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Ep. 81 WUNForWellbeing “Living your best life” with Anna Black & Gen Hallam
WUNForWellbeing “Living your best life” with Anna Black & Gen Hallam with WUN advocate Gill Edwards.
In conjunction with our The 40's Woman & Beyond event, WUN Advocate Gill Edwards, chats with Anna Black (PT and Perimeno Coach) and Gen Hallam (Nutrition Coach) from “The 40s Woman and Beyond”.
They share further valuable insights for all women on the impact of hormonal changes and offer simple lifestyle tips to support your well-being.
This is a great listen with some simple advice on stress, nutrition, movement, sleep whatever your age to set you up for "living you best life."
You can also catch up with Anna & Gen as they led the inciteful session - WUNForWellbeing - The 40s Woman and Beyond, including Q&A - recording now available
Disclaimer: Anna Black & Gen Hallam cannot be held responsible for any injury or harm caused as a result of participation in any session or ideas you follow as a result of listening to this podcast/attending this workshop. You are taking part at your own risks and need to make sensible decisions. Check in with your GP if you have any concerns and before making changes.
Anna Black, Perimenopause Coach, 40s Woman & Beyond
Following a career contracting in global organisations, Anna shifted focus into the wellness industry in 2013, certifying as a Fitness Professional and then a Perimenopause Coach. In 2019 she launched 40s Woman & Beyond inspiring women to take control of their health through positive change. Anna now works with companies, recognising that empowering female employees leads to a thriving workforce and successful business.
Genevieve Hallam, Nutrition Coach, 40s Woman & Beyond
Gen is a certified Nutrition Coach and focuses on sustainable behaviour change by aligning nutritional strategies with clients’ goals and lifestyles.
Driven by a passion to share her knowledge of perimenopause and the positive impact that nutrition can have, Gen empowers women with positive steps they can to take to thrive at this stage of their lives and careers.
Welcome to the Women's Utilities Network One for All podcast. Our corner of the world where we'll.
Speaker B:Be talking all things energy, water, sharing.
Speaker A:Personal stories and debating female issues. Enjoy.
Speaker C:Hello and welcome to the latest in the One podcast. I'm really delighted to introduce you all today to Jen and Anna, who run a company called 40s Woman and Beyond. We're going to be talking today about women's health and how to make the most of your lives and living your best lives with the most energy possible. And it all to do with hormones and health and exercise and nutrition. So lovely to be here. Lovely to see you both. Would you like to introduce yourselves, please, Jen, if you'd like to go first.
Speaker A:Thank you. Yeah, my name's Jen Hallam, I'm a nutrition coach. I started my career actually as an engineer working in for engineering consultancies and then after having children, I thought I'd quite like to change direction and I be trained as a nutrition coach. It coincided with the sort of my early 40s where I was starting to notice quite a lot of changes in my own body. And the way that I ate wasn't really serving me very well anymore. Been great for my 20s and 30s, but definitely was impacting me in my 40s. So I started on a journey of, yeah, learning much more about nutrition and wanting to help.
Speaker C:Brilliant. Thank you, Anna.
Speaker B:Yeah, so I worked in travel, actually, I was a contractor and then I had children. I needed to do something that was more flexible because as I just mentioned, off air have triplets and so I needed it to be something that could fit around them. And so I'd always loved exercise and I retained as a personal trainer about 10 years ago and then in around sort of 2019, I was noticing that my body wasn't reacting in the way it used to to exercise and nutrition and I was noticing the same for my clients. So I set up 40s Women and Beyond because I wanted to really share the information about sort of the changes that happen and how hormones can really impact your body as well. And it was actually before the whole Davina perimenopause side of things. But Jen's joined me, which was really fantastic. And then we started going into companies and talking to people about how they can, you know, the changes that will, but also how they can support their bodies through these changes. And then in the sort of recent years, we've become more and more interested in how hormones actually affect your body, especially sex hormones, throughout your life. So sort of from even before as a woman, but even before Your first period, and we both daughters as well, which made us really, it became. Became really important to understand a bit more because I don't know about you and the listeners, but I knew nothing about, you know, hormones and sex hormones and, you know, periods. Something to be to grin and bear it. So. So we sort of. We started to incorporate and talk to people more about hormone health throughout your life, not just when things start to change in your mid to late 30s. But, yeah, now we work with companies, we work with individuals and communities, and, yeah, we really enjoy it. It's getting the information out.
Speaker A:I think the conversations around menstrual health have really improved in recent years. That means both Anna and I are late 40s, early 50s, and for us, they're really growing up. There was very little chat about it beyond the biological reason for having a menstrual cycle. That's great now that there are lots of tracking apps and that kind of thing. But in terms of, you know, thinking about what movement and nutrition can do to support that hormone health, we just thought that there's, you know, an opportunity to just share a bit more information there. So that's what we want to do. Yeah.
Speaker C:Okay. Great stuff. So before we dive in and hear all this fantastic information, I do have a disclaimer that I'd like to share with you all. Even though Anna and Jen are, you know, experts in their field, they can't be held responsible for any injury or harm caused as a result of participation in this session or ideas that you follow as a result of listening to this podcast. I think it's just important to say that, you know, check in with your GP if you have any concerns at all before making any changes. Although Anna and Jen are going to make some suggestions about what would be good and what wouldn't be good. So really good. I'm really looking forward to this. I will also say that this podcast is in conjunction a little bit with a session that we'll be running tomorrow for one, which will be a live webinar, and that is aimed really at women in the 40s bracket. We're going to be talking, you know, about menopause and perimenopause and post menopause. But this is a session for all women, not just for those, and not only for women, but for men as well, and, you know, friends, mothers, fathers, bosses, all of it. You know, this is stuff that affects, you know, more than 50% of the population. So it's stuff that we all need to know. So. Right then, ladies, where should we start where seems the most appropriate place to start for you.
