Jax is one of the original “Life Member” signups for my Network support group program Low Carb Living UK (LCLUK)
She signed up in November 2020, is very much an active member of the program and she’s made so much progress that I had to ask her about how it was all going with her!
What was the problem?
Before finding any form of Low Carb way of life, Jax noted that a combination of restricted mobility and medication had meant that she was getting fatter as the years went by.
She told me “I have autoimmune disease and was concerned about what inflammation was doing to my body. I was getting weaker physically, mentally and emotionally and felt that I had no real support from healthcare professionals in dealing with chronic illnesses.“
She then accidently fell upon books by Michael Mosley about the 5:2 diet, which sort of worked but got her all confused with all the stuff about Time Restricted Eating (TRE).
Jax notes that “It seemed to be so very technical and then Dr Moseley moved onto the Mediterranean Diet, Healthy Gut etc. I started to become overwhelmed and lost my way with it a bit.“
Luckily in one of the Facebook groups of which Jax is a member, someone mentioned me and my books. And at the same time Jax moved house and saw a poster for a local low carb group in her new area.
So, she turned up to the meetings and “in the background, I was reading How to do Low Carb, UK Style. The food part was coming together but I avoided Part Two of the book, what Nikola calls Keys in her system (The HOPE Protocol), which is all the “head stuff” that you need to do to find success.
“Instead, I didn’t change my mind and so continued with the same patterns of emotional eating (mainly ice-cream) to self soothe when things went wrong.“
Then something changed “I finally found and joined Nikola’s Facebook group Low Carb in the UK just as she offered the last round of ‘The Get Started Challenge‘ in March 2020.
“I joined up and so had to deal with the head stuff! It felt liberating yet I still dithered about committing to working to make the changes stick for good.
“It was 6 months later before I finally pulled my finger out and had a Health Breakthrough conversation with Nikola. By the end I had my credit card out and committed to being a life member of her then new group program, Low Carb Living UK!
So, what happened next?
Jax finally confronted her resistance about changing her mindset and behaviours around food. “I now make choices and I own them. There’s no stupid counting, no food that is banned or a sin. There’s just food. Nikola’s OSN scale explains in simple terms the food that is optimal for your body, sub-optimal or non-optimal.
“You eat when you’re hungry and don’t eat when you’re not hungry. You make your make your own choice and own it. There’s no wagon to fall off!
“Nikola works with you to understand that it’s all simply life and choices.
Jax also excitedly shared that she’d “never been able to stomach breakfast so now I don’t bother with it. My choice, my decision and no guilt or feeling that I have to justify it to anyone else.
“Nikola has given me the confidence to assert my boundaries – still a work in progress!
“I’m not one for weighing myself either, ‘the tyranny of the bathroom scales.’ Nikola showed me that mine don’t serve me at all and it’s totally ok to not use them as a measure of success.
“They live in the cupboard and only get the battery put in for when I need to weigh my suitcase to go on holiday!
“I now tend to eat once a day most days. A sentence I never dreamed I’d ever say. I’m off the so called healthy eating treadmill and I feel I’m recovering from been brainwashed by it over the years.
I was following all the healthy eating guidelines and getting worse! And I felt like it was my fault that it didn’t work for me. I know better now and I want others to know that too.
“During my time in LCLUK, I’ve got slimmer and more resilient. I joined as the second lockdown arrived, I was still shielding and my husband was trapped abroad. In the past I think I would have used this as a chance to binge and eat whatever rubbish I felt like to try and help me deal with the situation.
“Instead, I took this as an opportunity to see it as my own special project. I had the time to do the work I needed to do. And I had the the amazing support of the other members of LCLUK and also the 1:1 coaching and accountability calls that Nikola gives as part of the program.
“Two years later, and I’m very happy to still be working at it with the other members and Nikola. And long may that continue!
After all, as she says ‘It’s Progress not Perfection’”; If you drop the ball, there’s someone to help you pick it up.
“I was worried this would be another of my fads and that I wouldn’t stick with it. But it isn’t, it’s my life now.
“I eat fantastic nutritious food. I feel lighter physically and mentally. My inflammation levels are normal! I’ve dropped countless centimetres and so I’ve had” to buy new clothes.
“I’m starting to feel like me; comfortable in my own skin which was my vision. I’d lost so much because of my health, but in doing this work, I’m definitely getting it back.“
What else happened?
I asked Jax about any unexpected benefits that she received as being an LCLUK member, and she listed these:
- Gaining a new perspective on life. It’s ok to make mistakes, that’s how we learn.
- I’m much calmer. I still have a bit of a temper but I recognise it and can take steps to address it.
- I’ve found a wonderful community of low carbers who are supportive, helpful and clever people that I didn’t know was there.
- I am just learning so much!
And what advice would Jax give to others thinking about joining LCLUK?
“Don’t be scared. Do it.
I’ve learned so much about me, my thought processes, why I do what I do.
My whole outlook has changed. I’ve found this a life changing experience, very much for the better. A healthy life is really not just about food!“
So, how could I help you?
As you all know, I’m passionate about serving the UK. And we actually have relatively little UK centric information and support on offer. And virtually none at all that actively supports long term change and success.
As I realise that my 1:1 services are not budget accessible for everyone, I created Low Carb Living UK to make my systems for healthy long term success as accessible as possible to the whole of the UK!
Drop a comment below, or come over the Low Carb Living UK website and sign up!
