The Wellness Scoop - Morning Routines, Motivation and the Ozempic Backlash

Episode Date: October 6, 2025

This week we’re looking at the rising pressure to lose weight and why so many people are turning to risky quick fixes. We unpack the growing backlash against Ozempic, now facing over 1,800 lawsuits in the US for severe side effects like stomach paralysis and vision loss. We revisit the 5am Club and ask if the 8am Club is a smarter, more sustainable routine for real life. We share new research showing that the benefits of nature depend on how you experience it, and simple ways to make time outdoors more restorative. And we explore the booming world of wellness wearables, from Oura rings to Apple Watches, and whether they really motivate us to change our habits. Recommendations  Rhi’s new book : Pre order The Fibre Formula https://geni.us/TheFibreFormula Bought to You by Chemistry’ podcast, by the Royal Society of Chemistry: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/brought-to-you-by-chemistry/id1621110309  Science Vs Podcat: ‘Is There Really a Plastic Spoon in our Brains’ https://open.spotify.com/episode/2ZwZsCnG2BkTzPxo5tujOB  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When you're with Amex Platinum, you get access to exclusive dining experiences and an annual travel credit. So the best tapas in town might be in a new town altogether. That's the powerful backing of Amex. Terms and conditions apply. Learn more at Amex.ca. This episode is brought to you by Peloton. A new era of fitness is here.

Introducing the new Peloton Cross Training Tread Plus, powered by Peloton IQ, built for breakthroughs with personalized workout plans, real-time insights, and endless ways to move. Lift with confidence, while Peloton IQ counts reps, corrects form, and tracks your progress. Let yourself run, lift, flow, and go. Explore the new Peloton cross-draining tread plus at OnePeloton.ca. Welcome to the Wellness Scoop, your weekly dose of health and wellness inspiration. We are your hosts. I'm Ella Mills. And I'm Riannon Lambert.

And after a decade in this wellness industry, we know that it can be overwhelming, can feel quite stressful and even confusing sometimes. So that's why we created this podcast to cut through the noise and make healthy living fun. Exactly. And this is a fun episode. I'm really excited. It's like it feels juicy. So before we get into anything,

what have we got coming out? What can everyone look forward to? So we have today the rising pressure to lose weight and why it matters. The Olympic backlash and what 1,800 lawsuits actually reveals. And then one that I think I can definitely get on board with while the 5am club is outdated and how to build smarter routines that actually work for you. And in a really nice headline here, how nature boosts well-being, if you really pay attention to it. And something that I think Ella and I definitely can't wait to discuss, are you an Apple Watch or a Ring?

What your wearable says about you. Exactly. We've got new wellness tribes. Okay, Rhys, how are you? It's been a huge week. I don't even know where to start. I guess the first big news is that my book is out there. can't believe that we're finally sharing it. But the fibre formula is essentially what we've been talking about on this podcast for forever. It's goodbye, hype, say bye-bye protein trends and things that actually are not helping us create those lifestyle changes we need. You know,

we need to be eating more whole foods. We need to be getting more fibre. 96% of us are deficient in this country. We know fibre impacts gut health. It has an impact on our long-term health. So I've broken it all down, Ella. The fiber formula gives you my ultimate key that I've been using in clinic for over a decade with how to increase your daily target, get that plant diversity. There's kind of like a running number theme throughout it that's helpful, like the 30, 30, choose a mouthful, 30 grams of fiber a day, 30 plants a week. It's something you can easily remember. And I've never actually done that before in a book. I've never had a formula. But I feel like with Fiber, there's so much to learn and so much to discuss. So before I waffle on,

that's out. You can pre-order it and we'll put the link in the show notes. Congratulations. And when is it actually coming out next year, right? It's March the 12th. So you've got time, guys. You've got time. But every pre-order makes such a difference. So if you want to learn more about actually helping your gut health and learning how to get that 30 gram target because we are all not hitting it, well, the majority of us, then yeah, check it out. Oh, congratulations. I am so thrilled and so impressed as well. Oh, thanks, Ella. As you know, it was a, yeah, a passion project beyond belief. And it came quite naturally, I think, after the ultra-processed food conversation, of course,

because the UPF conversation isn't going anywhere and we need to change the landscape. And I think that if people understand that the more UPS you consume, the less fiber you probably consume, I'm hoping it's a nice lead on from the unprocessed plate. Okay, while we're on unprocessed foods, I need to talk to you as well. So when this comes out, neither of us have seen it yet, but the same day that this episode comes out, the sixth, Channel 4 is releasing a big documentary, Joe Wick's license to kill.

He kind of set out on this very interesting challenge to create what he describes as the UK's most dangerous health bar. Essentially what he's tried to do in creating this bar called Killer, which is a protein bar, he wants to expose the truth of ultra-processed food and highlight the harmful ingredients that are permitted by all the food regulators to be sold on our shelves, not just in this country. He's done it with Professor Chris Van Tulligan, who wrote ultra-process people and has been a huge voice in this conversation.

And as I said, they're basically trying to do this really provocative stunt by launching a product that says on it, you know, don't eat this, it will kill you, essentially. And in the documentary, I think he's going to also go around, kind of uncovering as much possible about the country's health crisis as a result of overconsumption of ultra-process food. So it's all absolutely fascinating. But Ree went to the launch this week, and she has seen the bar, tried the bar, heard more about the bar. So we'll talk about the documentary next week once we've all seen it and you guys can watch it too.

