Category Archives: Wellness

My journey to wellness

My journey to wellness has been interesting to reflect on.

I was not particularly athletic as a young person and did not pursue any sports in my 20s. My early 30s were taken up with home making, working and having children. Then in my late 30s for six years I found myself a single parent with two children, at the time a 6 month baby and a 4 year old . These were hard years, working two part time jobs and feeling like a duck who was madly paddling under the surface of the water to keep afloat. The focus was on providing what my children needed to flourish. There wasn’t much time for me to think about health and wellness.

I suspect that my chronic fatigue had been building for a while, but having been through a divorce and having young children I thought the fatigue I was feeling was only to be expected. However when I started a new full time job at the beginning of 2004, it felt like I walked into a brick wall. I was suddenly exhausted. At first I thought it was the stress and the busyness of the new job, but by mid 2004 I was at the point of thinking I would have to give up work.  I was putting on weight, had no energy, feeling depressed and unable to enjoy life at all. 

Chronic fatigue was horrible, and not something I wanted to live with. I desperately wanted to be well. I tried all sorts of things, some of which helped a bit, until I finally found a supplement that provided relief and put me on the road to recovery. The first major difference was that the mental fog lifted.  I could think clearly at last, and felt more like my old self.  Gradually the physical symptoms disappeared and I began the process of regaining my strength and wellness.

I loved being able to approach life with energy and enthusiasm again. You don’t realise until you lose your health how vital it is. Since 2004 I have completed multiple triathlons, the 12 k City to Surf fun run, a half marathon, three round-the-river 53 k Great Bike Rides, a 567 k Great Escapade bike ride round the hilly south west, …. and the list goes on. Always a student of personal development and fascinated by the workings of the brain, I discovered a huge mental component to my recovery.

Menopause of course put a spanner in the works. I suffered with hot flushes, mostly at night time, for 6 years after entering menopause. This meant I had disturbed sleep as I woke frequently through the night to throw the covers off and put them back on. I woke up in the morning feeling trashed physically and mentally. Finally someone told me about a doctor who specialsed in balancing the complete hormone picture, and this was a game changer.

I realised that maintaining fitness through diet and exercise was part of the solution to address menopause symptoms and the key to being my best self and I pursued that path, adopting a ketogenic way of eating for many years.

The COVID pandemic made me very glad my lifestyle produced a body that was metabolically healthy and I became even more determined to protect my health and stay well.

By this time I was in my mid sixties, and began to think about the issues of ageing and became interested in longevity. I read books like
* Super Human – Dave Asprey
* Lifespan – David A Sinclair
* Outlive – Peter Attia.

I was fascinated by the idea that growing old does not have to equal being frail and demented. There is a lot we can do to prevent the typical health issues that tend to come up in later life.

I had an Aunty Min who lived in the village of Rusthall near Tunbridge Wells in Kent. She lived to 104 and was well, active and had all her marbles right up to the end of her life. She became my inspiration, and I set my intention to be like Aunty Min and live to 104.

Over the years my coaching focus has shifted from weight loss to wellness and vitaility to longevity. These things are all connected of course, but the longevity – which to me means both living long and living well – requires a very deliberate and well thought out strategy.

I will be writing a series of posts about various aspects of longevity in order to connect with like minded people, share the journey and encourage each other.

I also want to inspire others to catch the vision for a life that is lived long (lifespan) and lived well (healthspan).

Click here for an outline of my five steps to ageing well program.

I invite you to connect if you have questions/comments/suggestions.

Know what to do, but can’t make yourself do it?

You are not alone. This is a common problem for people who are trying to lose weight. You probably are really hard on yourself. You think you are weak or lazy. But that is not true.

The fact is that there is a wealth of knowledge out there on the internet. Lots of information about anything you want to know how to do. When it comes to weight loss, there are many different approaches that work when implemented:

  • Keto
  • Carnivore
  • Vegan
  • Calorie counting
  • Low carb

All of these have their pluses and minuses. I personally favour keto, but it is not the only or best approach, nor is it an approach that suits everyone. I personally can’t stand calorie counting – that would drive me to distraction – but it works for some people.

The problem is not usually with knowing what to do.

The problem is usually that you can’t make yourself do it (oh – no – that’s it, isn’t it?).

The solution does not lie in accountability to keep you on track with your plan. This sometimes helps, and may be effective in the short term. You join a program or hire a coach. It helps. But it is not a pathway to long term success.

If you want to make a lasting change it needs to be a lifestyle change. Otherwise it is difficult to implement and even harder to sustain over the long term.

HoloBody is a holistic approach that uses techniques such as MCII (Mental Contrasting with Implementation Intentions) to drive action. MCII is a scientific method that creates implementation intention.

HoloBody (holo being short for holistic) addresses more than diet and exercise. It is about more than weight loss – it is a pathway to your total wellness. It is a journey to being the best version of yourself. And with HoloBody you will find you CAN experience success that lasts.

Contact me if you want to make lasting change.

You just need to balance calories IN and calories OUT (!!?)

That was my doctor’s advice. It didn’t work for me. It doesn’t seem to work for most people.

How your body burns calories depends on a number of factors. Two people can eat the exact same number of calories but have very different outcomes.

Have you addressed these factors:

  • Gut microbiome
  • Nutrient richness
  • Hormone levels
  • Inflammation in the body
  • Sleep amount and quality
  • Stress resilience
  • Social connection
  • Connection with nature
  • Frequency of body movement throughout the day
  • Sense of purpose

If you want to create lasting change you need to look at more than just diet and exercise.

HoloBody’s mind-body approach is holistic, addressing all the factors above. It provides tools and exercises that condition not just your body, but your mind and even your soul, giving you a lifetime of optimal health, healing, and vitality.

Contact me to start your HoloBody journey.

An extraordinary life can only be lived in an extraordinary body

You’re often told that lifelong health and fitness is about exercising, eating wholesome food and making the right lifestyle choices. This translates to dieting and working out at the gym, and it forces you onto a hamster wheel of temporary gains and unsustainable lifestyle changes.

The beauty of HoloBody’s mind-body approach is that it creates powerful change not just in your physical functions but in your subconscious mechanisms – including your emotions and even your self-identity. The result is that the health and fitness upgrades you make don’t just stick with you for a season: they become a permanent part of who you are. An indispensable ally on your path of personal growth and transformation.

If you want to live an extraordinary life, you need the kind of change that becomes a natural part of your lifestyle. Change that is easily sustained over the long term, producing the highest expression of vitality your body can have.

Contact me if you are ready to get off the hamster wheel and make lasting change.

Can you afford to ignore fitness?

Strength – Vitality – Flexibility – Optimal nutrition – Biological age

These aren’t just vanity metrics to see how well you’re doing at the gym, they’re necessary assets for realising your fullest human potential.

Whether you’re looking to be the best in your career, start or grow a business, master new skills, or age well as you approach your retirement years – you need a body that can go the distance with you.

HoloBody (short for Holistic Body) coaching gives you a life-changing deep dive into today’s most effective science-based practices for health and fitness. HoloBody uses an integrated mind-body approach to create powerful change that lasts.

Contact me for more information on HoloBody.