In another life I am dreaming of this life right here

Honestly, most of my year was consumed by planning the Botty Watty Wedding part 2. In 2023 we visited Mallorca with our besties and fell in love with our dream wedding venue (pictured on the left). And in September 2025 we got to turn that dream into reality and throw the party of a lifetime and celebrate our matrimony with 100 of our nearest and dearest (pictured on the right). It was honestly the weekend of a lifetime, I could (and will!) write endlessly about it. I'm so proud of how it turned out. And I would do it 100 times over if it was allowed.

Dreaming. Thinking. You're only what you do in the end

I spent the first few months of 2025 entrenching the exercise routine I had worked so hard on in 2024. I had a busy and exceptionally fun year ahead of me. I was to become a professional wedding guest with weddings in Barcelona, Marrakesh, Ras Al Khaimah and the UK. I was to be bridesmaid at 2 of them and MC at another. What a fucking treat it was to stand alongside my most beloved friends on their most special of days. I was also going to Copenhagen, Brescia, Paris, Zurich and on our honeymoon in Kefalonia. I knew the only way I would survive with any sanity intact was if I locked in my routine. I really wanted to get consistent with pilates and yoga too. As well as the exercise, I was on a mission to continue on my weight loss journey.

After losing about 10kg on my own, I was beginning to plateau and wanted some external and professional support. I really didn't want to be in a calorific deficit forever, I also wanted some guidance on how to increase my calories without piling all the weight back on. So I invested in a coach, and with that support, and I say support because my coach really is the most supportive person ever, I was able to lose another 12ish kg to take me to a total weight loss of ~22kg.

I have been asked many times (a) how I managed to lose the weight and, when I manage to convince the skeptic that no jabs were involved, (b) what helped me most. And the answer to (b) is honestly having community (a coach, friends etc) who you can complain to and lean on for support and solidarity. The answer to (a) is very boring. I took no shortcuts:

• I sustained a calorific deficit most days over a years period (Sept 2024 - Sept 2025). I started off by measuring how much I ate with no boundaries. And slowly decreased my consumption by about 50 calories every 3-4 weeks, before slowly increasing again pre-wedding. I had many days where I didn't count calories at all and ate and drank what I want

• I ate breakfast, every day

• Improved the quality of food I was eating and cooked more at home

• Massively (and boringly) reduced the amount I was drinking. If I was going out for dinner during the week, I wouldn't drink. But if I was at a wedding or birthday or hen or was on a date night, you betcha bottom dollar I was letting loose

• Increased my daily movement (steps) and

• slightly increased the amount I worked out from the previous year

Year	Total workouts	Average steps
2023	157	7918
2024	224	9039
2025	250	11484

This routine meant that on the days and weeks when I felt really low or overwhelmed I could rely on the law of averages and I could take the pressure off trying to do it all. My coach also helped me with my mentality. I always thought more was better. And when you're prepping for your wedding, attending a million other weddings, working and all the rest of it, that mentality to constantly push yourself to do the most will eventually send you absolutely fucking west. So instead, we shifted my focus to doing the least amount of exercise while still hitting my goals.

Looking forward, for the first time in a few years I'm not interesting in doing more. In fact I'm trying to do less. Unfortunately, I find myself with an injury (plantar fasciitis). I pushed through it last year because despite trying to resist any toxic wedding prep, I was so (maybe too) laser focused on losing weight and getting fit. But as we all know, refusing to rest does more harm than good. So for now, I have to pull back on my running and walking and instead focus on rehab, and I won't lie, my mental health has taken a hit. For all it's sins, running gives me such an endorphin high. Though I must remember it's courageous to stop, rest and put my future self first.

