Is Running The Best Way To Get Fit?

Is Running The Best Way To Get Fit?

Getting fit and staying fit requires you to exercise with enough intensity that gets you out of puff so you find it hard to maintain a normal conversation. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends 150 minutes of cardiovascular exercise a week. This...
Is Being Healthy A Titanic Task?

Is Being Healthy A Titanic Task?

Is Being Healthy A Titanic Task? I had a lovely weekend in Belfast with the highlight being the Titanic Museum. Titanic was built in Belfast so the focus was more on ship building rather than sinking! It occurred to me the decision to start being healthy can also seem...
What’s Stopping You?

What’s Stopping You?

I was reading about a 40 year old Mum who came third in a 10k with a time of 35:49. If you are not a runner, most people would be happy if they ran a 10K in double that time 1 hr 10 mins. The author was quite dismissive of her time because this lady holds the world...
Why I Took A Two Month Holiday From The Gym

Why I Took A Two Month Holiday From The Gym

I have been regularly exercising since my 30s so for about 15 years. I am quite relaxed about taking breaks over holidays as I know my fitness and strength levels don’t really drop that much in two weeks. Any longer and I notice it negatively affects my wellbeing and...
How To Avoid Menopausal Weight Gain

How To Avoid Menopausal Weight Gain

On average a women may gain 5 – 7 kilos per decade as they get older. There are a few theories as to why and most relate to hormonal imbalances and physiological changes that occur as we age. Waist measurement is however the best guide to health and unfortunately...
Do You Set The Same Goals Every New Year?

Do You Set The Same Goals Every New Year?

Most of us will take last year’s wellbeing goal, dust it off and roll it out for next year. Telling ourselves that this year will be different and will be the where all our dreams come true. We have missed out one important step though – reviewing why we did not...
Stuff I Still Struggle With

Stuff I Still Struggle With

“Eat less, exercise more” I have been studying health & the menopause for a number of years now. I know that “Eat less, exercise more” does not work for most women in their late 40s due to hormonal imbalances. Yet any time I feel my jeans a bit tighter this old...
Post Holiday Resolutions 2015

Post Holiday Resolutions 2015

I always think summer holidays are a better time to review and reflect on the past year and make new resolutions compared to New Years. We are usually soo busy getting ready for Christmas we don’t have a lot of time to think about how we would like to next year to...
Post Holiday Resolutions 2014

Post Holiday Resolutions 2014

Holidays are often time for reflection and thinking of changes you would like to make to improve your general wellbeing. I’m no different! During my two weeks summer holiday in France I had the following list: 1. Learn to speak French before the next holiday 2. Learn...
Does Carrot Cake Count As One Of Your Five A Day?

Does Carrot Cake Count As One Of Your Five A Day?

Yes I’m teasing, we all know carrot cake comes under the treat section rather than healthy even if they do include a vegetable! It is often difficult to find healthy meals when you are eating out. I’m sure we have all picked something from the menu that we thought was...
Love Your Heart!

Love Your Heart!

Some of our goals can be challenging to complete, others are challenging in the manner of tracking them. Blood pressure falls into the later. It is one of our Goldilocks goals where we don’t want it to be too high and we don’t want it to be low either. It has to be...
Well Hello Broccoli

Well Hello Broccoli

Returning from a lovely week relaxing in Spain you might not be surprised to hear that my jeans felt a wee bit tight. However they were not tighter around my waist they were tighter around my thighs. Which got me to thinking, what was different in the last week? Even...
How To Declutter Your Brain

How To Declutter Your Brain

We all have such busy lives it’s hard to sometimes  relax when your head is full of stuff that needs to be done. It is easy to be constantly connected to work and the internet it can be hard to unwind and relax. Go for a walk Going for a walk is my favourite thing to...
She Protects Her Peace

She Protects Her Peace

Now and again, a quote jumps out at me and makes me stop and think. “She protects her peace” was a quote that did that last week. We often do not protect things that are important to our own wellbeing and we allow ourselves to be talked out of things if it doesn’t...
Chips Or Salad?

Chips Or Salad?

