Shrink, the podcast for the mind

Send us a textIn this episode, I answer your questions about mindful and intuitive eating.And you've sent quite a lot of them on that topic, which I'm thankful for.Stepping away from the diet culture is not an easy thing!Thanks for listening, I hope this episode will be helpful.Philippe

Send us a textToday, I want to take you inside the mind of someone living with disordered eating patterns and body image struggles. Maybe you'll recognise some of these thoughts in yourself, or maybe it will help you better understand what a loved one might be going through.Thanks for listening, I hope this episode will be helpful.Philippe

Send us a textIn this episode, we're diving into why willpower fails us and, more importantly, what actually works instead.Thanks for listening, I hope this episode will be helpful.Philippe

Send us a textIn this episode, I speak about the concept of laziness, examine why it happens, and challenge the myths that surround it. I also give some practical tools to reframe your relationship with motivation and rest. Thanks for listening, I hope this episode will be helpful.Philippe

Send us a textToday, we're going to explore an exciting and increasingly popular area of weight loss treatment: GLP-1 receptor agonists. You may have heard of them through the names of medications like Saxenda, Ozempic or Wegovy. These medications are gaining a lot of attention for their potential to help people lose weight effectively, but like anything in medicine, they come with both pros and cons.Thanks for listening, I hope this episode will be helpful.Philippe

A different format this time, I invite you to practice this meditation regularly to tune into your body's sensations and becoming aware of your hunger.With time, this practice can definitely help you eating more mindfully.Thanks for listening, I hope this episode will be helpful.Philippe

The relationship with yourself is the only relationship that is guaranteed to last a lifetime! So improve it, make it a kind, warm and empathetic one.Thanks for listening, I hope this episode will be helpful.Philippe

In this episode I go through the various overeating patterns, exploring their characteristics and underlying causes.I believe that, by understanding what makes you overeat, you can stop blaming yourself and start dealing with this in a healthy way.Thanks for listening, I hope this episode will be helpful.PhilippeThanks for listening, I hope this episode will be helpful.PhilippeThanks for listening, I hope this episode will be helpful.Philippe

In this episode I go through the various overeating patterns, exploring their characteristics and underlying causes.I believe that, by understanding what makes you overeat, you can stop blaming yourself and start dealing with this in a healthy way.Thanks for listening, I hope this episode will be helpful.Philippe

Intimacy can be daunting because it requires vulnerability and the willingness to expose one's innermost self.In this episode I explain how intimacy, or the lack of it, can significantly affect our eating habits and overall relationship with food in various ways.Thanks for listening, I hope this episode will be helpful.Philippe

Habits are the building blocks of our lives. They shape our actions, influence our decisions, and determine our overall well-being. By understanding how habits form, persist, and change, we can take control of our behaviours and create a life that aligns with our goals and values.Thanks for listening, I hope this episode will be helpful.Philippe

I'm having a chat with Lucy Cavendish.Lucy is a therapist, journalist, writer and podcaster.We've met in 2016 when she interviewed me for The Times and we've been friends since then.She just had a book published "How to have amazing relationships", which I highly recommend.We talk about relationships, body image and many other things. Thanks for listening, I hope this episode will be helpful.Philippe

There is so much anxiety around as we're experiencing drastic changes in our societies!In this episode I explore the impact it can have on our eating habits.Thanks for listening, I hope this episode will be helpful.Philippe

I talk about body dissatisfaction in this episode because it's something I'm very familiar with. As some of my clients, I was very unhappy with my body appearance for years. And despite what some people may think, it is not something to take lightly, it affects millions of individuals and it has disastrous consequences.Thanks for listening, I hope this episode will be helpful.Philippe

In the previous episode, my guest and I mentioned "disordered eating" a few times and I think it's important to explain what it means, how it differentiates from eating disorders, what the symptoms and triggers are like.

In this episode I'm having a conversation with my friend Yustyna.We talk about the struggles with our eating patterns and the impact it had on our respective lives.

Journaling is such a beneficial practice, It's good for your mental health!Let's see how it can help you with different aspects of your wellbeing.And then I am also telling you how to easily get started.

Instead of eating according to a fad diet book, design your own diet.One that fits with your taste, your budget and your lifestyle.It might take you longer to lose weight and eat more healthily but then it will be for good!

