Bonus: Turning Body Image Issues & Fear of Food into Confidence with IBS

“[When I realized] I actually have the ability to choose what I put on my body, and to choose things that actually fit and fit for the whole day, not until I eat lunch or until I have a flare up. It’s sort of a real lightbulb moment. And it can make such a big difference on our confidence and our health..”

On this episode, Erin interviews Lottie Drynan, who created a loyal community on Instagram and her own brand. Lottie has been a leader in the social media IBS world, helping others feel confident in their bodies with IBS through her content.

You’ll hear Lottie tell the story of being diagnosed with IBS, slowly understanding it in adulthood, issues she had with body image and food, and how she found her confidence in the community she created online.

More about Lottie:

Formerly known as The Tummy Diaries, Lottie has spent the past few years sharing her honest account of life with IBS. She is the founder of #mybloatedwardrobe now used globally by thousands of women sharing the clothes that make them feel comfortable and confident even during a flare up. Lottie is also the creator of You’ve Gut This; a community that supports those living with gut health issues. She is passionate about the link between the gut and the brain and how we can get them working together as best friends. She is the author of ‘My Tummy Diary’ - the resource packed gut health journal that takes a 360 degree approach to wellness, and is now a trained health and wellness coach, empowering women to understand their bodies and feel happy in them!

You can check out the podcast on iTunes here, Spotify here, and on YouTube here! Below is a full transcript of the episode if you prefer to read through it or want notes.

Don’t forget to connect to others in The GUT Community, a Facebook group for those with IBS and digestive disorders to support one another and dive deeper into each episode together.

Erin Judge: Welcome back to the gut show! I am thrilled for the conversation that we have today because we have the amazing and beautiful Lottie here all the way from the UK, and I am so excited! If you're not familiar with Lottie, she has built an incredible Instagram community @lottiedrynan around the area of IBS and has really shed light on body positivity and appreciation within this condition in this disorder due to her personal experiences and, and then the community that now she has. So I'm so excited that you're here Lottie, thank you for coming on!

Lottie Drynan: Thank you for having me!

Erin Judge: So before we dive into the community that you've built and the work that you do, I'd love to hear a little bit of your own IBS story and what that's looked like for you.

Lottie Drynan: Yeah, of course! I think like a lot of people, it was a really long one. And I only officially got diagnosed; I say that like they hand you a certificate or something, maybe like three or four years ago now. And it took around eight years to get diagnosed. And so I was about must have been like 17-18, when I started experiencing, or younger than that, actually, when I started experiencing some problems, which I didn't know what they really were...a lot of bloating, and it definitely got worse as I was about 18 years old. And yet, they started doing lots of tests and the word IBS got thrown around a few times, but it was always no, we think it might be something else, because I was really quite sick and in a lot of pain, a lot of the time. So I had every sort of oscopy going and some other bits and bobs. And then they finally said no, we're pretty happy that it's IBS. And alongside that I also had a laparoscopy and they discovered that I had adhesions to my bowel in my womb. So yeah, it's been a bit of a long process and a lot of learning. But I have now got my diagnosis of IBS and I have done for about three years now.

Erin Judge: Awesome! I also was diagnosed at a young age. One thing that I always like to talk about is dealing with IBS, during the years of your life that are already more vulnerable, that are already really difficult, like going through puberty, and we call it high school, I don't know what it's called in the UK, but those years of you know, being a teenager experiencing relationships for the first time and, you know, experiencing body image issues for the first time. So what was that like for you going through those years of your life dealing with these symptoms?

