Find Your Strong Podcast

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Bri Campos is a tour de force.  She believes wholeheartedly in creating language around body image and encourages non-diet and intuitive eating providers not to skirt the issue.

We chat about how integral building a relationship with our bodies can hugely impact how we feel about ourselves and how we show up for others.

Main Takeaways
Why sitting in the discomfort with our bodies can help us build a better relationship with our bodies.
The pursuit of health does NOT equal the pursuit of thinness
Why so many of us are still trying to CONTROL our bodies and at what cost?
Why body image work matters, especially when it comes to eating disorders work.
Why this is not just a superficial topic, but a social justice issue.

What a joy to be joined by Bri, who was so generous with her time and articulated these sensitive issues so beautifully. She is a true gem and to find out more about her OR to work with her in a body image capacity or as a provider:

Check out her website 
OR
find her on Instagram.

Please reach out if you would like some support with your relationship to food OR movement. Ela currently has limited spaces for Intuitive Eating coaching and if you'd like to reconnect with movement, contact Christine.

AND if you enjoyed this episode, please share and follow the 'Find Your Strong podcast' and if you have time, write us a short review. It would honestly mean the world. Love to you all, Ela & Christine x

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Wow, what a fantastic conversation with the fabulous Emily Williams - and our first to be released on YouTube (you can watch it here!)

Emily is the Director and Co-founder of Every Body Outdoors and loves the outdoors - at the moment mostly cycling and wild swimming, but also paddleboarding, canoeing, camping and exploring and anything else that looks like fun.
In her day job she works as a self-employed knitwear designer and technical editor (specialising in plus size grading of hand-knit patterns) and is a campaigner advocating for better active travel infrastructure in the highlands.

Emily shared with us how she has always loved outdoor activities and adventures and how she became an activist to lobby for size-inclusive clothing. She has been putting herself out there, representing how those in plus-size bodies can have the adventures that we usually only see straight-sized and thin folks go on.

Every Body Outdoors is building a community exclusively for people in larger bodies who want to explore outdoor activities. They review clothes and gear, and they run regional walks.

We also talked about the brilliant short film 'Capsized' that showed Emily and her friend Lisa on a canoe adventure in the Scottish Lochs. We chatted about their journey, how getting the right gear was so much more difficult and labour intensive for Emily than Lisa, and how the film is meant to show people that there is a place for every body outdoors.

Here are links to the trailer:
Watch the Trailer on Facebook
Watch the Trailer on Instagram

The film will be screened at Kendal Mountain Festival on the 22nd and 24th November 2024, and will go on tour afterwards - check out the dates and book your tickets!
Buy your tickets for the festival here.

Check Out the Tour

Follow Every Body Outdoors on social media
@every_body_outdoors

OR join their Facebook group (exclusively for plus size folk!):

Please reach out if you would like some support with your relationship to food OR movement. Ela currently has limited spaces for Intuitive Eating coaching and if you'd like to reconnect with movement, contact Christine.

AND if you enjoyed this episode, please share and follow the 'Find Your Strong podcast' and if you have time, write us a short review. It would honestly mean the world. Love to you all, Ela & Christine x

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Trigger warning: We talk about weight, calories, wegovy and eating disorders in this episode. Please take care of yourselves and show discretion if any little ones are nearby.

Another episode in our YOUR Bodies series where we talk to YOU about your experience with dieting, movement and your body. This week we are chatting to Kate.

Kate is 46 years old and lives in Brighton. She is mum to a 10 year old girl, who is her inspiration for repairing her body image and relationship with food after a lifetime of diet culture. She is currently navigating intuitive eating in the face of medical diagnoses, which would otherwise have led her back to dieting. (This is in large part thanks to the information and support available in the Body Image Fitness community.)

We loved our conversation with Kate and really valued her sharing her experience with intuitive eating, body acceptance and navigating medical issues whilst staying true to her non-diet journey – and we believe you will find it a super interesting and helpful episode!

Please reach out if you would like some support with your relationship to food OR movement. Ela currently has limited spaces for Intuitive Eating coaching and if you'd like to reconnect with movement, contact Christine.

AND if you enjoyed this episode, please share and follow the 'Find Your Strong podcast' and if you have time, write us a short review. It would honestly mean the world. Love to you all, Ela & Christine x

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This conversation with Bri Campos had a huge impact on me.  It was confronting and resonated deeply. I am currently doing some business coaching with Bri and invited her to talk to me about rest and about the fact that MANY of us, feel like we have a great relationship with movement and our bodies but are perhaps stuck in that bargaining phase when it comes to body grief.

