Midlife Unfiltered: The Season Of Me

We're on a mission to empower women to live a brilliant midlife and beyond. A major influence on how that plays out for us as we age, is our Bone Health.

Brodee found out the hard way that she had osteoporosis when she broke her ankle whilst jogging. Though because of her age (she was 55 at the time), she considers it her lucky break. Osteoporosis had revealed itself to her and her GP. Otherwise fit and healthy, she had time and options to turn this around. And turn it around she did.

She admits she should have had her bone health on her radar because her mother had the disease and she has a smaller, slight build. Both are risk factors for osteoporosis. And so should have her GP. A doctor she had been seeing for years—she should have twigged too.

So off for a DEXA bone scan she went and the diagnosis was confirmed - osteoporosis.

What was her next move? She gathered her bone health team together and formulated her Bone Health plan. Within 5 years Brodee had overturned that diagnosis of osteoporosis (The Big O). Her bone mineral density scan now shows her to be out of the osteoporosis range, and sitting within the "normal" range for her hips, significantly reducing her hip fracture risk. Her spine measurements have also vastly improved to be borderline normal/osteopenic—osteopenia being a milder form of bone loss that carries lower fracture risk than osteoporosis.

It’s a brilliant outcome that's not only reduced her fracture risk but also boosted her strength and confidence, fueling her mission to help women discover their enormous agency over aging.

We talk about how she turned her diagnosis around and how having a Bone Health Plan was central to that. How having agency in executing that plan is nourishing for our mental and our overall health.

We chat about the gaps in women’s health, between our health and life spans and how the health system is letting us down. How being our own health advocates needs to be a priority to fill those gaps…for ‘Future You’. Bone scans are important—a way to understand what your Bone Health status is. We go there too in our conversation. DEXA has been used for 40 years to know bone mineral density but it has its short-comings.

New technology is on the rise. REMS bone scans which give a Fragility Score tells us how strong our bones are (bone quality) independent of bone mineral density (T-Scores). Brodee’s going to get one of those done too and compare it to DEXA. That could be a great part 2 chat :)

We talk about the game changing impact the right exercises done the right way can have; backed up by brilliant research work of fellow Aussie Dr Belinda Beck and her now international ONERO exercise program.

Brodee’s story is truly inspirational. One that is the very definition of ‘it is possible’ and that we absolutely can.

Join us as Brodee shares her very honest, from the heart story so that you may have hope if yours is similar.

It’s a reminder to put your Bone Health high on your priority list as you age with power.

‘Future You’ will absolutely thank you for it.

It’s a key component of her mission to help us age with vibrancy and power. A mission she’s bringing to life with her Road Trip To Younger magazine. It’s brilliant. Find out more about that on Brodee’s Substack here, including her Build Your Bones series, coming soon.

Thanks so much Brodee for your time, your wisdom and your care. Thank you to everyone who tuned into our live video!

Join me for my next live video in the app.

Anita xx

p.s. Oh! If you found this conversation helpful, please consider sharing it on. It’s how this podcast and its ageing with power information, grows grows and reaches out to others.

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Below are links to things we spoke about in our chat you might want to check out further:

Road Trip To Younger magazine - with Brodee Myers-Cooke

ONERO exercise program specifically designed for better bone health

REMS Bone Scans - find out more about it and where to have a scan done near you. They’re in the US, UK, Europe and Australia.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit midlifeunfiltered.substack.com

We’re all about busting stereotypes. This open and honest conversation might bust your preconceived notion of what it means to be ADHD and Autistic. It has mine. As Erica talks about what it means to be diagnosed ADHD and Autistic in midlife, the questions it has raised for her and how she plans to move forward.

Her decision point: To accept the label and let it define her. Or permit herself to use it as a foundation on which to build a deeper understanding of who she is. Sitting in the discomfort of the unknown and step by step seeing what’s hidden, with an open heart, compassion and curiosity. Exploring. Wanting to know more.

She talks about the push and pull of ADHD and Autism and the ways in which they are felt and expressed.

The masking, pretending, squashing down because of not fitting into a world that isn’t designed for being that way.

The need to feel seen and understood. Belonging.

A future where the definition of ADHD and Autism is bound to shift because it’s more common than we realise.

It’s complicated. We’re human - of course it is :)

It really is a beautiful conversation.

If you want to know more about Erica’s diagnosis journey then she goes deeper in a dedicated a podcast episode over in her Self-Kind world. Find it here.

Erica also spoke about Lindsey Mackereth (find her here on Substack) - and her brilliant work in neurocomplexity and AUDHD. Thank you Lindsey.

