This week, I’m joined by my very first guest - and what a guest she is!

Sports therapist for over 20 years, certified running coach, university lecturer and all-round queen of movement, Danielle Garfoot joins me to unpack the aches, pains and niggles that seem to creep up just as we hit midlife - and what we can actually do about them.

We go deep into:

• Whether women really are more prone to injuries and niggles in midlife than men
• How pain perception changes in midlife - and how understanding this could be key to moving pain-free
• The difference between a true injury and a “niggle” (and why it matters)
• How your nervous system affects how you feel pain - and how to calm it the f down
• The sneaky role of fear and self-doubt in keeping you stuck and achy
• Why stretching probably isn’t the fix you think it is (even if it feels nice)

If you’ve ever said, “I’m just a bit tight” or “I can’t do that because of my shoulder/knee/hip”, this one’s going to be a total lightbulb moment 💡

This isn’t just about rehab, so even if you’re moving well at the moment, I’d like you to think of this as prehab for midlife. Essential stuff for all of us.

Connect with Danielle

• Find Danielle on Instagram:@dssportstherapy
• Danielle’s website: DS Sports Therapy

If you loved this episode…

⭐️ Please subscribe, share, or leave a quick (5*!) review. It helps more midlife women find this podcast, understand their bodies better (and feel less “tired” - if you listened, then you’ll know!).

📱Come and say hi! Find me on Instagram @carlycorrigall

💖 Want to work with me for free in January? Join The Mini Reboot: Healthy Habits Challenge here.

Just call me the fun sponge (no, not really 😉)

In this episode of the Honestly Carly Podcast, I’m getting into something that’s been coming up again and again with the women I work with - and that I’ve experienced myself:

Why can’t I handle alcohol like I used to?

If you’ve noticed your tolerance has dropped, your hangovers last forever, or that one glass of wine wrecks your sleep, you are not imagining it!

I’m breaking down:

• Why women in perimenopause and menopause struggle more with alcohol
• What’s really going on with those 3-day hangovers (hint: hormones + physiology, it's a heady blend)
• How alcohol impacts hot flushes, night sweats, anxiety, and recovery
• The connection between alcohol, sleep, and strength training results
• What it does to your nutrient levels and long-term health (yes, even that “one glass” - sorry!)

As always, there’s no judgment here. Just facts and science to help you become the expert on your body, so you can make informed decisions about what’s right for you.

If this episode gives you a lightbulb moment, please share it with a midlife mate who needs to hear it 💛

Mentioned in this episode:

• Sign up for my free January Healthy Habits Challenge here to get your 2026 goals off to a flying start
• DM me on Instagram @carlycorrigall with your thoughts or questions
• Listen to Ep 8 “How Will I Know (If it's perimenopause)?” for more on symptom spotting.

Further reading:

Topiwala A, Levey DF, Zhou H, et al Alcohol use and risk of dementia in diverse populations: evidence from cohort, case–control and Mendelian randomisation approaches BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine Published Online First: 23 September 2025. doi:10.1136/bmjebm-2025-113913

Alcohol Ingestion Impairs Maximal Post‑Exercise Rates of Myofibrillar Protein Synthesis — Parr EB, Camera DM, Areta JL, Burke LM, Phillips SM, et al. (2014)

Sommer I, Erkkilä AT, Järvinen R, Mursu J, Sirola J, Jurvelin JS, Kröger H, Tuppurainen M. Alcohol consumption and bone mineral density in elderly women. Public Health Nutr. 2013 Apr;16(4):704-12. doi: 10.1017/S136898001200331X. Epub 2012 Jul 17. PMID: 22800300; PMCID: PMC10271676.

Balance Menopause: Histamine Intolerance

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If you’re a woman wondering “Is this... perimenopause?” then this is the episode you need in your ears.

In this week’s episode Carly unpacks the most common (and confusing) question she hears from midlife women:

“How do I actually know if I’m in perimenopause?”

