing was everywhere.
“Thin is in.”
S*x sells.

And it shaped an entire era (not so unlike the one we’re living in now).

These standards didn’t appear out of nowhere.
They were intentionally built, marketed, and sold to us from the youngest ages.

Now Les Wexner, the longtime CEO behind these brands, has been publicly linked to Jeffrey Epstein; a reminder that beauty standards are shaped within broader systems of power.

When powerful men profit from objectifying women and sexualizing youth, the ideals they promote are not neutral.

Beauty standards are cultural messaging.
And cultural messaging always serves someone.

Who benefits when women believe their value lies in being younger, thinner, and more sexually desirable?

Maybe the problem was never our bodies.
Maybe it has always been the systems that taught us our value depends on youth, thinness, and sexual desirability.

It’s been over a week since the Super Bowl, but I keep thinking about the ads.And it’s not just the Super Bowl. These ad...
02/18/2026

It’s been over a week since the Super Bowl, but I keep thinking about the ads.

And it’s not just the Super Bowl. These ads are everywhere.

At an event where so many people tune in specifically for the commercials (I mean… what else are we doing while we wait for the Bad Bunny show to start?!), I felt saddened — but not surprised — to be sold a very familiar story:

Your body is the problem.
And we have the solution.

The messaging wasn’t subtle.

Smaller body = better life.
Happiness waiting just around the weight-loss corner.
All of it accessible with a simple prescription.

It’s striking to remember that just a few years ago, the body positivity movement was breaking into the mainstream. We were seeing more size representation. At least some lip service to inclusivity.

Now that moment feels like a blip in the rearview mirror.

We’re back in the “thin is in” 90s-style marketing hype.

The conversation about GLP-1s is far more complex than the simple solution these ads present.

Because what the ads, and much of the broader discourse, rarely highlight are:

• The side effects
• The long-term unknowns
• The body shame reinforced by this narrative
• The very real risks for people vulnerable to eating disorders

That’s because these commercials weren’t just selling a medication.

They were selling a fantasy.
A promise.
A before-and-after storyline we’ve been conditioned to believe and to long for.

But health isn’t one-size-fits-all.
And a meaningful life isn’t about shrinking ourselves.

We can notice the marketing for what it is without shaming ourselves for being impacted by it.

When you see these ads and this familiar old narrative, try pausing.
Take a breath.
Ask yourself:

Is this about my wellbeing — or about profit?

Health doesn’t have a size.
Shame doesn’t heal.
Our bodies are not trends.

What stood out to you during the ads? 👇🏼

Instagram is a highlight reel, and Valentine’s Day is no different.Our feeds fill with giant bouquets, romantic dinners,...
02/13/2026

Instagram is a highlight reel, and Valentine’s Day is no different.

Our feeds fill with giant bouquets, romantic dinners, surprise proposals.
Everyone looks chosen. Happy. Confident.

Even self-love can start to feel like something we’re supposed to display.
To prove.
To perform.

If you’re having a hard body image day…
If food still feels complicated…
If confidence isn’t your default setting…

You are not alone.

In this month’s newsletter, I’m unpacking what self-love actually is — and how the Instagram-era body positivity movement left so many people feeling like they were failing at body love… when in reality, it’s not a personality trait. It’s a practice we return to again and again.

💌 You can read the latest newsletter and join my list at www.drconason.com

Valentine’s Day can bring up a lot.Pressure to feel confident.Pressure to feel desirable.Pressure to “love your body.”Bu...
02/13/2026

Valentine’s Day can bring up a lot.

Pressure to feel confident.
Pressure to feel desirable.
Pressure to “love your body.”

But what if body love isn’t a feeling you have to force?

What if it’s a practice?

Not:
“I love the way I look today.”

But:
“I’m willing to treat my body with care.”
“I’m willing to stop punishing it.”
“I’m willing to build trust with it.”
“I’m willing to stay on the same team.”

