Walking This Way

This week, Lise strips off to join over 250 women for a skinny dip in a Surrey lake for Breast Cancer Now.

Joining women from across the country to strip off, get in the water, and raise money to help tackle breast cancer and raise awareness, what follows is one of those mornings that's hard to describe and impossible to forget.

This is an episode about bodies, bravery and what happens when a group of women decide to stop worrying and just go for it.

In this episode, join Lise and discover:

• How Kate, the event organiser, turned her mum's breast cancer diagnosis into eight years of fundraising, naked calendars and a swim that's grown from 38 brave women to over 250
• Why one woman drove an hour and a half from Gloucestershire, got in the lake at dawn, and then went straight to work, and would do it all again tomorrow
• The moment Lise gets emotional talking to Vanessa, a woman who'd had a mastectomy and was standing there, completely herself, completely magnificent
• Why Lise says swimming is the great equaliser, and how a lake full of 250 different bodies, all shapes, all ages, all stories, makes that feel completely true
• The stat that stopped Lise in her tracks: in the UK, one in three cancer diagnoses is breast cancer, one every nine minutes

Quote of the episode
"When you look at all the bodies, because I love them, I think we're all works of art." - Lise Thorne

Useful links

• Breast Cancer Now: breastcancernow.org

Here's how to get in touch...

• Follow the show and get all the links you need on LinkTree - https://linktr.ee/walking_this_way
• Email us: [email protected]
• Use the get in touch form HERE - https://tr.ee/r-ePylKE8H
• Send us a voice message HERE- https://www.speakpipe.com/WalkingThisWay

Produced by The Good Studio - thegoodstudio.co.uk

This week, Lise is joined by Vicki Anstey, world record-holding adventurer, entrepreneur, speaker and author of new book Other People Are Like the Weather. From rowing across the Pacific Ocean to cycling across America, Vicki has built a remarkable reputation for taking on extreme challenges. But this conversation goes far beyond adventure.

Together, Lise and Vicky explore what happens when women in midlife stop living according to other people's expectations and start trusting themselves. They discuss fear, identity, relationships, self-belief and the transformative power of stepping outside your comfort zone.

In this episode, join Lise and Vicky to discover:

•  Why Vicky walked away from a 20-year relationship and the life-changing lessons she learned about self-trust and independence 
•  How a childhood near-drowning experience led to a profound fear of water, and why rowing the Pacific became her way of confronting it 
•  What really happened during her 60-day world record ocean row and the unexpected challenges that nearly broke her 
•  The powerful meaning behind her book title, Other People Are Like the Weather, and why trying to manage everyone else's reactions leaves us exhausted 
•  How difficult conversations before a challenge can transform team dynamics, relationships and everyday life 
•  Why midlife can be the perfect time to reinvent yourself and discover who you really are beneath years of expectations and conditioning 
•  Vicki's insight that the fear of failure is often actually a fear of success, and what happens when we start asking "What's the best that could happen?" 

Quote of the episode

"Sometimes, the fear of failure is actually a fear of success. We're so conditioned to think about what's the worst that could happen, we don't think about what's the best that could happen."
- Vicki Anstey

Useful links

•  Vicki's website: vickianstey.co.uk
•  Instagram: instagram.com/vickianstey/
•  Book: Other People Are Like the Weather: Stop Managing the Forecast and Start Mastering Yourself

Be a part of the show: Here's how to get in touch...

• Follow the show and get all the links you need on LinkTree - https://linktr.ee/walking_this_way
• Email us: [email protected]
• Use the get in touch form HERE - https://tr.ee/r-ePylKE8H
• Send us a voice message HERE- https://www.speakpipe.com/WalkingThisWay

Produced by The Good Studio - thegoodstudio.co.uk

It's peak heatwave in the UK, and Lise has swapped the park for her back garden. Shielding from the record breaking May heat that has the whole country slightly undone, Lise recalls the river swims and paddleboarding sessions that are keeping her cool in the evenings. Recording in her bikini, she also discusses the comments on her Instagram that stopped her in her tracks and reflects on why all women should feel proud to wear whatever they want, whenever they want.