Lottie Drynan: I think it’s really difficult and so many components, like you mentioned a few, like body image, for example, being a woman, it's really hard to have to deal with body image and seeing everything in the media. And then you put diet culture. And then when you....I can't even describe it, so much that you can't even get to know what your body looks like. So it's hard to accept it when it's constantly changing. Because one day you could think, okay, right, this is my body, I'm going to accept this, I'm gonna hopefully try to learn to love it. And then two hours later, it looks like somebody else's body. It's just totally different. And I think that made it really, really hard. And things like, even like what clothes I wore when I was going out to the clubs and like my friends would be in these dresses. And I would think how can you even drink a sip of water without looking six months pregnant, like, and it was really difficult. And those things sound trivial, but when you're sort of 16-17, or any age really, it can really sort of impact your confidence. So it was difficult to navigate. And I think as well when you throw in the whole food thing, which I'm sure we'll probably go into, but then not being able to eat certain foods or going on restrictive diets or trying to figure out what your triggers are. And then your mates inviting you to Nando's or whatever it is at the time! It was TGI Fridays, and I actually worked there and I was eating this stuff, and I had no idea what it was at the time and I didn't really understand that was it? Could it be linked with gluten and stuff? Or food, whatever it was. So it can just make it really hard to just, what should be quite easy, social environments like going out to dinner, going to a friend's house, getting dressed up to go out with the girls... It just makes it a lot a lot harder and school and work as well, having to take time off for being sick.

Erin Judge: Absolutely. I think that's probably the piece that those without IBS don't understand very well is how much it can impact you behind the scenes. So it's all behind the scenes, right? No one can really see that until you're bloated and then obviously you can see that, but even that doesn't always translate to others, and it can be confusing to live in and confusing to those around you, because there's a gap there. What were your relationships like? I know you're very social, I see that on Instagram, Lottie is like the queen of the party it seems like! Like you're the instant friend! I feel like whenever people would come to your Instagram, you're a friend and you're exciting and you have so much fun, which is really cool to see! What was that like in college, being with your friends and going out with your girls? Were you able to share what was going on with your IBS or did you go through a period of time where you felt ashamed and didn't want to share that? What was that like?

Lottie Drynan: I'm very lucky, I've been friends with my girlfriends for I guess over 10 years. They're my school friends and I can talk to them about anything, but when you're first going through it, I think, especially when you don't understand yourself, it's embarrassing. When I first got the words irritable bowel syndrome...it doesn't sound particularly glam, does it? And you're like, I don't want irritable bowels! Nobody wants to have irritable bowels! And so I think navigating that was difficult, and working it out in my own head, especially before I got that proper diagnosis. I didn't talk about it for a while. And it was, as well, like, even fear of looking fussy. I've always been very into my food, and I found it really embarrassing going for dinner or to a friend's house and saying, oh, actually, I've been told to cut this out, or I think that I can't have this. I know it's not that long ago, but I feel like things have really changed in the past couple of years and people understand it more now, but back then this was before even gluten-free or dairy-free was readily available on restaurant menus, so it was oh, you're just so fussy. Even for my parents, and my dad is a chef. And so yeah, it was hard to talk about, but my relationships, I've been very lucky...with my husband, we work together, so I talked about it in the office, and he'd heard me talking about poo and stuff like this all the time, like before way before we were together. When we did get together we were dating, he was like, you do know that I already know you're really disgusting. So kind of got that stuff, but it's a hard one, I think new relationships, like starting a new job or opening up to someone that becomes a friend or a colleague, it can be really difficult to start those conversations.

Erin Judge: I definitely get that! I think things are changing thankfully, I think we've had so much awareness being built. Instagram is phenomenal for this, because people are talking about it, and there's normalizing going on around it. And something that I always like to say is that the sooner you can break down that barrier, just have a conversation....you don't have to share your personal details, but starting those conversations, it's always amazing how many other people are struggling and are dying to have that conversation and you'll get more than you want!

Lottie Drynan: I think once you start talking, especially about poo and bloating, people think well, we all love to talk about ourselves, don't we? And when we've been internalizing that for a long time, and then suddenly we've got someone that relates, I feel like we're like ahhhhhh, and you can't stop! And we know that one in five people have it....that's a lot of people. So even if you speak to someone that doesn't have IBS, chances are they have a friend or a family member that does have it, so they can relate.

Erin Judge: Definitely! I think that's something that is becoming more common, and people are very much interested. And I think with gut health being sexy, there's some hard parts of that, which I think we probably agree on, and we'll get to the food because that's a big piece of that...but because that's become such a sexy topic of the gut bacteria and you know, bloating and all of that, I think that people are more willing to talk about it. Now, I think we're dealing with the opposite problem of not necessarily misunderstanding and misjudgment like we're seeing less of those IBS jokes, which I hate, but now what we're seeing is a misunderstanding of what's truly happening and what can help. And so I know that you've had an interesting relationship with food throughout the years, and you've been very open about sharing that through your own story. Tell us a little bit more about what that is looked like for you.

Lottie Drynan: Fairly early on I realized with the help of a doctor, that gluten was a big trigger for me and it was making me really physically sick. Unfortunately, I wasn't offered the celiac test. I'm not willing to introduce gluten into my diet, but when I restricted it felt a lot better. I did try it a few times and was really ill, so I know that that was something that I definitely needed to cut out. And then moving forward, I felt better. But still having all of these symptoms, the pain, bloating, gas. Quite early on, I was told to follow the low fodmap diet before I got everything else ruled out. And I hear this all the time. It's just scribbled on a piece of paper by the GP. And that's it, like nothing, oh, not even there are private dietitians. It's literally just on a piece of paper and they send you on your way. And this was maybe...I'm really rubbish of timings, but maybe five years ago. So again, at the time gut health wasn't a sexy topic, and there were very limited resources out there. I think I found one dietitian, that blogged about it, but it was like, just one list. I don't even know if the apps were available. But it was the list and of course, always being new research coming out, so it was very outdated already. And I just thought okay, well, this is the list of the good and bad foods, so I'm gonna cut the bad foods out. And I then had really, really bad symptoms, because I'm pretty much just eating like chicken, rice, some veggies or mainly like salad leaves. That was it, and I was really scared to eat anything else. And I didn't understand that there were these three phases, and it was the restriction and but also the reintroduction. So I just didn't reintroduce...I went years pretty much living permanently on low fodmap. I maybe managed to reintroduce a few bits but I was just scared of everything! And then when the apps came out, every time I was at dinner, I was like checking every single ingredient. If it was red I wouldn't touch it. It had a massive impact on my relationship with food, I was so scared of it. Every time I ate something that pretty much wasn't the chicken rice or veg, I felt sick to the point that I then made myself sick. At the time I thought oh, it's because it's its high fodmap so it's making me feel really sick. But actually looking back, it was me just thinking this is bad food and me wanting to get it out my body. It was a really hard time.

Erin Judge: Unfortunately, that story is so common. And I know you hear this, and I've seen the comments in the feed whenever you share those pieces of your story, how many people are just right there, saying, you know, I'm there too and I understand. And every woman I work with, I feel like has that same story, and I almost want to tear up now, because it is so hard and so frustrating to see happen. I also love that you're in the UK, so this isn't just a cultural thing. It's not just in the US or not just in the UK. Our medical systems are very different, but you struggled because you didn't get those resources either. Where I'm from low fodmap and IBS isn't even really talked about in my world. But it's no different. And I think the diet culture side is easy to see now because we are talking about it more. So it's like, okay, fad diets, you know, we see that and we see that wording, we see some of that mentality going around the piece within IBS and like even in low fodmap, that is harder to identify. And I love how you share that you think that you're doing something right, where it's like, well, I'm avoiding these foods that are supposed to be bad for me, and, you know, if I get sick, obviously, it's that foods problem. It's not you know, it's not that I mean, that's not my body. It's not that there's trauma there. It's not that there's anything else going on, like can't be my relationship to the food, it's the food, because that's what we've been told. And I think if I could change one thing, I call myself a fodmap rebel because I don't like to follow it perfectly because I think that we're not science experiments and real life isn't that way and like it's better to be messy because then your body has the ability to adjust that. If I could change one thing it would be that traffic light system of the red because the red is just such a bad it's like they're not that bad!

Lottie Drynan: I think just categorizing seeing foods or if it's labeled as red, bad, safe or unsafe, I think I think having that system almost gives us an okay, a green light to say, yeah, it's okay to restrict all your food. And that's the thing because we know the low fodmap diet. I mean, for 70% of people, it's really helpful. But it is a diet that should always be done with the help of someone like yourself, who is a trained dietitian in that area, and not all dietitians will be trained in the low fodmap diet. But also I think it's not a first-line treatment, but doctors are still prescribing it when actually there's some other stuff, including diet and other things that we can be doing, before we do something that drastic. I don't know if you agree, well, I do know that you agree with that, we've chatted about it before!

