Not Another Mummy Podcast

This week's guest is Michelle Griffith Robinson - Olympic triple jumper, personal trainer, life coach and mum of three.

Michelle competed at the highest level in athletics for two decades, representing Great Britain and Northern Ireland on the world stage - including at the Olympic Games. She talks to me about what happened when she went from being a sponsored, in-demand athlete to the phone suddenly going quiet - and how that identity shift mirrors what so many mums experience when they step back from their careers.

Michelle is honest about the highs and the harder moments, including leaving an abusive relationship, navigating early motherhood while training for the Olympics, and reinventing herself as a PT and life coach.

We also chat about:
Why "brave doesn't have to be big" - and how small steps can be more powerful than grand gestures
The Olympic mindset she's brought into parenting (including the family mantra "next minute")
Why girls drop out of sport at 14 - and why keeping them in it matters more than winning
Her perimenopause journey, including how hormone changes led to an unexpected pre-diabetes diagnosis
What she'd say to any mum feeling lost, invisible or stuck in a rut

You can follow Michelle on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michellegrifithrobinson_oly

If you enjoyed this episode then please leave a rating or review - and you can follow the podcast to ensure you don’t miss future episodes. Thank you!

Not Another Mummy Podcast is brought to you by me, journalist and author Alison Perry. I'm a mum of three and I love interviewing people about parenthood and confidence on the podcast. You can check out my other episodes and you can come chat to me on Instagram: @iamalisonperry or on Threads: @iamalisonperry. You can buy my book OMG It's Twins now.

Music: Epidemic Sound
Artwork: Eleanor Bowmer
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/notanothermummy.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s 10 Minute Confidence Boost guest is Nicky Denson-Elliott - podcaster, writer and founder of The Wilder Collective, a community supporting female founders.

Nicky first came on the main podcast show last year, and she’s back for a 10 Minute Confidence Boost because she’s in the middle of a year-long deep dive into all things confidence. Her 12-month experiment, The Confidence Project, explores what confidence really is - and what it absolutely isn’t.

In this episode, we talk about why confidence isn’t a personality type, why competence and confidence aren’t the same thing, and how hormones, cycles and context play a far bigger role than we’re often willing to admit.

Nicky shares why fluctuating confidence doesn’t mean you’re failing, how to “optimise” yourself on the days you need to show up, and why sometimes the most confident thing you can do is give yourself a break.

Follow Nicky on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nickydensonelliott/
Check out The Wilder Collective: https://thewildercollective.co.uk/

If you enjoyed this episode then please leave a rating or review - and you can follow the podcast to ensure you don’t miss future episodes. Thank you!

Not Another Mummy Podcast is brought to you by me, journalist and author Alison Perry. I'm a mum of three and I love interviewing people about parenthood and confidence on the podcast. You can check out my other episodes and you can come chat to me on Instagram: @iamalisonperry or on Threads: @iamalisonperry. You can buy my book OMG It's Twins now.

Music: Epidemic Sound
Artwork: Eleanor Bowmer
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/notanothermummy.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s guest is Dr Anna Colton, clinical psychologist and author of How to Talk to Children About Food. Anna has spent more than 20 years working with young people and families in eating disorder services, from outpatient settings to inpatient units supporting the most severe cases. In her book, she unpicks how the way we speak about food, dieting and bodies - often without even realising - shapes our children’s relationship with eating and with themselves.

We talk about the anxiety many of us carry around what our children eat, the pressure parents feel in the face of childhood obesity headlines, and why Anna believes we should be far more focused on protecting our children’s relationship with food than policing it.

We also discuss the rise of GLP-1 weight loss jabs and what their growing normalisation means for teenagers who are forming their own body image. Anna shares her concerns about the current lack of regulation, the seductive messaging around rapid weight loss, and how parents can approach the topic at home.

Anna and I also chat about:
What a genuinely healthy family relationship with food looks like
The “division of responsibility” and how to apply it without mealtimes becoming a battlefield
Why food neutral language matters (and what to say when schools send home “healthy vs unhealthy” worksheets)
How to respond when your teenager says they hate their body or want to go on a diet
The impact of parents modelling dieting - including GLP-1 use
Social media, “Skinny Tok” and building resilience in teenagers
Why eating disorders - not occasional McDonald’s - are the real fear

You can find Dr Anna Colton on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drannacolton
Her book How to Talk to Children About Food is available now from all major booksellers: https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Talk-Children-About-Food/dp/1785120557

If you enjoyed this episode then please leave a rating or review - and you can follow the podcast to ensure you don’t miss future episodes. Thank you!

Not Another Mummy Podcast is brought to you by me, journalist and author Alison Perry. I'm a mum of three and I love interviewing people about parenthood and confidence on the podcast. You can check out my other episodes and you can come chat to me on Instagram: @iamalisonperry or on Threads: @iamalisonperry. You can buy my book OMG It's Twins now.

Music: Epidemic Sound
Artwork: Eleanor Bowmer
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/notanothermummy.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest on this bite-sized confidence episode is Keira O'Mara. Keira is a mum-of-three who runs Scott-Samuel, a fashion brand selling gorgeous accessories and bags. She had the confidence to pivot from running a very successful mum and baby brand to entering the fashion space when her business struggled during lockdown.

Keira opens up about the moments her confidence wobbles and what she does to tackle that.

Follow Keira on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keira_scottsamuel/
Check out Scott-Samuel: https://scott-samuel.co.uk/

If you enjoyed this episode then please leave a rating or review - and you can follow the podcast to ensure you don’t miss future episodes. Thank you!

Not Another Mummy Podcast is brought to you by me, journalist and author Alison Perry. I'm a mum of three and I love interviewing people about parenthood and confidence on the podcast. You can check out my other episodes and you can come chat to me on Instagram: @iamalisonperry or on Twitter: @iamalisonperry. You can buy my book OMG It's Twins now.

Music: Epidemic Sound
Artwork: Eleanor Bowmer
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/notanothermummy.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s guest is Lou Beckett, author of the Sunday Times bestselling book Lessons From A Default Parent.

Fans of the Parenting Hell podcast will be very familiar with Lou, thanks to husband Rob Beckett mentioning her lots, but this time Lou is firmly in the spotlight in her own right.

In her debut book, Lou explores the reality of being the “default parent” - the one who carries the invisible admin, the mental load, and the assumption of responsibility that very often falls to mums. We talk about what the term default parent actually means, why it happens (even in relationships with “one of the good ones”), and how easily it can chip away at your identity.

Lou shares her experience of early motherhood, being at home with Rob's life seemingly carried on as usual, the mild resentment and sheer exhaustion that led to an argument in The Glades Shopping Centre in Bromley.

We also chat about:

Why the “I love my kids but…” caveat exists
Whether maternity and paternity leave policies contribute to the imbalance
Why modern parenting feels heavier than it used to
And how to stop being the sole keeper of all the information in your house

Lou’s book Lessons From A Default Parent is out now: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lessons-Default-Parent-Surviving-Without/dp/024176291X
You can read Lou’s blog here: https://louembeckett.co.uk
And follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lou_em/

If you enjoyed this episode then please leave a rating or review - and you can follow the podcast to ensure you don’t miss future episodes. Thank you!

Not Another Mummy Podcast is brought to you by me, journalist and author Alison Perry. I'm a mum of three and I love interviewing people about parenthood and confidence on the podcast. You can check out my other episodes and you can come chat to me on Instagram: @iamalisonperry or on Twitter: @iamalisonperry. You can buy my book OMG It's Twins now.

Music: Epidemic Sound
Artwork: Eleanor Bowmer
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/notanothermummy.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.