My dilemma began in 1995 when I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, an autoimmune disease that can be extremely hard to manage at times and takes all of you every single day to keep it in check. I learned a lot about nutrition and metabolism at the time but also developed an unhealthy relationship with food and my body in different ways. Not to mention the physical, mental and emotional challenges that come with a condition that stays with you for the rest of your life and is mostly invisible to others.

As a teenager and in my twenties my life was fun but I didn’t treat my body very gently (to say the least). Moving on to busy and responsible corporate jobs in my early thirties (which I was very passionate about) didn’t really change that.

In a nutshell, I had tried all sorts of diets or quick fixes you can think of: workout videos, gym memberships I paid for and never used, appetite suppressant pineapple chewing gums, bootcamps, low-fat-low-carb program for 30 days - you can chase me with salmon since then, paleo diet, rice diet, kale soup, skipping a meal to make up for binge eating attacks, to only name a few. And all of this with the goal to get my weight stable and under control, feel good in my body to be more attractive, appreciated and successful.

All of these short-term programs taught me something, and yes they all worked in a way. Sometimes for one day, sometimes even for six months. But they all had one thing in common: they were restrictive, not fun and I fell back into old habits sooner or later.