Therapy
About Nutritional
The food you eat matters more than you think, and being coached to change your habits brings life-changing results.
Most women know they 'should' probably eat a bit better than they do, they 'should' move more and take the time for more ‘me time’ to live a long and happy life.
Life seems to get in the way of achieving that consistently. Most midlife women are juggling jobs and the complexities of modern relationships, leaving little time to dedicate to the business of ‘being healthy’. Convenience often wins. It’s not that that’s wrong per se, but here’s the thing: all the time you are not eating or moving or living as well as you know to do, you are creating more and more problems.
It’s not that that’s wrong per se, but here’s the thing: all the time you are not eating or moving or living as well as you know to do, you are creating more and more problems when it comes to weight and perimenopause symptoms not to mention your digestion and anything else that isn't working in your health. That may actually be going-to-doctor sick or it may just mean having health niggles that bother you greatly but that you have learned to cope with. I’m talking here about things like IBS or other tummy troubles, PMT, arthritis, stress or anxiety, hot flushes and other menopause symptoms, or possibly weight that has crept on over the years and you can’t seem to shift it, no matter what you try.
I want you to know that making changes to your diet makes a huge difference, and the symptoms of some of these conditions can be improved so markedly that there is a really profound shift in how you experience life.
Make a plan
Personalised diet & lifestyle plans make a difference
Nutrition and lifestyle medicine is a very personal approach to health.
You might hear nutrition folk talk about people being ‘biochemically unique’. That means that there isn’t a single way of eating that is right for everyone. Sandra might have PMS and you want to lose weight, for example. Sandra might have an intolerance to dairy, while you can't tolerate strawberries.
I could go on, but you can imagine the thousands of different permutations here. And the fact is that your DNA, previous medical history, and any current symptoms as well as what you like and don’t like, not to mention your personal circumstances are all important when a nutritionist creates a plan for you.
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As a plan is personalised just for you, that takes both time and skill. You could download something from the internet – if you knew what you were looking for – but it is not the same. I also work with supplements targeted to a specific condition or your own health goal. This can be a minefield – potentially dangerous and inevitably costly – if you don’t know what you’re doing
Why doesn't everyone see a nutritional therapist?
Nutrition and lifestyle medicine plus compassion and accountability
Most people don't understand what a huge effect a personalised food and lifestyle programme can have on the symptoms they have. Newspapers are full of soundbites about the latest foods, but they don’t really join the dots, and it can be hard to see what might be possible for you.
The vast majority of doctors – even those being trained today – have next to no current knowledge or practical experience of what their patients should be eating or how they might integrate the science of eating well into their lives. They live in a world, by and large, where the solution presented during your 10-minute session lies in a prescription. A small number of enlightened medical doctors are training in something much more powerful called Functional Medicine. This is same framework I use as a nutritional therapist.
We consider that the symptoms you are experiencing are a result of imbalances in your body and, rather than treat the specific symptoms themselves, we try to understand the root cause of the problem and base their programme around that.
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The exclusively pharmacological approach conventional medicine so often employs does nothing to uncover the root causes. Metformin lowers blood glucose – but why is it high in the first place? Statins lower cholesterol – but why is it elevated?
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) numb pain – but why are you in pain? These are the questions I will ask before embarking on a quest to find out to then be able to address the root cause.
Consultations
What happens in a nutrition consultation?
Your first consultation will last up to 90 minutes. You will complete and send back a nutritional therapy questionnaire before you visit.
During the session, we’ll go into your medical history, your health goals and any other challenges you’re facing, what you generally eat, what you like to eat, what you hate to eat and how you have to eat. There’s no judgement and anything you share with me is kept in confidence.
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Each consultation builds on the previous one inside The Midlife Method, and often there is an element of coaching. Knowing what to do is only part of the solution if you are unhappy with an aspect of your health. Staying motivated is the hardest part of any plan. The single best way to stay in the zone is to have a coach who can give you a nudge or call you out if you start to go off piste.
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My signature high level programme - The Midlife Method - runs over 12 weeks. This period of time allows us to cover all aspects of midlife/ menopause health in detail and you can make changes at a pace that suits you, and to deal with any challenges or questions that come up along the way.
