Two weeks ago, a PT friend sent me a link to a charity walk and I’m the sort of person who says “sign me up” before reading the small print, and all I really saw was the distance… 32 km.

I’ve run 2 x marathons so how hard could it be? What I didn’t quite take in was that the route hugged the coastline the whole way, 95% cliff path and 5% road, and the walk started at 9pm.

There was a clue in the name ‘Race The Sun’.. from sunset to sunrise was the plan.

I said yes, 110 percent! and I went all in because I love a challenge and was excited to support a wonderful local charity, Les Amis.

My life is really busy right now so in my mind an overnight walk that didn’t eat into a single hour of my time with my boys was a massive part of the appeal. My son slept at granny and grandad’s and I didn’t inconvenience anyone.

So on Friday night we rocked up with all the gear and very little preparation, to meet a gorgeous bunch of people taking on the same slightly mad idea. The forecast was awful. The countdown happened at about quarter past nine, in the rain, and off we went, filing out into the dark like a bunch of school kids on a gentle sponsored walk.

Follow the leader novelty wore off after ten minutes and my competitive streak appeared. If we were doing this, I decided, we may as well get there as quickly as possible, so off we went overtaking all the seemingly happy campers to catch up to lead pacer Charlie who moved like some kind of AI trail-running robot.

By this point, probably 1am, we were ‘walk / running’ in torrential rain, F9 wind and with bugs that were throwing themselves at our head torches. A few rolled ankles later we decided we simply couldn’t keep up with Charlie to make it to the end in one piece so we started to relax into it and have a bloody good time, munching on whatever sugar was thrown our way by the gorgeous volunteers at the checkpoints. We crossed the finish line at 3.15am, six hours and one minute after we started, proudly held up the sign and were absolutely thrilled.

But then the real challenge began. Not the cliff paths. Not the rain. The next forty-eight hours of feeling ravenous.

I got home around half four, had a bath, and slipped into bed at five, only to be back up at six. My son had a full day of sport, starting at 8.30am, and there was never any question about whether I’d be there or not. So off I went again.

That’s when I noticed the hunger. I wasn’t just slightly peckish. I was absolutely ravenous. The kind of hunger that makes a doughnut (or two) sound like a perfectly sensible breakfast and the kind of hunger that is happily eating the icing off the homemade cake at the school cricket tea when no-one is watching … yup that was me!

And the most annoying thing is I’m one week into a simple June goal to lose a stubborn ten pounds. I had been good all week, scales down by 2 maybe even 3 lbs but over the weekend, I ate the doughnuts because my body was running on empty, and I just couldn’t stop myself!

I see this in the women I work with all the time, and there’s real science behind it that I think every woman deserves to know, because it takes the blame off the table.

When we’re short on sleep, two of the signals that manage appetite fall out of step. Ghrelin, the hormone that tells you you’re hungry, rises. Leptin, the one that tells you you’ve had enough, drops. On top of that, a tired brain leans harder towards reward. In studies, the regions that respond to high-sugar, high-fat food become more active when we’re sleep-deprived, while the part that helps us pause and weigh things up goes quieter. Hungrier, and less able to talk yourself out of it. It’s a horrible combination, and it’s biology, not character.

One tired weekend is not the problem. I weighed myself this morning out of curiosity, and I’m a pound down despite all of it, because a single weekend doesn’t define anything. The problem is when we see one hungry, exhausted weekend as proof we’ve failed and let a single wobble turn into writing off the whole month. That is what actually derails people. Not the doughnut. The story we tell ourselves about the doughnut.

This is exactly why it has to be a long game. You can’t out-discipline a body that’s running on empty, and honestly you wouldn’t want to. The work was never about white-knuckling through on an hour’s sleep. It’s about building the conditions, week after week, that make the good choices feel easier rather than heroic.

Three days on, I’m honestly still hungry like the Incredible Hulk. The difference now is that I’m eating salmon, sweet potato, greek yogurt, nuts, fresh fruit and veg. I’m making sure I now get steady energy rather than a sugar spike and crash that will force me back in the cupboard an hour later. I’m not eating less. I’m eating better, and letting my appetite do its thing without sabotaging myself in the process.

So if you’ve had a broken night, a hard week, or a long stretch of poor sleep, here’s how I’d get back on track:

• Protect tonight’s sleep the way you’d protect a meeting you couldn’t cancel. It’s the single most useful thing you can do for tomorrow’s appetite.

• Start the day with protein rather than sugar. It steadies hunger and gives a tired brain something far better to run on.

• Don’t try to make up for it by skipping meals. Under-eating after a bad night almost always backfires by mid-afternoon.

• Get outside early. Daylight and a little movement reset a groggy system faster than another coffee will.

• Draw a line and move on. One day, one weekend, one wobble. It matters far less than the next ten days do.

You’re very probably not short on willpower. You might just be short on sleep. That’s a far kinder place to start, and a far more useful one.

Love Nicola x

This isn’t theory I’ve read and wanted to pass on. It’s a habit that’s developed for me and something I see work for the women I coach again and again.

For many stressed out, active women over 40, a protein-rich breakfast within 90 minutes of waking can be one of the simplest ways to send the body an early safety signal and break the stress–craving–energy crash cycle.

Let me explain, and be clear that the science here is more nuanced than the old “most important meal of the day” line suggests. Breakfast isn’t automatically essential for everyone. But for many midlife women who are active, stressed, sleep-deprived or navigating hormonal change, it can play a real role in energy, appetite, muscle and blood sugar.

Why breakfast can matter more after 40

After 40, many of us become more sensitive to stress, broken sleep, blood sugar swings, under-fuelling and muscle loss. This doesn’t mean your body is broken. It means it often needs more consistent support than it used to.

A lot shifts in this window. Through the perimenopausal and menopausal years, it becomes easier to lose muscle, easier to gain weight around the middle, and harder to keep blood sugar steady after meals. In other words, the same morning that used to feel fine can start to feel harder and that is physiology, not failure.

Overnight, your body keeps using glucose, for your brain, your breathing, tissue repair, so by morning your stored carbohydrate is partly depleted. Cortisol then rises to help you wake up, which is normal and healthy. But picture the common version of a busy woman’s morning: wake, coffee, straight into the day, maybe a workout, work, children, emails… and food gets pushed back for hours.

For a calm, well-rested woman with stable energy, that may be completely fine. For a wired, tired, under-fuelled woman over 40, it can be the start of a pattern:

No breakfast → more coffee → blood sugar dips → energy drops → cravings rise → the 3pm crash hits → evening hunger becomes harder to manage.

If you’re already highly stressed, sleeping poorly, training hard or under-eating, extending the morning fast can sometimes amplify those stress signals rather than calm them.

The blood sugar and craving connection

Your brain uses around 20% of your body’s resting energy despite being about 2% of your body weight, and it prefers a steady supply of glucose. When blood sugar drops too low, cortisol and adrenaline rise to compensate, concentration suffers and cravings build later in the day. Many women feel “fine” skipping breakfast then find themselves raiding the biscuit tin at 3pm, overeating in the evening, or relying on caffeine to stay sharp. That’s usually physiology, not a willpower failure.

A balanced breakfast of protein, fibre and healthy fat also helps flatten glucose spikes for the rest of the day. Researchers call this the “second meal effect”: your first meal shapes how your body handles the ones that follow.

The coffee-first habit is worth a mention too. Researchers at the University of Bath, writing in the British Journal of Nutrition, found that after a poor night’s sleep, a strong black coffee before breakfast raised the blood glucose response to that breakfast by around 50%. A small but telling reminder that what and when we put in first thing genuinely shapes how the day feels.

None of this means skipping breakfast automatically causes weight gain. It means that for some women, it makes the rest of the day harder to regulate. This isn’t about discipline or willpower. It’s about physiology.

The protein and muscle point

For women over 40, breakfast isn’t only about energy, it’s a brilliant opportunity to support muscle.

One of the biggest shifts in midlife is the gradual loss of muscle mass, known as sarcopenia. Muscle underpins metabolism, strength, posture, glucose regulation, confidence and long-term health, and how we spread protein across the day matters: dosing it fairly evenly appears better for muscle than loading most of it at dinner.

There’s also a strong case for protein early in the day specifically. A 2025 study from Newcastle University looked at how a protein-rich breakfast affects the appetite hormones peptide YY and GLP-1, and how much people ate afterwards, in both younger and older adults. The takeaway is reassuringly simple: getting good protein in at breakfast helps steady appetite and fullness through the morning, which is exactly what so many busy women are missing.

Guidance suggests roughly 20–40g of protein per meal, every 3–4 hours. The British Heart Foundation makes a similar point closer to home: most adults need around 0.75g per kilo of body weight, climbing higher to protect against age-related muscle loss and for those who train, with a simple rule of thumb that the protein at each meal should be about the size of your palm.

A breakfast with 25–35g of protein can support repair, recovery, strength and a healthier body composition. So when breakfast gets skipped and the protein all lands at lunch and dinner, we miss an easy daily anchor.

Breakfast isn’t about eating more for the sake of it. It’s about fuelling the woman you’re asking your body to be: focused, strong, calm, clear-headed, present and confident.

