Below Her Surface

In this episode of Below Her Surface, Lily sits down with Matilda Brown, co-founder of Good Farm Shop, Australia's first regenerative and organic ready meal delivery service. What started as a Covid-lockdown cow share on her parents' farm has grown into a kitchen in Brookvale producing hand-cooked meals from regeneratively farmed ingredients, delivered to your door.This conversation pulls back the curtain on where food actually comes from before it reaches your plate and why that starting point matters more than most people realise. Matilda and Lily cut through the packaged food marketing, the $10 meal economics, and the gap between what the wellness space talks about and what ends up in most people's fridges.In this episode, Lily and Matilda explore:The three farming systems: what separates industrial, conventional, and regenerative farming, why glyphosate and synthetic fertilisers are the norm, and what no chemical inputs actually means for the food you eatSoil health and carbon sequestration: why regenerative farming prioritises the ground beneath the animal, and why that has a direct line to the nutrient density of the foodThe $10 ready meal problem: why price point is the most honest indicator of ingredient quality, and what has to be compromised to hit itThe cow share origin: how a family farm, a Covid lockdown, and a lot of leftover chuck mince accidentally became a businessThe mobile abattoir: how Good Farm Shop bypasses commercial processing and what that means for animal welfare and provenanceFrom vegan to regenerative: Matilda's personal relationship with food, how seven years of veganism ended with a slow-cooked lamb, and why ethical sourcing was the answer she didn't know existedBuilding a food business from scratch: markets, Waitrose inspiration, a Brookvale kitchen, and a team of 13For the woman who wants to eat well and actually understand where her food comes from.Find Matilda Brown & The Good Farm Shop:Website: thegoodfarmshop.comInstagram: @thegoodfarm.shopConnect with LilyInstagram:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @lilycook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apply to work with Lily⁠⁠⁠⁠Clinical Disclaimer:This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. The content shared by Lily Cook and guests reflects general education and personal experience, not a clinical consultation. Always consult a qualified healthcare practitioner before making changes to your health protocol.This episode contains a personal discussion of disordered eating including restrictive eating and bulimia. If any of this resonates with you or someone you know, support is available.

In this episode of Below Her Surface, Lily sits down with Adrian Adams, naturopath and functional medicine practitioner at Fugen Health, for a return conversation that goes deeper into the clinical mechanisms behind hormonal skin conditions.This conversation pulls back the curtain on what the skin is actually communicating when it breaks out, holds congestion, or shifts in texture and oiliness. Lily and Adrian move past the topical, the serums, the retinols, the dietary generalisations and go into the specific pathways: how elevated insulin drives androgen output, how a constipated bowel recirculates oestrogen, and why women who have addressed their PCOS markers still find their skin lagging behind.In this episode, Lily and Adrian explore:Skin as an internal report card: why what presents on the surface is always a downstream signal of something systemic, and how to read itHyperinsulinemia and the androgen cascade: how elevated insulin changes cellular output in the ovary, drives testosterone, elevates sebum production, and creates the conditions for cystic acneDesquamation dysfunction: why acne is not just an oil problem, how skin cell shedding becomes dysregulated, and what vitamin A deficiency has to do with RoaccutaneThe gut-skin axis: how dysbiosis and constipation create a toxin recirculation loop that worsens insulin resistance and drives androgen excess back through the systemFoods that dysregulate skin cell turnover: the specific proteins in dairy, gluten, and peanuts that mimic growth factors and accelerate the conditions for blocked poresOestrogen detoxification via the bowel: why fibre, bowel motility, and stool frequency are non-negotiable in hormonal skin clearanceWomen's bowel biology: why women are structurally more prone to constipation, how the premenstrual bowel slowdown compounds the problem, and what to do about itVitamin A supplementation: when high-dose retinol is appropriate, what serum retinol testing looks like, and the two contraindications that matterFor the woman who has been told her skin is hormonal and handed a topical cream. There is a protocol below the surface.Adrian AdamsInstagram:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠@fugenhealthWebsite: ⁠⁠www.fugenhealth.com.auConnect with LilyInstagram:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @lilycook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apply to work with Lily⁠⁠⁠Clinical Disclaimer:This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. The content shared by Lily Cook and guests reflects general education and professional experience, not a clinical consultation. Always consult a qualified healthcare practitioner before making changes to your health protocol, particularly regarding supplementation.

