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...

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,...

My wonderful, beautiful sister bought me a copy of “The Rule of 10-10-10” by Suzy Welch many years ago and it was one of the easiest and most helpful reads because she provides a super simple decision making strategy that can be used for everything from what you’re putting in your mouth to how you’re living your life. 

Every time Suzi finds herself in a situation where there appears to be no solution that will make everyone happy, she asks herself three questions: 

What are the consequences of my decision: 

• In 10 minutes? 
• In 10 months? 
• And in 10 years? 

HOW TO USE THIS SIMPLE STRATEGY 

Ask yourself daily: 

• How will the choices and decisions I’m making now, this minute, about everything (how to use my time, energy, thoughts, focus, attention, body, my choices and decisions, about what I eat, drink, spend my money on and the people I have in my life or not have in my...

Are you a rule follower or a rule breaker? 

Did you know rules are to stop anarchy? If there were no rules then life would be chaotic.But the rules we live by are often out-dated and preventing us from reaching our goals and ambitions. 

So as you step into 2024, think about the rules you were raised on: 

• Rules of your family 
• Rules of school 
• Rules of religion 
• Rules in your social groups 
• Rules in every facet of your life 

Now think about your own person rules that you live your life by: 

• Rules about weight loss 
• Rules about work 
• Rules about love 

• Rules about money 
• Rules about others 
• Rules about what success you can have 
• Rules about what you allow yourself to experience 
• Rules about life 

• Rules about the home 

Your rules are the collection of rules gathered throughout your life and this is how you're living your life right now. 

“Some...

Woop woop, it’s nearly Christmas!  

Here’s 8 Ways to Make Christmas 2023 Your Merriest Christmas Ever 

1. Laughter really is the best medicine (see last week’s blog for more on that!). Christmas can be a real mixed bag of emotions as we know and there doesn’t always feel like there is a lot to laugh about, yet with a little poking, a little prodding, a little tickle here and a little chuckle there, we can elevate our own mood and (sometimes) the mood of others. If you’ve got something super serious and intense going on, firstly, I’m sorry to hear that, because that stuff sucks, and secondly, a little chuckle or giggle here and there is important just to break through that tension, we all need relief, and so do you. 
    
2. Beat the festive season blues with happy tunes to dance to, the geekier the better: Kylie Minogue Locomotion, Abba Dancing Queen or just some good old favourites Status Quo Rockin’ All...