My 2026 health n fitness goals look a lil something this:

• Lift heavier

• Less steps/running/cardio on feet for now

• More cooking from scratch

• Another 5-10kg weight loss

• Prioritised sleep

• Commitment to injury rehab (foot, knees n shoulders) and pilates

Used up, burnt out

Beyond my physical health, I'm very very keen to take care of my mental health a little more. Despite all the deliciousness and jubilation of last year and despite 2025 being, in many ways, the best year of my life, I ended the year feeling totally used up. Very real and stressful life events aside, I think this funk was mostly down to my complete and total inability to relax. Any time I was at home on the couch I had my phone, laptop and tv going at all times. Moreover, the amount of time I spend on instagram is almost directly correlated to the amount of money I spend on shite I don't need (another habit I've been trying to kick for years). I am sick to death of mindless scrolling. The more time I spend scrolling, the less time I spend actually relaxing. I've invested in a brick, freedom and one sec. That combination has been phenomenally successful at reducing my screen time so far. I'm not looking at getting rid of instagram entirely. I love taking and sharing pictures. I love bonding over funny videos. And I do think it serves some level of purpose when it comes to activism. Especially while we struggle to regain a digital town square.

With the recovered time I want to read more, play more board and card games, tick shit off my to do list, clean and cook undistracted. Be bored more.

I'm going to experiment with a few rules:

• No social media before 11am or after 10pm, as well as a daily time limit for instagram (<1h per day)

• No phones while eating

• No phones in the bathroom (!)

• Physical alarm clock

• Don't charge phone next to bed

  
  

Serving my future self with present day actions

This is something I've always struggled with. I am very much a here and now person. If I want something I buy it without pause. I say yes to plans before consulting my calendar. I binge eat. I book trips without checking my budget. I react rather than respond. I'm always overwhelmed. I am currently undergoing an ADHD assessment.

Despite this being my default setting, my weight loss journey has taught me I can indeed serve my future self while still enjoying the present moment. It's taught me the joy of delayed gratification. It's taught me I can overcome bad habits and introduce and commit to new ones. And while I have no defined timelines for my life in terms of family, home, retirement I do think it's important to loosely consider these. My current mortgage is fixed for 2 years. How incredibly satisfying would it be to get to the end of that 2 year period and have financial options? Something I've never really had before because I have always spent beyond my means. How peaceful would it be to get to the end of 2026 and feel balanced and excited for Christmas rather than in dire need of the break. How fulfilling would it be to learn how to say "let me think about this" before overcommitting myself.

Another aspect of this I suppose, is really feeling the things I'm feeling. It's been a while since I've done any therapy. And I've felt (smugly) healed for a long time. But after a few months of sustained high stress at the end of the year, I've realised it is SO easy to slip back into unhelpful patterns of suppressing emotions and adding things to deal with to the later base. I've learnt that healing is perpetual. And that in order to feel less anxious and less miserable long term, I need to allow myself to actually feel miserable when the occasion calls for it. And allow panic attacks to wash over me, rather than do everything in my power to not feel them. There are a few things I'd like to revisit with some form of therapy.

I'm going to do this tomorrow > I want to do so and so this year

While this may sound in direct contradiction to the above. I'm also a master procrastinator. So rather than waiting for a magical opening in my diary to do the other things I want to do with my life I'm trying to adopt a do it tomorrow, or indeed today attitude.

Some of the things on my list are:

• Meditating

• Reading

• Investing more in local friendships

• Volunteering

• Films > TV

• Pub quiz

• Daily games

• Being more creative (doing a writing workshop and attending a line dancing class are high up on my list)

• Learning and playing around with AI (ugh) but not in the like 'tell me everything you know about me and draw a picture" way

I've always loved having my friends and family dispersed across the globe, but lately I've come to resent it. I'm really tired of having to schedule and plan my time with loved ones. I'm craving proximity and spontaneity and I'm hoping switching to this mindset may go some way towards living more of a village lifestyle while remaining in my fave city in the world (after Istanbul).

(Cue Britney) You better work bitch

With my obvious top priority being a bride last year, advancing my career n skills, took a bit of a back seat. And it has done for a few years or so I suppose. Mostly and very fortunately because I've been really content with where I'm at. But alas, I reckon it's time to get my butt in gear again and step it up a little. After all, robots will be taking over my job in no time. I'm not 100% sure what this looks like yet, and I would like to get creative with it but this is one thing I won't rush into. Have you seen the price of training these days?! My mentor, Jane Dolan, suggested Lego Serious Play which looks epic. I'd love to continue mentoring (you can book in with me here). Ultimately, I'm remaining open and curious for now. But I hereby pledge that I'll do something.

So, what say you 2026? Shall we have a goodun?

Lots of love,

Your fave most inconsistent blogger

xxx

P.s. more proud piccies from our wedding