My nutrition story (and what I’ve learned along the way)

I’ve experimented with a lot of different ways of eating over the years.

I grew up on the classic “meat and three veg” dinners, except I hated most veggies and would only eat peas for years. And being a child of the 80s meant my lunchbox was a treasure trove of processed treats: Roll-Ups, mini bags of chips, and those famous Le Snacks (remember those?). I cringe when I think about it now.

Fast forward to my late teens and early 20s, I left home for uni with no clue how to cook or what a balanced meal looked like. Growing up in a small city that had just got its first McDonald’s, I suddenly had unlimited access to fast food and no parents to keep me in check. The result? A 10–12kg weight gain in my first year, and another 5kg the year after.

By my third year, I started to find my rhythm, living with a few health-conscious flatmates and getting into a regular gym routine helped me feel more like myself again. But when I moved to Melbourne and then London, life got busy. Between travel, socialising, and city life, my diet and health slipped onto the back burner again.

It wasn’t until I moved back to New Zealand that things really started to shift. Struggling with IBS pushed me to make changes, and I tried every diet under the sun, low FODMAP, paleo, sugar-free, gluten-free, whole foods only… you name it, I tried it. And while each had something useful to teach me, none of them stuck for longer than a year. They were too hard to maintain, especially when eating out or living a normal life.

About ten years ago, I took a different approach. Instead of following strict rules, I started experimenting with what made me feel good.

✅ More protein

✅ Fewer processed foods

✅ More vegetables

✅ Cutting back on snacking

That’s when things finally clicked. Increasing my protein was a lightbulb moment. My cravings disappeared, my grazing habit stopped, and I could go from meal to meal without constantly thinking about food. Even better, my IBS symptoms eased dramatically.

It’s been a long journey, but I finally know what works for me, and that’s what I help my clients discover too.

Nutrition is never black and white. What works beautifully for one person might not work for the next. But there are a few key principles that nearly everyone can benefit from, and that’s where I come in.

If you’re not sure what’s going on with your health, body, or nutrition, I can help you figure it out, without the overwhelm or fad diets. Not only do I have my own personal experiences to draw from, but I also have formal nutrition training, a current registration and over 1,000 hours of in clinic practice. Book a free call with me if you are keen to find out more.