Meggan Grubb

0:00Therapy's biggest impact doesn't show up in some dramatic breakthrough. It shows up in the smallest moments. You bite your tongue instead of escalating. You put your phone down instead of firing off that text. You say what you actually mean instead of what would hurt someone else the most. Nobody applauds those moments, but they quietly change your life. That's what growing feels like, and that's exactly what Grow Therapy is here for. Grow is therapy that works, covered by insurance. Sessions average$21 with insurance, and some pay as little as$0, depending on their plan. There are no subscriptions, no long-term commitments.

0:37You just pay per session. Grow connects you with thousands of high-quality, licensed therapists across the U.S., offering both virtual and in-person sessions, nights and weekends. You can search by what matters, like insurance, specialty, identity, or availability. And you can book a therapy session in minutes and begin in as little as two days, not the national 48-day average. See if you could pay as little as$0 for therapy in seconds at growtherapy.com slash ACAST. That's growtherapy.com slash ACAST. growtherapy.com slash ACAST. Availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan. 1965, London.

1:21The world's largest uncut diamond has been stolen from the Natural History Museum. Shortly after, a young London window cleaner is arrested. They said you're nicked, you're in a lot of trouble. But was he set up? Wanted I fled to fall of two cops. His family say? He is guilty, but of a totally different crime. You don't want to end up going to prison, do you, kidly? I'm Josie Long, and this is Rough Diamond. Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts.

1:54Hello and welcome to Made by Mamas, the podcast. I'm Zoe Hardman. And I'm Georgia Dayton. And this is your parenting safe space where no conversation is off limits. With five kids between G and I, we have seen a lot. We really have. Each week we'll be joined by some famous faces and experts and we'll chat about the brands and products that have saved us along the way. In short, we're the parenting podcast for you. Before we get started, hit subscribe or follow so you're the first to know when each episode lands. And they're on Tuesdays and Fridays. And it really helps if you leave a rating and a review.

2:27You can also find us on Instagram. We're on at Made by Mummers. But for now, George, should we get into it? So today's guest, me and Georgia are so excited to sit down and chat to her. She's got a massive following online. She's the founder of Beyond, a fitness lover helping women through every single stage of their fitness journey. A mother to Winnie, a wife, a hero. It's Megan Grav. That was a lovely intro. Hero. Yeah, I was going to say, hero? I don't know. Don't talk about that. Thank you. How's your morning been? Yeah, no good. I had to get my daughter ready for nursery before I came, which was hectic.

3:05But yeah, it's pretty easy for us to get to London from our side. All good. The hardest part of today will be getting your daughter ready for nursery. Yeah, doing her hair. Oh, right. Yeah. Is she very particular about it? Well, she's just like at the stage now where she's just everywhere. And yeah, she's not a big fan of her hair or her clothes being put on. She just wants to be naked all the time. I literally started the first day of potty training yesterday. So she was just naked all day and now she just wants to be naked. I'm like, you can't go to nursery naked. Or you could just turn up naked and let them deal with it.

3:40Well, yeah, true. I don't know what they do at nursery for potty training. So it's all new. It sort of just goes out the window a bit, I think. It's more survival mode, isn't it? because it's not really, they've got so many other kids to look after. You soon realize that they just sort of have to get on the bit. I wish I could have a camera and see what they do. When did she start nursery? She started in January. She does three days a week. Right, okay. So she loves it. But yeah, it was quite an emotional time, but we needed it really to be able to work as well. Of course. Because at her age now, they're just like, I'm sure you guys know, they're just...

4:12She's two, right? Almost. Almost two, yeah. So she just needs like a lot of attention constantly. And if we want to work as well, it's just not, it's impossible. You just mentioned that it was really emotional. How, like, how, how was it? Was it because you felt like you didn't necessarily need to because you work for yourself? Yeah. Is that what? It was, yeah, it was a mix of that because I felt like this is a choice and should I be doing it? But then also it was just because I was like, how she, I mean, she literally ran in. and she was fine. So I think she's just really happy and social, which is nice.

4:50But at the same time, and also just like that new phase in her life, someone else being in charge of her was a bit weird at first. Yeah, of course. So yeah, but I mean, she was ill for most of the first two months. Oh my God, they're picking up those super bugs. Why does that happen? You're like, I mean, however you feel about kids starting nursery, you know, it's a big moment. and you're like, right, okay, I've got this. And then you're like, oh, they're not allowed in. Well, yeah, she wasn't allowed in. Or they're bringing back these ridiculous kid bugs that you've got no immunity to as adults.