I struggle with rest.
I move for my mental health, to quieten my active ADHD brain. I move because I ALWAYS feel better when I do. But.....
In recent months, I have felt a strong pull towards rest.  I have felt like I know exactly how to move and tune into my body when it comes to movement but actually there is a missing link.  How do I fully repair my relationship with my body if I don't explore my relationship with REST.

We chat about the 7 different forms of rest which may be unknown to you.
There is social, emotional, spiritual, physical, mental, sensory and creative rest.  Rest doesn't need to look the same for everyone.  Bri shares how she prioritised her relationship with rest and continues to explore what works for her.

Bri references the book 'Do Nothing' by Celeste Headlee and Sacred Rest by Saundra Dalton- Smith.

Watch this space, as we welcome Bri back on the podcast in a few episodes' time to talk about body grief, experiencing life in a larger body and how sitting in the suck is actually the answer when it comes to body acceptance.

Please reach out if you would like some support with your relationship to food OR movement. Ela currently has limited spaces for Intuitive Eating coaching and if you'd like to reconnect with movement, contact Christine.

AND if you enjoyed this episode, please share and follow the 'Find Your Strong podcast' and if you have time, write us a short review. It would honestly mean the world. Love to you all, Ela & Christine x

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We are so grateful to Nicky for spending time with us and chatting about her body story, how she found balance in her life by exploring movement, and how her recent ADHD diagnosis helps her navigate her relationship to food and movement.

Nicky, 44, is from Exeter and lives with her husband Chris. She has suddenly found a love for movement in the last few years and will happily rant on about diet culture for ages – we are so here for that, Nicky!! 

A member of Body Image Fitness, Nicky has been exploring intuitive movement and eating for a while now, and it has helped her advocate for herself better and understand that her weight doesn’t equate to her health. She is an avid reader and has been very proactive in learning more about diet culture, the non-diet approach to well-being and how neurodivergence fits into the picture. We are incredibly grateful that she shared her insights and lived experience with us in the podcast. We loved recording this episode and learnt a lot from Nicky sharing her story. We hope you will, too!

Here are a few links to resources we mentioned in our conversation:

Balance and ADHD

https://psychcentral.com/adhd/postural-sway-adhd

https://coachbit.com/the-parent-bit/balance-exercises-an-alternative-treatment-for-adhd

https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness/postural-sway-adhd

https://bodyimagefitness.co.uk/

Nicky’s amazing yoga teacher Meg’s Insta handle

https://www.instagram.com/__yogawithmeg__?igsh=MWVxa3MxYjh2azMwZQ==

Please reach out if you would like some support with your relationship to food OR movement. Ela currently has limited spaces for Intuitive Eating coaching and if you'd like to reconnect with movement, contact Christine.

AND if you enjoyed this episode, please share and follow the 'Find Your Strong podcast' and if you have time, write us a short review. It would honestly mean the world. Love to you all, Ela & Christine x

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I have been SO excited to bring you this episode as I know it will speak to so many of you.  Hannah Husband (they/them) is a body liberation coach.  Think of Hannah as a couples therapist for the relationship between you and your body. They help the two of you fall in love with movement all over again (or for the very first time.)

Hannah's unique take on movement truly spoke to me, as someone who longs to feel free in her body but struggles to let go, the idea that movement could be about nourishment, pleasure and exploration was so affirming.

This conversation will surprise you, challenge you but above all encourage you to get curious about what movement truly feels good in your body.

Hannah references Elka Schroeder who they credit with her Take 10 series and Jane Clap, her former coach for the body tapping technique.

If you're interested in working with Hannah, she is keeping the doors to her Body Liberation Playground open until 7th October 2024 at 12 noon PST.

Find out more here: https://www.hannahhusband.com/

Please reach out if you would like some support with your relationship to food OR movement. Ela currently has limited spaces for Intuitive Eating coaching and if you'd like to reconnect with movement, contact Christine.

AND if you enjoyed this episode, please share and follow the 'Find Your Strong podcast' and if you have time, write us a short review. It would honestly mean the world. Love to you all, Ela & Christine x

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This one is a spicy, ranty one ALL about the language we use around food and our bodies.

We moralise the food we eat. We talk about feeling 'guilty' if we eat something 'bad'.  Weight Watchers count certain foods as 'sins' and we identify ourselves as good if we've eaten in a certain way and 'bad' if we have dared to indulge in a food that might taste good or satisfy our taste buds.

What about bodies?  I want to get "in shape". I'm so "out of shape".  You look good, have you lost weight? (Yes I think we've all said and thought that one.)
How about "you're not fat, you're beautiful"? 
 What does that say about fat people in general?  Why can't we be fat AND beautiful?  Why is it that only 'thin' bodies are acceptable when it comes to societal beauty ideals?

