My journey - Part One - weight loss and breaking free from yo-yo dieting

Hi everyone! I wanted to properly introduce myself and go into more detail on my journey to optimal health so far.

For me, health isn't a destination, I think self-improvement is a constant journey and I've found that the healthier I get, the more dedicated I become to improving myself.

Let's start with the basics - I'm Helen, I'm 31 and I'm from Belfast. I live in Newcastle Upon Tyne with my husband. I'm a Virgo, I love dogs (although I'm not ready for that commitment myself), I love going home to see my family and friends and my favourite cuisine would probably be Turkish (it's hard to choose)!

Since age 15 I've struggled with yo-yoing weight. I went to Slimming World at age 17, I've taken diet pills, I've tried the 5:2 diet, I've used laxatives, juicing, Herbalife and plenty of other methods in order to lose weight, as quickly as possible. I would lose the weight, feel great and then start to eat what I want again and put it back on. During the pandemic I gained a lot of weight - I was literally baking everyday - then started planning my wedding. In the second lockdown I started calorie counting in order to lose weight for trying on wedding dresses and continued with this for over a year. I lost the weight, and felt great on my wedding day. However by this point I'd been eating 1200 calories a day and felt extremely restricted.

I tried to increase my calories slowly and was just piling weight on. Considering I exercise a lot - weights 3-4 times a week, 10,000 steps a day, spin and dance once a week - I was barely eating anything. I ended up gaining all the weight back again. I honestly felt so trapped at this point. I was so disappointed in myself for putting the weight back on. I thought I was committed to my health and really felt like a failure. I knew I couldn't keep going with the 1200 cals for the rest of my life and I couldn't keep going through the yo-yo dieting cycle. I needed to find something else.

I discovered the gut microbiome through the Diary of a CEO podcast. I listened to an episode with Tim Spector which was titled something like 'why counting calories doesn't work'. And I'll tell you, I KNEW by this point that calorie counting was not a long term solution which is why I was seeking information about this. Everything he said just clicked with me. It felt so right. Why was I eating food laden with chemicals in order to eat as little calories as possible? Surely my overall health mattered more than anything? I had other health struggles which I will detail in Part Two and they played a big part in me wanting to get healthier. I became OBSESSED with learning about the gut microbiome and went on a journey of healing my gut, I'll talk more about this in Part Three!

I've now been doing this for 10 months and feel amazing. My energy is better, I have a better relationship with my body, I'm no longer obsessed with calories and tracking everything on calorie counting apps. I have lost all the weight again (and more), although I don't even like to focus on that as an outcome as it's about more than aesthetics for me. This journey has been an amazing one so far and I'm looking forward to sharing more in Part Two and Three!