With warmth, honesty and a hefty dose of myth-busting, Carly shares:

• What perimenopause really is (and why you can still be having regular periods and very much be in it)
• Why blood tests for hormones can be misleading
• The subtle signs your body might already be giving you
• How mental health shifts: anxiety, rage, brain fog can be linked to hormonal changes
• Why it’s so hard to tell the difference between stress, burnout, and hormone fluctuations
• How to start tracking your symptoms and get support that actually helps

Just FYI (and we’re all grown ups here, so you know this already), but this isn’t medical advice. Carly’s not a clinician: but she is an experienced and qualified midlife specialist PT and coach who’s been there, works daily with women going through and has had enough chats to know when something doesn’t feel right.

You are not imagining it. You are not dramatic. You are not alone.

Whether you're just starting to wonder, or you've been feeling “off” for a while and haven't known where to turn, this episode will help you connect the dots and start advocating for yourself.

Resources mentioned:

💚 The Greene Climacteric Scale – Search it online or use it to support a GP appointment

Want more support?

→ Follow Carly on Instagram and drop her a DM @carlycorrigall

→ Explore The Reboot – Carly’s coaching & support programme for midlife women

Subscribe. Review. Share it with the women in your life who need to hear this!

Because perimenopause might be wild - but we don’t have to go through it confused and unsupported and you absolutely CAN feel fantastic!

You’re not imagining it. If you're a woman over 40, chances are, your belly has changed.

And no - it’s not because you’ve “let yourself go” or need another app telling you to track your macros and count your calories.

In this week’s episode of Honestly, Carly, we delve into what’s really going on with midlife belly fat - and why the usual generic advice around losing weight doesn’t cut it for women in the perimenopause and menopause years.

From fluctuating hormones to insulin resistance, sleep-deprived cortisol chaos to stress-snacking and weekend warrior workouts, Carly breaks down:

• What actually causes belly fat gain in midlife (spoiler: it’s not just wine and biscuits)
• Why HRT isn’t a magic bullet
• Why HIIT could be your secret weapon
• Why what you eat is way more important than calories
• The one shift every midlife woman should start with (and it’s not food)
• Why a six pack is overrates – but strong core confidence isn’t

Whether you’re feeling fluffier, stodgier, or just a bit more meh around the middle, this episode will help you understand your body without shame – and give you tools you can actually use to feel better in it.

📚 Mentioned in this episode:

Carly refers to several studies exploring abdominal fat and exercise in menopausal women. You can find those links here:

Dupuit M, Maillard F, Pereira B, Marquezi ML, Lancha AH Jr, Boisseau N. Effect of high intensity interval training on body composition in women before and after menopause: a meta-analysis. Exp Physiol. 2020 Sep;105(9):1470-1490. doi: 10.1113/EP088654. Epub 2020 Jul 21. PMID: 32613697.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32613697/

Boutcher YN, Boutcher SH, Yoo HY, Meerkin JD. The Effect of Sprint Interval Training on Body Composition of Postmenopausal Women. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2019 Jul;51(7):1413-1419. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000001919. PMID: 31210647.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31210647/

Also - check out the latest ZOE research on diet and menopause:

“Diet may counteract menopause metabolism change, ZOE study shows” - Yella Hewings-Martin, PhD (reviewed by Francesca Giordano, PhD)

https://zoe.com/learn/menopause-metabolism-study?srsltid=AfmBOoplfrzYv45SEToGkcuydnIOFHMWVuwE2XiCSDIbyCjdqhtvLbp-

💥 Want to start working on your core confidence?

Check out Carly’s PerimenoCore programme – 10 minutes a day, made for midlife bodies:

https://www.clcfitness.co.uk/perimenocore-buy

🔥 Ready to get that short sharp burst of HIIT

Read more about Carly's HIIT classes and grab a free mini trial class:

https://www.clcfitness.co.uk/online-fitness-classes-for-women

🌱 Looking for full support, proper coaching, and a real plan that gets you?