When breakfast within 90 minutes helps, and when it doesn’t

Eating within 60–90 minutes of waking may be especially helpful if you wake tired but wired, reach for coffee before food, crash at 3pm, crave sugar later, feel anxious or shaky in the morning, train early, sleep poorly, are under high stress, struggle to hit your protein target, or feel out of control around food as the day goes on.

But it isn’t a rule. It may not be the right move if you genuinely feel better eating later, have stable energy and no cravings, wake very early and prefer to wait, get nausea or reflux first thing, ate a late heavy dinner, use time-restricted eating well, have a medical or medication consideration, or have a history of disordered eating where rigid rules could be unhelpful.

So the better question isn’t “do I eat breakfast?” It’s “how do I feel, perform and eat later in the day when I skip it?” If your energy is steady, your cravings quiet and your evenings calm, a later breakfast may suit you perfectly. If you’re wired, crashing and gaining stubborn stress weight, delaying food for hours may not be helping.

What a good breakfast actually looks like

Not cereal and coffee on the fly. Not a tiny piece of toast. Not just fruit. The structure I come back to is simple:

Protein + fibre + healthy fat + colour.

And because I’m asked constantly, here are the breakfasts I have on repeat, the ones that keep my energy steady, my cravings quiet and my mind clear:

• My go-to: Greek yoghurt with protein powder, berries, almonds and a spoon of ground flaxseed. Protein, fibre and healthy fat with almost no effort, this is the one I reach for most days.

• My favourite: eggs scrambled or poached, with avocado, spinach and a few cherry tomatoes. This is also what I would order at a breakfast meeting.

• Prep-ahead and savoury: a frittata made with whatever good leftovers I’ve got, roasted veg, greens, feta, smoked salmon. I make it once, slice it and grab a piece cold through the week so the morning decision is already made.

None of these are complicated, and that’s the point. The breakfast that works is the one you’ll actually have, most days, without thinking too hard about it.

You don’t need to force breakfast if your body feels calm and stable. But if you’re wired, tired, craving, crashing or gaining stress weight, delaying food for hours may not be helping. A protein-rich breakfast within 90 minutes of waking can be one of the simplest ways to steady your blood sugar, calm your stress response, protect muscle and support steady energy.

You don’t need another diet. You might just need a better breakfast.

Calm your body first. Then build from there.

If this resonated, I’d love to hear how your mornings start and whether breakfast is something you’ve been quietly battling with. Hit reply and tell me.

Love Nicola x

A note: I'm a health coach, and everything here is shared from my own lived experience and for general information and inspiration, not as medical or nutritional advice. We're all different, and what works beautifully for one woman may not suit another, especially if you're managing a health condition, are pregnant, take regular medication, or have a history of disordered eating. Please always check with your GP before making changes to your diet or routine.

My household looks a little tired today but in the best possible way. Sun-kissed and happy in the knowledge that we embraced the gorgeous bank holiday weather, ate outside, swam and moved.

I threw myself into my parents’ pool with my boys. Not 100% because I wanted to, if I am honest, but because I knew they were getting me in regardless. Push, throw, drag me in and I reminded myself these days are precious and I do not want my children to look back and say my mum ‘sat on the side and just watched’.

In a rare but cherished moment, looking back at old photos (like the one below), I found myself thinking about my why? Why am I so passionate about health and wellness? Why do I love working with women in this chapter of life? And about how getting older has made me want more. More energy. More strength. More adventure. More life. More moments of joy.

I am more ambitious now than I have ever been. More focused, excited and clear about what I am working towards and why.

I have also noticed that the women who actually get there have a few things in common. They have a really clear why, they understand that the journey is a marathon not a sprint and they learned to genuinely love the process.

They are not the ones with the most willpower. They are not the ones who white knuckle their way through restriction and punishment and starting over every time life gets busy. They are not the ones who give up when life gets super tough, because it will. They are the ones who found a way to genuinely enjoy building habits that work for them. Who moved their bodies in ways that felt good. Who ate food that nourished them. Who showed up consistently not because they were forcing themselves to but because they had found an approach that fits their life.

If you do not enjoy the process you will never reach the goal because no one sustains something they dread indefinitely.

So what does enjoying the process actually look like?

It starts with slowing down. Not giving up or lowering your standards but actually slowing down enough to hear what your body is telling you and decide what it is you want - not what you see other people doing. Most women I work with arrive running on empty, nervous systems overwhelmed, cortisol elevated, sleep disrupted and wondering why nothing is working despite doing everything right. The first step is always to calm the system down. When your nervous system is in survival mode your body simply cannot prioritise the changes you are asking it to make. Calm comes first. Everything else follows.

From there it is about anchoring your energy. Stabilising your blood sugar so you are not reaching for sugar at 3pm or lying awake at 2am with a racing mind. When your energy is anchored your mood stabilises, your cravings quieten and the good choices stop feeling like a constant battle.

Then comes movement that makes you feel alive. That builds strength, supports your hormones and sends the signal to your body that it is safe, capable and thriving. Movement you genuinely look forward to is not a luxury. It is the difference between a habit that holds and one that falls apart the moment life gets busy.

And finally, maintaining it all with ease. Small habits repeated over time that become so woven into your life you stop thinking of them as habits at all.

I lost 10 pounds earlier this year. Not by doing more or eating less. By calming my nervous system, anchoring my blood sugar, leaning into movement I genuinely love and building habits that I actually want to repeat every single day. I did not dread it. I looked forward to it. And that is exactly why it worked.

You are not too old, you are not too late and you are not too far gone. You are exactly where you are supposed to be and if there is something you want to build, some version of yourself you have been quietly working towards, that desire is completely valid at 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80 years old.

The only question worth asking is whether the path you are on is one you can actually enjoy. Because if it is not, it is not the right path.

If you want support finding the right path, The 1:1 CALM Method is twelve weeks of building an approach to your health that you genuinely want to show up for every single day. Not because you have to. Because it feels good, it fits your life and it is actually working.

Five spots open next month. Reply and tell me where you are right now. I would love to have that conversation.

Let's chat

And if this resonated, send it to a woman you know who needs to read it today.

With love

Nicola x

I am a Certified Health Coach sharing what I have learned and what works for me on my personal health journey. If you are looking for specific medical advice consult your GP.

There is something about eating outside in the warm sunshine that makes food taste completely different. More generous. More joyful. More connected to the season. And it is a reminder that food is so much more than fuel. The way it is grown, prepared and shared has the power to calm your nervous system, restore your energy and genuinely nourish you from the inside out.

Today I am thinking about our September escape to Heckfield Place and one of the things I am most excited about is the food and the role it plays in calming our nervous system. The menu has not been designed by accident. Every dish, every ingredient and every meal has been thoughtfully created to do so much more than simply taste incredible.

Skye Gyngell

If you love food, you will know this name. Skye Gyngell was one of the most influential chefs of her generation. Australian born, trained in France, she went on to win a Michelin star at Petersham Nurseries Café in London before becoming food editor at Vogue and then Culinary Director at Heckfield Place from 2018. She sadly passed away in November 2025 and the food world lost someone truly irreplaceable.

Her philosophy was deceptively simple. That the best tasting food is locally and responsibly grown. That the simplest preparation allows the true beauty of an ingredient to be revealed. That what is good for the soil is good for us all.

That philosophy is woven into every single meal served at Heckfield Place and it is one of the things that makes eating there feel so genuinely different to anywhere else.

Carrying Skye’s vision forward is Eleanor Henson, now Culinary Director at Heckfield Place. Trained at Ballymaloe Cookery School, Eleanor spent nearly nine years working under Skye before being appointed to this role in 2025 and her commitment to sustainable, seasonal, land connected cooking is as deep and genuine as the woman she succeeded.

What you will eat at Heckfield Place

The food at Heckfield Place is quite exceptional. Grown on the estate’s biodynamic Home Farm and brought straight to your plate, it is seasonal, purposeful and prepared with extraordinary care.

At Hearth, set within the beautifully restored Old Stables, the cooking is centred on an open fire. Simple, heartfelt and entirely shaped by what is growing on the estate that day. The menu follows the land rather than the other way around. Classic cooking methods, exceptional produce, nothing unnecessary. The kind of food that reminds you what eating is actually for.

At Marle, which holds a Michelin Green Star for its sustainable practices, the approach is more refined but the philosophy is identical. From the interiors of marble, slate and wood to the views across the woodland and lakes, the restaurant is connected to the surrounding landscape in every single way. The food is pared back, precise and quietly extraordinary.

This is the food you will eat when you join me at Heckfield Place in September. Two nights and three days to fully nourish yourself, restore your energy and come back to yourself. Grown on the estate, shaped by the season, prepared with genuine care and eaten together around a table with seven other brilliant women.

I cannot wait.

A reminder about September

Four of the eight spaces are now taken and the early bird price of £1,575 closes on 31st May. That is one week from today. If this has been on your mind, reply and say Heckfield details please and I will send you everything you need.

Wishing you the most beautiful bank holiday weekend. Get outside, eat well and enjoy every single second of it.

With love

Nicola x

Book My Spot

I am a Certified Health Coach sharing what works for me. If you have any specific medical concerns please consult your GP.

Have you seen the forecast?

Friday 26 degrees. Saturday 28. Sunday 30. Bank Holiday Monday 31…. say what!?