Join Lise and discover...

• Why she started wearing a bikini at 46 and what it took to get there
• How expanding your comfort zone, one small thing at a time, builds a life that genuinely feels bigger
• A midlife reminder that kindness to yourself isn't optional, it's the whole foundation

Quote of the episode

"Be ruthlessly, unashamedly kind to yourself. Forgive yourself again and again and again, because the alternative is we shrink." - Lise Thorne

Here's how to get in touch...

• Follow the show and get all the links you need on LinkTree - https://linktr.ee/walking_this_way
• Email us: [email protected]
• Use the get in touch form HERE - https://tr.ee/r-ePylKE8H
• Send us a voice message HERE- https://www.speakpipe.com/WalkingThisWay

Produced by The Good Studio - thegoodstudio.co.uk

This week, Lise is joined by Helen Hopkins, the Mealtime Maverick, batch cooking expert and debut author of Mix and Match Batch, published by Penguin. Helen's story is one of those that sounds almost too much to be true: going viral on Instagram, landing a book deal and navigating perimenopause and deep grief, all at the same time. For any midlife woman who has ever felt like she's holding everything together with fraying string, this conversation will feel like a warm hand on the shoulder - coupled with a fridge full of delicious food!

In this episode, join Lise and discover:

• How Helen's Instagram account grew from 4,000 followers to over 80,000 in just ten weeks, after a single batch cooking reel racked up 3.1 million views, and why that viral moment arrived at the most emotionally complex point of her life
• Why Helen abandoned traditional freezer-based batch cooking in favour of fresh fridge batching, and how spending roughly one hour in the kitchen can produce five to six flexible meals for a family of four for between £35 and £45
• The emotional thread running through the cookbook itself: why recipes for stew and sloppy joes carry her parents with her, and what it means to have created something her late father, a lifelong reader, would have been proud of

Quote of the episode

"Cooking is about putting ingredients together, making something delicious, sharing it with people that you love, and having the opportunity to connect." - Helen Hopkins

Useful links

• Helen on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mealtime.maverick/
• Mix and Match Batch by Helen Hopkins, published by Penguin: available on Amazon and wherever books are sold
• WIN a signed copy: Leave a voice message via the link below telling us about your cooking or batching experience, and Helen will gift one lucky listener a signed copy.

Be a part of the show: Here's how to get in touch...

• Follow the show and get all the links you need on LinkTree - https://linktr.ee/walking_this_way
• Email us: [email protected]
• Use the get in touch form HERE - https://tr.ee/r-ePylKE8H
• Send us a voice message HERE- https://www.speakpipe.com/WalkingThisWay

Produced by The Good Studio - thegoodstudio.co.uk

Lise is in the Lake District on a walking weekend with Ramble Worldwide, Hassness House and Ageism Is Never In Style. She's joined by walk leader Julia Williams for an evening amble to Buttermere, the evening before the walking properly starts.

It's nearly 9:30 at night. The sun has just slipped behind the hills, and Lise and Julia are walking down to the lake, talking about what walking does for people.

Julia has been leading walks for Ramble Worldwide for 12 years, entirely as a volunteer. She's taken groups to New Zealand, the Alps, Costa Rica, Madeira, the Tour du Mont Blanc and the Camino. She really knows what it means when someone says a walk changed their life.

And Lise shares her own walking story: travelling the world for a year with her three children and walking the final stretch of the Camino with no sleeping bags, no advance bookings, and nothing to think about but the next step.

Join Lise and discover...

• Why Ramble Worldwide is a not-for-profit and what that means for the walking community
• How Julia went from a career in the real world to leading groups across six continents as a volunteer
• The unexpected moments that remind you why getting people outdoors really matters
• Why a well-organised walk is harder than it looks
• Lise's family Camino: three kids, no plan and walking home from Japan via northern Spain

With thanks to all the brilliant people at:

• Ramble Worldwide — www.rambleworldwide.co.uk
• Hassness House — www.rambleworldwide.co.uk/hassness-house
• Ageism Is Never In Style — www.ageismisneverinstyle.com

Quote of the Episode

"As I'm walking, I feel like I'm walking away from the pain and towards a new life."