In this episode of Below Her Surface, Lily sits down with Karena Elchaar, lymphatic drainage therapist and beauty therapist, founder of Upfront Glow, to pull apart one of the most misrepresented treatments in the women's wellness space.This conversation moves beyond the before-and-after aesthetics that dominate lymphatic content online. Lily and Karena cut through the marketing noise, the "get skinny" promises, the deep-pressure myths, the one-treatment fixes and reframe lymphatic drainage for what it actually is: a filtration and immune support system that, when chronically sluggish, shows up as bloating, fluid retention, fatigue, and gut dysfunction. The kind of symptoms women are told are just hormonal, just stress, just how their body is.In this episode, Lily and Karena explore:The lymphatic system as filtration, not aesthetics: why your lymph nodes, vessels, and ducts are doing far more than reducing puffiness, and what happens when the system stallsDeep pressure versus true lymphatic drainage: why the lymphatic system is superficial in the body, and why harder pressure is passing straight through itThe "not regular" gut pattern: why so many women presenting with chronic bloating and constipation are missing the lymphatic piece entirelyOestrogen, PCOS, and fluid retention: how excess oestrogen accumulation shows up in the lymphatic system and what to look forMovement as a lymphatic pump: why the system has no heart driving it, and which daily movements (walking, rebounding, deep breathing, calf raises) actually shift fluidThe root cause question: why coming every two weeks without addressing why you're inflamed is a treatment strategy, not a solutionHow to vet a practitioner: why "lymphatic drainage" is unregulated, what qualifications to look for, and the red flags that signal someone's had a two-day courseThis episode is for the woman who has tried everything on the surface and is ready to look at what's actually backing her up below it.Karena ElchaarInstagram:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@bronteglow⁠Website: ⁠Bronte Glow⁠Connect with LilyInstagram:⁠⁠⁠⁠ @lilycook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apply to work with Lily⁠⁠Clinical Disclaimer:This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. The content shared by Lily Cook and guests reflects general education and professional experience, not a clinical consultation. Always consult a qualified healthcare practitioner before making changes to your health protocol.

In part two of this special series, Lily is rejoined by her mum and clinical naturopath Amanda Haberecht to tackle the second round of community questions, this time focused entirely on the intersection of endometriosis and fertility. Amanda runs Darling Health, a multidisciplinary clinic with a significant endometriosis and fertility caseload, and brings clinical pattern recognition that most women never get access to.This conversation moves beyond the binary of "endo means infertility" to look at what the data actually says, what specialists disagree on, and which testing pathways shorten a woman's road to answers. Lily and Amanda cut through the noise on surgery, supplementation, oestrogen detoxification, and the mental load of being told everything wrong with you starts and ends with one diagnosis.In this episode, Lily and Amanda explore:The 50% statistic — why half of women presenting to IVF clinics have endometriosis, but only 20 to 30 percent of women with endo will struggle to conceive.Why the severity of disease doesn't predict the fertility outcome — and why a woman with widespread endo can have four children while another with stage one struggles for years.The seven and a half year diagnosis delay — what's behind it, and why so many women still leave their GP being told "it's just period pain."Surgery, IVF, and the specialist tightrope — when laparoscopy helps fertility, when it creates more scar tissue, and how to navigate conflicting advice between an endo surgeon and an IVF doctor.AMH and the shorter fertility window — why women with endo should be testing AMH early, what egg freezing decisions look like with this information, and what can actually stabilise the number.Omega-3s, NAC, and the supplements with real evidence — including the data on NAC shrinking endometriomas and supporting embryo implantation rates.MTHFR, COMT and the oestrogen detox pathway — why every woman with endo who runs a Dutch or endo map test shows blocks, and what that means for protocol design.The estrobolome — how the gut and vaginal microbiomes determine how effectively oestrogen is detoxified and cleared.When all roads stop leading to endo — why miscarriage, low energy, and conception delays in a woman with endometriosis are sometimes Hashimoto's, methylation issues, or male factor in disguise.This episode is a grounded, science-led continuation of Part 1, reminding us that an endometriosis diagnosis is the start of the investigation, not the end of the conversation.Amanda HaberechtInstagram:⁠ ⁠@darlinghealth_sydneyConnect with LilyInstagram:⁠⁠ @lilycook⁠⁠⁠⁠Apply to work with Lily⁠⁠DisclaimerThe content in this episode is for educational purposes and reflects the clinical experience of the host and guest. It is not a substitute for individualised medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Specific supplements (including NAC and methylated B-vitamins), functional medicine tests (Dutch, endo map, vaginal microbiome panels), and fertility decisions should be discussed with your treating clinician before making any changes.

