Fasting, cholesterol, and body positivity, with Liz Earle

Hello, welcome to the Lizzo well-being show and a very happy new year to you. I'm Lizzo and this is the podcast helping us all have a better second half as we step into a new year. What better time to be talking about this because I am on such a mission to find ways for all of us to thrive in our later life by investing in our health and our well-being today.

Yes indeed I am so ready to make 2025 my best year yet and I would love for you to come along for the ride with me. Well throughout January I do want to put a real spotlight on getting our diet and our exercise right as well as how we can build these things into really genuinely sustainable routines

So you won't find any crash diets or short-term fixes here. And in fact, diet and exercise are two words, aren't they, that we hear going together pretty much on repeat.

from healthcare professionals of all kinds. But what exactly does this mean? And of course, there are so many variations and views, sometimes conflicting opinions. But for me, digging through the weeds of data to find the easiest, fastest and most effective ways to eat well and move well has been a revelation and one that I am so very happy to share. It's so important to prioritize this if we are going to have any hope of having a better second half

not only the title of my latest book, but of course my personal mission statement for life. So you have been getting in touch to let me know the concerns and curious questions that you have about all of this. Coming up then, how much protein and fat should you be eating to maintain a healthy body? How do you know if you are definitely gaining brilliant muscle, not body fat? And what's the best way to start your day to motivate you through the rest of it?

Well, let's start with a great simple question from Carolyn. She asks, how do you know if you're at the right weight? Well, it's a great question. I mean, in some ways, there's an obvious answer, isn't there? Take your clothes off and look in the mirror.

but it can be a lot more subtle than that. Obviously, you want to be able to move without being encumbered by rolls of fat, or you want to be able to do mobility exercise without fatty deposits getting in the way, but some fat, of course, is not visible. The visceral fat surrounding our organs that can affect even outwardly slender people.

And I think actually we need to maybe take a step back and say, what are the reasons why you are questioning this? Why do you want to lose weight? Is it objectively for health? But is it also perhaps a more subjective feeling of not being comfortable with yourself or happy in your own skin? We know that our metabolism slows down as we age, and therefore we can expect to see some changes, but not huge ones. And I think one of the things that struck me when I did a podcast with Dr. Andrew Jenkinson, who's a bariatric surgeon,

is this knowledge about the weight set point. And that is that we all have a set point. So we can often look at our parents and say, okay, what's their build? What's their body type? We are likely to emulate at least a large degree of that. And there are studies that show that this weight set point is our natural healthy weight. And it will be more for some than it is for others and that we can't actually

easily or very successfully fight against it. So we might not be particularly happy that our set point is perhaps slightly higher than we would wish it to be or certainly the skinny thin image that's too often projected in social media as the healthy norm or the ideal norm, particularly for women. So I think we have to be slightly realistic here and understand I've certainly loved that. My set point weight is probably

I don't know, maybe half a stone or so higher than I would actually like it to be. I can struggle to get down below that. But ultimately, I think in my advancing years, I've realized that actually I am a healthy weight. I do have a lot of muscle, good skin tone, good definition. I'm quite strong.

And I need to be happy with that and not obsess about being half a stone lighter, which is kind of something that my brain has had to get used to. So I think let's not get too obsessed by the scales. I know I do say in my book actually that I weigh myself every morning and I do.

That's not for everybody. And I know for some people with disordered eating, that's extremely unhelpful. What I would say is that if you are comfortable with wearing yourself daily or very regularly, it's about monitoring change. I like to see when my body is changing or perhaps I put on a few pounds, which I can then shift quite easily because I know I've overindulged.

And I quite like having that goal with that metric that's very visible, but I do appreciate that it's not for everybody. So I would say if you have scales, use them judiciously. Don't be ruled or governed by them. I'm much heavier on my scales than a BMI table would perhaps tell me that I should be. And that's because I have a lot of muscle and muscle takes up less space and kind of in effect, weighs more. So I think it's about just being

Slightly easier on ourselves and not being too rigid about having this sort of fixed number. Ultimately, I think in answer to your question though, if you were a healthy way to the young adult,

Maybe just look back at archive film footage and photos of people that were in the 1950s and 60s before the advent of processed foods to see what healthy bodies do actually look like if we need reminding. Then your later life weight probably shouldn't be more than a stone or so than your earlier weight. If you were a healthy weight as a young adult, I hope that makes sense.

