Breakfast with my daughters changed something for me

This morning I was having breakfast with my daughters.

We were chatting about food, life and work when I mentioned that I wanted to start buying bacon with fewer additives. I'd recently learned that some processed meats contain additives associated with an increased risk of cancer, and I wanted to make a small change for our family.

Without missing a beat, my youngest rolled her eyes and said,

"Mum... everything causes cancer."

Her comment landed harder than she probably realised. Because if I'm feeling overwhelmed by all the conflicting wellness advice as a 50-year-old health coach, how are young women supposed to make sense of it all?

That conversation has stayed with me ever since. I've spent most of my life believing there was something to fix. Another diet. Another plan. Another version of me that would finally feel enough.

When I was thirty, I looked back at photos of myself in my twenties and thought, "I'd love to look like that again." The irony? At the time those photos were taken, I genuinely believed I was overweight.

Then I reached my forties. I looked back at photos of myself at thirty-eight. Fit, strong and healthy. Yet all I could remember was wishing my stomach had been flatter.

Now I'm fifty. And if I'm honest, I sometimes catch myself looking back at photos from forty-five thinking, "I'd love to look like that again." When does it end? I've spent decades missing the body I was living in because I was too busy wishing it was another one. Perhaps you've done the same.

Last week reminded me why this matters.

When I'm not coaching women inside my private practice, I also have the privilege of working with PREKURE, where I'm surrounded by people who are deeply curious about how we help people live healthier, longer lives through evidence, behaviour change and lifestyle medicine.

Last week I attended my first in-person faculty gathering. The morning was spent with chef Simon Gault, where we cooked together. Risotto, pizza, steak and salmon. The food was incredible. Simon shared how genetic testing had helped him understand how his body responds to certain foods. Learning more about his own biology changed the way he eats and, ultimately, his health. I was genuinely happy for him.

That afternoon, sitting with the PREKURE faculty, I found myself reflecting on everything I'd heard. One person thrives on one approach. Someone else feels awful doing exactly the same thing.

The more we learn about genetics, lifestyle, hormones and individual differences, the clearer it becomes that health is rarely one-size-fits-all. Yet when we open social media, it can feel as though there is only one right way. One of the things I love most about working with PREKURE is that curiosity is encouraged.

We ask,

"What matters to this individual?"

AND we also ask,

"What does the science say?"

That combination feels deeply human to me.

The volume in the world of modern wellness has become overwhelming.

Eat more protein.

Avoid too much red meat.

Fast.

Don't fast.

Lift heavy.

Walk more.

Cold plunge.

Protect your nervous system.

Carbs are the enemy.

Carbs are essential.

Meditate.

Journal.

Wear sunscreen.

Don't wear sunscreen.

Buy natural skincare.

Watch out for endocrine disruptors.

Collagen.

Creatine.

Gut health.

Hormones.

Supplements.

Biohacking.

Red light.

Blue light.

No wonder so many women feel overwhelmed. As women, many of us are already carrying the invisible load of caring for everyone else. We're supporting families. Navigating careers. Managing changing hormones. Caring for ageing parents. Raising children. Holding everything together. Then we open our phones and another expert tells us we're doing it wrong. It's exhausting. Not because science isn't valuable. It absolutely is. But because we've reached a point where many women are consuming more information than they have space to integrate.

But what if you were never broken?

One of the greatest lessons I've learned as both a coach and a woman is this:

Our bodies are wise.

Your body has kept you alive every single day of your life. It heals wounds while you sleep. It adjusts your heartbeat thousands of times every day. It tells you when you're hungry. When you're tired. When you're stressed. When you feel safe. When something isn't right. Yet somewhere along the way we've become so disconnected that we're often more likely to trust an influencer than our own lived experience. We've become experts in everyone else's body...while forgetting how to listen to our own.

So what is the answer?

I don't believe there is one perfect diet. Or one perfect morning routine. Or one perfect supplement. I believe there is wisdom in science. I believe there is enormous value in evidence. And I also believe that each of us is beautifully unique. What nourishes one woman may leave another depleted. What works in one season of life may not work in the next.

The goal isn't perfection. The goal is discernment. Learning. Experimenting. Paying attention. Getting curious.

And gently asking yourself,

How do I want to think, be and live in my eighty-year-old body?

Then asking,

What's one small thing I could do today that moves me in that direction?

Not because someone on Instagram told me to. Because it aligns with the life I want to create. Because it feels right for me.

That's why I created Midlife, Unfiltered.

Not because I have all the answers. But because I think many of us have forgotten how to hear ourselves. I wanted to create a day where women could step away from the endless stream of advice.

A day to slow down.

To breathe.

To learn what the latest science tells us about health and longevity.

To ask questions without judgement.

To connect with other women.

To explore what health looks like for you.

And perhaps most importantly...

To remember that your body has been speaking to you all along. Sometimes all it needs is a little less noise so you can hear it again. Perhaps the future of wellness isn't more information. Perhaps it's learning to discern what is right for you.

If that speaks to something inside you, I'd love to welcome you to Midlife, Unfiltered on 30 August.

Not to tell you what to do. But to create the space for you to reconnect with your own wisdom.

Because deep down...

I think you already know. You've just been trying to hear yourself over the noise.