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 been one hell of a week, hasn't it? I mean, sitting here, in bed, in my cosy little house, I feel well and truly apart from the awfulness that's going on in Boston as I type. It's almost as though, the second I turn the news off and log out of Twitter, it stops happening - but of course, it [...]

Healthy livin'. It's something I'm meant to be all about. And I am, most of the time - or rather, I was, until, say, early December - back when I had my knee operated on for the 4th (and hopefully final) time; when I had a birthday that involved a lot of cake; when I was job-hunting and interview[...]

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[...]

You'll notice things have gone a bit quiet around these parts since my last post - because it's been something of a whirlwind since I upped sticks and moved to the big smoke. Honestly, I have not stopped for long enough to even think, let alone write - but I've been lucky enough to have met some rea[...]

Simple question, really. But I have a theory that this whole health, fitness and wellbeing malarkey pretty much boils down to it. Figuring out what you really want - on a number of levels - is one of the most important things you can do to make a big ol' lifestyle change. Essentially, it comes d[...]

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[...]

It's Katie-rant time. On body image. Again. Ready? Firstly, I'm tiring of the word 'curvy.' I completely agree with the author of this article that it's a word that's become so overused as to lose all meaning - which is a shame, because it's a word I like. I don't think I'd be lying if I call[...]

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 [...]

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[...]

Q: If you had to choose one thing to start with, would it be exercise or food? With everything going on, both is overwhelming at the moment. Personally, if I had to choose one thing to tackle first, it'd be food. But - and this is a big but (and I cannot lie) - I'm not saying that you should go o[...]

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[...]

This time last year, I was a good 220lbs (at least - I'd started avoiding the scales around August, once I knew I was gaining weight.) I'd had a busy October, full of cake and alcohol from a jam-packed birthday calendar, and sweets from a very-much-extended Halloween celebration. I'm a big fan of Ha[...]

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 [...]

Dear Minnie, I know it's been a while since we last spent any quality time together. We used to have a great time when we were younger, but then we grew apart. I went to college, moved away, got a job, and I'll admit - I neglected our relationship. And for that I'm sorry, because now I feel like [...]

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[...]

Ladies and gentlemen, it's that time again - wherein I go on about body image. Yes, again. You might've spotted a bit of a furore in the papers lately, because Lady Gaga has gained some weight. She's apparently gained 25lbs, in a move which has shocked people-who-should-have-more-important-things[...]

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'm always interested by psychological type things - especially when I can apply them to myself, because let's face it. I've started a blog about me. Safe to say I'm a wee bit self-absorbed.  Anyway, that meant that when Matt told me about something called the transtheoretical model of behaviour [...]

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[...]

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,[...]

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 have a confession to make: I've always been a little intimidated by feminism. Not because I didn't agree with it, of course - I've just always been a bit afraid to engage in discussions about it, because most of the encounters I'd had with 'proper' feminists had seemed just a tad... Angry. I re[...]

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. [...]

Up until relatively recently, I thought I could eat pretty much what I wanted, so long as I managed to stay within my calorie goal. After all, calorie counting is the key to successful weight loss. Right? Hmm. You'll notice I'm using the past tense. I no longer think that. I've always total[...]

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[...]