4. I stood on the bathroom scales for you

I got the bathroom scales out as a bit of an experiment to really pay attention to my thoughts and feelings as I did it. Here's how it went, along with my thoughts on whether we should use the weighing scales or not, full stop. We also do the Great Food Debate, figuring out what the best sandwich filling is. 

Be a guest on the podcast
https://lifebite.co.uk/podcast

Join the conversation in the Facebook group:
https://facebook.com/groups/iamterripugh

Follow on Instagram
https://instagram.com/iamterripugh
@iamterripugh

Follow on Twitter
https://twitter.com/iamterripugh

Get updates straight into your inbox each week
https://lifebite.co.uk/newsletter

Drop me an email
Hello@lifebite.co.uk 

Transcript

Hi, I'm Terri, and this is the LifeBite podcast, I'm going to be talking all things Intuitive Eating, body positivity and Health At Every Size, and shaking off weight stigma, diet culture and food rules so that we can all have a better relationship with food and our bodies.

Hello, welcome to episode four. Gosh, four already. Feels like this is actually getting to become some kind of normal rather than feeling like I'm sat in my room talking to myself. Yeah, episode four. Looks like lots of people have been listening, which is awesome. I had some really good feedback. So thank you. Thank you for that. If you're one of those people that's dropped me a message to tell me that you're enjoying it, I really appreciate it. Thank you very much.

What has happened this week? This week has been full of good stuff actually. I had my vaccine. I had my first vaccine this week, which is amazing. I'm really grateful for it. And actually, it went without a hitch. The place that I went to to have it done was really well organised. From the minute I pulled into the car park to the minute I left, it was really well organised.

Yeah, I had to have the vaccine, had to sit there for fifteen minutes to make sure I didn't fall off my perch or anything, and all was well, so I had a little jolly home again after. I had to travel to go and have it done, which was a bit frustrating, but I like a little car ride on my own. I like to go and have some time in the car, just me and some music or a podcast or something. So yeah, I enjoyed it.

I'm pleased to have had it and luckily no side effects afterwards. Felt a little bit ropey the day after but, you know when you feel like you're coming down with a cold or you're you're about to be ill, but you're not quite ill yet, that's how I felt. So I think I was lucky, really. Some people do have some side effects. I know that. But I got very lucky and I didn't have any. I'm really pleased to have had it. Roll on vaccine two, which will be at the end of July.

What else has happened this week? Apple podcasts. Oh, I'm finally on Apple podcasts, so if that is where you usually go to listen to your podcasts the show should be there now. It's taken ages. They've been a right nightmare to set up with. They've made some changes behind the scenes there. And I'm not an Apple user, so I don't really know what the changes are, but they made some changes to their interface, to the way people access podcasts, from what I understand. And they made a bit of a major a bit of a mess of it because the whole platform pretty much went down and nobody could put their podcasts up.

But I'm on there, wahay. Yep. Happy days. Happy days. So if you are enjoying the podcast and you do use iTunes, or not iTunes, but if you do use Apple podcasts, I think it's called podcast connect. Anyway, if you use Apple services to get your podcasts, please, will you pop over and give me a little review? Give me a five star rating. That would be awesome, because that will really help me. Thank you very much for that in advance.

What else has happened this week. Hmm. I think it might be it news wise. Yeah. Nothing else stands out for this week. Just a normal week.

OK, so today I am going to talk about the scales, the bathroom scales. If this is going to be an issue for you, just be advised. I'm not going to discuss numbers. I'm not going to discuss weights. I'm not going to compare my weight to anything else, but I will be explaining how I feel, how I felt, and if that is likely to trigger you, it's at your discretion whether you listen to this or not. Just prior warning.

This week, I got on the scales for you. I don't weigh myself. I don't weigh myself for a variety of reasons. There are lots of reasons why I don't believe that people need to weigh themselves. It does more damage than good. It really doesn't tell you anything useful about yourself. It actually just tells you the force between you and the Earth. Just tells you how much force is being pushed onto the earth through your body. That's the simplest way to put it. I think it's really pointless.

