I Changed my life at Menopause

I have always been fascinated by food, health, and wellbeing. As a teen I did ballet and contemporary dance this developed into teaching aerobic classes, as an adult so 1980’s.  This was the era of low-calorie low-fat fad diets. My dance hobby led to an unhealthy focus on weight loss and dieting, which I believed was healthy!

Spa Manager

My career began as a beauty therapist in the 1980’s when the industry was more focused on health and wellness. I was a therapist at a leading ‘Health Farm’ working my way up to manager. It was a new fast-paced developing industry and I loved it. The industry began to move away from health and wellness. Health Farms were now Spa’s, chocolate and champagne replaced the detox and weight loss! Something was missing,

Passion

My passion for nutrition was heightened by own digestive health problems triggered by a stomach bug. This led me to explore food as medicine, which was a new and growing field. We moved back to Scotland and I became self-employed which suited me when my children were young. My IBS turned out to be an autoimmune bowel disease, so I kept researching ‘natural’ approaches, gradually going into remission.

Moved to York

We moved to York in 2005 and I briefly went back to employment. Although I loved helping clients escape the pressures of everyday life the spa industry was not about lasting health anymore. I felt superficial, I wanted to bring deeper changes and support women through them. So I developed my role incorporating health and wellbeing, I specialised in remedial skin treatments resolving skin conditions. Later in 2010 I studied and specialised in sports massage treatments, laterally developing my own deep tissue massage techniques.

By my 40’s I knew really wanted to study nutritional therapy and gain a recognised qualification. Meanwhile I took on a range of nutrition and wellness products, I enjoyed doing talks and workshops and learning more about health and nutrition. This reinforced my desire to study nutrition as I enjoyed communicating my knowledge to help others.

Take the Plunge

Now in my 50’s I took the plunge in 2016 to study at the Institute for Optimum Nutrition (ION) Going back to learning combined with running my business was a challenge. The course is known as ‘rigorous’ Fellow students were a great support as we navigated the curriculum together, making lifelong friends.

By the second year the overwhelm and stress came to ahead. I was physically and mentally exhausted I knew something had to give. Health crisis often make us take stock, I had been neglecting my own health and wellbeing. I gave up my hotel treatment space and began working from home focusing on the skin treatments and massage whilst studying. I gained some amazing new clients, who want these deeper changes. It was a privilege to learn so much and finally fulfil my dream to study nutrition. 3 years later I passed with the Dip ION with distinction.

A light bulb moment

Being menopausal at this time really impacted me. The added pressure took its toll on me, exacerbating menopausal symptoms like anxiety, brain fog, low energy, and joint pain. I was surprised by the impact of stress despite a ‘healthy diet’. I was amazed by my own lack of menopause awareness until in the thick of it. I knew my own experience could have been so much better with more knowledge. I saw how menopause impacted so many women in my business and in training clinic.

What’s more I saw clearly how body systems like digestion, detoxification, energy, and hormones can either support us or fall short at this time. Nutritional therapy is a truly holistic approach searching for the root cause of your symptoms. I realised just how much nutrition and lifestyle medicine have to offer at menopause. So, it was ideal to shift my focus to nutrition and set up Nourish Inside Out in 2020. I just celebrated my 2nd Business Birthday. The last 2 years had other challenges, too and yet I am very glad I pursued my dream to be a Nutritional Therapist.

If you’d like a chat just get in touch. I offer a free 30 minute discovery call to help me find out more about your concerns and see  how I can help.  Then if you like I can explain more about my approach.  Discover Call 

The Institute for Optimum Nutrition 

The British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine