The Flourishing Athlete: Tackling Athletic Diet Culture with Matt Davis

In this week's podcast, Han is joined by Matt Davis. Matt is a nutritionist specialising in disordered eating and body image. Matt is the founder of The Flourishing Athlete, where he aims to help athletes and fitness enthusiasts develop a positive relationship with food body and self to flourish in life and sport.In this week's episode, we discuss:

  • What the Flourishing Athlete is, and how Matt's personal experience inspired this project.

  • The aims Matt has for the Flourishing Athlete project, and how he hopes to help athletes to navigate athletic diet culture by creating a positive relationship with food, body and self.

  • The difference between a healthy and disordered pursuit of athletic excellence and how to determine whether your motivations behind exercise are disordered or healthy.

  • The importance of supporting all athletes, sports and fitness enthusiasts in understanding how to cultivate a healthy, balanced relationship with exercise whilst acknowledging the influence of health professionals, coaches and social media influencers.

  • The concept of intuitive eating, and how this can be achieved as an athlete striving for athletic excellence after tracking food intake for so long by stepping away from athletic diet culture.

  • The Flourishing Athlete course's structure, and why each chapter is important for the overall development of self-compassion, identity, and recognising internal biases.

To learn more about Matt and The Flourishing Athlete, you can find them on Instagram @theflourishingathlete. `

Please note that this podcast discusses eating disorder topics that some individuals may find triggering. Please check in with yourself along the way, and remember this is not a replacement for clinical support and advice.

Recent Posts

By Hannah Hickinbotham July 27, 2026
Art Psychotherapist Jessica Mackney shares how art therapy can offer a way into eating disorder recovery when words aren't enough, and what it really looks like beyond "just drawing or painting."
By hannah July 20, 2026
Hannah Whitfield shares her inpatient psychiatric care, restrictive practice, and eating disorder recovery, and how she turned survival into activism with Legally Detained.
By Hannah Hickinbotham July 13, 2026
Eva Echo shares her experience of eating disorders, trans identity, and AuDHD, and what years of medical gatekeeping in UK healthcare really looks like.
By Hannah Hickinbotham July 6, 2026
When we focus on weight in eating disorder treatment, are we doing more harm than good?
By Hannah Hickinbotham June 29, 2026
How does people pleasing get in the way of eating disorder recovery? And why commitment, not motivation, might be the thing that carries you through. With insights from psychotherapist and lived experience advocate Sarah Parker.
By Hannah Hickinbotham June 22, 2026
OSFED and UFED are the most common eating disorder diagnoses, yet remain widely overlooked. Here's what they are, why that happens, and why it needs to change.
Show More