By Bridget Thompson

In the final part of our Health Expert, Bridget Jane’s new years health series, she reveals another two ways to avoid committing new years resolution suicide on your health goals. She clarifies what works and flags dead-end pathways that will leave you nothing but frustrated, deflated and right back where you started – Ed.

GOING GUN HO ON THE TAE BO AGAIN

I am all for moving your body and I encourage all my clients to find something they love to do that gets their heart rate going. What I am not for though, is pushing your body and mind into a regime and routine that it just darn well hates!

Above all else this creates a great deal of stress within your body and the stress response causes a release of adrenaline and cortisol into the blood stream which, long story short, encourages the body to store fat. So whilst you may think you are doing great things for your waist line by hauling yourself through gruelling workouts that you hate, in essence you are actually training it to be the world’s best fat storage machine!

As a traditionally trained dietitian, there was a point in time in which I truly believed the weight-game was a simple caloric balancing equation; eat less calories than you use, or use more than you eat. However life was to teach me the hard way that in fact there was much more to this uber simplified equation than meets the eye. I won’t go into nitty gritty here but let me please make it clear that you’re not a programmable robot and you are subject to many more laws, dynamics, influences and chemical complexities than you realise.

The most important factor in achieving successful weight loss and long term health is the stress:relaxation ratio. Simply, stress equals fat gain; and relaxation equals metabolic maximisation. I know it seems and sounds contrary to all that has and is longingly drummed into us, but all I can say in the proof is on the pudding. What works, works. And as far as I have seen, sweating, suffering and swearing your way through torture will never lead to sustained change.

Embrace movement that you love, as often and as intense as you enjoy. It’s that simple. If you happen to love sweating it out as I sometimes do, go for it! If you love meditating on a cushion and doing some gentle stretches, go with that. Variety is the spice of life and listening to your body, rather than brutally over-riding it is the key to success.

DON’T MAKE IT COMPLICATED

Without a doubt, one of the most guaranteed ways to sabotage your New Years Resolve on the health front is to make it complicated! In all honesty, good health is simple! When you start feeling like you need a degree just to make sense of what it is you “should” be doing then you know damn well you are on the wrong bandwagon! Jump off before you go nutty!

Honestly, I have that degree in nutrition and if I was to buy into all the “research” and “evidence” out there I too would go stir crazy! One group of “experts” declare that Paleo is the way to go, another that raw is the Holy Grail… one thing is for sure, everyone has an opinion, and everyone knows best!

What I believe is as I have said, good health is simple. I also believe that you are as unique as your fingerprint and that you are a dynamic, ever-changing being who’s need also change from moment to moment. What suits you now, may not in a few months, years or decades.

I do not believe there is one way that works for everyone. What I do know though is that you are the very best expert that you could possibly go to for advice and I bet that if you were to listen to yourself and take just one little ‘intuitive nudge’ at a time, you would end up finding a way that works great guns for you.

The very worst thing you can do is take on everyone elses advice and end up with a complicated mess in which you are unsure which way is up, down, left or right! Go with common sense and what feels right to you. Drink more water. Eat more veggies. Eat mindfully.

Make 2012 the year that you FINALLY listen to you and connect with what is true for you, and only you, in the realm of health, weight and fitness.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bridget Jane is a fully accredited and qualified Dietitian who undertook her 4 year Bachelor of Nutrition & Dietetics in Melbourne. Having once been overweight, bullied and incredibly uncomfortable in her own body, Bridget sought out at a young age to find a way to create the health and body she craved, yet in a way that was fun, easy and still allowed her to eat!

It has been almost a 19 year journey, and not a day has gone by in that time that Bridget has not studied some aspect of health, happiness and truly holistic wellbeing. Having evolved from purely a “physical/body” approach and focus, to intensely studying the mind and psychology of it all, to now a completely integrated holistic mind, body and soul approach, Bridget has truly left the title of “Dietitian” in the dust! Bridget does do it differently and to her clients that is an ever so welcome change!