Standing on the scales is so pointless, but I thought it might be useful for me to go through that process and tell you about my thoughts and feelings so you can understand your thoughts and feelings are normal, and also to help you see that there is life without bathroom scales. There is life without weighing yourself constantly. So I decided that I would do what I used to do and then I'll talk you through what I did and how I felt and what I thought. Hopefully this will make sense when I actually get into it.

Stop rambling Terri, get on with it.

I always used to weigh myself first thing in the morning. Absolutely first thing I would get out of bed, go into the bathroom. Before I sat on the toilet I would put the scales on the floor, because they sit behind a cupboard, or they used to sit behind a cupboard, and then I would go to the toilet. Then I would stand on the scales. And this was the routine.

As I sat on the toilet staring at the scales on the bathroom floor. There are a multitude of things going through my head. What will the numbers say? What were the numbers last time? What if I'm heavier than that? What if I'm lower than that? What have I eaten this week? What have I had to eat this week that will affect those numbers on the scales? What am I wearing? What can I take off? What can I take off that will make me lighter. Very little, really. I've just got out of bed.

I have got my pyjamas on. But were they the same pyjamas that I was wearing when I last weighed myself? Maybe I'll just take my pyjamas off. Yes, I'll just take the pyjamas off because that will help and then I'll be lighter. OK, no clothes. That's better, because now there is nothing that will make me heavier.

I've had a wee. Do I need a poo? Could I have one? Sorry. Sorry if you're eating your breakfast. What if I could? Because that would make me lighter wouldn't it. Hmm, nope. OK, did I, though? Did I do that the last time that I weighed myself? I don't know. I can't remember. Toilet done, clothes off, where are the scales? Are the scales in the same place as they were last time? Have I put them in the right place on the floor? Yeah, I think I have, because that lines up with that part of the cabinet.

And, you know, the scales had to be in such a particular place on the floor that I knew what it lined up with around it. But what if somebody had moved the cabinet that it lined up with? Oh, so very irrational, isn't it? Once I was sure that the scales were in the same place on the floor, I would activate them because they're digital, so I would have to give them a bit of a bang to get them going, to turn them on, wait for it to zero and then step onto the scales.

With my right foot first, because that makes a difference to what you weigh, doesn't it? But I'm telling you, if I got on with my left and then my right foot, I was coming off and I was resetting the scales.

I don't know. I don't know why I did, it was just part of the routine. And then stood on the scales, right foot first, and then how am I stood? Am I balanced? If I lean forward a little bit? Will that change the number? If I lean back a little bit will that change the number? What did I do last time? Did I just stand bolt upright? OK, just stand still. Just stand really still.

And then the number settles. OK, if I move a little bit, it might come down a little bit more, and I couldn't even remember what the last numbers really were. I went through a phase of keeping it logged on an app on my phone so I would open the app before I got on the scales and then I would see how it compared and I would make a note. Then if it wasn't quite right, if it wasn't quite what I wanted, I would come off the scales, reset them, get back on.

And then if it still read the same, because obviously it would, why would it not, maybe if I move the scales a little bit and then did it again, maybe that would change it. It was anything to bring that number down a touch.

And my digital scales, they recorded quarter pounds. So I weigh in stones and pounds. I cannot do kilos. I don't understand them. Well, I do understand them. I understand what a kilo is. How that relates to my body not a bloody clue. Not a clue. So stones and pounds for me.

So my scales weigh in stones and pounds and quarter pounds. So. If I was a quarter of a pound lower than I was last time, that was a win. If I was a quarter of a pound more, that was not good.

And while I was stood there, I would even do things like if I breathe out. It gets rid of the air and air must weigh something right. So if I breathe out, it gets rid of everything in my lungs and therefore that will make me lighter. Yep, I did that, and it's barmy, isn't it? It's crazy.

I stand there and I'm thinking of the excuses already before I've even looked at the numbers. I'm thinking of the excuses. What have I eaten? What have I eaten and what have I drank? Have I had a drink yet? Nope, I just got out of bed. Maybe I didn't go to the toilet enough in the night. Maybe I had an event earlier in the week and that's now caught up with me. Maybe I ate too much yesterday.

And then such a lot of value was put on that number on the scales that day. Such a lot of value was attached to that number. If it was more than the last one, so essentially if I'd gained weight, I would be thinking about what I could do the rest of the day.