Erin Judge: I wish that they would change that list that they give to just being like, hey, like, check-in with your stress level and give true help with that, or just a referral list of like, hey, here's a therapist, here's a pelvic floor physical therapist, here's a dietitian, you know, here are all the resources that could be helpful for you to go explore what's happening, you know, and I know that you're passionate about this in terms of educating so let's get into that a little bit more. So when did the Instagram account come on? And really, what led you to start that?

Lottie Drynan: I'd say desperation is what led me there! And it was never, I want to be an Instagram influencer, or whatever you call them. I think at the time, it was I had nobody that really understood. I think it must have been about four years ago, so when I got my diagnosis, and I just felt really lonely and confused. That's when I started to take the low fodmap diet, sort of, I'd say more seriously. You probably hear this all the time, but like I always binged on the diet, so I do it really strictly and cut everything out. And I've been like ughhh, just give me some garlic bread and mushrooms and stuff. And then I start again. I wasn't doing it properly, because I just had no idea how to do it properly. So yeah, I started this account, and it started off as me sharing just my food, and I was following loads of other people that were doing the diet and struggled with IBS or other gut conditions. I just not straightaway started to just find a community and became part of it. And it was other people, and I thought, wow, I'm not actually alone, that's pretty cool. And then started to find other people that are blogging about it, and then experts as well, and I just started to learn more. And it became weird to say that IBS is a passion now as well as somebody that I live with, but I guess that's it, and it's developed from there.

Erin Judge: That's awesome! I think I only came around your account two and a half years ago, maybe around the time that I kind of niched down to IBS. And of course, I found you very quickly because you were one of the top faces at that time. And one thing that you shared towards the beginning was about the bloat-friendly clothing! So tell me a little bit more...so you started the account when your relationship with food wasn't really great, right? You were still working through that. When did the bloat-friendly clothing kind of come in line?

Lottie Drynan: I think it was pretty quick, it was about six months. I realized, I always say that I'm such a bad food photographer, like I'm awful, so all my pictures were disgusting, like cat food. And I started to just feel a bit more comfortable. As I found myself being part of this community, I started being a bit more comfortable sharing me and the face behind these photos. And I started to share a little bit more about mental health and the connection. And at the time, it was only when I was just starting to learn about gut-brain access, and I was writing a few blogs about that. And then I just got a bit more confidence and started talking about bloating. And when I did, I mean at the time, it was probably maybe like five comments, but I was like wow, other people are saying, Oh gosh, I get this too, I didn't know I wasn't the only one and it was just amazing to see people come in! I thought are people gonna think this is disgusting, but they weren't, everyone was so lovely. More people related to it, and then people started tagging me in their bloat photos. Fashion has been something that I've been always into, I've always loved clothes, and things that make me feel good. And I just started realizing that okay, I'm going to now wear clothes that do actually make my body feel good. I'm not going to try and fit into these really tight jeans that are going to hurt me, and it was just a bit of a natural evolution. And one day I just came up with that hashtag and it's sort of stuck a hashtag my bloated wardrobe and now I think like 1000s of people are using it all over the world, which is mental, but really amazing. And just seeing this community of people and seeing people's minds change, because we think it's obvious....now, of course, you'd wear clothes that make you feel good, but it's not. And sometimes just someone's saying that you're like, oh, wait, yeah, I actually have the ability to choose what I put on my body, and to choose things that actually fit and fit for the whole day, not until I eat lunch or until I have a flare up. And it's a sort of a real lightbulb moment, and it can make such a big difference in our confidence and our health.

Erin Judge: 100%! I think it's something I actually get asked a lot so often. And always, you know, your name comes up when people are sharing in communities like, oh, you know, Lottie has great advice on that! And it's interesting that what you think is obvious, you know, within these communities, like we said at the beginning, that body dysmorphia, like, I don't feel connected to my body. And I think what we do a lot of times is we either blame ourselves, like, oh, well, it's my fault that I'm bloated. Or we blame our body like, well, it's my body's fault. And we never think to look at the logistics of it of, what if I just wore something different, that made me feel comfortable? You know, what if I was able to feel confident in a different way, without it being, you know not putting my confidence in the fact that my belly looks the same? You know, from a certain age, at the end of the day, it's like being able to be confident in something else. And I love that you've done that. What would you say that you've learned the most since leading and starting your community?

