The Body Resilient Mum

Postpartum can make your body feel purely functional and intimacy complicated. Counsellor Ashleigh Chapman (mum of two, 3 months postpartum) shares how body image, safety and the mental load shape desire, what partners often misread as rejection, and practical ways to reconnect: the “sex-off-the-table” reset, a gentle touch ladder, real-life scripts, and tiny steps to rediscover desire for yourself first. Warm, honest, zero shame and very doable. “Our bodies aren’t here to show up for a partner, they’re here to show up for us.” If you'd like to connect with Ashleigh you can find her on Insta @Evolve.MH or get in touch through her website www.evolvementalhealth.com.au.

Just a heads up, there is the occasional F-bomb is dropped in this episode, so if you have little ears around make sure you have your ear-buds in. In this episode, I sit down with Alice Worthy, aka The Modern Doula, to talk about why pregnancy can be such a vulnerable time for body image, and how we can protect our minds (and hearts) through it. Alice supports women through pregnancy, birth and beyond on the Central Coast, and she brings the perfect mix of practical wisdom and warm, “you’ve got this” energy. We get honest about the gap between expectations and reality (hello, “glow” that never shows), why society celebrates a big bump but shames a post-baby body, and how the words we use, with ourselves and with each other, can make or break a new mum’s day. Connect with Alice (The Modern Doula): Instagram: @themodern.doula Book a free 30-min Connect Call via the link in her bio to chat about pregnancy, birth or postpartum support (partners welcome).

In this inspiring episode of The Body Resilient Mum, I chat with Sierra Ryland, a dedicated triathlete, 5x Ironman finisher and mother (wow), to explore the challenges and triumphs of balancing motherhood with athletic ambitions. Sierra shares her journey from competing in Ironman events to navigating the complexities of recovery after a significant injury, all while maintaining her role as a mother and coach. Tune in to hear Sierra's insights on resilience, body image, and the importance of celebrating small milestones in the pursuit of personal, athletic and body image goals. Whether you're a seasoned athlete or a new mum navigating changes in your body, this episode offers valuable perspectives on embracing the process and trusting in your body's capabilities and celebrating the small wins.

Warning: This episode contains a few f-bombs, so if you have little ears around you might want to pop in your earbuds! This week I sat down with Kate Hickey and honestly, it’s one of those chats that just hits you right in the feels. Kate’s the founder of Empower 360 Fitness and she’s all about helping women feel strong and confident without getting caught up in how we should look. We talk about everything from teenage girls figuring out who they are, to women in menopause learning to appreciate their bodies in new ways. Kate shares her own story and some brilliant insights on why strength matters way more than dress size, and how we can all give ourselves a bit more credit. If you’ve ever looked in the mirror and thought you weren’t enough, this episode is going to feel like a warm hug and a pep talk rolled into one. Do yourself and your body image a favour and give Kate at Empower360 a follow on social media!

In this episode of The Body Resilient Mum Project Podcast, I sit down with Rhiannon Walton, Exercise Physiologist at Conveniently Active to have an open and honest conversation about abdominoplasty, a surgery more commonly (and often dismissively) called a “tummy tuck.” After experiencing a very large abdominal separation and lax connective tissue post-pregnancy, Rhiannon found herself living with pain, digestive issues, posture challenges, and reduced confidence. Despite years of dedicated rehabilitation, nothing worked , leaving surgery as her best option. Rhiannon shares: Her personal journey of deciding on surgery after years of trying conservative measures The reality of the physical symptoms associated with abdominal separation (beyond just aesthetics) How her history with eating disorders made body image even more complex in her recovery The stigma surrounding abdominoplasty, and why we need to start changing the narrative for mums Her mission to educate and empower women to make informed choices , whether that’s through rehab or surgery This is not a “one size fits all” conversation. Instead, it’s about reducing shame, opening up honest dialogue, and reminding mums that your journey is valid, whatever path you take to feel strong, supported, and at home in your body. Listen now for a powerful story of resilience, self-advocacy, and healing. If you'd like to get in touch with Rhiannon you can find her on Instagram @conveniently_active or her website https://convenientlyactive.com.au/