5:24I know. And you're constantly ill. Yeah, and I was ill. Yeah. Constantly. So, yeah, it wasn't, the first two months, she wasn't even there. But, so we were sad on the first day and then she just wasn't in. What I always find quite an interesting observation is how, you know, you see all the other parents. And this is why it's such a beautiful moment, being a parent, because you're in that community. and we're all sort of sobbing outside the nursery like, she just didn't go in very well. And then the nursery call you and they're like 30 seconds later, yeah, no, it's absolutely fine. It's like they do it on purpose.

5:54Or you get the updates and it's like, oh, they're eating spinach pie. Oh, yeah. And they're like, yeah, no, yeah. Didn't eat fucking spinach pie at home, did you? She literally eats nothing that they give her. She'll eat it. Me. Nothing. Absolutely not. They tell me she eats broccoli, fruit, and she's completely gone off anything like that. I'm like, really? Yeah, yeah, yeah. All she at home is pasta. Yeah, yeah, anything bae she's into. Megan, let's take you back to how you kind of started out building this incredible community before you had your little one. Because, I mean, you've blown up online.

6:27Was it 1.8 million followers? 1.3. 1.3. 3 and 8 would be the same if you squint. It's really exploded for you. How did that happen? Yeah, no. So I think I was definitely right place, right time, to be honest. it was when Instagram video first came about and I was a PT. And so my initial thought process behind posting online was to build an online client base. Cause I was also at uni at the time as well in music school. So I was trying to do that and PT and I realized I couldn't really fit everything in. So I was like, if I move online, I could see it was starting to move online it's very competitive in London as well in the gyms yeah and so I was like if I try and move this online I might be able to get more clients and do more in between uni work um because everybody in person either wants first thing in the morning last thing at night and there's only a few slots you can get with that yeah so I was like let's try this so I was posting my workouts on Instagram and then it just went crazy but I think it was just right place right time because I think if I did it now, it'd just be like, you know, that there's so many.

7:37It was because women didn't lift back then as well. So I think, you know, lifting weights, women back then thought you'd just get really bulky. You'd look like a man. And so women were scared of it in general. So that was the other reason I think it was the right time by accident. It was a happy accident. How did you get into lifting? Because lifting, you know, weights, kind of that real kind of like muscle toning. It's your space. You own it. yeah I mean I don't really know to be honest I first started going to the gym to be honest because the guy I liked was there

8:17but yeah that was that was a motivation because at first I did try at uni um first year and absolutely couldn't stick it I just didn't get it and like I think that's really normal and I would just go on like a cardio machine I really vividly remember watching a guy do walking lunges and thinking it was so weird I was like what is he doing yeah it's really weird now because that's really normal but back then and I forget that actually that is the case for so many people but yeah for a long I tried failed went back the next year and tried to get into it again with my friend at uni who I lived with and a big motivation was because my husband now was there but also I think I was it was the first time I'd ever been a little bit conscious of my own body image yeah and I went on a girl's holiday and I remember it was the first time I was like looking around thinking like just aware of myself and the way other people looked and feeling insecure and you It was the time when everyone did Facebook albums.