But re-tell us about killer, the protein bar that's so terrible for us. I didn't want to eat it. Dr. Chris made me eat it on camera. As in he came over to myself and Dr. Federi Karamati, who we've had on the podcast before and said, right, I've not tried this yet. Let's all try it together. And I was thinking, oh, no, this is the last thing I want to do right now. I have a surprise, it's here in my bag. Is it? Oh my God.

But it's the only one from the day. I've been texting Reeve being like, I want to hear about it, but I can't ask you about it because I've got to ask you about it when we're recording. It is a bit open, but look at the amount of the bite that I took. Look how tiny it is. Okay, this is like an ant nibble that she's had. Can I see it please?

Yeah, go for it. Go for it. Don't smell it. It's revolting. So it's called Killer, Deathly Protein Bar. And it says on the front, excessive consumption may increase the risk of, of diarrhea, cancer, stroke, early death, has a quote, do not eat this bar from Joe Wicks. It says high in calories, high in sugar,

high and saturated fat, contains sweeteners, not recommended for children. On the back, you've got the kind of claims, 200 plus health and nutrition benefits, 19 grams of protein, low, salt, high fiber. Yeah. Contains 27 vitamins and minerals. And it's really interesting because one side of the bar

has these positive health claims. The green side. The green side. The brown murky side is the... Yeah, it has Joe holding a kettlebell looking strong and vital. It has an orange, it has some chocolate, and then you turn it over to the side

that has the... It could cause cancer, it could cause early death. And his image looks like he's rotting. And it has a kind of symbol of death, like a ghoul holding a kind of sickle behind him. Like, this is going to come and kill you. And I, honestly, as someone who works in the food industry or has worked in the food industry for a long time,

think this is so interesting because honestly what he's put in here now there's over a hundred ingredients is that right you want me to dissect it yeah definitely but one thing I want to say just quickly is the ingredients this is it's so long and that's to me the thing that stands out to other protein bars they wouldn't be as long as this probably half of that but still long enough but they contain all these ingredients yeah and I think this is the thing that's going to be so interesting to watch it how it unfolds and I'm so curious for everyone listening to hear your take on it because, as I said, whilst this is an excessively long ingredient list, you wouldn't find all of this in a singular bar on shelf. It's so fascinating. And as I said, I'm so curious

how the public take this. I'm so curious how everyone listening take this. I can't wait to see the documentary. But re-break down, yeah, please, these ingredients for us. I hope that the PR message is understood because I've already seen just in 24 hours a lot of backlash as in people not understanding the purpose of the bar it's not about shaming anybody for eating a protein bar it's actually oh my gosh ella did you actually smell it i was about to yeah i was about to have it and then i couldn't even break a piece of the amount of protein powder in that it smells um yeah there's an after taste as well that's why i had such small amount so what they've done deliberately is they've added a multivitamin in there as in everything that would go in a multi-vitamin all the different

fortification which is how you get the claims and as ella will know adding different elements to get the fiber, but what they've deliberately done is add all the artificial sweeteners and components that are linked in excessive consumption to poor health. So, for instance, they added a lot of mulitol, which is a type of sugar alcohol, and that provides the moisture. It gives like the bulk, the bar is dense, by the way, guys, but it looks the same as every other protein bar out there. So these sugar alcohols aren't actually sugar, so companies can label their products as no added sugar or low sugar, but it caused diarrhea in excess. We know these things about. these sweetness is also to make it chewy and rather than you know needing to like bite into

something hard that's why they add the glycerol syrup and we've discussed glycerol syrup tons because of slushy drinks we will do a bigger dive on the documentary next week and all the learnings from it and what it means and the food system that we live in all the rest of it but wanted to raise it today so yeah watch it let us know there's no shaming here of food this is purely about will this bar make a difference in the food industry so yeah it was a very interesting event ella but i wish i hadn't had to eat it to put it straight anyway so yeah let us know your thoughts as well if anyone has anything they want to contribute before we discuss it in more detail next and how is your week ella we haven't heard about your week yet oh my

week uh yeah you don't get out of it i want to know i was like what if i done this of any interest not a huge amount I lost my dog one night which was absolutely terrifying so I've now been like deep in research of what dog tracker to get I've got a new one so that's exciting um did you go with tractive in the end tractive because I tried it on my cat after she went missing but it's too big for her little neck but I think on a dog there's a cat one now oh have they done a cat one now they've done a cat one because you have to pay the membership though don't you for the year yeah that was why I was probably being stingy first off with the track of I got which just doesn't work yes so when he was lost all right And my kids were crying.

My daughter was like, Mommy, where's your phone? You can track him. And I was like, yeah, it doesn't work. Oh, no. He's been gone before as and haven't pinged up a signal yet. I think that's quite traumatic. When you lose a pet, half of you is, a child is missing, essentially.

Oh, no. And the girls were very traumatized. Okay, so we're going to dive into our headlines for this week. If you're new to the show or just catching up, the reminder, this is when we take. the big topics of conversation that have been going on and try and digest them and give you kind of tangible take homes what's true, what's not true, what's clickbait, what's not, and what you could take into your own lives.

Now, this press relief, press release landed in my inbox this week, and I thought it was really interesting, very telling. So it was a new UK survey, and this survey found that two and five Brits adults feel more pressure to lose weight now than they did just two years ago. I mean, is that probably because of the introduction of, yeah, GLPs? That's exactly right. And I am really curious. This is when I wish I could, like, see everyone while they're listening and wonder if people are nodding along and, you know, maybe you feel comfortable to tell us whether you feel that way or maybe you don't.