BridgetJane

Food Body Lifestyle Guru

www.newleafnutrition.com.au

By Bridget Thompson

Health doesn’t just happen. Yes, well this here is my second post on this lovely space and I will just say it was going to be about a completely different topic, but we will save that for next month! (To give you a heads up we will be tackling how to effortlessly make your menu gluten free. Yes an area that many these days struggle with!)

I will say though that this piece is a perfect pre-read to what will come next month, and in fact furthermore, a brilliant and necessary foundation.

You see, as brutal and unflattering as it may sound, health is not instant. It does not come from a packet, and will not be effortlessly achieved and maintained with a “few week’s” bootcamp, program, shake or pill….

As much as we might like to think that health will happen to us, it just won’t. I know better than anyone the life long journey and commitment creating and maintaining health involves (if you do not know my “overweight and bullied childhood story, then please go here) and I am also here to say that it can be fun and actually quite simple. I am living the example, and I have taught it to hundreds of clients.

Simple does not mean “requiring no effort”, in fact quite the contrary. It does require effort. Time. Investment. Choices. In fact health is a value we must put first if we are to forever after enjoy it’s associated benefits.

Yes, family are important, very much so.

Yes, money is important. Unfortunately the game that we call ‘reality’ insists that it is what makes the world go round.

Yet the reality remains that without your health, you are NO good to your family, in fact you may become a burden, and unfortunately health really can’t be bought (not sustainably anyway), so what good is having money when you do not have your health to enjoy it?

This might sound all idealistic but let me add that the very inspiration for this post has come from witnessing a dear and young friend (28 years of age) suffer the effects of not putting his health first.

Diagnosed over 2 years ago with Type 2 Diabetes- that is, lifestyle induced (poor diet, morbidly obese, sedentary, high alcohol intake, excessive work hours, etc) – this wonderful young man did little to really heed the relatively “kind” warning his body was sending him. Not to say that he did nothing, but in the grand scheme of things, he really didn’t shift health to Number One on the priority list.

Instead he did, as I see most people do, try to carry on as per usual- same crazy schedule, same “default” habits- yet attempting to squeeze in on top of it all, some health behaviours.

I say this with all the love in the world. And compassion. I truly do believe that in the eyes of these people, my friend included, that they are doing their best. They really are trying. Yet as one of my very best coaches once taught me, there is no trying. Exactly what is trying? Can you try to drop a pen? Try it now. Try to drop a pen. You cannot do it. It is a none existent situation. You either DO or DON’T. There is no trying.

For true and permanent health shifts to occur we must really wake up to this reality. As I quote on my business card, “Health is everything”. It is the foundation for life. Without it, all else falls apart.

We all have the opportunity to discover our true health potential. And let me say I have seen people of all backgrounds and ages recover a level of health they never thought possible. They had literally written themselves off as “too old”, “too sick”, “too beyond help”, and then together we showed them how they too could look and feel incredibly amazing, younger, fitter, more energetic, positive and passionate. It is honestly the pleasure of my life to share such a journey with a person.

What is takes though is for a true shift in priorities. In values. I dare say too a belief that you deserve to feel good. That you deserve health. That you deserve to put yourself first.

For some it is self worth issues, some a belief that career/money, family or something else is more important. At the end of the day though, as I mentioned above, what good are you without your health?

YOU are the most important person in your world. YOU are the centre. It’s about time we examined and shifted our priorities and values so that we can be all that we want and more to those and that which we love most.

What do you think?

If you have health related question that you would like Bridget to answer in her next monthly column, then please click here to send it to her.

Bridget Jane is a fully accredited and qualified Dietitian who undertook her 4 year Bachelor of Nutrition & Dietetics in Melbourne. Having once been overweight, bullied and incredibly uncomfortable in her own body, Bridget sought out at a young age to find a way to create the health and body she craved, yet in a way that was fun, easy and still allowed her to eat!