What could I restrict? What could I not eat? How little could I get away with eating? Well, that doesn't work for me because I don't cope. I mean, it doesn't work with anybody, quite frankly, in the long run. But it certainly doesn't work for me because I like to eat and I struggle when I don't have food around, or I did struggle or rather, I should say, when I didn't have food around. To think about cutting food back when I know that it's going to stress me out to do that, that didn't make for a good day ahead.

And I would drink lots of water, because if you drink loads of water that flushes everything out, right? It gets rid of the water retention, and so lots of water and then I won't be as hungry. I was, obviously, because water is not food, but what could I do? What can I do? The rest of the day was ruined basically by me standing on the scales that morning. Absolutely ruined.

And I would spend the day self-conscious. That affected how I felt when I put my clothes on. So I would have a shower, get dressed for work, whatever. I would feel rubbish in my clothes because, well, gained weight haven't I. And then the whole day was spent feeling so low.

But if I'd lost weight, even that quarter of a pound, if I'd lost weight what a joyous day that was going to be. Because I'm the skinniest person in the world now. That's how you feel, isn't it, when when the weight comes off. And the clothes I would put on would be different, and the way I carry myself would be different. Maybe my food would go the other way because I thought, well, I've lost weight. So to hell with the diet. Today I'm going to celebrate. I am going to have a cheat day. And this was a common thing with Slimming World when I used to go Slimming World, well and on Weight Watchers, but Slimming World is most prominent for me.

 It's one of the big things, one of the big weighing mindsets in Slimming World too. You go through the same sort of routine. You go to the whole you go to the toilet, you take off as much clothing as you can get away with, all your jewellery, anything in your pockets. You analyse what you've eaten and drunk that last couple of days. Probably won't have drank anything leading up to weighing on the scales, won't have eaten or anything or drank anything.

Then afterwards, the feelings were much the same. It ruins your day or it makes your day. And I would always come away from the diet club if I'd lost weight thinking today I'm going to treat myself I've done good, I'm going to treat myself. And it's not really is it's not really a treat. Because then what happens the next day you're back to square one, beating yourself up for what you did in the day before.

When I started my Intuitive Eating journey, I learnt quite quickly that the scales are the devil's work. There's nothing good that can come out of the weighing scales and I learnt quite quickly that that was something that I had to get rid of. That was something that needed to go from my daily routine, because it was daily.

I would get on the scales daily, and Intuitive Eating principles helped me to see very clearly that it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what those scales say, because as I said earlier, it doesn't reflect anything that I should value myself for.

At the times when I was standing on the scales I wasn't thinking about the fact that my body naturally fluctuates in weight. Everybody's body naturally fluctuates in weight from day to day, by quite a substantial amount for some people, and even through the day. For those of you who have weighed yourself you will know that in the morning you were lighter than in the afternoon, and that's because lots of things have an effect on your body weight and it naturally will move, but that doesn't matter.

When you stood on the scales obsessing over the numbers, you might have eaten something the day before that would have an impact. So, for example, if you have something salty that's going to hold water in your body, but we don't take that into account when we're weighing ourselves. We don't put logic to the scales. And we might not have drank enough water the day before. So actually, maybe we are in need of a bit more hydration, because that will have an effect on the scales. There's so much there's so much that affects the scales that we don't think of when we're stood on them, because it all becomes either excuses or validation, but it doesn't actually mean anything.

What the scales don't tell you is your height or how hydrated you are, because, no, even those ones that say that they calculate that stuff, they're not accurate. They don't tell you what your body composition is. They don't tell you whether that weight is fat mass or lean mass. It doesn't tell you how much muscle you have.

It doesn't tell you what your hormones are doing that day, because they have an impact on your body weight, and it doesn't tell you about your genetics. We have over 100 genes that determine our weight before we even put any food in our mouths. But the scales don't tell you what your genetics say.

They don't tell you how healthy you are. They don't tell you about the health of your organs, your heart, your liver, your kidneys. It doesn't tell you about your blood pressure. It doesn't tell you about all these things that are health related because weight isn't an indicator of health. So you can't see any of these health indicators when you're stood on the scales, you're just looking at a number that really doesn't tell you anything very much at all.

