Y'know when you start out on a journey to a 'new you' - or even just pick up where you left off on an old one - it's hard to imagine failing. You're resolute. You're determined. You're totally going to kick ass and achieve your goals, because you are awesome. Heck, once you're finished, you'll proba[...]

Back in the day, I'd say I wasn't a very strong person. I wasn't necessarily weak, but I just kinda let things happen. I stayed in relationships too long because leaving them would be too hard; I stayed in education too long because I didn't think I'd be able to find a job; I comforted myself with p[...]

You may remember a couple of weeks ago I said I was starting to train with the lovely Tom Dyer of Ultimate City Fitness, to find out how much butt it is possible for one fat girl to kick. I'm nothing if not open to new experiences, even if they do seem utterly terrifying. After all, I have this w[...]

It's my birthday! Well, not mine. But it's a whole year since I found myself sitting in my bedroom, writing my very first post, in my slippers and hat, at 10pm at night. I'd written the post, but I couldn't think of what to call the blog itself. I'd come up with a couple of bad puns, the odd play[...]

You may remember, a month ago, I said this: It's easy to change a bit, adapt, and then stay put. That’s why we plateau, both in terms of weight loss and in a wider sense. You’ve got to stay focused on improving yourself and your life in a number of ways, both physically and – more importantly – men[...]

In the last 48 hours, I've had no less than three - three - people tell me that they've been upset by the number on the scales at some point this week. Ladies: the hell. The hell? Are you kidding me? Seriously? This state of affairs leaves me with no choice, because I've put my head in [...]

I've always thought of myself of something of a planner. I love a good strategy, me. When I'm not blogging, I'm paid to do just that - plan stuff. Strategise things. Day-to-day, I've got to be super-organised, thinking ahead days, weeks, and months in advance. And that's fine by me, because, as I[...]

I just had something of a revelation. After a week of feeling like death warmed up, I've realised... I've got Freshers' Flu. You've gotta laugh at times like this. Here I am, with my grown-up job, in my grown-up flatshare, with my grown-up clothes and attitude and a healthy living blog... And I'v[...]

Well, it's done. I've made it to London, and I'm writing this post from my lovely new house in Islington. As it happens, I have something of a fuzzy head after a welcome night out with my new housemates - which was ridiculously fun, but my God, I am tired. You may have to excuse any parts of this po[...]

Perfection is something I'm pretty sure I don't believe in; it's right up there with the phrase 'nothing tastes as good as thin feels' and the 2013 Cliff Richard calendar in my 'List of Things I Strongly Oppose.' But sometimes, for reasons beyond my control - also known as this blog - I have to p[...]

I don't know about you, but I am terrible at sticking to my New Year's Resolutions. Disastrous. Last year, I resolved to go on a diet, and diet I did. For two weeks. As a result, I lost half a stone... And gained 10lbs immediately after. It took me 'til the end of February to remember t[...]

Hello! This is only a short post, but I wanted to check in and wish you guys a very, very Merry Christmas. Here's me and my gorgeous, wonderful, super-intelligent (and a bit of a pop star) sister this morning - we thought we'd dress up this morning, to make up for the inevitable pyjama time after di[...]

As you probably know, yesterday was a big day for me, because I was getting a whole hunk of nasty metal removed from my knee. I needed it, back in the days when I was 290lbs - that stuff was the structure that was holding me up. But as time's gone on, and I've grown ever fitter (whilst reducing the [...]

It's so funny how times change. A couple of years ago, I'd never, ever have thought I'd be where I am right now. A lot of things are different, in a whole range of crazy ways. I like different foods, for one thing; unless I'm a hormonal demon horsebeast, I could take or leave chocolate - but put a b[...]

America, I am officially gatecrashing your holiday. Because I love turkey, stuffing, and frankly, I think it's unfair that you guys get two goes at a Christmas-style break - so I'm getting involved. Consider me having pushed my way in there. Because I think Thanksgiving is a great holiday, or at [...]

We've finally made it! I can't even begin to tell you how hard we've been working to get this programme finished for you guys, following the amazing, astounding and oh-my-god-I-may-be-welling-up-a-little-bit response to last week's guest post by Matt, the trainer who designed this programme. This[...]

I was so, ridiculously cheerful earlier this week that it was almost embarrassing. Honestly, even pre-coffee, I'm pretty sure I had Disney-style bluebirds flying around, singing happy songs about how beautiful the weather is. Even though it's been raining. Yes, that cheery. I know. It's gross.[...]

This is a guest post from Matt Peacock, who designed the programme I follow. I asked him if he'd write something that gave a little bit more insight into who he is and what he does - because obviously 'tis all well and good me gushing about his awesomeness here, but, you know... It's not quite the s[...]

I like to think I'm pretty confident. Most of the time, I've got no issue with meeting new people, and I love a good chinwag - so outwardly, I'd say I'm pretty outgoing. Plus, I did post a series of photos of myself in my knickers for the world to see a couple of weeks ago, so I'm pretty sure nobody[...]

As the wise man Mr T. once said, it's not where you come from, it's where you're going. And I'd be inclined to agree, especially on this whole health business. I don't think it's ever too late to make a difference to your lifestyle, regardless of where you're starting from - and I think aiming high [...]

It's been an exciting week for me, because I finally hit the 160lbs I'd been aiming for for the last two years. Now I'm here, I realise I've still got some work to do, and my target weight has shifted a bit now I'm here - but when I started out, at 290lbs, it seemed like an impossible dream, so to f[...]

