26th April 2011

Nothing arouses more hope than the first four hours of a diet! Marsha Coleman


Forgiveness: a key ingredient to getting over the Easter indulgence!

Lot’s of us have eaten one chocolate egg or drunk one can of lager too many this weekend, in the past when doing this overindulging I would bean myself up, feel awful and then have another bar of chocolate or glass of wine to make myself feel better. This used to cause my weight to increase and my clothes to shrink, and then I’d feel even worse and so the self-punishing would continue.

NOT ANY MORE! No these day’s I’ve realised that what I used to call bad days are actually really, really enjoyable and holiday a grudge against myself wasn’t really productive and didn’t help my long term goal of being healthy and happy. A large slice of cake or a large glass of wine is much more enjoyable than a large portion of guilt. So if you’ve had one of those weekends where you did everything you think you shouldn’t, confess if you really feel the need to, forgive and move on. Remember that one fab weekend does not a fat bird/bloke make and get back on your ‘weight loss wagon’, or in my case it’s a ‘healthy HGV’!

If it makes you feel better, blame the diet devil, tell everyone ‘the diet devil made me do it!”

Start today by repeating after me, “I can, I can, I can”, you’re feeling more positive already aren’t you.

If you still have lots of chocolate in the house that you know you can’t resist maybe it’s time to give it away, bring it to the meeting, I’ll get rid of it for you.

You could work on counteracting some of the damage by getting active!



Did you know the average person only does 3-4,000 steps a day, by 7am most mornings I’ve already done 7,000 and I enjoy every step of it, I’ve finally found a way to be active that I enjoy at I time that suits me (I know most people would think it crazy but then I think dancing round a hall full of women to latino music a bit weird!)

Exercise for pleasure not because you think it will get you thin! When I walk my dog in the morning I’m not thinking about the effect it’s going to have on my waistline or the muscle it might be building in my thighs, I’m enjoying the peace and quiet, the sunrise, the conversation with the other dog owners on the park. I do it because I enjoy it, not because I’m burning calories.

Because you don’t purposefully put aside 30mins five times a week, you might think you don’t exercise at all but think about it if you have a night out dancing with your friends which would include a few hours dancing, that would get your heart rate elevated and all your muscles working whilst your having fun. This is exercise, you just didn’t need to do a Zhumba session to get the results nor punish yourself on a treadmill.

If you walk the dog you’re getting exercise, if you push a pushchair you’re toning your arms, if you climb steps at work you’re getting exercise. If you chase a kid round the house, you’re getting lots of exercise. Taking the kids ten pin bowling is exercise and gives the kids something to do too! Give yourself credit for what you already do; housework is exercise if you put some effort into it.

Find an activity you enjoy and do it because it’s fun, you may have to try lots to find the right one but hey you’ll have fun trying them all out. And remember you don’t have to find one exercise and do that forever, mix and match if you like.

I’m smiling because it’s a short 3 day week for me just hope I can motivate myself this weekend to get a little more active as I’ve been a bit lazy this weekend gone ;)

Have a great day. xx