My Personal Journey to Health and Wellness: Overcoming the Struggles of Starting with a Complex Medical History
Starting a health and wellness journey is never easy, especially when you're faced with a complex combination of personal health challenges and professional knowledge. As someone who has worked in healthcare and nutrition for many years, you would think I'd have it all figured out. But the truth is, the process of embarking on my own weight loss and wellness journey was filled with difficulty, overwhelming choices, and a constant balancing act between my expertise and my medical history.
It was this difficulty in my beginning that led me to create Holistic Health, Step by Step. It gave me the holistic understanding of approaching health and treating the client (in this case, me) as an equal partner in the journey to better health. Ultimately, this blog series will be exploring my journey in treating obesity but alongside we will explore how I am treating the co-morbid conditions.
I’m a 32-year-old male, standing at 172 cm (5’8”) and weighing 138kg (304lbs). To put that into perspective, my Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated at 46.8, classifying me as severely obese. This, however, is only a small part of my health struggles. Along with my weight, I have to contend with several medical conditions: epilepsy, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), hypertension, ADHD, autism, mobility issues (lumbar pain), severe anxiety, severe depression, and binge eating disorder. All of this meant I’m not just battling against my weight; I’m trying to navigate the difficult waters of a variety of health conditions that each require individual attention and treatment.
Despite the wealth of knowledge I have amassed over the years—education in psychology, dietetics, and nutrition, and experience working in various healthcare settings like eating disorders, diabetes, major trauma, neuro-rehabilitation, and paediatrics—I’ve found it incredibly challenging to put that knowledge into practice for myself. The very thing I advised others on seemed so much harder when applied to my own life. But not anymore!
The Overwhelming Nature of Finding the Right Information
When it comes to weight loss, the sheer volume of conflicting information is mind-boggling. As someone with a background in dietetics and nutrition, I felt paralyzed by the myriad of diets, supplements, workouts, and approaches. Even knowing the science behind nutritionally sustainable weight loss, I still felt stuck on making the perfect, right, first step. There was an overload of information, and most of it contradicted each other. It wasn’t just about finding the right information to lose weight; I needed a plan that also considered my unique medical history and the challenges I faced with mobility, mental health, and my history of eating disorders.
In my work with patients, I’ve always advocated for a balanced, sustainable, holistic approach to weight loss and health, but doing so for myself was much more complex. How could I manage my epilepsy, hypertension, and other conditions while also striving for weight loss? I knew that extreme dieting or intense exercise could trigger my health issues, yet I also wanted to experience real progress, so it was clear that any plan I followed had to be tailored to my needs.
The First Steps: Small Changes for Big Results
The hardest part of my journey was simply getting started. I quickly realized that expecting drastic changes or immediate results would only set me up for failure. It had done so many times before; we all know the diet culture: works for about 6 weeks then we are back to step one within a month. So, I decided to approach this journey like I would with a client—gradually, with patience (the hardest part for myself), and by focusing on sustainable habits.
The first steps were simple but effective. I began by focusing on eating regular meals—something I had never truly prioritized before. I had spent years battling binge eating disorder, so I needed to break the cycle of disordered eating and start nourishing my body consistently. This was difficult, especially when I felt overwhelmed by anxiety or depression, but it was a necessary foundation for my recovery. I was extremely fortunate to work with a fantastic clinical psychologist to aid me with this. The step I found most effective in managing this was to focus on breakfast. I started by focusing on eating something first thing. I then built that into eating a healthy meal first thing.
In addition to eating regularly, I started incorporating more movement into my day. With my mobility issues, I had to be cautious, but small actions like walking around the house, stretching, and doing light kettlebell exercises were doable and made me feel more active without putting too much strain on my body. Oddly, the thing that helped me move more was experiencing cellulitis. This was likely due to having to engage my core whilst moving around a lot more. Once I recovered walking and doing household tasks became a lot easier.
Hydration was another key area. For years, I had neglected drinking enough water, but I knew this was essential for both my physical and mental well-being. Hydrating more helped me with energy levels and mental clarity, something I desperately needed, especially with my ADHD and anxiety. I started by incorporating a large glass of water before going to bed and immediately after waking. As I was better able at separating hunger cues from thirst cues, my daily fluid intake shot up.
Being forgiving with myself was perhaps the most important and difficult lesson. For someone who has spent a lot of time in the healthcare field, it’s easy to be critical of your own progress. But I quickly realized that self-compassion was necessary. There were days when my mental health or medical issues prevented me from staying on track, and instead of beating myself up, I focused on getting back on track as soon as I was able. This was an incredibly big barrier to restarting my martial arts training but with the help of friends I was able to overcome it.
And then, there was the simple rule of always having at least two vegetables (or plants) with every meal. As someone who had trained as a dietitian for years, I knew how vital it was to increase vegetable intake for better nutrition, weight management, and general health and well-being.
These small changes made a huge difference in how I felt, both physically and mentally. Not only did I feel more satisfied after meals, but I also felt more energized.
Finding Balance and Sustainability
As I have continued on my journey, I knew I needed to maintain a balance between the knowledge I had as a healthcare professional and the realities of my medical conditions. I had to respect my body and mind while focusing on building a sustainable routine. This included embracing the fact that weight loss would be a slow, incremental process, not a race to see how fast I could reach my goal. I knew that my complex medical history meant my journey would not look like someone else’s, and that was okay.
In time, my habits began to stick. I was eating regular meals, moving more, hydrating well, and being kind to myself. This was the start of a health journey that wasn’t about perfection but about steady progress. I learned that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to health and wellness, and, the key to success is simply being consistent with small, meaningful changes.
In the end, it was not the grand, complicated strategies that helped me get started; it was the basic, simple steps that brought me the most benefit. By prioritising my health, being consistent with my routine, and allowing myself grace along the way, I began to experience real, lasting change.
If there’s one takeaway from the beginning of my journey, it’s this: Health isn’t a destination, but a process. With the right mindset and a willingness to take small, sustainable steps, even the most overwhelming health challenges can be tackled.
I hope that this blog series will help inspire and motivate people to make the small sustainable changes in their health. If you need help in your health and well-being journey you can work alongside me to achieve your goals by contacting me on the button below.
