For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a chubby person. I’ve always loved my food and wasn’t too keen on exercise. Over time, it showed - I went from a cuddlesome kid to a curvy teen to a plump adult seamlessly. Strangely, the weight didn’t bother me in my youth. I’ve always lived more in my head, aesthetics weren’t a big focus. Blessed with a pleasant face and a friendly nature I found it easy to get by on a pretty smile. I couldn’t be bothered to count calories, basically ate whatever I felt like whenever I felt like it.

The few occasions that I wanted to lose weight (my wedding and a couple of other instances that were few and far between), I’d worked out intensely, got too busy to eat and ended up dropping a few kilos – the most I ever lost was 6 kgs. But I could never keep the weight off successfully, it always crept back as soon as I stopped exercising. Over the years, two kids and several holidays later I was borderline obese but still in denial about it. My cholesterol was through the roof thanks to my indulgent lifestyle. A recent blood report showed borderline thyroid. Yet I convinced myself this was expected given we had a family history of it. Juggling motherhood and home responsibilities with a high-pressure job in advertising left me physically exhausted and emotionally drained. I knew I had to lose weight but I couldn’t summon the energy, time or motivation to climb what felt like a mountain to me. My wake-up call finally came one day when I visited the GP complaining of persistent dizziness and got sent to A&E for a suspected stroke. It turned out to be vertigo, but in those few hours I realised how much I wanted to be there for my children and husband and that I owed it to them to get me back to healthy.

I found out about RNT from Jana, a neighbour and friend whose daughter went to the same school as mine. She had just dropped a ton of weight and was looking absolutely fabulous. I considered signing up, however I was plagued by doubts of not being able to keep up. Undecided, I embarked on a family holiday to Argentina. I returned to find myself weighing in at my heaviest ever. The memories of me sweating and panting up the Patagonian slopes and my horror at how I looked in the photos will haunt me forever. I had finally found the courage to jump in. The first month that followed was one of great learning - it was all new to me. I learnt how to prioritise my health – finding those 2hrs in a busy day to focus on caring for myself and not feeling guilty about taking that time. I learnt about developing a routine and sticking to it no matter what. This was probably the hardest lesson for me as I’m inherently indisciplined and easily bored. The RNT team taught me the ropes - patient, encouraging and firm when they needed to be, helping me to change my lifestyle one baby step at a time. They provided me with all the information I needed when I needed it but also allowed me to fail, reflect and learn from my mistakes. When I hit a block (both mental and physical on a few occasions) RNT helped me come back on track with even more vigour and determination than before.

My biggest lessons are to do with nutrition. I now know what my plate needs to look like for each meal. I’ve developed a real love for vegetables. I learnt how to recognise true hunger from an emotional urge to eat and how to manage both. I learnt the skill to cook food that tastes good using healthy substitutes and without a lot of oil. I learned about macros and portion control but most importantly, I learnt a degree of self-control I never thought I’d have. My relationship with food has changed.

Rather than addictive and soothing, I’ve come to appreciate it more for its nourishing, healing and performance driving properties.

I love the new me - the way I look and feel, but most of all the way I think and I don’t mean just about food and fitness, rather about any challenge that confronts me. The process, structure and systems you will learn with RNT are easily transferable and can be applied to all areas of life. Thank you to the RNT team and family.