Now, one of the things that's been hammered home to me by experts on this show over the years is that losing weight and keeping our bodies fueled and moving in a healthy way isn't just about motivation or willpower. And Rianne asks, are my hormones affecting weight loss? I can't seem to lose more than a few pounds. I'm late 30s. I think I'm taking all the boxes in terms of good food and movement, but still struggling to lose weight.

Well, that's a really good question, Rianne, and hormones will affect how we eat and also how we lose or gain weight. So let's talk about the impact on fat distribution. So estrogen, for example, influences where fat is stored. So with declining estrogen levels, and I know, Rianne, you say that you're in your 30s,

But actually, late 30s is a time when we are going to start, well, quite likely to start to see changes, fluctuations in Easter journeys. We begin to enter perimenopause. And of course, it can happen much earlier for some women than others. So do keep it in mind. I'm not saying that it's

actually going to happen ultimately by your mid-30s or late-30s, but there's a possibility that it can. So estrogen influences where fat is stored and with declining estrogen levels, fat tends to accumulate around the abdomen, that's the visceral fat, which is harder to lose. Lower estrogen also can slow metabolism, making it easier to gain weight, unfortunately, and harder to lose it.

And estrogen also helps regulate appetite and declining levels can lead to hunger and cravings. Also, it's not just estrogen, progesterone. So as our progesterone levels fluctuate, that can lead to water retention and bloating. And that also contributes to temporary weight gain. Then in terms of other hormones, you've got stress hormones, cortisol, chronic stress, and elevated cortisol leads to increased fat storage, particularly around the tummy.

It also impacts on sleep. High cortisol levels can disrupt sleep and that's linked to weight gain through increased appetite and decreased energy for physical activity. So keep that in mind. I don't know if you're leaving a high stress life at the moment, but certainly that does have an impact in weight loss.

And then of course we move into other things like insulin, insulin resistance, hormonal changes can make the body less sensitive to insulin, and that leads to higher blood sugar levels and increased fat storage. It can also cause sugar cravings, making it harder to stick to a healthy diet. And then as we lose things like testosterone, that is going to

reduce muscle mass and since muscle burns more calories than fat, losing muscle slows metabolism. Any post-menopausal women who may be prescribed testosterone, myself included, may well find that they burn calories more quickly.

and you get more muscle mass and become leaner and more toned because you have regained some of your natural level or pre-menopausal level of testosterone. And then lastly, of course, thyroid function. That's really important. Get your thyroid levels checked. We have a very good podcast from last year with Dr. Amy, who's also known as the thyroid fixer. So do listen to that if you're concerned about thyroid. Unfortunately, the symptoms of thyroid issues

and perimenopausal issues are often very similar and quite blurred so you may well need to talk to and experience medic to discern whether symptoms or weight gain are due to declining estrogen and other sex hormones or whether they are more to do with thyroid issues. So Ria and bottom line, don't forget, sleep regulates hormones, get outside early in the day and set up your circadian rhythm by getting some natural daylight into your eyes

reduce cortisol spikes if you can you know reduce sugar cravings later in the day by making a protein breakfast or brunch the first meal of your day drinking more water to better hydrate fill you up and then firing up the metabolism with a bit more movement and maybe a 60 second cold shower at the end of your regular warm one and one of the ways that that works with fat loss is that it is

targeting brown fat. So brown adipose tissue, otherwise known as BAT, this is a specialized type of fat in the body that generates heat by burning calories. So unlike white fat, which stores energy, brown fat helps maintain body temperature, particularly in cold environments as white as linked to cold therapy.

And it's considered metabolically active and actually does play a role in metabolic health. So we find brown fat in much smaller amounts than white fat. We find it primarily around the neck, collarbone, shoulders, along the spine. And one of the best ways to activate brown fat and potentially increase its activity is with cold exposure. So when we are exposed to cold temperatures,

The body activates its brown fat to generate heat and maintain core body temperature. So it's literally burning up more calories. So we do want to encourage brown fat.

