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So my story begins! I have gone backwards and forth on how to really start telling my story, because a picture does no justice to the journey. I will always be transparent and honest with you
I was once someone who was so in-love with her active lifestyle, bubbly and lively and on the flipside to others unrecognisable .. negative, low self confidence, esteem, hesitating to walk 160m to the car park from shame and fear of judgement
I struggled moving to Dubai and in return my relationship with my body, my movement and my food altered. I used food as my source of security and safety. I would come home from a typical school day and my first stop would be our Bluemart grocery store – I would dive into various pastries, milk breads, fruit nut loaves and eat them all until I was sick. I continually did this, day in, day out for months on end
The weight piled on, whilst the confidence diminished.
I stopped sporting activities, socialising .. my entire world collapsed before my eyes. I could no longer recognise myself in the mirror, let alone who were the people in my life seeing?
It then hit me! I remember it so clearly, the day I said to myself
.. that’s when my whole world spun and I knew I had to make something happen to get out of this rut.
I decided to go to a clinic that I sourced online. I was super embarrassed and ashamed as they ‘specialised’ in guiding people who were overweight and obese to shed some kilos. It was known as the “weight gain clinic”. So everyone knew in the public car lot why you were there. During my consultation, they gave me a spill, if I didn’t make any changes now I would get diagnosed with ABC in life. The lady sat me down, she took a piece of paper and drew a line dividing it in half. She began to write the headline in the first column, written in bold, YES and the second column written NO. Under each column she listed foods. I was sitting there trembling on the inside what this all meant and when she was finished, she looked me in the eye and said .. ‘These YES foods you can eat unlimited amounts of, these NO foods you cannot think about or touch, but don’t worry you will be fine, eat as many nuts as you like’ … I didn’t know what to take from any of this, I had never had anyone tell me to eat ‘unlimited’ foods and already being in a chapter experiencing such agony after the way the food I was eating in those afternoons was making me feel, none of what she described aligned or sat well
I walked out of the clinic and thought and said to myself ‘just give it a go’, there may be some benefit that could come out of it, so I followed her protocol for a month and honestly, felt so much worse. Now, as horrible as this experience was, it was my turning point, it was my shining light
So straight after, even feeling as though I was set back more, I strived forward and I set a goal. I gave myself three months to start a change. The change was so small, yet so BIG. The first was speaking kinder to myself every day. Standing face on in the mirror with a timer for 60 seconds. From then on, I addressed the personal struggles that were brainwashing my mind and turning me to food for security and comfort
started moving my body in a way, baby steps … going out for walks, then building myself to running, circuits, weight training and now embodying functional training
I focused on my food, more so the relationship I had with the food I was consuming all those afternoons in my dark room. What was it serving me? Was it even giving me the security and comfort I was looking for?
It was from there my love for healing naturally began and I really understood that the body can truly heal itself if given the right environment. I had an amazing support network around me who I am so thankful for and this is where “alongsidealana” began
I was committed to my vision, I was committed to the pathway of restoring my personal health and healing myself naturally
As my life continued, the positive changes ultimately became alive again, the Alana was coming back into my soul. I spent an inundated amount of time alone throughout the process to really find myself and embody my self love again
As life has its ebbs and flows, the journey has not been linear, throughout the six years I have experienced hormonal imbalances, leaky gut, acne, amenorrhea, high cortisol readings. Every season of life serves a purpose and as much as these experiences were difficult to encounter during each phase, it reassured the power of healing and over time, we are the true creators of restoring our health to find balance and to thrive. [Text Wrapping Break][Text Wrapping Break]Literature was my best friend – I engrained every sentence and was so in awe with our human biology. I educated myself on days on end how we function as individuals and the importance of our gut and hormonal health specifically. I became a proud nerd!
As the fondness and love grew, I had been considering what was my purpose in life – from my own personal struggles with food, my love for cooking, fresh produce, the admiration I have for our bodies’ power in movement, my journey in restoring and healing my health… there was no question about it, this is my calling and pathway
I enrolled with IIN – Institute for Integrative Nutrition to obtain my holistic health coaching certification. Along with this I completed a UK L3 Personal Training Diploma, as well as an additional speciality course in Kettlebell Functional movement patterns certification
Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be here today writing my story thus far to you. I am so super excited you are here
[Text Wrapping Break]I have been there, I know how it feels to be possibly at your lowest, unworthy, lacking confidence. I have been there to know how it feels walking inside a gym and having no idea how to use equipment and wonder what people are thinking of me, to feel overwhelmed of what I should really be eating? Is the “health aisle” really that healthy? Is sweet potato better than white? Isn’t fruit loaded with too much sugar? Isn’t weight training going to make me big?
‘alongsidealana’, is on this journey with you – I will meet you where you are and together we will make realistic, healthy habits to allow you to set free, flourish from the roots until you bloom to go further than what you could ever imagine is possible
I will be your guiding light throughout this process. I am your friend, your coach, your ultimate support, your sunshine leading you every step of the way