Hello Body!

Episode 17 of the Hello Body! podcast with your hosts, Melissa and Katy. In this episode, we talk with Shreen El Masry. Shreen is a non-diet, body inclusive and Health At Every Size personal trainer, Certified Intuitive Eating Counsellor based in Sydney, Australia. 

Shreen struggled with dieting and body image from a young age, but it wasn’t until she migrated to Australia from the UK back in 2010 that her physical and mental health deteriorated, and she developed depression, anxiety and an eating disorder.

The eating disorder started when Shreen was asked to be a bridesmaid for a friend’s wedding and she was body shamed during the fitting.  Shreen’s turning point came when her counsellor warned her that she would hospitalize her under the Mental Health Act. 

Episode 13 of the Hello Body! podcast with your hosts, Melissa and Katy. In this episode, we interview the incomparable Joshna Maharaj. Joshna is an award-winning chef, activist, public speaker and two-time TEDx speaker, and the author of the book “Take Back the Tray: Revolutionizing Food in Hospitals, Schools, and Other Institutions.” 

She is at the forefront of a revolution in changing how we feed our most vulnerable members of society, and frankly the only reason we were able to nail her down to speak with us is because she also happens to be one of my oldest, dearest friends.  

We talk to Joshna all about her work to change how we view hospitality and how large institutions prepare and serve food, and the ways in which we need to challenge the industrial food complex.  

We also talk about what it’s like to be in the public sphere and to have big, loud, revolutionary ideas while existing in a fat body — especially when those ideas are about food and nutrition and how we feed ourselves and each other. And even though the overwhelming response to her work is positive, she talks about how the vitriol she has encountered and the unsolicited feedback she has gotten about her size can eat away at her. 

TW: We do talk about the industrial food complex and the topics of processed food and access to food, and this can triggering if you have a history with orthorexia or if you struggle with the 10th principle of intuitive eating, which is gentle nutrition and honoring your health and taste buds above the ingredients of your food. 

This episode is a bit longer than our usual interviews because we cover a lot of meaty issues and I know you’re going to love this conversation and hearing all about Joshna’s incredible work in this world.  

Episode 11 of the Hello Body! podcast with your hosts Melissa and Katy. In this episode, we interview Sumner Brooks and Amee Severson. Both are registered dietitians who practice a weight-neutral, Health at Every Size® approach to intuitive eating and nutrition — and they recently joined forces to write the book entitled How to Raise an Intuitive Eater.

Naturally, we peppered them with questions related to the struggles we’ve faced feeding our kids with a gentle nutrition approach while also existing in a fatphobic world that views our children’s health in terms of their body size. We also talk about how their upcoming book works with Ellen Satter principles and also how it departs from her work. We address some of the socioeconomic issues around nutrition, including access to food, and also address food rules with neurodivergent kids and the ongoing hysteria around sugar and children. Enjoy!

Episode 10 of the Hello Body! podcast with your hosts Melissa and Katy. In this episode, we interview Anupa Roper (aka Miss Sparrow Legs). Anupa lives in the UK with her husband and 2 children. She allowed her label of ‘skinny’ to affect her feelings and choices for a long time. Now she wants to empower the young by helping them to feel happy in their own skin. She would love for the generations that follow to know that their bodies are amazing and they are beautiful just the way they are.

Episode 9 of the Hello Body! podcast with your hosts Melissa and Katy. In this episode, we interview Sarah Thacker of Wholistic Food Therapy. Sarah offers a holistic approach to mental and emotional wellbeing. In her private practice she is dedicated to supporting those who struggle with emotional eating, eating disorders, anxiety, trauma and a variety of other challenges. As a licensed psychotherapist, certified EMDR therapist and certified yoga therapist, she integrates a variety of therapeutic techniques based on each individual's unique needs. Sarah believes that everyone deserves and has the capacity to feel their best in mind, body and spirit.

Sarah has a wealth of information to share and offers so many amazing tips in this episode — especially related to dealing with the trauma associated with disordered eating and body dysmorphia. You’ll definitely want to grab a pen and paper to take notes from this one. Enjoy!

Episode 8 of the Hello Body! podcast with your hosts Melissa and Katy. In this episode, we interview Susan Portz. Susan is a registered dietitian who is passionate about helping women find food freedom through intuitive eating and a Health At Every Size® perspective. She works with clients virtually to help them heal their relationship with food and their body. Susan’s goal is to help women stop worrying about food and their body so they can live their lives with more joy and find their true purpose in life.

Susan talks about her own history with disordered eating and how she discovered intuitive eating and transitioned away from a weight-centric approach to health and nutrition with her clients and in her own life. We also talk about how she and Melissa support their clients whose doctors have told them they have to lose weight. The many trials and tribulations of getting weighed at the doctor’s office. And we ask Susan what’s really got her fired up about diet culture these days.

Episode 7 of the Hello Body! podcast with your hosts Melissa and Katy. In this episode, we talk about weight stigma. Melissa goes into detail about the advent of Weight Stigma Awareness Week (and some of the controversy around the merger of NEDA and BEDA). We also talk about weight is the last socially-acceptable form of prejudice and discrimination in our society, and discuss Melissa’s experience with weight stigma as a child and how it shaped her life as an adult and a parent, and Katy’s experience with weight stigma as an adult at the doctor’s office. We talk about the emotional toll of doctor visits, as well as the psychological damage of “concern trolling” & “sidewalk doctors,” the many ways we can perpetuate weight stigma without even knowing it, and what we can all do to combat external and internalized weight stigma. Enjoy!

Episode 4 of the Hello Body! podcast with your hosts Melissa and Katy. In this episode, Melissa puts on her personal trainer hat to talk about the importance of conscious uncoupling when it comes to exercise and body size. We each talk about our different histories with exercise as dieters, and one of us did NO, what we now love about intuitive movement and what that looks like outside of the dieting paradigm.

We also chat about fitness trackers and weight training — yay or nay? — and share some of our favorite Instagram accounts to follow.

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Episode 3 of the Hello Body! podcast with your hosts Melissa and Katy. In this episode, Melissa and Katy talk about the history of the Body Mass Index and how and why this ridiculously over-simplified mathematical equation from the 1800s was ever tied to our individual health, and the many ways in which it is downright dangerous to tie the BMI to health.

Trigger warning: We occasionally talk about weight numbers in relation to the BMI, and we do get into some detail when it comes to some of our own pretty severe weight-loss tactics.

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