Ever notice how your body speaks up before you admit something’s off? Not all stress shows up as feeling “stressed”. Sometimes you feel fine. You’re coping. You’re getting on with things. You tell yourself you’re managing okay… and then your body starts tapping you on the shoulder. Maybe it shows up as poor sleep. A tight neck or sore shoulders that won’t settle. Gut issues. Headaches. Low energy. Feeling flat or more reactive than usual. Nothing dramatic. Just enough to get your attention. Our bodies are often way more honest than our minds. They hold onto things we’ve pushed past, ignored, or normalised. And eventually, they speak up because they need us to listen. I know for me, there have been times when I didn’t feel stressed emotionally, but my body was clearly carrying something. Slowing down and tuning in helped me realise that stress doesn’t always shout. Sometimes it whispers for a long time before it finally gets loud. So I want to open this up to you… has your body ever signalled stress before your mind caught up? What did it look like for you? And looking back, what do you think your body was asking for at the time? I’d love to hear your story.

What’s a piece of health advice you followed for years, only to realise later that it didn’t actually work for you? This question came up recently and it really got me thinking. I imagine, like me, most of us did exactly what we were told at the time… things like low-fat everything, being warned not to eat too many eggs because of “cholesterol”, and sugar never really being flagged as an issue as long as the fat content was low. Not to mention the heavy focus on breads and grains in our diet. Looking back now, we can see how much of that advice missed the bigger picture. These days, new guidelines are coming to light that emphasise protein and full-fat dairy, while reducing sugar, carbs and ultra-processed foods. Health advice changes. Bodies change. Life stages change. What worked in your 20s doesn’t always work in your 40s or 50s. And that doesn’t mean you got it wrong. It just means you were working with the information you had at the time. The real skill now is curiosity. Looking back on our decisions with kindness, not judgement, and being willing to adapt as we learn more. So I’d love to open this up to you…What’s a health or nutrition rule you once followed that you see differently now? And what did you learn from that experience? These conversations are powerful because they remind us we’re not alone, and that we’re all figuring this out together.

Something I see all the time is people blaming themselves for 'not being motivated enough' or 'not having enough willpower'... who's guilty of saying that!? But honestly? Most of the time, motivation isn’t the problem at all. We’re very quick to make it a personal flaw. This might sound like... 'I just need to try harder', 'I need more discipline', or 'I should be better at this by now'. But what if the issue isn’t willpower… it’s capacity? If you’re exhausted, emotionally stretched, hormonally challenged, under constant stress, or juggling a lot in life, your nervous system is already working overtime. Asking it to rely on sheer willpower on top of that is like trying to run a marathon on empty. I’ve learned this the hard way. There have been plenty of times where I wanted to do the thing… but my body or mind simply didn’t have the reserves. And beating myself up never helped. What helped was stepping back and asking better questions. Not 'what’s wrong with me?', but more 'what’s going on for me right now?' Because consistency doesn’t come from forcing yourself through resistance. It comes from creating conditions that actually support you, like enough rest, realistic expectations, the right kind of movement, emotional support, and sometimes a bit of flexibility instead of pressure. So if you’re feeling stuck right now, try this reframe: Maybe you don’t need more motivation. Maybe you need more support, more space, or a different approach. So, I’m curious… What do you usually blame when things don’t stick - motivation, discipline, or something else? And what changes when you stop blaming yourself and start looking at the bigger picture? Let’s talk about it.

I mentioned on Monday how there's been long held thoughts around fitness being all about how hard we push. How much we sweat. What the numbers say. But in reality, life doesn’t care how many reps you can do in a gym. Life asks different things of our bodies. It asks us to get up off the floor. To carry shopping bags. To feel steady on our feet. To have the confidence to move without fear. To keep doing the things we love as we get older. That’s the kind of fitness I care about - even more so now living with MND. I'm training for LIFE!! That means building strength that supports everyday movement. It means working on balance, mobility and posture. It means choosing exercise that helps my nervous system feel safe and supported, not constantly stressed or depleted. As our bodies change, especially through different stages of life, what we need from exercise changes too. That doesn’t mean we’re doing less. It means we’re training smarter. For me, movement is about staying independent, connected and capable for as long as possible. It’s about supporting my body so it can support my life. So I’m curious… when you think about fitness, what are you really preparing your body for? What do you want your body to help you do, now and into the future? There’s no right answer. Just awareness. Let me know in the comments.

We talk a lot about exercise being good for us… but I think we don’t talk enough about what kind of movement actually supports our nervous system. Because not all exercise has the same effect. We’ve been told that harder is better. Sweat more. Push more. Go faster. And sure, high-intensity training has its place. But I’ve seen, especially with certain groups like peri- and post-menopausal women, that smashing yourself with intense workouts can sometimes do the opposite of what you’re hoping for. Instead of feeling calmer, stronger or more energised, you end up wired, exhausted, inflamed, struggling to recover, and sometimes even gaining weight. Why? Because too much high-intensity work can spike cortisol, which puts your body into stress mode rather than regulation mode. And when your nervous system is already under pressure (hello hormones, life stress, poor sleep), adding more stress through exercise doesn’t always help. Movement as medicine is about matching the movement to what your body actually needs. For many, especially during mid-life, that might look like: • walking • strength training with enough rest • Pilates or yoga • mobility work • gentle cardio • slower, more intentional movement These kinds of movements help calm the nervous system, support hormones, build strength, and still give you all the benefits without tipping your body into overload. This doesn’t mean you can never do intense exercise again. It just means listening more closely and letting go of the idea that every workout has to leave you completely wrecked to be effective. Resilience isn’t built by constantly pushing harder. It’s built by responding wisely. So I’m curious… What type of movement actually makes you feel better afterwards, not just tired? And have you noticed your body responding differently to exercise as you’ve gotten older? Let’s talk about it.