Have you ever told yourself, ‘I’m going to start tomorrow!’? Then, tomorrow comes and it’s, ‘I’ll definitely start next week!’

So often, we look for reasons for this - the things we don’t yet know, the expert we need to consult - because knowing more feels so much like progress.

But, behaviour change happens in the doing, and the doing is driven by the decision.  People who are stuck at the start of the change process keep revisiting their decisions.

I love strength training. I’d happily do it just for fun!

But why are you strength training? Or why do you want to start? To get stronger? To change your shape? To support weight loss? To protect your bones? 

In any case, our objective is to build the muscles up stronger, not just to move them.  Stronger muscles mean stronger bones, that ‘more toned’ look, getting to (and maintaining) a healthy weight more easily.

Have you ever asked yourself, "How do I get enough willpower, to stop snacking?"

It's a question I’m often asked. And it’s usually followed by something like …

“Every day, I wake up disappointed I snacked yesterday, but determined I won't do it again today.  But then I always do”

“Even though I don’t want to snack, I’m just too hungry not to.  Something really weird is going on.  It doesn’t make sense. I never used to be like this!”

“I just need more motivation or discipline.  I don’t feel like I can trust myself anymore”

“I always feel guilty after snacking.  Sometimes I even feel guilty while I’m snacking!”

The reason why you snack will be individual to you - and your environment, your habits and your mindset are part of the picture, sure.

Summer is genuinely disruptive. It’s one of the most routine-scrambling seasons of the year, and yet it’s the one we expect to breeze through.

There’s definitely a gap between the idea of summer and the reality of it, and this is where people lose their footing.

There’s that repeating question…’should I just let it happen or stop the downhill slide?’

But it doesn’t have to be one or the other.  There’s a third option….have the holiday you want without throwing your health out the window.

Sounds like an impossible task? Let me show you my strategy.

When people talk about their health goals, generally, they say things like:

I want to lose 20 pounds

I want to be less stressed

I want to get more sleep

I want to run 5K in under 30 minutes

These are all examples of outcome-based goals - goals that focus on a desired outcome or result.

Has the decision to eat breakfast always been this complicated?!

Some people feel sick if they eat it.  Others turn into monsters if they don't.

Some say ‘breakfast like a king’.  Others preach we should fast until lunch time.

So… is it the most important meal of the day?

Well, like so much in health, the answer is…‘it depends’.  Here’s how to make the decision for you given where you are in your life now.

It depends on how you think about it, and what you do next, suggests University of Oxford research.

In the study, participants weighed themselves each morning for eight weeks.

They were also asked to ‘think aloud’ during and after stepping on the scales - and either audio-record themselves or write their thoughts in a journal.

You might already feel it happening….

An activity you once breezed through suddenly requires a full two days of recovery.  You hesitate when navigating uneven ground or picking up something heavy. And, jumping?! Er…no.

But how much control do we actually have over this?  And, when do we need to just accept it?

In 1974, researchers in Sweden began testing the fitness of 427 sixteen-year-olds. That same group has now been retested at nine points between the age 16 and 63, measuring aerobic capacity, muscular endurance and muscular power.