The Juicy Truth.

A study by the UK's Centre for Appearance research (CAR) found that 90% of UK women are unhappy with their bodies. It is this constant state of dissatisfaction which means the currently market for weight loss products is enormous and expanding daily.

It seems more and more people want to lose weight but are often too impatient to create a sustainable weight loss plan.One of the latest crazes to be sweeping through the celebrity world is 'Juice Dieting' - Replacing your daily meal intake by juices made up with an array of fruits, vegetables and supplements. 

2014.

So here it is, January. The beginning of the year, and for me, the beginning of lots of exciting plans for the year ahead. 

Lots of people fall into the trap of 'New Years Resolutions' and empty promises, but one thing I am proud of myself for is my drive to achieve the goals I set for myself and I won't stop until I do. 

I am very lucky to be beginning the year on several highs. The first being the decision to take on a weekly night course to train to be a GP referral personal trainer, specialising in obesity patients and weight management. I will begin with my level 2 fitness instructor course and then branch off to take on the GP referral course and extra studies in nutrition and weight management. 

Festive Fun

So Christmas is over! and if you're anything like me you're probably feeling the effects of having some one to one time with a tub of celebrations. 

Moments of over-indulgence have always been a bit of a mind-field to me. As someone who has suffered with eating disorders in the past, I often saw comfort in purging away a late night binge. 

I am proud to say I truly enjoyed Christmas, and embraced the richness that is festive food and family time. I took a day off from fitness and dived straight in to turkey and all the trimmings - completely guilt free. Not only was this important to my family, but it was also important to me to realise how far I had come in the mental battle of self-improvement. 

Beat the bullies.

Like for a lot of children growing up, school was tough. Especially the progression from primary school to secondary where I quickly went from popular kid to number one geek.

Throughout high school I was faced with numerous accounts of bullying. Granted, at one stage I had braces, glasses and was severely overweight, not to mention the fact I got my head down and did work, so you could say I was prime target for bullies.

Keep the faith.

Sometimes it's easy to lose a grip on reality.

We become so focused on self-improvement that the enjoyment and confidence that should come with achieving is overpowered by a constant drive to be better.

Don't get me wrong drive it healthy. It's what makes us get ourselves out of bed in the morning. It also gets us to the gym in the evening after a long day of work, when we could easily just head home to crash out on the sofa.

Despite healthy competitiveness and a need to keep pushing, I think it's also important to remember how far we've come.

Staring in the mirror I am overcome by a constant need to seek out weaknesses and room for improvement. It's this strict mentality I have with myself that provides me with the perfect gym motivation, but can also be crippling when self-doubt and insecurities drown the bigger picture.

Me time.

Ever find yourself people watching?

I'm not scared to admit I could probably waste hours staring at those around me and wondering what's going on in their heads. This is often something I find myself doing at the gym (more so when I'm doing cardio and have more time to spare.)

I'm sure my gym is like most - different characters mixed together but all have the goal of self-improvement in mind. The popular quote 'be kind because everyone we meet is fighting a battle' definitely springs to mind.

How badly do you want it?

After doing some work for a pretty famous friend, I was inundated with people asking for advice about weight loss. People who know me will know I am always happy to help people on their journey to a better body. I  may not have qualifications, but I do have life experiences and I have lived first-hand through a steady weight loss over the last few years and faced some rocky experiences along the way.

I will happily tell people what I know but I will not

a) waste my time.
 b) lie.

Unfortunately, there seems to be a lot of people who like the thought of changing their bodies, but do not have the willpower nor the drive to get themselves off the sofa. I'd like a huge car, a nice house, my dream job etc but I know all these things won't be handed to me. To achieve my ambitions in life, I must first put in a lot of effort and hard work. This is just the same as achieving a better body.