I’m Amelia, Founder and Editor of Eat Canberra and Eat Canberra Food Tours. I want to address a question that I’m often asked. The questions is, “how come you’re not the size of a house?” This is a question I’ve dealt with my whole life. While other people get questioned for being ‘overweight’, I’ve always been questioned about being on the smaller side. Guess what? It still hurts my feelings. People have always told me I should eat more or asked me if I even eat…..
I obviously LOVE food because I wouldn’t have created Eat Canberra and Eat Canberra Food Tours if I didn’t! I love to cook it, I love to eat it, I love to write about it, learn about it and photograph it. I worked in hospitality for about 8 years and my mum has owned a cafe in QLD for more than 10 years. Food has always been a big part of my life. The thing is, I’ve always been small and when I was little I was sooooo tiny. That’s me in the middle below with some of my best childhood friends. Told you I was tiny hahaha and aren’t we so fashionable LOL. But body size shouldn’t matter and we shouldn’t judge people on their body size.
I’ve also been pretty active most of my life and I enjoy exercise (when I actually do it). I went through a stage in my early 20s where I wasn’t very active for a long time. That was when I was battling depression and anxiety but eventually, exercise was actually one of the things that helped me with my battle. Being active has so many benefits, not just physically but mentally and emotionally. It also helps use up some of my energy so I’m not bouncing off the walls, and it helps me calm my overactive mind and thoughts.
You see, I’m one of those people that always has 30 tabs open on my browser AND my mind. Can anyone else relate? I enjoy being active but I don’t enjoy doing the same exercise each day because I get bored. I also don’t exercise each day but I integrate being active into my daily life. In one of my 9-5 jobs I would use the bathroom on the lower level of the building on purpose because it meant I had to take the stairs. It was a good excuse to get in some more exercise and take a break from sitting at my desk. I’ve tried soooo many different ways to stay fit because I love trying new things. I also feel incredible after a good workout!
I eat pretty well (most of the time). I rarely drink soft drink, although I don’t mind the occasional ice-cold glass of Solo or lemonade. I have a MASSIVE sweet tooth and often have to stop myself from buying lollies and chocolate. I’m addicted to cheese! I really enjoy a 3-course (or more) meal but Mr Eat Canberra is pretty good at eating my leftovers hehehe.
I’m not a huge drinker but I do love a good cold white wine or a cold beer in summer, a red wine in winter or at night and a few cocktails occasionally, especially when matched with a beautiful meal. I don’t smoke but I used to and gave up more than 7 years ago. I don’t watch a lot of TV but I have a few TV series that I enjoy and I like curling up and watching a good movie sometimes. I’m hanging out for the next season of Orange is the New Black and Wentworth! I really like eating out but when time is on my side, I love cooking at home. There are so many easy, healthy recipes you can make including sushi bowls. I loooooove fried chicken but I don’t give into my cravings all the time.
When it comes to food and lifestyle, I think it’s all about moderation. I’ve done a few short juice detoxes because I like to cleanse my body and give it a break sometimes. But I’ve never been on a diet and I’ll never go on one. I don’t believe in restricting yourself because life is too short and #yolo. BUT I do believe in balance when it comes to food and lifestyle. Eat well and look after yourself 70-80% of the time and treat yourself the other 20-30% of the time! But don’t beat yourself up about it and just do what works for you.
As it cools down in Canberra, it’s easy to go into hibernation but I challenge you to stay active this winter. Last year I took part in a 6-week fitness challenge at Form Fitness. It was in the middle of winter which meant getting up super early but it the results were incredible. It was exactly what I needed to get me back into a good fitness routine. Rachel and Michael at Form Fitness in Canberra are awesome and if you need a kick up the butt to get you back into a good routine, you should get in contact with them. I also love F45 and hot yoga! I’ve been going to Power Yoga Canberra for a few years now. It’s in a heated room and it’s amazing how you feel after a class. I always knew I would love yoga but it took me a while to try it. It also really helped me battle depression and anxiety and I really want to do a Yoga Training Course to be a teacher one day.
The thing is, there are soooo many options and ways you can stay active! If you don’t have a lot of money to spare then go for walk, hikes and runs. Do some sit-ups, push-ups and squats while you’re watching TV or have a spare 10 minutes at home. Grab a few cans out of the cupboard and use them as weights. If you’re a mum or like women’s groups then Project Fit Mum is a great option, it’s also run by Laura who is a friend of mine.
I love big walks and exploring places, I’ve completed 5-10km fun runs, enjoy snowboarding, have competed in a triathlon and I love hiking and boxing. I’m up for trying anything once and have done lots of extreme sports! I also don’t mind a good workout in a hotel gym if I’m travelling. It helps with jet lag and to work off that extra food that I eat when travelling. I’m not a nutritionist or a trainer and this article is purely my opinion because I wanted to address the question that I’m often asked. The reason I’m not ‘the size of a house’ is because this is me, I enjoy being active and I don’t eat bad food all the time. Everyone is different, we all have different body sizes and lifestyles and we shouldn’t judge people because of their appearance. We are all perfectly imperfect. I could go into lots more detail about many of the points mentioned but I’ll leave it there for now.
You might be interested in reading my Local’s Healthy Guide to Canberra and my Hiking Bucket List for South America. You can also watch my video about Booroomba Rocks.
Amelia Bidgood
Amelia is the Founder and Editor of Eat Canberra and the Founder and Managing Director of Eat Canberra Food Tours. She's a qualified journalist, presenter, freelance writer and also runs a boutique communications agency working with small business owners on all things social media, content creation and marketing. She's taught cheesemaking classes, judged hospitality and tourism awards, completed the WSET Level 1 Award In Wines, loves to cook and has travelled to 23 countries. She's also passionate about mental health and has recently started studying to become a Counsellor.