Loving your body isn’t about loving what we look like, it’s about fostering a deep unconditional love that holds us even in times when we don’t like how our body looks.

It’s about compassion and choosing not to abandon yourself on the hard days.
It’s showing up even with an open heart even when your body feels complicated.

What is one act you can do to foster true love and compassion for your body today? 💗

Our nervous system doesn’t know the difference between being chased by a tiger and the stresses of modern life.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀...
02/12/2026

Our nervous system doesn’t know the difference between being chased by a tiger and the stresses of modern life.
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Watching a GLP-1 ad.
Seeing a formerly body-positive influencer pivot to peddling Ozempic.
Hearing about the “war on protein.”
Trying on jeans when every brand uses a completely different sizing system.
Seeing an unfiltered photo in a culture that normalizes self-criticism.
Comparing our body — or our life — to someone else’s online.
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Our nervous system reacts like we’re being chased. Our sympathetic nervous system kicks in. Our heart rate rises. Our stomach drops.
Our brain tells us that we’re in danger.
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But most of the time, we’re not in physical danger.
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We’re in a culture designed to keep us activated.
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Diet culture runs on urgency. On fear. On convincing us that our bodies are problems that need fixing.
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But the solution isn’t to shrink ourselves.
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It’s to pause long enough to ask:
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Is this a tiger… or is this marketing?
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What “tigers” would you add to this list? 👇🏼
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GLP-1 medications are often framed as a simple, easy, safe solution for weight loss.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀But the marketing hype can ...
02/09/2026

GLP-1 medications are often framed as a simple, easy, safe solution for weight loss.
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But the marketing hype can obscure risks that we should be talking about, including risks around muscle loss, aging, and long-term health.
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Rapid weight loss (whether from dieting, surgery, or GLP-1s) doesn’t just reduce fat.
It often comes with loss of muscle mass, and that is really important, especially as we age.
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Muscle isn’t just about the aesthetics of 6-pack abs or toned arms.
It’s about balance, mobility, bone health, independence, and longevity.
Losing too much muscle increases risk for frailty, falls, fractures, and loss of independence, especially for adults 65 and older.
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Most clinical trials for GLP-1s focused on people in their 40s and 50s but we don’t have enough research on the long-term data on safety or outcomes for older adults. And from what I’m seeing, older adults—having spent most of their lives immersed in diet culture—are eager to jump on the GLP-1 train.
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This isn’t a moral judgment or a black or white conversation. It’s about looking at the full picture of GLP-1 mediations so people can make an informed choice (along with their doctors of course) about if these medications are right for them.
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We all need to remember that:
• weight loss ≠ health
• bodies change with time and that’s adaptation not a failure
• a little extra weight can sometimes be protective especially as we age
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For folks who do choose to use a GLP-1, experts recommend the following to protect bone health and minimize muscle loss:
✔️ strength training
✔️ adequate protein
✔️ slow, gradual weight loss
✔️ close medical supervision
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Health isn’t about shrinking at all costs.
It’s about supporting strength, energy, function, and quality of life, especially as we age.
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What questions do you still have about GLP-1s that no one seems to be answering?

#2016 I look back at my camera roll from 2016 and there are hardly any photos of me. It’s filled with photos of my infa...
02/08/2026

#2016 I look back at my camera roll from 2016 and there are hardly any photos of me. It’s filled with photos of my infant daughter. I knew these would be the photos we would look back on one day and even if life felt like a blur I wanted to capture every moment. It didn’t occur to me to capture photos of myself. She was the main character and I was just the supporting cast.
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The early days-months-years were hard for me. I struggled to figure out how to both care for my daughter and care for myself. My body reflected that as I would go long stretches without eating; it just felt easier to ignore the hunger pangs than to figure out how to stop and get food on a long walk with a sleeping baby or grocery shop or make myself lunch when I had an empty fridge and zero energy. Looking back, there was a part of me that longed for someone else to feed me, to care for me, but it was just me and my baby and I was overwhelmed.
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No one asked if I was okay. Instead, I was met with compliments. “You look great!” “You lost the baby weight so quickly, what’s your secret.”
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I look back at the pictures from 10 years ago and I’m filled with love for my precious baby girl—now a full fledged tween—and I see my thinner self and remember how lost I felt. The feeling that I wasn’t worth caring for. That something had to give and that something was me.
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As I gained a sense of myself in motherhood, I gained weight. In a culture that values thinness above all else, body changes are never uncomplicated. But I wouldn’t change it for anything.

