Shaming??......

the painful feeling arising from the consciousness of something dishonorable, improper, ridiculous, etc., done by oneself or another:

susceptibility to this feeling:

a fact or circumstance bringing disgrace or regret:

These are all meanings of the word Shaming, it seems on multi-media such as Facebook and others this topic has come to the foreground. I find it interesting reading some of the posts about "shaming". If you google "weight shaming" there are a large number of images that show up right in-front of your eyes. The scary part it is from all aspects of body image, from over weight, under weight, pregnant, fit and muscular body types, and really what have we all become. 

I can admit I quietly feel sad for people who are obese and to the point that you know that their joints and organs are under so much pressure from the extra weight that they carry, but also I have become so aware of people who are also extremely underweight and want them to understand what they do to their bodies is really no different to those who are emotional eaters and are over weight. Then there are the gym goers that have the ripped six pack, and large amounts of muscle, also there are the fitness models that compete. I have to say here is another part of the spectrum of bodies that go from weight gain through their off season, to pushing the body to extremes to build muscle and then the restriction of calorie intake when building to a competition and then the dehydrating to make the muscles look more defined. In all these aspects people put their bodies under large amounts of stress in many different ways. I will be the first to say that I have done it as well.  I have family that has done it, I have acquaintances that do it as well. In some aspect I guess we all do it, we try to loose the kilo's (pounds), we try to gain the muscle, we try to gain the weight to stay alive, and so on...

So what do we accomplish by shaming others? Is it a positive thing? Does it hurt peoples feelings? Are we becoming such a judgmental society that we are so transfixed on the "perfect" look. Are we so fixated on what the "perfect" body is. Where is the grey area of this whole situation? Is it that we should be looking for a balance in our lives. A happy medium where we are happy with who we are and not what society thinks we should be. Now here is the double edge sword...health professionals can tell you how to loose weight and put you on medication to help, also advise you to reduce the calories and up the exercise. The question I ask is do they get to the bottom of why their patients are over weight? Now this is the same with under weight patients, underweight people can look "healthy" and still be anorexic/bulimic  (I have had a personal experience with a general practitioner/Doctor who had no idea I was anorexic because he thought I had good muscle tone), again patients can be medicated to help with the emotional situation and also be hospitalised when critical. Both issues are as dangerous as each other. I feel that there needs to be more effort put into the reasons why people over eat and restrict, and maybe there could be a start to society understanding why this happens. Its a learnt practice. Is it all around controlling parts of our lives that we feel that are out of control? So where do we go from here??

which picture is better?

Why can't we as a society be more realistic, we are not all going to be barbie dolls, and models, whom definitely aren't always like it either without surgical help (my opinion). How about letting go of the external factors and lets look at internal health. Diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and other medical issues that are more of a priority to deal with for those of all sizes.


I don't expect anyone to have the same opinion as me, but I just felt compelled to put my thoughts into words here.

Hope everyone is having a good week.

Hayley xx

Fitness and Healthy Living....

 As someone who is deeply interested in fitness and healthy living I am finding so many gaps in the fitness world. It all stems around the gym or the outdoor gym. I love the idea of using sports as a way of fitness training. It gives the feeling of being apart of a group, team or even a duo, and yes it can come down to an individual.

For example swimming, that can be in two different areas to start, open water and pool swimming. I really enjoy both. I have swum all my life, and its not until the last five or so years I have taken it to a level of competing. Lets also look at triathlon (swim, bike and run). This is one amazing sport, you get to do three different disciplines and you never get bored with your training. Its an exciting sport for the athlete, unfortunately not for the spectator.

Yes anyone can go to the gym, but for me the gym really comes down to being part of my cross training with my swimming. There are what we call land exercises that can be done to help strengthen our bodies while we do our swimming training. I also love the idea that with one hour of swimming you burn so many calories and tone the body with very little if any impact on the body. A session could be as easy as swimming your favourite stroke (freestyle, breast-stroke, back-stroke) for 300m then put on some fins and with a kick board kick (freestyle kick or dolphin) for 100m rest for 10 seconds and repeat for a total of 500m. Believe me you will feel you abs and legs after a quick session like this. If you want to extend the time in the water, swim 100m of your favourite stroke and rest for 10 seconds and repeat for 500m. If you are a beginner take your time and ease yourself into this type of exercise program. Believe me when I say, if you do something like this you will be a bit sore the day after, but it is a good type of sore as you will know that you have moved your body.