We've also spoken about Identity in Midlife with Alex & Cat. It's another juicy chat. It's here.

How about you? Like Erica have you wondered whether you are wired with ADHD or/and Autistic traits? Masking who you are, to fit into this world?

Join us. Share a thought or two.

We’ll be talking more about this topic in future episodes :)

Thank you so much.

Anita xx

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit midlifeunfiltered.substack.com

She’s back! Kirstin is a gun. She’s back to talk with us, this time about a topic that is close to our hearts - ADHD in midlife. Erica is currently being assessed for ADHD and Autism and…informally, a psychiatrist has made comment that she thinks Anita is too.

Personally we know of quite a few women with recent ADHD diagnoses in midlife so we are super curious.

Why is it on the rise for midlife women? Why now? How do you know if you are ADHD? And then what?

Kirstin helps women in midlife with their mental health and she’s very familiar with the topic.

She dispells common myths around what it is, and isn’t and she shares many valuable insights and practicle help.

Join Us: So if you are curious about ADHD join us for this brilliant chat with Kirstin. Please let’s have the conversation. Share your thoughts and experiences. We learn so much from each other.

More About Kirstin: If you’d like to know more about Kirstin, her work and how she may be able to help you then please head here to All About Her, Kirstin’s fabulous world dedicated to helping midlife women and their mental health.

Oh! Here’s a link to podcast chat we had previously about Menopause and Mental Health - how our minds, thoughts and behaviours change in this tumultuous time of life. We talk about how our mental health is often mis or undiagnosed and what we can do to empower ourselves to get the help we need.

Thanks so much.

Anita & Erica xx

p.s. If you have enjoyed this chat and think others might too, please share it on :)

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit midlifeunfiltered.substack.com

In midlife emotions are new, varied and can cut deeply. Beyond sad, mad and glad - the ones most of us can confidently identify. But there are more. Loads more. Atlas of the Heart by the brilliant Brene Brown explores 87 emotions and experiences helping us to identify them with greater clarity, helping us to assign meaning; for greater connection to ourselves and each other.

The more specific we can be when identifying our emotions and experiences around them, the better equiped we are to understand what we’re feeling - giving us strong anchor points in the often tumuluos seas of midlife.

Erica encourages her counseling clients to use this book too - a ready reference to turn to again and again for clarity and exploration. I find myself doing the same.

Maybe you would too. Maybe you already do.

What emotions have you felt more deeply in midlife? Are they new? Some more frequently felt? Let us know :)

Find out more about Atlas of the Heart here on BreneBrown.com. There are links to where you can buy it over there too. In Australia? Here is where you can buy it. And if you’re across the ditch in NZ, head here.

Thank you to everyone who tuned into our live video! Join us for our next live video in the app. If you enjoyed this chat, please shard it on.

Many thanks. Anita xx

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit midlifeunfiltered.substack.com

Do you know your bone health status? Do you know if you have poor bone health? I’m almost 58 and have osteoporosis. Diagnosed about 7 years ago after one of my parathyroid glands grew a benign tumour, causing it to be grossly over-active - a condition called hyperparathyroidism. So bone health is a topic close to my heart.

With 67% of Australians over the age of 50 (both men and women) estimated to have sub-optimal bone health, it should be your high on your priority list of things to know about your health as you age (Healthy Bones Australia). And Australia is not unique. You will find similar statistics in many other parts of the world like Europe, North America and Asia.

Why should you care about your bone health status? Becasue when we measure for bone health we are measuring for bone fracture risk. Poorer bone health substancially increases our chance of fracturing bones that not only significally impact our mobility and independence, they can result in us dying sooner too. 1 in 4 hip fractures will result in death within 12 months of that fracture (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare).

My DEXA Scan Results Were Misleading: Reading a tonne of information on the subject AND having had wildly different DEXA* scan results (one of which my endocrinologist said we couldn’t use because of its unrealistic difference) I started searching for other ways to measure my bone health status more reliably. *(DEXA(Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry), is a medical imaging test that measures bone density and is the scan typically done when assessing bone health status).

That’s when I discovered REMS (Radiofrequency Echographic MultiSpectrometry) scanning. It looks like an ultrasound machine and is used in a similar way. Not only did it give me a very clear understanding of my Bone Density, it also gave me an understanding of my Bone Strength (bone quality) AND it also gave me a Fragility Score - the likelihood of my bones fracturing because of their strength and density. More information than I got from DEXA. And because of the way in which the machine software is set up, the risk of inaccurate readings is significantly reduced.