It has been almost a 19 year journey, and not a day has gone by in that time that Bridget has not studied some aspect of health, happiness and truly holistic wellbeing. Having evolved from purely a “physical/body” approach and focus, to intensely studying the mind and psychology of it all, to now a completely integrated holistic mind, body and soul approach, Bridget has truly left the title of “Dietitian” in the dust! Bridget does do it differently and to her clients that is an ever so welcome change!

BridgetJane

Food Body Lifestyle Guru

www.newleafnutrition.com.au

By Gaynor Alder

After a number of stressful weeks at work, I found myself reaching for the bottle more than I wanted to, resulting in a blow out on the scales. After beating myself up with the proverbial stick of guilt and jumping on the merry-go-round of incessant self loathing, my mind was inevitably latching onto drastic action. However, these drastic actions are never the way forward, because as we know the process towards change is never linear – yes that old dieter’s demon of two steps forward, one step back.

What we can do is use these moments to learn, reflect and find our centre again, so that we may continue to move forward in a peaceful and sustainable way that will help us successfully reach our goals. Otherwise we are neurotically hatching plans out of fear (to ease the discomfort of our bender), that will only have us crazily spiral further down the ladder of despair. We need to be gentle, oh so gentle, and get back in touch with what is right for us, regardless of our recent bender. Jo Bassett from Living Savvy would be ever so proud.

Whilst reflecting on my recent fall from grace, I came across a book by Marianne Williamson,  “A Course in Weight Loss”, containing spiritual lessons to uncover the emotional reasons for being overweight. Whilst part of me resisted the book (the part that doesn’t want to put on a wet suit and dive deep back into the emotional wounds of my past – feck haven’t I had enough therapy over the years?!) there was another part of me that resonated with its underlying message. (I didn’t buy the book, but if you have let us know what you thought of it.)

Unless we uncover why we are holding onto the weight, dieting and exercise is futile. Because our sub conscious will always be in control, steering us towards the bottle or binging on food. I started to reflect on why I may be holding onto the weight and thoughts of protection rose to the surface. Hell, I’m walking around with a safety blanket of fat!

The fears are all yesterdays news – way past their use by date. People I had already forgiven and wounds I’ve already workshopped. However, that doesn’t seem to be stopping my sub conscious from cracking a bottle of vino and having a party with them on a regular basis. Yikes, every time I down a bottle of emotionally charged vino, I may as well be clinking glasses with these people and sharing a room with them. No thanks – there’s a reason they’re no longer in my life.

Clarity is the first step in giving these fears their marching orders and having them relinquish their power over the waistband on your jeans …. hey, hang on a minute, I’m in charge here, now go bugger off. Once you know what’s hiding and lurking around in your sub conscious, you can have a little talk with yourself (promise I won’t go calling the men with the white straight jackets just yet).

Will I ever enter a damaging relationship and allow an unworthy man to destroy me again?

No sirree. Au contraire, the man I have in my life now is the most beautiful, kind, gentle and honest person, and our relationship is full of love and happiness.

Will I ever allow someone to enter my friendship circle who isn’t worthy of my friendship and hurt me?

Not on your nelly. I kicked good time friends to the kerb a long time ago. The only friends I have in my life now are top shelf.

Will I ever place myself in potentially abusive situations again?

You’ve got to be kidding. If you don’t whole heartedly respect me for who I am, then you can get off the train thanks very much. There’s plenty of people lining up who do.

So, this safety of blanket of fat is just a lingering hangover from years gone by – years I have since recovered from, moved on from and triumphed over. I’m like a 4 year old with a dummy – even though I know I don’t need it any more, it may take a little while for it be to cajoled away from me. But once I realise, really realise that I am free of these fears, I’ll be able to spit it out in disgust, because I’m all grown up now.

Question time: What underlying fears or emotions could potentially holding you back from reaching your weight loss goals?

