Recovery Podcast: Train Happy with Tally Rye

Recovery Podcast Of The Month

Every month, our eating disorder recovery group listens to a podcast that supports their healing process. In this article, we share our podcast of the month and key insights from our recovery warriors.

September’s focus was intuitive movement and body image. And our podcast of the month was Train Happy by Tally Rye. Tally is a personal trainer who helps people to create a healthy relationship with movement. Her podcast is full of special guests exploring intuitive movement, mental health, body image, and diet culture.

We hope you enjoy the episodes as much as we did!

The Train Happy Podcast

Episode 1

Letting go of your dream body with Brianna Campos 

The month’s first episode was episode 45: letting go of your dream body with Brianna Campos. It focuses on the stages of grief that can follow as we let go of our dream body, as well as insights into intuitive movement. 

Top takeaways from our recovery group for this podcast episode:

• Comparison is an indication that an inner need is not being met.
• The journey to body acceptance includes going through stages similar to grief.
• Shaming our bodies when we feel pain is a coping mechanism.
• Challenging fat-phobic thoughts supports body image healing.
• Motivation for exercise doesn’t have to be about changing your body.
• Giving your body unconditional permission to rest is a wonderful thing.

Learn more about the stages of body grief here.

Episode 2

Reconnecting with your body with Emily Decker

The second episode we listened to was episode 74: reconnecting with your body with Emily Decker. Emily is a trauma-informed personal trainer and together with Tally, they discuss why diet culture disconnects us from our bodies, and how to reconnect through movement.

Top takeaways from our recovery group for this podcast episode:

• We often strive for a smaller body in order to feel safe, because smaller bodies can feel safer from discrimination.
• When reaching a smaller body through restrictive behaviours, it’s natural to live in fear of losing it.
• Part of the healing process is finding safety in our recovered bodies.
• Punishing self-talk such as ‘I have to workout today’ is not aligned with listening to our bodies.
• Exercise is not therapy. It is important to find peace in stillness.
• There is a need for greater representation of normal bodies in the fitness industry.

Episode 3

Is walking and yoga really enough? With Tally Rye

The third episode of the month was episode 26: Q+A with Tally Rye. In this episode Tally shares powerful insights on how to overcome guilt associated with moving the body less. She also touches on the importance of watching the language used around food and choosing different types of movement.

Top takeaways from our recovery group for this podcast episode:

• While recovering it’s helpful to stay away from the type of movement you engaged in through your eating disorder.
• A great question to ask when working on your relationship with movement is ‘what is my true motivation or intention behind this workout?’
• The language we use around movement makes a difference, for example a powerful shift is from ‘I should do X workout today’ to ‘I get to move my body today in whatever way I choose’.
• There is no fitness plan, personal trainer or exercise tracker that knows what you need more than you do.
• When you reconnect you will know what is right for you and your body.

Tally also shared some helpful and inclusive influencers/resources that we enjoyed being introduced to in this episode:

Lauren Leavell online classes | Kanoa Greene | The Become Project

Episode 4

How to have a healthy body image with Lexie Kite

The final episode of the month is episode 34: how to have a healthy body image with Lexie Kite. In this powerful episode, Lexie talks about how self-objectification impacts body image and overcoming body shame to fulfil our potential.

Top takeaways from our recovery group for this podcast episode:

• Positive body image is not thinking your body looks good; it’s knowing your body is good.
• Messaging around how to love our bodies are still often centred on beauty and attractiveness.
• It is good that we are seeing more representation of different body types, but it is still often body-focused.
• We can recognise that we are beautiful but we must also remember that we are much more than that.
• We need to find power outside of our bodies– your worth and purpose are not how you look.
• Body-focused messaging that centres around body positivity can lead to more self-objectifying.
• It’s essential to look closely at what you’re being exposed to in your external world and if it’s serving your recovery.
• Our bodies don’t earn us love, happiness or knowledge.
• We have so much more to do, be, feel and experience outside of the confines of feeling defined by our appearance.
• We often turn to social media for distraction so that we are not left with our own thoughts. Through this, we end up thinking other people’s thoughts.

You can read Lexie Kite’s book ‘More Than A Body’ here.

Final Words On Podcasts For Recovery

Podcasts are a great way to open our minds up to new ways of thinking, new ideas and different perspectives. It’s important to remember that podcasts cannot offer personal advice, so must be listened to with curiosity.

We recommend introducing podcasts after private recovery support when possible. This is because it is often less triggering, and allows you to be more in touch with what is truly helpful for your personal recovery journey.