Welcome to season two of the Body Resilient Mum! We’re kicking off the season with the Gina Stear, dietician extraordinaire. Gina is the founder of Simple Steps Nutrition here on the NSW Central Coast. She’s helped hundreds of mums nourish themselves and their little ones through every age and stage and in todays episode we look at what this looks like when mums (pregnant, postnatal and beyond) are surrounded by the message that “thinner is better” and “weight loss is healthy”. I could have talked to Gina for double the length of this episode, there’s so much to unpack and Gina is wealth of knowledge (not to mention so beautiful to listen to), so keep your eyes peeled for a return visit from her in the near future!   If you’d like Gina’s help with your nutrition during pregnancy and beyond or you would like help with your child’s nutrition, you can find her on social media @simple.steps.nutrition or visit her website https://simplestepsnutrition.com.au/   Have you ever heard your child say that they don’t like something about their body? Maybe they’ve talked about wanting a smaller tummy or they’ve started talking about wanting a thinner body? Now is the time to step in and do something… but what? Download my free guide to helping your child strengthen their body image https://www.strongmums.com/pl/2148030128

Can you remember what it was like to be a teenager? Feeling insecure in your body, trying to look like yourself but at the same time fit in with everybody else? Always comparing your body and your face to those around you and the ones you saw in magazines.  Imagine going through all of that now but with access to social media and the internet 24/7. We can’t get rid of social media and we can’t abolish unrealistic images, but we can help our teens build a resilient body image so that when they do come across situations that challenge their confidence and self esteem (of which there’ll be many) they’ll have the knowledge and tools to bounce back from it. Building body image resilience starts at a young age, so even if you’re not a mum to teens yet, it’s never too early to teach your children about body diversity, what a healthy body looks like and how to critique the media. All this juicy content and more can be found in this week’s episode!   Get my downloadable guide to unwrapping your body confidence this Christmas https://www.strongmums.com/opt-in-b2f4bb74-4dc4-4277-b960-1b668bdac835    If you would like to learn more about how to build your body image and become more resilient in the way you perceive your body, check out the Body Resilient Mum Project online course www.strongmums.com/brmp If you or someone you know would like help and support with eating disorders please take a look at the following organisations: The Butterfly Foundation https://butterfly.org.au/get-support/helpline/ Beyond Blue https://www.beyondblue.org.au Inside Out https://insideoutinstitute.org.au/ National Eating Disorders Collaboration www.nedc.com.au Life Line https://www.lifeline.org.au/ or call on 13 11 14

Have you ever sucked in your tummy or worn suck-it-pants to make your waist look smaller? Yep, me too… all of the time, until I became a pre and post natal fitness professional.  Has it ever crossed your mind what effect years of constant sucking in your tummy has on your body, especially your pelvic floor? In this episode I talk to Nicole Young, women's health physiotherapist and owner of Forever Young Physiotherapy. We chat about the pressure women are under to have a smaller tummy and how your pelvic health is affected by gripping on with your abdominal muscles, sucking in your tummy or wearing suck-it-pants in an attempt to make your waist look tiny. If you’d like to get in touch with Nicole you can contact her through her website https://www.fyphysio.com.au/ or learn more about pelvic health through her awesome content on social media @fyphysio.

Trigger warning. In this episode we talk about birth trauma. We don’t go into detail about a specific experience but the conversation about the birth trauma may be triggering for some people. Listen with self compassion and feel free to skip this episode if you need to. I had the pleasure of chatting to Dr Rosie Pajak, clinical and perinatal psychologist and creator of the Birth Healing Collective. I see so often how pregnancy, birth and motherhood affect a woman's relationship with her body and her body image, so in the Body Resilient Mum Project there’s a big focus on what our bodies can do, rather than how they look.  But what happens when we feel like our bodies let us down during birth or in the postnatal period? What about when we feel like our body is broken? It can feel very difficult to appreciate what our bodies can do.  That’s where Dr Rosie comes in! We chat about how growing up we’ve been taught to view our body as something to be mastered, pushed and modified, and how self care, self compassion and a better understanding of our birth experience can strengthen our body image and our body acceptance. If you'd like to get in touch with Rosie you can contact her through her website https://thebirthhealingcollective.com/ or on Instagram @birth_healing_collective. Registration is now open for the Body Resilient Mum Project. Learn more and sigh up here www.strongmums.com/brm-project.

In this episode I take you through one of my favourite lessons in the Body Resilient Mum Project- How to critique what you see, read and hear in the media, especially social media! We have 24/7 access to unrealistic images of human bodies (sometimes not even human now that AI has gone mainstream), which means what we see has a huge impact on how we feel about our body. A lot of the time we are unaware of this. This episode is not a sales pitch, I promise. I share with you actual content from the Body Resilient Mum Project in the hope that it’ll help you to change the way you think and feel about your body. If you do want to learn more about my online course, the Body Resilient Mum Project you can check it out here: www.strongmums.com/brm-project.