Gaynor Alder is a Melbourne based writer with a penchant for vintage glamour and all things Parisian. Constantly living outside of her means, she brings new meaning to living the champagne lifestyle. She believes that one should never leave home without gloss (universal law 1.1), wouldn’t dare attend a red carpet worthy occasion without false eyelashes, and isn’t interested in doing anything where she can’t wear her heels – although she can be tempted by a lovely pair of Audrey Hepburn ballet flats, should the occasion call for them.

As you may know, I am what you call an all or nothing person, and as such I don’t naturally gravitate towards the middle ground. This means May could well throw a few challenges my way. However, with help from Jo Bassett from Living Savvy, I am continuing to make small sustainable changes until they becoming lasting lifestyle habits.

After cementing habits in April for self nurturing, Wednesdays will continue to be wholly and solely “all about me” with a weekly blow dry, manicure, pedicure and doing whatever I god damn well please without worrying about anybody else. In May, I am committing to my weekly “AFD” (alcohol free day) and pledging to take up yoga, drink water on a daily basis and take my vitamins. I will continue to do these until they become part of my lifestyle, and Jo will be on hand to help guide me through any precarious moments that have me reach for the bottle. Downward dog anyone?

As I start to clean up my act on the health front, other parts of my life are putting up their hand to have their draws cleaned out too. Combine this with hormones that often seek refuge in going on a cleaning rampage, I find myself decluttering my life of all the things that are, how shall we say, okay, let me just be frank – giving me the shits.

From shoes with broken heels that have been sitting in my wardrobe for months, to things on my to do list that have been taunting me with their tardiness, and ill fitting clothes that leave me uncomfortable (ahem, they must have shrunk in the wash) nothing is safe. If it’s annoying me or preventing me from approaching my days with ease, then it’s being scrutinised like a princess about to walk down the aisle and thrown out like a guest wearing white at a royal wedding.

The more I repair, throw out and complete, the more I feel the energy around me shift, thus creating harmony and space for new things to enter my life (hello Penguin Publishers, my people will talk with your people).

Image Credits: 1

Not only will I be putting in my two cents worth, but there will also be guest commentators from time to time who will be experts in their chosen fields. Do not fear, if you’re worried you might just end up with my crummy advice, the real beauty is that the readers of The Modern Woman’s Survival will be invited to comment and offer their advice too.

Does My Bum Look Big In This?

Surely there’s a better way to lose that ten kilos than substituting food for shakes and feeling so faint from hunger that you end up sliding down the side of the breakfast bar and start imagining that inanimate objects such as pens and staplers are actually food.

Surely there’s a better way to get back into your skinny jeans without fearing all carbohydrates as evil and turning into a snappy moody cow because your brain is suffering from a severe serotonin shortage due to lack of said carbohydrates.

Well, yes there is! Oh, gosh, I said that rather confidently didn’t I, and, well, let me confess, I haven’t quite worked it out yet myself. But thankfully The Modern Woman’s Survival Guide has a fabulous health expert lined up to answer all your health, fitness and well being questions – actually, hang on a minute, yes diet too, because even though I think it’s a dirty word, we are all still obsessed with them, so may as well talk about them, if not just to liberate womankind from their evil clutches.

When I Grow Up

This is for work and career advice, but ultimately to inspire and help women to lead fulfilling and rewarding careers doing what they love. A topic I am extremely passionate about, so passionate about, that I even used the word passionate (for some reason I find that word tacky, if not for its sheer overuse) and could write a chapter in a book about it (oh, hang on a minute, I did).

It also makes me want to get up on my soapbox, and the only other thing that makes me feel that way is when retailers start putting up Christmas decorations in August.

In this modern world, we need to be able to do what we love, but also keep the roof over our heads – and not just any shabby old roof either. Here in this column, I want to challenge the notions and the beliefs that imprison so many people and keep them stuck in lives and careers that lack substance and soul, and ultimately leave them veering head onto into a mid life crisis.