Lottie Drynan: I think that whole thing of knowing that we're not alone, it's just an amazing thing. And obviously, we never want anybody else to be suffering, but knowing that we were on a team and that we do have people that we can talk to is such a comfort. I think that genuinely is one thing that just massively helps me and I see it all the time in our Facebook groups, just people saying like, it's so lovely to know that you're going through this with other people because it can be so frustrating! And most of us have IBS, or don't have had the best experience at the GP. Because I mean, they have they've got so much they need to learn and cover and they need to just get us out, so that's them scribbling the low fodmap diet. They know that it's got a good success rate, but unfortunately, they haven't got the resources or the time to be able to give us all that other stuff, and that's something I'd love to be able to help change. But for the moment, yeah, having that community is a big thing. And I say in terms of learning, the biggest thing I've learned is, or the most important thing I found is learning about gut-brain access has just been like revolutionary and just changed my world, and I hear so many others say it too.

Erin Judge: Absolutely! I think that's what we need more of in, within our role, too, because there is so much information on diet and on, you know, it's like, yeah, you can follow low fodmap all day. But if you don't have that gut-brain piece down, then there's something missing, you know, and it's not going to go anywhere, right? And I think that that's something that's really beautiful. Okay, so shifting a little bit...over the past year, I think it was around a year ago, maybe. So you quit your full-time job, right? And now you're full-time in what you've created, so tell us a little bit more about that. You've launched a company. What was that like? And how did you decide to go full force into that?

Lottie Drynan: This time last year, I was a full-time events manager for a corporate dental company, and I loved it! And then I mean, is it a year today I think since the UK locked down again, so happy anniversary! But I think it was around six months before I'd been really wanting to create a diary, I had this in my head. And basically, when I got diagnosed, I was told to keep this food diary. We know that a food and symptom tracker is really, really helpful. But as I was learning more about all the other things that impact us, such as stress, our sleep, our hormones, how much water we're drinking, our movement...I was like okay, so we're just tracking our food, but what if it isn't that bit of onion that causes that bloating? What if it's the fact that we've had a really crappy day at work, or we've just had some bad news? Because I know for me, stress is my biggest trigger. And you could say something really horrible to me right now and my stomach would just explode like, it would just expand, so I was like, okay, I really want to create a way that people can track this. I had this idea, and I just thought, it's probably never going to happen, and then a pandemic happened, and I thought, no, I'm gonna make it happen, I'm at home, I'm gonna really try and get this done. I contacted you, and that was really important to me, I wanted it to be not just Lottie who has IBS, I wanted it to be as helpful and accurate as possible, especially as I started having ideas for more resources because it's got all their other bits and bobs on top of that brain access and different exercises and activities. That was really important to me. So I reached out to a couple of dietitians and some mental health experts, and yet it started just coming together and it became this monster, I thought it was just gonna be this daily tracker, and it became a ginormous amount of work! But it was so fulfilling, and I just loved doing it. I launched it, I think my pre-sale went on in March, no sorry, May, and then they went to print in June. And I couldn't believe that people are actually buying these things, and then that people were using them and finding them helpful. It just blows my mind every time now I get a review, I can't believe that this is helping people. And I know it sounds silly, but it just felt like something that wouldn't happen. It sort of all just happened really quickly, and then because I packaged everything myself, it takes up more time. And honestly, in our little house, we just got boxes and boxes of these diaries. But yeah, started to grow, and I had more ideas, and so eventually I went part-time, and then full-time self-employed. And now it's sort of growing to a point I'm really struggling to keep up. I probably need a team soon, which is scary, but it's my passion and being able to do things that bring a community together and make things that aren't very easy to go for a little bit easier and a little bit cooler. I like to think that we can try and make it a bit fun and a bit cool to have IBS!