- One of Julia's Camino guests, shared by Julia Williams

Here's how to get in touch...

• Follow the show and get all the links you need on LinkTree - https://linktr.ee/walking_this_way
• Email us: [email protected]
• Use the get in touch form HERE - https://tr.ee/r-ePylKE8H
• Send us a voice message HERE- https://www.speakpipe.com/WalkingThisWay

Produced by The Good Studio - thegoodstudio.co.uk

This week, Lise is joined by Lorraine Candy, co-host of the award-winning podcast Postcards from Midlife, a journalist who has edited some of Britain's biggest magazines, and a mother of four who is refreshingly honest about what's actually going on in her life - from HRT and perimenopause to friendships and swimming.

In this episode, she and Lise dig into the real challenges facing midlife women today, the ongoing debate over HRT, the importance of female friendship and how moving every day - and taking on the occasional swimming challenge - can have a transformative impact on your health and wellbeing.

In this episode, join Lise and discover:

• Why two-thirds of women are wrongly prescribed antidepressants during perimenopause 
• The shocking statistic that only around 10% of women who would benefit from HRT are actually getting it
• What the "anticipatory load" is, why it's neurologically exhausting, and why it falls so disproportionately on women
• Lorraine's honest journey through perimenopause, from night terrors and panic attacks to finding what actually worked
• Why female friendship isn't a luxury in midlife; according to the research, it might literally save your life.

Quote of the episode:
"If you've got a choice between career and ambition, or helping a friend, or being with a friend, or being good - choose the friendship. Because that is the grit that sees you through." - Lorraine Candy

Useful links:

• Lorraine's podcast: https://www.postcardsfrommidlife.com/
• Lorraine's books
• Lorraine's Substack: https://lorrainecandy.substack.com/
• Lorraine's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lorrainecandy/
• Watergate Bay Hotel: https://watergatebay.co.uk/

Be a part of the show: Here's how to get in touch...

• Follow the show and get all the links you need on LinkTree - https://linktr.ee/walking_this_way
• Email us: [email protected]
• Use the get in touch form HERE - https://tr.ee/r-ePylKE8H
• Send us a voice message HERE- https://www.speakpipe.com/WalkingThisWay

Produced by The Good Studio - thegoodstudio.co.uk

Recorded in her local graveyard (Richmond Park is off-limits to dogs for three months), Lise is out in the sunshine with Dolly, Sam, Evie, and James, dwelling on time on and in the water! Having rediscovered swimming she's now planning a challenge with a difference, in Lake Geneva.

Water aside, there's then the small but important matter of other people's dog poo. Where do you stand?

Join Lise and the dogs for:

• Gym inspiration - how she's doing a class every other day and has already attempted to push a 150kg sled
• Rowing redisocvery - what it's really like to get back on the Thames
• A swimming challenge with a difference - and how it was inspired by a podcast guest
• Dog poo dilemmas - would you or wouldn't you?

Quote of the episode

"Ten years ago I did my first triathlon. I swam in a surfing wetsuit with snorkelling goggles, old ladies' breaststroke, pannier bike on the hills. And nothing has ever felt as good as finishing that. Nothing."

Here's how to get in touch...

• Follow the show and get all the links you need on LinkTree - https://linktr.ee/walking_this_way
• Email us: [email protected]
• Use the get in touch form HERE - https://tr.ee/r-ePylKE8H
• Send us a voice message HERE- https://www.speakpipe.com/WalkingThisWay

Produced by The Good Studio - thegoodstudio.co.uk

Have you ever wondered if what you’re experiencing in midlife is more than just perimenopause? If brain fog, overwhelm, emotional dysregulation and sheer exhaustion sound familiar, this episode is going to give you a lot to think about.

Lise is joined by Dr Helen Wall: a GP with over 25 years’ experience, a BBC Breakfast and BBC Morning Live regular and one of the UK’s leading voices on women’s hormonal health. Helen has spent years joining the dots between perimenopause and ADHD, and what she’s uncovered will resonate with so many of you.