9:25So we took just loads and loads of photos. And I didn't like the way I looked. So I'd been at uni a year, I'd been drinking a lot. And like, I just, I was 18. Okay. And I just didn't like the way I looked. And there was parts of me that was like, I just wanna try and get fitter. And at first, I didn't really know what I was doing. And it was all about the way I looked. and I think that's really common for people starting the gym it's like it is all about it is about yeah it is yeah it is because like yeah it's it's common to do that but I think to build it long term is to see all the other effects you get from fitness how do you get to that because I find like I actually look at you know people like you like there's lots of you know people that you see online and and act and like use there as well and fitness is very much just a part of your life it's like not a it's a non-negotiable it's it's just happening how do you go from because I'm like all in or all out like how do you go from it just you know something you have to do to something that's like a non-negotiable um I think it's time to be honest and making yourself go in the times where you're like I don't want to go but also it's like seeing the bigger picture like why you're doing it is it's hard though because I know in those early stages you don't think like that yeah so I I find it hard sometimes to remember that yeah that phase of my brain because it was 10 11 years ago now since when I was starting out but I think the best thing I can say is to think of your why why you're doing it and also like think of you when you're older and how it's going to help you like your grandma self yeah you know you're going to be able to reach things in your shelf at the top way more like you're going to be able to get yourself off the sofa you want to do it for that version of yourself and then that it won't always work yeah maybe just like do you need to just have something in your mind like so even if it is like an aesthetic reason to begin with that's fine that's okay yeah and just think right that and then it might become yeah yeah yeah so I think at first it kind of will be aesthetic yeah usually but then I think the more you do it the more you see the other benefits and you see like how it helps your brain day to day like my I used to deal with a lot of anxiety and when I was yourself you had anxiety yeah I was I'm like I still have it but I've managed it much better now and I think at uni especially a music school there's a lot of big characters and I wasn't one of them so it was like my escape at uni that's when I really got into it was because it was so different from music as well fitness and I never liked fitness at all before I wasn't into it at school I hated PE really could walk up the stairs without getting out of breath like I was not a sporty person that is so interesting I love yeah so it's something that came when you were 18 19 yeah yeah what I find fascinating Megan is people's relationship with fitness and how that changes and evolves over the years and you know some people talk about how you know they may have had um you know a problem with overeating or under eating or you know this feeling that I actually don't know what I'm doing therefore I'm going to shy away from it or what you know or it becomes an unhealthy obsession it becomes a balanced obsession it's it's weird how it ebbs and flows through different stages of your life but I think what George is talking about is making sure that it becomes a real imprint in our DNA that actually you know yes it might start off as an aesthetic reason but in life this will keep you fingers crossed going for longer yeah and all the health benefits that aren't just visible you know the internal health benefits and that I think that's why I love watching you because I think you're such a brilliant advocate for it online that it's it's everything it's all encompassing it's food it's your relationship it's therapy it's you know makes you probably makes you a better mother oh yeah definitely it just makes me a better person I used to be so unproductive unmotivated anything I was just a lazy student you know and I used to love I was a shot girl I like to go out drinking all the time like that was what I did I used to love that and there's nothing wrong with that but I think as a person I got way more like disciplined in all areas because you become disciplined with yourself where you're making yourself go and do hard things all the time so you're pushing yourself out your comfort zone all the time and then that translates into all areas of your life I think and it's it I definitely think it helped me through birth and pregnancy I want to talk to you about this yeah well can I just ask one more question because I think I'd like to ask you about um your insecurities when you started off and how you felt about your body and did it ever become unhealthy for you um I think at the beginning I didn't have the best knowledge around nutrition particularly um and I think I it was it was the era of eating no carbs so I wasn't like fueling myself properly back then and I to be fair I think I'm quite fortunate that I I've never had a really bad relationship with my body I kind of got past that um and yeah I mean I I definitely didn't have the best with food I didn't know what I was doing and I just, the other thing is it was the time where people didn't really care about like actual health.

14:55Yeah, it was just low calorie. Supplements, protein, which you do need, but it's to supplement your diet. But like didn't care about veggies, your gut, things like that. I think that's all come out now, which is great. But yeah, the low carb thing, because I'm so against cutting anything out. Like I am all for eating chocolate, but vegetables, also carbs, protein, healthy fats, everything should be on your plate. and you shouldn't cut anything out because you're restricting yourself, and then you're going to want that thing more. Such a good point. Such a good point. And now we've got kids as well.

15:26I know. Never has that point been more prevalent. Do you know, we'll get on to that, actually, because I think how you pass that information on to kids is really important. Oh, yeah. I'm so passionate about that. You just touched on pregnancy, and before we get into how fitness and being active helped you, were you worried when you fell pregnant about how your sort of online persona was gonna evolve? Yeah, I think I was a little bit because I don't know, I've kind of grown up online. Yeah. But I think there is a benefit in that because the girls who have sort of grown with me are similar age slash a little bit older and some of them, not all of them, are also looking at that phase in their life as well.

16:11But I didn't really know that at the time. now I realize how many mums also, you know, are mums with me for my online audience. But at the time I was like, oh God, like I've always been this girl that's just this girl by herself. Am I going to still be interesting to people? Am I like, what am, the other thing was I didn't really know at the time about fitness and pregnancy, which is why I then did a qualification whilst I was pregnant for my own self, but also so I could put out the right information because very quickly, I still knew like, you know, top line, I could still lift weights because I'd already been doing it.

16:55It was okay. Don't try and hit PBs too much because, you know, that's not the thing. But when I started to show training whilst pregnant at first, the comments are mental. Like what, really? You're gonna kill your baby. Oh my God. literally yeah or like you you should not be doing this this is so selfish and you know just like really the thing is though I don't know if it was all coming from a bad I think people are really brash with the way they write things I'm like yeah so you'd like to think you'd like to think no come on no but uneducated baby yeah yeah uneducated ridiculous thing to say some of them were more like what are you doing like you shouldn't be doing this and I was like no you can't and like I really wanted to then you know get that qualification behind me so I could actually officially say yes you can and then help people yeah showing women that actually can and and I think it was crazy how many people didn't realize that you can do fitness whilst you're pregnant top line with that right is that if you are fit and healthy and you've been training you know before yeah you can adapt a few movements but essentially you know you can pretty much do everything that you were doing before you know yeah listening to your body yeah absolutely like i love watching that video of you i saw it this morning where you were doing i think you were doing rdls or deadlifts and you had this beautiful bump and i was like absolutely you know that was what you were doing before baby was safe but i'm amazed that you got that comment but i think those comments i think that's probably down to a lack of education yeah yeah definitely because i think people just assume that this is not what you should be doing well i think a lot of people assume that as soon as you fall pregnant you have to lay down oh if only they do don't know i just think that would be great but i do think there's a weird thing around that of like oh you must rest you must rest and yeah of course like there are there is a time but ultimately that would make a lot of people not feel great mentally well yeah definitely i think it's just like that old school traditional view of a pregnant woman you know and now it's different like women are working much more and women are doing a lot more and you can and also you know a lot of pregnant women have kids already like they're they're constantly active that's also being active so if you can do that why can't you also exercise if you want to you know we'll be right back after this short break

