Cut yourself some slack...

Every looked at your steps on your fit bit thingy and thought 'F%$K it... I'm not even going to bother with this craic tomorrow... ' or you've missed a class at the gym because you had to work late or something else took too long? SO you throw the baby out with the bath water! I'm DONE!

Not every day is perfect, not every day will be 100% on plan, but as my leader once told me, you eat 21 meals a week, one bad meal won't mean you gain on the scales... So be a bit kinder to yourself... set up your breakfasts for the week, make sure you've got everything you need for lunch... if you don't have one perfect meal you're still OK... If you miss a walk, just do your walk tomorrow you'll still feel good and be away from your desk so win/win! Jumping the gun and quitting for the week means you lose out either way so roll with the change of plan and pick it up again tomorrow... x

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What if...

Asking yourself some tough questions can sometimes really make you see the bigger picture... 

'What if... '

Really think about these... If I don't start eating healthily now, how will I look and feel in 6 months? The NSV (non scale victories) are way more important here... how will you feel about yourself on your holidays? How will your skin feel? Will it be traumatic just looking in your wardrobe? Are you going to feel comfy on the plane? Will you feel more self conscious? You want to swim with the kids in the sea... they won't remember you belly, they'll remember how much fun they had with you...  and it's not about being at goal or being skinny... it's about being happy in your own skin... 

Asking yourself 'what if...' might be the trigger to write down an achievable goal that you can work towards...  when you notice your health improving you really do feel so much better about you and your self esteem soars... it can keep you motivated and on track... it's a bit of tough love when we're too scared to be honest with ourselves... What if you didn't nourish yourself well? How would you feel by Christmas? Feel the fear and ask yourself the question today... it might give you the boost you need... x 

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Give yourself a break!

Ever get overwhelmed by it all... just remember healthy living is a skill to work on and improve at, not something you should expect to be great at from day one! Most of us have spent years working on emotional eating or a bad relationship with out bodies / food... Most of us haven't worked out or stepped inside a gym in years for lots of different reasons... Mine is shame, I know, I'm the positive one around her but the experiences I've had in gyms in the past have meant I won't darken the door of one! If you haven't exercised for a long time, it takes time to get going... no one ever just got up from the couch and ran a marathon without training or knowing just how far they could push their bodies... Take a little extra care to get your body moving and more active... Start slowly with everyday tasks, walk around the block for 10 minutes, get out in the garden and start tidying up... then gradually increase the amount of time you spend doing these things! What starts as a 10min walk on the first day can build into a half an hour in a matter of weeks but as they say, don't run before you can walk!  

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Time to get lucky!

There's a great quote that Oprah tells (I mean she's the queen of quotes!) but this one is particularly good... 

Luck is where preparation meets opportunity!

We make our own luck! No one is lucky to get to goal, no one has a magic wand to lose 100 pounds... it's hard work... the people who are doing it are the people who are on track, they will tell you it's all in the preparation... they plan their food shopping... they meal plan for the week... they plan their exercise... they prepare for big nights out or weekends away... the weeks I don't plan or prepare my food properly are the weeks I don't succeed... it's not bad luck it's all me and my bad planning!

The harder you work, the luckier you get! So get your tracker/diary/planner out and get lucky! 

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Real queens...

Happy International Womens' day! 

Today is the day we celebrate women... I started this blog because I felt lonely. I despaired at the journey ahead of me and I wondered if there was anyone else who felt the same... Just look at the amazing community we have online... The world is full of keyboard warriors who are happy to judge and put other women down to make themselves feel better... I've experienced this a lot online especially... If we all spent a bit more time supporting each other, it might drown out the haters... 

Here's a few amazing women in my life... 

My amazing mum... who is the best mum in the world... I dare ya to fight me! 

My friends, I don't have that many close friends but the couple I do have, I know I can rely on and that means more than anything...  

Michelle, my old WW leader... who's faith in people astounds me... she's an amazing human, whose words still sit with me every day... 

Mary B my weigh in buddy, you keep me accountable and on track more than you know! 

My counsellor, the woman who probable knows all the deep dark thoughts and helps me make sense of them all, I'd be in a very dark place without her...

The wonderful young women who my friends are raising... too many to mention but if everyone on the planet was a bit more like them, we wouldn't be in the mess we're in! The future looks brighter!

The women who take us to work, who work with us and on our behalf... who teach us and our children, who operate on us and care for us, who heal our souls, who help us through the day... Sometimes these women are just strangers but they are amazing strangers... Much respect to them all... the world wouldn't turn without any of them! 

I know we should be doing it every day but today, pick up the phone and tell some of the amazing women in your life just how amazing they really are! 

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Believe...

My biggest weakness... self belief... I've been working on my self esteem my whole life and some days I just get so tired of it... It's exhausting trying to be positive all the time... For all the times people have said 'you look well...' or 'you're doing great, stick with it' the only person I really believe is me and I'm not so nice to me sometimes. 

