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Ep 020: Body Confidence Beyond the Mirror (Your Body Changed the Rules, So Change Yours)

 

Ep 20: Body Confidence Beyond the Mirror (Your Body Changed the Rules, So Change Yours)

Stop grading your body on how it looks. Start noticing what it does.

Somewhere along the way, we all learned to treat our bodies as ornaments, something to be looked at and judged. In midlife, that scoring system stops working, because your body is now playing by different rules. This week, Melissa borrows the ornament-versus-instrument idea from Lindsay and Lexie Kite’s book More Than a Body, and turns it into a new rulebook: function over form, neutrality over forced positivity, and working with the body you have now, menopause included.

In This Episode:

  • Why most of us learned to see our bodies as ornaments, and why that scoring system gets harder to win in midlife
  • Why any movement counts, and why it doesn’t have to mean a gym
  • What to do on the bad-body days when “love your body” feels like a stretch
  • How phones, filters and algorithms keep the silver-bullet hunt going, plus three checks before you buy the next fix
  • What menopause changes about how your body stores fat and holds muscle, and why it can arrive early or late
  • Three principles for working with your current biology

Your Prime Power Move:

Give your body one thing to do this week, then notice what it did. Park on the far side of the car park, stand on one leg while you brush your teeth, try the no-hands sofa challenge (getting up off the sofa without using your hands), or take the stairs two at a time. If movement is more challenging for you right now, scale it to fit. Afterwards, name one thing your body did, in a description, not a verdict. If symptoms are running the show, jot down what’s changing (sleep, energy, temperature swings, mood) for two weeks and take the list to your doctor.

Your Next Step:

Jump on the list for my weeklyHot Flashes newsletter, a straight-talking take on midlife, delivered to your inbox. Sign up here.

Coming Up Next:

Ep 21: How to Ask for What You Want (Even When the Answer Isn’t Yes)

Next week: asking for what you want at work, at home and from the people who love you, and what to do with a “maybe,” a “not now” or silence. The lightest episode of the month, and possibly the funniest.

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DISCLAIMER: The Hello Prime Life podcast is created for informational, educational and entertainment purposes only. I love sharing tools, strategies and unvarnished realities from my own experience and coaching work – but I’m your host, not a licensed therapist or doctor. Nothing here is a substitute for professional, individualised advice.