danae mercer

How do you handle someone commenting on your body? What if that person is a stranger on the internet? What if it's your mom? And what is the plus-sized modeling industry really like? 

Today's guest talks us through it all.

Meet Denise Mercedes, the amazing model and influencer with over 1.4m followers on Instagram, and 3.5m on TikTok. Denise is the creator of the viral #stylenotsize hashtag.

Denise opens up about self love, body image, and what advice she thinks you should know. 

For more about Denise, please check out instagram.com/denisemmercedes. 

PS - Guys I'm so sorry about my wonky mic. It worked fine in the test, and it was fine when I lived in another country, but today it decided to make me sound like Minnie Mouse. Please be kind and I'll get it fixed asap. 

One in every two of us will be affected by cancer at some point in our lives. Today Dr. Philippa Kaye, GP and author, comes on the show to talk about cancer and body image. 

When Dr. Philippa was 39, she was told she had bowel cancer. It changed everything. 

“I spent my whole life firmly believing that knowledge is power. And then suddenly here I was, and the knowledge wasn’t helping me," she explains. "Doctors are always trained on what’s next. We’re trained to weigh up risks and benefits in our head — and they weren’t always in my favor.”

Now Dr Philippa, author of Doctors Get Cancer Too, is focused on helping others navigate their own journey. 

On the show today, we discuss: 

• How long term illness impacts body image 
• What she wished well-meaning friends would have known 
• The tools she used to navigate her cancer journey 
• How she approached scars
• Why she's still wearing that two piece

For more information on Dr. Philippa, please visit drphilippakaye.com or find her on Instagram at instagram.com/drphilippakaye 

Hollywood exec turned author Tara Schuster hit rock bottom, drunk dialed her therapist, and realized she had to change things in a big way.

That same day, she started what would become a 600-page document on self love.

Today Tara joins us to chat about her new self-healing book, Buy Yourself the F*king Lilies: and Other Rituals to Fix Your Life from Someone Who Has Been There.

In this candid conversation, Tara talks about: 

• What happens when we tear ourselves apart all the time 
• Practical steps we can take to feel better about ourselves 
• Why traditional 'success' doesn't make us automatically happy
• How to handle body image struggles 
• The power of reparenting 
• Why we need to romance ourselves. 

For more information on Tara, visit:
The book is available anywhere books are sold 
instagram.com/taraschuster
taraschuster.com 

Jessica Ollie shares her yoga and fitness journey with over 850k people daily, and today she comes on the show to talk all things self love. 

Jess opens up about: 

• relationships (and why she doesn't share them on Instagram anymore)
• how she's learned to stop comparing her journey to others
• finding her own voice even when other people disagree
• trusting herself
• body image pressures in the yoga space 
• feeling confident in her skin
• and so much more. 

To find out more about Jess, visit: 
instagram.com/jessicaolie
instagram.com/this.is.olie

Clinical psychologist Dr. Saliha Afridi comes back on our show to talk relationships, Covid, and all the things women need to know. Dr. Afridi is founder of Lighthouse Arabia and an expert in body image.

Topics discussed: 
- What to do when your partner tears down your body 
- How men struggle with body image 
- What happens when we internalize body shaming messages
- Creating maps instead of boundaries
- How the relationship with yourself impacts everything in your life
- The power of movement
- And more. 

To find out more about Dr. Saliha Afridi, visit: 
instagram.com/drsalihaafridi
lighthousearabia.com 

Dr. Alexandra Solomon is one of the most trusted voices in the world of relationships, and today she comes on our show to chat to us about all things sex. 

Professor and author of Taking Sexy Back, Dr. Solomon chats through tuning into your own sex drive, body image in the bedroom, and if porn is a problem. 

Topics discussed: 

• How to tune in to your own sex drive 
• How to talk to your partner about sex
• Keeping the flame alive during Covid
• How to take your sexy 'back'
• My partner is into more edgy things. How do I navigate that? 
• What about porn? 
• How do I find my voice in the bedroom?
• What is an orgasm gap? 
• I worry about my body. Does my partner notice in the bedroom? 
• Simple steps to take your sexy back

For more information on Dr. Alexandra Solomon, visit: 
http://www.dralexandrasolomon.com/
instagram.com/dr.alexandra.solomon 

TikTok has a new body-focused trend and every week, and influencer Clara Guillem is pushing back. 

CW - Eating disorders, laxative abuse

With nearly 700k followers on TikTok, the eating disorder survivor talks to teens about body image -- and just why we don't need to hop on the latest trend. When Clara was a teen, the toxic world of Tumblr content fueled her eating disorder. Now she wants to stop history from happening again.

In this heartfelt conversation, Clara chats about TikTok, heavy DMs, laxative abuse, and finding her own voice. She also shares her new program of dating herself, and just why everyone needs to try it. 

For more info on Clara, visit: 
TikTok - ClaraAndHerself 
Instagram.com/claraandherself 

A week before her wedding, Galey Alix opened up to her fiancee about her eating disorder. 