When travelling chips or salad are often the staple side options. Most people will comment I’m going to be good and have salad or I’m going to be bad and have chips. Or I’m going to treat myself and have chips. I find both a negative way to approach food. To start off...
I’m Too Busy To Count Calories

I’m Too Busy To Count Calories

“I’m too busy to count calories, I eat healthily I don’t know why I’m overweight” I should no longer be surprised when I hear this statement. (I hear it often!). At some point you may have decided if you eat healthy natural foods rather than junk foods you should not...
Fitbit Tracker Review Part 2

Fitbit Tracker Review Part 2

I have been using a health watch called Fitbit Charge for almost 10 months. I bought it as I was interested in tracking my daily steps and sleep monitoring. You can read my initial thoughts on it !here It syncs easily to my iPad using Bluetooth and a WiFi connection....
Fitbit Tracker Review Part 1

Fitbit Tracker Review Part 1

I recently bought myself a Fitbit Charge which is an activity and sleep tracker. I have been researching for a few months and was thinking about waiting for Apple’s watch, but my technical advisor (aka my husband) advised waiting for the next generation of the Apple...
Exercise Is…..

Exercise Is…..

We all know exercise is good for us. However if your response to ‘Exercise is ….’ was not a positive statement then I have a few things for you to think about for it to be a bit more enjoyable. Start off thinking about your personality and family life and then trying...
SWIMMING AND THE MENOPAUSE

SWIMMING AND THE MENOPAUSE

Is swimming good for you during the menopause? Like many things, doing things that you know are good for you can be hard to fit in and learn to enjoy! My energy levels have changed over the last few years so running is now something that feels draining rather than...
Marathons And Menopause

Marathons And Menopause

There have been a few comparisons recently between how easy a marathon is compared to the menopause, and for a few good reasons! Even if you are not a runner everyone knows marathons are a challenging endurance event. Marathons are deemed physical endurance based be...
Why Diets Fail

Why Diets Fail

The diet industry is huge. If you search the word ‘diet’ in Amazon UK 161,905 odd entries will appear. That’s a lot of information and yet it’s something worldwide we still struggle with. The amount of information in itself is overwhelming and often contradictory....
This Habit Will Help You Lose Weight

This Habit Will Help You Lose Weight

You’re a busy lady, me too, it’s easy to keep a tally in our heads of what and how we have been eating. However, if the pounds are sneaking on and not coming off taking the time to keep a food diary is one of the simplest and cheapest methods to lose weight. Tips on...
My Secrets To Healthy Eating

My Secrets To Healthy Eating

We all aspire to be healthy eaters but life often gets in the way and we may not always make the best choices. Eating from home is an important aspect of that for me. Healthy eating starts with what you are buying! How to creating a healthy shopping list Deciding what...
Daily Wellbeing Check List – Free Poster

Daily Wellbeing Check List – Free Poster

For those busy days when you need a little reminding to look after yourself! Print off this free poster and pop it somewhere you can see it to help you to remember. To download your own printable PDF poster, click here and save to your PC. P.S. it looks prettier if...
SMILE: 5 Easy Steps To Help Balance Your Hormones

SMILE: 5 Easy Steps To Help Balance Your Hormones

Making some simple changes to how you live your life can have a huge benefit and positive impact on your wellbeing and PMS symptoms. We are hugely influential on our wellbeing. The key is finding solutions that easily fit into our lifestyle. Anything that you shoehorn...
Menopause? No sweat!

Menopause? No sweat!

We have all heard horror stories of hot flushes and weight gain but is the menopause always destined to be like that? It turns out there is quite a lot you have control over to minimise symptoms. Being proactive about health care and wellbeing is high up my list of...
Basal Metabolic Rate: Harris Benedict

Basal Metabolic Rate: Harris Benedict

The Harris Benedict method calculates your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) using your age as well as weight and height. This is useful for insight as to how many calories we need to think about reducing as we get older. In the UK we are told that the ‘average’ women needs...

The Menopause Diaries: Food resources

The below external links are background information to my book The Menopause Diaries. PDF: Food Standards Agency – Balance of Good Health Web link: Fruit and veggies colour list PDF link: 5 a day portion guide Web link: Glycemic Index Blog link: Carbs, Fiber and...