Hormones, Social Media and Remortgaging
TRIBEathlon Podcast
Episode 71: Dr Nicky Keay is a leading expert in endocrinology, having gained extensive clinical and research experience in hormones and their impact on the human body. She has focused much of her research on both athletes and dancers and has done a lot of research on how what we eat affects our hormone balance, and how this not only impacts our performance in sport, but also our long-term health.
Claire and I got the chance to chat to Dr Nicky about the impact of hormonal balance on our sport, how we can test and improve it to maximise our results, and also the hidden side effects of under fuelling in our training.
What I’ve Been Reading
I was a huge Billy Connelly fan in my formative years, so when I saw his autobiography Windswept & Interesting released, I knew I would have to read it, and I wasn’t disappointed. It tells the sad story of his upbringing to being diagnosed with Parkinson’s through the medium of hilarious stories. Many are his old classic jokes, and much of it was new to me. You won’t laugh more through an autobiography than this.
What I’ve Been Watching
Social media and smart devices bring positives and negatives to our lives and The Tinder Swindler highlights many of both. Telling the true story of a conman posing as a wealthy, jet-setting diamond mogul who wooed women online then conned them out of millions of dollars, and also how his victims planned to get payback. Captivating and scary viewing.
Quotes of the Week
A few favourites from Billy Connelly
"Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes. After that who cares? He's a mile away and you've got his shoes!”
"There are two seasons in Scotland: June and Winter."
"I’m actually pale blue: it takes me a week of sunbathing to turn white."
"Who discovered we could get milk from cows, and what did he THINK he was doing at the time?"
Finance Theme I’ve Been Considering
The Bank of England recently voted 6-3 to increase its base rate of interest 0.25% to 1%. This is the fourth raise in succession putting rates at their highest level since February 2009 off the back of the 2008 global financial crisis. The increase will hit the 2m+ UK homeowners with variable rate mortgage repayments at a time where cost of living is top-of-mind for many. If that applies to you, you need to remortgage ASAP before rates rise even further.
The move to increase interest rates is widely hoped to bring control to rates of inflation which hit a 30 year high at 9%, however, some fear it could act to spark a recession. However Director at Rightmove, Tim Bannister, suggests it will not slow the pace of growth in the housing market: “It will take time for the rise in interest rates to feed through to the market, and despite further rises being a possibility this year, right now the data suggests this is not dampening the desire for people to move. Despite economic headwinds such as the rise in cost of living, buyer demand is still up around 60% from the more normal 2019 market. The home and where we live has become even more fundamental for people over the last couple of years, meaning that even with economic challenges, people are still prioritising this decision.” Mr Bannister goes on to state that whilst growth will likely continue, buyer behaviour, and budgeting might need become more conservative.