That’s why I invited Dr David Tognarini to join me on the Midlife Unfiltered podcast. He has brought this technology into Australia. Technology that has been in use in clinical practice Italy and parts of Europe for about 6 years and in the USA and Canada for a bit less than that.

We talk about bone health and how REMS technology can help us better understand our bone health status, our fracture risk and because of its mobility (this device can be put in the overhead compartment of a plane!) has the ability to help those in circumstances and situations where getting to a DEXA scanner is not possible or very difficult.

It’s a great chat I’m sure you’ll learn a lot from. Your bone health matters. It’s often not diagnosed until it’s too late to do something about beyond taking medications. As a woman, we are at greater risk of poor bone health due to our 10-20% bone mass loss in per-menopause and menopause years.

If you haven’t yet, get a bone scan done and know your bone health status NOW. Future you will thank you for it.

Enjoy the show!

Anita xx

Research Links:

Technology like this takes years to develop and effectiveness and reliability proven. Here are links to research papers that discuss this in further detail.

All the key plications below and also other papers in specific patient populations are listed here:

https://echolight.com.au/specifications/

For specific references:

TGA Registration Certificate: https://www.tga.gov.au/resources/artg/344830

Recent (2024) European Consensus statement –

Fuggle N et al 2024. REMS in the diagnosis and management of osteoporosis: state of the art. Aging Clin Exp Res 36, 135. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40520-024-02784-w#citeas

Fragility Score Prospective study

Pisani P et al (2023). Fragility Score: a REMS-based indicator for the prediction of incident fragility fractures at 5 years. Aging Clin Exp Res. 2023 Apr;35(4):763-773. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10115670/

To Find a REMS Clinic in Australia:

https://echolight.com.au/booking/

Bone Compass clinics are here – www.bonecompass.com.au

To Find a REMS Clinic near you:

To find REMS clinics where ever you live in the world ‘Google’ search REMS Echolight technology and your city/country.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit midlifeunfiltered.substack.com

Thoughts about a book. A book that has influenced us greatly. Literally changed our lives. Thanks James Nestor. We highly recommend it to you as we do for others. A must read.

How did it change our lives? What did we learn? How have we joined the dots with breathing and other aspects of our lives and knowledge?

* Breathing has direct access to our nervous system - the power of the long exhale. 3 breaths later I had completely relaxed (Anita).

* Nasal breathing - no waking with dry mouth (from mouth breathing when I slept) AND it has wiped out my snoring! I now tape my lips together when I sleep to ensure I nasal breathe (Anita).

* We breathe more efficiently using our nose not our mouth. And it slows our rate of breathing down too.

* We don’t get oxygen hungry (when we can’t hold our breath for long), we become less tolerant of carbon dioxide.

* Our nasal cavity is lined with the same sorts of cells as we have in the penis, clitoris and nipples! Different functions for sure but there is a link.

* Nitric Oxide - nasal breathing promotes this - the importance of this vital gas we produce to help our cardio vascular health and so many other bodily systems.

* How we breathe impacts our bony skeleton. People with scoliosis have changed their spine shape with purpose designed breath work and movement. Hard and soft palettes, face shape - influenced by how we breathe!

* We take in about 25,000 breaths and 14kg of air a day. Consistent action (like breathing) will have an influence on our body. Mind blowing - we don’t think of it that way.

In the book James outlines not only the scientific facts and professional practices he talks of the ancient art of breathwork and the various ways to breathe for effect and impact.

We also acknowledge there is a spectrum of different ways to breathe - breathing practices. Some are easy to access and do, others we need to work up to. Start out slow and learn as you go - with curiosity. It’s wise to get professional support if you’re wanting to go deeper faster, because it can bring out unexpected reactions (to trauma for example). Respect the breath.

What if we could consciously breathe in ways that are best for our health, just like we consciously choose the best foods to eat? Our health and wellness would benefit greatly.

Breathing right influences our life and health spans - because from the age of about 30 our lung capacity starts to decline/reduce. But like our muscles and bones, we CAN change that with conscious action and practice.

Breathwork is something we ALL have access to. It’s free. Available any time. What other forms of ways to look after ourselves, can do that?

How are you breathing?

Go out and grab this book. It’s a life changing read. Find it on Jame’s website as well as online wherever you get your great books from.

https://www.mrjamesnestor.com/

"Our breath is a beautiful, healing, mysterious gift, and so is this book. I already feel like it’s going to change my life." Elizabeth Gilbert

Amen Elizabeth. We couldn’t agree more. It did for us. I’m sure it will for you too.

Thank you James.

