Episode 134: Seven Simple Health Checks For Women Over 40

The scales can be brutally loud and wildly unhelpful, especially for women over 40 navigating perimenopause, stress and shifting hormones. So we’re doing something different: practical, no-drama health checks you can do at home to measure health and vitality beyond weight loss. Julie and Catherine share the simple tests we’ve actually tried ourselves, plus what each one can tell you about strength, mobility, balance, flexibility and cardiovascular fitness.

We start with waist-to-hip ratio, a quick measurement that can highlight visceral fat patterns and metabolic risk without turning it into a moral judgement. From there we move into real-life capability tests: getting up off the floor unaided, push-ups (with realistic progressions), and a properly aligned plank for core stability. These aren’t about “perfect”, they’re about building a baseline and knowing what to practise next.

We also cover balance for falls prevention, a flexibility check linked to joint mobility, and easy-to-track heart health markers like resting heart rate and recovery after exercise. Plus we talk blood pressure and why knowing your personal normal matters. To round it out, we add the chair stand test for leg strength and independence, and a simple breathing test, including the surprisingly common habit of “screen apnoea” while scrolling or emailing.

Try the tests, keep it judgement-free, and track your progress over time. Subscribe, share this with a friend, leave us a review, and come join our free Facebook group to tell us how you got on.

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Thank you for listening.

You can continue the conversation with us in the Far 2 Fabulous Facebook group. Come and connect with other women on a journey to empowered health.

For more information about Julie Clark Nutrition, click HERE
For more information about Catherine Chapman, click HERE

If you enjoy the podcast and would like to support the show, you can buy us a coffee HERE. Your support helps us continue creating episodes and improving our recording setup.

We look forward to you joining us on the next episode.

Episode 133: Weight Loss Drugs And The Hidden Trade-Offs

Weight loss injections are everywhere right now, and we get why: they can quieten hunger fast. But the more we learn about GLP-1 medications, the more we think the real headline is the one nobody wants to read out loud: the weight can come off while your health quietly takes a hit.

Julie takes us inside a healthy weight loss conference and shares the numbers driving this trend in England, why so many people are sourcing the drugs privately, and what that can mean for screening, contraindications, and genuine support. We talk side effects people often “push through”, the dosing structure that can make symptoms worse, and the less-discussed ripple effects around fertility, contraception, HRT, pregnancy readiness, and nutrient status. We also get into the strange double edge of dopamine blunting: less food noise and fewer cravings, but sometimes a flattening of reward and mood.

From there we zoom out to what actually protects long-term results. We discuss why weight loss drugs do not fix the root causes of obesity, why weight regain is so common after stopping, and why the most important metric is not the scale but metabolic health. We keep coming back to two non-negotiables: protein intake and resistance training to preserve muscle mass and strength, especially for women as they age. We also challenge tracking culture, explain how trackers can mislead, and why CGMs can be a powerful learning tool when used wisely.

If you’re curious about Ozempic, Wegovy, GLP-1 injections, “food noise”, and sustainable fat loss without becoming metabolically weaker, come listen. Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave us a review so more women can find the support-first approach.

Got a question or comment? Send us a text message here!

Click HERE to support us.

Thank you for listening.

You can continue the conversation with us in the Far 2 Fabulous Facebook group. Come and connect with other women on a journey to empowered health.

For more information about Julie Clark Nutrition, click HERE
For more information about Catherine Chapman, click HERE

If you enjoy the podcast and would like to support the show, you can buy us a coffee HERE. Your support helps us continue creating episodes and improving our recording setup.

We look forward to you joining us on the next episode.

Episode 132: What If Feeling Broken Is Actually Reversible

Burnout can look like perimenopause so convincingly that you end up blaming your hormones for everything while your stress system keeps quietly screaming for help. We’re Julie and Catherine, and we see this all the time: women in their 40s and 50s dragging themselves out of bed, feeling tired but wired, snapping at the people they love, catching every cold, living on caffeine and “quick” food, and wondering why they cannot cope like everyone else. If that sounds familiar, we want you to hear this clearly: it’s not a character flaw, and it is not “just normal life”.

We break down what is happening underneath, including how chronic stress affects cortisol rhythms, sleep, digestion, mood, libido, and immunity. We also explain our favourite simple model for making sense of confusing symptoms: the adrenals as the accelerator and the thyroid as the brake. When stress keeps your foot on the accelerator, the thyroid may slam on the brakes to conserve energy and nutrients, leaving you feeling sluggish, foggy, and stuck even if standard thyroid tests come back “fine”. We also talk about how testing such as hair mineral analysis can give useful clues about depletion and stress load.

Then we get practical. You’ll hear small, realistic tools for nervous system regulation and recovery: quick breathwork you can do in seconds, cutting back on screen and news overload, balancing blood sugar with protein and regular meals, replenishing minerals through food, and considering supports like magnesium, B vitamins, vitamin C, and adaptogens. We also share ways to give yourself permission to rest through simple rituals, tapping, stretching, nature, and even a brief cold shower finish.

If you know you’re running on empty, press play, share this with a friend who needs it, and subscribe so you do not miss what’s next. After you’ve listened, will you leave a review and come and tell us which sign you recognised most in our free Facebook group?

Got a question or comment? Send us a text message here!

Click HERE to support us.

Thank you for listening.

You can continue the conversation with us in the Far 2 Fabulous Facebook group. Come and connect with other women on a journey to empowered health.

For more information about Julie Clark Nutrition, click HERE
For more information about Catherine Chapman, click HERE

If you enjoy the podcast and would like to support the show, you can buy us a coffee HERE. Your support helps us continue creating episodes and improving our recording setup.

We look forward to you joining us on the next episode.