Below Her Surface

About Below Her Surface

Below Her Surface hosted by Lily Cook, founder of Metaphysical Wellness, dedicated to unpacking the clinical and human realities of health. Cut through the noise and guesswork with conversations that feature health experts, women in business and lifestyle, and individuals with lived insight - delivering accessible, science-grounded information you can actually use. From hormones to mindset to biology - no trends, no fluff, just what works.

Publisher

Lily Cook

Category

health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

8 Sept 2025

Latest episode

18 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

35 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   18 Oct 2026

   Why You Can’t Lose Weight (Even When You’re Doing Everything Right)

   In this solo episode, Lily explains why understanding your physiology is the missing piece when you’re not seeing results with fat loss or body composition, and why the answer usually isn’t a new diet or another challenge. This conversation looks at what calorie calculators, wearables and willpower can’t show you. Lily draws on the blood work she reviews in discovery calls to explain how years of dieting, underfuelling and stress can make your metabolism more efficient at storing fat. She also explains why working with your own markers, rather than comparing yourself to anyone else, is what creates results that last. In this episode, Lily explores: • Why the calculator gets it wrong: how predictive equations based on height and weight can miss your dieting history and metabolic adaptation• The plateau myth: why a stalled scale can have many causes, including water, glycogen and sodium, rather than a body that’s broken or working against you• Blood work and wearables: what blood work shows over months compared with what wearables show in trends, and why they work best together• Insulin and fat loss: how elevated insulin can influence fat storage and cravings, and why it’s worth considering when setting training intensity• Why high intensity can backfire: how glucose-dependent training can leave you fatigued and stuck in a binge cycle• Thyroid and insulin: why a Hashimoto’s protocol may need to look at insulin alongside thyroid markers• Cortisol, high and low: what a DUTCH test and a blood test each show, their limits, and why low cortisol isn’t a sign you’re “chilled out”• Prolactin: the often-untested hormone linked to your cycle, mood, libido, testosterone and weight• Gaining weight in a deficit: why a deficit on paper may not be a deficit for your physiology, and when eating more is the right move A body that loses weight but can’t hold it isn’t the result you want. A resilient body is. Connect with Lily Instagram: ⁠@lilycook⁠ (https://www.instagram.com/lilycook/?hl=en) ⁠Apply to work with Lily⁠ (https://sites.metaphysicalwellness.co/widget/survey/ejqVSymiGKD981lO2fyv?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAcGRvZgJzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAaekGFDNY967gRNiT4IjCWl59f4c6rilw6WMxVoaotY9oqISgqRIuGu9DquhzQ_aem_voVOjiAtql7ur33KRg24ow) Disclaimer Below Her Surface is for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for individual medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Any discussion of blood markers, hormone testing, calorie intake or training approaches is general in nature and should be interpreted alongside your full health history by a qualified professional. Always consult your GP or a qualified health professional before changing your nutrition, supplementation, training or medication. This includes changes to medication for thyroid conditions such as Hashimoto’s. If you have a history of disordered eating, please seek support from a qualified professional before starting any nutrition or weight-loss program.

2. 

   11 Oct 2026

   Why I Took a Break: My Burnout Story

   In this solo episode, Lily dives into her own experience with burnout: a debilitating back injury, two weeks of vertigo, months of 4 to 5 hours sleep, and blood work that showed her thyroid and hormones had flatlined. This conversation pulls back the curtain on what happens when a clinician who builds strategy around physiology ignores her own. Lily connects her experience to what she sees in women who have spent years in a calorie deficit, overtraining and under fuelling, and explains why the answer is smarter, more strategic programming rather than more intensity. In this episode, Lily explores: Burnout as a physiological event: why your hormones down regulate to force recovery, not because your body is working against you What her blood work showed: a flatlined hormone panel, a suppressed thyroid and a lengthening cycle driven by under-fuelling and stress Calorie deficit = nutrient deficit: why chronic under-eating burns through the minerals your thyroid and hormones depend on Strength training after burnout: starting with one full-body session a week, building to two, and using an upper/lower split when injured or fatigued Why high intensity is the wrong move: what happens when your blood work says no and you push through anyway Supplementation strategy: why low markers like ferritin, vitamin D and iodine need higher starting doses before scaling back, plus the role of magnesium and omega-3s Sleep as the non-negotiable: why poor recovery stalls body composition even when training, calories and supplements are on point Carbohydrates at night: how evening carbs can help blunt cortisol for sleep, if you don't have an insulin issue Chronic dieting as burnout: why 10 to 15 years of dieting is its own form of burnout, and why the first 2 to 3 weeks of doing less is your evidence to keep going A body built to be resilient is the one that gets you through the hard seasons without undoing your results. Connect with Lily Instagram: @lilycook (https://www.instagram.com/lilycook/?hl=en) Apply to work with Lily (https://sites.metaphysicalwellness.co/widget/survey/ejqVSymiGKD981lO2fyv?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAcGRvZgJzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAaekGFDNY967gRNiT4IjCWl59f4c6rilw6WMxVoaotY9oqISgqRIuGu9DquhzQ_aem_voVOjiAtql7ur33KRg24ow) Disclaimer Below Her Surface is for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for individual medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. This episode includes Lily's personal experience with burnout, injury and illness. That experience, and any supplements, dosages or training approaches discussed, reflect her individual circumstances and clinical oversight and should not be applied without guidance. Always consult a qualified health professional before changing your nutrition, supplementation, training or medication, and speak to your GP if you are experiencing persistent pain, dizziness, fatigue or symptoms of burnout. If you are struggling with your mental health, please reach out to a trusted professional or a support service in your area.

3. 

   5 Jul 2026

   Organic, Regenerative & the Meal Delivery Gap: How Good Farm Shop Is Changing What Ends Up on Your Plate

   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 eat Soil 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 food The $10 ready meal problem: why price point is the most honest indicator of ingredient quality, and what has to be compromised to hit it The cow share origin: how a family farm, a Covid lockdown, and a lot of leftover chuck mince accidentally became a business The mobile abattoir: how Good Farm Shop bypasses commercial processing and what that means for animal welfare and provenance From 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 existed Building a food business from scratch: markets, Waitrose inspiration, a Brookvale kitchen, and a team of 13 For the woman who wants to eat well and actually understand where her food comes from. Find Matilda Brown & The Good Farm Shop: Website: thegoodfarmshop.com (https://thegoodfarmshop.com/) Instagram: @thegoodfarm.shop (https://www.instagram.com/thegoodfarm.shop/) Connect with Lily Instagram:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @lilycook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://www.instagram.com/lilycook) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apply to work with Lily⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://metaphysicalwellness.co/) Clinical 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.

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Spotify

5.0 / 5

13 ratings

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