Just like that, Britain has decided it’s summer. The raincoats are off (we needed them on Wednesday), the barbecues are out and everyone is heading to the beach. And if your first thought was not excitement but something closer to panic, I want you to know you are not alone so let’s talk about it.

The jump from winter to summer in what felt like 12 hours is genuinely one of the most destabilising moments of the year for so many women. One day you are in your jeans and your jumper and the next someone is suggesting a picnic and suddenly there are legs and arms and the dread of being in a bikini and those thoughts arrive too quickly and all at once. f* sake.. you are thinking!

We start telling ourselves we are too pale. Too soft. Too much. Not enough. I should have started sooner. Why did I not do something about this in January.

Please STOP. Right there.

Now is not the time to beat yourself up.

Do not let these thoughts consume your weekend. Do not let them derail a gorgeous bank holiday with your friends and family. Do not spend four days of sunshine hiding inside your own head when you don’t need to.

You deserve to be in that sunshine. Exactly as you are.

And you are also allowed to want to feel better, slimmer, stronger and more confident. You can still have goals and be working towards them. But those goals do not have to consume or pause your life. Get outside in the sunshine, smile for the camera, be in the moment, whilst you are working on becoming the healthiest version of yourself. Progress and joy are not opposites. They work better together.

And one day you will look back at this bank holiday weekend and you will be so glad you showed up. That you made the memories. That you went to the barbecue. That you were happy in the moment rather than somewhere else in your head. Those are the times that matter and the ones you will cherish.

By showing up fully you are not giving up on your goals. You are owning it! You are choosing to be present, happy and the woman you deserve to be.

Perhaps this weekend is also the moment you make a decision to do things differently. To remember you are building a body and mindset for the rest of your life, one awesome step at a time.

That is exactly what The CALM Method teaches you. 12 weeks of 1:1 coaching, completely personalised to you, your life stage and your goals. Small habits built consistently until they hold you through everything. Even bank holidays.

"I was always starting and stopping. Full of good intentions that would unravel the moment life got busy, literally every week. Nicola taught me that showing up for myself every day, even imperfectly, is what actually creates change and that not all ‘food’ is on your plate. I am now not in a hurry but I’m seeing results so much faster. I have finally found what works for me and I’m 11lbs down." Eliza, 47

Three spots open for the rest of this month. Let’s work on your goals together. Get in touch and we’ll chat. This is your time.

Book a call to chat

And remember this weekend

Get outside. Feel the sun. Wear the thing / the thong or whatever the hell it is you want to wear. Devour the flake with your Mr Whippy. Be in the photos. Your body has carried you through another winter and it deserves a bank holiday too.

Proud of you,

Nicola x

I am a Certified Health Coach sharing what works for me. Please consult your GP with any specific medical concerns.

I just got back from three days in Cornwall with four of my oldest friends. We walked miles every day, ate the most nourishing wholesome food (thanks Charlotte), laughed until it hurt, watched movies and came home with our hearts completely bursting full.

And I came back ready. Ready for my boys, for my work and for everything ahead. Not the slightly depleted, stretched version of myself that I have become so used to. I felt lighter, clearer and more like myself than I had in months.

As a health coach I want to explain exactly why that happened. Because it was not an accident.

What happens to your nervous system when you genuinely stop

Most of us never fully stop. We take holidays that are really just our normal lives in a different location. We rest in the evenings but carry the mental load of everything that needs doing tomorrow. We sleep but not deeply enough because the nervous system never quite gets the signal that it is safe to fully let go.

When the nervous system is under sustained pressure, which for most women over 40 it is almost constantly, it operates in a state of low level alert. Cortisol stays elevated. The body prioritises survival over restoration. Sleep is lighter. Digestion is less efficient. Mood is more reactive. Weight is harder to shift. Energy is borrowed rather than genuinely replenished.

Research consistently shows that it takes most adults between 24 and 48 hours to genuinely downregulate from a sustained period of high stress. The first day you are still processing. It is the second day where the real restoration begins. Which means two nights and three days away is not a luxury. For a nervous system that has been running on high alert, it is the minimum effective dose.

What I noticed

By the end of day one I felt my shoulders sitting differently. By day two something had shifted more fundamentally. The mental noise stopped and I was present in a way I rarely am at home. I slept deeply. I moved my body every day without once thinking of it as exercise. We ate together, talked properly, deeply and passionately and we belly laughed for the fist time in ages.

So I came home feeling different. Not just rested but different and clearer about what matters (my boys), calmer in my body and genuinely excited about everything ahead.

This is what two to three days of intentional rest does when the conditions are right. When the movement is gentle and joyful, when the food is nourishing and the environment is beautiful, when you are in good company and nothing is required of you beyond simply being present.

Why we are going to Heckfield Place

Heckfield Place describes itself simply and beautifully as a Hampshire estate designed to down-regulate your nervous system. And having spent time there myself I can tell you that is exactly what it does.

Oyogo London recently described it as an estate that works on your nervous system not in a treatment room but across the entire landscape. Woodland movement, farm fit, forest bathing and cold water immersion woven into the rhythm of the day, each drawing on the environment to shift the body from activation to restoration. They describe how moving through a working biodynamic landscape, harvests, animals, soil, seasons, provides the kind of stimulation the body instinctively recognises. Slow, sensory, purposeful. The kind that signals safety rather than stress.

This is exactly why I chose it for our September escape.

Why I created this

On 16th to 18th September I am bringing together eight women at Heckfield Place for two nights and three days at one of the most extraordinarily beautiful estates in England. Ancient woodland, a lower lake, a biodynamic farm that supplies both restaurants with what is growing on the estate that week, a 17,000 square foot digital free wellness space designed by Wildsmith Skin.

The programme is built entirely around creating the conditions for your nervous system to genuinely downregulate. Guided woodland movement that calms rather than stimulates. Cold water immersion at the lower lake, fully supported and entirely optional. Breathwork and recovery at the The Bothy. Nourishing dinners at Hearth and Marle. Welcome pack full of incredible goodies. And 1:1 time with me woven throughout both days if you want it.

No rushing. No over scheduling. Enough structure to feel held and enough space to truly exhale.

The science of why this works

When the nervous system is given what it needs to genuinely shift out of sympathetic dominance and into the parasympathetic state, the effects are measurable. Sleep architecture improves. Cortisol sensitivity settles. Inflammation markers reduce. The body stops holding on. Women consistently describe coming back from experiences like this feeling not just relaxed but genuinely different. Lighter, clearer and more connected to themselves than they have felt in a long time.

September is the perfect moment for this. Summer is winding down, the children are back to school and life is about to get busy again. It is the hinge point between two chapters. Take the breath deliberately, in the right environment, with the right support and you go into the autumn feeling resourced rather than depleted.

The details

Eight women. Two nights, three days from 16th to 18th September 2026. Early bird £1,575 until 31st May, three monthly instalments of £525 available. From 1st June the price rises to £1,695.

Full details at nicolaeastwoodhealth.com/escape

If this is calling to you, just reply and say Heckfield and I will send you everything you need. And if you have been thinking about it and have not quite said yes yet, I want you to know that the feeling I came home from Cornwall with is exactly what I am trying to give you in September.

It is worth it. I promise you that.

With love

Nicola x

I am a Certified Health Coach sharing what works for me. Please consult your GP for any medical questions or concerns.

If you have ever been really good for a few weeks, stuck to the plan, eaten less, said no to things you wanted, felt genuinely proud of yourself and then one day just completely unravelled and eaten everything in sight, I want you to understand something important.

That was not weakness. That was biology.

And until you understand the mechanism behind it, you will keep blaming yourself for something your body was always going to do.

What restriction actually does to your body

Your body responds to prolonged energy restriction as a potential threat to survival, regardless of whether the restriction is intentional. It does not know you have a full fridge and a gym membership. It only knows that energy is coming in below what it needs and it responds the way it has been responding to that signal for hundreds of thousands of years.

The body adapts by reducing energy expenditure and becoming more efficient with fuel. It increases hunger hormones, particularly ghrelin, to drive you towards food. It decreases leptin, the hormone that tells you that you are full and satisfied. And it begins to prioritise fat storage over fat burning because fat is the body’s emergency fuel reserve.

The longer the restriction continues, the stronger these signals become. Your body is not punishing you. It is protecting you. But from the outside it feels exactly like sabotage.

This hits harder after 40 and we feel it more because as oestrogen declines through perimenopause and beyond, many women become more sensitive to stress and cortisol fluctuations. Chronic restriction and under-fuelling can increase stress on the body and contribute to elevated cortisol, particularly when combined with poor sleep, high stress or excessive exercise.

Chronically elevated cortisol is associated with increased abdominal fat storage and stronger cravings for quick energy foods. This is why the cravings that come with restriction are almost always for sugar and refined carbohydrates (giant choc buttons are my ‘go-to’ and the whole pack). Your body is not being difficult. It is being extraordinarily logical given the information it has.

This is also why the woman who has been dieting for years often finds it harder to lose weight than she did at 30, not easier. Each cycle of restriction and rebound teaches the body to hold on tighter next time. The metabolism adapts. The set point shifts. The body becomes more efficient at doing exactly what you have been trying to prevent.

The rebound is not failure. It is a correction.