But I am really interested with other people feel that pressure to how many of our audience do. But you're absolutely right, really, basically. There was 2,000 people in this survey and about a third of them believed that it was the changing body trends that are adding. to it. And we have, as you said, seen this huge shift since GLP-1, your Zemps, your Weggavis, Manjaro's, since they came in. And we obviously saw this kind of big shift in beauty standards and social media, celebrities, where people were shrinking and shrinking. And then almost a quarter of people said fashion and beauty ideals made them feel negative about their own way. Do you know, it's really interesting because when we were on set doing the 60 recipes in the new book,

and when we had, you know, the prop styling and the wonderful people that were helping cook all those recipes on the day, they was actually sharing some personal insights on how they felt there has been a shift in weight. It's just reminded me. And this knock on effect is that I think people are looking for faster and actually what's Scariela is riskier solutions because the same survey pointed out that 41% of people who are on weight loss jabs had sourced them without the prescription. And I think what's so interesting is I did this Channel 4 documentary. I think it's like a year or two ago. And we discussed the black market and how any, Nobody, GPs are kind of buying them in and selling them essentially on the side privately

on Harley Street. It's really concerning. And more than a third in the survey said that they'd got them through friends and family. And that's a concern, Ella, because, you know, doses change, side effects can happen. What's your starting point? These are designed for a certain category of the public. It's funny. I remember really early on when we started the show recently, maybe it was like February, March time.

It was around kind of award season. and we'd seen the Oscars and all those kind of big, big red carpet moments. And there was quite a lot of noise in the media about the return of size zero and that return of kind of the lollipop aesthetic. You know, when people's bodies are so small, their heads look like lollipops on a stick. And we were quite nervous discussing it, actually, I think, because, you know, as Rear is always so good at pointing out, it's not about shaming anyone or judging anyone.

But I think it's very difficult in a show where we're trying to kind of take everything that you guys see and everything that we see and discuss, like, what's the landscape look like and how do we feel about it and what does that mean for our own lives? It's very hard to ignore this and I think this was just such evidence of actually the fact that in the last year or so, those shifts in beauty standard that we're seeing, they have really infiltrated the kind of general public, the mass media. And as a result, people are feeling this pressure. And I think it's just, I just felt it was a really important headline to acknowledge so that if anyone's sitting at home and they're listening to this and they're saying,

I am really feeling that pressure. It's affecting my self-esteem. It's affecting the way that I see myself in the mirror when actually you're a kind of healthy weight, but you're not a size zero. I think it's really important acknowledgement. Like you're not alone. You're clearly not alone.

The statistics are quite clear in that. And I think the other thing that this pointed out, which really will be so unsurprised to hear. But again, I think it's validating for people listening is that more than half of people said they feel quite overwhelmed by their conflicting advice on weight loss. and more than a quarter said they'd actually prefer a more natural approach focusing on things like fibre, metabolism, building satiety through their diet.

But I think the whole thing just really highlights how confusing this has become and how commonplace the pressure is. People have lost their role models. Look at Serena Williams. Like if, you know, people have lost the fact, because it looks or appears to most people in the media that they all want to lose weight and not everybody wants to lose weight and be a one-size-fits-all approach. Or needs to lose weight.

And I think that's what I really reflect. on as I said for me I was I guess I've been in quite like a reflective period over the last month and you know I thought about the show not to go like to become a therapy session but or too existential about it but I was like you know why do I want to make this show like what role does it play like what's the what's the meaning what's the purpose of my life and as I said not to get too existential here but I think it is it's this sense of it is such an overwhelming space, the health and wellness landscape. There are so many trends

and I think there is, there's just so much pressure and I think there's like, there's people who want to healthily lose weight and that's great and I don't think anyone should be discouraged or feel shameful for that. But there's lots of people in like healthy normal bodies who should, you know, yes, let's get into the 4%

of the people who eat enough fibre and like let's move our health goals along the way but don't feel pressure to lose weight and I think it's just a, I just felt it was a really important headline to acknowledge that. Absolutely, Ella. Also, you can't apply what people in the media are doing to you because, you know, celebrities have personal trainers, diet chefs, you know, they have to look a certain way for a role on a film. You cannot even, I mean, I can't imagine the inner pressures they must have psychologically as well around this conversation. And then every single day it makes us general public feel like we need to do the same. We really don't. No one size fits all. And weight loss should be sustainable. It should be long term. focus on, this is what I discuss in the fiber formula, focus on the bulk of your meals being whole grains, beans, pulses, whole foods move away from UPFs. Every now and again, it's absolutely

fine. I still eat UPFs everybody, but the bulk of my diet is more whole vegetables and fruits, and it can be absolutely delicious. And what I always found in the Retrition Clinic, and this is what our weight loss dietitians and nutritionists look at as well, is the minute we switch to eating whole foods, just like the study this year finally showed, people lose weight. without even trying. They reach a healthy, happy place. So it's what works for your body. There's set point theory that we're actually not meant to shift beyond two or three kilos.

So everybody's got a natural point where their body should sit where they don't get sick, where they have more energy, where they feel better. That's where your body's happiest, not a set number that someone in a magazine years ago told you you should be. Yeah, and as you always say, that a set point is going to be a little bit different for everybody. and what's kind of natural to our bodies. Now, this moves us on to kind of headline 1.5. Oh, bring it on. I'm so excited to discuss this.