It's an Irish thing, we're always putting ourselves down... It's been bred into us that if we think we're great then we have 'notions' but if you're constantly putting yourself down, you make the people you love unhappy... they love you for you... they want to see you smile... they want you to be full of beans and run into the sea on holidays in your swimming cozzie... but if you don't believe that they love you just for being you, then that all starts with how we speak to ourselves... So give yourself a compliment.. go on.. I'll wait... go on... say it... you've gorgeous eyes... you're so kind... you make people smile every day... you make the best lasagne in Ireland... whatever it is that makes you fabulous, you've got to believe it too... because if you put yourself down all the time, the people you love will stop trying to make you believe what's really true, that you are amazing! So this week, promise yourself you'll be kind to the reflection in the mirror... that woman looking back at you is doing pretty good.... x

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Radiators... not drains!

This is an important one, and one that can affect every aspect of your life... We hear every word that is said to us... and the people saying it, fall into one of two groups... radiators or drains! (hang in there it's about to make sense!) 

'Radiators' are optimistic people who radiate warmth and kindness... they want you to do well...they support you ups and downs... they are the ones who will say 'come on, we'll walk to the next bus stop...' 'I bought some low SP treats when you come over for a coffee...' They want you to succeed, they will be happy when you are happy... they don't want you to be miserable... These people are good for your soul... even when you feel like you can't do it, they're on your side...

'Drains' are the negative saboteurs... the pessimists... the ones who don't want you to succeed for whatever reason... they'll have you doubting yourself... 'oh you were up again? Sure you're never going to lose the weight might as well have a choccie' ... they'll be the ones saying 'come on... one slice won't kill you!' They don't have your best interests at heart... and they make it easy for you to give up on yourself! 

Learn the people who are are draining you of your motivation, and suck up the positivity from the people who really want you to succeed! Be a radiator! 

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Set back or step forward?

You know when you step off the scales and you just think 'feck this' ... 'it's not working for me' ... 'I can't do it' ... Every gain we have at the scales, every day we don't hit the 5k steps we promised ourselves, every small setback is just that... a small set back! Nothing more! It's not the end of the road, it's not a throw in the towel 'WW is rubbish and I'm just crap at life' moment (I have worn this tiara many many times BTW!)... it's just a setback... one of my favourite quotes is 'fall seven times, stand up eight!' You can't quit on you... you learn from where you went wrong and you keep going because when you stop trying, you stop caring about you... and as L'Oreal says 'you're worth it!' and you really are!

Success taste even sweeter when you know what it feels like to fall... 

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If you're guessing...

OK.. every week I get messages saying "I'm up again this week and don't know what I'm doing wrong..." and when I ask them do they weigh out their portions... no reply... tumble weed... Portion control is a huge part of healthy living... Being bulimic portion control never factored into my meals because I wasn't planning on keep them down for long... so learning that is a tough curve at my ripe old age! Taking control of your portions is so important... You don't need a WW scales, you don't need any fancy equipment... head into Dealz or the pound shop, you can pick up some measure spoons and a scale for under a fiver! I regularly weigh out 60g of pasta and rice and just leave them on my kitchen counter in freezer bags so I can remember just how much I need to pour out... it's so easy to get heavy handed with cereals too... 60 seconds on the scales and you know exactly how much you're eating... and you're in control of your weight loss! 

No more guessing people! 

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Spring has sprung...

Nope, I don't care, it's February and I'm running with it... I don't care how cold it gets... winter is behind us! Sorry Australia... but YAY!

Time for a spring clean...

Clearing your wardrobe of clothes that are either too big or too small will stop the mind games when deciding what to wear... How many of us stare longingly inside the wardrobe wishing that dress or jeans would fit us.. and they're not motivating us, they're hidden inside! Clear em out! Put them in another room if you can't bare to get rid of them but we're better looking at an empty rail than be depressed by a rail of baggy trousers or dresses that won't zip up! If you're not wearing it, it's taking up closet space and head space...

Set yourself a few hours, pick an evening during the week when you can slap on a face mask and just go for it... the first few decisions will be the hardest but trust me, once you get going you'll wonder what the hell you were thinking buying some stuff! Plus the charity shop benefits! A clearer rail is a great incentive to get into the next size rather than to be frustrated that you have all these clothes that just won't fit! How many of us wear exactly the same items over and over because they're safe, or comfy, and people won't be staring at us in them... If there's something that you just love that doesn't fit yet... take it out and hang it up where you can see it all the time... back of the bathroom door, on the bedroom mirror, so it's the last thing you see at night and the first thing you see in the morning! A clear mind will only help you focus on what you need to do and help you make better choice to get into it!

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Don't lose yourself!