When the restriction finally breaks, which it always does because it is biologically unsustainable, the body does not gently return to where it was. It overshoots. Hunger hormones are elevated. Cravings are intense. The part of the brain that regulates impulse control is depleted after weeks of restriction. You eat more than you intended, feel guilty, restrict again and the cycle continues.

This is a predictable physiological response to an approach that works against your biology rather than with it.

What actually works instead

When stress signals reduce, sleep improves, blood sugar stabilises and nourishment becomes consistent, the body is often far more responsive to sustainable fat loss. The constant stress driven drive to conserve energy begins to ease. Hunger hormones normalise. Cravings reduce without effort. And the body begins to release what it no longer needs to hold onto.

The body needs to feel safe before it will let go. That is not just a metaphor. It is the physiological reality behind everything I teach in The CALM Method. Not restriction. Not willpower. Not starting over every Monday. Calming the system that has been in survival mode, often for years, and giving the body the conditions it needs to finally respond.

If this resonates

If you have been in the restriction rebound cycle and wondered why you can never seem to make it stick, the answer is not that you lack discipline. The answer is that you have been working against a system that is far more powerful than willpower.

Understanding that is the first step. Working with it is the second.

If you want support doing that, the 1:1 CALM Method is where we build this together, completely personalised to your body, your hormones and your life. Just reply and tell me where you are right now. I would love to connect and chat.

With love

Nicola x

Note: I am a Certified Health Coach sharing my own lived experience. If you have any specific medical concerns or symptoms please seek the advice of your GP.

Good morning and a very happy Sunday. I’ve just got back from time spent in Cornwall with four of my dearest friends. No gym, no tracking, no guilt and I came home feeling so nourished and happy. As a health coach this is one of the most important things I can share and I think a lot of women need to hear it too - that slowing down is good for us.

We walked miles along the most extraordinary coastline without once thinking of it as exercise. It just felt like movement (in the wind). We enjoyed delicious seasonal food cooked by our generous host, visited sculpture gardens, watched movies by the fire and ate tapas as the sun went down.

No gym. No tracking. No guilt whatsoever.

Why this matters for you

If you have ever come back from a few days away feeling guilty about what you ate or what you missed at the gym, I want to gently offer you a different way of looking at it.

The longest living communities in the world, the Blue Zones that researchers have studied for decades, are not built around rigid food rules or punishing exercise. They are the ones who move naturally through their days, eat real food at a real table with real people, laugh often and feel a deep sense of belonging. Connection is not a nice extra. It is a biological need. Laughter helps calm the nervous system and lower stress levels. Walking in fresh air with people who fill your cup does more for your body than almost any structured workout.

And what I have learned from working with women over 40 is that the ones who make the most sustainable progress are not the ones who are the most restrictive or the most disciplined. They are the ones who have built habits strong enough to hold them through real life. Through the birthday dinners and the holidays and the weekends away and the days when life just needs to be lived fully. The habits that hold you even when you are not thinking about them.

A dish we loved on repeat last week was a simple Easy Granola for breakfast from the Falastin cookbook by Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley topped with juicy local Cornish strawberries.

Strawberries are peaking right now across the UK. Rich in vitamin C, high in antioxidants and naturally anti inflammatory. Buy them locally if you can and eat them as simply as possible. With good granola, a dollop of Greek yoghurt or just as they are straight from the punnet.

Below are a few more recommendations from the trip. Food I loved, places I cannot wait to go back to and films we got completely lost in:

Porthmeor Beach Café, St Ives 🍓

Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, near Penzance 🏛️

Falastin by Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley 📚

The Idea of You 🎬

The Roses 🎬

Back to Basics

This morning I woke up ready for routine. A little tired if I am honest but happy in a way that a few days with your favourite people in a beautiful place gives you.

Back to the small healthy habits repeated over time. That is where the magic lives and the results happen.

Ready to work with me?

I have five spots open in my 1:1 CALM Method this month. Twelve weeks of personal coaching, completely individual to your life, your habits and your goals. And if the idea of doing some of this work in person appeals, I have created a small group escape to Heckfield Place this September for eight women to slow down, restore and come back to themselves before the autumn begins. Just reply and tell me where you are or book a call and we’ll chat all options through together.

You do not have to choose between living your life and looking after your body. The two are not in opposition. They work together.

Wishing you a really lovely Sunday. Find some local strawberries and enjoy every single one.

With love

Nicola x

I am a Certified Health Coach sharing what works for me. Always consult your GP for specific medical guidance.

The first one

In 2017 I was working full time in PR and studying to become a health coach alongside it. I had started the course for myself, for my own health and for my family, because I genuinely love learning about how the body works and what it needs to thrive. I was not planning to make it my career. It was just something that lit me up and so I continued studying and putting my learnings into practice for my family but then life kind of unraveled a bit; a divorce, burnout, some unexpected life events.

I continued with PR full time but slowly, through 2022 and into 2023, I started to feel a pull to help others. Friends and family were asking for coaching and getting really great results and I was more excited about this work than anything I had done before. And I could feel the niggle forming that I was not quite ready to ask out loud.

What if I went all in?

Fear came every direction at once. Financial fear. What would people think? Am I qualified enough? Am I experienced enough? Is this the right time? Is there ever a right time? I was a single mum of three boys with a mortgage on my own, a business to run and the sensible thing, the safe thing, was to keep the PR hours going and treat the coaching as a side project just for me and my boys and anyway I was too late to the party wasn’t I!

But I knew underneath all that the work I was doing as a health coach was the most meaningful thing I had ever done. I knew that the women I was working with were getting results that genuinely changed their lives. And I knew that if I stayed playing small, staying safe, staying in the version of my career that felt familiar and comfortable, I would spend the rest of my life wondering what might have happened if I had just said yes.

So I went all in. Through 2023, 2024 and into 2025 I made the leap. And it has been the best decision I have ever made for my life, my work and my sense of who I actually am.

The second thing

Last October I think I gave up alcohol. But before you picture someone with a serious problem, let me be clear. I was not drinking much at all. Maybe two glasses a month (if that) at a social occasion. Nothing dramatic by anyone’s standards.

But those two or three glasses a month were having an effect I had not fully joined the dots on. The morning after even one glass I would notice it in my cravings, my mood, my sleep and my irritability. The sugar spike, the disrupted sleep architecture, the low level inflammation. For a body that I was working hard to support and nourish, even that small amount was creating a drag I could feel but had not quite understood.

So I stopped in October, after a few too many on a celebratory night away. And the difference has been incredible. Clearer head, better sleep, fewer cravings, more stable mood and an energy in the mornings that I had forgotten was possible. It was a small decision that turned out to have a very big impact.

Why I am sharing this?

Both of those decisions scared me. Both of them had a voice that said not yet, not now, maybe later, are you sure? And in both cases the thing I almost didn’t do turned out to be exactly the thing I needed.

I share all of this because I know that some of the women reading this are sitting with something they have not quite said yes to yet. Whether that is investing in their health properly for the first time, carving out time that is genuinely their own or doing something that feels a little scary because it means putting themselves first for once.

The hesitation is completely normal. The voice that says is this really for me, can I justify it, is the timing right, that voice is so familiar. I have heard it myself more times than I can count.

But the things we almost do not do are often the ones that matter most.

Whatever that thing is for you right now, whether it is working with me in the 12 Week 1:1 CALM Method, joining the CALM 6 Week Summer Sprint in June or escaping to Heckfield Place this September, if it has been on your mind that is not nothing. That is worth paying attention to.

Just reply and tell me what you are thinking. I would love to have that conversation.

With love

Nicola x

I am a Certified Health Coach sharing what works for me. Always consult a GP for specific medical advice.

At 30, your body could absorb a lot:

• More cardio

• Fewer calories

• Less sleep

• A glass of wine four nights a week.

It shrugged it all off and shed weight anyway which was fab but that body has gone I’m afraid to inform you.

The one you’re in now is so much smarter and because of that it’s slower to forgive, louder when it’s tired. It’s not punishing you, it’s protecting you.

Three things have quietly shifted by 45.

1. Your hormones have shifted. You're making less estrogen and less progesterone, and your cortisol is sitting higher than it used to. That changes how your body responds to food, sleep, and stress.

2. Your muscle is leaving without you even realising. From around 35, you lose 3 to 5% of your muscle a decade unless you fight for it. Less muscle means a slower metabolism. The same dinner that was fine at 30 sits differently at 45.

3. Your stress load is heavier. Career. Kids. Parents. Marriage. Money. Your nervous system is carrying twice what it did fifteen years ago. And your body holds onto weight when it doesn’t feel safe.

So when you go back to the 1,200-calorie plan and the 6am HIIT class, your body doesn’t read “discipline.” It reads “danger.” And it holds on tighter.

This is where most women get stuck. They push harder, cut more and blame themselves.

You don’t need to push harder. You need to do this in a different order.

That’s what The CALM Method is built on. Calm the nervous system first. Anchor your blood sugar. Lean into movement that rebuilds you. Maintain it.

Same body but approaching weight loss in a different order and for the first time in a long time, it will respond again.

One of my clients recently dropped 11lbs in 9 weeks and she didn’t add a single workout but she removed the things that were no longer serving her.

You’re probably halfway up a hill that was built for a thirty-year-old. Get the order right and your body comes back online.