Speaker B:Well, I suppose we could, as I said before, the fact that your sex hormones start affecting you from, you know, before you have your pet, your first period even. And it's quite interesting when you look at the sort of menstrual cycles you can go through your different stages of your life because in your teens the average age to start a period in the UK is 12. And then you might go through times where you, it would be unlikely that you'd have your first period and then have a period every four weeks. That's very, very obviously unusual. Usually you would have first period and then you might have the next one, anything up to sort of six months later. Sometimes you will ovulate in that time, sometimes you won't. And that's true. It's interesting because that mirrors the end of having periods in your sort of 40s and 50s. Sometimes you'll have, other times you won't as well. So in those teen years it can be really tricky because your body is just getting used to everything and the hormones are just getting going. You know, people can get really bad period pains, they can get different problems at that time. In your 20s and 30s generally, that is when your periods are quote unquote your most normal periods. And you know, just from a very much an average perspective. And we are all about understanding what is normal for you. So don't panic if you don't fall into the average sort of side of things. But from an average perspective periods happen or menstrual cycles last about sort of 28 days. So your period would be around four or five days. The sort of consistency is like sort of red and you know, just understanding if you, you know, if the things change and that's really one of the things we, we are really keen to share is that ultimately your periods really reflect where you are and how you're coping with stress. There are real feedback loop on how things are. And that's why I'm saying, you know, get to know what is normal for you so that if things change, you can realize things have changed. And that's one of our key messages really.
Speaker A:And a regular menstrual cycle is a really, really key way that our, tells us that we're healthy. So as soon as things start to get off kilter, especially if we start to have low energy availability where we're not balancing the amount of energy in with the amount of energy out and our periods might stop in those kind of situations, that is your body letting you know that things are not okay. And that's the point at which you definitely do need to get some medical advice. But a regular period that is normal for you is, should be greeted as a great sign of health.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So it's really changing.
Speaker C:How is it that you'd go along the lines of recording this? Because I've seen, I mean, I had my children 20 odd years ago now and they were just starting to be apps that came out where you could see if your baby was the size of a lemon or a melon or whatever it was. But I have seen other apps come out since then that are to do with, you know, monitoring when your periods are. So do you recommend using things like that?
Speaker A:Anything that can help you track your cycle is going to be a great tool. And especially I think everyone now, you know, are really, that we're all really used to using apps on our phone. So it's a really convenient way to just record when your period starts and how long. It gives you information over time about how long your periods are. You can record symptoms, some of them, you can add other information in about what you've been eating, what exercise you've been doing, that kind of thing. But to be honest, even just a diary or, you know, some, just a piece of paper where you just record the date of the first day of your cycle and the first day of your cycle is the first day of your period just so that you can then start to track what's happening. Recording just a little bit of information about the days where you know, maybe your symptoms are really bothering you, what you've eaten that day, how you've slept, all of those sorts of things over time can then start to build a picture and you can start to see what works for you and what doesn't work for you. And also you can start to plan as much as you have control over this, your diary around that. So certainly your social diary, if you want to, you can start to plan around that. But also your work diary. There may be times in the month where actually, you know, that you just are more on form, arming yourself with the information.
Speaker B:Yes. And I think, I think it's quite hard often, you know, if you, all of you guys work and it's quite hard to actually sometimes work out when you can do different things. You know, I don't think many people are going to accept if you say, oh, that's when I know I'm not going to be full, you know, full steam ahead because I've got my, my, I'm day 15 or whatever, just understanding how you feel on different days and then, as Jen said, arming yourself with the tools that actually do make you feel better. But it's quite interesting because when you look at, across a period, you know, across the 28 days, how your hormones rise and fall throughout that 28 days. Because as Jen said, you know, day one is your first day of your period, but the day one to 14 is your follicular phase. And it's when your estrogen, which is one of your key female sex hormones and is affects everything in your body, is at its highest. So often people find they feel a bit stronger at that time, a bit more sociable. It's really linked to serotonin production, which is your happy hormone. So that's when they can. Often people do feel a lot happier, a lot more positive. And then over ovulation, which is sort of days 14, 15, 16, that's sometimes when your memory is better. And then the second half is when your progesterone is dominant and that's when you might feel a bit calmer, a bit more steady. And then you sort of go into the actual. If you don't have a baby, then you will end up with having your period and that's when you can have a bit of a crashing hormone hangover, sometimes called. So it's really interesting to think about those things. So I, you know, I've always given the example where I, the first half of the month always felt fantastic and planned loads of things, unfortunately for the second half of the month. And then the second half of the month would arrive and I wouldn't fancy doing these things. So whilst I didn't change and make sure, you know, I spend the whole second half trying to undo all the things I planned in the first half. But why, but while I'm not saying you don't ever go out the second half of the month, if you're like me, maybe you just start to understand a bit how it works. And it's sort of taken me till now to realize how much, you know, you do just keep going when you're younger and you often have to keep going, but just understand a bit more about how you can support yourself if you do need to just, you know, keep going. So it's just, you know, I think it's really interesting to know how much these hormones affect you, but also to know how amazing these hormones are. And I was, my daughter, I was.
Speaker A:Well, she's.
Speaker B:She's 12. So obviously this conversation was not going to go fantastically. But I literally said to her the other day, you don't understand how amazing estrogen is. And the look she gave me.