The scales also don't tell you how amazing you are as a parent, or as a brother or sister to someone, or as a grandparent or a grandchild. They don't tell you about your relationships with your families and how amazing that is. And they don't tell you how supportive and loyal you are as a friend, because I don't know about you, but I don't talk about my friends and family in terms of their weight.

I don't say, have you met my mum? She's X amount of stones and X amount of pounds. I would just say you met my mum. Or have you seen my sister, she's x amount of stones and X amount of pounds and she's killing it as a mother and she's doing a great job at work. Oh, and by the way, have you met my friend? She's X amount of stones and X amount of pounds and I couldn't live without her.

Do you see what I mean? You don't talk about people in that respect. You don't need to put weight into the equation when you're validating what you are as a person. Does that make sense? You're way more than the number on the scale is way more, way more. No pun intended. You are very much more. That's what I should have said. You're very much more than the number on the scales.

You've got so much more value than the number on the scales. Somebody today loves you for who you are, not what you look like and not what you weigh. So I would say if you can do it, get rid of your scales. I had to start slowly with this. I had to take mine out of the bathroom and stash them away in a cupboard behind some stuff that people would hear me moving if I wanted to get them out. And I didn't necessarily go around telling everybody, now, if you hear me making this sound, that means I'm getting the scales out, come and give me a good telling off. That's not what I did. But I didn't want somebody to say, what are you doing? I'm getting the scales out.

It was a bit of a barrier to me just hopping on the scales. It made it more effort than I really wanted it to be when I had barely opened my eyes in the morning. Do that if you can. Stash them away somewhere, because even if you every now and again get on the scales, that's better than every day or every however many days that you weigh religiously now.

And as you go through your journey with letting go of diet culture and letting go of what people say you should weigh and what you should look like, you will be more and more comfortable being around the scales, and then they don't freak you out so much. Then you don't put so much value on those numbers. So if you do have to weigh for a reason or if you just feel like every now and again, you lose that attachment to the numbers. It's very freeing.

So see if that's something you'd be happy to give a go. You just don't need to validate yourself using the scales every day.

Also, I got on the scales as a bit of an experiment to see what process I went through, to see how I felt and how I thought about things after I did it, because I'm in a very good place. I don't advise doing it just to go through the motions in order to see how you think and feel. That's not what I'm asking you to do. That's not what I'm advising you to do at all. I'm just saying I did it as an experiment.

I'm in a very, very good place and I've been working on this for quite a while, so I don't advise that you just stand on the scales just to see how you feel. If it's going to trigger you, if it's going to be problematic and it's going to ruin your day like it would have done mine a long time ago, just don't do it. Get those scales stashed in the back of the cupboard.

And we've got enough pressure going on at the moment anyway, haven't we? Lockdown is coming to an end. We're all starting to socialise a little bit more, or rather, we're allowed to socialise a little bit more. And there's big pressure on people. There's still pressure on people to to lose weight before they can start going out and about. And whether that's external pressure or pressure on yourself, we're still feeling that pressure to change ourselves, to make ourselves more acceptable.

It's coming around really quickly. We're definitely allowed more freedom now, and soon I think we're probably not going to have that many restrictions at all. And things like pubs and clubs will be functioning more and, you know, people will start socialising more. That pressure's unnecessary.

We should just be grateful that we're able to spend some time with people that we care about and that we spend some time with people that we have fun with. We should be appreciating that. We should be appreciating that we're even alive after a pandemic, and if moving the scales is a part of you getting rid of that mindset, then it's definitely worth trying. Give it a try.

While, we're talking about Intuitive Eating. Well, I'm talking about it. You may not give two hoots today, but I'm talking about Intuitive Eating because this was quite a big part of of early days of Intuitive Eating for me. There are people out there masquerading as intuitive eaters when they're wrapped up in a diet. We've seen the Gwyneth Paltrow saga, haven't we? We saw that happen, what, a month back maybe? Maybe more now. Where she brought out this intermittent fasting thing. What a load of nonsense.

