04/03/2026
It's time to re-introduce myself... I've been a little quiet on here lately, not because I've gone anywhere, but because, I'm busy, the Studio is humming along nicely, my life is full, exciting, happy, vibrant, my heart is full... my house and clothes are full of cat fur... But it wasn't always this way... tbh its always been full of cat fur 😻... but the other things weren't true, infact it was quite the opposite for a long, exausting period of time... my story is why I do what I do and how I got to this place of contentment despite a lot of my struggles still being true.. so here goes...
Many of you know me as the owner of StudioHR
The woman who bangs on about lifting weights
The lady that walks around in activewear 24/7
The one who tells women to stop punishing themselves with endless cardio
The Coach who tells you to eat more carbs for fat loss
The one who keeps saying strength becomes more important as we age
But what a lot of people don’t know is why I care so much about this
For most of my adult life my body did exactly what I asked of it
I competed in bodybuilding in my early 20s
I spent decades training, coaching and living the fit life
If I wanted to change my body, I could, it was never easy, but it worked
Discipline worked
Training worked
Structure worked
Then in 2012 everything changed
One day my hip hurt
Within a few weeks I could barely walk
A single mum with three kids, one of them only four years old. Life didn’t exactly allow space to stop and fall apart
I remember sitting in a physio appointment thinking it would be something simple. A strain. Something that would settle
Instead he sent me straight to a specialist
The diagnosis confirmed my worst fear
I needed a hip replacement
I was 42!! I hardly ever even caught a cold, how couold this be happening????
It felt like the beginning of my body falling apart in front of my eyes
The hardest part was the wait
Three years living with pain that was often excruciating while still raising my kids, working in the fitness industry and trying to keep life moving forward
The one thing that kept me functioning was weight training
I kept my body as strong as possible to support the joint and reduce the referred pain. Strength literally kept me moving
Looking back now I still don’t know how I managed some of the things I did during that time
During those three years I competed in three bodybuilding shows
I honestly can’t explain how I tolerated the pain, to be fair, it couldn't have gotten any worse
But training had always been the place where I felt strong, even when everything else felt uncertain
Eventually I had the hip replacement
And for a moment I thought maybe the worst was behind me
But not long after that, something else started happening
My energy disappeared
Carbs made me feel awful instead of fuelled
Brain fog became normal
I just felt unwell most of the time
Then I noticed a large lump on my thyroid
Blood tests eventually gave me the answers
Type 1 diabetes
Hashimoto’s
Hypothyroidism
All diagnosed at the same time at age 45! HOW??????
That moment was confronting in a way that’s hard to describe
After more than 20 years in the fitness industry, understanding training and nutrition, suddenly I was facing something discipline alone couldn’t fix
I had to start injecting insulin multiple times a day. I hate needles! Trust me, you get over that super quick!!
My entire relationship with food, energy and training had to change
For a while I felt deeply disappointed in my body
It had always been the one thing I could rely on
Now it felt unpredictable
And then, just to add another layer to the story…
Perimenopause started creeping in!! MAKE IT STOP 😫
Weight gain that didn’t make sense
Energy that fluctuated
Recovery that felt completely different
What on earth is happening to my body?
Over time though something shifted
I realised I had two choices
I could stay frustrated about what my body was no longer doing…
Or I could learn how to work with it instead of against it
That journey changed the way I see women’s health completely
It’s why I went back and studied health coaching and nutrition to become a clinical and sports nutritionist
It’s why I focus so heavily on strength training for women
And it’s why I care so deeply about helping women navigate the years through perimenopause and beyond
Because when a woman says to me,
“I don’t recognise my body anymore.”
I understand exactly what she means
Not just as a coach
But as someone who has lived it
For a long time I didn't talk about it, I didn't want chronic illness to define me, now I know it doesn't and its time to share my journey with all its guts and gore...
I'm not sharing this becuase my story is special...
..but because I know many women quietly go through these things feeling confused, frustrated and alone. I certainly did! There was no help & no one who understood
And if sharing it helps even one woman feel less alone in her body, it will be worth it... because I really do understand 🩷
