(over) Eating your way through lockdown OMG...having 24 hour access to a kitchen is not good if you're trying to avoid overeating! I’m embarrassed to say that I ‘handled’ (or not!) the initial emotion, uncertainty and anxiety of coronavirus by finding myself rummaging through the food cupboards at random times of the day and evening. I’m not sure I even know how I got there?! I was so on automatic pilot and wanting to shut out the feelings.  Nut butter by the spoonful out of the jar, bread and chocolate were my go-to items to try to make myself feel better.  And initially I did ..read more

If I’m trying to set a new healthy habit, I rarely set resolutions these days to be honest. Only because I think they make me feel quite negative.  They can feel quite prescriptive and/or restrictive (do X, this many times per week or don’t do Y) leaving me very little wriggly room for my real life. I beat myself up if I don’t live up to them (cue the negative self-talk) … And if I’m not careful, I go into ‘sod it’ mode if I can’t stick with it.  Not really the recipe for healthy habits or a happy lifestyle :)  But what’s the alternative? Making healthy habits stick Did you know it ta ..read more

I’ve struggled with my weight since teenage years, so I’m always interested in making weightloss easier.  Just for the record I’ve: been a Weight Watchers gold member * done Rosemary Conley's low fat diet (I think that was the first one I tried as a teenager) * done 5:2 * done juice cleanses * been veggie  * been vegan * done Atkins * I think I contemplated the cabbage soup diet but couldn't face it! * been sugar free (including no fruit) * and I probably measured, weighed and calorie counted my way through my 30s. So, as you can see, I have plenty of weightloss ‘experience’ and it’s partl ..read more

Setting Yourself Up for New Year Success I think there’s only been one NY resolution I’ve had success with and I still do it... I resolved to start running in my mid 20s and over 20 years later, I’m still doing it! I’m just the same as you - I feel the pull of the New Year resolutions. But any success with my eating and drinking habits are usually more gradual changes rather than a NY resolution.  So, if you’re planning to start the New Year with a commitment to healthy eating and drinking, then you want to be sure it’s actually going to work this time, don’t you? After all, if diet plan ..read more

What are you telling yourself as to why you can’t lose weight? Excuses, excuses, excuses… We all do it! I find losing weight and keeping it off tough, too. And we’re designed to avoid discomfort so we’ll tell ourselves all sorts of excuses to avoid the pain of not losing weight, or not putting the effort in to lose the weight.  Now, there’s a million reasons why you might not feel able to make changes in your life even when you desperately want to.   With New Year on the horizon, this is often the time many of us resolve to make a commitment  … to the gym, to healthier eating, to weight lo ..read more

Christmas Excess and Doing Just One Thing Woo hoo! Christmas is almost here and I confess I’ve been binge-listening to Mariah Carey...don’t judge me!! But that’s not the Christmas excess I’m talking about here... According to the song, ‘it’s the most wonderful time of the year’ and I really do hope that whatever you are doing, there’s time to relax, unwind and do your favourite things over Christmas and New Year, whether that’s with others or on your own. For many of my clients (and me) the run up to the festive feasting can become a stress fest of worrying about how to cope with being sur ..read more

Christmas drinking - want to cut down without being a party pooper My alcohol consumption definitely ramps up with the Christmas drinking. But I’m such a lightweight - I just can’t take my alcohol!  Gone are my student days of three pints of purple nasty (snakebite and black!) on a night out. I’m good with one drink or two max. If really pushed I might go onto Baileys and let the cream stop the alcohol spike.   And that can feel difficult at Christmas when it’s almost expected that socialising will involve plenty of drinks. Office parties, long awaited catch ups with friends, the family j ..read more

How to navigate the Christmas Eating Out fest How many Christmas eating out events are on your calendar this year?  Do you think it’s not worth trying to eat healthily/lose weight...in fact you might just as well blow it this December? If so, read on, there is another way… I think I’ve got five meals out and two meetups with friends that will probably involve food and drink too. And that’s before Christmas eating ‘proper’! Now, I really enjoy catching up with family and friends but sometimes feel awkward because I also want to try and keep on track with healthy eating ... without being see ..read more

Taming your sweet tooth to get off the sugar rollercoaster Urgh…I found myself scrabbling to get off the sugar rollercoaster recently after a friend’s wedding which was lovely (the wedding, that is!). But the day after I stood in the kitchen and felt the return of my frenemy getting ready to party.  A day of alcohol, nibbles and wedding cake had awakened the sugar addict within.  And like a wedding guest who's overstayed her welcome, she just didn’t want to leave. I’ve got to be honest - the temptation to spend the day drinking loads of tea, having a carb laden treat and gently nursing my s ..read more

Tea - the drink of the nation. But is it doing us any good? If there’s one drink everyone seems to have an opinion on, it’s tea! Whether you like it with the tea bag left in for ages or barely touching the sides of the cup, it’s amazing how touchy people are about how it should be made. One of my most popular social media posts was when I asked for tea recommendations - everyone had a view! We are the second in nation of tea drinkers after Ireland and there’s over 165 million cups of tea drunk a ..read more