We can do that with cold water immersion. So ice baths, cold showers, cryotherapy is kind of a more extreme, but that is really a good way. Regular cold exposure can enhance this kind of recruitment of brown fat and increase its metabolic activity over time, which is really helpful. So if you don't already do it, start with a short cold shower, perhaps maybe 30 seconds or so leading up to a minute at the end of a warm shower and then you can gradually increase

the time and the intensity. Let me know how it goes. Okay, next here's Anita. I just wanted some advice about calorie counting at 53. I am on HRT and work out regularly, but see so much conflicting information on Instagram and all other social media.

Should I be eating lots and lots of protein? Should I be watching my calories? Is it a calorie deficit that's more important in order to lose a little weight?

very good question Anita. Well, simple answer, yes. I mean, I could just end it there, but I will expand. But yes, being in a calorie deficit is essential for weight loss during menopause, just as it is at any stage in life. However, due to the hormonal changes during menopause, achieving and maintaining a calorie deficit can feel more challenging. And we might need to kind of adjust

are eating strategies. So here's the 101 really on why and how it works. So the basic principle is that weight loss occurs when we eat fewer calories than our body expands. So this forces our body to use stored fat for energy and that then leads to weight reduction. Now the hormonal influence here

is that during menopause, we have declining levels of estrogen and progesterone, and these slow down metabolism. So that affects the fat distribution and increases appetite, making it far easier, unfortunately, to gain weight and harder to lose it. And then, of course, you can throw in a bit of sarcopenia. That's the age-related loss of muscle. That also is then reducing metabolic rate, meaning fewer calories are burned when we're just kind of resting.

So during menopause, we are naturally burning fewer calories, and that's due to hormonal changes. We're storing more fat, as I've mentioned before, due to fat disposition around the abdomen. We can have more food cravings and increased hunger, especially for high calorie comfort foods, and then we can become more insulin resistant during menopause, making it harder to metabolize carbohydrates effectively.

So increasing protein intake is really helpful because it helps to preserve lean muscle mass, it boosts the tiredness, so we feel fuller for longer, reducing the likelihood of overeating, and it also helps to increase our metabolic resting rate, and that means that we burn calories faster even when we're resting, even when we're sleeping, which is really nice.

So really important then that we do factor that into the whole conversation about menopause and weight loss. So tracking calories, although it is essential for everyone, it can be useful to do. But I think more useful are things like managing stress and sleep. So we've talked before, cortisol and poor sleep will hinder weight loss by increasing the hunger hormone like ghrelin.

And decreasing the fat burning hormones. So it's really important that we do sleep. You know, I've often said this sleep is not just flopping into bed and switching off sleep is actually an active process. We need to prioritize it and protect our sleep. And then, you know, things like intermittent fasting can be really helpful.

It's beneficial for many women in menopause. I know this has been controversial in some areas, but many women during menopause find that it helps improve insulin sensitivity and then just prioritize whole foods over processed foods always. So avoiding anything.

that comes out of a packet. I was told recently to avoid any foods that had a label on it because you shouldn't need a label on a food to tell you what it is. So it should be fairly obvious. I thought that was quite interesting. Eat nothing with a label on it. I think moving away from just counting calories, many on social media, and this might be where some of the confusion is coming in here, has been focused on macros, macronutrients. So macros basically means

tracking micronutrients in three groups and that's protein carbohydrates and fats. And that's usually as a percentage of our total daily calories. So it might be, for example, 40% carbs. I would argue that's quite high, 30% protein, 30% fat. And now you can play around with those statistics. For me, I would go, you know, I don't know, maybe 40, 50% protein and then split the rest between carbs and fats. But I think, you know, you can have a look online and see,

these different carb and macro calculators to see which one might best fit with your age and stage and life and your lifestyle. So counting macros, so counting the proportion of protein versus carbohydrates and fats.

is this kind of newer way, if you like, of juggling the balanced diet and monitoring what we're eating throughout the day, which could be more helpful, actually, than just counting calories. And of course, focusing on protein, which is a very good muscle-preserving approach.

Okay, sticking with macronutrients then, so the protein, the carbs and the fats, Nikki says. She'd quote, like to raise the question of fats in the diet. Recently, I had a follow-up blood test for cholesterol and was informed that mine was high.

