Don't Salt My Game | With Laura Thomas, PhD

Latest Episodes:

EP66 - Guts, Periods, + Hormones w/ Robyn Nohling of the Real Life RD Oct 27, 2017

Show notes

If you experience digestive issues or period problems, then this is the episode for you. Today I'm joined by Robyn Nohling, a Nurse Practitioner & Registered Dietitian based in NYC who specialises in eating disorders and women's health. We talk about how restricting food to try and solve your digestive issues might be self-defeating, and could cause more stress and functional problems if you're not addressing the underlying causes. We discuss the gut-brain axis and the role stress plays on our digestive system and how just thinking a food is bad for you might cause a negative physiological response (the nocebo effect). Plus the best ways to support your digestive health if you're recovering from restrictive eating. Then we switch things up and talk about periods, hormones, and what the heck is causing your period to disappear, aka hypothalamic amenorrhea. Plus what to do to help you get your period back, and what the big deal is with it being gone in the first place!

EP65 - Shutting Down Beauty Myths & What You Really Need for Skin Health w/ Dr. Anjali Mahto - Consultant Dermatologist Oct 20, 2017

Show notes

Are you ready to shut down some beauty myths? Because consultant dermatologist Dr. Anjali Mahto is here to SHUT 👏 THEM 👏 DOWN 👏 - do you really need eye cream? What about double -cleansing? And do oil based serums actually help with acne? Anjali distills down what we really need in our bathroom cabinets, and what's just junk. Plus we talk about the unrealistic beauty standards placed on women and how dermatologists need to step up and take responsibility when they suspect body dysmorphia. Plus why we need to celebrate the wisdom and experience of older women instead of trying to erase them from consciousness. So much great stuff in this episode, LEAN IN.

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Show Notes - full notes at laurathomasphd.co.uk

{Anjali on Instagram | Twitter} {Anjali on Huffington Post} {Preorder Anjali's Book} {Anjali's Clinics: Skin 55 | Cadogan Clinic} {Dr Pimple Popper} {CTPA}

Anjali's Skincare Recommendations:

Sun ScreenHeliocare 360 gel oil-free SPF 50

Facial CleansersOily skin:

Sensitive Skin

Avene extremely gentle cleanser lotion

Antioxidant Serums

Skin brightening agents (ingredients to look out for):

Arbutin
Kojic or mandelic acid
Glabridin (licorice)
Azelaic acid

Retinoid or Vitamin A based products:

EP64 - How to Make Peace With Food & Your Body w/ Megan Crabbe of BodyPosiPanda Oct 13, 2017

Show notes

YOU GUYS, this episode is 🔥🔥🔥 Megan Crabbe, aka BodyPosiPanda, BoPo warrior, author, and earth angel is back on the pod for round 2 (go back and listen to my first ep with her - #4). In this episode we talk about Megan's experiences writing the book, and how that was for her in terms of her mental health. We talk about anxieties, insecurities, imposter syndrome and the comparison game. So yes, even one of the most influential body positivity advocates on Instagram has bad days and I'm so grateful to Megan for being so honest with us about her mental health. We also talk about what happens when you are learning to eat intuitively and some of the challenges of that process and how to deal with the fear that you may never stop eating. You guys sent me a bunch of questions on this so I've tried to work them in. We talk about some common questions that come up around health and body positivity, Megan shuts down diet culture, we talk about how to deal with diet mentality, and why representation and diversity of bodies is so important. We talk about thin privilege, and soooo much more. And then Megan leaves us with her top tips for body positivity, aside from buying her book, which, if you don't have it yet, then what are you doing with your life?

EP63 - Is #fitspo Really #thinspo, and is 'Strong' Just 'Skinny' Rebranded? w/ Anna Kessel - Author of Eat Sweat Play Sep 29, 2017

Show notes

So excited to share this interview with Anna Kessel which was recorded live at the London Podcast Festival (which is why we sound like we're underwater at some parts 🐡). Anna is a sports journalist and author who advocates for gender equality in sports, but don't stress, she's not preachy about it. Having spent her formative years dodging PE like the rest of us, Anna developed a relationship with sport a bit later in life. We talk about how that relationship has changed over the years, especially now she is a mother. We also discuss how movement can ground us in our bodies and help us develop a better body image instead of being outside and looking at it more critically. However, this is pretty antithetical to the message we get from the #fitspo and #noexcuses movements which use punitive messaging to shame people into working out, or prey on our insecurities about our physical appearance. We also talk about campaigns that get it right and really empower women, like This Girl Can. Plus why it's so important that little girls have options besides party shoes for wearing to school. We also have some great questions from the audience at the end. Enjoy!