Speaker A:We can imagine.
Speaker B:You can imagine the look she gave me because we're down the other end, we suddenly are like, oh, my gosh, estrogen is such an amazing hormone.
Speaker A:Yeah. When you start to lose, realize how fantastic it is.
Speaker B:Actually a real positive thing. Loads of amazing things are happening. Whereas I think when you. Obviously they're just a hindrance when you, when you're sort of, especially in your teens.
Speaker A:And this is not negating the fact that a lot of women do experience really debilitating symptoms sometimes with their periods. Yeah. And that can range just from the normal, you know, with, you know, cramps and maybe a bit of heavy bleeding to women who really. Do you suffer and actually need medical intervention. Yeah. So it's not to negate any of that, but I suppose what we're talking about generally is that kind of normal range of menstrual symptoms.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:So do you have sort of lists of. I don't know, I mean, no food is good and no food is bad, but do you have sort of lists of food that are, you know, good for if you're in your follicular phase as opposed to in the other phase? Or is it just. Can you talk a little bit around that?
Speaker A:There is, you know, there is some research around, you know, certain foods being higher in certain micronutrients that will benefit you more so at different stages of your cycle. But to be honest, there's not many of us who are really nailing the big rocks. So, you know, our overall diet is the key thing, really. Rather than starting to look at certain micronutrients at certain times of the month, I'd really take a step back and really ask yourself, am I eating as well as I can day to day? So certainly you'll hear everywhere at the moment how we want to be moving away from ultrapropocessed foods. So that's, you know, the foods that you look at in the supermarket, if you turn over your packet and look at the ingredients, anything that's got more than five or six ingredients on it, and quite often anything that has ingredients that you don't recognize as something that you would find in your own kitchen, that's when you can start to recognize that as an ultra processed food. Now, ultra processed foods are also linked to inflammation. So anything that is inflammatory is going to exacerbate menstrual symptoms as well. So it's starting to think about where Can I add in more whole foods? So rather than thinking about having to cut anything out of your diet, it's thinking about what can I add in? And the more of those whole foods, those dark leafy greens, those vegetables, that protein, the more of that that you consciously think about adding in to your meals and your snacks, the more you're naturally just going to crowd out those other foods that aren't serving you well. And so I'd really encourage people to think about that. So, I mean your plates, for example, at your average meal, what we want to see is lean protein on there. So if you're a meat eater, you know, that's lean meats like chicken, fish, lean grass fed red meat. And you're thinking for the average woman, that's sort of one to two palm size portions of lean protein on your plate. If you're vegan or vegetarian, you'll get that protein from things like beans, lentils and so on. In that situation, you want to be thinking about the mix that you have on your plate. So making sure you're not just having one type of bean or lentil or whatever else, that you're mixing those up at every meal to make sure you're getting all the amino acids that your body needs. It's really important to have some carbohydrate on our plates. There's a lot in the media and social media about low carb diets. Really. Carbohydrates are essential for our energy, particularly as women. We really need that carbohydrate to fuel everything that we do, to fuel our brains, to fuel our exercise. But what you want to be looking for is minimally processed forms of that carbohydrate. So that's just natural things like potatoes, sweet potatoes, looking for the whole grain in the whole wheat varieties of foods and aiming to have that dark leafy greens and salads. This is quite often the one that I start with women on. So adding those into your, onto your plate. So one to two cupped handfuls gives you an absolute bonanza of, of vitamins and minerals. So all of those micronutrients that we're talking about that will help with those menstrual symptoms. A lot of those you'll find in a dark leafy green. So it's a really easy one to add to any meal that you're having. You know, just even grabbing a pack of ready, you know, mixed salad leaves, just a couple of handfuls of those and throwing them on top of whatever you're eating. Even I even have them on Top of a soup. Just adding those in can be really beneficial if you're doing it consistently. And then also healthy fats are really important for us. As, you know, as women, we're often, you know, told to reduce fat if we're wanting to change our body shape. Actually, fats are really important in loads of functions in our body and especially for, you know, healthy hormones, because they make.
Speaker B:That's what hormones are made from, fat.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:So you, you know, you need those.
Speaker A:Fats to make hormones to have those. So that can come from things like nuts and seeds, avocado, olive oil, all of those sources. It's really important to make sure that you're having some of that in every meal too. And then also the range of other, you know, fruit and veg. We want to have as much of that and as many colors of fruit and veg in our diet as possible because we're getting all sorts of different. The different colors signal different polyphenol, phenols and antioxidants. So it's just variety, variety. Variety is really important.
Speaker C:Can I come back to one thing you said there? Because you mentioned about protein and I don't know when the listener is listening to this, but we're recording this in the very early part of January 2026 and there's been a lot in the media about GLP1s and Prote and fiber. And I've been reading a bit of, you know, I've been reading stuff about how we're not eating enough fiber, but maybe we are already eating enough protein. Can you. Is that something that affects your hormones at all or so?