Here’s my free 5-Day CALM Reset below. It’s the exact starting point I use with every client. No new diet. No 6am class. Just proof that your body still wants to respond.

Get the Reset

With love,

Nicola x

I am a Certified Health Coach sharing what works for me. Always consult your GP for specific medical advice.

I'm in!

What makes Heckfield different

If you don’t know it, Heckfield Place is a stunning Georgian country house set within 438 acres of Hampshire countryside. But describing it that way does not really do it justice. It is a working biodynamic farm. It is ancient woodland and a lower lake and a kitchen garden that supplies both restaurants with what is growing on the estate that week. It is a 17,000 square foot wellness space THE BOTHY by WILDSMITH. It is a place that feels genuinely alive rather than simply beautiful.

The food at Heckfield is extraordinary. Marle, which holds a Michelin Green Star for its sustainable practices, serves an elegantly refined menu built almost entirely on ingredients from the estate itself. Hearth, set within the beautifully restored Old Stables, is more relaxed, centred on open fire cooking and sharing plates that taste like the seasons. Both are unlike anywhere I have eaten before.

The service is the kind that notices things before you have to ask. The rooms are quietly and understately luxurious without a single unnecessary element. And the grounds, the woodland walks, the lake, the kitchen garden, the wishing tree tucked into the arboretum, are the kind of place that makes you want to stay outside until the last possible moment.

But do not just take my word for it

Heckfield Place has been recognised by some of the most respected names in travel and hospitality.

Condé Nast Traveller named it one of the Best Hotels in the UK in their Reader’s Choice Awards in 2024. The Times included it in their Top 100 Places to Stay in the UK in 2025. Marle received a Michelin Green Star in February 2025. And THE BOTHY by WILDSMITH was named in Vogue’s Top 100 Spas in the World and Top 10 Spas in Europe in 2025.

Mr and Mrs Smith described the stay as deeply relaxing, celestially serene and the perfect weekend getaway in the English countryside, with service that is meticulously attentive, alert, charming and perceptive.

Suitcase Magazine called it one of those very rare, utterly faultless places and said that idyllic simply is not adjective enough.

I could not agree more.

I'm coming. Save my spot

Why September specifically

I chose September deliberately. Summer is winding down, the children are back at school and life is about to get busy again in that particular way that autumn always brings. September is the moment just before the rush. And that makes it the most powerful time of the year to stop properly and fill yourself back up before the next season begins.

A focused three days and two nights of restoration in September does something that a busy summer holiday simply cannot. It is intentional and your time. And you come home ready for everything that follows rather than already depleted by it.

That is why I chose Heckfield Place in the month of September. And that is why I wanted to bring a small group of awesome women with me.

The early bird price of £1,575 closes on 31st May. After that it rises to £1,695. If this has been on your mind, get in touch now.

Just reply and I will send you everything you need or click on the below.

Let's learn all the details

With love

Nicola x

I am a Certified Health Coach sharing what works for me. Always consult a GP for specific medical advice.

May is one of the best months of the year with lots of delicious, nutritious foods in season right now. The days are longer, the light is brighter and summer is almost here, drawing you towards lighter, fresher food. Supermarkets, farm shops and honesty boxes are filling up with the most beautiful produce, not shipped across half the world but grown close to home, picked at the right moment and tasting exactly as it should.

In celebration of Sir David Attenborough turning 100 on Friday and a century of the most extraordinary life devoted to our natural world, there is no better time to think about the small choices we make every day that either support the planet or quietly work against it. Eating seasonally and locally is one of the simplest and most meaningful of those choices. It reduces food miles, supports British growers, protects soil health and connects you to what is actually growing around you right now. It does not have to be complicated or expensive. It just has to be intentional.

Why it matters for your health too

When you buy food that has been grown locally and picked at its peak rather than travelling hundreds of miles to reach you, the nutrient density is at its highest. The vitamins are more intact, the flavour is more vibrant and your body recognises and responds to real food in a way that processed or out of season produce simply cannot replicate.

Seasonal eating also naturally aligns with what your hormones and your gut actually need at different times of the year. In spring and early summer your body is ready for lighter, more energising food. And right now two of the very best ingredients you can put on your plate are at their absolute peak.

Asparagus

May is when British asparagus is at its very best and the season only lasts until the summer solstice in June so this is the moment to make the most of it. It is one of the most nutrient dense vegetables you can eat. High in folate which supports cell repair and energy production, rich in vitamins C, E and K, packed with prebiotic fibre that feeds your gut bacteria and it actively supports liver function which is exactly what your body wants as the seasons shift. It is also anti inflammatory and genuinely delicious.

Snap the woody ends off, drizzle with good olive oil, season well and roast at 200 degrees until the tips are just starting to catch. Simple, perfect and ready in minutes.

Jersey Royals

There is nothing quite like a Jersey Royal. Grown on south facing côtils in soil fertilised with seaweed, they have a distinctive earthy, nutty flavour that you simply cannot replicate anywhere else in the world. Eating them right now, freshly dug and full of flavour, is one of the small joys of the British food calendar.

Gently rub off the soil, boil them until just tender, toss generously with good butter and a handful of fresh mint and serve immediately. That is genuinely all they need.

Together on a plate, with a piece of simply grilled salmon or a soft boiled egg alongside, they are one of the best things you can eat. Nourishing, local, seasonal and completely delicious.

Eating like this at Heckfield Place

The food at Heckfield Place in September is unlike anything most of us eat in our everyday lives, it’s incredible.

At the heart of Heckfield Place is Home Farm, a thriving biodynamic farm that guides everything on the menu every single day. Guided by the biodynamic calendar, the farm provides fresh vegetables, fruits, honey and flowers for the house. The market garden nurtures everything from lettuces, soft fruits, brassicas, squash and herbs to beautiful scented flowers. There are Guernsey cows, saddleback pigs, sheep, hens and beef cattle. It is a completely self sustaining, living, breathing food system and the only biodynamic tree nursery in the UK.

This is the food that ends up on your plate at Hearth, where the open fire kitchen creates simple, heartfelt dishes entirely shaped by what the farm has produced that day. And at Marle, which holds a Michelin Green Star for its sustainable practices, the philosophy is identical. What is good for the soil is good for us all.

Eating at Heckfield is nourishing in the fullest sense of the word. You leave the table feeling well fed, well rested and completely looked after. That feeling, multiplied across two nights and three days with seven other brilliant women, is a very large part of what makes this escape so special.

Four of the eight spaces are now held and the early bird price of £1,575 closes on 31st May. If this has been on your mind, just reply and I will send you everything you need.

Escape to Heckfield Place

Ready for 1:1 support?

I have five spots open in my 1:1 CALM Method this month. Twelve weeks of personal coaching, completely individual to your life, your habits and your goals. Just reply and tell me where you are right now or click the below link to book a call and I’ll tell you exactly how we can work together.

Book a call

Wishing you a really lovely Sunday. Get outside if you can, pick up some Jersey Royals and asparagus and enjoy every single bite.

With love

Nicola x

I am a Certified Health Coach sharing what works for me. Always consult your GP for specific medical advice.

You left home at 8am. Land at Heathrow (Gatwick or Southampton) at 10.20am and by 11.15am you are pulling into Heckfield Place. Just over three hours door to door. Amazing.

The OOF (‘out of office’) is on in every sense. The kids are at school. Work has been moved around, covered or simply paused for two days because you decided, for once, that you were worth that. And now you are here.

And being here in September is especially important. It is not a coincidence that we chose these dates. Summer is winding down, the longer lazy days are behind you and life is about to get horribly busy again in a particularly chaotic way that it does. School stuff, new term, packed diaries, the build up to Christmas has begun in the background. September is quite literally the calm before the storm. And that makes it a perfect time of the year to stop and fill yourself back up before the next silly season begins.

Escaping to Heckfield Place is not a holiday but it is a much needed reset.

Heckfield Place is one of those rare estates that relaxes you the moment you arrive. A totally gorgeous country house set in 438 acres of stunning Hampshire countryside. A working biodynamic farm where the food on your plate was growing in the ground hours and days before. Ancient woodland that you walk through and feel genuinely different coming out the other side. A lower lake where cold water immersion takes your breath away and immediately hands you something back. The BOTHY, a 17,000 square foot digital free wellbeing space designed by Wildsmith Skin, where breathwork reminds you that your body has been holding things you did not even know you were carrying. Hearth, with its open fire kitchen and sharing menus shaped entirely by what the farm is growing that week. And Marle, more refined, more intimate and equally extraordinary.

It feasts every single sense without overwhelming any of them.

And across two nights and three week days, because we deliberately chose week days when the kids are at school, work can be covered and the guilt that so often follows a weekend away simply does not show up in the same way. You get to experience all of it. Unhurried. Unscheduled. With a small group of awesome women who made the same decision as you.

And when you arrive home your shoulders are lower. Head clearer. Energy that feels like yours again rather than something you are desperately searching for. A calm has settled and you feel lighter, brighter and genuinely ready. Ready for autumn, ready for Christmas, ready for whatever the next few months are going to ask of you because you gave yourself exactly what you needed.

Love this!

Our September Wellness Escape to Heckfield Place offers.

