Chicago-based Lori Brand is a lifting enthusiast, group fitness instructor, yoga teacher, and software quality engineer. In her diverse past, she has been a gymnast, dancer, Playboy model, and bodybuilder. Her experiences in the world of body competition led her to the realization that getting strong, rather than shrinking, is the true path to empowerment. To spread this message, Lori has had articles published in STRONG Fitness Magazine, T-Nation, Inside Fitness Magazine, D’FYNE Fitness Magazine, and more.

Her new book, Bodies to Die For, centers around popular fitness influencer Gemma, who has transformed herself from a “Before” into an “After” with washboard abs, a thriving business, and a gorgeous husband. However, social media can be deceiving. Offline, the cutthroat world of bikini bodybuilding threatens to consume her—if she’s not first destroyed by the secret nemesis lurking beneath her polished exterior.

Meanwhile, software engineer Ashley is struggling with her weight and frustration. She’s tired of failed diets, societal pressure to shrink, biased doctors, online trolls, and even her own mother. Ashley finds solace in a radical sect of Fat Activists who are fighting back against diet culture by any means necessary. For the first time, she feels alive and purposeful, willing to do whatever it takes to ride this high, dismantle Diet Culture, and win the approval of her charismatic leader.

Buy Lori’s book, here.

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