 Now I know not everyone likes swimming as much as me, though I am sure there are other sports that can be included into an exercise program. Cycling, running, walking, aqua aerobics, and the list goes on.

With exercise comes the eating part of being healthy, now I am not going to rant about having to eat a "clean" diet and I am definitely not going to rave about the Paleo diet. I am a true believer in the 80:20 rule. Lets take the seven days of the week, the week days we should be eating as healthy as possible, which for me means NO processed take-out foods (McDonalds, Hungry Jacks, Burger King, etc) these foods are so full of sugar, sodium and as much as they are cheap to buy, there are ways to make similar and more healthy styles of these foods at home. I am like everyone else, I love a great hamburger, but for me getting the best lean beef patties or chicken is priority and good whole grain (gluten free) rolls, and putting in large amounts of salad and yes even some sauce and mayonnaise (I use a dairy and gluten free mayo). Yes its going to take a bit of time to make, but its going to be healthier than fast food outlets.

My family make our own home make taco and burritos, which again are full of lean meat and salads, with the extras being a little cheese, sour cream and salsa. We make great spaghetti bolognese which also has grated vegies in it. There are so many quick and simple ways to eat healthy, now here is the good part to the 80:20 rule, on the weekends you are allowed to eat something I would say a little special, such as cake, ice cream, etc. Though here is the hard part, you are allowed to have it with one meal of choice, for example if you were having lunch out with friends you can have dessert, but that would be it, and on Sunday if you wanted something like an ice cream then you can, but remember the more calories you put in the more you need to burn if you want to loose weight.

 This book Diet Cults I can't recommend highly enough, its an amazing read and filled with science based information on cult diets, and Matt Fitzgerald goes through his idea of the best way to eat for a healthy lifestyle without giving up everything that is good and super tasty.

I hope everyone has a great weekend and finds some time to exercise and not just in the gym, even if its going for a walk or hiking in the forest of bush, take time to smell the fresh air.

Hayley xx

22 weeks and counting...

Cottesloe Beach

As of this Saturday coming marks 22 weeks till the start of Rottnest Channel Swim. This is now getting to the business end of training, and the time will go so quickly.

Its is only 5 weeks till our first open water swim on the season with Open Water Swimming WA, which will be a 5km at Cottesloe Beach. Then two weeks later its the first qualifying 10km swim at City Beach. Its all a little scary, and super exciting at the same time.

With each weeks training plan we start upping our kilometers starting with 15km this week and next week. Then each week we add either one or two kilometers to our total, to the point where we are swimming 35 kilometers per week, now this also includes making sure we are eating well, rest and recovery plus working full time and all our other jobs in life...family, friends and more. Now this is where I guess I am a little lucky, as the "we" I am speaking of is my boss, and as we train together we sort of understand each other in the sense of pushing our bodies and the rest and balance is important.

 Understanding the way ones body adapts and deals with being up under certain pressures is interesting. As someone who has trained and completed a Half Ironman with injuries, I know how far I can push myself, and with being even healthier this time round with swimming (weight and mind set) I am looking forward to this challenge and that it is. Its going to be the biggest challenge to date for me. Along this amazing journey I have come to find a deep seated love for the open water, and not just to swim in, but to enjoy watching, spending time by the water. While is Busselton being able to watch the pod of dolphins playing was so special and enriching. Being this close to nature at its best.

 I have also found a love for sharing, the idea that others are able to swim these kinds of distances as well, it doesn't matter how old you are to dream and to take on something as big as this. Swimming I have found is great for people of all ages, from babies learning to swim to the older generations that keep getting in the water to help keep their bodies moving.

Rottnest Island Pinkie Beach

Till next time, have a great week

Hayley xx

4 Days of Bliss

Four days of being away from home and family, but very much needed time out for my own piece of mind and realising that I am on the right track. The days were just gorgeous and the weather couldn't have been any better for the time of year. The sunsets were amazing.

Time to write was great, and walking the Busselton Jetty each morning was awesome as it allowed me time to let things run through my mind and process. On Saturday I had a complete speech running through my mind, on Body Image and the younger generation. I managed to get some down on paper and with new tangents flying all over the paper was so good.

