I have a confession to make. Despite everything I have learnt over the past few years, and despite all the wonderful habits I have built, I still fall into the emotional eating trap from time to time. Just the other evening, after nine o'clock, following a particularly long and demanding day, I found myself standing in front of the drawer where we keep our stock of sweets and chocolates. Yes, we do have one. My stomach was definitely not empty. I had eaten a perfectly nutriti

I have a great many conversations with friends about exercise, and more often than not, I hear the same objections. “I do not have time.” “I hate exercise.” “I hate getting sweaty.” “I cannot afford an expensive gym.” And then there is the one that always makes me a little sad: “I am too fat. Everybody will be looking at me.” I understand why people feel this way. Exercise has somehow become associated with gyms, Lycra, complicated equipment, aching muscles, dripping sweat an

When I wrote about my Strappy Dress Challenge that I started on 24 August 2026, I made a rather definite promise. I was going to spend four months concentrating on building strength, particularly in my arms and legs, and I was going to report back to you every four weeks. Well, about that four-week update… It never happened. Not because I had given up. Quite the opposite, actually. I have learned rather a lot. I had imagined that by the time I reached four weeks, I would h

Sometimes we know exactly what we need to change, yet we still find it incredibly difficult to change it. We can recognise that something is making us unhappy, exhausted or even unhealthy, but somehow we keep going back to it. It is a strange thing about being human. There is an old saying attributed to Hippocrates: “before you heal someone, ask whether they are willing to give up the things that make them sick.” It could be a habit, a belief, an expectation, a routine or a

We made it to blog number 50! To celebrate, I am looking in the mirror and sharing the slightly creaky truth about hitting this milestone. If you are navigating midlife, lifting heavy, and trying to stay sane alongside me, here is the official breakdown of what I have figured out—and what I am still stubbornly wrestling with. Things I Know About Myself (The Good and the Defiant) The Bad: My patience has officially left the building. If my Wix website takes more than two secon

Over the past few weeks, I have been thinking about just how much energy we can waste fighting against our own bodies. For years, whenever I looked in the mirror and noticed that my clothes were fitting a little more snugly than I would have liked, my first instinct was to eat less and exercise harder. It was exhausting. Maybe that is one of the strangest things about getting older. We know perfectly well that everything else changes with time. Our hair changes, our skin

There was a time in my own health journey when I believed that exercise only counted if I was close to exhaustion. If I was not sweating profusely on a treadmill, watching the calories disappear from my fitness watch or pushing myself to the point where I could barely speak afterwards, I somehow felt that I had not really exercised. A gentle walk? Definitely not enough. I had somehow convinced myself that exercise needed to be uncomfortable to be useful, and it was an exhaust

I am going to confess something that I am not particularly proud of, although I have a feeling I will not be the only woman who has done something equally drastic. Years ago, whenever I thought I needed to lose weight, I had a rather unhealthy habit of going to extremes. I was not interested in losing a kilogram or two sensibly over several weeks. No, I wanted results, and I wanted them immediately. Patience was not one of my strongest qualities when it came to dieting. On

I was looking through some old photographs the other day, and it got me thinking about how much our bodies change as we get older. Back in my thirties and forties, I could have a busy week, eat a few things I probably should not have eaten, and somehow get away with it. If my jeans felt a little tighter, I would make a few better choices and somehow everything seemed to sort itself out. Simple. Or at least, it seemed simple at the time. Then somewhere around that big fifty mi

Recently, I came across an advert for a collagen body oil making some very impressive claims about ageing skin. It looked convincing. There was a beautiful woman, a dramatic before-and-after photograph and even a doctor attached to the article. And I found myself thinking: “Does this actually make sense?” Let’s be honest. Most of us would rather buy an expensive bottle of collagen body oil that promises great results within a few days, with a couple of impressive ‘before’ a

I would love to raise a topic with you that I think many people struggle with but are hesitant to speak about. For most of my childhood, I was as regular as clockwork. I never thought about my bowel movements — they were simply something my body did. A little note before I begin: This is my personal story and what ultimately worked for me after many years of struggling with constipation and laxative dependence. It is not intended as medical advice, and everyone's circumst

A few months ago, in my fourth blog post, I wrote about something that changed the way I think about getting older. I had stopped training to become slimmer and started training to become stronger. I honestly thought that was the difficult part. Apparently not. That blog post received only a couple of written comments, but something interesting was happening behind the scenes. It quickly became the most-read article on my entire website. That really surprised me. Perhaps it

I have a wardrobe full of strappy summer dresses, and I absolutely love wearing them. The problem is not that I avoid them. I wear them anyway. The problem is that every time I put one on, I am very aware of my upper arms. When the weather is warm but not unbearably hot, I will often add a little cardigan with sleeves that come somewhere around my elbows. It is not really necessary, but it covers my arms and makes me feel more comfortable. Then there are those wonderfully hot

Over the past few weeks, we have talked about understanding our relationship with food, making smarter snack choices and recognising that not every craving is true hunger. Today I want to talk about something that often gets overlooked, yet it is one of the simplest things we can do for our health. Water. It sounds almost too obvious, does it not? We have been told to drink more water for most of our lives. But as we grow older, staying hydrated becomes about so much more tha

Over the past few weeks, we have talked about understanding our relationship with food, strengthening our willpower and making healthier snack choices. Today, I want to share one of the biggest lessons I have learnt on my own journey. It all comes down to one simple question. "Am I really hungry?" It sounds almost too simple, yet I have discovered that the answer is not always what I expect. For many years, I believed that every craving meant my body needed food. Looking back

Last week we talked about something many of us struggle with—willpower. More importantly, we discovered that our relationship with food is often about far more than simply saying "yes" or "no." Of course, understanding ourselves is only part of the journey. Sooner or later, our stomachs start rumbling and the question becomes, "What can I eat that will satisfy me without undoing all my good intentions?" That is where smart swaps come in. Healthy eating does not have to mean

For many years, I believed my struggle with food was simply a lack of self-control. If only I were stronger, more disciplined or had more willpower, I thought everything would fall into place. Looking back now, I realise it was never that simple. It is a phrase many of us have used at some point, often because it feels easier than admitting we are struggling. Sometimes we begin to believe that some people are simply born with more willpower than others. If that is true, it ca

One of the unexpected joys of turning 60 is discovering just how many things are no longer worth the emotional energy. Somewhere between menopause, grey hair, a cancer diagnosis, strength training, and learning that life is far too short to spend worrying about things I cannot control, I started putting down some of the baggage. Not all at once, but little by little, I stopped carrying things that had weighed me down for years. Here are a few things I obsess about far less th

Four weeks ago, I set out to answer a simple question: Can a few small, sustainable changes really make a difference? I did not chase a perfect body or try the latest miracle diet. I simply wanted to see what would happen if I fuelled my body a little better and became more intentional about the choices I made each day. These numbers tell part of the story. The biggest changes, however, happened where no tape measure could ever reach. Here Are My Results – Day 1 vs Day 28 ·

I cannot quite believe I have reached Week 3 already. If Week 2 was all about changing my thinking, this week felt very different. In fact, there is not a great deal to report, and perhaps that is exactly the point. Healthy eating has simply become part of my daily routine. I am no longer thinking about every meal or constantly reminding myself why I started this experiment. The healthier choices are becoming automatic, and that has been one of the biggest surprises so far. T