In this episode, join Lise and discover…

• Why so many women only discover they have ADHD in midlife, and why that’s not an accident
• How our hormones affect the chemical messengers in our brains 
• The difference between perimenopause and menopause
• What masking really means and the hidden cost it carries
• What to do if you’re sitting there thinking ‘is this me?’

Quote of the Episode

“These are not women who’ve just suddenly woken up in perimenopause and developed ADHD. These are women who have always had things going on through their lives that never quite fitted – because what they’ve essentially done all their lives is masked.” - Dr Helen Wall

Dr Helen Wall

• Website: https://tvhealthdoctor.com/
• LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-helen-wall-9b7906235/
• Helen's Book, Menopause and ADHD: Out on May 14, preorder HERE

Be a part of the show: Here's how to get in touch...

• Follow the show and get all the links you need on LinkTree - https://linktr.ee/walking_this_way
• Email us: [email protected]
• Use the get in touch form HERE - https://tr.ee/r-ePylKE8H
• Send us a voice message HERE- https://www.speakpipe.com/WalkingThisWay

Produced by The Good Studio - thegoodstudio.co.uk

Lise is back outside this week, fresh from visiting her parents in Salisbury and with all three dogs in tow. She talks about perimenopause and anxiety, why so many women are quietly struggling, the oil tanker effect on fuel prices, and why local politics has finally got her riled up. It's a little bit personal, and a little bit politcal this week, but all very much Lise.

Join Lise and the dogs for:

• The Instagram post on anxiety that struck a nerve
• Perimenopause as a signal to stop spinning all the plates
• Oil tankers, fuel prices and why the real cost-of-living crunch might hit harder around May
• Local elections, the Lime Bike/Forest Bike swap and why she's thinking about voting Green.

Quote of the episode:

"I'm a midlife f****** woman, and I've had enough. I'm angry about things. And it's time."

Here's how to get in touch...

• Follow the show and get all the links you need on LinkTree - https://linktr.ee/walking_this_way
• Email us: [email protected]
• Use the get in touch form HERE - https://tr.ee/r-ePylKE8H
• Send us a voice message HERE- https://www.speakpipe.com/WalkingThisWay

Produced by The Good Studio - thegoodstudio.co.uk

Sinéad Laffan has lived a lot of lives. Irish girl, English teacher, corporate hire, freelancer, dog mum, stepmother, Hungarian resident, Bristolian, and now - somewhat unexpectedly - a wedding celebrant in the Midlands. But the thread running through all of it has been the same question: what are the conditions of my own wellbeing, and am I actually living in them?

This week, Lise is joined by Sinéad to explore the power of where you plant yourself, why ferocious self-compassion matters more than we think, the 'wedding industrial complex', and why the best ceremonies (and the best lives) are about everyone being in it together - not performing or being on show for each other.

STOP PRESS: The day before this episode was released, Hungary (Sinéad's former home) overwhelmingly voted to oust Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his right wing government from power, electing Péter Magyar's Tisza party in its place.

Join Lise and Sinéad to discover

• How being "ferociously and aggressively compassionate" with yourself isn't soft, it's the hardest work there is
• What an independent celebrant actually does and why ceremony is far more than a pretty moment
• The philosophy behind Sinead's approach: making the couple the hosts, not the performance
• The midlife pivot that brought it all together: coaching, storytelling, design and the art of being with people

Quote of the Episode

"All of these neural pathways in your brain for years have been laid down to tell you that you're not enough. You have to undo those. And the only way to undo those is to be ferociously and aggressively compassionate."

Sinéad Laffan

Follow Sinéad

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/celebrationsbysinead/
• Website: https://www.celebrationsbysinead.com/

Be a part of the show: Here's how to get in touch...

• Follow the show and get all the links you need on LinkTree - https://linktr.ee/walking_this_way
• Email us: [email protected]
• Use the get in touch form HERE - https://tr.ee/r-ePylKE8H
• Send us a voice message HERE- https://www.speakpipe.com/WalkingThisWay

Produced by The Good Studio - thegoodstudio.co.uk