My own experience lasted nearly 10 years, and I still get the occasional hot flush - I personally found exercise & change of diet helped me enormously - both mentally & physically. I think the mental & physical changes go hand in hand - I found myself feeling depressed with the sudden weight gain around the middle my ”Buddha belly” the last thing you need in addition to sweating buckets & poor sleep is piling on the pounds.

50 is the “new” 40, & 60 is the “new” 50 - we are luckily all living longer and our quality of life can be greatly enhanced by being as active as possible, It's good for your body as well as your mind,

If you want to be as healthy and as strong as you can possibly be later in life, adding strength training to your exercise routine is the way to go. This is because strength training offers a lot of benefits, and it is safe to do as long as you stay within a few guidelines

But, our human minds are almost conditioned to make excuses, take the easy options - I guess it’s a kind of self-preservation, it’s a lot easier to convince yourself of an excuse than face reality and be honest with yourself.

I used to sit on the couch and watch the London Marathon, the excuse side of my brain would be thinking “silly buggers killing themselves” whilst I lit another fag (the irony was lost) but the wishful side of my brain would be thinking “imagine being able to run a marathon - wow I could never do that”

You wake up one morning after age 40 and there are an extra 10 or 15 pounds that seem to have materialized overnight. While it may feel sudden, this weight gain is actually a gradual process.

What you may also notice is that much of that weight seems to settle right around your belly *the Buddha Belly” as I used to call mine. This mysterious fat not only seems to appear without warning it also seems like it's completely immune to both diet and exercise.

Working out, in general, is a challenge for many people, exercise is often uncomfortable when you first start a new routine, it takes up precious time and it can feel frustrating when you feel like you aren’t making progress. Going through all that in your own home—where you already eat, sleep, relax and maybe work—can be even more challenging. 

Following a crash diet may help you lose weight quickly, but keeping it off is the biggest challenge.

Most crash diets help you reach your goal by restricting food groups or drastically reducing calories.

Unfortunately, if their style of eating is something you can’t maintain long-term, then keeping weight off can be a struggle.

This Low Carb Recipe pack forms a 4-week meal plan - as always you should check with your GP prior to dramatically changing your diet.

Meal plans restricting calories or a major food group should only be followed for a 4/6 week period and should be used as part of a long-term balanced approach to your nutritional needs.

Would you like great breakfast recipes delivered to your email?

Vegan Lemon & Coconut Cake Recipe

When we are stressed our body releases Cortisol

Cortisol is a hormone naturally produced by your body, produced by the adrenal glands located on your kidneys, cortisol is released when you’re under stress, it sends your body into fight-or-flight mode, temporarily pausing regular bodily functions and slowing your metabolism. While this hormone is essential to survival, it can become harmful in excess amounts.

If you have put on a few pounds in lock down or you are a long term yo-yo “dieter” - sustainable weight loss can only be achieved by looking at your lifestyle as a whole and dealing with your emotional issues hand in hand with physical ones.

I remember talking to a good friend & client at the beginning of the first lockdown, the one where we all suddenly started to take covid seriously - we both agreed that the best course of action was to endeavor to look after our body and mind, to keep both as healthy as possible - so that if we did catch this virus, our immune system was at optimum health to give the best chance of full recovery.

Trying to get to the bottom of food allergy triggers - takes time & patience, but perseverance does pay off in the relief you feel by eliminating the offending/trigger foods.

And unfortunately, you need to go through an elimination process to identify your individual triggers - this is referred to as an elimination diet, where over a period of time you eliminate the likely suspects, then gradually introduce one at a time, recording the body’s response.

What’s your favorite weekend tipple?

Check out this guide for more information & fun facts

So, happy Friday - how has your week been?

I have been busy with the new website, writing & studying - there are some positive sides to the studio being closed due to Covid restrictions.

It’s a positive to get the time to write again, and hopefully, these blogs are informative & helpful.

I have also been busy adding eBooks into my product range, there is a mixture of FREE & paid content, I like eBooks myself, firstly they are Eco friendly & secondly I always know where to find them.

If I had a penny for the times I have heard

“Slimming World worked for me before, I’m going to go back again” change “Slimming World” for Weight Watchers, Atkins Diet, Meal Replacement, Detox, Fasting, Low Fat. Low Carb - whatever it clearly did not work for you before because you are still in the same place you were before!

We need to get our heads around the fact that “diets” don’t work long term once and for all and here is why:

What’s the difference? To get to the bottom of this question, it’s important to understand the difference between flexibility and mobility:

If bending over to touch your toes seems like an impossible task, it may be time to start thinking about increasing your flexibility.

From breathwork to stretching to strengthening, focused effort just a few times a week can make a significant difference in how flexible you feel.

It’s January it’s wet & cold with dark mornings and evenings - no gyms, no live exercise classes, and no events to train for, how do you stay committed to an exercise routine.

here are my 5 top tips for staying committed

I love a challenge that’s for sure ! 2021 is my first year to sign up for Dry January - in fairness other years my alcohol consumption probably was’’t in my top New Year Resolution goals. But this time last year who could have predicted how 2020 would pan out, Corona was just a beer, the words “lock-down”, “levels” , “tiers” might feature in the gaming world, wearing a face-masks in public you definitely would be keeping a social distance, and closing pubs in Ireland just before St. Patrick’s Day - sheer madness.