“Where do I go from here? I’ve tried so many things, I’m afraid to try anything else, I just can’t cope with the disappointment of failing again. I don’t know how I got here and I don’t know how to get out.”   

That was me 13 years ago, lost.  

I’d literally tried dozens of weight loss programs, looking for the something that would work for me, something that would give me the forever results that I was looking for.   

I’d lost all sense of direction, I didn’t know which way to go, there were so many differing opinions about what was the right way to eat and exercise, I’d tried most of them and honestly, they just didn’t fit my lifestyle or what I wanted.  

I was no longer the uneducated 21-year-old who knew nothing of nutrition, fitness, or any of the other elements needed to be healthy and happy.  

I was a 46-year-old woman, living a full organic lifestyle with 25 years of education into health, habits, and happiness filling my bookshelves, my mind and my life...

Happy Easter!  

I always think of Easter as a gift. It's permission to take some well-needed and well-earned time out, to step away from the hamster wheels we’ve been running on and do whatever floats our boat. It’s where we get to regroup and recharge our batteries, however, that looks for you. 

Whatever you’re doing, simply enjoy yourself and forget about the Easter eggs, its’ just chocolate after all. It might be in fun shapes and glittery wrappings and boxes, but, it’s still the same chocolate that you can buy any old day of the year.   

Even I find myself looking at the glamorously wrapped offerings on the shelf and feeling the familiar tug of feelings and excitement that yes, Easter is coming;  “I’ve been working hard, a little smackeral of a bunnies ear would be a tasty treat, and don’t I deserve one of those beautiful Easter eggs in boxes?”  

But that is just the pistons of the past firing off and I have to switch gears in my mind and bring conscious awareness b...

 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 weight because you want to: 

• Be fit throughout your life 
• Play sport and live an active life 
• Have greater flexibility and mobility 
• Be strong, confident and active 
• Travel ...

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, and well-being and embrace Personal Health Leadership™ and: 

• Build our knowledge and understanding about our mind and body, and the habits that we’ve developed over our lifetime 
• Ch...

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 don’t know why I’m standing looking at the potato chips. Thanks for the advice”. And with that, he turned, went to the check outs,...

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 over my happiness. 

Until I realised I was asking them for the wrong information.  

Instead of asking ...

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 way, no longer looking to my parents to take care of my needs...

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 up, and living free brings in a whole new realm of:  

• Energy  
• Inspiration 
• Relaxation 
• Clarity 
• Awe 
• Trust  
• Confide...

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 training for that. 

What you’re doing every day, including today, is the practice that will determine that. 

5 THINGS YOU CAN PRACTICE TODAY F...

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, and you’re not looking for perfection, you’re looking for progress. 

Let's break this down into manageable steps that you can start implement...