What happens when you're a psychiatrist, an Ironman 70.3 World Championship qualifier and part of one of London's most competitive cycling communities?

This week on Diet Starts Monday, I'm joined by Dr Tal Hackett -psychiatrist, triathlete and all-round competitive human.

Tal recently finished 3rd at an Ironman 70.3 (AG), securing her place at the World Championships, all while balancing a demanding career in medicine.

But this conversation goes well beyond racing.

We dive into the realities of working in psychiatry, particularly with patients experiencing eating disorders, and explore the complicated relationship between exercise, body image, mental health and social media.

We also get into the slightly obsessive world of South West London's running scene, where apparently running around in circles is a perfectly normal way to spend your free time!

From saving lives to chasing finish lines, Tal has a fascinating perspective on performance, ambition and mental health.

Let us know what you think!

Diet Starts Monday

Jack Pitcher has run across Australia. Now he's run across Iceland and broken a world record doing it.

In 2024, Jack ran 2,684 miles from Perth to Sydney in just 61 days, becoming the fastest British person to complete the crossing.

Two years later, he took on another extraordinary challenge: running 460 miles across Iceland. Jack completed the Iceland crossing in 7 days, 9 hours and 4 minutes. After falling behind the pace required for the record, he produced an incredible final push of approximately 88 miles in a single day.

In this episode Jack takes us inside what these challenges actually look like - the physical punishment, sleep deprivation, injuries, mental battles and what happens when your body is telling you to stop but the goal is still hundreds of miles away.

We also get into his record-breaking run across Australia, where Jack covered the equivalent of around 95 marathons in 61 days, the serious car accident that disrupted his original plans, and why he continues to choose challenges that push him to his absolute limit.

Sponsored by Wintergreen - www.wintergreensport.co.uk

Diet Starts Monday(@dietstartsmonday_podcast - Instagram)

What does it actually take to make it as a professional triathlete? Harry Palmer has spent years trying to figure it out.

In this episode, Harry joins me to talk about the reality behind becoming a professional endurance athlete. The years of training and self-belief, sponsorships, prize money and what being one of the best triathletes in the world actually pays.

We also talk about why he started documenting his journey on YouTube early, the races and performances that changed his career, and the belief required to keep going when you're not the biggest name in the sport.

A conversation about professional triathlon and betting on yourself long enough to find out how good you can become.

Diet Starts Monday (Instagram - @dietstartsmonday_podcast)

Sponsored by Wintergreen UK - www.wintergreensports.co.uk

Welcome to the very first episode of ON THE START LINE! 🏁

A brand-new series from Diet Starts Monday, where we break down the biggest mass participation events, celebrate incredible performances and bring the sports community together.

This week, Roscoe and Gregor kick things off with a packed episode!

Gregor takes us behind the scenes of IRONMAN Wales in Tenby, sharing his experience of taking on one of the toughest races on the calendar. We also hear directly from athletes through voice notes, giving us their own perspectives.

We then dive into IRONMAN Nice and the Great Northern Run, discussing the standout performances, race-day stories and everything that caught our attention over the weekend.

And finally, we introduce our P4P (Pound for Pound) Everyday Athlete Rankings! 🏆

A weekly segment celebrating extraordinary achievements from everyday athletes. From incredible weight-loss journeys to marathon breakthroughs and ultra-endurance performances, we're putting the spotlight on athletes whose stories deserve to be heard.

Who deserves a place in our Top 10? Let us know!!

Whether you're chasing your first 5K, training for an IRONMAN or simply love endurance sport, this is your weekly place to catch up on everything happening in the community.

See you on the start line.

Diet Starts Monday.

(@dietstartsmonday_podcast - Instagram)

Sponsored by Wintergreen - www.wintergreensport.co.uk

I’m attempting to run 100 miles at the Mackyard Backyard Ultra - so I sat down with Jordan Stanton to figure out exactly what I’m getting myself into.

We break down the strange world of Backyard Ultras: running 6.7km every hour, on the hour, until you can’t go again.

We talk pacing, fuelling, sleep deprivation, what to do between loops, why people quit, and what happens mentally when the bell rings and you genuinely don’t want to go back out.

Most importantly, I ask Jordan what he thinks I need to get right if I’m going to make it through roughly 24 hours and 100 miles.

Mackyard Backyard Ultra. October 3. 100 miles. Let’s see what happens.

Instagram: @dietstartsmonday_podcast

@jordan_stanton

@mackyardevents

Sponsored by Wintergreen UK - www.wintergreensports.co.uk

Dr Becca Salmon is a doctor and athlete who knows first-hand that doing more exercise doesn't always mean becoming healthier.

In this episode, we talk about the line between dedication and obsession, exercise addiction, RED-S and underfuelling, burnout, injury and what happens when your identity becomes tied to training and performance.

We also get into whether being faster actually means you're healthier, the pressure social media puts on athletes to constantly do more, how tracking everything can affect your relationship with exercise, and when exercise can stop being medicine and start becoming another stress on the body.T

his is a conversation about something that can be surprisingly difficult to recognise: when the thing you're doing to become healthier starts having the opposite effect.

Diet Starts Monday

@dietstartsmonday_podcast (instagram)Sponsored by Wintergreen UK - www.wintergreensport.co.uk

Tommy Lewis is an ultra runner, coach, content creator and founder of That’s Runnable - a community built around making running more accessible, sustainable and enjoyable.

We talk about why running has become so complicated, how he's built his life around his van, how social media is bad for our mental health, strength work, injuries, ultra running and why sometimes the best thing you can do is simply run the runnable.

A conversation about running, building something you believe in, and keeping it enjoyable along the way.

Sponsored by Wintergreen UK - www.wintergreensport.co.uk

Instagram: @dietstartsmonday_podcast

Gregor is an 9-5 goer, triathlete, content creator and Ironman. Katie is a full-time professional working at a law firm, balancing a demanding career with 5:30am training and recently completing her first triathlon at T100 London.

In this episode, we talk about what it’s actually like being in a relationship when training, competition and content are a huge part of everyday life.

We get into:

- What it’s really like dating an Ironman

- Katie balancing training with a demanding career at a law firm.

- Getting up at 5:30am to train before work- Katie completing her first triathlon at T100 London

- The compromises that come with Ironman training

- Whether sharing the same goals makes a relationship stronger

It’s a conversation about ambition, relationships, competition and trying to support someone else’s goals without losing your own.

Diet Starts Monday

Conversations with people who do hard things.

New episodes every Thursday.