19:26Therapy's biggest impact doesn't show up in some dramatic breakthrough. It shows up in the smallest moments. You bite your tongue instead of escalating. You put your phone down instead of firing off that text. You say what you actually mean instead of what would hurt someone else the most. Nobody applauds those moments, but they quietly change your life. That's what growing feels like. And that's exactly what Grow Therapy is here for. Grow is therapy that works, covered by insurance. Sessions average$21 with insurance and some pay as little as$0 depending on their plan. There are no subscriptions, no long-term commitments.

20:04You just pay per session. Grow connects you with thousands of high-quality licensed therapists across the U.S. offering both virtual and in-person sessions nights and weekends. You can search by what matters, like insurance, specialty, identity, or availability. And you can book a therapy session in minutes and begin in as little as two days, not the national 48-day average. See if you could pay as little as$0 for therapy in seconds at growtherapy.com slash ACAST. That's growtherapy.com slash ACAST. growtherapy.com slash ACAST. Availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan. Hello everybody, I'm Natalie Cassidy and I have a podcast called Life With Nat and this week has been very special because I got to interview Andy Burnham, the Prime Minister of the UK.

20:56When I walked up that street for the first time to come into this place, I knew that my dad was reaching the end of his journey and it was hard and the coming together of those two things has made what would have been a hard thing intensely hard at times. Listen wherever you get your podcasts and let me know what you think. Join our family, Life with Matt. I hope you enjoy.

21:27Welcome back to this episode of Made by Mamas. Now, where were we? Did you see your birth as a high rocks competition? No, because at the time I wasn't doing much high intensity, so it was a shock. Because you were super duper fit going into it. Did you feel it? Yeah, I did to be fair. I was mainly just lifting then. So I've only really got into that side of things after. But I did definitely feel strong. So I was really like, also just knowing my body was so, so nice to like have that feeling that I know my body, I trust it. I look after every day. It's gonna be all right, like whatever happens.

22:07I had like my hopes of how it would go. And to be fair, I had a really positive bit. Tell us. We love the point to your birth story. So I had a really long labour, to be fair. It was 32 hours, 36 hours. Oh. Yeah, it was painful. But I really wanted a water birth, which I did manage to have. Were you at home or in the hospital? No, I'm hoping if we have another that I would like to try home next. But yeah, no, at hospital. And yeah, it was great. It was really painful. I feel like you forget though, don't you? Everyone says that. You do, yeah. Your brain like removes it. Yeah. The bad bits. That is 100 % true.

22:49It must be. It must be true. Yeah. I started off in the water because I desperately wanted to have a water birth and I'd seen all these weird videos online of like guys getting in with them and like wiggling around. Really? With their like speedos on. Don't go down that rabbit hole. Oh, what? The husband? The husband's getting in, right? No, mine didn't do that. No, it's really not. And like all shit floating around. And I was like, okay, Dozza, my husband, and I was like, if this happens, you are not to get in the water. And he's packed his budgie smugglers and all this shit. Did he really? Yeah.

23:16He didn't get in. No, no, he didn't get in. He was pregnant. He did it as a joke. This is dozzled over, right? So anyway, I was in the water and I was like, it's happening, obviously first time, didn't have a clue. And I was like, contractions coming. I was like, can you see the baby's head? And they were like, you're like one centimeter dilated. I was like, by this point, I'd been in the water for so long, I was wrinkly and uncomfortable. And I was like, get me out. So when I saw that you'd had your water birth, I was really like, it was a positive ending to what you wanted. Yeah, no, I think because I, the pools weren't free when I first, so I wanted to labour at home as much as I could.

23:49And I did a lot of, I know people are like, oh, hypnobirthing, but I honestly loved it. I read a book, Siobhan Miller's hypnobirthing book, amazing. And also made my husband look at it. So he read like most of it, bless him. So he knew what I wanted to do. So he was really, really helpful of like massaging my back. Like he literally massaged my lower back for 36 hours, like on and off on every contraction. Thumbs of steel. I know. But then I think because the pools weren't free, I did a lot of the labor not in the pool. So I only went in the pool just before the pushing phase. So I didn't go wrinkly.

