"The nutrition consultation has changed my mindset about healthy living."

I had a health scare this year and it occurred to me that if I had a serious illness, I would have been in a terrible state physically to have treatment and recover.

This gave me a kick in the pants to do something about my health. My manager flagged up that we have access to nutrition consultations via Canada Life and I thought I’d try as I had problems with eating before and speaking to a nutritionist could be helpful. I booked in and got to choose a time for the consultation. To be honest, I Googled the nutritionist and found that he was a sportsman and a coach, which I found very encouraging.

When he called we started chatting about my diet and health history. We barely talked about food, which was a relief. The trouble is, if you get to a certain degree of weight, you are usually told to eat less and move more. I’ve heard this many times before since my first diet when I was 20, so I know all this stuff and I didn’t want to hear it again. With Charlie, we were talking about mindset and the importance of things outside of work. We talked about using creativity to replace overeating, which is an interesting concept.

We also talked about exercise but not as a way of losing weight, how I always looked at it. I usually went to the gym, then did not lose any weight and stopped going back because I was disappointed. We put the focus on exercising for my own mental wellbeing, especially as I work four days a week inside the house. We also changed the purpose from weight loss to be fitter and stronger.

We also talked about martial arts, which I had not done since university. Chatting made me think about it again, but I really did not think I was ready. Charlie then said: ‘’ You’ll be ready sooner than you think.’’ That really got the cogs turning and when I came off the phone I joined the gym. I hadn’t been a member since before COVID. I went for my induction and actually did some chest and leg presses and it was an amazing feeling.

This consultation was more about positivity, not like a lot of the messages overweight people receive about what they must do to feel and look better.

The message of the nutritionist was that I have everything I need inside me and I just need to go for it. I think about things in a different way now and I’m embracing my creativity as suggested. I’m re-designing my flat at the moment and planning to put lots of colours in it, something that I have never done before. The general themes of my life now is positivity and moving forward.

A lot of people in the UK are overweight, having difficult relationship with food. Consulting with someone very positive and friendly, who knows what they’re talking about, is a great thing. I would recommend this service to everybody.

Patient statement:

The nutritionist made me look at things in a positive way and gave me the kick I needed to join the gym.