What a load of nonsense. I'm not going to go into the details of it because it's rubbish. The other day, my friend sent me a link on social media, and it was for a diet company. A diet company who, let's just call them boom. So Boom have historically not said that they're a diet. They've historically said they are not a diet. They're not a diet. They are an education and transformation and teaching you to think differently, while also asking you to calorie count and track your food.

Putting food on a moral scale because some are better than others. You should switch this out to eat this. You should have more of this instead of this. They're a diet. They're a diet. Now they're saying Intuitive Eating with them. Intuitive Eating. You cannot eat intuitively and restrict food at the same time. You cannot eat intuitively and diet. That's not how it works.

That's not Intuitive Eating. That's still being told what to eat and when to eat it. As you start to see diet culture for what it is. If you're quite new to this, if you are quite new to Intuitive Eating and you're new to the concepts of it, as you start to learn about what around you is diet culture, you'll be able to see these things for what they are.

But if you're still in the early days of considering moving away from dieting, what I will say is be aware that anything dressed up as Intuitive Eating but still has restriction and diet mentality attached to it, that's not Intuitive Eating. Intuitive Eating is not restrictive in any way, shape or form.

So if you've got any doubts about whether something is actually Intuitive Eating or not, feel free to send them my way and I will tell you whether they are or they are not. But there's a lot of things masquerading as Intuitive Eating at the moment. I don't like it one little bit. It's hard to see companies jumping on a bandwagon that is becoming more and more successful and prominent in the world. They're trying to have a piece of that pie and they are trying to link into the term Intuitive Eating in the hope that it will bring people over to them.

It's marketing tactics, it's selling tactics. So it's just something to be aware of. I'll go into that another time, because it's quite it's quite an interesting one. But not today, because I don't want these podcast episodes to be super long. Right, let's do the great food debate. The great food debate. I feel like it needs a jingle. I feel like it needs an entrance, but I haven't got one.

So this week's Great Food Debate was, what is the greatest sandwich filler of all time? Now, who knew that this would become such a complicated question?

I had questions like, I want this one day and I want that the other day, co can I have two? You can't. I just want you to choose one sandwich filler. Is it just the filling? Can I change the bread? Can I add sauces. Can I do this. Can I do that. I was like, oh my God, it's your sandwich. It's your sandwich.

So I had to start describing it as the, what is your death row sandwich? Famously, people on death row are allowed a last meal of their choice before they go to be executed. So the usual question is, what would your death row meal be? So I turned that round and I turned it into, what would your death row sandwich be, and it's no holds barred. You have your sandwich however the hell you want it. There weren't a lot of really odd ones. But then saying that it's all very subjective, isn't it?

What I like in a sandwich is not what you might like in a sandwich. So remember that episode of Gavin and Stacey where they see where they go to church to have the banns read before their wedding, and the vicar's in there. He's talking about sandwiches and how it's a representation of the church, and Gavin couldn't think of his sandwich. He said, well, I just don't know, I'll have tuna. And he was like, somebody else has had tuna, pick a different one.

That just makes it me laugh because that's what I was pretty much doing. While people were asking me all these questions, I was like, it's your sandwich, just pick a sandwich. Anyway, we went from steak. Lots of people chose steak. Steak sandwich. Very popular. Variations of someone having a bread, I don't know about putting it in bread myself. Lots of people with a baguette, obviously, for a steak sandwich. Some people were having onions in there. Some of the onions were caramelised. Some of them were raw. Some people were having mustard. Some people were not. Some people were having horseradish.

There were many variations on the steak sandwich, but it was a common one. It came up and then somebody said, what about a ham sandwich? And people around were like, ham, is that it? But then if you've got a really nice piece of ham, you know, like ham off the bone, really nice piece of ham and some really good bread, that's a good sandwich.

Fish fingers. I'm not really about the fish finger sandwich, but it's a combination isn't it. It's just a combination of mush and mush. You know, like the soft soggy, well not soggy bread, but the soft bread and the soft fish finger. Well, no, I don't like that combination.

Ploughmans, so that was a good shout. Ploughmans. A good ploughmans, some good cheese and some good pickle. And then the conversation went on about what size chunks you have in your pickle. For me, got to be the little chunks. For other people, they were like, no, you've got to have the biggest chunks possible. None of this stuff that comes out of a squeezy bottle.