Today is World Mental Health Day - an initiative by the World Health Organisation which is designed to "raise public awareness about mental health issues. The day promotes open discussion of mental disorders, and investments in prevention, promotion and treatment services." This year, the theme i[...]

I've been sent this by quite a few people over the last 24 hours - so thanks to Jen, Sarah, Maggie (and Maggie's sister!), Maria, Marina and Catherine for sending it my way. Keep the good links a'comin'! You might have seen it already, but if you haven't - this is a US news anchor basically kicki[...]

Yesterday, I read this quote reported to be from Christina Aguilera (it's since been denied - but bear with me on this), who said she told her record label the following when working on her new album - because apparently, no amount of talent will help you if you're fat: I told them during this Lotu[...]

I'm a busy woman - and it's hard to keep everything in balance sometimes. Normally this isn't an issue - and finding time to hit the gym usually seems like a welcome break from the huge amount of time I spend sitting in front of a computer screen... Even though I do tend to multi-task with the iPad [...]

I was in full-on writer mode earlier. I was tapping away furiously, in total silence, pausing only to sip coffee and after four hours, at last, I was done. So, I cranked up the volume on my speakers, and got DOWN. I live alone. In a tiny flat. Above a curry house. But dammit, I can get down like [...]

I've been asked this a lot since I started this blog - and yet, weirdly enough, it's one of the posts I've struggled most to write. That's for a few reasons. Firstly, when I set out to lose weight initially, I didn't think like I do now. When you first start, you're all motivation - you know you wan[...]

Last week, I was asked to be a talking head on HuffPost Live, during their interview of Lisa Lampanelli - who is ace. She's known for her amazing (if a tad...uhhh...blue) put-downs - the only one I could find that wasn't too filthy to put here was "Donald Trump has disappointed more women than Sex a[...]

Oh, habits. Bad ones are really easy to pick up, and ridiculously hard to quit. And good ones, predictably, are quite the g'damn opposite. Here's a few examples from my own experience: grabbing a sausage sandwich and a can of full-fat coke as consolation for Monday morning (boo...) And doing t[...]

I've said before how evil the scales can be. Repeatedly. I swear to God, they are put on this earth just to toy with my emotions, because whenever I feel like I've had a really good week, boom! I can guarantee you I will have apparently gained a few pounds. Never fails. There are so many variable[...]

I've been asked a lot over the last few days - "how do you stay motivated?" Seems a lot of us - myself included - are in the habit of starting a diet with the best of intentions, and with all the motivation in the world... For about three days. Then it starts to go bit wrong. Temptation, life,[...]

Wow. Just wow. I am completely, unspeakably overwhelmed to the huge response I've had to the article published yesterday on the Huffington Post about my weight loss story. If you haven't read it, you can find it here - and I'd just like to take a moment to say thank you, thank you, thank you to ever[...]

When I first started out trying to lose weight, I hate hate hated cardio. What can I say? I like to have nice hair, and cardio seems to go out of its way to push against that. Boo hiss. But as you probably already know, one of the biggest parts of the exercise plan I've been following is the l[...]

I was intrigued to read this the other day, sent in by a very lovely reader: Teenagers who think they are overweight, even if they aren't, are far more likely to grow up to be obese, researchers warned today. They say that obsession with body image as a teen can influence our weight when we are [...]

Because I’m super-cool (that’s a lie) and super-popular (another lie), I’ve had a very busy few weeks. I’ve been to Global Gathering, and I’ve been to leaving parties, birthday parties and just plain old regular parties. And you know what all these things have in common? Booze. Lots of it. [...]

Over the last couple of weeks, there have been a couple of times where I've really had to drag myself all but kicking and screaming to the gym. I know it's what I ought to do, and I know I won't regret it once I'm there - but sitting on the sofa doing all of diddly squat just seems so much more appe[...]

You guys know when I talk about being fat, I mean it affectionately. But in this post I briefly touched on the connotations of "fat" and I was really surprised by how many people said to me afterwards how much they've been affected by the negative things our society associates with being fat. I've a[...]

I've been amazed at how many people identify with me on the emotional eating front - especially among people who, like me, have to juggle a lot of balls and spin a lot of plates to keep everything ticking along. It's one of those things most of us have done at some point - landing face first into[...]

I’m actually pretty delighted to be writing this post, because – along with the aforementioned Mr Super-Trainer-Nutritonist-Man (who I'll introduce properly below) I’ve finally got this weight loss thing down to an art. Not an art, actually – a science. GO SCIENCE. If I haven’t stressed this enou[...]

If there's one question I get asked a lot (second only to 'How did you do it?') it's this - 'do you feel different?' Usually the people asking that question are referring to the physical side of it - and yes, I feel completely different. I'm less tired. It doesn't hurt to get out of bed or the ba[...]

I was very, very interested to read the recommendations from a group of UK MPs the other day suggesting that school children should have body image lessons as part of the curriculum. I'm going to repeat myself again here - for all the 'fat girl' jokiness of this blog, it's not just about weight l[...]

My last few posts have been a bit serious, I know - so I thought I'd take a minute to write a nice cheery post! I am happy at the moment. Really happy. The sun's out and I'm only a little bit burnt, which is always a bit of a mood lifter - and check it out, a new before and after pic: Evidentl[...]