The Well Well Well manifesto
How to do wellness without being a joyless bore
Do you find the concept of ‘wellness’ off-putting? If you associate it with joylessly sipping a green juice, then I wouldn’t blame you.
As a journalist and health coach, I know how hard people find lifestyle change. Whether trying to exercise more, eat more healthily, manage stress or improve sleep, they tell me it’s ‘boring’.
They see being healthy as a life of bleak deprivation. It doesn’t have to be this way!
Well Well Well is about finding the fun in things that are good for you, and acknowledging that social connection, rejecting perfectionism and living deliberately are as important for your health as how many vegetables you eat.
Everyone is different, and something that makes one person feel great might not be right for you. There is no point forcing yourself to do something that you hate, or feeling guilty about not doing it, when your time would be better spent finding the healthy things that bring you joy (I promise you, they exist).
As I always say: it’s only good for you if you enjoy it.
Scroll down for previous editions of Well Well Well, with links grouped in categories.
Who am I?
I’m a journalist who has written for the Times, Telegraph, Grazia and Vogue.
I spent my 20s (OK, and a lot of my 30s) living in a way that would make Dr Rangan Chatterjee do his concerned frown. I drank too much, never exercised, was so stressed, slept badly and ate ultra-processed convenience foods (I still have a weakness for Super Noodles).
I only really considered the impact of my lifestyle on my body when I had kids and realised that parenting on a hangover is no joke. This led to my first book, Mindful Drinking: How Cutting Down Can Change Your Life.
But the big turning point came when I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021, aged 40. To be clear: I’m not saying that my lifestyle caused my cancer. No one can say why it happened and, believe me, I’ve asked every expert going. But there are certainly things that you can do to reduce your risk, which I was not doing pre-cancer.
Now, having been through 18 months of treatment, including chemotherapy, mastectomy surgery, radiotherapy and further adjuvant chemo, I don’t ever want to have cancer again. I have spoken to surgeons, oncologists, psychologists, physios, scientists and experts in human behaviour to learn exactly what will reduce my risk, and - importantly - how to incorporate it into my life in a way that is doable and fun.
I go into detail on all of this in my second book, Reconstruction: How to Rebuild Your Body, Mind and Life After a Breast Cancer Diagnosis.
Lots of people come to Well Well Well because they want to change their relationship with alcohol or avoid getting breast cancer and, having written books on both these topics, I can certainly help with that. But the goal here is to cover so much more than booze and cancer, and help you feel great in every part of your life.
I’ve written about hormones, immunity, bone health, gut health, liver health, sleep, lymphatics, procrastination, seasonal affective disorder, choosing not to have chemo, managing the mental load, stress, spirituality, menopause, mushrooms, fibre, protein, weight loss, time-restricted eating, learning to love exercise and lots more.
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Well Well Well launched in May 2022, was chosen as one of the Observer’s 33 Best Substacks in 2023, and a Substack Featured Publication in 2024.
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The gospel of Well Well Well ✨
So glad to have found you! As a fellow breast cancer survivor, I relate deeply to wanting to do whatever you can to never have breast cancer again. I love that you mix fun into the equation — something that doesn’t come naturally to me. Looking forward to reading more!
What a brilliant intro - headed back up to read some more of your brilliant take on wellness. ✨💫