Midlife & Beyond Conversations

Human Design practitioner and coach, Jacqueline Kent, talks to me this week about how we lose our power, how we can reclaim it, and how Human Design can help! Find out more about Human Design on Jacqueline’s website Buy her book, Onward and Upward, here: https://amzn.to/3VsprMk #amazonad  If you've enjoyed this conversation, PLEASE LIKE & SUBSCRIBE . Thank you for your support! About the Midli...

Did you know that the proportion of people going self employed over 50 is growing year on year, both here in the UK and in the US? This week, I'm talking to Colleen Kochannek, who teaches midlife women how to launch an online business. Find out more about Colleen and how she helps women 50 plus start an online business on her website . Sign up for the free “Gumption Gazette” and find out more abou...

How is your relationship with your mother? This week, I’m talking to psychologist, Vanessa Wallace about her program, “Healing the Mother line.” Vanessa explains how growing up in a dysfunctional relationship with our mothers can cause us to adopt behaviours such as people pleasing and “good girl” syndrome, or carry deep seated anger and resentment which we then pass on to the next generation. We...

We all deal with anxiety in different ways - for this week’s guest, Mindfulness was a life saver.   Billy Lahr is an intentional living and mindfulness coach, certified personal trainer, former educator, and serial overthinker.  Billy is also the host of The Mindful Midlife Crisis , a podcast for people navigating the complexities and possibilities of life’s second half.  Billy spent 21 years as a...

Imagine suddenly losing everything you’ve built up in the first half of your life - marriage, friendship, mother role, home - at one fell swoop. That’s what happened to the protagonist in novelist, Tracy Bloom’s latest romantic comedy, “The Time of her Life.” This week, I’m talking to Tracy about infidelity, empty nests and some more of life’s fickle twists and turns. Having time in midlife to thi...

Dementia affects most of us one way or another, whether caring for parents or worrying about our own health and future. Today’s guest, neuropsychologist, Dr Mitchell Clionsky, talks to Jo about the latest research, reasons for hope and what we can do to decrease our risk. Key takeaways: Surprising facts about dementia: 50% of dementias are preventable and less than 5% of dementias are genetically...

Melina Abbott says that wild swimming, especially in the cold of winter, gives you so much more than a momentary thrill: “In menopause, you do start to feel more anxious. You start to feel more afraid, but by doing something crazy, like plunging yourself in freezing cold water, it gives you confidence because you think, wow, I did something really hard. So when I come out, especially if I've not w...

Have you ever wondered what would happen to your digital life should you die unexpectedly? Would your grieving loved ones know what utility companies you use, for example, so they can close accounts? Do you have strong beliefs or feelings about end of life care, funerals etc? This conversation, with Jane McCourt of The McCourt Method - themccourtmethod.com - has us breaking one of the last taboos...

April believes that having a healthy money mindset comes from feeling you deserve to be taken care of and trusting that things will work out. She feels her early experiences being around very wealthy people in college, even though she had little money herself then, shaped her belief that large amounts of money are possible and normal. April says she has leaned on her spiritual beliefs during diffi...

Did you know that the methods you used when you felt the need to lose a few pounds in your twenties and thirties just stop working when you reach perimenopause? Why? Hormones. This week I’m talking to weight loss expert, Dr Heather Awad about the fact that, as she puts it, “calories are not math at midlife.” We talk about the difference between adipose and and the more insidious visceral fat, and...

Did you know that it’s now believed that 80% of chronic disease in later life can be prevented by what we do now in midlife? Me neither! That is an astonishing figure, one that prompted Dr Ferhat Uddin to add metabolic health assessment and improvement to her services at Liberty Health Clinic.   As she explains, midlife health isn’t just about hormones and she advocates that every woman should hav...

Award-winning British actress, director, producer and entrepreneur, Sharon Maughan developed health problems in 2009 due to a reaction to salicylates, known as salicylic overload. Suffering from symptoms including breathing problems, nasal polyps, eczema and incredibly sensitive skin, she had major surgery and was warned to make significant lifestyle changes, and drastically limit her salicylate i...

Kim is a 60 year old mother of three who was diagnosed with MS 10 years ago and decided to ignore her then doctor's advice and muscle her way back to a happy life. Last year she became European Champion in Masters Weightlifting in her age and weight category. Her journey inspired her to leave her career in journalism in her 50s and become a health coach for middle aged women - with a big focus on...

