The Nutritional Supplement

What courses did you graduate from at CNELM and when did you graduate?

I did the MSc in personalised nutrition alongside the Nutritional Therapy Practice Diploma over a period of about two and a half years. I graduated earlier this year.

What did you do before doing this course?

I was a stay at home mum, but prior to having a family I have worked in marketing for a number of years and also used to be a teacher.

What made you decide to embark on this course of study and what attracted you to CNELM?

I used to suffer from quite bad IBS which started in my mid-twenties and for years was in and out of the doctor’s surgery, never managing to get any real answers. I also tried hypnotherapy, acupuncture and visited some form of nutritional practitioner. He did a Vega test on me and gave me a long list of things which I was apparently “allergic to”. Unfortunately, I questioned his methods and didn’t really see him as a professional, so I didn’t pay a great deal of attention to his recommendations. At that time as a result of this experience I think I dismissed any kind of nutritional therapy as rather “alternative”. Then about three years ago a GP suggested I tried a nutritional therapist and gave me someone’s card. This lady appeared to be highly qualified, so I decided to give her a try. Meeting her was a real eye opener and to cut a long story short, I was so impressed that I decided this was something I wanted to do myself, and within a few months I had signed up for the course at CNELM.

Initially I looked into the options at both CNELM and ION. I was attracted to the shorter course at CNELM (2 years instead of 3), plus I discovered that another parent from my children’s school worked at the college, so I also had the inside scoop!

Were you working whilst studying?

Other than doing the admin for my husband’s business, I wasn’t working when I started my studies, but as soon as I got the NLP practitioner certificate in June of that year I set myself up as a coach and NLP practitioner. The following January I also did the Dietary Educator Certificate so started to add this to my services as well. It’s been pretty hectic juggling my studies, a family and setting up a business, but it has enabled me to grow in both confidence and experience which I think is making the transition from student to nutritional therapist a little less daunting.

Tell us about the publication of your research project?

When choosing the topic for my dissertation I decided that I wanted to do a piece of qualitative research. Having worked with a number of weight loss clients as a coach and dietary educator I was really interested in the issue of adherence; many people really struggle to stick to dietary changes longer term. I really wanted to develop an understanding of how we as therapists might be able to encourage our clients to adhere to our recommendations.

When I submitted my dissertation, I was very fortunate because the external examiner also works for a research journal and she indicated that this was something they might be interested in publishing. I was absolutely delighted with this feedback and really excited to have this opportunity, but it is a lot of hard work to get it ready because it has to meet the journals submission criteria. Also, having returned to my dissertation after a break of about 6 months, I have realised that there is a lot of room for improvement, so this could take some time!

Is there anything you wish you’d known before finishing your studies that might have prepared you differently?

There were a number of times during my studies when I felt really out of my depth and overwhelmed with the work load. I found myself telling family and friends that I NEVER would have got myself into this if I had realised how hard it was going to be. Having come out the other side however, I am pleased nobody warned me, as I wouldn’t now be a qualitied nutritional therapist with an MSc after my name.

In terms of being prepared for going into an MSc course in personalised nutrition, whilst I already had a BSc in Physiology which I undertook twenty plus years ago, there were times when I felt I might have got more out of the course if I had done a BSc in nutrition first. I often felt I lacked some of the basics and that I had really jumped in at the deep end. I can remember watching lectures on Moodle, smart phone in hand, googling words which I didn’t understand as I went along. But again, having come out of the other side, I realise that I did manage and I will just fill in the gaps over time. I remind myself that GPs have to look things up during a consultation, so It’s OK if I need to do this too sometimes.

What or who has most inspired you in your work?

I found inspiration in so many people and experiences over the course of the last two and a half years, but perhaps the thing that has stood out for me most were the coaching courses, both in terms of the content and the people I met along the way. These experiences have had a significant impact on me as a person and have also opened up opportunities for me as a professional. The funny thing is, before I started my studies I didn’t realise that coaching or NLP really featured on the course. In my mind, I was just there to learn about nutrition. During the first couple of days of the foundation coaching I remember wondering what on earth I had signed up for, but a day or two later it all started to click and I have never looked back.

Do you have any tips, hints, things you’d have done differently?

If I could go back and do it all again I wish I had been more organised. This is not something which comes naturally to me, but could have saved me a lot of time, particularly when it came to pulling together some of the formative assignments for the ANTP module. Also, there is so much valuable information available to students on Moodle, over and above the modules themselves, so if I had my time again I would have spent more time familiarising myself with this information at the start of the course, which might have avoided a few last-minute panics and unnecessary mistakes.

Another thing which I wish I had done differently would have been to have found a bit more time for myself during this period of my life. I feel as though I have just spent two and a half years writing essays and client reports on the importance of managing stress, whilst feeling completely stressed out and overcommitted myself. Apparently, I am a lot better at giving advice than listening to it! However, having now qualified I am really determined to “walk the walk”, so I am gradually becoming better at scheduling in time for myself and relaxing (occasionally).