This episode is recorded at the beginning of December, that time of the year when we are often tempted to eat and drink more.We do that for different reasons: to feel like it's somehow more festive, not to disappoint someone who has spent hours in the kitchen cooking for us, because we have spent quite a lot of money on expensive dishes and drinks...We feel bad to put in the bin that excess of food, even if we feel like we've eaten enough.And then we somehow use our body as a bin.You can be a good guest and enjoy the festive season without overeating and, by doing so, you won't have to spend months trying to lose that extra weight you usually put on at this time of the year.

I have seen over the years how important it is to have the right intentions and mindset if you want lo lose weight. Being in a good place I would say.Because, if that's not the case, it will simply not work. And repeated attempts to lose weight only reinforce the believe that you will never achieve it or that you're a failure.So, what does it really mean and how can you get there?

For some, being overweight may provide a sense of safety or comfort for several reasons. And being aware of this will help them greatly on their weight-loss journey.

The post diet maintenance phase… Now what is that?Let's say you've been on a diet and you've lost the weight you wanted to lose or just about.So, what happens now, how do you make sure you can keep that weight off?You've maybe been there before and you have put it all back on, and maybe even more. So you're scared, you're feeling lost and maybe even quite lonely at that point.Believe me, I know that feeling, I've been there quite a few times before. I have done many diets in the past, lost a lot of kilos that I've quickly put back on. And it's so frustrating! I was telling myself “What's the point of so much efforts to end up at the same place?"

In this episode, I encourage you to explore the unconscious fears that have ruined your attempts to lose weight.Because, even if you feel like you would do anything to achieve this, it will confront you with things that can be very scary. Being overweight can for different reasons feels like a safe place to be in.

This episode is about what, in transactional analysis (TA), we call "racket emotions".Transactional Analysis is a psychoanalytic method of therapy developed by the Canadian psychiatrist Eric Berne in the 1950's.I often speak about our emotions, how they interfere with our eating habits (but not only) and how to address this.Racket emotions are the ones we unconsciously use to suppress the authentic ones. It's something we learn as a child as a defence mechanism or as a way to please our parents and it can stick with us if we're not aware of it.

There is no such thing as a perfect weight or perfect body and, if that's want you to achieve, you will end up being disappointed.In this episode I tackle  how being a perfectionist is the PERFECT recipe for failure or for not even starting to make some healthy changes.

I have in previous episodes addressed how our emotions, our life script and our negative self image come in your way when you want and/or need to lose weight. But then habits are tricky as well.Changing some of your habits is not an easy thing but it is essential if you want to tackle  your eating patterns.

New York based nutritionist Dawn Lerman is the author of My Fat Dad, A Memoir of Food, Love and Family.She is also the author of The New York Times Well Blog series My Fat Dad.

A very short episode to wish you a happy Holiday season and remind you to forget starting a new diet on January 1st.  

You overeat or eat in an unhealthy way because you're dealing with emotional and psychological issues. Starting a new fad diet will only reinforce the idea that you're not good enough and it will damage your self-esteem even more.In this episode I go through many of these triggers.

The food and drinks we have in our cupboard and fridge didn't get there by accident.And, if you want to lose weight but don't have the right kind of food available at your place, you'll be more than likely to struggle.I've seen along my practice how some of my clients sabotage their attempt to lose weight way before they start eating.In this episode, I'm giving you some tips and insights to help with your food (and drinks) shopping.

Intuitive eating is a guilt free way of eating, a nutritional lifestyle.Find your biological set point where your body wants to be instead of focusing on your BMI.

Carrie Sherriff is a Kundalini Global yoga teacher who specialises in Yoga for Resilience.Using posture and breath practices, Carrie gives her clients the tools to change how they feel. Whether they are facing exceptionally difficult circumstances - like health challenges, divorce, chronic anxiety or depression, or extreme stress - or even if they have a sense of not being as happy as they would like to be, Carrie helps clients to work with “what is” to move towards having the tools to feel good, no matter what is going on in their lives.

Why do you have setbacks ?It's not unusual at all to have setbacks when you've started losing weight or even when you've reached your target weight. There can be many reasons for that of course, like for example something difficult or even traumatic happening in your life: the end of a relationship, issues at work or even the loss of your job, the death of someone close to your heart, financial difficultiesIn this episode, I focus on less obvious triggers, the more unconscious ones.

