We know they go hand in hand but which comes first?

Stanley Park cycling

He was of the mind that diet was more important to get sorted and then move onto exercise when you had a grip on the diet side of things. I was of the mind that exercise was the better thing to tackle first, I still am.

I had lost my first lot of weight through running, I was desperate to lose weight, tried all the diets and though I hated, HATED running I knew if I stuck to it I would lose weight. I was of the belief at that time having tried every diet, pill and potion that I could not control my weight with food, that food had more power over me so I decided to fight food with exercise and so I started running, through hot Australian summer days, torrential rain, late nights, on dirt roads with rednecks yelling out obscenities about my huge ass and even when it looked like it wasn’t making a difference. This was the most important part of running, not giving up when it felt like I wasn’t making a difference to my weight because it became about so much more than my weight.

Something cool began to happen. I noticed that I felt better after every run, yes every run left me feeling better. This was important because I had not long before been suffering severe depression to the point of seeking medical advice where my doctor naturally prescribed drugs, I took them for less than a week, I preferred the depression to the way the drugs made me feel. Within a week of running I could see this was helpful to my depression.

I also noticed that the more I moved my body, the more I was drawn to cleaner foods, less of what I call the Lethal Recipe of highly processed foods with their drug like affects. Then there was the time I spent out moving my body I was not on my butt watching TV and eating the food that was growing the girth of my butt.

The biggest obstacle as always was getting to the front door to put my shoes on and just get out the door, once I was there the rest was much easier.

I managed to get up to running 20kms on the treadmill at the gym, it took me 2 hours, my knees hurt for days and it was the last time I did that. Today I walk, hike, cycle (flat ground, big seats & baskets at the front type cycling) and do hot yoga, I love it, I still struggle sometimes with my hermit tendencies and getting outside is something I do rain, sleet, heat, snow and overcast. Getting out into nature is the strongest motivator for me. It is the most glorious way to move my body and hot yoga (not Bikram) feels like an indulgence. I love doing handstands in my house, on the beach as well as cartwheels despite how comical I’ve been told I look, it makes me feel good. I’ve discovered a love for kayaking and even went on a grueling but glorious 5 day kayaking adventure in the Yukon this past summer. Sometimes I just dance in my office or do yoga like stretching.

The big trick for me was to find something that felt good, not punitive. I don’t like gyms, running for miles and going nowhere, lifting hundreds of pounds without anything to show for it beyond vanity. I’m also inconsistent despite a phrase I learned 11 years ago when it comes to exercise think “a little a lot verse a lot a little” and I take the pressure off myself to be perfect at any of it or live up to anyone else’s standard.

I now exercise for reasons other than weight loss and the less I think about that and the more I focus on how it makes me feel good, the more I am inspired to do it.

In my Anti Diet workshops I get participants to drop and do 20, drop their pen to paper and discover 20 reason’s to get out and move their body beyond weight loss.

There are way more than that of course but here are some of my reasons:
best brain clearer ever
best way to get out of a funk, it is nature’s best antidepressant
I ALWAYS come back feeling better
food tastes better after exercise
I choose better foods than when I am sedentary
it firms my muscles and that feels good
I love getting out in nature
My best thoughts come up for me when I’m out walking/hiking (I always take pen and paper)
Life seems more in perspective and stress is muted

As far as which comes first I always look to nature and in nature you do not eat unless you move, so moving first is my suggestion.

There are more, the trick is to find your own, make it pleasurable, don’t let not being good at any of it stop you from doing it and try to catch yourself in those moments of really appreciating anything that feels good at anytime doing it as well as the buzz of wellbeing after. I’ll paraphrase Nike, “Just Do Something”.

Jumping for Joy in Stanley Park Vancouver

With Wendy at the World Wellness Project Summit, one of the first to join the Tribe and most enthusiastic tribe members….thanks Wendy!

I sincerely wish you the best things in life for 2011. I’ve learned the best thing you can do for you health and living a long vibrant life is to fall in love…..with yourself and your body. To be so incredibly grateful and appreciative for your amazing body that you crave to fill it with nourishing, energizing and protective foods that enable you to live the best life possible.

Here is to a year of amazing life giving foods, regular healthy doses of self love, movement with meaning, rich conversations, deep connections with the people around us and meals that are shared with love and honesty!

I am in the process of creating heaps of resources to help you harness vitality and health as well as a certification process to teach people to do the work I do. I look forward to seeing how I can be of service to you in your journey into vibrant wellbeing.

Please feel free to let me know if you have any questions and if there is anything you feel would be of help in your journey in health.

Warmth, wellth and love,
Sherry

Transformational Weight Loss

Answers instead of Guilt

Solutions instead of Gimmicks

Love instead of Fear

I am so excited to be bringing to Australia the most amazing minds, hearts and souls who are also experts in “Sustainable Healthy Weight Loss.”