But, we don’t do mid life crises. No, we do the quarter life crisis instead, and the difference is that the QLC is a blessing in disguise, and the earlier it gets you, the more confusing it is and the more it throws you around like you’ve been thrown into a tumble dryer with a couple of bricks, the better, because it’s shaking you up, and clearing the way for you to follow your true path.

So instead of running scared, it’s about embracing the questions and confusion, because more often than not, it’s just you breaking free of all the things you’ve been told to be true, and all those things people expect you to do so that you can be “successful”. Real success is learning to stand on your own ground in the face of disbelief and doubt from others and living the life YOU want to live.

Real Men Only Need Apply

For all your Sex and the City type problems such as conducting thorough post mortems of dates – does he or doesn’t he like me and more importantly will he or won’t he call, and all that jazz.

Dear Modern Woman

Think of this as your agony aunt type of column – problems with friends, life, money and any other general life questions.

Gee that all sounds so swell, that if you don’t actually have a problem, I’d be making one up if I was you. Now, I don’t profess to have all the answers, but, together with experts and support of all our readers, we can put our head up, shoulders back and tits forward as we navigate together through life’s ups and downs, in order to live the most fabulous life we can.

So, get to it, and fill out the form below.

As spring approaches (well, yes, it’s already technically here, but Melbourne has put on a no show so far) we face another obligatory post winter face crisis. Every year it bites us on our derrieres, and we regret letting the cold become an excuse to comfort ourselves with chocolate and barricade us inside every time we thought of exercising. With the shedding of boots, scarfs and coats in favour of Audrey Hepburn ballet flats, capri pants and cute little tops, it’s time to not only hit the fake tan, but also the gym. Stat.

Curves Fitness is offering every reader of The Modern Woman’s Survival Guide a free one week pass to one of their 365 nationwide gyms. The best part is that their system is designed so that you can achieve results by going 3 times a week for 30 minutes. Very doable indeed.

Furthermore, Curves can attest to offering a weight management and fitness solution that has the backing of the most extensive study in clinical history. Their CurvesSmart™ system individually tailors your program which has been proven to produce a 20% better result. Their Weight Management Plan also includes free diet classes to help liberate you from the perils that traditional dieting has subjected your metabolism to all these years.

HOW TO RECEIVE YOUR FREE VOUCHER

Please note this voucher can only be redeemed by new members of Curves at participating locations within Australia.

1. Simply fill in the box below to sign up to the waiting list of The Modern Woman’s Survival Guide (the book).

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2. If you have already signed up to the waiting list and subscribed, please complete the below form to request your voucher.

With no other jeans on hand, I had no choice but to try and convince my thighs that they are a size ten. I laid down flat on the floor, and huffed and puffed as I tugged at the waist to get them to button up. After much coercing, breathing in, and sucking in my stomach, I finally got them done up – but it was not a pretty sight. My stomach was was hanging out over the sides – enter a long flowing top. It looked okay to the unknowing eye, but walking with any amount of grace, was an entire another matter.

This was all good, until a few hours later (and 4 vinos later) when I had to go to the toilet. Unzipping them was easy of course – kind of like undoing your bra after a long day, however, I faced a major predicament trying to do my jeans back up.

There was no room to lay flat on the floor (and let’s face it, who in their right mind is going to lay themselves flat on a toilet floor?), so I had to try and lean diagonally across the toilet and the wall. 1-2-3 *squeeeeeeeeeze*. Fuck! Okay. 1-2-3 *squeeeeeeeze*. After much cajoling, coercing and swearing, I FINALLY managed to get them back up. I, of course strutted out from the toilets in my usual fabulous manner, but I can’t deny, my thighs were not feeling anywhere near as fabulous.

