Many people make health-related resolutions, such as to lose weight, stop smoking or join the local gym. While it is common to set high goals, experts say that setting smaller goals could do more for our health.

"Small steps are achievable and are easier to fit into your daily routine," says James O. Hill, Ph.D., Director of the Centre for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Centre. "They are less overwhelming than a big, sudden change."

Here are 10 small steps to try:

1. Keep an eye on your weight and work on making sure you are not gaining extra pounds. Even if you gain just a pound or two every year, the extra weight adds up quickly.
2. Take more small steps. Use a pedometer to count your daily steps; then add 2,000, the equivalent of one extra mile. Keep adding steps, 1,000 to 2,000 each month or so, until you take a minimum of 10,000 steps on most days.
3. Eat breakfast. Breakfast eaters tend to weigh less and have better diets overall. For a filling and...

When you’re stressed out, the foods that you’re turning to are most likely going to be traditional ‘comfort’ foods – think big meals, take-out, fatty foods and sweet foods. Let’s face it – we’ve all found some comfort in a tasty meal, a sugary dessert or a packet of crisps when we’ve been stressed out or upset about something. However, this isn’t a good permanent solution.

When you’re turning to unhealthy foods you can feel better temporarily, but in the long run, you will feel worse. When your body isn’t getting the right nutrition, you can begin to feel less energetic, more lethargic, and in some cases less able to concentrate and focus. All of this can lead to even more stress.

Foods that Fight Stress

 If you’ve been feeling more stressed out than usual lately, it’s important to know which foods are best to choose and which to avoid when it comes to combating stress and helping you to deal...

In my previous post, I wrote about being stuck and I gave you 25 different areas where you can be stuck in your life. 

Today it’s all about becoming unstuck. If you practice these things daily, then you will have less chance of finding yourself being stuck and going nowhere. Then you can smile for days on end!

Here we go:

1. Practice gratitude. Look at what you do have and not what you don’t.
2. Don’t limit yourself. You really can do anything you set your mind to. Get that imagination juice pumping and commit to making a change.
3. Jump. Yes, Jump. Sometimes if you don’t just jump you will end up going nowhere. You don’t need all the answers now but you won’t get anywhere standing still.
4. Take a tiny step. If jumping is too much then take a small step in the right direction. Then take another.
5. Go get yourself a makeover. Hair, make-up, clothes, massage, facial, nails. Do it all. Then do a photoshoot after. Smile!!
6. Make a change. Being stuck...

Life begins at 40! We hear this often and I even say it myself but for many, it’s a daunting decade of worry, frustration, loneliness, and loss. What starts out as excitement and exploration ends up with broken dreams, a loss of direction and hot flashes.

You really don’t recognise what happened to the 'you' that used to be so cool 15-20 years ago and now you feel stuck, trapped, lost or even invisible.

This is not for those lucky few who are unstuck and living life just as they planned it to be, but for those who know there’s something missing but can’t quite figure out what.  To the outside world, you look happy and together but inside you are unfulfilled and restless.

This list of 25 areas where you might find yourself stuck, will help you to identify the issue/s that may be stopping you from realising your true potential. 

Let me know if you resonate with any of these and let’s discuss it. 

Are you:

1. Stuck in your past 
2. Trapped...

Happy New Year Folks! There’s something fresh and exciting about a new year isn’t there? We are reminded of the plans we had a year ago and how we reached our goals or failed them miserably in the first 3 months but regardless we are determined to do better this year right?

Going on a diet and exercising more are the top two resolutions made each New Year but 92% of people give up by the Spring!

Well, I’m here, this year, to try to help you. I want you to be successful this time. No tailing off, no cheating and no giving up.

Here are my 5 Essentials to help you keep your resolutions going until they become a part of your life:

1. Set a realistic goal. Write it down and then work backwards to achieve it. Ask yourself what are the little steps you have to make to get there? What needs to happen first? What can you do now to start things off? Write it all down and tick it off as you go along.
   
   
2. Plan your week. In fact plan each day!! Do it on a spreadsheet, in a Word...

House clothes. Clothes you wear in your house. They are rarely bought specifically for that purpose. They are old clothes that are unsuitable to wear outside of the house. Why? Well because they are mostly old, dingy, ripped, out of date and/or shapeless.

There are a few reasons why you have then
1. Can't let go. They once were the pride of your wardrobe. You loved wearing them but refused to let them go. Even when it got stains on it that wouldn't come out or it got caught on something and ripped. You loved it so much that you kept it in spite of its obvious lack of suitability. "I'll wear it around the house" you said. That was 20 years ago and you are still wearing that thing. People it's time to let it go. Ohh and that old dress you use as a nightie? That can go as well.

2. It's comfortable. I know it's comfortable. I know you want to change clothes when you get home. I know all this but those baggy hoodie and jogging pants are not doing you any favours. Comfy doesn't have to...

We all have bad habits. Some we know we should change and some we don’t even recognise as bad habits. They become so much a part of our lifestyle but are they the barriers that are holding us back and keeping us stuck? 

How many do you identify with?

1. Keeping plastic bags in plastic bags
2. Apologising for everything even when it's not your fault
3. Eating between meals or constantly eating
4. Sitting down in front of the TV all evening.
5. Making decisions based on what other people may think 
6. Smoking
7. Eating junk food because it's cheap or just because you like it.
8. Indecision
9. Piling your plate up with carbs Eg Rice, Mac n cheese, potatoes, etc
10. Buying bargains because they are bargains not because you need them. 
11. Buying offers like 3 for 2 even though you only need 1. 
12. Always saying "basically", "like", "you know," or "yeah"
13. Skipping breakfast
14. Eating when you are not hungry
15. Falling out with people and deciding not to talk to them ever again. 
16. Not...