Now, this has been quite viral on social media. So I am sure lots of you have probably seen kind of iconographic type posts on this. I would say it's had some pick up in the media in the UK, but not a huge amount, much more in the US. But I have seen it a lot on my Instagram feed, for example. Now, a Zempic, which obviously is the most well-known GLP-1, which is the diabetes drug turned global weight loss phenomenon, is now facing one of the biggest pharmaceutical legal battles in years. Basically, obviously it's been this very interesting breakthrough drug and people are now using it, obviously, to lose weight, as we know. But it is facing this increasing intense legal and medical scrutiny. Now, I want to just say at the top here, there's lots of medical professionals.

You know, we spoke to Tim Specter yesterday. He thinks that on balance, these are really interesting drugs. This is not to kind of say these are terrible, but it's a very interesting development. And so essentially the first lawsuit was filed apparently in August 2023 by a woman in the US called Jacqueline Borkland. And she developed stomach paralysis and vision lost after using a Zemphic. It's a tricky one because like you said, the research for these weight loss injections, we haven't had a 10 year period using them. But we have looked at peptide hormones. And I remember on my master's degree, looking at obesity, we were discussing peptide hormones and how they're going to be used for obesity. And sure enough, 10 years later, we now have all these GLP-1 injections. But the problem is there's always going to be a percentage of anybody that takes a prescriptive medication or drug where you get side effects and sadly things can happen.

It's never going to be 100% fully safe with no cases. But the number of these cases of people obviously reporting this sort of thing quickly spiraled that by February 2024, the US courts consolidated them into what's called a multi-district litigation in Pennsylvania. And that means instead of hundreds of different courts trying to handle the same scientific questions, one judge now manages all the pre-trial work coordinating evidence, expert testimony and even potential settlement talk. So one judge. Yes, exactly, because basically by kind of springtime May-ish this year, so 2025, there were more than 1,800 cases already pending. Wow. And I think there's a viewpoint that there'll be hundreds more. Now, the reason this went viral is essentially when you add up these 1,800 cases that accounts to more than $2 billion worth of suing, essentially.

And there's very serious side effects reported in this, gastroporesis, which is stomach paralysis, intestinal blockages, persistent vomiting, gallbladder inflammation, sudden vision loss, linked to a condition called N-A-I-O-N, also reports of pancreatitis, kidney damage. Now, to Rhee's point, these are probably all on the label, like these, you know, all serious medications and strong medications have side effects. But I think it's just an interesting thing. As I said, it's gone quite viral, so we wanted to pick it up and kind of break down what's actually going on. But I think it's also this point that they have, we obviously were just looking

at this report saying that people feel pressure to lose way and as a result you've got a very large number of people taking these where they haven't personally been prescribed it on an individual basis by a doctor who's overseeing them taking some quite serious medication. And I think for me it was just a reminder that these are a serious drug and they do have a lot of side effects. And there's, we said, there's also lots of interesting positive evidence behind them, which obviously many more people taking them as seeing. But I think it's just to say, like, I wouldn't flippantly because you're feeling pressure because celebrities are shrinking. Don't succumb to the pressure when you don't need this medication. To some extent, I think this was what was

interesting. And you need to go through the risks. You need to sit with a professional that's going to say, this is a potential. You know, you need to be aware of what you're consuming. We have sadly seen in the Retrition Clinic a few cases. The persistent vomiting. actually has been more common. We've had several cases of that in the clinic. I haven't seen the other more serious claims that they've got here, thank goodness. We don't, I don't think we have a lot of Zempic cases. It's more Monjaro. But a 2023 study in JAMA internal medicine found that people using GOP1 drugs had a high risk of not just gastropiris, the non-users, but eye specialists Ella have also reported it's the vision loss. That to me is really terrifying.

That's the reason I haven't done laser eye surgery. It's that time. need percentage of cases where it does go wrong. But I guess what happens next? Exactly. So the litigations, you know, still going on. They're still in what they call the discovery phase as of late this summer gathering documents, reviewing the data, etc. But as I said, I think for me, this was an important to pick up just because I think it highlights that there's no such thing as a quick fix. There's no such thing as a miracle. And whilst these drugs are very interesting and there's a lot of interesting things coming out of them. And I don't mean to, I didn't want to include this to kind of do it down.

I think it just felt so relevant when I saw that study come in saying how many people are feeling the pressure to lose way, how many people, you know, 41% of people on these weight loss injection sourcing them without a prescription, third people getting through friends and family. Because the price has gone up now as well. There's going to be more black market purchases. Exactly. And I think it's just this reminder that, yes, there's some really interesting. interesting developments in these GLP ones being reported, maybe effects on inflammation and

things like that. Or even supermarket choices. Do you remember you discussed the Walmart change in shopping baskets? Exactly. Shopping baskets going down. People going more towards blueberries. Airplane fuel. Yeah. Exactly. Being saved. Obviously great for the environment. Because, you know, there's so many interesting things in here. But I think it was just really important to understand, A, why there's this virality of $2 billion against a Zempic. And it's essentially an accumulation of different individual lawsuits coming together because of side effects. Now, lots of these side effects, your point that it's in JAMA, like, they are known.

But I think we want to believe something's a miracle and it's a quick fix. And I think it's just, as I said, this to me was just an important reminder. Yeah. Nothing's too good to be true. And we don't have to conform to one body, shape, size or ideal. But equally, lots of people have benefited off these. So let's watch this space. So the next health headline we've got Ella

is why the 5am club is outdated and how to build smarter routines I love a morning routine chap She does Ella's so good at the morning routine I think I'm a night time routine I have tried you know I genuinely think I'm not a night owl but I have a wind down routine now

which is really working for me But the morning is just rushed I have no evening routine And you have morning but I love a morning routine. There you go. Okay, you stop. Okay, so Rees sent this to me. This is actually a substack that this came from.