I'm aware of the controversy surrounding the subject. Yes indeed, Nikki. She says I'm 53, moderately active on HRT. I've eaten a mainly low carb, high fat diet for the last 12 years. I'm an onsmoker and a moderate drinker. Gosh, you sound pretty much like me, Nikki.

and yeah my blood fats always come up as being pretty high but it's the ratio of course the HDL and the LDL that's really important and I can talk about that in just a moment and I think one thing that I will say just before diving into all of this because Nikki you say that you've had a blood test for cholesterol bear in mind that the levels of cholesterol deemed to be unhealthy have been stealthily lowering over the years

So, what's considered a healthy level now is much, much lower than it was 10, 20 years ago. And this of course, causing to question why? Because the dietary research hasn't really changed hugely, but of course, if the levels of, quote, healthy cholesterol have been lowered, that means that more of us will be finding ourselves in the higher, quote,

unhealthy bracket which may mean that we need to be prescribed or it may be suggested that we are prescribed cholesterol-learning drugs like statins and we have spoken about that in the past two. So Nikki goes on to say, I know that Liz prioritizes protein and endorses healthy fats but just how much daily fat should we be aiming for

and will it increase or reduce or have any effect on bringing my overall cholesterol countdown and more controversially does it matter?

Well, this is a really good question. And I would actually like to do a full podcast on cholesterol because it is extremely not only important, but quite nuanced and quite complex. So I'm going to try and just kind of cut through with top line here. The controversy over cholesterol has centered around its role in heart disease.

and the dietary guidelines and the understanding of how cholesterol levels are influenced by diet, genetics, lifestyle. So the key aspects of the debate are this. Cholesterol, what is it? Well, it's this waxy, fat-like substance that's essential for various bodily functions. It actually is the mothership for making hormones. One of the reasons why I'm very pro-cholesterol, and I think we all should be,

is that cholesterol is needed. It's needed for vitamin D synthesis. It's needed for cell membrane structure, and it's needed to create all our hormones, especially our sex hormones, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone. It's so important, in fact, cholesterol that the body makes 80% of our cholesterol itself. So even if you were to strip out all cholesterol in the body,

your body would still be making it because it's that important, which calls into question as to why do we actually want to lure it in the first place? Well, it's been linked to coronary heart disease and the firing of the arteries. But actually, when you look at it, it's not so much the level of cholesterol itself, the overall cholesterol, but what happens to the cholesterol when it gets oxidized in the arteries? So it's kind of

It's not the gun that's causing the problem. It's when the trigger is pulled that is the problem itself. So simply by removing cholesterol isn't necessarily going to address the problem. You need to say, well, why is this cholesterol being oxidized? And of course, this is where the sugars come in and the role of sugar and carbs in oxidizing the cholesterol. So when we measure, have a blood test for measuring cholesterol,

It's measured mainly in two forms, LDL and HDL, and this stands for low-density lipoprotein, LDL, and high-density lipoprotein, HDL. LDL is often called the bad cholesterol because high levels can lead to a plaque built up in the arteries. HDL is known as the good cholesterol because it helps to remove cholesterol from the bloodstream. It's not actually removing it from the body.

It's recycling it. Cholesterol is so important that it gets recycled and reused throughout the body. And that's what the HDL does. It's mobilizing the cholesterol. So it's not removing it. It's mobilizing it. Well, historically, high cholesterol, specifically the LDL, was linked to an increased risk of coronary heart disease.

And therefore, it was thought that dietary cholesterol, which you find in things like eggs and shellfish, was thought to significantly raise blood cholesterol levels and contribute to heart disease. And that's why the guidelines have recommended limiting cholesterol intake. While recent research has definitely been challenging this, and that has led to a lot of debate among scientists, healthcare providers, policymakers, when evidence now shows

that dietary cholesterol has a minimal impact on blood cholesterol for most people. And in fact, as long ago as 2015, the dietary guidelines for Americans removed

the 300 milligram a day limit on dietary cholesterol, acknowledging the lack of evidence linking it directly to heart disease. Well, a lot of our organisations over here in the UK have yet to catch up with that and this information has yet to be filtered through to P's, unfortunately. Some individuals vary, they're called hyper-responders and they may experience a rise in blood cholesterol,

but this does not necessarily increase the risk of coronary heart disease. So LDL cholesterol is a risk factor. That's not the whole story. It is basically the oxidation and the LDL particle size and inflammation coming back to that important word inflammation that we hear time and time again in association with degenerative disease that are playing more of a significant role here. So this is something that I am going to come back to obviously

saturated fats, statins effectively, lowering LDL cholesterol, reducing heart disease. What else is it doing? Do we want to reduce cholesterol? We know that cholesterol is an important fact that's found in the brain, for example, increasing rates of Alzheimer's dementia.

