I was 11 when I first thought I was fat. Changing for P.E. in Drimoleague, West Cork, I already knew dieting was inevitable—everyone in my family was on and off diets. Our house was filled with diet books, and soon I’d tried them all: Weight Watchers, the cabbage soup diet, the 3-day diet. I saw food as “good” or “bad,” and guilt led to more eating. Every failed diet was followed by another, but none lasted more than a few days. After 10 years, I was three stone heavier.

I thought studying Nutrition and Dietetics would be the solution. It wasn’t. As a dietitian in London, I worked with high-end clients but secretly binged chocolate bars, trapped in guilt and shame. Then, a life coach told me, “You think you’ll be happy when you get X, but it’s the opposite. Get happy first.” It shifted everything.

Instead of dieting, I focused on happiness. Through courses, books, and a diploma, I found freedom. Without binging or restriction, my nutrition improved, my digestion, hair, and skin flourished, and my weight stabilised naturally—without scales or obsession.