Speaker A:Absolutely. The protein is really essential for, you know, it contains the building blocks for everything in our body. But the fibre is also really important for sort of excreting those used hormones so that we don't have them recirculating around our systems. So, yes, very important to have those both. Protein is quite often talked about in relation to GLP1. So GLP1s are the weight loss drugs that you've heard, you'll have heard of, like a zempic manjaro Wegovy. What those do is they send the signals to our brain that we are full and they slow down the movement of food through our body, so it leaves us feeling fuller for longer. Both protein and fiber do that for us as well. So if you're. For those who aren't on those weight loss drugs, just by making sure that we're getting enough protein in our diet, it's very satisfying. It'll curb Our hunger, it will stop that blood sugar roller coaster of sort of having a blood sugar high followed by a crash after a meal, which we can get especially if we've got a very refined, carbohydrate rich diet. By adding in that fibre and that protein, you get off that roller coaster and it gives you a bit more of a steady blood sugar level throughout the day. So really essential. But you can get that fibre from those dark leafy greens. If you're adding the dark leafy greens and those vegetables and those minimally processed forms of carbohydrates, your plate, you're adding in that fibre. So it's just thinking about adding all of those whole foods in will naturally increase your fibre.
Speaker C:God, all of our trolleys are going to be full of kale now, aren't they?
Speaker A:Although, yeah, you don't want to be forcing yourself to eat foods that you don't enjoy. So really it's finding those things that you enjoy eating that also serve you well. So again, like variety, trying lots of different things and finding you know what you enjoy.
Speaker B:And it's also not letting it become a stress. Yes, because ultimately it's so important that we don't live in a high level of stress all the time. And anyone who lives is going to experience stress and stress in small amounts is a really, really key thing. It gets us up in the morning, it makes positive changes happen, it makes us more resilient. But if you are constantly living in a really high level of stress and you're not bringing yourself out of that stress and into that more thrive state, then whatever you eat is not going to work for you as well. It's just going to go straight through you. So we are really pro of thinking about what are those things that you can include in your day that will actually bring you out of stress. So things like if you sit at a desk all day thinking about taking those breaks when you go outside and as soon as you get outside, there are countless studies showing that your, your cortisol levels, your stress hormones will drop and that will then put you back into your thrive state. Because if you are really, really stressed, then your body doesn't want to make these sex hormones and then you can really unbalance your hormones, you know, your hormone relationships. Because your body does not want you to have a baby if it's stressed. It wants you to run away from the tiger. So we'll always opt to make your stress hormone rather than make your sex hormone if you are really stressed. So thinking about, as I said, those Things getting outside, getting, if you can, getting into green spaces is gonna add to that. Getting outside first thing is gonna make an enormous difference to how you sleep. And sleep is. We know, everyone knows now. It's one of the key things. And like, for me, sleep was always an issue when I was growing up. Through my teens, through my 20s, I had real problems sleeping. Now, actually, I sleep better than I ever have because I've worked out, you know, I need to go out first thing in the morning. That will affect when my sleep hormones produce later that night. I need to know when I. You know, I do love having a coffee, but I won't have a coffee after lunchtime. I also use. Sometimes there's a drink called sour cherry juice that really helps the production of your melatonin, your sleep hormone. So just having a small amount of that can really help you sleep. It's finding, I think we're all so individual, as we said, I think before we came on this call, we're so individual, it's finding out what works for you. Because, for example, magnesium, everyone is talking about magnesium at the moment. For Genevieve, it unbelievably has transformed her sleep. For me, I took it one night and it was like I'd had an espresso, you know, just before bed. It's really interesting. Just learn what works for you in certain. I mean, obviously there's certain things that are key, as Genevieve said, ultra processed food, they're never going to do you a great deal of good. You know, thinking about getting outside in the morning, that is going to help most people. But it is, it is getting to know, and definitely from a menstrual cycle perspective, getting to know your normal and what works, what you put into place when you know that you are feeling at your worst in that menstrual cycle. Because also things manifest themselves in very different ways. Low iron, for example, can manifest itself as a really heavy period or as a really low, a light period in different people. So it's just such an interesting, interesting thing.
Speaker C:Everybody, every single person is completely different. Is there any correlation between what your mum had, how your mum's periods were? Is there any correlation between, you know, is that inherited at all or anything?
Speaker B:Genetics at play? I think genetics and your environment are one of your key drivers, the two key drivers. So there was always, you know, obviously people always say, find out when your mum had her menopause if you can. And that can be really, really linked. Find out when your mum started her period. That can be really linked as well.
Speaker A:But remember, you get that. You also get the same, you get half your genes from your father. Yeah. So you know, you might be, your children might be getting there, might follow the pattern of his, the females in his family.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So again, it's really, it's really just getting to know your normal and so.
Speaker C:What does 40s women beyond advocate for exercise then? Presumably lots more than I actually do.
Speaker B:I mean to be honest. Still, that was also another reason we started looking into it because especially in your late 30s, which we'll talk about much more in the presentation that we're doing tomorrow. But your body starts to change. Often we have been, especially if you're in your late 40s, we have been fed the story that you have to exercise more and you have to eat less because you need to lose that weight now. Now as soon as you hit your sort of 40s, that doesn't really work anymore. But when you're younger, in your sort of twenties, from an exercise perspective, you can sort of almost get away with anything. You can do what you want to do and what you enjoy doing. What I would say is do move. You know, there's actually interestingly in Australia now, the guidelines are you look at your 24 hour movement cycle. So rather than thinking I need to include half an hour of exercise today and the rest of the day I'm going to sit at my desk, you need to think about moving quite regularly and that's been shown to be really effective. Regardless of your age, if you are female, have female hormones, I would very much recommend you include strength training. You always start where you are. So you start with your body weight, you get your form, you make sure that your form is connected, you can get lots of stuff online. I'm always happy for people to contact me as well and to look at form and then you gradually increase, you know, what weights you're moving, et cetera. But it really is a non negotiable. Regardless of your age, it's never too early to start doing strength. It's important for your heart health, it's important for your resilience, it's important for your bone health, it's important for your muscles. There's not really anything that it's not really, really effective for. It's very important for your blood sugar balance as well. So regardless of your age, please do start to include some kind of resources, resistance training, some kind of strength training. But from a movement perspective, as I said, just getting outside for a walk can make such a difference to different parts of your body is not about using up calories. And we were really fed that message in the 90s. I mean, my goodness. And the early 20s, early 2000s. But it's now about thinking, what do different things do to my body? And also getting some connection in there. So if you go for a walk, if you can go with a friend, that's going to bring your stress level down at the same time as moving your body. There is literally a win, win, win. So, yes, include some strength, include some mobility so you're moving in different directions and do get out there, include some intensity from a cardio perspective as well.
