Let’s start at the beginning

I guess you could say I’ve had a love-hate relationship with my hormones since I first started my journey into womanhood.

I got my first period at 9 and had absolutely no idea what was going on or what any of it meant.

For most of my teenage years I would dread getting my period as it would mean having to make excuses as to why I couldn’t take part in sports or any other activity that would draw attention to the fact I was wearing a pad (and in those days pads were as thick as nappies - no wings, and their absorbent qualities left a LOT to be desired!)

I vividly remember going on a week-long school trip at the age of eleven to an adventure camp in Wales and being totally horrified when my period decided to come on the first day.

This trip was meant to mark the end of my time in junior school and be the trip of a lifetime - it was the last time I would be together with my classmates of the past eight years and I had been looking forward to it for months and months.

Instead the trip became a nightmare for my eleven year old self. To this day all I remember is worrying sick about blood trickling down my leg whilst we were abseiling or wondering whether some stuffed tissue would do the trick when went swimming by some waterfalls.

So yes, it wasn’t a great start for me and my hormonal journey.

The Pill Years

Things calmed down for a few years until for some reason at the age of 19 I decided to go on the pill.

There wasn’t a particular reason for me going on the pill - it’s just what you did once you became a woman wasn’t it?

All my friends were on it and it seemed to be an important step in becoming a REAL woman so I went to my doctor and asked to be put on it. I was given a prescription straight away. No questions about my reasons for going on the pill and no questions about my medical history apart from a quick blood pressure check.

I felt very grown up when I popped that first tiny pill out of its packet. Maybe now I would find a serious boyfriend.

Sadly, all that happened was that I bled continuously for 6 months.

I went back time and time again to my doctor and got told this was perfectly normal. After pushing for a more satisfactory solution the doctor agreed to change my prescription.

Cue even heavier bleeding and horrendous mood swings.

By this point I was actually in a sort-of serious relationship (my first one) and the pill was playing havoc with my mental and physical health. As a contraceptive it worked well because I wouldn’t let my boyfriend within a metre radius of me without bursting into tears or screaming to be left alone (although I’m not sure that’s quite how the contraceptive side of the pill is meant to work!)

After battling for a year and a half with different pills I decided to come off it completely.

Within a week of coming off the pill I felt like my old self - my anxiety, depression and rage all disappeared and life was peachy again.

I could finally enjoy my relationship with my first serious boyfriend.

(How he stuck around that long I’ll never know!)

I did try telling my doctor that the Pill had been behind all my symptoms but I just got dismissed and told there was no evidence to prove this. I knew deep down that this had definitely been the case for me and vowed never to touch any synthetic hormone ever again.

Fast forward to my 30’s (and my fibroids)

My 20’s and early 30’s were a blast in terms of hormones.

I had regular cycles, balanced moods and didn’t really think much about my menstrual health at all. I had followed my dream and had gone back to university to study Nutritional Therapy and was busy setting up my own private nutrition clinic. Life was good!

Then at the age of 33 I was diagnosed with fibroids.

I felt exhausted all the time and my mood swings before my periods were insane. I started to feel trapped in my body and despite my best attempts to get back on track nothing seemed to work.

I felt like I had no control.

Still scarred from my experience with the doctor and the pill years’ ago I decided to invest in seeing one of the top gynaecologists in the UK in the hope that she would have different options for me. She had come heavily recommended so I felt hopeful.

Unfortunately it was more of the same. She ran a series of basic blood tests and recommended the pill or tramexoic acid (a drug that encourages clotting and can decrease heavy bleeding). I was dumfounded.

All I got were blank looks when I asked about nutrition and alternative ways to manage my symptoms.

I walked out feeling very disappointed and despondent but it did make me more determined than ever to find natural and holistic solutions to my problems.

I researched like mad trying to find answers to help me feel myself again.

I started digging deep into the DUTCH test and getting as much information as I could.. I just couldn’t get enough of this test and all the amazing insights it offered.

I also started using this knowledge to help the women who came to see me and it was truly humbling to see them all finally getting the answers they deserved and getting the relief they were so desperate for.

It was a slow process but I eventually started feeling better and started feeling at home in my body again. It was SUCH a relief!

The start of perimenopause

Imagine my disappointment when at 38 all my symptoms started coming back again.

My PMS was CRAZY. And let’s not talk about the cravings. Wow!

My energy levels were on the floor too. I would wake up in the mornings and my first thought would be “COFFEE!”. I knew it wasn’t a permanent solution but I just needed something to get me through the day.

I wanted to eat healthily but just felt like I didn’t have the willpower to do it. 