Erica & Anita xx

Thank you to everyone who tuned into our live video! Join us for my next live video in the app.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit midlifeunfiltered.substack.com

We do it when we need to pee, we listen to that cue, that message our body is sending us and we act. Why don’t we do that for other messages our body is sending us like when we are tensing our shoulders, our jaw?

What is my body trying to tell me?

In a society that prides itself of productivity, we are taught it a sign of strength to push through, push that feeling down and get on with it…it’s be okay. What BS!

Our body is the barometer and it will never lie. It will give us cues before we have conscious awareness. It’s being protective of you, protective to what it perceives as unsafe. It also sends cues to check that things are still okay.

Often we don’t listen until it’s too late. Until the compounded tension has built up to a point where it’s challenging to come down. Think burnout. But stress is a spectrum and if you’re a Highly Sensitive Person like Erica is, that can be a very challenging place to be.

So what do you do?

In a nutshell, move. Movement snacks. And like any change, it begins with awareness. Be compassionate with yourself, kind to yourself and begin to listen to your body’s language. The fidgets, the tension, the pain and move that area. Feel it in your shoulders? Take a minute to roll them back. Numb bum? Get up and walk around, stretch it out.

Erica walks you through a few examples in this video too.

She has many movement snacks for different body areas. Find them all on her YouTube channel and on her blog. Like this one (an oldie but a goodie).

There’s nothing wrong with your body. It’s trying to tell you something. Flip that belief if you have it and celebrate the fact that you’re noticing!

Pay attention. Take action. Move. We are made to move and it doesn’t need to be much. Always with kindness, with compassion because when we do that, everything feels safe.

Thank you to everyone who tuned into our live video! Join us for our next live video in the app.

Anita & Erica

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit midlifeunfiltered.substack.com

What does 90 year old you need to live well? Strong bones and muscles are essential. For movement and with that, independence. The ability to do all the things she wants to. Anita has osteoporosis. Diagnosed 6 years ago. She’s now 57. The bone disease that puts us at greater risk for fracture and with that, the ability to live life well…to the fullest.

FEAR of fracture is what holds you back when you’re osteoporotic. And that’s been supported for many years by the medical profession - that lifting heavy weights would put us at greater risk of fracture. But that view is starting to change. Bone needs force to grow. Recent research by Australia’s Dr Belinda Beck in her LIFTMOR study has shown that loading bones with the right exercises, twice a week for 30 minutes can substantially improve bone health - bone mineral density and strength.

“I’d never been in the gym prior to working out with weights for my bone health. I started in 2022, not really enjoying it much to begin with. Knowing it was going to help my bones drove me out the door and into the gym for a tailored session with my physiotherapist. Trained in not only what to do, but how to do it correctly. And she knows my health history.” (Anita)

"Anita, you're an athlete!" my physio Marie shouted out with glee when I lifted 50kg (112 pounds) and box jumped 60cm for the first time. I must admit, I am very proud of me too. I have NEVER heard those words spoken about me before. Gradually increasing the weights I’m lifting, the heights I’m jumping over time….since 2022.

It’s enormously empowering - I have done this (with the right help and support). Something taking a pill never does. We’re not anti-medication. But we are pro-exercise because, it works.

We talk about in our chat…

* The power of exercise for bone health

* Anita’s osteoporosis diagnosis and journey so far

* Erica’s crohns disease and being osteopenic

* Getting a DEXA or REMS scan of your bones is too late at 65+ - prevention is so important

* Exercising - bone loading the right way for your bone health

* How to choose the right place that feels right for you to lift weights and the right people to support you to do it.

Anita writes a weekly newsletter - Midlife Mojo. She’s is in the middle of her Bone Health series. Last week’s edition focused on Exercise for bone health. Here’s a link to it if you’d like to read it. In there you’ll find information on Dr Beck’s studies and other links to bone health resources.

Here’s to you and your bone health. There is so much you can do. The power is with you.

Thank you to everyone who tuned into our live video! Join us for our next live video in the app next Monday.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit midlifeunfiltered.substack.com

ADHD diagnosis in midlife is thankfully getting more air time as we talk more openly about the huge changes we all feel in this time of life. Erica speaks of how freeing this journey has been as she shed’s the masks she’s been wearing most of her adolescent and adult life, to cover up the differences she felt. Maybe you can relate to her experience. That’s why we have these chats. To bring awareness and to bring us together. Let us know. Anita & Erica xx

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit midlifeunfiltered.substack.com

Thank you to everyone who tuned into our live video! Join us for our next live video in the app.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit midlifeunfiltered.substack.com