Speaker A:And just to add to that one, a key thing that I don't know if the message is really clearly getting out there to women is that you need to fuel any exercise that you are doing. I think a few years ago there was a study that show exercising fasted meant that you burnt more fat and, you know, it aided body composition changes. But that study didn't include the general population. That was mainly a study done on men. And as soon as they started to look at women, they realized that we don't get those same benefits. Our bodies are much keener to break down muscle to fuel that workout. And the reason that you're doing your exercise is to preserve that lean muscle mass and to build it, you want to be strong, you want to be fit. And so by training fasted, actually women are doing themselves a disservice. So really key, I know not everyone feels like, especially if you exercise in the morning, not everyone feels like eating beforehand. But if you can just find something that works for you, it might just be, you know, a couple of mouthfuls of banana with some peanut butter, or it might be a smoothie that you've prepared and left in the fridge the night before. Anything that is just giving your body some fuel to work with, preferably something high carbohydrates early on, is going to really serve your workout well. And it's going to mean that you can build that strength and you can build that resilience and build that fitness.
Speaker B:And you can reach those levels and then also eating afterwards. So we really need to eat sort of within a 45 minutes after you've worked out, because exercise is stressful. It's stress on your body, it's good stress. But if you want the good stress to make the positive adaptations happen, you need to eat afterwards to bring that stress level to an end, to make your body realize, okay, I'm going to get food to fuel to build that muscle, because otherwise it panics your body panics and thinks, oh my gosh, where do I get my fuel from? And it can start breaking down that muscle because it's a really muscle. It's really easy for your body to break down and use for energy. So you need to make sure you have that energy.
Speaker C:That's really good advice. And also I think one of the things that's quite key is you. You look on social media or just the media in general, and there's so much stuff being pumped out that you can buy, which almost makes healthiness a bit of a privilege because if you're not buying this or that, you're starting to think, oh, I'm not doing the right thing. But like I say, it could just be a bit of banana with some peanut butter. It could be the things already in your house. You don't necessarily need to buy something special, do you?
Speaker A:I would say that you can't supplement yourself out of a poor diet. So really you want to be starting with what you're, the food that you're putting into your body first. That's really important. And, and once you. The ideal place for you to get any vitamins, minerals, protein is through whole foods. Because these things don't just work on their own. They're not just absorbed on nothing. You know, you need to be pairing your, you know, those vitamins and minerals that you're taking in might need some healthy fats to help it absorb. They might need to come in pairs like vitamin D and K. So the best way to do that is that it's, you know, those coincidences occur naturally in whole foods foods. So really starting with the big rocks of your diet and just focusing on one thing at a time, I'm not saying to you, don't look at your plate and go, oh my gosh, I have to now, like at lunchtime today, I've got to make sure I've got my lean protein. I've got to make sure I've got my minimally processed carbs. I have to have my dark leafy greens. Just choose one thing to make to focus on for a week to make sure it's on your plate. And once you feel like that's sort of starting to become a habit, then look at another thing and, and think about how you can focus on making sure that's the best that it can be on your plate.
Speaker B:So, yeah, it is all about those small habits that you do consistently. So you think about what's the small lifestyle change. So when we go into companies, we're often saying it Was the small lifestyle change that you could make that you. And maybe it is going outside first thing in the morning, having your cup of tea, having a nice deep breath, that could be your lifestyle focus and maybe adding some dark leafy greens and then just some push ups on, you know, on your kitchen side or if you're up to that sort of level or is keeping things small. I do really short workouts now because that's what fits into my life and that's what, what is effective for me. And you don't have to do a life overhaul because that is not consistent. It's small changes that fit into what you already do.
Speaker A:And that thing of tracking your cycle, if you have started to track your cycle and you know when your high estrogen is, for example.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:That's the time when, if there's something new that you want to try, you know, that's when you're going to have the enthusiasm and the get up and to go and do it.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So just be, yeah, generally. But just be kind to yourself. You know, just think, what can I manage today? Yeah. Rather than thinking I have to make all of these changes all at once.
Speaker C:Yeah. Okay, brilliant. So before we come into talking about your offering at 40s, women and beyond, I'd just like to ask a bit of question that's been on my mind while we've been talking and that's we talk about tracking periods and tracking how we're feeling. Are there any, I mean, what are the big things that you would say if you experience this? This is, you know, go to the doctor, you know, you know, don't, don't wait and try and you know, help yourself, but seek, seek intervention soon. What are the sort of things that women in their maybe 20s and 30s should be looking out for? And you know, obviously a lump in a ****, you'd go to the doctor. Or incredibly heavy periods, you'd go to the doctor. Are there other things that, you know, you shouldn't leave, do you think?
Speaker B:If you're worried about anything, you go to the doctor. So I was saying for the average period is a certain length, you know, the, the consistency of the blood is sort of like maple syrup and red. So if you notice that one period's like that and the next isn't, then think about, you know, checking in with that if you've got anything to do with. Yes, lots of pain. Of course, as soon as, if, if you're not just experiencing sort of a small amount of pain, if it's really, well, not even if it's big. Like if it's, if it's affecting you, then I would check it out always.