But just to kind of recap, the 5am club, for anyone who can't remember, is this self-improvement concept. And it was really popularized by an author called Robin Sharma. He had a book in 2018 called The 5am Club, Own Your Morning, Elevate Your Life. I love titles like that. I can do this. Yes. I actually interviewed him for the original podcast. Yeah. Essentially the idea here is that by getting up at 5 o'clock in the morning every day, you dedicate your first hour of the morning, which in this book is dubbed Victory Hour. It's really kind of empowering, yes, we can do this language. You dedicate that victory hour to personal development and you follow in the case of this very, very popular book, a 2020-2020 formula, 20 minutes moving, 20 minutes reflecting, 20 minutes growing.

And Ella, he sold over 15 million copies of that book, so it was hailed such a success at the time. And I think that's why I've been almost feeling guilty that I haven't had a morning routine, perhaps since 2018, because the message basically was, if you weren't up before sunrise, exercising, meditating, planning your future, you weren't really serious about your goals. But the problem, of course, in the camp that I fit into here is that one size fits all model in that world just doesn't work. Not everyone can do that. No, exactly. I did try it. Have you ever tried it? Well, no, because I just, I kept setting my alarm.

Honestly, I'm a believer that I think I need more sleep than the average person. I just prefer to get up and kind of go. My time with the kids and breakfast is really sacred and I really enjoy a calm breakfast and allowing time for that. But I don't need that time to myself before I start the day. But you do. I know that you've spoken about how meditation has really helped you before the day. but I need it at the end of the day. Yeah, no, I did.

But I tried the 5am club because, again, it was such a trend. And I was like, oh, I've got to get after this. This is why I was so interested when you sent me the substack because I just found it too much. It's too intense. It's too rigid. It's too dogmatic. I love a morning routine, but I like it to be so flexible.

I thought it would have worked for you. That's so interesting. It was just too much. Like, as you said, like I love doing a kind of 10, 15 minute meditation or breathwear before the day starts. I love a quiet coffee. and sometimes I get that in sometimes I don't sometimes it's 10 minutes

sometimes I have a whole hour before the day starts and I really enjoy this but I found this like dogmatic approach of like you must do I hate doing 20 minutes of exercise when I wake up I don't want to look at growing like I found it just like too much pressure

it was like a well no it's also you must walk a certain amount of steps or do an hour walk in the morning before you've even started your day yeah I just found it too much pressure to be this like perfect version of yourself It's like a high cortisol way to start the day as opposed to I'm going to just have a moment to myself before the chaos starts, which is how I see my routine. Anyway, tell me about this substack from Emily Austin. I really liked it because she just wanted to dissect it and basically turn the 5am club, what it first was, into the three things that people naturally crave.

So I think people were driven towards this, a sense of belonging, as with every trend or social media or something. you really want to identify with other people doing the same thing. It gave the structure. Lots of people need structure in their life, things to you. You said it's aspirational. You know, at the beginning, you're like, wow, this sounds like I can take on the world, get victory from this. And then the control, just that idea of reclaiming time in an overstimulated world.

And it does make sense. It's very, very seductive. But she has suggested the 8 a.m. club, which also doesn't work for me. But I'm here for it. And there's no way 8 a.m. everyone's already kind of at school and you've kind of done the day. But I don't think, because when you sent it to me, I thought, well, how does anyone have an 8 a.m. routine? Like they've got to, yeah, exactly. But people without kids, maybe.

Well, I think it's probably commuting. Yeah. But anyway, she actually wasn't really talking about doing anything at 8 in the morning. Well, she was actually just about reclaiming your time. And she had this quote in the piece that I thought was really good in this reflection of why you need to move from this like dogmatic approach, essentially to a more flexible approach, but still have a routine is forcing yourself into a rhythm that isn't yours often leads to burnout. And I would attest that's how I felt doing the 5am club. Yes. She said, I know this because I've tried it. Me too, Emily. For years, I dragged myself out bed at 5 a.m. believing that's what successful people did. The truth, it made me anxious, groggy and permanently tired. I wasn't joining the 5am club for

its benefits, but for the status or belonging. Yeah, the three things we discussed before. The structure, the control, the belonging aspect. All of this is very interesting. What she's, she's suggested for a sort. So maybe during your commute or anything at all, choose achievable win. So she said, forget about Instagram perfect rituals, a glass of water or a five-minute stretch or jotting down three intentions when you're in the tube, on the way to work or the train, just small realistic habits that you can do every single morning without pressure and plan it the night before. Do you, that makes so much sense to me. I do always do this. I always lay out, may not look like it when I'm here in the studio, but, you know, I lay out my clothes.

I, you know, prep food, have a rough idea of what you're going to do the next day for lunch or dinner. Write a to-do list. Can I just say, without a to-do list, I wouldn't function? I actually would not function. I would feel so stressed and I would forget everything. The next point she has are very valid. Protect your rest. Ditch the snooze button, which I have to say when I don't do that, I do feel better.

Reframe your morning. So she says, instead of waking up with dread, and I think this is very psychological. we discussed again back in February or March if you just kind of put on a smile or come in the room and Ella did that very well this morning with energy you know like good morning everyone I think yes this is a good way you know that can reframe your morning completely and start with kindness as human beings I think we've discussed that on the podcast before didn't we Ella how if we're kind in research then we get health benefits health benefits exactly in return then she said use the 10 second test I love this if someone something takes less than 10 seconds, sending a quick reply, so putting a dish in the dishwasher or filing a paper away, just do it straight away. Because that's such a tiny win for mental clutter. She's right, the people that leave dishes on the side until they get home from work, that's creating more mental clutter if you just quickly get in the habit of just doing it.

