Lose Fat Get Fit. Be happy in your own skin. What do I know that you need to know & how did I get to learn it? My name is Rosie Peters. Actually, it's not - that's my pen name. I've used it over the last 10 years for the educational textbooks I have written in Australia. It's a combination of the names of my older dog and my long deceased cat. Rosie the dog and Peter cat. I could have made up a name around my older and younger dog, but Rosie Jed doesn't work and Jed Rose is a nice strong man's name and I'm not a nice strong man, although I am big boned for a woman. Anyway, I (who shall hereinafter be known as Rosie Peters) live on the far east coast of Northern New South Wales, Australia - just south of Byron Bay, with my husband and 2 dogs. This context explains my inability to spell words like fibre and yoghurt in the American way. I was a skinny child in a fat family and despite my parents' best efforts, did not take on the family trait of being overweight because I spent an inordinate amount of time riding my push bike against the coastal headwinds looking for horses to pat. My mother was a dreadful cook (burnt meat and overcooked 3 veg every night), so I had little interest in food quality, except for the sugar hit of cakes, lollies and biscuits that my exercise wore off pretty quickly. Don't get me wrong, I ate like a pit pony. Throughout my adult life, I have been up and down in weight and fitness according to my level of happiness, alcohol intake, physical activity and attention to what I ate. During this time, I did learn to cook well; largely due to the fact that I married a European man who, while he would eat any variety of food, refused to eat or cook anything that did not taste good. When I put weight, I would eat sensibly and exercise happily till I lost the kilos, then get back into the blue cheese, red wine, beer, chocolates and sedentary lifestyle until I replaced all my old fat plus some to spare. Three years ago, I was 14kg overweight, on the cusp of obesity. It could have gone either way, but I bit the bullet. Like many people entering their forties, I turned around my lifestyle and now maintain a fit, healthy body. I write because I love to write. I write about diet and fitness because I know about these things. I believe if I encourage and advise people in a humorous but hard hitting combination, they may embark on their own healthy diet and exercise journey for life. Anyone can do it, but you have to really want it.