Speaker A:We're very good at minimizing symptoms and minimizing our problems and putting off taking ourselves to the doctor. But I think anything that changes from your normal. Yeah, and you can't, you can't easily put it down to something, you know, that's happened in life or with you, then you definitely need to be your gp. Another thing that I would say is also if you really low energy, you know, if there's not really a very clear explanation for what that is, then we first of all always look at how you're fueling yourself. You've got to fuel any exercise that you do. Any. This stress requires fuel as well. Make sure that you're fueling properly. And if you really look at your diet and think, well, I mean, I do think I am eating properly, but I'm still feeling exhausted, that's another good time to go and speak to your gp. Any bleeding as well, mid cycle. Yeah, that's a key one to watch out for and to go to speech gp.
Speaker B:And there can be, there can be reasons that are really not at all.
Speaker C:Not sinister.
Speaker B:Yeah, not sinister, but it just is key to get that checked out just so that you can think, okay, that's fine. But yeah, I just need to look at the color, look at the length of your period, look at the heaviness, look at the frequency, check if you've got spotting in between those kind of things as well. And also you know how you're feeling because some people do get, you know, there's a. Is it pmdd?
Speaker A:Yeah, pmdd. Severe form of pms. Yeah. Really affect a woman's mental state. Yeah. And can be absolutely debilitating. And so if you ever have that, any feelings of despair or not just, I mean, low mood, but low mood to a degree where you're concerned about your safety, that immediately needs attention. And you look out for that in people around you as well.
Speaker B:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker C:I guess one thing we haven't touched on, and it's a whole, it's a massive subject, so I'm not expecting, you know, any, any silver bullets here, but my daughter, my eldest daughter, when she was going through her teens, she had, she was discover to have endometriosis. And I think that's something we're hearing a lot more about now. So I guess if, if any of your symptoms seem to be pointing that, or if you're concerned at all, that your doctor would be the first person to definitely to go to just going.
Speaker A:Back to teenage daughters as well. Because I'm sure a lot of the women who will be listening to this are families. Especially if you have a very sporty daughter, teenager, just keep an eye on their menstrual health as well. If they're doing a lot of sport but they're not fueling it correctly, that can start to lead to periods being missed. And there was, I mean, as horrendous as it sounds, you know, in some sports it was considered that you weren't training hard enough if you still had your period. Now we are a long way beyond that. That has all sorts of implications for your bone health, for your general health. Periods are a good thing and are a sign of health and vitality. It's really important, even if you're competing at a very high level, that you are still having a monthly cycle and a period. So if you get to 16 and your period haven't started, it's really important to speak to a gp. Then if you're a teenage daughter has periods and then they stop for more than three months again, immediately make a GP appointment and get that checked.
Speaker B:Because I think I never realized that literally having a period is so good for your body. So they found like your womb lining shedding is actually really linked to bone health. So, you know, by actually having periods you're doing some good stuff for your body, which is, I think, sort of a new way. A lot of us didn't, definitely did not think of it like that at all.
Speaker C:That's so tr. When you were talking at the beginning of this session about how we weren't really taught this when we were at school and I'm going to be 50 this month, this year rather so I'm looking back, you know, 30, well, more than 30 years. But it's almost like your hormonal health, it was all related to having a baby and when you were not going to have a baby, not getting pregnant and then what it meant when you were pregnant. So it almost felt like women were just baby making machines and that was what medicine was, was pointing at. Or that's what, you know, I learned about in GCSE biology. But I think the, the narrative that a period is a good thing was probably going to strike people as strange because it's just, you know, Aunt Flow and all the other ridiculous acronyms that we have. Why it's just a period, for goodness sake, let's, you know, get out of that habit.
Speaker B:But yes, it is changing the narrative and making, you know, Making it a positive thing.
Speaker A:One thing that we haven't mentioned is about cycles on hormonal contraception and that. That's. So the bleeds that you have when you're on, say, the pill are breakthrough bleeds. So that isn't. That isn't your womb lining shedding. So they're not necessarily the same indicator of your health. So you just have to bear that in mind. That is a synthetic cycle that you're having.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So just because you're having a bleed when you come off your pill for that five, seven days or whatever it is, it's just you don't. It's not offering you the same information as a natural cyclist. So just be mindful of that. So you then you have to just be a bit more conscious about your fueling and your exercise and how you're feeling.
Speaker B:What I just did want to say also is about exercise, because sometimes people who are really sort of think, can I do. Should I do certain things at certain times of the month from an exercise perspective, if you are really into your exercise and actually you can, you know, you can get a personal best if you're someone that goes personal best any day of the month. Ultimately, there are some initial studies showing that if you do strength in the first half of your cycle, you're going to get bigger returns. So if you want to, you could lean into it a bit more. But what I would say is don't sweat it. You know, just do. Do what works for you as you go through the month, rather than thinking, oh, because there was a real sort of starting, people were starting to think, oh, I need to train alongside my cycle. Maybe for some top athletes, that is the case, but for generally for people, just do what works for you whenever the time is.
Speaker A:Yeah, some of that does. Some of the apps do will suggest to you, today's a great day for strength training or a great day to go for a run or whatever else. Take a little bit of. Yeah. Information from that, but don't be tied to it.
Speaker B:Don't get stressed by it. No, that's what we're saying. Don't get stressed by it and enjoy it.
