Bio

Here's a bit about me and my background:

In 2008 I completed a PhD on the exercise and dietary behaviour of midlife women. (You can read a summary of the results in the Articles section of this site.) I also have an honours degree in human movement studies.
I’m a registered personal trainer and I’ve spent about 30 years studying areas such as nutrition, disease prevention, health coaching, healthy ageing, mental and emotional well-being, and stress reduction, as well as various forms of exercise. I particularly like the approach of the US based CHEK institute, which focuses on the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual realms working together. I’m a qualified CHEK Holistic Lifestyle Coach and Exercise Coach.
Before creating Fit and Well, I worked in education, government and the media. I've taught diet and exercise subjects in universities, schools and TAFE colleges; run health and wellbeing programs for government organizations; and been a guest speaker on women's health and fitness issues at national conferences. I'm a former senior manager and policy advisor in sport and recreation with the Queensland Government, and for several years I represented Queensland on a national panel responsible for getting women and girls to be more active. I've also worked as a presenter for ABC radio and TV, a columnist for The Australian, and in public relations for the Australian Institute of Sport and the Tasmanian Health Department.
I'm a former Australian representative marathon runner and in 1986 I set an Australian record for running 50 miles (80kms). These days I still do a little running, but not over those sorts of distances (thankfully!).
So I have a list of credentials as long as both arms, but I think my most valuable offering is that I’m a woman in my 50s who has had to make sense of the enormous amount of information available on health and wellbeing for myself. I’ve done a lot of the hard yards so that you don’t have to.
Finally, I’m married to a gorgeous man called Peter, and I live in Paddington, Brisbane with Pete, his son Dan, and a lazy big cat called Mimi who would eat all day if she could and is no advertisement for my background at all.