My relationship with exercise has been like my relationship with IKEA. I loved it, I hated it, I became addicted to it, and then I had to take a complete break from it, and then I loved it again 😂

As a child, I moved purely for fun and I have lots of happy memories of rollerblading, sports day games and building cubby holes!

By the time I got to high school, it changed, when I was forced to exercise by well-meaning physical education teachers, and this is when I started to hate it.

The hate continued into my early 20s where the only reason I exercised was to try and lose weight.

By my mid-late 20s, I developed an exercise addiction along with an Eating Disorder, which then led me down the path of having to take a complete break from most exercise while trying to recover my period and get pregnant.

And here I am now in my mid-30s, and my relationship with exercise is the best that it has ever been, it is joyful and nourishing, not punishing, boring or obsessive, and I actually want to do it, rather than feeling like I have to do it!

As you can see, it hasn’t been an easy ride! And to get to where I am now, I had to revaluate my relationship to exercise completely until I found the right exercise for me and for my body.

And I want to share with you the 3 key steps I took to get here, so that you too can find the right exercise for you and your body.

Binge eating is different from overeating. Binge eating is feeling out of control with food and eating large amounts of food in a very short time period. Overeating is eating past fullness and feeling uncomfortable. We all overeat sometimes; this is a normal part of life. When I experienced my first binge eating episode, it was like I was possessed. All I could think about was getting food in and fast. I was swallowing foods nearly whole, desperately trying to get them in. I felt completely out of control of my body and my mind. I’ll never forget the experience and I’ll never forget how much shame and guilt I felt.

Does this sound like you right now?

You feel completely out of control and don’t trust yourself around your favourite foods, especially cookies, ice cream, chocolate, pizza, pasta, peanut butter, and Nutella?

You are always trying the latest diet and desperately wanting to lose weight. In fact, you can’t even imagine your life without dieting and trying to change your body right now.

You struggle with emotional eating and binge eating which leaves you feeling guilty and ashamed for days after?

You’ve spent countless money, time and energy trying to find the perfect 'lifestyle' or diet that works for you, but it always ends with you elbow deep in a jar of peanut butter?

Are you nodding along right now thinking “yep that sounds like me”?

Then intuitive eating might be right for you.

I know how confusing health is. Everyone from your nan, to your mum, your next-door neighbour and Karen at work has an opinion on what health is and what you should be doing right now. And add in the mix those insta influencers, fitspos and your FB news feed, it is no wonder that your head is spinning.

All these things have one common denominator, diet culture.

If you have heard the term diet culture, but just aren’t sure what exactly it is, here is a great definition from Anti-diet expert Christy Harrison.

“Diet culture is a system of beliefs that: worships thinness and equates it to health, promotes weight loss as a means of attaining higher status, demonises certain ways of eating while elevating others, and oppresses people who don’t match up with its supposed picture of health”.

Diet culture is worth nearly $200 billion globally, so you can see why they want us obsessed with the pursuit of thinness, all in the name of “health”.

The problem with this industry is that it is making a lot of money off our insecurities, and it is also causing harm, by spreading fear, lies and misinformation. So, in this blog post, I am uncovering the 6 biggest health and fitness myths .

The alarm is going off. You groan and turn over to look at the time. Its 6am, its dark, and your bed is so warm and cosy, and you really don’t want to get out.

The familiar thoughts start going through your head, “I need to exercise, “come on, get up” and “I have to lose weight!”. You have an inner battle with yourself; should I stay in bed, or should I go to the gym…

Then one of two things normally happen.

I know what it feels like to wake up after a binge.

I know the guilty and shameful feelings that ache in the pit of your stomach.

The same thoughts going around and around and around.

Why do I keep doing this?

Why can't I just control myself around food?

What is wrong with me?

The fear of weight gain is one thing that holds us back from healing our relationship to food. and it can keep us stuck in the dieting cycle for years.

I know. Because this used to be me too.

What is the first thing you think of when it comes to exercise?

Punishing? Boring? Calorie burning? No pain, no gain?

That’s what I used to think too.

I often get asked for nutritious snack ideas that are easy to prepare. So, I have put together my 20 top easy and nutritious snack ideas so there should be something for everyone!

Happy snacking!

Self-care is the first step to wellbeing. Adequate self-care is critical as we are unable to connect to our body and listen to what it needs when it is lacking. Self-care is about listening to our gut, respecting and caring for ourselves, being true to who we are, developing wisdom and trust, and doing what is right for us and us only. Recognising how important we are, and learning to accept every single about us is also key.

Meal prepping is part of the gentle nutrition part of intuitive eating as it is a form of self-care and nourishment.

Life purpose is all about discovering what gives us happiness, drive, passion and direction in our lives. It helps us work out and prioritise what’s important to us. Discovering our life’s purpose helps us re-evaluate our identity and meaning in life. It is one of the most personal wellbeing aspects as it involves a lot of reflection and thought.

Having close connections increases our wellbeing as we need these bonds in life to thrive and survive. These are connections that we have with our friends, family relationships and with food. It is also about any other connections that we enjoy, such as our work, music, art, nature and hobbies.

Hands up if you struggle with work-life balance? I certainly do, and one in four of us feel the same. If you feel that your work life is getting in the way of your playtime then this article is especially for you.

Achieving emotional wellbeing involves understanding how our thoughts, feelings and behaviours are all connected. If we deal with them in unhealthy ways, it will affect our overall wellbeing. Learning to accept them with compassion, and without judgement and putting the right steps in place means we can flourish in our emotional wellbeing.

We’re a pretty happy nation, with Australia ranking 9th on the 2017 World Happiness Report. But what is happiness and how can we achieve it?

What is the first thing you think of when it comes to exercise? Push ups? Burpees? Hard work? Boring? Pain? Weight? Calorie burning?  I hear you . Exercise can get a bad rap but it doesn’t have to be that way.. I don’t even like to call it exercise anymore, just because of the negative connotations, so I renamed it fun with movement. There are so many ways to move your body. Do you remember when you were a kid and you could run around for hours and would never get bored or tired? What if I could tell you that you can unleash your inner child again and have fun with movement. Here are 5 tips to get you started.

Breathing is often under looked in wellbeing, as it is something we do every day without thinking about it. Most of us, however, don’t fully breathe which effects everything in life from our oxygen levels, detoxification, stress, metabolism, satiety and digestion.

December is a busy time of year and with the Xmas madness upon us already, I wanted to share my top 5 health and well-being tips to help you survive the holiday season this year.

Following on from my 5 easy nutritious breakfast ideas, here are my 5 easy and nutritious lunch ideas. Most of these are very simple and flexible, and they just use a combination of the main food groups. I have provided a big list of ideas that you can choose from. If you don’t like any of the ingredients, you can chop and change with things that you do like. Remember eating for pleasure is key!