Welcome to our Wednesday words of wisdom, everyone, not just our words, but those of an expert we've

spoken to about a burning midlife issue. And it's a big one this week, Lorraine, because we're

going to be tackling

something that has been entrenched in us Gen X women since childhood and actually handed down

from our mothers. And unfortunately, something we find our daughters doing too. But we need to

start breaking the cycle, don't we? I think it's all women, isn't it, Trish? We absolutely do need

to start breaking this cycle.

What we're talking about is our own internal negative body image.

It's a kind of damaging narrative that many of us have grown up with,

cabbage soup diet, our parents on weight watchers, talking constantly all the time.

And this sort of perfectionist striving that

many women have to look thinner, to be smaller, to, you know, to have a better tanned body,

you know, that dreadful gets summer ready. All of that has been in our mindset. And we've sort

of obsessed about it. And this phrase we use a lot, Trish, isn't it?

Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah.

...eastern ourselves in the gym. It's not going there to enjoy it.

It's to look thinner, to look this, to look that.

It's a narrative running through our veins, unfortunately.

And it's very self-deprecating. It's quite negative.

We have a default thing, I think, as Gen X Women to make fun of ourselves

all the time, which is a real shame. And actually, if we could just change that unkind inner voice,

...