Category: confidence

Goals and goal setting – Common reasons you may not be hitting yours (Part 1)

In fitness, it’s not uncommon to meet people with goals that they feel they’ve tried so hard to achieve before but ultimately, have never quite managed it. Each time we set a goal and fail to meet the target we set for ourselves, our motivation, self-belief and confidence in reaching that goal gets chipped away at bit by bit and this can lead us to feeling we may never achieve that goal or even others we may wish to set ourselves. What if, instead of viewing OURSELVES as the ‘failure’ or weak link in these situations, we took time to reconsider the goal and our approach to it that may need amending as opposed to there being something ‘wrong’ with us. Read on for some possible reasons why you’ re struggling to meet certain goals and changes you can make to get right back on the best track for you!

Children/ Young People and Exercise

Whether it’s healthy eating, exercise, personal hygiene, organising schoolwork or anything else we want to build good habits around for young people – there’s no denying that childhood is a key time to instil practices that will help them develop into happy, healthy and well-rounded adults. Whilst many guidelines remain the same throughout our lives, such as eating plenty of vitamins and minerals, limiting less nutritious foods and keeping active, there are certain specific recommendations for children in order to best support their health and development. This blog covers some of the key guidelines for children and young people and suggests some ways in which they may manage to hit their daily exercise target without it feeling like a chore! You never know, they might even have a positive impact on the adults in their lives and encourage a whole-family approach to health and fitness, as there’s no better way to lead than by setting a good example.

Exercise for Weight Gain/ Eating Disorder Recovery

When it comes to exercise programmes, we often think of losing weight as one of the key motivations. Whilst it’s true that weight loss is one of the most common reasons for wanting to make lifestyle changes (dietary, exercise etc), it’s not the only one. This blog covers exercise for weight gain and follows on from the previous 2 blogs on eating disorders. There are many reasons why people may want to gain weight, but exercise shouldn’t be demonised as always contributing to weight loss. Below are some top tips on making sure exercise supports weight gain if that’s a personal goal, whilst enjoying all of the other physical and mental benefits that are so important.

Eating Disorders – Treatment and Recovery

As somebody who suffered from an eating disorder for many years in the past, one of the questions I get asked most is, ‘Do you believe you can fully recover from an eating disorder?’ My answer to this is undoubtedly, yes. Whilst at their worst eating disorders can be fatal, people can and do recover from them. This blog aims to cover some of the top tools and tips that helped me in my personal recovery as well as discussing some of the most widely used techniques and treatments.

Eating Disorders – Symptoms, Causes and a Personal Story

Eating disorders are serious conditions that involve sufferers becoming overly focused on their weight, body shape and food.  This leads to dangerous eating behaviours that can have serious detrimental effects on the body, mind and ability to function in other areas of life such as work and relationships.  Whilst eating disorders often have extreme physical symptoms, they are classed as mental health conditions. Eating disorders are not just about food, but are often a way of coping with stress or difficult emotions.  They can help sufferers to feel in control of one area of their life, often at times when other areas may feel out of their control. This blog is the first of two on eating disorders and aims to cover some key signs and symptoms. In parts this is also related to my personal experience with anorexia and orthorexia, which I suffered from at varying levels of severity for around 10 years.

BMI, weight loss, body fat and persevering…

In the fitness industry, one of the most common complaints or queries we get when somebody has recently started on a new diet and exercise plan is… why has my weight loss stopped/slowed down? People often start off in pursuit of weight loss full of enthusiasm and commonly see the numbers drop drastically on the scales for a few weeks, spurring them on to expect this will continue. However, over time despite still trying just as hard to exercise and eat well, the numbers on the scales become too stubborn to budge. Sometimes people may even notice clothes feeling looser and other desirable changes, yet the scales register no weight loss. Why does this happen and what does it mean? This blog aims to explain why weight loss doesn’t necessarily equal fat loss and why there is far more to it than a number on the scales.

‘Wheel of Life’ New Year Life Audit/ Goal Setting Exercise

Whether your motivation for change is at an all-time high at New Year or you think resolutions are a waste of time, there’s no denying that the start of a blank calendar leaves many of us reflecting on the 12 months that just passed. New Year is natures way of drawing one chapter to a close, helping us to let go of anything we want to leave behind and giving us a clean slate for new habits and experiences. It’s undoubtedly a natural time to set intentions about what we’d like to be, have and do over the next year. This blog details a simple exercise to help us assess how happy and successful we feel we are in various different areas of our lives at the current time, and consequently to identify any areas we may wish to make changes in.

Personal Development Book Reviews – Fiction self-help

If you’re somebody who prefers fiction books with a good story to lose yourself in, there is no reason to miss out on the wisdom and magic of the personal development/self help genre. Many of us find ourselves to be much more engaged with stories and characters as opposed to facts and theories and so some of the books below may be more suitable than those in the previous blog to ease you into this genre. These books range from classics to more modern options, but the one thing they all have in common is potentially life changing lessons and perspective changes, all wrapped up in stories that will have you eagerly turning the pages until the very last one.

Personal Development Book Reviews and Wisdom

Whether you enjoy reading or not there’s no denying that books are an excellent way to learn and expand our knowledge on an endless number of subjects. Even if you’re not a bookworm like myself so many books are now available as audio books as well as in hard copy, there really are no excuses not to benefit from their invaluable content. Many authors also have social media accounts and/or channels and even share their work through other mediums such as podcasts. One genre for which all of the above is certainly true is that of personal development/self-help. The self-help industry has experienced huge growth in the past few years and is now undeniably more popular and accessible than ever before. Both our mental and physical health can benefit greatly from books and for those who may not know where to start, this blog gives an introduction to two of my favourite personal development books, who they might be for and how they can help.