One comment that was made to me in my teens really stuck with me: "Don't worry Christine, not everyone can have a perfect body". These words stick and they hurt and may have ramifications for many years.

How are we as women marketed to?   Get toned!  Do Pilates for those long lean muscles.  Get strong but not beefy. Not too strong.  Just strong enough. Take up space but not too much space.  Just the right amount.  Make sure you're not overdoing the cardio or lifting too heavy. Do Pilates, or hot yoga, make yourself smaller but stronger. 

It's ENOUGH!

We'd LOVE to know what you think about this episode so PLEASE drop us a review, share the podcast and keep listening. We appreciate YOU!

Please reach out if you would like some support with your relationship to food OR movement. Ela currently has limited spaces for Intuitive Eating coaching and if you'd like to reconnect with movement, contact Christine.

AND if you enjoyed this episode, please share and follow the 'Find Your Strong podcast' and if you have time, write us a short review. It would honestly mean the world. Love to you all, Ela & Christine x

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This episode went places neither of us was expecting!  Tune in to find out why.

This week we are chatting with Kanoa Greene, celebrated by Good Morning America and CNN! Kanoa is proof that athleticism and adventure come in ALL shapes and sizes.
She is an internationally renowned fitness trainer and outdoor adventurer, and
is redefining what plus-size bodies can do, how they are perceived,
and where they can go. 
Kanoa is also the founder of NAKOA Adventure; creating brave spaces for plus-size
bodies to discover and explore the great outdoors and adventure
travel.
Kanoa challenges us to break down the barriers of disbelief and
celebrate bodies of all sizes without limits; demonstrating that you
don’t know what your body can do until you do it.

Kanoa is a trailblazer.  She works with some of the world's most renowned fitness brands, helping them to be more inclusive in terms of the sizes they stock and their overall ethos. 

We talk about brand identity, and how brands like Lululemon need to step up. We chat about real weight-inclusivity in fitness, our work with Kim Stacey at Body Image Fitness, plus-size fitness wear, doing the thing you think you cannot do and navigating a fitness industry that simply isn't set up for you.

This is one of the meatiest episodes of our season so far and we know you will love Kanoa as much as we did. Enjoy!

Please reach out if you would like some support with your relationship to food OR movement. Ela currently has limited spaces for Intuitive Eating coaching and if you'd like to reconnect with movement, contact Christine.

AND if you enjoyed this episode, please share and follow the 'Find Your Strong podcast' and if you have time, write us a short review. It would honestly mean the world. Love to you all, Ela & Christine x

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This episode was inspired by an instagram post, which spoke about the messy middle between diet culture and aesthetic goals and whether you could pursue fat loss specifically,  and NOT promote diet culture at the same time.

This is certainly a nuanced issue.  We live in a dieting culture which worships thinness above all else and where weight bias is prevalent.  Of course, we are going to think about changing our bodies and conforming to the current cultural ideal. But at what cost....?

Why are we pursuing fat loss?  Does that align with our values?  What about letting our bodies take up space? What about body respect? What about attunement and our internal hunger and fullness cues?   What about the fact the restriction is by far the biggest predictor of future weight gain?
What about the myriad of other benefits movement brings and how we want to FEEL in our bodies.

What about the racist roots of fatphobia? 

What about the concept that we are MORE than a body?

Weight loss is not a behaviour so can we pursue health promoting behaviours, and let our bodies take care of the rest?

We dig deep this week and would LOVE to hear your thoughts.

Please reach out if you would like some support with your relationship to food OR movement. Ela currently has limited spaces for Intuitive Eating coaching and if you'd like to reconnect with movement, contact Christine.

AND if you enjoyed this episode, please share and follow the 'Find Your Strong podcast' and if you have time, write us a short review. It would honestly mean the world. Love to you all, Ela & Christine x

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Welcome to episode #2 of our 'YOUR Bodies' series, where we invite members of our community.

Today we have Liana Stevens, or @mysugarcoatedlife 

Liana is a 45 year old mum of 2 from Nottingham, who started her journey towards neutrality and recovery from Binge Eating Disorder during the pandemic in 2020.

She realised that there has to be more to life than obsessing over the scales and trying to shrink her body with exercise in a bid to make herself happy.

We are so grateful to Liana, who speaks really candidly and opens up about her recent struggles underlining the fact that healing from an eating disorder is just not a linear process.

We hope you will love this episode as much as we loved recording it.

Please reach out if you would like some support with your relationship to food OR movement. Ela currently has limited spaces for Intuitive Eating coaching and if you'd like to reconnect with movement, contact Christine.

AND if you enjoyed this episode, please share and follow the 'Find Your Strong podcast' and if you have time, write us a short review. It would honestly mean the world. Love to you all, Ela & Christine x