Not wanting to face another night of thigh related trauma, I spent the next day determined to overcome my weight, once and for all. Operation Bringing Sexy Back – Day 1. Now, under no circumstances do I think that I can’t be fabulous in a bigger pair of jeans, nor do I want to be a size zero, but we all have a weight that we feel best at, and more importantly I want to be healthy. I also see how much energy is consumed when we are overweight, and how when we are living a healthy lifestyle and at the weight our bodies are meant to be, then that energy could then be channeled into moving forward in other areas of our life.

I’m an intelligent woman. I know that exercising regularly and eating well is what I need to do. But no matter how much I exercise, or how well I eat, I need to look deeper, because what I weigh on the scales right now is really a reflection of how I feel about myself and my sub conscious beliefs.

It seems when good things start to happen in my life, I sub consciously push the self destruct button, and I am powerless to stop it. No matter what I tell myself, I can’t stop engaging in self destructive behaviours. I hit brick walls within myself, and no matter how hard I try to consciously push through them, I find myself procrastinating, drinking too much and eating crap. Then I resolve to start another health kick, and the whole crazy cycle starts again.

So, the question is, how do I unlock the parts of me that are holding me back from having what I want in life? How do I unstack those bricks, one by one? Because I want to move towards a different life. A life where I can not only fit into my jeans, but a life of wealth. A life of happiness. A life of greater ease. Because I deserve it.

It’s not that I’m not happy, because I am. I have many wonderful things in my life, but, I am reaching for something more. I am trying to reprogram myself, but when I change the channel, all I get is the test pattern or re-runs of Mash. I’m looking for a book deal, my own apartment, but the TV guide says at 7:00pm I’m in for struggle, followed by not being able to pay my bills at 8:00pm.

It’s obvious that I need to have a heart-to-heart with my sub conscious. I need to sit it down and say listen here, you’ve been telling me my whole life that I’m not worthy, but I’m onto you. I’m sick of you holding me back and selling me short. You’re nothing but a big fat liar and you should be worried, really worried, when I tell you that your days are numbered, because I’m bringing in reinforcements.

I’ve spent enough time listening to what you’ve got to say, and quite frankly I’ve had enough. I’ve spent hours in counselling with you, trying to be reasonable and understanding, listening to you list all the reasons I do the things I do, why I attract certain people in my life and yada, yada, yada.

Now, with the help of a hypnotherapist, I’m going to be calling the shots from now on. So pack your bags and clear out. I’m going to have the life I want. The life I deserve. And I’m going to look god damn fabulous in my skinny jeans whilst I’m at. Because I can.

Number of units of alcohol = 12. Number of cigarettes = 0. Number of times I stole the detergent from behind the bar without getting caught = 3

Waking up with your clothes still on in some strange man’s bed – priceless.

The fright of such a close encounter with a less than desirable suitor had me running for the phone to book a stint at the Priori. I spent the following week off the liquor, and making buckwheat porridge for breakfast and chopping up every vegetable in my fridge for lunch – a picture of health was I.

Then I checked into a hotel to do a review, and one of the wheels came loose on my wagon. It wasn’t before long that I was dialing room service for a Sauvignon Blanc and raiding the mini bar – one Kit Kat and a box of Pringles later, and I was ready to order some dinner. Alas, they had run out of food! (Needless to say their review didn’t bode well.) So, I then found myself walking around the corner for MacDonalds – holy mother!

Since then I’ve been consuming vino, like a new born drinking milk from its mother – constantly. Unlike the baby, I can eat solids, and they haven’t been the most nutritious of choices – pizza, KFC and toasted cheese sandwiches. Ta da – here I find myself in the midst of a fat crisis. AGAIN. I loathe feeling this way. It’s tiresome and I feel like crap.

None of my clothes fit me, but I don’t want to buy new ones because then I’ll only have to throw them out, because I’m going to lose weight (a period of denial that can stretch out to 6 months, before you finally accept that you are no longer a size 8, or hang on a minute, no longer a 10 either). The fat crisis is like a snowball rolling down a hill, gathering more and more and fat. This is because when we feel horrible inside, we often reach for more food and more wine to drown it out.