24:29Cause I wouldn't have liked that. I don't know. Yeah. So just before, and then, so you got that moment. Yeah. Yeah. How was it? yeah no it was amazing I think when I got in the pool it took away a lot of the pain but it can slow it down then as well so I think it did a little bit because they were a bit worried during the pushing phase because nothing was happening but I was pushing so I was getting a bit nervous and like the midwives were kind of looking at each other and talking privately and I was just like oh my god hello I'm here it's the worst actually when they do that because you are like, hey, can you tell me what's going on?

25:05I had someone, and I think I've mentioned this before, and I still don't really know what it was. I had an epidural right at the end, and I wasn't, shouldn't have done, apparently, because someone came in and started telling the midwife off at the time. And which is, again... No, the midwife doesn't give the... That's the anaesthetist. Yeah, but the head person came in telling the midwife off for letting me have an epidural. And whoever it was, which, again, not helpful to have someone being shouted at in the room like and you're like oh god was i not supposed to anyway she said don't worry and she put something under my nose right say like i don't know what it was it smelled of something poppers who knows who knows and then it all kicked off a hundred percent that was poppers did everything just get really relaxed yeah a hundred percent i've heard that's what happened I mean, who knows?

25:58But that's what happened. And I still always ask my mum and Jace, because I'm like, I obviously wasn't really with it. And I'm like, someone tell me what that was. Did they not tell you? Well, my mum said, oh, I didn't really know. But yeah, you're right. She did do something. That is the weirdest. You've never shared that on the podcast before. I think I went on like a Google at one point to try and work it out. It worked. Well, yeah. So no poppers needed for you? No. Brilliant. No, I had gas and air. You gas and air? Yeah, I did gas and air. Yeah. Right. How did that, I mean, because I found that weird.

26:27I get all lightheaded. Did you find that weird? Yeah, I found it really weird at first. I couldn't do it. But then the pain got so bad that they were like, well, you can do epidural, but you can't go in the pool then because it numbs you. So I was so, it wasn't that I was against an epidural at all because I think you've got to do what you've got to do. But I really wanted to get in the pool. At this point, I wasn't in the pool yet. So I was like, oh God, I need to like work this out because the gas in there just weirded me out. I think like, I don't know. It was just a bit odd at first, but then I was like, I'm just gonna have to.

26:58And then it did help a bit, but I just, that's where the whole labor went a little bit blurry. And I don't have a huge recollection of what happened then. But it helped and yeah, got me through. I wouldn't have been able to do it without the gas in air. And you did it. Yeah. And you did it. It worked out. And you did it. We'll be right back after this short break.

27:24Therapy's biggest impact doesn't show up in some dramatic breakthrough. It shows up in the smallest moments. You bite your tongue instead of escalating. You put your phone down instead of firing off that text. You say what you actually mean instead of what would hurt someone else the most. Nobody applauds those moments, but they quietly change your life. That's what growing feels like. And that's exactly what Grow Therapy is here for. Grow is therapy that works, covered by insurance. Sessions average$21 with insurance, and some pay as little as$0, depending on their plan. There are no subscriptions, no long-term commitments.

28:01You just pay per session. Grow connects you with thousands of high-quality, licensed therapists across the U.S., offering both virtual and in-person sessions, nights and weekends. You can search by what matters, like insurance, specialty, identity, or availability. and you can book a therapy session in minutes and begin in as little as two days, not the national 48-day average. See if you could pay as little as$0 for therapy in seconds at growtherapy.com slash ACAST. That's growtherapy.com slash ACAST. growtherapy.com slash ACAST. Availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan. Hello everybody, I'm Natalie Cassidy and I have a podcast called Life With Nat and this week has been very special because I got to interview Andy Burnham, the Prime Minister of the UK.

28:54When I walked up that street for the first time to come into this place, I knew that my dad was reaching the end of his journey and it was hard and the coming together of those two things has made what would have been a hard thing intensely hard at times. Listen wherever you get your podcasts and let me know what you think. Join our family, Life with Matt. I hope you enjoy.

29:24Welcome back to this episode of Made by Mamas. Now, where were we? Let's talk about your postpartum body and how you felt about it afterwards. And I guess what was going through your mind, because obviously being in fitness and kind of, you know, working as hard as you had, how you treated your body after that. yeah so to be honest I felt like I was like quite prepared for just not I don't know it was weird I just didn't think about it that much because I think I was just like again I trust that my body's gonna do its thing I remember the the was it the second night I felt like severe contractions which nobody told me about before where your uterus is contracting back down yes yes and like i forgot about that absolutely like it's horrible and then like i went does everyone get that yeah i think it also can be when you're feeding yeah yeah breastfeeding makes it um stronger yeah okay um so i remembered that was really weird because i went from looking pregnant still two days on and then I woke up the next morning and it had gone down a lot, like the uterus swelling.

