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.