Transition Nutrition
Location: Face-to-face appointments in Colchester, Essex & Ipswich, Suffolk. Online using Zoom.
Language: English
I’m Michelle, a Registered Nutritional Therapist and Health Coach. I help hormonally-challenged women who are feeling stressed, sleep-deprived or out of balance to understand and heal the root causes without feeling overwhelmed.
My aim is to help women to ‘get their happy back’ so that they can stop missing out and start living the life they desire, rather than just existing.
I use an individualised approach to support the woman I am working with, rather than the average woman, whoever she is!
Like many young people, in my teens, twenties, and (some of my) thirties, I worked and partied hard, as the cliché goes. I loved music - the louder and live(r) the better - and dancing. I still do, although my tastes have mellowed. There were many events, holidays and festivals where I baked in the sun and drunk alcohol all day and evening. And just about managed to avoid heatstroke & dehydration (apart from on one occasion).
These were great times, sociable times, happy times, on the whole. But there was one thing that blotted the landscape (apart from the ubiquitous ‘boyfriend troubles’). My health. The most pervasive health issue I had that spanned these decades was hormone imbalance – specifically, debilitating painful periods. To the point that I could literally do nothing because of the pain. A boyfriend once took me to A&E as all I could do was lie on the floor and scream in agony.
There were few medical investigations. I was eventually put on the pill that ‘helped’ for a while. It meant I could usually just about get through those first days of my cycle, often with a large supply of different and overlapping painkillers. I’d get a bit panicky sometimes, willing and waiting for the meds to kick in, to ease the spiralling waves of pain. But feeling this way every month interfered with my social life and sometimes my work too. I felt I was always missing out.
These were great times, sociable times, happy times, on the whole. But there was one thing that blotted the landscape (apart from the ubiquitous ‘boyfriend troubles’). My health. The most pervasive health issue I had that spanned these decades was hormone imbalance – specifically, debilitating painful periods. To the point that I could literally do nothing because of the pain. A boyfriend once took me to A&E as all I could do was lie on the floor and scream in agony.
There were few medical investigations. I was eventually put on the pill that ‘helped’ for a while. It meant I could usually just about get through those first days of my cycle, often with a large supply of different and overlapping painkillers. I’d get a bit panicky sometimes, willing and waiting for the meds to kick in, to ease the spiralling waves of pain. But feeling this way every month interfered with my social life and sometimes my work too. I felt I was always missing out.
Fast forward to age thirty, things were worse. I began a decade of trying to balance my raging health symptoms – painful periods, bad skin, unpredictable digestion - all accompanied by buckets of stress.
I began studying nutritional therapy and lifestyle medicine. So many of the missing pieces of the jigsaw puzzle gradually fell into place. I had previously ‘researched’ extensively to try and solve my health problems and had used a scattergun approach of multiple supplements and therapies, with varying degrees of success.
What I didn’t realise then, was how all my problems were linked. My symptoms all impacted upon each other and were reinforced and made worse by my unhealthy lifestyle. Stress was a major trigger as well as helping to keep these symptoms going. I was also trying to use supplements like medications – as a ‘sticking plaster’ – without understanding what was going on underneath. While medications can be helpful (and are sometimes essential), they can also make other symptoms worse and cause new problems. For example, the pill often causes significant nutritional deficiencies, and all those pain killers played havoc with my digestive system.
By looking at all my specific symptoms together and undertaking some testing, I built up a clear picture of what was going on. I was able to take a systematic approach to heal - using food, supplements, and lifestyle changes to bring my body back into balance. And now I help others to do the same 😊
I began studying nutritional therapy and lifestyle medicine. So many of the missing pieces of the jigsaw puzzle gradually fell into place. I had previously ‘researched’ extensively to try and solve my health problems and had used a scattergun approach of multiple supplements and therapies, with varying degrees of success.
What I didn’t realise then, was how all my problems were linked. My symptoms all impacted upon each other and were reinforced and made worse by my unhealthy lifestyle. Stress was a major trigger as well as helping to keep these symptoms going. I was also trying to use supplements like medications – as a ‘sticking plaster’ – without understanding what was going on underneath. While medications can be helpful (and are sometimes essential), they can also make other symptoms worse and cause new problems. For example, the pill often causes significant nutritional deficiencies, and all those pain killers played havoc with my digestive system.
By looking at all my specific symptoms together and undertaking some testing, I built up a clear picture of what was going on. I was able to take a systematic approach to heal - using food, supplements, and lifestyle changes to bring my body back into balance. And now I help others to do the same 😊