And then the last one, last but not least, is track your energy, not your hours. Exactly. That's poignant. I think so too. I think this whole idea essentially is like it's great to be deliberate and it's great to have structure and it's great to have a semblance of routine because generally as humans we thrive on it and having a kind of how you start your day is often does really set the tone. But I think this idea of chasing kind of earlier and busier is not necessarily to this point of at course sold the other day, not great for our health in lots of ways because often it is quite a whole, you know, you lack sleep which isn't good for your health. And sometimes it's quite a high course. sort of kind of stressful way to start the day. So you skip that and have these like realistic routines focus on small winds, as you said, that's all about like planning the night before. Like I feel so grey when I're like, even porridge,

I'll soak my oats overnight and I'll put the frozen blueberries in and the almond butter and some mashed banana and things like that. And then all I do is take it out the fridge, tip it into the pan and it warms up while I take the dogs out. And it's so easy. But I suddenly feel so on top of my day. because I'm like, great, here's nutritious breakfast for everybody. And I'm not made any mess in the kitchen while I've done it.

And it's little wins. And I think giving yourself those little wins instead of... It's like at the weekend, if you put your fitness gear on and you start the morning in your fitness gear, you're more likely to do that walk. Exactly. Than if you were wearing jeans. Exactly. So I love it.

It's like, how can we feel calmer, less care of thinking we start the day, be more present. And then I think that final point of like really leaning into your own energy as opposed to kind of forcing it first thing is very. very valuable as well. And it also moves us on quite nicely to our fourth headline, which is just a short one for you guys today, nature boosts well-being if you really pay attention. And I think we probably all know that we feel better when we go outside and we take a walk. You know, there's nothing new. We can add to that conversation. I think you all know that as well. But some nice new research from the Royal Horticultural Society's Well-Being Garden shows that it isn't just being at nature that counts. And this is so relevant for the technologically focused world that we live in

today is actually how you experience it and how you focus on it. Exactly. It was published in people and nature. It looked at 79 people visiting the garden. But to be honest with you, I think this could be done on a massive scale and we'd see the same results. So some people were prompted to focus on natural features and they're called fractals, you know, the sound of a bird song or the feel of bark and leaves or the scent of plants,

while others were asked to notice, you know, human-made features, which is not pleasant at all. like traffic noise and a control group that had no prompts. And the results that came out were really striking, Ella, participants in the intervention group who focused on nature for just 20 minutes. That is all it takes is 20 minutes, reported significantly higher well-being. Exactly. They felt calmer, more relaxed, more connected, had slower breathing, relaxed muscles, reduced stress. There's cortisol levels again.

And then the people who weren't prompted to really kind of be mindful in terms of looking at the nature, just soaking it in, being present, and who were distracted by the human noise, you know, their phone ringing, traffic noise, whatever it was, by thoughts, external noise, rumination. They didn't get those effects at all. And I think it's so relevant, as I said, for a kind of quick headline at the end of this section. She reminds us that, like, our phones are so distracting.

The world around us is so distracting. And like, it's great to say, I'm going to go for a walk on my lunch break. Pop on a podcast, wellness scoop, obviously, or anything else you like listening to. but then put your phone away because we all, to get the benefits of kind of mindfulness and this slowing down, like you do have to do it. I feel nauseous when I have maybe had too much screen time. I've been noticing that. Like I start to feel really sluggish. Like I've got no energy. And the minute I get outside and I hit fresh air for at least five, 10 minutes, I feel so much better. So any top tip seller that we can do to get this in just 20 minutes, right? Yeah, I think, do you know what? I did this mindfulness. based stress reduction course. Did you?

Is that part of yoga? Yeah, it was part of my 500 hours of yoga teacher training, which is why I'd signed up to it, but God, I loved it. This was maybe five years ago, now it's quite a long time. But I still remember the prompts of the course talking about, you know, is there something a little walk or something you like to do? Maybe it's walk to your local coffee shop, for example. Like, maybe it's walking to pick your children up from school,

or it's walking to your office, if that's something you do. and can you not do it with your phone and instead like actually focus on your senses and it feels so simple but even if someone's walking now while they're listening like really feel what it feels like for your feet to touch the ground and really listen to what you can hear around you

outside of my voice droning on and like really look at what you can see like can you see the wind rustling in the trees can you notice the way that maybe you're near water like the wind is noticing, yeah, or like the way it's like kind of brushing the water and how it's flowing and can you actually like actively notice, as I said, yeah, your feet on the ground, what you can smell, what you can see, what you can feel, you know, what you can touch and like be so grounded

in your senses. And I think that's the easiest way to kind of immerse yourself in it really quickly. With immersing yourself in the senses, there must be a reason that when you're hypnoburthing or when people are going through these immense periods of stress at work and in offices, they play bird song. I've seen it in corporate offices where they play nature sounds, like the sound of the waves by the sea. I mean, we could just do that at home as well.

