All the reasons why I didn't have weight loss surgery, even though it's become quite mainstream now.

In October of 2011, my husband and I moved to Canada. Anybody who has moved countries will tell you it’s one of the most stressful decisions

Well, what a year! I just turned 30 and here's the updates from my 30 Before 30 list.

Well, I know I'm a bit behind the ball on this one, since we’re almost in 2019. But 2017 was a big year. Full of ups and downs, steps forward and emotional upheavals. This one was a hard to get down on paper, if I'm honest. Let’s start with the easy stuff. Physically I played a season of Touch Football with a team of cops, that was interesting. I hadn’t played Touch since grade 10. And even then I wasn’t in a top team or anything. I’m not a good, fast runner you guys, and I h

What is wellness coaching? As a wellness coach, I understand that when it comes to wellness goals, it’s not always straightforward. You and I take a whole-istic approach to your goals. Primarily, it focuses on: Nutrition Fitness Sleep Stress Relationships Work/Life balance I understand that each and every one of us is different. So, together we consider every aspect of your life, your values, dreams, desires, priorities as well as, your situation, time and money constraints.

As an Admin Officer, I have sat at a desk for 8 years. And man have I felt the effects of a sedentary job. Especially as I have been embarking on my own weight loss for 5 of those years. It affects your shape, flexibility, strength, and all of these things can cause back pain. So here’s a few things that have helped me stay mobile. 1) Download computer apps or maybe even phone apps that are on a timer. This will remind you to get up, go for a walk, or grab a drink of water ev

We’ve all been there – get fired up, start going to the gym 6 times a week, adding walks, strict meal plan. And then after a while, our body starts to feel lethargic and we just can’t anymore. Here are the signs you’re overdoing it with your workouts: Your heart still feels high long after your workouts Very thirsty Muscle soreness lasting more than 3 days Depressed, moody or irritable Can’t sleep even though you’re working out hard Changes in personality – your typical trait

The word SNEAKY is defined as "furtive, sly" or "(of a feeling) persistent but reluctantly held; sneaking." Sneaky implies that it’s wrong, shameful, should be hidden away from prying eyes. You should be embarrassed, horrified even. How often are we seeing the caption “just having a sneaky________”. Whether it be wine, donuts, a nap, beverage, dessert, whatever… I don’t care. The more we try and justify ourselves, the more guilt we feel. I had to stop myself from commenting o

Last year, and quite possibly for years prior, I had some trouble with my thyroid gland. Not many people know much about the thyroid, so here’s a run-down: “The thyroid gland is situated at the front of the throat, below the larynx (Adam’s apple), and comprises two lobes that lie on either side of the windpipe. The thyroid gland secretes hormones to regulate many metabolic processes, including growth and energy expenditure. If the thyroid gland is overactive or sluggish, the

So you’ve worked your butt off creating healthier habits for a good while now. You’ve finally gotten the hang of it and you’re making baby steps towards a healthier life. Then something happens and it feels like your world is crumbling. All of a sudden you’re travelling or dealing with something that has thrown your whole life out of whack. And while you know it might only be for a short time, right now it feels massive. First of all, know that you won’t be able to maintain e

About 8 weeks ago, I hit an absolute wall. I was completely down in the dumps about myself. My anxiety started playing up, and then depression hit. And then it was a lovely merry-go-round of shitty emotions. I honestly had no idea how to get out of it. I had all the physical symptoms, exhaustion, muscle fatigue, skin was not good, not sleeping well. And I had lost motivation for life. I felt numb half the time and a mix of self-loathing, depression and anxiety the rest of the

As I sit here contemplating whether I should chop my left leg off at the knee, I thought what a great blog post this would make. Guys, I got back into an exercise program at the gym that I took a few weeks off from. And the machine I used, I hadn’t used in roughly 10 weeks. I hate training calves. Mine are already quite bulky, not necessarily muscly, but that’s the way they are. Anyway, I did calves on the seated calf raise machine and I did push them a bit, because I knew I

Throughout my weight loss process, I have embarked on calorie counting probably four times. Recently my sister started calorie counting and we were discussing it. As I pondered this, I realised I used to be able to look at something, for example a muffin and guess how many calories would be in it. I seem to have lost touch with that skill. For my initial weight loss I did find that it helped me learn about caloric density and how much I should actually be eating in a day. I f

As a person who’s had an on-and-off relationship with anxiety and depression, finding happiness has been a real process. There have been moments when I cant even fathom what happiness is or if ill ever feel anything other than shitty ever again. Sorry to get right into it, but it’s true. My mind doesn’t allow for thoughts other than the current worry, fear or limiting belief that’s showing up for me at that time. And then, like the saying goes “I fell in love the way you fall

**Originally written on November 14, 2016. 2 months after arriving back in Australia. As the date neared that we were leaving the town of Strathmore AB Canada, I realised the attachment I had formed to my gym. The place I had spent a minimum of 6 hours a week at. And it’s not that I’d formed attachments to the people, it was the familiarity, the home away from home, the place where I could work out my shit, or not. And nobody questioned it. My methods were clearly working. I

First Thing when you get up Minimum of 250ml of water first thing in the morning - make it warm if you like, add lemon if you like. Meal 1 Some people don’t like to eat first thing when they wake up, others love a big breaky. My recommendation is to do some experimentation if you're unsure. The other thing to remember is that just because you didn’t like oats 3 years ago, doesn’t mean they can't work now. Try some experiments and see what works and what you enjoy. I highly r

Branding is not always about the physical design of a logo or marketing material. It’s so much more than that. Anyone can rebrand from solopreneurs to large corporations, but it doesn’t stop there. You can also brand yourself. Branding is about what you want to put out into the world, what kind of energy you want to put out there. How you want to make people feel. What kind of worker you’d like to be. I have just been reassessing my business branding and brand personality, an

I’ve been meal prepping about 40% of my meals for about 2 full years now. I find it much more time and cost efficient and honestly a lifesaver when it comes to the decision on “to get takeaway or not to?”. It eliminates the risk of a not-so-good choice. Option 1 Step 1. Sit down before you go grocery shopping and check out what you have in the pantry already. Look up recipes if necessary, to incorporate some of those items. Nobody likes to waste food, and we do far too much o

Guys and Girls, this was me. I had my husband but I had just moved to a new place and had no friends or support system. Here’s what worked: 1) Get really, really clear on your motivation. Reach for the stars, even if it seems impossible. 2) Make a vision board. Print out words, pictures and quotes that mean something to you and put them up everywhere – your phone background, your bathroom mirror, your fridge, your computer at work. 3) Take Before pictures – make sure you’re w

1994 Age 5 First limiting belief that I remember creating about my physical appearance 1996 Age 7 Baby sister born - felt I wasn't Enough. 1998 Age 10 Baby brother born 2002-2006 Age 14-17 Changed schools in year 9 General high school shenanigans (parties, boys) So much teenage angst (body image, depression, who am I?) 2007 Age 18 First real fad diet Had my heart broken Started University (didn’t finish Uni) Met my now-husband (online) 2008 Age 19 Completed a Massage and Arom