• Eight women

• Two nights, three days

• 16th to 18th September 2026

• Breakfast included

• Dinners at Hearth and Marle

• Guided woodland movement

• Cold water immersion at the lower lake

• Breathwork at the BOTHY

• Plenty of unstructured time to do exactly what your body and mind want to do

Early bird is £1,575 until the end of May with the option to pay across three monthly instalments of £525. From 1st June it goes up to £1,695. If you have been thinking about it, now is the time to sign up. Solo or grab a friend who needs it too.

I love this. Tell me more.

With so much love

Nicola x

Sign me up

I am a Certified Health Coach sharing what works for me. This is not medical or nutritional advice. Always consult a qualified professional for personalised guidance.

I am quite particular about what I recommend. If I talk about a product or place, it’s because I love it and genuinely think it will make a difference to how you feel. So here are a few of my current favourites, a special place you need to put in your diary and somewhere I can’t wait to return to.

By Sarah Hero Facial Oil

By Sarah is a gorgeous British skincare brand born from one of the most profound acts of sisterly love. When Lauren was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia, her sister Sarah became her stem cell donor and saved her life. As Lauren recovered, Sarah struggled to find natural yet genuinely effective products to soothe and care for her sister's skin. So she created her own. Every product in the By Sarah range carries that origin story with it. Clean, considered, fragrance free and built around what skin actually needs. It is a certified B Corp and everything about how it is made reflects the care that started it. I find that incredibly moving and it is a big part of why I trust this brand so completely.

The By Sarah Hero Facial Oil has been part of my daily routine for about a year since I discovered it. The product is fragrance free, non toxic and genuinely one of the most nourishing things I put on my skin. My face feels calmer, softer and more hydrated since I started using it consistently and I genuinely notice when I have not used it. If you have been looking for a clean facial oil that actually delivers, this is it.

Use code NICOLA20 for 20% off at bysarahlondon.com

USE NICOLA20 at Checkout

By Sarah Serene Daily SPF 50

While you are there, pick up the Serene Daily SPF too. SPF is the one skincare step that makes the biggest long term difference to how your skin ages and most of us are not wearing it consistently enough, especially as we head into summer. This one is SPF 50, fragrance free, dermatologically approved for sensitive skin and it does not leave a white cast or feel heavy under makeup.

Use code NICOLA20 for 20% off at bysarahlondon.com

20% OFF with NICOLA20

Ancient + Brave - True NightCap

True NightCap is a genuine game changer and I talk about it (again and again like a broken record) because it has become my 100% go-to, instead of reaching for something sweet after dinner. It has completely killed my nighttime cravings, feels like a treat, supports sleep and I genuinely believe it has helped me drop pounds that were not shifting before. If nighttime snacking is your thing, try this for two weeks and see what happens.

Use code NICOLA20 for 20% OFF

Order your True NightCap

Ancient + Brave - Brave Ancestral Protein

Another favourite of mine from Ancient + Brave is the Brave Ancestral Protein and ever since it launched I have been having it on repeat.

What I love about it is the thinking and science behind it. Protein is the foundation of life, essential for strength, repair, energy and resilience and yet in the pace of modern living most of us fall consistently short of what our bodies actually rely on. Brave Ancestral Protein is built around a return to real nourishment, inspired by ancestral wisdom that honoured every part of the animal as sacred fuel and brought that philosophy into the present through modern science.

It is a nutrient dense, cacao flavoured blend of grass fed beef protein, collagen peptides, freeze dried organ extracts and botanicals, designed to top up your daily protein in a way that feels genuinely nourishing rather than like another supplement you are forcing down. 22 grams of protein per serving, gentle on digestion thanks to Actazin green kiwifruit, and it works beautifully stirred into Greek yoghurt with fruit and nuts or blended into a smoothie. The methylated B vitamins help reduce fatigue and the cacao, beetroot and cinnamon give it a rich earthy flavour that actually makes you want to have it every day.

For women over 40 trying to hit their protein goals without relying on yet another whey shake, this is a genuinely brilliant find.

Use code NICOLA20 for 20% off at ancientandbrave.earth

Grab your Ancestral Protein and 20% OFF

And the place you have to put in your diary right now. Heckfield Place. 16th to 18th September 2026.

I first visited Heckfield Place back in November 2024, almost by accident, on a recommendation from my most trusted travel expert. And honestly, I was completely blown away.

The epitome of understated luxury. The kind of place that does not need to shout too loud because it is simply felt the moment you arrive. Small enough for the most impeccable, personal service and big enough to lose yourself completely in the wonder of the place.

Heckfield Place has everything I adore in a property. The most gorgeous interior design that feels lived in and warm rather than cold and soulless. A farm to table dining experience that is genuinely one of the best I have ever had, wholesome, real, seasonal food cooked over fire. Space to walk, breathe and lose yourself in 438 acres of Hampshire countryside. Activities to keep you moving and inspired all day long without it ever feeling like effort.

It is peaceful but it is also deeply inspiring. It feasts every single sense. And every time I think about it I feel that same excitement I felt the first time I walked through the door.

I went away for a tiny break from home and came back literally buzzing with new energy, a zest for life, a sense of adventure and possibility that I carried with me for a long time afterwards. Heckfield Place is one of a kind and I am so excited to take a small group of women there this September from 16th to 18th September..

A group of just eight women for two nights, three days of gentle movement, cold water immersion, nourishing food, breathwork and restoration. It will be a very special escape.

The early bird price is £1,575.00 available until 31st May. After that the price rises to £1,695. A deposit of £525 holds your place today and you can pay the balance across three monthly instalments.

If this is calling to you, just reply and I will send you everything you need. Full details at nicolaeastwoodhealth.com/escape

ESCAPE TO HECKFIELD PLACE

and finally, because I have written a lot and if you have made it this far I love you...

A place I cannot wait to go back to. Marrakesh.

There is simply nowhere else like it. The most magical juxtaposition of peaceful paradise and vibrant, sensory, intoxicating hustle. You step inside the calm oasis of a beautiful riad and the world outside feels like another universe entirely. It is invigorating and exciting and deeply restorative all at once and it feasts every single sense in the most extraordinary way.

Some of my favourite places there that I think you will absolutely love:

El Fenn

L'Hôtel Marrakech

Dar Yacout

BELDI Country Club

Nomad

Jardin Majorelle

La Mamounia

La Villa des Orangers

Amanjena

I have said enough for one email. But watch this space because a Morocco Active Wellness Escape is coming and I cannot wait to share it with you. The question here is never whether or not to go (that’s a no-brainer), it’s where to stay and what to do. There is so much choice and it’s such a special place. Recommendations welcome.

I’ll end it here, with love on a beautiful Bank Holiday Monday. Have fun with your friends and loved ones.

Nicola x

*None of these are paid partnerships. I share what I use and love and nothing else. I receive a small commission code on the Ancient + Brave discount code at no extra cost to you. (ad)

Some places stop you, relax you and make your heart sing the moment you arrive. Heckfield Place is one of them. You will leave with a renewed sense of vigour and a zest for life.

Set within 438 acres of Hampshire countryside, Heckfield Place is one of England’s most beautiful estates. Ancient woodland, a lower lake that catches the morning light, an open fire kitchen where food comes straight from the farm and the therapeutic 17,000 square foot digital-free wellbeing space, THE BOTHY by WILDSMITH. Thirty minutes from Heathrow, 45 from Southampton. Close enough to reach easily. Far enough to feel genuinely free.

From 16th to 18th September I am bringing together a small group of eight women for two nights and three days of gentle movement, cold water immersion, nourishing food, breathwork and restoration. A beautifully balanced programme with enough structure to feel supported and enough space to truly exhale. Expect:

• Two nights, three days in a Friends Room, bed and breakfast

• Delicious nourishing dinners at Hearth and Marle, two of Heckfield’s most

  beautiful dining spaces

• Guided woodland movement through the estate

• Cold water immersion at the lower lake

• Stretch and breathwork at THE BOTHY

• Optional activities include run or cycle adventures, 1:1 coaching, you decide

• Plenty of time to enjoy the spa, gardens, pool and estate at your own pace

  This carefully curated retreat for 8 guests is intentionally sized so the experience stays personal, calm and connected. Everything has been thoughtfully considered to create the conditions for your body to rest and respond, so you return home feeling restored, energised and genuinely excited and incredible, having nourished your body and mind in the way it needs.

The details

Early bird offer £1,575 pp available until 31st May with the option to pay in 3 monthly instalments of £525 or one lump sum.

£1,695 pp from 1st June.

Full details here

Eight spaces only.

If this is calling you, just reply and say Heckfield details please and I will be in touch. And if you know someone else who might love it too, please share the details and let’s chat.

Book My Place

Email me: nicola@nicolaeastwoodhealth.com if you have any questions or want to talk through the retreat via email or on the phone.

More details on the website

With love

Nicola x

We have been blessed with lots of sunshine. My boys were off school for nearly three weeks which in previous years would have thrown everything completely off course. This year it did not. I worked around them, I showed up for my clients, I kept my own habits going and thrived. That feels like a win worth highlighting.

There is a saying that ‘April showers bring May flowers’ but this April skipped the showers entirely and went straight to sunshine. Thank you weather gods.

