In late 2018, I was in a real mess with my fitness. I was coaxed off the sofa by a friend (thank you Jessie) to struggle round the local Parkrun (5km) and hated every second of it. I remember telling her that we’d jog to the next tree and then walk as I couldn’t cope with the steady meander she’d set.

I’ll always look back at that moment as the turning point. I was approaching 29 and although I suffer from breathing difficulties, I had no excuse for the state I was in. For many years, I chose to prioritise…

A few weeks before the COVID-19 lockdown here in the UK (March 2020), I weighed 12 stone 7 pounds (79kg or 174 pounds). My body fat was at the 20% mark and I didn’t feel great about the way I looked. I had always flirted with diets and had some fleeting success through my twenties, but never anything which changed my life.

That was until lockdown gave me the ultimatum I was looking for.

I could see that homeworking and the difficult emotions of the pandemic were going to risk sending me into a tailspin — binge eating, drinking, and…

Introducing the challenge

Over an eight-week period, I’m looking to see what’s possible in human fitness and improvement when you learn from and train with an expert. I’ve always tried to do everything on my own and this year, have successfully lost 25 pounds in weight.

Having said that, I’ve always struggled to build muscle consistently (which I believe is quite a common fitness challenge), so I have linked up with Blaine Smith, an AFPA Certified Personal Trainer who runs Body by Blaine (or Train with Blaine).

Together we’re going to see just how much is possible with the right mindset, increasing knowledge…

What have you done today? If you’re like most of us, you’ve probably rushed around from task to task barely stopping to think.

That’s certainly the case for many workers and it spirals through to our personal lives too. Are we trying to look as productive as we can or have we have now structured our lives in a way that promotes rushing on an uncontrollable scale?

The problem with living at such an anxious pace is that it stops us from asking the fundamental question that we need to ask about everything we do: Why are we doing it?

Asking why reveals the truth

…

I’ve always seen the connection between anxiety disorders and depression in my own life. It’s impossible for me to ignore.

As a sufferer of both conditions, I identify with anxiety first and foremost as it’s so prevalent and in my face (think of the tantrum of a loud toddler), but I can also feel when my underlying mood turns dark. I struggle to get myself going and always come back to the question of what’s the point? What’s the point in anything and why is everything so stuck? …

Are you feeling stuck right now?

You know things aren’t right and that you should be doing something about it, but your feet feel like they’re stuck in cement and you feel disillusioned. Maybe even a little powerless and that your circumstances are dictating you.

That happens to all of us at some point where we get lost and are faced with some life tests that we didn’t expect. …

The amount of hours I have wasted on absolutely useless things is utterly embarrassing.

Scrolling through social media and then getting annoyed an hour later because I could have written something that helped someone at that time. Then procrastinating further as I’ve tired myself out mentally and the whole thing is a complete mess.

As you have clicked through to this, is that true for you too? I suspect so.

It’s true that we have developed into a society that has exposure to more stimuli than ever before. Think of your smartphone. …

Merry Christmas to you, my loyal readers. Thank you for your unwavering support throughout the year and together we can look ahead to many exciting things in 2020.

My festive message for 2019 focuses on bridging divides and using Christmas to see the best in all of us (including you).

Acknowledging that everybody experiences Christmas differently

As I’ve grown older, I’m trying to be a bit less tunnel-visioned. Whilst Christmas has always been a positive experience for me personally, and a time for rest with family, I can see how attitudes and circumstances might change over time.

I know that Christmas can be a time of…