In one day you are going to hear from 7 revolutionary thought leaders that I’ve specifically chosen because they are engaged in truly life changing work.

Charles Eisenstein, Andrea Albright, John Toomey, Sam Gowing, Jacqi Deighan, Grace Gedeon and myself.

During this day you will;

Understand why diets don’t and never will work

Discover how to lose weight without dieting or spending your life at the gym

Learn why the key to losing your gut is all in your mind

Find the secret to getting the last ten pounds to go and stay away

How to do this in a pleasurable, no guilt, painless way that is all about joy and what you can have not about what you can’t or must do.

This is a mind, body, spirit approach to developing a loving relationship with food and your body. We are even tackling the weighty issue of childhood obesity in our creating Happy Healthy Families session.

All these speakers are passionate about helping you transform you life, so much so they are donating their time and some of them are flying across the world to bring you this life changing information.

Book on the link below:

www.makemewellnow.com

Join the Tribe – Attend the Summit – Change Your World

Two years ago I approached Taren Hocking of a fantastic event company Champion events about creating a global Wellness conference here in Melbourne Australia. She was excited to let me know that she and Megan Dalla-Camina had the same idea and so the power of three joined forces to create the World Wellness Project Summit which is now taking place in February 24th-26th, 2011.

The conference is all about creating conversations around the world that accelerate World Wellness which is critical for the planet right now.

If you are a leader in wellness or simply passionate about creating real change for the planet then you need to be at the Summit. Taren, Megan and I would love to see you there.

http://www.worldwellnessproject.com

I will be giving a new presentation based on my book and using my illustrations on October 26th.

A Return to Food – how going back is the way forward

I will share with you the secret to getting you, your family and friends truly excited about preparing real food. With benefits of weight loss, amazing energy, better sleep and increased concentration you will love learning how to make healthy “Delicious!”

Love to see you on the 26th!
Sherry

return to food flyer

N.B.For those patiently waiting for the book after all these years, I am now actively seeking a publisher and very excited to finally be ready to give birth!…… which of course is when the real work of getting it out to the world begins.

Wake up with Energy Everyday

May 29 2010 Workshop

This One Day Workshop will cover how you can;

• Slow the Ageing Process
• Dramatically Increase Your Energy
• Look Years Younger in One Month
• Bounce out of Bed Happy, Every Morning
• Beat Addictions & Eliminate Temptation
• Avoid Ageing Foods & Crave Life Giving Foods
• Achieve Super Healthy Weight Loss without Dieting

Where:
Rescom corner of Park St and Kingsway South Melbourne

When: Saturday May 29th
8:30 Registration
9am sharp start til 5pm
Bookings: sherry@sherrystrong.com or 0412 098 992
Investment: was $345 now $197
Includes: workbook & lunch

Feedback from the February 2010 Workshop

“I enjoyed the cooking demonstration, all the content, the take home workbook,
absolutely every minute of it! The most inspirational and interesting presenter that
I’ve ever met.” Fiona

“Sherry is a dynamo, I enjoyed the taste tests, great information, very enlightening,
Sherry is fantastic, engaging, interesting, great stories, informative, one of the most
amazing smiles I’ve ever seen.” Shane

“Great way of awakening the spirit by giving moments to reflect on ourselves, great
to combine the practical and the theory, Sherry is effervescent giving, generous and
inspiring, glowing from the inside” Ewa

“This message needs to be available to as many people as possible, Sherry is
present to herself, the universe and others. I enjoyed the generosity & value
provided throughout the day. I am in love with Sherry’!… centred, real humble
generous knowledge.” Anneli

“Awesome! Gr8 knowledge and lives the talk” Lynda

“Sherry has an amazing ability to impart her wisdom, passion and knowledge in a
simple, fun & easy to understand fashion, she is funny generous, genuine, insightful
and non-judgemental-) would have liked another 9 hours!! “ Katie

Excellent!! Fantastic!!! Entertaining!!! Dr. Kristian Ronacher

“I am more aware & feel empowered I will gradually start making changes in my
food choices & hopefully quietly influence those around me. Sherry…..Wonderful!
Funny, warm, very knowledgeable, A delight. “ Ania

“ loved everything. I think Sherry is fabulous, I really like/respect her honest and
sincerity.” Emma

“Sherry’s content is brilliant, convincing and humourous, 10/10”, life changing. Ian
“Loved the delicious food! Sherry’s wisdom, fun, easy to listen to. Great personal
examples. “ Donna

Loved EVERYTHING! Amazing, Inspirational, motivating and funny! The perfect
combination. “ Michaela

“I enjoyed seeing how easy it was to actually prepare the amazing food we ate,
then getting to taste hw YUMMY it was. Sherry is smart, passionate about her
message, invaluable for our future and the future of our planet.” Julie

“I enjoyed Sherry’s energy, realness & grace, the information shared incl the
workbook and the new way to prepare food. Thanks for a wonderful day
experience.” Diana