Host Angela Chang is joined by nutrition and fitness coach Parastoo Badie (P2) to discuss the pervasive issue of disordered eating in sports. Drawing from their accumulative experiences in combat sports, rugby, and bodybuilding, they examine the distinction between clinically diagnosed eating disorders and widespread disordered eating behaviors, highlighting how the search for personal control often drives unhealthy habits.

The conversation breaks down common gym culture red flags, such as unguided weight cuts, casual comments about body composition, ignored missing menstrual cycles, and post-fight crash cycles. They also address orthorexia, the damage of labeling foods as strictly "good" or "bad," and how athletes can shift their mindset to view metrics like scale weight as neutral data rather than moral failures. Finally, they share concrete ways athletes can advocate for themselves, model healthy fueling behaviors on the mats, and choose environments aligned with their well-being.

Links & Resources:

• Online holistic coaching for athletes: https://parastoobadie.com/level-up-method
• Find P2 on Instagram via instagram.com/parastoobadie
• P2's Youtube channel: https://youtube.com/@parastoobadie.
• Referenced Instagram Post: https://www.instagram.com/p/DamDb00Dolr
• A Slice of Humble Pie with P2 (Podcast): https://parastoobadie.com/podcast/

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If you'd like to more high-quality content, please consider supporting Muay Ying through Patreon. Any amount is appreciated and it will go towards my efforts to run all the platforms Muay Ying is on, as well as create content for each of them. http://patreon.com/muayying

You can also find us: instagram.com/muay.ying muay-ying.com

You can find the host (Angela) via instagram.com/angela.muaythai or angelamuaythai.com

Intro/Outro music by Maki of the Moon

Host Angela Chang by David Serate to unpack the psychology of the beginner mindset and look at how cross-training in entirely different physical environments can patch up technical and mental leaks in your Muay Thai.

David shares how the high-speed composure learned from downhill skateboarding helped him stay grounded when getting hit in sparring, and how the explosive intensity of bull riding fixed his habit of starting rounds too slow.

We also address the realities of modern gym culture - moving past the "performative hardness" common among beginners, how to ask specific technical questions that actually yield useful feedback, and why experienced practitioners have a responsibility to keep sparring playful ("len") rather than forcing newer students into a survival-mode war.

Find David on Instagram via (@serate.actual)

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If you'd like to more high-quality content, please consider supporting Muay Ying through Patreon. Any amount is appreciated and it will go towards my efforts to run all the platforms Muay Ying is on, as well as create content for each of them. http://patreon.com/muayying

You can also find us: instagram.com/muay.ying muay-ying.com

You can find the host (Angela) via instagram.com/angela.muaythai or angelamuaythai.com

Intro/Outro music by Maki of the Moon

What happens when we become so obsessed with the outcome of a fight or the surface-level details that we completely strip the fulfillment out of the work it takesk to get there?

In this episode, Megan McNelis joins me to discuss The Cost of Chasing Results in Muay Thai. We examine how attaching our personal self-worth to a referee's decision creates immense, unnecessary suffering - from the emotional pressure of Western tournaments where fighters apologize to their coaches for "letting the gym down," to the structural reality of gyms that treat athletes like financial commodities.

We talk about how social media forces us to maintain a curated, performative image, and how to transition to an "observation mindset." By detaching from forced narratives and treating our training and fight outcomes as simple data points rather than moral failures, we can quiet our brains, protect our longevity, and find freedom in just showing up for the next session.

Find Megs on Instagram: @c4ribou_megs

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If you'd like to more high-quality content, please consider supporting Muay Ying through Patreon. Any amount is appreciated and it will go towards my efforts to run all the platforms Muay Ying is on, as well as create content for each of them. http://patreon.com/muayying

You can also find us: instagram.com/muay.ying muay-ying.com

You can find the host (Angela) via instagram.com/angela.muaythai or angelamuaythai.com

Intro/Outro music by Maki of the Moon