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Chapter 1: What prompted Louise to share personal updates in this episode?
Hello, my friend, and welcome to Catch Up with Louise McSharry. This is the podcast where I do my best to keep you caught up with what's going on in the world. Ordinarily, on a Monday, we would be talking news, but unfortunately, Carl isn't around this week. So it is just you guys and me today. And I actually was thinking that it was time for us to have a little catch up, I suppose.
As you know, there's been a lot going on in my life over the course of the last year or so. And we haven't really chatted about it that much. And a lot of you guys have been messaging me and kind of asking me how I'm getting on. And I just thought maybe we would do a little Q&A today in place of the usual news episode.
I know things have been a little bit all over the place between me being on holidays and now Carl not being around. But I promise you, we will get back to normal soon. But for the sake of today, I thought it might be nice for you and I to have a little catch up. So I asked all of my pals over on Patreon and my friends on Instagram if they had any questions. And you guys had loads of questions.
So it's just a flag from the get-go. The two main questions that I got, I think unsurprisingly, are how I'm getting on since my big life changes over the course of the last year. So I am going to be talking about weight loss in this episode.
I know I told you when I spoke to Alison Spittel last year that I wasn't going to be talking about weight loss a lot on my Instagram or on this podcast, and I don't plan to ever do that, but... I can understand completely that there are a lot of people who have questions about my weight loss and about how that's happened and how I found it. And I think that it is useful to have that conversation.
But if that's not for you and if that's going to be difficult for you to listen to today, then I completely understand this might not be the episode for you. I suppose we should really start there. I got like really fun and interesting questions. So we're going to talk about loads of different things over the course of this episode.
But I suppose the place to start really, I guess, first of all, is how am I doing? Because that is the question that I got the most. How am I feeling since coming out? How am I feeling in general? I'm feeling good. I think I am having kind of a year of yes, I feel like, and I have been so busy and And doing so many things. It's been quite hectic. But I'm feeling. I'm feeling so fortunate guys.
To be honest. You know. Obviously, coming out, realizing that I was gay quite late in life, having to deal with the implications of that in terms of our family and in terms of my relationship and stuff was obviously incredibly difficult. But I suppose if we put that to one side, even though it's very difficult to do that because obviously it's all connected,
um I am feeling really good I as someone commented on a TikTok I posted recently that was about I can't even remember what it was about it was about like nothing and someone commented remember you came out come out and then I guess I never really spoke about it again um and I don't want that to be the case I don't want people to feel like they can't talk to me about it or ask me about it or I don't want to be I guess like quiet about the fact that I'm gay um because I'm not ashamed of it at all in fact the opposite I'm
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Chapter 2: How has Louise been feeling since her significant life changes?
Like the first time I remember being on a diet, I was six. And it honestly has been the biggest challenge of my life. Because if I'm honest, in the back of my head, it's just always been there, like a running commentary on my body being a problem, food being a problem, whether or not I could lose weight, whether I was bigger or smaller than the person I was passing on the street. Like it was...
truly an obsession to a really unhealthy extent but I really worked very hard to try and be okay with it and at times I was kind of okay with it because you know I did a lot of research and writing and reading about weight loss science and weight in general and I knew that it was very unlikely at the
you know, in decades gone by, it was very unlikely that I was ever going to be able to lose weight and sustain it. So I lost a lot of weight through Weight Watchers and, you know, anybody who's in a bigger body probably has done all of the diets, all of the stuff. I did all that. I lost stones of weight, but I always put it back on and I usually gained more.
And that scientifically is what usually happens. I think it's the statistic is something like 98% of people who lose a substantial amount of weight regain it with more. So once I learned the kind of research of that, I realized that I probably would have been thinner if I'd never started to lose weight.
Like if I had never gone on a diet, if I'd never attempted to lose weight, I probably would have ultimately been smaller because your body has what's called a, I think it's like a set point is the description. And once your body gets to a weight, it wants to stay at that weight because it feels like that's safe. And so it will always be striving to get back to that highest number, biggest weight.
So it's really incredibly difficult to lose weight and sustain it. Almost impossible. So I kind of was working really hard for a long time to accept that. I wanted to be at peace with my body as it was. And at times I nearly was, but I never really was. And look, that's because that's not a judgment of anybody else's body. it is literally just about the society that we live in.
We live in a society that tells us all the time that bigger bodies are not acceptable. You know, the, the world is not built for bigger bodies. Um, so I think I just felt rejected constantly and I, I was never really at peace with it. Um,
And, you know, this is hard for me to talk about because I don't I would never want you or anybody else to feel like I'm judging them or I have any issue with anybody else's body. I really, really don't. I think everybody's body is their own business. But the reality is I was struggling. I also, you know, I had been pretty healthy, I think, you know, even within the bigger body.
