I first engaged with the ‘weight gain-loss-regain’ process in my teens, when my sense of self had somehow become rooted in societal ideals and comments from people whose opinion really shouldn’t have mattered. I tried the standard “eat less, move more” approach, with great success until I slipped back into old habits. I regained the weight, and more, becoming neither happier nor slimmer but a joyless rider on the restrict-measure-binge-restrict carousel. I lost touch with myself, my natural, in-built instincts, with my Inner Eating Expert.
A change of country, exposure to a different perspective around food, eating, and health, and the realisation that “health” encompasses more than “weight” enabled my shift to a more “normal” way of eating. Turning away from rigidly managing a number on a scale, I nurtured a deep interest in health, nutrition and food choice that returned with me to the UK.