Erin Judge: I agree! I think it's what we need. We need things that are fun and pretty and exciting! And to be able to navigate things that do come with some shame and embarrassment, you know, being able to kind of break that down in a way that's exciting and fun, I think makes it more enjoyable and helps also overcome some of the fear and stress like logging, especially, I know a lot of people struggle with that. Having a space that is created to be joyful is a good thing! I'm not surprised that you've done so well because I mean, you're a friend, your present, people want to be connected because you know, you've shared so much value in what you share day to day and a lot of your life. Going into that a little bit, so the company you've gut this, which is super cute. You've got a huge community there, I know you've launched the sweatshirts, or what do you call it? The jumpers? You launch those this year, which is exciting! But let's talk a little bit about the stress of managing a business because business is not easy. And I talked about this sometimes where someone living with IBS, because I have IBS, and stress is a trigger for me too...taking on the stress of running a business that helps those with IBS... How do you navigate that? And what does that look like?

Lottie Drynan: I remember the day that they went on presale, and I thought, oh my gosh, what if not a single person orders one. And we actually had, it was nearly 500 people ordered in the first few hours, which was just nuts. But I remember I was so nervous and excited that I had such a bad flare-up from it. And I was sitting there, I wanted to like get dressed up and celebrate. And I was sitting there in my dressing gown with like a really, really sore painful belly from it. And yeah, it's a hard one, but I think being honest about it and transparent, people appreciate that. And because otherwise, it would look like I'm actually I'm lying. I'm just strolling around like, absolutely fine. No, it does affect me, so I do try and show that online. And it's been a massive learning process, I didn't know much about running a business at all. It's been a big one to navigate and also trying to sort of learning when it's okay to take some time for self-care. So if I am having a flare-up, that's the thing, it is hard because bits need to be done. Because I don't have a team so I can't say oh, I'm just gonna leave it because diaries won't get sent out and then people get upset and we'd like to have the community where we have to be approving posts and things like that. So yeah, I share that and my community is just so lovely. And whenever I post something people are so kind to say, oh, don't worry about sending mine out today, just wait until the next week and just feel better. And I think it's just so nice, everyone just sort of understands each other. And yeah, so it's definitely had hard times, and I'm still navigating it, it's still very new for me.

Erin Judge: That's incredible! It's like giving your body grace, and I do think it helps with being able to connect to people more and help them also understand that if you're, you know, in a busy time of work, or you're trying to build your career, you know, you're trying to do things....if you're getting married, if you're having a baby, like all these positive stressors, that's what I like to call them like, they're positive stress, like, they're great things that you're navigating, they can still impact you, and so giving your body that grace, to be able to like, it's okay, that we're struggling through this, like, I can still feel excited and joyful, even though my body is also going to struggle as we get through it, and it'll be okay. I know that based on what you've said, the joy of getting to help those who've been where you are, but also getting that feedback where you know, you're making an impact, is that what you would say is keeping you going with it and helping you whenever you are navigating the stress that comes along with it?

Lottie Drynan: Massively! Honestly, just the reviews and the nice messages that I get just saying, someone, just even people saying, you've made me realize that I'm not alone, is just the best thing that I could ever get. And if I'm ever feeling stressed, I do honestly go and look at the reviews. And I know that sounds sad, but people are just so lovely. And I just think wow, if this is all I ever do, I am very, very happy with that.

Erin Judge: I totally understand! I'm the same way some days, I'm like, I can't do this anymore. And then it's like, actually, no people need me. I'm making an impact and like it matters.

Lottie Drynan: I love all your TikToks and your videos and stuff. They're so cool, you do make IBS look cool!

Erin Judge: I try! People are asking about clothes too and I have a very different style than you. It's interesting cuz I'm like, oh, let me see, what is bloat-friendly clothing? I think I've got shorts coming up. And I've got some cool leather shorts that are super fun! People I hope are hearing, and I said this when I talked to Christine @myibslife and talking to you like, there's nothing extraordinary about you, right? You're an average person. You're a normal person with IBS yourself. Yes, you're social, you're fun, you're funny, and you're kind. But there's nothing extraordinary about you, you just showed up and decided to share your story, and you've been able to create from that. I think a lot of times people look on and they say things and I've seen them say this to you in comments that I wish I could be that brave, I wish I could share that....And I hope that people who are hearing this understand that all it takes is like pushing through that fear a little bit and just opening up and having conversations and you never know who you're going to come across and the impact is so valuable! And yes, there are some mean people out there, very few you know, usually it's people who have no idea what they're talking about, and so it's easy to just laugh at them and move them on. Nine times out of 10 people are so kind and so I hope anyone hearing this, like join communities, share with the people around you and know that you can make an impact too because there's so much space I think within the IBS world to do that.