30:40So that was really weird. Like I just didn't know that was going to happen. But yeah, I just didn't, I don't know, I think because I was in such a good place with myself and I just accepted and sort of like sacrificed, like I just felt like I was ready to just go through this era where like I just wasn't too fussed about how I looked I don't think I felt that confident and I think I actually noticed that I didn't feel that confident in my body later on yeah I think the early phase I was like this is just how it is and I'm not I didn't really like look too much at myself overly because I wasn't that fast and I was just like breastfeeding constantly and watching maths that was basically all I did yeah um so I just I think I just wasn't really too bothered in those early early days it was a bit later where I was like okay my body does actually feel really different and I think I found that harder when the initial sort of it was probably six months on actually where I was like my body's shape has changed like it feels like my actual structure has changed so interesting and it has as well with your pelvis and all that kind of jazz yeah yeah and felt alien and it isn't because a lot of people say this not necessarily just about body image but like their whole identity they don't really notice or feel anything until like six months to a year in because it's almost like when reality hits yeah because i think for so many months you're kind of in a blur and you and like you say you can just accept the blur because you're like you know what this is a blur this is the bed I know this is gonna you know I know this is what it's gonna be like and then suddenly you're like okay still happening still like this yeah yeah the body function isn't the same the pelvic floor still we myself I weaved myself during high rocks and I was wearing pink and that's why everyone wears black because obviously you get sweat patches anyway so it was hidden but at the same time I was hyper aware and I was like I can't keep looking down like is it really obvious because there's obviously loads of people watching.

32:47I do it all the time too, don't worry. Yeah, still all the time. Are you still, are you working on your public law? I was. I'm not. It's hard to remember. It's hard to remember. At the start. I'm doing it now. I do it every time someone mentions it. You can do it right now. Yeah, I know, but I'm doing it now as well. Yeah, I'm doing it now. But it's only when someone mentions it. So maybe we need to put like, I don't know. No, but there's an app. There's an app. Yeah, there's loads of apps. There's an app that goes to pop up. But then I just ignore it. Yeah, yeah. So two weird things have happened to me around that.

33:16The first one was when my mother decided to buy me one of those TENS machines. And she was like, can I use this too? And I was like, this particular one? No. Did she use? Hang on, what? No, she didn't use this particular one. She uses one. But then I freaked out. I was like, have you used this one? She was like, no, this is a new one. But I was like, I don't want to talk to you about this. I don't know why. It's weird. And then when I had that mummy MOT and I was like, I've got this. Oh, did you have an MOT? Have you had one? I was squeezing my bum the whole time, my butthole. Really? not my public floor.

33:44Do you know what? It is actually a good thing to do. Is it? Yeah. I mean, you have got to get over. Is it too late now, then? You've got to get over. No. No, it's never too late. No, no, no, no. No, it's really not. No, I mean too late for the MOT. No. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. No, no, no. No, no, no. You have got to get your head around having someone as graphic. I mean, I feel like I don't care anymore. Yeah. So just like the fingers moment is quite intense. If you're not prepared for it, which I was not prepared for it, I was like, oh, right, okay. That's new for me. I thought, you know, it's going to be like, oh, let me see your tummy.

34:21Oh, you know. And then she's putting the rubber gloves on and you're like, oh, okay. Yeah, that is quite a... And then you get over yourself and you're like, right, okay. Yeah, this is what she does. She's done this 20 times in the last week. Yeah, so you should definitely do it. We've got someone great we can recommend. I really yeah I would actually really like to do that yeah well maybe not I really like I saw that you said that you are now stronger and fitter than you were pre-baby and that really surprised you yeah really surprised me um I think because I've been I've gotten into running high rocks and just I don't know I feel like I just after I gave birth I felt a new um appreciation for myself that and my body that like you can actually do way more than you think so I think before I just settled into lifting and I just was comfortable in it and just sort of doing it all the time which does actually get quite boring um so yeah I just feel like after I gave birth also just through pregnancy and then postpartum like my body and how how like the the female body just does things by itself that I was like, actually, I can do so much.