The Reboot is where the real magic happens:

https://www.clcfitness.co.uk/the-perimenopause-reboot

💌 Loved the episode? Want Carly to cover something else next? Drop her a message on Instagram

Feeling pulled in 12 directions by suggestions to “do Reformer Pilates/lift heavy/run a marathon/walk everywhere”? Same.

We're over-complicating exercise for women over 40s and nobody has the time or energy for it.

In this episode we cut through the noise with an evidence-based, midlife-friendly blueprint:

• the three essentials your week actually needs;
• how to avoid the scattergun trap;
• when to let go of stuff that isn’t serving you (and do it in a way that doesn’t feel like a messy break up); and
• how to match training to your goals, time and energy.

“Variety” sounds lovely until you’re a midlife woman with finite time, energy and a body in hormonal flux. This aim of this episode is to help you build a framework for what to actually put in your week so you feel stronger, fitter and future-proofed: without living at the gym.

Recap - The 3 essentials every midlife plan needs:

1. Core work (little + often): abdominals, breath, pelvic floor.
2. Strength training: learn movement patterns → add load → eventually lift genuinely heavy (when form is rock-solid) to create the right stimulus.
3. Cardio: make it smart and polarised, think short, sharp intervals/HIIT plus truly easy aerobic work; minimise the mid-zone grind that spikes cortisol without much payoff

Plus your bonuses:

• Mobility: weave it into your other workouts so you’re not “bendy for bendy’s sake” (as that's just pointless!).
• Do what makes you happy: if an activity is pure joy/headspace, by all means keep it. Just own the trade-off with your time and goals.

• You can’t do everything. Choose what matters to you and your goals, then build around it.
• Core is non-negotiable in midlife. Small, frequent wins beat heroic once-a-week sessions.
• Lift with intent. Progress to challenging loads for real change in muscle, bone and joints. Not just throwing weights around or doing hundreds of reps "because".
• Polarise cardio. Some very hard; plenty very easy; less “sort-of hard which goes on for ages”
• Keep the classes you love if they feed your soul, but don’t expect them to deliver goals they weren’t designed for.

• Tick all the training boxes with by joining a Fitness Class with Carly: Classes with Carly
• PerimenoCore Programme: PerimenoCore (the exercises I do every day to keep my core strong and healthy).
• Drop me a note on Instagram @carlycorrigall
• For further reading/research on exercise for midlife women, check out the work of Dr Stacy Sims

You know that feeling when everything’s ticking along nicely - workouts going well, meals vaguely balanced, smug morning walk energy - and then life happens?

Half-term. Deadlines. Broken boilers. Teenagers. Parents. The lot.

In this episode, we’re talking about the real reason so many smart, capable midlife women struggle to stick to healthy habits (hint: it’s not lack of willpower or knowledge). It’s the all-or-nothing mindset that creeps in when perfectionism meets everyday chaos. This is where we ditch it.

In this episode we walk through:

💡 The biggest mistakes we make when trying to “be good” in midlife (and why there’s actually no wagon to fall off).

💡 Why perfectionism is quietly sabotaging your progress, even when you’re doing everything right.

💡 What behavioural science says about flexibility (and how “Flexible Fernandos” actually win).

💡 How to build habits that stick by setting a baseline: your small, super-achievable minimum that keeps you moving forward even when life gets messy.

By the end, you’ll stop chasing perfect weeks and start banking tiny, consistent wins that add up to a stronger, calmer, happier you: even when your boiler’s broken and the week’s gone to hell in a handcart.

• How to Change by Dr. Katy Milkman. It's a must-read: https://www.katymilkman.com/
• The Reboot - where we put these principles into practice and make healthy habits actually fit your midlife life. You can join now by heading here: The Reboot
• Carly's daily core programme

• Learn more about The Reboot here: The Reboot
• Drop Carly a DM on Instagram: @carlycorrigall

When your trusted routine suddenly stalls in midlife, it’s not you - it’s the strategy.