Um, but I'd had like any injury that just didn't get better for a long time. And I knew that if I was lighter, um, It would be easier on my body. I also, you know, was limiting myself in lots of different ways via my weight. I was, and again, like this is, this is a pressure I was putting on myself.
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Chapter 3: How does Louise describe her experience of living alone?
You know, if you maybe if you live, I don't know, in an estate or like on a road, you might be able to get a book club going. I think you have to also be confident enough to if you meet someone that you like to say, hey, you know, I think you're saying or I think we get on. Do you want to go for a coffee and be prepared to potentially be rejected?
Not everybody's going to be up for that, but I've generally been quite direct when it comes to making friends. And I find that to be a really positive thing. And I think you just have to kind of keep an open mind, keep your eyes open and your ears open. And if you feel a connection with someone, don't be afraid to kind of pursue it.
That's how I've made some of my best friends really and truly is just through being like, hey, I actually think we could be friends. Um, and you know, usually they're, they're pretty up for it that I have found and it's worth trying, you know, it's worth trying, but I'm sorry to hear that you're feeling lonely. I think it's quite common. I think a lot of people are feeling quite lonely, you know?
Um, so you're not alone in that. I hope that's some kind of comfort for you. Um, but I think it can be really tough and especially if you're not interested in dating. And I know there are lots and lots and lots of people out there who are, who feel the same. I think the dating scene is really challenging and difficult and, um,
And I think that people find it really hard and I can completely understand why you'd remove yourself from that. But then, yeah, you need a fulfilling social life. I also, you know, maybe. I don't know what your situation is, but maybe you have old friends that you haven't connected with in a while.
Maybe there are people that, you know, things kind of drifted that maybe you'd like to get in contact with. But yeah, I think it's really about you have to just push yourself. And sometimes that means doing things that are kind of uncomfortable. And I appreciate that. But it might be worth a go.
back to Patreon Elizabeth said do I try and influence what the lads listen to I mean I do influence what the lads listen to obviously because I have music on all the time but they're very influenced by Gordon's listening as well Gordon loves music and So they really listen to a big mix. They like, for example, I mentioned Slater earlier, who I'm loving at the moment.
And that dance song came on in the car. Just Spotify just played it. And me and Sam were like, this is amazing. And then the next day, Sam was like, I want to listen to that song again. So it's just things like that. They listen with us and they pick things up. Now, unfortunately, they do also have their own taste. Quotation marks, taste taste.
And one of their favorite kinds of music is funk, which is I think it's like a Brazilian. I think it comes from Brazil, but it's this kind of like quite noisy, electronic music.
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Chapter 4: What challenges has Louise faced regarding her weight loss journey?
I would have preferred to have done a regular news episode, but I really appreciate your questions. And I hope that it has been mildly entertaining at the least to chat through some of these things. And I understand that, you know, obviously some of the big stuff that's been going on in my life is interesting and I can understand why people would be curious about it.
um but I guess in summation all is pretty good I'm putting one foot in front of the other some weeks are better than other weeks it's still a big adjustment to have such an enormous change in my life in in many different ways um but I'm really glad I did it and you know I was talking to when I was at the the photo call that today for the Alzheimer's Society I was talking to a girl there who um lost her dad to early onset Alzheimer's and we were just talking about the
challenges obviously that come with having a parent who is very young experiencing Alzheimer's and dementia and how difficult that is but also how motivating it is because it really just puts such a spotlight on the fact that life is short and we don't know what's around the corner and you really only have one life and you've gotta you've gotta live it you've gotta go for it you've gotta
live the life that you actually want because it's not indefinite and I'm really glad that I've made changes in my life that are making my life easier and happier even though it has been very challenging and I really do appreciate your concern and your consideration and yeah you guys are the best. Okay, I'm going to go now.
I will be back with your regular entertainment episode on Wednesday and then hopefully be back with a regular news episode for you next week. We are getting back into the swing of things. Sometimes the universe just presents roadblocks and you have to try and work around them. And so this is that workaround.
I feel like I have spoken a garbled mess, but hopefully it has sounded better to you than it did to me. And I will talk to you on Wednesday. Thank you to ACAS for having me on the network. Thank you so much to Alice. Thank you so much to Alice O'Brien, assistant producer. I hope that you have a good next couple of days, but if not, they can't all be good.
So just put one foot in front of the other and we'll be together again.
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