Category_Body RSS

#fitspo. It's topical, apparently. You may have seen some coverage on the news or around social media on research that shows using the hashtag #fitspo and constantly seeing a barage of bikini bodies with 14% body fat is actually causing many women to feel negatively about their bodies... and instead of being 'motivating' (ie, I'ma head to the gym right now and do 1,000 crunches) it ends up causing feelings of inadequacy and may even be a trigger for disordered eating and unhealthy amounts of exercise. This opinion piece articulates something I have felt for quite a long time but...

"Fancy a guilt-free holiday?" "Try these guilt-free brownies!" "Dessert, without the guilt." Honestly, I can't think of a phrase that is more toxic for women's health and wellbeing than 'Guilt Free'. What do I mean by toxic? Toxic (informal): causing you a lot of harm and unhappiness over a long period of time. Honestly, what is the word 'guilt' even doing in our day to day dictionaries? I don't even really remember the first time I saw the phrase, but it was most likely brought into existence in a marketing boardroom somewhere, during the sugar-free diet craze to get more...

A Cocktail of drugs to get new boobs I set myself goals, and decide not to call chemo, chemo. I called it a cocktail of drugs to help me get new boobs. For the most part that worked! Short goals work best with chemo. I also found out that I never have a plan B, I just keep changing my plan A, then I don’t feel like Plan A didn’t work! I refused to use language that wasn’t positive. I often walked away from conversations that weren’t positive. Telling people what is going on is confronting. For those of your...

We’re all 50, or near enough, and we’re trying to race with 20-year olds.  Are we super badass, or just kidding ourselves we belong here?

If you are a cyclist (or a swimmer), you have likely been told on at least one occasion that your chosen sport is no good for your bones and you should pursue a “weight-bearing” activity instead. Your first response may have been to get mildly annoyed, especially if the person giving the advice was not someone ever known to raise a sweat themselves. Come on, I’m the one out there doing something for my health! But your next reaction could have been self-doubt. Are they right? Surely riding my bike can’t be bad for me? If you’ve ever had this...