So your mum thinks those jeans are lovely but would be a bit 'nicer' if you weren't a bit chubby... Your auntie thinks you should give up the diet lark, you look dreadful when your TOO skinny! You're the 'cuddly' one in the family and sure aren't you grand the way you are! Your friends LOVE that you're always up for junk food after shopping, I mean they love you just the way you are too... bigger than them! Himself likes something to hold onto, loves you regardless but your refusing to turn on the lights, in case he gets a look at what you really look like under that duvet and he'll leave you! 

If you made a list of what everyone thought about you and your body, and tried to keep them all happy, you would look like some kind of frankenstein concoction! I mean, I would love to have brown eyes, no amount of weight is going to make that happen... No one is going to be taller when they get to goal... but trying to make everyone else happy means you won't be! You want to lose weight to get into those jeans, tune out the mothers voice! Your auntie thinks your five, and 5 year olds should not be skinny in her mind... You 'friends' want you to be the one always trying to lose weight, always up for chips and pizza, and you seem happy enough so what's the problem... you make them feel better about them and their bodies! Most of these might not be true or you can understand every single on of them! The only person you need to keep happy is you! If you're happy, every one around you will be happy for you and you'll be a lot more fun to be hang out with!  

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Do it for you!

We've all done it... a bridesmaid dress, a communion, holiday, wedding... we've all lost weight for other things... remember photos last a lifetime! But sometimes you've got to think about what got you to the scales... high blood pressure? Feeling tired all the time? The misery of clothes shopping? The ultimate goal is to make you happy... if you're happy, it filters through to everyone you love and everything you do... You can play with your kids now... YAY! Doctor gives you a clean bill of health? YAY! You're no longer a misery to be around because you're happy in your own skin and everyone can see that! So when you run out of reasons to do it... just remember to do it for you! 

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Get out of your own way!

This weeks tip comes to from my counsellor! Good lord that woman has earned her money! Something she has been telling me for years... literally years! I am my own worst enemy! I can dream up fabulous excuses not to do things, I can talk my way in and out of pretty much anything elcept what I want to do! Yet when I just get out of the way and do what i really want, I'm happy, delighted with life! Who knew!? So today think... what's holding you back? Why won't you wear that red dress? those crazy earrings that you love? why won't you go to that party? Why are you hold yourself back? What's the real reason? Because in 100 years time, hell 50 years time it's really not going to matter! x

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Every expert...

Ever see the green eyed monster on social media? Ever feel deflated because you just feel like you're going in circles and other people are passing you by... Here's the thing we all need to remember... we all walked into a meeting for the first time at one point, some of us have started and restarted over and over... we all had to learn how to SmartPoint foods, how to track and how to pull back on a Monday after a weekend on the tiles! We all started at the same line, so never feel like you can't do it, or you'll never get the hang of it, and never let an online calculator win! There's people at the start of their journey, people chugging through the middle of the journey and people with the finish line in sight but we will all get there! 

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Never eat...

... on two feet! 

Aren't we all SO busy? Aren't we all in a rush to get to the next step on the ladder of life? One of the top tips my leader tells us regularly is put your knife and fork down when your eating... Digest your food & remember your meal is just as important as everyone else's! 

How many of us eat our toast at the toaster whilst the kettle is boiling? How many of us grab a sandwich on the go? How many of us munch the first thing we can get our paws on in the car? It's bad for our digestion, it's bad for our brain space and very often, anything eaten on the hop never finds its way onto a tracker! Grabbing something that's not on the plan tells our brain that our bodies just aren't worth nourishing properly! 

'This will do' ... really won't!

So take out the fancy plates, and get your toastie on it! What or who are you saving them for? You're worthy of using your best and favourite things in your own home, so get the fancy schmancy wine glasses out and fill it up with your water, pull up a seat and enjoy your food! You're worth it!

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Count the memories...

Ok, it's summer... it's here (apparently!) and you're not a size 6 and everything still kinda wobbles a bit... This isn't the time to throw in the towel and what yourself through till September when the 'Christmas' countdowns begin! This is the time to celebrate how far you've come and live life!

Your kids/boyfriend/husband/friends don't see wobbles... They see you not jumping the pool having fun... They see the miserable face of someone who isn't really enjoying their holiday... Children see (and FOLLOW!) how you behave and how you act... If you're off on holidays, make memories! Life is too short and your children won't remember how many points you ate on holiday... they'll remember dripping 99s, sharing fish & chips and laughing in the sunshine (I'm an optimist!)... Your friends will remember that booty up at karaoke and laughing till it hurts! These people love you, just the way you and are, and whilst the bigger picture is to be a new healthy improved version of you, until then, be proud of how far you've come and get out and live! 

So if you're not at goal, you will be... But now is the time to put on the swimming cozzies and tear into the water squealing with the rest of them! 

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