Next week I'm going on a school trip to a Hindu Temple with my daughter's class. I cleared my whole morning for it. Not because my calendar had space, it didn't, but because she asked me to come, and that was the only reason I needed.
I'm telling you that because it's the same logic I've been running on for the last few months. And it's taken me a while to stop feeling bad about it.
Most of you know I lost 50kg between April 2024 and March 2025. I've talked about it here before. And then somewhere between then and now, with the businesses growing and the days starting at 8 am and ending closer to midnight, I gained some of it back.
Not because I forgot what I know. I know exactly what I know, I lost 50 kilograms. I know how this works.
It's just that the gym slot became a 9 am call. The home-cooked meals became whatever was in the fridge or sitting on the kitchen counter. And at midnight, when I finally stopped, it was crisps and whatever was easiest, because I hadn't stopped long enough to eat properly since lunchtime.
That was my life for the last few months. Still is, some days.
THE ONE INSIGHT
I always say the same thing when people ask me how I lost the weight. It starts in the mind, not in the mouth. Completely mindset. You have to be in the right state first, and then everything else, the food, the movement, the discipline, actually works.
What I've realised lately is that I'm not in that state right now. And I'm okay with that.
Because here's the thing nobody says out loud: staying healthy takes time. Actual time. Planning the meals, buying the right food, cooking it, protecting your mornings, keeping the gym in the diary and not sacrificing it the second something more urgent appears. That is not a small ask. And the person who tells you it's always possible if you just want it enough has clearly never run three businesses from their kitchen table while trying to be present for their kids at the same time.
The fastest option when you're working 8 am to midnight is the bread on the counter and the ready meal. That's just the truth of it. And I'm tired of the wellness industry making people feel guilty for living in reality.
Do I feel better when I'm doing the cold plunges, cooking my own food, and moving my body? Completely. More focused, more energised, more like myself. That's not up for debate.
But I've made peace with something. We are allowed to have priorities. We are allowed for those priorities to shift. Right now, mine are the businesses and my kids. That's where my best hours are going. And I'm not going to carry guilt about everything else that's slipped.
The weight will come back off. I've done it before, and I know what it takes. But I'm only going to do it when my head is actually in it. Not because I feel like I should. When I'm ready, I'll know.
Until then, I'm just a mum trying to do her best every single day. Eating crisps at midnight on a Wednesday. Getting on a coach to a Hindu Temple next Tuesday. Making progress with the businesses, the rest of the time.
No superhuman here.
THE ACTION STEP
Write down honestly what your priorities actually are right now. Not what you think they should be. What they actually are, the things getting your best hours, your real attention, the version of you that isn't exhausted yet.
Then look at what you're feeling guilty about in the gaps. And ask yourself whether that guilt is coming from you, or from somewhere that profits from you believing you're never doing enough.
You're allowed to not do everything at the same time. You're allowed to be one person. That's not an excuse. That's just true.
My latest project…
A few weeks ago, I shared a short book about my weight loss and health journey, and the identity shift that made it possible.
Not the routines or the rules, but the internal changes that had to happen for me to stop cycling and start moving forward. I’m mentioning it here for anyone new, or anyone who wants to understand the deeper work behind sustainable change.
You can find it here if you want to read more.
Before You Go
I’ve been writing these pieces in the quiet, between school runs, work, and late-night thinking, but I’ve started sharing more of the journey in real time too. The reflections, the systems, the messier parts of reinvention that never make it into the newsletter.
If you want to follow along, you’ll find me here:
Come say hi. It’s less about followers, more about finding the others who are doing the invisible work too.
If something in this email made you pause, think, or feel seen, send it to a friend who’s been quietly trying to make a change, too.
You never know what might land at the right moment. Link here.
“You're not falling behind. You're just human, and that was never a flaw.”