Sometimes at Christmas time, on the TV screen, I know this is counterintuitive because it's on the TV screen, but I put a log fire on and I love that crackling noise because we don't have a log fire. And it really calms me, just that sound. And sometimes in the morning, I always wake up to bird song,

that ringtone that's tweet, tweet, you know, the little thing in the morning. Like a Disney film, you know, but I really prefer that way of waking up rather than a ring. Well, rather than a ring ring, artificial sounds. Right, that's a really big takeaway, I think, for today that we need to basically focus on ourselves a lot more and just try and tap into something that makes us just feel good. And it does move us on to what is trending currently in wellness. I saw this article. This was in the Times and it just made me laugh. wanted to bring it to the transaction. Not that I'm laughing at anyone who uses a wearable

just to caveat that, but I think there's something funny about like what a status symbol these things have become. So the title was Apple Watch or Aura Ring, what your wellness wearable says about you. I love this because I remember when friends first got the Apple Watch, it is actually my worst nightmare because I definitely couldn't be a watch person. Their text messages are pinging on the screen. You're constantly looking at it. And for me, I don't like it, but I've got friends that love it and I was meant to try a ring ages ago and then it never happened but I'm interested in the ring I'm interested in why I need so much sleep and if I'm actually getting it which might be the reason I can't ever do the morning ritual I really want to try one of the aura rings as well but

I'm worried I've like such an all or nothing personality that I'll become a bit obsessed with it and that that's really not very healthy when I said earlier in the episode I lost my dog and I had this tracker for him but the tracker was showing me his exercise and I was obsessed with my dog exercise. That's so interesting. It was interesting. Don't judge me for being interested in my dog's exercise. But I just like, I was like, oh my God, can you believe he's actually walked 12 miles today? But it is our responsibility to make sure our pet's exercise rights. Thank you. It makes feel better. But I just worry I've become, if I become obsessed about my dog step count, like surely I'm going to become obsessive about mine. So I worry about that. I don't know if it

will see me, but I do quite want to try it. But the money, Ella, involved in these wearables is next level. I mean, people are saying, you know, move over handbags, move over trainers, because if you're wearing one of those, you know, you mean something. It's like a status symbol, isn't it? Because sales are booming in the UK market. They're predicted to hit over, what was the start? You've got it written down 1.2 billion. One point, yeah. Sales of wearables are predicted to hit 1.2 billion this year. So they really are kind of one of the like hottest accessories. And basically the Sunday Times was just talking about like, it's not just about health anymore. It's about identity and wearing one of these is like what tribe you're in you know like how do you identify your health and this is how

they summarized it it makes me laugh it made me laugh too i really want to try one so i'm not here laughing at anyone but let's see where we would all fit in the aura ring sleek discreet loved by celebrities like gwyneth paltrow this is the choice for people who see their body as a project it's all about optimizing sleep recovery and readiness so i loved that so that's you and then we've said You've got the Garmin Bro, think Iron Man races, mountain climbs and burning man festivals. Yeah, this is about serious biometrics. And this is basically people who want to show they're outdoorsy, resilient, a little bit extreme, hardcore. Okay, next up is the ultra-human smart ring.

They were describing this as that men you were a home warrior. So you basically needed like all the extras. You've got glucose monitors, environmental sensors in your house. This is like the wellness maximalist. Who wants every possible metric tract, maybe even wants to know that. HRV, their cortisol levels, their sleep score. So I think that person is like all in. Then they've got the...

Pop-Tart. Yeah, they describe people who wear a woup band as going for the optimal pop-tart medical grade, popular of elite athletes, but also increasingly popular performers and people in showbiz who want to optimise everything. I don't know why optimizing everything makes you an optimal pop-tart. I'm not sure where the pop-dart comes into them. It's so bizarre.

And then finally at the end of the list, you've got the Apple Watch Old Schooler. because it was the first brand to make wearable health tech mainstream back in 2015 and it's still a go-to for millions of people, Ella. But it describes you as basic. It feels a little bit basic. That's exactly what's written in the article. Your old school, your basic. If you use an apple watch, apparently this is according to the Sunday time.

So I just like to say not according to me and Marie. How is that basic? Do you know what I would like a new category that has like a pollution tracker? That would be me. I want to know the pollution. Well, I think you've got one here. I think that was the ultra-humans. Was it?

Yeah, I think that's saying it's got environmental sensors in the house. Oh, that's what I would like. Yeah, I want alarms. I want sensors for danger. Anyway, I just thought it was hilarious. It's like, aura, longevity-obsessed, garment, endurance adventurer, ultra-human, Maximilist optimizer, whoop, performer athlete, an Apple classic all-rounder. So what would you be?

Well, the aura rings the one that I want. Yeah, so you're a longevity-obsessing. But I really not sure I am. No, I don't think you are. I think we're quite anti-obsessive longevity. I'm probably basic, so I should just get an apple one. Ella, give us some numbers on this because... Okay, so basically, I read this and then I thought, okay, as I said, I've been mulling this over for ages.

My sister has one, and I even try it on for size. But I was very curious, like, does this actually work? So, as you said, markets on track to £1.2 billion pounds this year in the UK, huge. but does it work? And this is what I found. So in 2022, there was a huge umbrella review in the Lancet Digital Health. And they looked at evidence from 39 systematic reviews and meta analyses. And that covered more than 160,000 people using wearable activity trackers. So very, very, you know, meaningful research here. And the results are really striking. So if you do wear one or you're like me or thinking about it, there's a lot to be said here. Because actually, it works to motivate you essentially. On average, people. people added an extra 1,800 steps a day. That's a lot. You know, if you're trying to get that, I know it's made up by a Japanese company, the 10,000 steps,

but it's good for your health sort of thing. That's a lot of extra steps. That's almost 20% more, 20% of your way to your 10,000, sorry. And that equates to almost 40 minutes more walking. So that's really serious. What was so interesting, I was at a conference in Paris on Monday at the head of Donon, and they were talking about tech for gut health coming in.

and the fact that we are more likely, and it's true by research, as you've just said, to make health behavior changes if we can visibly see it. One of the big parts of being a human being, evolutionarily speaking, as well, is that we just want to see results. We can't help it. We have to be able to be motivated in some ways. So that's why most people, yeah, are moving to it, aren't they? Yeah.

