This week Dr Louise is joined by sprinter Desirèe Henry who is representing Team GB at the Paris Olympics this year.

Desirèe is no stranger to the Olympics – she was one of seven young athletes who lit the Olympic caldron at the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Games, plus she took home a bronze medal in the 4 X 100m relay at the 2016 Rio Games.

And she’ll be heading to Paris on a high after being part of Team GB’s gold medal-winning women’s 4x100m relay team at the European Athletics Championships in Rome in June.

Desirèe talks about the challenges of competing throughout the menstrual cycle and coping with heavy periods, plus the importance of talking openly about these issues, maintaining a healthy weight and body positivity.

Finally, Desirèe shares three tips to help you lead a happier and healthier life:

1. Set one goal every day. It doesn’t have to be anything big, it could be drinking water or having a piece of fruit every day, but it's something that will add up over the week and benefit your lifestyle in a positive way.
2. Try to incorporate exercise into your lifestyle. It could be watching a YouTube yoga video or anything that just allows your body to move, that increases blood flow around the body and helps you get in some extra stretching.
3. Check in on other people more often. Just find out how they are and show them that somebody cares – you’ll be appreciated.

You can follow Desirèe on Instagram @desiree_lh

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This week on the podcast, Dr Louise is joined by Manisha Morgan, whose own experience of menopause led her to train as a nutritionist.

Manisha offers support to women who are fed up with yo-yo dieting to build a positive relationship with food, lose weight, and lead a healthy lifestyle. She helps women learn mindset techniques to help improve self-confidence and implement habits that can lead to long-term success.

Manisha talks about the importance of acknowledging cultural attitudes and approaches to food, and how genetic doesn’t necessarily dictate your future health.

Finally, Manisha shares three achievable goals:

1. Manage your expectations, start small and then gradually build up. So for example, if you don't go for a walk, start going for a 20-minute walk and then maybe gradually increase that over a period of time.
2. Start to include protein in every single meal that you're having, breakfast, lunch and dinner. If you're having three different meals, there are lots of different things that you can have.
3. If you have a 'bad' day, don't let that throw you off. Just pick yourself up the next day and continue with whatever new habits you’re establishing.

You can follow Manisha on Instagram @manisha_your_nutritionist

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This week on the podcast, Dr Louise is joined by Osama Naji, a Consultant Gynaecologist who is an expert in advanced gynaecological scanning at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.

In this episode Osama shares his vast knowledge on fibroids – common, benign growths that usually develop during a woman’s reproductive years when oestrogen levels are at their highest. He explains the impact menopause can have on fibroids, treatment options and the possibility of HRT.

Finally, Osama advises on things to consider if you’ve recently been diagnosed with fibroids:

1. Find out all the facts about your fibroid - number, location and size – as knowledge is power. You can usually get this from an ultrasound scan. Use that knowledge to get professional guidance about managing your fibroids.
2. HRT is safe. The benefits of it usually outweigh the risks. The only thing to consider is if the fibroid is causing problems before starting HRT but even in this scenario, HRT may worth trying.
3. If you experience rapid growth in the fibroids or accelerated symptoms seek help to determine the right treatment.

Find out more about Osama here and read his feature on balance on fibroids and the menopause here.

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