A question I asked myself hundreds of times over 25 years of yo-yo dieting  was “How do I overcome this obstacle of impulse and emotional eating?” 

I used to think to myself; “If I’m ever going to drop this weight and get a life, I’m going to have to get a handle on this! But how? Change is hard!” 

It seemed impossible for me to break free from my “bad” habits and I wondered what was wrong with me? 

I wondered that allllll the time!  

• Why couldn’t I stop doing things that I wanted to stop?  
• What was that internal force that kept driving me to do things I wanted to stop doing? 
• Why wasn’t I able to stop the hand-to-mouth action?  
• Why did I keep putting weight back on?  
• Why was there always a war raging inside of me when I wanted to stop doing one thing and start doing another more...

 Throughout my 25-year struggle with weight I did all kinds of exercise: 

• Bootcamp 
• Running 
• PT sessions 
• (Lots of) cardio 
• Yoga 
• Hot Yoga 
• Aerial Yoga 
• Body combat classes 
• Body pump classes 
• Circuit training 
• Spin classes 
• Aerobics 
• Aqua aerobics 
• Kettlebell workouts 
• Stair running 
• Martial arts 
• HIIT training 
• Strength training with weights 
• Strength training using calisthenics 
• Tennis 
• Softball 
• 12 week challenges 

So which of those was the best for losing weight?  

HERE’S WHAT I LEARNED 

All of them can contribute to weight loss, but rather than thinking about losing weight, it’s better to think about why you want to lose weight.   

The reason you want to lose weight will help you decide what type of exercise you should select.  

Do you want to lose...

What we want is to feel: 

• Flexible 
• Strong 
• Slender and toned 
• Confident 
• Self-assured 
• Independent 
• Energised  
• Sexy   

But instead, we find ourselves: 

• Emotional eating 
• Stressed and succumbing to time pressures 
• Unaware of hidden food intolerances  
• Losing focus and concentration 
• Over or under-training 
• Lethargic 
• Self-conscious 
• Falling back into old habits 

So how do we overcome the challenges of day to day life and  

• Eat well 
• Maintain both daily strength building and cardio activity 
• Rest and relax 
• Find emotional balance   
• Feel confident and empowered 
• Master our mental dissonance  
• Lose weight 
• Build strength and confidence  
• Feel fitter, healthier and sexier 
• Find our freedom 

We step into a 360° approach to our health, happiness,...

I helped a man make a great decision in the supermarket the other day.  

He was standing in the isle in front of the crisps section, shifting back and forth on his feet, unable to make a decision about what he wanted. I watched him for a bit and finally I said, “Did you know that your inability to decide what you want means that you don’t actually want any of them and that what’s keeping you rooted to the spot is simply your habit of buying chips?”  

He looked at me with wide eyes, as though I’d just told him the secret to the Universe. I went on to say “Your best choice right in this moment is to turn, and walk down to the check outs and leave, you’ll be so happy with that choice that you will smile for the rest of your journey home”  

He agreed, saying “I don’t know why I’m standing here, I came in for some tomatoes for dinner tonight and I...

Recently I watched a documentary on obese teenagers and the many struggles they have in breaking free from the cycle. It was heartbreaking on so many levels, for them and their families as they all do their best to bring about change and save their lives. 

So much of their struggle rang true with me and I could empathize with them on the level that knowing what not to eat does not stop us wanting to eat it and that will power alone will never concur wanting over the long-haul. 

I also related to the denial that allows the weight to escalate un-noticed.   

I’ve written about this before, we make adjustment after adjustment so we don’t see that we’re gaining: 

• We stop getting on the scales 
• We adjust our belts one notch at a time 
• We wear looser clothing 
• We wear the same sets of clothes 

I always hated the bathroom scales, and gave them too much power...

I was sitting in the sun yesterday enjoying a cloudless blue sky and brilliant sunshine, staring lazily at the world around me, thinking about nothing in particular, just letting my mind rest and my body enjoy the warmth of the sunshine. 

Sometimes I think Superman and I must be related, a good dose of sunshine recharges me too, it's a remedy for everything and gives me life. 

As I was sitting there, all empty head and morning stares, my thoughts drifted over an endless flow of different things like cool water over pebbles in a mountain stream. 

I thought about my friend's children who'll turn 18 and 21 later this year and remembered when I was that young and how back then, especially at 21, how mature I felt, like I'd arrived at adulthood. 

I was doing all the things that I’d equated with maturity, working, driving, and living with my boyfriend of the time, keeping house and generally being an adult in every...

Life may throw challenges our way, but it's our decisions that shape our path. 

Explore how to make empowering choices every single day, regardless of the obstacles. From battling the quitter's mind to developing a resilient mindset, I've got you covered. 

Tune in to this week’s episode of The Weight is Over™ and join us in discovering the keys to taking control of your mindset, trusting yourself, boosting confidence, and living your life filled with energy and enthusiasm. 

Personal Health Leadership™ empowers you to regain control, overcome obstacles, and find your freedom. 

It's time to slide back into the driver's seat of your life and embrace a healthier, happier you. 

Watch this episode of Dietless Living® 360 Degrees The Weight is Over™ on YouTube or listen to it on Spotify, iTunes, Google, or Amazon Music and find out. 

I know it’s only Feb and we’ve not long had Christmas holidays but I felt I hadn’t had quite enough down time, so I had a cheeky week off to live free and follow my heart.  

I did some road trips, no destination in mind, just heading south west where the roads are clear, straight, gorgeous scenery, expansive wide open spaces, and a reminder that there is a more relaxed way of living.  

It was great to:  

• Switch off 
  
• Explore new places 
  
• Walk in nature 
  
• Blow out the cobwebs 
  
• Think about nothing 
  
• Connect with the wider perspective  
  
• Remember there are more ways to live life 

Our constant focus on living our best life, doing the next right thing, reaching our goals, being healthy, staying motivated and being our best selves is what makes us great and gives us those feelings of achievement and success that we love. 

 
And letting go, loosening...

If your body was a rental, would you get your bond back? If not, then it’s never too late to make a change.  

If we want our future to be fit, healthy, happy and active, then we need to practice now to make that happen.  

• An athlete, who wants to win gold at the Olympics, doesn’t just show up on the day, unprepared. They practice every day for the imagined time in their future 
  

• Arnold Schwarzenegger didn’t turn up to a body building competition without having done the training every day beforehand. 
  

• No one gets to the top of their game without focusing consistently and persistently on what it is they want to achieve. 

They all practice now for the future they want for themselves. 

PRACTICE CAN BE FUN

If you’re thinking about being fit, healthy, and happy in your future, now is the time you’re in...

There is too much to do! My life is too busy, there’s just too many things to overcome, I can’t see how on earth I’ll ever be able to ditch this weight! I've got to have my freedom, it's all just too much, I just can’t get my head around it! 

DEALING WITH OVERWHELM  

It happens doesn’t it, we find ourselves looking at the scales and wondering how the heck did that happen? When did that number get so big? And how on earth are going to get it back down?  

It can be very overwhelming, but it can also be very empowering. 

Because it’s in those moments we wake up and decide enough is enough, it’s time to do something.  

But life is busy and losing weight can seem like a huge mountain we have to climb and we’re not sure how to we’re going to get there. The first thing is to take a deep breath, you don't have to do it all now,...