The Nutritional Supplement

What Course(s) did you graduate from at CNELM and when did you graduate?

I completed the MSc in Personalised Nutrition. I travelled to the UK from New Zealand to graduate in person at Middlesex University in July 2018.

What did you do before doing this course?

I have done a number of things. My undergraduate degree way back in the ‘90s was in education and I worked as a primary school teacher for a few years before having children. Having 4 children in under 5 ½ years, and choosing to stay home with them, created the space for me to explore other areas of my life that I was interested in. I owned and ran a pre-school perceptual motor development programme for a couple of years and then – driven in part by the health of my husband and children – embarked on a health coach training programme. I set up and run a very successful health coaching business in New Zealand and expanded it to the UK in 2014.

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

I was aware that many people in the health coach industry were operating outside a true coaching model and moving into the realm of giving nutrition advice. I was also interested in this but wanted to have a sound scientific grounding first. I visited a few places in the UK offering similar training but was drawn to CNELM partly due to the MSc opportunity and partly due to the sense of supportive culture I got at the open day. Having had life throw a few challenges my way during the course of my study I was very grateful for this.

What have you been doing since graduating?

Well! Two weeks after arriving back in New Zealand after graduation I fractured my neck. It has been a long year of rehab and learning ways to live despite chronic pain. I have however set up a Nutritional Therapy clinical practice, under the same brand as my previous health coaching, with my target market being families. I have taken it slow building up a client base and I have also run lunchbox seminars at local schools for up to 60 attendees, smaller cooking demonstrations and guest blogs. I also have an exciting new project consulting for a large corporate company for their wellbeing strategy.

Tell us a bit more about your work at CNELM.

I am currently the co-Module Leader for the level 7 Personalised Nutrition and Longevity module. This includes organising the lecturers, setting up the timetable, running tutorials and student support, marking assignments etc. 

I am also putting together lectures for the endocrine section of the Applied Physiology level 4 module.

I love my academic work and am so privileged to be able to do this work – even from the other side of the world! CNELM is as supportive a place to work as it was to study, and my co-module leader Terry Owen-Jones is amazing to work with.

Which of the things you’ve done so far has been most successful?

Running the large live events is something that I really love, and I usually get a few clients from each one. I ran a few of these live events when I was health coaching also. They are a great way to ‘introduce’ yourself to a large number of people at once, let them know who you are and what you are about. The interaction with the audience, especially Q&A time, provide valuable insight into the things that your potential clients are interested in more information on – I use this to guide newsletter content, blog and social media posting.

If you were graduating now, would you do anything differently?

Not try to teach my daughter how to do a shoulder stand (resulting in my C5 fracture)!

Is there anything you wish you’d known before finishing your studies that you might have prepared for differently?
I think just being realistic about the time it takes to build a business. I have the advantage of being self-employed for a number of years in a number of roles, so I have learnt over that time to be realistic and self-compassionate. 

One of the things that I have always struggled with in self-employment is isolation. Being less mobile for the first 6 months post-graduation made it hard for me to get out and meet with people and did perhaps highlight the isolation even more. I thrive on personal connection, so I have found I need to build opportunities for this into my week – whether that is doing my paperwork at a co-working venue, running small-group workshops/cooking demo’s, or attending an in-person CPD event.

What or who has most inspired you in your work?

My clients always inspire me! Many of them have so many challenges in their lives that they are striving to overcome and whist I can give the recommendations, they are the ones that have to do the ‘work’. I also am inspired by people like Dr Libby Weaver who is educating the general public by breaking down the science into such understandable ways, and Professor Julia Rucklidge who is doing amazing things in the nutrition and mental health space here in NZ.

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

Not really – just enjoy the journey!