Cravings once felt like my biggest weakness, but I’ve come to see they’re actually my greatest superpower. In this episode, I share how cravings have guided me through some of the toughest chapters of my life, and how they can do the same for you. If you’ve ever felt stuck in the cycle of food controlling you, this conversation will help you see cravings in a completely new light.

If you’re in midlife or menopause and feel overwhelmed and stuck, unable to achieve your health & fitness goals, this episode is for you. I'm a 53 year old personal trainer and I share my personal journey through the combined struggle of menopause and midlife. I couldn't shake off the desire for change, but I didn't know how to make it happen. This is my story of how I discovered the mindset, nutrition, and exercise strategies that helped me take back control, build strength, and feel confident again, not just in my body, but in myself, in knowing what I wanted for me, and giving myself permission to go for it.

Another truly uplifting catch-up with Rachel. She was struggling with perimenopause and had made several changes to her life, including changing jobs and giving up exercise, but she was still struggling with low energy and feeling like the joy had gone out of her life. She felt that diet was the missing piece of the jigsaw, but felt too overwhelmed to change her habits.

We caught up a month after our initial call and what a transformation. Within two days of putting her new plan into action she felt better. She was less anxious and sleeping better. When she did wake up she could get back to sleep quickly. She had more energy, less brain fog and had found her mojo.

Crucially, she felt the changes had been really easy to make, and this is so important.

Listen to Rachel talk about the changes she's made and you'll hear the enthusiasm in her voice about the difference its made to her.

More support from Gabrielle

Apply to appear on my podcast by emailing me at [email protected]

You can find similar advice in my book which is available on ⁠Amazon⁠

There is more information on exercise, nutrition and wellbeing on my ⁠website⁠ and you can sign up for my weekly newsletter there.

This episode is a great reminder that Thriving After 40 isn't just about food. Emma lost her fitness after catching Covid and then perimenopause struck bringing anxiety and issues with sleep. As her kids hit their teens she was also missing the socialising that she did with other parents when the children were younger.

She wanted to take better care of herself, but was overwhelmed by all the things she was supposed to be doing, and wasn't doing anything. She needed a plan that would work for her.

I loved this episode because the main focus was about making time to do things that brought Emma pleasure in her life. When I asked her what she did for herself, she realised she did nothing. Yet she worked hard at her job and spent most evenings ferrying her kids around. We need a reward for the work we put in. Often we turn to food to do this, and I suspected this was the reason she was turning to biscuits and chocolate during the day, even though she ate a healthy diet and didn't suffer with hunger or cravings.

Another key part of our chat was about exercise and how she could find time and energy to build up her fitness again because this had been a big part of her life pre Covid and she knew it would improve her mood and even her sleep.

More support from Gabrielle

You can find similar advice in my book which is available on Amazon

There is more information on exercise, nutrition and wellbeing on my website and you can sign up for my weekly newsletter there.

Rachel is 3 years perimenopause and her biggest symptoms are mood swings, anxiety and overwhelm and real loss of joy. Taking the brave step of changing career didn't remove the feelings of anxiety that she'd hoped. Determined to make more changes she cut down on alcohol and joined a running club.

But she just couldn't get a grip on her diet. She knew toast for breakfast and meal deals for lunch weren't ideal, but she couldn't break the cycle. The natural response to this is feeling guilty, being angry with yourself for being lazy/useless/disorganised, and with that comes a lot of negative self-talk that can take over your brain and direct a lot of anger and frustration towards yourself.

This is not a small deal because it can have a huge impact on how you feel about yourself.

Yet, when you lead a busy, stressful life and have to deal with anxiety and overwhelm, getting a grip on your diet can completely evade you.

That's why these sessions work so well. It's so much easier when you take a step back with someone who can help you figure things out. And that's what we do in this week's episode. We find simple changes that Rachel can actually make without adding extra work or making her feel overwhelmed.

Tune in now and listen to how we figured it out, because the same ideas could well work for you too.

MORE SUPPORT FROM GABRIELLE

You can find similar advice in my book Why Women Over 40 Can't Lose Weight which is available on ⁠Amazon⁠

If you'd like to apply to be coached in a future podcast, please email me at [email protected]

Private coaching is also available. To find out more click ⁠here

This follow-up session with Allison is a really special episode. When we first spoke a few weeks ago I told her she was practically starving herself. I gave her some advice on what to change to see some improvements, but what I didn't know at the time was that Allison has MS. I only found out a few weeks later when I checked in on her and she told me she was in the middle of a relapse or a MS Hug.

I was really nervous about our catch-up. She had recovered from the relapse, but I know how hard it is to make diet changes with the usual stressors we all have to cope with. But doing it while coping with MS relapses and the side effects of the condition?

But what Allison told me blew me away. Within a few days of making the changes I'd given her, she felt immediately better. Then the MS Hug hit and she was confined to bed, relying on her family to care for her until she recovered. But as soon as she could, she got back onto it. Her new way of eating had made such a profound difference, she was determined to keep going.

Now she's got her hunger and cravings under control and has even found the energy to go walking everyday for 45 minutes. These are the things that change your life. Don't miss this episode - it will change your mindset about the power of what you eat.

In this short but sweet episode, Anna takes me through an impressive list of changes she's experienced after making really simple changes. Better sleep, less hungry, fewer cravings, more energy, not hangry any more, less brain fog and half a stone lighter in just over a month.

The changes she made were easy to work into her busy lifestyle and she still ate the same meals as her family, something that was really important to her.

The secret is to start prioritising your own health and well-being, which Anna completely embraced. Tune in and listen to what she did and how it worked for her.

If you can't seem to make time for yourself, then listen to this truly uplifting episode with Bev, who told me she felt 200% better after making some tiny changes to her lifestyle after our first call a couple of months ago.

Bev has a full-time job and a family, she runs a running club and was struggling with menopause so much, she was often shattered. She was the first person to sign up for the live coaching, because she just felt something was missing from her life and couldn't work out how to move forwards.

The changes I suggested in our session were tiny, set boundaries around when she was available to her running groups (her Whatsapp was pinging all night) and take time out to read. She loved reading but never got around to it.

These sound so simple it's hard to believe they made such a big impact. But what happened was she immediately felt so much happier and better in herself that they became a catalyst for her to look for other small changes she could make to take better care of herself - and the list was impressive!

Doing more for herself didn't get in the way of doing her job or her other responsibilities, but it meant she became her own priority and as a result, everyone else benefitted, but mostly Bev. She felt happier and more energetic. She became more productive and a better runner and got her mojo back.

Listen to this show and I guarantee you'll be inspired to make changes to your own life too.

Get Featured on the Show

If you'd like to appear in an episode email me at [email protected]

Coaching with Me

If a public session isn't for you but you'd like to book private coaching sessions with me then you can find out more here: www.thrive-after40.com

A month ago Sybil appeared on the show. She was struggling to lose weight following diets that she'd relied on for years. She also wanted to start exercising, but just didn't have the time.

What her dilemma boiled down to was how do you get past feeling stuck, so you can start making progress?

Sybil came back to let me know how the changes I suggested she make, had worked for her. She told me the biggest transformation had been her mindset. After a lifetime of dieting and obsessing about what she was eating, she was now thinking about food from a completely different point of view. She had more energy, her mood was better and she felt less stressed because she didn't feel hungry all the time.

Listen to the episode and hear all about the powerful transformation Sybil experienced. Abandoning the diet mentality has enabled her to create a much healthier lifestyle and the great news is that she found the changes easy to make and experienced the benefits very quickly.