This week I chatted to Chelsea Clifford, owner of Marquise Mums and co-creator of the Peach Project. Chels is a fellow MumSafe trainer and a certified CrossFit coach so I wanted to pick her brains on what it really means to train for performance (getting strong, faster, better) as opposed to training to change the way your body looks (doing squats to get a bigger bum and sit ups to get a six-pack, for example). We talk about why so many women still feel that they should exercise to change the shape of their body and what kind of environments support a healthy body image. If you’d like to get in touch with Chelsea you can drop her an email [email protected] or find her on socials @marquisemums and @project.peach.pod. Would you like to improve your body image alongside your health? Register for the Body Resilient Mum Project online course here!

In this episode I answer some of your hot topic questions on body image: "I still think that I looked better being a smaller size. How can I change my mindset around this?" "My daughter sees me putting on make up and asks why I do it. What do I tell her?" "My mum and her sister usually make a comment about what I’m eating and will probably go on and on about the diet I should join them on after Christmas. Do you have any advice on how to manage these conversations? " "What’s the best approach for talking to my kids about healthy food and unhealthy food?" Did you know that I have an online program called the Body Resilient Mum Project? It’s designed for mums, so it’s split up into short bite-sized lessons and can be accessed through an app on your phone. A lot of the advice I share in this episode you can find in lots more detail in the Body Resilient Mum Project. You can register for this online program here. Follow me on social media @body_resilient_mum_project where I share more of my knowledge and insights. If you enjoyed this episode please consider subscribing and leaving a review so that other mums can find my podcast and learn more about elevating their own body image. If you have questions or would like to share your story you can contact me [email protected].

In this episode I share some of the golden content from the Body Resilient Mum Project online course. Wait! Don’t go and find another podcast to listen to- I promise you this isn’t a forty minute sales pitch! I want you to finish listening to this episode and feel that you’re walking away with some valuable skills, which you can use next time you find that your mind wanders down the “I hate my body” path. This episode is part one, where I share some basic CBT and mindfulness skills. Part two will be released in a few weeks time and will focus on the tools we can use to critique what we see in the media and how to dissect marketing tactics designed to make us spend money on our insecurities. If you enjoyed this episode please consider subscribing and leaving a review so that other mums can find my podcast and learn more about elevating their own body image. If you have questions or would like to share your story you can contact me [email protected].

Keeping It Real episodes are made from a collection of real conversations with real mums. In this episode we talk about the comparison trap- how we often compare ourselves to other people, family, our friends, even our own pre-baby bodies. We also share our experiences of childhood, specifically the effect that seeing our mums and grandmothers repeatedly go on diets has had on our own body image. My absolute favourite part of these conversations was the bit about how we as parents are breaking this generational cycle by doing things differently to encourage body image resiliency in our own children. Did you know that I have an online program called the Body Resilient Mum Project? It’s designed for mums, so it’s split up into short bite-sized lessons and can be accessed through an app on your phone. A lot of the advice I share in this episode you can find in lots more detail in the Body Resilient Mum Project. You can register for this online program here. Follow me on social media @body_resilient_mum_project where I share more of my knowledge and insights.

This episode has a large focus on anorexia and the medical interventions that arose from that. If you think this may trigger unwanted emotions and memories for you please feel free to skip this one. In this very first episode I chat to Lisa. Lisa is one of the very first mums who joined my outdoor fitness groups, strong mums, 5 and a half years ago. She also happens to be one of my closest friends. I wanted to break the podcast ice with Lisa because 1) doing something for the first time with a friend makes it less scary and 2) she has a different perspective to myself when it comes to raising two girls and trying to teach them how to have a positive body image because of her history of eating disorder. We recorded this on a Friday evening at her place over a glass of aperol spritz, so expect laughs, honesty, emotions and the occasional clink of ice cubes. If you would like to learn more about how to build your body image and become more resilient in the way you perceive your body, check out the Body Resilient Mum Project online course www.strongmums.com/brmp If you or someone you know would like help and support with eating disorders please take a look at the following organisations: The Butterfly Foundation https://butterfly.org.au/get-support/helpline/ Beyond Blue https://www.beyondblue.org.au Inside Out https://insideoutinstitute.org.au/ National Eating Disorders Collaboration www.nedc.com.au Life Line https://www.lifeline.org.au/ or call on 13 11 14

Welcome to the Body Resilient Mum Podcast! I'm your host Louise Hurley and in this season trailer I'll be introducing myself, sharing with you what I do and how I ended up in this space of fitness and body image as well as what to expect from the Body Resilient Mum Podcast. I'm so excited to be here and can't to bring you season one! For further information or to connect with me in person head to www.strongmums.com/contact or write to [email protected]. You’ll also find the link to enrol in my online course, the body resilient mum project at www.strongmums.com/brmp.