Is that potentially due to reducing cholesterol levels in the brain? I don't know. I'm not qualified to answer that question, but it's certainly one that I'm going to be asking over the next year. So context is key. We need to have a healthy heart healthy diet. So we need to be

Eating whole foods, not processed foods. We're used to limiting our carbs and our sugars. We need to be having regular exercise and all of those things are really important. Also, being individualized, looking at genetic factors, pre-existing conditions, personal health history. We can test for markers like the LDL particle size. We can do things like coronary artery calcium scoring, which is providing a clearer picture of heart disease risk.

I think the bottom line, the simplistic cholesterol equals heart disease narrative has now evolved into a much more nuanced understanding. Dietary cholesterol is far less of a concern than we previously thought. We now know that things like

high levels of trans fats, refined carbs and sugars, these are the things that remain problematic for heart health. And I think the overall lipid profile, the fat profile in the body is far more useful than focusing solely on LDL cholesterol. I'm sorry, I can't give you a simple black and white answer to this, but as you can tell from this attempt at an answer, it is nuanced and complex. But be assured, we are going to be returning to it during the year.

Well, just a quick one here to finish off some of those earlier points from Sonia, given the points that we've just been making about fat and protein. Sonia asks, how we know that we're gaining muscle and not fat? Well, I guess this comes back to the idea that the scale might be lying, you know? Higher numbers could mean that you've gained muscle.

Of course, you can go to a health club or a functional medicine practitioner where they will measure you and they will have various different metrics by which they can analyze how much of your body is body fat and how much is muscle. But I think more easily, when you have more muscle in your body, you will start to physically shrink. Your scales may say that you're a bit heavier or that you're the same.

but your clothes will feel looser because everything will just be tightened up that little bit. So I think go with the tape measure perhaps and the buttons on your trousers rather than the actual weighing scales. Well I think we should take a short break here but don't go anywhere because we're going to come back in just a moment to talk about stubborn fat around the middle, how to build a healthy morning routine and I'm also going to give you some quick and delicious breakfast ideas too.

Well, Penny has sent a brilliantly detailed email that I think many will relate to. She says, I'm 60 years old and postmenopausal. I have two grown up children and I'm lucky to have been pretty active all my life. I enjoyed running very much up until a few years ago, but niggling injuries and life got in the way, COVID and a much more sedentary way of working set in. Add on to that lots of responsibilities.

I'm the only child of elderly parents and now the flab on my tummy looks absolutely horrendous. Also the feeling of heaviness around the upper thighs and the hip area, even the skin on my legs looks dimply and weird now. So feeling quite doomed and now guilty of grabbing bread, pastries and cakes for a quick fix and comfort. I probably need to work on my core strength but I just don't know where to start and time is so limited. I'm so worried that I'm going to lose my ability at this rate.

Oh, hey, I wish I could reach across and give you a big virtual hug, Penny. I really sympathize. I empathize and I have got definitely some fixes. So please pay attention. I have to say, first of all, that I receive a lot of messages using words like horrendous, flabby, disgusting to describe various parts of the body. And your take on what we see in the mirror and how we speak to ourselves is really important. We need to switch out of that. You know, our body is

a miraculous and wondrous thing. It's also the only home that we have to live in and we do need to respect it and take care of it just as we would rooms in the place where we're living at the moment with bricks and mortar. So that kind of language feels like any changes are made from a place of hatred and punishment rather than wanting to look after your body.

