My journey began with weight gain. I’d always been conscious of my weight – I was always a chubby child and was teased in primary school. Looking back, something was probably off from the start, but of course, we didn’t know anything about that in the late 70’s and 80’s.

By the age of 11, I was on my first diet. By the age of 18 I was an old hand at calorie restriction and had my weight at a reasonable level. I put on some weight during university but then came my first corporate job, and it all changed.

I went into the high-pressure world of IT sales – surrounded by male colleagues, most of whom were older, but I rose through the ranks quickly and held my own by always being ahead on sales targets, working damn hard to make it (almost exclusively) in a man’s world, where the women in the office were likely secretaries and HR personnel rather than front-line sales staff.

By the time I was 24, I was a size 8. Determined to be the best I could be in my chosen profession, working all the hours, in a high pressure environment where performance was based on sales targets,  in an international role which saw me travelling around Europe every week, but also determined to be the slimmest and to do it all in 4 inch heels (so that I could look the guys in the eye).

Although not diagnosed (because I never discussed it), I was probably anorexic at this point: 500 calories once every three days was pretty much the norm, but hey, everything was good, I was succeeding,  I was a UK size 6-8 (US4).

Then I got food poisoning. 5 days of lying on the bathroom floor. Properly ill.

It’s my belief that the added stress of the food poisoning whilst already having a body which was under significant psychological stress (corporate life), and significant physiological stress (the very restricted eating and lack of sleep from the corporate travel/lifestyle) came together in a perfect storm of “stuff” that my body simply couldn’t handle.

I blew a gasket.

I’d already struggled with my weight but after spending a bit of time recovering, I noticed that I simply couldn’t maintain my weight any more. One week I ate nothing for 5 days consecutively, and ended 4lbs heavier than I had started. Little did I know then, that this would be the start of a 25-year struggle with weight gain and a bunch of other symptoms including anxiety, low self esteem, terrible insomnia,  and an host of other symptoms that I’m sure others reading this will recognise.

Those symptoms over the years formed themselves into various diagnosed ailments and a bunch of other suspected ones: PCOS, Low Thyroid, Hashimoto’s, crushing fatigue.

In the intervening period, from my starting weight to my eventual maximum, I’d gained just short of 150lbs. A whole person!  and this was despite contstantly fighting to find things that would fix me – the latest diet, the latest exercise plan. At one point I was exercising 12 hours per week, had two personal trainers, threw myself into mountain biking, circuits and boxing, all whilst continuing to gain weight. Trainer after trainer put me onto their “foolproof” diet. I’d follow them religiously and still gain. One by one they all gave up.

The British medical establishment, similarly, had no answers for me. For years, I’ve battled to get diagnoses, treatments – even, at times, to get anyone to listen who didn’t think I was totally losing it – these were real conditions and yet the NHS has no strategy to cope with someone like me. Worse, they have zero understanding.  Nutritional advice is woefully inadequate and extremely out of date.  My GP once told me that if I was really worried about my weight, I should (quote) “stop stuffing things in your mouth”. Private appointments with consultant endocrinologists were no better – faced with me explaining that I could eat nothing and gain weight, I was told by one eminent individual that what I was explaining was total nonsense – because “there weren’t any fat people in the industrial revolution” and that therefore I just needed to diet harder. On another occasion, I was offered anti-depressants – I wasn’t depressed, I was upset and concerned (rightly) about my seemingly unstoppable weight gain – I didn’t need pills to make me oblivious! I’d love to report that things have changed since I started asking questions but they haven’t – it’s still as bad as ever, possibly worse given the cuts to funding and lack of time and real attention on offer.

Despite all the setbacks, I always knew there was a key. I just didn’t know what that key was.

So what changed?

In a single sentence – I found Dr Mindy via her first Diary of a CEO podcast, and after a bout of pneumonia, I decided to implement her protocol.

Imagine going through years and years of dead ends and ridiculous regimes only to find that the solution to it all was super simple, super easy to follow, meant that I could eat heartily for the first time in my whole life and lose weight reliably and almost effortlessly.

Even better than that, my shape changed more quickly than the scales, so I drop jeans sizes regularly and am down 4 already. I have great energy levels, my skin and hair have both improved – I look healthy! Other things have improved too. My cycle has normalised and symptoms are less severe, I sleep really well and wake up rested, my anxiety has vanished. I’m now able to take every day as it comes. My mood has improved immeasurably. I’m fitter. My blood pressure is better than it was in my twenties. My resting heart rate is down 10-15 beats per minute. My fatty liver is back to normal, and my kidney function has improved. It all adds up to a really excellent picture of health, and I’m doing it all whilst able to enjoy myself like never before, and certainly without counting every single calorie.

I still have some way to go, but qualifying as a certified coach for Mindy’s Fast Like a Girl protocol was a no-brainer, and whilst I work on myself, I want to help others to achieve the same results that I have enjoyed.

Fasting, feasting and hormone reset are powerful tool. They don’t require any special treatments, don’t need injections or expensive pills, all they require is commitment in the early stages and for some people, someone to help lead the way. That’s where I come in. As a certified fasting coach, I am passionate about empowering women to reclaim their health and vitality as I did.

I’m here to help.

If my story resonates with you, talk to me.

I don’t handle hundreds of clients, because I prefer to properly help a few and give them my focus.

I’d love to hear from you. Why not reach out and let’s start a journey together.