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"Worse for what?' I asked when the team at Woman asked me to tackle this topic. “Health?”  I asked “Or fat stores?”.  Both, came the reply.  Right here goes and I’m going to use the word diet, which I loathe. It smacks of temporary, restrictive and painful, but let’s...

As humans, we can be quite good at kidding ourselves, can’t we? Dab hands at pretending. Masters of the vague.  If you’re trying to lose fat (sorry, I never say lose weight, because it’s not our heaviness which is the point), then how much we eat and drink is...

Without sounding selfish, one thing to remember in this world is that the most important person in your life is you.  Obviously, there’s our children and our family but treating yourself with respect makes you a stronger person and one who can lead and influence....

I'd been to Cornwall many times before but my friend Fiona and I decided we fancied the challenge of visiting it again for our annual cycling tirp.  (We may have occasionally regretted that decision, given the sharp inclines we were occasionally faced with). ITINERARY...

A (fairly) quick version of Muhammara, a dairy-free dip with a sweet smoky flavour. 3 red peppers 100g walnuts toasted, plus a few extra to garnish 1.5 tsp chilli flakes 1/2 tbsp pomegranate molasses 1tbsp olive oil 30g fresh breadcrumbs (or those ones you froze...

Don't eat so much. "Is that it?" Yes.  Stupidly simple, but yes, that's the nub of the matter.  Summer means longer days, more socialising, more "just one more won't hurt", more "shall we have chips with that?' more "could we have another bottle please?"  There are...

Failure, says Wikipedia, is the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective. It smacks so much of the negative side of exams, marriages, jobs but from the point of view of personal change and betterment …(is that a word?..it is now)… then a...

Never mind that you're totally focused on a summer fitness programme of 50 press-ups, 10 miles and 250 crunches (all before breakfast), we’re going to strip things down to basics and talk about ‘activity’.  Not a planned workout, but being active.  I’m going to throw...

Our hormones affect our well-being and our propensity to put on weight.  Looking at the menstrual cycle first, there’s basically two halves. The follicular phase starts with the first day of your period and lasts for around 14 days, with ovulation in the middle. ...

Over the last two years I've enjoyed walking and cycling trips with friends, all in the UK.  I needed to get back on a plane and widen my horizons so I booked this trip through an adventure company called Exodus. It was trekking in the Aitana Mountains, which lie just...

What an interesting topic this is. Let’s dive straight in!  Number 1: Every illness or condition you google there will always be, under the heading treatment or avoidance, the words ‘Do some exercise’.  Give your heart and lungs something to work for, give your joints...

Some people avoid eating fat because there is a tendency to think that it has something to do with the reason their clothes are too tight.  But it is eating too much of anything that is the reason we have love-handles. Fat is essential in our diet because aside from...

Last week, I paid one of my regular visits to the chiropractor. While one of her bony elbows was digging into my glute (she called it “releasing”) I remarked (through quick breaths akin to childbirth) that I had been feeling very tired lately.  “Well stop hiking up...

Losing fat is about losing fat.  It's not about losing weight.  The whole process can be emotionally charged so let's make it easier for ourselves.  Hide the scales. When our clothes get tight, it’s because we've eaten more than we usually do, even though we've...

This, my lovely friends, is a dish which my colleague Emma knocks up regularly for her family as a lunch or a light supper.  I'm sharing it with you, given it's the festive season and you may be heartily sick of rich food.:) 2 red peppers, deseeded and thickly sliced...