In this episode of Below Her Surface, Lily sits down with long-time client and friend Ella Iskander: founder of a fast-growing content and marketing agency, and someone who spent the better part of a decade overtraining, undereating, and running on cortisol while her body quietly shut down the systems that matter most.This conversation moves beyond surface-level wellness and pulls back the curtain on what chronic overtraining and undereating actually does to a woman's hormones and what it takes to reverse it.In this episode, Lily and Ella explore:Not having a cycle and thinking it was fine. Why young women normalise amenorrhoea, when that stopped being okay, and what hitting breaking point actually looked like.Fight or flight as a lifestyle. How overtraining, undereating, and chronic stress compounded into a body that couldn't regulate, sleep, or function.Twelve years of calorie tracking. What finally broke it, why an overseas trip felt lighter than home, and the relationship between head noise and body composition.Why nutrients can't outwork a calorie deficit. The iodine, B12, iron problem: what you're actually doing when you optimise micronutrients on an insufficient base.Pre-conception blood work as standard. Why Lily insists on full visibility before conception, and what that process looked like for Ella.Pregnancy nutrition myths. What maintenance calories actually look like, why most women aren't hitting them, and why "eating for two" is not the brief.Training through pregnancy. Going from five to six sessions a week to four, learning to use rest days, and what recovery actually produces.Building a business that moves fast. From corporate media agency to running her own marketing studio and elevated merch label.Family and ambition together. Why pregnancy gave Ella more drive, not less, and what she'd say to women who think they have to choose.The north star: a body that couldn't conceive isn't a broken body. It's one that needed the right protocol, not more willpower.Ella IskanderInstagram:⁠ @ella.iskanderConnect with LilyInstagram:⁠ @lilycook⁠⁠Apply to work with Lily⁠Disclaimer:The content in this episode is for educational purposes and reflects the clinical experience of the host and guest. It is not a substitute for individualised medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified practitioner before making changes to your nutrition, training, or medication.

In this episode of Below Her Surface, Lily sits down with Rachel Godfrey: strength coach, founder of Chase Life Consulting and The House of Onyx, and a clinician's clinician on female fat loss. After 13 years in the industry working with high-achieving women over 35, Rachel's built a model that refuses to treat the body as separate from the woman living in it. This conversation moves beyond the fitness industry's "track your calories and try harder" template to interrogate why the same traits that made you successful in your career are now sabotaging your body. Lily and Rachel cut through the noise on identity work, the real mechanics of cravings, and why most women are running a short-term tool against a long-term problem. In this episode, Lily and Rachel explore: Why fat loss is an identity problem, not a willpower problem. What changes when you lead with who you want to become rather than what you want to lose. The high-achiever trap. How perfectionism, completion addiction, over-analysing, and people pleasing accelerate your career and then break your body. The myth of the "perfect" diet plan. Why personalised macro plans are mostly a story women tell themselves and basic principles get the result. Tracking calories as a short-term tool. When it earns its place, when it stops working, and why using it to manage long-term behaviour creates perfectionism and disordered patterns. The 3 PM craving rule. Why afternoon cravings aren't an afternoon problem, and how to read them as a 24-hour signal. Snacking, grazing, and the constant-eating culture. What's actually driving the obsession with eating every two hours. GLP-1s in clinical practice. Where they help, where they're overused, and what happens when you pair them with real identity work versus when you don't. Burnout as the body's verdict on your identity. Rachel's own story of mercury toxicity, adrenal dysfunction, and a torn hamstring as the universe's invoice. Why "size 12 with abs" exposes what women actually want. How conditioning yourself to play small shows up in the goals you're willing to name out loud. This episode is a grounded look at what happens when a strength coach and a clinician stop being polite about the gap between what the fitness industry promises and what actually produces a lasting body. Rachel Godfrey Instagram: @therachelgodfrey Connect with Lily Instagram: @lilycook Apply to work with Lily Disclaimer: The content in this episode is for educational purposes and reflects the clinical experience of the host and guest. It is not a substitute for individualised medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified practitioner before making changes to your nutrition, training, or medication.