Show Notes

{Anna on Twitter | Instagram} {Eat Sweat Play} {Maureen Lipman BT Advert} {This Girl Can Old & New Ads} {Anna on Girls' school shoes} {Why is #Fitspo a beauty contest?} {Women's Sport Trust} {Hannah Witton on Youtube} {What to say instead of "you're not fat"} {Eff Your Fitspo} {Happy Healthy 50}

EP62 - Overcoming Fat Phobia & Disordered Eating and Finding Radical Body Acceptance w/ Steph Yeboah of Nerd About Town (Part 2) Sep 22, 2017

Show notes

In part two of my conversation with Steph Yeboah we discuss the idea that certain bodies dominate the body positive conversation, further marginalising the people who stand to gain the most from the movement and how the media have so much to answer for in terms of promoting certain more 'acceptable' bodies over others. We also talk about the damaging stereotypes that black women live with on a daily basis and how to be an ally for POC by listening, sharing their experiences and supporting their work. Finally we talk about how to build body confidence and be unapologetically yourself. Join in our #bodyapology challenge too.

Show Notes

{Nerd About Town Instagram | Twitter} {Nerd About Town Blog} {Tess Holliday} {Body Positive Power} {The Slumflower} {Being Unapologetically Yourself} {A Letter to my Body} {Milk & Honey} {MohDoh} {R. Kelly's Cult} {A Victim of R.Kelly's weird cult comes forward}

EP62 - Overcoming Fat Phobia & Disordered Eating and Finding Radical Body Acceptance w/ Steph Yeboah of Nerd About Town (Part 1) Sep 15, 2017

Show notes

⚠️ TRIGGER WARNING: This episode may not be suitable for people with an active eating disorder or for those who feel vulnerable. In this week's 'sode I'm talking to Steph Yeboah - aka Nerd About Town. Steph shares her experiences of being at the receiving end of fat phobia and bullying, and the subsequent self harm and disordered eating she went through. As Steph explains, she's gone to really extreme measures to try and get the 'perfect body'. We talk about this really painful place to be in where society & people around you are telling you that your body's a problem, but you can't change your body so it really becomes a radical act to accept your body, accept your size and begin to love and respect your body. I also go off on a massive tangent about how the idea of healthy or sensible weight loss in a false economy and explain a bit of the weight science behind it (papers in the show notes for HCPs). Anyway, after we take a little detour into weight science, we got back to talking about body image and more specifically where the body positivity movement is at the moment and why Steph identifies more strongly with fat acceptance and fat positivity rather than body positivity. This is such a great episode, I can't wait to share part 2.

Show Notes:

{Nerd About Town Instagram | Twitter} {Nerd About Town Blog} {Sign up for FOOD FiGHT} {Don't Salt My Game at the London Podcast Festival} {Taylor Swift & Donald Trump} {Stigma & Perpetuation of Obesity} {Weight Bias in Health Care Settings} {The Ironic Effects of Weight Stigma} {Weight Discrimination and Risk of Mortality}

EP61 w/ No Skin off My Back w/ Laura Stageman of Votch Watches Sep 08, 2017

Show notes

Laura Stageman is the founder of cruelty free & sustainable fashion watch brand Votch. Today she's sharing her wild story of withdrawal from topical steroid addiction - a painful condition that occurs when an eczema sufferer weans off of their steroid creams. She tells us why feeling the pain of losing her own skin led her to vow never to wear the skin of another being ever again. We talk about how her debilitating condition left her in the bath for 20 hours a day and the excruciating pain of letting her skin heal. Her story has a happy ending though, and we get talking about ethical, sustainable, and (most importantly) cool vegan fashion. We talk about the struggles of building a brand that goes against the status quo and the creative and innovative solutions for faux leather that are even better than the real deal. Laura shares her favourite brands who are shaking off the idea that vegan shoes, clothes, and accessories are for crunchy hippies, and bringing us cool, fashion forward, compassionate designs.