📷:

Anti-diet gets misunderstood a lot.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀It’s not about ignoring your body.It’s not about chaos or “losing control.”A...
02/07/2026

Anti-diet gets misunderstood a lot.
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It’s not about ignoring your body.
It’s not about chaos or “losing control.”
And it’s definitely not about eating in ways that leave you feeling awful.
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Anti-diet is about giving yourself permission to eat all foods *and* that doesn’t mean you have to eat foods that don’t make you feel good or ignore your health.
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It’s about moving away from external rules and tuning into your internal guidance system:
hunger, fullness, satisfaction, taste enjoyment, and how foods actually make your body feel.
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It’s permission to nourish yourself without guilt or shame.
Permission to listen instead of follow rigid rules.
Permission to choose what truly supports you in this moment.
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That includes pleasure and care.
Satisfaction and attunement.
Freedom and respect for your body.
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When food isn’t moralized, you don’t have to rebel against it.
You get to relate to it with trust instead of fear.
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If you were taught that control comes from restriction, this can feel radical.
But it’s actually one of the most natural things in the world.
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✨ If you want support practicing this, I created a free Mindful Eating Toolkit to help you start tuning into your body with more ease and less noise from diet culture.
Grab it through the link in my bio or at drconason.com
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What part of this feels hardest to believe right now? 👇

We’re taught to think of health as something you earn through discipline, optimization, and the “right” choices.But so m...
02/03/2026

We’re taught to think of health as something you earn through discipline, optimization, and the “right” choices.

But so much of what actually supports health has nothing to do with green juice or willpower and everything to do with safety, access, rest, and care.

When we reduce health to a personal lifestyle project, we ignore the systems that shape who gets to feel safe, regulated, and supported and who doesn’t.

Health isn’t just individual.
It’s collective.
It’s political.

If you care about health, that means valuing safety, freedom, and access for all.

Body image can feel hard…Even when you’ve done the work.Read the books.Unfollowed the diet accounts.Challenged the rules...
02/01/2026

Body image can feel hard…
Even when you’ve done the work.
Read the books.
Unfollowed the diet accounts.
Challenged the rules.
Identified and challenged fatphobia.
Helped other people heal.
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It’s normal to still have days where your body feels hard to be in.
That doesn’t mean you’re failing or doing it wrong.
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It’s normal to struggle with body image in a culture that profits off keeping us insecure,
in a culture that values thinness above all else.
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Healing isn’t about eliminating critical thoughts altogether.
It’s not about feeling confident every single day.
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The real work is what happens when those thoughts do show up.
Do they get to take the wheel?
Or can you meet them with curiosity, boundaries, and care and gently invite them into the backseat?
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Healing can look like:
• noticing negative body image thoughts without spiraling
• staying present in your life and caring for yourself even when the thoughts feel loud
• choosing compassion instead of self-criticism
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If today is a tough body image day, you’re not alone.
You’re a human doing this work in a system that makes it hard on purpose.
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What helps you on tough body image days?
Let’s share tools in the comments to support one another.

🩷 If you are looking for body image support, reach out to to schedule a free consultation call to see if one of our therapists can be a good fit for you. We have limited space in our Body Image Group as well as individual therapy with our body image specialized therapists.

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New York, NY
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Telephone

+16468413652

Website

http://www.theantidietplan.com/

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