Let Go of Control & Be Yourself A client came to see me with a desperate sense of her life being out of control, specifically, her obsessive thoughts about food, eating, and her body. She had been struggling with her inner world for so long, that it took a lot of courage to even type up an email and reach out for help. When she arrived at my door with a cool and calm exterior, she gave off an air of “I’m okay, everything is fine”. Despite all her efforts though I could sense her internal chaos. She was wound up inside
READ MORE →Get a Good Night’s Sleep I openly admit I’ve been guilty of prioritising emails, phone calls, and tweaking my website over getting to bed at a decent hour. Once I’m actually in bed it’s very tempting to check my Facebook, Instagram and YouTube accounts – and I know I’m not the only one! Sleep deprivation affects a large percentage of the population and contributes to various health concerns. It’s hard to show up every day and be productive, effective and vibrant when you’re consistently lacking sleep. According to Shawn Stevenson in his latest book, Sleep Smarter – a scientific look at
READ MORE →Self-Care September Guest post by Ellen Ronalds Keene at The Harmony Agenda Spring is finally here, and with it comes my favourite time of year: Self-Care September. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to practice at least one act of self-care per day for all of September. It’s about making you a priority and cultivating a daily habit of being kind to yourself. Easier said than done, but so worth it! But what exactly is self-care? Well, it depends who you ask. If you work in a health field, you may be familiar with the word
READ MORE →When Hunger Isn’t Real… We eat for all sorts of reasons: when we’re angry or sad, stressed or festive, starving or hormonal. Most people over-eat, and usually when they weren’t actually hungry in the first place. Eventually, distracted from the stress of daily life and worries, it becomes impossible to distinguish between hunger that is real and hunger that is fake. There are actually several different types of hunger, because our drive to eat comes from various sources that often don’t have anything to do with physical hunger – that real, true hunger that begins as a rumbling sensation
READ MORE →Live to Work or Work to Live? Today I’m packing and making some nutrient dense foods to take with us for the road trip tomorrow. I was thinking about making my: Berry Delicious Health Bars Sweet Summer Rolls Super Seed Crackers with cashew cheese Spiced Fruit Loaf (I love taking homemade treats when we go away – even if they only last a day or two!!) Over the next 7 days I’ll be somewhere along the Sunshine Coast strolling along the beach, bushwalking in the mountains, or dining on whole food with my beloved family! It hasn’t been often in the last
READ MORE →Daily Self-Care and Solitude As our lives get busier and time is harder to juggle, the first thing to slide is usually our own self-care. Even though I’m in a helping profession often reminding my clients with emails and text messages between sessions to “do something nice for yourself today”, I often need reminding myself! I have a book called “The Wonders of Solitude” that is filled with inspiring reminders to nurture your soul amidst a demanding world. It’s filled with insightful quotes from authors, actors and spiritual leaders to medical professionals, singers and comedians – all sharing their words of wisdom on the
READ MORE →5 Reasons Why Your Diet Isn’t Working This week I was awarded a place in Diet-to-Go’s Top 100 Healthy Lifestyle Bloggers list for 2015! Check the list (including me!) out here: http://diettogo.com/blog/top-100-diet-blogs I’m really honoured to be in such esteemed company when it comes to talking about dieting and self-care, because it increasingly disheartens me to see so many women (and men) of all ages continue to make misguided attempts to lose weight – effectively working against their bodies and taking on the shame of their “failure” when they put all the weight back on. I spent 18 years hating my body and blaming my weight. I
READ MORE →Homemade Beauty: Body Scrub and Face Mask I am often complimented on my skin (which is lovely to hear as I age). When people ask what I use, they are often surprised to learn that I actually do not use expensive creams, masks or potions. Putting toxins and chemicals on my face isn’t as appealing as it used to be before I knew what was actually in those products and how they harm the body. Just my like my REAL FOOD Guidelines, I like to keep my beauty routine simple. Unfortunately I was fond of using harsh glycolic acid peals and lightening
READ MORE →HOT FM Interview I love talking on the radio, especially going into the studio and sitting around all the equipment that I would have a ball playing around with! I wouldn’t know what I was doing but I know I’d have fun! This morning I spoke on the radio with Hamish and Tanya from HOT FM 100.7 in Toowoomba. The interview was by phone and is a quick chat on women, food, dieting and emotional eating. It’s nice and short at four minutes long so it won’t take a lot of time for you to listen in while you’re working or pottering
READ MORE →What are you really hungry for? Cravings, needs and desires… We all have them, but how often are we actually attending to our cravings, needs and desires? When we don’t feel fulfilled in our lives, these three areas will be left hungry for whatever it is that will fulfil, satisfy and satiate us on a deeper level. Yet, because we aren’t always aware of what we truly crave, need and desire in all areas of our lives, it’s far easier to reach for pleasure inducing foods that give us a short-term feeling of being happy and having what we want.
READ MORE →Are you a stressed out eater? What kind of eater are you: Fast, medium, slow? I used to be a fast eater – I didn’t know how to eat slow. I lost touch with when I felt hungry and never seemed to stop when I was full. Are you aware when you’re hungry? Do you register when you’re full? Eating is a necessity to sustain energy balance and fuel. But it’s definitely a requirement that is viewed as a chore when we’re busy and too tired or rushed to nourish ourselves. A familiar scenario I often hear from new clients
READ MORE →Visualisation Secret to Create Change Every January millions around the world make New Year’s Resolutions. They have the best of intentions to create change and often convince themselves that this time they’re really going to do it. One small problem: only thinking that you want to make change, is not physically going to create any! You firstly need to write your goals down so you can see them and make them appear real – preferably in big bold letters on colourful paper. You can even decorate a vision board on large cardboard, covered with pictures, symbols, words and drawings that summarise and capture the essence of
READ MORE →Create Positive Change Not New Years Goals… Change has to be when you are ready to change, not simply because the New Year is coming. Whether you’d like to create a specific change now, or a list of things to focus on next year, the below steps will make it easier for you to define, clarify, challenge and support yourself. 1. Define what you don’t want – it’s not negative to be clear on what you don’t want. It’s necessary in weeding out the things that you simply aren’t willing to compromise on or live with, through previous experience or personal
READ MORE →Body Love Heals Body Hate How many times have you looked at your physical reflection and zoned in on the body parts you’re not so fond of, only to begin a barrage of nasty name-calling and judgements in your mind towards it? Our body image is largely dependent on how we FEEL and THINK about our bodies. When we have negative feelings towards our bodies, our mind, mood, confidence, eating choices and behaviour all decline as we focus on those negative feelings. We start feeling overcome by them, and stop noticing anything good about ourselves. [Tweet “Your body is a beautiful complex machine. “] It keeps you upright, breathing
READ MORE →Assess Your Needs for Better Life Balance Are you like many of my clients – struggling to have it all AND create life balance? Life balance is an interesting term that many people use, especially when they realise that they don’t have any! Defining what life balance means, individually, can be quite difficult without first knowing your own needs and where you’re lacking in fulfilling them. The more stressed out, overwhelmed, exhausted and/or frustrated you feel at not having time for yourself to slow down and re-energise, the greater the disconnect between your mind and body – and your personal needs. I don’t think
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