April in numbers

I lost 10 pounds this month. Ten pounds of stubborn weight that had been sitting around. My energy is up, my clothes are fitting differently and I am feeling strong and excited about everything ahead. Working alongside my awesome clients this month has been such a gift because seeing them drop the lbs and feel better too has fuelled my own journey and their successes have blown me away. One told me she lost three pounds in her very first week and said she was feeling so excited for the first time in forever. Another said that the support meant everything to her and that she could not believe how quickly she was seeing results. These messages land in my inbox and make me so incredibly proud.

Inspired by the London Marathon

Did you watch it on Sunday? I was completely glued. The performances were extraordinary and the atmosphere even through a screen gave me full goosebumps. Two men going under two hours and breaking the world record was incredible.

And wow to Alice Braham, who if you don’t know her, at 50 years old ran 2 hours 36 minutes and 25 seconds to smash the British best time for a woman in her age group. A woman over 50 showing us we can do hard things, be strong, determined and awesome. What an absolute inspiration and a reminder of what is possible when you back yourself completely.

I have run the London Marathon twice and it was incredible both times. It really is such a special event and the stories and photos from Sunday have well and truly given me the bug. I would love to do the London Marathon again one day and I’m now looking at some autumn events to aim towards so if anyone wants to come and run with me, reply and let me know. I would absolutely love that and more on an idea I have for this coming soon….

So..onto May and June

May feels like a month of momentum and I cannot wait.

I’m currently building for the launch of The CALM Summer Sprint in June. Six weeks of support, structure and a community of women working together towards feeling strong, energised, dropping 10 lbs to feel genuinely brilliant in their bodies for summer. If you want to be first to hear the details and get your name on the list, just reply to this email and say you are in.

If you are ready to get started right away my 1:1 CALM Method Programme is where the deepest and most lasting change happens. Twelve weeks, completely personalised to you. We start by calming your nervous system so your body can actually respond. Then we anchor your blood sugar so you are not reaching for snacks at 3pm. We lean into movement you genuinely love and that works for your body in this season of life. And then we build the habits that maintain all of it, not for a summer but for good. That is the CALM Method. And it works.

I'm ready. Let's chat.

Treat Yourself, You Deserve It

I’m excited to invite you to Heckfield Place on 16th to 18th September 2026 for our next gorgeous escape.

Heckfield Place is one of England’ most incredibly stunning estates, set within 438 acres of Hampshire countryside and just 40 minutes from London or Southampton. Two nights to slow down, step out of everyday pressure and give yourself the gift of proper rest and restoration.

Guided woodland movement, cold water immersion at the lower lake, seasonal dining at Hearth with its open fire kitchen and a restorative strength and breathwork session. Everything designed to calm your nervous system, restore your energy and send you home feeling energised and incredible.

Just eight spaces. Intimate, unhurried and an experience that will set you up for feeling your best.

Reply to be added to the waiting list. Full details coming very soon and I cannot wait to share them with you.

As I type this at 06.52 on Thursday morning the sun is gleaming through the shutters and I’m excited. I have feeling May is going to be brilliant for us all, let’s go and smash our goals… whatever they are.

With so much love and thank you for being here.

Nicola x

I am a Certified Health Coach sharing what works for me. Always consult a GP if you have medical concerns.

If that is you, I want you to know something. You are not the problem and you never were.

The health and wellness industry has spent years selling women the idea that more information is the answer. Another plan, another protocol, another 30 day challenge, another person to follow. And so we collect in the hope we have found the perfect solution! Weight Watchers, macros, a juice detox, a personal trainer, an online programme. All of these things are slightly different with none of them quite sticking and fixing us in the way we hoped and not because we did not try hard enough.

What actually moves the needle

The women I see transform are not the ones who finally found the perfect plan. Anyone can find a plan. Claude can write you one in thirty seconds. What nobody can give you from a screen is someone who genuinely knows, understands and is truly in your corner when Tuesday evening feels like too much.

The women who get results are the ones who found the right support. The ones who stopped doing it in isolation and started doing it with someone who understands their body, their life, their hormones and their goals.

There is a version of you that is walking into this summer feeling strong, confident and genuinely happy in her body. Not because she found a new diet or pushed herself harder than ever before. Because she finally had the right people around her while she did the work.

That is the difference. Not just information (which is obviously key) but also proximity to the right support.

What you already know

The women I work with already know more than they think. They know that eating real whole food and not snacking makes a huge difference. They know that sleep matters..ALOT. They know that stress affects everything. They know that consistency over time is where results actually live.

They do not need more knowledge. They need someone to help them apply what they already know to their specific body and their specific life. And they need to do it surrounded by women who are on the same journey, who normalise the habits, who celebrate the wins and who understand on a Tuesday evening when everything feels like too much.

That is what changes things. Not the plan. The people around you while you follow it.

Ready to do this properly?

The 1:1 CALM Method is twelve weeks of completely personalised support where I work with you directly on your habits, your nutrition, your movement and your mindset. Your plan, built around your life, with me in your corner every step of the way. This is your inner circle and it is where the deepest and most lasting change happens.

If summer feels close and you are not where you want to be, just reply to this email and tell me where you are right now. What has been feeling hard, what you have already tried and what you are hoping for. I would love to have that conversation with you.

Let's make a plan

You have done the hard work of trying everything. Now let’s do this together, properly, with the right support around you.

With love

Nicola x

PS. The CALM Summer Sprint launches on 18th May. Six weeks of support, structure and a community of women doing this together. If you are not quite ready for the full 1:1 but you know you are done doing this alone, reply and I will send you all the details.

I want to hear more please

pps. I am a Certified Health Coach sharing what works for me. Always consult a qualified professional for medical guidance.

Friday was my gorgeous son’s birthday and we celebrated just as we should. During the day, when he was at school, I found myself in the fridge picking some Smarties off the top of his Colin the Caterpillar cake and somehow eating a few of the feet too. By the time the evening meal out came around I had already had more sugar than my body had seen in weeks / maybe months. It was a brilliant day and I do not regret a single Smartie.

But two days later I am still feeling it. The foggy head that will not quite clear, the low energy, sore tummy and the lingering pull towards more sugar even though the last thing my body needs right now is more sugar. No alcohol was involved. This is purely what a high sugar day does to a body that has spent a long time eating well and keeping blood sugar steady. It does not feel great, and it can genuinely derail you if you let it.

I am not letting it! 👊

What is going on here…

When we eat a significant amount of sugar, blood sugar spikes rapidly and the body releases a surge of insulin to bring it back down. In some cases insulin can overshoot slightly, causing a temporary dip in blood sugar levels. This is why you can eat a large amount of sugar and feel hungry again surprisingly quickly, often craving more sugar because your body is trying to stabilise itself. For most people this is not dangerous but it can feel really uncomfortable and it triggers that familiar cycle of cravings and low energy that is so hard to break.

On top of that, sugar activates the brain’s reward pathways. The dopamine hit is real and the day after a sugar heavy occasion your brain goes looking for that hit again. Which explains why you can find yourself thinking about biscuits at 11am when you are not even particularly hungry.

High intakes of sugar can also contribute to inflammation, disrupt sleep quality and after a high sugar day your body can feel more depleted and you may need more fluids to rebalance. Put all of that together and you have a very good explanation for that heavy foggy off feeling that follows a celebration. It is not weakness and it is not a lack of willpower. It is just biology doing exactly what biology does.

The 80% rule

I have always believed that being good 80% of the time beats being perfect 20% of the time. A birthday, a celebration, a meal out with people you love are important things to enjoy without any guilt or overthinking and are not reasons to spiral. They are reasons to come back the next day and get back to basics.

The stop start cycle costs so much more than the occasional Colin the Caterpillar. Enjoying a birthday and going straight back to good habits on Sunday will always get you further than deciding the whole week is written off and starting again on Monday. Progress lives in the returning, not in the perfection. And today I am returning:

Hydrating properly. After a high sugar day the body can feel more depleted and needs more fluids to rebalance. Water first, before anything else, and I am keeping a bottle with me all day and aiming for my 2.5 - 3 litres.

Protein at every meal. This is the fastest way to stabilise blood sugar and quieten the lingering sugar cravings. My favourite Greek yogurt and protein powder super bowl this morning, the salad below for lunch, and a healthy BBQ at my parent’s for dinner. Every meal anchored with protein.

Moving gently. A walk rather than anything high intensity. Low intensity movement improves insulin sensitivity and helps the body process excess glucose without spiking cortisol further. A walk in the sunshine will be gorgeous today and if my son wants to play tennis or cycle later 100% I’m in.

Avoiding the sugar chase. The craving is real and biological and I am acknowledging it rather than fighting it. Having good food ready to reach for makes this so much easier than white knuckling through it.

Early night tonight. Sugar disrupts sleep and two nights of poorer sleep compounds everything. An early night resets the whole system faster than almost any other intervention. 8pm bath, 9pm lights out.

Planning tomorrow’s breakfast now. Removing a decision from tomorrow morning means one less thing standing between me and a good start to the week.

And the mindset piece. I celebrated my son’s birthday. I ate some of his caterpillar’s feet and I have zero regrets. This reset is not a punishment. It is just the next right thing.

Today’s Sunday recipe:

Super Crunchy Detox Summer Salad

On a sunny Sunday when I want something that feels light, fresh and genuinely nourishing, this is exactly the type of dish I will reach for. It is vibrant, crunchy, full of vegetables that support the body’s natural processing systems and it feels like exactly the right thing to eat today. Nothing heavy, nothing that will make the foggy feeling worse. Just good clean food doing good clean things.