35:34And I think also because becoming a mum does kind of make you feel like you notice time more. Oh my God, right? When you have a child, right? I know. And so I was like, I'm going to start getting older. I need to do all this now. Yeah. You know? And I just feel like, yeah, just doing different types of movement I'm always for. Anyway, I always said it, but I never actually did it myself because I think it's really key, again, going back to like getting into fitness is doing finding a form of fitness that you actually like because otherwise you won't stick it yeah but yeah I never did it myself I always same thing but I did obviously like it but it's really good to to you know try different things top tips for anybody listening who is a beginner and wants to find their flow with exercise try different classes I think is probably a really good way to try out something like high rocks pilates lifting um following a program then when you find what you like because that's really how you're going to progress properly because you know programs are written with progression if you're doing random workouts all the time like it's great but also just having that structure and it's it just gives you a timetable essentially to follow and it's just there ready for you and you just yeah and it keeps you accountable exactly doesn't it yeah because i think this there's a narrative especially among parents that you know there's no time and i think part of the time is picking what you're going to do and deciding what you're going to do whereas if it's like laid out in front of you it takes that yeah definitely part away and also knowing that you don't need all the equipment and all the gym memberships you know everyone's on a different budget we went away at the weekend and we just trained in the garden using body weight yeah we We're just doing here.

37:21It's still really great. And just burpees and jumps and sit-ups and press-ups. And, you know, we did a 20-minute blast. It's really hard. Really hard. Really hard. And you can do it for free. Same with running. Same with running. Although my pelvic floor doesn't allow me to do that much. But I've got to get that sorted. You know what? I like running. Yeah. I actually really like running if there's a coffee at the end. Oh, yes. So, no. Yeah. I run with a mum from school. And the banana muffin. That's what we do. And we run to the coffee shop. Like, it's 5K. Get a coffee. Chat back. Yeah. But I have got no, like, I don't want to get faster.

37:55I don't care. I don't care about running further. It doesn't bother me. I don't care. I literally don't care. I care for you. When someone starts saying to me, oh, how quick did you do it? I think, oh, shut up. Yeah. Like, just let me have my time. Let me live. But I actually don't necessarily like what running does to my body as much as it does to my mind. Like, I do genuinely love what it does to my mind. Yeah. I just don't, like, I see more when I do weights or something like that. Running is more for your fitness and for your brain. All my mind, like 100%. Like, I could go and do, like, I could go to the gym and do all sorts of stuff and it does not have the same feeling in my brain.

38:38That's nice. It doesn't, yeah. How important is the combination of training and nutrition? Really important. I mean, there's that really annoying quote. Oh yeah. Go on. No, I don't agree with it. But the idea behind it is correct. The abs are made in the kitchen. That's not what I mean. But actually a really good quote is that fitness is like 90 % nutrition, 10 % exercise. So, you know, it's just, it's so important for so many reasons. And aesthetically, yeah, you know, that's how you are going to see that progress and be able to shape your body, but also to fuel you right so that you can actually train correctly.

39:24Because otherwise, you know, you will notice that you'll have quite a bad session if you haven't eaten enough. Like, I don't agree with fasted exercise at all, because I just think like your body is is not going to function as well. It's just not. so I think you know for performance particularly if you're doing things like high rocks and running as well you need to really make sure you feel yourself correctly or you'll get a stitch you'll get all these things that just makes it really unenjoyable. Do you know what you've got so much knowledge and I feel like I would love my kids to grow up with this you know like it being just second nature to them how can apart from moving in with me how should we be chatting to our kids and how do you think you will raise your daughter or maybe you know maybe more children yeah who knows um I mean at the moment because she's obviously two I have you know decided that well decided I mean I've I've tried to implement tiny little things like she watches me work out a lot she really actually enjoys it as well and she can see that women can be strong she's going to grow up you know seeing that women are strong and she can see that I'm enjoying it and it's not a negative thing you know because like like I was saying I hated PE and I think you know you don't I think when we were younger exercise was just sport and not everybody likes sport and so I do wish that you know at schools they would introduce things like hit or like fun hit you know for kids it feels a bit more like dancing almost even though i'm not good at dancing but do you know what i mean that kind of like more fun put some music on she loves when the music's on yoga at primary school do they and i think that's really good that is really good because it's like you know anyone can do it yeah or everyone no matter how fit they are how they're feeling that day or whatever and my daughter loves it like she properly enjoys it yeah it's really interesting that's great yeah but bringing in i love what you just said then bringing in like a silly because we have dance-offs in the kitchen where we're just like ridiculous and sometimes does in his pants it's just really funny and i love the idea whereas we get older we stop dancing or at least we feel conscious we're not silly we're not playing so that would be that would be really good we should petition for that yeah i know i have thought about it but yeah no i i really want to just like start these little habits now and she loved like if i say i'm going to the gym or i'm going to do a workout in the garden she'll come and she goes and picks up like a one kilo dumbbell now when she sees me pick up one.

42:08And she just seems to like already be starting to just, I don't know, just it seems like her brain is noticing that exercise is not a negative, you know? And then she's way more likely to take that feeling then through her life. You know, she doesn't need to lift weights. She might not like that. She might not like, you know, what I like to do, but it's just creating that feeling for her in her mind that it's not a bad. It's not for boys. It's not a negative. It can be fun. Yeah, you don't exercise because you've had a packet of crisps. No, and that's not a punishment. It's not, yeah, exactly.