What else was there? Oh, this is a good one. Christmas dinner. So, you know, when you've had your Christmas dinner and it's the evening and everybody's stuffed, but they still want to eat and there's all the leftovers, because, of course, you cook too much for Christmas dinner. Everybody does that, don't they? And then you fashion yourself a sandwich, and you've got some really decent bread because everybody has good bread on Christmas Day. And you get that bread and you fill it with turkey and another meat, if there were two meats of the day, and then you might chuck some pigs in blankets in there, and then some stuffing. If you're Ross from Friends you chuck in some kind of moist maker. There's a decent sandwich.

Oh. That might be a winner. That might just be the winner. While BLT, yeah, a good BLT. That's a classic, isn't it, BLT?

Honey ham sandwich on a croissant? Well that's fancy isn't it. Does a croissant make it a sandwich, though? I mean, what is the definition of a sandwich? Is it a filling between two pieces of bread? Hang on. I'm stopping the recording. I'm going to have a Google,

OK, found it. An item of food consisting of two pieces of bread with a filling between them, eaten as a light meal. Technically is a croissant pastry? I know it is. I've made croissants. They're pastry. Check me out. I've made Croissants. They are solid. I'm telling you now, they are really difficult to make. But they're definitely pastry, so soz Joseph, I am discarding the honey ham sandwich on a croissant, but honey ham in another decent bread is good.

Grilled cheese. Yes, to the grilled cheese sandwich. Oh, and then I got confused because then there was another Joseph who said, chips mashed in a basic ham sandwich. I was like, chips, mashed ham, what? Then I realised Joseph's in the States, I'm in the UK. What you actually just said was crisps mashed into a ham and mayo sandwich. Crisps. Yes, yes to the crisp sandwich. There's a TV ad going on at the moment that is aimed at people, getting them to put crisps in their sandwiches. I love that. And he actually said it will always hold a special place in my heart. Isn't that the thing? Don't we associate so many things with childhood memories?

Like, I associate crisp sandwiches with being young. I love a crisp sandwich. Just give me some bread and butter and a bag of salted crisps. I'm there, nice. Sour cream and onion chips. Now, just keep it plain and simple, Joseph. Oh, well, actually, your sandwich. You have what you like, my love. What else was there? Another steak, steak, onion peppers, white American cheese. Thank you Mr J. That does sound good.

And then a comment about the bread is all about the bread it makes or breaks the sandwich. I agree with that. I agree with that. Rubbish bread ruins a decent sandwich, even if it's your favourite filling in the world.

My husband wanted sausages. Obviously. He is the great sausage eater. In fact, there's no debate there, he just wants sausage sandwiches. That's his answer to this.

A conversation was had with somebody of, well, actually a sausage and bacon sandwich with a bit of ketchup. That's a pretty good sandwich. And can you have this sandwich at all times of the day. That one you can, others maybe not so much. He also had on the list, this other guy, he had prawns. Now that that's not for me. I mean, you wouldn't want to get up and have a prawn sandwich, right first thing in the morning, would you? Likewise, you probably wouldn't want to eat it late at night. Bacon sandwich, you can do that any time of day.

Tsoanita is the profile. I apologise if I've pronounced that wrong. Cream cheese and turkey ham, and in brackets plus much more. Yeah, good show. Cheese, onion, crisps from bagels bites.

Lyndsey said cheese, chicken, pickled onion and brown sauce is so amazing. Now Lynds I know we've had this conversation, but pickled onions in a sandwich I don't understand. Don't understand. Mind you, then we also did say about toasting it. So for the American folks out there, that's a grilled cheese. Yeah. When you start throwing it into the toaster, that's different. Yeah. Kirsty is all about the crisps.

She also said that she linked it to to being young. I like that a lot. I like that we can still carry things through into adulthood that doesn't do us a disservice, say so many diet culturey things stem from when we were young. Sometimes it's nice to just bring things like recipes and meals and snacks that we used to enjoy when we were little into our adulthood, isn't it?

