Pastry, Red Trousers &
My A-ha! Moment
(Health after 40 and why I took a kinder approach)
Hi there! Thanks for your interest in my personal story. You’ll read about the changes I made around food and my outlook when I wanted to improve my health after 40 and feel like myself again.
Some results were completely unexpected. In fact they led to a change in how I work and why I value sharing realistic and personalised solutions that support my clients’ health.
Have a read, and feel free to add a comment. I’d be delighted to know which first steps you would take to improve your own health.
I used to believe “You are what you eat”…
My official journey into the world of nutrition and wellness began over a decade ago. For the longest while the phrase “You are what you eat” often came to mind. But a few years ago came a radical shift. A shift which turned my thoughts about health on their head.
As a Londoner this switch helped me work through an unexpected challenging time.
As a woman, it brought a greater understanding of kinder ways to support my body and hormones and health.
As a Registered Nutritional Therapist it totally transformed my practice, giving my clients a more clear and consistent path to the long-term results they deserved.
But before I get to the ins and outs of this part of my health journey, it makes sense to meet my 20-year-old self. If there’s truth in the saying “You are what you eat” then I would have been a pie!
The ‘pastry years’
Why would I have called myself a pie?
Well back in my teens, 20s and early 30s, I was a 100% devoted lover of pastry. Crispy, flaky, buttery, crumbly – the hunt was always on.
How obsessed was I?
Well, I would always check the desert menu BEFORE ordering the main, “Great! I’m having apple pie.”
Naturally, with time my choices changed and I moved pastry down from its prime position on my “What will I eat?” list.
So how did my abandoned love of baked delights spark an A-Ha!! moment in later years?
Let’s fast forward to my mid-40s. This is where the story gathers pace…
My body shape changed, but I didn’t notice
It’s a familiar tale: “X Changed My Life!”, but each time told with a personal twist.
In the last period of globally challenging times, like many people I went from active to inactive: locked down, tucked away at home, finding a slower rhythm for my day.
The months were filled with desk-sitting and lots of experimental cooking. Together, my house-cooped husband and I tucked into dahls, hotpots and stews.
Then pastries and pies became regular features on my ‘What shall I cook today?’ plan.
But this soon added up to an uncomfortable feeling and when my favourite red trousers stretched tight across my thighs: My legs feel like sausages! – I complained.
Unsurprisingly, the combination of inactivity and indulgence had left a mark and the time had come to take matters in hand.
While I knew some adjustments and effort were on the cards, so I set a goal to firm up my muscles, slim down my thighs, and get back into those funky red flares again.
I fell into the trap of wanting overnight succes
I had set myself a goal.
But one thing that took me by surprise was the harsh voice in the back of my head…
Hurry up Nina! Get this done! (Preferably by yesterday.)
My plan to improve my health after 40 left me frantic but failing
Desperately I racked my brain, and came up with an idea of what to do. I would recreate a moment from my past and attempt to wedge it into my present-day life.
So what was my amazing plan?
Many years ago I worked in the modelling industry.
There was a particularly demanding catwalk show that I worked on each year. With hour-long performances, repeated 7 times a day, with 10 quick outfit changes, and the longest catwalk I have ever walked, it was the bootcamp of the modelling world. Huge amounts of fun, but after 10 days you returned home – exhausted and rake thin.
So that was my plan from day 1 – to radically clean up my diet, cut out ALL pastry and pies, and jump up and do blasts of exercise several times throughout the day.
Yes, it does sound ridiculous, now.
Guess how long before I ran out of steam with this frantic, 20-year-old approach?
… but then came the Aha!! moment
This particular story isn’t about my transformation from stodgy to slender but rather about how I fell headfirst into the trap of wanting rapid results.
In the end I succeeded with a different path.
I started by paying attention to what was actually important to me – my lifestyle, my state of mind, my age, my specific nutritional needs.
Every day I grabbed my opportunities.
I made informed decisions to change how I moved and what I chose to put on my plate.
Of course, some days I had more ‘success’ than others. But I wove this all together into a realistic routine that worked for me.
That’s how I approached my goal to get how I felt about my health after 40 back on track.
It’s how the Aha!! moment came into play (and how those red trousers got worn again).
This realistic, personalised approach is what I share with my clients to help them achieve their own success.
Now It's Over To You
So there you have it.
Part of my own health journey sharing how I reframed my approach. I focused on the nutrition, lifestyle and habits that made sense for my 45-year-old self, and mixed in some kindness too.
Thanks for taking the time to read this and now it’s over to you.
I’d love to hear your plans for your own health journey.
- Is overhauling old habits around food a sensible starting point?
- Does planning a realistic time frame for change make more sense?
- Or do you intend to find out more about nutrition for women over 40?
Of course, it might be something completely different.
You can tell me by writing your comment below now.