Women are not simply small men - we often experience medical events differently to our male counterparts. This week I’m talking to Sam Palmer, about the risks and symptoms of heart attacks. Sam explained that once we lose the protection oestrogen provides, our risk of heart disease rises. Sam listed the risk factors: Smoking Obesity Hypertension (high blood pressure) Raised Cholesterol Elevated st...

Did you watch the film, “Wild” where Reese Witherspoon played Cheryl Strayed? Did it make you think, I could hike in the American wilderness on my own! NO? Me neither! Today’s guest thought just that and was inspired to walk 2,600 miles alone in midlife.   In a wide ranging conversation, anonymous adventurer, Person Irresponsible, talks to me about her remarkable life. We discussed: the impact of...

Do you feel you stumble around in a money FOG - feeling Fearful, Overwhelmed or Guilty about your financial situation? Master Money Coach, Mikelann Valterra says that feelings of stress and anxiety around money are often due to financial vagueness. How do we get out of the fog? Mikelann identifies 3 core questions we need to ask ourselves at every stage in our lives, but especially when our circum...

Episode 121: Fit is Freedom with Kelly Howard Staying fit and strong as we navigate the midlife transition can be a challenge. Our default is often to put ourselves last and to take our bodies for granted. In this episode, Jo talks to fitness expert, Kelly Howard and about consistency, and the 5 “consistency killers”: Perfection Not anticipating road blocks Going beyond your tipping point The “all...

Do you feel you’ve lost your “mojo”? Sometimes, slowing down, even taking a prolonged break can be the answer. Small business owner, Sue Chalmers, talks to Jo about setting up and running a business at 50 plus. She then “Completely lost my mojo in 2022 felt overwhelmed, didn’t know who I was or what I wanted and fell out of love with my business and all the noise surrounding it. Mothballed Willow...

A treat for the book lovers among you! This podcast with author, Jane L Rosen, covers her switch from screen writing to novels, her writing process and the pitfalls and joys of setting a book of fiction in your own home town. Buy “On Fire Island” here**: https://amzn.to/46dvxVf Jane L. Rosen is an author, screenwriter and former Huffington Post contributor. Jane often takes inspiration from real-l...

How do you talk about growing older? This week I’m talking to author and life coach, Rebecca Ronane about how two major unexpected life events in her mid fifties made her aware of ageism for the first time, and her determination to ignore it! “Since my mid fifties, I've created my own business. I've created two podcasts, I've created two websites, I've created a networking organisation, and now I'...

In this episode, Author of Stop Waking up Tired!, Ralph Montague, talks about the importance of sleep for health, longevity and general well being. Ralph’s top 10 tips for better sleep in a nutshell: Consistency Don’t eat large meals before bed Calm your mind Get some natural light every day Exercise, but not in the evening No stimulants, like coffee in the afternoon and evening No late night liqu...

Certified Health Coach, Elizabeth Sherman, talked to me recently about our distorted relationship with food that, she believes, we don’t recognise until we hit midlife. We all know we can’t eat and exercise the same way as we did at 20 or 30. Once we understand how food and exercise makes us feel we can get away from the “calories in, calories out” mentality and actually start to become more healt...

Although happy and successful on the outside, at 45, Jen Vertanen felt lonely, sad and bitter. The only thing she hadn’t tried was leaving her husband! In this raw and honest episode, we talk about: Loneliness Childhood trauma Difficult parental relationships Gaslighting Finding different perspectives on old stories Role models What do we mean when we talk about “doing the work”? The need for huma...

From being the last kid in school to be picked for teams to becoming an endurance athlete in midlife, Nutritionist and Women’s Health Coach, Annie Gaudrault, is an advocate for running as a form of stress release. We talk about camaraderie among women, becoming comfortable with discomfort and being a late bloomer. Annie takes us through her signature 6 Pillars of Healthy Aging”: Nutrition Suppleme...

Coach and pilot, Nushin Elahi took to the skies as a trainee pilot in midlife and found herself gaining not only her pilot’s licence, but a new perspective on life! Join us as we talk about feeling invisible, moving outside our comfort zones, the challenges she faced in joining what was essentially, a “Boys’ club” and how learning to fly mirrored her personal development journey. Nushin can be con...