In this episode of Below Her Surface, Lily sits down with her former lecturer, sports nutritionist, and naturopath, Kia Sutherland. With decades of experience working with everyone from elite world athletes to teenagers and women navigating perimenopause, Kia brings a wealth of clinical insight into what it truly takes to support a female body under physical stress. This conversation moves beyond the "quick fix" to explore the intersection of metabolic health, hormones, and high-performance nutrition. Kia and Lily unpack the common traps women fall into - such as chronic under-fuelling (REDs) and the psychological toll of rigid dieting - and offer a refreshing, science-backed approach to eating for both performance and longevity. In this episode, Lily and Kia explore: In this episode, Lily and Kia explore: *The Reality of REDs (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport) - Why "overtraining" is often just under-fuelling and how to recover a lost cycle without stopping exercise. *Endurance Nutrition & Troubleshooting - Navigating the "extra 1%" of performance, from sweat rate testing to managing gastrointestinal distress during a marathon. *Cyclical Dieting vs. Cyclical Training - Why it’s beneficial to loosen nutritional restrictions in the week before your period while maintaining a consistent strength protocol. *The Perimenopause Shift - How declining oestrogen and progesterone impact sleep, stress management, and insulin sensitivity. *The Protein Hyper-Focus - Why most women are under-eating protein and how to use it to support glycemic control and muscle maintenance. *Alcohol & Metabolic Health in your 40s - The physiological reasons why alcohol becomes harder to process during the menopausal transition. *Muscle Mass as Longevity - Why holding muscle is the number one predictor of living a long, healthy life and why strength training is vital for bone density. *Individual Body Types & Beauty Standards - Moving away from "one size fits all" body fat percentages and embracing the genetics you were born with. This episode is a masterclass in female physiology, providing a grounded guide for any woman wanting to feel "badass" in her training while respecting the complex biological signals of her body.

In this episode of Below Her Surface, Lily is joined by content creator Matilda for a raw and insightful follow-up Q&A. Having navigated one of the most complex cases of Hashimoto’s Lily has seen in practice, Matilda shares the reality of her 12-month journey from a "thyroid storm" to achieving regulated blood work for the first time in over a decade. This conversation goes beneath the surface of a standard diagnosis, exploring how under-eating, overtraining, and extreme stress can trigger autoimmune spirals. From the heartbreak of miscarriage to the exhaustion of the postpartum period, this episode offers a science-literate yet deeply human look at what it takes to truly heal when the system feels broken. In this episode, Lily and Matilda explore: *Matilda’s Health Update – Moving from a TSH of 104 to regulated markers through food, supplementation, and reduced training intensity. *Can You Reverse Hashimoto’s? – Understanding how to turn autoimmunity "off" and the difference between managing symptoms and achieving dormancy. *Why You Still Feel "Crap" with Normal Bloods – Why TSH alone doesn't tell the full story and the importance of testing T3, T4, antibodies, and iodine. *The Gluten & Dairy Connection – Why removing inflammatory triggers is crucial during an autoimmune flare to clear brain fog and support digestion. *The Reality of Fatigue – Distinguishing between "normal" mum exhaustion and debilitating physiological fatigue that impacts your personality and libido. *Pregnancy & Postpartum Challenges – Navigating thyroid surges, breastfeeding supply issues, and the emotional toll of miscarriage. *Advocating for Yourself in the Medical System – The role of integrative doctors, private testing panels, and finding practitioners who look at the whole picture. *Nutrition Hacks for Busy Parents – Tips for syncing your eating schedule with your kids and the benefits of "flipping" breakfast and dinner. This episode is a grounded guide for anyone feeling dismissed by standard medical advice, reminding us that while the path to health isn't a quick fix, it is possible to feel like yourself again.