Someone offers cake in the staffroom, and the explanations begin. One person is “being good”, another has “already been naughty”, and somebody else will have a slice because they are going to the gym later. Before anyone has picked up a fork, the cake has become a test of character. These conversations are so familiar that they barely register. Most of us have joined in without thinking, because this is how we have learnt to talk about food. Yet underneath the small talk si

There is a meme doing the rounds that says, “I’ve faced more peer pressure in my 40s to eat protein than I did in my youth to take drugs.” It makes me laugh because it captures just how relentless the messaging has become. Somewhere between managing the school calendar, remembering why you walked upstairs and working out what everyone is having for dinner, you are now expected to keep a running total of your protein intake. Scroll through social media and you will find advice

Breakfast is barely finished before you are wondering what to have for lunch. There is something in the fridge that needs using, somebody needs dinner before football, and the advice you read yesterday has left you questioning whether your usual meals contain enough protein. Somewhere between those practical decisions, another conversation is happening in your head: whether you have eaten too much, whether you are really hungry, and whether you can trust yourself around the b

You have eaten breakfast, but by mid-morning you are hungry again. Before you consider what you might like to eat, another thought appears: I shouldn’t be hungry yet. Perhaps you decide to wait until lunch. You make a drink, get on with your work and try to ignore the fact that food keeps coming to mind. By the afternoon, you are craving something sweet, and the familiar criticism starts: Why can’t I just have more willpower? For many women, this is an ordinary experience wra

My decision to study eating disorders grew from the work I was already doing with my nutrition clients. Some people came to me with a known history of an eating disorder, while others described thoughts and behaviours around food that suggested their relationship with eating might be more complicated than it first appeared. Completing my health coaching training gave me useful tools for supporting behaviour change. However, there were times when it felt as though we were only

There is a point in perimenopause where even thinking about food can feel like another job. You may already be dealing with poor sleep, low energy, brain fog, cravings, work, family life and a mental load that feels permanently full. Then you open social media and are told to eat more protein, increase your fibre, cut sugar, reduce carbs, stop snacking, drink more water, meal prep, strength train and somehow remain calm while doing all of it. No wonder so many women feel comp

This question came up recently, and I have not stopped thinking about it since. Someone asked me how she could lose weight without having to stop eating, especially the foods she actually enjoys. It was such an honest question, and I think it speaks for so many women in perimenopause and menopause. Because let’s be honest, most women are not asking, “How can I follow another miserable diet that makes me feel hungry, restricted and slightly furious by 3pm?” They are asking,

From thunder thighs to meno belly, women’s bodies have been turned into marketing material for decades. Before diet culture sells women the solution, it often gives the body part a name. Thunder thighs. Muffin top. Bingo wings. Mum tum. Meno belly. Cortisol belly. Love handles. Saddlebags. Bra bulge. Spare tyre. Jelly belly. Cankles. Back fat. Double chin. Once you start noticing these phrases, it becomes impossible to ignore how often women’s bodies are chopped up into parts

GLP-1 has become one of those health terms that seems to have appeared everywhere almost overnight. One minute most people had never heard of it, and the next it was being used to sell weight loss injections, supplements, GLP-1 diets, meal plans, powders, probiotics and all sorts of “natural alternatives” aimed at women in perimenopause and menopause. As always, there is often a small piece of truth sitting underneath the marketing, but that truth can become very distorted wh

Every week, my social media feed seems to deliver another advert aimed at perimenopausal and menopausal women, and lately my camera roll has become a depressing little museum of screenshots. Not because I want to share them or give them more attention, but because they make me feel genuine despair. These adverts are everywhere. They promise flat stomachs, reduced bloating, better skin, fewer cravings, balanced hormones, fixed cortisol, boosted metabolism, weight loss, impro

I recently came across an article claiming that a “cortisol detox” is helping menopausal women lose 30 to 40 lbs in six weeks, without injections, HRT or calorie counting. The article says that weight gain in menopause is not really about age, metabolism or willpower, but about cortisol. It claims that certain foods, including whole grains, fruit smoothies, low-fat yoghurt, protein bars, diet drinks and deli meats, can spike cortisol and cause the body to hold onto stubborn b

Perimenopause nutrition can feel like an absolute minefield. One minute you are being told to eat more protein, the next you are being told to cut carbs, fix your cortisol, heal your gut, take a miracle supplement, lose weight, reduce inflammation, avoid everything fun, and somehow feel calm while doing it all. It is no wonder so many women feel overwhelmed, confused and completely fed up. I work with women in their 40s and 50s who are navigating perimenopause, weight loss in

Perimenopause weight gain, menopause belly fat, slow metabolism during menopause and collagen supplements for menopause are all topics dominating social media right now. If you are a woman in your 40s or 50s, it is almost impossible to scroll through Facebook or Instagram without seeing adverts promising to “fix” your metabolism, flatten your belly, rebuild your muscle mass or reverse the effects of menopause with a supplement. Recently, I came across an advert for a collagen

If you have spent any time on social media lately, chances are you have seen someone blaming inflammation for absolutely everything happening during perimenopause. Belly fat? Inflammation Brain fog? Inflammation Poor sleep? Inflammation Cravings? Inflammation Weight gain that will apparently “melt away” if you follow a special detox, drink a supplement, cut out food groups, or “reset” your hormones. Some of these adverts are incredibly persuasive. They use scientific sounding

It’s taken me a huge amount of strength to write this, but I think it’s important we talk about it. I recently saw a post on Facebook where a woman shared, anonymously, that she had a “horrendous double chin.” She said she hadn’t realised quite how bad it had become until her son took a photo of her without her knowing. She asked, “How do I fix this? I’ll do anything.” She also mentioned that she was a size 10, as if she needed to justify that the rest of her body was “accept

Another one of those supplement adverts popped up on my newsfeed recently. This time it was talking about belly fat in menopause. It started by explaining that there are two different types of fat, subcutaneous and visceral, and then quickly moved into why your “stubborn belly” is not your fault, cannot be fixed with diet or exercise, and is actually caused by your gut lining breaking down due to collagen loss. Conveniently, the solution was their collagen supplement. Now, I

If you have noticed your body feeling different lately, perhaps in the way your clothes fit or how your shape has shifted, you are not alone. Many women I work with tell me that their body shape seems to be changing, even when their habits have not. Clothes fit differently. Weight seems to settle around the middle. And perhaps most frustrating of all, the things that used to “work” no longer seem to make a difference. It is very easy in this space to fall into the trap of thi

There is something I see time and time again in the women I work with, and if I am honest, something I have experienced myself too. It is a quiet disconnection. A sense that somewhere along the way, we stopped trusting our bodies and started looking outside of ourselves for answers. Instead of tuning in, we rely on apps, watches, plans, and rules to tell us what is happening inside our own bodies. We second-guess how we feel, override hunger, question cravings, and push throu

Recently, I came across an advert on social media that made me stop scrolling. Not because it was inspiring, but because it raised a lot of questions. The advert claimed that by following a simple 20-minute daily routine, the person discovered their cortisol levels were three times higher than normal. Once they “fixed” this with the plan, everything changed. They were back in their favourite jeans and finally felt comfortable in their body again. Another part of the advert sa

Why the “female-specific nutrition” narrative deserves a closer look Recently I came across a post on Instagram that stopped me mid-scroll. It said, “I’m a scientist and a woman. If female-specific exercise and nutrition recommendations were legitimate, I’d follow them and recommend them to other women.” It was a bold statement, and it made me pause because it captured something I have been thinking about for a long time. You might expect a Registered Nutritional Therapist wh