EP60 - From Anxious Perfectionist to Non-Diet Nutrition Boss w/ Haley Goodrich of INSPIRD Nutrition Sep 01, 2017

Show notes

I'm really excited to introduce you to disordered eating dietician Haley Goodrich. Both Haley and I suffer from anxiety and Haley shares some great advice on how she deals with that, as well as her perfectionist tendencies that in her college days manifested as issues with food and over exercise. We discuss how they can morph and show up in other ways even when you've developed a healthy relationship to food. We also talk about the experience of being a nutrition student and how that can really fuel weirdness around food if you have perfectionist tendencies or are predisposed to it in some way. There's also a level of cognitive dissonance where on one hand you're trying to be the perfect nutrition student, but on the other hand you want to drink beer and eat cake; something that intuitive eating is flexible enough to incorporate but traditional nutrition and dietetics models are way too rigid for which can again cause a lot of anxiety if you're a perfectionist. Haley is also a total nutrition boss and she shares some advice for really anyone who wants to be an entrepreneur but especially people who want to work within the health at every size, intuitive eating, and non-diet paradigm.

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Show Notes:

{Haley's Website} {Haley on Facebook |Instagram| Twitter} {Inspird to Seek} {Baby Goats} {Pumpkin The Racoon} {Helping Hurricane Harvey victims} {Food Fight Intuitive Eating Course}(Use code 'DONTSALTMYGAME') {The London Podcast Festival Tickets}

EP59 - All Bodies Are Yoga Bodies w/ Lily Silverton of All Body Yoga Aug 25, 2017

Show notes

Today I'm talking to body positive yoga teacher and writer, Lily Silverton about the myths surrounding what a 'yoga body' should look like and how the narrow version of yoga, stemming from the beauty myth and propagated by diet culture, fails to make room for for people who deviate from this oppressive norm. We also talk about the concept of Ahimsa and how Lily interprets this to mean making her classes a safe, body positive space for her students. Lastly we talk about how owning your own privilege doesn't mean you can't be body positive, but it does mean that you can be critical of how diet culture has co-opted this term and how it suppresses the voices of already marginalised people. It's about holding ourselves accountable & fighting for diversity & representation of ALL bodies, not just the ones that are already visible, not just the ones we find pretty. We also talk about how, like all social change, fighting for true body positivity, equality, and diversity is slow and we are only at the beginning and how conversations like these are necessary to chip away at the status quo. Lastly, Lily shares some of her favourite bopo yoga accounts to follow. This feels like a heavy conversation in a lot of way - probably because checking our privilege feels uncomfortable, but I hope we can all learn from this. I by no means am suggesting I'm close to perfect in how we talk about these issues, but I want to learn alongside you guys, and use this podcast to learn and grow together ✌️

Show Sponsor:

Show Notes:

{Lily on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter} {All Body Yoga} {The Myth of the Yoga Body} {Amputee Yoga} {Skinny Shaming & Thin Privilege} {Lily's Interview w/ BodyPosiPanda} {My Interview w/ BodyPosiPanda} {Naomi Wolf - The Beauty Myth} {Stoner Yoga} {Yours Truely Melly on Body Positivity} {Dana Falsetti} {Jessamyn Stanley} {Yoga Bodies Book} {Big Gal Yoga} {Morning Gloryville} {Omazie} {Body Positive Power} {The London Podcast Festival Tickets} {Thrive Festival Tickets} {Lily is an ambassador for the Choose Life Mat Project}

EP58 - Things Blogger's Say - Nutrition Myth Busting Special w/ Nic Whitehead of Nic's Nutrition Aug 18, 2017

Show notes

Alright guys, buckle in, it's a long one. Today I'm joined by NHS specialist Dietitian and everyone's favourite RD, Nic Whitehead as we debunk all the weird crap that bloggers say on their blogs and social media. We talk about the detox myth, activated charcoal, apple cider vinegar, and discuss the whole 'refined sugar free' thing. Plus fruit sugars, 'clean' plant based milks, and nutrition for acne. We also talk a bit more broadly about developing a healthy relationship with food that doesn't unnecessarily eliminate or restricts foods and why food is for pleasure, enjoyment, and satisfaction, and that nutrition is never all or nothing.So much great stuff in this 'sode, think you're gonna enjoy it 👾

Show Sponsor:

Show Notes:

{Nic's Blog}

{Nic on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube}

{The Rooted Project Acne Post}

{The Rooted Project Med Diet}

{Mindful Eating}

{The Angry Chef}

{The Gut Health Doctor}

{What The Fruc(tose)?}

{Rosie Saunt Smoothie Post}

{Refined Vs. Unrefined Sugar}