and care for it. So I think the tummy area is an area that fat holds on to, particularly in midlife. We've talked about hormones here before. You don't say whether you're on HRT, Penny, but estrogen can definitely bring back a bit of a waistline because it's helping

to redistribute the fat that is around the visceral fat. This is one of the reasons why estrogen replacement can be so helpful in reducing the risk of coronary heart disease. Because we know as we lay down visceral fat around our middle, that leads to an increased risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. Well, when we have our replaced estrogen, that redistributes those fatty deposits from around the middle.

making our waistline a little bit more visible, but also overall a healthier fat disposition. So that is something perhaps to think about. In terms of getting started, do you know it is just that simple, easy, gentle start. Don't think, right, I'm going to give up all carbs, I'm going to join a gym, I'm going to do all these big, big things. We might be thinking about it this time of year.

Small incremental changes lead to a bigger overall result and you need to reward yourself by saying how well you're doing by maybe starting with five squats. Okay, you talk about heaviness around the hips and thighs. I've managed to smooth my hips and thighs over the last, I don't know, maybe five years. No, it's not a quick fix, Penny. I'm not going to say you're going to wake up overnight and look different.

but little and often consistency is the key so i now do squats if you watch me on my instagram you'll know that i lift weights so i hold weights as i do squats but for anybody wanting to start off it's just that up-down movement and i had lovely email actually from a listener

who said that she does her squats every time she goes to the loo because it was just her own private space nobody else was watching and it was just a reminder that up down movement because that's what a squat is and it's about the lusives about the right level that you should be aiming for.

similar height of the bench in a gym so try a few squats and as you get stronger and your glutes get activated one of the reasons why trainers love squats is that the glutes the largest muscles in the body and when they fire up they are really firing metabolism so they are really helping to burn calories and

burn up energy all around the body, and of course improving muscle tone and definition in that specific area, helping to lift the backside and helping to reduce the level of fat and flab on the thighs and the backside. It's not possible to spot reduce, but it is possible to help improve muscle tone and smoothness.

And I do genuinely think that things like having that 60 second cold shower that I talked about has also helped with blood circulation and has helped with things like the lymphatic system. So my skin on my backside is now smoother. I won't share a picture.

But if you can imagine less cellulite in that area, and I'm convinced that part of that is due to having cold showers now in the morning. So you say that the skin on the backs of your legs looks dimply and weird. Well, try the cold shower, but please also be gentle with how you talk to yourself.

Now, Neve, it sounds like you're very aware of how important a healthy morning routine is to set you up to make even more positive choices throughout the day. Neve has written to say, I'm 55 and like all of us lead a busy life, I work full time in law enforcement and would love to know what quick go-to healthy breakfast you enjoy.

Your book has literally changed my life, exclamation mark. I was somewhat overweight and since using your research and advice, I've lost a lot of weight. I am fitter and have changed my diet. Given this whilst verging previously on being pre-diabetic,

I have now turned this around and my blood test levels have shown a reduced risk. Well, congratulations. I want to give you a round of applause, me. That's just brilliant. You go on to say, like you Liz, I try to keep a good morning routine and eat later in the morning. However, this is not always possible with my work life.

I'd really like to know what you would eat for breakfast on a busy morning. Any quick ideas or recipes would be useful. Thanks to you. I now take more supplements and read food labels. Well, bravo. That is really great. So I try and eat later in the morning and I do that because I am aware of the benefits for midlife women of intermittent fasting, time restricted eating. I tend to eat later in the evening. I'm quite a social creature. I like going out and having

late dinners with friends, which means that if I'm going to get a 12 hour window of no food or drink, I need to have something later in the day. So what I try and do and what I would suggest for you here, Nev, is to think about grabbing something early on, not being too prescriptive about that 12 hour window. If you can't manage it, if you know that you've got an early start,

Then obviously you can bring that last mouthful of food earlier in the evening. If you can finish your last mouthful of food, for example, by seven in the evening. And unfortunately that does include a drink that has any carbs or protein or fat in it. So it might be cup of cocoa, glass of wine or whatever. You can have herb teas or, you know, black decaffeinated coffee or water, but anything other than that really is going to interfere with your time-restricted eating. So if you can, then that would be something to do.

but if not please don't beat yourself up about it more important that you have the energy to crack on with the day so i keep a stash of hard boiled eggs in the fridge so i can just grab and go and i can you know peel it inside a plastic bag as i'm walking along you know heading off to catch the bus or train or whatever

Making a protein shake that again you can take with you to drink on the go is useful. And if you need to make it the night before, keep it in the fridge. So I would use a protein powder. You can find lots that I like on Belize Our Wellbeing website under Liz Lobs. Go and take a look.