He broke everything off. 

Now  Galey uses that pain to fuel her incredible platform. Working on Wall Street during the week, Galey flips homes for families at the weekend -- all with a goal of bringing them joy. Along the way, this incredible gal has amassed over 2m followers on TikTok and 1.6m on Instagram. 

Tune in to hear her powerful story of feeling lost, finding her feet, and emerging stronger than before. 

For more info on Galey visit: 
Instagram.com/galeyalix 

Bodies change as we get older -- and so does fitness, says Nicki Philips, fitness and pilates expert and founder of fitness-app niix. 

Here Nicki chats to us about how we can be healthy in our 40s and beyond. She shares her own journey of navigating a back injury, falling in love with pilates, and making a huge career shift. And she talks about launching niix, the fitness app designed for women 40+. 

"We often don't realise we should be changing the way we exercise," says Nicki. Whether you've had children or not, "when we go into our 40s, the body muscle mass changes. So it's very much about changing the way we workout to make sure we are really supporting our bodies." 

Tune in to hear all! 

For more info, check out www.nixx.fit
Or visit instagram.com/niix.fit 

 

Is your period missing? Dr. Nicola Rinaldi, author of No Period, Now What?  and Florence Gillet, certified eating psychology coach, talk about the reasons our periods matter -- and just what we can do to get them back.

We delve into eating disorders, female weight pressures, body health and more. Plus we look at how to handle uninvited, uncomfortable body-image comments from family members during the holidays.

For more information on the speakers, check out:

www.beyondbodyimage.com
www.instagram.com/byond.bodyimage/

www.noperiodnowwhat.com - learn more and download a free chapter at noperiod.info/HA
www.instagram.com/noperiodnowwhat/

Behavioural change specialist and author of The Kindness Method, Shahroo Izadi, joins us to talk about her battle with binge eating, her healing journey, and just how you can stop fighting the kitchen. 

Shahroo went through periods of using food as a punishment, going through rounds of dieting and binging. Now she helps women navigate their own health journeys. Her focus is on using kindness to create change -- and the results can be amazing. 

To find out more about Shahroo, visit instagram.com/shahroo_izadi or https://www.shahrooizadi.co.uk/.

**Sorry about the muffled mic - I had the wrong gosh darn one connected. Still learning xx**

Licensed therapist and sexologist Taylor Nolan has a lot of wisdom to share. In this episode we jump into all things love, body image, Covid, and passion. 

Get ready for answers to some of your sent-in questions, like: 

• Does your partner notice your cellulite during intimate moments?
• What can you do if you have a different libido to your partner?
• Is porn bad?
• And how can couples keep passion alive during stay-at-home Covid? 

For more info, pop on over to Taylor's page at instagram.com/taymocha. 

Erika Cramer, The Confidence Coach, talks to us about love, confidence, and the power of our minds. From abusive relationships (and never ending up in one again) straight on through to turning our toughest moments into our deeper strengths, Erika discusses it all. Tune it to hear about changing our bodies with self love, not hate, and the power of exploring our thoughts.

Topics covered: 

• How getting that 'perfect body' doesn't automatically result in self love and confidence
• Why we end up in bad relationships (from friendships to toxic bosses)
• Why we can't always control our mind, but we can choose what we believe 
• The power of realizing everything we think isn't true
• Why journalling is amazing 
• Body image concerns and how changing ourselves with love, not hate, is critical 
• Mean girl bullying and how to handle it

(Also my mic hated me in this episode. Ya girl is still learning, but we'll get better x.)

Where to find Erika: 
instagram.com/erikacramer 
thequeenofconfidence.com/

It can be tough to navigate a high-powered role while maintaining your own voice. In this open interview, Liz Plosser, editor-in-chief of Women's Health magazine, talks about imposter syndrome, initial fears, and leaning in to her own strength. 

We chat about how Women's Health magazine has changed and is still changing as a global brand. The publication aims to be a space for women to share their own truths -- no more diet headlines required. 

"We don't photoshop. We're not changing people's bodies. We're putting women out there on whatever platform it is as they most beautifully and authentically are, whether it's what they're sharing from the inside or what they look like on the outside," said Liz. 

Find out more about Liz as instagram.com/lizplosser 
Find out about Women's Health at instagram.com/womenshealthmag

The world is heavy right now, and so many of us are obsessing over our bodies more than before. 

Here clinical psychologist and vice president of MEEDA Carine El Khazen explains why that is. We talk about dangerous coping mechanisms, the temptation to turn to things we can control, and why weight loss seems to be on everyone's minds during the pandemic. 

For the perfectionists out there, Dr. Khazen explores how the need to do everything right can make so many of us lose our real voice, and why approval is a dangerous goal.

And for the folks interested in the Middle East, Dr. Khazen discusses how MEEDA (Middle East Eating Disorder Association) is changing recovery in the region. 

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