So if you're thinking about it, there you go. That's what camp you'll fit into. Or if you already have one last thing, what you think? What was I again? I've forgotten already. Oh, human. I was an ultra human. No, I wasn't.

You were like the all-in. You were the maximalist optimising. You want everything. Oh, so funny. Oh, and everybody, thank you so much before we wrap up for sharing your fitness accounts that don't focus on body shape or size, as we've discussed today. It's great to get moving. We've got so many on the Spotify of views.

We've got Caroline circuits. You've got Levina META's program, stable and strong. fitness barbora fitness starlight movement um we'll put them all on the show notes yeah put them all on the show notes and have a look at the spotify reviews under our episode on microplastics last week because you've all shared so many fantastic accounts so thank you everybody for sharing those and i have two community-based microplastic pickups for us as well on that topic now both anna and claire wrote in to talk to us about this okay so i'm going to pick up from claire first now Claire said, hi, Ella and Ree. I'm listening to your latest podcast this morning and you

were talking about indoor air pollution and microplastics. I work at the Royal Society of Chemistry and I want to reassure you there are plenty of chemists working on this. It is a capital letter's very complex problem and it's very important to acknowledge that as individuals, it is limited in what we can do and more research regulation, quite frankly, money is needed. Outdoor air quality is well studied, for example, pollutants, particulates are monitored but this is much less so when it comes to indoor air quality. The report I've shared goes into detail, but there's lots of factors like what stoves we use, gas or electric,

whether you own your home or rent, and therefore the condition of your building and content, the complexity of government departments, when air quality is a multi-discipline problem, differences in regulation in the workplace and the home, and these are not always within our control. So Claire worked on a big report that was published in 2023 that basically did say that there really is this growing evidence

that indoor air pollution has significant short and long-term impact. as we know, but going into everything that she just said above. So I will link to that, but she's also recommended a podcast that breaks down the topic for everyone. She was very clear to say that it's designed for all of us, laymen, and it's called bought to you by chemistry, and it comes from the Royal Society of Chemistry. So I will link that in the show notes as well. Lots of people also said, Ella, that they didn't want to open their windows on Spotify,

of you course, I was like air in the bedroom, but if you live in London next to a main road, why would you want to do that? Yeah, she also shared that the World Health Organization estimated in 2020, we'll see a few years ago, though, that more than 3 million people worldwide die every year due to illnesses resulting from harmful indoor air in their home. So, yeah, as I said, I'll link all everything that Claire shared on that because it's really interesting.

Now, Anna also had something very interesting to say on microplastics and has recommended another podcast that I listened to on my train in this morning. And this was all about microplastics. and the different mechanisms that scientists are using to understand how much microplastics are in our bodies, in our brains. Now, we've picked up on that study that went completely viral about having a spoonful of microplastics in our brain, which I'm sure freaked to you guys all out as well.

And now what she has shared is the fact that there are lots of different methodologies used to look for microplastics in the different tissues that we have, including the brain. And this study that we were talking about that went completely viral, there are different scientists who dispute whether or not the method used for that was correct and that there are other methods to use. Now, essentially what the dispute in this study is over is that for the one that looked at having a spoonful of microplastics in your brain, they actually burned the tissue to find the microplastics in this case, polyethylene. Now, that can look quite similar to fat when it's burned. And obviously our brains are very much made up of a huge amount of fat. So that's the big dispute in that area.

I think essentially when you broke down the podcast, what they're saying is that the technique used to look at how much microplastics we have in our bodies is hotly debated. There are different techniques available. And some of those show that we have many less, many less, many fewer microplastics in our brains and our bodies. Obviously, that's really good. everyone though thinks that there is microplastics in us and that that is concerning so that she also was pointing out there was another study that went viral I think it was a couple of years ago saying that we eat a credit card amount of plastic I remember that consistently and then

but that's been disputed saying actually it would take us 23,000 years to eat that much plastic so you know basically what she's pointing out is there's lots of different studies available and they show disputing amounts of microplastics so maybe it's It's less concerning, but equally I think all of the scientists are quicker to show there are microplastics in our brains, sorry, in our bodies, and that matters, so. Thank you for sharing that. It's so good to have a rounded approach. It's amazing.

And she has also recommended the podcast, Science Verses, and the episode that is called Is There Really a Plastic Spoon in Our Brains, and I will also pop that in the show notes. Lots of links for all in the show notes today, everybody. Remember, there's never one size of it's all in science, either. Everybody's always doing a study for, against disputing methodologies. And I think it just shows there's, you know, as I think, you know, Reid's always so focused on. There is so much nuance in health and wellness.

And it's so impossible to say this is the one thing you must do forever. Apart from fiber. Apart from the fiber formula, everybody. That is the only thing we can concretely say you need to do and getting outside in nature. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, it's true. And sleeping and, you know. Seeing a friend.

It's true. It's true. Apart from your fundamentals. Okay, guys, thank you so much. We will see you back here on Thursday. we've got some really great topics coming up on Thursday. We're looking at things like habit stacking, sugars versus sweeteners, adaptogens, all sorts of things. So we will see you back then.

Thank you. Bye.