And you know the worst bit? I felt like a total fraud. I was meant to be helping other women balance their hormones and I had no control over my own.

What kind of nutritionist was I?

So I went back to the drawing board (hello Google Scholar!) This time I wanted to get to the bottom of WHY my symptoms had got so much worse at this stage of my life.

What I quickly realised was that I had started perimenopause.

I was in shock. I honestly thought it wouldn't hit me until my mid 40’s (despite seeing lots of women in my clinic going into perimenopause much sooner than that).

I guess you think it’s never going to happen to you.

So I retested my hormones and made changes to my diet and lifestyle to support these new shifts in my hormones.

I began to learn that pushing harder, eating less and exercising more simply doesn’t work during this stage in our lives.

In fact all it does is make things worse.

I began being gentler on myself and began to develop a softer approach to life.

All this was great, I was definitely feeling more balanced again and I was finally finding peace with the fact that I was moving into another life stage.

But it still felt like something was missing.

Discovering the magic of cycle synching

I had my aha moment when I was on my women’s retreat in Ibiza in June 2018.

For a while I had suspected that I wanted to be working at a deeper level.

I wanted to get closer to the divine feminine and I knew that as women we’re so much more than a set of lab results.

Although I saw great results in my clinic I knew that many women (myself included), needed and yearned for a deeper connection with themselves, with what it meant to be a woman and with their divine feminine.

I was sitting in a yoni egg workshop and we were asked to say hello to our wombs. And then, as unbelievable as it may sound I heard a loud “Hello!” back. I knew this was my womb speaking to me.

The hello was so happy and positive and loving I just burst into tears for having ignored her for so long.

I had spent my whole life seeing her as the enemy - something to be controlled, something that was a nuisance, something that needed to be tested and quantified and addressed in a very clinical way. Something that didn’t have a soul.

I spent the rest of that week trying to process what had happened, it had been such a magical and profound experience. I came back to London feeling better than ever and I found myself digging deeper and deeper into womb wisdom and the wonders of the menstrual cycle.

I started charting my cycle and noticing patterns.

Unlike most women I really struggle just after my period so I learnt to protect myself during this time. I was ready for the low energy and brain fog and I started meeting this with grace and understanding.

I put things in place to help me during this time - I made sure I slept longer and that I had more energy dense foods to hand. A smoothie with spinach, avocado, peanut butter and a date became my saviour and stopped me falling into the usual disruptive pattern of reaching out for the gin as soon as it was a socially acceptable time to start drinking.

I started getting to know my inner critic - that beautiful being that lives in that week before your period, some label her as PMS, I prefer to call her a pushy coach who has our best interests at heart. I started confronting her and learning things about myself that I never knew.

Now, instead of dreading that week before my period I actually looked forward to it!

I was feeling better than I had in years, I felt in control of my body (actually control is the wrong word, I would say it was closer to a feeling of harmony, I no longer had the sense that I had to control my body).

I became fascinated with its tides and rhythms. I loved feeling all the subtle shifts and I loved the excitement of heading into a new season in my cycle. 

As a woman in my early 40’s I had also spent the past few years really struggling with the changes taking place in my body.

I hated the way I didn’t feel attractive anymore.

I hated the way my body was changing shape and slowly getting rounder and less firm.

I hated the appearance of cellulite everywhere but cycle synching made me much more comfortable with who I was. (Obviously I still have days when I wobble but my god I feel 1000000% better about myself now - I can actually look at myself in the mirror and smile and I love getting dressed and feeling like the goddess that I am).

Through charting and synching with my cycle I have gained this deep appreciation about what it is to be a cyclical being.

Sometimes I’m sad that I didn’t come across this in my 20’s as I can’t even begin to imagine how powerful I’d be by now but I’m still extremely grateful that I came to this before hitting menopause.

My passion is 100% driven by wanting to help you to tap into the incredible power of your cycle.

To help you understand that living a linear existence that has been dictated to us by the patriarchy is not natural.

To help you embrace your cyclical nature and help you start weaving it into your daily life.

To help you understand that it’s ok to retreat from the world to bleed; it’s ok to say no.

To help you get comfortable with turning down invitations or saying no to work commitments because your body is calling for deep replenishment.

Living in tune with my cycle has become a deep spiritual practice for me.

My soul has been yearning to be listened to for many years and now that I’m fully showing up and honouring who I truly am as a cyclical being I am living a life overflowing with fulfilment, acceptance and deep joy.

If you want help with living in tune with your cycle just click on the button below to book for your free 30 minute call.