My Core Philosophy: Choices, Fun, Freedom, and Feeling Good

When it comes to food, fitness, and life, I keep things simple. My philosophy comes down to four things: choices, fun, freedom, and feeling good.

Choices

For me, it’s not about deprivation or sacrifice, it’s about choices. Yes, sometimes those choices feel tough. But instead of asking “what can’t I have?” I ask: what am I more committed to right now? or what does this decision support?

Here’s an example: it’s Friday night, I’ve had a long week, and I’m eyeing up a good Shiraz. Two or three glasses is about 450 calories, not catastrophic, but not exactly nutritious either.

So I check in with myself:

Does it serve my commitment to keep my weight stable and build strength? Probably not.

Does it serve my commitment to relax, connect with my husband, and keep my sanity? Definitely.

Then I zoom out. I’ve got a friend’s birthday tomorrow with amazing food. Do I want to “spend” my calories on wine tonight, save them for the party tomorrow, or, some weekends, say screw it and enjoy both because life’s too short?

The point is, I get to choose. Sometimes that means skipping the wine. Sometimes it means enjoying both. One weekend off track won’t derail me. And even if it turns into a couple of weeks, I know I can always dial it back. That’s life.

Fun

Life is meant to be lived. Sometimes it’s salad, sometimes it’s cake and popcorn chicken. Sometimes it’s doing something wild, and sometimes it’s staying home with Downton Abbey reruns and a jigsaw (spoiler: that’s fun for me).

When things feel heavy, overwhelmed, or exhausting, the best antidote is fun, whatever fun looks like for you. We all need to take ourselves a little less seriously.

Freedom

Here’s the thing: there’s freedom in structure. I know, not sexy. But hear me out.

There’s a biological limit to how much we can eat before it leads to weight gain. It’s like a bank account, you can’t keep taking money out forever. Or a car, you can’t keep putting rubbish in and expect it to run smoothly. We accept that logic with money and cars, but fight it with food.

But within those limits? Freedom. Once you know roughly how many calories you need, there are endless ways to play: adjusting macros, meal timing, workout style, or food choices.

Personally, I eat the same lunch every day because it frees me up to have more fun at the weekend. But if I feel like being fancy midweek, I change it. The key is this: don’t let someone else dictate your “freedom.” Take the guidelines, respect the limits, then choose how to work them into your life.

Feeling Good

For years I thought I had to feel good all the time. Spoiler: that doesn’t exist. But what does exist is building solid foundations, strong self-esteem, a helpful inner voice, and beliefs that support you instead of tearing you down.

Then it’s about finding what helps you feel good in practice:

A weekend with friends

A night out with your partner

A day in bed with a book

A Zumba, CrossFit, or pole class (instead of slogging through the treadmill if you hate it)

Find what feels good for you, because that’s what you’ll actually stick with.

The Bottom Line?

My philosophy isn’t about rigid rules. It’s about making choices, finding fun, creating freedom, and building a life that feels good most of the time. Because health should fit into your life, not the other way around.

If you want to see how this philosophy plays out in real life, check out What is Maintenance? because that’s where choices, fun, freedom, and feeling good all come together.