𝑰 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕

Yep, that's right.. I tried EVERY diet under the sun and failed miserably, so I convinced myself I cannot and will not EVER lose weight, be healthy or be worthy of LOVE..

Who am I?

By day I'm a university lecturer and by night I transform into a superhero and help tired and overwhelmed mums with the most important aspect of their lives : health (gaining energy through good nutrition)

When I was a child to a single mum with 2 jobs I have rarely seen my mother. When she was at home, she was exhausted, abusive and never interested in what I had to say. I became a typical overachiever so I could earn the approval of my mom, but that never happened, in fact, things have gotten worse every year.

On good days, we would sit at the table and connect over a home cooked meal. And this is how food became that one thing that made me feel loved, made me feel connected and soothed my soul.

Every time I would need the support or affection and be shut out, I turned to food which made me feel better instantly. Eventually I became so obese that my PE teacher started being worried.

𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧

which led to cycles of dieting and overeating and thinking about surgical procedures just to be able to reach a normal weight.

My mental health suffered and I started losing friends, alienating everyone so they wouldn’t tell me I needed to lose weight. I even declined a state scholarship programme for university because one of the conditions was to join in their daily exercise and for that I would need to lose weight.

𝐌𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬!

One day I was getting ready to go out and I tried to tie my shoe, but I couldn’t bend down, so I had to lift my leg up to reach the shoelaces. That’s when I realised I had to do something.

As most people who decide to lose weight, I signed up to the gym and started on a low carb diet.

𝐈 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭?

This ended up in a burn out and consequently yet another binge. I felt like a complete failure! I was ASHAMED and with each failed attempt, I sank deeper into self-loathing and depression.

Luckily, I met a health coach who introduced me to the power of nutrition and after initial scepticism, I gained a whole different life over the next 12 months!

I started being more confident in my own body, my health has improved and I started doing exercise for the first time ever and realised I actually really enjoy it.

My energy levels went through the roof, I could focus better on my uni work, I managed a job, a leadership role at the uni and passed all my courses in time!

𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐞𝐭, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐠𝐨.

Oh, and I lost 25kg (55lbs).

Over the next 10 years I completed a BSc, a MSc and a PhD in Biological sciences and became a mum to a beautiful girl. Now I combine my knowledge with parenting and absolutely love to see how my passion for healthy cakes and morning exercise rubs off my little one!

However, it wasn't all rosey! Life came in between and I became a single mum. I was only a student so I couldn't get any financial help. My family wouldn't come Scotland to help me. I was alone with no childcare in a foreign country and terribly scared!

I wanted to help my mental and physical health the best way I knew how but something always got in the way! Taking babies to gym classes is a no no and despite the fact that I have had some incredible people around me, doing their best to help..

𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐮𝐩.

My struggles resonate with so many women. Lack of childcare, burnout, lack of money, battling with overwhelming thoughts, living in fear, thinking about your food is the last thing on your mind... Yet, the MOST IMPORTANT

Now I set myself on a mission to break the cycle for as many women as possible!! I am incredibly passionate about helping women take control of their lives back and that's how B.A.D. mum club was born.

A safe space for mums to come and learn how to break free, learn about the power of nutrition on their mental health but also energy levels and more, a group of women who support each other fiercely!

𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 - 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