Speaker C:You know, it should be something it's not. It's not a thing that's a punishment or a means to an end. Surely we should be enjoying it, says she, who absolutely hates all of it. But yes, I'll find something at some point, I'm sure.
Speaker A:But even if you could just start to record. So if you just start going for maybe a bit of a longer Walk or a bit of a faster walk, just record how you're feeling at the end of that day. You know how walk up the escalator.
Speaker B:Literally, I know we hear it so many times but those tiny things walking up the escalator, like I said before, that 24 hour movement of what you do in those 24 hours, everything counts towards it. So yeah, try and just stand up, walk outside, come back to your desk. Lovely, that's done.
Speaker A:Take five minutes to recognize how you feel after you've done it. So none of us feel like doing a workout before we do it. I don't think even Anna I think doesn't but I think just check in with yourself after you've done it. Yeah. To how you feel. Same with, you know, when you've added in some new foods to your diet that you know are going to serve you well, just check in with yourself. You know how, how has that actually made me feel today?
Speaker B:But don't get disheartened if it doesn't make you feel great because I do train people who be like I still don't feel great after this and I'm like, you know, because of the, I.
Speaker C:Don'T like it and I hate you but that's no reason to not come back again completely.
Speaker B:And you just like we just gradually find the thing that really does work for them. So people are affected differently but you know, know that it is doing your, there's no bad reason to move. Basically it's not going to do you bad thing. But when you do exercise you start where you are. You don't suddenly start going to a HIIT class in any way, shape or form.
Speaker C:Thank God for that. Yeah. Okay, so tell me a bit about what somebody who you know, looked up 40s, women and beyond. What, what would they see on your website? What sort of things do you offer offer?
Speaker B:So we both, we work independently as well as together. So I do a personal training, I do it online or remotely via Zoom and also do a number of programs for if people want to do for example a three month program they'd get some one to ones but they'd also get some pre, pre recorded workouts that they can fit into their, their day.
Speaker A:And then so I am a nutrition coach. So what I do is I will work with someone say for a period of 12 weeks weeks where we'll look at how they eat. At the moment there's no judgment, it's just getting an idea of how they're fueling themselves now and then over that time starting to Work on what tweaks they can make to make themselves feel more energized, healthier, sleep better, all of those things. But it's also about having support as you do that and having moments to check in and to ask questions all the way through. It just helps keep things on track. It's more motivating than trying to do something alone.
Speaker B:And then we're together, we, we both do our sort of individual three month programs where you get that sort of support from an individual perspective. And then we've come together as well to do a program called Revive and Thrive, which is a 12 week program and in that you get one to ones and coaching from both of us individually, but also ongoing support and you know, some ideas. And what we found also is that people have started to do this as they might do it with a friend, so that as soon as you, you know, it makes it so much more enjoyable if you're doing the strength class, for example, with and then you're doing different things together. And we're starting to come into companies to do a sort of smaller version, group version as well.
Speaker C:So I was going to ask you about that. So if we have, you know, people from HR and all sorts of, you know, from other people watching this thing, if you were to come into a company, what sort of thing would you be doing? Then you'd come into the office and offer a talk, maybe a lunchtime webinar or something.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:So yeah, we do also do that.
Speaker A:So we go lunch and learn.
Speaker C:Lunch.
Speaker B:Yeah, sort of. So we do some in person, which we really enjoy doing because obviously so much more interactive. And then we'll just do a talk through, you know, what people can do. Because as we've said before, we're all about one of those small actions that you can do to make it a positive thing. Because it came about because we kept finding that people were having people in who were really negative about all the hormones and you know, it was all slightly doom and gloom. So that's why we really wanted to create a product because we really stand by the difference that it can make with how you live and how you feel. So yeah, we come into companies, we do lunch and learns, we do evening events as well. Well, which can work quite nicely.
Speaker A:So yeah, we do. So we're a bit like a team building event or you know, something where you're doing another activity, but we're also there talking about your hormone health at the same time. So we've done one in a cookery school in London for example. So you're there making your evening meal together, you know, in a group of 15.
Speaker B:And we're adding salad.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker C:You've been throwing kale at people.
Speaker B:Go, go, go.
Speaker A:We are there to sort of give a bit of advice. Let's talk about, for example, if we're doing it about menopause, we might be there talking about the things that, to start to support your body and the changes that you can make that might filter into the food that you're cooking that evening as well, and just adding in, you know, those things that might start to make you feel a little bit better. Yeah. But it's also a really fun networking evening and a great way to, you know, for women to feel that they can talk about this kind of thing in a safe environment. Yeah.
Speaker B:And we also talk to. So people that aren't going to have. Who don't have female sex hormones. We, you know, it's really important that everyone does get a bit more. More understanding about it. Because actually, what we've really found from companies that we've worked with is that when line managers have some understanding, then their teams are so much more happy to talk to them about things. Not that they necessarily want to share, you know, all their information, but just being aware that your boss is. Understands that actually changes do happen, we found has been. Really has made the company feel more like it values its employees. So, you know, that, that we really like that. But, um, yeah.
Speaker C:Yeah, because it can, it can feel odd if you're a young woman to say to, you know, if you have. Your boss was an older man, you know, this is what's going on with me right now. But do you have some sort of top tips about what you'd say to men who are either, you know, want to, you know, talk about health with their wives or daughters or colleagues? Have you got any sort of top tips you could share with any men listening to this podcast?
Speaker B:I mean, I would say, first of all, you know, as we all know, we just like to be listened to. So do listen rather than tell them what they can do to fix themselves. That would be my number one top tip.
Speaker A:No one likes to be told no.