42:48Absolutely not. Yeah. I feel like, gosh, we could sit here all day. I know that we've already been chatting for a long time. We always ask our guests on the podcast for the best piece of advice that they would pass on to a new parent. so what would yours be oh I feel like I'm still a rookie at this what you've learned in the last 20 months I think I think best piece of your if your like best friend fell pregnant what would you say to her I just think you've got to listen to your instincts as a new mom and to not listen to outside noise don't listen to you know even family members some of them can be quite judgy do what you think um because you you know best and like all your baby really needs is you and um the other thing I don't know if I call it advice but something that I love about being a parent which is the fact that you get to do the the childhood things again and you get to be a young like you do get to do all the nostalgia the young things again so it's like it's just so amazing that's beautiful i don't think anyone has ever said that on seven years of the podcast beautiful and because we love talking about products and stuff what like what are you loving for yourself what are your like absolute die-hard products that you swear by every day it could be fitness related it could be like baby related just things that clothes you wear brands that you love products you use for myself because it makes me look more awake and alive when I'm tired is the L 'Oreal Glotion.

44:23It's also not very expensive. Oh, yeah. Yes. I love that because I often just don't bother wearing makeup. I have actually got makeup on today, but usually that just by itself and a bit of lip gloss. So if you're in a rush, it's a great thing. And also if you have had a bad night's sleep, it's great because it makes you look less tired. What else do I love? What fitness brands do you wear? Like workout gear? I wear bow and tee, really like bow and tee. I've never heard of bow and tee. I just did an edit with them of some really colorful, pastely, summery gym wear. Oh, cool. Really like soft, nice, feels nice and makes you feel really confident.

45:08So yeah, I'd say bow and tee is my favorite. Your app? Yeah, obviously my app. Everyone needs to get the app. Yeah, so my app Beyond, I actually do all my challenges that I create on there too. So it's kind of become like a place where I've created through my own life experience, all the different things I'm learning and doing. Like at the moment, I'm training for a half marathon, just train for a high rocks and I create programs for other women to do alongside me that I'm actually doing. But then it's also got, you know, your pregnancy stuff, postpartum. you can track your cycle along with your exercising because it's really not just for you know tracking your period but it's great to sort of inform you of when you're going to probably be more stronger probably going to be less energetic then we offer different workouts you know to suit where you are in your cycle that's brilliant um and there's there's baby classes so me and winnie have filmed classes together so that mums can actually do the classes with their child if they want to as well.

46:10I saw that video of you doing the... Oh, yeah, yeah. When she was trying. You're like that. Yeah. You're really cute. And you've just started working with Seed, the eating disorder charity. Tell us a little bit about that. Yeah, so I really wanted to work with them because they have quite an emphasis on schools. So they've got an educational toolkit, which they are giving to schools so that they can kind of teach the children and help the children with eating disorders and avoiding eating disorders because it's obviously become quite common. And yeah, I think it's brilliant that they're doing that.

46:47And, you know, having my own daughter now, I'm really conscious that I want her to grow up with a good relationship with food. So, yes. Is there an increase in disordered eating? There is, yeah. Wow. And yet all of our language and our education is better, I would say, than when we grew up. That's quite confusing, isn't it? Oh, God, yeah, it must be. Because there's so much more social media now. And there is great people, but there are still not the great sort of messaging. Sometimes it's still about, so it's just about overpowering them. Megan, thank you so much for coming on. What a beautiful conversation.

47:25Yeah, no, thank you so much for having me. You need to have a podcast. Yeah, I have thought about, I would like to start one. It's just finding the right thing, you know? And a new thing that isn't done. because it's busy. It's a watch this space. It's a TV. I hope so. Yeah, we'll see. Okay. Thank you so much. Megan Grubb, everyone. Thank you. Really hope that you enjoyed today's episode of the podcast. As always, we'd love you to rate, review, subscribe, and please give the podcast a follow. Yeah, or if you've got any feedback on this episode or guests you'd love to hear from, drop us a DM on Instagram.

47:57We're on At Made By Mamas and we'll be back on Friday.

48:05Hello, everybody. I'm Natalie Cassidy, and I have a podcast called Life With Nat. And this week has been very special because I got to interview Andy Burnham, the Prime Minister of the UK. You know, when I walked up that street for the first time to come into this place, you know, I knew that my dad was, you know, reaching the end of his journey. And it was hard. And I, you know, the coming together of those two things has made a hard, what would have been a hard thing, intensely hard at times. listen wherever you get your podcasts and let me know what you think join our family, Life with Matt I hope you enjoy