In this episode I'm giving some advice if you have a child who is overweight.I'm giving a few examples of things we can do and things we shouldn't do if we want to tackle that.As always, I insist on the fact that we should put any guilt aside as it only makes things worse. Being a parent is amazing but it comes with some challenges sometimes (often in fact).

There are four kinds of basic emotions: happiness, sadness, anger and fear.In this episode I speak about fears and how to handle them, so that you're not tempted to repress them by overeating and drinking.

Why is it important to be able to reconnect to your inner child and how do you get there?I'm having this conversation with Nina Cristante, with whom I will organise workshops very soon.My friend Nina is an Intuitive exercising practitioner and artist and we will combine our experiences on this exciting project.Episode artwork by Nina

At a time when most people meet online, what does it take to trust someone?Should we be guarded or trusting? What's the right balance when we meet total strangers?Lucy and I share our views on this subject and other things.

An introduction to the Food & Emotions Diary which is something I have been using with my clients for many years.I say an introduction because I know it can be challenging to do by yourself. But still, I believe it can help you understanding your eating patterns and see how you want to tackle things in order to eat more mindfully and intuitively.As always, don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. 

Dating can be quite challenging and it is even more of course when we're self-conscious. If we're too insecure about our body image, we don't engage properly with the person we're meeting. I encourage you to put this aside for a moment to make the best of it.

How can you manage your alcohol consumption differently?This is not an easy one to tackle as some of us drink alcohol for different reasons (not just for the taste of it). But if you're willing to lose weight or just feel better about yourself, it's important to address this. You can have an amazing (and even better) social and love life without alcohol. Or at least not much.

Things can get frustrating sometimes when we want to lose weight.We ask ourselves "Why can't I stick to it, just eating what my body needs??"There are underlying thoughts which drive our behaviours and I describe some of them in this episode.I also mention our persona, which is, as described by the psychiatrist Carl Jung, the social face the individual presents to the world.Understanding these thoughts and beliefs is an essential part of this journey.

In my 20 years or so of being a therapist helping people losing weight and feeling better about themselves, I never had a client who was a slow eater and was overweight.The pace at which we eat makes such a difference in the amount of food we're having.In this episode i give a few useful tips to get there, knowing how difficult it can be to change a behaviour we've had for a while.

My friend Lucy Cavendish and I are having a conversation about Valentine's Day, love, relationships and intimacy.Lucy is an amazing love coach, therapist and journalist and it's always such a joy to chat with her.

Intuitive exercising practitioner and artist Nina Cristante and I share our views on the unfair and harsh ways many people see themselves.We strongly believe in being gentle with ourselves and stop depreciating who we are and what we do. By being non judgmental and more in tune with our body and emotions, we can make better decisions and also better connections with others.

Why and how do you procrastinate?In this episode I tackle this subject which, from my experience, concerns a lot of people.And I suggest ways to improve things. I say "improve" because I know it can be difficult to change the way we do things.

In this conversation, professional intuitive exercising practitioner Nina Cristante  and  I share our views on New Year resolutions.Now is that time of the year when we see clients who have the will to transform themselves, transform their body by eating less and exercising more. Guilt and sometimes shame are often the main triggers to make these changes. And they want quick results!We believe there is a more gentle and mindful way to tackle this.

I wasn't sure I would post an episode about sadness a week before Christmas.But what's called the festive season can also be a challenging one for many of us, especially during these weird times we are going through.Some of us won't be able to see their loved ones, others have to cancel their holidays' plans...It can then be challenging not to use food and alcohol to find some comfort.In this episode I explain why it's a good thing to express our sadness instead of repressing it.Have a very lovely and safe Christmas.

Many people who are concerned about their weight and body image think about it all the time. They feel trapped in a body they reject and have eating habits they're unable to change.The freedom that they (re)discover comes with some challenges that need to be addressed properly.

It has been such a pleasure to have a conversation with Maxine Levy for this podcast episode.Maxine is a yoga therapist and a contemporary art curator.And she is passionate about what she does!We talk about the benefits of yoga in terms of body image and how it helps reconnecting the mind and the body.Maxine insists on the importance of breathing and how helpful it can be when we do it more mindfully.

Lucy Cavendish is a journalist, psychotherapist and love coach. This is the second episode we've recorded together. We talk about sex, sex in a relationship, casual sex, being friends with benefits, sex and body image...We both agree it's an interesting and important topic even though most people find it difficult to talk about it.