40 is supposed to be middle-aged. Right? Time to slow things down and trade the dancing shoes for some comfy flats and a forgiving baggy top.
I’ve had a week filled with glorious celebrations, fabulous friends & family and a surprise visit from my wonderful sister and niece. There’s been brunch, bubbles, meals out, birthday cakes, dancing, gifts and wonderful weather. I couldn’t have asked for more.
I spent my birthday taking my sister & niece on a speed tour of Dubai – which included pizza for lunch, burgers for dinner and (shockingly) large milkshakes to finish. Followed by speed visits up and down town, stopping for drinks & topped off with happy hour.
I’m exhausted!
All this meant lots of food and drink, zero time for planing in any area of my life or exercise, which consisted of nothing more than dancing and gentle strolls.
So why am I telling you all this?
In the past, this indulgence would have been swiftly followed by a truckload of guilt & self-loathing about the disgusting amounts of food and alcohol I’d consumed.
I’d have made a resolution to drink nothing but juice for the next 7 days. The binge would be followed by a purge and guess what would follow that? You got it! An even bigger binge.
I can assure you it wouldn’t have been a healthy relationship with food. Because cycles like that are ALWAYS destined to be repeated.
But this time it’s different. And I’m SO grateful to be skidding into my fourth decade with a mindset & the tools that truly have changed my life and given me so much freedom.
So WHY was this time different?
1. I really enjoyed myself!
Not in a way that involved eating everything in sight – but I savoured every single bite of everything I ate. This meant I enjoyed food so much more than if I’d adopted the old method of celebrating by throwing as much food at my face as possible and stuffing myself until I felt sick.
Because I’m no longer so focused on forbidden foods, they’ve lost their power & allure.
2. I ditched the diet.
Ok – so seems stupidly obvious now! But when I KNOW the next diet isn’t around the corner, I no longer feel that craving to feast before the next famine comes along.
3. I didn’t panic.
After a weekend of indulgence, my waist feels a bit thicker. I won’t deny it! My face probably looks a little swollen too. But as I tell my clients, inflammation does NOT equal fat gain. They are not the same thing. And I know a few days of going back to normal & leaning on my habits will go a long way.
4. I owned it.
I KNEW this was going to be an indulgent weekend. It was my 40th birthday! And I completely owned it. I ate the things I really wanted to, didn’t eat the stuff I didn’t want to AND I’m completely happy to accept the outcome. I made adult decisions, with no regrets or excuses. No-one else made me do it, I have my own mind & the freedom in knowing this helped to make it a such a wonderful weekend.
5. I qualified for the OCR World Championships.
Now, this was totally out of the blue!
If you follow me on Instagram, you might know that 4 weeks ago, I took part in the Desert Warrior Challenge – an obstacle course race through the desert.
I was feeling really rubbish on the day & was SO tempted to stay in bed. But I knew if I could just get myself up and dressed, I wouldn’t regret it in the end.
I’m not going to lie. It was hard! I didn’t have much strength that day & 10km across the desert in an obstacle race was not my idea of fun.
Turns out at 39 you have less competition (who knew?!). And I got a letter days before my birthday telling me I’d qualified for the OCR World Championships in London. And now I have a sudden interest in entering MORE races, because I’ve now gone up another age category and that makes me feel bloody fantastic.
All this came about as part of my Fitness Mission Statement. A year ago, I was so not the type of person who ran obstacle races – but I decided I wanted to be. I was just telling myself the wrong story. So I changed it & along with a group of my amazing clients, we entered a Tough Mudder.
Now, I’m not only an obstacle course runner, but I’m also a World Championship qualifier!
The point here is that YOU get to choose the story you tell yourself. You get to choose to be the person you want to be. What’s your Fitness Mission Statement? Anyone want to join me in the next Tough Mudder!?
So here I am at 40, happier than I’ve ever been, with a fantastic family, wonderful friends, amazing clients (who I’m so grateful for) and a career I love, helping people achieve their health & fitness goals in a sustainable way that impacts the next generation. I most definitely feel fabulous at 40!
And I’d love to help you achieve your goals too, whatever age you are.
To find out more, just click here now & do get in touch.
Here’s to your happiness & success!
Fran x