As a health practitioner, I have access to and knowledge of many different nutritional approaches with great success for clients, and have tried many of these programs myself. Paleo, keto, low histamine, anti-inflammatory - these are all great tools for the right people, and I still recommend many of them.

But, as I have moved closer to my 50's, I have started to struggle with peri-menopausal weight creep. I know that the answer at this age is not to restrict calories too much or overdo it on the exercise. I was eating well, but what worked in the past to help keep my weight in a healthy place, didn't seem to work for me anymore.

Plus, I wanted to check out if there was a nutrition framework that I was comfortable providing many of my clients with migraine, menopausal symptoms, digestive symptoms or fatigue. And those who felt that they wanted to feel a little lighter.

A herbalist colleague - called Daisy - in NZ turned 50 recently. She had signed up to the Metabolic Balance® program earlier in 2022, and documenting her progress on Instagram. By the end of the year she had lost over 20kgs! Her original goal had been 10kgs, but she just felt so much better on the program that she kept going. Daisy is someone I really admire - she has incredible warmth, integrity and wisdom, and it was such a joy to see her emerge with more energy, vitality, confidence and wearing clothes that she never thought she would again. She had taken up horse-riding again and was putting herself out to the world in ways she just felt too shy to before. For the first time, she had a professional photoshoot and was recording Instagram reels and videos.

There was also a lot of positive conversations around the program with other nutritionist and naturopathic practitioners who were experiencing great results for themselves and clients. The main comment was that the nutrition framework was incredibly easy to follow, while allowing for a huge variety of natural foods.

After some research, I could see that the program really aligned with my values of simple, good food with no gimmicky powders and shakes, or the need to keep buying expensive supplements.

So, last year, I took the plunge and enrolled in the program to become a certified Metabolic Balance® practitioner. After 40 hours of training through both the German and Australian headquarters, I am now certified to provide the program. And of course, I started the program myself in November 2022.

Even though it's been just a couple of months, I am starting to receive comments around how more toned I look (my exercise routine hasn't changed) and also how brighter my eyes and skin are. So far I've lost 5kgs (even allowing for a little Christmas indulgence).

My grocery bill has reduced, my moods are better, and I'm finding energy to achieve more each day. I thought I was already pretty healthy, but being on Metabolic Balance® has seemed to supercharge my vitality.