Time for relaxing and eating. For me I have never really been one to stop and relax, but I managed this weekend to do this. It actually felt great. Eating well I don't think I have ever eaten as much as I did this past weekend. On Saturday I managed to eat approximately 4500 calories and that included the allowance for exercise.

So now its back to the real world of home, family, work and pushing the swim training. Oh how I already miss Busselton, its an amazing town and wish to one day live there.

Oh and finally the best was watching a pod of dolphins playing on both sides of the jetty, and being able to take some great photos and just be in awe of such an amazing creature.

I hope everyone has had a great weekend and ready for another week what ever it brings.

Hayley xx

Time for Me...Listening to my heart.

 Busselton Jetty, a place south of Perth, a place that has just the most amazing vibe and scenery. This week I will be heading there for a few days of "me" time. I take with me my bathers, towel, wet-suit, writing gear and study stuff. This will be a four day trip to relax, enjoy and learn more about myself and understand the direction I wish for my life to take.

I plan on taking some amazing photo's while there and just taking in the beautiful blue water, white sands and blue sky. Each morning is a plan to walk the jetty and just take it all in, breathe it all in to my soul and take that with me when I head home, but also knowing I can go there later.



I love my family, I love my job, I love my sport, I love helping others, I would like to find away where I can fit this all in to my life. I would love to help people who are recovering from eating disorders, I would love to help others find a liking for open water swimming, and even pool swimming. I love helping customers find that smooth tasting bottle of red wine to have with their dinner, or at a party.

 To a weekend of learning, taking in everything around me, relaxing, eating and of course swimming. The last time I was in Busselton was earlier this year for the Busselton Jetty Swim, which was amazing, and I look forward to doing it again next year.

May we all spend some quality time listening to our own hearts and finding what we truly want and know ourselves just that little bit more.

Have a great week everyone...

Hayley xx

Rottnest Chanel Swim...24 weeks to go!!

 With just 24 weeks till I hopefully step in to the Indian Ocean to swim 19.7 kilometers from Cottesloe Beach to Rottnest Island, I am filled with excitement, and energy to give my training a massive kick and make this event the best in my life.

With knowledge now that my training partner and I can use the same boat, is a great piece of news, and money saver, plus having just done a swim analysis session yesterday and only having to tweak two small things with my stroke. The head is in the game, even though I was sore when I got into the water this morning.

So from now on it time to up the weekly kilometers to a point of doing 30 - 35 kilometers per week and building on a sustainable pace that I can hold over the 20kms.

 The best part is here in Perth, we are slowly coming out of our winter hibernation and into the beautiful sunny days of spring and into the more amazingly warm days of summer, my favourite times of the year.

The times when I can jump out of bed in the early hours and the sun pretty much being up and being able to feel the warm rays on my body as I drive to the pool and ocean, and just having that awesome feeling of being a live and doing something this is so exciting.

I would say I am "living the dream", even though it would be nice if I didn't have to go to work, but my job is another joy, only if it was outside in the sun, laying on the beach after a great open water swim session....how one can dream.....

Have a great week everyone....

Hayley xx

Cottesloe Beach

Cottesloe Beach, Perth, Western Australia

Learning Curves...

 In life we are given learning curves at all different stages of life, from when we are young to our adolescents, early adulthood, even as we become parents and further into the future.

We all have choices when we deal with these learning curves in our lives, we can either take them by the horns and learn the lessons we are supposed to learn or put our heads in the sand and hope they go away.

We learn different ways of getting through these learning curves, and when you are young and these curves can be pretty steep with lessons, they will help you grow in such a way you never thought possible. It won't be just you learning, it will be the people around you that will learn with you.
You may feel like massive roadblocks have been put before you, and you may feel like there is no way you can go around, so the only way is to go through them. Put your helmet on tight and you will go on the ride of your life...

You will come out the other side wiser and more knowledgeable than you went in. You will understand more about yourself and your path in life at that stage and some of these curves are going to make ever lasting stepping stones that you will have to follow. The important part of these learning curves is that yes "you" are going through them, but you will also have company of others when you need help to understand the lessons of these curves.

On my journey through life, I still come along these learning curves, even if they are to do with my children or friends, and they are lessons that are not always meant for just one, but for others as well. These learning curves can be there for you to go through and then to help others who are in the same situation and need extra help. No matter the reason for the lessons remember no matter what happens you will be stronger in the end.

 Put your helmet on and ride like the wind on the learning curves of life.

Hayley xx