S8 Ep5: Katie Thistleton on Binge Eating and society glamourising binge behaviour.

This week on the Monday Mile Podcast, we are in central London with a lady who’s about to hit the Radio airwaves…..she’s one of those that has the voice for radio and the face for TV she’s a double threat, starting out in Children’s TV and being a staple of the CBBC family, she’s a qualified journalist and author. She’s the presenter of Radio 1 Life Hacks, and now a face of the BBC Morning Live Family.

Katie also has her own show on Friday and Saturday mornings and co-hosts going home with Vick and Jordan when one of them is off’ on BBC Radio 1 and we link up with her just as she heads into the studio to discuss life, and we cover the topic of eating disorders. We talk about the importance of therapy, and Katie’s personal development in that space as a person-centred Counsellor.

Katie speaks openly about the challenge she has had with binge eating, and how it is often seen as the forgotten eating disorder. Binge behaviour is often glamourised “We encourage people to eat and to binge drink, yet you are punished when you can’t stop. People always think of Anorexia, which has the highest fatality rate of any mental illness”. She shares her triggers, loneliness, stress, and anxiety, and the moment she caught herself ordering food in a hotel room and then purging and making herself sick. She also shares her tips and tricks and how she is currently working through this mental illness.

We also chat about the pressures around being busy, “everybody is always doing something” , and how social media can be a spiral for feeling like this, and the feeling that it's not OK to be bored.

Katie talks about the way she is treated differently when she is bigger, and her body shape changes, "we are quite a fat phobic society". We discuss role models and the importance of seeing more fuller bodied women on TV, and how it is changing positively.

Aimee will be probing for answers from the full spectrum of routines; the early birds who have finely tuned Monday mornings, to the late risers who struggle to get up before 11am. How do elite athletes find the motivation to kick start their week come rain or shine? How do celebrities deliver no matter what the time of day? What knowledge can they pass on?

Each episode drops on a Monday morning as a bitesize piece of content and weekly dose of motivation - right when you need it. Aimee will meet each of her guests for a walk and a chat and over the course of the mile she will find out how they cope on a Monday morning - their idiosyncrasies, breakfast routines, alarm noises - and how, when they need to, find the motivation to kick-on through the week. Sharing some of Britain's greatest athletes, entrepreneurs, doctors, authors and broadcasters ’ secrets on self-motivation, candid thoughts on what they struggle with and a sideways look at some of their more unusual morning habits.

Head over to IG to watch the visuals of our episode and what we get up to on our Monday Mile. https://www.instagram.com/aimee_fuller/