Use your favorite protein powder. Yes, it's a processed food, but it's a healthy form of protein. And I think it's a very good way of keeping the body fueled, frankly. I think we just need to be able to cut a few corners when we can. And I think protein powders and protein shakes are a very good way of doing that, particularly as we age as we need more protein in our system in an easily transportable way. So in my protein shake,

I start with a banana. I keep a stash of frozen bananas in the little ice box compartment above my fridge. So I shove one of those into a mixer in the morning or a blender or just use a stick blender that's super easy and quick. And I put in a scuba protein powder. I'll top it up with milk. You could use water if you really have to. I guess you could use a plant milk, you know, that I'm not a fan of those. I also use a splash of kefir. So I'm getting some probiotics in there as well.

I might shove in, you know, various extra things. I really like ground almonds because it's giving me more protein, some prebiotic fiber. I also really like the taste. I might add a teaspoon of vanilla extract or almond extract just to give it a bit of flavor. And that is good to go. And that seriously will last me until lunchtime or beyond. If you do have time to cook a little bit of something, I will scramble two or three eggs in a frying pan just with a little bit of butter or olive oil.

It takes about 30 seconds, you know, on a high heat. It's really, really quick. Throw it onto a plate. I mean, with a fork, I'll even eat that standing up. I know you shouldn't, but I will do the whole thing. Just takes a couple of minutes.

Maybe have some yogurt, you know, Greek yogurt is high fat, high protein, healthy fats. You might throw in some nuts and seeds, some fruit, berries, low sugar options, so blueberries, blackberries, roseberries, whatever you've got. You can keep those in the freezer. You can just throw them into yogurt and just let them thaw. Cottage cheese is also a good one. A scoop of cottage cheese onto some crackers.

I've been known to eat cottage cheese straight from the tub. Again, throw in some sunflower seeds, some chia seeds, anything that you like to give it a bit more flavour, you can add spices or anything really, just to liven it up a bit to give it a bit more flavour, you can stir in some hummus, you can stir in some tahini, you could add Worcestershire sauce, you could do whatever you like to make it taste a bit more interesting. Avocado, that's always a good high healthy fat option.

If you've got time for a piece of sourdough toast, I would drizzle that with a bit of olive oil and smash half an avocado on top, top it with a little bit of Himalayan or sea salt. Absolutely delicious, making me hungry, even just talking about these things. Anyway, I hope Neve that that has given you some quick

easy, healthy, low-cost, high-protein breakfast ideas. Okay then, one last question before you go back to your day today and hopefully start making some small, sustainable habits that you can build that will truly help you have a fantastic, better second half in 2025. Well, this message is from Jan and she simply says, I need some new year motivation. Can you help?

Well, what is motivation? I think motivation is firstly deciding that we're worth it. It's about pushing ourselves up the priority list. I don't know about you, but I am a great list maker, a lover to do list. And I love the satisfaction of crossing off the things that get done and rewriting it for the next day and maybe putting a little asterisk or star beside the things that absolutely I have to do, the imperative to finish that day.

Well, I was writing my list the other day and it struck me, where was I on the list? Hello, you know, I'm master of this ship. It's like I say, if I'm doing any mentoring or work with young brand founders, you know, sometimes I'm asked to speak. And I would say to any brand founder or self-employed personal entrepreneur, you have to prioritize yourself because you are your biggest business asset. You know, if you go down, the ship goes down with you.

And that is true in general life. We really need to understand that self-care is not selfish. It's really important. If we can better help ourselves to be stronger, fitter, happier, more capable, then we're better able to help others. So please, if you have pushed yourself too far down the list, or maybe you don't even make an appearance on that list, please put yourself back in there. And I think that is the first thing you need to do. You need to motivate yourself

to be looking after yourself. And so building then habits around that becomes default. You know, it's just your default position. Yes, I do a lot of different things in the morning. And people sometimes say, gosh, Liz, how do you find time to do all of that? And I say, well, you know, how do you find time to brush your teeth?