Grab the recipe here

Planning tonight

Later when the day slows and I have a quiet moment I will plan the week. A few minutes of thinking tonight means Monday arrives and I already feel ahead rather than behind. That transition from weekend to week is where so much of the progress is made or lost.

Ready to stop going it alone?

If any of today has resonated and you are thinking about what it would feel like to have real support, someone who understands your goals and is genuinely in your corner every step of the way, that is exactly what the 1:1 CALM Method gives you.

Twelve weeks, completely personalised, building the habits and foundations that make results not just possible but sustainable. The women I work with tell me the same thing again and again. They had been doing so many things right and getting so little back. Not because they were doing it wrong but because they were doing it alone.

If that sounds familiar just reply to this email and tell me where you are right now. I would love to have that conversation with you.

Let's Chat. Book A Call

And if you are not quite ready for that, the CALM Summer Sprint launches in May. Six weeks inside a community of women doing this together, no restriction, no overwhelm, just a calm steady approach that actually works. Reply and I will send you the details.

Wishing you a really lovely Sunday. Drink your water, get outside in this sunshine and be kind to yourself today.

With love

Nicola x

I am a Certified Health Coach sharing what works for me. This is not medical or nutritional advice. Always consult a qualified professional for personalised guidance.

For years I believed the answer was just around the corner. One more plan. One more reset. One more burst of motivation and this time, my body would finally respond. What I was actually building, without realising it, was a very well-stocked museum of failed attempts.

Let me take you on the tour.

2015 — 850 CALORIES A DAY

An online calculator told me to. I was constantly hungry, thinking about food obsessively, and blamed myself entirely when I couldn’t sustain it. What I didn’t know: eating that far below your needs slows your metabolism and tells your body to hold on to everything it has. My body wasn’t being difficult. It was protecting itself.

2016 — SPIN CLASS, FIVE DAYS A WEEK

I showed up. I pushed hard. I gained weight. Chronically high-intensity exercise without recovery raises cortisol significantly and elevated cortisol in women over 40 promotes fat storage, especially around the middle. My body was doing exactly what stressed bodies do.

2017 — INTERMITTENT FASTING

Skipping meals meant arriving at dinner so hungry I overate most nights. The hunger wasn’t weakness, it was biology. When blood sugar crashes, your appetite hormones spike. Your body will always win that argument eventually.

2018 — NO CARBS

Bread became the enemy. My energy dipped, my mood dropped, and I thought about food more than ever. Carbohydrates drive serotonin production. Cut them aggressively and you lose the neurological conditions that make mood, sleep and cravings manageable. I wasn’t failing the diet. The diet was failing me.

2019 — JUICE DETOX

Lost 8lbs. It came back. With interest. The liver detoxes itself, that’s literally its job. I know this now. I wish someone had told me then.

2020 - INTUITIVE EATING

Without the right tools and support, my intuition after stressful days reliably pointed toward double deckers, Tunnocks Tea Cakes and biscuits. Stress dysregulates the very hunger hormones that intuitive eating relies on. The approach wasn’t wrong, I was too stressed and the conditions weren’t right.

2022, 2023, 2024……. - MACRO TRACKING. CLEAN EATING. STARTING OVER EVERY MONDAY.

You know how this goes. Life gets busy and all the good intentions unravel. You find yourself back at square one and ask the question I asked myself for years: what is wrong with me? I’m never going to do this.

Nothing was wrong with me. And nothing is wrong with you.

Every single approach I tried was designed for a different body in a different set of circumstances. None of it accounted for being a high-stress woman over 40 with fluctuating hormones, a full life and a nervous system that had been running on adrenaline for years. My body wasn’t broken. It was responding rationally to the signals it was being given.

The turning point wasn’t another diet. It was understanding what my body actually needed to feel safe enough to respond and learning to work with it instead of constantly declaring war on it. I am now 12lbs down on my own journey, with more energy than I have had in years, sleeping better and genuinely enjoying the food I eat every single day. Not because I found a stricter plan. Because I finally found the right one for me.

That is exactly why I created The CALM Method. Because I don’t want you spending another decade in your own museum.

Which exhibit feels most like yours? Hit reply and tell me. I promise you, you are not alone in this.

And when you are ready to leave the museum for good, here is where we start.

The free 5 day CALM Reset is your first step. Grab it below.

YOUR 5 DAY CALM RESET

And if you are ready to work with me properly this summer I can’t wait, just reply and we can chat. The 1:1 CALM Method and the CALM Summer Sprint launching 18th May are both waiting for you.

I'M READY FOR MY HEALTH AUDIT

With love,

Nicola x

Because once you quiet the noise, something has to replace it. And for me, what replaced it was food freedom. Learning to tune into my own body, trust my own instincts and eat in a way that feels genuinely good rather than constantly managed and controlled.

It did not happen overnight. But it changed my relationship with food, my results and honestly in turn my life and happiness.

Before

I skipped breakfast to save calories but then spent the entire afternoon eating everything in sight because my body was running on empty. I chose foods not because they tasted good or made me feel well but because the label said under 100 calories. I turned down dinners out with friends because I was worried about the menu. I counted, tracked, juiced and restricted and I was doing all of it while feeling absolutely miserable and getting nowhere near the results I was working so hard for.

The irony is that the tighter I held on, the worse it got. Because restriction does not create freedom. It creates obsession.

What changed

When I finally stopped counting and started paying attention to how food actually made me feel, something changed that I was not expecting. The obsessive thinking quietened down. The afternoon cravings eased. The evening snacking stopped feeling like this desperate out of control spiral. Not because I had found more willpower but because I had stopped needing it.

I gave myself full permission to enjoy food. And that permission, rather than leading to chaos like I feared it would, led to the calmest and most consistent relationship with food I have ever had.

What food freedom actually is

It is not eating whatever you want all day with no thought for how it makes you feel because we all know that won’t work. It is almost the opposite. Food freedom is what happens when you know your body well enough that you naturally make choices that serve you well, not because a plan tells you to but because you genuinely want to.

I know now that my body does not love bread. Not because bread is bad, not because I have banned it, but because I have paid enough attention to notice that it does not make me feel my best. So I genuinely do not want it most of the time. No rule, no willpower, no guilt. Just knowing myself well enough to make a different choice and actually mean it.

That is food freedom. And it is available to every woman.

For the woman thinking “but I still need to lose weight”

This is the most important thing I want you to hear today. Food freedom is not the reason you will not lose weight. Restriction is.

The women I work with who find food freedom are the ones who reach their goals and actually stay there. Because they are not white knuckling their way through every meal waiting for it to be over. They are eating well because they want to. They know what makes them feel good, they cook food they genuinely love and they are building a relationship with food that is sustainable for the rest of their lives. Not just until the next Monday morning restart.

When you start seeing results, when your clothes fit differently and your energy lifts and your sleep improves and your cravings settle, you will know exactly what choices got you there. And you will want to make them again. Not because you have to. Because you genuinely want to. That is the goal.

The things we forget to nourish

Food on your plate is only part of the picture. At the Institute for Integrative Nutrition we talk about primary foods, the things that nourish us that have nothing to do with what we eat. Our relationships, our movement, our career, our sleep, our stress levels, our sense of joy and connection and purpose.

When these areas of life feel full, we tend to eat well almost naturally. When they feel empty or overwhelming, we reach for food to fill the gap. The woman eating half a packet of biscuits at 9pm is almost never actually hungry. She is tired, stressed or lonely and food is the most available comfort in that moment.

Real lasting change comes from nourishing the whole person, not just what is on the plate.

Where to start

Notice how food makes you feel rather than what it costs you in calories. After you eat something pay attention. Energised or sluggish? Clear headed or foggy? Satisfied or immediately looking for more? Your body is giving you information all the time. Start listening to it rather than overriding it with someone else’s rules.

Stop restarting on Monday. Just keep going from the very next meal. Nothing is ever as undone as it feels in that moment.

Cook food you genuinely love. When you look forward to what you are eating, healthy food stops feeling like a sacrifice. All of my recipes are at nicolaeastwoodhealth.com/recipes and every single one of them is food I actually eat and enjoy. Start there.

And give yourself time. Food freedom does not happen overnight, especially if you have spent years in diet culture. But every time you eat something nourishing and enjoy it without guilt, every time you listen to your body over a label, you are building it. Quietly, steadily and for good.

Come and build this with other women

I am building a community where this is the type of conversation we will have every single day. Women supporting each other, sharing what is working, swapping recipes, celebrating wins and working towards feeling their absolute best without restriction, guilt or starting over on Monday. Warm, real and coming very soon. Reply to this email if you want to be first to know.

And if you want the most personalised support possible, the 1:1 CALM Method is where the deepest change happens. Twelve weeks built entirely around your life, your body, your goals and your relationship with food. Women come to me feeling like they have tried everything. They leave knowing exactly what works for them and why.

If that feels like the right next step just reply and tell me where you are right now. I would love to chat.

With love

Nicola x

I am a Certified Health Coach sharing my ideas and what works for me. This is not medical or nutritional advice. Always consult a qualified professional for medical advice.