Meet Yvonne
AfN Registered Nutritionist and Certified Health Coach
Growing up I didn't have a very healthy relationship with food - I had a very sweet tooth and would often overeat, quite often in secret. I've since learned that the desire to overeat sweet foods is an innate survival strategy, not something to feel guilty or ashamed of. Having overcome a diagnosis of bulimia, I can understand how food is so much more than just fuel, it's a coping mechanism.
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I have tried just about every diet going and had a slight obsession with "You are what you eat" in my early twenties. I know from personal experience that they all work to some degree but aren't a long term solution to forming a health relationship with food - or indeed long-term weight loss. In my opinion some of these approaches could actually be considered dangerous.
After the birth of my daughter I started to really think about what I was feeding her and looking more carefully at what 'healthy' meant. I'd already decided to go to University as a mature student so it made sense to study something that I was interested in.
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My local university offered a Human Nutrition course, so I signed up for that and had no idea how much science this would involve! It was a steep learning curve but one that I really enjoyed - and my efforts were rewarded with a first class degree​
From there, I've trained as a secondary school food teacher and worked in several nutrition related jobs, to include university lecturing, health coaching, creating and analysing recipes, helping schools and communities set up cooking clubs, and supporting schools to meet the school food standards. I've really always wanted to help people to improve their health and wellbeing so have focused my further learning on metabolic illnesses and how improve symptoms through diet and lifestyle. I've had several years experience of helping people to prevent and overcome type 2 diabetes, often considerably reducing HbA1c levels, as well as other health markers. At least 1 in 4 adults in the UK has metabolic syndrome, which is a risk factor for Type 2 diabetes and many other chronic diseases, including heart disease, immune disorders, PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), pregnancy complications, sleep apnea, certain cancers, and stroke.
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There is so much conflicting advice out there to help people lose weight and feel better, but much of it is based on poor or outdated science. Combine this with the relentless money and influence of the big food companies and their marketing strategies, it really is difficult to unpick what 'healthy' really means.
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On top of this we're not told how the convenient processed, irresistible foods that we're tempted by at every turn impact on our hormones and metabolism. Our bodies are amazing and in the same way it keeps your blood pressure, heart rate, temperature and blood sugar stable - it wants to do the same with your weight. We all have a 'set-weight' that our body works to maintain but lifestyle and diet choices can slowly raise this and in response our bodies adjust and create a new set-weight. Just eating less and moving more doesn't work with your body to reduce the added weight, it tells your body you're not getting enough nutrients to maintain your current weight. This in turn ramps up your hunger hormones, making you constantly hungry, causing cravings and while conserving energy, meaning you can't efficiently access your own fat stores for fuel.
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Anyone ever been on a diet that seems to be working but you feel constantly hungry, have lethargy and brain fog or are unable to concentrate especially when the afternoon slump hits? Combine this with feeling deprived of your favourites foods and the cravings and it's not a great recipe for sustainable weight loss.
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Let me help you take a different approach - one that looks at more than just the number on a scale.