In this episode, Carly explains why “doing more” backfires in midlife, how to stop the scattergun fixes (a cupboard full of supplements, anyone?), and the simple plan: tune in, audit stress, and polarise your training (hard vs easy) so workouts start working again.

Carly unpacks the classic midlife spiral: the weight creep, the constant fatigue, the niggles - and the urge to do everything to try and fix it ASAP, only to end up distrusting your body and the experts.

You’ll learn how to tune in and become the detective when it comes to your own body, zoom out to see your total load (training + life stress), and make one elegant change: create contrast in your week. That means keeping restorative “easy” sessions and adding purposeful hard efforts (strength, intervals, plyo) - while trimming the mushy middle.

Plus: the “ditch / delegate / do” exercise for life admin that’s quietly wrecking your recovery, and why changing one variable at a time beats throwing the kitchen sink at it.

This episode is full of practical advice you can put into action right away.

• Why doubling down on the old plan (harder, longer, less food) keeps you stuck
• The scattergun trap: supplements, hacks, and the loss of self-trust
• Tune in: simple self-check to spot what’s working vs what isn’t
• Total load audit: training stress + work + family + life admin
• The ditch / delegate / do exercise (free up capacity fast)
• Polarised training 101: more easy, some truly hard, less “grey zone”
• Change one variable at a time (how else do you know what’s actually working?)

• You’re not broken; the rules changed. Update the plan, don’t punish your body.
• Start with stress: stacked cortisol flattens results - create capacity first.
• Polarise your week: keep restorative easy sessions + add purposeful hard work; minimise the “sort-of” middle.
• One tweak at a time is better than kitchen-sink chaos. Track how you feel, perform, and recover.
• Consistency beats intensity. Little upgrades, repeated = big shifts.

• Training Tweak Guide - Carly shows you exactly how to upgrade your training by tweaking the intensity. Grab it here.
• The Reboot - the programme where we put all of this together so you can feel incredible in midlife. Check it out.
• Connect with Carly on Instagram (and tell her what you're ditching!) @carlycorrigall

Let's tackle the midlife myth head-on: “Am I beyond help?”. From creaky knees and constant tiredness to the “good for your age” narrative, this episode unpacks why you are not broken, why it’s not too late, and how small, consistent choices (plus a kinder mindset) create big change.

We’ll look at how the cultural script around older women ("she looks amazing for 45") messes with motivation, why aches, niggles and feeling less-than-energised don’t mean the start of decline, and how to replace the “I’m broken” story with “I’m under-informed”. You’ll learn to meet your body where it is, build from there, and use small, repeatable habits to create outsized results. No perfectionism or "go hard or go home" mindset insight.

Warm, straight-talking, and deeply encouraging - this is your permission slip to start now and keep going.

• The “is it too late?” fear - and why the answer is no
• How cultural narratives (“good for your age”) quietly undermine us
• Reframing “I’m broken” as “I need a new manual for this stage in life”
• Meeting your body where it is: practical self-check before every training session
• Why all-or-nothing and short “blitzes” keep you stuck
• The power of small, consistent decisions vs. heroic one-offs
• Mindset shifts that make change stick (compassionate curiosity, not perfection)

• You’re not too late - you’re right on time. Midlife isn’t a decline; it’s a different operating system.
• Start where you are, not where you wish you were. Adjust the plan to today’s body.
• Consistency beats intensity: tiny, repeatable actions compound into big shifts.
• Drop the “good/bad,” “on/off the wagon” thinking - do the basics well, most of the time.
• Own your story. You don’t need to be great "for your age” - you can just be great.

• The Reboot - the programme which gets you feeling absolutely incredible in midlife: learn all about it here.
• Connect with me on Instagram @Carly Corrigall