Speaker B:But also it is remembering that everyone is individual. Different things are going to affect them in different ways. What were you going to say?
Speaker A:I was just going to say, just remembering that if you're a female leader, that your experience might be very different to other women's experience. If you're a male leader or line manager, your wife and your daughter's experiences may not correlate in any way to some other women who are working with you and to really to listen, as Alice said. Yeah.
Speaker B:So I was also just going to say we do also have a podcast if anyone wants to listen to. And we have specialists on the experts on that podcast. We've had an HRT specialist, we have skin specialist, we've had a sex and relationship specialist on. We've had makeup specialists. So really real variety. And we run it, Genevieve and I, but also a comedian called Margaret Caborn's Smith, who's very funny and it's. They're entertaining but also they are, I think, quite educational. We learn loads.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:So are they available, your podcast, is that on Spotify or is that just via your website?
Speaker B:No, on Spotify and Apple.
Speaker A:Apple and Amazon, yeah, all of them. Just research, 40s, women and beyond. It should come up.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:Oh, that's amazing. I think definitely this whole, you know, culture of openness and communication, it's, you know, it can only be beneficial to all of us, really can't. It's so. Okay, so it's been just such a joy talking to you and I feel like I've taken in loads and I'll have to rewatch it, although not listen to my own voice, just to get back some of it. Okay, so if you could just recap on what your. Your big things are. So it's getting up and getting outside in the morning, because that is really good for you. Then some green leafy veg, whatever it is that takes your fancy. That's it.
Speaker A:Just getting variety.
Speaker C:Yeah, getting variety and eating different colours, eating the rainbow, as I'm sure someone has said, but I can't think who it. Sleep. Getting some good sleep.
Speaker B:We all know about the blue lighting, but actually also I know if I look
at a text at 9 o' clock or 9:30 at night, it will stress me out and make me think about it overnight. Whereas if I don't look at it and I look at it in the morning, you can deal with it within seconds. So that's the reason I don't look at my screen. It's nothing to do with the blue light for me. It's to do with. I don't want to have that thing, which isn't a big deal, but has become a big deal at midnight, you know, going on my head. So, yeah, the screens were one is key.
Speaker C:And then we mentioned something about sour cherry juice. I'm sure that's one of your big things, but that's something that can help in terms of sleep.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker C:And then also if something big and very different is happening to you physically or mentally and you know, don't hesitate to go to your GP because that is, should be our first point of call there. So this is just normal.
Speaker B:Get to know your normal, get to.
Speaker C:Normal where you're normal.
Speaker B:Write things down. Because none of us can hold all this in our brains.
Speaker C:Yeah, Brain fog isn't just, you know, reserved for menopausal women. Write it all down. So at least when you, that's the thing, when you go back into the doctors, at least you're prepared and you can't be bamboozled or frightened. And, and I guess one thing that I've also found is, you know, if you are concerned about going into the doctors and you're worried that might be saying something that's a little bit tricky, do take people with you. You know, you don't have to go into a doctor's surgery alone. You can have support, can't you? Support is so important.
Speaker A:So, yeah, and always ask, there might be someone who is a menstrual health or a menopause specialist in your GP surgery. So it' always worth asking when you make the appointment, is there someone for whom this is a special interest and quite often it'll be an experienced practice nurse as well. So, you know, certainly, you know, that might be a good starting place where you will get an experience. Sympathetic ear.
Speaker C:Yeah. Something we often say in the One Network and Community is about finding your tribe and finding the people around you who give you support. And it's just amazing that you've become part of our One Tribe now. I think Jen and Anna, because having people that you can reach out to and you can trust for a bit of sane and non panicky advice can be really good. So that's excellent.
Speaker A:So I was just going to say we're all about, like, you want to make changes that are sustainable and will stay with you for your life. So that's what we're all about. We're not about transformation or, you know, weight loss. It is all about living the healthiest, most energy filled life that you can.
Speaker B:Completely brilliant.
Speaker A:Taking back power.
Speaker C:Taking back power.
Speaker A:Power.
Speaker C:Is there anything you'd like to leave the One Network with any, you know, other little gems, any thoughts that you've had?
Speaker B:I mean, I think from you, you've covered most of them. In the summary just now, it is just, you know, thinking about what is going to bring you out of that stressful state, thinking about what brings you joy and what you enjoy doing and just feeling the best that you possibly can.
Speaker A:Doing things and eating things that make you feel good.
Speaker B:Yeah, completely. But yeah, we'd love, you know, if anyone want do contact us, you've got our email address. Obviously we're on Instagram @FortiesWoman and beyond. We're on LinkedIn. Actually, we're more on LinkedIn as Anna Black, PT and Genevieve Hallam.
Speaker A:But yes, you'll find us.
Speaker B:You'll find us.
Speaker A:Women and beyond. You'll find us. And yeah, Our website is 40swomenandbeyond.co.uk yeah, and that's 40s.
Speaker C:The number, the number 40, isn't it?
Speaker A:4 0f woman and beyond. Yeah.
Speaker C:Okay, well, that's been a huge amount of information, but thank you so much and hopefully you can come back again. I know you're coming back tomorrow to do our menopause and perimenopause webinar, so I would really encourage anyone that's listened to this to go back onto the ONE website and listen to that as well. But please do look up Anna and Jen because they're obviously just amazing and have got so much knowledge and, you know, knowledge is power. So let's carry on with that thought. But yeah, thank. Thank you to our ONE sponsors and to everybody that's listened in today. So thank you very much.
Speaker A:Thank you for having us. Thanks for having us.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker C:Sam.