This was my favourite response. This is from Hannah. Banana, banana or ham, cheese and chutney. That sounds good. Jam. I've never been a jam fan in sandwiches. Bacon and egg, yes, the bacon and egg. And she was saying, if you have banana and have it with either honey or chocolate spread in a sandwich, that's a game changer, too. Now, the combination, the sweet stuff. Yes, the bread. Yes. Together, I'm not so sure.

One day I'm actually going to start making the things that people are suggesting and see if I can actually enjoy some of it. I love that, though. How great. I really enjoy these great food debates. I really like getting to see what's inside people's minds when it comes to food. So, yeah, I'm really enjoying them. Thank you for contributing when you send these things in. I really appreciate it.

I'll tell you what I don't appreciate, still on the sandwich theme. Yesterday at work, we had Subway for lunch. I love a Subway sandwich. What I didn't love is when it turned up with chipotle sauce in it. Everybody else who'd ordered in the office had chipotle sauce. And I don't like spicy food. I know I'm sure there are people out there now going, but that's not spicy. My poor little mouth does not know that.

I am the biggest wuss when it comes to spicy foods. Honestly, by the time I'd finished the sandwich, I kid you not, I was warm. I took my cardigan off. I opened the window and I was guzzling down the squash. Oh, that was not fun. That was not fun. Don't make that mistake again Subway, please, please. So hot. It gave me heartburn and everything.

Oh, please tell me somebody else out there is as wussy with spicy stuff as I am. It's not even funny. I would like to enjoy some spicy food. I cannot. Right, I think I've waffled on for far too long today. I'm going to wrap it up here.

Hope you enjoyed today's episode. I hope you're enjoying the show as a whole. I know I said it at the beginning, but I've got to say it again. Please, where you can please give me a nice review. Please give me a five star rating if there's that option. I know on Spotify you can't do it, but I know other platforms you can. So if you hear my podcast anywhere that allows you to write and review, please do that because I would very much appreciate it.

Two other things to tell you about before I disappear.

Firstly, Instinctively You membership starts on the 1st of June. Literally just two weeks away. I'm so excited. I'm really looking forward to this. I'll give you a recap. I know I've mentioned it before, but I'll just bring it to you again. Just to refresh your memory.

The Instinctively You membership is an Intuitive Eating and body positivity membership. It's a rolling monthly membership for as long as you want it. Founding member registration is open. Now, if you register to be a member before the 1st of June, you will secure a monthly price of fifteen pounds a month. There is nothing to pay when you register your interest, just register your interest and then you will secure that price. After the 1st of June, when membership is live, the fee goes to twenty five pounds a month.

So if you do want to get onto the programme, if you do want to get into the membership and you want that lower price, you have to register before the 1st of June. So heads up for you there. If you're interested in the membership, there is a page on the website dedicated to it which will explain what it is, what you get for your money and give you all the details. That's at lifebite.co.uk/instinctively-you and that link is in the show notes. I'd love to have you on board. I think there's going to be some great stuff going on in that group.

And secondly, the other thing to tell you is, I know this is a solo podcast. I know you just get me each week, but I want to bring you more value than that. So I will be inviting people on as guests. Not every week because I don't want to force it, but if I do come across somebody that would be a good fit and I think could bring some real quality discussion to the podcast, then it would be good to have some people on to give you another perspective on things.

So if you're interested in being a guest on the podcast, please do drop me a message. If you go to the podcast web page on my website, there is a form there that you can fill in to just drop me some details, or you can drop me a message on any of the social media sites or email or however you want to.

But if you think you've got something to contribute, please do drop me a message and let me know because it'd be good to chat to you. I would be happy to chat with professionals in the industry, people who are working in non weight- centred practice, people who have an interest in the field, people who have expertise in the areas of non diet, body positivity, Intuitive Eating, health practises, fitness practises. If you feel like you are a good fit for the podcast, I'd be definitely interested to hear from you.

Also, if you're somebody who has been through dieting come out, the other side is an intuitive eater just for example, if you've got a personal story that you'd like to chat about, that you think would be a good fit for the podcast, then let me know. I'd really love to hear from you.

There, announcements over. I am going to love you and leave you. Thank you for listening. Please do go and have a listen to the episodes that you've missed if you haven't listened to them all. Have the best week. Have really, really, really good week and I will speak to you again next week.