In this episode, I’m joined by Sarah Ann Macklin to explore why modern wellness can feel more overwhelming, performative, and emotionally exhausting than ever before. Sarah is a registered nutritionist, founder of the Be Well Collective, and author of Healthy Shouldn’t Be This Hard, a new book examining the hidden psychological costs of perfectionism, optimisation culture, and our pursuit of health at all costs.
We unpack the tension between wanting to improve our health and becoming consumed by the pressure to constantly optimise. Along the way, Sarah shares insights from her own journey through the modelling industry, the science of self-compassion, and why sustainable health behaviours require more than just willpower and discipline.
What We Cover
- Why wellness culture can sometimes undermine wellbeing
- The hidden stress of optimisation and biohacking culture
- Self-compassion versus self-esteem and why the distinction matters
- How chronic self-criticism affects our health and physiology
- The psychology of eating behaviours and body image
- Why mindset shapes long-term health habits
- The role of connection, purpose, and identity in health
- Practical ways to build a healthier relationship with food and yourself
I really enjoyed this conversation with Sarah. Her perspective brings together psychology, nutrition science, and lived experience in a way that feels both practical and deeply human. I hope this episode helps you think differently about what “being healthy” actually means.
Pre-order Sarah’s new book, Healthy Shouldn’t Be This Hard, and follow her on Instagram, subscribe to her YouTube channel, and read her writing on Substack. You can also learn more about Sarah and her work on her website.
- Intro (00:00)
- What Wellness Culture Is Getting Wrong Right Now (01:16)
- The Chambermaid Study: How Mindset Changes Your Body (05:48)
- The Milkshake Study: Your Perception Affects Your Metabolism (07:06)
- Sarah’s Modeling Career, Collapse, and ER Wake-Up Call (09:11)
- How Social Media Weaponizes Self-Comparison (14:01)
- Has Optimization Culture Gone Too Far? (17:58)
- How to Know When Health Habits Become Counterproductive (22:36)
- Self-Compassion Is a Muscle — Here’s How to Build It (27:28)
- How Common Is Beating Yourself Up Over Health? (30:26)
- The Chocolate Bar Test: Audit Your Self-Compassion (36:33)
- How to Reconnect with Your Real Hunger Signals (39:36)
- The 3-Step Compassion Framework for Eating Decisions (40:57)
- Discipline vs. Self-Compassion: They’re Not Opposites (43:44)
- The “Friend Filter”: The Simplest Self-Compassion Tool (57:12)
- What Better Wellness Culture Looks Like in 5 Years (01:02:17)
- Where to Find Sarah’s Book “Healthy Shouldn’t Be This Hard” (01:04:48)
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More about Sarah Ann Macklin
Sarah Ann Macklin is an award-winning nutritionist, Penguin author, and speaker whose work has taken her from global stages to the European Parliament. The global wellness industry is worth $8.5 trillion, yet we’re facing an unprecedented public health crisis. Sarah’s answer, drawn from years of clinical practice and research: we know more about nutrition than any generation before us, but we’ve totally overlooked ourselves in the equation.
Her debut book, Healthy Shouldn’t Be This Hard (Penguin, May 2026) is built around one belief: the game changer isn’t more information or stricter rules, it’s learning to be your own best ally. She hosts the Live Well Be Well podcast, with over 400 episodes and the world’s top minds and has built a reputation for bringing self-compassion, not perfection, to the heart of health.
