How I improved my relationship with food, and freed up my brain to think about things that really matter to me

This blog explores what it means to have a good relationship with food and offers tips to get you started on your journey based on evidence and my own experience.

To begin with, let’s remember that a a good relationship with food involves having unconditional permission to eat the foods that make you feel good physically and mentally. No foods are off-limits, and you feel no guilt upon eating foods that are typically labeled “good” or “bad.”

About a year ago I started a bit of a plan to have more fun after a huge amount of reflection led me to the glaringly obvious conclusion that for a health & fitness coach who promotes balance, I wasn’t living a very balanced life.

It’s taken me time to unpick habits of overworking that started at school & really came to a head when I was knee deep in avoiding my grief from our son’s death.

Lots of things were going on for me, & my routines around work were keeping me feeling safe. But they were also stopping me from living my life. Though of course I didn’t know it.

I had some photos taken recently by the lovely & super talented l but I’ve been a bit nervous about sharing them, even though I’m actually really pleased with them.

The reason I wanted to get some professional photos done is that I’ve got sick of taking selfies all the time to promote my work or asking my (very reluctant) husband or poor friend to take a photo. It all feels a bit cringe.

What are green flags?

Green flags serve as a reminder that we’re on the right track (which of course looks different for everyone!)

They’re an opportunity to take stock of how we’re moving towards our goals.

They can help us cut through the noise of our inner critic. By celebrating our wins—both big and small— we build a level of self-awareness that’s focused on our growth.

Here are some signs you are moving in the right direction…

This might be a little black and white as I feel like I’m severely lacking in creativity just now! I’m going to be on annual leave next week and like you I get to the point I need a break at some times! One of the first things to go and one of the first signs I have that I need a break is that my creativity goes… so please don’t expect anything too fancy or poetic from this review. The key thing for me is to get it done (imperfect action in action!). This is a personal and professional review and helps me to reflect on if things are moving in the right direction for me. All the time I am keeping in board my 2024 vision board, which focuses on how I want to feel at the end of the year.

Ok… so March highlights…

Looking for a filling, healthful, nutrient packed & high protein brekkie idea that you can make ahead of time & will keep you full until lunch?

These take 3- 5 mins to make every 3 days and are super yummy. Being organised & planning ahead will pay mahoosive dividends to your energy & brain power!

These tips are for you if you feel overtaken by life but are desperate to squeeze exercise in. You know that exercise is crucial for your health an wellbeing but you feel a bit defeated by the fact that it just seems impossible within your current life to find the time. You know it’s essential for your physical and mental health. You know it will reduce your risk of many diseases including cancer. You know it will improve the quality of your life and make you live longer. But your work and family circumstances, coupled with your mindset, mean that you are still not managing to fit it in.

I wanted to share with you my current favourite recipe that I found online.

I think you’ll love it if you’re here for healthful ways to feel good everyday.

It’s for Baked Oats- which is a new thing for me!

I’ve had oats every day for brekkie about the past 5 years BUT I’ve never baked them before.

Anyone can get out for a walk on a day when the weather is good, or on a day when they have the time.

Anyone can get consistent with their exercise if they sleep well and have bags of time and support.

Anyone can eat wholesome, nutritious foods if they have planned their meals, have no extra work commitments and have well stocked cupboards.

Anyone can feel happier and in control when the circumstances are good.

It’s far harder when you have a demanding career, a busy home, a family life, perimenopause symptoms, or all of these!

I don’t think we talk about enough how hope is such an important part of a wellbeing journey.

This came into my head yesterday after going snowboarding and I’ve been thinking about it a lot, and then it came up on a few of my client Check ins this morning too. Such good timing.

Yesterday was the 7th week in a row we went, and the big news was that I wasn’t dreading it. I think this is due to a number of reasons, but more sleep and a change to my training schedule (a reduction to give me more energy for boarding) had me feeling more positive about putting myself out there.

Hot flushes, mood swings, achey joints, insomnia, irregular bleeding….

Perimenopause can be a really tough time.

And whilst HRT can help many women physiologically with symptoms, it does not fix everything.

Psychological coping strategies can be powerful tools to help women navigate the menopause transition.

You’re aware of the heaps of rubbish symptoms that occur for many women during perimenopause, and likely aware of how these might affect your ability to be consistent with your training- reduced energy level, mood fluctauons, reduction in lean muscle mass and the increase in abdominal fat. But, are you aware of how your fluctuating and reducing hormones are affected your ability to recover? I’m talking about exessive muscle soreness and fatigue after training, inability to push the intensity of your training as much, and the inability to lean down with your training as much as you have done previously.

There’s an old Zen saying “You should sit in meditation for 20 minutes a day. Unless you're too busy, then you should sit for an hour.” This is certainly my own personal experience of meditation, and if a client tells me they have no time to start a 2 minute a day meditation habit I ask them to check their screen time.

Writing a monthly review is helpful for me because it helps me zoom out and look at my life as a whole and check it’s moving in the right direction.

After I burnout I became aware that I lacked balance, and so reflecting on the different areas of my life (emotional, spiritual, physical, mental, health, wealth) is helpful for me to check that I’m not neglecting one area- which can often be the case for me.

A group I work with have started a 14 day activity challenge to get them more consistent with their daily activity,

At first I thought I was going to set this up as an all singing, all dancing challenge. And then I realised what most of them needed to focus on was not action on their best days, but action on on their worst days.

Our best days are fine, no-one struggles on these.

For many women who are fed up of the noise around fat loss, or who struggle with it, this can be a super helpful shift in perspective that actually results in the outcome that they were hoping for when pursuing a diet, without the negative effect on their body image that can come from measuring, weighing and checking their bodies for regularly.

For women I work with, the most long-lasting shifts lifestyle shifts come for them when they transition from a ‘diet’ to a ‘health’ mentality. When they stop the focus being solely on what they look like, and move to focusing on how they feel mentally and physically, not to mention socially, emotionally and spiritually, we see deep rooted change that lasts.

So, what does this actually mean in practice?

I wanted to write a blog about this as every discovery call I have, I tell potential clients about how the work we do isn’t a quick fix. I tell them this, because I know it to be true- because I’m living it myself.

I’ve always been passionate and dedicated to doing my best, but about 10 years ago I started to think instead about being my best. That wasn’t about turning up for an employer or a job, it was more about getting the most out of my one, precious life.

Yes , I help women improve health outcomes by coaching fat loss- reducing body fat, improving muscle mass & reducing stress levels.

Yes , I give women more strength, power, tone, energy & confidence through regular exercise.

Yes, women improve their nutrition when they work with me & feel energised & in control.

But do I post transformation photos? No, no, no!

How I’ve been being a beginner again alot recently, how I got my head around it, and how you can too…

Today I went snowboarding at the local Dry Ski Slope for the first time in over 10 years and I’m not afraid to share that I was absolutely bricking it and did not want to go. This is despite the fact that I’ve snowboarded before, want our family to enjoy the shared interest of snowboarding and really want us to enjoy a family snow holiday together.

So, I wanted the outcome, but I was scared the go today because a) what if i’d forgotten everything (I had), b) what if I was no good (I am basically a beginner again) c) I don’t want to be a beginner again (oh hello ego and pride!) and d) what if I look stupid.

I found myself in a little grump mid morning and I couldn't quite work out why…..

💻 It’s been THE busiest month for MMH, which has been all about consistency & courage. I was apprehensive about how things would feel work wise without my outdoor classes but it’s been amazing. Allowing myself to feel proud & grateful ❤️