I mean, you just do, you know, it's a non-negotiable. How do you find the time to get up and brush the teeth in the morning? Well, you know, let's just do it. It's just like, you know, getting up and looking outside at the day, actually doing a few moves, a few simple squats I talked about earlier in the first half, whether you're lifting weights or not, having a bit of protein first thing in the morning rather than a high carb, you know, bowl of cereal or piece of toast or muffin.

Save those for your kind of treat days, but don't make that the norm. So just get your head around some of these simple things because small changes add up to a big difference. And the key thing is consistency. It is really, really important that these become daily health habits. And I think of all these little hacks, whether it's your 60-second cold shower,

whether it's a bit of gratitude journaling or a bit of timeout, five minutes where you might do some box breathing just to help reduce your cortisol stress levels. Box breathing, really, really simple if you're not familiar with the term. You don't for counts of four, so you think of your breath almost as creating a box, four lots of four, so you breathe in for four.

and then you hold for four and then you breathe out for four and you hold for four. So you're creating that four by four box and do that for as long as you want to do it. I mean some say add in another four, do it for four minutes. That's great or do for four rounds or whatever it is but that can significantly help put you back into your body

and reduce the cortisol levels and help to keep blood pressure stable and all of those things. So whatever these little health hacks are that you begin to add into your life,

Think of them as beads on a string. Ultimately, you want to have a really lovely necklace that's long enough to thread over your head and wear. If you can't have a necklace, then at least create a bracelet. Just get enough of those little health hack beads strung together. Because individually, a bead, well, isn't much really. It's just going to get lost and be insignificant. But when you string them together, you're actually creating something that's valuable and quite tangible.

So for me, I do try and always think, how can I better help myself so I can then better help others? But of course, I do get moments of low motivation and stress and I think what keeps me going. I think recognizing that life is a gift and it's a gift that has been denied to too many. I've lost too many friends, particularly in recent years.

And I feel very fortunate to be here. I feel extremely fortunate to have a job that I love that is purposeful and is my passion. And whenever I think, oh, I just can't be bothered to do this, I think, well, there are many who would

much rather be here than not be here and i feel fortunate that i have the ability to actually do something simple to actually get outside and go for a walk and i think actually on that note getting outside is a huge motivation booster it always clears my head it always refreshes and re-energizes me so wherever you are whether you're in an urban city environment or

in a rural landscape if you can just get outside you break the cycle of whatever's going on inside you can look up again if you look at my instagram you'll see me extolling the virtues of getting outside and looking up you know physically because we're so often looking down on me looking down at work looking down a screen looking down a small phone looking down at something but actually looking upwards thinking more of the bigger picture

can be very motivational. So Jan, that's for you and for anybody else who needs to hear it. So the biggest thank you to all of you for taking the time to write and share your stories and ask your questions. I do hope that you found the answers useful and that perhaps a few nuggets of information here have resonated. Do let me know which healthy habits you're hoping to implement this year. We can chat in the comments on Instagram.

that's at lizzo well being and i'm there too i'm personally on instagram at lizzo me or you can send an email to podcast at lizzo well being dot com and actually on the subject of emailing just to say that we are going to start

more Q&A episode podcasts. So you can ask me a question on email or by a voice note. And I'm going to be answering questions in future podcast episodes. So send me your questions.

on email, that is podcast at lizarwellbeing.com. And for those of you who've asked about sustainable weight loss in particular, do look out for an episode that we're going to be transmitting at the end of January. I'm going to be pulling together

or the best advice from doctors and nutritionists who've been on the show over the last few years so that you feel as informed as possible. As I said before, it's complex, sometimes the advice conflicts and we're trying to cut through all of that to give you the very best evidence-based information as always.

Well, in the meantime, we'll be spending the next few weeks hearing how to fuel your body. So you have the energy to really make the most of your better second half, as well as how to exercise to keep your body mobile and strong in midlife. So until the next time we chat then, go very well. Goodbye.

The Lazar Wellbeing Show is presented by me Lazar and is produced by Nushka Tate for fresh air production. With thanks to our editorial director Ellie Smith and social media manager Rachel Andrews.