I want to feel healthy again. I do. Really I do. I had a glimpse of what it was like last week and it felt great. I had energy. I was clear headed. I felt happy within myself. But it only seems to take one drink before I switch on the self destruct button and I’m not sure how to stop that. One thing I do know, is that when we over indulge, we are more often than not trying to fill something up inside ourselves. But the crazy thing is that these places inside ourselves are usually insatiable. They can’t be filled, no matter how hard we try. It’s like trying to fill up a bucket with a hole in the bottom of it.

I’ve come to realise, that the things that happen to us in our lives that create feelings of loss and emptiness inside us, are part of us. We can’t get rid of them, but if we accept them and let them be, something does start to shift inside. I look at it like having an empty bottle inside of me, but instead of trying to fill it up, I am just going to put a lid on it. For some reason when I do that, it seems to feel smaller. Okay somehow. Sure, it’s still there, but those experiences are what have carved my character, shaped my personality and made me what I am.

Maybe I can do moderation, and live the healthy lifestyle I have always wanted to. You know like those pictures you see in magazines of girls wearing white bikinis and eating a bowl of strawberries after coming in from their morning run at the beach. Well, the white bikini would be impractical with any form of water based activity, and you’d never catch me on the beach that early, but work with me on this one.

This week, I am going to start leaning towards healthy food again – getting back in touch with what my body wants to feel good, and start with small steps to make exercise a daily part of my life. It’s a new week, and as my granny used to say, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again.

I have been comforting myself with the thought that with the start of the new year, and its impending resolutions, that I’d do something about it then. December is hardly the time to embark on a health kick, right?

After going for a drink with a friend last week and waving my hands around during an animated conversation and discovering that I had “tuck shop arms” (the unsightly overhang that wobbled from underneath my upper arms), I decided it was time to clean up my act – stat! It’s time to make a commitment to my long term health and fitness and implement exercise as a daily part of my life. Not some short term neurotic fitness craze or an emergency diet. I’m talking a sustainable and balanced change in lifestyle.

Tis the season, yes, but what I can stop doing is drinking wine and eating my entire body weight in chocolate whilst I am at home. It’s time to shake the dust off my sneakers and come to terms with the sight of my thighs in lycra and start walking again.

So, instead of waiting until January to make myself promises I may not  keep in the spirit of the moment, I’m using the first day of the last month of the year, to commit to a new me. A me who deals with stress by going for a walk, instead of reaching for a glass of sauv blanc or craving a cigarette (it took everything I had today to not walk into the 7/11 and ask for a packet of Vogue Super Slim Menthols).

I’m not planning on giving up the vino for good, because I really do enjoy a lovely chilled glass of sauvignon blanc in summer and a cabernet merlot in winter. What I am planning on doing is learning the subtle art of moderation. Something this all or nothing girl doth struggle with, she must admit.

What can you do at the start of this new season for the good of your health and well being?

My skin may be as smooth as a baby’s bottom, thanks to giving up the cigarettes and Estee Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair Serum, but too much wine and sugar over winter has left me feeling less than fabulous. On the richter scale of oh my god i’m fat i need to go to the gym and commence the latest celebrity crash diet, it’s an emergency of alarming proportions (namely for my thighs).

How do we handle a few extra kilos with grace and aplomb? Staying centered in one healthy meal at a time and going for walks is a good starting point, but inspired by the newness of spring (and knowing that my fat crisis won’t be able to take the change room mirrors with any degree of poise as I shop for a new dress for the spring racing carnival), I’m feeling a September spring clean coming on. Instead of cleaning out my cutlery draw and other non such, I’m getting rid of those bad habits I picked up over winter and replacing them with a healthy habit, one week at a time.