Lottie Drynan: Definitely! If I thought five years ago, I'll be prancing about with my bloated belly out in my knickers doing stupid dances, no way, like, oh, how do I even afford to think people thinking I don't have a flat stomach? That's how my brain was working at the time. And it's yes sucked into diet culture and just not understanding my body. But yeah, like you say every conversation that you can have just makes you realize more and more how you're not alone. And then you can pick up tips and feel a bit more positive and yeah, like all the different sort of nuggets of the community like find your find your space, find your people, and you absolutely can feel feel confident and and positive.

Erin Judge: Yes, for sure. And when you feel alone, then you have people to go talk to you and say, hey, I'm feeling this way. Your Facebook community would be a great place for that. Is it called You've Gut This?

Lottie Drynan: Yes, just type in "You've Gut This". We've got about three and a half thousand members, which is lovely and maybe I'm biased, but I think it's one of the best places on the internet. And we can talk about anything, with no shame, and it's just a really lovely place. And everyone's so supportive of each other.

Erin Judge: That's incredible! Go check out the Facebook! And so two final questions: if you could tell someone with IBS, so they've been diagnosed with IBS, they're kind of lost in that world right? Now if you could tell them one thing, what would it be?

Lottie Drynan: It would be to research the gut-brain access, and have a little look and really start listening to your body, it feels hard, because it just feels like it's doing what whatever it was, and there's no pattern. But if we really start to listen and log and I mean, it is our body, our body's responding to something it doesn't like, and sometimes it can be really hard to figure out what it is that doesn't like and we don't always no, I don't think every single one of us can say, we can pinpoint every single flare-up or float. But we can start to feel more in tune with our bodies. And I think that's really, really important.

Erin Judge: That's awesome! And then if you can tell someone who doesn't have IBS, one thing that you wish that they would understand, what would that be?

Lottie Drynan: I would probably say, stop asking people if they're pregnant! Like, you know what I have so many people that say to me that someone asked me if I'm pregnant, but I'm just voting I think stop asking now, that's the first one. I mean, all of us have, if we've got IBS or not, we can we have gotten our brain connected, we've all got a gut brain access. So even if someone doesn't have the IBS symptoms, you can relate to having the butterflies before I started doing something nervous at work, or having to run for nervous poo before you go on stage and present or something like that. And so I think that is just a good way to start understanding, how much they are connected.

Erin Judge: I agree! So everyone go follow Lottie. You can find your @lottiedrynan, or find the business You've Gut This. Anything exciting coming up that you want to share, or kind of tease everybody about?

Lottie Drynan: So this year, I definitely want to bring more of the community side together, so sharing stories from other people, we started to do that, and we're doing it more and more. So we've got we're getting like Instagram takeovers, and we want to get some blogs. So the community feel is the most important thing. And once COVID has buggered off, events! We had some planned for last year, but they had to be canceled, so I'm really hoping by the end of this year, we can just bring people together. And it might even be like people in the group. It's so cool. People like right who's from, I don't know, Manchester, and feel free like yeah, and then they can just go meet in the park or something like, it doesn't have to be a big organized event. It's just so cool that people are making friends from there. So I'd love to be able to sort of facilitate and allow for that more.

Erin Judge: It's incredible. I will hop on a plane and be there!

Lottie Drynan: Please do! I'm sending you a VIP ticket to anything we do.

Erin Judge: I would love to! So if you guys are interested in that, make sure you go join the Facebook community so that you can get that information. Lottie, thank you so much for coming on. I'm sure this is gonna be valuable for everyone else, tt's valuable for me, so thank you so much!

Lottie Drynan: I thank you, I've learned so much from you, and I just think you're fantastic! So thank you for everything and for your support with the diary because in case your audience didn't know, you are contributed to that and it was amazing. And I know people really appreciate just having that sort of comfort that someone that really knows what they're talking about has checked it and they advocate it. So thank you very much!

Erin Judge: Absolutely! Yes, I love the diary, so go grab your diary. Thank you guys for tuning in, we'll see you on the next episode!