First on my hit list is the vino. Yes, I may have taken a vow of abstinence a few weeks back, but I’ve now well and truly left the convent. I woke perplexed this morning, wondering why a wave of seediness was washing over me coupled with an overwhelming need for water. Then I remembered. That would be the bottle of Pitchfork’s Cabernet Merlot I polished off last night. After a bout of self recrimination, I finally mustered up the energy to stumble to the fridge for water, but not before passing the empty bottle on my kitchen counter and shuddering. It seemed like such a good idea last night, but this morning it has left me feeling remorseful and parched – like I’ve spent a week in the Sahara Desert following mirages in search of water.

So, for my first week I will be paring back the wine to once a week over the next month, and replacing it with 2L of water every day. After all, supermodels always claim it’s the secret to their stunning good looks, I am however, dubious that drinking water is going to give me Claudia Schiffer’s cheek bones or Elle Macpherson’s legs. It’s one of those things that I’ve known I should be doing, but I’ve always found it painfully boring – either that or I’m just lazy (if I were you, I’d hedge your bets on the latter). Putting aside vanity, our bodies really do need water. Amongst many health benefits, it replenishes our body and helps our brains to function properly.

This isn’t a quick fix, this is a long term lifestyle change that will leave me radiating health and feeling good. Like Alice, we all lose our way sometimes and need to regroup to find our way back home. Join in and follow me here for the next month. Start this week, by picking one unhealthy habit and replacing it with a good one (leave a comment on the post) – you’re sure to be glad that you did in October. You can then follow my special Melbourne Cup beauty feature in Onya Magazine (www.onyamagazine.com). Each week in the month leading up to the Melbourne Cup, I will be writing a special feature on getting track side ready.

It’s that time of year, as spring starts to ever so gracefully steal winter’s dominance over our days, that I come face to face with the copious amounts of food and wine that I consumed in the colder months. OMG – I’m fat! As dysmorphic as it may sound, my thighs feel like they are expanding in my sleep and my stomach is seriously hanging over my jeans.

I can no longer hide under layers of clothing for protection from the extra few kilos terrorising my psyche (am heavy subscriber to the ignorance is bliss ethos). The long cardi over the skinny jeans sucks it all in and I look fine in the mirror, but as soon as I walk everything starts to wobble, quickly reminding me of all that Sara Lee sticky date pudding I ate (I could get a knife and fork and eat that whole thing straight from the foil container as a meal).

Now don’t get me wrong here, I’m not a candidate for the Biggest Loser, nor do I perpetuate “stickdom” as beauty. Au contraire, I am anti diet and don’t believe in the scales measuring my self esteem with a number or dictating to me how I feel about myself. What I do advocate is listening to your body, eating well and finding your body’s natural balance. However, no matter how strong and empowered we women may be, do any of us ever really escape the occasional fat crisis?

I am naturally thin, but like every woman I can fluctuate either way over time. I’ve travelled overseas and stacked on 10 kilos as I passed through Heathrow airport (the “Heathrow injection” as it’s affectionately called), and I’ve also been celebrity A list thin (that gaunt calories are looking for you bony look, that prompts a gasp every time you see someone you haven’t seen in a while – I knew it was serious when Mum sent Dad up to my place with a car full of groceries). Now, I normally reside in that happy place in between – the one where I don’t need to try too much or think about what I’m eating and maintain a good weight. However, if I am to have a whinge about my body (it is my blog after all), it’s that I am blessed, or should I say cursed, with a pear shape – no matter how much weight I put on or lose, my arms will always resemble those of a starving Ethiopian child. It is however, a different story for my thighs. Help me Trinny!

I know that I’m not alone right now as I come to terms with a few extra kilos. Womankind, I beg of you – don’t let it spiral into self hatred and body loathing. Don’t let it hold you hostage, terrorise your thoughts and consume you with calorie counting and the insanity of fearing all carbohydrates as evil. Instead, make a commitment to honour your body one healthy meal at at time and start walking in this glorious spring air, and those muffin tops will soon disappear of their own accord. Most of all, always remember that your beauty always, I repeat always comes from within. Cliche, but true, oh so true.